What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms

This month, our "Deep Dive" is into some of our past episodes about screen time: the effects it has on our kids, how tech companies engineer their devices to be as addictive as possible, and how we can allow our kids to enjoy screens with supportive limits.

Psychologist Susan Linn, author of ⁠WHO'S RAISING THE KIDS? BIG TECH, BIG BUSINESS, AND THE LIVES OF CHILDREN⁠, isn't anti-technology. She's anti-advertising to children, and has spent her long career spotlighting the "monumental shift towards a digitized-commercialized childhood."

With smart speakers and screens at arms' reach wherever kids go...

There are these things that you just don't understand why anybody would do. But some people do them.

We aren't about judgment at the What Fresh Hell podcast, but we do sometimes have to ask: what kind of monster?

What kind of monster listens to videos on speaker?

Or keeps the keyboard clicks on their phone?

What kind of monster takes up two parking spots?

Puts empty cereal boxes back in the cabinet?

Gives small children toys with one hundred tiny pieces?

We went to...

Have you ever felt like your life consisted of too many moving parts at the same time? In this episode, we explore why life tends to deliver too much change at once—and the difference between an actual change and the larger, more uncertain area of transition that both precedes and follows any big change.

We discuss:

This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!

Does it seem like just as much work to leave your kids behind for a couple of days as not to go in the first place? Do your instructions for family operational procedures during your absence run more than five pages? 

Getting away from our kids—for work, for the weekend, for a friend’s 40th—isn’t just good for us. It’s also an opport...

Why are autoimmune conditions so much more common in women? And does that have anything to do with the fact that those same conditions are misunderstood, under-researched, and accepted as things we just have to live with?

Sara Hirsh Bordo, author of the new book AUTOIMMUNITY AND THE GOOD GIRLS, discusses the questions that led her to examine the connection between women’s health, caregiving, stress, and identity.

After receiving her own autoimmune diagnoses, Sara began noticing that her fellow sufferers shared similar life patterns: especially eldest daughters, caretakers, and women raised to prioritize everyone el...

Why is it that our own vacations never look like the perfect, happy families on the posters enjoying their destination without a sunburn, meltdown, or lost bag in sight? Here's how to manage expectations while traveling with kids and enjoy your trip, whatever it ends up looking like!

We share stories of Disney overwhelm, international travel wins and disasters, airport anxiety, and the unexpected moments that end up becoming the best parts of a vacation.

Topics include:

This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!

We asked our listeners what advice they have for harmonious family traveling.⁠ Here are our favorite tips they shared, plus a few of our own, from how early to get to the airport to hitting the top kid-friendly site in Paris!

Amy and Margaret discuss:

As technology improves medicine, and AI accelerates change, how do we maintain the human connection that must exist between doctor and patient?

Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Alan R. Cohen, author of the new book COMFORT ALWAYS, explains what he's learned in four decades of working with families in extremely intense situations, and how being a "humble physician" remains the most important part of his work.

In this episode, we discuss:

Moms hear it all the time: kids save their worst behavior for us because we're their safe space. Understood—but where’s the line between not taking every dig personally and becoming your kids' doormat?

When kids lash out—whether it’s a preschooler kicking in a Target checkout line, or a teenager declaring you’re the worst parent in the world—when are we supposed to absorb it, or rise above? And when do we need to set a boundary?

In this episode we discuss:

This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!

Why don't vacations feel like vacations for moms? Could it be all the prepping, packing, and traveling, with the additional pressure to make memories that will last a lifetime for our little ones?

Here's how to make vacations truly fun and relaxing for the whole family. In this episode we discuss

We know that resilience is a good trait for our kids to have. But can "grit" only be achieved through hardship and repeated failure? Can a kid whose everyday life is pretty cushy still be resilient, and if so, how is that resilience taught?

We talk with resilience coach Talia Kovacs about how resilience is a skill that can be nurtured over time—even in the kid who regularly falls apart when the chicken nuggets touch the peas.

