The following podcast contains explicit language.

Welcome to Mom and Dad are Fighting, Slate's Parenting Podcast for Thursday, May 13th, the Mom, where's my stuffy edition?

I'm Jamila Lemieux, a writer, contributor to Slate's Karen Feeding Parenting Column, and Mom toima, who is eight, and we live in Los Angeles, California. I'm Dan Coice. I'm a writer at Slate. I'm the author of The Book, How to Be a Family. I'm the dad of Lyra, who's 16, and Harper who's 13. And we live in Arlington, Virginia. And I'm Gabrielle Horton, a guest hosting today with these lovely two. I'm based here in Los Angeles, where I am a podcast producer and the co-host and executive producer of Nadel, a podcast docucus series about having a baby while black. I don't have any kids of my own, but I've got a bunch of nieces and nephews. So I'm excited to sort of talk more about that with you all today. We are excited to have you with us to talk, Gabrielle. And wow, we can like go meet for coffee now because things are different. That's a thing now. That's a thing now. We should make that happen. That would be nice. Sorry, Dan. We should make that happen. Sorry, trying not to brag. Try not to brag. But listeners of the show know that I have been an in-the-house person for the better part of the last year and a half. So allow me this coffee with this wonderful woman who we're so glad to have joining us today. We've got quite a show for you. We're going to start off debating if a mom who is sick of searching for her kids lost stuff can opt out of the search party or if she has to keep going. And then we've got some advice for a girl who's feeling left out. Her bestie and her mom both go to therapy and now she wants to go too. Is that reason enough to go to therapy or is there perhaps something

else going on? On Slate Plus, for you lucky subscribers, we're going to be talking to Gabrielle about

what it's like to put together a show like Natal and tell stories about birth when you aren't a parent

yourself. That's what you get when you support the show.

When you love us, love us, we love you a little bit extra and you get a little bit more show.

But first, for Jen Pop, we'll start off with triumphs and fails.

Dan, what do you have for us this week?

Gen Pop.

Okay.

Prolls, plebeians, here you go.

Here's your triumph for fail. I have a triumph this week. My triumph was, I guess, work-related in that I was promoted this week on Harper's softball team by the head coach in my assistant coaching duties. For the first few weeks of games, my job was that I was

the guy who hung out in the dugout. And like, I'd be like, Harper, you're up. Bryn, you're on deck.

Abby, you're in the hole. And then when the ending was over, I'd be like, okay, you're at first base.

You're a shortstop. And I'd have to explain to them, like, which one is left field and which one is right field.

And so then Steve, the head coach, would be the third base coach.

And Brin's dad was the first base coach.

But Brin is a pitcher.

And her dad is extremely focused on her pitching.

When she's pitching, he's either, like, constantly calling out advice to her or he's, like,

walking away because he can't watch anymore.

...