Pappy Hour

What does it really mean to be present for your kids, especially when they're having a hard time?

In Season 2, Episode 9 of Pappy Hour, Lucas Budde and Eric Thompson welcome Matt Gray, Eric's friend since first grade, for a conversation about fatherhood, emotional connection, and raising a daughter in Norway.

Matt became a father at 48, but his journey toward understanding people began long before that. From teaching improvisation at San Quentin Prison to navigating family life in Scandinavia, he's learned how powerful it can be to make someone feel heard.

Now raising a 12-year-old daughter, Matt talks about his effort to remain patient and present when her emotions get overwhelming, even when everything in him wants to fix the situation or move on.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Teaching improv at San Quentin and breaking down barriers through play

• Becoming a father later in life

• The surprising moment Matt learned he was going to be a dad

• What Norway gets right about supporting new parents

• Six months of parental leave and bonding with his daughter

• The unforgettable experience of meeting his newborn

• Parenting through big emotions without rushing to fix them

• What America might learn from the Scandinavian approach to family support

• A dad joke involving some very unfortunate mimes

CHAPTERS (approximate raw recording timestamps)

00:00 Welcome and introductions

01:16 Life before fatherhood

02:09 Listening, connection, and teaching improv at San Quentin

05:37 Marriage, Norway, and family life

07:13 Deciding to become a father

09:50 The surprise pregnancy announcement

15:41 What raising children in Norway looks like

20:02 Parental leave and bonding with a newborn

24:07 The first moments with his daughter

28:30 Handling big emotions with patience

33:54 What America could learn from Norway

37:21 Matt's dad joke

JOIN THE PAPPY HOUR COMMUNITY

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Website: https://pappypodcast.com

Subscribe for honest conversations about fatherhood, family, relationships, and everything we figure out along the way.

Hosted by Lucas Budde and Eric Thompson.

Pappy Hour: Fatherhood on Tap.

HASHTAGS

#PappyHour #Fatherhood #Parenting #DadLife #GirlDad #EmotionalIntelligence #PositiveParenting #ParentingPodcast

A night in Key West, a lost email address, and a little luck. That’s where Paul Ramos’s family story starts.

Paul joins Lucas and Eric to talk about two very different arrivals into fatherhood: a son born early and another welcomed through adoption. Along the way, there’s a hastily assembled family photo book, a new appreciation for his own dad, and the familiar feeling of being a grown-up who’s still figuring things out.

There are some scary stretches in this story, plenty of laughs, and a windmill joke waiting at the end. Come spend an hour with us.

Find more conversations and ways to be part of Pappy Hour at PappyPodcast.com.

Content note: premature birth and an infant medical emergency, including CPR.

At 19, Eric Ryant left college to help his sick father run the family business. Six months later, his dad was gone, and Eric was running the company at just 20 years old.

This week on Pappy Hour, we're joined by Eric, a Lafayette, Colorado, businessman, father of three, and grandfather who's lived through more than a few unexpected turns.

Eric talks about growing up in Florida, taking over his father's business, meeting the mother of his children, and figuring out how to remain a present, devoted dad after divorce.

We hear about Friday-night pizza and Blockbuster runs, raising kids who eventually become your coworkers, the arguments you wish you'd handled differently, and the family traditions that keep everyone connected long after the children grow up.

There's also a fantasy football league that's been running for nearly four decades, plenty of laughs, and some advice Eric wishes every young parent would remember.

Pull up a chair for another honest conversation about fatherhood, family, and learning as you go.

Nominate a Pappy:
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Find us:
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Fatherhood on Tap. Cheers, Pappies!

We're pouring another round with rabbi, stand-up comedian, and longtime dad Bob Alper!

Bob has been a father for more than 50 years, and he's got the stories to prove it. From meeting his wife, Sherry, to raising two kids who are now in their fifties, Bob shares hilarious memories, surprisingly tender moments, and some hard-earned wisdom about knowing when to let your children become their own people.

We talk about finding the extraordinary in everyday family life, laughing through the teenage years, and why loving your kids sometimes means learning to let go.

Missed Bob in Colorado? He just wrapped up three appearances at the Mountain Fresh Comedy Festival, October 8 in Gypsum, October 9 in Breckenridge, and October 10 in Georgetown.

Don't worry, he's still making people laugh! Catch him live.

Find his full performance schedule at https://bobalper.com.

Whether you missed this conversation the first time or you're coming back for another round, pull up a chair!

