The Mother of it All

May 20 2024 12
The Mother of it All Podcast artwork

We are Miranda Rake and Sarah Wheeler, two friends, mothers and professional writers on the parenting beat. The Mother of it All is our place to go deep into the culture of modern motherhood and have the conversations that truly challenge, feed and excite us. Expect warmth, humor and over-considered takes on hot topics, fresh takes on old ones, expert guests and good times. We're diving into the grey areas beyond the tropes — the wine moms, the rage moms, the anything moms — and instead spending real time with the ideas that help us grow as mothers and people in this cultural moment.

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EPISODE 22: Screen Time with Phil Maciak

May 20 2024 82 mins  
Sarah and Miranda host their first dad, cultural critic Phillip Maciak, and dig into screen time, shame, nostalgia, hugs, and multi-level marketing for second-graders. Links:Phil’s book, Avidly Reads Screen TimePhil on InstagramPhil’s review of Season 2 of the Bear in The New RepublicThe NOLA Pelicans’ King Cake Baby mascotThe Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtStephanie Mur

EPISODE 21: The Mothers of the Mother of it All

May 12 2024 70 mins  
Sarah and Miranda are joined by their moms, Bev and Linda, to talk about modern motherhood, what has and hasn’t changed in a generation, “Folly Fridays,” and whether mothers ever truly get their flowers.Links:* Terry Brazelton* Lydia Kiesling’s Golden State Get full access to The Mother Of It All at motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

EPISODE 20: 'Matrescence' Is Not A Dirty Word with Lucy Jones

May 06 2024 72 mins  
Sarah and Miranda talk to Lucy Jones, author of the book Matrescence, out May 7th, about how becoming a mother is truly a biopsychosocial evolution, how motherhood in nature is more often about chaos and violence than dyads and instincts, Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and our favorite Bluey episodes.Links:Order Lucy’s book, MatrescenceAlexandra Sacks’ The Birth of a Mother in the NY

Episode 19: Who's The Beef?! Sarah & Miranda Talk Vasectomies, Turning 40 & The 3rd Kid Question

Apr 22 2024 54 mins  
A little one-on-one time with Sarah and Miranda! A fun chit-chatty check-in about vasectomies, the third kid question, the weird pressure of turning 40, why Sarah "doesn't get" Hawaii, mole moms, hopping on the 'crone train, and calendar reminders gone wild. Plus, a big announcement! How To Catch A Mole by Marc HamerPoser by Claire DedererKrtek The Mole, Clementin

Episode 18: Dr Becky and The Parenting-Optimization Era, With Kathryn Jezer-Morton

Apr 08 2024 45 mins  
Columnist and sociologist Kathryn Jezer-Morton returns to give the inside scoop on her recent profile of Dr. Becky. Sarah, Miranda and KJM dive deep into what’s great (and maybe no so great) about the advice Dr. Becky doles out, and Kathryn explains what ultimately surprised her most about spending time with Dr. Becky and the “Good Inside” parent community. Links: KJM’s NY

Episode 17 : Rebecca Kronman on Parenting and Psychedelics

Apr 01 2024 67 mins  
Sarah and Miranda are joined by Rebecca Kronman, a licensed clinical social worker and co-founder of Plant Parenthood, a community that explores the intersection of psychedelics and the family. She talks about the importance of set and setting, the false dichotomy between healing and joy, and about how psychedelics help some parents heal intergenerational trauma and connect more ea

MARCH MOVIE CLUB: Janet Manley on Tully & The Power of Postpartum Ghost Stories

Mar 29 2024 51 mins  
LitHub contributing editor Janet Manley joins us to talk about the postpartum comedy with a horror twist that started it all, 2018’s Tully. We discuss how the conversation around the postpartum period has changed in six years, what the New York Times got wrong about this film, and what we would go back and offer our postpartum selves.Links: Janet’s newsletter, Kafka’s Baby Ja

Episode 16: Lydia Kiesling On Gaza, American Motherhood & Activism

Mar 25 2024 62 mins  
With author and essayist Lydia Kiesling, we talk about the conflict in Gaza, which has taken the lives of tens of thousands of our fellow mothers and their children. We explore the ways that motherhood has the potential to awaken activism, about feeling frozen, helpless or overwhelmed, as well as how we can take our tender hearts and protective instincts and direct them towards act

Episode 15: Emily Gould On Marriage & the Divorce Discourse

Mar 18 2024 67 mins  
Author and New York Magazine writer Emily Gould joins Sarah and Miranda to discuss her controversial personal essay, The Lure of Divorce, published in The Cut last month. We tackle the current divorce discourse, the work it takes to support our own mental health, what it’s like to write so intimately and so publicly at the same time, and whether it’s “basic” to be married r

Episode 14: Priya Joi On Mothering, Race & Identity

Mar 04 2024 63 mins  
Sarah and Miranda are joined by Priya Joi, a Barcelona-based science journalist and the author of the memoir M(other)land: What I’ve Learned About Parenthood, Race, and Identity. Joi was born in the UK, spent part of her childhood in India, and is raising her own daughter in Barcelona. In this episode we explore how motherhood made questions of race, belonging and identity that J