Let me guess: You thought it was SOOO unlikely that 2020 would serve up not one, but TWO hilarious fatherhood-themed podcasts... didn’t you, you Doubting Thomas, you? If 2020 has demonstrated nothing else, it’s that anything is possible. In Modern Dadhood's first anniversary episode, we welcome comedian and fellow podcaster Rory Scovel of Dads: The Podcast. We laugh, we laugh, and we wax philosophical on the role of the dad and why this fatherhood conversation is important. Also, our final "Confessions" of the year!
Let me guess: You thought it was SOOO unlikely that 2020 would serve up not one, but TWO hilarious fatherhood-themed podcasts... didn’t you, you Doubting Thomas, you? If 2020 has demonstrated nothing else, it’s that anything is possible. In Modern Dadhood's first anniversary episode, we welcome comedian and fellow podcaster Rory Scovel of Dads: The Podcast. We laugh, we laugh, and we wax philosophical on the role of the dad and why this fatherhood conversation is important. Also, our final Confessions of the year!
Episode 34 marks the one year anniversary of Modern Dadhood with a shamelessly self-indulgent conversation about the significance of discussing fatherhood with fellow dads from all walks of life. The guys catch up briefly on Christmas, and recount their early ideation sessions for the podcast, before welcoming comedian Rory Scovel into the conversation. Rory is a comedy writer, actor, performer and fellow podcaster who co-hosts the outstanding Dads: The Podcast on TeamCoco. The three reflect on their inspirations for starting dad-themed podcasts, and the wisdom they've gleaned through rich conversations with their guests. Topics include:
• The identity shift when you become a dad
• The dad "club"
• How our parents shape our identity and we in turn shape our children
• Rory's episodic show Robbie and parallels to his real life
• Ways in which the role of the dad has evolved over time
The guys bid farewell to Rory and transition to the final Confessions of 2020, which largely revolve around food.
Thank YOU for making Modern Dadhood's first year so exciting and fulfilling! Your involvement and support means the world to us. We wish all of our listeners (dads or otherwise) a healthy 2021.
Links:
Rory Scovel (Official Website)
Dads: The Podcast
Robbie on Comedy Central
Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up For The First Time (Netflix)
Pen Pals With Daniel and Rory
Rory on Instagram
Team Coco Podcasts
Rory @ Fatherly's 100 Coolest Dads, 2018
Modern Dadhood Store
Red Vault Audio
Caspar Babypants
Spencer Albee
Marc:
Well?
Adam:
It's great to see you, Marc.
Marc:
Good to see you, Adam.
Adam:
It's our anniversary. It's been a year. Can you believe it?
Marc:
No. In fact, I can't.
Adam:
And look how far we've come.
Marc:
We kicked off a dang year ago. My goodness. My goodness. Look at us now.
Adam:
You are listening to Modern Dadhood, which is an ongoing conversation about the joys, challenges, and general insanity of being a dad in this moment. My name is Adam Flaherty. I am a father of two daughters. One of them's almost seven and one of them is almost four.
Marc:
And my name is Marc Checket and I am a dad to twin boy soon to be three-year-olds.
Adam:
So Modern Dadhood is technically an interview show, but we say that it's more of a conversation show. Don't we, Marcus?
Marc:
Yeah, we like to keep it... Okay. Look, hey, let me open the door so you all can see the behind the scenes. Sometimes we write questions. Sometimes we write little outlines with, "Oh, here's what we want to talk about. We kind of want to go this direction." But look, we want to keep it light. We want to make it seem like it's just a couple of dads having conversations with other dads.
Adam:
Today's conversation is with a hilarious actor, comedian, and fellow podcaster in the category of fatherhood, Rory Scovel.
Marc:
He probably heard our show and thought to himself, "I could do that." And then he went into old, old Papa O'Brien's office.
Adam:
Old Papa Cone Bone. Yeah.
Marc:
And he said, "I got an idea. What do you think?"
Adam:
I love this idea that nobody else independently could have come up with producing a podcast about being a dad. So we'll be catching up with Rory shortly. Marc.
Marc:
Huh?
Adam:
How was Christmas?
Marc:
Oh man. I knew this question was coming. How was Christmas? Well, how much time do you want to spend on this?
Adam:
Give me the 45 second recap of Christmas.
