The I AM DAD. Podcast is an exploration of fatherhood insight, information, and inspiration for dads, their families, the people who love, and those that support them.
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July 12, 2026Episode 261 hr 2 min
The Standard: John Damon on Performance, Fatherhood, and Youth Sports | Sideline Dad
In this episode of Sideline Dad, powered by the I Am Dad Podcast Network, host Javin Foreman welcomes John Damon, former Division I football player at Boston College, performance coach, gym designer, and founder of The Cave in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For more than 30 years, John Damon has trained and advised Hollywood talent, Fortune 500 executives, professional athletes, coaches, and high performers. His work has shaped elite training spaces from The Sports Club/LA to Equinox, Active Fitness, IRON, and now The Cave, a private training and recovery sanctuary built around discipline, detail, recovery, and intentional excellence.
But this conversation goes far beyond fitness.
John and Javin explore what it means to build “The Standard” in sports, parenting, leadership, and fatherhood. They discuss how young athletes are shaped by environment, expectations, love, habits, recovery, and the people around them. John challenges parents to think deeply about the culture they create for their children, the standards they model, and the importance of giving kids both love and good information.
July 5, 2026Episode 2541 min
Homelessness, Housing Instability, and Fatherhood: Bishop Ferguson on Men, Shelter, and Dignity
In this episode of I Am Dad Podcast, host Kenneth Braswell travels to East New York, Brooklyn, for an on-location conversation with Bishop Ferguson, board chair of Fathers Incorporated and program director at the Liberty Avenue Men’s Shelter.
This conversation asks a question we do not ask often enough:
What does housing instability mean for men and fathers?
Too often, conversations about homelessness focus on women and children, while men, especially fathers, are treated as an afterthought. But many unhoused men are fathers. Many are sons, grandfathers, uncles, veterans, returning citizens, men living with mental health challenges, and men trying to hold on to dignity in systems that often see them only as cases, beds, risks, or numbers.
Bishop Ferguson offers a deeply honest look inside a men’s shelter serving 150 men in East New York. He explains the realities of working with men who are unhoused, men returning from incarceration, men with mental health needs, men who have been couch surfing, men who have lost relationships or caregivers, and men who are trying to rebuild their lives one step at a time.
This episode explores:
• The difference between being unhoused and being homeless
• Why many men in shelters are also fathers
• How housing systems often fail to account for fatherhood
• Why some fathers refuse studio apartments because they need space for their children
• The importance of dignity, respect, and agency for men in shelter settings
• How mental health, reentry, aging, and housing instability intersect
• Why some men have been in shelters for 10, 15, or even 17 years
• The need for case management, medical care, psychiatric care, housing specialists, and follow-up support
• Why men’s shelters are often underfunded and misunderstood
• How staff safety, compassion, and structure all matter in shelter environments
• Why housing men is also fatherhood work
One of the most powerful moments in the conversation comes when Bishop Ferguson describes a father who refused to leave shelter until he could secure a one-bedroom apartment because he wanted a place where his children could visit. That story reminds us that housing is not just about having a roof. It is about belonging, dignity, family, identity, and the possibility of being a father in a real and present way.
Kenneth and Bishop Ferguson also explore how society responds differently to women’s homelessness than men’s homelessness. They challenge listeners to remember that every unhoused man is also someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s uncle, someone’s brother, and someone whose humanity deserves to be seen.
This episode is a necessary conversation for fatherhood practitioners, housing advocates, faith leaders, policymakers, social service providers, reentry programs, and anyone committed to strengthening families by addressing the full reality of men’s lives.
June 28, 2026Episode 241 hr 1 min
Fatherhood Research, Policy, and Mental Health: Dr. Tova Walsh on Why Fathers Must Be Included
In this episode of I Am Dad Podcast, host Kenneth Braswell welcomes Dr. Tova Walsh, Associate Professor at the Sandra Rosenbaum School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for a deep and timely conversation about the evolving field of fatherhood research and the systems that still struggle to fully include fathers.
