Hands up if you've learnt all about families from the Kardashians? Ross and Monica on Friends?

This week on Relatively, Catherine Carr is joined by acclaimed journalist and Head of Editorial Content at Glamour UK, Kemi Alemoru, to unpack the siblings we’ve watched on TV, in films, and seen in popular culture.

Kemi, the youngest of three girls (and self-proclaimed "baby"), shares hilarious stories from her own female-dominated household. From her dad staging a Lord of the Flies-style boardroom intervention to solve a sisterly argument to a family healing exercise that nearly started a forest fire, Kemi proves that real-life sisterhood is just as dramatic as reality TV.

The episode takes a deep dive into the ultimate modern dynasty: the Kardashians. Kemi and Catherine explore the psychological basis for their sibling rivalry, tracing their evolution from a fun, chaotic sisterhood to a billionaire empire where exclusionary WhatsApp group chats and physical fights expose deep rifts.

They also draw fascinating parallels between the Kardashians and England's original 1930s "It Girls", the Mitford sisters. The conversation touches on how extreme political differences and contrasting lifestyles can fracture even the tightest blood bonds, whether you are a high-society communist or a reality TV star.

Plus, Kemi breaks down the iconic, highly-strung dynamic of Ross and Monica from Friends, and why shared houses in your 20s can create a "chosen family" that transcends DNA.

This is a funny, sharp, and totally riveting conversation about the pop culture siblings we love to analyse, and the real-life family roles we can't escape.          

If this one hit home, share it with your siblings.

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#Relatively #Kardashians #FamilyDynamics #PopCultureSiblings #MitfordSisters #Friends

Have you ever realised a blazing row with your partner might actually have nothing to do with them… and everything to do with your sibling dynamic growing up?

This week on Relatively, Catherine Carr is joined by therapist Lisa Bruton to unpack the huge, and often subconscious, impact our brothers and sisters have on every aspect of adult life.

Lisa, the youngest of three girls (still known by her sisters as “Podgy Poo”), explains why people regularly walk into therapy wanting to discuss marriage, work stress, or relationships… only to spend the session untangling sibling history instead.

From birth order and sibling rivalry to Family Systems Theory, Catherine and Lisa explore why family gatherings can instantly drag us back into childhood roles, whether you were “the responsible one”, “the messy one”, or the peacekeeper in the middle trying to disappear entirely.

The episode also dives into the growing rise of sibling therapy, with more adult siblings choosing to work through past wounds together to improve their future relationships.

At its emotional core, this conversation tackles sibling estrangement, the guilt, shame, and silence surrounding stepping away from toxic family dynamics. Lisa also shares a surprisingly simple way to start breaking free from the labels your family still places on you, without causing a full family fallout.

Featuring brilliant archive moments from past guests including Caitlin Moran, Gok Wan, and Dan Snow, this is a funny, eye-opening, and deeply validating episode that may completely change how you see your family and yourself. If this one hit home, share it with your siblings.

Subscribe to the Relatively Podcast channel so you never miss an episode:

https://www.youtube.com/@relativelypodcast

Listen to every episode here:

https://pod.link/relatively

Follow and connect with us:

Facebook: @Relatively.pc

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Website: https://www.relativelypodcast.com/

#Relatively #SiblingTherapy #FamilyDynamics

Imagine being left out of your mother’s will. Do you fight for what you think is yours, or protect the relationship with the siblings who inherited everything?

Acclaimed TV producer, screenwriter, and novelist Daisy Goodwin, creator of Victoria and producer of Grand Designs, joins Catherine Carr for one of the most open and emotionally honest conversations of the series.

Daisy is the eldest of five, and she knows that role inside out. She describes the classic big sister as a “sheepdog”, always responsible, quietly keeping everyone in line, and often giving advice whether it’s asked for or not. She and Catherine swap stories about bossy older siblings, why eldest daughters often end up running the show, and what happens when two “eldest children” marry each other.

They also get into sibling dynamics in the Royal Family, past and present, and how those familiar roles play out on a very public stage. Daisy also reacts to being in the same eldest-daughter club as Queen Elizabeth II, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift.

But at the heart of the episode is something deeper. Daisy shares what it felt like to be left out of her mother’s will, a real “body blow”, and the choice she made in how to respond.

It’s a thoughtful, funny, and moving conversation about family, loyalty, and what we carry as eldest daughters.

