Spawned Parenting Podcast with Liz of Cool Mom Picks

What's been the impact of Covid on kids? On mothers? How about on education? On class division? On our careers? On healthcare? Today I'm welcoming back author and NPR Education Reporter Anya Kamenetz who researched it all and put it into the must-read book The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Kids' Lives....and Where We Go Now.

Her fascinating point: The systems that failed our families, especially the most vulnerable, have been in the making for decades. Wow. But.. she also talks about the negatives that are slowly turning out to be positives.

Speaking of positives, I mentioned at the top of the show that I thought I had Covid but...false alarm! Just a cold. Sniff. (Apologies if I am saying "Adya" instead of "Anya." D'oh.) - Liz

Thanks to our sponsor Dell offering our listeners early Black Friday tech deals through this link through Nov 27!

Follow Spawned on Apple: bit.ly/spawnedshow

Follow Spawned on Spotify: Here

Follow Cool Mom Picks: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow Liz Gumbinner: Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon

Follow Anya Kamenetz: Instagram, Mastodon

Shownotes, links from this episode, info on our Cool Picks of the week: Cool Mom Pick Podcast Page

Subscribe to get even more Cool Picks of the Week in your inbox once a week: coolmompicks.com/subscribe/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're like Kristen and in the throes of perimenopause, then you're probably wondering why no one talks about it. Well, that's about to change as Kristen chats with Dr. Makeba Williams, a physician who specializes in the healthcare needs of midlife and menopausal women. She answers all of Kristen's burning questions, which might just be yours too. Make sure you're following us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. And check out links to our Cool Picks of the Week over on our Podcast page at CoolMomPicks.com. Thanks for listening!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I will never think about yoga, supplements, activated charcoal or bath salts the same way after speaking with Rina Raphael, author of the utterly fascinating new book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care.

How did wellness go from a legitimate health need to a $4.4 trillion industry? What's the role of wellness influencers in all this? Why are we so desperate to find salvation in a fancy (probably pink) bottle -- and why it makes perfect sense that we fall for it? Rina breaks it all down wonderfully, with humor, well-researched insight, and a lack of judgment that I (as someone who loves my CBD for sleep) really appreciate!- Liz

Follow Spawned on Apple: bit.ly/spawnedshow

Follow Spawned on Spotify: Here

Follow Cool Mom Picks: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow Liz Gumbinner: Twitter, Instagram

Follow Rina Raphael: Twitter

Shownotes, links from this episode, info on our Cool Picks of the week: Cool Mom Pick Podcast Page

Subscribe to get even more Cool Picks of the Week in your inbox once a week: coolmompicks.com/subscribe/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don't want our kids to fall for false news, rumors, or disinformation. But how do we teach our kids media literacy when we can't even keep up with all the social media apps? Journalist, professor, and UCLA/Stanford professor Dr. Seema Yasmin joins Liz to talk about her incredibly engaging, very important new YA Handbook, "What the Fact?!: Finding Truth in All the Noise."

She not only discusses how we help our kids separate fact from fiction, but how to actually BS-proof our brains so that we'll be less susceptible to untruths, and more flexible when it comes to changing our minds -- and changing others' minds, too. Good stuff!

Follow Spawned on Apple: bit.ly/spawnedshow

Follow Spawned on Spotify: Here

Follow Cool Mom Picks: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Follow Liz Gumbinner: Twitter, Instagram

Follow Dr Seema Yasmin: Twitter, Instagram

Shownotes and info on our Cool Picks of the week: Cool Mom Pick Podcast Page

Subscribe to get even more Cool Picks in your inbox once a week: coolmompicks.com/subscribe/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As parents, one of the most challenging parts of raising kids is feeding them. It's especially hard if you have your own issues with body image and food, like many Gen X parents do. Thankfully, experts like Nicole Cruz, a registered dietitian nutritionist, and mom of three can really help. Her intuitive eating and non-diet approach to food felt revolutionary to me, and it's completely changed how I approach food with my kids. And as always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week! Be sure to follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Today's sponsor is Carole P. Roman, a prolific author with over 50 books that you should know about. If you've got reluctant readers, these are the books for your kids! Learn more on our site and on the podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You wouldn't think in 2022 that an author would have to fight to keep a female protagonist in a book, and yet that's just what happened to award-winning humorist Wendi Aarons when she first pitched her middle-grade book, Ginger Mancino: Kid Comedian. (Spoiler: It got published, Ginger is indeed a girl, and it's wonderful.) Wendi joins Liz to talk about the importance of funny girls in books, funny women in life, teaching kids comedy, and the road from wanting just to be "nice" to being funny enough to write for publications like the New Yorker, McSweeney's, and US Weekly's fashion police. With a lot of tough stuff in the world, this is a light, fun episode, that I really think you'll enjoy.

This episode graciously brought to you by Mabel's Labels - visit now for big discounts on their cult-favorite sets of personalized labels, just for you early back-to-school shoppers!

Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and visit us at Cool Mom Picks to find all the links from today's episode..

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since I got my first smartphone back in 2006, my relationship with my phone has certainly changed my life. It's also changed how I function as a person in this world, for better and for worse. Turns out, I'm not the only one, which is why I was so excited to chat with Emmy-award-winning journalist, and host of the new Mobile Diaries podcast from T-Mobile Stories, Shawna Ryan, which also happens to be today's sponsor.

We chat about our first phones, how our lives changed when we got them, and how we're approaching our phone use (and our kids' phone use) now, in a post-pandemic world, plus a whole lot more! And as always, we close out our show with our Cool Picks of the Week.

Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, plus visit us at Cool Mom Picks for all the links from the show.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author, educator, and Prep Matters founder Ned Johnson joins Liz once again to talk us through -- or talk us down from -- the college application process. And yes, I mean parents! You'll appreciate his thoughtful insight on the whole process, "test optional" schools, financial aid, the pitfalls and benefits of stress, the impact of Covid, how Black students need to approach things differently, and why we need to reframe the concept of "selective" schools. It's amazing. // Sponsored by Dell's Black Friday in July sale: Click through this link for access to our educational membership benefits + additional discounts, no code needed. // Thanks so much for listening. Please subscribe + rate our episodes if you enjoy our show! //Find links + recommended reading from today's podcast on Cool Mom Picks, and say hi to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We often forget that social skills are taught, which seems especially important after two years in a pandemic. We're so grateful for authors, like Catherine Newman, who help make our lives as parents easier. Her new book "What Can I Say?" is a super helpful, illustrated book aimed at tweens and young teens, to help them navigate life's awkward situations, from learning how to apologize, to standing up to bullies, and pretty much everything in between.

Listen to this super helpful conversation and our cool picks of the week (as usual). And word to our sponsor, Project Hashtag HPV, which might help you earn a few bucks for a little bit of your time.

Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest Roo Powell is the co-founder of SOSA (Safe from Online Sexual Abuse) and has put her child advocacy and deep knowledge to use by...disguising herself as a young girl and working with police to trap predators. That work is part of the Discovery Plus docuseries Undercover Underage. Roo's story is nothing short of fascinating -- and actually more encouraging than you might imagine. Take a listen for an honest, surprisingly non-alarmist perspective about child predators, online safety, grooming, and the other subjects that we can't help but worry about as we send our kids out into the world. // Thanks so much for listening. Please subscribe + rate our episodes if you enjoy our show! //Find links from today's podcast and our cool picks of the week on Cool Mom Picks, and say hi to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices