Dear Old Dads

We've got another listener question, and the dads dig into it almost right away! How do you tackle conspiratorial beliefs from your partner? Is this type of mismatch in a relationship DOA or is there hope to work it out? It isn't OFFICIALLY claimed as a three bears situation during the show, but I can tell you now that it's definitely a three bears episode. PLUS: our amazing patrons get an extra l...

The dads are here today to answer a listener question in which their teenager's friend started talking (talking talking, iykyk) with the teen's very recent ex-girlfriend. Oh boy. Did the listener handle this opportunity for advice well? What, if anything, would the dads have said differently, and how do we feel about a friend like that? Is this part of the "bro code"? Join the Facebook Group! face...

Y2K aesthetic is back beyond just butterfly clips and low-rise jeans, and #skinnytok is making sure our kids know it. How do we talk about bodies with our kids in healthy, positive ways? And how does that fit in a world where we've intentionally tried to stop commenting on other people's bodies entirely? Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearoldda...

Following an update on Tom's mom's overseas end-of-life saga, the dads discuss a listener email about genealogy, family trees, and shared family history. Do you feel connected to stories from your ancestral lineage just because they are "family"? To close the episode, Eli shares a story of personal growth; and for the patrons, a Smith kid milestone! It's not a baby announcement, don't worry. Join...

The dads take on a listener question about how to manage a situation where a kid from a bit of a troubled home is coming over unannounced frequently, even though they're not exactly close friends with your children. Are we going to get a three bears here? But first, some chat about knocking on wood and other superstitions! Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, emai...

The dads get together (OR DO THEY) to answer a listener question about making choices between career and family. How do you make decisions between the two when they absolutely affect the other? We know the toxic concept thrust onto women that "they can have it all," but is there also a version of this targets men? In the patron-only bonus segment, check out how pillar-of-the-atheist-podcast-commun...

Following our last episode about preparing for death and wills, on today's show we have a major Eli health news drop paired with a medical-adjacent listener question! Let these old dads talk about health and aging! Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

It's the New Year so the two inevitables - taxes and death - are on our minds. Two of the dads lecture the third about not having a will. Make your pick before you press play on who that solo will-less dude is! Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

Eli starts us off with the most fiendish hypothetical Dinner Party Question(tm) ever conceived. After some recovery, the dads discuss a popular prank being done on dads and how all of the dads fail.

The dads do basically an entire episode in the intro segment about something that shakes the very foundation of the pod. People have been forever changed as a result. And then, our main course: an insane take from a blog post (which includes many more takes) of a manosphere kind of guy that has created a test for everyone to use to check whether or not their lady partner cares about them. Join the...

Tom's kids have a tendency to yuck other people's yum and it's driving him nuts. So settle in with a tall glass of chunky goat milk and listen to a Christmas Eve Dads.  

What do you do when you regret being a parent and feel like the whole thing might have been a mistake? A listener writes in with these feelings and the dads are on it! It's probably a more common experience than you think. Unless you're Thomas. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

If you're in the market for some fatherly advice from the dudes about interviewing for jobs, you're in luck! Listen in to hear the dads debate questions like, what do you do in the face of stupid interview questions? And in the very special, patron-only bonus at the end, we share an email from ABSOLUTE LEGENDS - the parents from sex doll gate aka the episode that sent Eli to an earlyish grave. Joi...

Tom is out today so we have a non-dad here to join the ranks of Eli and Thomas to take on a listener email about their daughter's surprise husband. How do we approach interpersonal relationships with folks that are important to our kids if they might feel like red flags to us? But first, listen up for how Thomas infected Max with ADHD. Eli has the receipts. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/gr...

LITERALLY NONE of us have ever heard Eli laugh as much as he did on this episode as we read (and answer?) a listener email. Patrons: this one was bonkers so we're going to let the normies have it too. Once y'all listen, I'm sure you will understand. We still love you more though.

The guys have reunited post-Thanksgiving and have plenty of catching up to do! Tom has returned from a hunting trip with other dudes (not our DILFs) and brings some of his observations to the pod to discuss. Most importantly - what are signs as you get older of a good life? Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

After some quick Thanksgiving plans chat, Thomas recounts a tough parenting situation that he and Lydia experienced recently in which they had to simultaneously consider their child implicated in the mess, the friendships at stake, and the interpersonal challenge with other parents involved. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

The dads read a listener email and get into a candid discussion about this listener's particular experience and the lessons we can take related to identity, kink, online community, and partner dynamics - and how to navigate if those change during the course of a preexisting relationship. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

A listener with a baby on the way is worried about his anger problem. Tom is not worried about his chimes. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

A listener email sparks a discussion among the dudes about encouraging and supporting your kids' interests, especially when that interest is ABSOLUTELY not your cup of tea. How should we approach initiating interest-exploration for our kids, and what do we do if once they've found something they love, we actually can't stand it? Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments...

Oh, hey! Want to have all of the responsibility and weight of parenthood without any of the legal benefits ensuring you are connected to your kids? Try stepparenting! Tom leads today's chat with the dads as he breaks down the frustrating structure of America's step-parent. Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

Today's episode centers on the importance of friendship despite what dude self-help spaces might tell you. Also more hot takes that the dads dig into include: being vulnerable enough to apologize when you've wrongly let a friendship go, and whether or not you can truly build friendships in online communities. No way you get this kind of content from the anti-friendship dude-bros trying to sell you...

Today's show kicks off with a near-immediate three bears situation related to the interpretation of a TikTok video that makes Thomas want to throw his computer out the window; the dads go on a bit of a journey discussing hot takes and whether or not people honestly believe their perspective, or if they just desire to be "viralized." There's a whole lot more in this episode that I honestly can't ev...

Thomas shares something Arlo loves doing and has declared he'd like to do for a career and the dads dig into helping our kids navigate the choice between pursuing a passion or seeking stability. Stick around for the story at the end if you want to hear Eli's newest sadness earworm! Join the Facebook Group! facebook.com/groups/dearolddads For comments, email thedads@dearolddads.com

First, the dudes compare music taste. Then, a listener email asks the dads for advice about handling a recent situation they experienced where their kid's school carried out its full crisis procedure after the child said something minor in class, and the consequences on their own life (their workday, the weekend, etc.) as a result. How should a parent react in that circumstance, what is appropriat...