Podcast
That's Total Mom Sense
Hosted by Evergreen Podcasts · EN
Kanika Chadda Gupta, a seasoned CNN television journalist, podcaster, and mother of three (including twins), aims to give credit where it's often overlooked - the lasting impact of living your purpose and modeling that for the next generation. She hosts the popular podcast That's Total Mom Sense, where she interviews public figures on their life lessons, parenting journey, and legacy. Guests include Chelsea Clinton, Kelly Rowland, America Ferrera, and Shannon Lee. She has worked in partnership with the Meta, March of Dimes, Mom 2.0, and the White House. Kanika has been featured in Forbes and on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Learn more at www.thatstotalmomsense.com.
23episodes
Episodes
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REPLAY: DR. ADITI NERURKAR, MD: Why So Stressed? - Rewire Your Brain and Reset Your Life
1w ago00:37:34Tap to summarizeAs per Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s national advisory, 1 in 3 parents is feeling high levels of stress. There are 63 million parents living with children under the age of 18 in the US, so this is roughly 210 million people who are feeling burnout. Today we have Harvard stress expert Dr. Aditi Nerurkar on the show to break down the different types of stress (adaptive and maladaptive) and how we can rewire our brains to manage daily pressures in the long term, as she outlines in her NYT bestselling book, The Five Resets: Rewire Your Brain and Body for Less Stress and More Resilience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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REPLAY: DR. SUE VARMA: Build Healthier Habits & Stronger Relationships with Practical Optimism
2w ago00:33:16Tap to summarizePsychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Sue Varma’s groundbreaking work shows that “optimism” goes beyond just having a positive outlook – it brings about better outcomes. Optimists tend to achieve more success, report higher incomes and job satisfaction, adopt healthier habits, build stronger relationships, and experience greater overall life satisfaction, ultimately leading to increased happiness. Sue states simply that “optimists may be born, but practical optimists are made.” Practical Optimism is a mindset that can be learned – and Practical Optimism lays out a roadmap to success. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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REPLAY: CASSIE HOLMES: Optimizing Your Time to Live a Happier Life
3w ago00:38:28Tap to summarizeWhen I was in my teens, I remember watching a biopic on famed Indian mathematician from the early 1900s - Ramanujan. He was often saying “There’s so much to do yet so little time.” He’d work for 30 hours at a stretch and slept for 20. He discovered nearly 4,000 equations + formulas and died at the prime age of 32. Why do I bring him up? Because he wanted more time to achieve his goals in life which gave him a sense of fulfillment and happiness. As many of us do. But consider this. Why are the happiest people on earth either babies or the elderly enjoying their sunset years? It doesn’t have to be that way. And my guest today, Professor Cassie Holmes, Phd is extremely knowledgeable on the subject. She’s going to enlighten us about her research backed by case studies and science on how to be truly happy, feel content with the time we have, and will even provide strategies we can apply to lead a purposeful, meaningful life. Cassie Mogilner Holmes is a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Trained as a social psychologist, she earned her PhD at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and her BA at Columbia. An award-winning teacher and researcher on the role of time in cultivating happiness and satisfaction in life, Holmes’s work has been widely published in lead academic journals and featured in outlets such as NPR, the Economist, the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. Happier Hour is her first book. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband Rob and their children Leo and Lita. Meet My Guest: WEBSITE: CassieHolmes.com LINKEDIN: /cassieholmes Press: WSJ.COM: Bestselling Books Week Ended January 7 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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ERICA BETHE LEVIN: Put an End to Picky Eating
4w ago00:44:25Tap to summarizeWhat if picky eating isn’t your child’s fault—but how we’re feeding them? In this episode, I sit down with Erica Bethe Levin, founder of Globowl, the baby food brand redefining how kids experience food from their very first bites. After struggling with picky eating with her first child, Erica took a completely different approach the second time—introducing bold, globally inspired flavors like curry and spices early on, with powerful results. We talk about the critical “flavor window,” why early allergen exposure matters, how gut health is tied to food diversity, and why traditional “kid food” may be setting our children up to fail. Erica also shares her journey from the world of high-end food and Michelin-star influence to launching a fast-growing company—and what she learned along the way, including her experience on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars. If you’ve ever dealt with picky eating, questioned what your kids should be eating, or want to raise adventurous, healthy eaters, this episode is a must-listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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ARLAN HAMILTON: What the 1% Don’t Want You to Know About Building Wealth
May 700:49:56Tap to summarizeWhat if your biggest disadvantage could become your greatest edge? In this powerful episode of That’s Total Mom Sense, I sit down with venture capitalist, author, and founder of Backstage Capital, Arlan Hamilton, who went from sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport to building a multimillion-dollar fund investing in underestimated founders. With no degree, no connections, and no traditional path into Silicon Valley, Arlan rewrote the rules—and is now helping others do the same. We talk about: The mindset shift that can change your financial future Why “you only need one yes” is more powerful than you think How to build wealth without privilege or access What every parent should teach their kids about money and resourcefulness Why who gets funded can change the world This is a conversation about grit, vision, and redefining what’s possible—not just for yourself, but for generations to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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AUGGIE SERIES: Rewriting the Parenting Playbook: Honoring Moms, Empowering Families
