Dadville with Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin

Welcome back to Dadville! In this episode, we’re balancing a little benevolent self-promotion with essential dad business. First up, we share our upcoming Christmas tour dates—from Jon’s live debut in Hoover, Alabama to Dave’s return to the Schermerhorn in Nashville.

Next, 44-year-old Jon details wielding a new $10 drywall saw to carve out a 6-foot hole in his wall, fix a leaking PVC pipe with IKEA kids' table scraps, and disassemble his dryer using neighbor Andrew’s borrowed multimeter. Then, we officially convene "Etiquette Court" to rule on life's burning social dilemmas.

We debate...

In this episode of Dadville, we sat down with counselor and family friend Will Mooney to talk about what it actually takes to show up well for our kids. We dive deep into the core truth that "more is caught than taught"—our children mirror our emotional health far more than our verbal lectures. Will opens up about his journey into counseling, helping us unpack shadow selves, old personal baggage, and inevitable parenting ruptures (including an infamous milk-throwing incident!). 

From overanalyzing innocent spouse questions about water bottles to surviving school drop-off lines, we discuss why doing internal sel...

This week, we sit down with our good friend Robert Cunningham—pastor, writer, speaker, and founder of Christ for Kentucky. We kick things off with a crucial parenting debate: can YouTube piano tutorials replace traditional music lessons? Then, Robert gets honest about making a massive career pivot away from a comfortable pastorship with four kids and zero financial safety net to launch his own ministry. We also dig into his incredible work erasing $250 million in medical debt for Kentucky families, why future generations might judge our smartphone habits like lead paint, and how we can approach complex cultural debates ar...

We’re catching up on the back-to-school flow and having some honest, vulnerable talks about our 40s. We laugh about the exact ways we are becoming our dads, from driving like grandmas to stockpiling ten of everything in the garage. We also reflect on what we’d tell our younger 25-year-old selves (hint: relax!) and why we need to stop focusing so much on the worries "just out of frame".

Finally, we draft our ultimate Dadville Hall of Fame, sharing our favorite dad gear like sleep machines, Nike Cortez shoes, and our family-favorite card game, Play Nine. Grab...

Today, we sat down with entrepreneur and author Jordan Raynor, and honestly, we had so much fun reminiscing about Jordan's freshman year at Florida State that we practically skipped our own intro. Once we got past the twenty years of nostalgia, Jordan totally reframed how we look at our daily grind.

We talked about why our Monday-through-Friday work has intrinsic value to God—meaning Dave's songwriting and Jon's upcoming Christmas shows are deeply sacred, not just secular. Jordan shared incredible, practical advice for staying present with our kids, like holding "stop-doing" meetings and converting our smartphones into te...

Welcome back to Dadville! Today, we’re sitting down with our incredibly learned friend, Ian Morgan Cron. We usually try to keep things light and funny, but Ian brought some serious "strings on the bridge" energy to this one. As an author, psychotherapist, former priest, and Dove Award-winning songwriter, he’s basically a vocational tossed salad.

We dive deep into his complicated childhood with an alcoholic father, how we all inevitably screw up our kids, and why we need to let everyone—and ourselves—out of the penalty box. Jon got to geek out over bei...

We’ve officially lost control of the microphones. Welcome to a special episode of Dadville—or as our daughters Zanna and Liv have rebranded it, Kidville. We thought we were the consummate podcasters, but the girls immediately put us in the hot seat to expose our deepest, most embarrassing secrets.

We're talking about Dave pre-unwrapping a pocketful of Jolly Ranchers during church hymns so they don’t crackle, and our classic grocery store panic calls because we can't find the basil. Nothing was safe—from Ringo Starr’s lack of outfit "curb appeal" to the time Ireland's Starbucks...

In this episode, the fellas welcome financial expert Rachel Cruze to discuss the intersection of money, mindset, and family. As the daughter of Dave Ramsey, Cruze shares insights on growing up with a "money guy" and how she has carved her own path through best-selling books and speaking.

