The Daily Dad

Daily Dad’s Best Advice From Authors

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode features a compilation of some of the best advice that we’ve found from great authors. Ryan revisits stories from Cormac McCarthy,...

They Got Your Number

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You used to think you had it so together. And maybe you still do. At work, you’re important and together. In relationships, you’re measured and...

It's Not Fair to Expect This

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“If you’ve ever watched Netflix’s The Crown, you’ve seen this lesson play out: Queen Elizabeth is strong. She’s stoic. She’s restrained. S...

If You Want Them to Do Right

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You think they’re not watching, but of course they are. What else do they have going on? You’re the most entertaining and strange show in their...

You Must Amend Your Life

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Nobody wants to think about this. We love our kids too much. We love our lives too much. We have too much to do. But we have to stop. We have to st...

What Are We Teaching Them?

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“The fact that there are so many memes about this shows how widespread the problem is. ‘Another day without using the Pythagorean theorem,’ read...

Daily Dad’s Best Advice from Athletes and Coaches

20 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode features a compilation of some of the best advice that we’ve found from athletes and coaches. Ryan revisits stories about Kobe Bry...

We Cannot Abdicate Our Responsibilities

19 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“We’ve talked before about F. Scott Fitzgerald. He was a great writer who wrestled with many demons. He was spoiled by his parents. He inherited a...

It’s About Learning, Not Memorization

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“It’s time for us to review your multiplication tables, you tell them. Let’s look over your vocab flash cards. Or maybe you’re one of those pa...

There Are No Such Things As “Children’s Stories”

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Aesop’s Fables are silly stories about dogs and mice and foxes and lions. Children love them. But are they ‘for kids?’ No, they are for human...

The Harder Path Is Worth It

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Cynicism is easy. Being jaded is easy. Being tired—tired of other people, tired of life—is easy. Hope? Hope is hard. Earnestness is hard. Carin...

Their Faults Are Your Faults

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“They don’t listen. They make bad choices. They don’t give their best efforts. Your kids can drive you nuts. After all, isn’t mimicry pretty a...

Daily Dad and Agnes Callard on Teaching Children Philosophy

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode Ryan speaks to professor and author Agnes Callard about pulling children towards philosophy, how to popularize philosophy in your...

You Are Only As Happy As Your Unhappiest Child

12 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“In 2013, two of Jack Harbaugh’s kids were coaching against each other in the Super Bowl. They had led their respective teams to the NFL promised ...

You Can Find the Time

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“We think we’re too busy. We think it’s impossible. We’re parents now. There’s no way we can start that company. There’s no way we can fin...

The Fire Is Real

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“The last pages of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road are about the hardest thing any father will ever have to read. The man is dying. He knows it. He kno...

Leave Them Alone!

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“As we’ve said before, people have been complaining of the next generation...since well, generations. It’s an old cliche: There’s something wr...

We’re Doing It Wrong

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When you think of your own school days, what do you think of? What do the days at school of your own children look like? Certainly, very different ...

Daily Dad and Jessica Lahey, Angel Parham, Brett McKay, and Dr. Harvey Karp on Parenting

06 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode features clips from some of the best interviews about parenting from The Daily Stoic Podcast. Ryan talks to Jessica Lahey, Angel Par...

You Got What You’ll Want

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“There’s been some iconic father-son moments in sports history. Tiger hugging his son Charlie after winning the Masters. Drew Brees lifting up his...

Prepare Them Now. While You Can.

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Life is easy now. We should just let them enjoy it right? Before they have to work for a living. Before they have to care about what’s going on i...

Let’s Get To The Bottom Of It

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“They have questions. You have answers. That’s how this works? Sure, if you want to be a human form of a Google Search.”Ryan explains why you sh...

Give Them This Stuff

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“The novelist John Steinbeck used to write his novels with pencils. In 1952, he was wearing himself out writing his greatest novel, East of Eden. He...

The Right Thing Is Not So Simple Anymore

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When you were younger, you were brash. You didn’t take crap. You didn’t keep quiet. If you disagreed, or didn’t like something, you said some...

