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Welcome to Do You Want The Truth? where we dive deep into the real raw stories from parents in the trenches of parenthood.
Season 2 is brought to you by Sam Strom and Freelance Journalist Zara Hanawalt, along with guest co-hosts such as Jaime Fisher.
Season 1 is brought to you by Paige Connell & Sam Strom. They bring you candid conversations with parents who share their experiences of parenthood and what they wish they knew before having kids. You'll hear the real stories. The stories that are typically reserved for best friends. The stories with TMI. We believe in the power of truth telling because when someone asks, do you want the truth? We always say yes. Join us as we explore the highs and lows and everything in between so you can feel less alone on your journey.
Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms
70 Episodes
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Send us a text A positive pregnancy test felt like the start of a familiar story—until Alison Beder Soloway couldn’t breathe at 32 weeks and doctors discovered heart failure linked to HHT. That moment rewrote everything. She was told carrying again would be too dangerous, and the road to the family she imagined would have to bend. What followed was a years-long relay of nine IVF attempts, cross‑border laws, agency vetting, and the kind of paperwork that decides names on birth certificates. Al...
Send us a text Well, the time has come. You’ve heard her voice, you’ve heard her hot takes, and now you’re getting the whole story. In this episode, I turn the mic toward Paige Connell aka @sheisapaigeturner. We get real real. Paige walks us through the beautiful, messy, emotional tornado that has been her path to motherhood—starting with a teenage AIM love triangle, through pregnancy losses, fostering two toddlers, navigating IVF and surviving a traumatic birth If you’ve ever wondered ...
Send us a text 🔗 Follow the Guests: Chanel Wolf TikTok: @ChanelWolf New wellness & healing products dropping soon in the TikTok Shop! Jaime Fisher TikTok: @HeyJamieFish YouTube: JFisher Channel Long-form content + exciting TikTok Shop updates on the way! Support the show Website: https://www.doyouwantthetruthpod.com Connect with Sam: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/samanthastrom TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthastorms Connect with Zara: Zara Hanawalt https://www.linkedin.c...
Send us a text “I moved in with another single mom… and people had so many questions. But the truth is: I needed community more than I needed space.” What if healing from betrayal meant rewriting everything — including how we mother, how we live, and who we let in? In this heartfelt and deeply honest episode, host Sam Strom and Jaime Fisher (@heyjaimefish) sit down with Chanel Wolf (@mamachanelwolf) — a single mom, yoga teacher, and plant medicine advocate — to talk about navigating s...
Send us a text Meghan Markle, postpartum preeclampsia, maternal health, cultural perceptions, parenting, surrogacy, fertility, celebrity news, public scrutiny, women's health Summary In this episode, Sam Strom and Zara Hanawalt discuss various topics surrounding motherhood, health, and societal perceptions. They delve into Meghan Markle's recent revelations about postpartum preeclampsia, the cultural stigma surrounding women's health issues, and the alarming maternal mortality rates in the US...
Send us a text In this episode of Do You Want the Truth? Pop Culture Hour, Zara and Sam dive into Kylie Kelce’s refreshingly honest postpartum podcast episode—and why it should be required listening for anyone interacting with a new parent. We break down some of the most frustrating pieces of advice new moms get (looking at you, “sleep when the baby sleeps”), and reflect on how celebrity culture, hustle culture, and social media have shaped the unrealistic expectations around postpartum recov...
Send us a text What does it really take to raise three kids under six while holding down an executive role and managing over 100 employees? In this episode, I’m joined by Annette Kerlew - a 39-year-old mom of three (a 5.5-year-old son and 3.5-year-old boy/girl twins), wife, and Executive Vice President of Finance & Operations at a marketing communications agency living in New Jersey. Annette opens up about the very real financial and emotional demands of parenting young kids while climbin...
Send us a text Christine Landis is the founder of Peacock Parent and a former fintech CEO who sold her company for eight figures. After stepping out of the boardroom and into motherhood, Christine quickly realized that parenting came with a whole new kind of pressure—especially when it came to managing time, expectations, and the never-ending mental load. Using the same skills she once used to scale a company, Christine created Peacock Parent to help modern families outsource low-joy tasks, d...
Send us a text “Is Parenthood Hellish? Unpacking Chappell Roan’s Viral Comment” | Do You Want the Truth? with Sam Strom & New Cohost Zara Hanawalt Welcome to the very first episode of Do You Want the Truth? – Pop Culture Hour! I’m Sam Strom, and I’m thrilled to kick off this new weekly series with Zara Hanawalt. You might remember her from a previous episode; Zara is a seasoned journalist, a twin mom, and a total powerhouse. Each week, we’ll be breaking down what’s happening in pop cultur...
