PODCAST · kids
The Hardest Job Ever
by Purvi Vyas and Karen Desai
Welcome to The Hardest Job Ever! If you’re a mom trying to juggle literally everything—your career, your baby, your sanity—you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to have the real conversations—about the mom guilt, the mental load, and why our marriages now feel like business meetings. We’ll share the highs, the lows, and the WTF are we even doing? moments with a little humor (bc if we don’t laugh, we’ll definitely cry).This is your space, where you’re seen, supported, and reminded that you’re not in this alone. Let’s figure this motherhood thing out together.
Episodes
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When you’re Equal Partners at Work, Are You Equal Partners at Home? Featuring Jasleen Agarwal of SĀCH Foods
Jasleen Agarwal found out she was pregnant on the flight home from teaching a production partner how to make paneer. She and her husband, Tarush, co-founded SĀCH Foods in 2019 to bring flavored paneer to American grocery shelves. By the time their daughter arrived in February 2020, Jasleen was...
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What We're Wrestling With Right Now
Purvi and Karen are back from summer break, and a lot has changed. Purvi is back to being the default parent, taking work calls from daycare bathrooms and pushing a promotion down the road again. Karen stepped away from work by choice and is trying to figure out who she is without a job title. In...
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Did Motherhood Change My Ambition or My Boundaries?
Season 5, Episode 7: It's the Season 5 finale of The Hardest Job Ever, and we're together in San Francisco taking an honest look at everything this season taught us about ambition, "balance," and what it really means to be a working mom. From burning out and pivoting careers, to turning down a...
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Ambition Didn’t Get Smaller After Kids, featuring Sahana Carlsen
Season 5, Ep 6: We sit down IRL in San Francisco with Sahana Carlsen, an engineering manager at a fast-growing AI company, content creator, and mom to an 18-month-old, for one of the most honest conversations we've had on the show. Sahana just started a high-intensity new job six weeks ago. She's...
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Who Am I Outside of My Career? And as a Mom? with Avani Modi Sarkar of Modi Toys
Season 5, Episode 5: What happens to your identity when your job, your title, or your career disappears, and all that's left is "mom"? In this episode, we sit down with Avani Modi Sarkar, co-founder of Modi Toys, to talk about her journey, going from corporate marketing to wife, mom, and...
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Why Does It Feel Like I Carry Everything for Our Family?
Season 5, Episode 4: He saved her postpartum. Now she's carrying the mental load alone. An anonymous listener wrote in with a question we couldn't stop thinking about: how do you hold both truths, that your partner showed up in your darkest moment after the baby, and isn't showing up the way you...
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Why Does It Hurt When My Child Prefers the Nanny?
Season 5, Episode 3: Working Mom Guilt, Childcare Attachment & When Your Child Prefers the Nanny What happens when your childcare setup works, but emotionally, it feels harder than expected? In this episode, we unpack working mom guilt, childcare attachment, and the complex emotions that come…
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Who Am I Now? Motherhood, Identity & the Era of Becoming
Season 5, Episode 2: Looking through old photos can make you pause. Not because you regret motherhood, but because you start wondering: Who am I now? In this episode, we unpack a question one of our listeners asked: Do you miss the version of yourself before kids? The answer isn’t as simple as…
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Redefining Ambition: Dr. Mona on Work, Motherhood, and Identity
Season 5, Episode 1: We keep hearing about an “ambition gap.” That women don’t want the promotion anymore. That we’re opting out. But what if it’s not a lack of ambition? What if it’s a lack of support? To kick off Season 5, we’re joined by pediatrician, mom, and founder of PedsDocTalk, Dr. Mona...
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The System Is Failing Working Moms (And We’re Done Pretending It’s Fine)
Season 4, Episode 9: We grew up believing ambition was linear - get the title, get the promotion, get the praise. But motherhood has a way of cracking that open. Suddenly the things we were taught to chase don’t fit the lives we’re actually living… especially when the system wasn’t built for us…
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Postpartum Care in the U.S. Is Broken. Let’s Talk About It
Season 4, Episode 8: The first eight weeks after birth are supposed to be a blur of baby snuggles and sleepy smiles, but for most of us, it’s survival mode. Between recovery, round-the-clock feeding, and the loneliness that hits when the visitors fade, postpartum can feel like an emotional free...
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Raising Boys Without the Box: Gender, Identity & the New Masculinity with @Payalforstyle
Season 4, Episode 6: POV: You’re a mom raising boys in 2025, and unlearning everything you were taught about what it means to be a “good man.” In this episode, we sit down with @payalforstyle to talk about what it really looks like to raise emotionally intelligent boys in a world that still tells...
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Keeping Culture Alive (When You’re Exhausted and Living in Two Worlds)
Season 4, Episode 5: What does it really mean to raise kids between two cultures? In this episode of The Hardest Job Ever, we unpack the mental load of being first-gen South Asian moms in America, the guilt, pressure, and pride that come with keeping culture alive while raising toddlers who think...
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Modern Diwali: Rewriting Traditions for Our Kids (and Ourselves)
Diwali as kids meant different things for each of us: Karen had choreographed dances, Bollywood karaoke, and back-to-back parties. Purvi had home pujas, temple visits, and learning family recipes. Fast forward to now, and we’re the ones trying to keep the light (and sanity) alive. In this…
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Why Can’t Our Girls Be Loud and Our Boys Be Soft?
Season 4, Episode 4: Before our babies can even talk, the world decides who they are. In this episode, we unpack all the sneaky (and not-so-sneaky) ways gender stereotypes creep in, from pink unicorn onesies and bow pressure to “boys don’t cry.” We talk about: • How gendered comments start before...
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Style, Confidence & Gender: Redefining Motherhood with Tika (@tikabobika)
Motherhood has a way of making you feel like you’ve lost yourself; your time, your style, even your identity. But what if embracing fashion, confidence, and joy could actually help you feel more like you again? In this episode with Tika (@tikabobika), we talk about: • Losing style (and sanity) in...
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But I Wanted a Girl: Talking Gender Disappointment
Season 4, Episode 2: Finding out your baby’s gender is supposed to be a joyful, magical moment. But what if it isn’t? What if instead of excitement, you feel a wave of disappointment, guilt, or even anger? You’re not alone, and it’s time we talked about it. In this episode, we get real about…
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One-Year-Olds, Two-Year-Olds, and Too Much Going On
Season 4, Episode 1: We’re back! And with life updates that range from total poopsicles to sweet popsicles. From potty training fails to toddler birthday chaos, we’re catching you up on what motherhood has really looked like these past few months. In this episode, we share: • Purvi’s first potty...
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Food Allergies & Mom Guilt: Real Talk with Dr. Farah Khan (@farah.khan.md)
Season 3, Episode 4: Baby food allergies, eczema, and starting solids can feel overwhelming, especially when mom guilt and family opinions get added to the mix. In this episode, we sit down with allergist Dr. Farah Khan (@farah.khan.md) for some real talk about food allergies, mom guilt, and...
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Cultural & Generational Beliefs around Movement
Season 3, Episode 6: In South Asian families, “healthy” usually meant “chubby," and strength or movement were barely part of the conversation. Now as moms, we’re unlearning those generational myths and figuring out how to raise kids who feel strong, confident, and proud of their bodies. In this...
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Let Them Sleep (and You Too): Rinie Gupta on Baby Sleep, Culture & Sanity
Season 3, Episode 3: Sleep training feels like one of the most guilt-filled, opinion-loaded parts of parenting, especially in South Asian families where “just feed them more” is everyone’s go-to solution. Between night feeds, cultural pushback, and babies who suddenly learn to stand, it’s no…
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Sleep Regressions: The Surprise That Never Ends
Season 3, Episode 2: You think you cracked the sleep code. Then the regression hits. And the daycare germs. And the teething. And suddenly you’re rocking a baby to Timber at 2am wondering how it all fell apart. In this episode, we’re talking about what happens after sleep training, when the real...
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Sleep Training: The Math, The Guilt, The Culture Clash
Season 3, Episode 1: If you’re a new mom drowning in sleep deprivation, nap schedules, and unsolicited opinions, this episode is for you. We’re getting real about baby sleep: what we thought it would be, what it actually was, and how sleep training tested everything from our sanity to our…
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Starting Solids: Culture, Confidence & Baby-Led Weaning with Madhura Kearns (@foodiefirststeps)
Season 3, Episode 1: Starting solids feels exciting, until it feels totally overwhelming. What do you feed? How much? What if they gag, or worse - choke? We sit down with Madhura Kearns, the voice behind @foodiefirststeps, to talk all about starting solids with confidence, culture and connection....
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My Family Had Opinions Postpartum. We Set Boundaries.
Season 2, Ep 5: After you have a baby, everyone has opinions—and zero respect for nap schedules. From unsolicited advice to uninvited drop-bys, setting boundaries as a new mom isn’t rude. It’s survival. In this episode, we’re sharing: • Real-life boundary wins (and fails) • How we handled…
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Bottles & Burnout: Karen's Lactation Journey
S2 Ep4: In this episode, Karen takes us inside her meticulous, exhausting, and sometimes maddening breastfeeding journey—from collecting colostrum at 37 weeks to weaning while working full-time. We cover: • How she learned to collect colostrum (and why it mattered later) • Flange sizing, nipple...
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Feeding Twins: Purvi's Lactation Journey
Season 2, Ep 3: Two boobs. Two babies. One sleep-deprived mom with a spreadsheet full of milk data. In this episode, Purvi takes us inside her chaotic, emotional, and surprisingly hilarious breastfeeding journey with premature twin boys. We cover: • Pumping 9–10 times a day (yes, really) • Tandem...
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Postpartum Bodies – The Weird, The Real, The Beautiful
Season 2, Ep 2: There’s the body you had before baby. And then there’s the body that survived birth, surgery, sleepless nights, and somehow—kept tiny human(s) alive. In this episode, we’re talking about the weird, real, and beautiful changes that happen to our bodies after birth, including: •…
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The F*ing Fourth Trimester
Season 2, Ep 1: No one warned us that the fourth trimester would feel like being reborn and slightly wrecked at the same time. You’re stitched, swollen, sobbing at everything, and somehow still keeping a little newborn baby alive. In this kickoff to Season 2, we’re talking about the raw reality…
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Where Did My Social Life Go? Postpartum Challenges with Friends
Season 1, Episode 5: Karen & Purvi discuss the challenges of maintaining social lives after becoming mothers. They explore the pressures of keeping old friendships alive while trying to forge new connections with other moms. The conversation delves into the emotional struggles of feeling left out...
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I Built a Birth Plan. Ha, That Was Cute
Season 1, Episode 4: Karen walks through her carefully crafted birth plan, while Purvi shares why she chose not to have one at all. What unfolds is an honest conversation about expectations, control, and the reality of labor. From detailed planning to going with the flow, we unpack what actually...
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Purvi's Birth Story: Honest and Unfiltered
Season 1, Episode 3: Purvi shares her twin birth story. What was supposed to be a planned C-section turned into a surprise early check-in. Even though she wasn’t fully packed or totally prepared for postpartum life with her twins, she embraced the chaos and came out the other side with a story...
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Karen's Birth Story: Honest and Unfiltered
Season 1, Episode 2: Karen shares her personal birth story. She details her intense birth experience, which began with a plan to avoid interventions but ultimately led to an unexpected emergency C-section. The conversation highlights the challenges of labor, pain management decisions, and the...
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The Power Pause by Neha Ruch: Book Review & Discussion
Episode 5: Karen and Purvi discuss the emotional journey following Karen's layoff - exploring themes of motherhood, personal identity, and the concept of the 'Power Pause' as introduced in Neha Ruch's book. They delve into the importance of self-reflection, setting measurable goals, and...
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Laid Off & Lost: A New Mom's Search for a New Identity
Season 1, Episode 1: Getting laid off hits hard when you’re really Type A - your career & academics have always been a huge part of your identity. Add in becoming a new mom, and suddenly you’re not just questioning your job—you’re questioning who you even are. In this episode, Karen is unfiltered...
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The Great Childcare Debate: Nanny vs. Daycare
Episode 3: Karen and Purvi are taking on the the conversation of one of the hardest things about being a parent: childcare. Nanny or daycare? The ultimate parenting debate. One gives you flexibility, the other gives you structure. One costs a small fortune, the other has a waitlist longer than…
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From Hubby to Roomie: The Transition No One Prepared Us For
Episode 2: Karen and Purvi dive into the invisible labor that keeps their households running and how it’s changed their relationships with their partners. Let’s talk about the mental load! They love our husbands, but they're basically co-parenting roommates at this point. And somehow, date nights...
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Balance: What does that mean for a Mom?
Episode 1: Karen and Purvi kick off The Hardest Job Ever by tackling the myth of doing it all. Between work deadlines, daycare drop-offs, and remembering to feed themselves, balance as a mom feels like a joke. So how do they make it all work as parents, or at least look like they are? Tune in as...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to The Hardest Job Ever! If you’re a mom trying to juggle literally everything—your career, your baby, your sanity—you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to have the real conversations—about the mom guilt, the mental load, and why our marriages now feel like business meetings. We’ll share the highs, the lows, and the WTF are we even doing? moments with a little humor (bc if we don’t laugh, we’ll definitely cry).This is your space, where you’re seen, supported, and reminded that you’re not in this alone. Let’s figure this motherhood thing out together.
HOSTED BY
Purvi Vyas and Karen Desai
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Hardest Job Ever have?
The Hardest Job Ever currently has 38 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Hardest Job Ever about?
Welcome to The Hardest Job Ever! If you’re a mom trying to juggle literally everything—your career, your baby, your sanity—you’ve come to the right place. We’re here to have the real conversations—about the mom guilt, the mental load, and why our marriages now feel like business meetings. We’ll...
How often does The Hardest Job Ever release new episodes?
The Hardest Job Ever has 38 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Hardest Job Ever?
You can listen to The Hardest Job Ever on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Hardest Job Ever?
The Hardest Job Ever is created and hosted by Purvi Vyas and Karen Desai.
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