Mandarin Matters with author Michele Wong McSween

Jenna Worthen is the founder and CEO of the James Martin Company, a political and nonprofit consulting organization. Jenna founded and is the chief curator of the site, “Mom Who Works”, a community of moms who also work. Her new book is titled, “Mom Who Works: The Tools to Redefine What It Means to be a Working Mom (In a World Without Working Dads)”. She has two sons and a daughter with her husband.In this episode Jenna asks the very important question: why do we refer to mom’s who work as “working moms” yet never refer to dads as “working dads”? Jenna also explains how she built her community of moms who work and how it inspired her new book.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Krys Malcolm Belc is the author of the recent memoir, “The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood”. Krys lives in Philadelphia with his partner and their four young children.In this episode Krys talks about what inspired him to write his memoir about being a transgender gestational parent and why he wanted people to know he carried two of his kids. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michele Wong McSween is a former fashion designer who created the “Gordon & Li Li” children’s book series and app. The series are books that help kids learn Mandarin. Her latest book is “Gordon & Li Li: Colors in Mandarin”. Michele lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three boys.In this episode Michele discusses the best ways to teach children new languages and she inspires Allie to look into writing a children's book.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the Mom Goals episode with Amanda Tice they discussed the concept of “mom brain”. So on today’s episode Allie welcomes health and science journalist Chelsea Conaboy, the author of the new book “Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood”. Chelsea was part of the Boston Globe staff that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news, for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. She is raising her two young sons with her husband in Maine.Chelsea discusses how we focus on hormones but often neglect to study the brain when it comes to pregnancy and motherhood. She talks about the realities of "mom brain" and how it's a natural but difficult aspect of being a mom. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For this episode of Mom Goals, Jessica Grose joins the conversation. Jessica is a novelist and an opinion writer for the New York Times. She's the author of the new book, “Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood”. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.Jessica discusses her difficult first pregnancy and all of the research she did for her new book, "Screaming on the Inside". See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda Tice is a curve model, a body positivity advocate, and former TV journalist. She is the author of the new book, “The New Mom Code: Shatter Expectations and Crush It at Motherhood”. Amanda is the mother of her son George.In this episode Amanda talks about transitioning into a curve model and why she thinks there is too much unspoken about motherhood.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Vanessa Rissetto is a Registered dietitian and the CEO of the personalized nutrition platform, Culina Health. In 2022 Essence magazine listed her as one of the top 5 black nutritionists that will change the way you think about food. Vanessa is also a mother of two kids.In this episode, Vanessa discusses the challenges of making your children eat healthy foods and explains the difference between registered dieticians and nutritionists.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's show, Allie talks with the women behind #IMomSoHard. Jen Smedley and Kristin Hensley are the hosts of the #IMomSoHard podcast and webseries. Through their amazing chemistry and humor their viral web series became a successful podcast. They are the authors of the bestselling books 2019’s “#IMomSoHard” and 2021’s “The Meanest of Meanies: A Book About Love”. You can find their tour dates on IMomSoHard.com.Jen and Kristin discuss how their very open and hilarious conversations about motherhood found an audience and how their respective families have handled the new fame.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nikki Oden is a mom coach who runs YourIdealMomLife.com. She hosts the Love Your Mom Life podcast and is author of the new book, “But Definitely Wear Mascara: Hacks to Help You LOVE Your Mom Life (and Yourself) a Little More”. Nikki is also the mother of two kids.In this edition of Mom Goals, Nikki talks about her journey from being a lawyer to a mom coach. She stresses how important it is for moms to be intentional with their time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cat Osterman is a softball icon. She was the only 3-time Softball player of the year while at the University of Texas, a 6-time professional All-Star, and a Gold and 2-time Silver medalist in the Olympics. Cat was also the first softball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2002. She is a stepmom and is currently expecting her first child.In this episode Cat discusses what she expects while expecting, what being a stepparent taught her, and exactly how competitive she is with her husband.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.