Faark The Shoulds (& Alchemising Education)

One of the quiet panics that can arrive with homeschooling is the idea that if you take your child out of school, you now have to become the school. You need the curriculum. The answers. The resources. The expertise. And increasingly, perhaps, an AI prompt ready to generate whatever lesson comes next. But what if the parent’s job was never to know everything? In Episode 70 of Alchemising Education...

Living in alignment sounds lovely until life gets involved. It’s easy enough to talk about following your joy, trusting the flow and choosing what feels right when the choices are spacious. It gets more interesting when there’s a mortgage, four kids, a job somebody has to show up for, competing needs inside a family, grief that arrives without asking, and mornings where nobody is particularly enli...

Adults talk about kids constantly. What’s best for them. What’s damaging them. What they need to learn, who they need to become, and which path will give them the best shot at a good life. But how often do we actually ask them? In Episode 68 of Alchemising Education , Faark the Shoulds’ sister podcast, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri hand the mic to three freshly minted adults — Charlie, Anna...

Unapologetic Mothers with Riona Seehusen, Bellagreen Organic Farm. Somewhere along the way, mothers were taught to be softer, quieter, nicer, more accommodating, and less animal. Which is odd, really, because have you seen a mama bear, particularly when her cub is threatened? In Episode 67 of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi continues the conversation with Riona Seehusen from Bellagreen Organic...

Unapologetic Mothers with Riona Seehusen, Bellagreen Organic Farm There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from mothering while constantly checking whether everyone else is comfortable with it. Is the baby too loud?  Are the kids too wild?  Are you being too much?  Too soft? Too firm? Too visible? Too honest? Too bloody inconvenient? In Episode 66 of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi i...

Prepare your mind and body for birth with this guided positive birth meditation and natural labour rehearsal from QuantiMama's Jodi, creator of High Vibe Birth. This is more than a relaxation meditation. It is an embodied birth visualisation designed to help you mentally and physically rehearse labour before the day arrives - building familiarity with the sensations, breath, movement, partner...

Prepare for your baby's arrival with this guided planned caesarean birth meditation and C-section rehearsal from QuantiMama's Jodi, creator of High Vibe Birth. Designed for expectant mums preparing for a planned caesarean, this gentle visualisation helps you mentally rehearse the experience of your baby's birth before the day arrives - from leaving home and arriving at hospital, to...

Picture, if you will: your kid is mid-meltdown over something that feels wildly out of proportion, and instead of saying a word, you're staring into their left eye like a weirdo, silently repeating "They're holding the 'talking stick' right now." Ridiculous? Yep, kinda. Effective? Also Yes, according to this episode. In Episode 65 of Alchemising Education, Faark the S...

Some jokes don't stay jokes. Four years ago, calling a podcast Faark the Shoulds was mostly just funny - a release valve for how much of adulthood runs on quiet obligation. It's still funny. It also became the actual way this family makes decisions, including the ones that matter. That's what Episode 64 sits with. QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill mark four years of farking the...

What happens when a man actually knows his job in the birth space? Not “just be supportive”. Not “rub her back and stay out of trouble”. Not standing in the corner like an awkward extra waiting for someone to hand him a script. In this bonus crossover episode of Faark the Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi joins Nathan Francis from the Breaking Free podcast for a conversation that roams across masculinity,...

"Mum, stop pushing me. I'm not ready." Dr. Maxine Therese's son said this at the school gate when he was small. She was not dragging him. She was doing what most of us do - quietly, persistently, anxiously moving him toward the door. He named it before she could. And she had to sit with what it meant that he felt it even when she wouldn't admit it. In Episodes 62 and 63 of...

"Mum, stop pushing me. I'm not ready." Dr. Maxine Therese's son said this at the school gate when he was small. She was not dragging him. She was doing what most of us do - quietly, persistently, anxiously moving him toward the door. He named it before she could. And she had to sit with what it meant that he felt it even when she wouldn't admit it. In Episodes 62 and 63 of...

Your kid comes home polite, capable, and lovely for everyone else… then absolutely unloads on you over something that feels wildly disproportionate. Rude? Yes. Fun? Not particularly. Proof your family is broken? Not so fast. In Episode 61 of Faark The Shoulds, “Family Ties”, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill unpack how to build strong family bonds with teenagers and children through emotional...

