The Daily Dad

"If you haven’t watched the TV series Friday Night Lights since you’ve become a father, you should watch it again. There’s a reason that Coach Taylor is so compelling on the screen: It’s because he’s the way almost all of us wish our fathers had been." Ryan explains Coach Taylor's lessons, and what they mean for all of us, on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d...

"There is so much on your plate. So much you have to worry about as a parent... So it’s understandable if you’ve been distracted, and you’ve missed an opportunity here or there to make certain causes— certain longstanding societal injustices —your top priority. But that doesn’t excuse it." Ryan explains why social ills can't just be ignored on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this wee...

"You want them to listen. You want them to respect your rules. You want them to do what they’re supposed to do, the things that will make them successful. So how do you get them to do it?" Ryan describes exactly how on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to...

"One of the most insidious and toxic forces in the world is the belief that some races are naturally better than others, or that one sex is inferior to another. Even if there were some slight biological differences that scientists were eventually able to prove in one domain or another—what exactly would it matter? Not only would every man, woman and race still share far more in common than they di...

"Cato didn’t write any books. He never taught classes. He never gave interviews. He liked to say that he only spoke when he was certain that what he’d say wasn’t better left unsaid. You won’t find many statues of him in Rome. Books about him are few and far between... Yet his example inspired plenty." Learn more about Cato and the example he set for us in today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjo...

"The first thing becoming a parent teaches you, as we’ve talked about before, is that idea of “unavoidable reality.” Each new father, David Brooks once explained, suddenly discovers that they’re not in control anymore. The kids are." Learn how to accept, or even enjoy this feeling on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Pod...

"It was said for all the genius that Socrates possessed, Plato, and Aristotle, and all the sages who learned from him 'derived more benefit from the character than from the words of Socrates.' So it was too for Zeno and Cleanthes, the two earliest Stoic philosophers. 'Cleanthes could not have been the express image of Zeno,' Seneca would write, 'if he had merely heard his lectures; he shared in hi...

Ryan discusses an issue that we as fathers cannot ignore, on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we can invest into it and make it even better. Sign up for the Daily Dad email: DailyDad.com Follow @DailyDadEmail: Twitter: https://tw...

"Most of us are old enough to remember coming down to find our father at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. It was simply part of the routine, as it had been for generations, of the informed citizen. You read the news. Maybe you also remember them listening to talk radio in the car, or tuning into the nightly news on TV. While this was certainly admirable, the reality is that the news envi...

"A father is a provider, a protector, a rule-setter, a friend. They are an educator and exemplar. They are also—whether their kids play sports or not—a coach. Because we have to coach our kids through so much in life. We coach them through new experiences, through the games of school and work and relationships, through life’s challenges and troubles." Listen to learn more about the intersection of...

"Aristotle worshipped them. The Christians and Stoics too.  Four simple words. Four essential tenets for living: Courage.  Moderation. Justice.  Wisdom." Learn more about these four critical traits for any parent on today's Daily Dad Podcast. Get the Four Virtues medallion here: https://geni.us/4VIRTUES  *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts....

"Because of the fiery trial of the Civil War and what it came to represent, Abraham Lincoln is, to most of us, a figure of moral guidance . This naturally overshadows his almost equally unbelievable accomplishments: how did a poor boy on the frontier without formal schooling manage to teach himself to read , to teach himself the law, and become, in time, the President of the United States?" By usi...

"One of the wonderful benefits of reading fiction, studies have begun to show, is that it helps cultivate empathy... It also happens that fiction—the best fiction anyway—teaches us this empathy by way of specific advice and admonition." Hear more about fictional works with a real message on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Ap...

"If your kid was struggling, you’d want them to tell you, right? If they didn’t understand something in class, you’d want them to ask the teacher. If your neighbor needed something, you wouldn’t mind if they mentioned it. If your spouse was overwhelmed and needed a hand, you’d expect them to come to you.  Okay. But what about you? Are you okay?" Find out what you should do when you need help on to...

"All day at work you experience stress. You witness other people’s stupidity. You are the victim of their moods and emotions. Your phone pings constantly with alarming news of the world, the pangs and envies that drive social media.  What are you to do?" Find out on today's Daily Dad Podcast. Sign up for Daily Stoic's Slay Your Stress course now: https://dailystoic.com/stress *** If you enjoyed th...

"If you talk to any of your friends right now, you’ll hear stress. You’ll hear fear. You’ll hear anger. You’ll hear the fatigue in their voice, the wondering how much longer this can go on.  But if you talk to a kid?" That's a different story, as you'll find on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with ou...

"No father wants to see their kids suffer. It’s almost more painful for you than it is for them to watch them trip over their words , to scratch their heads in front of their homework, or to bumble their way through the early years of their career. Biologically this makes sense— you’re designed to want to save them , to empathize on almost a self-destructive level. But evolutionarily it also doesn...

"Richard Feynman’s father took pains to show his son—usually by their photo in the newspaper—who was worthy of respect or not. He didn’t want his son to be fooled by appearances or titles or fancy clothes. He wanted him to know what a good man was like, and what actually made someone worth admiring.  This is something we have to do too, in our own way." Find out how to show your kids who's worthy...

"One of the more vulnerable moments of Pete Buttigieg’s pioneering campaign for president (as a front-running, openly gay man) came in South Carolina. At a town hall, Mayor Pete talked about what it was like to be young and struggle with this identity, this part of his sexuality. His answer should be read by every father out there." Hear the rest on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed th...

" Why are your kids so crazy ? Why is everything so stressful? Why aren’t they doing better in school? Better at listening? Better at focusing?" Find out how to help your kids develop focus on today's Daily Dad Podcast. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people listen to the podcast, the more we...

"Oh how you wish you could make sure they never suffered . Oh how you wish you could have prevented these last couple weeks. You don’t want them to be scared. You don’t want them to hurt. You don’t want them to miss out on anything. To tell them they can’t see their friends. They can’t go to prom. To have to say, as many dads are having to say, 'Sorry, we can’t afford that right now.' But guess wh...

"Each of us picked things up in childhood. Because of how our own parents were . Because of the experiences we had. Because of things we did... or didn’t do." Learn about the choice about your flaws that you need to make in today's Daily Dad Podcast. Get your copy of Ego Is the Enemy for just $2.99: https://geni.us/EBt5 Get 20% off Ego medallions and pendants: https://store.dailystoic.com/discount...

" A while back, we gave you Kipling’s poem “ If.” Well today, you have another job, to read some of Margarita Engle’s poem about books ." Listen to the poem in today's Daily Dad Podcast, and find out why reading is so critical to kids and fathers both. *** If you enjoyed this week’s podcast, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps with our visibility, and the more people li...

"It can be hard to express your feelings as a father sometimes. Not so much because men are expected to bottle up their emotions, but because the emotions that come with being a dad can be so overwhelming and complex. It’s a rush of a million feelings: love, joy, fear, absurdity, exhaustion, responsibility, motivation, and primal attachment." How does a dad express his emotions to his loved ones?...

"You’re anxious. You’re stressed. You want them to be safe. You worry about what they’re doing when you’re not there. You worry about their future. You worry they might not get into the school you have your heart set on. You stress over their friend who might be a bad influence. You stress about the cars zooming by your house. You’re nervous about COVID-19 and climate change and global unrest and...