Parenting is a Joke

Parenting is a Joke

You know when you talk to your friends about your childhood and end it by saying, "But look at us, we're fine!" Here's my question: Are we fine? Because we're sitting here doused in CBD oil under a weighted blanket recording a podcast called Parenting is a Joke. Each week, host and standup Ophira Eisenberg talks to a different comedian about their career and their kids. Conversations tackle the tooth fairy, eating sticks, summer camp anxiety, the hidden horrors of childbirth, and the obvious horrors of our own childhoods. We celebrate the absurdity of shuffling a career with raising a kid, and highlight less traditional parenthood journeys, all while relishing in the fact that no one knows what they're doing, but we're all trying! Sometimes even our best. New episodes every Tuesday. New Season October 1st.

Episodes

Parenting as Jazz Improv with John Moe

October 9, 2025 • 20 mins
In this snack episode, John Moe—host of Depresh Mode and Sleeping with Celebrities—shares memories with Ophira Eisenberg of sneaking into R-rated movies as a kid, including the terrifying but oddly comical Alien chest-burster scene that was softened by nearby jokesters comparing it to a hot dog with ketchup. He recalls being deeply shaken by The Exorcist and a low-budget Bigfoot “documentary,” which hit especially hard growing up i...
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John Moe Declares It's A 3 Kid Minimum in Minnesota

October 7, 2025 • 45 mins
In this episode of Parenting Is a Joke, John Moe talks to Ophira Eisenberg about raising three kids while juggling multiple jobs in public radio, writing, and podcasting. He recalls his parents’ Norwegian roots, including summers spent above the Arctic Circle and the bone-dry humor of his father, whose jokes sometimes landed days later. Comedy became the family’s shared language, even as emotional expression was stifled at home, an...
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Rachel Dratch’s Psychic Predicted Her Child

October 2, 2025 • 41 mins
Rachel Dratch joins Ophira Eisenberg to talk about raising her 13-year-old son Eli, reflecting on how his confident, social personality contrasts with her own bookish teen years. She recalls once assuming she wouldn’t have children, only to be surprised when a channeler predicted she’d meet someone and have one child—a prophecy that eerily came true when she met Eli’s father months later and became pregnant at 44. Rachel discusses ...
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Jordan Carlos is in The Simon & Garfunkel Phase of Parenting

September 30, 2025 • 43 mins
Comedian Jordan Carlos joins Ophira Eisenberg to talk about parenting two kids with very different personalities—his 10-year-old daughter, a perfectionist baker supplied with Costco-sized vanilla extract, and his six-year-old son, who polices Halloween candy wrappers with post-it notes. Jordan shares how his daughter’s three grandmothers got her hooked on baking, and how his son’s sharp eye caught him sneaking Whoppers late at nigh...
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The Smallest Hecklers with Danny Ricker

September 25, 2025 • 26 mins
On this Parenting is a Joke snack episode, ​head-writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Danny Ricker joins Ophira Eisenberg to talk about how his work and family worlds overlap in unpredictable ways. He shares how writing jokes for Kimmel during the pandemic meant working from his garage while his kids crashed Zoom meetings, and why pitching jokes with a toddler tugging on his sleeve changed the whole dynamic of the room. Danny recalls how ...
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Danny Ricker is Living One Lego a Day

September 23, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg talks with Danny Ricker, head writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live and author of Wow, You Look Terrible: How to Parent Less and Live More. Ricker shares how the book’s title came from the daily mirror shock of his early parenting years, when exhaustion rewired him permanently into a 5:30 a.m. riser. He describes raising two kids—an 11-year-old daughter who now bonds with him over The ...
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Moms Unhinged with Andrea Marie

September 18, 2025 • 19 mins
In this snack episode, Andrea Marie talks about what it’s like dating as an empty nester after her “Zoom divorce” during the pandemic, and how she approaches relationships differently in her fifties—more confident about saying no, more aware of her priorities, and less interested in rushing toward marriage. She shares the efficiency of dating apps (though admits to fantasizing about faking an ankle injury to escape a bad hiking dat...
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Andrea Marie is Loving Her Empty Nest

September 16, 2025 • 48 mins
In this Parenting is a Joke episode, comedian Andrea Marie talks about founding the Moms Unhinged Comedy Tour after becoming an empty nester and realizing she finally had the freedom to hit the road. She shares with host Ophira Eisenberg how her unconventional upbringing with a prank-loving mom who once greeted boyfriends in a gorilla costume—and even trained as an Italian-style clown—shaped her sense of humor. Andrea describes her...
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Parent Math with Domenica Ruta

September 11, 2025 • 27 mins
In this Parenting Is a Joke snack episode, Ophira Eisenberg talks with bestselling author Domenica Ruta about the messy, improvised reality of writing and parenting while raising kids. Domenica describes how her creative process has nothing to do with 4 a.m. routines—rejecting Glennon Doyle’s approach with a “bitch, please” and instead likening her schedule to a Jackson Pollock painting made of poop. She recalls pounding out an “ug...
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Best-Selling Author Domenica Ruta Still Laughs at the Hard Parts

