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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

Copyright: Copyright © 2016-2023 What Fresh Hell, LLC

Latest Episodes:

Deep Dive: Is It Sometimes Easier When Our Spouses Aren't Around? Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our previous episodes about dynamics with our parenting partners.

There are lots of reasons why someone might find parenting easier when their spouse is not around, and not all of them are a cause to call in the couples therapist. A listener posted in our ⁠Facebook group⁠:

Anyone else feel like things are easier when their spouse isn’t home? We’ve been dealing with some family issues so he is out of town. I find that when he isn’t here, my kids listen better, we make a good team and work together, they sleep better, etc. Is that weird? How can one person make such a difference? Not much has changed except I do a little more (take out the trash, drop kids off at school) so it’s not that I have more time. It just seems more peaceful in our home or something. And to be honest, I’m not sure it’s a good sign!

When we're solo parenting, we have more alone time, we don't have to negotiate child-related or housework-related decisions, and there are fewer dishes and dirty clothes to wash. If you like it when your spouse is away, that doesn't mean you love them any less or they're a bad spouse. But are there advantages we can consider making part of our parenting all the time? That might also be a possibility.

Amy and Margaret discuss:

Why it's easier to solo parent sometimes
How the pandemic changed couple dynamics
How to discuss with our spouse how we feel

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Katie Cloyd for Scary Mommy: ⁠"My Life Is Easier When My Husband Travels"⁠
Meredith Bland for Parent Map: ⁠"Parenting is Easier When My Husband is Out of Town"⁠
⁠We Did Not Sign Up For Being With Our Spouses 24/7 (with guest Damona Hoffman)⁠
⁠A Room Of Our Own: Claiming the Space We Need⁠

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: Meg Stone on Campus Sexual Violence and Empowerment Self-Defense Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

This episode includes discussion of rape and sexual assault.

As parents, we have been horrified by the reports of sexual violence on Cornell’s campus in 2024, and dismayed that so little seems to have changed since we were in college ourselves. How do we teach our children to protect themselves from sexual violence on campus? And how mad do we get to be at the institutions that still aren’t protecting them?

On this episode we interview violence prevention expert Meg Stone, executive director of IMPACT Boston and author of The Cost of Fear: Why Most Safety Advice is Sexist, and How We Can Stop Gender-Based Violence and Don’t Fight Back and 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence.

This conversation explores why sexual violence is usually committed by someone the victim knows, why common safety advice can be both ineffective and victim-blaming, and what research says about empowerment-based prevention.

Meg also discusses practical skills, boundary setting, bystander responsibility, and the role parents and institutions can play—without placing responsibility for violence on those targeted.

We discuss:

Why the “stranger jumping out of the bushes” is a misleading picture of sexual violence
Why one-time online campus trainings often fail to change behavior
How victim-blaming has shaped conversations about sexual violence
What empowerment-based self-defense programs teach—and why practice matters
How stress can make it harder to respond in the moment
Why refusal skills and boundary setting can be protective
How friends, bystanders, and institutions can interrupt abuse
Where families can look for empowerment self-defense and comprehensive sex education

The conversation emphasizes practicing refusal and interruption under stress, bystander responsibility, and finding trainings via the Empowerment Self-Defense Alliance and the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation.

Here’s where you can find Meg Stone’s work and the resources mentioned:

Impact Boston: impactboston.org
Meg Stone: megstone.org
Empowerment Self-Defense Alliance: https://www.empowermentsd.org/
National Women’s Martial Arts Federation: https://nwmaf.org/
The Cost of Fear by Meg Stone
Don’t Fight Back and 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence by Meg Stone
Sexual Citizens by Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan

If you or someone you love has been impacted, help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE or by texting "START" to 88788. RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-HOPE.

____________

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

Conflict Resolution: How to Fight Fair and Repair Relationships Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

How do we handle conflict with those closest to us without damaging the relationship or going in circles? We discuss why some people avoid conflict while others escalate quickly, how our family of origin shapes the way we handle disagreements, and common triggers for starting conflicts.

We discuss:

What happens in the brain during conflict
Practical conflict-resolution strategies, including the EAR method and the BIFF method
Why sometimes the conflict is over before you’re done being angry and how to handle that

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Aaron Steen and Kanade Shinkai for the International Journal of Women's Dermatology: Understanding individual and gender differences in conflict resolution: A critical leadership skill
Peter Reuell for the Harvard Gazette: Resolving conflict: Men vs. women
Danya Rumore for the University of Utah Environmental Dispute Resolution Program blog: The power of calm when dealing with conflict
Bill Eddy for the High Conflict Institute: How to Avoid Getting Hooked by High Conflict Behavior
Bill Eddy for the High Conflict Institute: Calming Upset People Fast with EAR
Bill Eddy for the High Conflict Institute: How To Write A BIFF Response®
Emily Pinto for Katie Couric Media: How To Handle Conflict Without Damaging Your Relationships

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

You Might Also Like: Zero Reject from Understood.org Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Beth Gellman-Beer spent her whole career fighting for kids with disabilities — first as a student written off as “lazy,” then as a federal civil rights attorney who found her dream job protecting students like her younger self. But on one ordinary night, a phone call changed everything: Her entire office had been eliminated.

In the premiere of Zero Reject, reporter Anya Kamenetz traces Beth’s journey from an unfair fourth-grade classroom to the front lines of a sweeping overhaul at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights — the agency families turn to when a school isn’t meeting their child’s needs. Anya breaks down the reduction in force that gutted OCR’s staff, what it means for the 25,000 families still waiting for a response to their complaints, and the plan to dismantle the Department of Education altogether. With fewer people to enforce the law, what happens to the students the system was built to protect?

https://lnk.to/zerorejectFD!whatfreshhell

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

Deep Dive: When Our Kids Have Different Relationships with Our Parenting Partners Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our previous episodes about dynamics with our parenting partners.

