We (attempt to) discuss the purpose and history of education. Jordan starts off the episode giving some book club updates and a recap of the latest Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing held about kids and screens. Helen and Jordan discuss the funny differences in their approach to “doing things.” Jordan often dives in immediately, and Helen takes more time to think it through. Most recently, Jordan created a technology survey to gather parent feedback regarding concerns with personal devices and school devices. She discusses an analogy about how smoking was once accepted (or at least permitted) in many places, including schools, and now the same is true with smartphones. Both are health-harming and both have secondhand effects. As Helen gives her first report on her “Introduction to Education in the United States” course, she teaches us all what a “snow squall” is after experiencing her first one! On the first day of class, Helen asked her students, “What is the purpose of education?” Jordan attempts to answer this in one word or short phrase and (not surprisingly) answers with many words. Helen discusses the latest Brookings Report on AI in education then shares about her current work-in-progress: creating a video series regarding disciplinary AI literacy and educator identity.

A new direction for students in an AI world

Jordan shares about her local TV news interview experience and how the segment disappointingly did not end up airing. (At the time of this episode release, the segment has aired.) Our conversation about a new global initiative called OFF February leads to the mutual agreement that Jordan writes emails that are far too long. Jordan shares about her first book club meeting reading Jean Twenge’s 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World and how it was a fantastic experience. Helen is gearing up for the first week of a new semester, teaching “Introduction to Education in the United States,” and in her recent state of “antsiness,” she took her daughter to the Peoria Zoo and then the fantastic Peoria Playhouse. We then dive into a Facebook history lesson; both our personal histories with the platform and the history of the company now rebranded as Meta. Jordan’s Facebook origin story goes back to the year THE Facebook was created in 2004, and Helen signed up a few years later in 2008. We each share various posts (both humorous and cringe-worthy) that we discovered in our deep dives. One memory Jordan forgot is that she had met Dierks Bentley--who is apparently a country musician--while at Ball State University. We then share about our differences in how we handle our Facebook “friends.”

Scrolling2Death, The Heat is On: https://www.scrolling2death.com/heat

We are so excited to be back for SEASON TWO of Millennial Mom Thoughts! Our holiday breaks were filled with travel, thoughtful gifts from our husbands, goal setting, and even a podcast retreat held at the former home of the Awesome Blossom aka Chili’s. And in case you haven’t been to Chili’s in a while, spoiler alert: they no longer have any fried onion appetizers. But don’t fret-- Helen can attest to the tastiness of their veggie burger. Make sure to check out our Instagram account because we now have a link to an online store called Bonfire, where you can purchase the coolest MMT sweatshirts, t-shirts, coffee mugs, and tumblers ever! Helen and Jordan each share how it was slightly strange to sit across from each other and have a face-to-face conversation despite talking to each other literally every week. We give a brief preview of what our next episode will be: our history with and the history of Facebook. Jordan shares a new adventure of starting up a book club for Jean Twenge’s 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. We talk about Helen’s history with dance and her secret dream of being discovered. And Jordan is so excited to learn more about Helen’s plans for her upcoming course about the history of education. Naturally, we close the episode with a story of how Jordan was once accused of having a fake name.

We kick off the final episode of Season 1 by discussing the recent social media restriction that Australia enacted for kids under the age of 16. We draw parallels from the social media age restriction to how the U.S. has driving, drinking, and voting ages. Prompted by a a school drop-off line conversation Jordan had with a mom listener, we then reflect on the range of topics we have discussed over the first season. Jordan then shares some books that she is currently reading. After discussing a point from Screen Damage about how sleep is more than rest but is analogous to the supermarket being closed at night for cleaning and reorganizing, Helen breaks out into “The Supermarket Shuffle” tune from elementary school music class. Jordan shares a recent family decision to opt her kindergartener out of using the iPad at school. Helen reflects over the past semester of teaching multiple courses, including both successes and frustrations. For the spring semester, Helen will now be teaching a course at ISU about the history of education in the United States. We are grateful for the ability to share what matters to us over the past 22 weeks with our listeners and wish a happy holidays to all and to all a good night!

We’ll catch you on the flippity flip in 2026!!

Helen couldn’t hear out of one ear and Jordan lost her voice, so ‘tis the season to talk about gifts (while doing our best to hold back coughs)! We start off by reflecting on the meaningful discussion that happened after the latest community film screening of Can’t Look Away. Jordan then shared a concerning discovery in her segment called: Social media is terrible and here is the evidence. After creating an account posing as a 14-year-old girl, Pinterest’s algorithm instantly (literally in under 30 seocnds) fed her drug, sexually graphic, eating disorder, and other inappropriate content. We then jump into sharing an AI Toys Advisory from FairPlayForKids.org. Helen then discusses her concerns about her students using AI and demonstrating a lack of confidence in their own writing voices. We then dive into some of our Christmas gift plans for this year as well as our favorite childhood gift memories. Jordan and Helen then end by detailing their latest professional adventures: screen-free community busy bags and an international working group on disciplinary AI literacy.

For our TWENTIETH episode we are excited to be bringing on our very first guest, Kaitlan Finn! Sadly poor Helen was absent for this one thanks to a bummer winter illness. Kaitlan is a former Speech-Language Pathologist who lives in Palatine, IL, and has taken on the role of Illinois team lead for the Distraction Free Schools Project. The Distraction Free Schools Project is an initiative jointly led by the Becca Schmill Foundation and Smartphone Free Childhood US. We talk about the 3 proposed bills about cell phones, social media, and education technology in schools. And we share how we are both learning about the legislative process along the way! Understandably so, safety is often brought up when cell phone bans are talked about, and we discuss how the National Association of School Resource Officers have come out in support of school cell phone bans. Kaitlan also talks about her family’s technology use at home and shares how her high schooler goes to school *gasp* without any phone all day long and still has a social life! It was so fun to add a new voice into our show and we look forward to more guests in 2026!

We’re kicking off the holiday season by sharing memories from our childhood travel experiences as well as sharing current travel strategies with our own kids. And thanks to our talented podcast music director (aka Brian Spicklemire) we have a new holiday twist to our theme song! Helen starts by sharing some updates and corrections from earlier episodes. Jordan introduces her new segment called: Social media is terrible and here is the evidence. The evidence this week is thanks to a Time.com article detailing how Meta has a “’17x’ strike policy for accounts that reportedly engaged in the ‘trafficking of humans for sex.’” Helen & Jordan then reflect on some memorable (see also: harrowing) childhood travel experiences. We then talk road trip snacks, games to play in the car, dealing with boredom, some tips & tricks, and travel lessons we’ve learned along the way. We hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! PS, don’t buy AI toys—they are telling children how to light matches, where to find knives and having sexually explicit conversations with them.

When you have your own podcast, you can make your own rules -- and Helen decided to make a rule that when it’s your birthday, you get to celebrate by being asked a bunch of questions. So that’s exactly what we’re doing for episode 18! We kick things off with Helen sharing about her latest running endeavors. Jordan (while filled with rage) then shares an update (or lack thereof) to the apparently never-ending deck project that has spanned longer than a marching band season. Jordan also shares the latest updates for the next Can’t Look Away film screening. Helen then gets asked an extremely random list of questions covering a wide range of topics: driving, music, food, education, marriage, reading, dodgeball, and more! It’s a silly, sometimes serious but an overall fun conversation. So enjoy getting to know Helen, the birthday girl, a little better for her birthday episode!