Podcasts
EP 126: Here are 5 Tips To Make The Sex Ed Talk Easier
Interview with Jason Armishaw / Publisher of Start The Talk newsletter
Hosted by Paul Sullivan
Your pre-teens and teens are getting messages about sex from their friends, from social media, from the school and community environment they’re growing up in. To think differently is to be in denial – one that can be dangerous. Listen to 5 tips from Jason Armishaw, a sex educator focused on helping parents have the conversation at home.
EP 125: Are You Screwing Up Your Kids?: 5 Suggestions
Interview with Matt Maynard / Family Therapist and Parent Coach
When it comes to parenting advice, your friends and most therapists aren’t going to give it to you straight. Matt Maynard, a New…
EP 124: Why Dads Should “Parent Outloud”: 5 Answers
Interview with Elliott Rae / Father Advocate
Fathers need to step out and be more present, at home and in the office. This is the crux of the Parenting Outloud campaign that Elliott…
EP 123: How To Help Your Child With Learning Challenges
Interview with Marc Hoffman / Advocate for Children with ADHD
In second grade, Marc Hoffman’s teacher told him he wouldn’t amount to anything. It crushed him but his parents and brothers rallied…
EP 122: What Does It Mean to Press Forward?
Interview with Neal Conlon / Men's Group Leader and Coach
Neal Conlon is one interesting guy. Out of high school, he went into the Marines where he served for nearly 8 years. Getting out, he…
EP 121: What To Do If You Child Has A Rare Disease
Interview with Will Hoffman / Rare Disease Advocate
Will Hoffman is a runner and when his son was diagnosed with NF – an incurable genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on nerves…
EP 120: What Does It Mean To Be A Successful Working Parent?
Interview with Anthony Franzese / Seeker of Fatherhood Wisdom
What does it mean to be a Successful Working Parent? It’s a question Anthony Franzese, a healthcare sales executive, had when he became…
EP 119: What You Can Learn From A Challenging Childhood
Interview with Verne Marble / Veteran, Advisor, Father
Verne Marble is one of four and the father of four. His childhood was a bit haphazard. But he’s a committed father who was clear-eyed…
EP 118: How To Manage The Intersection Between Love & Money
Interview with Abby Davisson / Expert on Money and Love
Should love and money be linked together? If you want to be happy in life, Abby Davisson argues 100 percent. She wrote about it with one…
EP 117: Barbells to Braids: How A Bouncer Led An Awakening
Interview with Michael Ray / International Fatherhood Advocate
Michael Ray provided security for music superstars – Jon Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, INXS. Bruce Springsteen was the nicest. Then, on the…
EP 116: Lessons From A Divorce That Never Ends
Interview with Sean Keenan / Lessons from a Divorced Dad
Sean Keenan, an economist by training, has a harrowing story about a divorce that went to such a dark place. The least of it was it…
EP 115: How Not To Get Sidelined on Parental Leave
Interview with Adrienne Prentice / Parent Coach for Companies
Adrienne Prentice loved being a lawyer and was working her way up within the general counsel’s office. She went on parental leave when…
EP 114: Be A Better Husband And Father On Your Terms
Interview with Dan Doty / Founder of Evryman, Engaged Fatherhood Leader
Before the pandemic, Dan Doty was one of the best known advocates for helping men live better, fuller and more fulfilled lives. He was a…
EP 113: Can Macho Men Meditate?
Interview with Jon Macaskill / Navy Seal, Advocate of Mindful Meditation
When a doctor told Jon Macaskill, a decorated Navy Seal with decades of combat experience, that meditation could ease his mental health…
EP 112: How Not To Ruin Parental Leave, If You’re A Manager
Interview With Dr. Amy Beacom / Parental Leave Expert
Companies can have the most generous, equitable parental leave policies – plans polished and perfected to allow mothers and fathers time…
EP 111: Want To Learn To Be a Better Husband?
Interview With Zach Watson / Fair Play Coach, Recovering Manchild
Two words could change your married life for the better: mental load. It’s a phrase coined by Eve Rodsky that has spawned a movement to…
EP 110: Would You Give Up Your Athletic Dream For Your Kids?
