Motherhood Has Been Hacked With Amanda Hess

What if the thing you bought to keep your baby safe was actually preparing them for a lifetime of being watched?

This week we sit down with New York Times critic and author Amanda Hess to talk about the dark underbelly of parenting tech. From the SNOO to the Owlet sock to that creepy CGI fetus in your pregnancy app, we unpack how modern devices promise safety while quietly feeding our data, and our kids’ data, to the algorithm gods.

Amanda’s new book Second Life traces how technology has crept into every corner of motherhood, from tracking ovulation to surveilling toddlers, and how it’s reshaping what we think of as “good” parenting. We talk about the eugenic roots of menstrual tracking, how pregnancy apps manipulate your emotions, and what it means to grow attached to a hologram of a baby who isn’t yours.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever googled “is my baby breathing” at 3 a.m.

Get Amanda's book Second Life here.

Join our newsletter community here.

Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here.

Visit our lovely sponsors here.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices