Vashtie Kola is a true multihyphenate — a DJ, director, designer, and creative visionary whose influence spans music, fashion, and culture. Over her two-decade career, she’s directed music videos for Solange, Kendrick Lamar, and Justin Bieber; collaborated with numerous brands; and made history as the first woman to design her own Nike Air Jordan sneaker.

In today’s conversation, Vashtie opens up about addressing generational trauma, balancing her creative passions with raising two young daughters, her new dance party for families (A Parently Kidding), and how motherhood has not taken away from her identity but instead expanded it in every direction.

Follow Vashtie at @vashtie

Today’s episode is brought to you by three brands we love—Babyletto, The RealReal, and Nuna. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Babyletto.com/MOTHERMAG and score $50 off your purchase of $500+ 

~Visit TheRealReal.com for $25 off your first order

~Head over to NunaBaby.com to shop the brand-new Wardrobe by Nuna collection

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Vashtie’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

Business of Hype (YouTube)

Premium Pete (YouTube)

Complex (YouTube)

MOTHER (website)

The New York Times (website)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Join MOTHER’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Katie Hintz-Zambrano, as we go deep with a dynamic mix of guests to deliver honest stories exploring one’s upbringing, motherhood journey, career path, creative habits, activism, legacy, and personal tales of parenting children of all ages (from 0 to 20+). 

You’ll hear from an incredible roster of inspiring women sharing heartfelt stories that you absolutely have to hear for yourself. 

Find The MOTHER Podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform. 

Follow, rate, and leave us a review, and get to know us at www.mothermag.com and @mothermag on Instagram.

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza  

Today’s guest is comedian, podcaster, and writer Youngmi Mayer.

Youngmi is one of the very first people we profiled on MOTHER 10 years ago, back when she—and her ex-husband Danny Bowien—were food world darlings thanks to their restaurant, Mission Chinese Food.

It wasn’t until several years after becoming a mother that Youngmi finally vocalized the goal she’d had since she was a kid—and was too embarrassed to say out loud—she wanted to be a stand-up comedian. 

She chronicles this experience—as well as the rise and fall of Mission Chinese—in her brand-new memoir, I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying.

The bulk of the book covers her personal history of being raised in Korea by a Korean mother and American father, as well as the powerful stories of the many ancestors that came before her. 

As the title suggests, the book is at times funny and deeply emotional, as it touches on issues of colonialism, abuse, love, death, motherhood, and generational trauma.

In today’s conversation, we talk to Youngmi about what she’s happily inherited from her own parents, her big breaks in comedy, raising a tween son in a world steeped in misogyny, and her ultimate goal of being relatable.  

You can follow Youngmi at @ymmayer on Instagram.

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER24 for 20% off holiday cards and 15% off gifts through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG15 for 15% off your next order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more on Youngmi’s story, check out these great interviews:
New York Times (article)
Add To Cart (podcast)
Hairy Butthole (podcast)
Feeling Asian (podcast)

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Ingrid Silva, the Harlem-based ballerina who was born in Rio de Janeiro, and began dancing at 8-years-old, after a neighbor fatefully told her mother about a nearby dance class.

Noted for her natural talent from the very start, Ingrid ended up dancing for the next 10 years before moving to New York at 18 after being awarded a scholarship to the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s summer program. 

Despite not knowing any English when she arrived, and wrestling her own doubts and criticism, Ingrid has gone on to receive countless accolades in the dance world. This includes having her hand-painted pointe shoes exhibited at the Smithsonian.  She’s also helped create a series of community-building organizations, including podHER and Blacks in Ballet.

Through motherhood, Ingrid has found newfound strength and fame—she’s gone on to create a new community—Dancers & Motherhood—alongside 3 fellow dancers, and appeared on the cover of Vogue Brasil in all of her pregnant glory—which is when we first discovered her nearly four years ago.

In today’s conversation, we talk to Ingrid about her incredible career journey, her mother’s undying belief in her, how she found pride in her Blackness after moving to the U.S., and her ultimate goal of changing the dance world—for the better.

Be sure to follow Ingrid at @ingridsilva

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER24 for 20% off holiday cards and 15% off gifts and more through December 31, 2024.
~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.
~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG15 for 15% off your next order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more on Ingrid’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:
OWN (YouTube)
Postpartum Production (podcast)
We and the Color (YouTube)
Nike (YouTube)
Brene Brown (website)

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Sarah LaFleur, the Founder and CEO of M.M.LaFleur. We spoke at one of her NYC stores, in front of our first-ever LIVE podcast audience!

Raised in Japan, Sarah worked in corporate consulting at Bain and had a short stint in private equity before giving business ownership a try.

After recruiting designer Miyako Nakamura, the pair set off to create a brand of stylish, high-quality clothing for professional women. They launched M.M.LaFleur in 2013, and have gone on to hit revenue milestones in the tens of millions. 

Beyond her business story, Sarah’s motherhood journey is something to behold. This includes raising “triblings”—a.k.a. three children who were born 7 weeks apart—thanks to surrogacy and her own pregnancy happening at the same time.

It’s a wild story that we can’t wait to share with you. 

We hope you enjoy our first—but definitely not our last—live podcast recording!

Follow Sarah at @mmlafleur and @sarahmlafleur on Instagram.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

This episode is in partnership with M.M.LaFleur, an NYC-based fashion brand built on the core belief that when women succeed, the world becomes a better place.

Today’s episode is also supported by Hey Freya — use code MOTHER20 for $20 off your first purchase at heyfreya.co and follow along at @heyfreya.co on Instagram.

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on social.

For more on Sarah’s inspiring career + motherhood story, check out these great interviews:
Marie Claire (article)
How I Built This (podcast)
Leave Your Mark (podcast)
Inc. (podcast)
Plucking Up (podcast)
She Speaks (podcast)
Drink Like A Lady (podcast)
The Big Move (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Joanna Ho, the best-selling author whose children’s books cover topics such as familial roots, oppression and justice, and the importance of representation—especially for fellow Asian Americans. After years of rejection, her first book, Eyes That Kiss In The Corners, became an instant New York Times Best-Seller in 2021. She’s gone on to publish 9 other books for children and young adults, including her most recent release, We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem For Asian America.

Written in her signature lyrical style, the book covers the rich, nuanced, and incredibly diverse history of Asians in America and includes a very detailed section in the back that urges children and adults to go deeper with guiding questions and additional research.   

In today’s conversation, we talk to Joanna about finding strength in becoming a single mom, embracing the beauty in her Asian American identity, the power of representation in kid-lit, the devastation of book bans sweeping across the country, and her ultimate goal of sparking revolutions—both big and small.  

Follow Joanna at @joannahowrites

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Joanna’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

Kidlit Happy Hour (podcast)
KQED (YouTube)
Scholastic (YouTube)
Publisher’s Weekly (website)
MOTHER (website)
The Horn Book Inc. (website)
We Need Diverse Books (website)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Kate Baer, the beloved poet whose work explores motherhood, marriage, misogyny, the sacredness of female friendships—and so much more.  

Kate’s very first book, What Kind of Woman, was released during the turbulence of 2020—mere days after the 2020 presidential election. It was the first time she was ever paid to write and it became a #1 New York Times best-seller.

A year later, she released another best-seller: I Hope This Finds You Well, a stunning collection of erasure poems in which she uses the often offensive commentary she’s received on social media to create her work. The latest book of the Pennysalvania-native is 2022’s And Yet, which continues her streak of crafting the most beautiful truth bombs.  

In today’s conversation, we talk to Kate about raising 4 children, her next book, the pressure that comes with all those accolades, the glory of being an unsupervised latchkey kid in the 90s, and how the unplanned pregnancy of her 4th child changed the course of her life and career.

