Hugo and Spencer live with their loving parents, Michelle and Jono, and are surrounded by extended family, including their grandmother Jasmina and their Auntie Sophie.

But how Hugo and Spencer came to be in the world is a very unique and unusual story: their grandmother Jasmina and their aunt Sophie were actually - also - their surrogate mothers.

Why did Jasmina decide to be a surrogate for her daughter…at 52 years old? And how did her pregnancy go? How did she feel about the baby? How does it work now? What will they tell the boys when they're older? And - how did this decision come about to begin with?

This is a story about the great love that can emerge from great loss, and of great sacrifice and generosity, of motherhood and grandmotherhood - really, this is a love story like no other we’ve heard before.

You can find Michelle on Instagram here & Jasmina on Instagram here. 

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Thom Lion

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Writer and activist, Africa Brooke, used to call people out on the internet all the time - because this is what the culture wars told her she needed to do. 

Until one day - she suddenly stopped. 

In 2021, Africa wrote an open letter and posted it online. She called it: “Why I’m Leaving the Cult of Wokeness” and it immediately went viral. The letter changed her life, but not in the way she expected it to. 

So what did she write in that letter? And how did she become unafraid? Was she cancelled?

In this bold and timely interview - Africa Brooke and Mia Freedman discuss the pressures, expectations and risks of living in the Age of Intolerance.

You can find out more about Africa Brooke here.

You can follow Africa on Instagram here.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Listen to Mamamia’s satirical podcast, Cancelled, here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Thom Lion

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

On Halloween morning, Charlotte Cowles - an Ivy League educated journalist and mother of a two-year old son - received a life-altering phone call from a government agent who informed her that she had 22 bank accounts, nine vehicles and four properties registered in her name, and that she’d wired more than $3 million to Jamaica and Iraq, and that a car had been rented in her name that had been linked to drug trafficking in New Mexico…and that she had warrants out for her arrest.

As you will hear in this heart-stopping episode of No Filter, the government agent turned out to be a scammer - and the tactics he used against Charlotte amounted to all-out psychological warfare. And it worked. 

It’s a story you need to hear to believe.

You can learn more about Charlotte and read her work here.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Are you triggered by trigger warnings? Do you need one before you read a story about anxiety? How about before you see a photo of a meal that includes meat?
What about before you watch a performance of Macbeth?

Trigger warnings are supposed to protect us, but do they?

Rachael Casella lost her daughter Mackenzie when she was just seven months old. And she refuses to put a trigger warning on her daughter’s life for reasons that may surprise you. Victoria Bridgland is an academic and researcher at Flinders University who has studied the effects and impact of trigger warnings - and her findings may surprise you.

You can learn more about Rachael and Mackenzie here.

Buy Rachael’s book here.

And you can learn more about Victoria’s work here.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can hear the second half of Mia's conversation with David here. 

Subscribe to Mamamia

David Finch is a lot of things: he’s an Autism and Neurodiversity consultant, the author of The Journal of Best Practices; A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband, an essayist for the New York Times Modern Love column…and he’s also UNmarried.

In this two-part special episode of No Filter, David Finch opens up to Mia Freedman about his life before and after his Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, his quest to be the best husband and father he could be…and how he ended up UNmarried (and what that even means).

You can find David’s books and essays here.

Learn more about neurodivergent relationships here.

Follow David on Instagram here.

What To Read:

Read: More People Are Being Diagnosed With Neurodiversity than Ever. Here’s why it’s a good thing.

Read: I was diagnosed autistic at 45. Here are 6 things I want you to know.

Read: Me and my husband were more like roommates than a couple. One conversation changed everything.'

Read: "You keep your identities separate." 8 signs you're in the right relationship.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can hear the second half of Mia's conversation with Tia here. 

Subscribe to Mamamia

Tia Levings was raised within the same strict Christian fundamentalist ideology as the infamous Duggar family from 19 Kids And Counting. By the time she was 19 years old, Tia found herself in an abusive marriage where the violence was sanctioned by the church.

