The Hardest Job Ever

Season 5, Episode 7: It's the Season 5 finale of The Hardest Job Ever , and we're together in San Francisco taking an honest look at everything this season taught us about ambition, "balance," and what it really means to be a working mom. From burning out and pivoting careers, to turning down a promotion, to finally learning (painfully) how to say no, this episode gets real about...

Season 5, Ep 6: We sit down IRL in San Francisco with Sahana Carlsen, an engineering manager at a fast-growing AI company, content creator, and mom to an 18-month-old, for one of the most honest conversations we've had on the show. Sahana just started a high-intensity new job six weeks ago. She's in the office more, traveling more, and figuring it all out in real time. We get into all of i...

Season 5, Episode 5: What happens to your identity when your job, your title, or your career disappears, and all that's left is "mom"? In this episode, we sit down with Avani Modi Sarkar, co-founder of Modi Toys, to talk about her journey, going from corporate marketing to wife, mom, and entrepreneur in the span of a year, building Modi Toys into a beloved South Asian children's brand, and now ste...

Season 5, Episode 4: He saved her postpartum. Now she's carrying the mental load alone. An anonymous listener wrote in with a question we couldn't stop thinking about: how do you hold both truths, that your partner showed up in your darkest moment after the baby, and isn't showing up the way you need now? This week we sit inside the default parent trap. The version where you're kee...

Season 5, Episode 3: Working Mom Guilt, Childcare Attachment & When Your Child Prefers the Nanny What happens when your childcare setup works, but emotionally, it feels harder than expected? In this episode, we unpack working mom guilt , childcare attachment , and the complex emotions that come with raising kids while relying on a nanny, daycare, or caregiver . Why does it feel like rejection...

Season 5, Episode 2: Looking through old photos can make you pause. Not because you regret motherhood, but because you start wondering: Who am I now? In this episode, we unpack a question one of our listeners asked: Do you miss the version of yourself before kids? The answer isn’t as simple as yes or no. In this episode, we talk about: • Why motherhood can trigger an unexpected identity shift • Lo...

Season 5, Episode 1: We keep hearing about an “ambition gap.” That women don’t want the promotion anymore. That we’re opting out. But what if it’s not a lack of ambition? What if it’s a lack of support? To kick off Season 5, we’re joined by pediatrician, mom, and founder of PedsDocTalk, Dr. Mona Amin, for a conversation that hit way closer to home than we expected. From experiencing postpartum dep...

Season 4, Episode 9: We grew up believing ambition was linear - get the title, get the promotion, get the praise. But motherhood has a way of cracking that open. Suddenly the things we were taught to chase don’t fit the lives we’re actually living… especially when the system wasn’t built for us in the first place. This episode gets into what it really looks like to work, mother, provide, and survi...

Season 4, Episode 6: POV: You’re a mom raising boys in 2025, and unlearning everything you were taught about what it means to be a “good man.” In this episode, we sit down with @payalforstyle to talk about what it really looks like to raise emotionally intelligent boys in a world that still tells them not to cry, paint their nails, or wear butterfly clips. From navigating gender disappointment to...

Season 4, Episode 5: What does it really mean to raise kids between two cultures? In this episode of The Hardest Job Ever, we unpack the mental load of being first-gen South Asian moms in America, the guilt, pressure, and pride that come with keeping culture alive while raising toddlers who think in English but celebrate Diwali. From language lessons that end in chaos to finding toddler-safe ways...

Season 4, Episode 4: Before our babies can even talk, the world decides who they are. In this episode, we unpack all the sneaky (and not-so-sneaky) ways gender stereotypes creep in, from pink unicorn onesies and bow pressure to “boys don’t cry.” We talk about: • How gendered comments start before birth • Why girls get called “pretty” while boys get “strong” • The weird guilt of buying your son a p...

Motherhood has a way of making you feel like you’ve lost yourself; your time, your style, even your identity. But what if embracing fashion, confidence, and joy could actually help you feel more like you again? In this episode with Tika (@tikabobika), we talk about: • Losing style (and sanity) in the postpartum fog • Breaking the “mom uniform” stereotype • Fashion as self-expression for moms, and...

Season 4, Episode 2: Finding out your baby’s gender is supposed to be a joyful, magical moment. But what if it isn’t? What if instead of excitement, you feel a wave of disappointment, guilt, or even anger? You’re not alone, and it’s time we talked about it. In this episode, we get real about gender disappointment, the complicated emotions no one prepares you for. We cover: • Purvi’s raw reaction t...

Season 4, Episode 1: We’re back! And with life updates that range from total poopsicles to sweet popsicles. From potty training fails to toddler birthday chaos, we’re catching you up on what motherhood has really looked like these past few months. In this episode, we share: • Purvi’s first potty training attempt (and the carpet surprise she didn’t see coming) • Karen’s Malibu burrito disaster, a.k...

Season 3, Episode 4: Baby food allergies, eczema, and starting solids can feel overwhelming, especially when mom guilt and family opinions get added to the mix. In this episode, we sit down with allergist Dr. Farah Khan (@farah.khan.md) for some real talk about food allergies, mom guilt, and navigating cultural skepticism. We cover: • Purvi's story of discovering a cashew allergy • Why mom gui...

Season 3, Episode 3: Sleep training feels like one of the most guilt-filled, opinion-loaded parts of parenting, especially in South Asian families where “just feed them more” is everyone’s go-to solution. Between night feeds, cultural pushback, and babies who suddenly learn to stand, it’s no wonder moms feel like they’re failing. In this episode, we’re joined by Rinie Gupta (@riniegupta), pediatri...

Season 3, Episode 2: You think you cracked the sleep code. Then the regression hits. And the daycare germs. And the teething. And suddenly you’re rocking a baby to Timber at 2am wondering how it all fell apart. In this episode, we’re talking about what happens after sleep training, when the real chaos begins. We cover: • The four-month and six-month sleep regressions • Why daycare means nonstop si...

Season 3, Episode 1: If you’re a new mom drowning in sleep deprivation, nap schedules, and unsolicited opinions, this episode is for you. We’re getting real about baby sleep: what we thought it would be, what it actually was, and how sleep training tested everything from our sanity to our cultural values. In this episode, we share: • What no one tells you about sleep training as a first-time mom •...

Season 2, Ep 5: After you have a baby, everyone has opinions—and zero respect for nap schedules. From unsolicited advice to uninvited drop-bys, setting boundaries as a new mom isn’t rude. It’s survival. In this episode, we’re sharing: • Real-life boundary wins (and fails) • How we handled surprise visitors and unwanted advice • The added pressure of cultural expectations (hi, South Asian guilt) •...

S2 Ep4 : In this episode, Karen takes us inside her meticulous, exhausting, and sometimes maddening breastfeeding journey—from collecting colostrum at 37 weeks to weaning while working full-time. We cover: • How she learned to collect colostrum (and why it mattered later) • Flange sizing, nipple shields, and other ridiculous breastfeeding gear • The chaos of triple feeding and tube feeding—and how...

Season 2, Ep 3: Two boobs. Two babies. One sleep-deprived mom with a spreadsheet full of milk data. In this episode, Purvi takes us inside her chaotic, emotional, and surprisingly hilarious breastfeeding journey with premature twin boys. We cover: • Pumping 9–10 times a day (yes, really) • Tandem feeding fails and twin Z pillow wins • The pressure to “exclusively breastfeed”—and what happened when...

Season 2, Ep 2 : There’s the body you had before baby. And then there’s the body that survived birth, surgery, sleepless nights, and somehow—kept tiny human(s) alive. In this episode, we’re talking about the weird, real, and beautiful changes that happen to our bodies after birth, including: • Night sweats, phantom cries, and postpartum hair loss • C-section scars, stretch marks, and the mental sp...

Season 2, Ep 1: No one warned us that the fourth trimester would feel like being reborn and slightly wrecked at the same time. You’re stitched, swollen, sobbing at everything, and somehow still keeping a little newborn baby alive. In this kickoff to Season 2, we’re talking about the raw reality of those first 8 postpartum weeks, including:• Physical recovery • Emotional recovery • What helped us f...

Season 1, Episode 5: Karen & Purvi discuss the challenges of maintaining social lives after becoming mothers. They explore the pressures of keeping old friendships alive while trying to forge new connections with other moms. The conversation delves into the emotional struggles of feeling left out from pre-baby friendships and the complexities of navigating new mom friendships. They reflect on...

Season 1, Episode 4: Karen walks through her carefully crafted birth plan, while Purvi shares why she chose not to have one at all. What unfolds is an honest conversation about expectations, control, and the reality of labor. From detailed planning to going with the flow, we unpack what actually matters when things don’t go as expected and how both approaches shaped our postpartum experiences. Kar...