You Are Good

Attention-seeking, resentment, a healthy desire for retribution, and boundless parallels to the Trump debacle. Also, is Batman Returns in fact the most anti-corporate superhero movie ever made? Join Sarah and Alex as they unpack all this and more. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Anne Thériault as they discuss abandonment issues and anxieties about the horror of the 'urban' being unleashed upon the suburbs and threatening THE CHILDREN. This week's movie, of course, is Home Alone. Anne is a feminist writer and author based in Toronto. Why Are Dads has gone international once again! You can find Anne on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. Fresh Lesh produced the beats in this episode. Our Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Join Sarah, Alex and guest Mara Wilson as they discuss "gleaming sex", deranged easter bunnies, and Jim Jones' connection to the America portrayed in the 1983 holiday classic A Christmas Story. You can find Mara on Twitter and on Instagram. You can find Mara's book Where Am I Now? here. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. You can find producer and music director Carolyn Kendrick's music here. She's also on Twitter. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

It's a movie about a father who drives himself mad by holding himself to unrealistic holiday expectations, sure, but is it possible that there could be some daddy issues to unpack? Join us and guest Sovereign Syre as we talk about National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. You can find Sovereign on Twitter and on Instagram. Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here!  

Clear and Present Danger is a movie about a CIA agent that stands up to corruption, sure, but is it possible that this movie about a convictions-addled father also has some daddy issues to unpack? We were joined by very special guest Jamelle Bouie—New York Times columnist and NBC political analyst—to discuss this 1994 political thriller classic. You can find Jamelle on Twitter and on Instagram (his photos are great!) Why Are Dads is a show in which hosts Sarah Marshall and Alex Steed attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as they do with all difficult subject matter, they do so by looking through a pop culture lens. You can find us on Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. The Liz Climo "You Are Good" merch can be found here! This is, we should note, the first time we've had an actual dad guest on the show! AND! It's the first time we've watched a "dad movie". Lots of firsts with Mr. Bouie in this episode. Enjoy!

This is the latest installment of our Patreon-only chats that we wanted to share with y'all because it's the Sunday before Covid Thanksgiving and things are weird! You could probably use a little Bayside in your life, so here we are. If this is the sort of things that appeals to y'all, we have weekly conversations about odds and ends over at our Patreon account. We call these chats "Shootin' the Shit w. Why Are Dads". This week we talked Zack Morris, Richard Belding, and the many dad issues that can be found in the Saved By the Bell universe. Specifically, we talk about the episodes Rent-a-Pop and A Tale of Two Beldings. We recorded this a while back, back before we knew what sort of format Why Are Dads would stick to. The only thing I wish, in retrospect, is that I [Alex] didn't refer to Dustin Diamond as "off the rails". Child stardom is fucked up and kinda (and sometimes very) abusive! On that note, you should totally watch Showbiz Kids, Alex Winter's HBO documentary on child stardom. You can find Why Are Dads here, and on Twitter and Instagram.

Tim Burton's Big Fish is about a man who hopes to get a better sense of who is yarn-spinning father is. Are there larger truths in our parents’ self-constructed myths? In their “amusing lies”? Who were our parents before we were born, anyway? Is it possible to get to know those people? It's another movie about a dad so on the nose with its themes that it is impossible to open with a pithy line about the issues it offers for unpacking. Join Sarah, Alex and guest Louisa Smith as they unpack. Why Are Dads is a show in which we attempt to understand what the hell it means to be the grown children of dads and other dad-like figures. And, as we do with all difficult subject matter, we this by looking through a pop culture lens. Louisa is on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/louisathelast Find Why Are Dads online: https://twitter.com/whyaredadshttps://instagram.com/whyaredadshttps://www.patreon.com/whyaredads EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: https://www.temi.com/editor/t/oIY0SakS3fDIDOlbYVzVCzqvcpDC_NnK0jymGj35BcX0Xxr5XgA_L7O4p6MH6bjG9oNpl6mZvtesKYEpDQRjzyb8T6A?loadFrom=SharedLink

We usually tease the episode with some pithy switcheroo about how the movie is about one thing, but is it possible that there are some dad issues to unpack? But this is a movie that refers to an entire family by the dad's name, so join Sarah, Alex and guest Rachel Vorona Cote as they unpack Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. Here's Rachel on Twitter, and here is her wonderful book Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today. We are selling this VERY limited run Why Are Dads shirt through November 18th. And here we are on Patreon! And Twitter! And Instagram!

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is about a dad who shrinks his kids, sure, but is it possible there are some issues to unpack in a movie in which dad can't see or hear his children? Sarah and Alex discuss and heap loads of love unto Rick Moranis. As a bit of "reality" counter-programming we decided to expedite our chat about this beloved family classic. It's got Rick Moranis! It's got Antie! It's got big cookies and giant Legos! Turn your brain off for an hour and let's go back to our childhood and then, of course, ruin that trip by taking about how dads can be... a real situation. Hey! You can find us on: PatreonTwitterInstagram

Terminator 2 is about a boy, his mom, and a killer robot, sure, but is it possible that a movie about a surrogate cyborg father has some daddy issues to unpack? Join Sarah, Alex and Michael Hobbes as we discuss the best movie of 1991. Our guest Michael Hobbes is a reporter for HuffPost. He is also the co-creator and co-host of You’re Wrong About and Maintenance Phase. Terminator 2 is a movie about two robots from 2029 to present day [1991] Los Angeles. One is sent by resistance leader John Connor to protect his childhood self from the second robot, which is sent back by Skynet—an AI neural network dedicated to eradicating humans. The movie follows young John Connor (Edward Furlong), his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and their robot protector (Arnold Schwarzenegger as they try to survive the pursuit of T-1000 (Robert Patrick) while also doing whatever possible to stop the technological developments that will make possible the future human/robot wars.