Unhinged Dads Podcast

A modern house with multiple kids runs on the same problems as a Golden Age pirate ship: one captain who is not fully in charge, a crew that only follows orders when they feel like it, scarce resources, and constant mutiny over small things. Brian and Dave talk about treating the household like a ship instead of a democracy. Clear rules instead of invented ones in the moment. Shares that are fair...

Brian and Dave talk about the feeling of already being behind in October, even when the month is only a week old. School is in full swing, extracurriculars are stacking up, projects are unfinished, and everything on the calendar is winning. We dig into why every slip starts to feel like a moral failure, even when ideal conditions never actually exist. We cover: • Why getting anywhere on time with...

Dave finally gets to use the philosophy degree. Brian flew to West Texas, and for the first time in 29 episodes they are in the same room. They cover the actual history of Stoicism: Zeno, the Cynics, Cleanthes, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius. What the Stoics believed about a harsh, ordered world. Why the modern manosphere version is mostly nonsense. And how the useful part still works: you do not cont...

The worst part of parenting is not catching your kid in a bad habit. It is realizing they learned it by watching you. Brian and Dave talk about the habits that get handed down without a speech: the snap, the shutdown, the catastrophizing, the tone, the justification. Kids copy what you do under stress, not what you preach when you are being intentional. Personality comes preloaded. The playbook is...

Dada. Daddy. Dad. Bruh. That is not your kid getting lazy with your name. That is the job title changing out loud. Brian and Dave talk about how a dad's role has to change as kids grow: caretaker, teacher, coach, mentor. The fights usually start when you keep doing last year's job after the kid has already left it. In this episode: What "Dada," "Daddy," "Dad," and "Bruh" actually mean as job descr...

Some weeks you do not get the perfect version. You get the version that keeps the house standing and the kids fed. Brian and Dave talk about the trap of chasing perfect as dads, husbands, and homeowners. A repaired machete that works instead of looking pretty. Drywall you could sand for another week. A conversation with a hurting kid that cannot wait until you find the perfect words. Also in this...

Most parents try to protect their kids from failure. We step in early, soften the landing, or prevent the crash altogether. It feels like love. Too often it quietly builds fragility instead of strength. In this episode Brian and Dave talk about why failure is one of the most important teachers your kids will ever have, and how constant rescuing trains the opposite of what you actually want. We cov...

A lot of the work modern dads do is abstract. Screens, systems, emails, processes. It's real work, but it's hard for a kid to see or understand. In this episode Brian and Dave talk about why tangible skills still matter, and why letting your kids watch you learn, struggle, and figure things out is one of the more valuable things you can model. We get into: • Why physical competence gives kids some...

This week we sat down with Dave and Andres from In the Garage with Dave and Andres (also known as the Men's Mental Health Podcast) for a long, unscripted conversation. We covered a lot of ground: The old military "suck it up and drive on" mindset and what it costs men long-term The identity shift and isolation that come with being a stay-at-home dad Failure to launch, emerging adulthood, and kids...

This week Chris Dinote, Editor-in-Chief of the Boys Adventure division at Raconteur Press, joins Brian and Dave. We talk about why classic boys adventure stories largely disappeared, what boys actually want to read (and have wanted for over a century), and why "stories of men doing dangerous things far from home" still matter. Chris shares how Raconteur Press is deliberately bringing that traditio...

Screens aren't going away. The real question isn't just how much time kids spend on them, it's what they're doing and whether we're actually involved. In this episode, Brian and Dave dig into the quality vs quantity debate around screen time. We talk about why rigid limits often fail, why "just ban it" doesn't work in the real world, and what actually helps: being present, curating better content,...

If family trips often feel more stressful than relaxing, you're not alone. Brian and Dave share their real experiences with road trips, flights, and vacations with kids, the good, the bad, and the "never again" moments. In this episode we discuss: Why you should travel with your kids anyway (even when it's hard) Brian's "6 P's" of travel planning and other strategies to reduce chaos What actually...

After 5 weeks apart, Brian and Dave finally catch up on all the beautiful chaos of real dad life. Brian's deep in summer dad mode, kids out of school, summer orchestra, daily exercise bootcamp, drafting the kids as work assistants, and pushing everyone with weekly mountain hikes + a big family road trip to Oregon. Dave and family just moved back into their house (repairs still in progress), surviv...

Why have fewer men and boys been reading fiction over the last century? Brian sits down with Malory — PhD researcher studying men's reading habits and author of gritty, action-packed stories like Psycho Marine and Morgan & Merlin — for a wide-ranging conversation. They discuss: • How fiction became culturally "unmasculine" and what that's done to boys • Why LitRPG and progression fantasy are pulli...

Most parents think they're rewarding good behavior…but what if they're actually training their kids to lie, sneak, and hide problems instead? In this episode, Brian and Dave break down how "well-intentioned" rules and rewards often create the exact opposite of what we want. From the famous Cobra Effect in British India to Brian's real-life experience as a safety manager, we explore Goodhart's Law...

Most modern parenting says "give kids more freedom." But what if taking away structure is actually making everyone more anxious, exhausted, and miserable? In this episode, Brian and Dave make the case that clear, reasonable, and consistently enforced boundaries are one of the greatest gifts we can give our children — and ourselves. Real freedom isn't the absence of rules. It's knowing exactly wher...

Brian and Dave take a hard look at the popular phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" — and how it's increasingly being used to justify forced collectivization, government overreach, and the erosion of parental responsibility. We break down: • The difference between a voluntary "village" (the kind that actually works) and forced community • Why scattered families and modern life make chosen...

There are lines that stick with us: - "Gordy's gone man. I'll be outside." -Black Hawk Down - "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie" -Simonedes of Ceos - "Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! ... Ride now, ride now! Ride to ruin and the world's ending! Death! Death! Death! Forth Eorlingas!" -The Return of the King What's the real male fantasy? Charging i...

Mrs. Dave dropped a not-so-subtle callout on us: stop selling yourself short and actually give credit where it's due — starting with yourself. In this episode, Brian and Dave get uncomfortably honest about why acknowledging our own accomplishments feels so weird (and why we're quick to do it for our friends but never for ourselves). We dig into the mental blocks, the dad guilt, the fear of soundin...

Join Brian and Dave as they tackle the ultimate goal of parenting: raising happy, healthy, and independent adults in a rapidly changing world. In this episode, they break down the shifting landscape of higher education, career paths, trade schools, and occupational licensing — and why the old "college at all costs" script might be failing our kids.   Side quests include: Why Caillou (and a lot of...

Hold onto your hats — this episode is pure, unfiltered chaos! Brian and Dave were joined by Ian McMurtrie (better known online as LawDog) for an absolute riot of a show. Growing up in West Africa, Ian turned "childhood" into something completely next-level. In this episode he shares: How he helped found the (short-lived) Nigerian Space Agency The time 12-year-old Ian accidentally became a minor wa...

When your "free time" finally starts at 9:00pm… but you're already exhausted. Sound familiar? In Episode 10 of Unhinged Dads, Brian, and Dave get real about how hard it is to maintain friendships as middle-aged dads with kids, marriages, and zero energy left by the end of the day. We talk about: • Why adult friendships slowly fade after kids come along • The 9pm "trauma bonding" window most dads l...

Ever feel like you're raising kids in the wrong decade? Brian and Dave discuss the strange reality of being a modern dad — trying to hold onto old-school values while navigating technology overload, rapidly changing social norms, and a world that feels completely alien compared to the one we grew up in.  We talk about: • The challenges of parenting with 90s/early 2000s values in 2026 • Technology,...

Why does it feel like every other dad has parenting figured out? Brian and Dave dive deep into the toxic habit of comparing your behind-the-scenes reality to everyone else's perfectly curated highlight reel. They talk about how social media warps our view of fatherhood, why comparison steals our joy, and how to break free from it. We discuss: • The dangers of "tripping on brainrot" and comparison...

Sleep? What sleep? Brian and Dave go deep on one of the hardest parts of parenting — chronic sleep deprivation while raising toddlers in your 40s. From failed sleep training attempts and brutal night wakings to the long-term effects of never getting enough rest, this episode covers the reality most parenting podcasts won't touch. We discuss: • Why sleep feels impossible once you hit your 40s with...