Adult Conversation Parenting Podcast

Big-time podcaster and writer, Zibby Owens, stops by to discuss the challenges of motherhood, sibling age gaps, the illusion of motherly balance, how the pandemic has changed her parenting, and her favorite podcast interviews with A-Listers.

Writer and feminist, Zawn Villines, drops lots of (uncomfortable) truth about gender inequality bullshit in marriage and parenting. We discuss the thing she heard in a mom’s group that shocked her, the kind of man who cannot be “fixed,” an equitable solution that isn’t just leaving your marriage, and innovative ideas about what we do about these inequalities for ourselves and our children.

Author, Lyz Lenz, talks about what happened when she realized she was the only one supporting her dream, and how she finally got that equality she was seeking. Lyz also shares the dangers of marrying someone with political differences, how to negotiate the contract of marriage, and why it’s important to show our kids that there is no invisible lunch-making fairy. There are lots of laughs and divorce real talk here as well as a ha moments about our own mothers, and Lyz shows us why when life gives us lemons, we need to throw them at people’s heads.

My guest, Emily, and I talk about parenting a special needs child - the real deal of it, not just the saintly “special needs mother” archetype that can only be endlessly patient. Emily shares about her early motherhood journey and how she knew something was different with her daughter, the endless searching for answers, the lifelong theme of “othering” she’s felt, and the elevated expectations, stress, and beauty that parents of special needs kids live with. We also discuss recurrent grief when milestones aren’t being hit, how she broke apart while trying to hold it all together, and she explains what “heterospect” is.

Mom coach, Graeme Seabrook, and I discuss what I call “The Great Reckoning” that’s coming for us parents after the pandemic. We talk about what moms have lost most during the pandemic, unexpected side effects of returning to some normalcy, the summer ahead, and what Graeme sees coming up for moms after this wild year of emotional and logistical scrambling. And I also share a maddeningly relatable story about my teen and the violence that is wearing a belt.