Episodes

This episode covers a wide range of topics, from the Minnesota State Fair and personal anecdotes to news stories and sports analysis, all while incorporating the hosts' signature banter and humorous commentary.

"After a few days, everyone found out that this mom is an influencer who was likely hoping to just draw more attention to herself by creating this stupid scandal."

In this episode, the hosts revisit their earlier predictions about the AI race, analyze the current state of AI development and its associated risks, and advocate for policies and incentive structures that ensure the responsible and ethical advancement of this transformative technology.

"Another thing that happened is this group, mothers against media addiction, that we talked about the need for that to exist a couple years ago. Julie Scalfo has been leading the charge, and that has led to in person protests in front of Meta's campus in New York and other places. And I believe Julie and Mama were actually present in New York when they did the ban of infinite scrolling."

In this episode, Doug Smith critiques the spiritual implications of Apple's Vision Pro VR headset and technology marketing, advocating for a more disciplined approach to combat screen addiction while rejecting the concept of 'AI spirituality' promoted by some in the tech industry.

"With the addiction that we have from media."

In this episode, Deanna Yates and JoAnn Crohn explore strategies for overcoming mom guilt, decluttering homes and children's belongings, and fostering a guilt-free, organized life through self-compassion and effective communication.

"She's an accomplished writer, author, podcast host of the award winning no Guilt mom podcast. I was on her show recently, so make sure you check that out. And a speaker appearing in national media and the founder of the company no Guilt mom. Her specialty is helping moms go from martyr to model, being the role model in their family versus sacrificing their own needs. Her coaching program balance has helped hundreds of women find what lights them up, form a deeper relationship with their families, and release their own mental load."

The episode delves into the inside story of how JD Vance was chosen as Donald Trump's running mate for the 2024 presidential election, featuring insights from Jack Posobiec and Charlie Kirk, as well as excerpts from Vance's speech at the Republican National Convention.

"Excuse me. Mamal raised me. As my mother struggled with addiction."

In a wide-ranging conversation, acclaimed singer-songwriter Roseanne Cash reflects on her childhood memories, early music career, personal struggles, creative process, and the remastering of her album 'The Wheel' for its 30th anniversary.

"And if my mom was taking up all the emotional space, you know, there wasn't much room for me to do it. Yeah, I think that that's maybe a common thing for children who have a parent who's kind of off the rails, you know, and my other parent was at that time, was a drug addict, and he was gone a lot. So my family is well known, but it's not that different from other families who the addiction is kind of the hub of the wheel."

Centering on strained family ties and major life transitions, Dave Ramsey and Dr. John Deloney guide callers through complex personal finance decisions while emphasizing the importance of pursuing peace, wisdom, and contentment.

"Um, long series of, um, alcoholism. On the mom's side."

Through conversations about grief, relationships, aging, and finding joy in life's simple pleasures, the hosts encourage listeners to embrace self-acceptance over the constant pursuit of novelty.

"And some vice versa, but less of moms saying, you know, toxic behavior, addiction behavior, I'm out when it comes to my daughter."

Preston Moore, a mental wellness and addiction education advocate, discusses the importance of addressing emotional dysfunction through proactive practices like meditation, journaling, and support groups to prevent mental health and addiction issues before they escalate.

"Let me just see if there's a mom's group out there that's a deeper than just the kids stuff because we can also distract ourselves with kids. Maybe I should look into one of my favorite pieces of recovery literature is ACA, the adult children of alcoholics. And then this is the thing that always stops people. People just stop it. Oh yeah, my parents weren't alcoholics, but they added the. And dysfunctional family."

Through a series of increasingly bizarre and extreme Reddit stories about 'pranks,' the hosts examine the harmful impacts of inconsiderate, non-consensual, and abusive actions disguised as jokes.

"Yeah, a lot of mom's addicted."

This episode explores the various work-life scenarios for mothers, encouraging listeners to examine their current situation objectively, make adjustments through small steps if needed, and consider financial implications while finding a balance that works for their unique circumstances.

"And I think going back to social media a little bit, we won't spend the whole time sort of blaming the Internet for why a lot of this is hard, because it's been hard forever. But one of the things I think we all do is we choose to interpret from social media those things which get at our deepest insecurity. So what I mean is the full time working mom who's at the office, in a boardroom, in meetings, or on a flight somewhere, sees the pictures of the class party that the mom is volunteering at, and that's the dagger to the heart, right? That's the pain point."