In this must-listen episode of No Filter, Tia tells Mia Freedman about the ways she was groomed to be a Trad Wife, and the moment she knew she had to run for her life. This is a story of indoctrination and survival, of reinvention and strength…but it is also about the thousands of other women who haven’t escaped the Trad Wife movement, and the new ones who are joining every day.

You can find out more about Tia and her book, A Well Trained Wife, here.

You can follow her on Instagram here.

And if you need to talk to someone, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Jen Glantz was so sick of being invited to weddings and asked to do so much work…for free. So she did what any good entrepreneur does: she turned it into a business called Bridesmaid For Hire.

In this episode of No Filter, Jen spills all the tea about her life as a professional bridesmaid - the good, the bad and the ugly (and all the dresses!)

For more about Jen Glantz and Bridesmaid For Hire - go to her website.

Or follow her on Instagram.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Eve Wiley is one of the featured voices in the Netflix series The Man with 1000 Kids, but the story of how she came to be a fierce advocate for victims of fertility fraud is a deeply personal one…and one you have to hear to believe.

In this episode of No Filter, Eve Wiley tells Mia Freedman how she finally found out that she is the child of fertility fraud and how she discovered who her biological father was - a discovery that turned her world upside down and transformed her into a fearless fighter for the women and families who’ve been harmed by fraudulent and serial sperm donors.

Through her work she’s successfully lobbied for the creation of laws which criminalise conception deception - but as you’ll hear, her fight is only just beginning.

You can learn more about Eve Wiley here.

If you’ve been the victim of fertility fraud or have a story to share with us, you can contact us anonymously HERE.

If this story has brought up any hard emotions, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Before the Netflix documentary America’s Sweethearts, a 7-part series that examines the wild world of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, author and journalist Sarah Hepola created and hosted the Texas Monthly podcast America’s Girls and she has stories that didn’t make it into the Netflix series.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Mia Freedman, Sarah talks about the sexual exploitation, the injuries, the pay gap, the body image issues…and so much more.

Are the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders a harmless piece of beloved American culture? Or are they emblematic of a system and ideal that is harmful for women and girls? Mia and Sarah discuss it all in this episode of No Filter.

You can listen to Sarah’s DCC podcast here.

Her Substack Podcast, Smoke Em if You Got Em, is here.

And Sarah’s own podcast is here.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Subscribe to Mamamia

Almost 40% of relationships begin online and while there are plenty of success stories, there are also some horror stories. This is one of those stories. In 2019, Mia Freedman interviewed Stephanie Wood, the author of Fake, which is now a hit TV series starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham. This is the true story behind the show.

When Stephanie Wood decided to go on a date with a guy she met online she had no idea it would change the course of her life forever.

Because Stephanie quickly fell in love with a man she barely knew. And who, it turned out, was a massive conman.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman 

With thanks to special guest Stephanie Wood.

Buy her book Fake here: https://bit.ly/2m5rZmv 

Producer: Elissa Ratliff

Audio edited by Daryl Missen

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You can hear the second half of Mia's conversation with Dassi here. 

Subscribe to Mamamia

In this searing episode of No Filter, Dassi Erlich talks to Mia Freedman about growing up in an extreme ultra-Orthodox religious community in Melbourne and the abuse she suffered at the hands of her school principal, Malka Leifer.

Dassi shares the story of how she fought back against both Leifer and the community that failed to protect her - a battle that took far too long. It is a story of deep betrayal and abuse, but also a story of strength, hope, and the incredible will of the human spirit.

You can find Dassi’s book, In Bad Faith, here.

If this conversation brought up hard feelings and you need some help, please call Lifeline here.

And if you recognise yourself or someone you love in Dassi’s story - SECASA can help you connect to the police and to the support you need.

THE END BITS:

Listen to more No Filter interviews here and follow us on Instagram here.

Discover more Mamamia podcasts here.

Feedback: [email protected]

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will come back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.  

CREDITS:

Host: Mia Freedman

You can find Mia on Instagram here and get her newsletter here.

Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.