In this episode, Sam and Cole dive into why physicality and self-defense are crucial components of raising confident, capable kids in 2025. Fresh off their own travels (Cole from three weeks filming a TV show in Texas, Sam from quick trip to the Netherlands), they discuss how maintaining physical readiness impacts everything from mental health to parenting effectiveness.

Key Topics Covered:

• Starting Early: How to introduce physicality to young children through nature exploration, wrestling with dad, and letting kids navigate physical challenges without overreacting to every bump and scrape
• Building Confidence: Why physical skills like jiujitsu or weightlifting create undeniable self-confidence that can't be taken away—unlike achievements that depend on others' approval
• The Jiujitsu Journey: Why both hosts enrolled all their kids in jiujitsu and the life lessons it teaches about winning, losing, discipline, and reality testing
• Self-Defense Reality: The uncomfortable but necessary conversation about being prepared to protect your family in an unpredictable world
• Avoiding Overcorrection: How to support kids emotionally while not coddling them physically—knowing when to step in and when to let them self-regulate
• Leading by Example: Why dads need to maintain their own physicality and what message it sends when you let yourself go

Practical Takeaways:

• Get kids outside in nature early and often (Move Naturally philosophy)
• Make wrestling with dad a regular occurrence
• Don't over-react to minor physical injuries—let kids self-assess
• Consider martial arts training (especially jiujitsu) for pressure-tested skills
• Model physical readiness yourself as a father

Whether you grew up physically active or not, this episode challenges you to think about what you're passing on to your kids and how physicality builds the kind of confidence that translates into every area of life.

There are three words that almost every parent says multiple times a week—sometimes multiple times a day. They're said with pure love and the best intentions. They feel helpful in the moment. And they're quietly teaching your children that their emotions are wrong, shameful, and need to be hidden.

In this eye-opening episode, we expose the single most damaging phrase parents unconsciously use when their kids are hurting, and reveal why our instinct to immediately stop our children's tears is actually setting them up for emotional disaster later in life.

Drawing from 15 years of working with the Grief Recovery Method and helping thousands of people process unresolved trauma, we break down not just these three toxic words, but the four other damaging messages that typically accompany them. By age 15, children receive an estimated 26,000 signals to suppress their emotions. Is it any wonder so many adults don't know how to process grief?

In This Episode You'll discover:

• The exact phrase that invites your child to share more instead of shut down
• Why emotional paraphrasing changes everything (and how to do it naturally)
• The hidden message kids receive when Dad stays stoic
• How to recognize the 40+ life events that cause childhood grief (it's not just death—it's pet loss, moving, betrayal, loss of trust, even finding out Santa isn't real)
• Real scripts for supporting big emotions without being overwhelmed by them

Resources mentioned: "When Children Grieve" book, Grief Recovery Handbook

In this episode, we tackle one of the most critical—and overlooked—skills in fatherhood: telling the truth about yourself emotionally.

Cole shares a heartbreaking story about losing his friend and the regret of never expressing what their friendship meant. This loss shaped how he now approaches relationships—refusing to withhold important messages from the people he cares about, even when it feels awkward or uncomfortable.

What we cover:

• Why "I'm fine" is slowly killing men and destroying relationships
• How emotional isolation contributes to male suicide rates
• The specific skill of staying "emotionally complete" with people
• How to disclose honestly while maintaining boundaries
• Why the toughest people you know are often the most emotionally intelligent
• What you're unknowingly teaching your kids about emotions
• The slow death of marriages and father-child relationships built on surface-level communication

This isn't about being soft—it's about being real. Because your kids don't want a robot for a father, and your wife doesn't want a caricature of masculinity. They want you.

In this second Q&A episode, Sam and Cole dive into listener questions covering everything from breaking generational cycles to finding your people in a new place.

Topics covered:

Breaking the Cycle - Cole explains the "loss history graph" as a tool for self-assessment when dealing with unresolved grief from difficult childhoods. They discuss why emotional completeness with your past is essential before you can truly parent differently.

Finding Community - Both hosts share how they built their friend networks through their wives meeting other parents at kids' activities, forest schools, and shared interests.

Why Northern Idaho? - Sam and Cole explain what drew them to the region: homeschool-friendly culture, outdoor lifestyle, family-centered values, and the freedom to live differently. They discuss the trade-offs of living far from extended family.

Budgeting - The hosts admit they're not Dave Ramsey disciples, preferring life experiences over extreme frugality. Sam shares his simple spreadsheet approach and "real money budgeting" philosophy, while both agree that financial alignment in marriage is crucial.

The Hardcore Question - Sam addresses whether he's gotten pushback from hardcore friends for his faith, and explains why hardcore's inclusivity is one of its best features.

