No Bras Required

About No Bras Required

No Bras Required is your permission slip to let it all hang out - literally and figuratively. Hosted by business owners, moms, and besties Patti and Meghan, this podcast is where business, family, and messy real life collide. From dance studio drama and parenting fails to those "I cannot believe that just happened" moments, nothing is off-limits. You'll get practical tips, hilarious stories, and the kind of honest conversation you'd have with your girlfriends over coffee… or tequila. So pour yourself a drink, toss your bra on the floor, and tune in every Friday for a big-sister style chat that reminds you you're not alone in the juggle.

Publisher

Meghan Retseck & Patti Johnston

Category

business · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

22 Sept 2025

Latest episode

16 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

59 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Oct 2026

   58. Finding Joy When the World Feels Like a Dumpster Fire

   Is It Just Us, or Has the Entire World Lost Its Damn Mind? Have you ever opened your phone first thing in the morning and somehow managed to absorb a political argument, a global crisis, somebody else's drama, a parenting warning, a celebrity scandal and a sourdough recipe before you've even brushed your teeth? Yep. Us too. And honestly, we're tired. In this episode of No Bras Required, Patti and Meghan are talking about what happens when the sheer amount of information, outrage, opinions and bad news coming at us starts to feel like too much. Because we're still supposed to run our businesses, raise decent humans, remember everyone's birthdays, drink enough water, get our steps in and somehow answer the eternal question... "What's for dinner?" So how do we stay informed without becoming emotionally consumed? How do we care about what's happening in the world without carrying all of it around with us? And how do we give ourselves permission to laugh, have fun and actually enjoy our lives when other people are struggling? This one gets real. We talk about: Why we're consuming more information than our brains were ever designed to process. How algorithms can keep feeding us more and more of whatever grabs our attention. The difference between caring about something and being emotionally consumed by it. Why we don't have to turn every disagreement into a cage match. How social media has changed the way we disagree, debate and treat complete strangers. The importance of teaching our kids respectful disagreement while actually modelling it ourselves. Why "you never know what someone is going through" doesn't mean poor behaviour gets a free pass. The "pit of doom" and why a good friend throws you a ladder instead of climbing in with you. Why we need to stop postponing joy until the world is magically okay. How small moments of fun, laughter and connection can be incredibly important when life feels heavy. Five simple ways to bring a little more perspective, connection and joy into your week. And yes, there are also arguments about marshmallows, hot dogs, phones at dinner, empty milk cartons, printer ink and the never-ending question of what's for dinner. Because apparently that's how we process the state of the world. This week's gentle challenge Pay attention to the good. Look for the people doing the right thing. Be one of those people. And for the love of everything holy, find something to laugh about. Preferably with someone who makes you laugh so hard you nearly pee your pants. Because the world might be a dumpster fire, but you don't have to throw all of your joy into it. Take off the bra. Put on the stretchy pants. Call your best friend. We'll see you there.

2. 

