The Great Equalizer

In this final instalment of our three-part Friends series (sponsored by LEGO South Africa), we chat about being good :) kind :) sweet :) pleasant :) amicable :) good natured :) a pleasure to work with :) and everything else that underscores the damaging ‘Good Girl’ archetype that’s been bored into the minds of millennial moms everywhere.   At the heart of this episode, we re-evaluate kindness and...

Our three-part series on friendship with LEGO South Africa continues as we tackle BULLYING! and SELF-ESTEEM! with Sandton-based educational psychologist Naledi Mokoena. In this episode we focus on bullies and victims, and we talk about the different nuances that bullying can take on, from the more overt, obvious abuse to subtle, insidious forms of bullying. Naledi advises parents from a profession...

BUILDING MULTICULTURAL FRIENDSHIPS IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY On this episode of The Great Equalizer we’re celebrating F R I E N D S H I P, with a focus on helping our children navigate new connections from foundation phase to the teenage years. Joining us in studio is parent, author and social worker Joey Dlamini, a self-proclaimed “imperfect parent”, who is on a mission to equip parents and thei...

It’s a brand new year, folks! Replete with brand new anxieties (along with all the old ones) 😃👍🏼 First off the block is back-to-school anxiety, which we’ll be tackling on all fronts with the help of the loveliest parent-child expert around, the incredibly smart and sweet powerhouse, @drjennyrose. Jenny is a clinical psychologist and a mom of three who is on a mission to make information accessi...

Make no mistake, folks. The amount of device time our kids are going to have this festive season is bordering on criminal. But everyone knows we at TGE love ourselves some good picture books, so we thought we'd share a bit more about the books we’ve been enjoying in our home lately. TGE's got you covered, with a range of books now available such as David Walliam's adventure books, Slime and Spaceb...

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all mothers fair and foul, swore and sobbed and threatened to throw in the towel. (Stay tuned till January to see if we survived this ‘Dezemba’ show down) Folks, the division of labour issue is no more obvious than at Christmas time, when all of us work our tails off to make that festive season magic. And so, on this month’s episode of The Great Equalizer, we’...

On this episode of The Great Equalizer, Sam is jonesing for a demotion (and a breakdown on the side), Charlene is larger than life (and in a really great space), and we chat about how our children’s mental health is on the knife-edge at the moment. There’s been a marked increase in teen suicides and, worryingly, children as young as 8, 9 and 10 are struggling with anxiety, depression and suicidal...

The gals from The Great Equalizer are BACK and finally together IN PERSON in our newly minted studio (whoop whoop). On this episode, Sam and Charlene acknowledge how hard it’s been to stick to our #nojudgies policy, especially when it comes to Other People’s Kids (blegh). Why does no-one tell you about this shit!? Parenting does NOT get easier (for anyone wondering), and we get proper stuck into w...

This ain’t your everyday ‘self-care’ podcast episode. Nope. On this episode of The Great Equalizer, we’re deep diving into the realities of Fit Living, Fat Phobia and Fearless Family Feeding. As always, your hosts, Sam Herbst and Charlene Armstrong are by no means experts on the topic, which is why we always like to bring in the big guns. Meanwhile, Sam talks about forgetting everything she's ever...

Our 2021 Christmas episode is OUT and this year we are honouring the magic that moms bring to the festive season. It's a pretty nuanced discussion as we wonder if The Patriarchy (aargh) has lumped us with the job of Mother Christmas, or if we've taken on that load ourselves. What do you think? We also chat about Santa logistics, Elf on the Shelf and whether or not the naughty/nice list should stil...

We catch up after a long hiatus (and a tough year, if we're honest). Amid Covid, money troubles, postpartum depression and losing ourselves in the shitshow that is 2021, Team TGE makes our way back to the microphone. We've decided that it's better to talk about the shit – the poo that no-one likes to talk about but everyone can relate to. It's not always pleasant, but it's in the talk-talk-talking...

In this bonus episode of The Great Equalizer, Sam chats to mom-of-two Natasha Kisten. With two teenage boys of her own, Natasha has discovered how letting go isn't a once-off process that happens when our kids are old enough to fly the coup. Rather, there are different levels of letting go throughout parenthood, each one harder than the next. Natasha also chats about how to navigate when your chil...

