Episodes

Sarah welcomes back former social media executive turned digital safety advocate Nicki Petrossi to break down the latest Meta settlement.

Technology has changed dramatically in just a few years, but has our approach to parenting kids online kept up? This week on Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public and Screenwise, for a nuanced conversation about raising kids in an increasingly connected, tracked, and AI-powered world. Devorah explains why the explosion of generative AI has created new challenges for families, particularly as chatbots increasingly simulate friendship and emo...

Sarah sits down with Emily Cherkin for a conversation about the rapid expansion of EdTech in schools.

Back-to-school season used to mean pencils, notebooks and maybe a new pair of shoes. Now, open TikTok or YouTube and you can find kids displaying hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars worth of clothes, makeup, skincare and accessories in elaborate “back-to-school hauls.” But this episode isn't really about one teenager with a pile of shopping bags, it's about the culture we've created around our kids. In this solo episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah explores the growing intersection of chi...

Sarah speaks with Dr. Jess Maddox about what parasocial relationships actually are, why they are not inherently harmful and how social media has intensified them by making interactions with creators feel increasingly reciprocal.

What does it cost to build a platform around motherhood when your identity, marriage and parenting choices are constantly open to public debate? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah speaks with Renee Reina, creator and host of The Mom Room, about the changing world of motherhood content and what it means to build a community while being publicly perceived. Renee explains how the isolation of 2020 inspired her to begin creating honest, comedic content about default parenting, marriage an...

Video games are often treated as one more screen to limit, a source of family conflict or a threat to children’s well-being. But what if parents are asking the wrong questions about gaming? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah speaks with Dr. Rachel Kowert and Arana Shapiro from Games for Change about how families can approach video games with less fear, more curiosity and better information. Their new white paper, Raising Good Gamers: What Families Need to Know About Video Games and We...

Sarah sits down with Mallory DeMille to examine how wellness influencers build trust, spread misinformation and turn parental anxiety into profit.

Ray-Ban Meta glasses are being sold as stylish, convenient and increasingly inevitable. But when an ordinary-looking pair of glasses can record the people around you, who is responsible for consent, and who carries the risk? In this solo episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah examines the growing normalization of camera-enabled smart glasses and why parents should be paying attention. Unlike a phone held up to record, smart glasses can remove the social cues that tell us a camera is present, leavi...

What happens when a child’s disability, diagnosis, medical journey, or private care needs become content online? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah Adams is joined by author, speaker, content creator, and disability advocate Sarah Todd Hammer for an honest conversation about disability representation, social media visibility, and the ethics of parents sharing their children’s lives online. After acquiring a spinal cord injury from acute flaccid myelitis at age eight, Sarah Todd began ...

Sarah is joined by Dr. Jeremy Alland to unpack the professionalization of childhood sports

What happens when a child is raised as content, and then grows up in front of the same audience that watched her childhood unfold? In this episode, Sarah is joined by investigative journalist Kat Tenbarge, author of Spitfire News, for an important conversation about kidfluencer culture, creator exploitation, parasocial audiences, and the attention economy shaping the next generation. Kat has spent years reporting on internet culture, influencer abuse, online harassment, and the systems that tu...

What are kids actually struggling with today? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with school counselor, speaker, and digital safety advocate Nate Webb to discuss what he's seeing firsthand in schools and communities across the country. From anxiety and social media to group chats, pornography, AI chatbots, boredom, resilience, and the growing pressure facing young people, Nate shares practical advice for parents trying to navigate childhood in an increasingly digital world. ...

If you've ever felt like the digital world is changing faster than parents can keep up, this episode is for you. In this solo episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah breaks down some of the headlines that caught her attention recently and explains why they matter for families raising kids in a connected world. From a new form of cyberbullying known as "lunch shaming" to major lawsuits against social media companies, evolving protections for children featured in influencer content, and growing conc...

If you've ever wondered when to have "the talk," how to answer difficult questions about sex and relationships, or how to prepare your child for a world where pornography, social media, and AI are only a click away, this episode is for you. In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with sex educator and content creator Kathleen Hema for an honest conversation about one of the most intimidating parts of parenting: talking to our kids about sex, consent, body safety, relationships, an...

Sarah sits down with Rob Minnick of ODAAT Gambling Awareness to unpack the growing gambling epidemic affecting young people today.

If you’ve ever looked at your feed and thought “Something feels… off” this episode is for you. In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with media producer and AI analyst Jeremy Carrasco to unpack the rapidly growing presence of AI-generated content online and why so many parents feel overwhelmed trying to navigate it. From deepfakes and AI influencers to disturbing algorithmic pipelines and AI chatbots designed to simulate emotional connection, Jeremy explains how artificial inte...

What happens when reality TV fame collides with influencer culture, motherhood, and the growing conversation around children’s privacy online? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with former reality star Cortney Hendrix to unpack the reality TV-to-influencer pipeline, the hidden pressures of content culture, and why she ultimately chose not to share her children online. Drawing from her firsthand experience on Married at First Sight, Cortney opens up about navigating sudden i...

Sarah sits down with cybersecurity expert, educator, and survivor of online grooming Fareedah Shaheed.

Sarah speaks with Cat & Nat; the creators of The Common Parent and the Screen Sense Guide. We talk about what modern parenting actually looks like when your kids are growing up online.

Journalist and author Fortesa Latifi returns to unpack what she uncovered while researching her new book, ⁠“Like, Follow, Subscribe”.⁠

Host Sarah Adams explores how parents can tell family and friends not to post their children online without damaging relationships and setting clear, respectful boundaries.

This episode is sponsored by Proton Mail and their Born Private Campaign, which allows parents to reserve a private email address for their child before they’re even online- offering a way to give children a more protected digital starting point, before tracking and profiling begin. Your kids deserve privacy before the internet decides otherwise. Give them a clean digital start by reserving a Proton Mail email for just $1 at proton.me/momuncharted and share this with a friend who needs to hear i...

What are therapists seeing behind closed doors when it comes to boys, screens, and the internet? In this episode of Parents Uncharted, Sarah sits down with licensed therapist, parenting coach, and founder of Project LookUp, Tessa Stuckey, to talk about the growing impact of digital culture on young people’s mental health. Drawing from years of working directly with teens and families, Tessa shares what she began noticing in her therapy practice long before the conversation went mainstream: ris...