Rachel talks about how money is less about math and more about behaviour, focusing on intentional parenting through "commissions" rather than allowances and the "half-car rule". The trio delves into the struggle of navigating social media pressure and defining a family’s financial "baseline" in a wo...

In this episode, the fellas sit down with Charlie Worsham, the CMA’s reigning Musician of the Year and a true "multihyphenate" talent. Charlie shares his incredible trajectory, from winning national banjo titles at age 12 to playing in the bands of legends like Vince Gill. He dives deep into his "13-year-old self rule," a mental practice that helps him maintain gratitude for his career, even on the hardest days.

The trio then chats about the "hard shift" of returning home from the road and the intentional ways he is showing up for his children through heartfelt journaling an...

In this episode, the fellas interview Tyler Staton, lead pastor of Bridgetown Church and author of Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools. Tyler shares his journey from a middle-school prayer revival in Nashville to navigating faith in New York and Portland. He offers a profound look at contemplative prayer, which he defines as sitting "naked and unashamed" before God to settle the inner "snow globe" of surface-level wants.

Moving into fatherhood, Tyler details his hands-on discipleship with his three sons, including a 10% pastry "dad tax" and using jelly beans to encourage emotional honesty. The...

Musician Eric Hutchinson makes history on Dadville by doing the impossible: arriving early. From the massive independent success of his album Sounds Like This to the "soul-crushing" reality of playing early college gigs next to loud smoothie machines, Hutchinson joins Dave Barnes and Jon McLaughlin for a deep dive into a career built outside the typical "big machine" path.

Now a New York City dad, Eric discusses the "vast amount of humanity" found in raising his daughter, Zelda—navigating everything from sophisticated Monday night jazz shows to encounters with subway crack smokers. It is a candid conversation ab...

In this episode of Dadville, the fellas dive into the chaos of summer parenting. Jon shares the "play-by-play" heartbreak of his daughter’s first sleep away camp experience, and Dave recounts a childhood "life of crime" involving a camp nurse and a missing stitch.

But it’s not all jokes—the guys get vulnerable about aging in the music industry. They discuss what success meant at 30 versus what it means now at 48, the "Blue Button" hypothetical involving Harry Styles, and how to find contentment without losing your ambition. Plus, a hilarious recap of their "glamping" trip in Yellow...

In this episode of Dadville, we sat down with Lee C. Camp, a professor of theology and ethics who has spent over two decades helping people wrestle with what it means to live a life worth living. While he is the host of the nationally syndicated show No Small Endeavor, Lee got remarkably vulnerable about his own "spiral" into depression at age 47 and the "unresolved crap" he had to address within his own family.

We were especially moved by his "85% rule" for parenting, which suggests that a 15% margin for error is a liberating way to teach kids...

We are thrilled to welcome back three-time guest Jon Acuff. As a New York Times bestselling author, Jon has built a career helping people stop overthinking and finally get unstuck. In this episode, we tackle the "architecture of enough" and the transition to empty nesting. Jon shares insights from his new book, Procrastination Proof, explaining how procrastination is often a failed "solution" for fear and why we need permission to win. We also discuss shifting your motivation fuel from fear to service and Jon's practical discipline hack: "make tomorrow easy today". Join us for a conversation that will leave...

We sat down with 4-time Grammy winner Sara Watkins to solve a problem every professional faces: How do you maintain a 30-year career without burning out or losing your creative edge? From founding Nickel Creek at age eight to touring with icons like Jackson Browne, Sara has mastered the "communal dance" of longevity.

In this session, we tackle the high-stakes pressure of performance anxiety. Sara reveals the counterintuitive secret that transformed her art: how motherhood taught her to stop "sweating the small stuff," making her a more fearless performer. We break down her blueprint for navigating complex...

