About this episode

Holly Rizzuto Palker discusses the intersection of parenting and creativity with host Ophira Eisenberg.

Holly Rizzuto Palker joins host Ophira Eisenberg for a conversation about building a creative career while raising three kids, and why modern parenting can feel like an unpaid administrative job with impossible software. From comparing overflowing inboxes, Schoology confusion, and the endless stream of school newsletters to reminiscing about Holly’s childhood helping her mother run Brooklyn Gymboree locations, they connect the invisible labor of parenting with the work of performing, writing, and creating community through comedy. Holly reflects on leaving Los Angeles acting behind to start a family, following her husband’s legal career to London, and eventually realizing that motherhood and performance were never mutually exclusive. The conversation wanders through raising children in England, returning to New Jersey only to discover that "proper" school clothes had been replaced by Justice sparkles and sweatpants, surviving Singapore Math by drawing spiders instead of solving equations, and questioning whether iPads, AI, and the Common App have made childhood and education unnecessarily complicated. Throughout, Holly’s unmistakable Staten Island voice and Ophira’s own stories…

People in this episode

Host: Ophira Eisenberg

Guest: Holly Rizzuto Palker

Topics covered

• parenting
• comedy
• creative careers
• education
• family life
• modern challenges

Keywords

• parenting
• comedy
• creative career
• education
• family
• Gymboree
• modern parenting
• Singapore Math

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gymboree

Places: London, New Jersey, Singapore

More episodes of Parenting is a Joke

• Blended Religions with Holly Rizzuto-Palker · July 21, 2026 · 31 min
• Lizzie and Wendy Molyneux Trust Weird Kids · July 7, 2026 · 26 min
• Jo Piazza Sees Through the Trad Wife Dream · June 30, 2026 · 44 min
• The Automatic Family with Mike Albo · June 23, 2026 · 42 min
• Mike Albo Deserves to be a Daddy · June 16, 2026 · 46 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Parenting is a Joke podcast page.