Daily Dad and Emily Oster on Rational Parenting

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s episode, Ryan has a wide-ranging conversation with professor and economist Emily Oster. They talk about how to balance your life with chi...

Teach Them How To Devour Like This

29 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Some parents want their kids to know how to read. We want more than that. We want our kids to be obsessed. We want them to hunger for books. We wan...

Don’t Tie Down Your Eagle

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Florence Nightingale was a precocious child. As a toddler, she always went her own way. Then, unlike many girls her age at the time, she wasn’t i...

Keep Your Head Up And Take Another Swing

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“No person has a perfect track record. Certainly, no parent does. We all mess up. We all fall short. We get our priorities wrong. We make mistakes. ...

Make Your Name Mean Something

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When Cato’s son Marcus fell at the second battle of Philippi in 42 BCE, his final act was to shout his father’s name. When Cato’s daughter Po...

Regular Kids Can Do Great Things

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“It is obvious, in retrospect, why some of the towering figures of the 20th century were who they were. Stalin. Hitler. Mao. Even Churchill. They ha...

Daily Dad and Harvey Karp on How to Be a Great Parent

23 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ryan speaks with Dr. Harvey Karp, a parenting expert and inventor of the SNOO Sleep System, about how people prepare for parenthood, the benefits of s...

It’s Not Over For You

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“The writer Susan Straight was helping her mother move, when she found an old painting thrown in the trash can. Sensing that this wasn’t something...

Don’t Be Mad At Good People

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You’re a patient person. You don’t get road rage. You don’t snap at your employees. You accept apologies when offered. You treat strangers we...

Just Be a Fan. Just Be a Fan.

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Maybe your kid is into weird stuff. Maybe their heavy metal band sucks--or their talents as a white MC are almost offensive. Maybe you can’t stan...

The Struggle With Struggle

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“We all know that what we went through in life is what made us who we are. The breakups, the failures, the losses and the mistakes. Some of us grew ...

Everything Is Figureoutable, Pt. II

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When Charles Lindbergh was thinking about attempting the first transatlantic flight, he ran into an issue. It wasn’t that he had very little mone...

Daily Dad On Bringing the Right Energy Into Your Home

16 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On today's long episode of the Daily Dad Podcast, Ryan and Nils talk about how to create and maintain the right environment in your home—one where y...

You Have To Sell Them On This

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“As you’ve gotten older, it’s been harder to deny: People can be awful. Institutions let you down. The world will break your heart. There is suc...

Don’t Overdo It!

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You love them. It feels good to get them things. It feels good to spoil them even. Especially if you’re someone who works a lot, who feels guilty...

Apply Your Opinions At Home

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Like any reasonable adult, you’ve got opinions about the world. How the country should be run. What courage looks like in a politician. What a gr...

They Don’t Need a Lecture. They Need This.

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“Your kids screwed up. They failed a test. They forgot their homework. They hit their brother. They scratched your car and lied about it. They got c...

Work With Them To Find Their Lane

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You want your kids to be successful. You want them to be ambitious. You want them to fulfill the potential you see in them. Every parent does. You ...

Daily Dad On Raising Kids During the Pandemic

09 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the first longform episode of the Daily Dad podcast, author Ryan Holiday and editor Nils Parker discuss the unique challenges they've faced as pare...

Look for The Excuse

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When he was a young teenager, Lewis Puller Jr. got himself an afternoon paper route. It was one of those things that his parents insisted on so he ...

Embrace This Mindset

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You clean and the house is dirty. You do the dishes and then five minutes later, the sink is full again. Literally before you’ve even finished he...

Give Them Space

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“If you’re not careful, their whole lives get filled up. Soccer practice. School. Cello lessons. Chores are home. After all, you don’t want them...

Delay, Delay, Delay

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“You’re angry. That’s understandable. Your boss has been awful. The contractor still hasn’t finished fixing the bathroom. You just spilled cof...

Are You The Good Guys?

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“We picked up our political beliefs somewhere. From books we read, from how we grew up, from what we’ve seen in the world. We got started in our i...

Show Them Age is No Barrier

01 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

“When Bessie Carter, President Jimmy Carter’s mother, was 68 years old, she saw an ad on television for the Peace Corps that said ‘Age is no bar...

