Dead Dads Podcast | Grief Support for Men

About Dead Dads Podcast | Grief Support for Men

Dead Dads Podcast is a show for men who have lost their dads. Scott Cunningham and Roger Nairn talk about father loss, grief, family, memory, dark humour, and all the strange stuff that shows up after your dad dies. The numbness. The anger. The guilt. The garage full of junk. The paperwork. The stories you keep telling because you are scared you’ll forget the sound of his voice. Some dads were great. Some were complicated. Some were barely there. This show makes room for all of it. Each episode is a real conversation with a man about his dad, what he lost, what he still carries, and what life looks like after joining the club nobody asked to join. Follow Dead Dads wherever you listen, watch on YouTube, or send us your story at deaddadspodcast.com. Death. Jokes. Closure. Not always in that order. Dead Dads Podcast is produced with the support of JAR Podcast Solutions, the branded podcast agency that helps organizations build shows people actually want to spend time with. Learn more at https://jarpodcasts.com/

Publisher

Scott Cunningham & Roger Nairn

Category

comedy · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Jan 2026

Latest episode

25 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Sept 2026

   My Dad Never Said He Was Proud of Me. I Spent My Life Chasing It.

   How do you grieve a father you loved, resented, and barely knew? For Ali, grief after losing his dad didn't look like sadness at first. It looked like anger, numbness, ambition, and a 15-year refusal to visit his father's grave. Ali spent much of his life wanting his dad to say four words: "I'm proud of you." He never did. In this episode of Dead Dads, Ali talks about losing his father after a complicated father-son relationship shaped by absence, addiction, resentment, and the search for parental approval. 🎧 In this episode, you'll hear about: Grieving a complicated relationship with your father Why grief can show up as anger or numbness instead of sadness The impact of addiction on a father-son relationship Chasing achievement because you want a parent's approval Grieving the father you wanted, not just the father you had Why becoming a dad can change how you understand your own father Letting go of resentment without pretending the past didn't happen What can happen when buried grief finally gets some room When his father was dying, Ali held his hand, said goodbye, and left the hospital. A few hours later, his dad died. Ali felt mostly numb. Then he avoided his father's grave for 15 years. Years later, during a silent meditation retreat, a poem about someone else's dad cracked something open. Ali left the room, walked into the forest, held onto a tree and cried for ten minutes. He realized he wasn't only grieving his father's death. He was grieving the relationship they never had. And he was still trying to earn the approval he'd wanted since he was a kid. This is a conversation about father loss, men's grief, absent fathers, addiction, resentment, parental approval, forgiveness, and what happens when you finally deal with grief you've spent years avoiding. 👨 Meet Ali B Ali grew up in Iran before coming to Canada. His own father had been abandoned by his dad at 11 and was forced to help support his family while still a child. As a teenager, Ali reconnected with his father while working with him and his brother in Nevada. Addiction made an already difficult relationship harder. Ali eventually returned to Canada, threw himself into school, and built a successful career in dentistry and surgery. But his relationship with his dad stayed with him. Years after his father's death, Ali finally started looking at the anger, grief, and need for approval underneath it. ⏱️ Episode chapters 00:00:00 My dad never said he was proud of me 00:01:27 Why Ali wanted to tell this story 00:02:14 Growing up with an absent father 00:04:45 Escaping Iran and coming to Canada 00:06:45 Reconnecting with his dad 00:07:45 Addiction changes everything 00:09:45 Years of resentment 00:11:55 Watching his father die 00:13:35 Why Ali felt numb 00:14:20 Avoiding his dad's grave for 15 years 00:15:15 The meditation retreat that broke something open 00:16:40 Finally grieving his father 00:17:05 Chasing his father's approval 00:18:10 Why men avoid grief 00:19:30 He couldn't find his father's grave 00:20:20 Discovering his dad had no gravestone 00:21:05 Letting go of the anger 00:22:00 Why talking about his dad was terrifying 00:23:20 Becoming a dad changed his perspective 00:24:15 The person anger was actually hurting 00:26:10 Can success fill the hole left by grief? 00:28:10 Grieving the father you never had 00:29:00 "I never asked if he was proud of me" 00:30:00 Finding compassion for a difficult father 00:31:20 How grief changed Ali as a husband and dad 00:33:35 Final thoughts 🖤 About Dead Dads Dead Dads is a podcast for men figuring out life after losing their dad. Hosted by Roger Nairn and Scott Cunningham, the show features honest conversations about father loss, grief, identity, family, memory, masculinity, and all the strange stuff that happens after your dad dies. No grief brochure voice. No tidy healing arc. Just real conversations for guys who are grieving, remembering, avoiding, laughing, carrying on, or trying to understand what losing a father did to them. You're not alone. ☕ Support Dead Dads: https://buymeacoffee.com/deaddadspodcast (https://buymeacoffee.com/deaddadspodcast) Website: https://www.deaddadspodcast.com/ (https://www.deaddadspodcast.com/) YouTube: /@deaddadspodcast Instagram: /deaddadspodcast TikTok: /dead.dads.podcast Substack: https://substack.com/@deaddadspodcast (https://substack.com/@deaddadspodcast) New episodes every week. Dead Dads Podcast is produced with the support of JAR Podcast Solutions. https://jarpodcasts.com/ (https://jarpodcasts.com/)

2. 

   4 Sept 2026

   We Hadn't Spoken in 6 Weeks. Then My Dad Died by Suicide.

   🎧 In this episode, you'll get: Language for the guilt that can follow suicide loss Permission to stop chasing an answer you may never get A reason to ask for help before you think you “need” it A better way to think about therapy when the first person isn't the right fit A frame for the three paths grief can put in front of you: fall apart, white-knuckle it, or use it Permission to cry, talk about your dad, and stop treating emotion like weakness Ideas for keeping your dad present through music, traditions, and rituals Scott Panov never imagined his dad would die by suicide. They hadn't spoken for six weeks after a family disagreement. After his dad died, Scott was left with guilt, anger, and questions he knew might never be answered. That night, he asked for help. This one's about suicide loss, therapy, letting go of blame, and realizing the dad you thought was superhuman was human too. 👨 Meet Scott Panov Scott is a son, father, hockey coach, artist, and advocate for men's mental health. After his dad Nikolai died by suicide in 2023, Scott sought trauma therapy and grief counselling. It changed how he thought about strength. Instead of carrying everything alone, he started talking, asking for help, sharing how he felt, and supporting other men who were struggling. ⏱️ Episode chapters 00:00 — “I never would've seen it coming” 01:00 — Welcome Scott Panov 02:50 — Meet Nikolai 04:30 — Measuring yourself against your father 07:00 — Dad and Splash Mountain 10:15 — Men who weren't taught to talk 10:55 — August 24, 2023 11:40 — The phone call from Mom 12:50 — The signs nobody understood 14:35 — We hadn't spoken for six weeks 16:00 — Telling his kids 17:45 — His superhuman dad was human 18:30 — The backpack full of rocks 18:55 — Searching for a reason 19:20 — Asking for help that night 22:00 — Trauma therapy 23:15 — The three paths after trauma 24:45 — Making emotion a superpower 25:30 — Finding the right therapist 29:00 — Becoming kinder to himself 30:00 — Men's mental health 31:50 — Buying Dad records every birthday 34:30 — Where his grief is now 36:00 — “I miss my dad” 37:00 — Scott's advice to other men Meet another guy in the club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yutMlctDGYE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yutMlctDGYE) 🖤 About Dead Dads Dead Dads is a podcast for men figuring out life after losing their dad. Hosted by Roger Nairn and Scott Cunningham, the show features honest conversations about father loss, grief, identity, family, memory, masculinity, and everything that happens after your dad dies. No grief brochure voice. No tidy healing arc. You're not alone. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, reach out for help. In Canada and the U.S., call or text 988. ☕ Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/deaddadspodcast (https://buymeacoffee.com/deaddadspodcast) Website: https://www.deaddadspodcast.com/ (https://www.deaddadspodcast.com/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaddadspodcast/ (https://www.instagram.com/deaddadspodcast/) TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dead.dads.podcast (https://www.tiktok.com/@dead.dads.podcast) Substack: https://substack.com/@deaddadspodcast (https://substack.com/@deaddadspodcast) New episodes every week. Produced with the support of JAR Podcast Solutions: https://jarpodcasts.com/ (https://jarpodcasts.com/)

3. 

   7 Aug 2026

   This one's about the long goodbye.

   This episode is for any guy whose dad disappeared in slow motion. If you've watched someone you love forget who they are — or you're the son who made the facility call — start here. Blake Collier's dad Rodney had early-onset Alzheimer's for 14 years. Rancher. Property manager. Voracious reader. Devoted Christian. A man who used to punch holes in walls — and later became a teddy bear. Blake parked the truck and watched his dad work in circles for 45 minutes. He sat through the mumbled Thursday prayers. He walked into a daycare where his dad didn't know who he was. And after the diagnosis, Rodney told him he'd fight it — and Blake made it about ten minutes down the road before he lost it. This one's about the long goodbye. The genetic fear you won't get tested for. The day you say your piece knowing he might not hold it. And the line Blake wrote for the eulogy that still hits: there's 100 deaths. Which one do you want me to talk about? In this episode, you'll get: • Language for the slow disappearance — when “forgetting things” doesn’t cover what you’re watching • Permission to skip the genetic test (and stop feeling weak for not wanting the answer) • A real map of the facility decision — so you’re not inventing it alone the week it hits • A way to say goodbye while he’s still here, without needing the perfect speech • A frame for why it keeps hurting in waves: “there’s 100 deaths” • A tool when talking fails — writing it down so it doesn’t sit on your chest • Proof your grief doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s to count About Blake Blake Collier is a writer and a son from the Texas Panhandle — the kind of place where emotions don't help with survival, until they have to. His dad Rodney was a renaissance ranch guy. Then came early-onset Alzheimer's. Fourteen years of decline. Blake rode the whole arc and processed a lot of it the only way that worked: writing it down. Not a therapist. Not a grief expert. Just a guy who took the long version of losing his dad. Chapters 0:00 — Dad didn't know who I was 1:50 — Welcome Blake Collier 3:00 — Texas Panhandle. Emotions don't help with survival 4:20 — Rodney: ranch, property, renaissance man 5:40 — The anger that punched holes in walls 9:00 — College advice and the history switch 10:00 — Mom saw it first 10:40 — I parked the truck and watched him for 45 minutes 12:15 — "I will do my best to fight it" 12:50 — I lost it on the drive home 15:00 — The mumbled Thursday prayers 17:30 — When hope started dwindling 18:00 — The day of the facility 21:30 — The visit where I said my piece 25:00 — "There's 100 deaths" 27:00 — The genetic fear I won't get tested for 28:40 — "Ride along with me" 29:30 — Writing it down instead of saying it out loud 31:00 — Grief looks different for everybody About Dead Dads Dead Dads is a podcast for men figuring out life after losing their dad. Hosted by Roger Nairn and Scott Cunningham. Honest conversations about father loss, grief, identity, family, memory, masculinity, and all the strange stuff that happens after. No grief brochure voice. No tidy healing arc. You're not alone. Website: https://www.deaddadspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaddadspodcast/ Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/deaddadspodcast Linktree: https://linktr.ee/deaddads Produced with support from JAR Podcast Solutions — https://jarpodcasts.com/

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

7 ratings

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