Dr. Walsh began her career as a home visitor working with families during pregnancy and early childhood. In that role, she quickly noticed something many systems still overlook today: programs often use words like “family” and “parent,” but in practice, they are designed around mothers and babies while fathers are left out.
This conversation explores how far fatherhood research has come, how far it still needs to go, and what it will take to build systems that treat fathers as essential to child and family wellbeing.
Kenneth and Dr. Walsh discuss:
• Why fatherhood research has grown dramatically over the last few decades
• Why we no longer need to prove that fathers matter
• How social work education still needs to better prepare practitioners to engage fathers
• Why researchers must build real partnerships with fatherhood organizations and compensate fathers for their expertise
• The need for stronger, more reliable fatherhood data
• Why fatherhood needs a stronger national representative body or organizing infrastructure
• How maternal and child health systems often leave fathers out by design
• Why fathers should be included in prenatal care, pediatric care, and early childhood guidance
• The importance of co-parenting support during the first year of a child’s life
• How child support policy can harm low-income fathers and families when it is built around stereotypes
• Why paternal mental health needs greater attention, especially during the transition to fatherhood
• The emotional toll of child support debt, incarceration, unemployment, and relationship disruption
• Whether father absence should be understood as an adverse childhood experience
Dr. Walsh also reflects on her own family story, including how her father’s history and family trauma shaped her understanding of parenting, fatherhood, and the need to support men as whole people.
This episode is a must-watch for fatherhood practitioners, researchers, social workers, policymakers, maternal and child health professionals, early childhood providers, child support leaders, family service organizations, and anyone committed to building stronger families by fully including fathers.
June 21, 2026Episode 2344 min
Black Fathers, Race, and Responsibility: Greg Owens on Culture, Leadership, and Impact
In this powerful Part 2 conversation on I Am Dad Podcast, host Kenneth Braswell welcomes back longtime friend, brother, faith leader, and community advocate Greg Owens for a deeper discussion on Black fatherhood, race, culture, leadership, and the work required to move from narrative to impact.
After Part 1 explored fatherhood, faith, and the Black church, this episode shifts into a broader and more critical conversation: what happens when the phrase “Black fathers” becomes more visible in research, policy, media, philanthropy, and public discourse?
Kenneth and Greg unpack the importance of naming Black fathers without reducing them to a stereotype or treating them as a monolithic group. They explore how conversations about race can either open doors to understanding or chase people out of the room when not handled with wisdom, precision, and care.
This episode examines:
• What it means to talk about Black fathers without flattening their experiences
• Why race matters, but cannot be the only entry point into the conversation
• How universal values such as safety, health, access, family, and dignity keep more people in the room
• Why philanthropy after George Floyd often invested in ideas without building infrastructure
• The difference between outputs, outcomes, and real community impact
• Why Black men and Black women must resist being pushed into a “victimization war”
• How leadership must move beyond transactions and toward transformation
• What it means to raise Black children with culture, agency, faith, resilience, and discernment
Greg also reflects on raising his daughter and helping her develop confidence, agency, and cultural grounding while allowing her faith walk and identity to become her own. Kenneth adds powerful reflections on parenting through pain, watching children endure hardship, and understanding that some lessons cannot be rescued away.
This episode is a call to think more deeply about language, leadership, race, family, and impact. It asks us to move beyond slogans and toward strategy. Beyond visibility and toward infrastructure. Beyond representation and toward transformation.
June 14, 2026Episode 2233 min
Fatherhood, Faith, and the Black Church: Greg Owens on Men, Ministry, and Family
This episode of I Am Dad Podcast opens a powerful conversation about fatherhood, faith, leadership, and the responsibility of the Black church to speak more intentionally to men and families.
Host Kenneth Braswell sits down with longtime friend, brother, faith leader, and community advocate Greg Owens inside Macedonia Baptist Church in Albany, New York. Their relationship crosses many spaces: community work, music, radio, church, fatherhood, family advocacy, and the shared commitment to strengthening Black families.
Together, Kenneth and Greg move beyond a simple “church conversation” and into something deeper: a conversation about faith, trust, leadership, justice, and how men experience spiritual spaces.
June 7, 2026Episode 2123 min
Black Fathers in TV Commercials: Representation, Media, and Family Narratives
This episode of I Am Dad Podcast features a timely and important conversation from the Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy on how Black fathers are portrayed in television commercials and popular media.
Guest host Dr. David Miller sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Shears and Dr. Janice Kelly to discuss their research study on the portrayal of Black fathers in TV commercials. The conversation explores how Black fathers are often made invisible, reduced to background roles, or narrowly depicted in ways that do not reflect the lived experiences of many Black families.
The episode opens with a discussion of well-known advertising moments, including the public response to ads where Black fathers were absent from family-centered images. From there, the conversation moves into a deeper analysis of why representation matters, how advertising shapes public perception, and what Black fathers themselves said when asked to respond to commercials featuring fathers and families.
This episode explores:
• Why Black fathers are often missing or minimized in advertising
• How TV commercials shape cultural narratives about family
• Why authentic portrayals of Black fatherhood matter
• What Black fathers said about how they want to be represented
• The importance of showing fathers as nurturing, loving, funny, and present
• Why intergenerational images of Black fathers, sons, and grandfathers matter
• How advertisers can do better by listening to Black fathers directly
• The need for more research on Black fathers in television, cable, faith communities, and grandparenthood
The discussion also highlights a critical truth: Black fathers are not asking for perfect portrayals. They are asking for full portrayals.
They want to be seen as caregivers, protectors, workers, nurturers, disciplinarians, partners, sons, grandsons, fathers, and grandfathers. They want commercials and media images that reflect the complexity, tenderness, humor, responsibility, and generational strength that exist in Black family life.
This episode is essential viewing for advertisers, media professionals, researchers, practitioners, fathers, families, and anyone who cares about reshaping the narrative around Black fatherhood.
May 31, 2026Episode 2024 min
Black Fathers and Daughters: Racial Socialization, Beauty, and Protection w/ Dr. Jeff Shears speaks and Dr. Conial Caldwell
This episode of I Am Dad Podcast is part of the Moynihan Institute Takeover, featuring a powerful conversation between Dr. Jeff Shears and Dr. Conial Caldwell on Black fathers, daughters, identity, beauty, and racial socialization.
Dr. Caldwell, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County School of Social Work and a proud girl dad, discusses his study, Preparing and Protecting: Black Fathers’ Racial Socialization Practices with Their Daughters. His research explores how Black fathers talk with their daughters about race, appearance, self-esteem, beauty standards, hair, skin tone, education, and navigating the world as Black girls and women.
This conversation challenges the assumption that mothers are the only parents shaping daughters’ understanding of beauty and identity. Dr. Caldwell explains how fathers reinforce positive messages about Black beauty, affirm their daughters’ natural hair and complexion, and prepare them for the social, academic, and professional spaces they will enter.
The episode explores:
• How Black fathers help shape daughters’ self-worth
• Why conversations about race must begin early
• The role fathers play in affirming Black beauty
• How media and social media influence girls’ identity
• Why daughters need protection and preparation
• How “the talk” looks different with daughters than with sons
• The importance of fathers learning about the world Black girls navigate
• Why girl dads need language, awareness, and intentionality
Dr. Caldwell also reflects on how being a father of daughters informs his scholarship and helps him ask deeper questions about fatherhood, family, and Black girls’ development.
This episode is a must-watch for fathers, mothers, practitioners, educators, researchers, and anyone committed to strengthening Black families and helping daughters grow with confidence, dignity, and pride.
May 24, 2026Episode 191 hr 3 min
Sideline Dad: The Mother Behind the Athlete | Crystal Garrett on Sports, Parenting, and Purpose
This episode of Sideline Dad, part of the I Am Dad Podcast Network, takes a powerful and refreshing turn by bringing a mother’s perspective into the conversation around youth sports, parenting, identity, and family.
Host Javin Foreman welcomes Crystal Garrett, a storyteller, producer, former Division I track athlete, and mother of elite young athletes navigating the modern sports landscape.
