The Company of Dads Podcast

Interview with Lara Bazelon / Lawyer, Author, Honest Assessor of DadsHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANLara Bazelon is an attorney and author of the book Ambitious Like A Mother: Why Prioritizing Your Career is Good for Your Kids. Her book is about this moment in time, when we’ve come out of the pandemic where whole groups of people have been able to work from home, and that has allowed spouses to see exactly what the other one was doing and when. Listen to her thoughts on shaking off lingering stereotypes – like who’s the breadwinner and who’s the caregiver – to create better relationships and more dynamic families.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Franco Finstad / Jazz Trumpeter, City Dad, Quick-witted StorytellerHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANFranco Finstad is a dad-at-home in Manhattan, as he calls it on his LinkedIn profile. He has twins, a boy and a girl. Before they were born, he was a software engineer and a musician – trumpet being his instrument. But a funny thing happened on the way to being the Lead Dad to his twins. While he and his wife – a financial adviser – were in agreement that this was what worked for their family, it’s not been without its issues. What do you do when your wife introduces you to people at a work party and they walk away when you tell them you’re a dad-at-home? How do you adapt when you thought other caregivers would accept you in an open-minded city like New York? It’s all about how you describe what you do. And as Lead Dads know, words matter, so listen to what Franco has to say about his journey – and how he frames it to others.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Kamau High / Journalist / Kid Pickup Pro / Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANKamau High is a senior editor at The Baltimore Sun, where he helps shape the news agenda and manages a team of reporters. It’s been an interesting path to get where he is. He married his high school sweetheart. They moved to New York, they had fun, they worked – she is a cardiologist, he was a reporter at the Financial Times. And then they had a daughter and a different life beckoned. Today, Kamau is the diversity, equity and inclusion editor as well as the education editor at one of America’s most storied city newspapers. (The creator of The Wire once worked there.) His wife works for an insurance company and their daughter is a teenager – about to enter high school! He’s happy to say that the new way we work has suited his family better, with a greater ability to work from home and go into the office for important meetings. That said, the car line for school pickup remains a constant. Listen to him talk about Lead Dadding a teenager, managing work deadlines and car line drama.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Tony Maws / Award-Winning Chef, Restauranteur, Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANFamed chef, Tony Maws was a central part of the Boston food scene for more than two decades. He won a slew of chef honors, including the highest – a James Beard Award. One of his restaurants, Craigie on Main, attracted a loyal foodie following who gathered around his famed chef’s table. (He also had a more casual burger joint because, well, who doesn’t love a good burger?) But being the chef-owner and being there for your family isn’t always compatible. The pandemic changed Maws’ thinking. He is embracing being a Lead Dad for his teenage son and wife, a public school teacher. Listen to him talk about restaurants, family and the greatness of a roasted chicken. (It’s on the menu at least once a week in his home.)---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with David Weinstein / Legendary Baby Doctor – At Nearly 11,000 BirthsHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANDavid Weinstein has delivered nearly 11,000 babies in the New York area—most at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut. He’s one of the all-time greats. Stories of his grace and coolness under pressure are legion. High-risk pregnancies? No problem. Record deliveries in a day? 12 – out of 600 a year for him and his partner in their prime. Time with his own family? Turns out he had a streak of delivering most of his babies while his kids were asleep. Ahead of Mother’s Day, Dr. Weinstein shared some of his extraordinary experiences and talked about some of the lessons he’s learned after bringing so many babies into the world. Listen to his wisdom on parenting from the very start.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Max Rivera / New York City Firefighter, Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANAfter the September 11 attacks, Max Rivera knew he wanted to be a New York City firefighter. It’s not an easy job to get but he was determined to do it. It took him over a decade to accomplish his goal. But he made it and was assigned to a storied fire house in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He’s now part of an elite special operations squad that backs up other fire houses. While he can leave the job at work, it’s harder to leave his Lead Dad responsibilities at home when he reports to the station. He’s got support: his community of fellow firefighters. Because of their schedules of days living in the firehouse and days off, New York’s Bravests are a group full of Lead Dads. What’s more difficult – responding to a three-alarm fire or being a Lead Dad on little sleep to his two kids when his wife is at the office? Hear for yourself.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Keegan Albaugh / Founder of Dad Guild, Educator, Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANKeegan Albaugh readily admits that his wife, a grad student and stand-up comic, pushed him into starting what became Dad Guild. But after he gathered with a handful of other new fathers in Burlington, Vermont, he realized what he was striving to do was no joke. Normalizing fathers taking care of their babies was serious business. Tons of funny moments ensued along the way. Imagine a gaggle of dads with babies strapped to their chests walking through a park – the reactions were more akin to seeing a Hell’s Angels parade than watching parents care for newborns. Albaugh has built Dad Guild into a network of 500-plus fathers around Vermont and he is partnering with national organizations to spread what they’re doing for new parents. Hear how he has brought new dads out of their shells and helped them overcome basic fears and anxieties around being a Lead Dad to their young children.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Michael Teager / Jazz saxophonist, Early Remote Worker, Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANMichael Teager is a renown saxophone player with multiple recordings who was gigging several times a week before his son was born. His wife, a musician and teacher, needed to return to work fairly quickly, so he stepped up to take over childcare duties. He felt he could make it all work. He stopped teaching, reduced his gigs, and asked to shift the hours of his job as a business manager to nights. But it came at a cost: sleep, music friendships, free time. He thought his life would return to normal in 2019 when his son went to school, but then Covid hit and his son was back with him. Oh and the family had moved to Buffalo, where he knew no one. Listen to how Teager balanced so much, kept following his passion and never quit.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Nikola Gasic / Newly minted C.F.A. Charterholder, Parent and Lead DadHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANNikola Gasic believed his employer when it offered him paternity leave when his son was born: take it, someone else will cover for you, your job will be here when you return. He took paternity leave to spend time with his son but he also took it because his wife’s job was more entrepreneurial than his: if she was out for six months it would be a set back to her career. As an investment manager, he could step back into his role and rely on teammates to keep things going. And in between juggling Lead Dad responsibilities, he decided to complete the hardest professional exam in finance. So when he returns to work, he’ll do so as a C.F.A. charterholder. Listen in to hear more serious Lead Dad balancing.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/

Interview with Dr. Jamie Ladge / Expert on The Trade-Offs Parents Make and How Work is ChangingHOSTED BY PAUL SULLIVANJamie Ladge, an associate professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University, comes at the work-life debate with a lot of questions. Why is it hard to be both a good parent and a good worker? Can fathers be competent dads and professionals? Will involved dads be penalized like working moms have been? Where does the change start? (Hint: Not at the top.) Listen to her answer these questions and also provide suggestions on what companies need to do to adapt to the new world of work and advice on how men and women can be parents and workers without guilt.---Get our free newsletter covering all things fatherhood delivered straight to your inbox: https://thecompanyofdads.com/thedad/