This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!
Does it seem like just as much work to leave your kids behind for a couple of days as not to go in the first place? Do your instructions for family operational procedures during your absence run more than five pages?
Getting away from our kids—for work, for the weekend, for a friend’s 40th—isn’t just good for us. It’s also an opportunity for our kids to realize that “only Mommy” stuff they pull when we’re around is not as necessary as they might have thought.
Margaret and Amy discuss:
Why our kids may behave better when we aren’t around (and why it's not a bad thing)
Why the best time to call your kids when you travel is in the morning
How the instructions you leave behind can change as your kids grow
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Kari Bodnarchuk for The Boston Globe: Preparing Kids for When a Parent Travels
Smart Women Travelers: Keeping Mom’s Business Trip from Being Mom’s Guilt Trip
Our episode "We Forgot What Little Kids Were Like"
Kara Williams has great advice for vacationing with kids of all ages
What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fresh Take: Sara Hirsh Bordo on Autoimmunity and the Threat to Women's Health
2026/06/26 | 36 mins.
Why are autoimmune conditions so much more common in women? And does that have anything to do with the fact that those same conditions are misunderstood, under-researched, and accepted as things we just have to live with?
Sara Hirsh Bordo, author of the new book AUTOIMMUNITY AND THE GOOD GIRLS, discusses the questions that led her to examine the connection between women’s health, caregiving, stress, and identity.
After receiving her own autoimmune diagnoses, Sara began noticing that her fellow sufferers shared similar life patterns: especially eldest daughters, caretakers, and women raised to prioritize everyone else’s needs. That observation led her to fund original research exploring the relationship between girlhood experiences, cultural expectations, and autoimmune disease.
Amy and Sara discuss:
What autoimmune disease, means and why these conditions remain misunderstood
Hypotheses on why autoimmune diagnoses disproportionately affect women
The connection between caregiving roles, chronic stress, and the nervous system
How our life experiences can shape our long-term health
The difference between understanding mind-body connections and blaming ourselves when our bodies fail us
Why learning to receive care can be just as important as giving it
What it means to rewrite the stories that teach women to earn love through self-denial
This conversation explores a question many women may recognize: What happens when being “good” means becoming disconnected from your own needs?
Here's where you can find Sara:
https://autoimmunityandthegoodgirls.com
https://goodgirlsbook.com
@sarahirshbordo on IG
@sarahirshbordo on LinkedIn
Buy AUTOIMMUNITY AND THE GOOD GIRLS: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780063450660
What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why Family Vacations Feel Like Work (and How to Enjoy Them Anyway)
2026/06/24 | 47 mins.
Why is it that our own vacations never look like the perfect, happy families on the posters enjoying their destination without a sunburn, meltdown, or lost bag in sight? Here's how to manage expectations while traveling with kids and enjoy your trip, whatever it ends up looking like!
We share stories of Disney overwhelm, international travel wins and disasters, airport anxiety, and the unexpected moments that end up becoming the best parts of a vacation.
Topics include:
How age and stage affect what kind of travel works best
Traveling with neurodivergent kids and accommodating different needs
Helping anxious kids prepare for flights and unfamiliar places
How to adjust plans when travel stress and meltdowns happen
The moments kids remember most (hint: often not what you planned)
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
The Autism Community in Action blog: Traveling with Your Child with Autism
TSA Cares program
Bill Springer for Forbes Magazine: Kids Who Travel Do Better In School
What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
DEEP DIVE: Traveling as a Family
2026/06/22 | 45 mins.
This Deep Dive series is all about tips to stay sane while traveling with family —immediate or extended, kids younger or older in tow, across the state or across the globe!
We asked our listeners what advice they have for harmonious family traveling. Here are our favorite tips they shared, plus a few of our own, from how early to get to the airport to hitting the top kid-friendly site in Paris!
Amy and Margaret discuss:
How to communicate effectively with your spouse before traveling
Useful packing tips - here's the carry-on bag Amy loves
Vacation scheduling advice
How to include kids in planning vacations
What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables.
We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website:
https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fresh Take: Why Human Connection Matters in Medicine with Dr. Alan R. Cohen
2026/06/19 | 36 mins.
As technology improves medicine, and AI accelerates change, how do we maintain the human connection that must exist between doctor and patient?
Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Alan R. Cohen, author of the new book COMFORT ALWAYS, explains what he's learned in four decades of working with families in extremely intense situations, and how being a "humble physician" remains the most important part of his work.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why empathy is a skill worth intention and focus
The benefits and drawbacks of electronic medical records
Why parents' instincts remain a crucial part of their children's care
How to advocate for yourself with a disconnected provider
Why uncertainty is part of medicine—and part of life
About What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms
About What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms
About What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms
When you're a parent, every day brings a "fresh hell" to deal with. In other words, there's always something. Think of us as your funny mom friends who are here to remind you: you're not alone, and it won't always be this hard.
We're Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables, both busy moms of three kids, but with completely different parenting styles. Margaret is a laid-back to the max; Amy never met a spreadsheet or an organizational system she didn't like.
In each episode of "What Fresh Hell" we offer lots of laughs, but also practical advice, parenting strategies, and tips to empower you in your role as a mom. We explore self-help techniques, as well as ways to prioritize your own needs, combat stress, and despite the invisible workload we all deal with, find joy amidst the chaos of motherhood.
If you've ever wondered "why is my kid..." then one of us has probably been there, and we're here to tell you what we've learned along the way.
We unpack the behaviors and developmental stages of toddlers, tweens, and teenagers, providing insights into their actions and equipping you with effective parenting strategies.
We offer our best parenting tips and skills we've learned. We debate the techniques and studies that are everywhere for parents these days, and get to the bottom of what works best to raise happy, healthy, fairly well-behaved kids, while fostering a positive parent-child relationship.
If you're the default parent in your household, whether you're a busy mom juggling multiple pickups and dropoffs, or a first-time parent seeking guidance, this podcast is your trusted resource. Join our community of supportive mom friends laughing in the face of motherhood!
whatfreshhellpodcast.com
Listen to What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms, No Such Thing As A Fish and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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