MotherTongue: Removing the patriarchy from motherhood one conversation at a time.

Kimberly Ann Johnson is the author of the early mothering classic The Fourth Trimester: Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality published in seven languages around the world. A sought-after practitioner and lead authority in postpartum health, Johnson has been working hands-on in integrative women's health and trauma recovery for more than a decade. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Vogue, New York Magazine's The Cut, Harper's Bazaar, Today.com, and many more. Kimberly is the mother of one

My guest is actress Annet Mahendru who is known for her critically-acclaimed role in the series "The Americans". Her portrayal of Nina earned her a Critic's Choice Nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Annet then headlined The Walking Dead: World Beyond limited series. She can recently be seen in the Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson feature Father Stu.  She also stars in the coming-of-age film Manifest West, a film near and dear to her heart that she worked on with her husband, filmmaker Louie Gibson.  

With Mahendru delivering an emotional whirlwind performance in a film that addresses timely mental health issues,  Manifest West is a family project in another way with her co-starring role opposite brother-in-law Milo Gibson and her as co-writer/co-director. Manifest West had its world premiere at the Mammoth Film Festival, winning Best Genre Film.

Born to an Afghan- Indian father and Russian mother, Annet spent her early years learning 6 languages in the Middle East & Europe.  She planted the seeds of her career at eleven, choreographing a performance that earned her an appearance on German television, and returning to her roots studying Indian classical dance.

Annet is an avid breastfeeding-on-demand supporter and home birther.  She lives with her husband, writer/director Louie Gibson, and their three children. At the time of the recording of this podcast she was thinking about baby number three. They welcomed another child since June. 

Rachel Zaslow is a midwife and Executive Director of Mother Health International, a non-profit that works to reduce perinatal mortality rates through the education of midwives and the creation of sustainable birth centers in areas where the burden of mortality is highest. Rachel has worked with midwives and mothers in Uganda, Haiti, Senegal, Guinea, New York City and Virginia. She helped to start The Sisters Keeper Collective, a women of color-led initiative to address the disparities in birth outcomes for black mothers and babies. Additionally, Rachel holds a Ph.D. in Feminist Theory, and a Masters in Performance Studies. She teaches courses about Women’s Health, War and Trauma, Gender and Development, as well as the intersections between Narrative and Medicine. Prior to MHI, Rachel co-founded Earth Birth: International Women’s Health Collective to promote local practice, to facilitate the sharing of skills across cultures, and to protect the role of the traditional midwife. Rachel states, “My role as a visionary leader is to join hands with my team. I draw on feminist discourse to dismantle power structures and think strategically. So for any project, we start with: What is the issue, what are the root causes, what are our strengths and from that place, how do we address them.”

Nicola Huelin is a multi-award winning, business coach and mentor on a mission to empower one million mums in business around the world.
Author of The Invisible Revolution (listed in The Independent's 10 best business books written by women), international speaker, founder of Mpower for mums in business and the Mpower National Business Awards, Nicola has over 23 years experience in combining business success with family life Trusted for her expertise, caring and down to earth approach and holistic philosophy when it comes to business success, Nicola’s work has been featured on international TV and Radio and she is a regular business columnist. Nicola has connected, coached, and mentored thousands of women who dream of building a successful business on their terms.

In this episode, Guatemalan native Rosalia Gonzalez shares her journey through marriage and motherhood and how she managed to fight the cultural norms and create a life for herself outside of motherhood working for women's rights. As the executive director of Visión Guatemala, Rosalia empowers women and families around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Note: this episode is in Spanish.

In this short episode, I reveal the real reason behind my inconsistency with this podcast. It is a big reveal, which I won't say here. You'll have to listen to find out.

In this episode, I interview Malika Diggs, mother, social justice activist, and founder of the Eclectic Learning Network. Malika shares her journey of leaning into self-directed learning and unschooling both with her own children and eventually becoming a leader for other moms on the same journey.

In this mini-episode, I share why it's so important to adjust our pacing as mothers and revolt against the patriarchal programming that infiltrates our mothering with a nonstop and dizzying speed in life. I talk about the importance of pause and rest, which is counterculture, requiring a great deal of concerted effort.

Alicia Fishbein and Meredith Nelson are the founders of Intentional Birth, as well as seasoned doulas, with two decades of combined experience serving hundreds of families.  They are mothers and birth lovers who are passionately working to promote physiological, intentional, and instinctual birth from a foundation of trust. They have programs for both pregnant people and those who serve them. In this episode, Alicia and Meredith share their origin stories, their birth experiences, and their passion for reducing trauma and improving birth outcomes through education and support. As a sister culture maker, I really enjoyed our conversation. I hope you will too.

My guest is Jean Chung, co-founder of FAM, a member-owned health and wellness cooperative that focuses on community-based experiential learning through the arts. Jean learned from a young age that honesty and authenticity are valuable in building relationships. Her parents moved to the U.S. from Korea in the late 70s, and started a community in Virginia. They successfully led that community for over 30 years, which helped shape Jean's love for people, relationships, and values.

Her love for people and building relationships naturally led her to community building. Some of her greatest joys are seeing a group of people strive for a common goal and achieve it together, and learn about themselves along the way.

In our conversation, we explore the ways that the patriarchy has impacted the most powerful feminine experiences - pregnancy, birth, and motherhood - and how that has extended outward into lifestyle choices. Jean shares her story about pivoting from "the religion of obstetrics", leading her to create a short dystopian film about how we treat pregnant people and channel them through the machine and into a certain type of lifestyle.