My dad and I have an ok relationship. But we don't talk often. This isn't really from lack of effort on his end, and more because if you can get him started on a topic he likes, or something that he can turn into a topic that he likes, or even just something that he thinks he knows a lot about, then good luck getting him to ever shut up short of walking off mid sentence.
I know it's certainly helped me learn the skill of feigning interest, and doing my level best to learn how to figure things out without ever asking questions.