What Fresh Hell Podcast

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What Fresh Hell Podcast Home of the . Laughs, community, and advice for moms whatfreshhellpodcast.com

Amy and Margaret are both comedians and moms of three — but that’s where the similarities end. In What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood they combine their twenty-year friendship, their comic sensibilities, their usually completely-opposite approaches to parenting, plus research and interviews with the experts. They laugh about their lives as moms, call out each other’s nonsense, and

then come up with concrete solutions. You'll laugh, you'll learn, and you'll come away feeling that maybe your slightly haphazard parenting isn't so bad after all.

15/12/2025

We want our partners to meet every need we have… but real relationships don’t work like a one-stop shop. Sophie Lucido Johnson, author of the new book KIN, explains that your partner will fulfill many but not all of your needs—and it’s okay to get the rest from your wider support network.

Listen to our full episode with Sophie Lucido Johnson here: https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/fresh-take-sophie-lucido-johnson-kin/

14/12/2025

We’re wired to make stories that help our experiences make sense—even if we have to invent the details.

Parables and metaphors stick because they give our brains structure. And sometimes those stories are exactly what helps us see our own behavior clearly.

Listen to the full episode "Parables That Stick with Us" here: https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/the-parables-that-stick-with-us/

This week, we sit down with writer, illustrator, and community-builder Sophie Lucido Johnson, author of KIN: THE FUTURE ...
12/12/2025

This week, we sit down with writer, illustrator, and community-builder Sophie Lucido Johnson, author of KIN: THE FUTURE OF FAMILY, to explore how adults can create deeper, more fulfilling friendship networks. Sophie shares why modern culture pushes us toward hyper-independence, how to break out of the loneliness cycle, and the simple daily practices that strengthen connection.

They discuss the difference between friendships and partnerships, why we need multiple kinds of support people, and how to nurture relationships with curiosity, generosity, and reciprocity. Sophie also talks about community care, asking for help, borrowing instead of buying, and the small acts that make neighborhoods feel like actual communities.

Whether you’re feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or simply craving richer relationships, this episode offers warm, practical, and often funny reminders that we don’t have to do life alone — and that we’re all better off when we rely on each other.

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/fresh-take-sophie-lucido-johnson-kin/

Our December bonus episode traces the evolution of our most memorable forms of entertainment—from the dawn of HBO, when ...
11/12/2025

Our December bonus episode traces the evolution of our most memorable forms of entertainment—from the dawn of HBO, when it was a literal box you called "Home Box" which you watched in your friend's basement, to Betamax ( alert) at the neighborhood video store, to our sad current state of watching the same show at once, but in separate rooms on our individual phones. And also a long diatribe on the one place you *never* want s**g carpet.

Sign up for What Fresh Hell Plus on Supporting Cast to get all episodes ad-free, plus monthly bonus episodes. Supporting Cast works right where you already listen! Go to whatfreshhell.supportingcast.fm to subscribe in two taps for just $4.99 a month, or $39.99 a year.

In this episode, we discuss some of our favorite parables— and what they can teach us about the meaning we attach to eve...
10/12/2025

In this episode, we discuss some of our favorite parables— and what they can teach us about the meaning we attach to everyday frustrations with modern parenting, stress, and family dynamics.

Stories are sticky for our brains, and these are the lessons that have helped us notice our reactions, question our assumptions, and navigate everything from holiday family drama to college applications to sibling squabbles with greater awareness.

This a great episode to share with friends who may not be parents but love a smart, funny take on modern life!

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/the-parables-that-stick-with-us/

09/12/2025

Hey, Hellions,

Margaret has been sick the last couple of weeks, so our bonus episode is dropping this Thursday 12/11 instead of the first Thursday of December. We're so glad that you're all clearly missing it in your feed!

Get ready for "Entertainment Systems of Our Past" (and also a long digression about Margaret's "rich person thing" she's obsessed with...)

Kids have a less time for unsupervised, unstructured play than they did 40-50 years ago. Kids are also a lot less happy ...
08/12/2025

Kids have a less time for unsupervised, unstructured play than they did 40-50 years ago. Kids are also a lot less happy then they were back then. But has one actually caused the other? A new study says it has.

