Acclaim for The Dadwell Podcast

Love your podcast

Love your podcast on fatherhood and your radical honesty. I find it especially relieving to hear another man exploring strength through vulnerability and ownership of his actions. Thanks for your work, Antonio.

HONEST LISTENING FOR FATHERS

I have very much enjoyed listening to how fathers navigate the balance of life, relationships, and parenting. The guests and range of the conversations are deep.

A GIFT TO LISTENERS

Open. Honest. Heartbreaking. Joyful. Unique.

Real & Relatable

I appreciate Antonio opening up about feeling torn between being a parent and creator. Balance is easier said than done... and I can completely relate! As a mom in the creative field, I understand that the struggle is real and at the end of the day, it's ALL worth it. It's great to hear dad's perspective too. A much needed edition to my podcast lineup!

Great Podcast

I love hearing different Dad’s thoughts, and how hard they are trying to be great Dads. It’s not easy—it’s not suppose to be... But they are trying and sharing—how great is that? Antonio does a wonderful job, asking questions, listening, and adding his own experiences. Those little humans will benefit from these chats!

For All Dads

You don’t have to be a designer or artist to appreciate and learn from the perspectives of these dads. I love hearing their experiences, regrets, and proud moments. I will often stop and think “how would I answer that question?” or “how did I handle a similar situation with my kids?” Bonus: the production quality is top notch.

Creative ideas for engaged dads

When we had our first son, I was struck by how awful most of the resources for dads were. It seemed like every book I read was targeted at the dad seeking to do the absolute minimum. It’s so refreshing that these dads have banded together to share stories of men taking their child rearing responsibilities seriously and finding meaning in the journey. The world needs more dads like the host, Antonio (whom I happen to know personally) and his amazing guests. Thanks again for pulling this together! I look forward to future episodes!

Good for any busy dad (maybe moms, too?)

Great start to this podcast. It is aimed at dads who are in design careers. But it’s great for any dad who has a busy career, yet sees raising his kids as a top priority.

Thank you for putting out this amazing podcast

I recently came across your podcast and it speaks to me so much that I'm making my way through every episode. You definitely found a much needed void to fill in the world of podcasting and media—something I commend you for as quite a monumental achievement.

Thank you for my new favorite podcast

I didn't realize I was in for such a therapeutic experience. I dig the style of two rad dads getting deep on life, creative pursuits and parenting. This podcast was pure inspiration and sets an example of the man, husband and father I hope to grow into one day. Thank you for putting this out there. You're making the good stuff.

I just discovered Dadwell—thanks for that

The honesty of the conversation was great to hear. I appreciated that you [and your guest] were both very open about learning to manage your anger when dealing with your children. I could relate to that: sometimes the frustration/stress of the work-day leaks into my parenting role and it can be hard to find the patience I need for my children (7 & 9). We all strive to be great parents but there isn’t much in the way of useful guidance out there. Hearing from other dads is helpful.

Dude. I’m loving your podcast.

It’s warm and sweet and honest. I’m only a couple of episodes in, truth be told, and I’m very hooked. I love your prologue.

THANKS

I’ve been a designer/researcher/strategist in Chicago for a lot of years now. I listened to the Dadwell intro podcast, and it sounds super relevant and interesting. I’ve been married for 11 years, I’m a father of three and I currently lead a design studio in Chicago. I immediately identified with challenges you’re tackling. I was fascinated to hear you’re on a sabbatical to explore these themes. I also took a sabbatical recently [and] mostly tried to work on being more present at home. In particular, I immersed myself in studying positivity and mindfulness. It was challenging, because I wasn’t “working” a lot of the time, but looking back, I’ve found that the hard reset at this point in life was probably the only way for me to become more aware of all my roles beyond “bread winner”. I look forward to hearing the insights you’ve discovered.

LOVING DADWELL

Been listening to your Dadwell podcast, and it's been some really amazing work. The conversations that come out of it have been insightful and interesting, and though I'm not a dad there's a lot of life perspectives that I've been finding valuable for myself. One aspect that's stood out is just how much love and care there is in everyone's tone and words when talking about their kid. Puts things into perspective on what really gives joy in life, and just a reminder to be more selfless. Keep up the good work and looking forward to future episodes!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Your podcast is keeping me sane, collected, and giving me perspective.

