Daddy Unscripted Podcast

Episode 021: Giving Thanks Here’s a little brief episode I created this week. With Thanksgiving coming on Thursday and my birthday happening the following day, it felt like it was time to finally sit down and get some things recorded that have been weighing on my heart for a while now. 2016 has been a unique year, to say the least. I ended up in the hospital E.R. on two different occasions this year, for differing reasons. All of this led to some needed and serious time for introspection on my part. Some of this episode speaks about that and the responsibility all of us parents have to care for ourselves on behalf of our family.I am so thankful for so many people and so many aspects of my life. This podcast is definitely one of them. Thank you one and all for your listening, participation, feedback and a huge thank you goes out to all my guests: those who’ve already taken the time to record with me and those of you who will soon.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitte

In this second episode with Ross Newhan, we focus almost entirely on what he spent his life and career covering as a renowned writer: baseball. Again, for those of you who didn’t catch this from his 1st epsiode, Ross covered the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Angels starting in the early 60’s until he retired in the early 2000’s as a national baseball columnist for the LA Times. It wasn’t much longer before he was honored with prestigious awards that brought him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.We discussed his time with the Angels and the Dodgers, and the company of players and people that brought him into. Ross is one of the best people to talk to for the history of both of those teams, from their starts in Southern California. We uncovered a good deal of those histories, we thoroughly discussed the current hardship the Angels organization both find themselves in and have put themselves in. We talked a little about some of the controversial players still being withheld from induction into the Hall of Fame.We spo

Ross Newhan The 1st of 2 episodes with Ross Newhan, we get to take a very introspective look at the life of one of Major League Baseball’s best beat writers. For those of you who are not familiar with Ross and his work, here’s a little of what you’ll be able to hear during these episodes. Ross started writing for Long Beach newspapers before the Angels had even become a team. He eventually started covering the Angels and the Dodgers, before moving on to the Los Angeles Time and eventually becoming their National Baseball Columnist. Ross was awarded the J.G. Taylor Spink Award in the year 2000 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. So, he’s a pretty big deal.Ross’ family life in Southern California is documented herein, leading up to his meeting and marrying his lovely wife, Connie, who is as big a fan of the sport of baseball as Ross is. He tells of the difficulty to be very present as his two children grew up, while spending time on the road during the seasons to cover both the Angels and the Dodgers for so

In this second episode with Ryan Stasik (bassist for the band Umphrey’s McGee), we tap into a lot of things left untapped from our 1st episode. We start off with his time in school at Notre Dame, his hard work at school, if nothing else, to put together a band.We spent a good deal of time talking about sports: both actual real life sports and the very addicting life of fantasy sports. He lays out what the guys in the band (and some of the crew) are into, regarding sports and teams. We break down how we feel about the Wild Card situation in the MLB. We go through our own (possibly outlandish) ideas for how to “Make Baseball Fun Again”.Before we circled back to the world of sports, we spent a good deal discussing his musical background and what he grew up listening to. He tells a story about how he decided he needed to get into playing guitar instead of piano in the early 90’s. We get to hear about his transition to the bass guitar and some key decisions that took place between Brendan Bayliss and himself. We s

At long last, the 1st episode with Ryan Stasik has arrived. Ryan is the bassist for the band Umphrey’s McGee, a band I have been listening to since some time in 2001. I don’t think my friendship with Ryan depends on the fact that I was able to meet him and other band members back during those earlier years. I think he is still very much that same easy-going and very approachable guy, regardless of how much bigger the band has gotten since then. I think that will come through to you loud and clear in this and the next episode with Ryan and myself.Ryan became a Dad a little over 3 years ago. I actually saw him a few months before his daughter was born and I remember giving him my usual advice about how many parents love to give advice. I was very excited for him and his wife and as soon as Daddy Unscripted became a podcast, he was one of the first Dads I thought of for being a guest. I was a little relieved and extremely grateful when he agreed to sit for a couple hours to talk with me about a few of his favori

In this second episode with Bob Ruff, we delve into a little bit of why either of us does this: podcasting. If you want to remind yourself what exactly one of the “Fork in the Road” episodes mean, click here.Bob and I discuss how we both took a very keen interest in the 1st season of the Serial podcast and what that meant to us. For those of you who already listen to Bob’s Truth & Justice podcast, you know the direct result of listening to Serial for Bob. We dug into his methodology, what it takes for him to put together his investigation as well as the actual podcast. Bob talked a lot about the struggles he faces with “the establishment” with the cases he is currently working on.I got a lot deeper in this episode than I could have foreseen. That’s why it’s called Daddy Unscripted, folks! You may be able to tell during the episodes, but I hold tightly to that…there is no script. I got into, what I felt was the backside of the coin, if you will, as to why Bob does what he does: human-kindness, caring about

This episode with Bob was very exciting for me to record. If you don’t already know the name Bob Ruff, I give a sizable introduction to him at the beginning of this episode. Nutshell: Bob has two podcasts of his own, one that is much more popular and familiar, known as “Truth & Justice”, that originally stemmed off of the widely-known and award-winning 1st season of the Serial podcast. Bob has since dedicated his professional life to advocating for wrongly convicted individuals that are imprisoned, as well as finding the truth behind who has been walking free since that person’s conviction.Bob’s story on this Daddy episode is very unique and extremely interesting. We delved into the background of his own family and parents before learning a lot about his immediate little family unit: consisting of 4 kids that he and his wife brought together into their successfully “mixed family”.I gained even more respect for a man that was able to acknowledge when large life decisions weren’t necessarily working, and ha

In this episode, Austin and I discuss the most obvious common subject between us. Which, you’ll hear right off the bat, was not actually the sport of Jai Alai. No, it’s the Boston Red Sox. We talk about how both of us came to be fans of this Boston team, even though neither of us live in Boston, let alone Massachusetts…let alone, New England, for that matter.This isn’t just about the Red Sox and our extreme fanaticism of the team that makes Fenway Park their home, we chat about how sports influenced our childhoods and the extra oomph it gave to our relationships with our fathers, as well.This isn’t an episode only for other Red Sox fans, but that definitely won’t at all hurt your ability to really enjoy this Fork in the Road.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comIncidental music provided by Roman Bell.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.dad

This episode with Austin is unique for a number of reasons. First: Austin and I know each other through Twitter. Second: Austin is my first SAHD as a guest. Third: This was my first foray into recording remotely. All of that worked out to make a pretty fun episode, that brings out a very interesting story of Austin’s life and family’s background. As someone who spent close to the first 18 months of my daughter’s young life at home with her, I have the utmost respect for a stay-at-home dad (I have insane respect for SAHM’s too… don’t anyone get all uppity with me).I learned a lot about someone I felt like I knew a decent amount about “through the interwebs” during our conversation in this episode. I hope you all get some good nuggets of wisdom out of it, too.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy

In this episode, which I joked should be subtitled: “The Episode Where Jason Tries to Talk Me Into Being a Lakers Fan”, you can guess what some of the episode is about. We talk a lot of NBA, including the time I was actually a huge basketball fan back in the 80’s. We touch a bit on why I’ve always been a Celtics fan and slightly scratch the surface on why I’ve rooted for non-home teams almost my entire life.Since Jason is a huge Rams (football) fan, we talk about his elation that the team is returning to LA. Being the huge Patriots fan that I am, we also talked about Deflategate, commissioners and the hole that Roger Goodell has dug for himself.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/privacy for p

Joe has been a good friend of my family for close to 2 years now. He is the first single Dad to be a guest on the show, and does a good job of bringing that approach to the conversation. Joe has very strong family ideals and that can be attributed to his strong relationship with his own Dad. We talk about how important his fathering role is to him and how easy it is to recognize the importance it will have on his son not only now, but further along in his life, as well. As deep as this episode got, you can tell from the first couple minutes, we shared a lot of big laughs as well. So, this has more than just one side of the emotional spectrum for you all to enjoy.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to our podcast/blog website at www.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/

If the normal episode with Jose and I was considered late at night, this second section was definitely into the wee hours. For our Fork in the Road , we just kept right on talking in that small hotel room in Santa Monica. We talked a little about podcasts, photography and writing. Our road got even more forked, when we started discussing what celebrities we thought would be perfect best friends for us, if we ever met them. This reminded me of the Disney movie ‘The Kid’, where Bruce Willis says at some point that his best friend in Elementary School was Timothy Wheaton. That was hilarious to me when I saw that movie. We talked a little about sports, since Jose is a Philly product and covered just about everything in this episode.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jason is another longtime friend of mine that brings something very different and interesting to the podcast. Of course, you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out what that is. Actually, his tales of interest are on both sides of “fatherhood” for him: with his own Dad(s) as well as his being a Daddy to his two kids. Jason definitely dug deep in this episode and it was refreshing to have this conversation with him. Jason and I delved into a lot of issues and talked about the difficulty of getting your newborn on a schedule. We agreed that if Dads had to do what Moms do through pregnancy and childbirth, there would basically never be any more babies born. So, see, women? This podcast is not just about men and for men.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a quick little episode to celebrate Father’s Day; my 26th Father’s Day without my Dad around for me to call, text or to give a cheesy or homemade gift to. The 8th such holiday that I am being heralded as a Dad. That’s pretty cool for someone who never imagined even being able to find the right person to marry, much less have kids.My Dad’s last Father’s Day was during my Senior year in High School. The doctors had very recently diagnosed his brain cancer. I was 17 and that was the last time I would be able to praise him for being the fantastical Father that he had been to me and my 7 siblings. I well up with tears as I look back on my 17 year old self, completely unable to process what was going on. It is what it is, but I can’t stop regret from flooding over me when I think about it. Regret for the things I never said, for my fear of being present and dealing with the situation better. Even just to take a handful of minutes to think about what he must have been going through. Aside from the obvious of

