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PODCAST

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

Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson

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

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

41:53

DEEP DIVE: When Kids Fight You on Everything

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/09/07

This Deep Dive series is all about reducing the friction between ourselves and our kids when trying to communicate with them, whether it's yelling less, finding real reasons for constant defiance, or picking our battles. We've all had times when our kids resist every. single. thing. you tell them to do. When is it part of a larger problem, and even if it's not, how do we manage the exhausting defiance? Amy and Margaret discuss: How to keep track of a kid's defiance in order to figure out

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40:25

BEST OF: How to Make the Back-to-School Transition a...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/09/04

Back-to-school season doesn’t have to be a chaotic scramble. In this "Best of" episode, Margaret and Amy share practical tips to help parents make the transition smoother—without getting caught up in the “back-to-school industrial complex.” From resetting sleep schedules to planning meals and snacks, here's what really matters for your child’s success and well-being this fall. You’ll hear strategies for easing morning stress, tackling "after-school restraint collapse,” and checking in on your

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42:10

Overfunctioning

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/09/02

Overfunctioning is usually defined as taking on excess responsibility for other people’s feelings, issues, and tasks. And it's usually presumed to be tied to anxiety. IF someone's overfunctioning, it's either a symptom of or cause of the panic assumed to be lying just underneath. But are we "overfunctioning" when we're doing our absolutely regular amount of way-too-much as a parent? Does anxiety have to have anything to do with it? In this episode, we're talking about the stress that comes

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33:09

DEEP DIVE: Jennifer Wallace on Achievement Pressure

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/31

This "Deep Dive" series revisits a few of our past episodes on back-to-school challenges such as the morning rush, school projects which require lots of parental oversight, and how to help our kids navigate intensifying academic pressure.Two recent national studies underlined that there's a surprising group of children at risk for worse mental health outcomes: kids who go to high-achieving schools. How do we protect our kids from the pressures all around them to succeed at any cost? ⁠Jennifer

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39:13

Fresh Take: Dr. Stuart Slavin on The Pressures...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/28

What if the proven decline in the mental health of today's adolescents isn't just about phones and screen time? What if academic pressure and "achievement culture" is the real driver of the increase in anxiety and depression today's teens are experiencing? Dr. Stuart Slavin, pediatrician and author of THE SUCCESS TRAP, explains just how widespread academic pressure and "achievement culture" in the United States has become— not just in fancy schools on the coasts, and not just in high school,

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42:56

How Much Should We Share With Our Kids?

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/26

When is it useful for our kids to hear about our own life experiences—including situations caused by our own bad decision-making? When does it become oversharing, or get too personal or inappropriate? We discuss how to know how much to tell our kids, and how to have useful difficult conversations, including: our own past choices around drinking, drugs, and sexual activity the family secrets that may be part of our history traumatic and difficult experiences: how do you get across

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33:46

DEEP DIVE: Linda Flanagan on Taking Back Kids' Sports

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/24

This "Deep Dive" series revisits a few of our past episodes on back-to-school challenges such as the morning rush, school projects which require lots of parental oversight, and how to help our kids navigate intensifying academic pressure.Linda Flanagan is a journalist, researcher, and a former cross-country and track coach. She's also a founding board member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and an Advisory Group member for the Aspen Institute’s Reimagining Sports initiative.Flanagan's book is

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35:37

Fresh Take: Dr. Lucy McBride on Advocating for...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/21

What does it really mean to become an active participant in the care of your own health? In this episode, Margaret talks with primary care physician Dr. Lucy McBride about her new book, Beyond the Prescription: A Doctor’s Guide to Taking Charge of Your Health. They discuss how to become a more self-aware and empowered patient, as well as: The difference between medicine and "wellness" Why data is less useful without full context How stress and grief can affect physical health The

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42:43

Outsourcing the Workload: How to Hand Stuff Over

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/19

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter!⁠ Feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done? If you're the person who keeps track of the appointments, school forms, groceries, household repairs, gifts, kids' activities, and all the little things that seem to live permanently in your head, you may not need to get better at managing your workload—you may need to outsource some of it. We tackle a listener question about how to outsource the household workload without having pockets deep enough

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42:25

DEEP DIVE: Are Our Kids Overscheduled?

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/17

This "Deep Dive" series revisits a few of our past episodes on back-to-school challenges such as the morning rush, school projects which require lots of parental oversight, and how to help our kids navigate intensifying academic pressure.So many of us spend hours chauffeuring our kids back and forth to their myriad activities. Why are kids so overloaded with activities these days, and can we get off of this ride? Here are some parenting strategies for navigating this issue. Amy and Margaret

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33:23

Fresh Take: Dr. Özgür Bolat on the Real Science of...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/14

We think of rewarding kids as a surefire way to get the behavior we want. But what if rewards mainly serve to underline our children's intrinsic drive to succeed? Dr. Özgür Bolat, education scientist and author of The Reward Trap: Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science for Motivating Kids, explains why rewarding kids may actually undermine their motivation in the long run. As Dr. Bolat explains, there's a difference between motivation and compliance. Rewards can get children to do something,

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43:00

Helping Our Kids Feel Seen

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/12

What happens when one child’s needs take up most of a family’s attention? Even when parents are doing their best, it can be easy for another child to quietly become the “easy” one—the independent kid, the high achiever, the people-pleaser who never seems to need anything.In this episode, we discuss: What the term glass child means and why some children can become overlooked How hyperindependence can be both a strength and a sign that a child doesn't feel comfortable asking for help Why

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48:38

DEEP DIVE: When School Projects Become Parents'...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/10

This "Deep Dive" series revisits a few of our past episodes on back-to-school challenges such as the morning rush, school projects which require lots of parental oversight, and how to help our kids navigate intensifying academic pressure.Whether it’s the science fair, the pinewood derby, or a pre-K shoebox diorama, sooner or later every kid gets assigned a school project that is, without question, a PARENTS' project. What four-year-old can fashion her own “Dress As Your Patron Saint” costume? What

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42:45

Fresh Take: Michael McLeod on ADHD and Executive...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/07

Kids (and adults) with ADHD don't actually have a deficit of attention. Today, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is more properly understood as a deficit of executive function— and as this week's guest ⁠Michael McLeod⁠, founder of GrowNOW ADHD and author of ⁠THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTION PLAYBOOK⁠, explains, executive function means a whole lot more than a messy backpack. To help kids with ADHD succeed, Michael argues, parents need to help children strengthen the internal skills that lead to

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43:28

People Must Be Pretending to Enjoy This

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/05

Are you certain that people are only pretending to enjoy cilantro? Or mah jongg? We asked our listeners to tell us the things they're convinced no one actually likes. From complicated board games to high school graduations, we discuss the most nominated to be overrated.Here's the link to all of the hilarious answers people gave in our Facebook group! 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

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41:03

DEEP DIVE: Back-to-School Back-to-Ones

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/08/03

This "Deep Dive" series revisits a few of our past episodes on back-to-school challenges such as the morning rush, school projects which require lots of parental oversight, and how to help our kids navigate intensifying academic pressure.Getting-ready playlists? Choosing outfits the night before? Bringing snacks to the pickup line? We asked our audience about their favorite back-to-school tips... and we also allowed some venting about back-to-school craziness as well. Amy and Margaret

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41:16

Fresh Take: Kristen McNeely on Helping Kids Overcome...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/07/31

Childhood anxiety is on the rise. Parents are often unsure how to respond, and in their well-intentioned efforts to reassure their kids, can sometimes reinforce the anxious patterns. In this interview Kristen McNeely, LMFT, explains how parents can start to help their kids build resilience by taking small, manageable steps toward the things that might scare them. We also discuss school refusal—why it's more complicated than simply not wanting to go to school; the warning signs parents should

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45:12

Everything You've Always Wanted to Ask A...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/07/29

All too often, we leave our kids' pediatric appointments only to remember what we really wanted to ask when we're on the drive home. Fear not: Dr. Mary Martin is in, and she's answering all our burning pediatric-medicine questions. Margaret and Dr. Mary Martin cover all the the topics most likely fill parents' search histories and social media feeds, separating medical facts from internet misinformation and offering practical, judgment-free advice. You'll learn: How to navigate vaccine

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46:37

DEEP DIVE: Emily Cherkin on Tech-Intentional Parenting

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/07/27

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. Is screen use a daily battle of wills in your house? ⁠Emily Cherkin⁠, author of the new book ⁠"THE SCREENTIME SOLUTION: A Judgment-Free Guide to Becoming a Tech-Intentional Family,"⁠ explains how to model a healthy relationship with tech for

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41:22

Fresh Take: Dan Heath on Fulfilling Careers, Better...

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making... ·

2026/07/24

What does it really take to build a fulfilling life—and how do we help our kids do the same? Bestselling author and host of the podcast "What It's Like to Be..." Dan Heath joins Amy for a conversation that challenges some of the biggest assumptions parents make about success, careers, decision making, and what their kids will remember most about growing up. Dan shares why meaningful work often comes from unexpected places and why room for experimentation and exploration is one of the greatest

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423 results

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