THANK YOU

I've been cruising through your Dadwell podcasts and they've been the most helpful thing as I prepare for an incoming baby and the career juggle.

VALUED MORE THAN YOU KNOW

It’s been amazing to hear conversation after conversation with such varied individuals that have so much in common and so much I can now relate with or mark for my aspirations in fatherhood. As a resource in my first year of fatherhood, I can’t imagine not having Dadwell.

life consultant & coach

I'm a father of two children and I'm trying to make some big changes in my life to spend more time with them. I’m [grateful for] this community.

THANK YOU

Being a woman and graphic designer of the previous generation (BFA 1969), my solution was to put my career on hold and stay home to raise our three children. When the youngest was two, I freelanced at the drawing board from the house. How nice to hear these intelligent and humorous conversations, especially from dads! Gratefully, it’s a different world.

A much needed show

I consider myself a podcast junkie and this is the first time I felt urged to drop everything and write a review. Thank you Antonio for this amazing show. For years I’ve been struggling to cope with the realities of being a parent in a world where everything- from self worth to our quality of parenting- is measured in terms of productivity and material outcomes. Hearing from other fathers makes me realize that my struggle is universal. This podcast brings me a great dose of perspective and much needed insights when I’m feeling overwhelmed with the turbulences of adult life. I’m thankful that you are helping fill this void in the podcasting world.

Insightful and necessary

I’ve been blown away by some of the personal things that have been shared and how much I relate to some of the fears, stresses and joys of fatherhood. I’ve taken away a ton of useful thoughts and ways to approach my own parenting. Highly recommended for anyone taking on the challenge of parenthood or thinking about joining the ranks.

Remember to breathe

When I learned Antonio was going to be creating this podcast, I could not have been more excited. With each episode, new insights and wisdom is shared. I love the perspectives and how other dads are finding ways to love their kids and their careers more each day. Season one ended to quickly. Remember "It's just a phase. Don't miss it."

My new favorite poD

This is so needed in the world. I love the candid, unflinching approach to the topic—being a driven, ambitious maker and trying to reconcile that with wanting to be a great dad.

FIRE

Love the idea behind the pod! Can’t wait to start learning from other creative dads!

DADWELL IS A SERIES OF REALLY GOOD INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWS WITH EMOTIONS—and much more…

It's honestly been fascinating for me to listen as I start to explore design, what the landscape looks like, and where I might fit in. So even though I don't have kids and am not male, it's still really interesting. One other part of the podcast that I really like is the ways in which it contends with an urge to be productive, almost a psychological imperative, in contrast with the beauty of sitting back and living without having to create output (which, thus, of course, usually positively affects later output). This is something that I feel like I deal with allllllll the time, and it drives me nuts. I have this ambition I can't shut off and it bleeds into everything else. The ambition is fueled by having so many ideas and only so much energy and time. I feel like Dadwell has made me continue to think about this in two different ways: first, wow, is it nice to know that I am not the only one who has this kind of contrast/angst going on. I think this is part of me learning more about the world of design and the designers in it. Second, it feels like Dadwell is a primer in some ways, a preparation for when I eventually have kids and contend with how to manage all of my internal chaos while managing the external chaos of children. It's really making me consider where to slow down while also continuing to explore.

Just wanted to reach out to tell you how much I appreciate the Dadwell podcast

I've just started in on them this week but the content in the conversations is perfect. With our new baby, I've been really cognizant of keeping up good creative practices, so this has been the perfect background for my recent late night painting sessions. Keep up the good work.

I think Dadwell is great

As a father of two that is always looking for content catered to dads that doesn’t fall squarely into the little league coach category—sign me up! Thanks again and continued success on your work.

I LOVE listening to the podcast

I too have two small girls (8 and 3.5) and left my engineering/product design job after the birth of my second daughter to start my own design company here in Madison, WI. I have definitely related to the ups and downs of raising kids while trying to build a business of my own. So thanks for telling these stories.

Really fantastic job on the launch of the podcast

Your conversation with David was awesome and insightful. Being a dad and small business owner in the Chicago design community made it even more relatable. The conversation seemed natural and moved along smoothly like you two were podcasters/interviewers with substantial past expertise. Keep up the great work!