Marc:
I think our kids, they don't fully get it yet. They kind of know who Santa is and they kind of know what the traditions are, but when they woke up that morning, most kids wake up and they're like, "It's Christmas," and they freak out and they run downstairs. And they woke up in the morning and maybe had forgotten that it was Christmas. They didn't... And then as they were sort of brushing their teeth, we were like, "Guys, it's Christmas day."
Adam:
"There's tons of toys downstairs."
Marc:
So they came downstairs and they saw that and they were just stunned. And it was really, really adorable. They didn't freak out screaming and yelling, but they were like, "Wait a minute, what is all this? What's going on here?"
Adam:
"This is for us? All of this is for us?"
Marc:
Yeah. And it's funny because these guys, they just get ramped up and out of control, but they were very calm and measured on Christmas morning. And they sort of each chose a gift, like, "Can I?" And we were like, "Yo, have at it! Me and your mom are going to have some coffee. You all just destroy everything. We don't care. That's what today is about." But it was really nice. It was really nice. What about you guys? What went down at the Flaherty household? Was it good?
Adam:
Yeah. I mean, all in all, it was a great Christmas. I didn't mind having a quiet day. It allowed the girls to open their gifts and actually play with them, interact with them a little bit, explore them a little bit before moving onto the next one. I do feel bad for our older relatives, grandparents, just because they don't get to physically be with the kids. We did FaceTiming and-
Marc:
Yeah, we did too.
Adam:
We definitely wish that we could have been physically with our families, but also realize that this is one year and it's not always going to be this way. That said, I'm very excited for 2021 and very hopeful and optimistic.
Marc:
Getting 2020 behind us is going to be a good feeling, I think.
Adam:
Oh yeah.
Marc:
Yeah. It's going to be like a little bit of a release.
Adam:
It's weird, I'm picturing Time Square. When you said putting it behind us, you hear so many people being like, "Fuck 2020." I picture Times Square having the biggest celebration to graduate into a new year, but then I'm like, no, it's probably going to be a pretty empty.
Marc:
I don't know. I kind of hope it's really empty.
Adam:
Oh, me too.
Marc:
I feel like instead of a giant ornate crystal ball, it should just be a giant hand with a hugely extended middle finger.
Adam:
Slowly dropping.
Marc:
How great would that be?
Adam:
Actually, it should rise this time.
Marc:
I love it.
Adam:
How about it raises just as a fist at the stroke of midnight?
Marc:
Yes. Yes, that's it.
Adam:
The middle finger comes out.
Marc:
It's 10 seconds worth of a fist raising. Midnight, the middle finger extends, fireworks, goodbye 2020.
Adam:
I love it.
Marc:
Wow.
Adam:
Yeah, 2021 is going to be a whole lot better. I consider this episode to be a bit of a grounding, so to speak, and I'll tell you what I mean by that.
Marc:
Explain.
Adam:
In preparing to speak with Rory Scovel about being a fellow podcaster centered around this theme of being a dad, it took me back to our early conversations more than a year ago about why this topic of fatherhood is important. And our early conversations really sort of centered around why is it an important conversation. Do you remember some of those early chats that we had?
Marc:
Yeah, I do. I do. I remember... Here's what I remember. I remember the very first conversation that we had. I believe it was a summer day. In fact, I was outside cutting some wood for a project. You told me about the idea. And to me, it was sort of like a, "Oh yeah, of course that's an awesome idea," kind of thing. Like I didn't think about it, but when I heard you talk about it, I was like, "That's fantastic." And I guess, I don't know, I'm sort of naturally the type of person who just talks. I just talk.
Adam:
And I just edit.
Marc:
But I like talking about things that are going on. And even if they're difficult things to talk about, or challenging, or I'm not really quite sure how to talk about it. And when you become a parent, you got a whole host of new things that you're trying to process. But yeah, I don't know. When you brought it up to me, it was just this moment of like, "Of course that's a great idea. Of course. I would listen to that."
Adam:
Well, we knew each other before either of us had kids, and I feel like we always had, I always enjoyed our conversations then, and then I became a dad. And then a few years later, you became a dad. And when you became a dad, and I remember we met for lunch and you sort of shared the whole birth story. And I feel like whenever we ran into each other from that point on, our conversations had the same vibe to them, that it was always fun to be, but now we were just talking about our kids and what we were doing and about fatherhood. And it just, I think for both of us, became a huge part of our identity. And it's been really nice to have the venue to explore that with you and with other dads.
