Life is uncertain. But one thing we know for sure, the years pass by for us all. And the older we get the faster the time seems to go. Watching our kids grow is a constant reminder that our time here is not forever.

So when one of our listeners Jeremy Muse recommended a post by Brendon Burchard about interviewing your dad, we loved the idea. In fact, we loved it so much we decided to turn it into an episode of the show.

Brent went on location at his dad’s house to ask him all 30-plus questions for your enjoyment. And we hope that after listening you are inspired to do the same with your own father. It was a great way to get to know him better and create a memory that will last generations.

Interview Someone You Love About Life – PDF

Jeremy Muse’s band – Jordan Hallquist & The Outfit

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Mr. Robot

* Brent – Paralyzed man with prosthetic that can “feel”

 

Having a baby is hard enough. But recording the entire experience to share with the world? That takes some serious guts. But that’s exactly what our guest this week is doing in a big way with his launch of the Birth audio documentary podcast.

We met Joe Pardo a while back when he interviewed us about our own first effort at storytelling audio. Brent’s eleven year old son Cody asked about “the talk” because he wanted to watch super hero movies. So, we recorded the whole thing to share with the world.

Joe loved it so much he invited us on his show to discuss it. Andrew suggests he may have even been inspired by that episode to do this new project. And though Joe never actually confirmed it we’ll just pretend he did.

In this episode we talk about the experience of sharing such a joyous time in his life with the world. From the first trip to the doctor to telling both of their parents with a pacifier in a box, Joe and his wife Melissa share the details of the pregnancy for all to enjoy. Enjoy.

One Cool Thing

* Brent – Brent’s brother the handyman: “Redneck Engineering”

* Andrew –Runkeeper

 

Screen time. If you’re a parent you know exactly what I’m talking about. We all know instinctively that our kids are probably using their devices too much. And we aren’t necessarily always setting the best example ourselves.

Sometimes we may even “plug in” our kids just to get a little peace and quiet. Or maybe a quick nap on the weekend. And truth be told the time spent with personal technology is not all bad. But like most things, too much can become a problem.

This week we go off the rails with Dr. Tracy Bennett of Get Kids Internet Safe. She was super smart AND super funny. We know you love to be entertained while you learn and she brings it in spades.

She helps us learn to set boundaries and keep our sanity at the same time helping us build those ever important relationships with our children. And its those boundaries and relationship that will help us move to conversations about screen safety.

Plus she finally admitted she likes Star Wars. So Andrew said I didn’t have to cancel the interview. Enjoy.

Dr. Bennett’s GKIS Resources

Quick Start Kit

Pig Mom article

Cyberbullying article

One Cool Thing

* Dr. Tracy Bennett – Jar Jar look alike goat

Think video games are a waste of time? Think again. Our guest this week shows us that games can actually teach us some very valuable life lessons. He makes his case and provides some interesting examples. And I must say he’s extremely convincing.

Jon Harrison of Classically Trained joins the show and shares some of the wisdom he’s learned by playing games. Well, that plus his interest in personal development. The combination worked beautifully and spawned the blog, podcast, a TedX talk, as well as his book Mastering the Game.

We had the privilege of meeting Jon at a podcast event in Texas this year. As luck would have it he sat down right beside us (in a sea of 1000 people) and the conversation sparked from there. Needless to say his interest in games and #LevelUp piqued our interest and he agreed to come on our show and share with you.

Have a listen. You will be entertained. And you will learn. But I promise, you won’t even notice.

One Cool Thing

* Jon Harrison – DragonBox App (secretly teach your kid algebra)

It’s that time of year again. Time for grumpy mornings, piles of homework, and everyday germ factories. Yep. School is back in session. And this year is pretty important for both of us.

Brent’s youngest daughter Kenna and Andrew’s daughter Alex are both going into kindergarten. Let’s all pause for a moment of silence please. We want to recognize the passing of time and show respect for the teachers that will have to deal with them. Daily. May the force be with these brave unknowing souls.

In this episode we discuss our journey so far with our kids as well as some of our own experiences in school. And naturally we dive back into some of the challenges with our current education system. We can’t help but rant on education given the chance. Plus we highlight just how important teachers are in the process of learning. Spoiler alert: extremely important.

So, what are you waiting for? Click the play button already.

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – 2nd and Charles

* Brent – Science proves reading to kids is awesome

So we went out to a big podcast event, Podcast Movement, in Texas recently. We fully expected to learn all the latest tips and tricks to take our show to the next level. And truth be told, we did get lots of nuts and bolts advice that will help us improve a great deal going forward. But we also got something we didn’t expect. Clarity.

