Welcome to the Dads on the Air archives, with hundreds of programs dating back to 2003. You can browse by month or year, or search the entire archive for a specific topic or name. Find a show you heard a long time ago, download or stream individual programs, or just poke around by clicking “Click to read more…” next to each program for a detailed show description.
Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Pete Nicholls
… in conversation with Glen Poole
2019 marks twenty years of Dads in Distress (DIDs) activities.
This is a fabulous achievement which deserves widespread recognition in our community. From an idea conceived on a veranda in Coffs Harbour by Founder Tony Miller it is fair to say that thousands of men who felt they were in hopeless situations have been helped.
Thursday, January 10, 2019 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Glen Poole
… in conversation with Bill Kable
It is great to get an opportunity for a one-on-one with our guest today.
Glen Poole is a very busy man working in areas that are core to the interests of listeners to Dads on the Air.
Having long been a campaigner for the reduction of the male suicide rate Glen lets us know about recent developments in that area. What areas should we be focussing on? Is there any good news? What is the way forward?
Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
We have always heard about the sex and drugs of the rock’n’roll lifestyle but few of us get any access to this hidden part of the music industry. Until now
Stuart Coupe has lived in the music world for over forty years and by getting the roadies, these unsung heroes, to open up we can find out both the good and the bad sides of this life on the road.
Stuart tells us one of his motivations in doing the research and writing his latest book Roadies: The Secret History of Australian Rock’n’Roll was to preserve the stories from the early days because the roadies have had some casualties and he does not want the stories to disappear with the last of the original roadies. Not only does the lifestyle take a toll on the roadies’ physical health but the toll on family life is intense. The roadies will often be away from home for 10 to 11 months of the year because the show has to go on.
Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Our guest today is Owen Catto from The Regional Men’s Health Initiative of Western Australia.
Owen’s life as a farmer began when he worked on the family farm for 18 years with a small interest in that farming business given to him by his father. To back up this direct experience of conditions on the farm Owen also has a Bachelor of Business in Agriculture and has operated a farm consultancy business. When talking about life on the land we might say that Owen knows his onions.
This is a particularly important time for our families on the land because in 2018 our farmers are facing an unprecedented drought. Yet the toughest critics of our farmers are the farmers themselves.
Thursday, September 13, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Peter Dornan AM
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Our guest is not squeamish about many things. He opens up to us today about what it is like to face a condition that we still do not like talking about, urinary incontinence. Incontinence affects men and women; it has been described as the most widespread yet least known and understood affliction in society today. This problem can seriously impact on your lifestyle, job, emotional wellbeing, exercise activity and most importantly, your sex life.
Peter Dornan has been a leading Physiotherapist for over fifty years and during that time he has helped patients with all sorts of complaints. Yet twenty years ago he did not know what a prostate was when he was told that he had prostate cancer and if he did not take any action it would kill him.
Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Dr Warren Farrell
… in conversation with Bill Kable
The big issues of today include ISIS on the international stage, gangs of youths in our cities and disengaged sons in our families. Our guest today has found a common link in each of these and that is the preponderance of dad deprivation for both the boys and girls involved.
Dr Farrell has been researching for 11 years in order to produce his latest book and some of his findings are eye opening. For example we discover that the downward spiral of boys in the developed world is leading to physical changes. Young men of today have a sperm count of only 50% what their grandfathers had at the same age and it is dropping by 1.5% every year.
Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Andrew Tink AM
… in conversation with Bill Kable
No book on Australia covering the early years of the twentieth century could overlook the 61,500 of our men killed or listed as “missing” in World War 1. Another 156,000 had a fate that was sometimes worse, they were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner.
In his new book Australia 1901-2001: A narrative history, Andrew Tink, former Member of State Parliament, tells us that like the school children of Villers-Bretonneux France we must never forget the heroism of our soldiers, the diggers of World War 1.
Why did our young men volunteer for the sheer hell of war in the muddy fields of northern France? Australia at the time had a population of fewer than 5 million when this chunk of our finest was lost to the future of Australia. With 80% of our soldiers single when they left our shores how many of our best men would never be fathers? How many poets, musicians, writers, inventors, businessmen, teachers and leaders were gone for all time? This has accurately been called a lost generation.
Celebrating Men, Depression, Suicide Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Glen Gerreyn
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Our guest today is Glen Gerreyn a man by choice as distinct from being born male. This personal development did not happen when he became a champion athlete but rather by some important choices that Glen has made in his life. So what does it mean to be a man, a real man? And what are these choices?
Glen has spoken to groups around Australia and around the world on the topic of men of honour and some of the content probably comes under the heading of “secret men’s business”. In these talks no subject is taboo. Because so many fatherless boys in our community do not have a mentor they can confide in, Glen often finds that no-one else has ever spoken to our young men so frankly in language they understand.
Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Dennis van Someren
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Dennis van Someren is getting the word out that we have a crisis in the community, a crisis involving some of our most vulnerable children that impacts on all of us.
Governments have responded to concerns about crime rates by building more jails with there being nearly 40,000 inmates in overcrowded jails around the country. This is up from 21,000 inmates only 10 years ago. At a cost of $292 per inmate per day the numbers are frightening. But when you consider that these inmates have in the order of 60,000 children and that the children of prisoners are 6 times more likely to end up in prison themselves you can see the problem.
Dennis van Someren decided some 9 years ago that he could no longer stand by and watch the situation worsen. He realised that he had something special to offer to the children with a parent or both parents in jail after hearing by chance a radio interview with a representative from SHINE for Kids. Dennis offered his services and was welcomed by the charity that has operations in NSW, Queensland, the ACT and Victoria.
Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Mark Williams
Our guest in today’s program is Mark Williams who has been awarded “Inspirational Father of the Year” at the Pride of Britain awards. This is impressive enough but it also shows how far he has come since the birth of his son Ethan in 2004.
Both Mark and his wife Michelle suffered crippling anxiety after the birth and Mark hit rock bottom when he began to experience suicidal thoughts. And yet the reason for the torrent of negative emotions and spiralling depression had less to do with their son than the mental health issues that were confronting them. In hindsight Mark recognises that he had experienced a condition long recognised in mothers, that of post-natal depression.
The problem at the time was that Mark felt he could not speak to anyone about his stressful condition and ultimately it led to a breakdown. There is still a stigma attached to men admitting that they have post-natal depression and this makes them reluctant to seek help or even talk to their friends and loved ones about it.
Eventually Mark was put on medication and took a course of cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness which turned things around. Now Mark and Michelle are closer than ever as a couple and have a fantastic bond with their son. Mark wants to get the message out about the condition and the help available.
Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Our guest in this program is Dr Tim Sharp, also known as Dr Happy.
Tim has produced a new book Transformation: Turning tragedy into triumph and he joins us today to spread a little happiness. The book has eleven people making a contribution with a story about themselves or someone close to them. Some of the contributors’ stories are well-known while others tell of living a quiet life before they reached a turning point in their life story. Looking outside themselves brought surprising benefits not only to others but to the contributors as well.
There is great variety in the exploration of these personal and true stories. Tim Sharp edits the stories and adds professional reflections and recommendations after each chapter. Tim even adds his own story on how he became Dr Happy after facing his personal demons.
Thursday, December 14, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Michael Griffith is a playwright and theatre director whose new show, Suicide Row, premiered in Melbourne in November.
The play tells the story of four Australian men who find themselves stuck on the way after discovering that their individual suicide attempts have miraculously failed.
But if this isn’t the end then why are they stuck? The Gods never reply. As time slows and as hindsight drags in an inescapable tide of regret, these men come to wonder if in order to escape this frustrating nothingness and return home, does life expect them to do something first. If so, what?
The play is aimed at men both young and old. It is powerful but not bleak, funny but not black and while it has a clear anti-suicide message, it does not preach. Most importantly it is written with the express aim of helping to reduce the high levels of male suicide in Australia.
Thursday, December 7, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Anthony Fels is a former Member of the WA Parliament who is standing for the Non-Custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting) in the By-Election for the Federal seat of Bennelong.
