College Kids Who Refuse to Party with Deborah Goldstein

In this quick-hit snack episode, Parenting is a Joke host Ophira Eisenberg reconnects with Deborah Goldstein, creator and host of the kids’ podcast The Big Fib, for a sharp and funny follow-up conversation about parenting, lying, and letting go. Deborah shares her experience raising two sons through the awkward "dumb liar" phase—like when one claimed he “found” a cow magnet stuck to a stranger’s car—and reflects on how surprisingly uptight her kids turned out despite her own rebellious youth. She and Ophira bond over the absurdity of structured parenting philosophies and the pressure to sign kids up for every activity, only to wonder if they’re overdoing it. They talk about screen addiction, anime, Dungeons & Dragons-style games, and the quest to let kids “find their thing”—even if it’s not what you had in mind. Deborah admits to being a rigid parent who now wishes her kids swore more, while Ophira jokes about dragging her child back to a birthday party to return stolen plastic gems. The episode wraps with a message many parents need to hear: loosen your grip, have faith, and remember—they probably won’t remember any of this anyway.

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