A zine cover with an image of a child holding their dad's hands, both on a skateboard

Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood

by Jeremy Adam Smith Editor, Tomas Moniz Editor, Mark Andersen Contributor, Ta-Nehisi Coates Contributor, Cory Doctorow Contributor and Raj Patel Contributor

With grace, honesty, and strength, Rad Dad’s writers tackle all the issues that other parenting guides are afraid to touch: the brutalities, beauties, and politics of the birth experience, the challenges of parenting on an equal basis with mothers, the tests faced by transgender and gay fathers, the emotions of sperm donation, and parental confrontations with war, violence, racism, and incarceration. Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood combines the best from the award-winning zine Rad Dad and from Daddy Dialectic, two kindred publications that have explored parenting as political territory. Both have pushed the conversation around fathering beyond the safe, apolitical focus and have worked hard to create a diverse, multi-faceted space to grapple with the complexity of fathering. (Short Discount)

  • Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood image #1
  • Rad Dad: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Fatherhood image #2

Comments & Reviews

2/3/2012

The essays reveal these men at their most raw, sensitive, and open, as they meditate on their experiences as fathers, role models, and creators of tiny humans. The tone is at turns funny, serious, and sweet.

11/12/2011

In short, Rad Dad raises the bar for fathers – a challenge that men today are ready to assume.

10/26/2011

Wonderful, illuminating. Vast in scope of fathers represented. Would love to give to everyone I know.

10/26/2011

Great as always to read Burke Stansbury writing about Lucas and parenting. Also great to read an anthology about parenting that was both politically engaged and from a different perspective - rather than grappling with all the freighted expectations, the editors are trying to carve out a visible space for fatherhood, and to figure out how to be the best fathers they can

10/26/2011

Taken from the print zine Rad Dad, the book compiles a "best of" collection of pieces originally published in the zine, from a wide range of contributors, including Ian Mackaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi. With the insights presented, focused on finding ways to combine and justify the politics of punk rock with the concept of fatherhood, Rad Dad has created a presentation of ideas that will, if nothing else, make you think.

10/26/2011

A friend brought me a copy of issue #1 of Rad Dad a few months ago & I've been meaning to spread the word. THIS ZINE ROCKS. It's the radical, anarchist, feminist zine by and for rad fathers we've been waiting for. Today I finally got 'round to emailing Tomas, the Rad Dad himself--because someone asked about resources for fathers yesterday when I was reading at the Green Festival in SF --and he wrote back with the good news! Issue #2 coming your way! And he's looking for submissions for #3! If you identify as a papa, you must contribute!