Maiden Mother Matriarch with Louise Perry

No one is under any illusions about how tired mothers are. And fathers, too. Particularly during the early years of sleep deprivation. We're also often overwhelmed by responsibility and financial stress. None of this is in doubt. But does that mean that mothers are unhappy? It's a complicated question to answer. A lot of people assume – particularly, I suspect, people who don't have children themselves – that tiredness and busyness necessarily suggest that a woman's wellbeing is damaged by having children. And there are, of course, feminist ideas that fall out of this assumption. Primarily, the idea that marriage and motherhood are oppressive to women, and that these are burdens that women long to be relieved of. Today I'm joined by two academics who offer their expertise on the question of maternal happiness. Wendy Wang is the Director of Research at the Institute for Family Studies, and Jenet Erickson is a fellow at the same institute. She's also an associate professor at Brigham Young University. I met Wendy and Jenet at a conference organised by the Institute for Family Studies earlier this year at which they both presented their research on marriage, children, and – here's the really interesting bit – the strong correlation between a woman's experience of physical touch and her mental wellbeing. They both argue that mothers – specifically married mothers – are happier on average than other women. Together we examine the evidence. Give the gift of everyday luxury and make every moment comfortable. Headto cozyearth.com and use my code COZYMMM for 20% off sitewide. And if youget a Post-Purchase Survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth at the Maiden Mother Matriarch podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus episode, I spoke with Nina Power about 'hybristophilia' – a fetish typically found in women that is characterized by sexual attraction to criminals. We discussed what the phenomenon reveals about female sexuality, the insights offered by erotic fiction intended for a female readership, and the tightrope that women have to walk when trying to attract sexual interest from men. Discussed in the episode: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15334175/The-female-police-officers-betray-law-inside-Besotted-women-share-force-secrets-criminal-lovers-share-jail-kisses-them.htmlhttps://www.thesun.co.uk/news/36533018/ex-prison-officer-jailed-parties-onlyfans/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2074301/Woman-with-objects-fetish-marries-Eiffel-Tower.htmlhttps://www.louiseperry.co.uk/p/the-evolution-of-mental-illness-marcohttps://www.louiseperry.co.uk/p/where-do-fetishes-come-from-ray-blanchardhttps://archive.org/details/lovingtosurvives0000grah Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, and author of books including ‘iGen', ‘Generation Me', and ‘Generations.' Her latest title is ‘10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World: How Parents Can Stop Smartphones, Social Media, and Gaming from Taking Over Their Children's Lives.'We spoke about why smartph… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Rob Henderson and I spoke about sexual politics and education. Do men care about whether a potential wife has a degree? Is university the best place to find a spouse? And was ‘Princeton Mom' right? Discussed in the episode:* https://x.com/Rich_Cooper/status/1989676504880386558* https://x.com/sentientist/status/1991591912881680859?s=46… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I'm joined by Lyman Stone and Diana Fleischman for a debate on eugenics – specifically, Diana's argument that most people support ‘negative eugenic' policies to some degree, and that governments ought to go further by encouraging the use of sterilisation or long term contraception among, for instance, drug addicts.Lyman Stone is the Director of Research of the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence, the director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, and an author on Substack - Diana Fleischman is an evolutionary psychologist, Associate Research Professor at the University of New Mexico, and author of the Dissentient Substack - https://dissentient.substack.comDiscussed in the episode:* Diana's essay ‘You're probably a eugenicist' https://dissentient.substack.com/p/eugenicist* Shor, E., & Simchai, D. (2009). Incest avoidance, the incest taboo, and social cohesion: Revisiting Westermarck and the case of the Israeli kibbutzim. American Journal of Sociology, 114(6), 1803–1842.* Gipson, J. D., Bornstein, M., Berger, A., & Rocca, C. H. (2021). Desire to avoid pregnancy and contraceptive use among female methadone patients in Los Angeles. Contraception, 103(5), 322–327* Donohue, J. J., & Levitt, S. D. (2001). The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(2), 379–420. https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530151144050 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.louiseperry.co.uk/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Ed West about the new data indicating that British citizens are emigrating in much larger numbers than anyone realised. We also spoke about how emigration has shaped the Anglosphere and the proposed reforms to the asylum system. Discussed in the episode:* ONS revised emigration estimates – https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplep…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Melissa Kearney, Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and author of ‘The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind.'We spoke about the experience of raising children in a low fertility society, why feminists should care about pronatalism, the cause of the massive recent dec…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Diana Fleischman about the new Lily Allen album, why most people aren't well suited to polyamory, why celebrities cheat more often than normal people, whether we should stigmatise polyamory, and the middle aged women taking testosterone to boost their libidos. Discussed in the episode:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Joyce Benenson, Lecturer in Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and the author of ‘Warriors and Worriers: The Survival of the Sexes.' We spoke about boys and men – why even very young boys are often obsessed with enemies, superheroes, weapons, and everything else to do with warfare, and how psychological sex differences ar…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Nina Power and I discussed Alasdair MacIntyre's work and the position of postliberalism in 2025. Is the West excessively individualistic, or actually excessively communitarian? Was the welfare state a terrible mistake? And did liberalism really fail?

This episode is sponsored by Relay. For a 7 day free trial, go to https://joinrelay.app/maiden and use the code ‘LOUISE' at checkout.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Meghan Murphy about ‘gooning.' Discussed on the show: https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/

In this MMM episode, I'm joined by Ann Furedi and Leah Libresco Sargeant to discuss the question “is access to legal abortion essential to women's flourishing?”Ann is a writer, activist, author of the book ‘The Moral Case for Abortion' and the former chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the largest abortion provider in the UK.Leah is the author of ‘The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto' and also of the Substack ‘Other Feminisms.' She works in family policy in Washington D.C. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.louiseperry.co.uk/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Rob Henderson about the ‘Great Feminisation Hypothesis'. Discussed in the episode:https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-great-feminization/

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Dan Hitchens, senior editor at First Things Magazine. We spoke about assisted suicide: the second and third order consequences of legalisation, why low fertility welfare states are increasingly drawn to this apparent solution to their financial woes, and why Britain's National Health Service would prove to be a particularly dangerous p…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Rod Dreher and I discussed Pope Leo's recent comments on refugees and the conflict within Christianity over how to respond to mass immigration.Discussed in the episode:https://firstthings.com/indigenous-london/Thibault De MontbrialJean Raspail

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Linda Griffith, Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering at MIT and director of the Center for Gynepathology Research in Boston. Linda is a leading world expert on endometriosis, our subject today. We spoke about her own experiences with the disease, why it's so poorly understood, the challenges of diagnosis, the impact on wo…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Nina and I spoke about the state of ‘the yookay' – how the colonial instinct turned inwards, how we might interpret class conflict in a non-Marxist way, the deranged individualism of the English, and why generosity can so easily generate resentment. We also discussed Enoch Powell, Harry Potter, and Tolkein.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukThis episode is sponsored by Relay. For a 7 day free trial, go to https://joinrelay.app/maiden and use the code ‘LOUISE' at checkout.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Meghan and I spoke about ‘Right wing cancel culture' – is it a real phenomenon? Is it as bad as the Left wing kind? And how do the Right tend to respond to their own apostates? We also spoke about the reluctance of many pro-choice advocates to debate abortion, whether McCarthyism might have been justified, and the recent rise in p…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Christiana Maxion, a matchmaker based in Dubai who specialises in providing bespoke matchmaking services to the ultra wealthy. We spoke about how this kind of modern matchmaking differs from the traditional model, the problem of people overestimating their desirability and how a good matchmaker should respond to that, what rich men are…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Rob Henderson and I spoke about downward social mobility and the political instability generated by elite over-production. We also discussed the status anxiety motivating the MAGA movement, whether Mars colonisation would relieve political tension, the role of downward social mobility in the industrial revolution, and why white el…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukThis episode is sponsored by Relay. For a 7 day free trial, go to https://joinrelay.app/maiden and use the code ‘LOUISE' at checkout.

I'm joined today by Kate Phelan and Johann Kurtz to debate the question 'should we encourage our sons to be masculine?' Kate is a lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne and the author of a recent book titled 'Feminism, Defeated.' Johann is the author of the Substack 'Becoming Noble.' We discussed whether the relationship between masculinity and femininity is necessarily hierarchical, the role of men as protectors of women, why aggression is the most difficult and volatile facet of masculinity, and whether traditional gender roles are prudent or tyrannical. The MMM podcast can also be found on Apple, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms: https://linktr.ee/maidenmothermatriarchThis episode is sponsored by Relay. For a 7 day free trial, go to https://joinrelay.app/maiden and use the code ‘LOUISE' at checkout.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Katherine Dee, tech reporter and historian of the internet. We spoke about a recent New York Times article ('They Asked an A.I. Chatbot Questions. The Answers Sent Them Spiraling.') on psychosis induced by ChatGPT, and compared this phenomenon with historic cases of new communication technologies causing outbreaks of mental illness. In…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Alex Kaschuta, creator of The Garden of Earthly Delights Substack. We spoke about why modern urbanites are so attracted to tradlife, but why (what I call ) unilateral tradlife is so difficult. We also spoke about the peculiarity of Anglo culture from an Eastern European perspective, whether the Right is really capable of good governanc…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode I spoke with Ed West about the 'flagging' phenomenon in Britain: the government's inability to respond to it, why it's emerged right now, and whether it's just a show or patriotism or a sign of something more sinister. We also spoke about 'colourblind casting' in British historical dramas, the state of Britain's international reput…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guests today are Ute Heggen and Emma Thomas, two women whose lives have been deeply impacted by the men in their lives choosing to transition. Ute runs the YouTube channel @UteHeggenTranswidowHeals, and has also authored a memoir titled 'In the Curated Woods.' Emma is founder of the campaign group Children of Transitioners.We spoke about Emma and Ute…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode I spoke about Freya India about the modern pathologisation of personality traits – including virtues like "people pleasing" – and whether a better understanding of psychological sex differences might encourage young people to be less vexed about common psychological phenomena like rumination. We also spoke about parasocial relation…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Kate Phelan, a Lecturer in the School of Global, Urban, and Social Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne, and the author of a new book titled 'Feminism, Defeated.'We spoke about how feminism has changed over the past half century, from the radicalism of the Second Wave to the absorption of feminism into the progressive omnicause. In …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Meghan Murphy about the phenomenon of female teachers – typically young and attractive – having sexual relationships with their young male students. Plus we spoke about women behaving like 'female chauvinist pigs', my theory of nonce radar, and whether or not men are now more interested in dating older women. We discu…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Amy Alkon, science reporter and author of a new book titled 'Going Menopostal: What You (and Your Doctor) Need to Know About the Real Science of Menopause and Perimenopause.' We spoke about menopause: what it is, the symptoms, treatment options, and why Amy believes that most menopausal women are being terribly misserved by their docto…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Nina Power and I spoke about '1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story', a new documentary on Channel 4, as well as Kathleen Stock's recent essay for UnHerd about the documentary. Is Bonnie Blue the perfect capitalist? An artist? A demon? A psychopath? A neo-religious symbol? All of the above?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is the writer and cultural historian Tiffany Jenkins. She has previously written books on museums and the moral questions raised by exhibiting or retaining certain artefacts, in that spirit she is also a trustee of the British Museum, and a radio presenter, including of the BBC Radio 4 series 'The History of Secrecy.' Her latest book is '…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, Rob Henderson and I spoke about Sydney Sweeney's ad for American Eagle – why has it been so controversial? What does the response tell us about intrasexual competition? Does this indicate a political pivot in popular culture? And why did so many companies embrace the spirit of 2020 in the first place?

