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The Dad Story Project

The Dad Story Project

S. Peter Lewis

If you’re a dad (old or young), have a dad, are married to a dad, or just know a dad, then this is a place to find a few minutes of rest, encouragement, and cheer. This isn’t some “how-to” podcast, filled with bullet points and check boxes—these are just simple stories about growing up. And we all know how profound and powerful a good story can be.The Dad Story Project podcast is based on two simple themes: that we find the greatest fulfillment in the ordinary things of every day, and that the currency of childhood is time: they don't want our money or our stuff, they just want to be with us. Based on storyteller Peter Lewis's 11-year, award-winning newspaper column, these simple, quiet, 7- to 10-minute stories are filled with heartwarming encouragement, poignant life lessons, and cheer. Lewis looks back to his own growing up, and ahead to the childhoods of his son, daughter, and now granddaughters, and pulls out moving vignettes from ordinary life. Introspective, tender, charming and sometimes hysterical, these stories are sure to make you smile. The goal is simple: to encourage fathers, one heart at a time.
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Top 10 The Dad Story Project Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Dad Story Project episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Dad Story Project for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Dad Story Project episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The Dad Story Project - TDSP 10: The River Always Flows Away
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11/14/20 • 12 min

At the edge of a river deep in the forest, a father and son find the past and the present fused together for a few precious moments. A poignant story of a canoe trip, lost trains, blackberry brambles, a distant memory, and the ever-onward march of time.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 5: A Barn, Two Boats, and a Boy
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08/13/20 • 7 min

Ordinary days. We all have them. In fact, most of our days would be classified this way. Yet this story of a father and son and a day spent together doing a simple chore, shows that if we look hard enough, and if we dads try hard enough, we can make any day special. We just need to be on the lookout for those tiny fleeting moments where we can make a difference.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 2: Barn Boots

TDSP 2: Barn Boots

The Dad Story Project

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07/16/20 • 7 min

How a pair of boots, a lawnmower, and a tired dad turned a little girl's dream into a reality.

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The Dad Story Project - Trailer for The Dad Story Project podcast series
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07/11/20 • 6 min

The short story of how these stories came to be.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 2-02: Goodnight Upside Down
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03/15/21 • 7 min

A middle-aged man gets a birthday phone call from his father, and the two of them are transported back in time to relive a precious family tradition.
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 2-01: A Hug is Worth a Thousand Words
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02/23/21 • 7 min

To embrace another person is one of the things that defines our humanity and connects us to each other, both literally and emotionally. And a world full of full-contact hugs would be a wonderful place (as long as respect and social context boundaries were honored, of course). In this very short episode, I describe our family heritage of serial hugging that we are passing down from generation to generation.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 9: Sophie's Leap

TDSP 9: Sophie's Leap

The Dad Story Project

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10/03/20 • 14 min

This is the tender story of a little girl and her grandfather and how a few minutes on a summer day changed their lives forever. It's a reminder for us all to be on the alert for those simple everyday moments when a bit of encouragement and cheer can be the most precious gift in the world.
Background Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 8: How Not to Hang a Ladder
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09/10/20 • 7 min

A chance encounter with a low-hanging ladder during a search for a dry-erase board help a father remember how wonderful it is to have a son.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 3: I See My Father Running

TDSP 3: I See My Father Running

The Dad Story Project

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07/09/20 • 7 min

A freak childhood accident leads to the heartwarming memory of something never seen.

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The Dad Story Project - TDSP 2-4: The Shooting of Rusty, 1, 2, 3
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07/06/21 • 11 min

An innocent foray into raising chickens leads our family down a sinister path as our rooster slowly goes insane. Danger lurks around every corner until we no longer bear it and drastic measures must be taken. And while things end with a bang (several, bangs, actually), the terrible conclusion isn't what you might expect. The takeaway? If you insist on having a rooster, be prepared for carnage (and carry a busted canoe paddle).
Music: Purple Planet
Show Notes
The Shooting of Rusty, 1, 2, 3
© 2021 The Dad Story Project. All Rights Reserved.

thedadstoryproject.com

My friend Stefan is relocating his family from a distant land of asphalt and cul-de-sacs to a tiny town in our beloved Maine. He’s trading endless strings of traffic lights for one-light villages, and 300 days of sunshine a year for, well, January. It’s an intentional, faithful step, full of hope and eagerness and the need for studded snow tires. Many rural adventures await Stefan, Jen, and their daughters, and among them may be a small flock of laying hens. “I want the girls to understand that there are other beings in the world that need care and attention besides themselves,” Stefan told me recently. Thus, he hopes, a dozen tiny chicks will mature into a brood of brightly feathered teachable moments, whose care and protection will also help mature his fledgling daughters. It’s a noble cause and calling, marred slightly, by the inexact art of determining the sex of chicks. What you want are hens, of course, with their accompanying eggs, but a rooster will often sneak into the mix. It’s hard to tell among all those pin feathers. And once snuck, said rooster may raise all sorts of hackles...so to speak. So, for Stefan and any others among you contemplating the classic rural scene of a front dooryard flocked with adorable hens scratching among the perennials and gobbling up yummy invertebrates, let this be a cautionary tale; for among the all and sundry farmy accouterments of chicken rearing, you may also need a large-bore weapon.

Before I begin, I must warn my listeners; this is a serious story, told coldly and without exaggeration. It may not be suitable for those with weak constitutions or who frighten easily. So, kids, you may want to ask your parents to go fold laundry or watch TV for a few minutes.

The story.

A good enemy keeps you alert and brings great clarity to life. I had an enemy once. Our relationship began in innocence and ended in murder. I think.

It started one spring day with a little yellow order form from the feed store and a few dollars. After pouring through books and picking the brains of experts, my daughter Amanda and I finally decided: there would be six each of Araucanas, Rhode Island Reds, and Plymouth Rocks. We were about to become chicken ranchers.

Ours was a practical and endearing plan. Practical because for the price of the eggs you get the birds which give you the eggs; and endearing because, well, farmyards with chickens scratching about them are about as adorable as rural life can get. The stuff of postcards.

So, we handed in the form, plunked down our money, and waited—our little fluff-balls would arrive on May 24th.

When ordering chickens you hope to get all hens—sweet, passive, stupid hens. But sexing chicks, like parallel parking, is a tricky business; it’s hard to see what you’re doing, you’re always in a bit of a rush, and close enough isn’t always close enough. Sometimes you scrape the curb or end up with a rooster.

Enter Rusty, a fine, proud, heavy-shouldered, 100% male, Rhode Island Red. My new enemy.

Rusty first took charge of the hens, which seemed fine and proper to us, herding them about with one eye cocked toward danger. Then, a few weeks later, he took charge of t

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Dad Story Project have?

The Dad Story Project currently has 20 episodes available.

What topics does The Dad Story Project cover?

The podcast is about Stories, Parenting, Dad, Kids & Family, Family, Father, Podcasts, Children and Family Life.

What is the most popular episode on The Dad Story Project?

The episode title 'TDSP 3-1: A Tale of Two Turtles' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Dad Story Project?

The average episode length on The Dad Story Project is 8 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Dad Story Project released?

Episodes of The Dad Story Project are typically released every 19 days, 16 hours.

When was the first episode of The Dad Story Project?

The first episode of The Dad Story Project was released on Jul 9, 2020.

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