Send us a text What happens when the life you were raised to believe in no longer fits? In this episode, Sarah Kennedy, a single mom and Functional Medicine Consultant, shares her incredible story of breaking free from a hyper-conservative religious/cult-like upbringing, navigating young motherhood, and rebuilding her life from the ground up. Sarah became a mom at just 20 years old, raised under the belief that her only role in life was to be a perfect wife and mother. But when her marriage ...
Send us a text In this compelling episode of Do You Want The Truth, Cory Hargraves opens up about his journey from the frontlines as an Army sniper to the frontlines of fatherhood. A 39-year-old husband, father to a 16-month-old daughter, and property investor living in Washington State, Cory reflects on how parenting has transformed his life in ways he never expected. From his days of sniper school—where precision was key—to sleepless nights and patience-testing parenting moments, Cory shar...
Send us a text The loudest voice in the room might be the one in your head. We sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Rachel to unpack “food noise,” the relentless chatter about eating that drowns out hunger cues, joy, and presence—especially during postpartum and perimenopause. She explains why obesity is a complex metabolic disease, not a willpower problem, and how combining GLP-1 medications with cognitive behavioral tools can reduce shame, restore choice, and improve real health markers....
Send us a text A quiet panic at the hospital exit changed everything. Michelle thought she had done everything right—researched the “best” infant seat, checked every box—and still drove away with a major mistake she didn’t catch until a stranger gently intervened. That moment became the blueprint for Safe in the Seat, a judgment-free space that helps parents turn car-seat anxiety into everyday confidence. We dig into the numbers and the nuance: why over 70% of inspected seats have serious er...
Send us a text What happens when a parenting journalist becomes a parent and the plan falls apart mid-pregnancy? Julia Dennison joins us with a story that’s equal parts raw and reassuring: an affair discovered while expecting, a divorce before the first birthday, and a co-parenting journey shaped by clarity instead of control. We dig into what it takes to raise a nine-year-old in a world that still expects moms to be invisible, how to split the mental load without weaponized scorekeeping, and...
Send us a text Forget the viral outfits—this conversation goes inside the daily decisions that shape a family. We welcome Brandon Morgan, a stay-at-home dad in LA, to talk about the real work of leading from the background while his wife practices medicine, and why choosing public school became a valued decision with very real costs, maps, and magnets attached. If you’ve ever juggled morning chaos, worried about a school switch, or sat in the dark while a child falls asleep beside you, you’ll...
Send us a text What happens when a proudly private Gen X attorney agrees to become a mom—not because she always wanted to, but because it mattered to her partner? In this episode, we sit down with L, aka @notactuallygolden, a civil rights attorney, TikTok legal explainer, and mom of a 13-year-old, who never planned on being a parent. L walks us through her winding road to motherhood—how she negotiated parenting terms like a lawyer, survived a brutal first year with a baby who projectile vomi...
Send us a text Ever watched a baby rock on all fours and wondered whether to cheer or worry? We sit down with pediatric physical therapist Dr. Allison Mell—founder of Tots on Target and mom of four, including twins—to unpack the first 18 months with rare clarity. Allison explains what those “windows” for rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking really tell us, how to use corrected age for preemies, and where “wait and see” becomes a roadblock. She shares a practical test most parents can spot ...
Send us a text This episode starts with a simple truth few people say out loud: sometimes the first chapter of parenthood is grief. Lia Higgins joins us to unpack an early miscarriage at 28, the shock of a postpartum hemorrhage, and the quiet ways trauma can delay bonding without diminishing love. From there, we zoom out: what happens when a high-achieving identity built in Big Law collides with a life you actually want to live? Lia talks candidly about trading titles for alignment, why a “so...
Send us a text Want to know why motherhood in America feels like a solo sport—and how we turn it into a supported team game? We sit with Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First, to unpack the design flaws baked into school calendars, workplace norms, and city life that make caregiving harder than it has to be. From random half-days and late starts to inboxes that only email mom, we trace how policy and culture quietly draft women as default parents while calling it “choice.” ...
Send us a text Psychology professor Tovah Klein takes us beyond social media soundbites to reveal what truly helps children develop resilience. Drawing from her 30 years directing the Barnard Center for Toddler Development, Klein offers a refreshingly balanced perspective on the trending "FAFO" (F Around and Find Out) parenting approach and why extremes rarely work when raising children. Klein's wisdom cuts through the noise of modern parenting discourse, explaining why children need both lo...
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