Podcasts · Kids & Family · Comedy
What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms
Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson
300 episodes
When you're a parent, every day brings a "fresh hell" to deal with. In other words, there's always something. Think of us as your funny mom friends who are here to remind you: you're not alone, and it won't always be this hard. We're Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables, both busy moms of three kids, but with completely different parenting styles. Margaret is a laid-back to the max; Amy never met a spreadsheet or an organizational system she didn't like. In each episode of "What Fresh Hell" we offer lots of laughs, but also practical advice, parenting strategies, and tips to empower you in your role as a mom. We explore self-help techniques, as well as ways to prioritize your own needs, combat stress, and despite the invisible workload we all deal with, find joy amidst the chaos of motherhood. If you've ever wondered "why is my kid..." then one of us has probably been there, and we're here to tell you what we've learned along the way. We unpack the behaviors and developmental stages of toddlers, tweens, and teenagers, providing insights into their actions and equipping you with effective parenting strategies. We offer our best parenting tips and skills we've learned. We debate the techniques and studies that are everywhere for parents these days, and get to the bottom of what works best to raise happy, healthy, fairly well-behaved kids, while fostering a positive parent-child relationship. If you're the default parent in your household, whether you're a busy mom juggling multiple pickups and dropoffs, or a first-time parent seeking guidance, this podcast is your trusted resource. Join our community of supportive mom friends laughing in the face of motherhood! whatfreshhellpodcast.com
Episodes page 2 of 6
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What Fresh Hell Is... Being the Only Grownup in the Room?
You know how sometimes when you're in charge, in a really hard moment, you keep watching the door for an actual grownup to show up? Because it can't possibly be 42-year-old YOU who's in charge at this moment? In this…
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DEEP DIVE: Susan Linn on How “Big Tech” Targets Our Kids
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…
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BEST OF: What Kind of Monster?
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?…
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When It's Too Much Change All at Once
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…
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DEEP DIVE: When Mom Leaves Town
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…
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Fresh Take: Sara Hirsh Bordo on Autoimmunity and the Threat to Women's Health
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…
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Why Family Vacations Feel Like Work (and How to Enjoy Them Anyway)
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Traveling as a Family
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…
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Fresh Take: Why Human Connection Matters in Medicine with Dr. Alan R. Cohen
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…
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Am I a Patient Mom? Or a Punching Bag?
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Are Vacations Worth It?
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…
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Fresh Take: Talia Kovacs on How to Teach Kids Resilience
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…
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This One Thing Was a Life-Changer
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Tips for Vacationing with Extended Family
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…
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Fresh Take: Gillian Goddard on How Hormones Affect Our Health At All Ages
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…
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Do You Know Your Gen Z Slang?
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Giving Help That Works– And Asking for the Help We Need
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…
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Fresh Take: The Custody Queens on What Parents Need to Know About Divorce and Separation
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…
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Why Do We Love Looking Back?
Sign up for WFH Plus at http://whatfreshhell.supportingcast.fm/! 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…
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DEEP DIVE: Mara Glatzel on Being "Needy"
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…
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Fresh Take: Dr. Margo Lowy on Living the Full Emotional Truth of Motherhood
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…
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What's the Mom Equivalent of Golf?
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Asking for Big Help (And the Best Ways to Give It)
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…
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Fresh Take: Nicholas Epley on Why Talking to Strangers Can Make Us Happier
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…
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What Does "Dating" Look Like For Teens and Tweens These Days?
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Leslie Forde of Mom's Hierarchy of Needs
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…
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Fresh Take: Rachael Shepard-Ohta and Caitlin Wilder of "You're So Right" Podcast
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…
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Is American Parenting the Problem? Or Is It Parenting *in* America?
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Olivia Martinez-Hauge on Special Needs Parenting
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…
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Fresh Take: Elizabeth Preston on What Animals Have to Teach Us About Parenting
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…
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Getting Our Kids to Help Around the House
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Dr. Lynn Koegel on the Hidden Brilliance of Autism
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…
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Fresh Take: Leah Ruppanner on "DRAINED" and What the 'Mental Load' Really Means
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…
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Emotional Intelligence: Can It Be Taught?
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,…
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DEEP DIVE: Kate Swenson of "Finding Cooper's Voice" on Parenting Autism
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…
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Fresh Take: Fortesa Latifi on the Truth About Kids in Influencer Families
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…
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Little-Known Parenting Milestones
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Meg Zucker on Empowering Kids with Differences and Disabilities
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…
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Preparing Our Kids (and Ourselves) as They Leave the Nest, with Christina Geist
As kids prepare to leave home for college, we tend to wonder: have we taught them everything they need to know? Christina Geist—author of Before You Fly Away: Life Lessons from Home—shares how this transition can feel…
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Why We Avoid Uncertainty (And How That Gets In Our Way)
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…
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DEEP DIVE: Janice Johnson Dias on Raising Joyful, Change-Making Kids
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…
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Meredith Schwartz on Building a Reading Life You Actually Love
Why is it so hard to read more—even when we want to, even when we have stacks of books awaiting us on our bedside tables? We sit down with Meredith Monday Schwartz—co-host of the The Currently Reading Podcast—to talk…
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How Can We Get Our Kids to Like Reading?
Why is it so hard to get some kids to read—and is it even our job to make them love it? We tackle the reality of raising reluctant readers in a world dominated by screens. From decoding disorders to disinterest, we…
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DEEP DIVE: Donna Jackson Nakazawa on Helping Our Daughters Thrive
In honor of Women's History Month, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes about raising daughters. Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist whose work explores the…
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Fresh Take: Jessica Shaw, "Everyone Gets a Juice Box"
How can we best support our neurodivergent kids? Jessica Shaw, host of the podcast Everyone Gets a Juice Box, discusses the realities of raising neurodivergent kids—and the emotional, practical, and often isolating…
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Let's Not Care About Aging Gracefully
What does it really mean to “age gracefully”—and who decided that was the goal in the first place? We unpack the cultural pressure on women to look younger for longer—and what we can do to resist it. From celebrity…
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DEEP DIVE: Chelsey Goodan on How Parents Underestimate Their Teenage Girls
In honor of Women's History Month, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes about raising daughters. Why are stereotypes of teenage girls rarely flattering? And even worse, what important…
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Fresh Take: Michaeleen Doucleff, DOPAMINE KIDS
What does dopamine actually do to our brains—and to our kids' brains? We welcome back science journalist and parenting expert Michaeleen Doucleff to discuss her latest book, DOPAMINE KIDS. After years as an NPR…
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How Not to Live Through Our Kids
First, we’re setting aside our own hopes and dreams to have (and raise) our kids. Then, we’re relentlessly mocked (perhaps correctly) for being overinvested in the fourth-grade luau. Are we living through our kids? And…
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DEEP DIVE: Dr. Jo-Ann Finkelstein on Raising Resilient Girls
In honor of Women's History Month, this "Deep Dive" series highlights some of our past interview episodes about raising daughters. How do we raise our daughters to feel empowered, rather than helpless, in the face of…
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