Interview with Todd Demsey / PGA Tour Player Who Walked Away From The Game
“Thirty weeks a year on the road – it’s not worth it.,” said Todd Dempsey who wasn’t a consultant or traveling salesman. He was a PGA…
EP 109: How To Maximize Productivity and Parenting
Interview with George Grombacher / Founder of the LifeBlood podcast, Father of Three
Success usually begets more obligations to fit on top of what you’re already doing – without more time to do them. That happened to…
EP 108: Change The Fatherhood Narrative You Learned As A Child
Interview with Sir Royce Briales / Founder of Welcome To Fatherhood
Welcome To Fatherhood began when Sir Royce Briales asked his childhood friend, Dr. Raheem Young for fatherhood advice. The two Chicago…
EP 107: How To Get What You Want At Work
Interview with David Landman / Goldman Sachs HR leader, Workplace Advocate
After a 20-year career as a human resources leader at Goldman Sachs, David Landman recently left and has launched a consultancy that is…
EP 106: Let’s Talk About Making Care Better In America
Interview with Katherine Goldstein / Community Leader, Care Fellow
Not to be cute, but how much does America care about care? We talk about it. We stress about it. We know we need it. But what steps can…
EP 105: What Men Get From Parental Leave
Interview with Jason Abrams / Dad of Two on His Company's Leave
Amtrak offers paid parental leave to mothers and fathers. Jason Abrams has taken his full allotment of leave twice now – a rarity among…
EP 104: What’s To Be Learned From One Dad’s Diaper Fame?
Interview with Barney Banks / Tik Tok's IAmMrBanks, Diaper Dude
Barney Banks’ fatherhood fame started humbly: he was trying to entertain his son while changing his diaper. He showed the video to his…
EP 103: The Workplace Is Disrupted. Here’s How To Navigate It
Interview with Nate Thompson and Alex Schwartz / Fathers and Workplace Thinkers
People want to work differently. We know this. So why are some companies so behind in adapting – not to mention those companies putting…
EP 102: What Do You Need To Restart Your Career?
Interview with Anna McKay / Back-to-Work Expert for Parents
Parents pause their careers all the time. They do it to devote all their time to their families. But at some point, they may want to…
EP 101: How Fatherhood Is Changing – From Our Team
Behind The Scenes Of The Company of Dads
This is our holiday episode and we’re sitting down with The Company of Dads itself – the people who make this possible: Helder, Emily…
EP 100: What Have We Learned In Two Years at Work and at Home
Interview with Kristen Shockley / Our First Guest, Professor at Auburn / Work-Life Expert
Welcome to our 100th Podcast! To celebrate, we’re talking to Kristen Shockley, our first guest almost two years ago. We talked back then…
EP 99: How Dads and Children Can Work Together
Interview with Kurt and Trent Long / Father-Son Entreprenuers
Kurt and Trent Long, father-son founders of a company called BUNKR that digitally encrypts your passwords and documents, have lessons…
EP 98: Why CEOs Fight Hybrid Work – Even When They’re Wrong
Interview with Nick Bloom / Hybrid Work Expert, Stanford Economist
The Five Day Office Week is Dead – so says Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University and an expert on work-from-home…
EP 97: Why The Best Companies Treat Dads and Moms Equally
Interview with Brad Harrington / Boston College Center for Work and Family
Many companies still focus on working moms with their outreach and employee resource groups for parents. But research from Boston…
EP 96: How Did The Turkey Get On Your Table? This App Knows
Interview with Michael Perry / Creator of An App To Organize Families
Michael Perry was living the tech founder’s dream. He’d sold an app he created to Shopify, where he had a senior role. Then he and his…
EP 95: You May Be Telling The Story of Your Life Wrong
Interview with Jason Frishman / Narrative Therapist, Founder of JourneyMen
Can fathers journey through life with responsibility, meaning, intention and partnership? That’s Jason Frishman’s goal: A therapist…
EP 94: How A Politician Changed His Life To Be a Lead Dad
Interview with Michael Frerichs / Illinois Treasurer, Father of Three
Michael Frerichs was elected state treasurer in 2014 and has been reelected twice. For all that time he lived in a farming town in…
EP 93: How To Unleash What’s Holding Dads Back
Interview with Jeff Wickersham / Warrior Dad, Fatherhood Coach
Sometimes unexpected bad outcomes lead to great personal growth. A decade ago, Jeff Wickersham was let go from his job at American…
EP 92: What Does Care At Work Look Like?
