The Dad Manual

Tony Cooper sits down with the founder of a brotherhood built to help dads stop hiding at work and start showing up at home. This conversation with Jon Vroman, founder of Front Row Dads, is one of the most honest looks at modern fatherhood this parenting podcast has done yet. Jon shares how a comment from his wife, that he was more of a moment maker for everyone else than for his own family, led him to build a community of hundreds of dads across ten countries.

We get into why most men never study fatherhood the...

Tony Cooper sits down with David Yep, a dad who spent 14 years on the path to becoming a Catholic priest before realizing fatherhood was his real calling. This episode of the parenting podcast digs into David's unexpected road to becoming a dad to Lucia, Sophia and Constantine, and the app he built, Godmother, to help fathers understand their kids and themselves. We talk presence, the pressure of raising a son versus daughters, and why dads need accountability as much as advice. If you're a new dad podcast listener looking for real tools instead of generic parenting tips, this one...

James Snyder has starred on Broadway and shared scenes with Jon Hamm, but the role that changed him most happens at home. On this episode of the dad podcast, Tony Cooper sits down with actor James Snyder, dad to Oliver and Willa, for a conversation that treats fatherhood the way an actor treats a part: something you step into, shape, and eventually have to figure out who you are underneath. James talks about growing up with a present, engaged father, the family dinners and driveway conversations that shaped him, and how he is now applying the acting principle of "...

Jem Fuller almost lost his son twice before he learned what real fatherhood forgiveness looks like.

Tony sits down with Jem Fuller, host of The Unknown Path podcast and author of The Art of Conscious Communication for Thoughtful Men, for a conversation that moves through blended families, medical scares, anger, and the parenting philosophy Jem built after growing up with a father who was loving but controlling. 

Jem is stepdad to two kids who call him by his first name, and father to two grown sons who call him dad, and he walks through what i...

Edward Crawford spent his life training to be a warrior, in the Peace Corps, in Afghanistan, and at Goldman Sachs, and it turns out that same drive almost cost him the family he was fighting for. In this conversation for the first time dad podcast, Edward opens up about deploying six days after his son was born, the videos he recorded for his kids in case he didn't come home, and the moment he realized his hyper vigilance was helping him survive but hurting his marriage. He and Tony talk about raising a daughter with autism, taking daughters on...

What if the goal of parenting isn't to make your kid grow up, but to help them stay a kid longer? Brandon Fong joins The Dad Manual to talk about raising his daughter Kaya with childlike curiosity, emotional honesty, and zero interest in bubble-wrapping her from the world. Tony and Brandon dig into masculine and feminine energy in parenting, why toddlers process feelings in about 90 seconds if you let them, the story behind a very memorable ER visit, and how AI might make being simply human the most valuable skill of all. It's a warm, funny, unexpectedly deep conversation...

Can a chatbot help you become a more present dad? Lior Weinstein returns to The Dad Manual to dig into where AI actually helps fatherhood, and where it quietly gets in the way. Tony and Lior talk through using AI as a bedtime story ghostwriter, the idea of "artificial intimacy," why harmony beats balance, and how Lior uses AI to process emotional moments with his kids without losing his own voice in the process. They also get into generational trauma, cultural identity, and small first steps any dad can take today. Key takeaways include using AI to enhance existing...

Tony Cooper sits down with Chris Lee, a coach, trainer, and speaker who has spent his career helping people break the beliefs that quietly run their lives, to talk about where generational trauma actually starts and how dads can be the ones who finally stop it. They dig into what happens the moment your kid pushes a button: why the reaction fires before you can think, and why the fix isn't suppressing it but learning to create a space between what happens and how you respond.

Chris breaks down his idea of "response-ability," the two fears every...

A CEO and father of two opens up about why raising kids became his real education in emotional intelligence. Topher Stephenson had his children while in medical school and residency, and looks back on how becoming a dad reshaped how he sees himself and everyone around him. 

Key takeaways: 

A first-time dad six weeks from his due date opens up about what the third trimester really feels like. Tony Cooper sits down with Jesse Ganes to talk through the physical and emotional shifts of late pregnancy, the conversations he's having with friends and family about how life is about to change, and the parenting choices he and his wife Emma are making before their son even arrives. They cover screen time boundaries, the science behind a changing "dad brain," sleep deprivation, division of labor in parenting, and why protecting couple time now matters so much.

Key...

