KIRA WILLEY: Raising Joyful Kids

Parenting isn’t broken — but the way we’re doing it might be. Kira Willey joins me to unpack what kids really need today, and how we can show up with more clarity, connection, and confidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the key to fewer tantrums, better behavior, and deeper connection with your child wasn’t discipline—but play? In this powerful episode, Kanika Chadda Gupta sits down with Dr. Kim Van Dusen—aka The Parentologist—to unpack the science and strategy behind her new book Parenting Through Play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎙️ Megaphone Blurb (Podcast Description)Grief changes you—but it doesn’t have to erase you.In this deeply moving episode, Kanika sits down with author and grief coach Kate Doerge, who shares her unimaginable journey through loss: losing both parents and her 16-year-old daughter, Penny.Through heartbreak, Kate found a new way forward—one that doesn’t try to “fix” grief, but instead helps you move through it with intention.In this conversation, she introduces her powerful framework, The 5 Actions Through Grief, offering tangible tools to help you feel grounded, connected, and even open to joy again.This episode is for anyone navigating loss, supporting someone who is, or simply wanting to live with more presence and compassion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to start over and build a life in wine? In this episode, Namratha Stanley shares her extraordinary journey from Bangalore to Bordeaux, where she built her own wine brand, Solicantus, from scratch. Alongside her powerful personal story, she breaks down Bordeaux Wine 101 – grapes, regions, and how to actually enjoy wine without intimidation. This is a conversation about reinvention, resilience, and what happens when you trust yourself enough to begin again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As per Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s national advisory, 1 in 3 parents is feeling high levels of stress. There are 63 million parents living with children under the age of 18 in the US, so this is roughly 210 million people who are feeling burnout. Today we have Harvard stress expert Dr. Aditi Nerurkar on the show to break down the different types of stress (adaptive and maladaptive) and how we can rewire our brains to manage daily pressures in the long term, as she outlines in her NYT bestselling book, The Five Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Sue Varma’s groundbreaking work shows that “optimism” goes beyond just having a positive outlook – it brings about better outcomes. Optimists tend to achieve more success, report higher incomes and job satisfaction, adopt healthier habits, build stronger relationships, and experience greater overall life satisfaction, ultimately leading to increased happiness. Sue states simply that “optimists may be born, but practical optimists are made.” Practical Optimism is a mindset that can be learned – and Practical Optimism lays out a roadmap to success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was in my teens, I remember watching a biopic on famed Indian mathematician from the early 1900s - Ramanujan. He was often saying “There’s so much to do yet so little time.” He’d work for 30 hours at a stretch and slept for 20. He discovered nearly 4,000 equations + formulas and died at the prime age of 32.  Why do I bring him up? Because he wanted more time to achieve his goals in life which gave him a sense of fulfillment and happiness. As many of us do. But consider this. Why are the happiest people on earth either babies or the elderly enjoying their sunset years? It doesn’t have to be that way. And my guest today, Professor Cassie Holmes, Phd is extremely knowledgeable on the subject. She’s going to enlighten us about her research backed by case studies and science on how to be truly happy, feel content with the time we have, and will even provide strategies we can apply to lead a purposeful, meaningful life.  Cassie Mogilner Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Trained as a social psychologist, she earned her PhD at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and her BA at Columbia. An award-winning teacher and researcher on the role of time in cultivating happiness and satisfaction in life, Holmes’s work has been widely published in lead academic journals and featured in outlets such as NPR, the Economist, the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Happier Hour is her first book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Rob and their children Leo and Lita.  Meet My Guest: WEBSITE: ⁠CassieHolmes.com⁠ LINKEDIN: ⁠/cassieholmes⁠ Press: WSJ.COM: ⁠Bestselling Books Week Ended January 7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if picky eating isn’t your child’s fault—but how we’re feeding them? In this episode, I sit down with Erica Bethe Levin, founder of Globowl, the baby food brand redefining how kids experience food from their very first bites. After struggling with picky eating with her first child, Erica took a completely different approach the second time—introducing bold, globally inspired flavors like curry and spices early on, with powerful results. We talk about the critical “flavor window,” why early allergen exposure matters, how gut health is tied to food diversity, and why traditional “kid food” may be setting our children up to fail. Erica also shares her journey from the world of high-end food and Michelin-star influence to launching a fast-growing company—and what she learned along the way, including her experience on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. If you’ve ever dealt with picky eating, questioned what your kids should be eating, or want to raise adventurous, healthy eaters, this episode is a must-listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if your biggest disadvantage could become your greatest edge? In this powerful episode of That’s Total Mom Sense, I sit down with venture capitalist, author, and founder of Backstage Capital, Arlan Hamilton, who went from sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport to building a multimillion-dollar fund investing in underestimated founders. With no degree, no connections, and no traditional path into Silicon Valley, Arlan rewrote the rules—and is now helping others do the same. We talk about: The mindset shift that can change your financial future Why “you only need one yes” is more powerful than you think How to build wealth without privilege or access What every parent should teach their kids about money and resourcefulness Why who gets funded can change the world This is a conversation about grit, vision, and redefining what’s possible—not just for yourself, but for generations to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For generations, mothers have been asked to carry an outsized share of the unpaid, invisible, and logistical labor that keeps families functioning. From caregiving and mental load to emotional labor and school forms, modern motherhood has been shaped by systems that quietly assume women will fill the gaps — at home, at work, and in society.   But the cultural narrative is shifting — and parents, companies, and communities are rewriting the playbook in real time.   Join us for Rewriting the Parenting Playbook: Honoring Moms, Empowering Families, a conversation about how caregiving expectations are changing, why the old model was never sustainable, and what it looks like to build family systems that honor ambition, equity, and shared responsibility.   Our panel brings together leaders advancing this movement from three distinct but interconnected angles — childcare access, domestic labor equity, and narrative change.   We’ll explore: ✨ Why the traditional parenting model was built around assumptions that no longer match modern family life ✨ How childcare, workplace flexibility, and economic policy shape family decisions ✨ The Fair Play framework and how it changes division of labor at home ✨ The emotional and identity realities of mothers as both caregivers and earners ✨ How storytelling and representation accelerate cultural change ✨ What support actually empowers families — and what remains missing Meet the Panelists: Joan Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO, Bumo Eve Rodsky, Founder, Fair Play Policy Institute & Author of Fair Play Kanika Chadda Gupta, Journalist & Host, Total Mom Sense Whether you’re a parent, partner, policymaker, or simply someone invested in healthier family systems, this event will offer both clarity and momentum — and remind us that none of this change is happening by accident. WHAT IS AUGGIE? The most trusted community for parents to find the answers. Inside the app, parents get stage-specific guidance, expert content, on-demand events, and a supportive network that reduces the mental load of figuring everything out alone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices