You’ve heard of the “ManFlu” — that mysterious illness that somehow hits men way harder than any woman could ever fathom. Well, we’re not handing out tissues. We’re here to talk about the real stuff underneath it: the disconnection, the imbalance, and how we can start to change it.The ManFlu is a metaphor we use to dig into something deeper: the cultural scripts, gender roles, and unspoken rules that keep men sidelined and leave women carrying more than their share of the mental and emotional load.Host Lucy McAfee has spent years studying how gender dynamics play out at home. As a wife and boy mom, she’s still working them out in her own family. Each week, The ManFlu brings together researchers, thinkers, and families themselves to explore emotional labor, modern partnerships, and how we raise more connected boys. Together, we examine why these patterns persist, how they affect families, and the practical shifts that build stronger partnerships today and help break old patterns for the next generation. You’ll leave each episode not just nodding along, but equipped with one small shift you can try at home.Join us to lighten the load and build a future where women and men can both show up as their whole selves. New episodes drop every Wednesday, follow the show so you don’t miss one. And share it with your friends, because no one should have to face the ManFlu epidemic alone.Follow Lucy on Instagram @lucypmcafee for more on gender dynamics, mental and emotional load, and raising boys who care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
PodSkip has analyzed 4 episodes of The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care, averaging 0.8 ads per episode (0% of runtime).
Be Their Safe Place: Raising Boys in Middle School | Kelly Wiethuchter
Oct 14, 2026
It’s 7:43 AM, her boys still aren’t out the door, and our guest is sipping her coffee and saying nothing. Middle school parenting asks you to step back right when every instinct tells you to step…
It's Not You, It's the Job Description: Navigating Maternal Burnout and Mom Guilt | Stacy McCann
Oct 07, 2026
You ask for help. He nods along. Next week looks exactly the same. If you've wondered how to talk to your husband about the mental load without it ending in tears or silence, this conversation is a…
Balanced, Not Equal: How Two Wives Share the Mental Load | Julia Markish & Krissa Lagos
Sep 30, 2026
Julia Markish sat at a dinner party while the women around her swapped stories about burnout and the mental load. She has a wife, so she couldn't relate. Still her first thought was a guilty one: Am…
Before It Had a Name: A Teacher of 30 Years on the Load, the Village, and What Changed for Boys
Sep 23, 2026
Long before mental load and maternal burnout were in our common vernacular, our guest this week had a moment that clearly illustrated them: rushing out the door for work, unable to find a glove, and…
The Manosphere and Our Boys: What It's Teaching Them, What We Can Do
Sep 16, 2026
The Manosphere doesn't need boys to go looking for it. Researchers who set up TikTok and YouTube accounts posing as teenage boys found it reached their feeds within 26 minutes, starting from nothing…
You Can't Do It All: Five Years Straight of Breastfeeding and the Reckoning at Home | Victoria Tice
Sep 09, 2026
Some women carry the mental load in marriage so quietly that even their own husbands don't see it happening.Host Lucy McAfee sits down with Victoria Tice, a copywriter and birth doula. Victoria has…
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“You’re Just a Housewife”: Recognizing the Value of Making a House a Home | Lori Sugarman-Li
Sep 02, 2026
What is a life spent caring for a family worth? Our guest learned an insurer's answer the day it reduced hers to three words: just a housewife. The work of making a house a home can hold enormous…
"Did I Agree to This Rule?": Ditching Impossible Standards for Working Parents | Jess Weisz
Aug 26, 2026
Do you ever get to the end of the day, a day where you genuinely never stopped moving, and still feel like you somehow failed? That feeling usually isn't proof that you fell short. It's proof that…
That Village Everyone Talks About: How to Actually Build Yours | Jessica Hill
Aug 19, 2026
Everyone tells new parents it takes a village. Nobody mentions that making mom friends as an adult is genuinely hard and can feel more like dating: is it weird to ask for her number? Do I look like a…
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Before We Lose Their Attention: Raising Boys in a World of Screens | Julie Messer
Aug 12, 2026
Connection isn't something boys lack. It's something that gets nurtured, at the dinner table, on the drive home, in all the small moments in between. And right now, screens are competing for too many…
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He Googled 'How to Be a Great Husband': Now He's the Expert Your Marriage Needs | Brian Page
Aug 05, 2026
Our guest today irons his wife's clothes before putting them away, not because she asked, but because he understands that protecting her time is part of what providing means. This episode is about…
Don't Let Go First: Friendship, Motherhood, and Raising Boys | Sarah Koopmann
Aug 05, 2026
There's a specific grief a lot of boy moms feel but isn't often said out loud. It's one Sarah Koopmann and Lucy McAfee both know well, and after years of Lucy turning to Sarah for boy-mom wisdom…
A Case of the ManFlu: Women Carrying It All, Men Missing Out
Aug 05, 2026
When boys grow up in a world where caring isn't expected of them, they become men who don't realize what they're missing.In the first episode of The ManFlu, host Lucy McAfee traces her thinking back…
The ManFlu - Trailer
Jul 22, 2026
You’ve heard of the “ManFlu” — that mysterious illness that somehow hits men way harder than any woman could ever fathom. Well, we’re not handing out tissues. We’re here to talk about the real stuff…
