

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

Jan 28, 2021 • 56min
In Search of British Tom Cotton feat. Milo Edwards
It is the opinion of this show that the whole Tom Cotton Ranger thing is not a big deal or worth caring about. However, for the benefit of the doubt, Nate explains this in the episode with Milo Edwards (@Milo_Edwards), in which they also cover the types of British veteran politicians and why they're weird and different to American eyes. Hope you enjoy! This week's bonus episode features Francis in discussion with a Navy veteran about the topic that has so long puzzled us: what is the Navy, and what does it do? Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46611804 *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

Jan 21, 2021 • 1h 3min
Farewell to the Big, Wet President
Let us state for the record that we hate Trump and we are happy he's gone. But we also feel it's important to recount some the highlights/lowlights of his tenure, how absurd it's all been, how much older and more exhausted we feel after 4 years, and so much more. Because here is a president who hates sharks, stares at eclipses, is obsessed with badgers, and is easily the dumbest man to ever breathe air. For this week's bonus, Francis is talking anti-war organizing in military towns with David Parsons, a historian and the author of 'Dangerous Grounds: Antiwar Coffeehouses and Military Dissent in the Vietnam Era.' The episode is available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46382926 David is also the cohost of the Nostalgia Trap podcast, which you can check out here. *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

Jan 14, 2021 • 1h 2min
Fascism? In My Forever War?
Well, we're a bit late to the party, as we were recording our episode last Wednesday prior to The Event. But you can rest assured that we were not surprised to discover that the mob on Capitol Hill included lots of veterans and active duty military. In this episode, we talk about what 20 years of war have done to the American psyche, and why we think the people who count themselves as 'not part of the problem' are simply mistaken. This week's bonus is a special treat of labor history, as Francis forced Joe Kassabian and Carey Shockey to watch the 1992 Disney musical NEWSIES. You will most definitely enjoy their reactions. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46083542 *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

Jan 7, 2021 • 1h 1min
It'll Be Different This Time!
This week, we discuss the election results in Georgia, have a long aside about what America did in Central America in the 1980s, and genuinely predict that the Dems' worst nightmare has come to pass: now they have to govern! We also had a bonus DadChat/New England Chat this week with Shocks and Joe Kassabian, and you can get it on the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/45820091 *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

Dec 31, 2020 • 49min
*UNLOCKED* Why Is Carl Higbie feat. Jasper Craven
We're off this week, but we've unlocked a bonus episode from earlier in the year. Francis speaks with journalist Jasper Craven about the right-wing veteran mythos and why ex-SEAL Carl Higbie will probably survive the Trump administration and factor in our lives for a while, despite being a huge piece of garbage. Jasper has a substack and you should absolutely sign up for it: https://battleborne.substack.com/people/2318067-jasper-craven If you want more bonus content like this, access it on our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Hellofawaytodie *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

Dec 24, 2020 • 49min
*UNLOCKED* Cognitive Dungeons and Dragons Therapy feat. Jared and Elizabeth Kilmer
We're off this week, but we've unlocked a bonus episode from March in which Francis speaks with Jared and Elizabeth Kilmer from Game to Grow, an organization that uses tabletop gaming in therapy. Specifically, they discuss how they've seen tabletop gaming work to support therapy for veterans, and how roleplaying can be therapeutic in a variety of contexts. Hope you enjoy! If you want more bonus content like this, access it on our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Hellofawaytodie *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

Dec 17, 2020 • 1h
Operation Bunker Busting New Brunswick
The word on the street (by which we mean the feeds of extremely Q-pilled individuals on twitter) is that the Chinese PLA tried to invade Maine via New Brunswick but were stopped when their entire force was killed by one 14-ton bunker buster that left no trace. 50,000 PLA troops dead with all evidence obliterated. To assess the military significance of this, we decided to report on it. For this week's bonus, we've brought on our Zoomer correspondent Kevin Frint (@ItsAll_Bullshit) to discuss a full playthrough of the recent Call of Duty release with Nate. You might not like it, but this is the way that people are going to assume the actual Cold War went down. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/45005019 *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

Dec 10, 2020 • 1h 2min
The Fort Hood Report: Horrifying and Also Unsurprising
The Army released a report into the handling of sexual assault prevention at Fort Hood, TX, and it's proof that the institution doesn't care about anything besides protecting itself. We offer our thoughts and why we feel it underscores our previous point: don't enlist. You can read the report in its entirety here: https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/forthoodreview/2020-12-03_FHIRC_report_redacted.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0JrfDs8rT-Y7OYdtvsT7FM2JORabaPIctk2Y-b35Le5AXdz8ftFqCRQgs We also talk about a recent claim by a former Israeli government official that there is a secret alien confederation and bases on Mars. Probably safe to doubt this one? This week's bonus is a TroopChat/DadChat with Joe Kassabian, Carey Shockey, and Francis. Have you ever heard about the British academic who really loved the Khmer Rouge? Learn about his story and more: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44668830 *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

Dec 3, 2020 • 60min
FRAGO: You Only Get to Drop Acid When We MKULTRA You
This week, we read a Task and Purpose article about how 2nd Division Marines are apparently really into doing LSD. Which, quite frankly, we support: for one because we think that by and large drugs are fine, and for another because this is the logical consequence of the military's actual drug policy, which makes it almost impossible to use cannabis without getting caught, but makes it much easier to take harder drugs. Here is the article in question: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-corps-lsd-problem/ We do a bit of DadChat in this episode, but the main segment starts at 7:59. For this week's bonus, Shocks and Joe Kassabian join Francis to discuss the Rudy Giuliani phenomenon: why is he so insane? What's happened to him since the days of being the 9/11 mayor, and how did he go from anti-Mafia Republican prosecutor to… this? Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44381527 *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

Nov 26, 2020 • 1h 3min
When Your Veteran Coffee Isn't Fascist Enough
This week, we're discussing the recent fall from grace that Black Rifle Coffee Company has experienced in the opinions of insane MAGA freaks--its core audience--because it refused to endorse or sponsor a 17-year-old accused of murdering BLM protesters. That's right! The Big Racist Coffee Company wasn't right-wing enough. The story we read from is available here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/black-rifle-coffee-was-maga-royalty-until-it-turned-on-kyle-rittenhouse Here is a link to Ka'u Coffee Mill, which Nate mentioned: https://kaucoffeemill.com/ And here is a link to the Coffee Fool: https://coffeefool.com/ In this week's bonus, Francis and Bryan from the Street Fight Radio podcast discuss all sorts of dadchat issues -- watching movies with your spouse, whether or not the Army trains you on knives, better qualities of weed available in 2020, and much more. Get it on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44228023 *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


