Pop Culture Parenting

Pop Culture Parenting

This podcast is about finding the sweetspot between the textbooks and real life when it comes to parenting. Dr Billy (a developmental pediatrician) and Nick (a developing parent) are a couple of dads having honest discussions about parenting day to day We'll be using iconic TV and cinema scenes from the 80's & 90's to give context to Billy's parenting advice. Please subscribe and tell us what parenting topics and movie scenes we should talk about next

Episodes

September 30, 2026 • 52 mins

"Yeah, but what do I actually say to my boys?"

If Part One of this series reframed how we see the boys in our lives, Part Two is about what comes next: the words.

In Part Two of this special three-part series, Pop Culture Parenting and The Man Cave move with you from understanding to language.

Billy is sharing the clinical insight behind why certain approaches work alongside the most valuable insights from his in-clinic experience. Fr...

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"Why won't he tell me what's going on?"

It's one of the questions Billy hears most from parents. Inside schools across Australia, The Man Cave hears boys asking something strikingly similar: "Why does no one seem to get me?"
Two sides of the same relationship. Rarely in the same room. In this special three-part series, Pop Culture Parenting teams up with The Man Cave to close that gap. 
Billy of course brings you ...

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September 20, 2026 • 78 mins

What does it mean to be a man? 

The Lost Boys gives us a window into one version of that answer and it isn't pretty. 
In this episode we use the film to explore masculinity and what the research tells us about how boys develop their sense of who they are, what it means to be strong, and what they risk losing when the only version of masculinity on offer is rigid, stoic and built on control. 

We talk ...

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September 13, 2026 • 122 mins
The response to our Sensory Sensitivities episode reminded us just how personal and powerful this topic is. Our polls revealed that 85% of our community find the world too full on for their senses some days, and the reflections that followed were honest, funny and deeply moving. We hear from a social worker whose son's autism diagnosis unlocked more than 80 years of unrecognised sensory challenges in his great-grandfather, a mum wh...
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Every child experiences the world differently, and Mad Max: Fury Road gives us the perfect lens to explore why. In this episode on Sensory Sensitivities we dive into the science of sensory processing, including all eight senses, and what it means for the children we love and care for. We discuss how the brain decides what to notice and what to ignore, why some kids seem to need more of everything while others are easily overwhelmed...
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August 16, 2026 • 124 mins
The response to our anger episode was one of the most moving we have ever received. In this reflection we hear from parents who grew up around anger they couldn't name and are working hard not to repeat those patterns, from a dad who recognised himself in his own mother's rage during the most vulnerable weeks of early parenthood, from someone who works with young people in custody for whom anger became the only language they knew, ...
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August 2, 2026 • 66 mins
Every parent knows the feeling. Your kid goes from zero to meltdown in seconds, over something that seems completely trivial. In this episode we use Lethal Weapon as our jumping-off point to explore what's actually happening in a child's brain when anger takes over. We talk about why children's brains are wired to detect and react to emotional triggers before they're wired to interpret them, why telling a young child to "just calm ...
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July 19, 2026 • 117 mins
Episode 135 is out now! Healthy habits reflection goes deep into the gap between the habits we want and the reality of our lives. We hear extraordinary listener stories, questions and advice. A music professional who survived her own real-life Fletcher and came out the other side with a powerful question about what we teach kids to normalise in the pursuit of excellence. A dad whose chaotic childhood was transformed by one loving p...
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Healthy habits. We all want them for our kids and for ourselves, but as Whiplash reminds us, the pursuit of improvement can sometimes drift into pressure, perfectionism and burnout. In this episode we explore what the science of habit formation actually tells us about lasting change, including why healthy habits are built more by our environments than our willpower, why people with strong self-control tend to rely on habits rather ...
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What an episode. We asked the PCP community and they delivered some of the most beautiful reflections and advice about the arrival of a baby. We answer question about feeling ready, repairing bonds, jealousy and the foundations of connection. We hear practical advice and phenomenal reflections from people who have overcome challenges that no one should have to. Thank you to everyone who shared their story. You guide us through the...
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This one might seem like it's just for new parents but it's for all of us. There's no moment quite like a new baby. You're handed the most enormous responsibility of your life wrapped in a very small blanket. Using The Incredibles as our jumping-off point, we explore what a newborn actually needs from the people around them. Why responsiveness matters more than perfection, and what support really looks like when a family is finding...
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Episode 131 is out now! Rewards and punishments reflection goes deeply into how developmental theory and the evidence can be used in the real world to guide our kids. We hear amazing listener reflections, questions and advice including a mum whose seven year old caught her mid-bad-parenting and handled it better than she did, a dad fighting the daily battle between connection and control, and a teacher who runs a no-detention, no-s...
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To finish up our first PCP Guides series we ran a live Q&A with our amazing Patreon community. People seemed to think it was helpful so we thought we would share it more broadly. We answer as many questions as possible and cover some great areas about how we can better support neurodivergent kids. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions and for attending the session. Your relentless efforts to help the kids you care for m...
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Rewards and punishments are a part of daily life for anyone supporting children, sometimes consciously but often without us even realising. In this episode we discuss the developmental psychology behind them, how it can help us to guide our kids to healthier choices and behaviours and where we might be caught out ("it's a trap!"). We want them to choose the light side of the force by understanding the how, when and why of rewards a...
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In this final reflection episode of supporting neurodivergent kids we explore how we can true nurture the kids we love and care for. We explore safety, masking, communication and evidence-based care along with some incorrect and unhealthy beliefs about neurodivergence. To finish this PCP Guides series we will be running a live Q&A via out Patreon in the coming weeks. Please join that community to send in questions and we can't ...
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April 26, 2026 • 122 mins
Well this was a big one diving deeply into chaos and control. We go deep into the balance between chaos and control in family life, especially when anxiety, neurodivergence, and survival mode are in the mix. Through honest listener stories, questions and practical insights, we explore why control can feel safe, how to loosen it without everything falling apart, and how real balance comes from safety, flexibility, and gently learnin...
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A heavy but important re-listen this week about survival. So many of us feel like we are constantly in the arena battling to survive and in this ep we discuss how real and tough that can be with two messages sent in from the beautiful PCP community. Thank you all for helping us to keep moving forward and we hope this helps in some small way too. We can't wait to host a Patreon live Q&A at the end of this PCP Guides bundle on su...
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What a movie, what a topic! So much of life is the balance between chaos and control and mental illness Mental illness can present when we become either overwhelmed by unchecked emotion and unpredictability or constrained by rigid, overprotective attempts to stay safe. Just like riding waves children can learn how to successfully ride the waves of chaos and control in their lives with the right support leading to healthy emotional ...
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March 29, 2026 • 128 mins
In this reflection episode we hear from so many parents & professionals about their worries regarding children they care for. We discuss early development, neurodiversity, teenagers, schools and the best practice approach to assessment and building support around kids. Thank you to every single person who sent in a message. We can only read a fraction but every message helps choose what we cover and where we go next. Pop Cultu...
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March 16, 2026 • 70 mins
One big challenge of supporting children is figuring out when to worry. What difficulties are a typical part development and what are signs of something more worrying? Research highlights that many parents and professionals feel lost as to signs of developmental or mental health concerns so in this episode we try to offer guidance so that people can be comfortable to keep sailing or help realise it's time to find a safe harbour for...
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