Today’s guest is Joanna Ho, the best-selling author whose children’s books cover topics such as familial roots, oppression and justice, and the importance of representation—especially for fellow Asian Americans. After years of rejection, her first book, Eyes That Kiss In The Corners, became an instant New York Times Best-Seller in 2021. She’s gone on to publish 9 other books for children and young adults, including her most recent release, We Who Produce Pearls: An Anthem For Asian America.

Written in her signature lyrical style, the book covers the rich, nuanced, and incredibly diverse history of Asians in America and includes a very detailed section in the back that urges children and adults to go deeper with guiding questions and additional research.

In today’s conversation, we talk to Joanna about finding strength in becoming a single mom, embracing the beauty in her Asian American identity, the power of representation in kid-lit, the devastation of book bans sweeping across the country, and her ultimate goal of sparking revolutions—both big and small.

Follow Joanna at @joannahowrites

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Joanna’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

Kidlit Happy Hour (podcast)
KQED (YouTube)
Scholastic (YouTube)
Publisher’s Weekly (website)
MOTHER (website)
The Horn Book Inc. (website)
We Need Diverse Books (website)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Today’s guest is Kate Baer, the beloved poet whose work explores motherhood, marriage, misogyny, the sacredness of female friendships—and so much more.

Kate’s very first book, What Kind of Woman, was released during the turbulence of 2020—mere days after the 2020 presidential election. It was the first time she was ever paid to write and it became a #1 New York Times best-seller.

A year later, she released another best-seller: I Hope This Finds You Well, a stunning collection of erasure poems in which she uses the often offensive commentary she’s received on social media to create her work. The latest book of the Pennysalvania-native is 2022’s And Yet, which continues her streak of crafting the most beautiful truth bombs.

In today’s conversation, we talk to Kate about raising 4 children, her next book, the pressure that comes with all those accolades, the glory of being an unsupervised latchkey kid in the 90s, and how the unplanned pregnancy of her 4th child changed the course of her life and career.

Follow Kate on social at @katejbaer

Today’s episode is brought to you by a couple mom-owned brands we love—Zenni & Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

-Shop Zenni.com for sunglasses and prescription glasses for your entire family—at 1/10th of optician prices

-Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Kate’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

MOTHER (website)
Darien Library (YouTube)
Everything Happens (podcast)
Under The Influencer (podcast)
Midtown Scholar Bookstore (YouTube)
New York Times (website)
Forever 35 (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Today’s guest is Latham Thomas, the superstar doula and founder of Mama Glow—a global maternal health + education platform serving birthing people along the childbearing continuum.

Inspired by the transcendent birth of her own son 21 years ago, Latham went on to become a doula herself—including to stars like Alicia Keys, Anne Hathaway, and Ashley Graham—and to create a doula training program that’s educated hundreds of birth workers and touched thousands of lives.

She’s also an author, visiting professor at Brown, and the co-founder of the Mama Glow Foundation, a non-profit committed to advancing reproductive justice + birth equity through education, advocacy, and the arts.

In this episode, Latham discusses her upbringing, attachment parenting, the importance of teaching kids body literacy, and how she’s embracing her current “open nest” period.

Be on the lookout for a Part Two of our conversation with Latham, in which she shares her incredible birth story that ultimately inspired her career path, as well as passes along 5 tried-and-true tips for How To Help A New Mom.

Follow Latham on social at @glowmaven and @mamaglow

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Minted, Ritual, and Zenni. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Shop Zenni.com for sunglasses and prescription glasses at 1/10th of optician prices.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Latham’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

The Best Thing (podcast)
Professional Troublemaker (podcast)
The Journey (YouTube)
The Soft Space (MOTHER)
Good Life Project (podcast)
The Motherkind Podcast (podcast)
For The Love Of You (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Today’s guest is Cleo Wade, the best-selling author and poet whose work explores hope, resilience, and the power of love. Her books include Heart Talk, Where To Begin, Remember Love, and two children’s books: What The Road Said, and her brand-new kid-lit title—which she both wrote and illustrated—May You Love and Be Loved: Wishes for Your Life.

In addition to her books, Cleo has also created public art installations across the country, and works closely with several nonprofits that support women and girls.

What we find so inspiring about Cleo is how she is committed to comforting and uplifting people in their toughest times. She uses her standing as a mega-influencer for good—instead of just for vanity—which is a true rarity these days.

