In this episode of "Normal World," Dave Landau and Angela are joined by Derek Richards, filling in for 1/4 Black Garrett. The show opens with Derek portraying Kamala Harris’ fictional VP pick, Tim Walz, as a painfully awkward stand-up comic. Guest Adam B. Coleman, author of "The Children We Left Behind," shares his story of growing up fatherless — navigating broken homes, homelessness, early institutionalization, and the long-term effects of childhood trauma. He describes life without male role models, bouncing between cities, and how sports and Scouts offered glimpses of belonging that never quite filled the gap. Becoming a father gave him a sense of purpose he never had.

The crew dives into America’s epidemic of fatherlessness and the cultural decay fueling it — parental neglect, therapy as a bandage, kids raised like friends, not children. Adam challenges how Western society justifies family breakdown while ignoring the emotional wreckage left behind. Through blunt honesty, dark humor, and cultural commentary, the episode explores why stable families matter, how boys become men, and why the consequences of abandonment are too often dismissed.

Adam B. Coleman is today’s guest and the author of this powerful and timely book, "The Children We Left Behind: How Western Culture Rationalizes Family Separation and Ignores the Pain of Child Neglect."

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