The Joy of Watching Your Kids Become Themselves with Guest Todd Weiser

Todd Weiser didn't expect to talk about donor conception when he sat down with us. But that's exactly where the conversation went.

After struggling with infertility and undergoing two surgeries, Todd and his wife ultimately used donor sperm to have their two children. Their kids have known their story since they were little, and today Todd doesn't spend much time thinking about the fact that they don't share his DNA. He's simply Dad.

But it raises a fascinating question: What actually makes us our children's parents? How much is nature? How much is nurture? And how much is simply showing up every day?

Todd joins Neil and Ali for a wide-ranging conversation about donor conception, IVF, nature vs. nurture, modern fatherhood, raising independent kids, letting children be bored, religion and Jewish identity, separating art from the artist, sharing movies and music with your kids, and the strange realization that eventually your children become people entirely their own.

Todd is a longtime television executive and storyteller whose career has included Animal Planet, Food Network and independent film, and he's now the co-host and producer of Heist Club, a podcast exploring incredible real-life heists.

And after nearly two hours of conversation, Todd gives one of our favorite answers to the question of what makes being a dad so special: getting to watch your kids discover what they love.

World's Greatest Dad is hosted by Ali Khan and Neil Padover, two dads trying to figure out fatherhood one conversation at a time.

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