Dear Old Dads
Hey kids, get ON our lawn! Dear old Dads is a podcast examining and deconstructing all things Dad. From parenting to patriarchy; manning the grill to manning up; Dear Old Dads asks – what even is a dad anyway? What does it mean to be a good man in today's world? What should it mean? Listen along as we definitely find the correct, concise answers to all these questions and more! Featuring Eli Bosnick, Thomas Smith, and Tom Curry!
DOD260: You're a Lefty but Your Kid Wants to Join the Military
We have a listener question that asks something very reasonable: so many in this podcastiverse community are pretty left, and have strong feelings about the United States military and various federal agencies. What if our kids wanted to pursue careers in those fields? Would we stop them? But first, please enjoy a ridiculous story from Thomas and Lydia's Valentine's Day evening (safe for work). And only the patrons get exclusive cooking insight from Donovan at the end of this episode!
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DOD259: If I Publicly Humiliate Us Both Will You Take Me Back???
A stunning press moment at the Olympics has the dads discussing "grand gestures" in romantic relationships. Does anyone ever actually want to be on the receiving end of one of those, or are they primarily done for the benefit of the person "giving" them? And in the patron exclusive bonus, hear how Tom's kids absolutely blew the rest of us out of the water for Valentine's Day.
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DOD258: Should We Expect Our Kids to Take Care of Us?
One of the dads was very surprised to find out that many people expect their kids to take care of them when they are elderly. Beyond that, it also is a very common reason people give as to why they even HAD kids. This seems insane. Is it? Yes.
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DOD257: Help, I'm Dating a Conspiracy Nut
We've got another listener question, and the dads dig into it almost right away! How do you tackle conspiratorial beliefs from your partner? Is this type of mismatch in a relationship DOA or is there hope to work it out? It isn't OFFICIALLY claimed as a three bears situation during the show, but I can tell you now that it's definitely a three bears episode.
PLUS: our amazing patrons get an extra long patron-only segment at the end!
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DOD256: What If Your Friend Starts Dating Your Ex...
The dads are here today to answer a listener question in which their teenager's friend started talking (talking talking, iykyk) with the teen's very recent ex-girlfriend. Oh boy. Did the listener handle this opportunity for advice well? What, if anything, would the dads have said differently, and how do we feel about a friend like that? Is this part of the "bro code"?
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DOD255: Talk About Body Talk
Y2K aesthetic is back beyond just butterfly clips and low-rise jeans, and #skinnytok is making sure our kids know it. How do we talk about bodies with our kids in healthy, positive ways? And how does that fit in a world where we've intentionally tried to stop commenting on other people's bodies entirely?
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DOD254: Barking Up the Wrong Family Tree
Following an update on Tom's mom's overseas end-of-life saga, the dads discuss a listener email about genealogy, family trees, and shared family history. Do you feel connected to stories from your ancestral lineage just because they are "family"?
To close the episode, Eli shares a story of personal growth; and for the patrons, a Smith kid milestone! It's not a baby announcement, don't worry.
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DOD253: Maybe a Little Stitious
The dads take on a listener question about how to manage a situation where a kid from a bit of a troubled home is coming over unannounced frequently, even though they're not exactly close friends with your children. Are we going to get a three bears here? But first, some chat about knocking on wood and other superstitions!
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DOD252: Choosing Between Career and Family
The dads get together (OR DO THEY) to answer a listener question about making choices between career and family. How do you make decisions between the two when they absolutely affect the other? We know the toxic concept thrust onto women that "they can have it all," but is there also a version of this targets men?
In the patron-only bonus segment, check out how pillar-of-the-atheist-podcast-community Eli Bosnick totally fumbled atheism.
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DOD251: ZaaaaBOWnd
Following our last episode about preparing for death and wills, on today's show we have a major Eli health news drop paired with a medical-adjacent listener question! Let these old dads talk about health and aging!
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DOD250: No Will? No Way!
It's the New Year so the two inevitables - taxes and death - are on our minds. Two of the dads lecture the third about not having a will. Make your pick before you press play on who that solo will-less dude is!
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DOD249: I Got You the Anthropologie Rock
Eli starts us off with the most fiendish hypothetical Dinner Party Question(tm) ever conceived. After some recovery, the dads discuss a popular prank being done on dads and how all of the dads fail.
DOD248: WTF is the Nude Lingerie Test
The dads do basically an entire episode in the intro segment about something that shakes the very foundation of the pod. People have been forever changed as a result.