A dying father's five words rewired his son's entire life, and now that son is rewiring hundreds of other dads. In this conversation, George Rivera opens up about the deathbed warning from his own father, the "founder prison" he built for himself in business, and why he now runs Founder Dad Dinners for cash-rich, time-poor entrepreneurs who are quietly falling apart at home. We talk about the freedom audit that got his life back, why presence matters more than proximity, and how his 11-year-old son Leo's own podcast became an unexpected extension of everything George learned the hard way...

What if the best gift you gave your kids wasn't a memory, but your own voice? Blake Fly, dad to Koa and Summer (with a third on the way), joins Tony Cooper to talk about Dads Making History, the group he started where fathers record monthly audio and video messages for their kids to hear someday. Blake shares how the practice began during the pandemic, why "donut dates" became a normalizing ritual for the group, how a lost hard drive taught him about the fragility of memory, and how becoming a dad expanded his emotional range in ways he...

A dad of three shares the wild story of a highway birth, the exhaustion of new fatherhood, and why breaking generational patterns starts with you. Tony Cooper sits down with Lior Weinstein to talk about becoming a father at 30, supporting a wife through three very different births, and the physical toll of parenting a newborn while running a business. Lior explains why he stepped away from a fast-growing startup to be present for his second child, how he's working to end inherited family trauma before it reaches his kids, and why depth of focus beats exposure to everything. He...

A former New York City Ballet principal dancer opens up about the fear underneath the joy of expecting his first child. Chase Finlay talks with Tony Cooper about the perfectionism that carried him from a childhood ballet studio to the world's biggest stages, and why that same drive could work against him as a father. They cover the difference between performing for approval and living in alignment, why presence stops time with your kids, and how recovery and honest relationships taught him to become his own cavalry instead of waiting to be rescued. Chase also shares his intentions for...

A chance seat on a flight from Denver turned into a decades-long friendship, and a crash course in fatherhood. This week I sit down with my longtime friend Michael Prince to talk about the early terror of parenting a firstborn, the night his son started choking on steak at the dinner table, and why staying calm matters more than having the right answer. We get into raising a daughter after two sons, building a family culture around community and hospitality, teaching teenagers responsibility instead of just rules, and the regrets that come with parenting on the job. Michael's honesty...

Alton Byrd grew up without a father, then raised two kids across an ocean while playing pro basketball in the UK. This one is about figuring it out with no manual.

Alton joins Tony to talk about a fatherhood honestly. He's talks about the divorce, about the years he lived a plane ride away from his children, and about what he got wrong. What comes through is hard-won and simple: kids don't remember the stuff you buy them, they remember your time.

What you'll take from this episode:

What does it take to become the father you never had? Jay Vincent joins me for one of the most honest conversations we've had on the show. Jay grew up idolizing a dad who slid into alcoholism and walked out when Jay was 15, and for years Jay repeated the pattern, through addiction, two DUIs, and the day he came home to an empty house after his kids' mother left. This is the story of how he climbed back.

In this episode: how childhood shapes the dads we become, breaking a generational cycle of addiction, the night everything...

Most dads ease into fatherhood one kid at a time. Nick DeMarinis skipped that part. He found out he was having identical twin boys while living in Hong Kong, 8,000 miles from family. In this episode, Nick shares the blueprint he built for present, intentional fatherhood: setting expectations with employers so he never misses what matters, co-parenting as a true team, and taking care of himself first so he has something real to give. From WeWork's turnaround to a PopAShot national championship, Nick proves you don't have to sacrifice the dad you want to be.

Key takeaways:<...

What happens when a dad of three daughters confronts the anger he inherited? Tony sits down with his brother Evan Cooper, father to Rachel, Pia, and Evie, for one of the most personal conversations yet. Evan opens up about the girl-dad learning curve, the moment he realized he was passing his own childhood wounds to his kids, and the practice he calls equanimity. They get real about staying married versus co-parenting, and how cooking and entrepreneurship shaped his daughters.

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What if the most qualified stepdad in the room is the one who almost didn't make it out alive?

Andrew Adams didn't plan on becoming a parent. He didn't plan 12 years of opiate addiction, multiple overdoses, or a near-fatal car accident on a highway at 75 miles per hour. But today, Andrew is stepfather to three kids, engaged to the man he loves, and one of the most grounded human beings I've had the privilege of sitting across from.

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What does it take for a father to stare down rock bottom and choose his children?

I sat down with visual artist, author, and winemaker Jermaine Dante Burs for one of the most honest, raw, and redemptive conversations I've ever had on this fatherhood podcast. Jermaine grew up watching addiction ripple through three generations of his family. He became a young father at 23, all while fighting his own battle with alcoholism that eventually landed him on life support in the hospital. What followed is a story of extraordinary transformation.

