Let’s understand the news without losing hope for humanity

You want to know what’s happening in this country without it wrecking your dinner. You want the facts checked, the context filled in, and maybe a good pie recipe while we’re at it. You want to believe paying attention can still feel like love from a neighbor, not a panic attack.

That’s why I created The Dad Briefs. Democracy works when we understand what’s going on. So let’s set the table.

In 2015, I started writing jokes on Twitter about the hilarious things my kids said and named my account The Dad Briefs, a nod to my newspaper background. That led me to make parenting humor memes on Instagram, as well as write longer essays on Facebook about life as a civic-minded dad.

During the COVID pandemic (and with the rise of TikTok), I turned on the camera, shared recipes from my kitchen, and spoke out on issues I noticed were getting too much hype and not enough substance.

Since then, The Dad Briefs community has grown to more than 2 million strong across multiple platforms.

I built dadbriefs.com on Substack to purposely serve as a reader-supported publication. No rage bait, no doom scroll, no unnecessary rise in your blood pressure. We check every claim before publishing, link every source, and focus our thoughtful discussions on keeping you aware and encouraged, with concrete actions you can take locally.

What started at a kitchen counter has grown into civic (and civil) conversations with elected leaders, next-door neighbors, and an empathetic community that shows up for each other and our country.

Today I think of myself as a dad, husband, cook, author, and civic educator. Self-taught in each of these vocations.

Before launching The Dad Briefs as its own entity (our official incorporation date was Jan 6, 2021, if you can believe it), I spent 25 years in publishing, working for newspapers such as The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun, and Los Angeles Times.

My dad was a newspaper reporter, editor, and publisher, and in my heart I’ll always be a newspaper man. But my mom had a more varied, civic-minded career, and I took after her, too.

I spent two wonderful years as adjunct faculty at The Art Institute of Miami, teaching business acumen to art students. And I served for many more years as a leader in the healthcare staffing and financial technology industries.

I’ve published three dad joke books with Penguin Random House, and I’m currently working on what I hope to be a special cookbook. I hope to bring that to you in the months ahead.

I support a handful of non-profit organizations, including Feeding America and No Kid Hungry, and I’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charitable and pro-democracy causes.

I’ve been blessed with the love and support of family, friends, and our online community. I intend to honor that love by working hard and doing the following:

• Publish well-researched articles that include grounded discussions and good recipes.

• Launch a weekly newsletter focusing on important ideas … and good recipes.

• Remain fully independent and funded by you, not the oligarchy.

• Leave you better-informed and feeling steadier, with something to cook this week. Civic education that feeds you twice, so you can feed others.

So pull up a chair. There’s room at this table.

Be kind and feed your mind.

—Slade

Slade Wentworth | The Dad Briefs shares the civic, political, and quietly human stories shaping family life in America — with recipes along the way.