As we sat in on session after session we started to notice a common thread. Connect with your audience. Not as a group but as individual people. The more we talked with others like Jon Harrison and Ben Hess, we started to see there was room to raise our game. We also began to realize just how fortunate we are to count you as listeners. You choose to give us your attention and we appreciate that a great deal.

That’s why we decided to focus the brand a bit more. For awhile we’ve felt we could do better describing why someone should listen to the show. After thinking about it long and hard we realized it’s actually quite simple. We strive to continually become better people and better parents. And we want to inspire you to do the same.

Oh, and fun. Lots and lots of fun. So come check out the next iteration of Digital Dads, we promise you won’t be disappointed.

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Jeff Cannata

* Brent – The Rookie

Ever fantasize about inserting yourself into awesome sci-fi scenes with special effects wizardry? Well, that’s exactly what Daniel Hashimoto has done. A former Dreamworks Studio animator, Daniel has translated his passion for making CGI magic into a full time pursuit with his own son at the center.

In this interview, he tells us how he went from just playing around with some video effects to literally millions of views on YouTube for his Action Movie Kid episodes. He said the day he got a call at work telling him the first video hit 1 million views was a shock to say the least.

And more fans are added every day. It has become an Internet sensation. Heck, even Toys R Us got in the game and had Daniel create a cool commercial for them. Tune in to hear more about this Digital Dad putting the lightsaber in his own kid’s hands.

Brought to you by: Dada – Jimmy Fallon

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Rocket League

* Brent – Piff the Magic Dragon

Toy Story was the movie that started it all. Four years in the making, this first every fully computer animated feature film changed our lives forever. Cranking out hit after hit from Monsters Inc. to The Incredibles they have the formula for a great film down to a science.

But it’s not all about the amazing fantasy 3D worlds that technology enables them to create. After all, there are other companies that have since jumped in the market without achieving the same success. They are indeed a cut above the rest.

It’s true Pixar does have the monetary muscle of the Disney machine behind them. But the truth is it’s their ability to tell an emotionally compelling story that has catapulted them to the top of the heap. And with recent hits like Inside Out it doesn’t look like anyone will be winning “King of the Mountain” against them anytime soon.

The story of Pixar is an intriguing one. And since it has roots in both Star Wars and Disney we simply had to discuss it. We’re lucky enough to live in a time where films like these seem to be made for adults… but in a way that kids can enjoy too. Perfect. There’s only so much Frozen a guy can take after all.

Brought to you by: Dada – Jimmy Fallon

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – Extra Life

* Brent – Ant-Man

In this episode we had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Roberts of the Firecast podcast. Scott is a self-admitted “chilehead” and has eaten pure capsaicin on not one, but three separate occasions. Just for the bragging rights. This guy is insane.

Naturally this makes Brent extremely jealous and he inquires about ingesting this hot pepper tongue-melter himself. But then, he can barely eat wings with regular old sriracha without having a sneezing attack 20 minutes later. So maybe he should leave the capsaicin to the experts.

Brent aspires to be a “chilehead” himself one day and may well take Scott’s advice of starting out with a sliver of a bona-fide ghost pepper. The jury is out on how this will all turn out.

Scott also shares his wisdom about BBQ and grilling in this episode as well. He’s a real aficionado. Brent would love to follow in his footsteps, but Andrew… not so much. He’s kind of a wimp when it comes to hot sauce. Any guesses as to who’s writing the show notes this week?

By the end of the episode Andrew starts coming around and both dads are prepared to try ghost pepper hot sauce as a challenge. And they will video record the whole thing for your amusement. All in the name of entertainment.

Visit Scott’s website to learn more including a scoville scale for hot sauces. Awesome.

Brought to you by: Dada – Jimmy Fallon

One Cool Thing

* Andrew – The Martian

* Brent – Star Wars app

Walt Disney World is a truly magical place. Kids dream from a young age of getting to visit the Magic Kingdom in person. With all the new acquisitions (Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars) there’s plenty of fun to be had for adults as well. And that’s exactly what our latest guest Lou Mongello gets to do every single day.

A former attorney, Lou has turned his passion for Disney into a full fledged profession. He has a podcast, YouTube channel, savings guide, and offers private tours of Walt Disney World. Perhaps best of all he now teaches others how to turn their own passion into a profession.

Full of energy and enthusiasm Lou was highly entertaining and even endured Brent’s inexplicable nervousness at the beginning. Don’t worry. He recovers just fine. Though Andrew was kind enough to leave in a bit of the outtakes at the start of the show. This one was a total blast and we can’t wait to nerd out with Lou again. Star Wars is just around the corner after all.

Brought to you by: Dada – Jimmy Fallon

One Cool Thing

* Brent – Guardians of the Galaxy 2 gets a name

* Andrew – It Follows