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What happens inside a man when he finds out he's going to be a dad — and he's still months away?

Vascular surgeon and expectant father Lucas Ferrer joins Tony Cooper for a candid conversation about what life looks like at 25 weeks pregnant. Lucas opens up about the in-between feeling of impending fatherhood — the moments of disconnection at work and the gut-punch of feeling Santiago kick for the first time. Together, Tony and Lucas explore generational patterns, the fear culture Lucas grew up with in Puerto Rico, and the powerful model his grandfather set. This is a ra...

What if the most powerful classroom for your kids was the breakfast table every single morning?

Tony sits down with Jay Bourgana — entrepreneur, turnaround consultant, and founder of the Raising Lions community — to explore a radically intentional approach to fatherhood. Jay shares how daily two-hour morning conversations with his 10 and 12-year-old children have become the engine behind one of the most active and engaged communities in the parenting podcast space. From lemonade stands to product-market fit, from ikigai to the theory of constraints, Jay packages adult-level wisdom into real, actionable experiences for kids — and for the da...

What does a British boarding school, a bucket of talcum powder, and men's work have to do with becoming a great dad?

Tony sits down with Steven Fielding — father of two teenage sons, men's work facilitator, and someone who has done the deep interior work to understand how his past shaped his parenting. Steven opens up about growing up with an absent father, being sent to boarding school at 10, navigating divorce while keeping his boys at the center, and why intentional fatherhood starts long before your first child arrives.

Key Takeaways:

He runs four businesses and 3,000 employees — but his most important job is Dad.

Daniel Ramsey is a husband, father of three, high school wrestling coach, and serial entrepreneur who has spent nearly two decades building an intentional family life from the ground up. Growing up with an absent, unintentional father, Daniel made a conscious choice to become something different — and the results speak for themselves. This is a raw, honest, and deeply practical conversation about what it really takes to show up for your kids.

Key Takeaways:

What does it really mean to love your kids without conditions — even when it's hard?

Tony sits down with Jason Wright — podcast host, girl dad, and self-described "nutty dad" — for a conversation about breaking generational cycles, building family traditions, and loving with reckless abandonment. Jason grew up in a home where love was conditional and performance-driven, yet made a conscious choice to parent completely differently. He shares the real and the raw: the stress he wore too tight, the heartbreaks he couldn't fix, and the nighttime rituals that shaped his daughters into the remarkable women they a...

Two decades in, Kevin Button is still learning — and that's exactly what makes him a great dad.

Kevin Button is a father of three spanning 21 years in age, and one of Tony Cooper's closest friends in fatherhood. In this conversation, Kevin gets brutally honest about who he was as a young father — ego-driven, reactive, and repeating patterns he never consciously chose — and how a quiet moment with his 3-year-old son completely broke him open.

Kevin and Tony dig into the long game of raising kids: what changes between your first and third child, why th...

What happens when a 24-year-old decides, in the middle of Alaska, that failure is not an option?

Dustin Shephard — mortgage professional, girl dad, and North Shore of Oahu native — joins Tony Cooper for a raw conversation about becoming a father young, raising three daughters across two very different seasons of life, and what it really means to evolve as a dad. Dustin shares how a difficult childhood became the fuel that drove him to be better, why surrounding yourself with the right people changes everything, and the honest mistakes he made pushing too hard — and what h...

Your kids are watching everything you do — and learning from none of what you say.

Henry Poole — creative entrepreneur, father of two grown sons, and one of the most thoughtful men Tony Cooper knows — sits down for a deep, honest conversation about what it really means to parent with intention. From discovering the emotion of anger in his 40s to forgiving his father in a therapist's office before his first son was even born, Henry's path to conscious fatherhood is unlike anything you've heard before.

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What if the best thing you can do for your kids is get out of their way?

Tony sits down with Mike Mendelson — a former high school teacher, devoted co-parent, and self-described "great dad" — for a wide-ranging conversation about raising capable, independent kids. Mike shares how teaching shaped his parenting philosophy, why the word "yet" is a game-changer, and what it really looks like to co-parent with purpose. From a near-miss mountain adventure to gut-punch moments with his son, Mike opens up about the wins, the mistakes, and the mindset shifts that have made him a bett...

He had twins at 23, no money, and no idea what he was doing…

Jeff Speer has been Tony's friend for 15 years, and this episode is one of the most honest, candid conversations The Dad Manual has had yet. Jeff opens up about becoming a father to twins right out of college during a recession, navigating the friction of two people with different upbringings raising kids together, and what it actually takes to build trust with your children over a lifetime. This is a fatherhood podcast conversation for any dad who's ever had to apologize and mean it...

You can be physically present every single day — and still miss everything that matters.

Evan Miller is a husband, father of two, and someone who's learned the hard way that showing up isn't enough — you have to actually be there. In this conversation, Tony and Evan explore the difference between attendance and presence, navigating stepfatherhood, raising kids who can handle real conversations, and how sobriety transformed Evan's relationship with his family. Evan also unpacks a jaw-dropping family origin story involving a 23andMe test, a baseball player, and a secret that stayed buried for four decades.

What happens when a dad hits rock bottom — and chooses to rebuild himself for his kids?

Mike Knittel has lived through addiction, CPS intervention, family breakdown, and a long road to sobriety — and he's come out the other side as a father his kids actually call when they need help. In this raw and honest conversation, Mike shares the moments that broke him, the choices that rebuilt him, and the lessons every dad can take away regardless of where they are in their journey.

Key Takeaways:

Your kid isn't just testing your patience — they're revealing everything you still need to heal.

Shane Metcalf is a father who made a decision most dads never do: to do the deep inner work before the hard moments arrived. His daughter Ava is almost six, and Shane hasn't yelled at her once. Not because she's an easy kid — she's strong-willed, irrational, and negotiates like a seasoned attorney — but because Shane made an internal decision rooted in years of personal growth, therapy, and a clear-eyed look at the cycles he wanted to break.

In thi...

What does it look like to become a father through the windshield — not the rearview mirror?

Tony Cooper sits down with Brad Barnes, a transformational trainer and dad-to-be at 12 weeks, for a conversation unlike any other on this fatherhood podcast. Brad shares the raw, unfiltered experience of stepping into fatherhood for the second time — carrying the grief of a pregnancy loss, the wisdom of a decade of personal growth, and a fierce commitment to showing up differently. This is fatherhood in real time, not in hindsight.

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Tony Cooper sits down with friend and fellow dad Aaron Pava for a deeply personal conversation about the fatherhood he inherited and the father he's working to become. From growing up between a strict stepfather and a hands-off biological dad — with no clear middle way — to proudly identifying as a girl dad, Tony reflects with honesty and vulnerability on the patterns that shaped him and the practices that continue to sharpen him. This is The Dad Manual getting real about the man behind the mic.

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Breaking cycles and building bonds across two families and thirty years.

Paul Crawford raised four children across two marriages and now brings grandfather wisdom to modern parenting challenges. From becoming a father at 29 while in grad school to navigating divorce, strained relationships, and ultimately reconnecting with his adult children, Paul shares raw insights about intergenerational trauma and conscious healing. This parenting podcast explores attachment theory, the critical importance of unconditional love, and how sometimes the best thing you can do for your kids is work on your relationship with your partner. Whether you're a new dad...

Parenting doesn't follow a script, and sometimes life throws you every curveball imaginable.

Danny Cooper shares his raw, honest journey of raising his child Sari while navigating his wife Emily's decade-long battle with breast cancer that began when Sari was just three months old. From aggressive chemotherapy and stem cell transplants to ultimately losing Emily when Sari was 10, Danny had to step into both parental roles while dealing with his own grief. Years later, Sari came out as transgender, transitioning from female to male at age 26. Danny opens up about the emotional complexity of celebrating his child's...

When your teenager starts reflecting your own traits back at you, parenting gets real

Michael Guidotti shares his journey raising 13-year-old Donovan, a remarkable young man who chooses family time over friends and stands firm when his character gets attacked. From sports bonding and travel adventures to navigating split households and teenage development, Michael reveals how authentic parenting means paving your own path while staying open to feedback. This fatherhood podcast explores the beautiful complexity of watching your child develop their identity while seeing yourself reflected in their choices.

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When one positive pregnancy test changes everything, transformation becomes inevitable.

Diego Kuri's life shifted the moment he discovered he was becoming a father. From addressing his relationship with alcohol to breaking cycles of rage and anxiety, Diego shares how fatherhood pushed him toward becoming his best self. Now co-parenting two strong-willed boys in Miami, he's navigating the balance between nature and nurture, breaking generational patterns, and creating a legacy of presence and unconditional love. This conversation explores the inner work required to show up authentically for your children.

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