Is maternal instinct actually a myth? It's a question that's hitting close to home for so many women, whether you have children or not. We're diving into this one, and our conversation may surprise you.

Plus, the internet has gifted us some new vocabulary. 'Mankeeping', 'heterofatalism', 'hermeneutic labour' - fancy words that all translate to the same exhausting reality: what it's actually like to date men. Em Vernem's got the juicy dating stories to prove these terms exist for a reason.

And your weekend sorted with our latest recommendations: a mysterious new hobby that's got us intrigued, a genius hack for mastering new skills, and how to transform the most basic of vegetables into something actually delicious.

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Recommendations

Em recommends Blind Boxes at Pop Mart 

Jessie recommends Carrots by Nagi and Jessie wants you to check out How Social Media Shortens Your Life

Holly recommends learning a language at Duolingo 

What To Listen To Next: 

• Listen to our latest episode: The Problem With Hiring Friends & The Takeaway Tension
• Listen: Taylor Swift & Why Her Boyfriend's Podcast
• Listen: What Does King Charles Do With A Problem Like Prince Andrew?
• Listen: The Influencer Who Tricked Us & Is There Such Thing As A Genius?
• Listen: Love, Loss & Starting Over: The Breakup Dilemmas
• Listen: "Have More Babies" & A Microdrama On The Beckham Yacht
• Listen: Every Thought We Had About The 2025 Logies
• Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts 

Watch Mamamia Out Loud:

Mamamia Out Loud on YouTube

What to read: 

• It's not about housework. This is the real reason women are choosing to be single.
• Welcome to the world of mankeeping.
• '12 things no one told me about the first 12 weeks of motherhood.'
• We need to debrief about the first year of motherhood.
• New mums share the most cooked advice they were given... and wow.
• After the cookbook controversy, everyone's asking can a recipe be copyrighted?
• If you love RecipeTin Eats, here are 9 other cooks to follow on Instagram.

THE END BITS: 

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CREDITS:

Hosts: Em Vernem, Jessie Stephens & Holly Wainwright

Group Executive Producer: Ruth Devine

Executive Producer: Emeline Gazilas

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Video Producer: Josh Green

Junior Content Producers: Coco & Tessa

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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