Subscribe to Daisy Goodwin's Substack here: https://substack.com/@daisygoodwin2

If this one hit home, share it with your siblings. Subscribe to the Relatively Podcast channel so you never miss an episode:

https://www.youtube.com/@relativelypodcast

Listen to every episode here:

https://pod.link/relatively

Follow and connect with us:

Facebook: @Relativelypodcast

Instagram: @relativelypodcast

Website: https://www.relativelypodcast.com/

#Relatively #EldestDaughterSyndrome #Disinheritance

What happens when the interviewer becomes the interviewee? To kick off the return of Relatively, the tables are turned as author, poet, and presenter Salma El-Wardany takes over the host's chair momentarily from Catherine Carr.

In a special twist, Salma interviews Catherine about her brand new book, Who's the Favourite?, exploring Catherine's own experiences as a middle child separated from her sisters during childhood, and her fascinating analogy of the family being like a constantly moving river.

Salma puts Catherine on the spot by asking "Who is the Favourite?" in her family?

Halfway through, the two swap seats to explore Salma’s own sibling story. Growing up home-educated as the youngest child alongside her older brother, Salma reveals she spent her early years desperately begging her parents for a baby sister.

Salma opens up about her exhausting role as the family's "emotional superconductor" and peacekeeper during her parents' divorce, sparking a vital conversation about the emotional labor disproportionately expected of daughters

And Salma gives a sneak preview of her upcoming series "Sunday Cervix".

Beneath the laughter and the battle for the podcast's coveted badges, the episode dives into the profound, deep relationships we have with our siblings and just how much Catherine has learned making Relatively and writing Who's the Favourite?

It is a beautifully honest, funny, and insightful conversation to kick off our series relaunch with the HERA network.

After 60 episodes recorded hunched over a pile of laundry in a spare room, Relatively is heading to Spotify HQ with the HERA network, and Catherine Carr is back, this time digging into some of the longest, messiest, and most meaningful relationships we have: the ones with our siblings.

This special four-part mini-series ties in with Catherine’s new book Who’s the Favourite? and gets into all those sibling dynamics we don’t always talk about (but definitely feel).

Here’s what’s coming this season:

- Salma El-Wardany, broadcaster and author, turns the tables and interviews Catherine. Is she the favourite? Plus, Salma shares what it’s really like being the youngest… and basically the family’s emotional support human. @salmaelwardany

- Daisy Goodwin, TV producer, screenwriter and author, talks about the pressure of being the eldest daughter, and the moment she found out she’d been unexpectedly cut out of her mother’s will. @daisygeorgagoodwin

- Lisa Bruton, therapist, explains why more siblings are going to therapy together, and how our relationships with them shape how lovable we think we are. @lisabrutontherapy

- And we wrap things up with a bit of fun, breaking down iconic fictional siblings, from the Bennett sisters to Ross and Rachel’s unforgettable dance routine.

New episodes dropping every week. Subscribe to the Relatively Podcast channel so you never miss an episode:

https://www.youtube.com/@relativelypodcast

Listen to every episode here:

https://pod.link/relatively

Find Catherine's book Who's The Favourite? here

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Follow and connect with us:

Facebook: @Relativelypodcast

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Website: https://www.relativelypodcast.com/

#Relatively #SiblingDynamics #FamilyRelationships

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What better way to celebrate International Siblings Day than with the news that Relatively is coming back!

All new content, all new guests, all new nostalgia, stories and memories. More nicknames, silly words and childhood squabbles revisisted.

More interviews with adult siblings reflecting on their relationships - as adult as well as what it was like growing up together.

The first four new episodes will be a mini-series looking at: Catherine's book about siblings 'Who's The Favourite?', Birth order, Eldest Daughters and ficitonal siblings we all know well. ( think Ross and Rachel, Lizzie and Jane and Bart and Lisa!)

Make sure you tap follow, so that the new episodes are right at the top of your list to listen to.

Relatively - a show all about (potentially) the longest relationships of your life!

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Actor Stephen Mangan and his little sister - the illustrator Anita Mangan - had an Irish upbringing in London, with Uncle Paddy and the cousins always just around the corner. Along with their other sister, Lisa, the trio navigated separation and - later in life - the grief of losing both of their parents. They remained a close knit gang who love and support one another still. We talk about: the smell of cow pats, nicknames, inappropriate 70s song lyrics and what it meant to be the only boy in a family of girls. Stephen and Anita Mangan work together as adults, writing books for children.. So we talk about Escape the Rooms and The Fart that Changed the World and their new book, The Unlikely Rise of Harry Sponge. The episode ends with burping and ceremonial beaver hats, which is exactly as it should be.

