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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

46:20

Fresh Take: Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian...

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

2025/04/04

Even though there is more awareness about neurodivergence in today's world, there's still a lot most people don't know about what it's like parenting neurodivergent children. Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, and Adrian Wood, authors of the new book AUTISM OUT LOUD, discuss their individual journeys parenting a child with autism from diagnosis to young adulthood. Kate, Carrie, Adrian, and Margaret discuss: Figuring out what success looks like for your child with autism How an autism diagnosis

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48:46

Extremely Achievable Self-Care

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

2025/04/02

Let's face it—we moms need self-care options that don't cost a lot, take a lot of time, or require any childcare. The members of our Facebook group came through again with some excellent, easy, no-cost/low-cost forms of self-care that will help you take back a little bit of your day—and your sanity! Amy and Margaret discuss: Their favorite forms of easy self care Their opinions on pickles Stores that are extra fun even if you're only window shopping We love the sponsors that make this show

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38:34

DEEP DIVE: Is This Supposed to Be More Fun?

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

2025/03/31

This month's Deep Dive series is all about how much fun we are—or aren't—having while raising our kids. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. When parenting feels like all work and no play, we may resignedly think "Well, that's the way it's supposed to be." But if you feel like parenting is more draining than fulfilling, there are ways to bring more presence, joy, and fun into the mix. Amy and Margaret discuss: Why having fun as a family usually means doing what kids think is fun, which is not

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45:46

Fresh Take: Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg on...

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

2025/03/28

When we're the kinkeeper in our friend group—aka the one who organizes the get-togethers, remembers the birthdays, and sends out availability polls—it can get overwhelming, and we can even find ourselves resentful over it. Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg, hosts of the podcast "How to Be Fine," discuss how to approach conversations with friends about sharing the kinkeeping burden more evenly.Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg host the podcasts "By The Book" and "How to Be Fine." The current

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45:43

How to Be Connected (But Not Too Connected) with Our...

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

2025/03/26

We want to build a family that feels close and connected, but how do we know when the boundaries in our relationships are too porous? Here's what family enmeshment means, what it looks like, and how to look for signs of enmeshment in our relationships with our kids. Amy and Margaret discuss: The family systems theory and how it relates to enmeshment How clear boundaries create safety in relationships How enmeshment in family dynamics affects stress tolerability Here are links to some of

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46:18

DEEP DIVE: Does Having Kids Make Us Happy?

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

2025/03/24

This month's Deep Dive series is all about how much fun we are—or aren't—having while raising our kids. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. The world wants us to believe that having kids will bring us untold happiness. It's a love you've never known! Your life will never be the same! The reality is a little more complicated, and that can be quite confusing. As psychologist Jean Twenge points out, "Parents might believe that it's their fault when the transition to parenthood is difficult,

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46:45

Fresh Take: Jenny Wood

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

2025/03/21

How can moms feel empowered to make progress towards their personal and professional goals? Jenny Wood, author of the new book WILD COURAGE, offers tips for applying courage in your daily life, balancing personal ambitions with family responsibilities, and setting healthy boundaries.In her 18 years at Google, Jenny Wood grew from entry-level to executive. Jenny’s writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Inc., and Forbes. Jenny and Margaret discuss: The nine negative

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47:35

Family Meetings (and Why You Should Do Them)

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

2025/03/19

Does your quality time with your spouse sometimes/always devolve into discussions about finances, kids, or future plans? Here's how focused weekly meetings—both for our partnerships and for our families—can strengthen, deepen, and save the sanity of our relationships. Amy and Margaret discuss: How marriage/family check-ins improve the day-to-day health of relationships Best practices for successful marriage/family check-ins How they tailor their own marriage/family check-ins to work for

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37:07

DEEP DIVE: Is There Just Too Much Information?

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

2025/03/17

This month's Deep Dive series is about parenting through uncertainty. Listen to all of the episodes in the series with this Spotify playlist. “Information overload” is defined as the tipping point when the input of information exceeds an individual’s capacity to process it all. When we begin to feel overwhelmed and stressed by the amount of information that is available, we can end up feeling more stressed and overwhelmed than knowledgeable. For parents, the urge to find certainty through online

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38:54

Fresh Take: Mary Catherine Starr on Truly Sharing the...

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

2025/03/14

Women take on the lion's share of housework in heterosexual partnerships, and that gap in labor becomes a chasm once a child is born. Once Mom is the default parent, it becomes very difficult to even out the distribution of housework and parenting more equally. Mary Catherine Starr, author of the new book MAMA NEEDS A MINUTE, has renegotiated the distribution of labor in her own marriage post-kids and has tips for how other women can do the same. Mary Catherine Starr is an artist, graphic designer,

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45:51

How to Feel Less Starved for Time

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

2025/03/12

As moms, it feels like we're always crunched for time without a moment to ourselves in a given day. And that really takes its toll on our mental health. Here are some tips for getting more "time affluence" in your day—and no, it's not about being more productive! Time affluence is about structuring your to-do list so it feels more manageable and working time for yourself into the fabric of your day-to-day so that you're not going months without any me-time. Margaret and Amy discuss: The difference

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44:59

DEEP DIVE: Dealing With Uncertainty as a Parent

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

2025/03/10

This month's Deep Dive series is about parenting through uncertainty. Listen to all of the episodes in the series with this Spotify playlist. How do we prepare for a future that isn’t clear? How do we prepare our kids for their future when what that might look like is also unclear? Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of the parenting journey, but in this episode we’re talking about those really uncertain times: the “this might be nothing, but we’d like to run more tests” times. The “we actually

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39:52

Fresh Take: Nicole Graev Lipson

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

2025/03/07

How can women grapple with society's unattainable standards for beauty, femininity, and motherhood? Nicole Graev Lipson, author of the new book MOTHERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, discusses how she has started to divorce herself from these ideas and get more comfortable with uncertainty.Nicole Graev Lipson's essays have appeared in The Best American Essays 2024, The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, River Teeth, Fourth Genre, The Boston Globe, and more. Nicole, Amy, and

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49:17

BEST OF: So What Do You Do All Day?

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

2025/03/05

If you're a stay-at-home parent, how do you answer to the people who frequently– and annoyingly– ask, "So, what do you do all day?"A listener in our Facebook group posted? "During Covid, I quit my job and I’ve been home. I drive my kids to school, work out, and manage the house and family. I’m very happy and fulfilled, especially knowing that my eldest will be leaving for college soon, I’m soaking up this time. My problem is trying to explain this to others. I have a good college degree and worked

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42:43

DEEP DIVE: Brave Parenting in a Scary World

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

2025/03/03

This month's Deep Dive series is about parenting through uncertainty. Listen to all of the episodes in the series with this Spotify playlist. Gloria DeGaetano, parenting expert and founder of the Parent Coaching Institute, recently wrote: "There's almost not a word to express the stress parents are under right now. 'Overwhelmed' doesn't cut it. It's beyond anything we've ever experienced." This really is a strange and scary moment for all of us, and parenting through our own anxiety is proving a

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41:20

Fresh Take: Melanie Shankle

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

2025/02/28

How do we navigate raising children when we were not set a good example by our parents? Melanie Shankle, author of the new book HERE BE DRAGONS, discusses how we can disrupt the harmful parenting patterns that we grew up with and do better by our own children.Melanie Shankle is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, co-host of the podcast, The Big Boo Cast, and creator of The Big Mama blog. Melanie, Amy, and Margaret discuss: What Melanie's relationship with her own mother taught

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46:30

What We Call "People Pleasing" Might Really Be...

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

2025/02/26

"People pleaser" is usually both a gendered and pejorative term. Some people really do love taking on the lion's share of work in a given situation. Some people do it but are secretly resentful that they always have to spearhead endless event planning, committees, and get togethers. Here's what "people pleasing" really means and how to unwind yourself from it if it's getting to be too much. Amy and Margaret discuss: The actual definition of people pleasing versus how it's commonly used Demand

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26:16

HAPPY TO HELP free audiobook preview from libro.fm!

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

2025/02/25

The audiobook reviews of HAPPY TO HELP (written and read by our own Amy Wilson!) are in, and they're amazing. Libro.fm has chosen Happy to Help as a "Bookseller Pick," and this week they're giving What Fresh Hell listeners a free audiobook chapter! It's Amy's favorite essay in HAPPY TO HELP, and in the intro she explains why.Libro.fm's review comes from a bookseller at Alexandria on Main in Elkins, WV: “Did we just become best friends? I mean, seriously Amy, you absolutely nailed type A extrovert

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46:30

DEEP DIVE: When It's Okay To Be Emotional In Front of...

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

2025/02/24

This month's Deep Dive series is about parenting through uncertainty. Listen to all of the episodes in the series with this Spotify playlist. Is it okay for us to be emotional in front of our kids? Julie, one of our podcast listeners, asked this question in our Facebook group: Is it good for kiddos to see their moms have emotions? And how can we talk through our emotions with our kids? My grandmother lost her husband when my dad was 11 years old. She had four kids, no job. She had to take care of

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43:45

Fresh Take: Renee Reina, "The Mom Room"

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

2025/02/21

How do social media influencers themselves manage their expectations around parenting and their consumption of parenting content online? Renee Reina, creator and host of the "Mom Room" podcast, discusses how her ADHD diagnosis, her PhD in psychology, and her social media presence all shape her parenting. Renee, Amy, and Margaret discuss: How parenting norms have changed since they were children How Renee's ADHD diagnosis has impacted her work and her parenting How Renee manages her consumption of

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