Rush Hour: The New World of Sorority Recruitment (Leslie Cunningham)

Rush Hour: The New World of Sorority Recruitment (Leslie Cunningham)

If you went through rush yourself, you probably remember the outfits, the nerves, the whispered politics. Now imagine watching your own daughter walk into that world — and discovering it’s gotten a whole lot more intense since you went to college. At some universities, thousands of young women compete for a handful of spots at the most coveted houses. The pressure has grown so much that a whole new industry has emerged: rush consultants, also known as rush coaches, hired by families who want to give their daughters every possible edge before bid day. We sat down with one of the most sought-after names in the business to pull back the curtain on how sorority recruitment really works today — and what parents can do to help. Leslie stumbled into this world the way most great businesses are born — by solving a real problem for a friend. After guiding that friend's daughter through the sorority recruitment process, she realized how badly families needed someone in their corner. She founded Sorority Prep in 2015 and has since built a reputation as the secret weapon for families all over the country navigating one of college life's most competitive processes. In this episode: 👉 Why sorority recruitment feels more competitive than ever. 👉 What a rush coach actually does. 👉 The do’s and don’ts of Rush Week. 👉 Why it can all be worth it/what sorority life offers. 👉 How Leslie parents her own children differently after doing this work. ======================== 📱Please fill out our end-of-season Feedback Form [https://tally.so/r/Xx26M4]; we need your help to come back bigger and better!  📱Learn more about Sorority Prep [https://www.sororityprep.com/] and Leslie Cunningham [https://www.instagram.com/sororityprep101/].  📱Follow us: Instagram: @barenakedmoms [https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/]  YouTube: @BareNakedMoms [https://www.youtube.com/@BareNakedMoms]

Parenting After 6 Rounds of IVF (Amy Gallo Ryan)

As with any tale of struggle and survival (and ultimate triumph), there’s the story and then there’s the story. There’s the what that happened, and then there’s the how, the why, and all the huh in between. Our guest today, author Amy Gallo Ryan, talks about her years-long infertility battle and everything in her universe that it shifted: her professional existence, her marriage, her sense of self, and her definition of motherhood (yes, she became a mom after 6 rounds of IVF!!). But there’s an even deeper, more universal tale Amy tells underneath plot field hat every human can relate to, reproductively challenged or not: wanting something so bad and not being able to make it happen, the feeling of falling short as a partner, imposter syndrome all around, and then complicated feelings about the thing you wanted so bad once it does actually happen. Her honesty in her book You May Feel a Bit of Pressure [https://www.amazon.com/You-May-Feel-Pressure-Heart-Wrenching/dp/1963115589] and with Alanna and me on today’s show, is refreshing, and cup-filling. Like us, Amy is on a mission to reduce the loneliness people feel when they're knee-deep in the hard. In this episode, we talk about: 👉 The mental, emotional, physical labor of trying (so hard) to have a baby 👉 What those with fertility challenges need to hear (and what they don’t) 👉 Everything in your life that changes when you’re in an IVF vortex 👉 Feeling alone makes everything hard harder. ======================= 🔗 Find out more about Amy here: https://www.amygalloryan.com/ 📱Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/

Becoming a Father, Facing the Past (Stephen Lamberton)

Our friend Stephen Lamberton was just eight years old when his father died by suicide. For the next four decades, he carried that loss at arm's length – something that happened in his family, something that was about his dad. But not really about him. Then his own son turned eight. The grief and trauma that Stephen never processed as a boy started to show up in his life as a father. Relatively minor moments with his kids would trigger waves of anger that felt out of proportion and difficult to control. He didn't understand what was happening. So he got help. Now a volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Tree House Bereavement Center of Westchester, Stephen sits down with Milano and Alanna to talk about how unprocessed childhood trauma can quietly shape the kind of parent we become – and what it looks like to do something about it. In this episode, we talk about: 👉 Parenting with unresolved trauma 👉 Childhood grief and emotional suppression 👉 Rage, resentment, and repair 👉 PTSD and fatherhood 👉 Vulnerability with children 👉 Breaking cycles instead of repeating them 👉 Healing after a parent’s suicide ========================== 📱Learn more about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [https://supporting.afsp.org/general-donations/donate?gad_campaignid=22735946789&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADHnib-K2Bo_qARO8mn7sZwKcq2M2&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh-HPBhCIARIsAC0p3cfSWT5iiwW3aji3BvOH1VaEMympZyW0pIw37_SWP3l7PnoaXP-nMq8aAtS1EALw_wcB&utm_campaign=REV_ED&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepaid] and the Tree House Bereavement Center of Westchester [https://www.bcwtreehouse.org/].  📱Follow us: Instagram: @barenakedmoms [https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/]  YouTube: @BareNakedMoms [https://www.youtube.com/@BareNakedMoms]

Becoming a Mother When No One Taught You How (Sarah Vacchiano)

Sarah Vacchiano, General Council at United Artists and mom to three-year-old Gus, just published a novel. Soft Launch is a coming-of-adulthood tale based on Sarah’s 30-year-old self: freshly divorced, just graduated from law school, and working round the clock as a first year associate at a big NYC law firm. All 40-something moms now, Alanna, Milano, and Sarah get into the idea of our past selves and reinvention. Is it possible to change course as a parent—or a professional after a certain age?  Sarah and Milano, who both had Bipolar mothers, talk about the illusion of being “ready” for motherhood and squaring their own rocky upbringings with the childhoods they want for their kids. This conversation reminds us that who we are when we’re 30 isn’t who we at 40 or 50. And that constant movement forward confirms we’re doing something right—in parenting and in life.  Fun fact: Sarah’s also launching a podcast called Civic EQ which is all about incorporating civics into everyday family life. In This Episode: 👉 Becoming a mom when your own mom was mentally-ill. 👉 Raising civics-minded kids. 👉 Modeling vulnerability and reinvention for our kids. =============== 📩 Follow Sarah Vacchiano on Substack: https://substack.com/@sarahvacchiano [https://substack.com/@sarahvacchiano] 📱Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/@barenakedmoms [https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/]  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BareNakedMoms [https://www.youtube.com/@BareNakedMoms]

Raising Champions: One Mom, Three Lacrosse Legends (Sarah Humphrey)

Behind every standout athlete (or artist or musician) is a parent cheering from the sidelines—snacks in hand, heart in throat. But what’s it like to raise three daughters who went on to make sports history together? Meet Sarah Humphrey, mom to Nicole, Ashley, and Chloe—the trio who united at UNC to win the 2025 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. She shares the winding roads that led them there, how she found her calm at home amid flying lacrosse balls, and yes… some heated family moments leading up to the big game. In This Episode: 👉 Talent vs. hustle (and why grit always wins) 👉 Why being “great at everything” is overrated 👉 The question their little brother never wants to hear again 👉 What Sarah wishes she’d known when the girls were just starting out 📱Follow Nicole [https://www.instagram.com/nhumphrey23/?hl=en], Ashley [https://www.instagram.com/ashleyhumphrey_/?hl=en], Chloe [https://www.instagram.com/chloehumphreyy/?hl=en] & Chloe Humphrey Lacrosse [https://www.instagram.com/chloehumphreylacrosse] Follow us: 📱 Instagram: @barenakedmoms [https://www.instagram.com/barenakedmoms/] ▶️ YouTube: @barenakedmoms [https://www.youtube.com/@BareNakedMoms]