In this, the last episode of Lockdown Dads, James and I reflect on 18 months of pandemic podcasting as England celebrates "Freedom Day." The truth is that the fear of catching Covid, home school disruption, and getting through the days are as prevalent as ever. We consider some of the hopelessly optimistic predictions we made in year - lockdown could be all over by June!? But also the certainty of the stay at home messaging v the weariness and low level anxiety of July 2021. We talk about some o...
Jul 28, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Our final guest on Lockdown Dads is Will McDonald, Group Sustainability and Public Policy Director at Aviva plc aka "The Job Share Dad." As one half of the most senior male job share in the UK, Will is a bit of a hero in the dad space, shining a light on the rare world of job sharing (especially when it comes to men) We learn about Will's path at Aviva and how a conversation about wanting to explore a job share became a work "marriage" to Sam that has lasted 4 years already. We discover the prin...
Jul 13, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Olga Fitzroy, award winning sound engineer and parental pay equality campaigner joins us to discuss inequalities faced by the self employed. We discover her role in Pregnant Then Screwed's legal challenge against the government and discuss the legislative environment around self employment and shared parental leave. Plus school is out again, with education disruption only just starting to be discussed in government. Ian's garden gets short listed for a prize and we briefly ponder the upcoming En...
Jul 01, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Simon Gregory, Managing Partner of GPS Return joins us to talk about parental return to work and we explore the differing challenges faced by men and women. We discuss how societal expectations influence the opportunities to return to work and later access flexible working and how Simon's business supports and coaches individuals and businesses to find the right person or right opportunity for now. James explains why T.W.A.T working is the next big trend while Simon talks about his 288 mile 24 h...
Jun 16, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 43
To mark the publication of the Fatherhood Institute's new report "Lockdown Dads - the Untold Story", we sat down with Dr Jeremy Davies, Head of Communications, to discuss fatherhood, the opportunities presented by the pandemic and what exactly is "the untold story" After we covered dodgy backs, out for beers and Moroccan pandemic experiences, we learnt about Jeremy's path. Journalist, becoming a father in 1999, a PhD and joining Father's Direct, the organisation that later became the Fatherhood ...
Jun 01, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Coach, consultant and 'living system', we talk to Ethan about his journey from googling 'male trapped in female body' to father of two, including a lockdown baby. We discuss the power of flexible working as an enabler for Ethan to be the person and the dad he wanted to be and how a throw away comment about a new kitten - 'Look! Two mummies' was the catalyst for the addressing the fundamental identity crisis his life and ultimately lead to visiting the Alternative Parenting Show. We cover the rol...
May 17, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Eternity Leave is a wry, semi autobiographical novel about being a stay at home dad, and the author, Simon Kettlewell, joined James and Ian to talk about his inspiration from over 20 years as primary carer to his four children. It's story that had extra chapters added in Lockdown as older children returned home and his 16 year old son struggled with remote learning. We learn about his path from NHS clinician and manager via working in mental health services in Eastern Europe to a rural idyll in ...
May 05, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 40
We look back at the guests, the stories and the tips that caught our eye since January. 00:30 Weathermen, Ian’s course development, Covid scare at school and Couch to 5k 03:00 James finally gets physio on his back 05:15 Working from home with kids around 06:30 The return to office life and the Goldman Sachs way of working 09:00 Are the government actually consulting on flexible working rights? 11:00 Linking working patterns to gender equality 12:00 Home-school since January 14:00 The novelty wea...
Apr 01, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 39
In 2012 Rhian Mannings’ life suddenly and tragically changed when first her young son George died, followed 5 days later by her husband Paul. In this important and uplifting conversation, we explore how support was missing for bereaved parents like Rhian and Paul and how, what she imagined would be “hobby”, turned into a nationwide charity called 2 Wish Upon A Star providing immediate and ongoing bereavement support for families, individuals and professionals affected by the sudden and traumatic...
Mar 23, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Brian Ballantyne, Co-Founder of Men for Inclusion , author of “Confessions of a Working Dad” and one time Babycenter moderator joins James and Ian in Episode 37 of Lockdown Dads . It’s an open and honest discussion in which we discuss what it means to be good ally, how Brian’s own family were a prompt to volunteer in diversity and inclusion voluntary work and why men must be involved if we aren’t just creating inclusion echo chambers. Plus “Centrist Dads”, Burnout and recharging batteries and ho...
