5 chapters across the catalog
The hosts criticize Barack Obama's frequent lectures to Black men about fatherhood and responsibility. They argue that modern child support systems and DNA testing have made the "deadbeat dad" trope largely obsolete, making Obama's rhetoric feel like an endorsement of negative stereotypes.
Shahrazad Ali argues that black women often weaponize child support to deny fathers access to their children, which prevents the "parental coalition" necessary for proper upbringing. She claims children raised without fathers often adopt "female emotional mechanisms" and learn relationship values from television rather than reality. The hosts agree that TV has "screwed everybody over" by misrepresenting family needs.
Judge Joe Brown argues that inner cities have become matriarchies where the state and police have replaced the traditional protective role of the father. The hosts discuss the contradiction of calling the police to collect child support while simultaneously protesting police violence and mass incarceration. They advocate for keeping the state out of family affairs and working directly with co-parents.
Judge Judy is noted as a popular figure among black men because she is perceived as "fair" in a legal system that often feels rigged. The discussion touches on how the family court system is frequently used as a "weapon" by mothers to marginalize fathers. This dynamic creates a cycle where fathers are limited to "two days out of every fourteen" with their children while paying a significant portion of their salary.
Illinois recently shifted to an "Income Share" model for child support, which considers the income of both parents rather than just the non-custodial parent. This change is presented as a move toward fairness, as child support has historically been used as a "financial weapon" or "insurance policy" in bitter divorces. One host shares a personal experience of how lawyers encouraged his ex-wife to "clean him out" during their separation.