Welcome to a special video edition of Dadville! We’re kicking things off with Dave’s high-energy celebration of Arsenal’s Premier League victory and a deep dive into why sports culture feels like family.

Then, we pivot to the "frontal assault" of summer parenting. As school rhythms fade, we share our best survival "tips and tricks" to keep the chaos at bay. Discover the power of tangible bucket lists—featuring everything from Walmart trips to visiting local glass-blowing studios—and learn how to manage screen time by treating it as "capital" earned through reading or chores. We also di...

Today we’re hanging out with the legendary Anjelah Johnson-Reyes. You’ve seen her viral "Nail Salon" bit and her iconic characters from Mad TV, but in this episode, we get into the nuts and bolts of her career and life as a mom. Anjelah shares her fascinating process for building a comedy hour, from recording every set to "cut the fat" to the daunting anxiety of starting a project from scratch.

We dive into her self-produced special, Ugly Baby, and how she "sleuthed" her own audio archives to find the perfect family footage. Beyond the stage, we t...

Today, we’re hanging out with our friend Erin Napier, who is busy saving Laurel, Mississippi, one 25,000-square-foot hotel at a time. We dive into the "unfortunate" (that’s code for ugly) projects and the heart behind her latest restoration, The Heirloom, which survived a "devastating" fire just weeks before opening.

Erin spills the tea on her first year as a homeschooling mom—turns out it only takes two hours a day, leaving plenty of time for her daughter to job-shadow a vet. We also discuss her strict "no-weekend-work" policy and why Ben is a nearly perfect husban...

Welcome to Momville! In this episode, we’re hanging out with the legendary Lori McKenna, a three-time Grammy winner who somehow balanced raising five kids with a world-class songwriting career. We dive into her "internal rhythm" of 74 BPM and the hilarious reality of her early days showing up to open mics with a minivan and actual peanut butter on her guitar.

Lori gets real about her 30-year marriage to Gene, their legendary four-degree thermostat war, and her self-described "underwhelming" mom status. From failing at selling Tupperware to writing hits for Taylor Swift, she shares ho...

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS HERE! The legendary Sissy Goff and David Thomas join us this week. Things get off to a wild start when host Dave realizes that a woman who changed his life decades ago is actually David’s sister. Once the shock wears off, the group discusses the duo’s new book about raising capable kids in a world that feels increasingly fragile.

They explore why today’s kids are hesitant to do hard things, like getting a driver’s license, and how the pandemic created a cocoon of safety. You will hear about the importance of pract...

This episode features a "PowerPod" collaboration between the fellas and the creators of the 3% podcast, Jamie and Blake. The conversation explores radical honesty, specifically the "3% concept"—the practice of sharing the final, shame-filled layer of truth that individuals typically withhold from even their closest friends. The participants discuss the transition from childhood "proximity friendships" to the foundational intentionality required to sustain deep male connections amidst the busyness of fatherhood.

Drawing on therapeutic insights within the sources, they examine how children often sacrifice their authenticity for attachment, a pattern contributing to the modern loneliness epidemic. A...

The fellas are back with our dear friend Ben Rector. It’s a classic dad-session—think driveway-wine-in-camping-chairs vibes. Ben drops some hilarious truth bombs, like his daughter's most accurate description of what he's like. He also breaks down his quest to look less like an accountant with his new robust beard and a legendary sock shootout method to find the perfect pair.

But it’s not all oatmeal-sifting rituals and badminton losses. The guys get into the "real" stuff, too. Ben talks about his career shift—choosing depth over scale so he can actually be present for his kids...

How quickly could you get a horse to downtown Boston?

Well, today's guest McKittrick Simmons posed that very question to Dave and it really framed their 20+ friendship in a new way. After meeting his new friend, Jon McLaughlin, McKittrick breaks down the "neutron bomb" of intentional friendship and why "no theologians allowed" Bible studies are the secret to growth. Whether navigating the "beta test" of parenting, escaping the "shadow world," or bearing witness to friends, this deep dive is for you.

