UNrattled: A Podcast for Parents

Episode Description
Vaccinations have become one of parenting’s most complicated conversations. But what changed?
In this episode of UNrattled, Jessica and Venay sit down with pediatrician Dr. Jonathan Holmes to explore how social media, COVID, changing trust in institutions, and our relationships with healthcare providers have reshaped the vaccination conversation.
This isn’t about telling parents what to think. It’s about staying curious, asking good questions, and understanding the world influencing the decisions we make for our children.
Key Takeaways
More information doesn’t always mean more certainty. Algorithms and endless sources can make it harder to know whom to trust.
How we perceive risk matters. Our brains naturally respond differently to the risk of taking action versus doing nothing.
Trust grows through relationships. A healthcare provider who knows your child offers something the internet simply can’t.
Curiosity makes room for conversation. Listening to understand doesn’t mean you have to agree.

This Week’s UNrattled Challenge: Choose Curiosity
The next time someone says something that immediately makes you want to defend your position as a parent, pause.
Instead of explaining why you disagree and becoming defensive, ask:
“What led you to feel that way? Why do you think that?”
Then really listen.
You don’t have to agree or change your mind. Just try to understand something you didn’t before. Sometimes the best conversations happen when nobody is trying to win.

Becoming a parent changes everything—but so much of that change goes unspoken. While we spend months preparing for labor, baby gear, and nursery colors, few parents are prepared for the emotional, relational, and identity shifts that come with bringing home a baby.
In this episode, author Katie O'Toole joins us to explore the honest realities of new parenthood inspired by her book Mayday on the Mothership. Together, we discuss the invisible challenges many parents experience—from the lack of parental leave and shifting family dynamics to the emotional weight of becoming someone's everything overnight. Rather than offering quick fixes, this conversation is about recognition, solidarity, and reminding parents that they are not alone.

Key Takeaways for Listeners:
The transition into parenthood is about more than caring for a baby—it's also about becoming a new version of yourself.
It's possible to deeply love your child while grieving the life you had before becoming a parent.
Strong families need strong support systems, including partners, workplaces, communities, and policies that recognize the realities of raising children.
Preparing for parenthood means preparing emotionally, relationally, and practically—not just buying baby gear.
There is strength in sharing our stories honestly. Acknowledging the challenges of parenthood reminds us that we are not alone.

This Week’s UNrattled Challenge: Say the Thing Nobody Says
So much of this episode comes back to the things parents experience but hesitate to say out loud—the loneliness, resentment, exhaustion, guilt, fear, grief, or even missing who you used to be.
This week, make one parenting conversation a little more honest.
If you're in the thick of it, tell someone you trust one thing about parenthood you've been afraid to admit.
And if you know a new or expecting parent, skip “How's the baby?” just once and ask:
“How are YOU doing—really?”
You don't have to fix whatever comes next. Listen. Make room for the answer. Because, as this conversation reminds us, talking honestly may not make parenthood easier—but it can make it a lot less lonely.

It's easy to read a headline about a young person in trouble and wonder, What's wrong with kids today? But what happens when we ask a different question: Who was this child before the headline?
In this episode of UNrattled, Jessica and Venay are joined by Joshua Jones, Director of the HALO Program at USA Health, for a deeply personal conversation about childhood, community, and the adults who can change the trajectory of a young person's life.
Jessica, Venay, and Josh begin by looking back at the "little" versions of themselves—the experiences that shaped them, the things adults noticed, and the things they didn't. From there, the conversation turns to the children we encounter today whose anger, withdrawal, defiance, hunger, or other behaviors may be telling us more than we realize.
Josh brings both his professional experience in violence intervention and his own story to a larger question: What if we stopped seeing struggling young people as "those kids" and started seeing them as our kids?
This isn't a conversation about excusing harmful choices. It's about recognizing that prevention begins long before a crisis—and that parents aren't the only adults who matter. Teachers, coaches, neighbors, mentors, faith communities, and everyday people all have opportunities to notice, connect, and pour into a young person's life.
Because before every headline, there was a child.
What You'll Take Away
Prevention starts with connection. A caring, consistent relationship with an adult can be a powerful protective factor in a young person's life.
Look beyond the behavior. Anger, acting out, withdrawal, sleeping in class, hunger, and other behaviors may tell only part of a child's story.
Parents can't—and shouldn't have to—do it alone. Children benefit from a network of adults who can reinforce messages, offer perspective, and provide support at moments when parents may not be able to reach them.
Consistency matters. Josh challenges adults to move beyond one-time acts of service and build genuine relationships with young people who need someone they can count on.
Pay attention. Sometimes making a difference doesn't require a program, a degree, or a grand gesture. It begins by noticing the child in front of you and being curious enough to ask another question.

Meet the Guest
Joshua Jones directs the Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program at USA Health, supporting individuals and families impacted by violence. A devoted father of three daughters, Josh brings his professional experience, faith, and personal journey of breaking generational cycles to conversations about fatherhood, healing, prevention, and the power of caring adults to change a child's story.
A Challenge for This Week
Look beyond your own household. Is there a child or teenager you regularly encounter—in your neighborhood, classroom, church, team, extended family, or community—who could use another caring adult in their corner?
You don't have to fix everything. Notice them. Be curious. Show up. And keep showing up.

What does it take to keep choosing one another through trauma, grief, medical uncertainty, and the demands of raising a family? In this candid conversation, Ronnie and Venus Thomas reflect on childhood experiences that shaped their parenting, the health scares and pregnancy losses that tested their marriage, and the years they spent simply trying to survive. They share how therapy, honest apologies, emotional safety, and intentional time together helped them reconnect—not as perfect parents or partners, but as two people committed to growing together.

Key Takeaways for Listeners:
Childhood trauma can influence parenting through fear, guilt, and overprotectiveness—even when our intentions are loving.
A child's medical crisis or pregnancy loss affects the entire family and can quietly create distance between partners.
Therapy can provide a safe place to process grief, resentment, and experiences that feel too heavy to carry alone.
Emotional safety means being able to disagree, apologize, repair, and move forward without questioning the relationship.
Strong relationships require intentional attention, whether through regular conversations, shared goals, or simply making time to reconnect.

Season 4 is here, and we're kicking things off with a conversation about where we've been, what we've learned, and where we're headed next!
In this special season premiere, Venay and Jessica sit down to reflect on some of the most impactful moments from previous seasons of Unrattled, the conversations that stayed with them long after recording ended, and the lessons they've carried into their own lives as parents, educators, and advocates for children.
They also pull back the curtain on Season 4, sharing some of the topics they're most excited to explore, why these conversations matter right now, and what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes.
Whether you're a longtime listener or joining us for the first time, this episode offers a warm welcome, honest reflection, and a glimpse into another season of meaningful conversations designed to help families and educators feel more connected, confident, and supported.
Key Takeaways for Listeners:
Every family and educator faces challenges.
We don't have to navigate those challenges alone.
Learning and growth happen through connection.
Season 4 will provide practical tools, expert insights, and honest conversations.
Small shifts can create meaningful change in homes and classrooms.