This was a long and winding road to this podcast recording happening. Oh, did I just put that Beatles song in your head? You’re welcome. Jose (which you will see all of his links at the bottom of this post) and I have known each other for quite a few years now, and knew of one another for at least a year before that. Jose started dating one of my best friends, Jessica, way back then and he and I finally started talking some time after that. Basically, it’s just one of those “I met you on the internet and we didn’t meet in person until….” kind of things. And the ‘_ until _‘ of that is actually this very night of recording the episode. Jose and Jessica were in Santa Monica for just two nights, so we really squeezed this (and the subsequent FITR episode) in to their jam-packed schedule. For that, I am very grateful. It was fun sitting and talking for so long with Jose, and there are quite a few gems in this episode. We really dug into the terminology of ‘stepdad’ and ‘stepkids’ and heard from a side of that rela

So this is the Fork In The Road episode that Ryan was trying to force us to segue into more than once from our normal episode. Not that we didn’t enjoy talking about being Dads, but we had not even talked about the (at the time) brand new trailer release for Star Wars: Rogue One at all before this episode, because we wanted to do it on air. So, we were both kinda bursting at the seams to get into our Fork episode.I won’t spoil too much of the episode (even though we do have some spoilers in the actual episode *spoiler alert*) for you, but we actually saw Star Wars Episode VII together at the 1:30am showing on Opening Night. So, to say we share a passion for the Star Wars universe together, is putting it extremely lightly. We hashed out some of the rumors about the new and upcoming movies, we went through some of our own personal Star Wars history and we even gave our own opinions on some of those theories that are swirling around since everyone first saw Episode VII (I’m still apparently outnumbered when

So, I finally got to sit down and record with Ryan. Ryan is the Dad I was supposed to be recording with the night that I recorded Episode 001 (there’s a little more on that inside that episode, so feel free to go back and give it a listen, if you haven’t already). I missed out on our chance to get a Pre-Daddy recording with him, so we waited and did this episode when he was already a couple months in on being an official Dad to his newborn little girl. Ryan’s history of his own childhood was something I hadn’t known about him, so it was a good bit of insight to me, but also good to have someone on who was a “product of divorced parents” and had some experience to share about living between two parents (in different states, even) and having step-siblings.Daddy Unscripted can also be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google PlayTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and

Welcome to my first Fork In The Road episode. This came just at the tail end of my previous episode with screenwriter/producer Michael Colleary. Michael and I share an affinity for cinema (that’s even more fancy than saying “films”, right? Well, we are that fancy about it!), so I figured we would have a second episode just geeking out about the movies we love. You’ll hear right off the bat, I think he was not very excited when I led him into it by saying Top 5 lists…but when I clarified that I meant movies, his eyes lit up, his voice changed and we were on our way. We split hairs about Quentin Tarantino, Michael piqued my interest in a number of TV shows I had not yet put any energy into (thank you, Netflix!) and there was even a little discussion regarding how Friends can often turn him into an outsider in his own home, amongst his wife and two daughters.If you didn’t catch our main episode together, feel free to go back and check that one out! I may have to go back to the well on this on

For this episode, the entire family went up to the Los Angeles area, to a place we’ve been many times before: my wife’s cousin’s house. We all love spending time up there and I’m usually more busy hovering over the kids than getting to spend as much time as I’d like just sitting and talking with the grown-ups of that family. Michael and Shannon are my kind of people. They love telling stories (of which they have some doozies!), they love talking about movies and the industry (they are both seriously talented writers) and we have pretty similar tastes in films.I will openly admit, I never sat down and did any kind of research before this sit-down with Michael. I didn’t really think I should or that I needed to. So, I quite honestly didn’t even know before I googled him for notes after the episode that he was writer/producer of one of those guilty-pleasure-type movies of my younger days: Face Off. Yes…that Face Off: of the days before Nic Cage kinda seemingly jumped off the deep end a little.As I said before, I

If you listened to Episode 001, you know that my first episode was supposed to be part one of a two-part episode with a friend who was on the brink of becoming a Dad. Well this is the other two-parter that I arranged, with a different friend of mine, Kenn. Kenn and I go way back, and I’ve known his wife since she was in Jr. High! We recorded this episode just before their very first child was born, and we discuss the seriously incredible journey that led to that point for them. To say they struggled with getting pregnant is a massive understatement. We also talked about Kenn’s history with his own Dad and Mom and what he’s bringing (or not bringing) to the table as he prepared to be a first-time Dad.The second part of this episode (at the time this is being released) has yet to be recorded, where we follow up with Kenn and see what the first few months have been like with their little girl in their lives; how much his expectations and ideas were wrong or right. That time will come. For now, enjoy this first s