After a bit of a pause, we return with a conversation that reflects the heart of this podcast: what it means to create, care, and hold many parts of a life at once. Today, Kaitlin is joined by poet and longtime listener Meg Leonard, whose new book Larkspur Queen (Broadstone Books, 2025) explores identity, care, and the shifting creative self. Together, they dive into the nonlinear reality of making art while mothering, working, and navigating chronic illness, and what it means to value process over product in every season of life.

Meg shares how her friendship with Kaitlin began through this very podcast, reflects on the search for authentic creative community, and reads two poems from her new collection. They also discuss the months of “unproductive” writing that ultimately became essential to Meg’s poetic process.

Meg’s Work:

• Larkspur Queen (Broadstone Books, 2025)
• book of lullabies (Milk & Cake Press, 2020)

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In this special bonus episode of Postpartum Production, we’re sharing a live conversation recorded at LANEY & LU in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Hosted by Meg Leonard, author of Book of Lullabies, and this incredible essay Being a Writer Shouldn’t Require me to Exist Without My Children, and Jennifer Desrosiers, Founder of LANEY & LU and Altitude Companies, the event features our own Kaitlin Solimine in conversation with Minna Dubin, author of Mom Rage: The Everyday Crisis of Modern Motherhood and guest of the podcast in Season 2.

Minna reads an excerpt from her acclaimed book and discusses the cultural and emotional landscape of maternal anger. Kaitlin shares a sneak peek of her forthcoming, unpublished work—reading a powerful passage and reflecting on the complexities of creative life in the wake of motherhood.

Their conversation explores the intersections of motherhood, labor, creativity, rage, and productivity culture, offering a rare glimpse into the emotional and creative truths of modern parenthood.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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In this special episode, Kaitlin reflects on the season that was—through illness, overwhelm, fundraising, mothering, and moments of joy—and shares what it means to mark time in "seasons."

Season 3 of Postpartum Production explored the intersections of identity, care, and the ways birth informs artistic expression. In this compilation episode, we revisit some of the most thought-provoking, vulnerable, and resonant conversations from the season. These clips offer a window into the deep well of insight shared by our guests—artists, writers, healers, and parents navigating the complexities of postpartum life, creative practice, and care work.

We’d like to offer a heartfelt thank you to the Postpartum Production community—for listening, for sharing, for showing up. This season has been built on the generosity of our guests and the engagement of our listeners. Like any creative work born in the margins of caregiving, it’s been a labor of love, and your support has made it all worthwhile. As we look ahead, the future of the podcast remains open, but we carry with us the insights, relationships, and momentum that this season has sparked.

Thank you for being with us this season and we look forward to connecting with you in Season 4.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

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Today, Kaitlin is joined by poet, author, and longtime friend Nancy Reddy - a connection that has spanned the lifetime of Kaitlin’s youngest child. Funny how parenthood reshapes our sense of time and friendship.

Nancy first appeared on the podcast back in Season 1, Episode 12, when she and her co-editor Emily Perez discussed their anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Since then, Nancy’s work has only expanded. She’s a writing professor at Stockton University in New Jersey, the author of three books of poetry, and, most recently, the author of her first narrative nonfiction book, The Good Mother Myth: Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom, published by St. Martin’s Press in January of this year.

Nancy’s writing also spans a wide range of essays on motherhood, identity, and culture. She has written for Slate, Romper, and Electric Literature, tackling topics like the damaging mythology of the "golden hour" after birth, the challenges of making mom friends, the whiteness of the motherhood memoir, and the inherently political nature of mothering.

In this conversation — recorded in person during the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Los Angeles — Kaitlin and Nancy dive deep into how modern American myths about motherhood have shaped Nancy’s personal and creative life. They also explore Nancy’s transition from poetry to research-driven nonfiction and the evolving intersection of writing, teaching, and living motherhood.

Tune in for a heartfelt, thought-provoking conversation about storytelling, identity, and the truths we inherit and reshape.

More of Nancy’s work:

• Pocket Universe
• Double Jinx
• Acadiana

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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Today, we share with you a very special episode of Postpartum Production that involve a bit of role-reversal: our producer, Erin Greenhouse, steps out from behind the scenes and in front of the microphone to interview our very own Kaitlin Solimine. What started as an idea Erin had for her website, evolved into something special we knew we wanted to share with you all: the birth story of the podcast.

In alignment with this past season’s focus on birth stories, Erin and Kaitlin explore the origins of Postpartum Production, delving into Kaitlin’s creative work and the larger questions that drive her podcast, writing, and activism. Their discussion expands the definition of "birth" beyond the literal, considering all the ways people bring things into the world—whether books, ideas, communities, or new versions of themselves. We also get a peek into Kaitlin’s creative process, and discuss how it has evolved over the years as her family has grown and her relationship with time has changed.

This conversation reflects on the deep commitment both Erin and Kaitlin share in fostering a society that values the work of caregivers and creatives, recognizing it as essential and worthy. As they reflect on the journey of Postpartum Production, they also look ahead to what’s next—continuing to challenge narratives, build community, and celebrate the many forms of creation that shape our lives.

Mentioned in the podcast:

• The Society for the Study of Pregnancy & Birth (SSPRB) Virtual Symposium April 4-6

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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In the final installment of our three-part Birth Story series, Kaitlin revisits the birth of her middle child, who, fittingly, arrives with a story that defies expectations. Released on his sixth birthday (🎉!), this episode is a reflection on the nuances- and myths- of second births, the power of trusting the birth process, and the beauty of not knowing as much as you think you do..

Kaitlin continues her storytelling with Sara Nolan, a doula, writer, editor, and founder of Tell Your Birth Story, a business in which Sara helps those who have given birth reflect, re-experience, and re-tell their stories in full, organic detail, after which Sara returns a fully transcribed narrative record. We are so grateful to Sara and this important, transformative work, and hope you’ll consider sharing your birth story with her someday, too.

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

Visit our website: postpartumproduction.com

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We've wanted to talk to writer Sarah Menkedick for a long time, but we weren’t sure how we could make our conversation fit into this season's focus on childbirth- until she wrote the essay Why the Left Must Reclaim Birth on her Substack, Terms of Endearment, in late 2024. In her essay, which Kaitlin and Sarah explore in their conversation we share with you today, Sarah posits that, in order to make progress in our patriarchal society, the feminist left must embrace motherhood and the experiences of women who cherish identities and lives that have typically been co-opted by the right. Motherhood could be an opportunity for us to connect, to commune, and to find commonality even when we think we are so far apart. In a time that can often feel divided, exclusive, and judgmental, Sarah brings an energy and curiosity to how, potentially, we can find a path forward together.

More about Sarah: Sarah’s a writer whose work explores motherhood, feminism, and the human experience. She is the author of Homing Instincts: Early Motherhood on a Midwestern Farm and Ordinary Insanity: Fear and the Silent Crisis of Motherhood in America. She has lived between the U.S. and Mexico for over 15 years, giving her a unique lens on American culture, and her writing has appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Guardian, and more. She’s also a Fulbright Fellow and a three-time Best American Essays nominee. She currently splits her time between Pittsburgh and Oaxaca, Mexico.

In this conversation, Sarah and Kaitlin discuss:

• The political and philosophical implications of her essay, Why the Left Must Reclaim Birth
• The paradox of feminist identity and traditional femininity
• How motherhood can serve as a bridge in today's divided political climate
• The role of activism and policy in shaping a more inclusive future
• Her experiences living between Pittsburgh and Oaxaca, and how they inform her work

Also referenced in the podcast:

• Naomi Klein Doppleganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and give us a rating. This will help us reach more listeners like you who are navigating the joys and pitfalls of artistic and parenting identities.

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Subscribe to our podcast newsletter on Substack:...

We’re thrilled to welcome Lucy Jones, a celebrated writer and journalist, to the Postpartum Production podcast to discuss her latest book, Matrescence: On the Metamorphosis of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood with us. Lucy’s work draws on deeply personal experience as well as a diverse range of disciplines - neuroscience and evolutionary biology, psychoanalysis and existential therapy, sociology, economics and ecology, to illuminate how the changes in the maternal mind, brain and body are far more profound, wild and enduring than we have been led to believe.

Lucy’s acclaimed career includes roles as Deputy Editor at NME.com and work with The Daily Telegraph. Her earlier books, Foxes Unearthed and Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild, have received numerous accolades, including awards from the Society of Authors and long-listings for prestigious prizes. Her latest collaborative work, The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids, offers a radical vision of a new kinship with nature, one that helps us expand, nurture and deepen our wild life.

In this conversation, Kaitlin and Lucy explore:

• The concept of "matrescence" and why it remains underacknowledged (even flagged as a spelling error in word processors).
• How existential psychology offers a lens for understanding the upheaval and transformation of motherhood
• The interplay between motherhood and time, from the fleeting nature of childhood to the visceral awareness of life’s impermanence
• The critical need to normalize the emotional and psychological shifts that accompany childbirth and parenting.

Lucy’s most recent works include:

• Matrescence: On Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood
• Losing Eden: Our Fundamental Need for the Natural World and Its Ability to Heal Body and Soul
• Foxes Unearthed: A Story of Love and Loathing in Britain
• The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids

Also mentioned in the podcast:

• Rozsika Parker,