Tell Me About Your Father

“When your child is having an extreme outburst of emotions, for whatever reason it might be, repeat to yourself, ‘He's not giving me a hard time. He's having a hard time.’"The dad-themed books of my childhood were always found on the back of the toilet, or nearby. Filled with jokes about golf, alone time, toilet seats, alcoholism and contact sports, these short, often illustrated paper products reflected the expectations we had of fathers as the man in the house who most deserved a nap. On this Father’s Day episode of TMAYF, Erin and Elizabeth talked with Kevin Maguire of The New Fatherhood.org, and author of the new book of the same name, about the stark history and new realities of being a dad in the 2020s, his own experience with post-natal depression, how men have evolved as a species, breaking the cycles we inherit, and why psychedelics may hold the key to a personal paradigm shift for parents. Here’s to the guys who are doing the work like their children are watching. Happy Father’s Day to you and yours,Erin, Elizabeth & MattIt’s cool. Just do it. Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

The one thing we don’t discuss in this, our penultimate, recap of HBO’s Task is that the title of episode 6 is a play on a line from a poem by the 13th century Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi (sorry if you already knew that!). We just thought its meaning was self evident because there IS a river in this show.Here’s what we do cover:* Goodnight, snickerdoodle* There are still more moles! Stop it! Enough! * Tom’s search for a replacement son* Gertie's evocation as a Lego and what constitutes an impression of a chicken *Robbie's final moments. Golden Globe for Tom P or are we the only people watching this show? Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

“Vagrant,” the fifth episode of HBO’s Task, which we are recapping for TMAYF nation, is overflowing with more moles than a dermatologist’s office. And don’t get us started on the animal references in general in this episode alone: at least four different kinds of birds, a baby giraffe, the dead deer from Sam’s nightmares, Gwen Stefani’s spiderweb, and a dragonfly (which tattoos tell us is a sign of transformation). Still, this was the ep we’ve been waiting for, because those ubiquitous HBO poster images of Robbie and Tom rushing toward each other with guns drawn in the forest finally make sense, as these two dads try to reconcile the impending threat of death for both, and the inevitable pain their losses will have on their myriad children. Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Operation Recap HBO’s Task, we ask why Task isn’t called Dads of Delco or Maeve of Easttown, or even, For Fifty-Year-Old Men, By Fifty Year Old Men, and actually deliver an answer that we heard on another podcast. BUT, don’t worry - you are getting fresh insights here, when we break down the major question mark of this episode: who are the moles?Join us next week for Ep 4! Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to our first weekly recap of HBO’s latest Sunday night prestige crime saga, Task. This Delco-set Tale of Two Sad Dads from Mare of Easttown writer-director Brad Inglesby stars Mark Ruffalo as a grieving ex-priest–turned-alcoholic FBI agent with a philosophy degree, and Tom Pelphrey as a garbage man–turned–robber trying to keep his family afloat. Sign us UP, girl! Starting next week, our Task recaps will live on tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com. All you have to do to hear them is hit “subscribe.” It’s free. Save your money for wooder ices. See you again next week. Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

Author Aatish Taseer, whose new book A Return To Self: Excursions in Exile comes out this week, did not meet his father, Salman Taseer, the former Governor of Punjab, Pakistan until he was 21 and their relationship was, to say the least, complicated. In 2009, he wrote a book about the experience, Stranger to History, about his journey to meet his father that was also an exploration of what it means to be a Muslim in the 21st Century. Shortly after Aatish made contact with his father, in early 2011, Governor Taseer was assassinated by his own bodyguard for pardoning a woman who had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. On this episode of Tell Me About Your Father, Aatish Taseer talks with Matt Phillp about his new book, the complicated response he continues to have to his father’s violent assassination, the value and beauty of going on a pilgrimage, what it means to identify with a nation, and how it feels to have been ejected by one.1:24 – Stranger to History & Aftermath. The journey to meet his father, writing Stranger to History, and how the book was used in the trial of his father’s killer.4:06 – Exile from India & Dual Identity. Losing Indian citizenship after criticizing Modi, and grappling with home, identity, and belonging.5:10 – Pilgrimage & Spiritual Encounters. Travel, grief, and spiritual moments in Morocco and Mongolia — including Aatish’s first adult prayer and an eerie experience in the Sahara. 21:43 – "Venus & Serena" and royal racism. Aatish recounts his relationship with Lady Gabriella Windsor and the story of Princess Michael of Kent’s black sheep named Venus and Serena.25:23 – Fragility of Privilege & Royal Absurdity. Reflections on British aristocracy, EasyJet royalty, and being exiled from elite circles.33:41 – The Power of Ritual. Burning Man, sacred spaces, and the shared human need for grief and connection.39:28 – Pilgrimage as Memory. A Mongolian shamanic ritual leads to insights on memory, loss, and reconciling with the past.53:21 – Fathers, Futility & Freedom. The complicated relief after his father’s death, and commentary on liberalism, values, and the West.1:00:07 – Family, Writing, and What Remains. On estrangement, inheritance, finding home with his husband, and the writer’s role in making sense of it all.Follow this podcast on Instagram hereFollow Matt Phillp here / Follow Erin Hosier here / Follow Elizabeth Thompson here Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

On today’s bonus episode of TMAYF, we look back at 6 episodes over the last 5 years that we just can’t stop thinking about. Featuring political podcaster Ravi Gupta, psychic medium Victoria Laurie, fine artist Chris Santa Maria's on his Uncle Bunky, Superstar Molly Shannon, author Gretchen Cherington, and the incomparable Christian Nightmares. Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe

In Part 2, we strap ourselves into the roller coaster of Musk’s chaotic romantic relationships, his obsession with fathering a “legion” of children, and the dumb pro-natalist ideology behind it. From pay-for-silence pacts with exes to a compound in Austin for all the sister wives, this episode is about how Musk parents his kids, and by extension, the world he thinks he’s going to save.. Get full access to Tell Me About Your Father at tellmeaboutyourfather.substack.com/subscribe