No Place Like Nebraska
Some personal and professional news
Some news: I got a new job! Well, a new full-time job, that is. I’ll still be writing here at Dad Doody.
Starting at the end of this month, I’ll be executive editor of the Omaha World-Herald. It’s a return to the newspaper industry, where I’d spent pretty much my whole life1 until joining Heavy.com in 2014.
What does this mean? Well, a few things.
Omaha, as you can probably tell, isn’t exactly commuting distance from Fairfield, Connecticut. Your mileage will vary based on the exact route you take, but around 1,250 miles is a good estimate. So … we’re moving! The kids will finish the school year here in Fairfield, and we’ll aim for a family move mid-summer.
Professionally, I can’t wait to get started. Omaha is a big2, vibrant, super interesting place that I think punches above its weight in the influence it has on the country and the world. I have a nerdy fascination with historic institutions. The World-Herald, founded in 1885, certainly qualifies as one.
Personally, it’s been an emotional past few weeks with some new parenting challenges on the horizon. I’ll plan to write a good deal here about the parenting challenges. But I have to say: Whenever the prospect of moving has come up in the past, everyone who’s done it before has raved about how resilient and adventurous kids are. So far, that’s exactly what I’m finding with Nell and Cal. I expect the next few months to be an emotional rollercoaster for all of us. But these kids really do seem more excited than sad about the move. It’s already been an amazing thing to observe. More to come on this!
Dad Doody has taken a back seat over the past couple of months because I’ve spent so much energy getting this career move squared away. But I have every intention of writing a lot here going forward. If anything, I expect to be more active here going forward than I’ve been at any point since launching Dad Doody last December. Thank you for reading!
A couple of other housekeeping items before we wrap up:
I’m scheduled to tape a podcast episode later this week that I think you’ll really enjoy. You’ll have the episode in your inboxes and available on the Substack app and Spotify as soon as it’s ready. Stay tuned!
I’ll have a post sometime soon about The Game Theorist’s Guide to Parenting, the first book on my 2025 dad reading list that I finished. (I listened to the audio book. My book-obsessed wife tells me that counts as reading it, so I’ll take it!) I highly recommend it. I’ll share a few more thoughts about it soon.
That’s all for now. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to grow the Dad Doody audience in Nebraska. If you’re a reader and/or friend on the East Coast: Don’t throw us a funeral! We’ll be back to visit often, and there are a growing number of direct flights from Omaha to airports in the Northeast.
My parents both worked in newspaper newsrooms. Growing up, I wanted to be either the third baseman for the Red Sox or a newspaper journalist. It turned out one of those goals was more attainable than the other.
The metro area, which spans the Missouri River and includes a chunk of western Iowa, has more than a million people and is one of the 60 biggest metro areas in the country.
I will miss you all terribly, but I recognize that this is a fabulous opportunity for you Ben and we want nothing but the best for the Doody family🥰 looking forward to visiting you in Omaha😍