RIP Podfathers

So that's a wrap for Podfathers. I think. To be honest, I was told that some shows at Barstool were going to have their producers repurposed to other roles in the company and Podfathers was one of those shows, which would leave three professional idiots in charge of all the shit the true wizards at this company do producing and editing the crazy content that comes from this company. 

I've had already had some people reach out willing to do that sorcery, which I truly appreciate. But I don't know what the logistics of something like that would be since Barstool is now at the size where we have to follow labor laws and if a podcast isn't making money, I don't think the powers that be are going to want us spending time on it. No Quitters lived in podcast purgatory for years with a cult following and did decent numbers back when people still didn't know what the fuck a podcast was. So I imagine this is probably it for Podfathers. I'll try to figure all that out over the next week or so. If you want to subscribe to the Barstool Grown Up YouTube channel by clicking here, hitting 5K subscribers could mean something to the Powers That Be.

If this is the end, I want to sincerely thank everyone that played a role in making Podfathers what it was (is?):

- First up, thanks to Dave, Erika, and everyone at the top of the Barstool Org Chart back in 2016 for greenlighting the pod. I had a daughter that wasn't even two at the time while working for a small rag tag company with about 30 employees and now I have a 7.5 year old daughter along with a 4 year old son while working for a media powerhouse with 300+ employees. The days go slow but the years truly do fly by. 

- KFC for coming up with the idea of the podcast as a fun, not corny like the parenting books way to help out new and expecting parents like we were at the time along with doing a better job hosting the pod than I could ever dream of doing. 

- Chaps for being my ride and occasionally die cohost starting back in 2016. I've long said that being able to hear how our kids and families grew throughout the years was the coolest thing about The Podfathers, with Chaps' family hitting everything from daycare to high school over that time being the epitome of that. He also dropped the most horrid story of the pod on our asses a few years ago.

- Large for coming on, staying on when we lost Chaps, and helping me navigate hosting a podcast about parenting as we were stuck at home doing nothing but trying to not go crazy on our kids during a pandemic. He may have made me look like the poorest person on the planet at times, but becoming friends with him and his beautiful family is easily one of the best things to happen to me here at Barstool. It's also suchhhhhhh bullshit that the pod got canned a week after he got confused as KFC's grandfather at Stu's party and we could start calling him Pop Pop on the pod.

Now that I think about it, there's a decent chance Large ordered the Code Red on us.

- Joey Langone for crushing on the Podfathers social accounts years before he got hired as well as after he got hired. If the Podfathers legacy was that it was the show that got that no good motherfucker hired here, it will have truly served a great purpose for Barstool. If you aren't already following Joey on Twitter you are doing yourself a disservice. That is unless you don't go on Twitter. If so, stay as far away from that internet elephants grave as possible.

- Brendan Clancy, Radio Bren, Nicky The Good, and anybody that filled in for them for producing everything over the years. I roll my eyes at how old and washed up we sound when complaining about gout, colonoscopies, or those damn neighbors that won't keep it down. Okay that was mostly just Large. But anybody that listened to that nonsense then listened to it again while editing then listened to it AGAIN while putting together clips for social deserves a plaque in the Barstool Museum years from now.

- My wife for filling in whenever I couldn't find a cohost or a guest but had a bunch of ads to go through. She was also the show's biggest fan, is the only reason my kids are growing up anywhere near normal, and occasionally has sex with me. A true queen or at least someone with a ton of empathy.

- Every guest we had over the years both inside and outside of Barstool. I know Barstool is built on a good chunk of the personal lives of us idiots in content. But talking about your family life is a super personal thing that isn't always easy to share. Trust me, I break into hives thinking about my kids listening to their old man bitch about their early years whenever they grow up and find out how to download a podcast. Which is why everyone that came onto the pod as Barstool slowly turned into a company full of parents was awesome to see as one of the first confirmed sex havers here. Especially Laurie Berkner, who no joke was a bucket list interview since she got me through some of the tough times during my first go round with a toddler.

- Most of all I want to thank the listeners. Podfathers may not have been the biggest, best, or even "good enough to have a producer any longer" podcast here at Barstool. But I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the most important for some people's actual lives as I considered it the realest podcast at Barstool. 

Parenthood is by farrrrrrrrrrr the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life and every single day is filled with 1000 challenges you didn't see coming once you opened your eyes with whatever little sleep your kids allowed you to get. But knowing that there were other people out there dealing with the same if not worse challenges always made things a little easier to handle and based on the feedback I've received over the last 6 years along with after today's episode, plenty of people felt the same.

Damn, maybe if I wrote about the podcast like this more, it wouldn't be getting killed. Maybe it would. I don't know. Promoting myself talking about my kids was something that didn't come easy to me nor did putting together our rundown every week. But we did have a beautiful PodFam while it lasted, no matter how big or small it was. Thanks again to everyone that listened, submitted questions, or supported a sponsor, or subscribed. To everyone else, you are REBUKED.

(JK, I love all of you guys)

Now if you will excuse me, I have to take my kid to the doctor because he has an ear infection, which was pretty much a weekly exercise during the early Podfathers days.

For any current, expecting, or future to be parents that want to ask questions to a middling dad at best, my DMs are always open on Twitter @TheClemReport. Don't be afraid to hit me up either because I truly love hearing from Stoolies going through this crazy stage of life.

Also if it's not to much to ask, please subscribe to We Gotta Believe and My Mom's Basement on every single platform if you have a minute today so I don't lose those two shows next. I got a family as well as a giant belly to feed with one less source of income to point to when the bosses are looking at the ledger.