Follow Kate on social at @katejbaer

Today’s episode is brought to you by a couple mom-owned brands we love—Zenni & Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

-Shop Zenni.com for sunglasses and prescription glasses for your entire family—at 1/10th of optician prices 

-Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Kate’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

MOTHER (website)
Darien Library (YouTube)
Everything Happens (podcast)
Under The Influencer (podcast)
Midtown Scholar Bookstore (YouTube)
New York Times (website)
Forever 35 (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Latham Thomas, the superstar doula and founder of Mama Glow—a global maternal health + education platform serving birthing people along the childbearing continuum. 

Inspired by the transcendent birth of her own son 21 years ago, Latham went on to become a doula herself—including to stars like Alicia Keys, Anne Hathaway, and Ashley Graham—and to create a doula training program that’s educated hundreds of birth workers and touched thousands of lives.

She’s also an author, visiting professor at Brown, and the co-founder of the Mama Glow Foundation, a non-profit committed to advancing reproductive justice + birth equity through education, advocacy, and the arts.

In this episode, Latham discusses her upbringing, attachment parenting, the importance of teaching kids body literacy, and how she’s embracing her current “open nest” period.

Be on the lookout for a Part Two of our conversation with Latham, in which she shares her incredible birth story that ultimately inspired her career path, as well as passes along 5 tried-and-true tips for How To Help A New Mom. 

Follow Latham on social at @glowmaven and @mamaglow

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Minted, Ritual, and Zenni. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Shop Zenni.com for sunglasses and prescription glasses at 1/10th of optician prices.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Latham’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

The Best Thing (podcast)
Professional Troublemaker (podcast)
The Journey (YouTube)
The Soft Space (MOTHER)
Good Life Project (podcast)
The Motherkind Podcast (podcast)
For The Love Of You (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Today’s guest is Cleo Wade, the best-selling author and poet whose work explores hope, resilience, and the power of love. Her books include Heart Talk, Where To Begin, Remember Love, and two children’s books: What The Road Said, and her brand-new kid-lit title—which she both wrote and illustrated—May You Love and Be Loved: Wishes for Your Life. 

In addition to her books, Cleo has also created public art installations across the country, and works closely with several nonprofits that support women and girls.  

What we find so inspiring about Cleo is how she is committed to comforting and uplifting people in their toughest times. She uses her standing as a mega-influencer for good—instead of just for vanity—which is a true rarity these days. 

In today’s conversation, Cleo talks to us about her upbringing, where she motivates from, juggling parenthood alongside a robust career, her latest book, how the strength of one’s motherhood and strength of one’s personhood are undeniably linked—and so much more.

Follow Cleo on social at @cleowade    

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG10 for $10 off your first order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Cleo’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

Raising Good Humans (podcast)
Lewis Howes (podcast)
Game Changers (podcast)
Good Life Project (podcast)
Pretty Big Deal (YouTube)
Pretty Smart (YouTube)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.  

Mara Hoffman knew she wanted to be a fashion designer at only 8-years-old. After graduating from Parsons in 2000, her one-of-a-kind pieces soon caught the attention of legendary costume designer Patricia Field and stylists for budding artists Britney Spears, J.Lo, and Christina Aguilera. Then, 15 years into her thriving business—when her label was synonymous with brightly colored, graphic-print swimwear and garments—Mara decided to pivot her entire model to be a more sustainable one. A move that was inspired by her young son, Joaquin, and envisioning the world he would inherit.

In May 2024, she made the industry-rattling announcement that she’s taking a break from the fashion industry and putting a pause on her beloved label. In our conversation, Mara provides more context on her new move—and why it’s so important for her to lean into parenting right now. 

We talk about the importance of honoring not only the birth of things, but the death of things—which is made even more poignant after hearing Mara’s harrowing birth story, which includes losing one of her twin boys.  We also talk about cultivating self-love, parenting a teen, and so much more. 

*Trigger Warning: This episode includes an intimate story about infant and pregnancy loss, which may be triggering to some listeners. 

Follow Mara on social at @marahoffman

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.
~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.
~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG10 for $10 off your first order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Mara’s inspiring business + life story, check out these great interviews:

Infinite Crescendo (podcast)
CFDA Awards Speech (YouTube)
The Cut (podcast)
StyleLikeU (podcast)
The New York Times (article)
Second Life (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.