Refueling as a Dad - Practical advice on daily buffers (early morning workouts, evening downtime) versus longer "vision quests," plus the importance of reciprocating when asking for solo time.

Supporting Kids Through Grief - Cole offers compassionate guidance to a single mom navigating her children's grief, emphasizing that parents must work through their own grief first before they can effectively help their kids.

The episode wraps with gratitude for the growing community and a reminder that this podcast isn't trying to be mainstream - it's for parents who know something's off about modern parenting culture and want to do things differently.

In this raw and unfiltered episode, Sam and Cole dive deep into one of the most important conversations for modern fathers: why going against mainstream culture isn't just okay—it's essential for your family's wellbeing.

Drawing from Sam's background in hardcore punk music, they explore how some of the defining features of punk music can directly translate to making better parenting decisions in 2025. They break down why the "norms" of modern parenting weren't necessarily designed with your family's best interests in mind.

KEY TOPICS:

• Why corporate interests, not your wellbeing, shape parenting "norms"

• The food pyramid, sugar studies, and other industry manipulation

• How Cole arrived at counter-culture parenting without the punk background

• Screen time, technology, and what tech companies know (but won't tell you)

• Education, home birth, homesteading, and other controversial choices

• The DIY mentality: doing it yourself while building real community

This isn't about being difficult for the sake of it—it's about protecting your kids from systems designed to profit from their confusion, sickness, and dependence. If you've ever felt like the "normal" way of raising kids doesn't sit right with you, this episode will give you the framework and courage to trust your instincts.

Chores aren't just about keeping the house clean—they're one of the most powerful tools for raising resilient, capable kids. In this practical episode of our new "Fatherhood Field Notes" series, we break down why chores matter and how to make them meaningful.

In this episode:

• Why outdoor chores are more fulfilling
• How chores build work ethic, responsibility, self-esteem, and grit
• The power of routine and age-appropriate expectations
• Making chores "mission-critical" so kids understand their purpose
• Teaching financial literacy through earned money and real spending decisions
• Being the example: modeling a positive attitude toward household contributions

Key takeaway: Kids desperately want purpose. When they can see how their work directly contributes to the family—whether it's keeping the yard clean or harvesting vegetables for dinner—they develop the backbone and work ethic that will serve them for life.

Perfect for dads navigating the practical, day-to-day challenges of raising kids who are capable, confident, and ready for the real world.

We dive into one of the most pressing questions for modern dads: how do we prepare our kids for a future dominated by AI and rapid technological change? In this episode, we challenge the traditional education playbook and explore the skills that will actually matter in 10-20 years.

We discuss why being personable and building strong people skills might be the ultimate competitive advantage, how athletics and team sports develop resilience that translates directly to career success, and why creativity and entrepreneurship are becoming more valuable than ever. We also tackle why traditional college degrees are becoming less relevant, the surprising value of trade skills over white-collar work, and how to raise kids who can think critically in a world of easy AI answers.

Drawing from our own experiences hiring, firing, and building teams, we share real insights about what makes people successful in the modern workplace. This isn't futurism or speculation—it's what we're seeing right now in our companies and industries.

Whether you're raising toddlers or teenagers, this episode will challenge you to think differently about your kids' education and development. We're not about raising office drones—we're about raising resilient, creative, personable humans who can thrive in whatever world they inherit.

Topics covered:

• Why people skills trump technical skills
• The hidden value of athletics and team sports
• Teaching critical thinking vs. AI dependency
• Trade skills vs. traditional college paths
• Building entrepreneurial mindsets early
• The importance of creativity and imagination

Join us for an honest conversation about preparing our kids for an uncertain—but exciting—future.

In this episode, we share how we've approached screen time with our kids over the past 13 years and why we've made choices that go against what most families do. We talk about what we've observed in our own children when we limit their exposure to screens, phones, and devices - and what we've noticed in ourselves when we've made changes to our own habits.

What We Cover:

• Why we decided early on to take a different path with technology
• The alternatives we've found that actually work (Yoto players, audiobooks, outdoor time)
• How we handle the peer pressure and "but everyone else gets to" conversations
• What we do when we do allow screen time (blue light glasses, specific content choices)
• Why we think the morning sunlight and outdoor time matters more than most people realize
• How our own relationship with phones and screens affects our kids

Our Practical Approach:

• What we use instead of iPads for entertainment
• The compromise we've found for necessary technology
• Why we think the bar is set too low for what kids actually need
• What we've learned about our kids' attention spans and creativity when screens aren't an option

We're not trying to convince anyone to do exactly what we do, but we wanted to share what we've discovered works for our families. Sometimes the path that feels harder upfront ends up being the easier one in the long run.