September 9, 2025 • 49 mins
Bestselling author Domenica Ruta joins Ophira Eisenberg on this episode to talk about her new book All The Mothers, and about the family dynamics that shaped her memoir With or Without You, including her relationship with her strong-willed, drug-dealing mother and her complicated bond with her father. She explains how turning those memories into a book forced her to confront the contradictions of love, resentment, and survival, and...
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Getting Slapped with Baloney with The Gaytriarchs

September 4, 2025 • 22 mins
In this snack-sized follow-up, Ophira Eisenberg leads rapid-fire parenting confessions with Gaytriarchs podcast hosts David FM Vaughn and Gavin Lodge. David admits the last thing he said “no” to was sending an iPad to camp—earning him a daily pout and a stompy “I don’t even like this house anyway.” Gavin, meanwhile, cops to banning extra TikTok time, while also offering his trademark “just you wait” warnings to David’s younger-dad...
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David and Gavin of The Gaytriarchs Go From Broadway Lights to Baby Monitors

September 2, 2025 • 46 mins
In this kickoff to Season 4, Ophira Eisenberg is joined by Broadway veterans turned podcasters David FM Vaughn and Gavin Lodge, hosts of The Gaytriarchs. The dads share how their show began almost as a “you’re a gay dad, I’m a gay dad, let’s talk” experiment, and how it’s evolved into 113 episodes, complete with recurring jokes like referring to their audience as “our listener.” They talk about the strange intimacy of podcasting, m...
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Emily Oster Breaks Down the Myth of the “Right Way” to Parent

August 26, 2025 • 47 mins
In this rerun episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with economist, bestselling author, and parenting data sage Emily Oster for a conversation filled with surprising truths, hard-earned wisdom, and the kind of advice that actually helps. Emily shares how she applied her data-driven brain to everything from optimal sleep schedules to discipline strategies, allowance systems, and even pet ownership (her kids gave...
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Laura Benanti Is Not Asking for Permission, Thanks

August 19, 2025 • 38 mins
In this special rerun of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg welcomes the multitalented Tony Award-winning star Laura Benanti for a conversation that’s both unforgettable and fiercely real. Laura opens up about the high-wire act of being a working performer and a parent, sharing stories from her early Broadway debut at 18 to the surprising joys of suburban life in New Jersey. She talks about negotiating equity in her marriage, re...
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Why Dating Dads Is the New Hot with Erin Keating

August 12, 2025 • 25 mins
In this snack-sized episode, Ophira Eisenberg reconnects with Erin Keating, host of Hotter Than Ever, for a raw, funny, and wildly relatable look at how a hospital stay during the pandemic catalyzed a total life reinvention. After being hospitalized with COVID pneumonia, Erin had what she describes as a Canyon Ranch-level spa break—complete with flowers from work, no interruptions, and the radical realization that she was deeply un...
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Erin Keating is Constantly Buying Footballs and Shoes

August 5, 2025 • 41 mins
In this episode, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with her longtime friend Erin Keating—former television executive, mom of teenage twins, and host of the podcast Hotter Than Ever—for a conversation that spans from IVF dolphin omens to teen fashion battles. Erin shares how a gamified approach to online dating led to meeting her now ex-husband (he was date #5 out of a planned 10), and how her determination during fertility treatments turn...
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Rachael Price Sings The Wheels on the Tourbus Go Round and Round

July 29, 2025 • 35 mins
In this episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg talks with powerhouse vocalist and soon-to-be mom Rachael Price—lead singer of Lake Street Dive—about performing while pregnant, planning a tour around a due date, and preparing to raise a baby on the road. Rachael shares what it was like touring with the band into her third trimester, including maternity Spanx, food poisoning that almost led to a canceled show, and the unexp...
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Nine-Year-Olds are Friendly Exterestials with Chris Duffy

July 24, 2025 • 24 mins
In this snack-sized episode, Ophira Eisenberg reconnects with comedian, author, and How to Be a Better Human podcast host Chris Duffy for a rapid-fire chat covering the unexpected overlaps between parenting and comedy. Chris reflects on his years as a fifth-grade teacher, including a moment when a student earnestly asked—in front of the class—if having “huge balls” was a medical concern. The two swap stories about bedtime existenti...
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Chris Duffy is a Large Baby With a Beard

July 22, 2025 • 52 mins
In this episode of Parenting is a Joke, host Ophira Eisenberg sits down with comedian, writer, and podcast host Chris Duffy to unpack the joys and absurdities of raising a toddler while maintaining a creative career. Chris shares how his “fun mom energy” has defined him since high school, his past life as a babysitter and fifth-grade teacher, and the surreal experience of writing jokes for Dan Rather during his first TV writing job...
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Writing Novels on the Toilet (Literally) with Jo Piazza

July 17, 2025 • 28 mins
In this snack-sized episode of Parenting is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg is joined once again by author and podcast host Jo Piazza for a conversation that hits on the real logistics of being a working parent with no time for “manifesting” or gentle parenting platitudes. Jo explains how her background as a tabloid journalist trained her to write anywhere—including from the toilet while hiding from her kids—and how that skill helped her ...
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