The Father Hood

With special guest:

• Luke Benedictus
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

Professor Richard Fletcher says it’s the most exciting time in history to be a dad. But there is an old problem of where does that modern dad get his riding instructions.

Our guest today is Luke Benedictus who like so many others was faced with this problem. So Luke got together with two mates, Jeremy Macvean and Andrew McUtchen, to set up The Fatherhood, a new destination for modern dads.

The idea is for dads to be able to draw from each other’s’ experiences in the way that mothers have done through the ages. The Father Hood is seen as something like a neighbourhood except that the dads do not have to live in close proximity. Dads all over the world and in wildly different occupations and circumstances have a lot in common that the dads can now explore. So there is a website www.the-father-hood.com and the usual social media sites on Facebook and Twitter. Now there is a book called The Father Hood: Inspiration for the New Dad Generation.

We get to speak with Luke Benedictus today. With Luke’s background as a writer and editor across an assortment of magazines, including Men’s Health, newspapers and websites in Australia and overseas he had an entrée to some celebrity dads who were happy to contribute their experiences. So we hear what actors Ben Stiller and Mark Wahlberg have to say. Hugh Jackman tells his story and then there are the sportsmen David Beckham and Tim Cahill plus many more.

Luke has found that the celebrity dads welcome the opportunity to discuss the role of being a dad, which they see as their most important, instead of their usual interviews. The interviews are wide ranging covering what is the most important thing a dad can do for their children to the opportunities that fatherhood can bring to a man. And other situations such as being a step-dad, being the most powerful man in the world and a dad, and being a psychologist watching dads in the community. All these areas are covered and a lot more.

Hearing the enthusiasm and wisdom of Luke Benedictus is bound to get you thinking and we would expect it will hasten your visit to the new destination that is The Father Hood.

Luke Benedictus

Luke Benedictus has spent over 20 years working as a writer and editor across an assortment of magazines, newspapers and websites. He was the editor of Men’s Health, editor of Dazed & Confused (Australia) and had stints at The Age, the Sun online (UK) and Eurosport (France). Luke moved to Australia in 2002 and now lives in Sydney with his wife and two young sons.

Song selection by our guest: Purple Rain by Prince & The Revolution

Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 24 October 2019.

Podcast (mp3)