Best of 2025: Shannon Watts, FIRED UP

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood | Parenting Tips From Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

Kids & Family, Comedy, Parenting

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

To wrap up 2025, we’re re-running some of our favorite guest episodes from this year—including this interview with Shannon Watts, founder of ⁠Moms Demand Action⁠, discussing her book Fired Up: How to Turn Your Spark Into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age. Shannon shares the personal story behind her midlife awakening, how she built the largest grassroots movement to fight gun violence in America, and the life-changing formula she developed to help women find purpose, passion, and courage—no matter their life stage. Shannon, Margaret, and Amy discuss: How societal “shoulds” can keep women stuck The “fire triangle” formula: how your values, abilities, and desires can reignite your life Why “false fires” (like busyness and performative happiness) burn us out How Shannon knew it was time to pass the torch at Moms Demand Action—and what it taught her about transitions The importance of building our own communities of firestarters Why your fire doesn’t have to “earn its keep” Here's where you can find Shannon: ⁠www.firedupbook.com⁠ (enroll in Shannon's course here) @shannonrwatts on IG and Substack Buy FIRED UP: ⁠https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9780593831939⁠ We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, midlife women, midlife crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:32.6	Hello and welcome to Fresh Take from What Fresh Hell laughing in the Face of Motherhood. This is Margaret.
0:38.2	And this is Amy.
0:39.0	Today we're talking to Shannon Watts.
0:41.3	She is the founder of Mom's Demand Action, the largest grassroots group fighting gun violence in the U.S.
0:47.5	Shannon has been named one of times 100 most influential people, a Forbes 50 over 50 change maker, and a glamour woman of the year.
0:56.4	During the 2024 election, Shannon organized the largest Zoom gathering in history,
1:01.5	mobilizing over 200,000 voters and raising over $11 million in support of the Kamala Harris campaign.
1:08.2	Helping to redefine what's possible when audacious women unite to
1:11.6	drive change, Shannon writes regularly about culture, politics, and women's issues for her
1:16.9	substack, playing with fire, and outlets like The Washington Post, Elle, Time, and the 19th. Today, we're
1:24.2	going to talk about Shannon's new book, an instant bestseller, Fired Up, How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age. Welcome, Shannon.
1:34.5	Thank you for having me. So let's start with a quote from the very beginning of their book. You say, so many women, especially when they reach midlife, wake up one day and realize their living lives they didn't
1:45.9	want or don't recognize. And you speak with authority on this topic because this was once you.
1:53.1	Yeah, my book opens with a scene from me in my late 30s where I'm sitting in an emergency room
1:59.3	and I'm covered from head to toe in eczema
2:01.7	and I could not get it to go away. And so I finally go to this specialist and he looks at me
2:09.0	and says, how much stress are you under? And kind of won't let me look away. And I describe having
	...

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