Marc:
That was at BRGR Bar.
Adam:
That's right.
Marc:
BRGR Bar in Portsmouth. I had tater tots, but I think I remember having tater tots because I think I always have tater tots when I'm at Burger Bar.
Adam:
I think you have tater tots probably four nights a week.
Marc:
Yeah, I might have tater tots more than most adults have tater tots.
Adam:
Possibly more than most kids.
Marc:
I might be mostly tater tot like on the inside.
Adam:
If you cut your arm, only tater grease leaks out.
Marc:
Yeah, it's just like tater tots, just fried potato bits come out.
Adam:
The medium of podcasting in particular is so great because we can have the conversation, shape it how we want, include our personality, leverage our skill sets, and create something unique. So even if there are dozens or hundreds of other podcasts about fatherhood or parenting, I think about it in terms of like what do you offer that is unique? And what are you getting out of it? Is it fulfilling to you as a podcaster?
Marc:
I wanted to be a part of this podcast when you started talking about it.
Adam:
For me, selfishly, it's given me a good excuse to connect with people who inspire me and hear about their fatherhood experience, but also, non-selfishly, like for our audience, I think that present and involved fatherhood is important. And the more that we as a whole can champion that, the more it's going to become the norm.
Marc:
Let's celebrate that, make that the norm.
Adam:
So on the topic of dad podcasts, there was a new one which released back in September, and we've already mentioned it. It's called Dads: The Podcast.
Marc:
It's in its infancy.
Adam:
Well, it's in its infancy, but I will say it came out swinging. Rory and his co-host, Ruthie Wyatt, their first guest was Conan O'Brien. And in just these few short months, I mean, he's had guests like David Cross, like Tig Notaro, Tom Papa, all talking about being a parent. In addition to hearing him on Dads, Rory also has got the Pen Pals podcast. He's got a couple of really incredible standup specials, and he's got this new-ish show that you can find on Comedy Central's YouTube page called Robbie. So I'm really excited to welcome Rory Scovel to the conversation.
Marc:
Not descendant of the great Otto Von Scoville who created the Scoville unit scale of pepper hotness.
Adam:
Not a descendant.
Marc:
Not a descendant.
Adam:
In fact, a completely different last name!
Marc:
Let's talk with Rory.
Adam:
Rory, it means a lot to us that you would take the time to appear on what's clearly a rival podcast. It feels a little bit to me like the Hamburglar, holy shit, like the Hamburglar booking an appearance on the Burger King podcast.
Rory:
Right. Yeah. I appreciate it. I have, like all of us, I have nothing but time. So I'm thrilled.
Adam:
And honestly, we're thrilled to be speaking with you. You are a person of many talents. Your standup specials are hilarious. You're an actor, a writer. I just found the show Robbie on Comedy Central, which has literally had me laughing out loud-
Marc:
It's so good.
Rory:
Oh, great.
Adam:
More than anything else that I've been watching lately.
Rory:
Nice.
Adam:
And we wanted to bring you on obviously to talk about Dads: The Podcast.
Rory:
Yeah. Thank you.
Adam:
You just launched this fall and you and Ruthie really came out of the gate very strong. I know you're not new to podcasting at all, but we'd love to hear about what the inspiration was that led to creating a podcast about dads.
Rory:
Yeah, yeah, sure. So I had been talking with team Coco about wanting to do some kind of podcast. Ever since Conan launched his show, I think they've been trying to expand producing other shows and getting them out there. And I sort of had pitched some golf show ideas that I haven't deleted from my brain. I'm still pretty interested in it, but-
Marc:
We'll still see them in the future?
Rory:
Yeah, there's still a little chance those will pop up.
Marc:
Good. Okay.
Rory:
But yeah, while I was thinking about it, Ruthie, who I've known for a while, she actually had pitched the idea to me to do Dads: The Podcast. She had said, "You're a dad, and I watched you on tour have to be a dad through FaceTime while we were doing a tour with Conan." And I think the idea just popped in her head and I was all for it. And it was just going to be me interviewing people. And I said, "Well, Ruthie, it's your idea," and I work better with more people. I was like, "So it could be fun to have you and I interviewing guests," which has been, it's been pretty surreal. I don't have any experience in interviewing, so I've had to sort of learn it as I go. And unfortunately, I have had to learn it with a lot of big names that I admire. And I'm fumbling through like, "So you're a dad," and all these questions I get so nervous or are painfully the same in each episode. But I'm slowly learning it, yeah. And then the motivation just kind of came out of, I'm pretty sure the same for you guys, it's just that's kind of become our world and our lives.
