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What Fresh Hell

episodes

June 26, 2023

Ask Margaret: How Can I Stop Repeating Myself?

A listener asks for advice on repeating herself; she knows she's not supposed to tell her toddler things 1,000 times, but isn't sure how to stop.

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June 23, 2023

Fresh Take: Sara Olsher on Talking to Our Kids About Hard Things

How can we be honest with kids about the reality of hard seasons in life without "ruining" their childhood? Sara Olsher, founder of Mighty + Bright, discusses how she helped her toddler navigate both her divorce and her cancer diagnosis.

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June 21, 2023

Is This a Midlife Crisis?

"Have I wasted my life? Should I have gotten married so young? Should I have gone to law school?" As we approach "middle age," whatever that is, can we avoid the midlife crisis? If not, how can we can put …

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June 19, 2023

Ask Amy: Everything Is Fine—Except My Mom Guilt

How do we let go of mom guilt that lingers even after everything works out fine? Amy gives a listener tips for getting closure on a stressful situation.

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June 16, 2023

Fresh Take: Rainesford Stauffer on Rethinking Ambition

What does it mean to be ambitious in today's society, and why are women always told they have too much or too little, but never the right amount? Rainesford Stauffer, author of the new book ALL THE GOLD STARS, explains …

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June 14, 2023

Are Vacations Worth It?

Are vacations worth the planning, packing, schlepping, and laundry once you get there? We discuss why vacations can be so hard—and how to make summer travels happy for everyone.

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June 12, 2023

Ask Margaret: My Kid Is Reacting Badly to Their New Sibling

What do we do when our kids start acting out after their baby status is usurped by a younger sibling? Keep in mind: it's just a phase.

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June 9, 2023

Fresh Take: Jamilah Mapp and Erica Dickerson of "Good Moms Bad Choice…

How do we deal with the societal pressure to perform motherhood perfectly every single day? Jamilah Mapp and Erica Dickerson of the "Good Moms Bad Choices" podcast discuss the power of showing up as our authentic selves..

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June 7, 2023

What Makes You a Great Parent?

Knowing where all the things are? Breaking patterns? Handling gross injuries? We asked our listeners what makes them a great parent, and the answers ranged far and wide.

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June 5, 2023

June Bonus TEASER: Our Hobbies

From decoupage to the OG bullet journal, Amy and Margaret discuss the hobbies they love, the ones they hate, and the ones they only learned for a show they were in.

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June 5, 2023

Ask Amy: When Other People Discipline Your Kids

It can really get under our skin when other adults– relatives or strangers– tell our kids to stop splashing, or sit still, or any other directive we might or may not agree with. But when should we go full Mama …

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June 2, 2023

Fresh Take: Gaia Bernstein on Gaining Control Over Addictive Technolo…

Screens are everywhere today, and both we and our kids are on them too much. Gaia Bernstein, author of "Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies" explains how to start to untangle ourselves from screen addiction.

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May 31, 2023

Uh Oh, It's Summer!

Ah, summer! Time for relaxing. Just as soon as we get through the end-of-year craziness and sign each of our kids up for ten camps.

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May 29, 2023

Ask Margaret: My Kid Is Afraid of Storms

How do we calm our kids' fears about storms, floods, fires, and tornadoes? Here's how to help your kids process scary things in an honest way.

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May 26, 2023

Best Of: Dr. Becky Kennedy on Being "Good Inside"

Dr. Becky Kennedy, host of the "Good Inside with Dr. Becky" podcast and @drbeckyatgoodinside on Instagram, tells us how the “Good Inside” approach can reshape how we view both ourselves as parents and our children.

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May 24, 2023

Things We Should Be Able to Do (But Can't)

Parallel parking? Riding a bike? Estimating how many people are in a stadium? We asked our listeners what lessons they "missed in school" and never caught up on again.

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May 22, 2023

Ask Margaret: When Kids Ask Embarrassing Questions

What do we do when our kids loudly observe other people's differences in public? Curiosity may be normal, but the outcomes can be mortifying.

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May 19, 2023

Fresh Take: Meg Zucker on Empowering Kids with Differences and Disabi…

Meg Zucker is the author of the new book BORN EXTRAORDINARY: Empowering Children with Differences and Disabilities. We talk about the work all parents can do to empower all kids.

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May 17, 2023

Ditching Mom Guilt

"Mom guilt" might be universal and inescapable. It's also often misplaced, and can sabotage not just our own happiness, but our ability to parent effectively.

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May 15, 2023

Ask Amy: My Kid Is Learning Sassy Talk at Preschool

Is it a big deal if your child brings salty talk home from preschool? Not necessarily. Is it a teachable moment? Absolutely. This age is the time kids first become aware of others' feelings.

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May 12, 2023

Fresh Take: Laura Cathcart Robbins on Motherhood and Addiction

If we feel like we're constantly performing motherhood rather than living it, how is that sustainable—or desirable? Laura Cathcart Robbins talks about her journey to authenticity in her new memoir STASH.

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May 10, 2023

Our Mom Friendships Are Different Now

Have your mom friendships changed after the upheaval of the last few years? How do we get past our decreased social stamina and get back out there?

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May 8, 2023

Ask Amy: My Kid Just Doesn't Want to Talk About It

Some kids are more expressive than others. And a child’s ability to discuss feelings might be frustrated by their vocabulary or emotional maturity. How can we encourage kids to open up? Is there a point at which we should be …

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May 5, 2023

Fresh Take: Virginia Sole-Smith on Parenting in the Age of Diet Cultu…

The stigmatization of fat people shapes how we think about our health. Virginia Sole-Smith, author of the book FAT TALK: PARENTING IN THE AGE OF DIET CULTURE, invites us to question what it means to be “good" regarding weight, diet, …

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