The Daily Dad
Episodes
Give What You Didn't Get
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Marqise Lee didn’t play football in 2020. He could have played for Bill Belichick but he didn’t. Not because he was worn down or afraid of the ...
This Is The One Thing You Cannot Do
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We can mess up a lot as parents—in fact, we will mess up a lot. We will work too much. We will have issues from our own childhood bubble to the s...
To Whom Much Is Given...
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Your kids want to know why their friends don’t have to do chores. They want to know why you aren’t happy with middling grades. They want to kno...
Don't Think About It This Way
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Every TV show perpetuates the stereotype. Our own memories confirm it. At some point, parents have to have “The Talk.” About drugs. About sex. ...
This Solves Most Problems
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We’ve said before that taking a walk will solve most of your parenting problems. Getting the kids outside, rocking them with the ambulatory sway ...
Daily Dad on How to Raise a Resilient Child
10 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Every parent wants a resilient child. Nobody feels good sending a fragile or vulnerable kid in the world. We know that resilience isn’t just a to...
It's Your Job To Check In
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Nobody steals a scene on Seinfeld quite like George’s parents, Frank and Estelle Costanza. And of course, nobody makes George more miserable than...
Have You Seen Their Perspective?
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We think they’re making excuses. We think they’re making stuff up. We just want them to go back and sleep in their bed. Or listen to their coac...
You’ll Always Have This
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“The last twelve months have been rough. They were defined by lockdowns and job losses and masks and wildfires and protests. But what about someone ...
If You Want Your Kids To Respect You
06 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Every parent wants to be respected. They want to be listened to. They want their advice to be taken seriously. They want to be looked up to. And ho...
They Don’t Know Your Battles
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“The story of Major Taylor is an inspiring one...and a tragic one. Major Taylor was the greatest cyclist of his generation, perhaps one of the great...
Daily Dad and Ron Lieber on Preparing Your Kids For Financial Success
03 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks to author Ron Lieber about the key Stoic virtue of temperance, how money can be a great tool for teaching, how parents and kids should app...
Teach Them To Think and Evaluate
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Plutarch tells us the story of a Spartan leader: "As he reclined after his meal the Eiren would tell one boy to sing, while to another he would pos...
They Get It Better Than You
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We told the story recently of the wakeup call that Rich Cohen got from his son’s hockey coach. Complaining about playing time, the coach asked if...
It’s Usually Not an Accident
31 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Florence Nightingale was an incredible woman. She revolutionized nursing. She saved thousands and thousands of lives. This came as a surprise in Vi...
It’s a Family Affair
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Taylor Branch’s incredible series on Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil Rights Movement spans three volumes. It’s almost 3000 pages with hundr...
Be Careful of Your Implications
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“In an early episode of The Crown, Princess Margaret and her sister Queen Elizabeth wax nostalgic about their loving, late father, who used to refer...
Daily Dad and Volleyball Legend Gabrielle Reece on How Family Gives Us Meaning
27 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan speaks to Gabrielle Reece about how family gives us meaning, the stillness that is required to accurately observe ourselves, how to properly main...
Do You Do This Over Dinner?
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Some families watch TV at dinner. Some families eat separately. Some families talk idly about their day. Dinner at Agnes Callard’s house is diffe...
They Don’t Understand Time (Do You?)
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Think about where you were fifteen years ago. Twenty. Just how long ago that was. Now think about your thoughts from fifteen years ago. Maybe that ...
Be Something and Somebody
24 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“E.H Harriman was a hell of a businessman and, as we’ve talked about before, a surprisingly good father. He had a reputation as a rapacious indust...
Lay Down These Rules
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Every family is going to have their own rules. Some parents want a “Yes, sir” and Yes, Ma’am,” others are OK being called by their first na...
Are You Telling Them This?
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“As a young novelist, Susan Straight was told by her mentor, the great James Baldwin, “You must continue to write. It is imperative.” Imagine ho...
How to Teach Your Kids About Ancient Philosophy
20 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s podcast, Ryan Holiday discusses some tips for teaching your kids about ancient philosophy and Stoicism. We want to pass on our knowledge ...
We Can Choose Our Parents
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We were given two parents. Or maybe one. Or maybe more. All of our upbringings were different, and outside of our control. We didn’t get to decid...
Classics Are The Key
18 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“You like stuff. your kids like different stuff. It’s a conflict as old as parenthood itself. Music, food, art--the generational divide is real. D...
Here’s What Matters
17 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Rich Cohen loves hockey. He loves watching his kids excel at it. Like any parent, the last thing he wants to see is for them to struggle, or worse,...
Your Job Is To Bother
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“They’d rather you not check in so much. They’d rather you not tell them how you feel about them so much. They’d rather you not hug them in fr...
The Kinds of Stories To Tell Them
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“It was a dark time. The world was falling apart. School was a distant memory. All they had was time. Is this your life? Or is it the plot of Cormac...
Daily Dad and Illustrator Victor Juhasz on Marcus Aurelius and The Boy Who Would Be King
13 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s podcast, Ryan speaks to his collaborator and illustrator for his new book The Boy Who Would Be King about the process of creating the art...
Transcend this Bitter Math
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“We know our parents sacrificed for us. That’s what history is...people giving stuff up for future generations, whether it’s crossing lonely oce...
They’re Only Going To Ask You So Many Times
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“They’re only going to ask you so many times: to get in the pool with them, to sit next to them, to help with their homework, to talk about the pr...
What’s More Important?
10 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Yeah, it costs money to heat a house warmer than it needs to be. Yeah, rooms should be clean. Yeah, it’s annoying when shoes are left in a pile. ...
You Can Educate and Entertain
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“You want to put them to sleep, so you read them the first book off the shelf. You’re on the couch with your daughter, so you watch whatever movie...
You Must Raise and Educate Them the Same
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Are there differences between boys and girls? Of course. Anyone that tells you differently either isn’t a parent or they have some agenda that’...
Allie Esiri On the Power of Poetry and Daily Reads
06 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On today’s podcast, Ryan speaks to writer Allie Esiri about the Stoic’s infatuation with ancient poetry, how to read and find insight in poetry, h...
This Is All an Invention
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“This didn’t used to exist you know. Kids had it way harder before. Not just a hundred-plus years ago when they were valued most for their labor o...
There Are More Important Things to Worry About
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates tells the story of the god Theuth approaching the King of Egypt, hardly able to contain his excitement about sharin...
What Kind of Voice Are You Giving Them?
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“You hear it all the time. The voice in your head. You’ve heard it all your life. The one that tells you what’s right. The one that tells you wh...
They Don't Care
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“Of course, your kids love you. They look up to you. They imitate you. They want to be around you. At the same time, it seems like they could not be...
This Is Why We Read
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
“You’ve read plenty of bad books as a parent. The ham-handed kids books. The nonsensical ones. The vanity projects. The patronizing ones. Why are ...
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...