The Mother of it All

Sarah and Miranda
  • 5.0 (2)
  • PARENTING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The Mother of it All

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. motherofitall.substack.com

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    The State of the Hetero Union Part 1: Sex, Marriage, and 'Big D Desire' with Amanda Montei and Tracy Clark-Flory

    In Part 1 of our jam-packed conversation with feminist writers Tracy Clark-Flory and Amanda Montei, Sarah and Miranda attempt to unpack why this has been such a big year for examining sex in hetero-marriage, the specter of patriarchy haunting all of our marital beds, and whether or not good sex is possible anymore in a hetero-marriage. Links: * Amanda Montei’s “Can a Sexless Marriage Be a Happy One? Can a Sexless Marriage Be a Happy One?” in the New York Times Magazine * Liars by Sarah Manguso * All Fours by Miranda July * Tracy on The Endless Repetition of Heterosexuality * Want by Gillian Anderson * Anne Hathaway’s The Idea Of You * Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl * Ester Perel * Tracy Clark-Flory’s fabulous newsletter, TCF Emails and her book, Want Me. * Amanda Montei’s fabulous newsletter, Mad Woman, and her book, Touched Out. Culture Recs: * Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women and the related television series * Brian Jordan Alvarez This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 2m

  2. NOV 11

    Who Are Dadfluencers For? with Janet Manley

    Writer Janet Manley joins us to break down her recent piece, “Pity the Dadfluencers: Their content is for men, but their audience is all women.” We dig into all of our favorite -isms: sexism, feminism, social media-ism (just roll with it), parasocial relationships, plus Wild Robot, Nightbitch, and what the heck you’re supposed to do with all those baby teeth. Links: * Chelsea Conaboy on The Wild Robot * Arnold of the Ducks * KAFKA'S BABY Janet’s newsletter * The Real Sarah Miller by Sarah Miller * Laurie Stone’s Everything is Personal * Attachments by Lucas Mann, and our interview with Lucas * Drawing Links by Edith Zimmerman * Looking at Picture Books by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen * Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    57 min

  3. NOV 6

    Now this is happening

    Sarah and Miranda are checking in the morning after the election on what’s going through our minds, how we’re thinking about motherhood and our kids, and whether it’s too soon to do silver linings. With a special appearance from Nellie, three-year-old witch. Links: * Amanda Montei says “It’s not the economy, it’s misogyny.” * Witch podcast on BBC * Seven Year B***h is the today’s soundtrack This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    27 min

  4. OCT 28

    Is Postpartum Depression Funny? Lauren Lapkus and Nora Fiffer Think It Can Be

    Miranda and Sarah are joined by actor and comedian Lauren Lapkus and actor and filmmaker Nora Fiffer to talk about their tender, hilarious new film, Another Happy Day. We discuss the isolation and absurdity of early motherhood, taking care of care-takers at work, and why Hollywood should be just as saturated with postpartum movies as it is with World War II movies. Links: * Another Happy Day on Amazon and Apple * Is the Future of Movie Sets An Eight-Hour Work Day with Childcare?? in Variety * All Fours by Miranda July * The Creative Act by Rick Rubin This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    57 min

  5. OCT 21

    Keep Halloween Janky with Sarah & Miranda

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit motherofitall.substack.com *This is a paid-subscriber only episode. To become a subscriber, click HERE and sign up for any level of paid membership. P.S. If you subscribe as a “founding member” we’ll send you a snazzy Mother Of It All tote bag. Join us as we hash Halloween out. Do we believe in the Switch Witch? DIY costumes: Y/N? Should Halloween happen at school? Do we have to …

    2 min

  6. OCT 14

    What Every Parent Needs To Understand About School Shootings & Lockdowns with David Riedman

    No one wants to think about school shootings. But nearly every day in our country, a gun is fired on a campus. Often, when that happens, entire student bodies are then traumatized by spending hours in lockdown. David Riedman of the K-12 school shooting database — an unparalleled collection of data about school shootings that has been used as a resource by publications like The Economist and New York Times, as well as organizations like the FBI— joins Sarah and Miranda to talk about the thing none of us want to talk about but that we absolutely must: American school’s gun violence problem. Links: * David’s Substack * David’s Podcast * Robin Cogan * ​​https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/16/opinion/gabby-giffords-its-the-guns-its-always-the-guns.html * Violence Prevention Project * Everytown This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min

  7. SEPT 30

    What If We Cared About Care? with Elissa Strauss

    What if we considered care to be a sacred practice? What if the everyday tasks of parenting were backtracked by the dramatic score of the British Baking Show? Elissa Strauss, author of When You Care: Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others joins Sarah and Miranda to mull over what it would mean to value care as a society and in our personal lives. We talk about trusting others with your children, why it’s so fraught to admit you like being a parent, alloparents, the Hero’s Journey, and kids singing Lean on Me. Plus, Elissa gives us some free couples therapy! Links * Elissa’s Book, When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others * Elissa Strauss’s Substack, Made with Care * Elissa’s Slate Piece: It’s a Weird Time to Be a Happy Mom * Economist Nancy Folbre * A Thousand and One Movie * The Care Justice Movement * Alloparenting  * Rosalynn Carter * Sarah Blaffer Hrdy Culture Recs * Young Sheldon * The Golden Spoon This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 9m
  8. The Joy Of Hobbies in Motherhood with Kaitlyn Teer

    SEPT 16

    The Joy Of Hobbies in Motherhood with Kaitlyn Teer

    Author and editor Kaitlyn Teer (you may know her as the editor of Joanna Goddard’s Big Salad newsletter ) joins Sarah and Miranda to chat about how weirdly hard and wonderful it is to have hobbies as a mom, and the unique joy of being new (even bad!) at something. We get into such pressing questions as: What is “contaminated leisure time,” and how can we carve out ‘uncontaminated’ time to explore who we are beyond work and caregiving? If modern motherhood is defined by a sense of pressure to optimize our every decision, what does it mean to chase ‘beginners mind,’ uncertainty, and inefficient uses of time? Are our hobbies an expression of millennial economic dread, and an effort to detach our sense of self-regard from the capitalistic value systems that have left us in the lurch? Are we totally overthinking this? We also touch on: Kaitlyn’s amazing hair, Doggy Land, and Sarah’s recent swimming pool cannonball-ing achievements. Plus culture recs, moving as a mom (hard!), and more. This episode is sponsored by Freeya, a marketplace for free stuff. Links * Anne Helen Petersen on quality leisure time vs. ‘contaminated leisure time’ * Follow Kaitlyn on Instagram * Kaitlyn Teer on Mountain Biking In New Motherhood * ‘Popsicles Can’t Fix This New Heat’, Kaitlyn Teer over at Electric Lit * Big Salad, Joanna Goddard’s newsletter (edited by Kaitlyn!) * Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport * The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham * Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World By Christian Cooper * Hike Clerb * Family-oriented family (brene brown pod— sarah can you add?) * Crayola Air-Dry Clay & how to make a clay flower frog * Doggy Lands affirmations * Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker  * Skull King This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 9m
See All (42)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

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. motherofitall.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah and Miranda
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    42
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sarah and Miranda
  • Show Website
    The Mother of it All

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