In a first for MMM, today's episode is a debate. Discussing the question “should we encourage our daughters to be feminists?”, we have Bryan Caplan (professor of economics at George Mason University) and Holly Lawford-Smith (professor of political philosophy at the University of Melbourne). This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.louiseperry.co.uk/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is the writer and psychotherapist Phyllis Chesler. Her bestselling book, 'Women and Madness', published in 1972, was one of the most influential books of the second wave. She has spent a lifetime writing about and campaigning on feminist issues including honour killings, the surrogacy industry, child custody, and the treatment of women in…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode for paid subscribers, Mary and I spoke about why thinking about death makes people want to have children, climate change anxiety, the post-literate future, the new vigilante groups springing up in Britain, and why Britain's upper classes are suffering from post-colonial grief

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Ross Douthat, columnist at The New York Times and author of many books, including a new one titled 'Believe: Why Everyone Should be Religious.' We spoke about near death experiences, the mystery of the Turin Shroud, how mystical experiences change people (if at all), the challenge of detecting the presence of the Holy Spirit, and what …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Nina Power about the symbolic power of terrorism and how this has changed post-9/11, the increasingly nihilistic motivations of terrorists in Europe, the use of the Oasis track ‘Don't Look Back in Anger' in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing, and the increasing public distrust of government narratives around ter…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Holly Lawford-Smith, a philosopher, author and associate professor in Political Philosophy at the University of Melbourne. We discussed her latest book, titled 'Feminism Beyond Left and Right', in which Holly argues for an expansive definition of feminism that untethers it from its association with the Left. The MMM podcast can also be…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Meghan Murphy about whether marriage is still an attractive prospect for women, Meghan's own objections to getting married, the problem for feminists of working out whether a woman is really choosing something or whether she's deluded about her own desires, and what the apparent return of the bandage dress reveals (if…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukBijan Omrani is an historian, classicist, and research fellow at the University of Exeter. His most recent book is titled (somewhat provocatively) 'God is an Englishman: How Christianity Created England.' We spoke about how little we know about pre-Christian Britain, why Christianity swept through the country so rapidly during the Early Middle Ages, the…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode, I spoke with Rob Henderson about expensive weddings, the unexpected consequences of abortion decriminalisation, whether or not hunter gatherers are happier than modern Westerners, and why we should all consider giving up mirrors next Lent.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukVaishnavi Sundar is a filmmaker, founder of Limesoda Films, and creator of a new documentary titled 'Behind The Looking Glass', a film about the lives of women whose male partners identify as trans. This is the first film to be made about the experiences of so-called 'trans widows.' Vaishnavi interviewed dozens of women and pieced together their testimo…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukIn this bonus episode for paid subscribers, I spoke with philosopher Nina Power about the new laws on abortion and assisted suicide passed in the House of Commons this week, and what they tell us about the state of modern Britain.Please go to LouisePerry.Substack.com to listen to the full episode.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Ben Cobley, former Labour Party activist turned journalist, and author of a new book titled 'The Progress Trap: The Modern Left and the False Authority of History.' We spoke about why progressivism is such an attractive ideology, not least because it offers certainty and a feeling of being a part of a grand historical project. We also …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Marco Del Giudice, Associate Professor in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste. We spoke about one of Marco's key research interests: evolutionary psychopathology. That is, how our evolutionary history influences mental illness. We spoke about how gender differences in personality influence psychopathology, part…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Jamie Franklin, the priest in charge at Holy Trinity Church in Winchester, the host of the podcast 'Irreverend', author of the Substack 'Good Things', and also of a new book titled 'The Great Return: Why only a restoration of Christianity can save Western civilization.' We spoke about why covid revealed some of the terrible failings wi…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law at King's College London and the author of a new book, 'Transgender Rights vs. Women's Rights: From Conflicts to Co-Existence.' We spoke about what the slogan "trans rights are human rights" actually means; why Robert changed his mind and turned against the trans movement, having been a s…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.louiseperry.co.ukMy guest today is Marlon West, father to Scarlett, a young woman who was abused by a rape gang operating in the Greater Manchester area when she was an adolescent and teenager. Marlon and Scarlett are both now campaigning for a national inquiry.