The DadPod

In this episode, we talk about The Gap and the Gain and the importance of looking backward to recognize how far you’ve come instead of constantly looking ahead at everything you still haven’t achieved. As men, it can be easy to define success by how much weight we can carry. More responsibility. More money. More hours. More goals. But success isn’t necessarily about carrying more and more weight—i...

In Episode 30 of DadPod, we flip the script. After previously hearing from our wives about sex, service, and salary , this time the husbands talk about what we value most in marriage. We narrow the conversation down to three things: sex, respect, and peace . For the first three guys, peace and respect rise to the top—not because sex isn’t important, but because we believe a healthy sex life often...

Jon from Day By Day Renewal joins us again for an honest conversation about masculine sexuality, intimacy, pornography, communication, and marriage. We discuss some of the differences in how men and women often experience connection. Men may feel emotionally connected through sex, while women may be more likely to need emotional connection before they desire sex. That difference can create tension...

In Episode 28, we talk about how marriage and parenting change over time—and whether couples are able to adapt together as the person they married evolves. We also discuss how difficult it can be to balance the roles of spouse and parent when there isn’t much energy or emotion left at the end of the day. Then we dive into gentle parenting and admit that several of us had the wrong idea about what...

In this episode of the DadPod, the wives are back—and this time we put some numbers on who actually keeps the household running. We play a game where each wife estimates what percentage of the household management she handles compared with her husband, while the husbands make their own estimates separately. Meagan puts herself at 85% and Aaron at 15%—and, surprisingly, Aaron gives himself the exac...

Episode 26: Are Men Only Loved If They Provide? A single Chris Rock quote sparks one of our deepest conversations yet: "Only women, children, and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only loved under the condition that he provides something." Joined again by our wives, we wrestle with whether this statement reflects reality or simply how many men experience life. We discuss the uniqu...

Episode 25: Joined by Our Wives For the first time, the wives join the DadPod—and they don't hold back. We tackle one of the most confusing questions husbands face: Why ask for our opinion on an outfit if you've already decided what you're going to wear? The conversation uncovers something many husbands miss: women often aren't just looking for a fashion critique—they're l...

In Episode 24, we dive into one of the hardest parts of parenting: teaching our kids to do difficult things. Using the challenge of teaching a child to ride a bike as a starting point, we discuss the balance between encouraging growth and managing our own frustrations when progress comes slower than we'd like. We explore how every child learns differently and why the same approach won't...

Episode 23 dives into grief, fatherhood, and the difficult realities that often come with growing older and raising a family. The conversation explores the powerful “grief box” analogy — how grief never truly disappears, but over time life grows around it. The pain button gets hit less often, yet when it does, it can feel just as intense as the day the loss occurred. The episode also challenges th...

In this deeply personal episode of the Dadpod, we talk about one of the hardest realities of adulthood and fatherhood: losing a parent. Daniel shares the sudden loss of his mom, opening the door to a raw conversation about grief, responsibility, and the emotional complexity that follows death in a family. We discuss the difference between anticipatory grief and sudden grief—how losing someone slow...

 In this episode, we get honest about dividing up the workload at home—between us, our wives, and our kids. We talk about where we fall short, how work and life shifts change what we can contribute, and why there’s no one-size-fits-all system. Beneath the jokes about bad habits is a real effort to show up better, create balance, and make sure our partners aren’t carrying more than they should. We...

Social media isn’t neutral—platforms are designed to keep attention longer than intended , shaping behavior and mindset   “What you scroll feeds your soul” — how daily content consumption impacts values, mood, and identity  Jon shares real-world experience raising older kids without social media and what that actually looks like   The importance of intentional media choices , including conversatio...

Jon works in addiction recovery for men, giving him firsthand insight into the impact of pornography and technology addiction. As a father of older kids, he has already navigated many of the tech challenges younger parents will soon face. Technology boundaries at home All phones and laptops are kept in the parents’ room overnight. Children do not take devices into their bedrooms. Devices are not a...

What were some of the best ways we spent our time in 2025? Board games with kids Family time and spouse time

Reviewing our year, what went well, what went poorly Shifting identity when challenges arise and being able to adapt What systems and habits worked well with family and personally Exercise, tracking macros, setting bedtime routines

New year’s resolutions – good or bad? Do they work? Goals do need to specific and you also need to be in the right mindset to make a change, likely why starting on Jan 1st is often ineffective Only 9% of people keep their new year’s resolutions Small steps allow you to make increment changes that snowball into big change

Some dads talk: Friends for your children Public vs charter vs homeschool Can we choose their friends? What can we control? Parental involvement is key How do we create a home environment that allows our children to open up with us

*Santa Spoilers* Gift giving, toys vs books vs college funds Christians and Santa Claus – are we lying to our kids or allowing some imagination to thrive and our kids to have fun? What media do we allow our children to consume? We discuss K-Pop Demon Hunters Are we over-spiritualizing media? Are we teaching discernment or opening them to bad influence?

Some dads talk:  Fatherhood around the holidays Holidays with immediate family vs extended family Creating new traditions  Gift giving

Choosing hard things allows you to keep commitments to yourself and build confidence and helps create the person that you strive to be This can help defeat depression and anxiety We believe this is supported biblically, if we are made in God’s image, we should be pursuing work, hard things, improvement and conquering things in our own lives Charlie provides an alternative point of view on the hard...

Some dads talk: Spender vs saver Which spouse does the budgeting/ paying bills Learned habits from childhood What do we want to teach our children? How we handle giving

Some dads talk joint bank accounts, financial infidelity, long term goals and stats surrounding finances in marriage, one of the biggest causes of strife 

Men in general don’t have a lot of close friends, most do not talk about their mental health Community is key to thriving, especially as we get older Being close and emotionally vulnerable is very difficult as men Talking about our struggles is therapeutic and needed with not just our spouse but other guys

Some dads talk fatherhood as it relates to: Intimacy  Transparency, closeness vs communication of love How are love and intimacy connected and how do we improve these in our relationships with our wives

Some dads talk fatherhood as it relates to: Modeling behavior for our family We don't have to be perfect; we strive to point to Him who is perfect