What Fresh Hell

episodes

Aug. 13, 2025

More Husband Crimes (Part One)

We return to the courtroom of everyday relationship annoyances in our "Husband Crimes" series. Listeners submit crimes perpetrated by their spouses, and we serve as (infallible) judge, jury, and executioner.

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Aug. 11, 2025

DEEP DIVE: Vanessa Kroll Bennett and Dr. Cara Natterson on Puberty

These days puberty starts sooner and lasts longer. That requires not one "The Talk," but a hundred small conversations. Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, co-authors of THIS IS SO AWKWARD, offer tips for getting started.

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Aug. 8, 2025

Fresh Take: Amy Larocca, HOW TO BE WELL

Journalist Amy Larocca, author of the new book HOW TO BE WELL, joins Amy and Margaret to unpack the $6.8T wellness industry: whether it’s just beauty and weight loss in disguise, how it particularly targets women, and how we can spare our daughters from it.

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Aug. 6, 2025

Why Kids Lie: What’s Normal, What’s Not, and What to Do

Is your kid lying more than you’d like? In this episode, we break down why kids lie, what’s developmentally appropriate (and when it’s not), and how to handle fibs—from “I didn’t eat the cake” to “my dad’s the CEO of American Airlines.”

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Aug. 4, 2025

DEEP DIVE: Your Tween, Explained

The word “tween” was popularized by marketers, who sold preteens stuff by treating them like they’re a lot older than they are. Which might explain why your kid is full of sass all of a sudden. But tweens’ brains really are different—here’s how.

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Aug. 1, 2025

Fresh Take: Rebecca Bloom, WHEN WOMEN GET SICK

Women face unique barriers in healthcare. Rebecca Bloom, author of the new book WHEN WOMEN GET SICK, joins Amy to share why this is true and what we can do about it.

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July 30, 2025

Is It Normal to Feel Jealous of Other Moms?

Feeling jealous of other moms? You’re not alone. Margaret and Amy unpack the real reasons behind mom envy, how shame makes it worse, and why naming it helps.

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July 28, 2025

DEEP DIVE: Best Advice for Dealing with Teenagers

How do we support our teenagers while providing them with firm yet reasonable boundaries? We asked our listeners for their best advice on raising teens, and they had so much great advice!

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July 25, 2025

Fresh Take: Shannon Watts, FIRED UP

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action and author of FIRED UP, shares how she reignited her life—and how listeners can too.

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July 23, 2025

Fresh Take: Genevieve Kingston, DID I EVER TELL YOU?

Genevieve Kingston, author of DID I EVER TELL YOU?, shares the extraordinary story of the chest full of letters and gifts her mother left her before dying of cancer just before Genevieve’s 12th birthday. Amy and Genevieve discuss how children grieve and the enduring power of maternal love.

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July 21, 2025

BEST OF: Kids with Big Imaginations

Can a kid ever have TOO good of an imagination? Does there come a time when we need to lead kids back to reality? Will they take their imaginary friends to prom if we don’t? Here’s why an overly active imagination is almost always a wonderful thing.

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July 18, 2025

What to Say to Our Kids When Bad Things Happen

How do we talk to our kids when tragedy strikes—whether close to home or far away? Amy and Margaret explore how to support children through scary news, sad events, and overwhelming emotions through ages and stages.

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July 16, 2025

When One of Our Kids Takes Up All of Our Bandwidth

What happens when one child dominates your parenting bandwidth—whether due to illness, behavior, or giftedness? We unpack the impact on family dynamics and how to recalibrate.

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July 14, 2025

BEST OF: Dumb Things We Thought When We Were Kids

What's the absolutely dumbest thing that you fully believed as a child? We asked our listeners, and share some of their—and our—most deeply held misbeliefs.

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July 11, 2025

Fresh Take: Danielle Bettmann on Positive Discipline

Parenting coach Danielle Bettmann shares how positive discipline can help parents of strong-willed or neurodivergent kids avoid power struggles and find calm, connection, and consistency.

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July 9, 2025

5 Conversations to Have with Your Kids This Summer

Amy and Margaret offer five important topics to discuss with your kids this summer, from online safety to growth mindset. We also provide you with plenty of other episodes we've done on these topics for further listening.

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July 7, 2025

BEST OF: Best Mom Lies Ever

Here are the mom lies that totally worked on our kids– or worked on us *as* kids. Whether it's the ice cream truck's “all gone” jingle, the "just sleeping” goldfish, or the broccoli factory field trip for kids who act up, these are our favorite fibs.

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July 4, 2025

Best of: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi on Raising Antiracists

It can feel scary to discuss racism with our kids. But it’s the best way for us to protect them from its harms– and as Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of HOW TO RAISE AN ANTIRACIST, explains, kids can approach this work more easily than we might expect.

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July 2, 2025

BEST OF: Grudges Held, Grudges Kept

We asked our listeners to tell us about their pettiest and most long-held grudges. From spelling-bee unfairness to pumpkin-farm price gouging, we spill the tea on our own petty grudges and share some of your most hilarious answers.

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June 30, 2025

DEEP DIVE: Francesca Royster on "Choosing Family"

Francesca Royster, author of the memoir CHOOSING FAMILY: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance, explains what it means to build a “chosen family” of friends, and how to parent while yearning for the world that we want, but don’t have yet.

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June 27, 2025

Fresh Take: Ramit Sethi, "Money for Couples"

Ramit Sethi, author of the book MONEY FOR COUPLES, joins Margaret to talk finances in marriages: why we avoid it, how to reframe it, and how to design a rich life together.

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June 25, 2025

Things Most People Think Are Hard (But Aren't)

Sometimes we never learn things because we think they're too hard. But we (and our listeners) are here to say that some of them aren't hard at all!

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June 23, 2025

DEEP DIVE: Ellen Kahn On Supporting Our LGBTQ Kids

Ellen Kahn is an expert on LGBTQ youth and family life. She tells us how parents can create a home environment that affirms and accepts LGBTQ children, and how we can advocate for LGBTQ kids in the larger world, whether they're our own kids or not.

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June 20, 2025

Fresh Take: Dr. Morgan Cutlip on Redistributing the Mental Load

Relationship expert Dr. Morgan Cutlip, author of the new book A BETTER SHARE, offers practical tools for reducing the mental load, improving intimacy, and creating a more equitable home—without the resentment.

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