It’s Never Too Late

31 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“We talked recently about Springsteen’s choice for parents: Will you be an ancestor or a ghost? Haunt them or help them? The story he tells about ...

You Have To Make Time For This

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“You’re stressed. You’re busy. You have so much on your plate. Time to read? Other than kids books? Get out of here. Except maybe the latter is ...

The Present Is Pleasurable Enough

29 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“After a long and arduous hunt, Theodore Roosevelt finally got the bull caribou he had been tracking. ‘It was one of those moments,’ he later wr...

You Have To Keep Track

28 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“This whole thing can go by so fast. Because you have so much going on. Because you feel like you’re barely keeping your head above water. It’s ...

We Can Be That Gift

25 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Marcus Aurelius’s father died when he was young. But then this young boy who was cursed by tragedy received a great gift--a gift that the childre...

Make Sure They Know That They Are Plenty

24 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Lyndon Johnson grew up poor. Like, log cabin, almost 19th century poor. He was not, like his future running mate, John F. Kennedy, unaware of the e...

Don’t Be All About Business

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Is there anything sadder than a person whose work is their life? They neglect their family, they put in crazy hours, they have no interests, no hob...

Teach Them to Handle Things

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“You don’t need your kid to be a rocket scientist to be special. You don’t need to teach them 15 languages or the cello. It’s not a degree fro...

You Can’t Let Them Do This

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“They say it all the time. When will this be over? Are we there yet? Why is this taking so long? Do we have to? It’s whiney. It’s annoying. You ...

Which Will It Be?

18 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“In his Broadway show, Bruce Springsteen—whose songs have often focused on the painful legacy of our parents—explained the choice that all of us...

This Is How to Ask Them

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“When Martin Luther King Jr. took over Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL, he insisted on a small social shift after his sermons that wa...

This Is What Putting Them First Looks Like

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“For his whole career, Archie Manning had been a company man for the New Orleans Saints. He was great but the team was terrible. For years, they had...

They Are Going to Ask You

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“At some point in the future your kids and your grandkids are going to ask you. They’re going to say: Dad, when there were 200,000 cases and 2,000...

The Lives of the Greats Remind Us

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Why do we tell our kids stories? Why do we tell them about history? Teach them about Martin Luther King, George Washington, Cincinnatus, Florence N...

It’s Always Been Like This

11 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"There he walked, along the trail, carrying his young child pressed up against his side. Sometimes the kid would get a burst of energy and call to be ...

Think of Everything They Missed

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You read an old book and it’s pretty common: Dads didn’t used to be present for the birth of their children. Sometimes they weren’t even in tow...

This Is Something to Invest In

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You work hard for your family. You know how you sweated for each dollar, which can make it hard to spend. Especially if you have an eye toward invest...

Practice What You Preach

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"If you haven’t read Emily Oster’s work, then your wife probably has. She’s a wonderful, brilliant economist (who also has a brilliant newslette...

Protect Them From This, Too

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Two thousand years ago, Plutarch, quoting a philosopher named Xenocrates, was talking about how concerned parents back then made sure their children ...

This Is a Family Motto

04 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"It was one of those nights. The boys would not go to sleep. They had that contagious energy that so often keeps brothers awake. The first time their ...

What You Teach Them Can Never Be Taken Away

03 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"A lot can go wrong. You and your spouse could split up. You could get cancer and die before your kids grow up. They could join a cult. They could mov...

Better To Be Best At This, Than Anything Else

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Cato the Elder was a great man. He was successful at agriculture. He was successful as a writer. He was a powerful politician. He towered over Roman l...

What Matters More Than Results

01 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Tracee Ellis Ross has a famous, successful mother: the singer Diana Ross. You might think that someone that successful would care a lot about success....

Are You Inspiring Them With This?

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"There’s a lot of darkness in the world. A pandemic. Corrupt and failed politicians. Institutions groaning under the weight of modern problems. Mayb...

You’re Your Parents Now

27 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"It hits you randomly. You’re in the middle of packing your kids up for a drive to the beach. You’re laying on the couch because your back hurts. ...

What Are You Going to Focus On?