In this bonus episode Sam talks to clinical psychologist Slindile Mbatha about Intergenerational Trauma and how it intersects with motherhood. Mbatha explains what generational trauma is, how it can be recognised and how we break the cycle of trauma. The pair also deep-dive into postpartum depression, anxiety and intrusive thoughts. Mbatha outlines common symptoms and normalises some often overpat...

Sexual health has always been an important part of the TGE Wheelhouse, but always in the context of a relationship. So, in the spirit of women empowerment and inclusivity (considering same-sex couples, single parents and everyone in between), our next episode focuses on self-pleasure and Ye Olde Vagina (as our guest, Fran Bushe would say). If alcohol were still accessible, we’d tell you guys to ha...

With news last night from our DP (Dear President), there is no better time to put out our latest episode. C*vid fatigue has hit us all hard this time round, and the never-ending stream of mismanaged funds, poor system rollout and fake news (looking at you, #Tembisa10) has us all sticking our heads in the sand. It’s tough to put on a brave face, guys. BUT, we’re all parents (well, most of us on thi...

This week on The Great Equalizer, we’re talking BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS, looking at the latest children's books that the country’s major publishers currently have on offer. Our special guest is remedial therapist and founder of Raising Readers, Marian Bailey, who unpacks how these books might benefit our children in the long run, instilling a love for reading that will last a lifetime. LISTEN. LIKE. S...

CAREER SHIFT If we thought we struggled to have it all pre-C*vid, the year 2020 showed us that entertaining the idea of a work/family/life is still a laughable offence. Millions of working moms have had to pivot in the last year. Many of us have had to find alternative or additional ways to support our families while ramping up our role as primary caregiver, and many more have had to deal with a s...

Here’s a little sneak peek into the VIBE that is the darling of South African radio, Sureshnie Rieder. We chat to Sush on the next episode of The Great Equalizer about love, life, career and MOTHERHOOD! The full episode goes out tomorrow and includes a very full discussion about changing gears in terms of your career, with some business boosting resources courtesy of Boss Babes of South Africa CEO...

CONSCIOUS PARENTING… If we’re honest, the term would typically give us the heebie-jeebies. How can certain Instagrammers (typically living their conscious, peaceful life on the other side of the world) tell us – with a contrived pic and limited word count – how to handle OUR kids in the moment? Those posts (we all know them) that tell us, instead of XYZ, do ABC, don’t f*ckin work. We know, we’ve t...

How do you feel about Mother's Day? Is it something you look forward to? Does it ever live up to the hype? Do you feel as appreciated as you should? Do you spend the day taking care of other moms in your life? Is it just another day? On this episode of The Great Equalizer, we chat about all dem Mother's Day feels and what we (as moms) want on our big day. We also rope in children's book author and...

THE WAYS WE PLAY Play was always meant to be the fun part of parenting, right? Especially when it comes to buying toys and spending that all-important Q-T with your cuties. It was supposed to be fun (and it can still be), if we didn't have so much to consider. Things like: - Are you getting in enough floor play with your kids or do you expect too much independent play? - Are you providing enough o...

We're celebrating World Books Day 2021 with a special BONUS episode featuring none other than the loveliest gal in all the land, bestselling children's book author Refiloe Moahloli. Refiloe chats to us about her latest instalment, How Many Ways Can You Say Goodbye?, and gives us some insight into the intention behind this heartfelt sequel to How Many Ways Can You Say Hello? These aren't just any s...

QUICKFIRE Q&A with: Refiloe Moahloli Drawing inspiration from a host of nephews and nieces who get her creative juices flowing, bestselling children’s book author Refiloe Moahloli has penned several picture books over the years, including Tullula, Yes Yanga!, We Are One and – a personal favourite in our households – How Many Ways Can You Say Hello? Refiloe has a knack for bri...

HOW DO BUNNIES LAY EGGS? As we head into Easter, are you ready for your kids’ inevitable questions about how a giant-sized bunny invades your home and pushes treat-eggs out his A-hole? Are you, though!? In this episode of The Great Equalizer, we ask some very important questions. First and foremost… In a world where fannies are now vaginas and storks are just birds and not a fantastic...

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS! For a sneak peek at what to expect in the next episode of The Great Equalizer, here's a QUICKFIRE Q&A with our upcoming guest, Julia Anastasopoulos. Julia is an artist, illustrator, comedy writer and actress and is best known for her breakout role as YouTube sensation Suzelle DIY. Her rise to stardom continued with the advent of everybody’s favourite Cape Town-dwelli...