Interview with Blessing Adesiyan / Workplace Challenger, Founder of MH WorkLife
Blessing Adesiyan is at the forefront of changing how workplaces think about care for workers. A chemical engineer by training who held…
EP 91: How To Turn Dadding Into a Team Sport
Interview with Ryan Carters / Pro Cricketeer, Dad Coach
At 18, Ryan Carters was a professional cricket player in Australia. He was a father in his early 20s. In his late 20s, after graduating…
EP 90: A Navy Seal’s Way To Reclaim His Role As Dad
Interview with Jimmy May / Navy Seal, Father of Three
Jimmy May is highly regarded in the world of Navy Seals, one of the most elite fighting groups in the world. For 22 years, he was often…
EP 89: How To Bust 13 Myths At Work That Hold Us Back
Interview with Mita Mallick / DEI Expert, Leading Voice for Change
Mita Mallick is challenging the lazy statements company leaders have made about diversity policies and laying out a plan to make…
EP 88: How A Dad Used His Divorce To Help Kids
Interview with Terry Smith / Author of See You Later
After going through his second divorce, Terry Smith got full custody of his daughter. Watching her come to terms with what happened…
EP 87: How To Raise A Child Who Becomes An Independent Adult
Interview with the Authors of Raising A Kid Who Can
A psychiatrist, a psychologist and a child therapist all walk into a parenting group, and… it’s a good set-up for a joke, but it’s the…
EP 86: How One Company Created Parenting Equity at Work
Interview with Deanne Aussem / Wellbeing Leader At PWC
Creating a wellbeing platform for a large, multinational company like PwC, the professional services firm, has been a decade in the..
EP 85: What Working At Summer Camp Taught This Dad
Interview with J.R. Havlan / Emmy Award Winner & First Time Camp Worker
J.R. Havlan got an offer he couldn’t refuse: come work as the communications director at sleepaway camp. The eight-time Emmy…
EP 84: Want Your Kids To Work In the Family Business?
Interview with Doug Patton / Inventor and Dad
Doug Patton is an inventor with over 200 products to his name, ranging from a biomedical device used worldwide for eye surgery to an…
EP 83: Want To Raise Smart, Resilient Kids? Don’t Do This
Interview with Jennifer Wallace / Author and Advocate for Adolescents
It’s all or nothing. Harvard or bust. A’s may not be enough. This is achievement culture and it’s hurting kids. Jennifer Wallace, …
EP 82: How a CEO’s Life Prepared Him For WFH Leadership
Interview with Chris Michalak / Healthcare CEO and Lead Dad
In one year, Chris Michalak lost his marriage, his job and his dog. He became a single Lead Dad with custody of his sons. He kept it…
EP 81: How Do You Measure Time As A Father?
Interview with Jay Rosenblatt / Filmmaker and Father
How do our kids change as they age? All fathers observe it in real time but Jay Rosenblatt recorded it. Starting when his daughter was…
EP 80: What Are The Three Cords Of Fatherhood?
Interview with Rocco Carreiro / Author and Financial Adviser
The three cords are work, family and self. And author Rocco Carreiro said all three need to be bound together for men to be happy and…
EP 79: Challenging Myths and Lies About Dads
Interview with Linda Nielsen / Professor and Expert on Fathers & Daughters
Do babies really bond better with moms? Do dads sacrifice less than moms? Are dads less empathetic, less compassionate, and less skilled…
EP 78: Lessons On Inclusive Leadership From a Naval Aviator
Interview with Professor David Smith / Naval Aviator, Gender Rights Expert
A Naval Academy graduate, David is an associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School where he focuses on inclusive…
EP 77: How To Be A Better Ally To Working Moms
Interview with Reshma Saujani / Advocate For Women and Girls
Reshma Saujani is an amazing force for working parents, an advocate for girls and a thinker on work today. She founded the nonprofit…
EP 76: What’s It Mean To Be DadAwesome?
Interview with Jeff Zaugg / Advocate For Fathers And The Fatherless
Jeff Zaugg is the founder of DadAwesome, a nonprofit that’s all about helping fathers embrace their role as dads and be more present….
EP 75: What Does An Epic Life Mean For Dads?