This is a one-off bank holiday special edition of Relatively. We hope you enjoy it! We hope to be back later in 2023 with a new series.

In the meantime, Catherine's new podcast Where Are You Going? has launched. Is a bite-size and original storytelling podcast, in which she talks to strangers and asks them that one simple question. The trailer for the podcast is at the end of this episode. Please do subscribe, rate and review if you like the sound of it.

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Tatty and India Macleod are two of four sisters. Standup comedian Tatty describes their happy childhood as like " little women with emotional volatility and periods." Their mother moved them to rural Brittany when Tatty was 4 and India was 12. Big disruption for big sister India, while Tatty couldn't really remember England at all. "It all began in France." 'Les Anglaises' as the Macleod sisters were known always felt a little bit separate from the secluded community around them and as such, their time in France was a bit intense. The experience has provided rich material for Tatty's career. The pair ended up living together during lockdown, after Tatty had a break-up but the experience brought made them very close. Tatty and India talk about that, about growing up in an all female household, craving English food and Family Hold Back.

Relatively is brought to you in partnership with leading family history website, Findmypast. With family records you won’t find anywhere else and easy-to-use tools to help your family tree bloom, Findmypast is the perfect place to explore your ancestors’ amazing stories. Start building your family tree for free at Findmypast today.

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JJ Chalmers is a former Royal Marine who was profoundly wounded by and IED during a tour of Afghanistan in 2011. His older sister Ruth is a nurse and knew too much when he was flown back to start his gruelling recovery which would take years. Now registered disabled, JJ works as a TV presenter and has won medals in cycling and sprinting at the Invictus Games. It's a crazy whirlwind of an existence and one Ruth and JJ could not have dreamed of when JJ was in hospital being treated for his many, many injuries. In this episode we talk about how their relationship was tested by the effects of that bomb - as well as what it's like when your brother is mates with Prince Harry, growing up as vicar's children and the need the siblings share for everything to be very, very organised.

Relatively is brought to you in partnership with leading family history website, Findmypast. With family records you won’t find anywhere else and easy-to-use tools to help your family tree bloom, Findmypast is the perfect place to explore your ancestors’ amazing stories. Start building your family tree for free at Findmypast today.

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Benjamin Zephaniah describes himself as a "Poet, writer, lyricist, musician and naughty boy." He is the son of a Barbadian postman and a Jamaican nurse and was born in Handsworth the 'Jamaican capital of England'. Benjamin attended over 15 schools as a child, moving regularly with his mother to evade his father, who was abusive. Unusually, Benjamin grew up separately from his siblings, who stayed with their dad. This means that the brothers and sisters are not close, and have almost the opposite story to tell about their childhoods. In this episode we talk about that, about what brotherhood means, about being the 'cock of the school' and how community organising after the death of Benjamin's cousin did something to repair the sibling bonds. ** Keep listening to after the music for a poetry treat!**

Relatively is brought to you in partnership with leading family history website, Findmypast. With family records you won’t find anywhere else and easy-to-use tools to help your family tree bloom, Findmypast is the perfect place to explore your ancestors’ amazing stories. Start building your family tree for free at Findmypast today.

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Pastor Mick Fleming ("aka El Bish") runs the Church on the Street in Burnley, which does incredible work helping those living in poverty. But it's a far cry from where Mick began. In this episode, Mick and his sister Sarah (collectively known as 'Flembos') talk about their sibling journey from playing out happily on the backstreets, to sudden tragedy and trauma to a life marred by violence and crime, before finding faith and freedom together. It's a rollercoaster of a tale which has attracted interest from the Prince and Princess of Wales - who wrote a foreword to Mick's book 'Blown Away' - and now Netflix, who are reportedly talking about adapting his life story for the screen. The episode also talks about the power of a mother's love and the value of a good old practical joke.

TW: contains account of sexual assault and death. It also mentions guns and violence and references drug use.

Relatively is brought to you in partnership with leading family history website, Findmypast. With family records you won’t find anywhere else and easy-to-use tools to help your family tree bloom, Findmypast is the perfect place to explore your ancestors’ amazing stories. Start building your family tree for free at Findmypast today.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.