Every summer for the past seven decades, 50 high school seniors—one from every state—descend on Mobile, Alabama to take part in one of the country’s most lucrative scholarship competitions for teen girls. 

The Competition takes you behind the scenes of the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) program, and follows seven girls as they experience the highs and lows of competing for two weeks, away from home and under the most high-stress circumstances. Some girls enter for the money, some for prestige. All of them are used to being the best and the brightest. But only one will walk away with the top prize.

Host Shima Oliaee (Dolly Parton’s America, Pink Card) was Nevada’s contestant in 2001. More than 20 years later, she returns to Alabama as a judge. What can two weeks with 50 of the country’s most ambitious teens tell us about girlhood in America?

Listen to The Competition on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial by visiting Wondery.fm/The_Competition now.

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This week comedian Sabrina Jalees joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt LIVE! They love their kids, BUT…did our parents just not give a shit or are we the crazy ones? Kurt reminisces about the good old days as a 12 year old smoking heaters and flipping through porn in the Dayton airport because his parents thought sending an unaccompanied minor on a flight was good parenting. And maybe it was! Kurt and the crew reflect that maybe we, as parents, have gone too far the other way than how we were parented as kids. Sabrina is worried that her chill and bougie style of raising her son is going to bankrupt her family. When we want to give them everything that we never had as kids then you get a child that expects oysters and to fly first class. Anything less and it’s meltdown city, baby!  

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week Colton Underwood joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They love their kids, BUT….why are our closets bursting with thousands of dollars of unused baby crap that we all thought was vital to keep our babies alive when all we needed was a blanket and boobs?  Megan recalls the panic items she threw on her baby registry when Conrad was born including a Gucci diaper bag.  In the time she’s had the bag, it’s been brought out twice; first for a Dodger game to carry snacks, and second for today to illustrate, in person, how ridiculous a Gucci diaper bag really is. That said, we’re still very open to a Gucci diaper bag sponsorship. And Colton doesn’t have kids, but he and his husband are in the middle of a trying multi-year process to have a child that’s had everything from low sperm count revelations to a Tinder-style matchmaking for a surrogate. Despite our hosts’ parenting horror stories, they still want to go through with it!  And we’ll be the first ones on their registry to buy them their very own Gucci diaper bag.  

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week comedian and actor John Hodgman joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt.  They love their kids, BUT…why are we putting the pressure on ourselves to take out a mortgage to send our kids to a school where the main subject is shapes? Chris went to an open house at a prestigious school that is part Hogwarts, part Clyvedon Castle and he was ready to spill it all to Lady Whistledown just for a shot at getting his daughter into the idyllic pre-k program. That was until he heard the $25,0000 price tag…FOR PRE-K.  And while the crew laments about the difficulties of finding a good school on the west coast, John reveals that the east coast isn’t much better.  Because choosing a middle school in NYC meant forcing his kids to decide what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives before they were even capable of picking out two matching socks.  It doesn't matter where you are in the country, we can all agree that the pressure to pick a good school is getting out of hand.  We want what’s best for our children but they can hold off on choosing a major in pre-k and go back to relishing the sweet, sweet taste of glue. 

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week comedian and actor Baron Vaughn joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt.  They love their kids, BUT…why are we worrying about what a six year old is going to be when they grow up?  Kurt got a chance to go to career day at Olive’s school and show all the kids what a comedian’s life is like. And while the tough toddler crowd didn’t appreciate Kurt’s jokes, his daughter, on the other hand, killed it on stage. What should be a proud papa moment, turns into a comedian’s worst nightmare as Kurt grapples with encouraging Olive to follow her dreams or trying to squash that performer bug since he knows first hand how brutal this career path can be.  As a former performing arts school student, Baron sees things a bit differently, and believes it’s ok to lean into their strengths and passions without pushing them to make a life choice while they’re still struggling to tie a shoe.  

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, comedian Nick Thune joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They all love their kids, BUT… Do we really need to be friends with their friends' parents? We've already been through grade school, high school, college, and the workplace, and we've made ALL the friends we need at this point. We're pretty set by now. Or, are we? During a family trip to Legoland, Kurt's daughter, Olive, quickly befriends a girl her age, leaving Kurt with no choice but to engage in small talk with a family he just met. It's an uncomfortable situation with almost no way out, unless you're Kurt, who resorts to faking a back injury while going down a Lego slide. When Nick throws a birthday party for his son, some parents seem to believe that the ""drop-off only"" suggestion was rather flexible, and they decide to hang around. The vibe at the party triggers flashbacks for Nick, reminding him of past hook-ups that didn't quite pick up on the signals that it was time to leave. It may seem like closing time for expanding the friend zone, but if we open our cold, dead hearts, perhaps there's room for one or two more parent friends.