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This week the fellas join up with former world number one tennis player and US Open champion Andy Roddick to discuss his legendary career and the transition into fatherhood. Jon is very excited!

Roddick reflects on holding the world’s fastest serve record, his humorous rivalry with Roger Federer, and the "light" feeling of retiring at age 30. He shares candid stories from the "School of Earth," including traveling the world alone at age twelve and why he believes parents must let their children fall sometimes to build resilience.

Roddick offers profound wisdom for sports parents, em...

The fellas talk to Jamie Winship, a former DC police officer and federal agent turned global peacemaker. Winship shares "absolutely bananas" stories, including the time he felt a divine prompt to "de-arrest" a suspect who committed two felonies, leading to a year-long partnership and a miraculous outcome for the man’s family.

Then, they explore the Identity Method, which teaches listeners how to distinguish God’s voice from the "radio static" of internal accusations. Winship explains that your true identity is a gift to the world and an "inexhaustible energy source" that remains intact even...

Whether you are currently on spring break or just trying not to be "spring broke," the struggle of dad guilt is a universal experience. The fellas dive into the work-versus-presence conundrum, exploring how early "husband guilt" evolves into a paternal fear of missing out on key milestones.

Then, they get honest about the triggers of feeling like a "warm body" while zoning out on soccer scores and the "comparison trap" sparked by other dads’ elaborate chore charts or "Spanish Wednesdays". From using a "brick" to battle phone distraction to the realization that most parenting is "caught, not ta...

Buckle up, Dadville, because Matt Maher is in the house, and he’s bringing more than just hit worship songs. Ever wondered what happens when you walk into a college radio station, pretend to be Dave Barnes, and realize mid-song that your XLR cables aren't even plugged in?. Or how to survive "The Talk" with a 10-year-old using only tacos and a very necessary, panicked swig of Topo Chico?.

We’re diving into Matt’s Newfoundland roots—where the ocean is actively trying to kill you—and why he spent seven years as a "profession...

In this episode, the fellas sit down with Stephen Kellogg—singer, songwriter, author, and "professional road dog." He joins the show from a waterless hotel in Indianapolis with a "lumberjack" vibe and a "hot word shower" of career reflections and parenting wisdom.

As he approaches his milestone 3,000th show, Stephen reflects on a 28-year career built on connection and relentless hard work. The heart of the conversation explores the "clunky" but beautiful journey of raising four daughters, from navigating their unique personalities to learning that every child requires a tailored version of their father.

Visit St...

The fellas welcome the official "Pastor of Dadville," Elliott Cherry back to the pod to discuss the hilarious and humbling realities of fatherhood, from the "gates of Thunderdome" (the teenage years) to the chaos of solo parenting at soccer games where treadmills are left unplugged.

Beyond the laughs, they dive into the profound concept of "making peace with the proximate"—learning to love the world as it is rather than demanding it be perfect. They explore the necessity of vulnerability, the beauty of being the "guy on the side of the road" who needs he...

Think of this show as a "real-life ad for friendship" between two celebrity Nashville dads who are just like you. The fellas are just hanging out, laughing, and navigating the bizarre realities of life—like why the Kroger meat department employees are always so put out when you actually ask them to do their jobs.

This week, they discuss dealing with a "post-apocalyptic" ice storm that resets the day into "Tuesday 2.0" (hello, community laundry hubs!) and debate the merits of escaping prison in high-end Lulu running gear. We dive into life's most niche dilemmas: th...

Using AI-driven prompts in their Dad GPT series, the felas tackle how marriage is "assailed by outside forces" like screaming babies and the difficulty of maintaining an "eternal foot down". A central theme is the battle for presence; they candidly discuss phone addiction and using physical "bricks" to stay engaged. Focusing on the "repair" over the "rip," the show aims for a future where children truly "like" their parents. It's an honest look at parenting, "brain butter" and all.

