Dad Saves America

Dad Saves America

Proud papa, filmmaker, entrepreneur, and arm-chair philosopher John Papola explores the biggest issues facing our kids, our communities, and our country through the lens of fatherhood. We produce powerful stories, exclusive interviews, mini-documentaries, and deep dives on a weekly basis. Our goal is to build a movement of dads and could-be dads who embrace our heroic calling to raise a new generation ready to thrive in a free society and be champions of civilization. We’ve had all sorts of experts in the studio, including Jonathan Haidt, Dr. Drew, Michael Shellenberger, Bret Weinstein, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Adam Carolla. www.dadsavesamerica.com

Episodes

October 16, 2025 147 mins

I sat down with author, entrepreneur, and leadership expert Robert Glazer to talk about how defining your values creates effective individuals, families, and organizations. His new book, The Compass Within, is a modern parable about how to establish clarity and purpose in your career and personal life. Robert is also known for his criticism of the “two-week notice” corporate norm, instead advocating for a more thoughtful process th...

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I sat down with Matt Kibbe, libertarian activist and founder of Free the People, to talk about his documentary series “The Coverup,” which exposes COVID-era malfeasance, America’s corrupt bureaucratic machine, and the failure of the “expert class,” best embodied by Anthony Fauci himself. Matt’s activism dates back to the early days of the Tea Party movement, where he took the tactics that leftists had perfected over decades and suc...

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I sat down with Aleks Svetski, author of “The UnCommunist Manifesto” and “The Bushido of Bitcoin,” to discuss why socialism fails, the fallout of the sexual revolution, and Bitcoin’s potential for our future. The Millennial generation was the test case for absolute gender equality—even to the point of ignoring biology—and now Gen Z is searching for different solutions, from full-blown communism to hard-core traditionalism. We dig i...

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I sat down with philosopher and author Peter Boghossian to wrestle with America’s deepening fracture. Why are so many people cheering political violence, and what—if anything—can pull us back? Ideological capture throughout the education system has broken our engines of knowledge production, turning them into “indoctrination mills” and teaching young Americans to see opponents as existential threats. Is reform even possible at this...

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I sat down with evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein to explore how evolution can help make sense of tribalism, religion, and the ongoing war in Gaza. He shares his experience commenting on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the simultaneous resurgence and weaponization of antisemitism, speaking both as a scientist and as an American Jew who doesn’t see his views reflected by either major camp. Bret warns against embracing our gene...

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I sat down with evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein to unpack how behind-the-scenes power and perverse incentives have hollowed out America’s institutions. Bret argues that issues like the Epstein saga, COVID propaganda, and transgender ideology have exposed a deeper problem: elites wield leverage out of sight while government, media, and universities rely on theatrical, so-called “expertise” to bolster public authority. Our inst...

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I sat down with neuroeconomist, author, and entrepreneur Paul Zak to discuss the neuroscience of human behavior and society. Paul explains his work on oxytocin—the "moral molecule"—and how it affects everything from political beliefs and economic systems to our most intimate relationships. We discuss why a lack of "friction" is making Gen Z miserable, why strong relationships are essential for success, and how to build a resilient ...

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I sat down with Father Daniel O’Mullane, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, to discuss how and why he’s built a Catholic school based on the classical education model. Rather than obsessing over college and career preparation, the typical goals of primary and secondary schooling, he approaches education from the ground up, prioritizing the intellectual, social, and spiritual development of children. Fr. O’Mullane believes t...

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I sat down with Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, to discuss why he believes we should significantly reduce immigration levels. Often, the immigration debate is so focused on illegal immigration that equally important questions about legal immigration are entirely ignored. As Mark points out, even President Trump—smeared as an anti-immigrant radical—has generally supported high levels of lega...

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I sat down with James Lindsay to unpack how woke Marxist ideology infiltrated Western society, starting from Marx himself up through the political turmoil of the past decade. While working on the “Grievance Studies” hoax papers alongside Peter Boghossian and Helen Pluckrose, James began to realize that the ideological rot in academia was worse than he thought. Following that experience, he dedicated himself to researching the long ...

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I sat down with Rob Henderson, author of "Troubled: A Memoir of Family, Foster Care, and Social Class,” to discuss why elite progressives promote radical ideas that they would never tolerate in their own lives. Coining the term “luxury beliefs,” he’s incisively diagnosed how their obsession with virtue signaling sacrifices the well-being of the poor. Rob shares how growing up in foster care, enlisting in the Air Force at 17, and la...

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I sat down with Catholic social scientist and author Catherine Pakaluk to explore why some highly educated women are still choosing to have large families. A mother of 14 children herself, Catherine made “#postcardsforMacron” go viral after the French president made dismissive remarks about educated women not wanting large families. She has since written the book Hannah’s Children, in which she profiles 55 college-educated women ra...

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I sat down with Sara Higdon, a transwoman and libertarian content creator, to unpack the uncomfortable truths about modern gender ideology. Sara shares her personal story of transition and her concerns about the transgender social contagion impacting children. We discuss the historical context of gender dysphoria, the multi-billion dollar “gender medicine” industry, and the radical activists working to eliminate parental rights.

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I sat down with economist Antony Davies to discuss what’s right and wrong about our economy. Most Americans live materially wealthier lives than most other humans alive today, never mind in centuries past. However, young people are experiencing very real distress, with rising rates of serious mental illness. Is housing affordability the main problem? Are universities to blame? Antony shares his perspective on income inequality, the...

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I sat down with Jeanne Lim, co-founder and CEO of beingAI, to explore the future of human-AI relationships. Jeanne traces her journey from launching Sophia the Robot at Hanson Robotics to creating AI beings designed to engage in deep, Socratic dialogue rather than simply serve as obedient productivity assistants. We discuss her beliefs about consciousness, free will, wisdom, and spirituality, and how these ideas will shape the deve...

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I sat down with author and journalist Adam Coleman to discuss his experience with America’s fatherlessness crisis, his recent return to Christianity, and how victimhood and identity politics have sabotaged many black Americans. In Adam’s new book, “The Children We Left Behind,” he shares his personal struggle with abandonment, offering a window into the intense emotional scars left by absent fathers and fractured communities. You m...

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I sat down with sports journalist, author and influencer Emily Austin to talk about what’s really going on in Gen Z culture, from failing relationships and collapsing masculinity to growing antisemitism, career confusion, and the influencer illusion. Emily pulls no punches on what it means to be a woman in today's media landscape, why so many young men are losing themselves to grifters, and how she’s stayed grounded through it all.

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I sat down with Brazilian congressman Marcel Van Hattem to talk about the growing censorship crisis in Brazil, political persecution under the Lula regime, and how the United States might be playing a disturbing role behind the scenes. Marcel explains how social media censorship, mass arrests after Brazil’s January 8th riots, and judicial overreach are silencing political opposition and threatening democracy. He also shares the sho...

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I sat down with Daniel Di Martino, economist and founder of the Dissident Project, to talk about how socialism destroyed Venezuela—his home country—and what Americans need to understand before making the same mistake. He explains what life was really like under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, from brutal inflation and collapsing public utilities to the psychological toll of losing hope in your country. After arriving in the U.S. in...

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I sat down with Glenn Jacobs—better known to millions as former pro wrestler Kane—to explore his transformation from WWE superstar to liberty-minded mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. Glenn explains how backstage politics in pro wrestling compare to the “kayfabe” of American politics, where performance often masks the real alliances and centers of power. We talk about his philosophical journey from political nomad to principled “cons...

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