Welcome back to Witching Hour – the show where two mums and sort of cousins figure out how to make work, work. Today on the show:

• When she earns more: what Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce reveal about modern relationships, power, and money. Are we as progressive as we think, or do we still quietly expect men to earn more?
• And are mums more worried about dads enjoying parenthood than dads are about mums surviving it?

—

In this episode we cover: female breadwinners, money and marriage, gender roles in relationships, ambition and motherhood, career identity after kids, emotional labour and equality at home, stay-at-home dads, the mental load, modern partnerships, feminism in relationships, financial power dynamics, and what Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship says about changing gender norms.

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

Find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the land on which we’re lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters. Always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent, and you can too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to The Low Battery Book Club, a bonus monthly three-parter in collaboration with Charley from Book Smut, where we consume way too much culture and talk way too much trash. If you need to play catch up on the first episode of this series, you can find it here.

On the show today:

• We share our favourite recs of the month (something old, something new, something high, something low)
• We deep dive The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done by Clare Stephens, talking pile-ons, cancel culture, phone addictions and the tension between our private and public lives.
• Plus, we talk all things smutty, horny reading – Charley gives us the stats on the rise of the dragon porn genre and what to read next if you need more libido stirring reads.
• We pick our December book club pick and land on the extra books we promise to read before we meet again.

And here’s our ‘something old, something new, something high, something low’ for November…

Charley:

Old favourite: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

New: CANNOT WAIT for The Mushroom Tapes (Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, Sarah Krasnostein) and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Nov 13, Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien)

High: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu

Lowbrow but loving: Love is Blind

Lu:

Old: Re-watched The Family Stone in honour of Diane Keaton. Grab a tissue box and do yourselves a favour.

New (for her, anyway): Nymphet Alumni podcast. (Fave episodes: Magazine Girl & Fashion and Psychoanalysis w Dr Valerie Steele)

High(s):

In Vogue: The 90s – Disney, six episodes.

Sentimental Garbage’s episode on Diane Keaton, especially the excerpt at the end from her book ‘Then Again.’

The Pitt on HBO Max, finally watching and loving.

Low: Losing Jane Goodall AND Diane Keaton since we last recorded. RIP icons.

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@book_smut

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode, we cover the below topics:

Clare Stephens, internet pile-ons, cancel culture, Diane Keaton, Jane Goodall books, book club, new movies, pop culture, sentimental garbage, Caroline O’Donoghue.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

We Pay The Rent and you can too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based episode, landing in your ears every Friday.

If your hormones have felt completely out of whack since having kids, think mood swings, brain fog, low energy or irregular cycles, this one’s for you. Loz chats with Mel, founder of The Seed Cycle, about the science behind seed cycling and why this ancient ‘woo woo’ practice actually works.

Mel breaks down how specific seeds can help balance estrogen and progesterone, what to do if your period’s irregular after birth, and why syncing with the moon can help when your cycle’s still finding its rhythm. She also shares the real signs your hormones might be out of balance, the role stress plays, and how small nutrition tweaks can make a big difference to your mood and energy.

Find Mel’s products and resources at theseedcycle.com.au or follow her on Instagram at @theseedcycle.

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode: hormone health, seed cycling, postpartum hormones, nutrition for women, stress and cortisol, cycle syncing, and working mum wellbeing.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we’re lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Because my Witching Hour co-host and the host of Ask Ready or Not Loz is the yin to my yang, she always thinks of things that I don't. Take, the other week, for example. My entire family had been sick for over a month and it had left me completely dry of new interviews. When I was fretting about this, Loz said, Lu, there's so many old brilliant episodes that so many of our listeners have never heard. Play one of those. And one person came straight to mind: the queen of magazines and mother to four boys, Justine Cullen. I cringed through listening back to my original intro back in March 2023 in the 18th ever Ready or Not episode, and I want to play a bit for you so we can firstly laugh together and secondly, remind ourselves how far we've all come, because we’ll all have an example of this.