Marc:
Yeah, exactly. No, I was just going to say the show has got such a great conversational tone to it. I mean, it's clearly like an interview show, but it doesn't hit you over the head with that. Like we sort of introduce our show a little bit as like, "It's an interview show. We're going to be talking to so-and-so today about blah, blah," right?
Rory:
Right.
Marc:
But yeah, yours comes across as just this very natural conversation between friends is what it feels like, which is pretty great.
Rory:
Oh man, I appreciate that, because I don't know if you guys experience this too, I always get so nervous about having a new guest, but then kind of hitting the same topics-
Marc:
Yeah.
Rory:
And always just getting a little too concerned that I don't want any listers to be like, "Oh, it's almost like an episode of Law & Order. It's going to kind of be the same beats and it's just going to be different people." So I personally, I've tried to be like, "Hey." I even tell our guests when they come on, I'm like, "We're going to chat about dads and parenthood," but I was like, "If it gets off the rails, feel free to go in that direction for half an hour if that's the way..." I can't say our producers love that, but I know I-
Marc:
What about the guy editing the show? How does he feel?
Rory:
Right. Yeah.
Adam:
If it takes a new direction, that's even better. Like the more conversational and the more genuine, the more authentic the whole thing's going to feel.
Rory:
Yeah, I think so too. And I think a lot of people, when you just hear them talk, not even always necessarily about how they're a parent or who their parents were, but I think a lot of people just kind of want to hear that real version of who that person is.
Marc:
Yeah.
Rory:
And to me, the end is talking about parenting or parents to try to break down that wall of like, "Hey, be vulnerable and talk about where you came from." And you guys know it too, you sort of get a perception of what kind of parent they might be just by hearing them talk about their actual real life.
Adam:
Yeah. I mean, we refer to parenthood sometimes as like the great equalizer. It doesn't matter if we're chatting with, we've had a few notable names on, and it doesn't matter if they're someone who is a household name or a neighbor who lives down the street, it's sort of-
Rory:
Right.
Adam:
We all deal with the same things to some degree. And also, like the people who you're chatting with are used to being asked the same questions about whatever it is that they're plugging, right?
Rory:
Right.
Adam:
And so I would imagine that it's refreshing to be taken away from that and get to talk about something that's very personal and that you're very passionate about.
Rory:
Yeah, that's such a great way to phrase it, that it's like the great equalizer, because it really is. I'm sure we might all have different resources or come from a different background, but the job still has these sort of boundaries of what you're trying to accomplish if you're a sane person.
Adam:
Right. Exactly.
Marc:
It's difficult to come by those this day and age.
Rory:
Yeah. That's true.
Marc:
Yeah. So we kind of feel like the topic of dadhood and dads talking about dad stuff is relevant. Like we feel it's just a relevant thing right now. Like when we look out there, we see more of that happening. And just curious, is your feeling the same? Do you feel like it's a particularly relevant topic, and maybe if so, why? What's your thought on that?
Rory:
Yeah. I mean, I don't totally know. I feel like maybe it sort of always is, and then when you become a dad or a parent, then suddenly it's almost like someone's like, "Hey, notice all the white cars on the road," and then you notice so many.
Marc:
Right.
Rory:
It almost feels like that with this topic, that once you're sort of in the club, you almost are suddenly friends with you people because your kids are drawing you together. And now you're in the context and social settings where you're around a lot of parents, and people in your neighborhood, you notice who has kids. And I think maybe it's just kind of always there, just once you're locked into it, you now know how to bring something to that conversation. And even when we started Dads, it was like, "Oh," when it was pitched to me by Ruthie, it kind of settled me. I was trying to think of an idea for a show. As soon as she said that, I kind of settled down like, "Oh, I know about that. I do that."
Marc:
Well, speaking of which, you're a dad.
Rory:
Yeah. I've got one.
Marc:
Can you tell us, if you're comfortable, can you tell us a little bit about your child?
Rory:
Yeah, she's five years. She's an only child and I am pretty certain that she will remain such.
Marc:
It's going to stay that way.
Adam:
It sounds like you might be medically certain.
Rory:
My next step is to become medically certain. But yeah, only child. She's five. She started Zoom kindergarten this year-
Marc:
Oh my God.
Rory:
Which is its own strange thing, but God bless a lot of these teachers who are doing the best that they can with an incredibly insane scenario. She's super into Legos right now and likes to build them on her own. So there's like little moments of... How old are are y'all's kids?
Adam:
My girls are a six and a half and three and a half.
Rory:
Okay, yeah.
Marc:
And I have twins. They'll be... Hold on a second. They'll be three February 13th.
Rory:
Okay.
Marc:
So I used to say two and a half, but now they're getting closer-
Rory:
Yeah. And then you find yourself, you're like a week away from three and you're still saying two and a half. And you're like, "I'm sorry, I don't know how to say late twos."
Marc:
Yeah.
Rory:
So they're almost there. And when you see your kid get the Legos out and really attack creating the thing, either following the directions or using their imagination, little things like that, not always legos, that's just an example of where you go, "Oh, good, good, you're doing that and you want to do that and you're capable of that," it almost makes you suddenly relax about your perceived future of what they're going to be capable of doing. "Well, if you can do that now, when you're 10, you'll be..." I guess we're always aiming for self-sufficiency as they age.
Marc:
Yeah.
Rory:
But I just taught her how to ride a bike-
Adam:
Bad-ass.
Marc:
Nice. Okay.
Rory:
A week ago. And it truly, like I have chipped in, but it does feel like now I have chipped in.
Marc:
No, that's-
Adam:
You can always go back to that.
Rory:
Yeah. I will always use that in every-
Adam:
"Oh yeah? Who fucking taught her how to ride the bike?"
Rory:
Yeah. "Oh yeah? Oh yeah, I'm useless? She can ride a bike."
Marc:
That's such defining moment though, right? Because I would venture to guess that the three of us all also remember that moment. Not to downplay the Legos thing, but I don't remember the first time I played with Legos or built a tower the first time-
Rory:
Of course, yeah.
Marc:
But the bike thing, that's fucking huge.
Rory:
It really was that moment of like, "I did that. I helped fucking do that." And it does feel good. Because like you're saying, you remember that moment because your brain lights up with this feeling of extreme independence. You have a vehicle that can now take you places-
Marc:
Right.
Rory:
And that is really bizarre.
Marc:
I mean, it's life-changing. It really is.
Rory:
Yeah. Yeah.
Adam:
In other news, how's your low back doing right now after those 20 minutes sessions of trailing behind?
Rory:
Yeah.
Adam:
Because that was miserable for me.
Rory:
It is not great. It's not great even if I was not teaching, right? Like I'm waking up in the morning, ugh, I don't know if it's just 40, I don't know what it is, but I'm up in the morning and I'm like, "Time to stretch the hamstrings," which has never been my life ever, and now, it's not even a, "Hey, remember to do it." My lower left back feels so bad that to do it truly feels like I just got into a hot shower. It just feels like amazing release, whatever it is.
Adam:
So I want to jump back to Robbie on Comedy Central. So you wrote the pilot.
Rory:
Yeah.
Adam:
You obviously star in the show. I think your character is just so great.
Rory:
Thank you. Thank you.
Adam:
And I love Beau Bridges as your dad. And I wonder, so both with Dads: The Podcast and our show, Modern Dadhood, so much of it is about being fathers, but also a big part of that is our upbringing and our relationship with our fathers and how our parents shaped who we are today.
Rory:
Right.
Adam:
So I wonder, is it fair to assume that your character on the show, Robbie, and his father is reminiscent or sort of draws inspiration from your upbringing and your relationship with your own dad?
