Ready or Not Ready or Not & Witching Hour

Stephanie Wescott is a feminist academic and researcher. She’s also the mother of a three year old boy, and at the moment, she’s conducting research into how extremist online influencers like Andrew Tate are shaping boys' behaviours and attitudes towards women. It’s a fascinating and important time to be raising a son and we talk about this – that we need feminists raising our boys and the fact that her partner was almost nervous – somewhat hesitant – when he found out they were having a son.
She completed a PhD with very little childcare, which is no small feat, but she’s quick to tell you that she dropped out of plenty of university courses in her former studying years, too.
Here, we explore how motherhood and feminism intersect with capitalism and the patriarchy, why it took some time for her to not only accept but embrace mother as being one of her titles, and what parents can do about navigating the misogynist content being served to our children online.

THIS WEEK'S PARTNER
This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by Elan House of Wellness, the mother-led brand that's dedicated to nurturing, nourishing and empowering new mothers and families. I have eaten my way through SO many of their incredibly nourishing dry food packs like the dark chocolate banana bread, golden kitchari, and blooming bites and you're in luck, because some of my favourite products are currently 20% off. Get 20% off until 30 June here: elan.house/collections/most-loved
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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday.
In today's episode, we cover:
We dive back into the Women at Work 2024 Deloitte study.Wake windows - Our thoughts and experiences on wake windows, plus, what does the research say on how long your baby should stay awake?And your answers to our questions on telling your boss that you’re pregnant.THIS WEEK'S PARTNER
This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Elan House of Wellness, the mother-led brand that's dedicated to nurturing, nourishing and empowering new mothers and families. I have eaten my way through SO many of their incredibly nourishing dry food packs like the dark chocolate banana bread, golden kitchari, and blooming bites and you're in luck, because some of my favourite products are currently 20% off. Get 20% off until 30 June here: elan.house/collections/most-loved
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Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Look, I know this exactly how I open my conversation with Francesca Jewellery founder Hannah Vasicek, but it's impossible for me to paint a picture of the vibrant person that she is in any other way.
When I first met Hannah at an event, she said that her mind is like a city. She said it's one of the reasons why she loves living in the quiet but creative Hobart, the city where she started small by selling her jewellery at the iconic Salamanca Markets.
Fast forward to today, and alongside her sister, she leads a team of 75. And at home, along with her husband, she leads a much smaller but arguably more demanding team of two children.
This is a really special episode, and there's so much to say about Hannah's journey in motherhood and career. She employs an incredible group of refugee women and is passionate about supporting the migrant community. Her daughter was born with a limb difference and she opens up about how she navigated this privately during pregnancy as a generally open person. And she naively - her words not mine - thought that motherhood would be a break. Turns out, that while she adores her little people more than anything, managing a workforce of 75 might just be easier.
From the stories of survival and sacrifice from the incredible women she employs to her experience in navigating her daughter's limb difference, here, Hannah shares what she's learned professionally and personally along the way.

THIS WEEK'S PARTNER
This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by Elan House of Wellness, the mother-led brand that's dedicated to nurturing, nourishing and empowering new mothers and families. I have eaten my way through SO many of their incredibly nourishing dry food packs like the dark chocolate banana bread, golden kitchari, and blooming bites and you're in luck, because some of my favourite products are currently 20% off. Get 20% off until 30 June here: elan.house/collections/most-loved
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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday.
In today's episode, Loz's best mate Chrissie (who works in education at The Memo) kindly steps in for Lu to cover the following:
We look at Deloitte’s women at work report and the bits that we’re finding interesting. (Deloitte)Supporting your loved one to breastfeed starts by valuing it as work. (ABC)And with her background in hypnobirthing as well as her own personal experiences, Chrissy talks all things birth trauma and how to support a birthing partner.THIS WEEK'S PARTNER
This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Elan House of Wellness, the mother-led brand that's dedicated to nurturing, nourishing and empowering new mothers and families. I have eaten my way through SO many of their incredibly nourishing dry food packs like the dark chocolate banana bread, golden kitchari, and blooming bites and you're in luck, because some of my favourite products are currently 20% off. Get 20% off until 30 June here: elan.house/collections/most-loved
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Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

When Hande Cater made the decision to go back to working five days a week alongside her relatively new role as mum, she noticed that she was in a bit of a grey area: most mothers she knew worked part time or inside of the home and most full time workers were not parents. Or if they were, they were likely to be the secondary caregiver. And as we know, that's normally the dad.
There weren’t many people around her who balanced five days of paid work with the 24 hours a day, seven days a week role of parenting and as a result, she didn’t have many places to turn to when it came to making work, work alongside motherhood.
Here, we talk the loneliness and judgement that exists within this grey area, why working four days a week wasn't exactly working for her, and the anxieties mothers face when it comes to parental leave and the return to work.
THIS WEEK'S PARTNER
 This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by us, Ready or Not! We've created three beautiful, practical and comprehensive guides in consultation with the experts in their fields, starting with Breastfeeding and Returning to Work, Postpartum and Return to Work Planning and Childcare 101.
Shop the Go To Guides here: readyornot.au
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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday.
In today's episode, we're covering the topic we wish we didn't have to: Australia's problem with men's violence towards women, including:
The feminist talk with Rosie Batty, Catharine Lumby and Fiona Jenkins and the Hedley Thomas talk Lu attended at the Sorrento Writer's Festival.Your answers to our questions around how safe you're feeling right now,Your scary and devastating stories in relation to men's towards women.Plus, your tips around how we tackle this with our children.Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now:
Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningLinks:
Rosie Batty's book: click hereLoz's dry shampoo recommendation: click here ---
Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too here.