Motherkind

By Zoe Blaskey

Motherkind is the podcast for women who know that motherhood changes everything — and want to grow forward, not “bounce back”. Hosted by Zoe Blaskey, Motherkind explores the profound personal, emot

... more

4.8

104104 ratings

FAQs about Motherkind:

How many episodes does Motherkind have?

The podcast currently has 733 episodes available.

Best of Motherkind

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Lou Beckett: Why Mothers Carry So Much of the Mental Load and How to Change It
During August, the Motherkind team and I try to practise what we preach by slowing down, taking some time off and making the juggle just a little easier over the summer holidays. So, throughout the month, we're bringing you some of our most listened-to episodes of the year so far. If you’re the person who remembers the PE kits, books the appointments, sorts the childcare, knows when the suncream needs reapplying and automatically assumes you’re looking after the children unless you’ve specifically arranged otherwise — this episode is for you. This week’s episode is with author Lou Beckett for a brilliantly honest conversation about being the default parent and the invisible mental, emotional and physical load so many mothers carry. Lou describes default parenting as something bigger than the mental load. It’s not only thinking about everything that needs to happen; it’s doing it, managing it and carrying the underlying assumption that ultimately, you are responsible. And often, couples don't consciously choose these roles at all. They simply fall into them after having children and never stop to renegotiate them. We talk about what that does to your identity, your relationship and your time — including Lou's experience of stepping away from her career while her husband's career accelerated, and the gradual feeling that she had lost sight of who she was outside motherhood. Lou also shares what has actually helped them change the dynamic at home: having honest conversations about responsibility, creating space for both parents' needs and recognising that wanting time for yourself doesn't make you selfish. We also talk about the enormous standards mothers place on themselves, comparison, mum guilt and why sometimes “good enough” really is enough. This is a funny, validating and incredibly relatable conversation for any mother who has ever thought: Why does everything seem to fall to me? 💡 What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeHow to recognise if you’re the default parentWhy the mental load so often falls to mothersHow to start sharing responsibility more equallyWhy motherhood can leave you feeling like you’ve lost yourselfHow to let go of guilt and make space for yourself againWatch this episode on YouTube and subscribe. Loved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet Connect with Zoe:Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTokGet Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.Key Topics Default parent • Mental load • Invisible labour • Overwhelmed mothers • Mum guilt • Parental burnout • Sharing the load • Motherhood identity • Relationships after children • Maternal mental load • Asking for help • Self-care for mothers • Working motherhood • Losing yourself in motherhood • Parenting roles
August 13, 202639min
Number 2: Frankie Bridge: How to Stay Ambitious After Kids Without the Mum Guilt
Motherhood changes so much — including what success, ambition and a fulfilling career actually look like. This week, Zoe is joined by Frankie Bridge for a brilliantly honest conversation about working motherhood, career reinvention, confidence, mental health and letting go of the impossible standards we set ourselves as mothers. Frankie has been working since she was 12, from S Club Juniors and The Saturdays to television and now building her own business, Faves. But becoming a mother forced her to rethink what success actually meant. She shares why having her two boys made her braver and more ambitious, but also far more protective of her time. Now, before saying yes to work, she asks whether it brings her joy, makes financial sense or genuinely moves the needle — because leaving her children has to be for a good reason. We talk about reinventing your career after children and the fear that comes with starting something completely new. Frankie opens up about imposter syndrome as a founder and the important realisation that even the most successful people don't have everything figured out, they're learning as they go too. Frankie also speaks incredibly openly about depression, anxiety and maternal mental health. She was talking publicly about her mental health at a time when those conversations were far less common, and shares why mothers need permission to admit they're struggling without first having to reassure everyone that they love their children. We also explore something I think so many mothers will recognise: how easily the things that bring us joy disappear once we have children. Frankie shares why, after losing confidence in her singing following The Saturdays, she's started vocal training again — not for an audition or career goal, but simply because she loves it. This is such a warm and reassuring conversation about ambition after motherhood, mum guilt, mental health, career pivots and permitting yourself to want something for yourself too.💡 In this episode, you’ll learn:How to redefine success after becoming a motherWhy having children can make you braver and more ambitiousHow to navigate a career change when you don't have all the answersWhy mothers need things that bring them joy outside parentingHow to let go of guilt and impossible motherhood standardsWatch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. Loved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s conversation with Maria Hatzistefanis - The Rodial Founder on Burnout, Discipline and Why Hustle Culture Fails Mothers Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet Connect with Zoe:Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTokGet Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.Key topicsWorking motherhood • Career after children • Mum guilt • Motherhood and ambition • Career change • Career reinvention • Working mum • Mental health • Maternal mental health • Depression • Anxiety • Motherhood identity • Confidence • Imposter syndrome • Starting a business • Female founders • Working parents • Work-life balance • Motherhood expectations • Parenting guilt • Self-care for mothers • Finding yourself after motherhood • Frankie Bridge • The Saturdays • Faves • Motherkind
September 10, 202653min
Number 3: The Myth That's Making Your Relationships Harder
Have you ever felt like one person was supposed to carry the weight of your entire world — your happiness, your moments, your everything? In this Monday Moment, broadcaster and author Anna Whitehouse, also known as Mother Pukka, shares the piece of relationship advice that completely changed how she sees love, family, and what a happy ending really looks like. Anna opens up about the reality of divorce. Why it's one of the hardest things she's ever been through and shares the powerful reframe that helped her stop seeing herself as someone who "broke" her family. Together, Zoe and Anna explore what it really means to build a community around you, why putting everything on one person is quietly exhausting us all, and the simple one-minute practice that works better than any spa day. Whether you're in a relationship, navigating big changes, or just feeling the weight of trying to make one person your everything, there is so much wisdom in this moment. 💡 What You'll Learn in This MomentWhy one person was never meant to be your everythingThe 96-year-old fisherman whose wisdom changed Anna's whole outlook on loveThe honest truth about divorce and why Anna refuses to call herself a "divorcee"How to stop waiting for the Disney ending and start rewriting your own happy endingThe tiny one-minute practice Anna does between every part of her dayWhat Anna would say to herself five years ago standing at the edge of an impossible decisionLoved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you liked this moment, listen to the full episode: Anna Whitehouse on Divorce, Burnout and Rebuilding Feeling like you’re carrying it all? Download your FREE Mental Load Cheat Sheet and learn how to start feeling lighter, even if nothing in your life changes. Connect with Zoe:Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTokGet Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.Jurassic Oceans Exhibition at The Natural History Museum. Kids go half price.
August 24, 202613min
Number 4: Steven Bartlett’s CEO: How to Navigate Career and Motherhood Without Losing Yourself
What happens when you genuinely love your career and desperately want to be there for your children? In this week’s Moment, we explore one of the hardest tensions of working motherhood: the feeling that however much support you have, there are some parts of being a mother you simply don’t want to outsource. After taking on a huge new role with Steven Bartlett while six months pregnant with her third child, Amy Golding shares how motherhood completely changed the way she makes career decisions. Before having children, she thought combining work and family was largely a logistical challenge, something you could solve with enough childcare, money and careful planning. Then she became a mother and realised she'd forgotten something much harder to quantify: love. We talk about the invisible mental load, wanting to be the primary attachment figure, the complicated emotions that can come with childcare, and why loving your work doesn’t make it any easier to miss the school plays, appointments and everyday moments with your children. Because perhaps the tension between motherhood and ambition isn't an equation we're supposed to perfectly solve.💡 In this Moment, you’ll learn:Why working motherhood can feel impossible to get rightHow motherhood can change the way you make career decisionsWhy childcare doesn't necessarily remove working mum guiltThe emotional side of the mental load we rarely talk aboutHow to navigate loving your career and wanting to be with your childrenWatch every full episode on YouTube and subscribe. Loved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you enjoyed this episode, listen to the full episode: Steven Bartlett’s CEO: How I Make Career Decisions Around My Family Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet Connect with Zoe:Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTokGet Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:Headline sponsor: Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.Key topics: Working motherhood • Working mum guilt • Career after children • Motherhood and career • Mental load • Invisible labour • Childcare • Career decisions • Motherhood and ambition • Maternal guilt • Work-life balance • Working parents • Motherhood identity • Primary attachment • Career change • Women at work • Returning to work after maternity leave • Maternity leave • Ambitious mothers • Modern motherhood • Motherkind
September 14, 202612min
Number 5: “I’m a Better Mother Because I Work” — From The Woman Who Ran British Vogue Whilst Pregnant
During August, the Motherkind team and I try to practise what we preach by slowing down, taking some time off and making the juggle just a little easier over the summer holidays. So, throughout the month, we're bringing you some of our most listened-to episodes of the year so far. What if becoming a mother didn't make you less ambitious, less capable or less valuable at work, but actually gave you skills that could make you better at your job? This week, we're revisiting one of our most listened-to Motherkind episodes of the year, and it's a conversation I think every working mother needs to hear. I'm joined by Vanessa Kingori, who became the first woman in British Vogue's history to become Publishing Director and found herself navigating pregnancy and new motherhood while leading one of the most powerful media brands in the world. Vanessa shares the extraordinary pressure she felt when she became pregnant in such a senior position, including being told that her pregnancy was exactly why businesses were reluctant to put women into these roles. Rather than hiding it, Vanessa did the opposite: she became deliberately visible and set out to make things easier for the women who would come after her. We talk about why working mothers so often feel they're failing at both work and home, even when they're actually performing brilliantly. Vanessa explains why motherhood can make women better at time management, decision-making, prioritisation and leadership — and why businesses that underestimate mothers are missing some of their greatest talent. We also get practical about the juggle: asking for help, having honest conversations with your partner about the division of labour, building your village and surrounding yourself with people who support the life you're trying to create. And Vanessa shares a powerful reminder for any mother questioning her career, ambition or identity: you don't have to choose one version of yourself. You can be ambitious and deeply present. A leader and a mother. Career-driven and family-focused. As Vanessa puts it, she's a better mother because she works — and a better business leader because she's a mother. This is a conversation about working motherhood, career confidence, ambition, mum guilt and redefining what success looks like after children. 💡 What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeWhy motherhood can make you better at your jobHow to navigate career ambition after having childrenWhy working mothers often feel they're failing when they're notHow to ask for help and create a more equal division of labourHow to build a career and motherhood around what matters to youWatch this episode on YouTube and subscribe. Loved this episode? Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode of Motherkind. It helps more mothers find the show and keeps our community growing. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Zoe’s solo - The Problem Isn’t You, It’s Career Advice that Ignores Motherhood Feeling different since becoming a mother? Get clarity on who you’re becoming now and download your FREE Matrescence Cheat Sheet Connect with Zoe:Follow Zoe on Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTokGet Zoe’s Sunday Times bestselling book, 'Motherkind: A New Way to Thrive in a World of Endless Expectations’This Motherkind episode is sponsored by:Headline sponsor Wild Nutrition, the brand raising the bar for women’s supplements. Want to feel the Food-Grown difference yourself? Get 50% off for three months at wildnutrition.com/motherkind. Ts and Cs apply.
August 27, 202658min