In this episode of HotDadRadio, we sit down with longtime Detroit Red Wings photographer Mark Hicks to hear how he went from motocross racer to capturing some of the most iconic moments in hockey history. Mark shares how a chance trade of gigs in 1988 led him to the Red Wings, where he built a career documenting playoff runs, rivalries, and milestone achievements.

We cover:

Mark’s early days working for free before turning photography into a thriving side hustle into a main-gig business selling his photography.

The evolution of professional sports entertainment and strategies for reviving baseball and hockey for new audiences. (Hint: It involves keeping the bat.)

Life behind the glass—documenting rivalries, concussions, and unforgettable playoff series.

Coaching youth and college hockey, and how lessons from the Red Wings shaped his teams’ success.

His surreal trip to the White House during a Stanley Cup visit, where he was escorted out—then brought back in to meet President Bill Clinton.

The business of sports photography, from licensing to the changing economics of stadium ownership.

Personal stories about balancing a corporate job at Ford Motor Company while chasing his passion for photography.

We also talk content creation, podcast planning, and the future of live streams during hockey season. Whether you’re a Detroit Red Wings fan, a sports photography enthusiast, or just love behind-the-scenes stories from the world of professional sports, this episode is packed with insights, history, and plenty of humor.

In this chaos-fueled episode of Hot Dad Radio, Josh, Derek, and Ryan (plus a muted Paul Blart cameo) spiral from steak-sizzling ASMR to an unfiltered takedown of tech titans, third-party politics, and ketamine-fueled billionaires. They debate Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg, geek out over The Social Network 2, and unpack the wildest Hunter Biden interview quotes.

Somewhere in the mix, there’s heartfelt tribute to Malcolm-Jamal Warner, a Hulu binge recommendation (Missing Persons Unit), deep dives into forgotten sitcoms (Listen Up with Jason Alexander), and an impromptu plan to stream them for charity. Add in a sprinkle of music league hype, Veep quotes, and soapbox moments about slowing down your news consumption, and you’ve got an episode that’s equal parts political bar fight, pop culture rabbit hole, and group therapy session.

It’s Hot Dad Radio: unfiltered, unpredictable, and unapologetically all over the damn map.

Ask ChatGPT

Josh, Derek, and Ryan swap Garfield stickers, roast Derek’s music league flop, and dive into the absurd: Elon Musk’s Tesla meddling, Hunter Biden’s presidential “what if,” Aaron Sorkin taking on The Social Network sequel, and the passing of Malcolm Jamal Warner. They also plot a fantasy football league, charity stream, and a nostalgic binge of Jason Alexander’s Listen Up.

In Episode 18 of Hot Dad Radio, the cords are tangled, the vibes are heavy, and the therapy metaphors are flying like pop-punk confessions at a 2010s night. Josh opens up about digging deep with "parts work" therapy while Ryan drops hot takes on bad therapists, emotional burnouts, and outgrowing your mental health providers like middle school crushes.

Derek is MIA (he’s off living his best concert life), but that doesn’t stop the boys from spiraling into talks about emotional tea kettles, Simpsons death hoaxes, and why clickbait Marge is just a fast-forward fever dream. They unpack LA protests, political distractions, and how to flip purple states blue using California ex-pats like Pokémon cards.

Also:

🎉 An idea for an art party that resurrects Blockbuster

🎧 News on the next Depressed Monsters night

💀 Revisiting Love and Mercy & therapist horror stories

🎲 A teaser for a Hot Dad Radio board game in the works

📢 A callout to YOU (yes, you!) to playtest it with them

It’s a raw, funny, and weirdly heartfelt episode about emotional labor, vintage vibes, and the high cost of mental bandwidth. Whether you're in therapy, avoiding therapy, or just miss the old internet—this one’s for you.

HotDadRadio — Episode 17: Boneless Wings, Basement Vibes & Bachelor Party Glamping

This week, your favorite silly geese dive into everything from Nintendo Switch 2 hot takes, Drake’s post-beef bar buzz and AI’s weird Spotify data sharing. Josh tells all about his brother’s glamping bachelor party in Michigan, Derek unpacks his feelings during an Andrew McMahon concert, and Ryan dreams of being immortalized on a Magic: The Gathering card. There’s also classic rock confusion, church band rivalries, trivia wins (sort of), and a cursed necklace heist from a very emotional event.

Segments:

🎮 Nintendo Switch OLED Review

🎤 Andrew McMahon Live Recap

🌲 Glamping + Bachelor Party Shenanigans

🖌️ Depressed Monsters Gold Spike Mural Project

💾 AI Privacy & Spotify Discord Data

🧙 Magic, Marvel & Murals

🍗 All-You-Can-Eat Wing Regrets

📚 Productivity Hacks Using AI

🎶 Concert Updates & New Music Plans

Where to Find Us:

Weekly Streams: Hot Dad Radio's Twitch Stream – Fridays 8pm pst

Join our community on Discord: [dm for the link]

Follow our Shenanigans on IG: @HotDadRadio

For some spicy content...dm us.

Noodlin’ with Josh & Caitlin Burt (@caitsly): AI, Actors, and Apocalypse-Proof Business Advice

In this live-recorded (as in while we were eating dinner at a restaurant downtown Plymouth) episode of Noodlin’ with Josh, I'm joined by actor and business development pro Caitlin Burt for a spicy, outdoor deep-dive into the weird world of AI and how it’s impacting everything from creative industries to corporate meetings.

Expect hot takes, real strategies, and a few rogue Frank’s RedHot references.

We explore:

How to use ChatGPT without getting spoon-fed feel-good nonsense.

What generative AI can’t do (and why that matters).

The two possible futures for creatives in an AI-powered world.

Real-time workflows for automating meetings, notes, and calendars.

Whether AI-generated movies will be the next Western or the next mistake.

Plus: trolling etiquette, bad tips, and a waitress who may be 23 but serves like she's been at it for 30 years. I cannot iterate enough that this episode was recorded while seated outside patio at a restaurant in a busy metro-Detroit suburb. Take that into as much consideration as you'd like.

This episode is packed with philosophical noodling, tactical prompts, and more that enough chaos to keep things interesting.

Episode 16: HotProtestRadio or Delete Your Duplicates, Defund the Two-Party System, and Maybe Text Your Dad Back

In this slightly-too-honest episode of Hot Dad Radio, Josh and Derek accidentally make a political podcast while trying to fix a broken episode (classic). Between fighting off headaches, duplicate RSS feeds, and rogue Apple privacy settings, the guys spiral into a full-blown convo on voter turnout, third-party fantasies, weaponize rubber-necking and digital surveillance.

We talk about:

🛠️ Technical glitches that would make your grandpa smash an iPad

🗳️ Why Tennessee voter turnout feels like trying to start a band on Craigslist

🇺🇸 Third-party politics, the ghost of Ross Perot, and building a movement on zero dollars and delusional optimism

📱 Apple Intelligence (lol), surveillance states, and the horrifying realization that yes, TikTok is watching

💥 LA protests vs. media exaggeration: fire emoji ≠ full-blown revolution

Also featuring: Planned Parenthood donations, Josh's mom maybe running for office, Derek beefing with his Congressman via email, and the possible invention of the Hot Dad Party™—patriotic, chaotic, and proudly unelectable.

This episode is for the high-functioning hedonist who wants a little civic engagement with their existential dread. Subscribe, scream into the void, and send this one to your group chat of armchair activists and emotionally unavailable creatives.

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