All The F Words

Apparently, freedom, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. While liberals fought for the right to vote and for women to be able to control their bodies, conservatives, for hundreds of years, have also fought in the name of liberty. On this episode of All the F Words, Joanne and Gabi discuss freedom, including the Freedom Convoy in Canada and the fight against teaching critical race theory in...

Our faces communicate so much – contentment, glee, sadness, fear, and excitement. Yet so many of us agonize over the way our faces look. We might wish for a smaller nose, different colored eyes, fuller lips, or a better complexion. There are many industries devoted to preying on the insecurities we have about our face – some that offer invasive treatment, some that are scams. An ever-increasing nu...

Today we’re talking about showing skin (a little or a lot), and what happens when we try to police who—and how much—is okay. We also dive into the issue of school dress codes, and whether they help or hurt the kids they’re inflicted upon. Links: Modesty & Faith (NPR): https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126672354 Photos of Yearbook Girls Were Altered to Hide Their Chests (NY Time...

Some people have a diagnosed problem with attention. The rest of us just can’t seem to focus. And it makes perfect sense with the amount of distraction bombarding us from all our connected devices. This week on All the F Words podcast, Gabi and Joanne will zero in on how to improve your focus and how to help people, especially kids, who are suffering from distraction. @allthefwordspod - Instagram,...

Fatphobia, also known as anti-fat bias or fat stigma, is a big problem, and it goes far beyond perception of our own bodies. In this episode, we dig into recognizing and acknowledging our own fatphobia, the impact it has on people in larger bodies, and how to identify it so you can help fight it—both within yourself, and when you encounter it in the world. Links: Aubrey Gordon (@yrfatfriend on Twi...

Food is so damn loaded as a topic. We don’t just eat to sustain ourselves, we eat when we gather, when we celebrate, and we do it multiple times a day. We’re bombarded with suggestions about what we should eat from our mothers and every person with a platform (yes everyone.) So if you have issues with food, life is filled with landmines. Gabi and Joanne share a bit from their own experiences and o...

Are you a flirt? Is that even a good thing? On today’s show, we learn about the basics of flirting, which, according to a Flirtologist we researched (a real title, according to the author!), can be distilled into a science. We talk about how to flirt with a face mask on, and we dive into when flirting goes from fun to inappropriate—and how to avoid crossing that line. -The Science of Flirting (Ted...

In both your personal and professional relationships, there’s a time and a way to give feedback. Actually, there are more ways not to give feedback to preserve communication and get the best results. If feedback is supposed to lead to changed behavior, it helps to know how best to give it and receive it. Like, not when you’re hungry or angry, tired or in a rush. Okay, like at rare moments. It’s a...

Is being born first a blessing or a curse? In this episode, we explore what it’s like to be and raise an eldest child. We learn about Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler’s 1964 Birth Order Theory and the many studies it inspired, psychologist and author of The Birth Order Book Kevin Lehman’s advice for raising firstborns, and Gabor Maté’s take on siblings’ respective experiences of their parents. P...

Exhaustion is no joke. But there’s a difference between being tired and true fatigue. Tired is what you feel after intense activity or a lack of sleep. Sleep doesn’t help true fatigue, which can result from a range of causes. Gabi and Joanne share their own experiences and talk about the fatigue that follows surgery or illness, fatigue that often accompanies grief and the now ubiquitous Covid fati...

Are you a lover or a fighter? Related: has being trapped indoors with your partner and/or children made you feel a little more like the latter of late? You’re not alone. In this episode, Gabi and Joanne talk about how we fight, what we fight about, and what—if anything—we can do about it. Links: How to Fight Right – In a Pandemic, or After by Allison Hope, September 2021, The New York Times: https...

Where did I put my phone? What do you call that thing again? Forgetting is normal and, sometimes, it gets worse. Like after you have a baby. Or when you’re in your sixties and older. Forgetting also serves a purpose. Imagine remembering every awful moment in your life? No thanks. Gabi and Joanne discuss the joys and frustrations of forgetting and share tips on how to move beyond lousy or traumatic...

For most of history, “til death do us part” has been the expectation most couples have of one another, and yet cheating has always been a fact of life, usually in secret. While infidelity is still a common occurrence, people are talking about it openly more than ever before. In this episode, Gabi and Joanne discuss the emotional and literal logistics of having an affair, polyamory, and the reason...

In our first full episode, Gabi & Joanne talk about Friendship. Throughout our lives, we look for different things in our friendships, including ours, which is unique in that we are both moms who are looking at the world from two different generations. We'll also talk about how Covid has impacted and even created new friendships.

"Formalities" is our premiere episode, where Gabi & Joanne introduce themselves and lay the groundwork for this entertaining and interesting series of conversations between two writer friends, 30 years apart.