Introducing The Brain Dump: Three recs for your number twos

It’s hard to find “me time” as a dad, and one fortress of solitude is atop your porcelain throne. Read on to fortify your mind while you lighten your load.

Dads & Dadfriends: In these wild and crazy times, we know that moments of quiet reflection can feel few and far between. For many dads, and household members in general, the privacy afforded by a visit to the bathroom provides a virtual sanctuary: fantasy lineups can be checked; Turds, I mean, Words With Friends games are played; and ancient magazines are revisited for the millionth time.

For those who’d like to open their minds while they’ve dropped their trousers, may we present The Brain Dump, a weekly Dads for All email packed with a few quick-hitting items that can be explored in the quiet confines of your favorite (or nearest) WC. Thought-provoking, conversation-starting content is just a quick wipe, erm, swipe away.

Found something you’d like to share in a future Brain Dump? Email us: newsletter@dadsforall.com

Now, here’s this week’s edition:

1. America’s Housing Crisis: Rising Costs, Shrinking Affordability, and the Urgent Need for Solutions.

• Prof. Scott Galloway, noted economic pundit, podcaster, and dad, writes on his No Mercy / No Malice blog that the American dream of home ownership has become a “hallucination,” as income growth has stagnated while housing costs have continued to rise.

• Galloway positions housing as an issue that could restore faith in the government’s ability to solve big problems, but it’s a heavy lift: Experts estimate an additional 1.7 million to 7.3 million housing units are needed to meet demand, and Galloway says that raising wages across the board, including elevating the minimum wage to $25/hour, is the most expedient way to get most folks closer to home affordability.

• One interesting idea in the piece is a suggestion to reframe our thinking around housing as a consumable, rather than an investment, particularly for young people:
  “The construction of millions of low-cost units for young people, coupled with tax-advantaged incentives to invest in the market would result in a better path to wealth,” he writes. “In addition, we need to remove housing from the growing list of sources of anxiety for young people. It’s housing, not an investment strategy or the arbiter of whether you’re worthy enough to mate, start a family, or earn status.”

• Plop Question: What are the biggest housing challenges facing your community?

2. In Search of the Liberal Joe Rogan

• A graphic from Media Matters for America was widely distributed on social media this week, showing the reach of right-leaning online shows vs. left-leaning ones, and the visual was glaring.

  

• Since the election, there’s been a ton of discussion about identifying voices on the left who might be able to reach audiences at scale, but the approach requires nuance, as per friend of the Dads Jonathan Jacobs (via LinkedIn):
  “The counter-punch is not political podcasts or thought leaders. It's cultural figures who lead with non-fiction narrative storytelling. People don't want to listen to a podcast about egg prices (cough Gavin Newsom cough). But they do want to be entertained. If we can gently work messaging into that which shifts their mind, that's the play. But it's going to take years.”

• That being said, it’s awesome to see folks taking the initiative. Kudos to Find Out, a just-launched podcast that aims to be a space where progressive-leaning men can have real, unfiltered discussions. Hosted by six guys who connected via White Dudes for Harris, you can follow the show on Substack and find it on your favorite podcast platform.

• Plop Question: What are the main places where you get your news and information these days?

3. Friday Follow: Strong Towns

One of our core goals at Dads for All is to seek and support localized solutions that lower out of control costs for housing, and we are loving the common sense-based conversations being proliferated by Strong Towns, a non-profit advocacy organization. They “advocate for cities of all sizes to be safe, livable, and inviting” by creating compelling content, providing resources to municipalities, and helping communities organize and push for smart local reforms.

For example, this video explores how our country’s shift towards suburbanization has exacerbated the loneliness epidemic that’s plaguing our society, including many dads. Another mourns the demise of block parties as a community-building tradition.

Give them a follow on YouTube and/or Instagram.

That’s all for the first drop of The Brain Dump — what did you think? Leave us a comment and let us know!