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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

46:59

"Are You Mad at Me?" When Kids Live to Please

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

2025/01/15

Get Amy Wilson's new book HAPPY TO HELP at bit.ly/happytohelpamazon or wherever you buy books!It's a good thing to be aware of the emotions and needs of the people around us. For some kids, it can tip into hypersensitivity to others' emotions, people-pleasing behaviors, and asking if people are mad at them approximately twenty times a day. How can we help? (And is it way worse for girls?) In this episode, hosts Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables discuss: What empirical studies of gender differences in

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42:22

DEEP DIVE: Minor, Life-Changing Tips

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

2025/01/13

This month's Deep Dive series is all about useful tips we've acquired over the years! Listen to the whole series on this Spotify playlist. We asked our listeners what minor and yet life-changing advice they have to offer. From bringing Sharpies everywhere, to cleaning the shower in the shower, to milkshakes after doctors' appointments, our lives just got a whole lot better! Margaret and Amy discuss: The correct way to boil corn What really goes in the glove compartment (not gloves) Amy's

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49:00

Fresh Take: Tyler Moore, "Tidy Dad"

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

2025/01/10

Where do we even start when we feel like we're drowning in too much stuff? Tyler Moore, better known on Instagram as @tidydad, and author of the new book TIDY UP YOUR LIFE, discusses tips on dealing not only with clutter, but with the emotions that accompany it.Tyler and Amy discuss: Keeping only what supports your current life, freeing up space for what matters How to divide decluttering into seasons Why "easily tidied," and not "always tidied," is the real goal Here's where you can find

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47:52

Amy Wilson, "Happy to Help"

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

2025/01/08

In celebration of the launch of her new book, HAPPY TO HELP, in this episode Margaret gives Amy the interview treatment!Amy tells all about the process of writing this book, the hard times that really put her parenting to the test, and her eventual discovery that putting our own needs lower and lower down our list of priorities will never work well enough to forever-fix everything around us. You can find HAPPY TO HELP in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook (read by Amy !) at

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45:25

DEEP DIVE: The Most Important Things We've Learned...

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

2025/01/06

This month's Deep Dive series is all about useful tips we've acquired over the years! Listen to the whole series on this Spotify playlist. Happy 6th Anniversary to What Fresh Hell! In six years of doing this podcast, we've learned a lot, changed our minds, and watched our kids grow. This week we're talking about the most important things we've learned over the last six years, and what a privilege it is to be part of this incredible podcast community. Thanks for listening! Here are some things we

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42:14

BEST OF: Fresh Take: Amanda Montell and the Age of...

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

2025/01/03

Cognitive biases are self-deceptive thought patterns we all use to make sense of the world. In a world that makes less and less sense, Amanda Montell argues, humans have become more irrational than ever. In her new book THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING, Montell explains how our brains' coping mechanisms have become overloaded—and how to slow down our panic responses when the world becomes too overwhelming. Amanda, Amy, and Margaret discuss: How magical overthinking has manifested from the modern age

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47:24

BEST OF: What We're Taking Into The New Year (with...

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

2025/01/01

How can positive psychology help us create more of what we want for ourselves in this new year? Life coach Ann Imig takes Margaret and Amy through some of her coursework and tells us how to connect our already-existing personality strengths to more joy and well-being.Ann Imig is an award-winning writer, speaker, and performer, currently working as a certified positive psychology life coach. In 2010 she created the nationwide storytelling series and book titled Listen to Your Mother. Ann, Amy, and

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48:05

DEEP DIVE: The Most Useful Parenting Tips We Learned...

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

2024/12/30

This month's Deep Dive series is all about useful tips we've acquired over the years! Listen to the whole series on this Spotify playlist. Here are the parenting experts who changed our thinking the most, the listeners who made us laugh the most, and what we're going to carry with us into the new year. We also shout out the fantastic small team that makes What Fresh Hell and our podcast network, Adalyst Media, run so smoothly. All women, all amazing. Our listeners are amazing, too. Thank you for

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46:37

BEST OF: Fresh Take: Erin and Stephen Mitchell, "Too...

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

2024/12/27

Do you and your partner find yourselves talking past each other when arguing? Erin and Stephen Mitchell, authors of the new book TOO TIRED TO FIGHT, discuss how parenting can impact relationships (including their own!) and strategies to manage conflict and stay connected. Erin and Stephen Mitchell are the cofounders of Couples Counseling for Parents, a company focused on providing access to research-informed, psychologically sound online education for couples. Amy, Erin, and Stephen discuss: Why

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46:01

BEST OF: When Typical Parenting Advice Just Doesn't Fit

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

2024/12/25

What happens when the usual parenting advice feels zero-percent applicable to our own situation? The first step is to let go of any "second arrow" self-blame that that is the case. The second step is to chart our own paths.Amy and Margaret discuss: What types of kids may not benefit from the one-size-fits-all parenting advice Why the concept of default parenting advice is harmful Why kids "irritating behaviors" are signs that they are growing and learning appropriately Here are links to some

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52:21

HOLIDAY BEST OF: Holiday Fails

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

2024/12/23

We’re rerunning some of our favorite holiday episodes to keep you company while you do all the things this season. Listen to all of our holiday episodes in this Spotify playlist. Experts say happiness is often purer in the anticipation of an event. The reality can be a little more messy. And at no time of year is that sentiment more true than during the holiday season. We asked our listeners to tell us their holiday worsts, and in this episode we discuss them all, plus a few of our own. Hams glazed

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49:09

Fresh Take: Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, "The...

