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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

41:20

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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46:53

We Settle Your Arguments (Part 2)

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

2025/02/19

Did you know? Happy to Help is available on Audible- with Amy doing the narration! Should you brush your teeth with hot or cold water? Do you cut sandwiches horizontally or diagonally? How tightly should you screw on jar lids? We asked our listeners for their most longstanding, totally low-stakes disagreements with their spouse or parenting partner. And there were just too many juicy arguments for one episode! Here's part two of our final rulings on important topics. Join our Facebook group and be

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46:18

DEEP DIVE: Changing the Stories We Tell Ourselves

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

2025/02/17

This Deep Dive series is about reflecting on our trajectories as mothers - looking back, reflecting on where we are now, and thinking about the future. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. We are the protagonist in our own story, but what happens when we become the antagonist in stories we weren't even aware of? Or when we assign antagonist roles to unsuspecting partners or kids? Amy and Margaret discuss why we as humans need to tell ourselves stories, when the stories we tell ourselves might

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46:33

Fresh Take: Ashley Graber and Maria Evans on Raising...

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

2025/02/14

Anxiety is diagnosed much more frequently than it used to be; that goes for our kids as well. Our parental instincts are usually to reassure them, but as it turns out, that actually isn't the solution to making them worry less.Ashley Graber and Maria Evans, child and family psychotherapists and authors of the new book RAISING CALM KIDS IN A WORLD OF WORRY, explain how to have tough conversations with your child, and how to teach your child coping skills for their anxiety. In this episode Ashley,

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45:08

We Settle Your Arguments (Part 1)

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

2025/02/12

Did you know? Happy to Help is available on Audible- with Amy doing the narration! Should ketchup be refrigerated? Is dryer-lint cleaning a before or after job? We asked our listeners for their most longstanding, totally low-stakes disagreements with their spouse or parenting partner. In this episode, we render judgments. People, we're calling balls and strikes. Our determinations are final. Join our Facebook group and be part of our next episode! We love the sponsors that make this show possible

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46:34

DEEP DIVE: Is This a Midlife Crisis?

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

2025/02/10

This Deep Dive series is about reflecting on our trajectories as mothers - looking back, reflecting on where we are now, and thinking about the future. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify.What does it mean to have a midlife crisis? What exactly counts as "midlife," and (yikes) are we already in it? Can we avoid the disenchantment and the rash decision-making that stereotypically accompany such times in our lives? A listener in our Facebook group asked: "Who has been thru their midlife crisis

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46:01

Fresh Take: Neha Ruch, "The Power Pause"

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

2025/02/07

So many women feel that when they leave the workforce to become a stay-at-home parent, "Mom" becomes their primary and only identity. But Neha Ruch, author of the new book THE POWER PAUSE, reframes the shift from paid work to stay-at-home parenting—and sometimes back to the workforce— in a way that expands identity and possibilities for women going through these transitions. Neha, Amy, and Margaret discuss: Why the period of "stay at home momness" can be a great challenge to identity How the

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45:13

Multitasking: Turns Out We’re ALL Bad At It

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

2025/02/05

We're talking about some of the topics in Amy Wilson's new book HAPPY TO HELP. Get it in our Bookshop bookstore, or wherever you buy books! Ask most people if women are "just better" at multitasking, and they'll probably agree. Didn't some study say that at some point? Aren't women from Venus and men from Mars? Aren't our brains completely different? Here's what the research really says about multitasking. Turns out we may have been bamboozled into doing more work all this time WITHOUT being any

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47:03

DEEP DIVE: When It's Time To Pivot

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

2025/02/03

Amy Wilson's book Happy to Help is out now and available wherever you buy books! Join Amy and Margaret in Philadelphia and San Antonio in February 2025 for their latest "What Fresh Hell Live!" shows. For tickets, head to bit.ly/whatfreshhelltour. This Deep Dive series is about reflecting on our trajectories as mothers - looking back, reflecting on where we are now, and thinking about the future. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. For moms who want to make a change, whether it's returning to

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50:22

Fresh Take: Norah Lally

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

2025/01/31

How do our experiences in our families of origin shape our own parenting style? Norah Lally, author of the new book BACK TO BAINBRIDGE—and Margaret's best friend!—discusses her own experiences of becoming a mother to three children, born in very different circumstances.Norah Lally is a New York-born, Los Angeles-based writer. Her debut novel, Back to Bainbridge, was selected as an Editor’s Pick by BookLife at Publishers Weekly. Here's where you can find Norah: www.norahlally.com @norahlallywrites

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48:09

Our 2/1 "Back-to-Ones" for 2025

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

2025/01/29

You can find Amy's new book HAPPY TO HELP in hardcover, paperback, Ebook, and audiobook (read by Amy !) at bit.ly/happytohelpamazon or wherever you buy books!Have you already failed at achieving your lofty New Year's Resolutions that you set for 2025? The problem isn't you. It's that year after year we resolve to fix the same things about ourselves once and for all, rather than accept that what we really need are gentle resets—consistent, continuous, and without the feeling bad about ourselves

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47:59

DEEP DIVE: How Motherhood Changes Us

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

2025/01/27

Amy Wilson's book Happy to Help is out now and available wherever you buy books! Join Amy and Margaret in Philadelphia and San Antonio in February 2025 for their latest "What Fresh Hell Live!" shows. For tickets, head to bit.ly/whatfreshhelltour. This Deep Dive series is about reflecting on our trajectories as mothers - looking back, reflecting on where we are now, and thinking about the future. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. Becoming a mother changes everything about us. Literally: the

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43:07

Fresh Take: Nancy Reddy on "The Good Mother Myth"

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

2025/01/24

Many of us grew up believing in that women are particularly biologically designed to nurture—which means that a mother will immediately and instinctively know how to parent, be better at it than the other adults around her and the baby, and that she'd really prefer to do the caretaking work on her own.Nancy Reddy says all of that is THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH, and in her new book, uncovers the shoddy and old-fashioned science beneath our bad ideas about how to be a good mom. In this interview, Nancy and

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48:30

400 Just-Us Episodes! Looking Back, Looking Forward

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

2025/01/22

Happy to Help is available wherever you buy books, and at bit.ly/whatfreshhellamazon. Did you know Amy narrates the audiobook?This episode marks number 400 of Amy-and-Margaret conversations on "What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood." (There are also hundreds of "Fresh Take" interviews with experts and guests!) We're here this episode to reflect on the lessons learned and challenges faced along the way. We discuss: Our biggest parenting takeaways from eight years of this podcast How

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47:20

DEEP DIVE: Handling the News with Our Kids

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

2025/01/20

We’re sharing this excellent list of resources to support those affected by the California fires. This list was created by writer Sari Botton @saribotton:World Central Kitchen, providing meals in the area. Donate a Meal Mutual Aid Network L.A. GoFundMe Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation’s Wildfire Fund Project Hope (“actively distributing hygiene kits to displaced families and children, procuring high-need items for shelters and health clinics, supporting health workers administering

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43:04

Fresh Take: Mallory Thomas on How to Get Off Our Phones

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

2025/01/17

We've been talking about it on the podcast a ton recently: we need to spend less time on our phones. But willpower doesn't work, at least not for long. Writer and influencer Mallory Thomas, author of the romantic novel SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, explains the science behind our phone addiction and the strategies she put in place that actually worked.In this episode Mallory, Amy, and Margaret discuss: The "aha" moment when Mallory realized she had to decrease her screen time Understanding the

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