Apr 3000:47:33Tap to summarizeFor generations, mothers have been asked to carry an outsized share of the unpaid, invisible, and logistical labor that keeps families functioning. From caregiving and mental load to emotional labor and school forms, modern motherhood has been shaped by systems that quietly assume women will fill the gaps — at home, at work, and in society. But the cultural narrative is shifting — and parents, companies, and communities are rewriting the playbook in real time. Join us for Rewriting the Parenting Playbook: Honoring Moms, Empowering Families, a conversation about how caregiving expectations are changing, why the old model was never sustainable, and what it looks like to build family systems that honor ambition, equity, and shared responsibility. Our panel brings together leaders advancing this movement from three distinct but interconnected angles — childcare access, domestic labor equity, and narrative change. We’ll explore: ✨ Why the traditional parenting model was built around assumptions that no longer match modern family life ✨ How childcare, workplace flexibility, and economic policy shape family decisions ✨ The Fair Play framework and how it changes division of labor at home ✨ The emotional and identity realities of mothers as both caregivers and earners ✨ How storytelling and representation accelerate cultural change ✨ What support actually empowers families — and what remains missing Meet the Panelists: Joan Nguyen, Co-Founder & CEO, Bumo Eve Rodsky, Founder, Fair Play Policy Institute & Author of Fair Play Kanika Chadda Gupta, Journalist & Host, Total Mom Sense Whether you’re a parent, partner, policymaker, or simply someone invested in healthier family systems, this event will offer both clarity and momentum — and remind us that none of this change is happening by accident. WHAT IS AUGGIE? The most trusted community for parents to find the answers. Inside the app, parents get stage-specific guidance, expert content, on-demand events, and a supportive network that reduces the mental load of figuring everything out alone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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LIBBY WARD: The Cycle Ends With You: Healing as a Mother
Apr 2300:51:04Tap to summarizeShe built a community of over a million moms by telling the truth—but this conversation goes even deeper. Libby Ward joins me to unpack the realities no one prepares you for: mom rage, postpartum depression, burnout, and how childhood trauma quietly shapes the way we parent. We talk about what it actually means to break generational cycles, why so many mothers feel overwhelmed and triggered, and how healing yourself might be the most important thing you do for your kids. If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing as a mom… you’re not alone—and this episode will show you why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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SHEINELLE JONES: Fight For Your Joy (and Listen to Mom!)
Apr 1600:28:12Tap to summarizeWhat does it look like to live your dream and then have your world shattered? TODAY Show co-host Sheinelle Jones knew since fifth grade that she was made for morning television. She manifested it, worked for it, and built a life of beauty alongside her Northwestern sweetheart Uche. Then came the nightmare no vision board could prepare her for. In this deeply personal Mom Sense conversation, Sheinelle opens up about growing up surrounded by her mother's affirmations, falling in love on a college campus, raising boy-girl twins while anchoring national television, and walking through the unimaginable loss of her husband to glioblastoma. She talks about her debut book Through Mom's Eyes, the friends who put her back together, and the mantra she holds every single day: I am fighting for my joy. Bring tissues — and leave inspired. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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DR. RACHEL GOLDMAN: How to Stop Stress Spirals (CBT Tools That Actually Work)
Apr 900:47:21Tap to summarizeIn this episode of That’s Total Mom Sense, host Kanika Chadda Gupta sits down with nationally recognized clinical psychologist Rachel L. Goldman to talk about something so many parents silently struggle with: burnout, stress, and the pressure to do it all. Dr. Rachel, a cognitive behavioral therapy expert and author of When Life Happens, shares practical tools for navigating emotional overwhelm, breaking patterns of overachieving, and building healthier coping strategies for everyday stress. Together, they discuss why high-performing parents are especially vulnerable to burnout, how emotional eating and chronic stress are often signals from the body, and what it actually looks like to process trauma while raising children. In this conversation, you’ll learn: • How to recognize the early signs of parental burnout• Why overachievers struggle to slow down—and how to reset• CBT tools to manage stress in real time• Healthy ways to respond to emotional eating triggers• Simple daily practices that help regulate the nervous system If you’ve ever felt like you’re constantly running but still falling behind, this episode will help you pause, reset, and move forward with more compassion for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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REPLAY: DANIELLE CABRAL: Fame, Family, & Fashion
Apr 200:26:03Tap to summarizeKanika opens this episode by sharing her personal story living in the “sandwich generation” as a mom of three (including twins) and caregiving for her mother who has dementia. She is later joined by Danielle Cabral, star of Real Housewives of New Jersey, for an on stage keynote interview to talk about motherhood, fame, and the challenges of being on reality TV. They discuss the importance of support from their tribe and dealing with criticism from fans on social media. Their conversation is real, poignant, funny and heartwarming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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