The Mummafesto

Joining me this week is Vyki Sparkes, otherwise known as Museum Mum. After gaining a Masters in Museum studies and working at some of London’s best museums, Vyki founded Museum Mum to help families find great cultural activities and share her own families’ adventures with trip reviews and reports. Since 2012 Vyki’s platform has grown to over 40k families taking her recommendations for the UK’s best cultural spots.  

Joining me this week is author Daisie Lane. Daisie is the founder of the Lockdown Mama Community and author of Mothers in Lockdown – a collection of stories from mothers sharing their experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum during a global pandemic. The book collates 150 honest accounts of mothering amid a challenging period in history and the devastating impact that maternity restrictions had on maternal mental health in the UK. Daisie, welcome to the Mummafesto.  

You can find out more about Daisie's work and her book here.

My guest this week is Jemima Hartshorn. Jemima is a human rights lawyer, public

prosecutor and clean air campaigner. In 2017 she founded Mums for Lungs, a grassroot

campaign group advocating for clean air in London. Since 2017, Mums for Lungs has

become central in the fight for clean air – leading several successful campaigns to reduce

children’s exposure to harmful pollutants and affirming the power of community driven

activism.

You can find out more about Mums for Lungs and how you can get involved here.

@mumsforlungs

My guests this week are comedy duo, Ellie and Helen – otherwise known as the Scummy Mummies. They joined forces in 2013 and have since gone on to produce an award-winning podcast, a sell-out tour and a popular book. Their podcast, the Scummy Mummies Podcast, has now been downloaded over 5 million times and in 2020 won the Glomama UK podcast trophy. Scummy Mummies, welcome to the Mummafesto.  

You can find out more about the Scummy Mummies upcoming tour here.

My guest this week is Natasha Devon. Natasha is a writer, broadcaster & activist. She tours schools and universities delivering talks as well as conducting research on mental health, body image, gender and equality. She campaigns both on and offline to make the world a fairer place. Natasha is founder of the Mental Health Media Charter, which scrutinises the way the media report on mental health. She co-founded  Where’s Your Head At, which aims to improve mental health in British work places. She works with a number of charities, is a Patron for No Panic, as well as an Ambassador for Glitch and the Reading Agency. Natasha has a weekly radio show on LBC (Saturday from 6pm). She is a patron for Pride at Global, which works on LGBTQ representation across all of Global Media brands. Natasha has a column in Teach Secondary magazine, as well as writing regularly for a number of other publications, including The Guardian and Grazia Magazine.  

The Mummafesto podcast is hosted by Stella Creasy MP, a Labour backbench MP and mum of two young children. Each week it considers how parenting influences politics.

My guest this week is author, coach and founder of Motherkind Zoe Blaskey. Zoe is passionate about helping mothers shift from guilt, exhaustion and comparison to confidence and empowerment. Zoe’s debut book is published today, and features advice and recommendations from over 60 experts on how to navigate the endless expectations of motherhood.  

You can find out more about Zoe's debut book here.

The Mummafesto podcast is hosted by Stella Creasy MP, a Labour backbench MP and mum of two young children. Each week it considers how parenting influences politics.

This week I'm chatting to Lyanne Nicholl. Lyanne is the CEO of 50:50 parliament, which works to empower and enable women to get involved in politics. Lyanne is also a postnatal campaigner and in 2022 published her first book on postnatal care.

You can find out more about 50:50 Parliament's work here and Lyanne's book and postnatal campaign here.

My guest this week is CEO and social entrepreneur Sophie Livingstone.

Sophie is currently CEO of Little Village and Chair of the Baby Bank

Alliance, a network of baby banks across the UK providing a vital

lifeline for struggling families. Sophie was previously founding CEO

of City Year UK, a charity enabling young people to tackle inequality

through doing a year of voluntary service in schools. In 2020 she was

awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to

charity. Soph also happens to be one of my

closest friends. Soph, welcome to the Mummafesto.

The Mummafesto podcast is hosted by Stella Creasy, the Labour and Cooperative candidate for Walthamstow. Each week it considers how parenting influences politics.

My guest this week is Vicki Broadbent, aka Honest Mum. Vicki is a writer, director and author of the UK’s Number 1 parenting blog, Honest Mum. Her blog discusses everything from family life, food, fashion, travel to her experience as a parent and reaches over 8 million parents a month. In 2018 Vicki published her first bestselling book Mum Boss, a manifesto for surviving at work and at home. Vicki, welcome to The Mummafesto.  

The Mummafesto podcast is hosted by Stella Creasy, the Labour and Cooperative candidate for Walthamstow. Each week it considers how parenting influences politics.

My guest this week is Dr Martha Deiros Collado, clinical psychologist and mother. Martha is an expert in parenting, child development and pediatric health and specialises in helping children and their parents cope by taking a more holistic approach to parenting. Before focusing on parenting, Martha developed the annual review of psychology protocol for Cystic Fibrosis and set up Teen and Young Adult Cancer services at Guy’s hospital. She also has her own podcast, Talking Sense, where she makes sense of everyday behaviours for struggling parents.