From growing up in Seattle surrounded by athletes to raising children competing at high levels in baseball, tennis, basketball, and track, Crystal shares the emotional realities of parenting in today’s youth sports culture.
This conversation explores:
• The unique role mothers play in youth sports
• Raising confident athletes without overwhelming them
• Why sports teach life skills far beyond the game
• Navigating injury, disappointment, and identity
• The business of travel sports and youth athletics
• Why today’s sports culture can rob children of joy
• The emotional impact of recruiting, rankings, and expectations
• The importance of balancing sports, academics, faith, and family
Crystal also discusses her acclaimed documentary Black to the Bigs, which examines the declining presence of Black athletes in Major League Baseball and the systemic barriers impacting Black youth participation in the sport.
Throughout the episode, one truth remains clear:
Sports are never just about sports.
They are about confidence. Identity. Discipline. Community. Family. Pressure. Dreams. And the people standing beside our children while they chase them.
This episode is a must-watch for parents, coaches, athletes, and anyone trying to raise children with purpose in a competitive world.
May 17, 2026Episode 1832 min
Black Maternal Health Crisis: Why Black Fathers Must Be Part of the Solution w/ Dr. David Miller and Dr. Jeff Shears
This episode of I Am Dad Podcast tackles one of the most urgent public health issues facing Black families today: the Black maternal health crisis.
Hosted by Dr. David Miller, this important conversation features Dr. Jeffrey Shears, a nationally respected researcher focused on Black fathers, family systems, and community wellbeing.
Together, they examine a question too often ignored in maternal health conversations:
What role can Black fathers play in helping reduce maternal stress, improve pregnancy outcomes, and support healthier families?
Drawing from new research conducted through the Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy, Dr. Shears explains why fathers should be viewed not as risks—but as resources.
The conversation explores:
• The alarming disparities in Black maternal and infant mortality
• Why stress is a major factor in maternal health outcomes
• The overlooked role of fathers during pregnancy and childbirth
• How healthcare systems often ignore or dismiss fathers
• The importance of communication between mothers and fathers
• Why fathers need education and support during pregnancy too
• The impact of generational parenting and lived experiences
• How community-based fatherhood programming can strengthen maternal health outcomes
Dr. Shears also discusses why the Moynihan Institute chose to reclaim the controversial legacy of the Moynihan Report as a framework for advancing modern fatherhood research and policy conversations.
This episode is both a research discussion and a call to action.
Because if we are serious about saving Black mothers, we must also become serious about supporting Black fathers.
May 10, 2026Episode 171 hr 5 min
Mothers, Sons, Fatherhood, and His New Book Cats and Puppies w/ Arlen “Griff” Griffin
This special Mother’s Day episode of I Am Dad Podcast brings together humor, wisdom, fatherhood, motherhood, and the kind of seasoned truth only Griff can deliver.
Host Kenneth Braswell welcomes back Arlen “Griff” Griffin, co-host of the nationally syndicated gospel radio show Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell, comedian, husband, father, and author of the new book Cats and Puppies: This Is Not a Book About Animals.
Written as a bold, funny, and deeply honest love letter to mothers raising sons, Griff’s book uses the metaphor of cats and puppies to explore the emotional, developmental, and relational differences between mothers and sons, especially when a father is not present in the home.
Together, Kenneth and Griff discuss:
• Why mothers need both grace and support
• The moment a boy begins shifting into manhood
• Why moms should not have to be “mother and father”
• How men can honor mothers while still telling the truth
• Griff’s relationship with his mother and how it shaped him
• Marriage, fatherhood, comedy, and purpose
• Why sons need language for loving and respecting their mothers
• The power of laughter, wisdom, and lived experience
This conversation is not just about a book. It is about honoring mothers, strengthening sons, and helping families better understand the emotional journey from boyhood to manhood.
If you are a mother raising a son, a father who loves his mother, a husband learning how to honor the women in his life, or a son still trying to understand the woman who raised him, this episode is for you.
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