After weeks of careful planning, Matthew's baby arrived in the middle of the night—at a completely different hospital than expected.

In this episode, Matthew shares their unfiltered birth story: the telltale signs Mary initially dismissed, the frantic drive across town, and their first days as a brand-new parent navigating meconium diapers and jaundice.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How do you know when labor is actually starting vs. false alarms?
• What happens when the hospital you planned for is full and you get diverted?
• Why did we choose to find out the baby's sex beforehand?
• What's it really like doing your first diaper changes on a newborn?
• How do you handle the unexpected physical realities of newborn care (meconium, jaundice, temperature regulation)?
• What does it feel like to transition from "future parent" to "current parent"?

Matthew's just days away from becoming a parent, while Mandy and Pete navigate the complex world of sharing beloved films and shows with their teens. From handling commercials and consent messaging in Bluey to the heartbreak of watching your kid zone out during your favorite childhood classic, this episode tackles the emotional minefield of introducing kids to the media you love—and accepting when they just don't care.

Questions we discussed:

• When should you start intentionally watching shows and movies with your children?
• How do streaming services change parenting by eliminating commercial messaging?
• Watching problematic favorites (like John Hughes movies)
• Why do kids reject movies their parents love, and how should you handle it?
• How does context and first-viewing experience shape our relationship with movies?

Bonus PSA: No popcorn for kids under five—it's a choking hazard.

What happens when your carefully crafted birth plan collides with medical reality—and your family's overwhelming enthusiasm? This episode explores the gap between Hollywood's dramatic 10-minute labor scenes and the actual days-long delivery process, while navigating the beautiful chaos of well-meaning relatives who can't contain their excitement.

Matthew, Mandy, and Pete tackle the complexities of modern childbirth: How do you balance trusting medical professionals while still advocating for your preferences? What's it really like compared to what we see in movies? And how do you manage family support that becomes more overwhelming than helpful?

In This Episode:

Matthew reflects on the performative pressure to be the "perfect supportive partner" and introduces the "circles of care" model—where support flows inward while emotional processing happens with people further from the center. Pete shares how his performance anxiety vanished the moment actual labor began.

The conversation also covers the medicalization of childbirth and political pressures around birth choices, post-birth food cravings you dream about for months, coordination tools like MealTrain for postpartum support, traveling with babies while managing family expectations, and the realities of C-sections versus natural birth.

Plus, the hosts address a listener question about managing an 18-year-old camp counselor's inappropriate texts to a 14-year-old camper.

Whether you're weeks away from delivery or years from considering kids, this episode captures the beautiful chaos of preparing for parenthood. Sometimes the best-laid birth plans are just the starting point for the real adventure.

Navigating screen time as a parent feels like walking through a minefield – every choice comes with judgment, guilt, and conflicting expert advice. In this candid conversation, hosts Matthew Fox and Mandy Kaplan sit down with voice actor and dad Will Collier to tackle the daily battles of raising kids in our screen-saturated world.

Topics Covered

• When should parents start worrying about their own screen habits around babies and toddlers?
• What's the difference between "good" and "bad" screen time? We examine the spectrum from educational content like Wild Kratts to algorithm-driven platforms like TikTok.
• How do you handle screen time in a community where every family has different rules? The conversation revealed the judgment and awkwardness that comes with navigating other parents' choices – from kids watching violent movies at age 4 to families who use screens as 24/7 babysitters. Finding your own boundaries while respecting community relationships requires constant negotiation.

Ready to dive deeper into parenting challenges? Subscribe to The Once & Future Parent for more honest conversations about raising kids in the modern world.

Expectant parent Matthew Fox and seasoned parents Mandy Kaplan and Pete Wright dive deep into one of parenting's most personal decisions: naming your child. From family traditions to social media pressures, this episode explores how modern parents navigate the complex world of baby naming while sharing candid stories about their own experiences.

Topics Covered

• Is baby clothing just an expensive marketing trap? Matthew discovers the harsh reality of baby clothing sizes and seasonal mismatches, while Mandy delivers hard truths about those adorable (but useless) baby sneakers that become mere projectiles for developing motor skills.
• How do you actually choose a name that will last a lifetime?
• Should you tell people your baby name choices before the birth?
• How do cultural and religious traditions influence naming decisions? Matthew shares how his Jewish and Southern family backgrounds created different expectations for honoring relatives, while the group discusses the power dynamics and confidence that come with certain names.
• Can you really predict which names will become popular? Pete explains how their choice of "Sophia" seemed unique until it became one of the most popular names of the 2000s, proving that predicting naming trends is nearly impossible.

