Twenty One Pilots Get Real About Fatherhood, Growth & Closing A Chapter

Backstage at this year's iHeartRadio ALTer EGO presented by Capital One, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of twenty one pilots found themselves in a very different chapter than when fans first met them — one defined not just by eras and albums, but by fatherhood, perspective, and a deeper sense of love behind the music.

Before taking the stage at the annual rock show, the duo hung out with iHeartRadio's Woody where they opened up about everything from fatherhood to teasing what's next.

Fun fact: this was Josh Dun's first show as a dad. "This is the first one," Josh confirmed, with Tyler quickly jumping in with his signature humor: "He's been my daddy for years and now I have to share him."

But fatherhood has definitely changed both of their lives, and with both musicians now fathers to daughters, the conversation turned reflective. While twenty one pilots' music has often centered on anxiety, vulnerability, and the challenges of young adulthood, Tyler admitted that parenthood has shifted how they see the world — especially as men. “Now that we each have a daughter,” Tyler said, “we see men for how awful they truly are. And I didn’t realize that until we had daughters.” Josh agreed as Tyler continued, "I see parenting, fatherhood kind of like an investment,” Josh joked. “I’m five years into this and haven’t quite seen the return on the investment yet.”

As the band wraps up what feels like the final chapter of a long-running storyline, fans are understandably curious about what comes next. Tyler kept expectations grounded. "You’re trying to figure out what we’re doing,” he said with a laugh. “He just had a baby. You want him to make a new record right now?” But, that doesn’t mean new music isn’t coming — just that it hasn’t taken shape yet. "We’re always going to make new music,” Tyler said. “But I don’t know what it looks like yet.” He added, "Just know that there’s more love behind the drum beats now that Josh is a dad. We’ll see how that changes the songs."

See twenty one pilots' full interview with Woody backstage at iHeartRadio ALTer EGO 2026 below.