These Podcasts Help Us Understand: Blended Families Come in Different Forms
By Robin Breuner
No Two Blended Families Look the Same
Blended families come in many varieties. Sharing stories and experiences from stepmothers, stepfathers, stepdaughters and stepsons, and putting them out into the world is my goal with StepStories. Creating a community to share ideas and to realize how many other people have had similar successes or challenges makes people feel less alone. Blended families can also come in the form of adoptions, foster kids, extended family, and even creating a family of people who’ve been estranged from their own birth families. Having grown up as a stepdaughter in more than one stepfamily, and as a mother who’s raised two kids, I’ve spent a great deal of my life discussing family dynamics and how we navigate these, sometimes challenging, relationships.
What I’ve learned is that just like blended families are ever-evolving, so is the way we define and adapt to them. I’m grateful to be able to put together a list of podcast episodes that have opened my eyes to so many different viewpoints in the step and blended family world.
Best Podcasts for Exploring Blended Families
There is no right or wrong way to “family,” and I believe that as we continue to share our stories, sometimes through podcasts, we will continue to find a way to grow together.
Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
Episode: NFL Running Back Ricky Watters: How Adoption Shaped My Life
Creating a Family is a podcast centered on parenting from the perspective of adoptive parents, foster parents, and kinship caregivers. I was drawn to this episode because of the Seahawks’ Rick Watters, but I stayed because of his inspiring story about how being adopted shaped his own journey as a parent. I was especially moved by his honesty in how even something as traumatic as learning you were adopted at nine can continue to shape you well into adulthood, including how you communicate and connect with your own children.
Blended Family Breakthrough
Episode: Stepparenting Takes Tow: How to Build Connection and Avoid Common Wrong Turns
I love the way that Mike and Kim record their episodes. They finish each other's sentences and their ideology feels like a seamless integration of both of their voices. It's almost like they co-parent their baby (the show itself). I especially loved the advice in this episode about building trust with children through experiences, not just words. They talk about creating “sweet spot moments,” and I can honestly say, from my own experience, those moments really do become the foundation for trust and connection.
Radical Stepmom
Episode: Holding space for the Mom when you’re the Fulltime Stepmom with guest, Carol
Christina really gets into the nitty-gritty of step-parenting, and I love that she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. In this episode, I appreciated Carol highlighting another side of being a good stepparent: showing up for your partner.
Yes, we show up for the children, but co-parenting, even when the biological parent is actively in the picture, can still feel like a full-time job. Carol’s story was especially unique because her husband had primary custody of his daughter when they met, so by their second date, Carol was already beginning to bond with her future stepdaughter. I love how her story shows her stepping in (not to replace anyone) but to become a real source of support for a single father and his child.
The Stepmom Diaries
Episode: Stepmom Boundaries with Teenagers: How to Connect Without Pushing Them Away with Mindy Kyle
I chose this episode because I understand how difficult it can be to connect with teens as a parent, and often even more so as a stepparent. Having been a stepchild as a teenager, I struggled to connect with my stepmothers many times. In this episode, Mindy Kyle, Certified Parenting with Purpose and Certified Stepfamily Coach, breaks down what’s really happening during the teen years — the way a stepparent shows up matters more than people realize.
Stepmomming Made Easy
Episode: You Can't Force It: What Research Says About Teen Stepkids with Dr. Todd Jensen
I chose this episode because of its topic, but also because of its guest, Dr. Todd Jensen, who I interviewed on my podcast. He really gets it when it comes to stepparent/teen relations. This episode focuses on why authenticity matters more than perfection, why being a disciplinarian might not be a stepparent’s domain, and how to create connection without forcing it. Dr. Jensen offers validation and science-backed guidance that can be put into effect right away!
Other Podcast Recommendations On This Topic (oldies but goodies):
All of my other episode selections have been wholesome and encouraging, but every now and again, I get tickled by a good old-fashioned cup…
If there’s one thing I know, it’s that family is layered
It stretches, it bends, it surprises us, and sometimes it asks more of us than we think we can give. But it also gives us opportunities to love bigger, listen better, and redefine what connection really means. I’m grateful for every story that helps to widen our understanding of what family can look like. Here’s to the stepparents, the stepkids, the chosen family, and to everyone building love and blending it for the best.
Discover Robin’s podcast
StepStories: Thriving and Surviving Life in Blended Families is a weekly podcast hosted by Robin Breuner. Through candid conversations with stepmothers, stepfathers, stepchildren, and siblings, the show explores the joys, challenges, and emotional complexities of blended family life. Each episode offers listeners a space for honesty, healing, and connection.