Relationscapes
Blair Hodges
Exploring the ever-changing terrain of relationships, gender, and sexuality. Award-winning journalist Blair Hodges talks to the best experts and authors about who we are and how we connect with each other. (Formerly known as ”Family Proclamations.”)
From Cringe to Connection: How to Talk About Modern Puberty (with Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett)
Puberty has changed a lot since we were kids. It starts earlier and lasts longer. And it's still as awkward as ever to talk about. Luckily, Dr. Cara Natterson and educator Vanessa Kroll Bennett are here to help. They joined forces to explain the latest science on puberty, and to help caregivers, parents, and teachers navigate puberty conversations with confidence, humor, and connection. Their book is called This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained. SHOW NOTES This Is So Awkward podcast
Apr 1, • 1:15:00
Escaping the Echo Machine (with David Pakman)
Staying up to date with the news is a huge part of David Pakman’s job. As one of the most popular progressive political pundits on the internet today, he’s spent years navigating the media landscape. And that can really wear a person down! He's not immune to burnout caused by local and global crises covered in today's nonstop news cycles. In this mini episode, Pakman confesses his own exasperation about modern politics, emphasizes the importance of media literacy, and offers ideas about how we
Mar 18, • 32:40
The Bad Dads Who Helped Invent Modern Motherhood (with Nancy Reddy)
When Nancy Reddy had her first child, she approached the situation like the overachieving PhD student she was at the time: She went to find the best research on parenting, studied it, and then tried to apply it so that everything would work out perfectly. The problem is, a lot of that research about caregiving and attachment turned out to be based on flawed lab studies, sloppy research, and so much misogyny. Nancy joins us to talk about the problems she found and to offer alternatives that can
Mar 4, • 1:04:00
Writing Great Trans Stories for All Ages (with Kyle Lukoff)
Kyle Lukoff knows how to captivate readers, and he also knows what it feels like to have his books taken captive by bans. Because in picture books like Call Me Max and middle grade novels like Different Kinds of Fruit, Kyle introduces characters who proudly defy common expectations of gender identity. Trans readers love to see themselves reflected in his books. But frankly, Kyle's giving readers of all backgrounds the opportunity to think more deeply about our own journeys of self-discovery. In
Feb 18, • 53:05
Swipe Left on Romance (with Sabrina Strings)
The dating world today feels like a minefield—swiping, ghosting, endless situationships, and more. What if the problem isn’t just app fatigue, but the very idea of romance itself? Sociologist Sabrina Strings unpacks how centuries of racism and sexism have shaped our ideas about modern love, leaving many people—especially women who don’t fit the "white enough" ideal—excluded from the fairy tale of true love. Drawing from her latest book, The End of Love: Racism, Sexism, and the Death of Romance,
Feb 4, • 1:10:00
Creating More Equal Partnerships (with Kate Mangino)
Have you ever felt resentment about how responsibilities are divided in your relationship? Kate Mangino joins us to break down why this dynamic exists—and more important, what you can do about it. Outdated gender norms are causing a lot of problems for people whether they're married, dating, or in a queer or straight partnership. Luckily, some small, everyday changes can lead to a more balanced home life where everyone has time for work, family, and themselves. We're talking about the book, Equa
Jan 21, • 1:18:20
Coming of Age in a Cult and Beyond (with Guinevere Turner)
One January day in 1975, seven-year-old Guinevere Turner put on her best dress, hugged her favorite toy tightly, and waited for the spaceship to arrive. The world was ending and she would be saved, spirited away to Venus with the rest of her enormous and enlightened family. When the prophecy failed, the cult carried on. But Guinevere would soon find herself thrown out into the world beyond, where things somehow became more nightmarish than before. In this episode, Guinevere Turner joins us to ta
Jan 7, • 1:06:00
MINI EPISODE: In Defense of No-Fault Divorce (with Heather Quick)
In this episode: Family Proclamations is getting a new name! A few listeners sound off on their divorce experiences, and attorney Heather Quick stops by to talk about what to look for in a divorce lawyer. Check out Heather's resources: Florida Women's Law Group resources Women Winning Divorce podcast The full transcript of this episode is available here.