Psychologist Dr. Peter Gray and his associates at Boston College recently published the paper ⁠Decline in independent activity as a cause of decline in children's mental well-being,⁠ which suggests that the decline in play and the decline in children's well-being are directly correlated:

“Our thesis is that a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders (among children and teens) is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam and engage in other activities, independent of direct oversight and control by adults.”

In this episode we discuss the fascinating research explored in this study, the difference in our freewheeling neighborhood childhoods and our own kids' more curated daily existences, and how letting our children take independent risks—and even get a few bumps and bruises— is setting them up for a sense of well-being that is all their own.

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/deep-dive-why-kids-need-more-time-to-play/

08/12/2025

In this Fresh Take, Amy talks with therapist Erin Cox about navigating family drama, stress, and guilt at the holidays.

Setting boundaries isn’t about getting other people to like them — or to like you for having them. Boundaries are for you, not for anyone else’s comfort. If someone bristles at your boundaries, it often just means they benefited from you not having them before.

Listen to the full interview with Erin here: https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/fresh-take-erin-cox-on-navigating-family-drama-guilt-and-stress-at-the-holidays/

06/12/2025

Not everything we say “yes” to should drain us. Kate Manne suggests asking two simple questions:Is it sustaining? Is it sustainable?

If it’s neither, it’s probably time to let it go — even if it’s something you’ve “always done.”

Holiday traditions, tasks, and expectations don’t earn automatic lifetime contracts. If it falls away and your life gets easier… that’s a sign you’re doing it right. 🎄✨

Listen to our full episode "Saying No Is Also Work" here: https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/saying-no-is-also-work/

The holidays are the time of year we're most likely to spend time with our extended families— visits which can also brin...
05/12/2025

The holidays are the time of year we're most likely to spend time with our extended families— visits which can also bring guilt, frustration, and overwhelming expectations.

In this episode, Amy and family counselor Erin Cox dive into the challenges of holiday family dynamics: setting boundaries, splitting time between multiple households, managing difficult relatives, and trying to create a joyful season for our own kids without losing ourselves in the process.

We explore why returning home makes boundaries harder to keep, why the pressure ramps up this time of year, and how to stay grounded when everyone wants something from you. From travel burnout to critical parents, hosting fatigue, mismatched traditions, and even holiday pet drama, we’re talking through the real stories listeners shared — and how to protect your peace while still showing up with love.

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/fresh-take-erin-cox-on-navigating-family-drama-guilt-and-stress-at-the-holidays/

Amy and Margaret tackle one of women's most exhausting challenges: the nonstop onslaught of small asks, random requests,...
03/12/2025

Amy and Margaret tackle one of women's most exhausting challenges: the nonstop onslaught of small asks, random requests, invisible labor, and mental load that quietly drains them. They break down why saying "no” to additional responsibilities is not laziness, and why "just say no to" is actually not a realistic option in many situations.

Drawing on real-life examples, Amy and Margaret explore the emotional calculus behind every “yes,” the hidden costs of over-accommodating, and why moms often feel pressure to be endlessly available. They offer practical scripts, boundary strategies, and mindset shifts to help you pause before automatically agreeing, tolerate the discomfort of disappointing others, and value your own limits.

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/saying-no-is-also-work/

Is "helicopter parenting" actually a definable thing? Or is it just what we call parents who are being annoying? Overpar...
01/12/2025

Is "helicopter parenting" actually a definable thing? Or is it just what we call parents who are being annoying? Overparenting is something that it's easy to be judgey about in other people, and a lot harder to identify in ourselves. Parents have to help. It's what we're there for. So how do we manage without micromanaging?

In this episode, we discuss:
The conditions that trigger parental anxiety (probably the true cause of overattentive parenting)
Allowing struggles and disappointments to be part of our kids' journeys
How to discern for yourself if you're maybe helicoptering more than helping

https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/deep-dive-are-we-helping-or-are-we-helicoptering/

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