Interview with Justin Breen / Entrepreneur, Lead Dad, Date Night Pro
Justin Breen is a communications innovator from Chicago and the author of Epic Life: How To Build Collaborative Global Companies While…
EP 74: How To Get Clarity As a Dad
Interview with Brooks Barron / The Inheritance of Good Fatherhood Examples
Brooks Barron was destined for a high-achieving corporate life. He graduated from Princeton University as his father had and went on to…
EP 73: Fatherhood Is Funnier Than You Think
Interview with Todd Detwiler / Illustrator and Author of How To Dad
There is no shortage of books on parenting but they’re written for mothers – only to be read by the rare father. Todd Detwiler set out…
EP 72: How Two Baseball Dads United for Men’s Mental Health
Interview with Shawn Lesser and Brent Herd / Men's Mental Health Advocates
Shawn and Brent are fathers who have had professional success and family success. But like many men, they’ve also had mental health…
EP 71: How To Save Your Child
Interview with Kevin Olmsted / Author and Advocate for Anorexia Awareness
Kevin Olmsted wrote the book “Scared Dad Feeding: How My Daughter’s Anorexia Took Me To Hell and My Guidebook for How I Got Back” about…
EP 70: Smile More? How To Dismantle Gender Bias At Work
Interview With The Band of Sisters / Advocates For Change
The Band of Sisters are six senior female executives who have seen it all and not all that they’ve seen has been good. They’ve written…
EP 69: What Working Couples Need To Know To Make It Work
Interview with Jaclyn Wong / Expert on Career, Relationship & Family Decisions
Balancing the competing pressures of modern work and caregiving roles is hard for everyone. Professional couples fall into three…
EP 68: How Dads Get Support for Parental Burnout
Interview with Kelly McGinnis / President of the Working Parent Institute
Parental burnout is only recently a topic that is getting talked about openly. All parents can struggle with it but Lead Dads and…
EP 67: How To Be a Conscious Dad in 4 Steps
Interview with Jeff Siegel / Health and Wellness Coach for Men
Being a father is loaded with expectations – many stemming from how society pushes men into a certain way of being a father. Jeff…
EP 66: 3 Things Dads Can Do To Help Their Kids Learn
Interview with Charlie Rosier / Founder of Babbu, Childhood Learning Expert
What do you do when you want to entertain your toddler with something educational but you don’t know where to go or whether the resource…
EP 65: How Parents Can Maximize Work and Home
Interview with Sara Madera / Relationship Coach, Parent Thinker
What comes first: Gender equity at work or at home? In this week’s podcast, I discuss the issue with Sara Madera, founder of Plan…
EP 64: A Hollywood Hero’s Lessons On Being a Lead Dad
Interview With Brett Edwards / Hollywood Actor, Dallas Lead Dad
Brett Edwards plays tough guys on screen. He was in American Sniper, the film based on a Navy Seal’s life. He’s been in CSI, Narcos and…
EP 63: Why A Senior Tech Exec Gives Credit To Her Husband
Interview With Alison Graham, Global Exec, Lead Dad Advocate
Alison Graham, a native Australian, came to the States 25 years ago and has had a remarkable career in tech – Unisys. Computer…
EP 62: How To Work Smarter And Be Present As A Dad
Interview with Travis Perry / Efficiency Expert and Lead Dad
Work too much? Struggle alllocating time to home, work, your community, yourself? This was Travis Perry, a father of seven, who had a…
EP 61: What’s Fair Play Mean for Working Moms and Lead Dads
Interview with Eve Rodsky / Fair Play Advocate, Bestselling Author
Eve Rodsky is changing the way working couples coexist. Starting with her bestselling book “Fair Play: A Game Changing Solution for When…
EP 60: What Does Fathering Together Mean?
Interview with Brian Anderson and John Badalament / Change Makers
Fathering Together is a nonprofit that works to make fathers agents of positive change. One of its missions is to give dads the tools to…
EP 59: How To Combine Family and Career as A Working Dad
Interview with Roman Gaida / Business Leader Setting An Example
Lead Dads need examples at work. They need to see senior leaders being Full Parents at Work – not Event Dads who leave early for a game…
EP 58: How One Employer Understood A Lead Dad
Interview with Colin Haupt / Widowed Lead Dad Of Three
Colin Haupt was always a Lead Dad. When his children were young and he was a rising HR executive, he was the one to leave work when his…
EP 57: How To Find Work-Life Balance, from a B-School Professor
Interview with Stew Friedman / Director of The Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
When his first child was born, Stew Friedman, then a young professor, started researching how companies could think differently about…
EP 56: How a Hollywood Couple Made Parenting and Career Work
Interview with Bill Masters / Legendary Sitcom Writer and Creator, Lead Dad
Bill Masters is a comedy-writing legend. He parlayed stand-up into writing for “Seinfeld”. He created “Caroline in the City” and…
EP 55: Why Expectations Are The Key To Parenting Success
Interview With Sue Groner / The Parenting Mentor
All the myriad questions that parents have about their children can be boiled down into one, single issue: expectations, says Sue…
EP 54: What Divorced Lead Dads Need To Know
Interview With Drew Soleyn / Dad Coach and Founder of Connected Dads
Before coaching Dads, Drew Soleyn was a sports coach turned corporate coach. Coaching executives was important but what if the the…
EP 53: What a U.S. Congressman Can Do For Dads
Interview with Jimmy Gomez (& his infant son) / America's Most Famous Lead Dad
Congressman Jimmy Gomez, who represents Los Angeles in the House of Representatives, put his 4-month-old son Hodge into a baby sling and…
EP 52: Who Teaches You To Be a Dad at Work?