Dec 23, 2024 • 31:55
Painfully Funny (with Paul Scheer)
Paul Scheer is an award-winning actor, screenwriter, comedian and podcast host of How Did This Get Made? So you'd think his most interesting life stories would be about his audition for Saturday Night Live or how he came up through improv comedy to star in shows like The League and Black Monday. Those are interesting stories, but in his new memoir, Paul gives center stage to family stories. Growing up with a loving mom and dad who divorced, the tyranny of an abusive stepfather, and what it's lik
Dec 10, 2024 • 56:14
Beyond Barbie Feminism (with Rafia Zakaria)
Mainstream feminism today was created mostly by white women, for white women. It has soaked into American pop culture, social media, the economy, politics, and more. Rafia Zakaria wants that to change. In this episode, we discuss her book Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption. About the Guest Rafia Zakaria is a Pakistani-American attorney, feminist, journalist, and author. Her books include he authored the books The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan and Against White Feminism:
Nov 26, 2024 • 1:02:50
Trans in the Latter Days (with Laurie Lee Hall)
Laurie Lee Hall was a promising college student studying architecture, and she was known to the world as a man. When she encountered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she saw a well-defined path that fit the gender she was assigned at birth. So she buried her past to become the perfect Mormon man. Wearing her male disguise, she married, had children, and rose to the position of chief architect for the LDS Church, overseeing its most sacred building projects. But her past refused t
Nov 12, 2024 • 2:05:26
Border Separations (with Efrén Olivares)
Trump's 2018 zero tolerance policy which separated immigrant children from their parents at the border with no plan for reuniting them shocked the conscience of many Americans. And even though Trump claimed to cease the practice within weeks, zero tolerance is rooted in American law that dates back 100 years and remains on the books today. It can easily happen again. Efrén Olivares was on the front lines defending immigrant families, and the work was personal. Efrén himself is an immigrant, and
Oct 29, 2024 • 1:11:00
MINI EPISODE: Return of the Childless Cat Ladies
"We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. And it's just a basic fact, if you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake i
Oct 15, 2024 • 37:20
Celebrating Black Womanhood (with Catherine Joy White)
As a Black woman growing up in England, Catherine Joy White sometimes felt out of place at home, but also disconnected from the heritage of her Jamaican ancestors. Until she began connecting with the stories of remarkable but often forgotten Black woman from history. Their stories helped her re-envision what beauty means, how silence can also be strength, what "self care" really means, and what courage looks like. She found fortitude which, like a thread of gold, can connect all of us to the pas
Oct 1, 2024 • 1:12:45
The Challenges of Parenting Trans Kids (with Abi Maxwell)
Abi Maxwell's daughter wanted the pink shoes. She wanted to dress as a witch on Halloween in kindergarten. She wore her hair long and envied the dance costumes other girls got to wear for the recital. The problem was that Abi's daughter was "known" to her, and to their conservative New Hampshire town, as a boy. Suddenly, Abi's beloved hometown became engulfed in a hurricane of controversy with her daughter right in the eye of the storm. In this episode, Abi tells the story of how her own ignoran
Sep 17, 2024 • 1:14:52
The Many Reasons Women Don't Have Children (with Peggy O'Donnell Heffington)
History is full of women who never gave birth to children, whether because they couldn't or even didn't want to. Historian Peggy O'Donnell Heffington says her research about women without children made her feel more settled about her own choice not to have kids, but it also surprisingly made her feel greater solidarity with women who make the opposite choice. She joins us to talk about her book Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother. About the Guest Peggy O'Donnell Heffington i
Sep 3, 2024 • 1:28:39
Women's Reproductive Health Matters (with Dr. Karen Tang)
Up to 90% of women and trans men experience menstrual abnormalities or pelvic issues at some point in their lives. Dr. Karen Tang says too many people are suffering in silence, and that's why she wrote a comprehensive guide called It's Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (but Were Never Told). We're talking all about reproductive health, so if you've ever met with a gynecologist, this one's for you. And if you haven't, this one is also very much for you! Abo
Aug 20, 2024 • 1:11:45
Finding Happiness in Single Life (with Bella DePaulo)
Bella DePaulo has been single her entire life, but she doesn't want anyone's pity about that. This social psychologist loves being single, and she always has. In her latest book Single At Heart she highlights the lives of people who are thriving not in spite of being uncoupled, but because of it. She joins us to talk about what her research uncovers about the "Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life." About the Guest Bella DePaulo has been described by The Atlantic as “America’s for
Aug 6, 2024 • 1:14:29
Busting Myths About Only Children (with Lauren Sandler)
Lauren Sandler is an "only child" expert. She is one. She has one. And as an award-winning journalist, Lauren dug deep to answer some of the most pressing questions about singletons. Are they more lonely? Are they more selfish? Would they be better off with siblings? She answers these questions and more in her book, One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child and the Joy of Being One. About the Guest Lauren Sandler is an award-winning journalist and author based in Brooklyn. She is author
Jul 23, 2024 • 1:34:25
When High Demand Religions Control Sexuality (with Sara Glass)
As an ultra-Orthodox Jew, Sara Glass was raised to believe her purpose in life was to marry a righteous man and bear children, all to the glory of God. On the outside, she was following that plan to perfection. But on the inside, something was pulling her in a very different direction. It was traumatic, and she would have to risk everything to find healing. Sara joins us to discuss her new memoir, Kissing Girls on Shabbat. Note: This episode includes discussion of miscarriage and also sexual vio
Jul 9, 2024 • 1:04:12
Learning About Masculinity Today from the Ancient Romans (with Mike Pope)