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt provides disturbing evidence of escalating mental health crises among teens caused by phone/social media overuse displacing crucial childhood experiences, but offers achievable societal solutions to reverse these alarming trends.

"Against, mothers against beat addiction."

In a live episode at SXSW, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway cover tech-related issues, including the potential TikTok ban, misinformation, OpenAI's leadership, Elon Musk's influence in Texas, and the need for better communication and regulation in the tech industry.

"Mothers against social media addiction. Mamas against what they're calling media addiction crisis among kids. The name of the group is Mama, which is what my kids call me, which stands for moms against media addiction. It's financially backed by Tristan Harris, whom we both interviewed, is nonprofit, the center for Humane Technology."

In this episode, Taylor Lorenz discusses the perceived negative effects of social media and smartphones on children's mental health, interviewing researcher Danah Boyd on more nuanced solutions, while also covering topics like Link Lauren's work for RFK Jr., Elon Musk's secret Twitter account, potential bans on X, Dude Perfect's expansion, and a viral Chinese glycine factory on TikTok.

"So this is the addiction framing. And it's interesting, as we've gone with the addiction framing for every form of media throughout history. And I think it's interesting to unpack some of the older ones because they're really interesting. My favorite is the work of Mahai Chiksimahai who was looking at television, and he was really interested in how when we went to really fast shutter changes, think MTV, you actually see this sort of depression in the body, and you end up processing food at a rate slower than sleep while staring at the tv. That's fascinating. That is a biological response to all of this, is the right answer to say, we're going to block young people from tv. I couldn't imagine that being pulled off. But at the same time, how do you actually build your understanding of your own relationship to this? That's why it comes to young people. This is not cigarettes. This is not that kind of a chemical thing where you need more of it. You are addicted to sociality. You're addicted to these opportunities to interact with other people. And of course, when you're exhausted and tired, you just want to be entertained, whether it's tv or TikTok. So the question is then, how do you actually build the capacities to respond to that desire for more, more, more?"

A former KKK leader in Germany details his descent into white supremacist hate groups as a bullied youth, his eventual deradicalization after humanizing minorities he previously hated, and his subsequent efforts to promote understanding and help others leave such movements.

"But your mum was trying then. Listen, for an addict to be trying is a noble thing as well, because you don't know the understanding of the parents at that age when they're doing bad stuff either."

Attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett discusses the legal cases against social media companies for the harms caused to young people, particularly through addictive algorithms and targeted harmful content, and calls for broader societal action to hold these companies accountable and protect children.

"It just makes me furious. And I wish that by listening to this podcast, tens of millions of parents and kids sign up for the cases that you are working against. Because as I've said, at the beginning of this year, I think there should be just like there is a moms against drunk driving, I think there should be a moms against media addiction, movement. And it needs to be a powerful, ongoing political force that stops this once and for all. I mean, this is just the most obvious problem that has no reason to continue except to make money for people who are already billionaires."

In this listener Q&A, Tristan Harris and Aiza Raskin delve into the philosophical underpinnings of their work on humane technology, advocate for regulation to address tech's negative impacts, propose solutions, and warn about future risks from AI and synthetic relationships.

"This is the year that I would like to see a kind of moms against media addiction. I mean, the acronym is pretty good. Mama. I think that the boiling point in society has finally come. And there are so many parents who are furious about the effects that they're seeing on their children. And we're looking to see someone to take the mantle of running a kind of moms against media diction movement, because we need not just a temporary moment or surge of interest like Francis Haugen coming out. We need a deep, powerful, ongoing, strong political force that can be channeled to changing and advocating for change across the different problems."

Hosts interview Alex Kipman about Microsoft's new HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset, its enterprise focus, technical capabilities leveraging cloud and AI, and the company's vision for transforming frontline work through immersive computing.

"All right, the last thing in the news is an important announcement. If you are a parent of a child who has access to the Internet, like if your kid watches a lot of YouTube or spends a lot of time in chat apps, then you should be on high alert for the Momo challenge. This is a new threat to kids on the Internet, where a creepy character named Momo encourages them to perform tasks that put their health at risk. Like swallow bottles of prescription pills or start a fire in the kitchen, maybe cut each other with scissors. Really nasty stuff. In some cases, Momo will encourage a child to harm their classmates or even themselves."