Andy is responsible for igniting a love of reading in millions of kids. It’s a complex alchemy, but bum jokes have played a large part in it. From The Day My Bum Went Psycho to the hugely popular Treehouse series (which he created with longtime collaborator Terry Denton and which was edited by his wife Jill), Andy has written wild, boundless and very funny adventures that have drawn many kids into the beautiful escapism of books who otherwise may have missed out. With more than 30 books to...

An awesome outdoorsy special, with inspirational outdoor specialist, Rick Petersen. Rick featured in Season 2 of Alone Australia, and quickly became a fan fave (especially for Hame), with his unwavering positivity in the face of huge adversity and very little food! Beyond trying to stay alive on Alone, using his skills as an ex-soldier and expedition leader in the NT, Rick currently runs weekend camps for people looking to reconnect with the outdoors, including a special focus on dads and...

As a long time host of Play School, Luke’s probably spent more time entertaining kids than any of us ever will! But beyond that, he’s an amazingly accomplished actor… from getting his start on the kids show Lift Off! back in the early 90s, to being a regular on the awesome Redfern Now and more recently in the big budget adaption of The Artful Dodger on Disney+, not to mention a tonne of amazing theatre over the years. Luke is super generous and frank in this chat, talking openly about what...

When you push your limits and things get a little uncomfortable, you often learn something about yourself.  When you repeatedly do it for years, we reckon you must learn some universal truths about humans and how we tick. As a professional adventure racer, Nathan has spent much of his adult life pushing his physical and mental boundaries and helping those in his racing team do the same.  Hame came across Nathan watching World’s Toughest Race on Amazon, which Nathan and the Kiwi team won by...

HODD overseas adventure time! We headed to Wellington to chat with Kiwi comedy and music legend, and one half of Flight of the Conchords, Bret McKenzie and he gave us a masterclass on playing with our kids. Bret makes up silly stuff for a day job (he even won an Oscar for it!) and as a dad he’s focused his gift for absurdity and daftness into creating pro level games for his kids, and he gives us some of his best hits. They’re awesome! Seriously, you’re gonna want to write them down.  Bret...

He’s been on our screens making us laugh for years, most recently in Colin From Accounts, but in this chat Patrick Brammall unpacks one of his more meaty roles to date… Being a first time dad!  Patty’s path to parenthood is a little unique with him and his wife Harriet Dyer adopting a baby girl in 2021 (Harriet is also co-creator/co-star of Colin From Accounts). Patty talks us through this experience, how it’s fundamentally changed him, his perspectives and priorities. And given his daughter...

“I wasn’t going to miss the podcast just because I was slightly paralysed” - It’s one of the better quotes we’ve had on the show! But it neatly sums up the unassuming yet unflappable nature of Dr Harry, who unless you were on a 12 month silent retreat in 2018, you’d know was the cave diving anaesthetist who helped in the against all odds rescue of the Wild Boars soccer team trapped in a flooded Thai cave. Dr Harry is in a unique position to talk about the art of risk taking, and it’s...

He’s helped create some of Australia’s most memorable comedic characters, battled tirelessly to elevate Football (the proper round ball kind!) to the upper echelons of Australian sport, and most importantly, he’s the father to 2 (now adult) sons. But before looking at his own dadding, Santo takes us back to Melbourne in the 1960s and 70s, painting a vivid picture of the multi-generational approach to parenting that he experienced growing up in a migrant family, especially the huge role his...

As one of Australia’s great contemporary artists, Ben’s compassion and humanity is evident in all his work, and so is his willingness to self-examine. So perhaps unsurprisingly in his chat with Hamish, Ben opens up about what shaped him in his own childhood, his thoughts on masculinity, the shockwave of sadness that hit him recently when his adult son moved out of home, and the unwelcome thoughts of mortality that followed.  Ben also gives us some fantastic practical hacks on how to...

As a prolific co-creator of Australian comedy classics like Upper Middle Bogan, Wayne is probably more comfortable bringing to life hilarious, and hilariously flawed characters, rather than reflecting on his own life. But we know Wayne to be so thoroughly kind, thoughtful and wise that we really put the screws on him to come and have a chat. Thankfully he agreed! (mostly due to a nudge from his wonderful partner in life and work, Robyn Butler) Wayne talks beautifully about becoming a...

Finally, after waaaaaay too long, Season 3 of HODD is here. Well, actually… not just yet. It’s here next Friday, September 13. But boy, is it close!! To wet your appetite, here is a little taste of what’s to come this season. We’ve been lucky to chat with some absolutely wonderful guest dads who will make you laugh, reflect, reminisce and maybe even a little teary. It’s got it all! Big thanks to our great friends at HERTZ for coming back on board as our exclusive sponsor for Season 3, and...

It’s back! The episode where Hamish tears up the HODD rule book, by going over an hour AND talking to an expert. And not just any expert, but leading behavioural paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Dr Billy Garvey. Wild, right?  In the sequel to his awesome Season 1 Episode, Dr Billy has been beyond generous with his time and has picked some choice moments from Season 2 to unpack with Hame and look at the clinical evidence behind the parenting gut work. And then Billy further...

Mindset coach to some of the world’s finest athletes, Ben Crowe reflects on his dadding journey so far. Given Ben is used to helping other people discover their story rather than delving into and analysing his own, we are really grateful to him for his openness and honesty, in what was a fascinating chat with Hame.  Ben is the first to admit, like all of us, he’s continually making mistakes as a parent, and that putting all his professional knowledge into practice as a dad is far easier said...

Craig Foster - former Socceroo captain, legendary sports broadcaster, social justice champion… but his most important job?  You guessed it… Good 'ol Dad! As a compassionate and thoughtful leader who spends much of his time helping those who don't have a voice, Craig talks about why justice and fairness are core tenets of his and how this informs his parenting. Fozz also discusses shepherding his kids though the teenage years and the almost comical lengths he’s gone to keep a watchful eye....

Russel Howcroft has been talking to Australians about how they are sold things for years on the much loved TV show Gruen - Now he lets us in on the secret of how he sells things to his kids! (Hint: like any good client pitch, it’s more guiding, less telling In a free ranging chat that follows the whims of Russ’s very active mind, he explores with Hame how his own upbringing influences the choices he now makes as a father, how he has actively fostered creativity in his kids, and why it can be...

Health and fitness industry expert and entrepreneur Sam Wood has a beautifully honest chat with Hame about his dadding journey.   From what’s like to begin your dadding with a 9 year old step daughter, to then only eight short years later having 4 daughters, Sam shares with Hame the struggles he’s had learning on the job with a teenager, how he tries to instil adventurousness and positivity into his kids each day and how the death of his mother when he was a teenager completely reframed the...

Scott Pape, or perhaps as he’s better known The Barefoot Investor, has been teaching Australians about finances for almost 20 years. These days he’s also investing heavily in his 4 kids - and he’s got some great advice for all of us. Scott tells Hame about his mantra that “These are the good ‘ol days” and explains how it helps him stay focused on what matters most to him. He gives some simple yet powerful advice about what to do if you find yourself in financial trouble. And he helps Hame...

Hold on, it’s another Wild Rule Breaking Episode, this time with an EXPERT MUM! The legendary Maggie Dent, one of Australia's most trusted voices on raising kids and helping families. Last season, Hamish made some bold statements about not having experts on this pod, unless it’s ones he really likes, like Maggie Dent for example.  Well, blow me down… Maggie got in touch and said she’d love to have a chat (and a weak almond cap with one).  So, we feel very lucky to bring you some practical...

Adventurer, filmmaker, outdoor education specialist, dad… Beau Miles has got lots of cool descriptors. He’s also infectiously positive and creative, and he put all these things to amazing use in this very different, very outdoorsy and very wet episode. Exactly 345 km from their respective houses, on a little island in the middle of a giant hydro lake somewhere in the snowy mountains, Hamish and Beau recorded this episode while doing some pretty unique memory making with their kids. Having...

We all know Scott Cam from The Block, but a few years ago, some words of wisdom from Scott Cam The Dad provided Hamish with some of the inspiration to create this pod.  So, we advise you to Tools Down and listen in to a dad that takes his fathering trade really seriously… especially if it involves being a bit silly. And even more so if it means blowing off school! Scott is of course the much-loved host of The Block, but he’s still a carpenter at heart. (Hame once borrowed Scott’s chisel set...

He may have played 350 games of AFL - but as Eddie’s wife always reminds him - his job is only just beginning… for his kids, and for his people. Eddie, with his wife Anna, have 5 young children, so pre-season training pales in comparison to the high contact sport of dadding that many kids.  His lunch box game is elite!  But as Hame learns in this fascinating chat, for Eddie, supporting a family is linked inextricably with a supportive community. Growing up playing at his grandfather's house,...

An old friend of Hame, and according to his daughters an old dad, Christian O’Connell is a bona fide legend of radio broadcasting. And really, he’s not even old! In this super funny, yet super heartfelt episode, Christian uses all 19 years of his dadding experience to distill down for us some really amazing insights and advice. He’s thought about this dadding caper a lot, so from explaining his mantra of “no small moments”, to advice on how to negotiate with teenagers, Christian has put his...

Tim Minchin has created the most amazing, diverse and groundbreaking body of work. Significant to this episode is that he also co-created 2 kids with his wife, Sarah. Tim was extremely generous to sit down with Hame and share some of his 17 years or so of dadding experiences and learnings. He explains how he tries to shepherd his kids rather than control them, his family's experience with neurodiversity and ASD, and how he applies reason, logic and in his words “anti-drama” to his...

Former teacher and assistant principal, current powerhouse of enthusiasm and expertise, Martin Heppell, or just Rac as he is known to friends, blows Hame away in this episode. Yes, there are some crazy stories, but also some amazing insights that can only be gained from spending thousands of hours helping kids to be their best. Oh, and having 3 kids of his own. Rac comes to How Other Dads Dad care of The Resilience Project where he is one of the key facilitators, working with thousands of...