Dear Dual Perspective

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener who recently had a baby and is wondering how to set boundaries with her own parents going forward after a difficult visit.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener who is feeling resentment build up as they offer substantial financial support to their adult children and feel this is underappreciated.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener asking how to teach children (and adults) acceptance and kindness in a world full of significant, overlapping crises. Emma begins with the serenity prayer and suggestions for building community, and Sara brings in some core concepts from game theory. Both of your hosts tie these rules to live by back to their favourite 80s movies.

In this episode, your hosts answer a question about whether someone who has seen some concerning posts from a local influencer related to mental health should reach out and offer support. Emma notes that it's important to consider one's own capacity, and Sara mentions some elements of social media engagement and parasocial relationships. Emma gets into the bystander effect and whether this could be affecting this situation although it's unfolding online in front of a lot of followers, instead of in person.

In this episode, Emma and Sara, along with guest Lucas, army brat and former army reservist, answer a question from a listener who is wondering how separations from her young child due to her military service might impact him over time. Lucas offers insights from his own experience, and Emma and Sara cite extensive research on the wellbeing of children in military families, and how separations from kids in other lines of work are often quite similar unless a military family member is deployed.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener who feels a loved one is struggling with depression, but is not receptive to the listener's suggestions or feedback on how to manage better. Emma emphasizes that it's not possible to diagnose someone without an evaluation, and Sara comments that the listener's values and views on the correct course of action may not be held by their loved one. Emma further reveals that one of her personal life rules is to never give unsolicited advice, and your two hosts talk about strategies to avoid popping into problem solving mode.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a mom who has unfollowed a bunch of conflicting parenting advice accounts on Instagram after finding herself scrolling a lot during maternity leave. This listener is wondering about whether Millenial parenting styles are better than how Boomers parented us, and whether mothers are more anxious now than in the past. Emma talks about the vulnerabilities of being at home with an infant and the evidence for good enough parenting, while Sara comments on the industry of parenting advice how those accounts making mothers feel inadequate is an effective marketing tactic.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener about how to make friends while going through personal upheaval, such as divorce, a mental health crisis, or a life-altering health condition. Sara offers that probably what this listener is seeking through friendship is support, and that there may be other ways to access that, while Emma offers many practical suggestions from her clinical training on how to build resiliency and live in line with ones values.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener who has recently broken off a two-year relationship with her boss, and is having a difficult time managing his less than positive traits at work. Your hosts offer advice on how to try to reset the relationship, while acknowledging that leaving this workplace might be the best approach - and to ensure that this listener negotiates her salary if she does so.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a follow up question to the "Biking through a world built for cars" episode on how to take people who say "not in my backyard" to active transportation projects to "yes in my backyard". Emma offers a suggestion to look for shared values, and Sara mentions that getting to test drive an eBike was something that helped her get over the initial barrier to active transportation.

In this follow up episode on primary parenting, Emma and Sara answer a question from a mom who is considering going back to school and is wondering why it's more difficult for women to have these conversations about career advancement and juggling household and childcare responsibilities. Sara has a lot of questions about what type of schooling and how it will fit in to the family's goals and priorities, and Emma points out that the patriarchy is like the air we breathe which is why this type of change is so challenging.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question (that is really a bunch of questions) about how to be a good step-parent to adult children. Emma adds in some ideas about how to be a good step-kid, and Sara provides some context to the number of step-families according to the census, and the current divorce rates in Canada.

In this episode, your hosts answer a question from a listener asking their opinion on artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, and its potential to impact work and the home. Further, they ask if AI can help solve big challenges, like the mental health crisis, health inequality and climate change. Emma and Sara offer their opinions on the use of artificial intelligence in different spheres, including the implications for copyright, credit for published work, ethical use, and how new technology exacerbates existing inequalities. Finally, your hosts ask ChatGPT what it thinks it can do for addressing these problems, and offer their critique and conclusion: artificial intelligence won't save us, even though promises that technology will fix society's biggest issues are seductive.

In this episode, your hosts answer a detailed question from a listener who is frustrated with a workplace where they enjoy their work and coworkers but are stymied by bottlenecks, unclear priorities and poor communication, and are thus losing motivation and struggling to be productive. Sara's initial reaction was to encourage quiet quitting, but following more reflection she emphasizes that it's important to match expectations of productivity to the work environment. Emma points out that building capacity and relationships is a productive activity even if it doesn't directly create a product. Your hosts also mention that productivity culture, and that constant hustling is not sustainable or fair to workers.

In this episode, a listener asks why so few people in Whitehorse bike or walk despite relatively short distances to many destinations, and another asks why drivers can be so aggressive. Emma and Sara talk about their experiences bike commuting, car culture, and the need for more safe and accessible infrastructure to support different transportation modes across neighbourhoods and life stages. There are lots of statistics mentioned in this episode, and sources are linked below.

We're at the mid-point of season 2! We hope you enjoy this bonus short episode.

Today, Emma and Sara take on a different kind of question that left them with far more questions - this listener's neighbour stole their plants from their yard, and is looking for advice on whether to steal them back! Your hosts comment on the oddity of this behaviour, with Emma suggesting a rational and responsible way to address it and Sara offering a much more petty solution. (Surprisingly, Sara manages to get through the episode without commenting on how this problem ties back to the development of individual property rights.)

This episode forms part 2 of a two-part series on friendship (part 1 is "Birthday Cards and Letting Go of an Old Friend"). In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener asking how to gently and honestly break up a platonic relationship. Emma brings up a recent topic of interest, the HR-ification of friendship, and Sara notes that we have very few well-defined cultural norms about friendships and how they end. In true #Yukon fashion, your hosts' recording session in Sara's camper is interrupted by a raven! We also discussed this hour's main character on the Internet, Jonah Hill, and the use of therapy speak in friendships.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a senior who is wondering whether it is time to let go of an old friendship that has become unbalanced and is leaving the listener feeling resentful. Your hosts discuss how different people show up in their friendships, greeting cards, and how access to transportation and technology can affect our friendships as we age. This is a two-part episode series on friendship; our next episode will discuss ways to respectfully let go of a friend.

In this episode, Emma and Sara answer a question from a listener who wonders why they now hate Saturdays as the primary parent to two children, aged 5 and 2, even though they are good at self-care and have a helpful spouse. In their response, your hosts dig into feminist philosophy and psychology theory, along with their experience as mothers to children that same age.

In this episode, Emma and Sara included a special guest, Michelle Friesen. Michelle is Yukon First Nations whose family is from the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, the first Indigenous city councillor in Whitehorse in 30 years, a mother and a mountain biker and we were so pleased to have her on our show to answer a question about speaking up (even when it's scary!), power dynamics, and representation in leadership. Thank you, Michelle!

In this episode, Emma and Sara tackle two questions about how to deepen adult friendships, touching on the concepts of a friend hierarchy, the commodification of friendship, intentionality in relationships, and the effects of social media on modern friendships.