Ambitious Dads

About Ambitious Dads

Fatherhood cracked me open in ways I never expected — and showed me how unprepared most of us are for the emotional work it demands. After learning I couldn’t be a biological father, I wrestled early with the fear that I might screw up my kids before they even existed — a feeling every dad, in one way or another, eventually comes to know. The Ambitious Dads Podcast is where we stop winging it and start talking — about balancing endless competing priorities like work, kids, partners (sex — yeah, right!), self-care, and finances; about the emotions that hit daily — guilt, stress, fear, fatigue, love — and about the quiet doubts that keep us up at night. We’ll get vulnerable. We’ll get honest. And yes, we’ll end every episode with a ridiculous poop story, because if fatherhood teaches you anything, it’s how to laugh while cleaning up disasters. Ranked in the Top 10% of all podcasts globally. Hosted by Jeff Hittner. Email Jeff with ideas for future episodes: jwhittner@gmail.com

Publisher

Jeff Hittner

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 May 2025

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

17 of 45 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Raising Three Kids Solo and What Stuck with Mike Miller

   HR executive Mike Miller shares with host Jeff Hittner timeless parenting lessons learned from raising three children solo, offering insights on rewarding behavior and fostering individual success.

2. 

   30 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Shame, Grief & Growth: Jeff Hittner's Divorce Story

   Jeff Hittner shares his personal divorce journey with host Robert Mulhall, exploring grief, shame, and growth in co-parenting and self-discovery.

3. 

   23 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Their Journey, Not Yours: Raising Teens Who Take Different Paths: Eran Arbel

   Host Jeff Hittner interviews Eran Arbel, Director of Talent Acquisition at Florida International University, about embracing his teenagers' unique paths and the power of coaching over control in fatherhood.

Inside a recent episode

Raising Three Kids Solo and What Stuck with Mike Miller

Published 9 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] So keep in mind that they're listening to you in totality. They're absorbing you as a human being. Um, not in, and sometimes we're coming at it when they're six and nine, when they're younger, we're coming at it from our role. They're looking at us there. What I'm getting now, this is a new one for me because I'm, I'm getting the feedback and I'm like, wait a minute, that wasn't to you. That was to one of your siblings. That was to a friend. That was to a relative. So I would bake in, understand that, um, that, um, that comprehensive version of you is what they're pulling from and not just the voice and the narrative that you craft for them. […]

Who has been a guest on Ambitious Dads

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Mike Miller
• Eran Arbel
• John Barrows
• Armin Brott
• Jamie Hogg

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

411

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

11 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

29 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

66

Social presence

0

YouTube

64

Engagement

51

Questions about Ambitious Dads