Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday. In today's episode, we cover: Four Ridiculously Smart Reasons to Slow Down at Work (The Muse) How having a baby in your 20’s became the new ‘teen pregnancy’ (news.com.au) What the devastating attack in Bondi last week has made us stop and reflect on --- THIS WEEK'S PARTNER This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Mukti Organics, results-driven and award-w ..read more

Natasha Heger had been with the company she worked at for 10 years before she went on parental leave, and just the day before she was originally due to return, she was made redundant. What followed was a longer than anticipated break from the workforce and a search for a new role, but this time, not just as Natasha, but as mum, too. Not one to settle for any old role - which is such a common experience for mothers who feel like they don't have much choice - she was set on finding a workplace that understood and valued the work of a mother. And as someone who admits to having some dark moments ..read more

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday. In today's episode, we cover: 10 Impressive Questions to Ask in a Job Interview (The Cut) No Parent Can Make Home-Cooked Meals All the Time (The Atlantic) And from the Ready or Not Instagram community, your answers to our Instagram poll all about screen time and staying present --- THIS WEEK'S PARTNER This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by THE INARRA, a ..read more

I often wonder to myself, what did mothers do before incredible people like Hello Darling co-founder Bridgette Gale were open enough to share their stories? Where did they find comfort? Where did they see themselves? This episode has so much, it's difficult to know where to begin - starting a business at 21, working with the likes of Em Rata, miscarriage, postnatal anxiety and depression, intrusive thoughts, returning to work after two weeks, moving across the country with a four-week turnaround after receiving a business proposition she couldn't refuse, going from swimwear to tech startup, fi ..read more

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday. In today's episode, we cover: We discuss the “let them” theory – very topical given our chat about the mental load two weeks ago and our poll today. Women say they're being routinely delayed or denied epidurals when giving birth because of "mistaken" beliefs about their impact on labour. (ABC) And your answers to our poll, all about maternal gatekeeping. Shop the R ..read more

When Minna Dubin wrote about mum rage for The New York Times, her words went viral. In opening the article, she writes: 'the rage lives in my hands, rolls down my fingers clenching to fists. I want to hurt someone. I am tears and fury and violence. I want to scream and rip open pillows, toss chairs and punch walls. I want to see my destruction — feathers floating, overturned furniture, ragged holes in drywall.' Even recording this, I'm nervous to admit that I resonated with this so deeply that it nearly moved me to tears. It feels somewhat unsafe to confess that motherhood can drive me to a ty ..read more

There's no Witching Hour episode today due to the public holiday. Instead, Lu is checking in very briefly from bed to let you know that our Go To Guides are now out in the wild, and to get honest about how much longer it took us to finish them than anticipated. But, wowee are we proud of the final result! We really believe in these guides and we hope you love them: readable, beautiful, well-researched guides that tackle the sort of topics we wish we had access to, all in the name of supporting mothers in making work, work. Created in consultation with some of the best experts in their respecti ..read more

Content warning: this episode discusses pregnancy, fertility and abortion. When Michelle Battersby announced her pregnancy to her Instagram followers, there was no pretty picture with two lines, no ultrasound, no baby bump. Instead, she shared something deeply personal. Something that, as a founder who is often looked to for career inspiration, she felt compelled to be open about. And that was that she’d previously had two abortions for her career. We know that the mental load of family planning when it comes to career can start a lot earlier for women. Is a long university course worth it if ..read more

Welcome back to Witching Hour: the show that looks at what's exciting, delighting, intriguing, and frustrating us as we make work, work alongside parenting. It's Ready or Not's loose little sister coming to your ears every Monday. In today's episode, we cover: At Bogota’s Care School for Men, men learn how to step up to do their share of housework and child care - from changing a diaper to styling a ponytail To celebrate the launch of our upcoming postpartum planning guide, Lu asks Loz all about her postpartum experiences with Sienna and Xave And we share the stats and stories from our latest ..read more

I had a business coaching session with mother and My Daily Business founder Fiona Killackey last year, and in one short hour, she rocked my world. So, I had to get her on the show. And listening back to this interview on the other side of pregnancy, she’s rocked my world all over again.  This episode has so much: losing parents as a young mum, her husband’s reflections on what the other mums thought about him at the playground, IVF, pregnancy loss, being a part of the sandwich generation – that is caring for her aging parents and young children at the same time – and a whole lot of though ..read more