The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care

About The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care

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 (https://instagram.com/lucypmcafee) for more on gender dynamics, mental and emotional load, and raising boys who care. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Lucy McAfee

Category

education · kids & family · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

22 Jul 2026

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

7 of 11 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Before It Had a Name: A Teacher of 30 Years on the Load, the Village, and What Changed for Boys

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews her mother, retired teacher Eileen Goeke, about generational motherhood, building community, and observing shifts in boys' development over 30 years.

2. 

   16 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Manosphere and Our Boys: What It's Teaching Them, What We Can Do

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews listeners about the manosphere's harmful influence on boys, offering strategies to foster healthy masculinity and open communication.

3. 

   9 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   You Can't Do It All: Five Years Straight of Breastfeeding and the Reckoning at Home | Victoria Tice

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews copywriter and birth doula Victoria Tice about navigating partnership, the mental load, and equitable home responsibilities after five years of breastfeeding.

4. 

   2 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   “You’re Just a Housewife”: Recognizing the Value of Making a House a Home | Lori Sugarman-Li

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews family systems strategist Lori Sugarman-Li about valuing household labor and raising boys to share care work.

5. 

   26 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   "Did I Agree to This Rule?": Ditching Impossible Standards for Working Parents | Jess Weisz

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews Jess Weisz, creator of Rule Breaker, about ditching impossible standards and finding enoughness for working parents.

6. 

   19 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   That Village Everyone Talks About: How to Actually Build Yours | Jessica Hill

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews Jessica Hill, founder and CEO of The Parent Collective, about building a supportive village as a new mom and fostering fairer partnerships.

7. 

   12 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Before We Lose Their Attention: Raising Boys in a World of Screens | Julie Messer

   Host Lucy McAfee interviews licensed marriage and family therapist Julie Messer about nurturing boys' emotional connection amidst screen distractions to foster empathy and presence.

8. 

   5 Aug 2026

   He Googled 'How to Be a Great Husband': Now He's the Expert Your Marriage Needs | Brian Page

   Lucy McAfee interviews Brian Page, founder of Modern Husbands, exploring how to build true marital partnership by taking ownership of domestic tasks and protecting your partner's time.

9. 

   5 Aug 2026

   Don't Let Go First: Friendship, Motherhood, and Raising Boys | Sarah Koopmann

   Lucy McAfee interviews HR executive Sarah Koopmann about navigating boy-mom grief and raising emotionally connected sons.

10. 

    5 Aug 2026

    A Case of the ManFlu: Women Carrying It All, Men Missing Out

    Host Lucy McAfee explores how societal scripts leave women overwhelmed and men disconnected, offering insights into raising boys who care and rebalancing household labor.

11. 

    22 Jul 2026

    The ManFlu - Trailer

    Host Lucy McAfee interviews experts exploring the "ManFlu" metaphor to understand gender dynamics, emotional labor, and raising boys for stronger partnerships.

Inside a recent episode

Before It Had a Name: A Teacher of 30 Years on the Load, the Village, and What Changed for Boys

Published 23 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And then from 88 on through my eternity, I retired in 2017. Okay. So 30 some odd years math by idea. You didn't teach math and it's not my strong suit either. So we'll just estimate that. So... If you look at that span, what do you think about the boys was still the same, feels different from the beginning to end? Are there any changes that you can point to? The bulk of my teaching was high school. And so when I taught in Clinton County, which is a small town area, It was definitely known what the boys deal at school was and what the girls were supposed to do. Most boys still at that time knew what the expectations were for them. they knew that they probably would follow in dad's footsteps and work at the, in the dairy farm, or they knew that they work at the farm or work in the factory, or even if their dad did an outside kind of job or a plumber electrician, they would follow that. […]

Who has been a guest on The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Eileen Goeke
• Victoria Tice
• Lori Sugarman-Li
• Jess Weisz
• Jessica Hill

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

46 ratings

Pitching The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting pitches.

Questions about The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care