Mar 15, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Nicki Seignot, Author of 'Mentoring New Parents at Work' and founder of The Parent Mentor talks to James and Ian in episode 36 of Lockdown Dads. We discuss why supporting new dads matters, the role single dad Phil played to broadening Nicki’s horizons, beyond just supporting the maternity journey and what the post pandemic work landscape could look like. Plus the usual podcast musings about schools going back, sunshine (!) and looking forward to better future. Contents 00:50 The power of dayligh...
Mar 08, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 36
The musician who doesn’t read music, the drummer who didn’t play the drums and a calming, pragmatic influence in Coldplay. In this episode of Lockdown Dads , we discover how a focus on their relationships has been as important as the music, what work life balance means in a band when you have kids and what Will is looking forward to most when lockdown finishes. Self described (with tongue in cheek) “soft rock dinosaur,” we find out how Will feels about the A Head Full of Dreams documentary - the...
Mar 01, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 35
A trailblazer for same sex adoption, Jamie is the Daddy of Daddy and Dad . What started as an exploration of the highs and lows of Jamie and Tom’s story of adopting two young brothers from foster care, became an award winning blog key agency resource and an opportunity to work with major brands. A timely redundancy lead to a focus on blogging, before dipping their toes into Instagram (not just for vintage cat photos…) and moving into the realms of influencing. We explore the journey into fatherh...
Feb 22, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Dan Stanley - Becoming Better Men In a powerful discussion about masculinity, purpose, and self awareness, ex Army Commando Instructor Dan describes how, far from being a magical time, becoming a new dad led to a 8 month separation in his marriage. We discover how a chance meeting with an ex premiership footballer, helped him drop his people pleaser mask and literally stop running from his problems. We discuss the impact of a dad who wasn’t present in his life, running so much your dog gets inju...
Feb 15, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 33
There’s just not enough time! Nigel Clarke, CBeebies presenter, explains how Dadvengers started from an all Dads episode of The Baby Club , the groundbreaking show for mums, dads and carers with babies under 18 months old. The Baby Club reflects the important CBeebies mantra that “Everyone’s Welcome”. We talk about a generational shift in what is expected from and expected by dads and the importance of dads having the skills and confidence to be alone with their kids. Ian and Nigel try and expla...
Feb 08, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 32
As a newly married 23 year old, apprehensively mulling over his thoughts about impending fatherhood while driving the A39 to and from Bristol, Nathan McGurl , founder of The Study Buddy did what we now take for granted - he started blogging. The My First Kid website has sadly gone the way of our My Space profiles, but the story Nathan tells of dads sidelined from parenting will still resonate to many, even if supermarket parenting clubs no longer limit you to identifying as “Ms, Mrs or Miss” We ...
Feb 01, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Time to ponder… what colour are you today and why? Paul Bulos, Executive, Leadership & Wellbeing Coach and publishing professional joins us for this and other profound questions on the Lockdown Dads podcast. We dig into the benefits of lockdowns - including connecting with your kids and we touch on the importance of empathy and understanding the transition between work and home life. Plus we discuss dad ‘presence’ - how important is secondary school transition, what does the “right train” me...
Jan 25, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Living 50m from Central Park in Upper West side Manhattan sounds incredibly glamorous but not if you've swapped a house for a pandemic apartment in lockdown. This week's guest Steve Myall, former deputy features Editor of the Daily Mirror and co-host of the highly successful First Time Dads podcast joins James and I as the circle of podcasting is complete. We talk shared parental leave, finding space in a big city and why diplomatic status is this year's must have accessory for the Real Brit Dad...
Jan 18, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 29
One time self employed journalist based in Australia, we discover how interviewing and profiling home working entrepreneurs for a tech start up was the start of the idea that became The Homeworker magazine. Louise Goss joins us for episode 28, drawing upon her husband's experiences we reflect on how attitudes towards home working have changed from both an individual and business perspective. Why her magazine is much more useful than googling the top 5 productivity tips and how the Homeworker ble...
Jan 11, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 28
A look back at 26 episodes of Lockdown Dads - the good, the bad and the ugly as we ponder the "annus horribilis" that was 2020. We talk guests and the tips that inspired us and the tips that shocked us, it's all here as we discuss what 2021 has instore for dads and their families and how as a show we can continue to bring you interesting and informative content onward into season 3 of a project we wanted to kill off. Too much lockdown...! (Recorded pre-Tier 4 / Christmas cancellation) Contents 1...
