Parenting is a Joke

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Laura Benanti Is Not Asking for Permission, Thanks Aug 19, 2025

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In this special rerun of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg welcomes the multitalented Tony Award-winning star Laura Benanti for a conversation that’s both unforgettable and fiercely real. Laura opens up about the high-wire act of being a working performer and a parent, sharing stories from her early Broadway debut at 18 to the surprising joys of suburban life in New Jersey. She talks about negotiating equity in her marriage, resisting outdated gender expectations, and the invisible labor of motherhood—even when you're the family breadwinner. Laura also shares her experience with postpartum depression and multiple miscarriages, including a deeply personal account of suffering a miscarriage while performing on a cruise ship, with her six-year-old daughter singing beside her. She reflects on the lack of public dialogue around pregnancy loss and why she felt compelled to speak out. The episode touches on ghost stories, crystal wands, and her daughter’s Halloween exposure therapy via a 12-foot skeleton. Plus, hear how Laura turned texts with a friend into the hilarious and empowering book M Is for Mama (and also Merlot)—written for moms who are tired of the prairie-dress fantasy. The phrase “medical disappointment” might just become your new go-to for life’s curveballs.

📍August Shows are Ohio, Atlanta, and NY!

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Why Dating Dads Is the New Hot with Erin Keating Aug 12, 2025

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In this snack-sized episode, Ophira Eisenberg reconnects with Erin Keating, host of Hotter Than Ever, for a raw, funny, and wildly relatable look at how a hospital stay during the pandemic catalyzed a total life reinvention. After being hospitalized with COVID pneumonia, Erin had what she describes as a Canyon Ranch-level spa break—complete with flowers from work, no interruptions, and the radical realization that she was deeply unhappy. Within a year, she turned 50, ended her long marriage, got laid off, and found herself with a clean slate—and a hot French guy in Italy. Erin shares how she eased into dating after a decade without sex, discovering an unexpectedly wide fanbase of 20-year-olds, truckers, and professors. She talks about reentering parenting as her central identity, navigating co-parenting with her ex, and discovering that her kids actually did better with less conflict in the house—even her son admitted it felt “better” post-divorce. Erin opens up about friends-with-benefits, falling in love with someone who didn’t want to be a stepdad, and why dating dads now feels like the sweet spot. She wraps by describing how her 14-year-old daughter once came out… as straight, following an earlier bisexual declaration. Erin’s evolution, like her dating profile, has range—and the spa metaphor still holds: sometimes you check in with pneumonia and check out with your whole life reset.

📍August Shows are Ohio, Atlanta, and NY!

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Erin Keating is Constantly Buying Footballs and Shoes Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with her longtime friend Erin Keating—former television executive, mom of teenage twins, and host of the podcast Hotter Than Ever—for a conversation that spans from IVF dolphin omens to teen fashion battles. Erin shares how a gamified approach to online dating led to meeting her now ex-husband (he was date #5 out of a planned 10), and how her determination during fertility treatments turned her into what she calls a “warrior” with a 4-a-week Upper East Side IUI commute. The IVF worked, and during a Cape May trip, she and her then-husband spotted twin dolphins—just days before finding out they were expecting twins (actual human ones, not more dolphins). Erin recounts birthing her 14-pound combined children—one lounging transverse, the other breech—and how their differing in-utero layouts led to years of bunk-bed metaphors and a dead-on prediction of their teenage eating habits. She reflects on co-parenting after divorce, her son’s hyperfocus (he once used her credit card to buy digital Valorant weapons), and why she’s proudly never read a parenting book. Erin’s philosophy? Lead with love, skip the playlists, and make your teen send the follow-up email after their camp counselor interview. And yes, she confirms: Brooklyn in 2011 really was the twin capital of the world.

📍August Shows are Ohio, Atlanta, and NY!

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Rachael Price Sings The Wheels on the Tourbus Go Round and Round Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg talks with powerhouse vocalist and soon-to-be mom Rachael Price—lead singer of Lake Street Dive—about performing while pregnant, planning a tour around a due date, and preparing to raise a baby on the road. Rachael shares what it was like touring with the band into her third trimester, including maternity Spanx, food poisoning that almost led to a canceled show, and the unexpected wave of emotion before her final pre-baby concert. She opens up about the confusing abyss of Instagram parenting “advice,” why her cloth diaper ambitions may be short-lived, and how her birth plan has already been demoted to a set of “hopes.” They discuss sustainable touring, parenting in small spaces, and the surreal moment of announcing a pregnancy during a band meeting like a corporate HR update. Rachael also reflects on growing up with a musician dad and traveling with choirs as an 11-year-old—training that’s come full circle as she now plans to hit the road with her daughter and a rotating support team that might include a nanny, her mom, or a very sleepy band mate.

📍 July Shows are in NYC, Nantucket, MA, Aruba, Calgary, Alberta, Canmore, Alberta, Saratoga Springs, NY!

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Nine-Year-Olds are Friendly Exterestials with Chris Duffy Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

In this snack-sized episode, Ophira Eisenberg reconnects with comedian, author, and How to Be a Better Human podcast host Chris Duffy for a rapid-fire chat covering the unexpected overlaps between parenting and comedy. Chris reflects on his years as a fifth-grade teacher, including a moment when a student earnestly asked—in front of the class—if having “huge balls” was a medical concern. The two swap stories about bedtime existentialism, the silent pressure of sleep training success, and the social minefields of modern parenting advice (including unsolicited high-fives from strangers about home births). Chris shares why he’s terrified his kid might become a hypebeast influencer, and admits he’s never called an Uber with his child for fear it might tank his 5-star rider rating. This mini-episode wraps with Chris’s pitch for a premium Uber Labor tier—and his confession that he still hasn’t recovered from laughing at a fourth grader’s joke about rejection checkboxes.

📍 July Shows are in NYC, Nantucket, MA, Aruba, Calgary, Alberta, Canmore, Alberta, Saratoga Springs, NY!

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Find Chris Duffy’s podcast How to Be a Better Human wherever you get your podcasts

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Chris Duffy is a Large Baby With a Beard Jul 22, 2025

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In this episode of Parenting is a Joke, host Ophira Eisenberg sits down with comedian, writer, and podcast host Chris Duffy to unpack the joys and absurdities of raising a toddler while maintaining a creative career. Chris shares how his “fun mom energy” has defined him since high school, his past life as a babysitter and fifth-grade teacher, and the surreal experience of writing jokes for Dan Rather during his first TV writing job. He reflects on the lack of nuanced parenting books for dads and explains why most advice boils down to: “Are you willing to let the baby cry?” Ophira and Chris swap stories about parenting-induced identity crises, obsessive marker-capping, and the complicated trade-offs between artistic ambition and hands-on parenting. Chris also reveals the emotional reason he starts his popular Brightspots newsletter with a disclaimer, and explains how his podcast How to Be a Better Human tries to offer comfort, not homework. The episode ends with Chris’ hard-won realization: he’s basically just a large baby with a beard.

📍 July Shows are in NYC, Nantucket, MA, Aruba, Calgary, Alberta, Canmore, Alberta, Saratoga Springs, NY!

Follow Chris Duffy: https://www.instagram.com/chrisiduffy/

Find Chris Duffy’s podcast How to Be a Better Human wherever you get your podcasts

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Writing Novels on the Toilet (Literally) with Jo Piazza Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

In this snack-sized episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg is joined once again by author and podcast host Jo Piazza for a conversation that hits on the real logistics of being a working parent with no time for “manifesting” or gentle parenting platitudes. Jo explains how her background as a tabloid journalist trained her to write anywhere—including from the toilet while hiding from her kids—and how that skill helped her crank out her latest novel, Everyone Is Lying to You, in just three months. They talk about what it actually takes to get creative work done while raising kids (hint: discipline, childcare, and no scrolling), and how Jo structures her mornings around laser-focused word counts. She shares what it was like traveling through Sicily with a 5-month-old while researching a real-life family murder, and why her new dream is a European river cruise where no one has to pack and repack. The two also compare cultural attitudes toward parenting, with Jo recalling how an Italian stranger followed her into a bathroom just to offer her a pillow and a glass of wine. And when it comes to American parenting, Jo offers the most honest take of all: she doesn’t gentle parent—because her kids aren’t gentle.

📍 July Shows are in NYC, Nantucket, MA, Aruba, Calgary, Alberta, Canmore, Alberta, Saratoga Springs, NY!

Follow Jo Piazza: https://www.instagram.com/jopiazzaauthor/

Buy Jo’s New Book Everyone is Lying to You: https://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Lying-You-Thriller-Piazza/dp/B0DJCSHC1G

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Jo Piazza Knows Everyone is Lying to You Jul 15, 2025

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On this episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg talks with bestselling author and Under the Influence podcast host Jo Piazza about parenting three young kids while juggling a prolific writing career. Jo shares the moment she realized she was pregnant (it involved an Elton John concert and tequila), why she can’t stand chickens, and how her latest thriller Everyone Is Lying to You takes aim at the surreal and insidious world of mom influencers. She opens up about trying to become an influencer herself—complete with a hired photographer, reluctant kids, and affiliate links for water shoes from the school giveaway bin—only to discover that she hated every minute of it. Jo and Ophira get into what postpartum really looks like and how mom influencers perpetuate impossible standards while profiting off our insecurities. They talk about breaking up with Cocomelon, teaching their kids media literacy, and raising children in a house where canceling plans is considered an act of love. Jo also reflects on the burnout of the girlboss era, the fantasy of the tradwife lifestyle, and why the influencer economy is both a trap and a lifeline for modern moms. Her happiest child eats like a roaming dog, and honestly, that might be the parenting win of the year.

📍 July Shows are in NYC, Nantucket, MA, Aruba, Calgary, Alberta, Canmore, Alberta, Saratoga Springs, NY!

Follow Jo Piazza: https://www.instagram.com/jopiazzaauthor/

Buy Jo’s New Book Everyone is Lying to You: https://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Lying-You-Thriller-Piazza/dp/B0DJCSHC1G

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