The Company of Dads Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Interview with Elissa Strauss / Expert on What Care Does For Us

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Male caregivers are increasing in number. They're Lead Dads to their children and their wives. They're more vocal in the office. They're taking on roles that have been traditionally assigned to women based on outdated gender stereotypes. And care has changed them in positive ways. So why does it seem so strange for men to be taking on these roles? And why do they get mocked for doing so? Elissa Strauss, author of "When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Other," has great insight. 

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Interview with Timothy Smith / a.k.a. The Financial Dad

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Why don't parents talk more about personal finance with their children? You talk to them about all the ways to keep them safe - dating, drugs, drinking, doing the right thing in tough situations. All super important, and so, too, is understanding financial choices - and the consequences they can have. Tim Smith, the Financial Dad, says too many parents don't understand personal finance themselves. He's here to offer actionable advice. 

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Interview with Will Hoffman / Rare Disease Advocate

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Will Hoffman is a runner and when his son was diagnosed with NF - an incurable genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body - he ran towards the problem. With his son, with others, he tried to figure out what he could do and that was to raise money. But he had other children and had to balance that. Learn what he does to make it all work. 

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Interview with Kate Mangino / Gender Expert, Researcher, Author

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Splitting up work at home equally doesn’t mean you do the dishes and I take out the trash. It means both partners share the mental load of running a house, raising children and tending to all the things that crop up. Kate Mangino spent time with 40 men who are equal partners to their spouses – as verified by their spouses – to write her new book Equal Partners: Improving Gender Equality at Home. What she found was the upbringings of the 40 weren’t always traditional – some were raised by single parents, some felt different growing up, some came from violent households. But their willingness to take on more of the mental load when they got married was summed up in a positive way: they felt it was better for them to be equal contributors in their relationships and they didn’t feel like that was a sacrifice. Admirable stuff. But listen to learn why so many of the 40 asked for anonymity and still don’t know each other.

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Interview with Andrew Jensen / Pro Athlete, Mental Health Advocate, Suicide Survivor

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Andrew Jensen was an elite athlete all through the junior and university ranks. Handsome, fit and charming, he nearly reached the pinnacle of his sport, falling just a few notches short of playing on the PGA Tour. Throughout it all, Andrew was struggling with his sense of self-worth and hanging everything on his professional golf performance. Under that pressure, he played worse, and his mental health declined. He tried to take his own life three times. Now as a Lead Dad to his wife and their one-year-old son, he still worries about his own mental illness. He talks candidly on this episode about his own struggles and also about his desire to help other men in need.

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Interview with Brian Page / Founder of Modern Husbands, Financial Literacy Expert

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

For our first joint podcast, Paul Sullivan, founder of The Company of Dads, and Brian Page, founder of Modern Husbands, come together to discuss what the two groups have in common and where we differ. No competition here, just two men discussing one set of key issues that have come out of the pandemic: what it means to be a Lead Dad or Modern Husband in this changing world of work and home life. Listen to hear what Brian and Paul have to say about money, marriage and the pursuit of dad and husband happiness.

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Interview with Han-Son Lee / Founder of Daddilife, Leader in HR Change in the UK

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Han-Son Lee, the founder of Daddilife, a parenting website for fathers in the United Kingdom, is working to change the way companies treat working dads. Human resources departments can be there to facilitate changes and help create Working Dad Groups, but the only way men are going to come on board is if there are effective mentor groups. Listen to Han-Son talk about how to create these groups and why a lot of effort at the start pays dividends that grow exponentially for years.

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Interview with Mike McGee / Marketing Guru, Lead Dad to Annika Sorenstam

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Mike McGee was a sports marketing guru in his own right before going to work for Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest golfers of all time. About 15 years ago, their relationship turned romantic, and he’s now a Lead Dad to Annika and their children Will and Ava. Growing up in a golf family – his father was PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cupper Jerry McGee – he learned from his parents about what it meant to live in a true partnership. “I knew I had the love in my heart to do this and the ability to support Annika,” he said. “I’d lived it: it’s about the kids and supporting your spouse. I’m very fortunate to do that.” Listen to how Annika and Mike make the partnership work – and why he prefers guys ribbing him go with Mr. Annika.

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Interview with Bruce Feiler / Creator of The Council of Dads, thinker on family and friends

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Bruce Feiler is best-selling author, sought-after speaker and contemporary thinker on fatherhood, family and work. He may be best known as the creator of The Council of Dads, an idea and a book he conceived when he was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his leg. He wanted to recruit other dads to be there for his daughters if he wasn’t, and the council was born. He’s also written The Secrets of Happy Families, which is filled with actionable advice that we can take to make our lives better. Listen to us talk about fathers, family and what he calls a crisis of friendship among men today.

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Interview with Paula Ratliff / Tech Leader, Workplace Thinker, Kentucky Colonel

HOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVAN

Men far outnumber women in tech, but Dads have the ability to even the playing field for working moms, says Paula Ratliff, president of Women Impact Tech, which helps women thrive in the tech space. She talks about the “He’s for She’s” that helped her in her own career and can help women today. What’s needed she said is more mentors for working mothers and also great appreciation and understanding for working parents – who have proven they can work effectively in a remote or hybrid workplace. While she’s been doing this work for 20 years, there is a sobering statistic that still persists: mothers get a five to 10%  pay cut for each child they have, while fathers get a 6% pay bump per child. Listen to her discuss why she’s optimistic that coming out of the pandemic the tech industry is at an inflection point that could bring real change for working parents.

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