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What Fresh Hell

episodes

May 17, 2024

Fresh Take: Cameron Normand of "Stepfamily Solutions"

How can step-parents smoothly transition into being part of their new families? What happens when the kids are not on board with having a new parent? Cameron Normand, founder of Stepfamily Solutions, tells us what she's learned.

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May 15, 2024

Do We Need to Lower Our Standards?

Is it really our "maternal gatekeeping" and too-high standards that are preventing a more equitable distribution of household tasks? We discuss the minimum standard of care and how that can be determined.

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May 13, 2024

DEEP DIVE: Dr. Pooja Lakshmin on Burnout and Mom Guilt

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin is a psychiatrist, author, and founder of gemmawomen.com, the first digital education platform dedicated exclusively to women’s mental health. We discuss mom guilt, burnout, true self-care, and finding ways to reclaim ourselves.

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May 10, 2024

Fresh Take: Danielle Bayard Jackson on "Fighting for our Friendships"

How do we make new female friends as adults, and how do we hold onto friendships that matter to us? Danielle Bayard Jackson, author of the new book FIGHTING FOR OUR FRIENDSHIPS, gives tips for making new friends and for …

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May 9, 2024

MAY BONUS TEASER: Our Myers-Briggs Personality Tests!

It's test day. In our May bonus episode, we take the famous Myers-Briggs personality test—and turns out we're not complete opposites in some important ways!

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May 8, 2024

What Fresh Hell Is Mother's Day?

Why do moms have mixed feelings about Mother's Day? Turns out Anna Jarvis, the holiday's founder, had second thoughts. Perhaps for good reason. We talk the ups and downs of Mother's Day.

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May 6, 2024

DEEP DIVE: 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 3, 2024

Fresh Take: Dr. Alok Kanojia on Parenting a Healthy Gamer

How can we determine if our child is addicted to video games, and what can we do about it? Dr. Alok Kanojia, author of HOW TO RAISE A HEALTHY GAMER, explains what a video game addiction looks like and parenting …

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May 1, 2024

How To Deal With Picky Eaters

Are you convinced your child will never eat a vegetable and that their picky eating is a reflection of your parenting? Here's how to get your picky eater to expand their palate—and why it's usually not the end of the …

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April 29, 2024

DEEP DIVE: Parenting as a Team

Parenting as a team is an ongoing challenge even when your relationship is pretty harmonious. But constantly matching headspaces with your co-parent isn’t the goal– for us, parenting as a team has often meant taking turns. Here’s how that works.

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April 26, 2024

Fresh Take: Chelsey Goodan on How Parents Underestimate Their Teenage…

What would our teenage girls tell us if they believed we were truly listening to what they had to say? Chelsey Goodan, author of the new book UNDERESTIMATED, explains what teenage girls need most from their parents and how we …

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April 24, 2024

What Can We Add? What Can We Take Away?

As parents, we often feel that if we add more to a problem—say, buy the right item—we can solve it. But there may be a simpler way to solve certain problems, and that's by taking something away. Here's how to …

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April 22, 2024

DEEP DIVE: Kate Mangino on Increasing Gender Equity

The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women estimates that we will not achieve gender equality for 164 years. Kate Mangino, gender expert and author of the book EQUAL PARTNERS, discusses ways to make domestic partnerships more equal.

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April 19, 2024

Fresh Take: Amanda Montell and the Age of Magical Overthinking

These days we're bombarded with messages that we can manifest the reality we wish to exist. Amanda Montell, author of the new book THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING, explains the cognitive biases that give us an illusion of outsized control …

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April 17, 2024

Do We Share Too Much About Our Kids Online?

How are our kids going to feel about what we shared about them online when they're older? Are there effects down the road we're not seeing now? Is there an age at which we're supposed to ask permission? How concerned …

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April 15, 2024

DEEP DIVE: It's Not "Nagging"

When women ask repeatedly for something to be done– because it wasn’t done the last time they asked– they’re often rewarded by being told they’re “nagging.” How do we push back on the sexism of this word? And are there …

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April 12, 2024

Fresh Take: Diane Boden, "Minimalist Moms"

How can parents embrace a minimalist mindset when we've got partners or kids who aren't exactly looking to get rid of things? Diane Boden, host of the "Minimalist Moms" podcast, explains how to declutter your home when you're short on …

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April 10, 2024

How Involved Should We Be with Our Kids' Schools?

How do we find a balance between keeping abreast of our kids' grades and going all in on their science projects? Here's what the data says about the relationship between parent involvement in school and academic achievement.

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April 8, 2024

DEEP DIVE: Matthew Fray on Strengthening Our Relationships

We’ve all left dishes by the sink. Either that, or we’ve yelled at our partner for doing so. In this episode, Matthew Fray explains how leaving dishes by the sink caused his marriage to implode—hint: it wasn’t just about the …

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April 5, 2024

Fresh Take: Amy Shoenthal on "The Setback Cycle"

How can we embrace setbacks in life so that we can learn from them? Amy Shoenthal, author of the new book THE SETBACK CYCLE, explains the science of framing our setbacks to help us more than they hurt us.

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April 3, 2024

Our Lowest-Stake Conspiracy Theories

We asked our listeners for their lowest-stake conspiracy theories. From suspiciously ineffective close-door elevator buttons to lip balms that make chapped lips worse, here are our favorites.

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April 1, 2024

DEEP DIVE: When Our Partners Just Don't Get It

It was my husband. In the kitchen. With the dirty cup. AGAIN. Our partners do things that drive us mad. And sometimes it affects our parenting or our marriages. How do we make our partners truly understand what we need? …

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March 29, 2024

Fresh Take: Dr. Gabor Maté and Dr. Gordon Neufeld on Maintaining Heal…

Society tells us that it's both unavoidable and appropriate for kids to shift their focus from their parents to their peers as they grow. In their newly revised book HOLD ON TO YOUR KIDS, Dr. Gabor Maté and Dr. Gordon …

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March 27, 2024

Making the "Invisible Workload" Visible

Many of the things we take on in our family's daily lives go without notice or recognition by the people we live with. That doesn't mean it's not work. Here's how to make the "invisible workload" more visible.

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