Drawing from her experience as a classroom teacher, literacy expert, and parent coach, Talia explains why today’s ki...

What's the one thing you've purchased that has delivered outsized returns in joy and ease? We asked our listeners to tell us the one thing in their lives that has really overdelivered. From travel hacks to sleep upgrades, from time-savers to towels, here are some of our favorites.

If you want links to all of the amazing products mentioned in this episode, sign up for our monthly newsletter here!

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find...

This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!

We've both traveled with our extended families over and over again, and have loved the memories we've made together. But different bedtimes, sightseeing styles, and mealtime expectations can lead to unexpected conflict.

Laura in our Facebook group wrote in to say:

⁠"Might be a fun episode before summer: large family vacation traditions. I'm wondering if there are favorite games/foods/tips/funny stor...

What do hormones actually do—and why are they often misunderstood? We talk with Dr. Gillian Goddard, an endocrinologist and author of The Hormone Loop: An Empowering Guide to Restoring Hormonal Harmony from Puberty to Menopause. Dr. Goddard explains how hormones affect far more than reproduction, influencing everything from metabolism and sleep to mood, stress responses, and cardiovascular health.

She breaks down the concept of the "hormone loop" and explains the four major hormonal systems that work together to keep our bodies functioning: reproductive, thyroid, growth hormone, and adrenal (stress) loops. The conversation explores how hormonal changes du...

What does it mean to get “mogged,” to be “chalant,” or to “put the fries in the bag”? In this episode we attempt to decode the latest Gen Z slang. (Although now that we've cracked the code, all these words are so nerfed.)

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What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by...

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes on discerning what we need as moms, and then asking for it confidently.

Do you hate feeling unable to help people in crisis, or do you worry about getting too involved and stepping on toes? There are ways to give help to people in need that are productive and considerate, and our listeners wrote in with some excellent examples.

Amy and Margaret discuss:

What should parents know if they're considering divorce? Margaret talks with family law attorneys Kristen Holstrom and Samantha McBride—the hosts of the "Custody Queens" podcast—about custody disputes, co-parenting conflict, child support, digital footprints, and the biggest mistakes people make during separation.

Drawing from years of experience in high-conflict custody and divorce cases, Kristen and Samantha explain how family court actually works, why “amicable” divorces can still require strong boundaries, and how parents can protect themselves and their children emotionally, financially, and legally.

The conversation covers:

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How does the powerful emotional pull of nostalgia connect to that midlife feeling of "how did I get here?" Why do we love looking back?

In this episode, we discuss:

Here are li...

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes on discerning what we need as moms, and then asking for it confidently.

If someone asked you "What do you need right now?" would you even be able to articulate it? In her new book ⁠NEEDY: How To Advocate for Your Needs and Claim Your Sovereignty⁠, intuitive coach ⁠Mara Glatzel⁠ lays out a roadmap for how to ascertain our needs as human beings, how to ask for it, and how to be comfortable with receiving it.

Mara's work helps humans stop abandoning themselves and start reclaimin...

We often think "ambivalence" means indifference. Its actual meaning is quite different: ambivalence means having multiple and often opposite emotions in one moment. Motherhood contains much joy—but what about the resentment, grief, anger, fear, exhaustion, and guilt that can exist alongside deep love?

Psychotherapist and researcher Dr. Margo Lowy joins us to discuss her book MATERNAL AMBIVALENCE: The Loving Moments and Bitter Truths of Motherhood and the emotional contradictions at the heart of parenting.

Dr. Lowy explains why naming difficult emotions can actually strengthen our relationships with our children at all stages of our pa...

Why does it seem so much easier for men to claim large blocks of leisure time for themselves than it is for women? This week, based on a listener question, we are asking: What is the mom equivalent of golf?

We unpack the “leisure time gender gap,” why women’s downtime is often treated as optional, and how motherhood changes the way we think about rest, hobbies, and friendship.

