Dope Black Dads Podcast

This episode is different, and it had to be.As this podcast grows, so does the responsibility that comes with telling stories about real lives, real harm, and real people. In this episode, I explain why we’ve added a safeguarding and responsibility notice, what it means, and what this podcast will never become.We talk about:Why not every story deserves public exposureThe difference between truth and spectacleHow cycles repeat across generations and environmentsWhy protecting dignity matters more than outrageWhat it means to challenge power without exploiting painThis is not an apology.This is not a retreat.This is a line in the sand.Life is nuanced. Harm is real. Accountability matters.But so does care.SHOW NOTES⚠️ Why we added a safeguarding notice🧠 How stories become dangerous when mishandled🧱 The cycles men inherit — and repeat🕊️ Dignity, consent, and altered narratives⚖️ Why this podcast is not a court of lawTAGS / KEYWORDS (DISCOVERABILITY)fatherhood, masculinity, safeguarding, storytelling ethics, responsibility, culture, trauma, power, modern Britain, mental health, community, social systems, lived experience

This episode is a forensic breakdown of Sainsbury’s Local as a system, not a shop.What’s sold as convenience is friction. What’s sold as efficiency is unpaid labour. What’s sold as design is psychological manipulation that fails the moment you’re tired, parenting, or in a hurry.From hostile layouts and absent staff to self-checkout purgatory and inflated prices, this is a critique of how modern “local” supermarkets quietly disrespect time, dignity, and common sense.This isn’t nostalgia. It’s not brand hate.It’s a lived audit of consumer experience from the perspective of a father, a customer, and a human being who just wanted milk and left annoyed.Includes an explicit comparison with Aldi, and why Aldi consistently wins on clarity, flow, and respect.

Rickie Haywood-Williams sits down with Dope Black Dads to talk honestly about health, fatherhood, lifestyle changes and the NHS Healthy Choices Quiz. In this episode, Rickie breaks down what life really looks like behind the microphone and the Instagram posts. Late nights, early mornings, family responsibilities, Liverpool stress, and the quiet signals from his body and mind that something had to change.  The NHS Healthy Choices Quiz is a free, five-minute quiz you can take online. It asks simple questions about your eating, movement, smoking or vaping, drinking, mental health and sleep. At the end, you get a score out of 10 and a plan with links to free NHS apps, tools and advice to help you take the first step. Rickie shares his experience of taking the quiz, his reaction to seeing his results, the changes he has already started making, and why small, realistic shifts matter more than chasing perfection. Watch if you want a straight conversation about midlife health, energy, mood and dad life.  Healthy Choices QuizTake the free five-minute NHS Healthy Choices Quiz here:https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/healthy-choices-quiz/ Key topics in this episode– Why Rickie wanted to support the NHS Healthy Choices Quiz campaign– How work, late nights and stress show up in his body and mood– The moment he realised he needed a more honest health check– What it felt like to answer the quiz questions and see his score out of 10– The plan he received and the first changes he has made– How fatherhood, age and responsibility shift your motivation to stay healthy– The version of himself his family sees at the end of the week– Football, Liverpool and competition as a lens on health and identity– Why he would recommend the Healthy Choices Quiz to friends and family 

What does a welcome home really feel like? with  @MarvynHarrison  https://www.youcanadopt.co.uk/blackadoptersIn this special episode, we sit around the dinner table to talk honestly about adoption, family, culture, and belonging. Over food that reminds us of home, we explore what it means to create stability and love for Black and mixed-heritage children who are waiting the longest to be adopted in the UK.This conversation is part of the You Can Adopt campaign and features lived experiences from adoptive parents within the Black community. We talk about food, identity, family reactions, myths around adoption, and how a home is built through care, consistency, and culture — not perfection.This is not about having the perfect house.It’s about creating a home where a child feels seen, protected, and chosen.If you’ve ever quietly considered adoption, this conversation is an invitation to learn more.Find out more at:https://www.youcanadopt.co.uk/blackadopters

This episode takes you inside 10 Downing Street for a rare, direct conversation on power, policy, and dignity at work.Marvyn Harrison meets Keir Starmer to unpack the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) — described as the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.We break down what ERA 2025 actually delivers: Fire-and-rehire restrictions. The end of exploitative zero-hour contracts. Day-one sick pay. Day-one paternity, bereavement, and parental leave. New protections for pregnant women, new mothers, and families experiencing pregnancy loss.But this episode goes deeper than legislation. It asks who benefits, who is most exposed, and whether Black and working-class families will finally see real protection — or more policy without teeth.This is not spin. This is not press-release politics. This is a frontline conversation about labour, power, enforcement, and dignity.Key Themes • Employment Rights Act 2025 explained • Kier Starmer on workers’ rights • ERA 2025 impact on Black families • Working-class job insecurity • Zero-hour contracts and fire-and-rehire • Paternity leave, sick pay, and dignity at work • Policy vs lived experience

Most New Year goals fail for the same reason: they’re fantasies, not systems.In this episode, Marvyn Harrison breaks down why “New Year, New Me” thinking collapses every time — and what actually creates change. This is not about motivation, manifestation, or vague intentions. It’s about identity redesign, constraint awareness, and building daily and weekly systems that survive real life.The conversation covers why outcomes don’t stick without identity, why willpower is overrated, how to design progress around limited time, energy, and money, and why evidence beats affirmation every time. Along the way, real life interrupts — parenting, noise, humour — reinforcing the point: growth has to work inside chaos, not in spite of it.This episode is a grounded framework for approaching 2026 without self-deception, self-punishment, or false optimism.

Anthony Joshua has survived a serious car crash in Nigeria that killed two close friends and long-standing members of his team. Physio Sina Ghami and personal trainer Latif “Latz” Ayodele were pronounced dead at the scene after a collision on the Lagos–Ibadan expressway.In this emergency news episode, we break down the confirmed facts, timeline, and reactions from the boxing world, including tributes from Chris Eubank Jr and statements from Matchroom Boxing. We also examine the wider context — Joshua’s recent fight with Jake Paul, his Nigerian heritage, and the deadly reputation of the expressway where the crash occurred.This episode focuses on clarity, respect, and accountability in reporting, amid widespread misinformation and the circulation of graphic footage online.

This episode is a quiet audit of Christmas, fatherhood, and attention.After two uninterrupted weeks with his children, Marvyn reflects on what it feels like when family life fully aligns — no school runs, no fragmented schedules, no performance. Just presence. The result wasn’t productivity or achievement. It was peace.The episode moves through gift-giving without panic, buying throughout the year, shifting from material presents to experiences, and what it means to fund joy without excess. It explores how children thrive when safety is consistent, how traditions are built deliberately, and why Christmas Eve now belongs to the house — not the shops.There are reflections on idleness, masculinity, hobbies, strength, and the discomfort of having nothing urgent to fix. Golf enters the picture. So does grief, gratitude, and the reality that joy and loss often sit side by side at the end of a year.This is not advice. It’s a lived reflection on slowing down, protecting what matters, and carrying the right things forward.