And then, our main course: an insane take from a blog post (which includes many more takes) of a manosphere kind of guy that has created a test for everyone to use to check whether or not their lady partner cares about them.
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DOD247: Yuckin Yummers
Tom's kids have a tendency to yuck other people's yum and it's driving him nuts. So settle in with a tall glass of chunky goat milk and listen to a Christmas Eve Dads.
DOD246: When You Want Takesies Backsies on Being a Parent
What do you do when you regret being a parent and feel like the whole thing might have been a mistake? A listener writes in with these feelings and the dads are on it! It's probably a more common experience than you think. Unless you're Thomas.
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DOD245: I'd Say My Biggest Weakness Is Stupid Interview Questions
If you're in the market for some fatherly advice from the dudes about interviewing for jobs, you're in luck! Listen in to hear the dads debate questions like, what do you do in the face of stupid interview questions?
And in the very special, patron-only bonus at the end, we share an email from ABSOLUTE LEGENDS - the parents from sex doll gate aka the episode that sent Eli to an earlyish grave.
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DOD244: 48 Is the New 90
Tom is out today so we have a non-dad here to join the ranks of Eli and Thomas to take on a listener email about their daughter's surprise husband. How do we approach interpersonal relationships with folks that are important to our kids if they might feel like red flags to us? But first, listen up for how Thomas infected Max with ADHD. Eli has the receipts.
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November 2025 Bonus!
LITERALLY NONE of us have ever heard Eli laugh as much as he did on this episode as we read (and answer?) a listener email.
Patrons: this one was bonkers so we're going to let the normies have it too. Once y'all listen, I'm sure you will understand. We still love you more though.
DOD243: Tom's Hunt for Friendship
The guys have reunited post-Thanksgiving and have plenty of catching up to do! Tom has returned from a hunting trip with other dudes (not our DILFs) and brings some of his observations to the pod to discuss. Most importantly - what are signs as you get older of a good life?
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DOD242: When Kid-Friends are Fighting and Your Child Might Be the Issue
After some quick Thanksgiving plans chat, Thomas recounts a tough parenting situation that he and Lydia experienced recently in which they had to simultaneously consider their child implicated in the mess, the friendships at stake, and the interpersonal challenge with other parents involved.
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DOD241: Take My Waifu, Please!
The dads read a listener email and get into a candid discussion about this listener's particular experience and the lessons we can take related to identity, kink, online community, and partner dynamics - and how to navigate if those change during the course of a preexisting relationship.
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DOD240: Dad Moods
A listener with a baby on the way is worried about his anger problem. Tom is not worried about his chimes.
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DOD239: Fake It Till You Make It
A listener email sparks a discussion among the dudes about encouraging and supporting your kids' interests, especially when that interest is ABSOLUTELY not your cup of tea. How should we approach initiating interest-exploration for our kids, and what do we do if once they've found something they love, we actually can't stand it?
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DOD238: A Step-Tom's Lament
Oh, hey! Want to have all of the responsibility and weight of parenthood without any of the legal benefits ensuring you are connected to your kids? Try stepparenting! Tom leads today's chat with the dads as he breaks down the frustrating structure of America's step-parent.
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DOD237: How Many Net Productivity Units Are Your Friendships Providing
Today's episode centers on the importance of friendship despite what dude self-help spaces might tell you. Also more hot takes that the dads dig into include: being vulnerable enough to apologize when you've wrongly let a friendship go, and whether or not you can truly build friendships in online communities. No way you get this kind of content from the anti-friendship dude-bros trying to sell you their course on crypto! But first, some brilliant tattoo discussion.
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DOD236: Find You a Woman Who Hates Men?
Today's show kicks off with a near-immediate three bears situation related to the interpretation of a TikTok video that makes Thomas want to throw his computer out the window; the dads go on a bit of a journey discussing hot takes and whether or not people honestly believe their perspective, or if they just desire to be "viralized." There's a whole lot more in this episode that I honestly can't even describe. You'll just need to listen.
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DOD235: Passion or Pragmatism?
Thomas shares something Arlo loves doing and has declared he'd like to do for a career and the dads dig into helping our kids navigate the choice between pursuing a passion or seeking stability. Stick around for the story at the end if you want to hear Eli's newest sadness earworm!