Join us: http://dadville.substack.com

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This week's episode features the fellas catching up with Greta Eskridge, a second-generation homeschooling mother and author, sharing a powerful narrative of redemption and proactive parenting. We talk about her latest book, It's Time to Talk to Your Kids About Porn, and some practical advice for protecting kids in a digital world. She advocates for connection over policing, treating "the talk" similar to teaching a child to cross the street. By offering simple definitions and "what-if" scripts, Greta aims to remove the stigma of these "brown bag" topics, helping families find where true healing begins.

After two years away, the wives are back in Dadville—and the best part? They’re all still married to the same people! In this catch-up episode, the couples dive into the emotionally exhausting reality of raising older kids, where arguments are far more robust than the toddler days. They also tackle the hilarious side of parenting, like why their kids now narrate their father's rising frustration ("Daddy’s getting mad!") and Amy’s persistent habit of asking where every new friend went to elementary school. It’s a hilarious look at life, love, and the pursuit of "awesome dadding."<...

The fellas navigate the highs and lows of 2025, from vocal health scares to interactions with musical icons. Dave opens up about his battle with ulcerative laryngitis, a condition that forced him into total silence and led to a profound spiritual moment of surrender while walking near Vanderbilt. John reveals why he scrapped a completed record for the first time in his career, and they discuss the journey of getting an album into the hands of an icon.

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In this insightful return to Dadville, Stephen James joins the fellas to explore the "ecology" of leadership, parenting, and personal evolution. Focusing on Council Leadership, Stephen explains his transition from licensed therapy to viewing leadership as a lived practice rather than a mere class. He delves into the profound concept of "I amness", advocating for stillness and presence over constant productivity. This episode serves as a masterclass in embracing "weirdness" and the art of finding one’s way home.

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We welcome Elizabeth and Brook Mosser from the Intentional Parents Podcast for a "copod" that—despite the catchy name—is definitely not a killer whale documentary. They tackle the "Godzilla of intentionality", a terrifying concept that often looms over parents like a massive monster with surprisingly tiny arms. Moving beyond "prescribed trails" and scripture-based scavenger hunts, the group focuses instead on ordinary moments, like sharing milkshakes in the dark or surviving "homeschool sarcasm." You’ll learn about TikTok’s "aura farming" and why the best parenting strategy involves leaving your "fixing" agenda in the car to focus on simple curiosit...

Hey friends,

Well, we have a bit of a setback this year with our yearly gift guide. Jon will explain.

Here's the gift guide: https://dadville.substack.com/p/the-2025-dadville-gift-guide

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In this episode of Dadville, we dig into the life and mind of a true comedy legend—the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time, Jeff Foxworthy. We talk about the grind behind his success, including the years of focused “10,000-hour” effort it took just to get on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show, which he describes as “the Everest of comedy.”
He opens up about wrestling with the blank page, the strange “sickness” that pushes comedians to turn even the worst moments—like a $138,000 copperhead snake bite—into material. We also kick around the big creative questions: Are comics born funny, o...

This week the fellas caught up with Tonic's Emerson Hart, one of the biggest hitmakers of the '90s! Hart reflects on Tonic's multi platinum success, including the exhaustion of the '90s, during which he witnessed the aftermath of Princess Diana’s car crash and later slept for three days. Also, why does Hart's eyes twitch when collaborating with young artists? Plus, he gives solid advice that keeps him chasing after young kids well into his 50s.

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Tony Hale returns to Dadville! You might know him from Veep or Arrested Development, but we know him best as that lovable actor who's entering the "evolution and expansion" season of his career. Tony chats with the fellas about the long process of producing his new film, Sketch, and the motivation to move out of Hollywood. Also, he talks about the amazing experience of playing a nurse oncologist on The Sopranos. Don't miss this one!

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