Anthony knows his way around politics and he is bringing that knowledge and experience to fight for parents and children caught up in the Family Court/Child Support nightmare. There have been enquiries, a new one is about to begin on the Family Court but there has been little improvement since 1975.
Anthony draws on his own experiences as well as those of his electorates over the years to reveal his determination to improve the lot of parents and children in their most important fight.
Child Support, Depression, Family Law, Suicide Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Josh Quarmby
… in conversation with Glen Poole
Josh Quarmby is the founder of Blokepedia, a community of men who have conversations that matter about the issues they care about.
Josh launched Blokepedia in January 2017 with the aim of giving men the opportunity to talk about issues that affect them, from mental and physical health through to relationships. Its target audience is men aged 25 to 55.
What originally started as a simple blogsite is now growing into a unique mix of online and face to face resources for men. This growth is driven by insight and feedback from the Blokepedia audience. Many men are looking for a way to connect with other men, to share their stories, to begin important conversations and provide support for each other.
Thursday, November 16, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Rae Bonney is an integrated wellbeing specialist who works with organisations to develop and deliver workplace mental health initiatives. She hosts two shows on 94.1FM 3WBC, a community radio station in Melbourne.
Rae is also a men’s issues advocate and is speaking at the I’m Just A Man Men’s Mental Health Awareness Gala in Melbourne alongside Movember founder, Adam Garone; AFL player, Tom Downie; and I’m Just a Man founder Dr Jim Skivalidas.
Thursday, September 14, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Who are Parents Beyond Breakup?
If you have not heard already about Parents Beyond Breakup it is very likely that you will soon because the word is getting out from our guest today Pete Nicholls who has been instrumental in raising awareness in the community. Parents Beyond Breakup is a national charity working in many communities around Australia focussing on suicide prevention in one of the demographics most at risk, namely separating parents.
Parents Beyond Breakup is the parent body for the well-known Dads in Distress who have been guests on the program many times previously and provided presenter Phil York for several years. But as our guest today Pete Nicholls explains a demand has grown for helping mothers in times of crisis and so Parents Beyond Breakup now incorporates both Dads in Distress and Mums in Distress as part of its operations.
Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
A check in the index of topics will reveal that we have explored parental alienation from different angles by talking to academics, psychologists and researchers. Today we cross to Florida in the USA to hear a very real account of what this type of psychological child abuse looks like to those who are personally caught up in it.
Lisa Heim is the author of Protecting Emilie and in this book she tells the story of what happens to people catapulted into this nightmare world of parental alienation, something that could happen to you, your neighbour or parents on the other side of the world. Lisa gives an account of her relationship with her husband, his daughter Emilie, in the title of the book, and her own daughter, as it was affected by the conflict instigated by Emilie’s mother.
Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Men’s Health Week this year is going to provide a platform to challenge and debate key issues in men’s health and to raise the profile of men, their health outcomes and health needs around the country. The week is not going to be focussed on telling men where they are going wrong which is good news for men and boys.
Our guest today is Professor John Macdonald who tells us about some of the many activities surrounding Men’s Health Week that we can expect and look forward to in June of each year. The theme in 2017 is Healthy Body Healthy Mind: Keeping the Balance. John tells us that they do go hand in hand so if you look after yourself physically you will get the mental advantage as well.
Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Mates is a word Australians have felt comfortable with for a long time. It resonates with young and old, male and female as a description for someone we will be there for, to lend a hand if necessary. So when Mates4Mates began in 2013 as an initiative of the Queensland RSL most Australians knew what their activities would consist of.
Our guest today is Simon Sauer, the CEO of Mates4Mates who prior to this had a distinguished career in the RAAF and now supports his injured Defence Force Mates.
Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 9:00AM 
With special guest:
Step one if we are going to stop male suicide is to know the facts. This is when it hits home just how appalling the current situation is in Australia and around the world. Eight people a day die by suicide in Australia and six of them are men and boys.
Our guest today is Glen Poole who presented at the National Men’s Health Gatherings in Brisbane (2013) and the Central Coast of NSW (2015) before travelling around Australia presenting seminars and finding out first-hand what is driving men and boys to this level of despair.