Three expecting/experienced parents dive into the evolving world of baby showers, gender reveals, and how modern families are reshaping traditional parenting ceremonies. Matthew Fox, expecting his first child, joins veteran parents Pete Wright and Mandy Kaplan for an honest conversation about navigating family expectations while staying true to your values.

The hosts explore the tension between honoring family traditions and creating new approaches that reflect modern understanding of gender, identity, and family dynamics. Matthew shares their decision to reveal biological sex after the baby shower to avoid gendered gifts, and a statement they posted on Facebook about it (see below), while Pete and Mandy reflect on how they handled similar decisions with their own children.

Topics Covered:

• Navigating cultural differences between families during pregnancy celebrations
• The evolution of gender reveal parties and their social implications
• How language around biological sex and gender identity affects parenting choices
• Dealing with well-meaning family members who may not share your values
• Setting boundaries around gendered gifts and expectations
• How swearing and "adult" language fits into family life
• Choosing what your child will call you as a non-binary parent
• Grandparent naming traditions and family negotiations
• Media representations of first-time parent expectations vs. reality

Hosted by Matthew Fox (Ethical Panda Podcasts), Pete Wright (TrueStory.fm), and Mandy Kaplan (Make Me a Nerd)

Here is the post Matthew put up that they discussed this week.

Ever since Mary Fox McCreary and I let the world know we were expecting we've gotten the same question every about to be parent gets - boy or girl? Mary and I have known for a while but have declined to answer. Now that we've had our baby shower (and huge, huge, thanks to everyone who participated, especially the wonderful people who made it happen) we figure it's a good time to answer that question, as well as talk about why we waited till now.

(Note- we know that everyone who asked the question did so out of love and curiosity and we have no judgement whatsoever for that, nor for anyone who does decide to share that information about their pregnancy at any point they choose to. This is just what felt best for us.)

One thing Mary and I have been aware of since we began is that we have no idea what gender our child will be, and we won't until they figure it out for themselves and tell us. Pre-natal testing has told us some of their sex characteristics, and while those have a high correlation to gender, all reputable scientific and medical knowledge tells us that correlation is by no means guaranteed. And while those initial sex characteristics will influence things like what pronouns we use for our child, we think they are a pretty small part of who our child is going to be, and we don't want to start them off in one box or another. At the baby shower they got dinosaurs and dolls, pink outfits and blue, and we couldn't have been happier. We can't wait to love and raise our child into who they turn out to be, and recognize how little we know about that to begin with.

So, as for the grand reveal- our child will start its life as a boy, and we will them whatever they turn out to be. We are so touched by all the outpourings of love and support and excitement we've gotten from family and partners and friends, and are excited to share this news with you all.

Welcome to The Once & Future Parents, where three podcasters navigate the wild world of parenting from completely different stages of the journey. Matthew Fox is two months away from becoming a first-time parent at 47, Mandy Kaplan is raising a 15-year-old theater kid, and Pete Wright's adult children are out saving lives and helping the elderly.

When does parental influence actually end, and how much control do we really have? The hosts grapple with the tension between accepting limited control and continuing to guide their children through example.

What happens when reality doesn't match the parenting playbook from movies and TV? From purple newborns to the myth of water breaking as labor's dramatic beginning, the hosts discover that media representations of parenting often miss the mark.

Topics Covered

• Late-in-life parenting and aging as a new parent
• The nuclear family model vs. village-style child-rearing
• How childhood trauma and family patterns influence parenting choices
• Postpartum depression and mental health support systems
• The role of media in shaping parenting expectations
• Gender identity and inclusive language in parenting discussions
• Building community and support networks for new parents
• The difference between parenting influence at different child development stages

Hosted by Matthew Fox (Superhero Ethics), Mandy Kaplan (Make Me a Nerd), and Pete Wright from TruStory FM.

Meet the hosts of The Once & Future Parent: Matthew Fox, a brand-new parent who is fully panicking in a calm and totally normal way; Mandy Kaplan, currently negotiating freedom, hormones, and homework with a high school sophomore like it's a hostage situation; and Pete Wright, who has entered the parenting phase where success means getting a text back from a cell phone he doesn’t own yet somehow still pays for.

Three different parenting stages. Three wildly different perspectives. One shared sense of existential confusion about how any of us are supposed to do this.

Sure, we'll talk about screen time and sleep schedules—but we're really here for the questions nobody prepares you for: How do you help your kid make friends when you don't even know how adults are supposed to make friends? What happens when you realize your kid just outgrew your best parenting trick and you don't have a backup? And how do we avoid repeating the mistakes our parents made? (At least, not all of them. That would be absurd.)

It's thoughtful, emotional, and funny—the stuff we all wish we talked about more often. Because here's the thing: parenting doesn't stop. It just changes costumes.

Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, or visit https://trustory.fm/once-and-future-parent.