Equal-ish

Follow us on Instagram! Kate Mangino & Rachel Childs . Get in touch with your questions, comments and future podcast ideas at equalishpod@gmail.com   What if creating a more equal family isn't simply about wanting equality, but about learning how? In this Equal-ish Edit, Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino reflect on four conversations with Darby Saxbe, Jerome Hunter, Simon Arrowsmith and Sophi...

Follow us on Instagram! Kate Mangino & Rachel Childs. Get in touch with your questions, comments and future podcast ideas at equalishpod@gmail.com. What if AI could give parents back something they desperately need: the brain space to actually enjoy being parents? Modern family life has become an extreme sport. School emails, WhatsApp groups, endless apps, competing work demands and the consta...

Follow us on Instagram! Kate Mangino & Rachel Childs . What if some of the things we believe are “just the way things are” are actually stories we've been told so many times that we've stopped questioning them? In this episode of Equal-ish, we're joined by storyteller, writer-composer and story consultant Simon Arrowsmith to explore the powerful stories that shape how we see oursel...

Follow us on Instagram! Kate Mangino & Rachel Childs . Get in touch with your questions, comments and future podcast ideas at equalishpod@gmail.com    What happens when boys grow up surrounded by messages telling them to be strong, dominant, competitive and emotionally tough? In this episode of Equal-ish, we talk to educator and boys’ development expert Jerome Hunter about the scripts boys abs...

Follow us on Instagram! Kate Mangino & Rachel Childs . Get in touch with your questions, comments and future podcast ideas at equalishpod@gmail.com   What if becoming a father doesn't just change your life, it changes your brain? In this episode of Equal-ish, we talk to clinical psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Darby Saxbe, author of Dad Brain , about the fascinating biology of fatherhoo...

Equal-ish is back for Year Two! After 55 episodes exploring the research, systems and social norms that make equity at home so difficult, Kate and Rachel are back, and this year they're asking a different question: What if knowing what's hard isn't enough? We've learned a lot over the last year. We've explored all the latest research that explain why equity at home is so hard....

We're taking a break over the summer and replaying some of your favourite episodes. Today we're revisiting our conversation with podcast friend Alex Trippier where he gave us his honest perspectives about his personal journey from being clueless to enlightened in all things equal-ish and mental load. Enjoy! Discovering concepts like mental load, matrescence, and motherhood ideals really ca...

We're taking a break for the summer and replaying some of ours, and your favourite episodes. This week we're revisiting our conversation with Dr Anna Machin. This really was one of our all time favourite conversations. Anna has so much to share about the evolution of fatherhood and dispelling myths about our modern definition of the breadwinner role. Enjoy! In this episode, evolutionary an...

We're taking a break for the summer and replaying our most listened to episodes. This interview with Corinne was one of ours (and your) favourites it the way Corinne uses her behavioural economics lens to how we think about our time, utility and finances as parents. Enjoy!! In this episode of Equal-ish , Kate Mangino and Rachel Childs are joined by economist and author Dr. Corinne Low , whose...

We're taking a break for the summer and replaying a few of your favourite episodes. This week, we're sharing one of the very first conversations we had, with Zach Watson, the reformed 'man-child'. Enjoy! Are men choosing to ignore the mental load because they subconsciously still believe it is women’s work? Rachel and Kate try to answer that question with this week’s guest, Zach Wa...

We're taking a break for the summer and replaying our most listened to episodes. Molly was our very first guest on Equal-ish. Whether you've listened to her before, or joined the pod later, this conversation is not to be missed. Molly's insights into relationships through parenthood really are the foundations for everything we talk to. Enjoy! In this conversation with psychologist and...

One year. Fifty episodes. Twenty-seven incredible guests. Hundreds of hours of conversations, editing, voice notes, and learning. In this special anniversary episode, Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino look back on the biggest ideas that have shaped their thinking over the first year of Equal-ish and discover that the podcast has become something much bigger than they ever imagined. We revisit the mom...

Over the last four episodes, we've spoken to four very different guests, but one theme kept appearing. What if adulthood isn't about becoming completely independent? What if love isn't about fixing other people's problems? And what if the greatest gift we can give our children (and our partners) isn't rescuing them, but believing they're capable? In this Equal-ish Edit, Rac...

From childhood, many boys are taught to be tough, independent and resilient. What is the cost of the lessons they’re taught?   In this episode of Equal-ish, psychotherapist Stephen Blumenthal explores why so many men struggle to express vulnerability, seek help, or even recognise when they're suffering. Drawing on decades of experience working with men, Stephen explains how shame, biology, cul...

Everyone talks about the sleepless nights of having babies. Almost no one talks about what happens when your children become adults. In this episode of Equal-ish , Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino speak with workplace parenting consultant Deborah Porter about one of the least discussed stages of family life: when adult children move back home. Whether it's rising living costs, an impossible hous...

Meet Kate Mangino @kate_mangino and Rachel Childs @parents_that_work. Everyone says they want more equal partnerships. So why do so many couples still end up falling into traditional roles? In this thought-provoking conversation, organisational psychologist and behaviour change expert and author of How We Learn, Nick Shackleton-Jones explores the invisible forces that shape how we work and lead. F...

When Paige Connell became a mum, she didn't expect her marriage to change overnight. She'd been with her husband for 16 years. They had an equitable relationship. They supported each other's careers. Yet within a few years (accelerated by COVID, foster care, adoption, four young children and a complete lack of childcare support) she found herself overwhelmed, burnt out and quietly wond...

We often talk about the mental load, emotional labour, and the systems that keep families stuck in unequal patterns. But what happens after awareness? In this Equal-ish Edit, Kate and Rachel reflect on their recent conversations with Laura Danger (Ep 41), Steve Cardwell (Ep 42) and Natalie Costa (Ep 43), exploring the gap between knowing and doing. Why do couples who value equality still end up in...

What if the most important parenting skill isn't discipline, communication, or even patience, but emotional fitness? In this episode, Kate and Rachel sit down with parenting coach and emotional fitness expert Natalie Costa to explore how our relationship with emotions shapes everything from our parenting to our partnerships. Natalie explains why so many adults struggle to navigate difficult em...

For today's fathers, the expectations have changed. Men are no longer expected to simply provide financially. They are expected to be present, emotionally engaged, active parents while still succeeding at work and somehow finding time for themselves too. But what happens when all of those demands collide? In this thought-provoking conversation, Rachel and Kate sit down with Deliberate Dad foun...

We are all familiar with the jokes. The exhausted mum carrying everything. The lovable but clueless dad. The wife who nags. The husband who "helps." But what if the jokes aren't harmless? This week Rachel and Kate are joined by Laura Danger, author of No More Mediocre , to explore the hidden relationship dynamics that have been normalised for generations. Laura shares how a flood of...

In this Equal-ish Edit, Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino reflect on the last three powerful conversations with: Professor Leah Ruppanner (ep 36 & 37) on redefining the mental load, Dr. Taveeshi Gupta (ep 38) on the global state of fatherhood, and Danny Mercer (ep 39) on life as an at-home dad. Together, they unpack one huge question: if men increasingly say they want to care more, why are so man...

Danny Mercer has spent 16 years as the primary caregiver for his four children, and what started as a practical family decision became a complete redefinition of identity, fatherhood, care and partnership. In this deeply honest conversation, Danny shares what it means to be the default parent as a father: the exhaustion, the invisible labour, the mental load, the resentment, the joy, and the relen...

What if the biggest lie we’ve been told about caregiving is that people don’t want to do it? In this powerful conversation, Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino sit down with Dr. Taveeshi Gupta, Senior Director of Research, Evaluation, and Learning from Equimundo to unpack the newly released State of the World’s Fathers 2026 report (a landmark global study spanning 16 countries and 8,000 parents). The f...

Last week, we redefined the mental load. This week, Rachel Childs and Kate Mangino ask the harder question: What do you actually do about it? In Part 2 of our conversation with Professor Leah Ruppanner, we move from awareness to action. Because once you realise you’re not just carrying one mental load (but eight) it can feel even heavier. So how do you: stop feeling responsible for everything? cha...