Dec 18, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 27
From lad mag to expert on modern masculinity. This episode is loaded with content "for him" as Martin Robinson, editor of digital magazine, the Book of Man , gives us the lowdown on why it was time for content that explicitly put men's mental health, front and centre of the conversation. We learn about the human zoo that was working for Maxim in the 1990s and how going a little bit nuts was seen as an occupational hazard that shouldn't distract from the "fun". Fortunately the world has moved on ...
Dec 09, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 26
David Willans, founder of the website Being Dads joins the show as we discover what is behind his thoughtful and informative weekly emails. We learn how a typical dad moment - losing your rag with your kids, and lacking role models the resonated, turned into a project to educate himself and others about fatherhood - our behaviours and how they impact on others. David talks convincingly about how definitions of fatherhood lack "depth." Content 03:00 We discuss the burning question in November - i...
Dec 02, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Nadia Nagamootoo, founder & CEO of Avenir Consulting Services, speaker, chartered psychologist, coach and expectant mum joins Lockdown Dads to talk about her path to "complete inclusion" and how her own experiences of shared parental leave and equal parenting led to seeking greater understanding of the organisational limits to men's access to flexible working and extended leave. We discuss the challenges and disappointments of men's lack of access to maternity services in 2020 and reflect on...
Nov 24, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Ady Griffiths, author of Mindful Thoughts for Fathers joins James and Ian to explain how mediation and mindfulness have helped him to cope with 3 core aspects of fatherhood - worrying about becoming a dad, being a stressed dad and relating to his own father. It's a powerful episode that explores the reality of being a dad, coping with lockdown and grief, plus surviving the 80s rave scene. As James so eloquently surmised Ady's book - "it's not some hippy sh1t" Contents 02:30 James finds Lockdown ...
Nov 17, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 23
This week’s guest is Dr Laura Radcliffe, Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the University of Liverpool Management School. We explore why a focus on dads in the workplace is of vital importance and how society needs to see the bigger picture – gender equality is good for everyone’s well-being and relationships. We discuss the type of messaging for mums that Laura can say, but James, Ian and David Lammy really can’t. Plus, we bust the myth that mums are more skilled... Contents 04:30 Manches...
Oct 27, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Yash Puri, Founder of Papa Penguin and Finance Tech Specialist joins, James and Ian to discuss the ups and down of lockdown – doing everything and then having to slow down. We learn how moving away from cultural expectations and taking shared parental leave led to a feature with the BBC and creation of the Papa Penguin platform. Plus night-time ninja nappy changing (definitely worth watching that bit on You Tube), trying to get to Center Parcs for half term and how just telling your story helps ...
Oct 20, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Jessica Chivers, Psychologist & CEO of The Talent Keeper Specialists & Author "Mothers Work!" joins James and Ian to discuss how feeling "confident, connected and cared for" isn't just for new mums, and why line managers and senior male role models are essential to drive change for working dads. Plus learn about "Awe walks", "Office Osmosis" and how to be a "Active Actor" in your day Contents 02:20 Stroking clients, flow and avoiding the media 05:30 Recognising stress - Ian's daughter ge...
Oct 12, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Dan Reed, father of 2, founder of the Career Dad and Head of Digital and Platform Delivery at Barclays joins James and I to discuss lockdown, finding your own path, managing judgement and creating choices that work for you and your family. 01:30 Riding the “Corona-coaster” – good hours and bad hours 02:50 Covid at Ian’s children’s school 04:20 AIBU? Morality and Train rides 05:30 Post Traumatic Stress? 07:50 James back in Westminster 10:00 The Path to Career Dad – creating your own narrative 12:...
Oct 05, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Founder of Music. Football. Fatherhood and Diversity and Inclusion Expert, Elliot Rae joins James and I to talk Covid, Black Lives Matter, and being kind to yourself, plus a bit of football, a touch of music and plenty of fatherhood. Contents 02:40 Major stress and anxiety - my wife got ill, I got ill and an ambulance came to the house. 04:20 Elliot's reaction to the death of George Floyd 05:05 "Sounds weird me saying this, I'd probably do the whole thing again" 06:10 The benefits of things bein...
Sep 28, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Dr Jasmine Kelland, Lecturer in Human Resource Studies at Plymouth Business School is this week's guest on Lockdown Dads. With a PhD that was titled “Father’s at work: challenges and stereotypes facing fathers with caregiving responsibilities in employment”, Jasmine is a perfect guest to discuss dads, equality and evidence-based research. Contents 01:30 Jasmine is loving the routine of being in the office. 02:50 James is ahead of the curve – stinky crisps and Dads Don’t Babysit 2nd anniversary 0...
Sep 21, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 17
