Fatherhood

Strings said part of his motivation for quitting cannabis was wanting to be clear-eyed and present for his son.

“He looks at me with these big clear eyes. I want to be clear, you know?”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #676 - Billy Strings (Aug 20, 2026) · Listen from 1:48:55

Strings said having his son displaced music as the most important thing in his life, which paradoxically made him play better.

“I am a musician. That's what I do. That's my job. But it's not the biggest thing in life. My family is. And that actually makes me play better because I'm not squeezing it so hard”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #676 - Billy Strings (Aug 20, 2026) · Listen from 1:41:32

Strings said performing used to be driven by fear of returning to poverty, which caused him to strangle the music.

“I have strangled the life out of the music before because I'd been so concerned about playing well that I'm playing hard and I'm thinking and I'm trying to lead the band”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #676 - Billy Strings (Aug 20, 2026) · Listen from 1:38:12

Strings said he quit smoking cannabis in December after realizing he could not run a twenty-minute errand without his vape pen and after his son worsened while he was getting high upstairs.

“my son is sick, and I'm upstairs getting high”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #676 - Billy Strings (Aug 20, 2026) · Listen from 1:29:00

Junod argues his father may not have been a good man but was an elemental one whose influence left no room for anger.

“He might not have been a good man, but he was an elemental one”

The Daily: Can a Bad Man Be a Good Father? (Jun 21, 2026) · Listen from 44:14

Junod says finding his half-sister settled his long-unresolved feelings and knowledge about his father.

“I felt like I had settled finally what I'd never been able to settle in my life, which is my feelings about my dad and my knowledge about my dad”

The Daily: Can a Bad Man Be a Good Father? (Jun 21, 2026) · Listen from 42:49

Junod recounts that his father lost his fortune through gambling and bad stock market investing.

“He was a terrible gambler and he was even worse, he was even a worse investor in the stock market”

The Daily: Can a Bad Man Be a Good Father? (Jun 21, 2026) · Listen from 23:36

Junod says his father was in many ways a good, attentive dad even though he terrified him.

“He was actually a really good dad in a lot of different ways. He was attentive. He was prescriptive”

The Daily: Can a Bad Man Be a Good Father? (Jun 21, 2026) · Listen from 10:54

Vulcano advised that parents should stay calm when children are hurt because kids mirror the parent's reaction.

“They're going to reflect your energy, and they're going to react the way you teach them to react to something”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #655 - Sal Vulcano (Apr 27, 2026) · Listen from 59:43

Vulcano said going public about his family felt like a relief after years of guarding his privacy, though he will never post his children online.

“I want to I won't ever post my kids online. Like I want to shield them from that”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #655 - Sal Vulcano (Apr 27, 2026) · Listen from 57:36

Vulcano described asking his three-year-old daughter nightly what she was most proud of to build her confidence.

“what were you the most proud of today? It positions her mind to think that way and then, like, build our confidence of it”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #655 - Sal Vulcano (Apr 27, 2026) · Listen from 53:34

Vulcano argued that having a second child lets parents absorb early stages more fully because they are no longer overwhelmed.

“You're able to really absorb it because it's not like you're like a deer in the headlights”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #655 - Sal Vulcano (Apr 27, 2026) · Listen from 48:21

Smiley says he refuses to give children iPads as pacifiers, noting many kids can't give directions home.

“We're not taking an iPad. in the church as a pacifier, not going to have an iPad all the time in the car”

Mick Unplugged: How to Keep Going When Life Breaks You with Rickey Smiley (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 9:14

Smiley contends modern society has inverted right and wrong, and the discipline his grandparents used still works.

“The problem in today's society, everything that's right is now wrong. And everything that's wrong is now right”

Mick Unplugged: How to Keep Going When Life Breaks You with Rickey Smiley (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 5:59

Smiley argues parents should give children the upbringing they had rather than what they lacked.

“I think sometimes we, we get caught up in trying to give kids what we did not have as opposed to giving them what we had”

Mick Unplugged: How to Keep Going When Life Breaks You with Rickey Smiley (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 8:20

Diaz says he keeps alcohol out of his home so his daughter does not grow up around drinking as he did.

“I don't want her to see alcohol on the fucking tables. That's just me”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #685 - Joey Diaz (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 59:20

Diaz says he exposes his daughter to comedy green rooms because he wants her to be street smart, which he believes children today lack.

“I want a smart kid, but I want that kid to be street smart. And that's what these children are missing today”

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von: #685 - Joey Diaz (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 41:52

Holiday says his youngest son attended an outdoor nature school for pre-K and kindergarten.

“he did kindergarten and pre-K for several years at an outdoor school”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #321 Ryan Holiday - The Stoic Survival Guide (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 2:35:31

Holiday says he evaluates commitments by how many of his children's bedtimes they would cost him.

“I try to measure like the stuff that I do or I say yes to, I measure it in bedtimes”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #321 Ryan Holiday - The Stoic Survival Guide (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 2:32:31

Whitlock says data shows two-parent households outperform single-parent ones.

“No, man, I believe the data. I believe the Bible, but I believe the data even more, that two parents do a better job than one parent”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Latest Arrest Connected to Karmelo Anthony Case, Nowak Prosecutors Appeal Digwa’s Lenient Sentence, New Developments in Nancy Guthrie Case | Ep. 1348 (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 25:42

Whitlock argues that fathers must return to homes to provide authority and protection.

“Fathers have to come back into the homes so that there's peace, there's an authority figure”

The Megyn Kelly Show: Latest Arrest Connected to Karmelo Anthony Case, Nowak Prosecutors Appeal Digwa’s Lenient Sentence, New Developments in Nancy Guthrie Case | Ep. 1348 (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 26:37

Sedaris says his father's habit of underpaying him for work prepared him for Trump.

“I mean, everything about my father prepared me for Trump. You know, someone works for you and then you don't pay them”

Pod Save America: David Sedaris is Mostly Bark, Some Bite (Jun 14, 2026) · Listen from 9:13

Sedaris argues his father's politics were ultimately driven by a desire to keep more of his money.

“ultimately, it was all about money, about keeping more of his money”

Pod Save America: David Sedaris is Mostly Bark, Some Bite (Jun 14, 2026) · Listen from 7:50

Duhamel's advice for fathers is that children watch closely and follow the example parents set.

“they're watching you closely, and the example you set is the way they'll go”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #310 Josh Duhamel - Transformers Star Reveals His 26-Acre Off-Grid Survival Compound (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 20:51

Duhamel said he is working more than ever but has realized he wants to work less and be home with his family.

“because I am busier now than ever, it's also made me realize that I don't want to work this much”

The Shawn Ryan Show: #310 Josh Duhamel - Transformers Star Reveals His 26-Acre Off-Grid Survival Compound (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 5:26

Stephen Lee said the coincidence gave him a renewed connection to his late father through his mother-in-law's memories.

“to think that I can talk to my mother-in-law and hear what he was like in his 20s, something that my mom doesn't even know”

This American Life: 489: No Coincidence, No Story! (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 23:09

Garfield said becoming a father scares him and would be the most important thing he ever does.

“Well, I mean, I think that would be the biggest, most important thing I ever probably do”

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Andrew Garfield (Sep 29, 2026) · Listen from 55:36

Meyers says talking football with his son and father is trivial in content but creates real connection.

“Because it's just empty nonsense, no calorie conversation, but the connection is real”

SmartLess: "Seth Meyers" (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 15:59