Interview With Rob Taylor / Corporate Dad Trainer
Companies are starting to give men paternity leave at work. It’s a start. But there’s still a macho culture that can make taking that…
EP 51: How To Mix Crime Fighting and Fatherhood
Interview With Trevor Kempner / Assistant District Attorney, Lead Dad
Trevor Kempner, assistant district attorney, a cappella singer, thirtysomething Lead Dad, is a fascinating study of human complexity. He…
EP 50: The 3C’s Working Parents Need To Have
Interview with Deborah Porter / Working Parent Coach
Deborah Porter is an influential voice on parenting. She runs Porter Systems and is a consultant to organizations and businesses to…
EP 49: Looking Back and Ahead
Paul Sullivan Talks About What He Learned as a First-Time Founder and What The Company of Dads Has Planned
We launched The Company of Dads in February, and our Paul Sullivan has told the story of how he came up with the idea many times. Now,…
EP 48: A Year of Fatherhood Experts
Highlights from Kirstin Shockley, Jamie Ladge, Kenneth Braswell, Dana Suskind, Jay Lauf & Jeff Forte
Welcome to The Company of Dads year-end review. The majority of our podcasts focused on Lead Dads and their stories. But we also sought…
EP 47: The Year In Lead Dads
Highlights from Mike McKee, Tony Maws, JR Havlan, Tino Ricci and Max Rivera
Welcome to The Company of Dads Christmas highlights from five podcasts this year – Mike McGee, husband of famous golfer Annika Sorenstam…
EP null: EP 46: Leading By Example – and Calendar – at Work
Interview with David Newson / Chief Marketing Officer, Working Parent Advocate
David Newson has risen to the upper echelons of the marketing world. He’s a leader in his field. As a husband and a father, he does…
EP 45: A Savvy Pig’s Lessons on Kids and Money
Interview with Michael Beacham / Co-Founder of Money Savvy Generation
Inflation may be tough on the family budget but it’s a remarkable time to talk to your kids about money. Take the grocery bill and show…
EP 44: Where is Your Chair? A Better Way for Dads to Work
Interview with Eric Arthrell / Researcher on The Changing Desires for Fathers At Work
Eric Arthrell, a long-time management consultant, was the lead author on Deloitte’s “The Design of Everyday Men Report” – a look at how…
EP 43: Lessons on Embracing The Role of Lead Dad
Interview with Mark Tamhane / International broadcast Journalist with Kids 4 to 24
Mark Tamhane is a father of six in Melbourne, Australia. His children are 24, 21, 18, 7, 5, and 4. Australia had one the world’s…
EP 42: How To Train a Dad for Work and Home
Interview with Ian Dinwiddy / Corporate Coach and Founder of Inspiring Dads
Businesses are starting to emphasize parental leave for fathers as well as mothers. No complaints there – as long as the corporate culture makes men feel that taking leave won’t be a penalty. But what many companies are not doing is helping fathers (an …
EP 41: How Far Would You Go To Be Your Child’s Dad? – Part 2
Interview with Marvin Avilez who Spent 7 Years Securing Fatherhood Rights
Marvin Avilez’s story to be a father to his daughter continues. The former counter-intel Marine turned technologist became a father in 2015…
EP 40: How Far Would You Go To Be Your Child’s Dad? – Part 1
Interview with Marvin Avilez who Spent 7 Years Securing Fatherhood Rights
Marvin Avilez has one of the most captivating stories about becoming a Lead Dad I’ve ever heard. A former counter-intel Marine turned…
EP 39: 7 Lessons You Need From An O.G. Lead Dad
Interview with Dan Kadlec / Early Remote Worker and 1990s Lead Dad
Dan Kadlec was a Lead Dad when silence about his role was the way to maintain his ability to work remotely and parent his children as his…
EP 38: What Working Dads Can Ask For: An Attorney’s Advice
Interview with Michael Cohen / Employment lawyer, Philly sports fan, Lead Dad
When Michael Cohen’s first daughter was born, some 20 years ago, he was afraid to take paternity leave. Not super shocking in the early…
EP 37: What Makes An Equal Partner?