Know a dad or father figure whose story deserves to be heard? Nominate a Pappy:
https://forms.gle/U9shPJCQ8QvyQTU67

Support Pappy Hour on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PappyHourPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Fatherhood on Tap. Cheers, Pappies!

We’ve actually had this conversation with Ryon Tracy before.

You just never heard it.

The first time Ryon sat down with us, we had a technical problem and lost the episode. Which is a pretty fitting Pappy Hour lesson: sometimes you do everything right, something still goes sideways, and you try again.

So Ryon came back.

This time we talk about becoming a dad to twins, Carter and Cameron, their time in the NICU, the strange new reality of caring for two babies at once, and a bedtime scrapbook that became one of those little family things that ends up meaning a lot more than you expected.

It’s funny, honest, occasionally chaotic, and, most importantly, we managed to keep the recording this time.

Pappy Hour — Fatherhood on Tap

Nominate a Pappy:
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TJ Smith is the youngest of five boys, raised by a single mom. He saw what he didn’t have growing up, and that became a big part of why he wanted to be a dad.

Now he’s got a two-year-old son, Callum, and a daughter who was just 14 days old when we recorded.

We talk about the blue cake at his wife’s 30th birthday, meeting Callum for the first time, driving home twenty under the speed limit, and finishing his degree while learning how to be a dad.

There’s also the stuff nobody really prepares you for, trying to regulate yourself while your toddler can’t, figuring out life with two kids, and the first time you’re home alone with the baby and suddenly realize you have to go to the bathroom.

Who did you call the first time you had absolutely no idea what you were doing?

Pappy Hour — Fatherhood on Tap

Nominate a Pappy:
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Roger Bate joins Pappy Hour to talk about growing up in England, building a career around research and writing, moving to America, and becoming an older dad to two boys.

Roger shares what it felt like to become a father after years of travel and work, how he tries to show up differently than his own dad did, and why sports became one of the ways he connects with his sons. He also opens up about his book The House Always Wins and the growing risks of online sports betting for young people.

It’s a conversation about fatherhood, risk, boundaries, teenage boys, and the daily work of being present.

Know a dad whose story deserves to be told? Nominate him here:
https://forms.gle/U9shPJCQ8QvyQTU67

Support Pappy Hour on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PappyHourPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

One year. Fifty episodes. A whole lot of dads.

In this special Sappy Pappy episode, Lucas and Eric look back at the first year of the Pappy Hour podcast, the fathers and father figures who trusted them with their stories, the friendships that have grown out of those conversations, and some of the lessons they’ve carried into their own lives as dads.

They also look ahead to Pappy Around the World, Pappy in the Park, and the bigger goal behind all of it: creating more opportunities for fathers to connect, tell the truth about their experiences, and show up for one another.

Know a father or father figure whose story deserves to be told? Nominate him here:
https://forms.gle/U9shPJCQ8QvyQTU67

Help keep Pappy Hour growing:
https://patreon.com/PappyHourPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Dr. Binyamin “Ben” Rothstein joins Pappy Hour to talk about raising eight kids, rebuilding his life after losing his medical career, and the experiences that eventually led him to helping other men become more intentional fathers.

Dr. Ben talks about becoming a dad before he felt an immediate emotional connection, the moment that connection finally clicked, what he learned about showing affection to his kids, and why fathers need other men they can be honest with. He also shares how losing his career shook nearly every part of his life while he was still trying to show up for his wife and children.

Today, Dr. Ben works with fathers through Terrific Dads and is the author of A Real Man’s Guide to Becoming a Terrific Dad.

Learn more: https://beaterrificdad.com/

Know a Pappy whose story deserves to be told? Nominate him here:
https://forms.gle/U9shPJCQ8QvyQTU67

Support Pappy Hour on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PappyHourPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

Aaron Ostrovsky joins Pappy Hour to kick off Season Two.

Aaron talks about raising three boys, going from a spontaneous “do it live” mentality to the responsibility of fatherhood, and learning how important it is to give each kid space to become their own person. From hockey and science to Uno, grocery-store runs and one-on-one time, Aaron shares what’s working for him as he tries to stay present through a constantly changing season of life.

Know a Pappy whose story deserves to be told? Nominate him here:
https://forms.gle/U9shPJCQ8QvyQTU67

Support Pappy Hour on Patreon:
https://patreon.com/PappyHourPodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink