You Are Good

We are joined by Emma Copley Eisenberg for a discussion about intersections of fate, Aimee Mann, the enduring beauty of Philip Seymour Hoffman, and one of the most sprawling movies about unpacking dad relationships of all time! Join us as we unpack Magnolia. You can find Emma's work, included her book The Third Rainbow Girl, here! You can find Emma on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Fresh Lesh produces the beats for our episodes. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

We meant to take this week off but then a thing happened. Musician, podcaster and public personality John Roderick struck a collective nerve by telling a story about his daughter, beans, and a can opener. In doing so he became known to many as "Bean Dad". We use this surprise phenomenon, and how and why it resonated negatively for many, to talk about "teachable moments", anxiety, trauma and collective PTSD. It's about Bean Dad, sure, but really it's about us all. We'll be back with our first proper episode of 2021 next week. Magnolia, y'all! Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!

We are joined by Claire Comstock-Gay (AKA Madame Clairevoyant) for a discussion about the cuckoo-bananas masterpiece that is Moonstruck. Fate! Stars! Chaos! Love! Lust! 80s New York! Men are wolves and they are afraid of death. This one has it all! You can find Claire's horoscope column on The Cut here. You can find her book Madame Clairevoyant's Guide to the Stars here. You can find Claire on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Fresh Lesh produced the beats in this episode. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Attention-seeking, resentment, a healthy desire for retribution, and boundless parallels to the Trump debacle. Also, is Batman Returns in fact the most anti-corporate superhero movie ever made? Join Sarah and Alex as they unpack all this and more. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Anne Thériault as they discuss abandonment issues and anxieties about the horror of the 'urban' being unleashed upon the suburbs and threatening THE CHILDREN. This week's movie, of course, is Home Alone. Anne is a feminist writer and author based in Toronto. Why Are Dads has gone international once again! You can find Anne on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Fresh Lesh produced the beats in this episode. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Mara Wilson as they discuss "gleaming sex", deranged easter bunnies, and Jim Jones' connection to the America portrayed in the 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story. You can find Mara on Twitter and on Instagram. You can find Mara's book Where Am I Now? here. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

It's a movie about a father who drives himself mad by holding himself to unrealistic holiday expectations, sure, but is it possible that there could be some daddy issues to unpack? Join us and guest Sovereign Syre as we talk about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. You can find Sovereign on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Clear and Present Danger is a movie about a CIA agent that stands up to corruption, sure, but is it possible that this movie about a convictions-addled father also has some daddy issues to unpack? We were joined by very special guest Jamelle Bouie—New York Times columnist and NBC political analyst—to discuss this 1994 political thriller classic. You can find Jamelle on Twitter and on Instagram (his photos are great!) Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here! This is, we should note, the first time we've had an actual dad guest on the show! AND! It's the first time we've watched a "dad movie". Lots of firsts with Mr. Bouie in this episode. Enjoy!

This is the latest installment of our Patreon-only chats that we wanted to share with y'all because it's the Sunday before Covid Thanksgiving and things are weird! You could probably use a little Bayside in your life, so here we are. If this is the sort of things that appeals to y'all, we have weekly conversations about odds and ends over at our Patreon account. We call these chats "Shootin' the Shit w. Why Are Dads". This week we talked Zack Morris, Richard Belding, and the many dad issues that can be found in the Saved By the Bell universe. Specifically, we talk about the episodes Rent-a-Pop and A Tale of Two Beldings. We recorded this a while back, back before we knew what sort of format Why Are Dads would stick to. The only thing I wish, in retrospect, is that I [Alex] didn't refer to Dustin Diamond as "off the rails". Child stardom is fucked up and kinda (and sometimes very) abusive! On that note, you should totally watch Showbiz Kids, Alex Winter's HBO documentary on child stardom. You can find Why Are Dads here, and on Twitter and Instagram.

Tim Burton's Big Fish is about a man who hopes to get a better sense of who is yarn-spinning father is. Are there larger truths in our parents’ self-constructed myths? In their “amusing lies”? Who were our parents before we were born, anyway? Is it possible to get to know those people? It's another movie about a dad so on the nose with its themes that it is impossible to open with a pithy line about the issues it offers for unpacking. Join Sarah, Alex and guest Louisa Smith as they unpack. Why Are Dads is a show in which we attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as we do with all difficult subject matter, we this by looking through a pop culture lens. Louisa is on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/louisathelast Find Why Are Dads online: https://twitter.com/whyaredadshttps://instagram.com/whyaredadshttps://www.patreon.com/whyaredads EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: https://www.temi.com/editor/t/oIY0SakS3fDIDOlbYVzVCzqvcpDC_NnK0jymGj35BcX0Xxr5XgA_L7O4p6MH6bjG9oNpl6mZvtesKYEpDQRjzyb8T6A?loadFrom=SharedLink