We discuss:

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes on discerning what we need as moms, and then asking for it confidently.

We’ve all been in moments when we have to make a Big Ask. As in: it’s 2 a.m. The baby is throwing up and spiking a high fever. Your partner is out of town. Your other kid is asleep upstairs. Who are you going to call in the middle of the night? Making that ask is never easy.

But why? Why is it so hard to ask for big help, espec...

Why do we avoid small opportunities for connection with strangers, even when humans are wired for that very connection? Behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley, author of the new book A LITTLE MORE SOCIAL, explains why modern life leaves so many people feeling disconnected—and how small social choices can dramatically improve our well-being.

Nick explains the science behind loneliness, why humans are biologically wired for connection, and how our fear of awkwardness keeps us from reaching out to others. From conversations with strangers on the subway to helping kids build social confidence, this episode explores how meaningful relationships ar...

This week we're talking about how modern teen "dating" has changed—starting with the word itself (it's called "talking" or "hanging out" these days), where today's teens are meeting romantic partners, and how they tend to communicate. We also explain how and why conversations about boundaries, consent, self-worth, and emotional safety should begin earlier than you might think.

We also discuss:

Here are li...

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes on discerning what we need as moms, and then asking for it confidently.

Most of us know about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the pyramid pattern through which human needs and motivations generally move upward. We can't worry about what's at the upper levels of the pyramid until and unless the more basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid– food, warmth, safety– are met first.

Leslie Forde, founder of ⁠Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs⁠, has rethought that pyramid for the way we live our lives as mothers...

Is social media a good thing for isolated mothers? Or does it just give us more to worry about? Margaret talks with Rachael Shepard-Ohta and Caitlin Wilder, hosts of the podcast You’re So Right, about parenting in the age of Instagram, postpartum mental health, identity outside motherhood, and why parenting advice can feel both helpful and impossible at the same time.

Rachael, a former special education teacher and infant parent mental health specialist, and Caitlin, a full spectrum doula and former Bravo producer, explain how they built their podcast as a space for moms to feel le...

We're often told that the American style of parenting is inferior—that we're doing it all wrong compared to, say, a laissez-faire Parisian whose kids eat whatever is served.

But is it our too intense/ too lax/ too snack-heavy parenting style that is making us (and our kids) so stressed? Or is it where we're doing that parenting?

In this episode, we explore the forces shaping parenting in America today, and the ways in which other countries offer parents more support. From the pressure to “do it all” to the lack of community support, we examin...

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.

Olivia Martinez-Hauge is a marriage and family therapist specializing in the treatment of families, couples, and individuals who are caregiving for children or adults with neurodiversity. She is also a licensed occupational therapist with over two decades of experience helping children and their families.

She is also a mother of three children, two with neurodiversity.

In this "Fresh Take" interview, Olivia explains

Why does modern parenting feel so difficult? If a chimpanzee knows what to do without reading a hundred parenting books, why doesn't it just come naturally?

Science journalist and author Elizabeth Preston is the author of The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care. Drawing from animal behavior, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience, this book explains why studying the parenting of every species from poison frogs to bonobos, from rats to birds, can remind us how human parenting is supposed to work—and how parental anxiety may result from the be...

How do you get kids to help out—ever, at all—without default resistance that makes it feel like it's not worth the trouble of your having asked?

Kids *should* contribute to their families' lives without their parents resorting to nagging or threats. Kids in other cultures, we are told, participate willingly and fully. Why does this seem so hard for so many of us?

We discuss:

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.

What if we're looking at autism in the wrong way? Dr. Lynn Koegel, co-author of ⁠Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism⁠, explains how to engage with the strengths in kids with autism rather than focusing on what they're lacking.

⁠Dr. Lynn Koegel⁠ is a clinical professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. She and her husband developed Pivotal Response Treatment which focuses on motivation. She has been supporting autistic individu...

