The Mother Of It All

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit motherofitall.substack.comSarah and I will be back in force for Season 4 (!) in September, but for now, here’s a little summer treat for you beautiful paid subscribers! Sarah is on summer break but will be back with the new season, not to worry. Known to many as ‘the voice of our generation,’ writer, lovely human, and icon of millennial motherhood Meaghan O'Connell joins Miranda for an casual, c…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit motherofitall.substack.comSarah and I check in about how summer is treating us so far. We wonder about nostalgia for imagined summers of the past where kids were a certain kind of sweaty, dirty, healthy bored rather than annoying-whining-and-begging-for-screens bored. Is long, lazy, shapeless summer within reach for parents in 2026? If so, how do we grab it? Plus: Each of our TO…

The author of The Cut’s Brooding column returns to roll out version 2.0 of “friction-maxxing,” the term that went viral earlier this year and earned her her first Wikipedia page. We talk AI, why she will die on the “turn off location your sharing” hill and the “slurrification” of time to which we are all passively consenting. Plus, the lies we tell ourselves about sleeping arrangements at the AirBnb and new shows, books, and movies!LINKS: * Kathryn’s new book, The Story Of Your Life* In 2026, We Are Friction-Maxxing (The Cut) * Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother* Zach Galifinakis’ show, This Is A Gardening Show* Taskmaster (Sarah’s recommends Series 4)* Claire Dederer’s Poser* Adult Braces on audio and the discourse around Adult Braces* Brawler by Lauren GroffIf you love the work we do, please consider becoming a ✨paid subscriber✨ on substack. Paid subscribers get access to everything behind the paywall, like subscriber-only episodes, book reviews and more. Or, support us by following, sharing or reviewing our show here and everywhere else you listen to podcasts you love. Thank you!Visit our Bookshop storefront to find all the books we’ve mentioned here and in previous episodes. When you shop there, we get a small affiliate fee (thank you!).You can follow the podcast on Instagram (@themotherofitall). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

As part of a feature series with local bay area radio station KALW, Berkeley-based poet Rachel Richardson joins Sarah and Miranda for a LIVE recording of The Mother Of It All podcast. We talk about the state of the cultural conversation around motherhood in general, whether poetry about motherhood counts as serious poetry, and celebrate our 100th episode. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit motherofitall.substack.comDid you hear?! We’re recording our 100th episode LIVE in San Francisco on May 8th as part of a series with KALW (91.7 FM). Get tickets your here! We will be joined by Berkeley-based poet Rachel Richardson, and KALW will be airing excerpts from our show all week long leading up to the live event.In this episode for our lovely paid subscribers (thank you…

Julia Cooke, author and journalist known for narrative non-fiction about women’s histories, discusses three trailblazing women reporters. Short takes on maternal ambivalence, the woman’s gaze, and how restlessness, roaming, and wartime reporting reshaped careers. They consider erased fame, female support networks, and fraught choices about childcare and work.

Nina Bandelj, sociology professor at UC Irvine and author of Overinvested, studies how parenting has been economized and emotionalized. She explores children as human capital, privatized parenting, rising costs and inequality. The conversation examines parental sacrifice, burnout, and how cultural norms shape what we do for kids.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit motherofitall.substack.comPaid subscribers, this one’s for you! We explore the question of whether or not we do too many things from many angles. If you find yourself responding to PTA emails at 3 in the morning, does that mean you’re 100% for sure doing too many things? What if it doesn’t!? Should we consider switching to AI friendships in order to save time? Also: * Longing for …

Kaitlyn Teer joins us again! This time, she’s here to talk about her new book, Little Apocalypses; Essays on Motherhood, Climate Change, and Hope at the End of the World. The book is kaleidoscopic and specific all at once, and we both loved it, even though it’s full of heavy stuff about climate grief and how much we’ve already lost. In this episode, there are so many moments of discovery, including a long chat about the powerful, fantastic phrases that Teer built the book of essays around. As a teaser, here are some of the ideas we explore: * Muscular hope* Maternal ecodistress* Green third shift* Maternal time* Ecological compassion * Apocalyptic mindfulnessAnd much more in this inspiring conversation about care, climate, activism and how we can show up for our children as we face a changed planet, together. Links:* Sarah on Jodeci’s Feenin’ * Your Local Epidemiologist * Maternal Ecodistress* Pre-order Kaitlyn’s book, Little Apocalypses * Sunaura Taylor’s Disabled Ecologies * Parents Guide to Climate RevolutionIf you love the work we do, please consider becoming a ✨paid subscriber✨ on substack. Paid subscribers get access to everything behind the paywall, like subscriber-only episodes, book reviews and more. Or, support us by following, sharing or reviewing our show here and everywhere else you listen to podcasts you love. Thank you!Visit our Bookshop storefront to find all the books we’ve mentioned here and in previous episodes. When you shop there, we get a small affiliate fee (thank you!).You can follow the podcast on Instagram (@themotherofitall). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

We welcome Amil for her THIRD Mother of it All appearance, where she gives a moving eulogy for the career ambition that has died out for her as she’s gotten older and had more kids. We also talk shitty teenaged jobs, perimenopausal sex drive, what we think our kids are learning about money and work, and the new Muppets Show. Links:* Life After Ambition by Amil Niazi* Want to Change Careers? Three People Share Their Success Stories (via Big Salad) * Find a perimenopause-aware practitioner via The Menopause Society * Mark Rober Crunch Labs box* The new Muppet Show (Disney) If you love the work we do, please consider becoming a ✨paid subscriber✨ on substack. Paid subscribers get access to everything behind the paywall, like subscriber-only episodes, book reviews and more. Or, support us by following, sharing or reviewing our show here and everywhere else you listen to podcasts you love. Thank you!Visit our Bookshop storefront to find all the books we’ve mentioned here and in previous episodes. When you shop there, we get a small affiliate fee (thank you!).You can follow the podcast on Instagram (@themotherofitall). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe