The Dope Black Dads Podcast is an adult-only podcast for all parents or adults preparing for parenthood. Led by Marvyn Harrison with contributions from the Dope Black Dads leadership as well as a host of special guests from the world of healing, media, parenting, TV/film, music, and beyond. We discuss everything from co-parenting, masculinity, and the Black experience all the way to our favourite Netflix show. Don't listen if you're expecting conversations about nappies! Hosted on Acast. See...
View more

Episode List

I’m Intervening: The Parenting Line We Can’t Cross

Jan 11th, 2026 12:00 AM

This is a safeguarding episode, not a comfort episode. Children are not collateral damage for adult frustration. They are not background noise. They are not “tiny adults” who should just get over it. And they are not content. This episode pulls apart the most dangerous lie we repeat: “Kids are resilient.” There’s a difference between building strength and forcing a child to survive adult-made chaos, yelling, hitting, humiliation, neglect, manipulation, and constant instability. It also calls out the wider system: under-resourced schools, stripped youth services, safeguarding treated like paperwork, and a culture that frames children as problems to manage instead of humans to protect.If you’re raising kids, employing parents, building communities, or shaping policy, this is the line: protect children in advance, not after damage is done.8 things to consider:Children are not collateral damage for co-parent conflictKids are not background noise to adult lives“Resilience” vs forced survival: stop confusing the twoDiscipline and consistency matter more than moneyWhy yelling/hitting is adult weakness dressed as parentingSystem failure: safeguarding isn’t paperwork, it’s vigilanceChildren as content: the moral line is collapsingThe downstream cost: harmed kids become what other kids must navigate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Your New Year Goals Keep Failing

Dec 31st, 2025 6:01 AM

Most New Year goals fail for the same reason: they’re fantasies, not systems.In this episode, Marvyn Harrison breaks down why “New Year, New Me” thinking collapses every time — and what actually creates change. This is not about motivation, manifestation, or vague intentions. It’s about identity redesign, constraint awareness, and building daily and weekly systems that survive real life.The conversation covers why outcomes don’t stick without identity, why willpower is overrated, how to design progress around limited time, energy, and money, and why evidence beats affirmation every time. Along the way, real life interrupts — parenting, noise, humour — reinforcing the point: growth has to work inside chaos, not in spite of it.This episode is a grounded framework for approaching 2026 without self-deception, self-punishment, or false optimism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthony Joshua Survives Nigeria Car Crash: RIP Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele

Dec 30th, 2025 7:09 AM

Anthony Joshua has survived a serious car crash in Nigeria that killed two close friends and long-standing members of his team. Physio Sina Ghami and personal trainer Latif “Latz” Ayodele were pronounced dead at the scene after a collision on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway.In this emergency news episode, we break down the confirmed facts, timeline, and reactions from the boxing world, including tributes from Chris Eubank Jr and statements from Matchroom Boxing. We also examine the wider context — Joshua’s recent fight with Jake Paul, his Nigerian heritage, and the deadly reputation of the expressway where the crash occurred.This episode focuses on clarity, respect, and accountability in reporting, amid widespread misinformation and the circulation of graphic footage online. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Post-Christmas Reflections

Dec 30th, 2025 6:27 AM

This episode is a quiet audit of Christmas, fatherhood, and attention.After two uninterrupted weeks with his children, Marvyn reflects on what it feels like when family life fully aligns — no school runs, no fragmented schedules, no performance. Just presence. The result wasn’t productivity or achievement. It was peace.The episode moves through gift-giving without panic, buying throughout the year, shifting from material presents to experiences, and what it means to fund joy without excess. It explores how children thrive when safety is consistent, how traditions are built deliberately, and why Christmas Eve now belongs to the house — not the shops.There are reflections on idleness, masculinity, hobbies, strength, and the discomfort of having nothing urgent to fix. Golf enters the picture. So does grief, gratitude, and the reality that joy and loss often sit side by side at the end of a year.This is not advice. It’s a lived reflection on slowing down, protecting what matters, and carrying the right things forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Isn’t About Stuff. It’s About Family

Dec 21st, 2025 4:22 PM

We’ve been trained to treat Christmas like a performance: spend more, buy more, post more, prove more. But the truth is simpler—and harder to defend: Christmas is about family. In this episode, I’m pulling the focus back to what lasts. The moments your children remember aren’t the receipts—they’re the feeling of the home. The laughter in the kitchen. The safety of being together. The un-rushed hours where nobody’s “doing” anything, but everyone’s okay. I talk about how easy it is to slip into survival mode at the worst possible time, trying to fund a “perfect Christmas,” carrying the whole season on your back, and turning love into pressure. And I lay out a different standard: protect the atmosphere. Protect the time. Protect the relationships. There’s also a personal reflection on childhood Christmas memories and what they teach us: the gift might be exciting, but it’s the people, the warmth, and the stories that become the real inheritance. If you’re a parent feeling the weight of this season, this is your reminder: your kids don’t need a perfect Christmas. They need you. They need peace. They need family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get this podcast on your phone, Free

Create Your Podcast In Minutes

  • Full-featured podcast site
  • Unlimited storage and bandwidth
  • Comprehensive podcast stats
  • Distribute to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more
  • Make money with your podcast
Get Started
It is Free