Interview with Kate Mangino / Gender Expert, Researcher, Author
Splitting up work at home equally doesn’t mean you do the dishes and I take out the trash. It means both partners share the mental load of…
EP 36: A Frank Talk About Suicide and Fatherhood
Interview with Andrew Jensen / Pro Athlete, Mental Health Advocate, Suicide Survivor
Andrew Jensen was an elite athlete all through the junior and university ranks. Handsome, fit and charming, he nearly reached the pinnacle of his sport, falling just a few notches short of playing on the PGA Tour. Throughout it all, Andrew was struggli …
EP 35: Lead Dad or Modern Husband: Discuss
Interview with Brian Page / Founder of Modern Husbands, Financial Literacy Expert
For our first joint podcast, Paul Sullivan, founder of The Company of Dads, and Brian Page, founder of Modern Husbands, come together to…
EP 34: Parenting Allies Can Change the Workplace
Interview with Han-Son Lee / Founder of Daddilife, Leader in HR Change in the UK
Han-Son Lee, the founder of Daddilife, a parenting website for fathers in the United Kingdom, is working to change the way companies treat…
EP 33: Family Life with a World-Famous Athlete
Interview with Mike McGee / Marketing Guru, Lead Dad to Annika Sorenstam
Mike McGee was a sports marketing guru in his own right before going to work for Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest golfers of all time…
EP 32: The Emperor of All Lead Dads
Interview with Bruce Feiler / Creator of The Council of Dads, thinker on family and friends
Bruce Feiler is best-selling author, sought-after speaker and contemporary thinker on fatherhood, family and work. He may be best known as…
EP 31: How Men Can Advocate for Women at Work
Interview with Paula Ratliff / Tech Leader, Workplace Thinker, Kentucky Colonel
Men far outnumber women in tech, but Dads have the ability to even the playing field for working moms, says Paula Ratliff, president of…
EP 30: How Fathers Can Get Help Being Fathers
Interview with Kenneth Braswell / National Expert on Responsible Fatherhood
What’s a big lesson for fathers? Having patience – and the understanding that none of us can do it all, says Kenneth Braswell a leader in…
EP 29: Lessons from the Global Fatherhood Front
Interview with Gary Barker / Leader in the Global Men’s Movement / O.G. Lead Dad
Gary Barker is a leading global voice in engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality and creating a positive view of masculinity. He is the CEO and founder of Equimundo, which has worked for 20 years in more than 40 countries – starting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He’s…
EP 28: Financial Wisdom Equals Family Harmony
Interview with Carrie Schwab Pomerantz / Expert in Family Finances
Carrie Schwab Pomerantz is an absolute expert in family finance. She has served two White House administrations. She advised the Council on Financial Literacy under President George W. Bush, and was later appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Advisory Council…
EP 27: Want Your Kids To Excel? Join The Parent Nation
Interview with Dana Suskind / Surgeon, Author, Force Behind A Parent Nation
Dana Suskind is an acclaimed pediatric surgeon at the University of Chicago and the author of “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise.” What’s a parent nation? It’s a group that values and supports the labor and love of raising the next…
EP 26: Lessons from a Later-in-Life Lead Dad
Interview with Jay Lauf / Thinker on the Future of Work, Reformed Daily Commuter
Jay Lauf is the co-founder and president of Charter, a news site going deep on the future of work. He’s had a great career in magazines and media. He was the chairman and publisher of Quartz, the publisher of The Atlantic and the publisher of Wired. But for 20 years, the…
EP 25: Feeding Time – How To Make It Fun, Not Frustrating
Interview with Jill Castle / Expert on Feeding Kids For Maximum Health and Happiness
Parenting is some combination of exhausting and exhilarating. Making healthy meals can fall into the exhausting category. And it’s complicated: if Daddy is drinking a rum punch and attacking a basket of fried seafood, can he really tell his kids to skip the Shirley Temples and…
EP 24: The Role Dads Need To Play in a Kid’s Education
Interview with Jeffrey Forte / National Advocate for Families / Special Ed Attorney
Jeff Forte is special education attorney in Connecticut and advocate for parents and children. He runs one of the few law practices in the state dedicated entirely to helping families navigate the state’s special education laws to insure their children get an appropriate…
EP 23: A Real History of Lead Dads
Interview with Stephanie Coontz / Expert on Contemporary Families and Marriage
How have husbands and wives balanced working, parenting and being together throughout history? Stephanie Coontz, the director of research and public education at the Council on Contemporary Families, says it’s generally not how most of think about it today. If anything, the…
EP 22: A ‘Stunt Guitarist’ Talks About Choices & Contentment
Interview with Chris Bell / Musician, Lead Dad of Two, Guitar Master