Rory:
There are some elements of it, and there's also little elements of it kind of even not directly associated with Beau Bridges that are kind of things with my dad. My dad loved basketball. So it kind of really was born out of that in general, but then he also coached a little bit of basketball. He refereed so much basketball. I played church league basketball. So the joke of the show is like, "Well, what's the lowest level of competitive basketball we could possibly put in the show?" But yeah, the confusing element of the relationship is definitely heavily born out of my own relationship with my dad. And also, I mean, the show itself is just meant to be this multi-generational men relationship of finding out I have a son, finding out without the ramp of becoming a dad from nine months notice all the way up. Instead, having to find out on year 10. And then, like you just said, the relationship with Beau Bridges. Like we really wanted to hit as many notes as we possibly could of relate-ability for people because I think, and it isn't just men with their dads, I think it's women too that also have these confusing relationships. Maybe for our generation, who knows, maybe we're the generation where we as men are more vulnerable and we're more communicative with our kids, and maybe the stereotype and the cliche maybe is ultimately going to change with our generation. But yeah, I wanted to put all that in there to be like, "Well, here's your old school dad, and you don't really know how you're his dad, but then here's your sort of new age kind of paradigm," and it's only because this guy's an idiot.
Adam:
Right.
Rory:
And it's not because he wants to... He's like, "Oh, I'm kind of dumb. I'd rather you be my friend." But I kind of look at it like, man, that's the kind of relationship I hope I have with my kids. But yeah, if people are interested, please check out that show. I think that's all there will ever be is those eight episodes, but I'm really proud of how they came out, for sure.
Marc:
I think you nailed it though with that communicative, that word popped into my head just before you said it. And I've said this a few times on the show that my dad was, he was a great dad. I have no reason to complain about my dad, but we didn't talk, you know?
Rory:
Right.
Marc:
There were not conversations. With me anyway, growing up as I remember him, he was kind of a man of few words. I'm not saying I didn't learn anything from him.
Rory:
Right, right, right.
Marc:
I certainly did, but I definitely think that just the communication is there now-
Rory:
Yeah.
Marc:
Whereas before, it wasn't. And I don't know what it was. I never would've categorize my dad as somebody who cares about the stigma of a man having emotions, for example-
Rory:
Right.
Marc:
But I think he's a product of his time. He was born in like 1943.
Rory:
I think there's a lot to that. I think generationally, our role has shifted dramatically over time, where we're not necessarily, I hate the term breadwinner, but whatever, like we're not necessarily the breadwinner, and also, we're also not necessarily expected to be. And also, we don't necessarily have to be. And it's a product of creating this world of equality, that ultimately, the people that push back against it, I don't think they understand the benefit of it. Because I actually, I think it's in our DNA to be hunter or gatherers. I don't think we can ever deny that because I think it's built into who we are, but I take a lot of comfort in knowing that the expectations of what I'm supposed to bring to the relationship and to the home are now wildly different because I don't want to be the tough guy who does all these things. It's not who I am, so I don't really like it. Maybe there's some dads that do, but what I do like is how it's becoming more popular to be more of a parent. Forget the word dad-
Marc:
Right. Sure.
Rory:
Just to be more of a parent and be this other influence who just isn't the mom and have this other relationship. Because no matter what, we're never going to have what mothers have with their kids. That kid did not grow inside our bodies for nine months, which I think is why we are kind of like, "All right, it's your problem. I'm going to work."
Adam:
Yeah.
Rory:
But I think now, we want it to be our problem. We're like, "No, I kind of want to, I want to influence."
Adam:
But is it nice to have the option to take advantage of that in small little ways occasionally when you need to break off and do something else?
Rory:
A million percent. I think the way, what you just talked about your relationship with your dad and kind of what it was is, I mean, that's probably wildly relatable to a lot of people. So here we are, this generation of trying to learn how to talk to your kid about emotions when that isn't what happened to us. So we're having to kind of wing it-
Marc:
Yeah.
Rory:
As like professors who have no education on how to be the professors of this thing-
Adam:
Yeah.
Rory:
Which I think is great because then you just look at generations to come and you just assume it will be such an easy, open, vulnerable conversation over time. That's just how people will be, especially men will come to just talk and be like that.
Adam:
Yeah.
Marc:
We actually have written questions down, so I'm just going to gracefully segue into one of those by saying that sentence. But at the time of this recording here, Dads: The Podcast, you're going to drop episode, I think we're on 14. Does that sound about right?
Rory:
That is so there. That is so spot on I think. Yeah. I do not fully know.
Marc:
And depending on when we release, yeah, it'll be somewhere between 13 and 18 episodes.
Adam:
Yes. Exactly.
Rory:
Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah.
Marc:
The question is, has doing the show led to a shift in perspective as a dad for you? Have you been learning? Have things changed? Have you become a better dad through this process?
