Show Notes
Award-winning playwright and actress Lolita Chakrabarti explains how the unpredictable, last-minute demands of freelance work can clash with raising young children, who rely on routine. She highlights how important it is for parents to receive recognition and encouragement, and shares her own journey—from feeling unable to admit she struggled with childcare to learning to be kinder to herself.
A Few Things I've Learnt is a podcast for when parenting gets hard and you're in need of some soothing words. Every guest answers the same three questions:
• What’s been the toughest challenge you’ve faced as a parent? • What did you learn about yourself? • What soothing words do you wish you’d heard at the time?
Across 32 seven-minute episodes, the podcast offers an audio library of wisdom and comfort for parents — no advice, no answers, just lived experience.
LINKS: @lolita.chakrabarti https://www.lolitachakrabarti.com/
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Executive Producers: Sophie Powling and Abby Hollick Music: Joseph Benoliel Artwork: Tania Estevez
Get in touch: [email protected] or [email protected] Follow us on Instagram and Substack: @a_few_things_ive_learnt and afewthingsivelearnt.substack.com
More from a few things i've learnt
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Newman (Wreck, Sandwich) reflects on three questions:
DJ, broadcaster and writer Annie Macmanus, explains why she decided to leave her successful radio show at BBC Radio 1 to focus on family time and how she came to understand that there is something feminist about being able to make choices for yourself.
British comedian Ria Lina (Mock the Week, Pointless) reveals what she has learnt from being an autistic mum raising neurodivergent children. She shares the realisation that standing up for her kids was not always helpful for them.
English poet and author Hollie McNish recalls the difficulty she felt when explaining death to her child as a non-religious parent. From visiting the sick person in hospital, to the death and beyond, there are many stages of questions that are hard to answer.
Playwright and screenwriter Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Enola Holmes and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) recalls the pain of leaving his young son at school, when his son would cling to him, upset by the sudden rejection. To navigate those mornings, they invented a secret code, turning the walk to school into a shared adventure that allowing them to cope with the world.