The Good Enough Dad with Maggie Dent

Former medical doctor and now CEO of The Rites of Passage Institute, Dr Arne Rubinstein has spent over 30 years facilitating transitions for boys and men. And yesterday, he was announced as Australian Father of the Year 2025 by The Fathering Project and Australian Fathers Day Council. Maggie chatted with Arne in Season 1 of The Good Enough Dad, so we thought it was timely to revisit their conversa...

Trent Dalton is a two-time Walkley Award-winning journalist and internationally bestselling author whose work has touched hearts around the world. But behind the accolades lies a childhood marked by immense hardship—substance abuse, domestic violence, parental separation and poverty. But Trent turned pain into prose. His debut novel, Boy Swallows Universe —a semi-fictionalised take on his childhoo...

Sean Abbott is part of Australia’s cricket team, which means he spends a LOT of his working life away from home. A standout fast bowler, Sean made his professional debut at just 18 and has gone on to become one of the top performers in Australian cricket. From dominating the domestic scene to helping Australia win the 2023 World Cup, he's faced up to  some of the best batters in the game. And...

It was three weeks before Tim Curtis met his first-born child, emerging from the jungle to discover his wife had gone into labour early. Tim is a former member of the Special Air Service Regiment or SAS, and was Australia’s first principal advisor to the government of Sierra Leone during their civil war when his son was born. Tim has also served in Afghanistan and Iraq. When he had three children...

When many people think of the Fremantle Dockers, one name often comes to mind—Shaun McManus. A cornerstone of the inaugural team in 1995, Shaun went on to play 228 games for the club, co-captain for a time, and became only the second player to reach 200 games in Dockers history. These days, he’s just as well known for his role behind the microphone as part of Perth’s beloved Nova breakfast show, N...

Professional surfing legends Adrian “Ace” Buchan and Glenn “Micro” Hall join Maggie Dent to reflect on their journeys — not just through waves, but through fatherhood. Adrian, who spent 16 years on the World Surf League tour and twice defeated Kelly Slater, now serves as chair of Surfing Australia. Glenn, a former pro who has become one of the sport’s most respected coaches, shares his experience...

Dr Billy Garvey is an expert in children, working as a specialist in one of the world’s largest tertiary pediatric hospitals, and receiving a Churchill Fellowship. He’s the co-host of the Pop Culture Parenting podcast and author of 10 Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child's Mental Health. But Billy is the first to admit that being a paediatrician doesn’t mean you’ve got parenting down pat. Liste...

Raising kids can be hard enough, but how do you manage it when you spend half of your time in remote parts of Australia? Brendan Hodges is a Fly in Fly Out Worker, and has been since before his three kids were born. Brendan shares what it’s like to live this unique lifestyle, and how he’s managed to get the balance right for his family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australians might know Jamie Durie best for his incredible backyard makeovers and landscaping artistry, but Jamie is also a fierce environmentalist, winning an OAM for his services to the environment and Australian design. He’s also a loving dad to Taylor 30, Beau almost 3 and Nash 2. Parenting has changed a lot between the births of his first and last child. Maggie shares some encouraging wisdom...

Cameron Daddo’s career has spanned everything from hosting Perfect Match, to acting and working with directors like David Lynch, to writing books, making music, advocating for mental health and presenting podcasts. He and wife Alison Brahe-Daddo have three adult kids. Cameron reflects on the lessons he’s learnt as his kids grew up, including one critical piece of advice  from his own dad duri...

Guy Sebastian’s accolades have only grown since he exploded onto our screens after 2003, winning the first season of Australian Idol . Now he has a swathe of number-one singles and top albums and he sits on the other side of the stage from contestants as a judge on The Voice . Guy is also a dad to two boys. While becoming a parent wasn’t a top priority in the early years of his career, once his fa...

In his 40s, musician and member of beloved Aussie band The Waifs, Josh Cunningham thought perhaps the ship had sailed and he was not destined to be a father in this lifetime. However, a creative connection with fellow muso Felicity Urquhart soon became a soul connection, and Josh is now a “bonus dad” to Felicity’s two girls. In true country music style, there has been tragedy and hardship alo...

Despite being the ‘most axed man on TV’ Larry Emdur is still winning Logies and celebrating his fourth decade on our screens. He’s been on Family Double Dare, The Price is Right, The Wheel of Fortune, Weekend Sunrise and has even appeared on Dancing with the Stars. These days you’ll see him on Channel Seven quiz show The Chase Australia and The Morning Show . While juggling his many different pres...

Maggie Dent is back for Season 2 of her enormously popular podcast The Good Enough Dad.  Using her famous common sense Maggie will be chatting to dads from all walks of life to show that our kids don’t need perfection, they just need dads who are “good enough.” Joining her this season are musician Guy Sebastian, podcaster and actor Cameron Daddo, a FIFO Worker, a war veteran, two professional...

In this final episode for Season One of The Good Enough Dad, Maggie is joined by good friend and leading light in the fatherhood space, Dr Bruce Robinson. Around 10 years ago Bruce founded The Fathering Project, after hearing from dying men that their biggest regret was not being better dads. Bruce himself is a dad and granddad, and he chats to Maggie about the many valuable lessons he’s picked up...

For many years, Chadden’s work life consisted of travelling the world doing wild and adventurous things. Think swimming with belugas, sleeping next to volcanic lakes and close encounters with polar bears. He absolutely loved his life as a wildlife director, but when his wife fell pregnant with their second child, he knew it was time to make a big decision. Chadden talks to Maggie about how he ende...

Graham Long served an eclectic flock as the pastor at the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross for over 14 years before he retired in 2018. The Wayside Chapel was a place where homeless and struggling people found solace, and it’s also where Graham found a reason to keep going after his son James passed away unexpectedly at 30 years of age. Graham talks to Maggie about the wonder of love, and how an unwa...

Jeremy Hutchings grew up on a farm and has carried the lessons he learnt there into his own parenting experience. As a business coach and CEO of the Farm Owners Academy Jeremy is often talking to his community about resilience. It’s a trait he believes many kids develop through living and helping on a working farm – but there are also other skills he’s picked up along the way. He chats to Maggie a...

Founder and CEO of Rites of Passage Arne Rubinstein has spent over 20 years helping boys become men – but one of the most important decisions in his own life involved really embracing what it meant to step up as a man. Arne speaks to Maggie about when his family broke apart and why putting his kids first was the only path he could take.   LINKS: Arne Rubinstein on Instagram   https://www.instagram...

Sam’s mum worked several jobs to make ends meet when he was a child, they moved a lot, and money was tight. But Sam’s mum always made him feel like he had a say in their future. Sam tells Maggie why this was so important to him, and why he’s imparting it to his daughter today.  LINKS: Sam Drummond on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/samuelgdrummond/ and Sam’s book can be found at Affirm Press h...

Dr Richard Harris is most famous for his role in helping to save the Thai soccer team trapped in flooded caves in 2018. Harry (as he likes to be known) says he learnt something profound from the young boys in that team. Something he has shared with his own children, now young adults. Harry chats to Maggie about how he’s used that experience with his kids, and what he believes is the secret to rais...

Children’s book author Scott Stuart wrote a book for his son called My Shadow is Pink all about his son’s love of dresses. He wrote the book to start conversations and allow greater acceptance of all the ways our children can express themselves. But walking the walk wasn’t always easy. Scott talks to Maggie about his own hang ups about gender identity and how he overcame them.  LINKS: Scott Stuart...

Michael Ray was 50 when he became a first-time solo dad to his daughter Charlie, who was then a toddler. It turned out that the steep learning curve was the thing that woke him up to life. Now Charlie is 11 which means that Michael is navigating the tween years. He tells Maggie his approach to puberty and making sure that Charlie always knows he’s got her back.  LINKS: Michael Ray on Instagram htt...

Matt Formston is not the kind of man you say no to. From a young age he was told he couldn’t do things – like rugby or surfing – because he lost 95 % of his vision when he was five. But ever since that age being told “no” has never stopped him. He’s been a professional surfer and cyclist, and today is an executive coach. Matt talks to Maggie about how he’s raising his kids to be experts in behavio...

Brad Kearns (known online as @DadMum) is not a preachy kind of dad. But he does do fatherhood with heart and guts. Brad explains to Maggie how he moved from consciously incompetent to being a more competent dad, and the key values he shares with his family.  LINKS : Brad Kearns on Instagram   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...