Here, we talk about why we all love Chilli Heeler, what life looks like when you're parenting both young kids and grown men, and the identity crisis that changed Justine's approach to work. If you want to get up to speed on what Justine is up to now, you can look her up on Instagram, but for now, please enjoy learning from and laughing with someone that I will always think of as iconic.

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode, we cover the below topics: the magazine industry, separation, single parenting, the publishing industry, writing a book, journalism, New York fashion week, pumping, breastfeeding, identity, ambition, career changes, media.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

We Pay The Rent and you can too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Witching Hour – the show where two mums and sort of cousins figure out how to make work, work. Today on the show:

• Why mums hide their ambition: are we still expected to apologise for loving our jobs, or has ambition become the new taboo for mothers?
• The trad wife trend: why a growing corner of social media is telling women to ditch their friends and find everything they need at home.

—

In this episode, we cover: ambition and motherhood, guilt and identity in working mums, feminist relationships, the value of female friendship, the mental load, loneliness and community, and the ongoing battle between caring and carrying.

—

Thanks for listening!

If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

Find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, the land on which we’re lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters. Always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent, and you can too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based episode, landing in your ears every Friday.

This week, Loz chats with Nicole Gleeman, emergency nurse and founder of Rhythm First Aid and Bumpies, about what to actually do when your child gets sick, injured, or starts solids.

Nicole has spent over a decade in emergency departments, and she’s on a mission to make parents feel calm and confident when the chaos hits. She shares what’s normal when it comes to constant daycare bugs, when to go to the doctor or emergency, and the signs of dehydration you should never ignore.

You’ll hear her myth-busting takes on fevers, choking, croup, and burns plus the truth about probiotics, Panadol, and what to actually keep in your first-aid kit.

Find Nicole online at @rhythmfirstaid and @bumpies_

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode, we cover what to do when your child gets sick or injured, how to handle fevers and gastro at home, when to go to the GP or emergency, spotting dehydration, starting solids safely, understanding allergic reactions, treating burns, croup and choking basics, and building confidence with first aid as a parent.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we’re lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Witching Hour – the show where two mums and sort of cousins figure out how to make work, work. Today on the show:

• Parents fined $11,000 for school refusal: why the system is punishing families instead of supporting them and why it’s always mums who cop the blame.
• Alex Cooper’s viral “stop mothering your partner” take: where’s the line between caring and carrying the mental load?

—

In this episode, we cover: school refusal and parental fines, gender inequality in parenting, emotional and mental load, feminist relationships, communication in partnerships, working motherhood, systemic pressures on families, and the daily juggle of career and care.

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode, we cover practical money advice for mothers, financial wellbeing and advocacy, budgeting through maternity leave, how to manage childcare costs, ways to start investing with small amounts, realistic savings tips for working mums, navigating financial inequality and superannuation after kids, how to talk to your partner about money, creating long-term financial security, and building financial confidence while juggling motherhood and career.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based episode, landing in your ears every Friday.

This week, Loz chats with Frances Cook, financial journalist, author, and host of New Zealand’s number one business podcast, Making Sense, about practical money hacks that actually work for busy mums.

Frances breaks down how to budget through maternity leave, what the 50-30-20 rule really looks like when you’ve got kids, and the biggest financial traps new mums fall into. She shares her honest take on joint accounts, childcare costs, and why starting small with investing can be your smartest move.

Find Frances online at @francescooknz

—

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram:

@readyornot.pod

@laurentreweek_

@lucindamckimm_

—

In this episode, we cover practical money advice for mothers, financial wellbeing and advocacy, budgeting through maternity leave, how to manage childcare costs, ways to start investing with small amounts, realistic savings tips for working mums, navigating financial inequality and superannuation after kids, how to talk to your partner about money, creating long-term financial security, and building financial confidence while juggling motherhood and career.

—

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we’re lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.