A New Hampshire guy originally, Chris Bell has called Austin, Texas, home for almost two decades. A classically trained musician, he used to teach but now he is, what he calls, a ‘stunt guitarist’! He and his wife knew each other since they were kids but they reconnected 20…
EP 21: When You Have Choices, Choose Wisely
Interview with Nick Brophy / Bakery Owner, Career Supporter, Wise Man
Today my guest is Nick Brophy, father of five children, ages 7 to 24. Nick played football at Princeton and the team won the Ivy League championship his junior year. Then he took a traditional path to Wall Street. He loved it and excelled at it for nearly 20 years. His wife…
EP 20: The Internet’s Dad Shares His Tips
Interview with Rob Kenney / Creator of "Dad, How Do I?"
Rob Kenney came up for the idea for “Dad, How Do I?” during the pandemic. He wanted to provide what he calls “Dadvice,” to kids who didn’t have a dad. He knew that role personally, growing up without a father – his mom died and his dad left the family when Rob was 14. Little…
EP 19: The Funniest Lead Dad in America Shares His Secrets
Interview with JR Havlan / 8-Time Emmy Award-Winning Comedy Writer, Lead Dad
A funny thing happened on the way to J.R. Havlan using his college degree to get a job on Wall Street: the stock market crash of 1987. With every offer evaporating, he did the next logical thing and went into comedy. While he surely would have been the funniest guy at the…
EP 18: How All Working Husbands Can Become Lead Dad Material
Interview with Lara Bazelon / Lawyer, Author, Honest Assessor of Dads
Lara Bazelon is an attorney and author of the book Ambitious Like A Mother: Why Prioritizing Your Career is Good for Your Kids. Her book is about this moment in time, when we’ve come out of the pandemic where whole groups of people have been able to work from home, and that…
EP 17: What You Say When You’re Asked What You Do
Interview with Franco Finstad / Jazz Trumpeter, City Dad, Quick-witted Storyteller
Franco Finstad is a dad-at-home in Manhattan, as he calls it on his LinkedIn profile. He has twins, a boy and a girl. Before they were born, he was a software engineer and a musician – trumpet being his instrument. But a funny thing happened on the way to being the Lead Dad to…
EP 16: Deadlines and Car Lines
Interview with Kamau High / Journalist, Kid Pickup Pro, Lead Dad
Kamau High is a senior editor at The Baltimore Sun, where he helps shape the news agenda and manages a team of reporters. It’s been an interesting path to get where he is. He married his high school sweetheart. They moved to New York, they had fun, they worked – she is a…
EP 15: Restaurant Life vs. Family Life
Interview with Tony Maws / Award-Winning Chef, Restauranteur, Lead Dad
Famed chef, Tony Maws was a central part of the Boston food scene for more than two decades. He won a slew of chef honors, including the highest – a James Beard Award. One of his restaurants, Craigie on Main, attracted a loyal foodie following who gathered around his famed…
EP 14: Wisdom from The Delivery Room
Interview with David Weinstein / Legendary Baby Doctor – At Nearly 11,000 Births
David Weinstein has delivered nearly 11,000 babies in the New York area—most at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. He’s one of the all-time greats. Stories of his grace and coolness under pressure are legion. High-risk pregnancies? No problem. Record deliveries in a day? 12…
EP 13: Firefighting, Fraternity and Family
Interview with Max Rivera / New York City Firefighter, Lead Dad
After the September 11 attacks, Max Rivera knew he wanted to be a New York City firefighter. It’s not an easy job to get but he was determined to do it. It took him over a decade to accomplish his goal. But he made it and was assigned to a storied fire house in Flatbush…
EP 12: Prepping Lead Dads To Be Ready From The Start
Interview with Keegan Albaugh / Founder of Dad Guild, Educator, Lead Dad
Keegan Albaugh readily admits that his wife, a grad student and stand-up comic, pushed him into starting what became Dad Guild. But after he gathered with a handful of other new fathers in Burlington, Vermont, he realized what he was striving to do was no joke. Normalizing…
EP 11: How To Balance Two Careers Without Resentment
Interview with Michael Teager / Jazz saxophonist, Early Remote Worker, Lead Dad
Michael Teager is a renown saxophone player with multiple recordings who was gigging several times a week before his son was born. His wife, a musician and teacher, needed to return to work fairly quickly, so he stepped up to take over childcare duties. He felt he could make it…
EP 10: Stepping Up For Your Family Doesn’t Mean Stepping Back From Work
Interview with Nikola Gasic / Newly minted C.F.A. Charterholder, Parent and Lead Dad
Nikola Gasic believed his employer when it offered him paternity leave when his son was born: take it, someone else will cover for you, your job will be here when you return. He took paternity leave to spend time with his son but he also took it because his wife’s job was more…
EP 9: Will The Pandemic Change Work and Parenting?
Interview with Dr. Jamie Ladge / Expert on The Trade-Offs Parents Make and How Work is Changing
Jamie Ladge, an associate professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University, comes at the work-life debate with a lot of questions. Why is it hard to be both a good parent and a good worker? Can fathers be competent dads and professionals? Will…
EP 8: How Do Spouses Speak When Roles Change
Interview with Alex McKenzie / Emperor of Ice Cream, Sobriety Advocate, Lead Dad
Alex McKenzie was the Emperor of Ice Cream, a life-long food lover who created an ice cream business (named for a Wallace Stevens poem) that was thriving pre-pandemic. He’d done many other things in the food world. He’s worked in the fields and in restaurants. The fish…
EP 7: The Importance of Community for Single Lead Dads
Interview with Nathan Richardson / Entrepreneur, Florida transplant, Father of Twins
Nathan Richardson was a New Yorker, and the community in his neighborhood allowed him to be a single Lead Dad to twins, a boy and a girl, and still work at the top of his profession. He had time to volunteer and be with each of his kids alone, knowing his neighborhood network…
EP 6: Covid, Kids, and The Playground
Interview with Tino Ricci / Husband to an ER Nurse, Home Depot Associate, Lead Dad
When the pandemic began, Tino Ricci’s wife was an emergency room nurse outside of Ft. Worth, Texas. She was seeing first-hand how devastating the virus could be – and worried about bringing it home to her family. Tino stepped up, shifted his schedule, and took the lead on…
EP 5: Masculinity, Money and Parenting
Interview with Brad Klontz / Financial Psychologist, Tik Tok Influencer and Lead Dad
What holds some men back from becoming Lead Dads – or at least openly embracing the role? It starts with traditional perceptions of masculinity, of being the higher earner, of being the provider, of not engaging as much with parenting and family tasks. But it’s not something…
EP 4: Rethinking Career and Family Responsibilities
Interview with Dave Andrews / Air Force Officer, Commercial Pilot, Lead Dad
Flying was Dave Andrews’ dream. As an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, he flew military operations and supported humanitarian aid missions; he also flew the prime minister under the call sign, CanForce One. He went on to fly for Air Canada where he was just as likely…
EP 3: Kids and Money – What You Do, Not What You Say
Interview with Steve Israel / Financial Adviser, Ex-NFL Player, Lead Dad of Four
Talking to kids about money and financial responsibility isn’t easy. What might matter more is what your kids see you doing, not what they hear you saying. “Whatever I preached, they had to see me doing it,” said Steve Israel, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams and played…
EP 2: Fatherhood and Football With a Superbowl Champ
Interview with Najee Goode / Super Bowl Champion, Entrepreneur and Lead Dad
The former linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles has sacked Tom Brady and intercepted him. He started a company, Veepio, that seeks to change the financial landscape for college athletes. Now living in Jacksonville, Florida, Najee is the lead dad to his two daughters, 5 and 4…
EP 1: What Pandemic Research Revealed About Dads
Interview with Kristen M. Shockley / Professor, University of Georgia
The pandemic changed parenting and relationships overnight. Kids were forced home from school. Parents were sent into remote work or forced to juggle shifts with parenting. Into this chaos, stepped Kristen Shockley, a professor at the University of Georgia, who wanted to know…