This week: We won a podcast award! And now we're immediately spiraling into existential conversations about where we seek approval, why we need it, and how it's completely different (and weirdly the same) for our kids. We're talking about the Eldest Daughter pressure to be in the top 20 in a class of 600, setting "the floor" for your kids' behavior, the implicit contract of putting your art/work/self out there to be judged, and how approval-seeking changes from explicit to implicit.

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Links:

• Our Signal Award (we're #1, we're #1)
• What Can I Do Dot Earth https://www.whatcanido.earth/

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
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• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
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• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week, Claire and Quinn discuss the very normal things like getting back into shape (this time it's happening!), anniversary celebrations that peak at the cheese plate, and whether a C-minus in social studies is actually a problem. Also: fake spiderwebs as voluntary garbage, ICE at school drop-offs (fuck ICE), why anger feels productive but isn't, and your kids going to their very first wake.

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Links:

• Donate to Claire's States Project fundraiser https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/5wmhrga/Evil-Witches
• Get the young reader's edition of Clint Smith's "How The Word Is Passed" https://bookshop.org/a/8952/9780316578509
• Find out how you can take action at whatcanido.earth

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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After catching up on the weekend's chaos (signing up to be toilet papered, progressive dinner parties, and dads of preteens who've apparently never heard of Snapchat), Quinn and Claire discuss the never-ending battle that is feeding your children, your spouse, and yourself. Topics on the table include the myth of meal planning, Claire's vendetta against Taco Tuesday, bell peppers as the "am I feeling rich today?" indicator, Quinn's vegan chili (it's good, he promises!), and free (or not) school lunches.

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
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• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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We're back!

This week, Claire and Quinn are crashing out over back-to-school chaos (music class that your kid swears they aren't supposed to practice for, curriculum night avoidance, and late start mornings), the cognitive labor of being the "superhuman" parent vs. "the bumbler", dealing with your stubborn Boomer parents, and their current survival strategies (from hiring a scheduling assistant to taking two gummies in the closet because it's a an EMERGENCY) amid a news cycle that just won't stop (media literacy is the new first aid).

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Links:

• Crash Course: Navigating Digital Information https://thecrashcourse.com/topic/navigatingdigitalinfo/ and Media Literacy https://thecrashcourse.com/topic/medialiteracy/
• What's On Her Mind by Allison Daminger https://bookshop.org/a/8952/9780691245386
• Austin Kleon's blog on filling your house with books https://austinkleon.substack.com/p/why-our-house-is-a-library
• Two More Sisters https://www.twomoresisters.com/

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

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This week, Claire and Quinn tackle the brutal summer heat while diving into the complexities of maintaining a relationship with your co-parent. Finding couple time when everyone just wants to retreat to their separate corners is an eternal struggle, especially when you're balancing getting body-shamed by your own children and finding out your kid has been playing inappropriate games online.

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
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• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week Claire and Quinn welcome Sarah Wheeler, creator of the Mom Spreading blog, host of The Mother Of It All podcast, educational psychologist, and self-described 90s R&B enthusiast.

Sarah brings her expertise in ADHD and neurodiversity to help parents navigate everything from summer medication decisions to ADHD parenting superpowers to practical strategies for making real schools work better for neurodivergent kids.

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Links:

• Read Joan Wilder's book Help For Women With ADHD https://www.helpforwomenwithadhd.com/books/
• Listen to The Mother of It All podcast with Sarah Wheeler and Miranda Rake https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-mother-of-it-all/id1715167577
• Read Mom Spreading on Substack https://momspreading.substack.com/

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week, Quinn returns from an epic family trip to Alaska with stories of whales, glaciers, and kids who packed two socks for a week-long adventure. But as always, the conversation happens when they get home: dealing with post-vacation lows, kids who think bobbleheads grow on trees, and the daily mental load of parenting through everything else.

Trigger Warning: This episode includes candid discussions about thoughts of escape, mental health struggles, and parental overwhelm. Resources for mental health support can be found here: https://www.whatcanido.earth/results/?verbs=get-help&nouns=mental-health

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Links:

• Refurbished old school iPods: https://dcg-ipod.affinityco.net/pages/refurbished-ipod-classics (YMMV!)

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week, Quinn and Claire are diving into the ever-evolving world of childcare, from the brutal economics of quality care to the desperate measures parents take just to keep working.

They explore how childcare standards change from first kid (extensive vetting) to third kid (you haven't murdered recently), the impossible summer camp lottery system, and why sometimes a random college student willing to be a "play robot" is an essential worker.

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
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• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week, Claire and Quinn welcome screenwriter and director Chris Winterbauer (Moonshot, What Went Wrong podcast) to chat about movies!

They cover what they let their kids watch, what they force them to watch, and which movies scarred them for life. Featuring passionate defenses of Dumb and Dumber, the death of Hollywood Video, hot takes on Space Balls and Star Wars, taking kids to the movie theatre, and why the Simpsons is basically Sesame Street compared to YouTube.

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Links:

• Listen to the What Went Wrong podcast https://www.whatwentwrongpod.com/

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• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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This week, Claire and Quinn ask: How do you raise charitable, empathetic kids when you can barely manage getting them to put their dishes in the sink? Topics include when your anti-gun household meets the school rummage sale Nerf gun haul, teaching empathy vs. performative wokeness, the privilege and burden of school parent organizations, why showing up to volunteer isn't always helpful (and when it is), and a list of some of the most effective charities out there.

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Links:

• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation https://www.alexslemonade.org/
• Give Directly https://www.givedirectly.org/
• Against Malaria Foundation https://www.againstmalaria.com/
• Donors Choose https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Food Forward https://foodforward.org/
• The 19th https://19thnews.org/
• ProPublica https://www.propublica.org/
• Capital B https://capitalbnews.org/
• The Markup https://themarkup.org/
• Hot Bread Kitchen https://hotbreadkitchen.org/
• Hollywood Food Coalition https://hofoco.org/
• Feed My Starving Children https://www.fmsc.org/
• Connections for the Homeless https://www.connect2home.org/

Follow us:

• Subscribe to Quinn's newsletter at importantnotimportant.com
• Subscribe to Claire's newsletter at https://www.evilwitches.com/
• Try a free 30 day free trial of the Important Membership here: https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade.
• Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notrightnowpodcast/
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Produced and edited by Willow Beck
• Music by Tim Blane: timblane.com

Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors

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