Ready or Not

RE-RUN: Today, Loz is joined by Gen Muir, obstetric social worker, parent educator and founder of Connected Parenting, to talk about the number one thing parents crave when the juggle feels impossible: connection with their kids. From public meltdowns to sibling fights, ‘giving in’ guilt, and the constant testing of boundaries, Gen shares practical tools to help you stay calm, hold lim...

Welcome back to Ready or Not, or in this re-run, the show that used to be called Witching Hour… the show for mums navigating paid work and unpaid work. On today’s show: Loz is sick of hearing from child attachment ‘experts’ and here's why. And, why has adjusting to my post-baby body been harder the second time around? Lu shares a brilliant piece published to UK Vogue by Ne...

Using Gen's full name, which is Genevieve La Hunt feels a bit weird, and it's not just because she's a good friend of Loz's, my co-host, of course, and the host of Ask Ready or Not. It's because when I jumped off this recording, I felt like I had just  chatted with a friend myself.  Gen is the founder of Sunday Agency. She works in publicity and PR she's had a really interesting career....

RE-RUN: Welcome back to Ready or Not, the show for mums navigating paid work and unpaid work. On today’s show: When will we stop judging the mums? Lu has seen so much unsolicited judgement on Instagram lately and she has some questions. The hidden bias in job applications: why women are being turned off by the questions we don’t ask men. — Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listeni...

DEAR READY OR NOT: What should you be doing in your final weeks of mat leave to set  up for the return to work? How to stop the envy creeping in when your friends work fewer days than you but somehow still have the house and the holidays. And how to keep your cool when you're stuck managing up. — Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell...

Welcome back to Ready or Not, the show for mums navigating paid work and unpaid work. On today’s show: Pay me like a cop: A deep dive into the maths of who we actually value.  Unpacking our very unofficial state of working motherhood report. We took to Instagram to find out how everyone is feeling, find out where everyone is at in the motherhood and work journey, and to ask some of the questi...

DEAR READY OR NOT: The mum-guilt of choosing to work full-time when you don't  have to. A co-worker has been bitching about you behind your back while you're on mat leave, do you confront her when you return or let it play out? And more life hacks, because you asked and we can never say no. — Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your...

Welcome back to the show for working mums! AKA all mums because all mum’s work. On today’s show: Bullshit jobs: Is there work we do every day that secretly feels completely unnecessary? The childcare subsidy is one size fits all. So where does that leave the parents and families that the model doesn’t work for?  — Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the...

DEAR READY OR NOT: How do you tell your boss you're pregnant again after only just returning from maternity leave? Will stepping back from your career while your kids are little hurt you long term? And parental preference: when your kids only want mum and it's starting to create tension at home. — Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your...

Because Ready or Not is all about figuring out how to make work, work as a mum, here, you’ll hear a side of Antoinette Lattouf you probably haven’t heard before, because for so long, we’ve wondered: how did Antoinette mother through the hardest time of her life? How do you rebuild your career and yourself after an unfair and extremely public sacking? How do you find the power to fight for yourself...

Welcome back to the show on all things motherhood and career! On today’s show: Parental leave is moving backwards - the new trend of clawing back parental leave has started and we’re digging into the why, the how and the what next. The motherhood penalty isn’t empowering: Let’s stop reframing systematic gender inequality as a feel-good personal growth story. This is a piece we came across from The...

DEAR READY OR NOT: What to do when your direct report earns nearly the same as you? How to get back in the game after being made redundant on maternity leave. And should you take a leap into your dream industry when you're also trying for a second baby? Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You ca...

Welcome back! Coming up on today’s show:  The little hacks making all the difference: Loz asked you what you do to make your weeks run a bit smoother and this is what you told us.  And then, “I don’t know how you do it all… I don’t”: There was a reel that caught our attention on Instagram, and it had us wondering what we expected being a working mum would look like versus what it’s actua...

DEAR READY OR NOT: Are your kids falling behind if they don’t do enough activities? What to do when your partner treats your job like the ‘flexible’ one and how to survive returning to work completely sleep deprived. Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram: @readyor...

Welcome back! Coming up on today’s show:  The second shift: both of us have two kids in one room and we’ve asked you, the listeners, for advice on bedtime routines, wind-down techniques and general sleep hacks.  Amy Poehler’s obsession with enneagram led us to do our own personality tests. So, how well do we know ourselves? Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If...

DEAR READY OR NOT: Is it okay to be one and done? Will extending mat leave hurt your career and are mums being unrealistic about money right now? Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram: @readyornot.pod @laurentreweek_ @lucindamckimm_ And join us on DOME below! YEEH...

Sharina Simnett has been one of the biggest supporters of Ready or Not. Loz and I have shared many a conversation with her in our DMs, she’s always the first to leave a comment on Substack, she often checked in at the time that she was looking for work that actually worked alongside motherhood, and, once she landed her dream role at Yoto, she brought us our most meaningful partnership to date, too...

Welcome back! Things you thought you’d care about as a mum but you don’t at all: With three kids, Loz has decided this is her year of caring less and she asked the people what they have decided to care less about and the answers do not disappoint. Ladies: tell us why “not all men” feels offensive. Lu saw a man ask this question online and it really got us thinking.  Got a question? Submit it...

DEAR READY OR NOT: Will it ruin your career if you take a step back (or out) and re–enter later? What to do if you’re in a senior role and the amount of travel is a nightmare and whether you should tell someone that they’re being gossiped about in the office.  Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a re...

Alicia Loxley is familiar with pressure. The pressure to succeed in an industry that most of her uni lecturers told her was too hard to make a career in, the pressure of what became an intense first pregnancy, ending in bed rest and potentially life threatening consequences for both her and her son, and the pressure she feels to always being doing well both as a mum and a journalist. And where she...

Welcome back to the show! Coming up today: The state of screen time in our homes: We polled you on all things screentime and let’s just say… we felt a little guilty and gobsmacked by the results. Then,  Everyone is talking about that work from home grab from Emma Grede and we need to talk about it, and Joeli Brearley’s reaction reel. Here’s the clip we played at the top of the clip about baby...

DEAR READY OR NOT: How do you tell your partner that works from home to get the f*ck out of the house while you’re on maternity leave? Should you stay in a job you love with no flexibility?  And should you be calling recruiters before applying for roles, or is that outdated advice? Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, s...

MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL! Welcome back to a different episode of Ready or Not, where ahead of Mother’s Day, Lu and Loz sit down with journos, mums, and best mates Estelle Griepink and Lana Murphy to reflect on what we’d go back and tell ourselves about: Birth Postpartum Breastfeeding Going from one to two Returning to paid work Got a question for Dear Ready or Not? Submit it here!  — Thanks for l...

DEAR READY OR NOT: How do you know when you’re ‘done’ having kids? Is more money worth less flexibility and what to do when you don’t feel like having sex after you’ve had a baby.  Got a question? Submit it here!  — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram: @readyornot.pod @laurentreweek_ @lucind...

Welcome back! Coming up today: Would you live in a world with no men? A viral street interview video seems to have created a bigger conversation, but are we really that surprised? Women have always been 50% of the population, yet only occupy around 5% of recorded history. We need to talk about it.   — Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or wri...