Mutha Life

Episode 91: Sara Tan: Not to be glossed over

'Oh what are you listening to?' 'Who me? Oh it's ARCHIVAL SARA TAN.' Glossangeles' Sara Tan's ep is back and it's taking on a whole new listen this time around. When this episode first aired, my daughter was 1.5. She's now 2.5 going on 13, and already laying out her outfits, begging for nail polish, and asking about every product I put on my face. Turns out this conversation was more relevant than ever. We talk about building a career with intention, navigating beauty culture as a parent, what it means to interview Rihanna and Hailey Bieber differently now that you're both moms, cultural differences in parenting, the work wife relationship, and how to think about raising kids in a world that has very loud opinions about how they should look. Full show notes with alll the links: muthalife.substack.com [https://muthalife.substack.com/] Instagram: @mutha.life @saratan [https://www.instagram.com/saratan/] Produced by: Mutha Life Music by: Ronen Landa

Episode 90: Amanda Chantal Bacon: Moon shot

Amanda Chantal Bacon founded Moon Juice in 2011. Now, fifteen years and a Target launch later, she's in what might be her most interesting chapter: handing over the operational reins so she can get back to dreaming and spending more time with her kids. In this conversation, we talk about growing up in downtown NYC with a famously cool and unconventional mom, finding her footing in fine dining kitchens, opening Moon Juice and literally birthing a human at the same time, doing early motherhood and early entrepreneurship simultaneously as a single mom, her two very different birth experiences, the BioCharger, the placenta smoothie, and the realization that the peaceful "we made it" feeling she's been chasing isn't coming, so we better enjoy the chaos. Full show notes with alll the links: muthalife.substack.com [https://muthalife.substack.com/] Instagram: @mutha.life [https://www.instagram.com/mutha.life/] Produced by: Mutha Life, Music by: Ronen Landa

Episode 89: Solo pod: Re-entry

This MUTHA's Day episode explores the complexity and contradictions of motherhood across different life stages. Kari returned from a week in London with a major realization about the finite window of motherhood and the gap between what mothers 'should' want and what they actually want. Through listener voices and personal reflection, this episode examines the tension between needing space and knowing that time with your kids is fleeting. The centerpiece is a meditation on a Banksy statue about how convictions can block your vision. It's a metaphor for the principles of motherhood that keep mothers marching forward, even when they can't see where they're going. Full show notes with alll the links: muthalife.substack.com [https://muthalife.substack.com/] Instagram: @mutha.life [https://www.instagram.com/mutha.life/] Produced by: Mutha Life, Music by: Ronen Landa

Episode 88: Chris Gayomali: Dadmaxxing

We're going back into the archive for this one: and the timing feels right. When I sat down with Chris Gayomali - when the pod was a baby, EPISODE 4 - in the fall of 2024, he was freelancing, deep in his Muay Thai era, and raising a toddler in New York City who was already turning his nose up at cruise ship pizza. He was also building serious momentum with Heavies, his much loved Substack about the practical and occasionally bizarre sides of health and wellness. Since then: he's become Head of Editorial at SSENSE (elite cool kid status), a Strategist at Office of Applied Strategy (the in-the-know cool kids tap these cool kids), and has a limited series podcast dropping with Kaleidoscope in May. In this conversation we get into his completely accidental journalism career - from editing insurance reports in Irvine to nine years at GQ via a bowl of rice posted on Instagram - what it actually looks like to be a present, involved millennial dad when there's no real template for it, the myth of 50/50 in parenting labor, a near-miss health scare that rewired his entire relationship to his body, and the particular absurdity of raising a kid in New York City. Smart, funny, and genuinely one of my favorites. Full show notes with alll the links: muthalife.substack.com [https://muthalife.substack.com/] Instagram: @mutha.life [https://www.instagram.com/mutha.life/] Produced by: Mutha Life, Music by: Ronen Landa

Episode 87: Lee Shaner: Father's Intuition

Lee Shaner, aka Intuition, is a rapper and podcaster who has been making music for over two decades. His album Leave a Mark went viral earlier this year when a song he made for his son hit over a million views - a song he almost didn't post because he thought he looked fat in the video. This one goes deep. We talk about growing up in North Pole, Alaska, watching his dad develop early onset Alzheimer's at 55, 10 years of sobriety, SSRIs, male friendship after 40, and what it means to be the more paternal parent in your house. Full show notes with alll the links: muthalife.substack.com [https://muthalife.substack.com/] Instagram: @mutha.life [https://www.instagram.com/mutha.life/] Produced by: Mutha Life, Music by: Ronen Landa