26 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You can look at all the negative in the world. You can focus on the dark clouds above. Or you can look for the silver lining, the bright spots. We h...

It’s Good to Have Difficult People in Your Life

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Maybe your parents have issues.Maybe you have trouble getting along with your siblings. Maybe your spouse and you are very different. Maybe you hav...

Now Is the Time. Right Now.

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Your kids are always listening, that’s true. They’ll always look to see what you’re doing and learn from you. Nell Painter learning from her mo...

This Is Where to Put Your Effort

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You’re making good money. You’re saving. You’re investing. You’ve bought those personal finance books that tell you how to manage your financ...

You've Been Graced

20 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Charles de Gaulle had a hard life. He was a POW in WWI. He had to flee France in order to save it in WWII. He endured protests and assassination atte...

Tell Them Before It’s Too Late

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"An accident, a mistake—no matter the intention, no matter how sweet the child or living the parent—can irrevocably change a life. A kid playing w...

It’s the Hardest Thing

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Chesty Puller saw some stuff. He fought in the Banana Wars. He fought in guerilla wars. He took islands in the Pacific during WWII. He fought in Kore...

This Is How to Act

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"It’s confusing to be a parent these days. Confusing to be a father, too. Because roles are in a state of flux. Expectations are always increasing. ...

You Have To Unlock This

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Clearly, Dean Acheson’s parents did a good job. They raised him to be diligent enough to get into the best schools. They provided for him. They made...

You Don’t Stop Teaching Your Kids

13 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Nell Painter was an accomplished adult. She was more than out from under her parents thumb—she was in her seventies. She was a world-class historia...

Yet Don’t Be Too Tough

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"As we’ve talked about, you have to toughen your kids up. No one is well-served by parents who are soft, who let them be soft.But at the same time, ...

Make Them Feel Like They’re “Enough”

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Obviously you want them to be successful. You want them to be excellent—at whatever they do in this life. But it is essential, as you try to motiv...

Not Just to Read, but to Read Critically

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"An illiterate world is not a good one, but a world where people unthinkingly believe and accept everything they read is not that much better. So it’...

They’re Listening. They Really Are.

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Like so many dads, Harbaugh kept repeating this ridiculous line because, who knows why, that’s just what dads do. Not once in the five hundred time...

You Have to Come Up With Challenges

06 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Of course, you want tough kids. You want boys who are active and resilient. You want girls who are active and resilient. You want them to be healthy,...

Don’t Ever, Ever Do This

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Cato the Elder, we’re told by Plutarch, “used to say that a man who beats his wife or a child is laying sacrilegious hands on the most sacred thi...

Who Are You Doing This For?

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"It’s almost incomprehensible.The parents were rich. They were powerful. Their kids had access to the best tutors in the world. The best schools. Th...

Only A Parent Understands

03 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"The Spartan Agesilaus was the toughest of the tough. Like all Spartans, he had been trained in the agoge to be courageous and self-disciplined and be...

They Learn From Home

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You tell them to be good. To be honest. To follow the law. To care about other people. That safety comes first. You say these things, but what do yo...

What If You Didn’t Think You Knew?

30 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You’re a dad, so you know a lot. You’ve been alive a while. You’ve read a thing or two and heard a thing or two. So when your kids ask you ques...

They Don’t Need to Worry About Anything But This

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"F Scott Fitzgerald wasn’t always the best father, but as one of the most brilliant writers and thinkers of his time, he certainly knew how to expre...

Let Them Hear It From You

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"You can’t wait until you’re on your deathbed to let them know how you feel about them. You can’t wait until you’re dead and gone and they go ...

There’s a Reason You’re So Raw

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"While there are certainly people out there for whom the pandemic or our political environment have brought out their worst, the rest of us have start...

Easier or Harder? Which Is It?

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"What’s the through line to judge a good parent through the early days to the glory days through the golden years? It’s simple: Do you make their...

They Are Always Your Child

23 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"We have to remember that while we’re on this journey. They’re going to get older. Someday, perhaps some day soon, they’ll stop being a little b...

When Is Their Time?

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

"Of course, you’re busy. You have work. You have your spouse. You have your kids. You have all the obligations of adulthood. All these things are im...