In today’s conversation, Cleo talks to us about her upbringing, where she motivates from, juggling parenthood alongside a robust career, her latest book, how the strength of one’s motherhood and strength of one’s personhood are undeniably linked—and so much more.

Follow Cleo on social at @cleowade

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG10 for $10 off your first order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Cleo’s inspiring career + life story, check out these great interviews:

Raising Good Humans (podcast)
Lewis Howes (podcast)
Game Changers (podcast)
Good Life Project (podcast)
Pretty Big Deal (YouTube)
Pretty Smart (YouTube)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Mara Hoffman knew she wanted to be a fashion designer at only 8-years-old. After graduating from Parsons in 2000, her one-of-a-kind pieces soon caught the attention of legendary costume designer Patricia Field and stylists for budding artists Britney Spears, J.Lo, and Christina Aguilera. Then, 15 years into her thriving business—when her label was synonymous with brightly colored, graphic-print swimwear and garments—Mara decided to pivot her entire model to be a more sustainable one. A move that was inspired by her young son, Joaquin, and envisioning the world he would inherit.

In May 2024, she made the industry-rattling announcement that she’s taking a break from the fashion industry and putting a pause on her beloved label. In our conversation, Mara provides more context on her new move—and why it’s so important for her to lean into parenting right now.

We talk about the importance of honoring not only the birth of things, but the death of things—which is made even more poignant after hearing Mara’s harrowing birth story, which includes losing one of her twin boys. We also talk about cultivating self-love, parenting a teen, and so much more.

*Trigger Warning: This episode includes an intimate story about infant and pregnancy loss, which may be triggering to some listeners.

Follow Mara on social at @marahoffman

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.
~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.
~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG10 for $10 off your first order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Mara’s inspiring business + life story, check out these great interviews:

Infinite Crescendo (podcast)
CFDA Awards Speech (YouTube)
The Cut (podcast)
StyleLikeU (podcast)
The New York Times (article)
Second Life (podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Melody Ehsani is the visionary and entrepreneur behind ME.—a brand specializing in jewelry, footwear, and clothing whose core beliefs are rooted in unity, equality, and justice. Over her boundary-breaking career, she’s collaborated with countless brands and cultural luminaries, including Lauryn Hill, Nike, Erkyah Badu, Reebok, Sanrio, the Wu Tang Clan, Footlocker, and many more.

In today’s conversation, Melody shares her truly incredible story about finding out she was pregnant and becoming a mother at 42 after thinking this path was no longer in the cards for her. She also talks about raising a son, the difficulty of trying to combat gender roles at home, and how this new chapter of her life has caused her to rethink her career path.

Follow Melody on social at @melodyehsani & check out her collection at melodyehsani.com.

Today’s episode is brought to you by three mom-owned brands we love—Tubby Todd, Minted, and Ritual. See a list of their exclusive offerings for our listeners, below.

~Check out Minted.com and use code MOTHER15 for 15% off your order through December 31, 2024.

~Visit Ritual.com/mothermag for 25% off your first month of Ritual.

~Head over to TubbyTodd.com and use code MOTHERMAG15 for 15% off your next order.

Please follow, rate, and leave us a review!

For more stories about motherhood and so much more, visit mothermag.com and follow @mothermag on Instagram.

For more on Melody’s inspiring business + life story, check out these great interviews:

StyleLikeU (YouTube)
Mountaintop Conversations (podcast)
Bloomberg Talk (YouTube)
Claima Stories by Bimma (podcast)
The Business of Hype (podcast)
Bahai Teachings (YouTube)
The Butterfly Forecast (Melody’s own podcast)

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza.

Join MOTHER’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Katie Hintz-Zambrano, as we go deep with an exciting mix of guests to deliver honest stories exploring one’s upbringing, career journey, spiritual and creative habits, evolution of identity through motherhood, life and loss, and personal tales of parenting children of all ages (from 0 to 20+).

You’ll hear from an incredible roster of inspiring women, like best-selling author Cleo Wade, superstar doula Latham Thomas, streetwear queen Melody Ehsani, sustainable fashion designer Mara Hoffman, amongst others who are opening up, going deep, and sharing never-before-told stories that you absolutely have to hear for yourself.

Find The MOTHER Podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform - coming later this month.

Follow, rate, and leave us a review, and get to know us at www.mothermag.com and @mothermag on Instagram.

The MOTHER Podcast is produced by Em Roberts and Ali Alquiza