Rory:
I'd like to think that I've become a better dad, but without a doubt, perspective has shifted, one, on just hearing how other, just picking up on what people say they do or how they parent. It's comforting to know that other people are doing this and that it's hard to do and there's ways to do it. And I guess there's sort of like parenting life hacks that we can all kind of borrow from each other of how to get by.
Adam:
I wanted to ask. I didn't know until just recently when I was just doing a little bit of prep for this conversation that Fatherly, the almighty Fatherly named you number 48 of the Top 100 Coolest Dads of 2018.
Rory:
Yeah. That was-
Adam:
Who's back do you got to scratch to get that honor?
Rory:
That is a great question. Yeah, somebody had sent that to me. And really, the thing I got out of it most was just bragging rights with my wife-
Adam:
Right.
Rory:
Of Being like, "Uh, somebody gets it."
Adam:
"See?"
Rory:
"Someone knows I'm amazing."
Adam:
"I'm useless? Well, guess what? I trained her to ride a bike and I'm above the fold. I'm in the top 50%."
Rory:
Yeah. It is funny too to look at the other 52 because I would just randomly pick like known people and be like, "Oh yeah, I'm better than this person."
Marc:
Oh my God.
Rory:
Yeah, that was hilarious. That was great. It was shocking.
Adam:
Congratulations on the success of the show. It's awesome. We aspire to have a show like yours one day. And you didn't have to do our podcast, so we really appreciate you taking the time and joining us for an awesome conversation.
Rory:
Oh man, it's absolutely my pleasure. As you can tell, we all clearly love this topic, so anytime to chat about it. It actually feels great to chat about it as the guest. Having only done it as the interviewer and the host of the show, it actually feels relieving and a totally different angle to talk about it when you're the guest. So I'm grateful for that enlightenment. Thanks for having me on the show, very much.
Marc:
Stay healthy. You and your family, and hope to stay in touch.
Rory:
Yeah, yeah. You guys stay safe. Stay sane.
Adam:
Yes, we will. We'll try. We'll give it a shot.
Rory:
All right. Bye.
Adam:
Thanks, Rory.
Rory:
Bye.
Adam:
I don't know about you, but I feel like we should kick 2021 off with some confessions.
Marc:
Let's just go into the new year feeling fresh, feeling cleansed.
Adam:
Chant for us, monks.
Marc:
Recently, during bath time, I said, "Boys, you have five more minutes," and then I set a timer for three minutes.
Adam:
Recently, I impulse bought a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch thinking it would be a fun treat for my daughters going into the holiday season. I proceeded to eat the entire box by myself and they're none the wiser.
Marc:
If I'm eating something and my kids want it, I'll tell them no because it's spicy, even if it isn't spicy.
Adam:
A few days before Christmas, I make an annual pilgrimage to the good candy shop to pick up some sweets "for the girls." I'm putting air quotes around “for the girls.”
Marc:
I love when my kids earn some TV time because that means I get to watch cartoons.
Adam:
My children have collected dozens of cheap knick-knacks which they love for about 10 minutes and then are forgotten. I find immense satisfaction in discreetly dropping them into the trash can. Well, we have reached the end of our first anniversary episode. Dads, moms, anyone listening, you can find us at moderndadhood.com, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you listen. And we would ask that if you haven't, please take a moment to subscribe and leave us a quick rating and review. And if you're liking Modern Dadhood, please tell your friends about it. A word of mouth is so very helpful to us.
Marc:
You should check us out on Facebook because we do some fun things over there. We do these Quick Hits, which we think you'll find very interesting. We've got an Instagram account that you should check out, follow. It will fulfill the emptiness you have in your soul between our episode releases.
Adam:
I don't think we can legally make that a guarantee.
Marc:
I didn't say guarantee. You said it.
Adam:
Did not.
Marc:
Yes, you did. You did say it.
Adam:
Mom. We got t-shirts. We got Modern Dadhoodies available on our website.
Marc:
Trademark.
Adam:
We would invite you to drop us a line at hey, H-E-Y, @moderndadhood.com.
Marc:
Thank you to Caspar Babypants and Spencer Albee for our Modern Dadhood music, to Pete Morse at Red Vault Audio for making us sound, I mean, wonderful, we sound wonderful, to the brilliant Rory Scovel for his kindness, and thank you for listening.
Adam:
We love you!