Helen made a rule that when you have your own podcast and it’s your birthday, you get to celebrate with an episode being asked a variety of questions. And because we are rule-followers (usually…see: Scattergories), we are sharing the second Millennial Mom Thoughts birthday tradition episode. Before we got into Helen’s thoughtful questions, Jordan insisted on a sharing a recent not-so-neighborly post-it incident involving anonymous mail and her precious dog. Then, we celebrate Jordan’s upcoming 40th birthday with 40ish questions in 40ish minutes! Get ready to learn a whole bunch of random (see also: interesting?) facts about Jordan. Want to know what Jordan’s favorite pasta is? Do you think you can guess what her favorite episodes of The Office are? How about her favorite concert? Helen attempts to ask a series of questions in a quick, Scattergories-style, but Jordan essentially says, it’s my party and I’ll disregard your rules if I want to. This should surprise nobody. Sit back and enjoy getting to know a little more about Jordan thanks to Helen’s expertly-created list of fun, silly, and thoughtful questions. And make sure to check out our Instagram account to view a few pictures described in the episode!

This week we share an interview with Jill Anderson, a mom, an educator, the founder of Mindful Tech Lessons, and, to many in her community, “the book lady.” Jill is a veteran K–6 teacher, and when she is not in the classroom with her third graders, she is often leading workshops that help parents and educators navigate the digital world with young people. Jill tells us about her journey through teaching and theater towards a degree in Educational Psychology and into her advocacy for healthy habits around technology. She shares stories about noticing the subtle messaging of social media and video games embedded in early literacy activities, and she details ways she has made her classroom almost entirely screen free. Jordan shares her admiration for the book boxes Jill has placed around her community and the ways this initiative has inspired her own project. We conclude our conversation by hearing more about a recent article picked up by the New York Times featuring Jill and her empowering work.

Learn more and connect with Jill at MindfulTechLessons.com

We reflect on our last episode with Emily Cherkin, and Jordan shares her not-so-conspiracy theory about why there was low engagement on the posts we shared on social media. Helen details her new video essay adventure: GenAI on GenAI. Listeners can find this on her Substack, Resonances. Helen aims to answer the question: What does it mean to be a teacher in a world with generative AI? Naturally, that conversation leads to aging and mustaches. Jordan shares about an upcoming early birthday celebration with friends, and Helen describes what a float bath is and how relaxing it is – Jordan, however, is still not convinced this is a good idea. We talk about Jordan’s recent decision to delete all photos of her kids off social media and the plan to no longer share their pictures. We talk through the factors that lead to this choice and how online spaces like social media are no longer what they once were. Jordan then shares how Meta patented an AI tool that allows social media accounts to continue posting posthumously. Helen discusses her latest class activity for her students with six scenarios to discuss ethical decision making in education. She modeled one of the scenarios after Jordan’s decision to opt out her son from the iPad at school. We end with Jordan talking through her current project of applying for a community grant to place screen-free activity bins in businesses with waiting areas around town where families bring their kids. And make sure to listen to the end to hear about how someone once left a lunchbox full of yogurt on Helen’s porch.