   9 Oct 2026

   57. Lauren Ritchie on the Coachability of Today's Kids

   What does it actually mean for a kid to be coachable? Because, spoiler alert, it doesn't necessarily mean they're quiet, obedient, or willing to do exactly what they're told. In this episode, we're joined by the brilliant Lauren Ritchie, a mindset and mental skills educator, speaker, choreographer and teacher, for a big, honest conversation about raising kids who can take feedback, work through frustration, own their mistakes and keep going when things get hard. And honestly, this conversation went ALL over the place in the best possible way. We talked about dance, parenting, education, studio culture, social media, boundaries, goal setting, difficult conversations, and why sometimes the best thing we can do for our kids is… not fix the problem for them. Lauren challenges the old-school idea that being coachable means compliance or submission. Instead, she describes a genuinely coachable dancer as someone who is open, curious, willing to reflect, adapt and take ownership. And then there's the flower analogy. Every correction is a flower. You can ignore it. You can take it and shove it in your dance bag. Or you can actually put it in water, give it sunlight and take care of it. We LOVE this one. A few things we unpack: 🌸 Coachable doesn't mean compliant. Being coachable isn't about becoming a robot who blindly follows instructions. It's about being open enough to ask questions, understand the why and actually use the feedback. 🌸 Connect before you correct. Kids are much more able to learn, grow and receive feedback when they feel safe, seen and connected to the adult in the room. 🌸 Your teacher doesn't have to be your best friend. There can be warmth, kindness and respect while still maintaining professional boundaries. In fact, those boundaries can make the coaching relationship stronger. 🌸 Feedback isn't a judgement of your worth. A correction is about something you can work on. It isn't evidence that you're bad at dancing, that you don't belong or that your teacher doesn't like you. 🌸 Stop rescuing kids from every uncomfortable feeling. Frustration, disappointment and struggle aren't automatically problems to solve. Sometimes they're part of the learning process. 🌸 Goals aren't magic wishes. Wanting a skill is only the beginning. Real goal setting involves monitoring, consistency, benchmarks, obstacles, adjustments and doing the boring broccoli work in between. 🌸 Parents can support without becoming the coach. Instead of immediately jumping in to fix the problem, try asking, "What are your options?" or "What could you ask your teacher to understand this better?" 🌸 Culture doesn't happen by accident. If we want coachable kids, resilient dancers and healthy studio communities, the adults have to model those things too. And perhaps one of our favourite reminders from the episode: "I care about who they are, not what they do." Because yes, we'd love the turns, the flexibility, the tricks and the beautiful routines. But we're raising humans first. And for the parents… If your child comes home frustrated about feedback, your first job doesn't have to be fixing it. You can listen. You can validate that it felt hard. You can give them a hug. And then, when they're ready, you can get curious together about what comes next. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can say is: "I'm on your team. Let's figure this out." And Lauren's other very important life advice? Do not trust an emotion after 9 p.m. Honestly, put that one on a T-shirt. 😂

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   56. What Are We Doing To Our Women

   From First Crushes to Consent: The Conversations Our Kids Need From Us It started with a pretty innocent conversation about first boyfriends, school dances and the very different ways kids navigate crushes these days. And then, as these conversations tend to do, it got a whole lot deeper. Because underneath the giggles about junior high crushes and kids walking around in circles at school dances is a much bigger question: What are we actually teaching our kids about relationships, respect, sex, consent and the value of women? In this episode, Patty and Megan head into some uncomfortable territory, but it's territory we think is too important to avoid. They talk about the conversations many families don't have until something has already gone wrong, the influence of music, movies, celebrities and public figures, the culture of bystanding, women's healthcare and safety, and why boys and men have an important role to play in changing the conversation. It's a heavier episode, but it's also a really important one. Because our kids are learning all the time. The question is, who are they learning from? In this episode, we talk about: 💕 First crushes, first boyfriends and the surprisingly hilarious world of junior high dating. 💃 How school dances have changed, and why Patty has some very strong opinions about slow dancing. 🗣️ Why conversations about sex, relationships, consent and feelings shouldn't only happen after something goes wrong. 📱 How social media can quickly turn harmless crushes into something much more inappropriate. 👀 The power of modelling, and what kids absorb from music, movies, celebrities, politicians and the adults around them. 🚨 Why bystander culture matters, and why staying silent when something isn't right can have serious consequences. 👩⚕️ Women's healthcare, reproductive rights and the difficult position doctors can find themselves in when legislation conflicts with medical care. 🔑 The exhausting reality of the safety precautions women are taught from a young age. 🙋♂️ Why boys and men need to be part of the solution, including learning about enthusiastic consent and calling out inappropriate behaviour. ❤️ The difference between genuine faith, love and compassion, and using religion or culture as a tool to control or divide people. One thing we'd love you to take away Our kids don't just learn from the conversations we deliberately sit down and have with them. They learn from what they see. They learn from what we laugh at. They learn from what we ignore. They learn from how we talk about women, relationships, bodies, consent and power. So maybe the conversation doesn't need to wait until there's a problem. Maybe it starts now. Grab your coffee, your comfy pants, or whatever gets you through the day, and come have the conversation with us. And as always, we welcome respectful discussion. These are big topics, and none of us has every answer. Listen to the episode now and tell us what you think.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

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Guest appearances

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