Are women really better at all the things we do? Or are we just used to doing more?

Amy talks with sociologist and author Leah Ruppanner, author of the new book DRAINED, about her definition of the "mental load" and why so many women feel constantly overwhelmed.

Leah defines the mental load as much more than keeping track of tasks. It’s deeply emotional work tied to caring for others, anticipating needs, and managing relationships.

In this interview Leah breaks down the different types of mental load, from organizing daily life to providing em...

What is emotional intelligence, exactly? Is it the yin to IQ's yang? Is it equally crucial to our success and well-being?

In this episode we talk about what EQ (or EI, depending on who you're asking) actually means, why it matters, and whether it can be taught to both adults and kids.

We discuss:

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our past episodes about the joys and the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.

Kate Swenson writes and creates videos about her life as a mother of four and and an autism advocate for ⁠"Finding Cooper's Voice⁠," a living, thriving community of people who not only advocate for autism, but also make the world a better place for individuals with disabilities and their families.

We discuss Kate's book ⁠Forever Boy: A Mother's Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy⁠ and her nonprofit ⁠The More Than Project, ⁠...

What happens when childhood becomes content? Journalist Fortesa Latifi, author of the new book LIKE, FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE, discusses the rise of influencer families and the growing world of kid influencers. We explore how parenting content has evolved from "mommy blogs" to today’s visual and monetized social media landscape, where children are often at the center of viral content.

Fortesa explains why family vlogging is so compelling, and the powerful parasocial relationships audiences form with influencer families. She also breaks down the ethical gray areas of sharing kids online, including issues of privacy, consent, and the long-term di...

What are the parenting milestones no one tells you about—but that completely change your daily life? We asked our listeners about the little wins of parenting that make a huge difference in reducing the day-to-day chaos, from kids pouring their own cereal to finally being able to leave them home alone.

Listen to our interview with Christina Martin here

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What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.

We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the sp...

This Deep Dive series is about embracing the joys and acknowledging the challenges that come with raising kids with differences and disabilities.

How do we celebrate and encourage kids with disabilities and differences, without letting our fears and preconceptions dictate what we think they can do?

How do parents of kids with less understanding of differences and disabilities allow for children's natural curiosity?

Meg Zucker, author of the book ⁠Born Extraordinary: Empowering Children with Differences & Disabilities⁠, was born with a genetic condition called ectrodactyly. She is also the mother of three children, two of w...

As kids prepare to leave home for college, many parents experience a crisis of confidence—have we taught them everything they need to know? Have we said enough? Christina Geist—author of Before You Fly Away: Life Lessons from Home—shares how this transition can feel like a “parental report card.”

When “Launching” a Child Feels Like a Final Exam

Christina describes the months leading up to her daughter leaving for college as filled with late-night reflections and “mini panic moments.” Those thoughts eventually became a collection of concise life lessons—short, memorable reminders...

Why do we cling to what’s familiar—even when it’s not working? In this episode we explore why humans are wired to avoid uncertainty, and how that shapes our decisions and our parenting.

We discuss the Ellsberg Paradox, which explains why we often choose “the devil we know” over potentially better—but unknown—options. Whether it’s staying in a situation that no longer serves us, avoiding difficult conversations, or overthinking every possible outcome, our brains are constantly trying to reduce uncertainty—even at a cost.

We discuss how the brain’s fear center (the amygdala...

In honor of Women's History Month, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes about raising daughters.

Janice Johnson Dias⁠ is a professor of sociology at John Jay College, and author of ⁠PARENT LIKE IT MATTERS: HOW TO RAISE JOYFUL, CHANGE-MAKING GIRLS⁠⁠. Her collaborative work on black girls’ mental, sexual, and physical health issues earned her a special Congressional recognition.

In this conversation, Janice explains how we can embolden both our daughters and our sons to find their passions– but only by finding our own passions first. Janice argues that change-m...