About this episode

Ophira Eisenberg interviews humor writer Johanna Gohmann about parenting, astrology, and her new book.

On this episode of Parenting Is a Joke, Ophira Eisenberg sits down with humor writer Johanna Gohmann to talk about raising a teenage son while building a comedy writing career that includes pieces in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and The Wall Street Journal—and the release of her new parenting book, All Toddlers Are Scorpios (out April 7). Gohmann, a self-described astrology skeptic, explains how she researched zodiac lore to frame toddlers as tiny tyrants written in the stars—while admitting she’s a Sagittarius married to one and still not convinced any of it tracks. She shares what it’s like parenting her 13-year-old son, who is on the autism spectrum and currently obsessed with writing fake obituaries, navigating middle school graduation photos that made her cry, and growing up as an only child with two hovering creative parents. The conversation veers into her years living in Dublin after a one-night-stand-turned-marriage to her Northern Irish husband, how not being legally allowed to work unexpectedly jumpstarted her writing life, and why gray Irish summers require fires in August. Gohmann revisits the Moth StorySLAM win where she told the now-legendary story of mistaking…

People in this episode

Host: Ophira Eisenberg

Guest: Johanna Gohmann

Topics covered

• parenting
• comedy
• astrology
• autism
• grief
• writing

Keywords

• parenting
• astrology
• comedy
• autism
• writing
• grief
• toddlers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, The Wall Street Journal

Books & works: All Toddlers Are Scorpios

Places: Dublin, Arby’s

More episodes of Parenting is a Joke

• The Parent Trap with Ahri Findling · April 21, 2026 · 35 min
• Ahri Findling is An Emotional Support Dad · April 14, 2026 · 46 min
• Laurie Kilmartin Parents From the Green Room · April 7, 2026 · 41 min
• Good Mom, Bad Puppy with Ashley Austin Morris · March 31, 2026 · 48 min
• Writing Horoscopes for Tiny Terrors with Johanna Gohmann · March 24, 2026 · 41 min
• Raising Responsible Subway Riders with Gideon Evans · March 10, 2026 · 38 min

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