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

2024/12/20

Are teenagers destined to be bored by high school, or are we missing an important piece of the puzzle? Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of THE DISENGAGED TEEN, explain what's behind the teen disengagement crisis and how parents can act. Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist, author, and speaker with more than 25 years of experience. Rebecca Winthrop is the director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Jenny,

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48:39

How To Yell Less

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

2024/12/18

SHOULD we yell at our kids? No. Do we? Yes. Some of us perhaps a little too often. Kids are hardwired to push our buttons to get attention, and none of us are saints.But while verbal abuse is definitely horrible, hollering “you are about to miss the bus again” is perhaps a little more forgivable—and fixable, as it turns out. And it is definitely better to yell less, not just because you’ll have a more peaceful home, but because the more yelling your household has in it, the more it is likely to

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46:54

HOLIDAY BEST OF: It's the Most Everything Time of the...

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

2024/12/16

We’re rerunning some of our favorite holiday episodes to keep you company while you do all the things this season. Listen to all of our holiday episodes in this Spotify playlist. Are you juggling “dress as your favorite reindeer” day at preschool with frantic texts from your sister-in-law asking what your spouse wants for Christmas? Are you feeling like hiding under the covers instead of hitting the office holiday party? It’s the most everything time of the year, and women report the holidays as

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44:26

Fresh Take: Emily and Jason Morrow, "Really Very...

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

2024/12/13

Does being a crunchy mom mean milling your own flour and sending your kids to school barefoot? Emily and Jason Morrow, creators of Really Very Crunchy, discuss what inspired them to both embrace and riff on the crunchy lifestyle.Emily Morrow is a stay-at-home mom who created the social media channel "Really Very Crunchy" with her husband Jason in 2022. Emily, Jason, and Margaret discuss: What the crunchy lifestyle entails and why it's a spectrum How Emily and Jason got the inspiration to start

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47:01

Should Kids Do Chores?

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

2024/12/11

Engaging in regular household chores is a great way for kids to develop important life skills. But how can we take the time to teach kids how to do these chores while not making laundry day any more hectic than it already is?Amy and Margaret discuss: How regular chores help kids develop important skills Why "noticing" what needs to be done is just as important as actually doing it How to pick your battles when it comes to involving little kids in chores Here are links to some of the resources

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46:15

DEEP DIVE: Are You the 'Good Parent' or the 'Bad...

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

2024/12/09

This month's Deep Dive series is all about family dynamics. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. Are you the “bad parent” in your home? The enforcer of bedtimes, the keeper of deadlines, the stern shusher in the church pew? Or are you the “good parent,” the authority figure more likely to agree that time is a construct and that ice cream not only can, but should, be what’s for dinner? This week we’re breaking down how this dynamic plays out in each of our homes whether the primary caregiver

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46:17

Fresh Take: Vanessa Cornell on Putting Ourselves First

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

2024/12/06

What happens when mothers engage in the radical act of putting themselves first? Vanessa Cornell is the founder of NUSHU, a women’s community grounded in wellness and empowerment. In this interview she explains the importance of self-care for mothers, overcoming mom guilt, and nurturing children's independence.Vanessa and Amy discuss: The burnout that led Vanessa to found NUSHU Rejecting the "shoulds" as mothers (and women) and how to stay true to your authentic self How you can foster

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51:57

Holiday Goals: Less Doing, More Magic

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

2024/12/04

Today Parents is tackling this same topic this week—and our listeners' advice is quoted! Moms are challenging the idea that they are the sole keepers of holiday ‘magic’It's hard not to feel like we've got to be doing ALL the things at the holidays, especially when social media tells us we should be. Here are some tips for taking perspective at the holidays and operating in "high magic, low effort" mode. Co-hosts Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables discuss: pre-gaming with your (older) kids about the

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49:06

DEEP DIVE: Two Kinds of People: Family Debates

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

2024/12/02

This month's Deep Dive series is all about family dynamics. Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify. What are the consistent and ongoing family debates in your household? Our Facebook group came through with their most heated family debate topics, and this week we give the ultimate answer for questions like: Should dishes be rinsed clean before they go in the dishwasher? Is it acceptable to call someone after 8 pm? Is a garage for storing stuff, or for storing cars? When you're making a bed,

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