

What a Hell of a Way to Dad
What a Hell of a Way to Dad
Francis and Nate bring you weekly dad chats, plotting the growth of their daughters and themselves. Episodes are interspersed with interviews with various authors and journalists. The hosts are both veterans, so also expect a lot of meandering stories
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 3, 2021 • 1h 4min
DadChat: Culinary Edition
This is a full episode of DadChat, so if you don't enjoy them then it's probably better to skip it! Nate and Francis go full dad mode and discuss cooking, their least favorite chores, the benefits of pressure cooking for home canning, favorite winter all-day recipes, and a story about Nate finding a cast iron pan on the street and it somehow leading to an unexpected magical night in DC. Hope you enjoy! For this week's bonus, Nate and Cynthia discuss the impact of watching famous Black role models of the 1980s--people like Colin Powell, Bill Cosby, and Ben Carson--and what Black Americans of the same age as people like Cynthia feel now that their legacies are, to put it mildly, 'complicated.' Get it on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/posts/57846832 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Oct 21, 2021 • 58min
No, Do Speak Ill of the Dead
DadChat ends at 13:25! This week, Nate and Francis discuss the recent death of Colin Powell, the first Black American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the man who lent his reputation to sell the Iraq War more than any other politician. We argue that you should in fact judge him for this, immediately, because he failed the moral test of his lifetime. We also discuss a recent Washington Post story that seems to imply America might also 'send the Army in' to solve supply chain issues, except no one actually thinks it will happen. Get the story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/10/19/white-house-supply-chain-national-guard/ For this week's bonus, Francis, Joe, and Shocks discuss the strange case of Marine LTC Stuart Scheller and his relentless desire to post. Is it a good idea to be pro-se defendant in a UCMJ court? Is it a good idea to try and personally charge the commandant of the Marine Corps because someone told you that it was allowed under maritime law or whatever? Find out, on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57517668 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Oct 14, 2021 • 45min
My Death Machine is Solar Powered feat. Jasper Craven
Nate is out this week, and Francis speaks with defense journalist Jasper Craven (@jasper_craven) about a recent trend: trying to portray the U.S. military as ecologically concerned--call it 'military greenwashing' if you'd like. And it turns out, it's not really possible when the military doesn't disclose how much fossil fuel it consumes, not even to Congress. Read Jasper's article here: https://thebaffler.com/latest/greenwashing-the-military-industrial-complex-craven Subscribe to Jasper's substack here: https://battleborne.substack.com/ For more on this topic: https://taskandpurpose.com/gear-tech/military-plan-make-earth-friendly-munitions/ For this week's bonus, This week, Nate and Milo discuss the peculiarly British phenomenon of calling for the Army to be deployed domestically--whether it's to quell a social conflict or fix a logistics issue. They love to call for the Army to be sent in. We get to the bottom of what this means, and why people want it. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57234686 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Oct 13, 2021 • 11min
*PREVIEW* 'Send in the Army' feat. Milo Edwards
This week, Nate and Milo discuss the peculiarly British phenomenon of calling for the Army to be deployed domestically--whether it's to quell a social conflict or fix a logistics issue. They love to call for the Army to be sent in. We get to the bottom of what this means, and why people want it. Listen to the whole thing on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57234686

Oct 7, 2021 • 1h 1min
SwordsChat
DadChat ends at 13:09! This week, Nate and Francis explore two themes. First, the story of a guy dressed as a ninja attacking a Special Operations aviation unit at an airfield in California (this really happened). Second, the theme of being Opposing Forces during military training and how much fun it is to cause havoc while shooting your fellow soldiers with lasers. You can read the ninja piece here: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2021-09-30/ninja-attack-special-operations-california-airport-3076663.html You can read the piece here: https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2021/07/27/ozarks-lake-covid-unvaccinated-500784 This week, Francis, Carey, and Joe regale themselves with the 1995 Damon Wayans film MAJOR PAYNE. Look, we're going to get through all the '90s military movies--good and bad--and this one is actually okay? Sure, it's bad, but it's also less regrettable than many others like it. Listen on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56957351 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Sep 30, 2021 • 1h 11min
Let's Cough Around the Lake
This week, Nate and Francis discuss a recent Politico article about anti-vaxxers and covid deniers partying hard at the Lake of the Ozarks resort in southern Missouri. It's an article from July, but we'd wanted to discuss this for a while for one specific reason: Francis's whole family is from southern Missouri, and this piece speaks to a particular mindset that might be hard to comprehend from the outside. You can read the piece here: https://www.politico.com/amp/news/magazine/2021/07/27/ozarks-lake-covid-unvaccinated-500784 This week, Francis, Carey, and Joe examine the 1997 Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbuster CON AIR. It's just yet another vehicle for Nic Cage to be out of his mind, but there are some redeeming qualities, right? Well, we'll see if we can get to them when the Zoo Crew homes in on how this film predicted 9/11. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56632532 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Sep 23, 2021 • 1h 5min
Morale is Low at the DHS / MAGA Office (feat. Ken Klippenstein)
This week, Nate and Francis speak with friend of the show and investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein about the various things he's got going on: reporting on DHS, reporting on labor law violations, and reporting on people in the military deciding to refuse one specific vaccine--it's a great time. Ken's got a new story out about how the leaders of the Senate GOP endorsed 'Afghan Resistance' have actually fled the country. Get it on the Intercept here: https://theintercept.com/2021/09/21/afghanistan-taliban-ahmad-massoud-flee/?utm_campaign=theintercept&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social This week, Francis speaks with secret military lawyer Pat about the recent 'Woke Military' report commissioned by extremely smart Congressman Dan Crenshaw. It's a joke, but it gets to a significant issue: the problems that service members are facing do involve bad organizational practice, but they aren't about 'wokeness' and the only people complaining about that are probably not worth listening to. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56356910 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Sep 16, 2021 • 59min
DadChat: We Will Not Be Mad Online Anymore
Nate and Francis return to have a DadChat in which we discuss the facts: we're getting older, we can't post as hard anymore, and we just don't want to be mad online. But we're embracing it, and we have hope for those of you worried about the inevitable march of time: you stop caring about dumb things. Hope you enjoy! For this week's bonus, did you know there's a book of 'Violent Nomad Skills' by a former Navy SEAL? Did you know it's deeply, deeply insane? Nate joins our Zoomer correspondent Kevin Frint (@ItsAll_Bullshit) to discuss this in what will become a 2-part review. Get Part 1 on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56099559 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Sep 9, 2021 • 1h 12min
Dogs and Cats First feat. Hussein Kesvani
This week, Nate speaks with Hussein Kesvani, a notable serious journalist and cohost of Trashfuture and 10,000 Posts podcasts, about a recent phenomenon in Britain: the decision to evacuate a bunch of dogs and cats from Afghanistan while leaving behind all the Afghan staff from the charity involved. We also touch on Taliban super-poster accounts and the ways Global North countries try and demonize refugees at every juncture. For this week's bonus, we've decided to review the 2016 Coast Guard film about a guy who does his job. It's called THE FINEST HOURS and Chris Pine is horribly miscast (he's nowhere near ugly enough). To discuss it, the authenticity of its portrayal, and a lot of digressions about boats, Francis speaks with Carey Shockey (@shocks), our resident coastie and water expert. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55731709 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang

Sep 2, 2021 • 1h 5min
*UNLOCKED* The Special Psychotic Relationship feat. Alice Caldwell-Kelly
This week, Nate speaks with Alice Caldwell-Kelly (@AliceAvizandum) from the podcasts Trashfuture, Well There's Your Problem, and Kill James Bond, about the 2009 Armando Ianucci film IN THE LOOP, in which the British TV series 'The Thick of It' visits the topic of the Iraq War and James Gandolfini plays a grumpy American Lieutenant General. Why are politicians in both countries such deranged freaks? What are stereotypes of British general officers? All this and more, this week. For this week's bonus: Yes, we forced everyone to watch it: one of the dumbest episodes of one of the dumbest shows ever made. Who would win, the real Spartans or the Spartans from the film 300? Learn the answer and experience brain death by signing up on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55419876 *SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT* We now have a storefront to sell the patches, buttons, and magnets that we also give out as flair for our $10 tier. Buy some sweet gear here: https://www.hellofawaytodie.com/shop We have a YouTube channel now -- subscribe here and get sweet videos from us in which we yell in our cars like true veterans: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwlHZpNTz-h6aTeQiJrEDKw You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedeserts Follow Francis here: @ArmyStrang