What if the conversation that changes a girl’s life isn’t the big dramatic one everyone notices? What if it’s the quieter stuff.  The language.  The noticing.  The steady reassurance of being seen before things go seriously pear-shaped. In this episode of Alchemising Education, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri sit down with sisters Bianca and Kritz from The Big Sister Experience to talk about...

Postpartum Power What if postpartum isn’t “just hard” because motherhood is intense… but because women have been sold a version of recovery that leaves them isolated, underprepared, and quietly drowning? In this episode of Faark the Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi is joined by Chantel from Becoming This Mama for a big, honest conversation about postpartum care, recovery, and what it means to actually be...

What if the measure of your parenting isn't what your child achieves - but whether they know how to do it without you? The moment your kid takes you off their bank account might just be the graduation you've been working toward all along. How to Raise Kids Who Know How to Adult - Not Just Pass the Test  In this episode of Alchemising Education, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri get in...

A Wildly Nourished Life.  What if the most radical thing you could do was actually live the life you were meant to live; your full potential? In this episode of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi sits down with Miek Paulus - the powerhouse behind Ket Baker on the Bellarine Peninsula - for a conversation about obligation, energy, the inner critic, and what it actually means to show up fully to your...

What does homeschooling look like after the panic settles down and real life takes over? In Alchemising Education Season 4, Episode 56, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiMama Kerri share a five-year homeschool progress report. This episode is for homeschool-curious families, reluctant homeschoolers, and parents questioning whether mainstream education is still the right fit for their child. It explores tr...

The Evolution of Self What if the whole “I’m still the same person” line is complete rubbish? In this episode of Faark The Shoulds, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill kick off 2026 and Season 4 with a big, juicy conversation on personal growth, memory, identity, and what actually keeps people stuck. Fresh off their double 50th celebrations and a very on-brand “re-wedding”, the hosts dive into t...

You can’t outsource wisdom. Or connection. Or that strange blend of magic and monotony that is raising kids while trying to live in alignment with your values. In this season final, two-part Faark the Shoulds conversation, QuantiMama Jodi gets comfy with Riona Seehusen—founder of Bellagreen Organic Farm and unintentional mother-hub creator—to explore what it means to live locally, parent cyclicall...

You can’t outsource wisdom. Or connection. Or that strange blend of magic and monotony that is raising kids while trying to live in alignment with your values. In this season final, two-part Faark the Shoulds conversation, QuantiMama Jodi gets comfy with Riona Seehusen—founder of Bellagreen Organic Farm and unintentional mother-hub creator—to explore what it means to live locally, parent cyclicall...

Did you know the education system most Aussie kids move through was designed during the first industrial revolution? That’s horse-and-cart territory. Now we’re in the sixth , with AI reshaping everything from work to identity—and somehow, school hasn’t moved much past the factory floor. Still standardised. Still compliance-driven. Still asking kids to fit into a model that no longer fits the world...

There’s a kind of silence that follows death—the one where you realise the story won’t pick up again. Not in the way it used to. You’re left holding the memories, the what-ifs, and sometimes, the things you didn’t get to say. In this 50th episode, QuantiMama Jodi and QuantiPapa McGill dive deep into what it means to do death well. Not with platitudes or tidy bows—but with presence, reverence, and...

It's a beautiful day; the sun is shining; there's a cute kid in a pram, eyes glued to an iPad, whilst Mum scrolls Insta on the footpath. Normal? Maybe. Healthy? Faark no. In this Alchemising Education chat, QuantiMamas Jodi and Kerri pull no punches on the quiet epidemic of digital babysitting. From toddlers tethered to tablets to teen tracked for "their safety", they unpack ho...

Dear Teacher, We see you. The spark you started with is still in there — buried maybe, but not broken. You wanted to change lives. Instead, you’re wading through reports, watching bright eyes dim. It’s enough to make anyone question everything. In this Alchemising Education convo, QuantiMama Jodi and Kerri sit down with Jonathan Zalunardo — ex-teacher, founder of Apogee Australia, and proud builde...