That's Total Mom Sense

What if your biggest disadvantage could become your greatest edge?

In this powerful episode of That’s Total Mom Sense, I sit down with venture capitalist, author, and founder of Backstage Capital, Arlan Hamilton, who went from sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport to building a multimillion-dollar fund investing in underestimated founders.

With no degree, no connections, and no traditional path into Silicon Valley, Arlan rewrote the rules—and is now helping others do the same.

We talk about:

The mindset shift that can change your financial future

Why “you only need one yes” is more powerful than you think

How to build wealth without privilege or access

What every parent should teach their kids about money and resourcefulness

Why who gets funded can change the world

This is a conversation about grit, vision, and redefining what’s possible—not just for yourself, but for generations to come.
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For generations, mothers have been asked to carry an outsized share of the unpaid, invisible, and logistical labor that keeps families functioning. From caregiving and mental load to emotional labor and school forms, modern motherhood has been shaped by systems that quietly assume women will fill the gaps — at home, at work, and in society.

 

But the cultural narrative is shifting — and parents, companies, and communities are rewriting the playbook in real time.

 

Join us for Rewriting the Parenting Playbook: Honoring Moms, Empowering Families, a conversation about how caregiving expectations are changing, why the old model was never sustainable, and what it looks like to build family systems that honor ambition, equity, and shared responsibility.

 

Our panel brings together leaders advancing this movement from three distinct but interconnected angles — childcare access, domestic labor equity, and narrative change.

 

We’ll explore:

✨ Why the traditional parenting model was built around assumptions that no longer match modern family life

✨ How childcare, workplace flexibility, and economic policy shape family decisions

✨ The Fair Play framework and how it changes division of labor at home

✨ The emotional and identity realities of mothers as both caregivers and earners

✨ How storytelling and representation accelerate cultural change

✨ What support actually empowers families — and what remains missing

Meet the Panelists:

Joan Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO, Bumo

Eve Rodsky, Founder, Fair Play Policy Institute & Author of Fair Play

Kanika Chadda Gupta, Journalist & Host, Total Mom Sense

Whether you’re a parent, partner, policymaker, or simply someone invested in healthier family systems, this event will offer both clarity and momentum — and remind us that none of this change is happening by accident.

WHAT IS AUGGIE?

The most trusted community for parents to find the answers. Inside the app, parents get stage-specific guidance, expert content, on-demand events, and a supportive network that reduces the mental load of figuring everything out alone
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She built a community of over a million moms by telling the truth—but this conversation goes even deeper.

Libby Ward joins me to unpack the realities no one prepares you for: mom rage, postpartum depression, burnout, and how childhood trauma quietly shapes the way we parent.

We talk about what it actually means to break generational cycles, why so many mothers feel overwhelmed and triggered, and how healing yourself might be the most important thing you do for your kids.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing as a mom… you’re not alone—and this episode will show you why.
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What does it look like to live your dream and then have your world shattered? TODAY Show co-host Sheinelle Jones knew since fifth grade that she was made for morning television. She manifested it, worked for it, and built a life of beauty alongside her Northwestern sweetheart Uche. Then came the nightmare no vision board could prepare her for. In this deeply personal Mom Sense conversation, Sheinelle opens up about growing up surrounded by her mother's affirmations, falling in love on a college campus, raising boy-girl twins while anchoring national television, and walking through the unimaginable loss of her husband to glioblastoma. She talks about her debut book Through Mom's Eyes, the friends who put her back together, and the mantra she holds every single day: I am fighting for my joy. Bring tissues — and leave inspired.
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In this episode of That’s Total Mom Sense, host Kanika Chadda Gupta sits down with nationally recognized clinical psychologist Rachel L. Goldman to talk about something so many parents silently struggle with: burnout, stress, and the pressure to do it all.

Dr. Rachel, a cognitive behavioral therapy expert and author of When Life Happens, shares practical tools for navigating emotional overwhelm, breaking patterns of overachieving, and building healthier coping strategies for everyday stress.

Together, they discuss why high-performing parents are especially vulnerable to burnout, how emotional eating and chronic stress are often signals from the body, and what it actually looks like to process trauma while raising children.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How to recognize the early signs of parental burnout• Why overachievers struggle to slow down—and how to reset• CBT tools to manage stress in real time• Healthy ways to respond to emotional eating triggers• Simple daily practices that help regulate the nervous system

If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly running but still falling behind, this episode will help you pause, reset, and move forward with more compassion for yourself.
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