This is Eric Glass.

On This American Life, we specialize in compelling stories from everyday life.

I was like, wow, you literally just died and came back.

And the first thing you ask is, do you need any money?

Your life stories, really good ones, in your podcast feed, This American Life.

Hey everyone. This is Code Switch. I'm B.A. Parker. And I'm Leah Janella. And we're here with a bonus episode to continue our conversation about mom fluencers, tradwives, and the wild world of modern motherhood.

Last time we spoke, we talked about the long history of political leaders talking about how much they revere mothers, but not actually enacting laws or policies that are designed to support them. Yep. And about how government has left a void

and influencers are there to fill it. You know, if you can't have paid family leave,

at least you can have a nice silky nursing bra for the low, low cost of 7699. I mean, I'll say it's

worth it. But I know from your tone, Leah,

you've been experiencing some pretty overwhelming feelings

about becoming a parent in the near future.

Not all of them good.

Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong.

I am excited to have a child.

It's something I chose to do. But the deeper I get into

some of these parenting worlds, the more terrified I become. I spent a lot of time talking to

Sarah Peterson, we heard from her last time. She's the author of a recent book about mom

influencers and the challenges of being a mom.

And one of the things she said that really stood out to me was that if someone struggles with motherhood,

it's so often seen as a deep, incurable character flaw.

She said it makes her think of MLMs. You mean like multi-level marketing businesses like

...