Do you feel like the odd parent out in your house? Or do your kids want only you to do everything with them all the time? A listener in ⁠our Facebook group⁠ asked:

"Is there an episode about one parent having a very different relationship with a child than the other parent? My 12yo and I seem to have a pretty functional (not perfect) relationship, but he and my hubs seem to end up arguing constantly. Thought at first it was a phase, but if it is, it’s a LOOOOONG one. Would love some perspective on this!"

Margaret and Amy discuss:

How preferential treatment plays out in younger vs. older kids
Why kids save their worst behavior for their primary caregiver
Which one of them is conflict-averse and who's conflict-attracted (one guess which is which)

Preferring one parent over the other can be developmentally appropriate, but there are times when ganging up on one parent can become too much and needs some course correction.

Links!

Our episode"⁠When Kids Prefer the Other Parent Over You (Or You Over Them)"⁠
Ryan C. Martin for McSweeney's: "⁠GOOD PARENTS CAPITALIZE ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL STRENGTHS. MY WIFE’S IS SEEING TO OUR KIDS’ EVERY NEED, AND MINE IS ROUGHHOUSING⁠"
Marni Feuerman for VeryWell Family: ⁠"How to Cope With Parenting Differences"⁠
Mariah Maddox for Motherly: ⁠"If your kids act differently with you than dad, you’re not imagining it"⁠

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: Sam Kelly on Teaching Kids About the Mental Load Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

What if kids didn't need chore charts and constant supervision in order to participate in the lives of their households? What if the "mental load" was seen as a family-wide issue, where everyone could contribute to the solution?

Sam Kelly, creator of the "Notice and Do" method and author of the new book NOTICE AND DO: Raise Capable Kids, End Motherhood Burnout, and Lighten Your Mental Load, is here to tell us there's another way.

Amy and Sam discuss:

The "delegator trap"—why constantly assigning tasks keeps moms responsible for the "noticing"
Using a "learning ladder" to teach kids of all ages how to take over household tasks, step by step
Handling the pushback you might receive as you roll out the "notice and do" method
How kids who "notice and do" have agency and take initiative beyond the walls of your home

Here's where you can find Sam:

https://hellosamkelly.com
@samkelly_world on IG
Buy NOTICE AND DO: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780063460911

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

Episode 1,000! How Doing This Podcast For a Decade Has Changed Our Parenting Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

What have 10 years of doing this podcast taught us about being better parents? In this, our 1,000th episode(!), we look back at the biggest parenting lessons we’ve learned from a decade of conversing with guests, listeners, and each other.

Thank you for listening and being on this parenting journey with us!

We also reference some of our favorite interviews:

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: We Caught Our Spouses Being Awesome Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

This Deep Dive series revisits some of our previous episodes about dynamics with our parenting partners.

We asked the listeners in ⁠our Facebook group⁠ about all the times they caught their spouses being awesome, and here are just a few: supporting their partners through difficult career choices. Reading up on issues that affect their kids. Learning how to do their kids' hair.

Awesome parenting partners, all!

Here are links to the resources mentioned in the episode:

⁠"Flying the Coop" episode from Reply All podcast⁠ (Margaret's rec)

⁠Our Fresh Take episode with Matthew Fray on Strengthening Our Relationships⁠

⁠The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children⁠, by Ross Greene

⁠Check out our merch!⁠

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

Ectopic Pregnancy and the Increasing Danger to Mothers' Reproductive Health Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Trigger warning: On today's episode we will be discussing pregnancy loss, abortion, and maternal death. Please be advised if those topics are difficult for you.

What happens when pregnancy complications become a life-threatening emergency? Margaret’s sister Anne joins us to share her powerful story of nearly dying from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

Margaret and Anne discuss:

What an ectopic pregnancy is and why it can become life-threatening
How Anne's experience connects to the current landscape of abortion restrictions
The challenges doctors may face when treating ectopic pregnancies and other pregnancy emergencies, given current abortion bans
Why policies made far from the exam room can have profound consequences for women and their doctors

Here is the ProPublica article referenced in the episode, by Andrea Suozzo and Agnel Philip: Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.

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/⁠

What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson.

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

When Kids Hate Transitions Oct 07, 2026

Show notes

Why do some kids completely fall apart when it’s time to leave the playground, get ready for school, or switch activities? We dive into why transitions are particularly difficult for some kids and what parents can do to make them easier.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

how anxiety, ADHD, autism, and OCD can cause unique issues with transitions
reframing a child’s behavior as a "signal" to help parents focus on the underlying problem
how parents can validate emotions while still setting clear boundaries
practical strategies for helping kids transition, including verbal "previews," visual schedules and timers, and predictable routines

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Our Fresh Take with Dr. Siggie Cohen
Our Fresh Take with Dr. Stacy Haynes
Katherine Martinelli for the Child Mind Institute: Why Do Kids Have Trouble With Transitions?
Claire Lerner for Psychology Today: The Trouble With Transitions
Kristine Cain for Building Bright Futures blog: Why Some Children Struggle More with Transitions Than Others
Lerner Child Development: The Trouble With Transitions: Why They Are So Hard For Some Kids And How To Help
Houston Family Therapy Associates: Why Kids Resist Transitions (and How to Help)
Lerner Child Development: How "Two-Great Choices" Prevents Power Struggles
Dr. Michael Sweeney
Visual timer for kids
Hourglass timer
Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems

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

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