The sounds of motherhood: Mediating ‘motherwhelm’ in ZigZag

Abstract

Applying the work of affect theorists and feminist scholars to sound studies, I suggest, permits scholars to appreciate podcasting’s representation of the gendered soundscape of maternity. In this article, I analyse several recent female-hosted, NPR-influenced podcasts that give voice to the complications and contradictions of working motherhood. The podcast ZigZag vividly depicts the emotional labour of entrepreneurship, of balancing working and mothering and of doing so in a neo-liberal feminist framework. Through an in-depth study of the audio work of Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant in Note to Self and ZigZag (2018–present), I examine how these podcasts speak to contemporary challenges balancing creative media work, maternity and entrepreneurialism. Paying attention to the varied sounds of maternity offered by podcasts in this elite habitus vividly depicts the power of ‘motherwhelm’ in pandemic-era culture and complicates the community empowerment ethos assumed of podcasts.