(Alternate title: "Roamin' Masculinity.") What does it mean to be a man? It depends on who you ask. And it depends on *when* you ask, because masculinity has always been a moving target. In this episode we travel back to ancient Rome, where manly men loved war, violence, and sexual conquest. Mike Pope says this history has powerful relevance for us today. We're talking about his book, Lucretius and the End of Masculinity. About the Guest Mike Pope is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at
Jun 25, 2024 • 1:06:56
Nonbinary Thinking (with Eris Young)
Eris Young is author of the go-to book on everything non-binary. They break down the basics of the gender binary, painting a more expansive, inclusive, and accurate picture of human identity. What is it like to be nonbinary? What challenges do people face? What about healthcare for nonbinary folks? All this and more, as we talk to Eris Young about their book, They/Them/Their: A Guide to Nonbinary and Genderqueer Identities. About the Guest Eris Young is a queer, transgender writer of fiction and
Jun 11, 2024 • 1:24:03
Living and Writing Through Divorce (with Maggie Smith)
Maggie Smith gives us an unflinching look at divorce today and what it means to live and write our own lives. Her best-selling memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, is a story about a mother’s fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman’s love and regard for herself. Need some divorce catharsis? Want to hear what it's like to keep going? Join us. About the Guest Maggie Smith is a poet and best-selling award-winning author of the memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful. S
May 28, 2024 • 47:03
How Child Protective Services is Broken (with Jessica Pryce)
Jessica Pryce believed a career at Child Protective Services would be a rewarding way to help keep kids safe. What she learned on the job completely changed her mind, as the system itself kept getting closer and closer to home. Now she's a scholar of the system and works as a public advocate to help change it for the better. About the Guest Dr. Jessica Pryce earned her Master's of Social Work degree from Florida State University and a PhD from Howard University. She is currently a research prof
May 14, 2024 • 1:01:29
Caregiving for a Dying Parent with a Difficult Past (with Deborah J. Cohan)
Caregiving for aging and dying parents can be tough for anyone, but it's even tougher when it forces you to confront longtime family dynamics of abuse. Sociologist Deborah Cohan blurs the lines between academic research on family caregiving and violence, and her own personal story about a father she calls both adoring and abusive. Her memoir is called Welcome to Wherever We Are: A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption. About the Guest Deborah J. Cohan is a professor of sociology at the U
Apr 30, 2024 • 1:16:06
Building LGBTQ Families (with Abbie E. Goldberg)
With the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, queer families are more visible today than ever. But the path to becoming a parent is complicated for LGBTQ people. We talk about about the challenges and joys of queer family building with expert Abbie Goldberg, author of LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents. About the Guest Dr. Abbie E. Goldberg is a psychologist and researcher who provides LGBTQ parents and prospective parents with the detailed, evidence‑based knowledge t
Apr 16, 2024 • 58:16
Luckily, Divorce Ain't What It Used To Be (with April White)
Divorce can be a difficult process today, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s, women from around the country had to fight for the right to separate from their husbands on their own terms. April White explains how their stories still impact us today. About the Guest April White is author of The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. She has served as an editor and writer at Atlas Obscura and Smithsonian Magazin
Mar 19, 2024 • 1:06:05
The Truth About Interracial Adoption (with Angela Tucker)
Angela Tucker is a Black woman who was adopted by white parents as a very young child. Angela says transracial adoptees like her grow up wrestling with complicated feelings of gratitude and love, but also rejection, loss, and confusion about their heritage. About the Guest Angela Tucker is author of “You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption. Her family story was featured in the documentary Closure. She has over 15 years of experience working within adoption a
Mar 5, 2024 • 1:12:24
One Big Closeted Family (with Jessi Hempel)
When Jessi Hempel came out of the closet she had no idea her whole church-going family had been hiding in there with her. And things got complicated fast when the closet door kept swinging open. About the Author Jessi Hempel is author of The Family Outing: A Memoir. She is also host of the award-winning podcast Hello Monday, and a senior editor-at-large at LinkedIn. Her features and cover stories have appeared in Wired, Fortune, and TIME. She has appeared on CNN, PBS, MSNBC, Fox, and CNBC, a
Feb 20, 2024 • 55:10
How Children's Rights Impact Everyone (with Adam Benforado)
One hundred years ago, a bright new age for children was dawning in America. Child labor laws were being passed, public education was spreading, and more. But Adam Benforado says America stopped short in its revolution of children's rights. Today, more than eleven million American children live in poverty. We deny young people any political power, while we fail to act on the issues that matter most to them: racism, inequality, and climate change. That's why Adam is calling for a new revolution f
Feb 6, 2024 • 1:20:49
Healing From Family Trauma (with Mariel Buqué)
Your family is...loving? Your family is...hurtful? Your family is...all this and more? If you feel overwhelmed when you think about your family, this episode will help you understand your anxiety and give you evidence-based tools to repair it. Dr. Mariel Buqué is a leading specialist in trauma psychology. She says our physical and mental health challenges can be rooted in family trauma passed down through the generations—not just culturally, but even biologically. We're talking about her new b
Jan 23, 2024 • 1:21:57
How the Female Body Drove Evolution (with Cat Bohannon)
Cat Bohannon says for far too long the story of human evolution has ignored the female body. Her new book offers a sweeping revision of human history. It's an urgent and necessary corrective that will forever change your understanding of birth and why it's more difficult for humans than virtually any other animal species on the planet. Her best-selling book is called Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, and we're talking all about it in this episode. About the
Jan 9, 2024 • 1:33:36