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave questions, comments, or your own funny, completely anonymous ""Circle Time"" parenting story at 424-570-KIDS, or you can email us at [email protected]. Just be sure to start your story with ""I love my kid, but..."" and who knows, maybe we'll feature yours on the air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week comedian Adam Cayton-Holland joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They love their kids, BUT…parents are allowed to have a favorite child (admit it, we all do) but who gave them the right to have a favorite parent!?  Megan got one little illness that put her out of commission for a few days and all of the sudden she’s knocked down the parental ranking board by her son.  She’ll do anything to be numero uno again, but even after going into action-movie-star mode to save her son’s life from a wild coyote, all the thanks she can get is “Da da!”  Adam readily admits that his wife is the preferred parent for his two boys and he tries to not take it personally.  But he does savor the small victories even if it is just his kids leveraging their love to get what they want. Your kids may not appreciate you, but you are all OUR preferred parents!

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week comedian Aida Rodriguez joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They love their kids, BUT…how are we expected to be stable, emotional pillars to our kids when we’re falling apart ourselves? (Tissue Warning!) Chris shares some bad news with the group about his mom’s recent cancer diagnosis and struggles with the duality of needing to be both a heartbroken son and a strong parent. And while there’s no easy answer during difficult times, especially when you’re a parent, he finds that exploring the vulnerability that comes from sadness with his daughter, is a wonderful and healing experience. Aida has raised two wonderful children through some tough circumstances. And now it’s their job to check on her the way she still checks in on her own mom to make sure she’s eating right and drinking enough water. Parents don’t have to shoulder the burden of being the “strong” one alone during difficult times, sometimes our kids are the ones that help pick us up when we’re down.

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, comedians (and married couple!) Noah Gardenswartz and Ester Steinberg join Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They love their kids, BUT…how is it possible to be the gentle, warm, and caring parents we all aspire to be while we’re in a raging fight with our spouse? After Megan’s husband forgets his passport on a recent family trip, she finds herself torn between wanting to launch him into the sun, but also needing him to give her a break from single-parenting.  Conflict with your partner is going to happen, but the last thing Megan, or any parent, wants to do is bring that anger and resentment to a toddler’s bathtime.  When Noah decides it’s waffles for dinner, Ester can’t help but light the bickering fuse.  But as unhealthy of a dinner as waffles may be, showing their two kids that adults arguing and then (after hours of uncomfortable silence) resolving a conflict,  is in fact a very healthy emotional skill to develop. Hopefully that’s how our kids remember it years later in therapy!  

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Happy New Year Buttheads!  This week comedian Eugene Mirman joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt.  They love their kids, BUT…why are even our best intentions twisted and used against us by our sadistic children?  When Kurt asks his kids how their day at school was, they clamp up like a couple of Cold War era Soviet Spies under a hot interrogation light.  Kurt’s getting NOTHING out of these kids, so he decides to come up with a little ploy to make Olive talk: A fake talk show on the car ride home from school!  Fun, right?  But fresh off giving himself a pat on the back, Kurt realizes that he created a Groundhog Day nightmare where he’s forced to put on a talk show in the car EVERY DAY with no signs of cancellation in sight.  Eugene laments that when it comes to correcting his son’s behavior, his punishment threats are akin to a toy gun that spits out a “POW!” flag.  It's a new year with the same old problems and our solutions, like they did in all the years past, will just make things worse.

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Jack Osbourne joins Megan, Chris, and Kurt. They love their kids, BUT…Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s the most expensive time of the year! Megan finds out that no matter if it’s Los Angeles or Indianapolis, Santa is still going to shake you down and get what’s his. Gone are the days of taking your kids to the mall for a free picture with the cigarette scented Santa because the big man has bills to pay too, apparently. The first family of reality television, Jack Osbourne, managed to convince his non-believing oldest daughter to join her sisters in a holiday photo with Ol’ Saint Nick and also discusses what it’s like for his girls to have a real life, iconic, Rock-N-Roll legend as a grandfather. We’d all probably prefer Santa Ozzy, but we’re stuck doling out a hundred bucks to have our crying kids take a pic with the jolly ol’ town drunk. Happy Holidays, Buttheads!

And remember, you can call our hotline and leave us questions, comments, or your own funny, totally anonymous “Circle Time” parenting story at 424-570-KIDS or you can email us at [email protected]. Just don't forget to start your story with, “I love my kid, but…” and maybe we'll use yours on air!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.