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DOD234: Kids Want Attention and That Is Okay
First, the dudes compare music taste. Then, a listener email asks the dads for advice about handling a recent situation they experienced where their kid's school carried out its full crisis procedure after the child said something minor in class, and the consequences on their own life (their workday, the weekend, etc.) as a result. How should a parent react in that circumstance, what is appropriate to discuss with your child to avoid these situations in the future, and at what age might that advice change?
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For comments...
DOD233: This Is Your Brain on Sports
Our dudes gather today to talk about what obligation parents have to decline their children opportunities in sports that have a high risk of brain injury and possible development of CTE. Is there a middle ground, where they can play things like football and soccer up to a certain level, before it gets dangerous - or is it always too risky?
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DOD232: New Kids on the Roblox
The New York Times' recently ran a piece where they just get it completely wrong (surprise) on tackling security issues with Roblox and other online offerings after some particularly troubling incidents connected to the game. Eli comes prepped with an analogy that makes way more sense as we chat about the inevitability of our kids being in online spaces. How three bears is this one going to be?
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DOD231: How to Handle Not-Cash-Money Things That Happen to Your Kid
The dads gather to answer a listener question for an especially tough situation that the listener's friend is navigating. If a not-cash-money thing happens to our kid, how should we react? If a not-cash-money thing happens to your friend's kid, what can you do to be supportive during that moment? It's a real 2 bears and a psychopath!
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DOD230: It's All About the Motion of the Ocean
The dudes are here to discuss toxic male sexual inadequacy, the cultural underpinnings of it, and how most often it is something men just inflict upon themselves.
A note from Lydia: Listeners, you'll hear Tom refer to this as Episode 269 during the intro and, obviously, classic humor ensues. You are not losing your mind: it is, in fact, Episode 230, but Tom shouted out the recording session number, which was 269. As you were. 6-7.
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DOD229: Cheering Your Kids On...Realistically
Thomas shares what he thinks might be a parenting win with one of his kiddos by walking a fine line between what his parents had done when he was a kid and what Eli would probably do. How realistic should we be when our kids share their expectations and dreams with us?
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For extended episodes, bonus content, and most importantly, for an AD FREE SHOW, make sure to pledge on Patreon!
DOD228: Too Online 2
Part 2 of 2! The dads continue their conversation from Episode 227 regarding how to evaluate whether or not your kid is "too online" and what actions you should take to intervene. More specifically, what might be some signs that your child is falling into one of those cesspools?
Also, place your bets now: what percentage of this episode will be Eli's Italian Brainrot?
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DOD227: Is Your Kid "Too Online"?
Part 1 of 2! In light of yet another terrible *motions to everything*, we thought it was time to talk about how to evaluate if your kid seems "too online," if certain spaces are worse than others, and what the consequences of that might be. The dads line up in a bit of a three bears situation on what this means to them exactly, but there's just so much more to dig into on this topic that we'll be finishing up the conversation on Thursday's episode.
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DOD226: Is Self-Improvement Isolating You?
The dads gather to discuss the unexpected toxic masculinity behind much of the self-improvement sold toward men these days. Why are these activities so... solo? Do they have to be?
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DOD225: How Much Should Parents Let Their Kids Be Weird?
(apologies for the late post, the Smiths had a travel nightmare!)
We've got a three bears situation over here today! Are parents responsible for addressing their kids' "weird" attitudes and behavior? And if so, how do we distinguish between what might be "weird" but flexible and what traits may be an innate facet of the person?
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DOD224: Knowing When to Walk Away
A listener writes in looking for advice on approaching their relationship with a parent when the parent won't accept them for who they are. After exploring if the listener could have offered more in helping their parent understand, the dads reflect on a tough question - how do we know when it's time to let go of relationships that are hurting us? Then, in the patron-only story, Eli shares a heartwarming and grateful observation.
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DOD223: Divorced Dad Diving into Dating
The dads receive a question from a listener who has gone through a divorce and is ready to jump back into the dating scene, but they don't know what to do, where to turn, or maybe even...how to flirt. Are you Team Coffee or Team Dinner Date?
Then, ONLY patrons get to hear a funny Lydia story about dating and the apps (Lydia approves its inclusion).
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DOD222: Back to School! Here's a Dozen Poorly Made Apps for Ya
Tom needs some more "old man yells at clouds" time to go off about the first few days of school for his kids. The dads get into it and talk school apps, communication, miscommunication, and various other logistics that seem to be purposely set up to be more complicated than they have to be.
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