Share

Ready or Not
Horny lit, cancel culture and internet pile-ons | The Low Battery Book Club (November)
Welcome back to The Low Battery Book Club, a bonus monthly three-parter in collaboration with Charley from Book Smut, where we consume way too much culture and talk way too much trash. If you need to play catch up on the first episode of this series, you can find it here.
On the show today:
- We share our favourite recs of the month (something old, something new, something high, something low)
- We deep dive The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done by Clare Stephens, talking pile-ons, cancel culture, phone addictions and the tension between our private and public lives.
- Plus, we talk all things smutty, horny reading – Charley gives us the stats on the rise of the dragon porn genre and what to read next if you need more libido stirring reads.
- We pick our December book club pick and land on the extra books we promise to read before we meet again.
And here’s our ‘something old, something new, something high, something low’ for November…
Charley:
Old favourite: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
New: CANNOT WAIT for The Mushroom Tapes (Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper, Sarah Krasnostein) and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Nov 13, Rose Byrne, Conan O’Brien)
High: Ghost Cities by Siang Lu
Lowbrow but loving: Love is Blind
Lu:
Old: Re-watched The Family Stone in honour of Diane Keaton. Grab a tissue box and do yourselves a favour.
New (for her, anyway): Nymphet Alumni podcast. (Fave episodes: Magazine Girl & Fashion and Psychoanalysis w Dr Valerie Steele)
High(s):
In Vogue: The 90s – Disney, six episodes.
Sentimental Garbage’s episode on Diane Keaton, especially the excerpt at the end from her book ‘Then Again.’
The Pitt on HBO Max, finally watching and loving.
Low: Losing Jane Goodall AND Diane Keaton since we last recorded. RIP icons.
—
Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.
You can also find us on Instagram:
—
In this episode, we cover the below topics:
Clare Stephens, internet pile-ons, cancel culture, Diane Keaton, Jane Goodall books, book club, new movies, pop culture, sentimental garbage, Caroline O’Donoghue.
—
This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We Pay The Rent and you can too.
This month, Ready or Not is proudly brought to you by Yoto. Use our discount Code: READYORNOT15 for 15% off your Yoto device [not to be used with any other offer, valid from 1st May - 5th June.]
More episodes
View all episodes

Amy Poehler and the enneagram test
37:35|Welcome back! Coming up on today’s show: The second shift: both of us have two kids in one room and we’ve asked you, the listeners, for advice on bedtime routines, wind-down techniques and general sleep hacks. Amy Poehler’s obsession with enneagram led us to do our own personality tests. So, how well do we know ourselves?Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.
Is it ok to be one and done?
19:15|DEAR READY OR NOT: Is it okay to be one and done? Will extending mat leave hurt your career and are mums being unrealistic about money right now?Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.
Sharina Simnett on doing work and motherhood her way
40:16|Sharina Simnett has been one of the biggest supporters of Ready or Not. Loz and I have shared many a conversation with her in our DMs, she’s always the first to leave a comment on Substack, she often checked in at the time that she was looking for work that actually worked alongside motherhood, and, once she landed her dream role at Yoto, she brought us our most meaningful partnership to date, too. So when Yoto wanted to work with Ready or Not again, it became immediately obvious to Loz and I to get Sharina on to share her story with burnout, motherhood, how she judged mums in the workplace before she became one, and what’s surprised her as someone who was career-obsessed before kids. Here, we cover how much her relationship with ambition has changed, the anxiety that came with a severe period of burnout, how she defines success now, the hack that means work life doesn’t bleed too much into parenting life, and what she’d go back and tell her pre-motherhood self about the journey she has embarked on.Got a question for Dear Ready or Not? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation.
Are you the mum you thought you’d be?
31:55|Welcome back!Things you thought you’d care about as a mum but you don’t at all: With three kids, Loz has decided this is her year of caring less and she asked the people what they have decided to care less about and the answers do not disappoint.Ladies: tell us why “not all men” feels offensive. Lu saw a man ask this question online and it really got us thinking. Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.
I know my boss is having an affair…
14:38|DEAR READY OR NOT: Will it ruin your career if you take a step back (or out) and re–enter later? What to do if you’re in a senior role and the amount of travel is a nightmare and whether you should tell someone that they’re being gossiped about in the office. Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.
Alicia Loxley: “Lifting women up doesn’t push men down”
49:40|Alicia Loxley is familiar with pressure. The pressure to succeed in an industry that most of her uni lecturers told her was too hard to make a career in, the pressure of what became an intense first pregnancy, ending in bed rest and potentially life threatening consequences for both her and her son, and the pressure she feels to always being doing well both as a mum and a journalist. And where she feels most pressure isn’t from the job she’s worked so hard in; it’s in being a mum to three children. Here, we talk about why she can’t understand people that don’t identify as feminists, the discomfort that lies in being completely out of control when, before kids, we become accustomed to trying our best to control everything, what it’s been like to navigate a public role that requires you to be sharp and presentable, when motherhood can make you feel the exact opposite, and why she now understand the cliche that to raise a teenage son is to experience the slowest breakup imaginable. I learned so much from Alicia, and if I’m honest, I wondered how open a journalist in the public eye feels she can be. I needn’t have doubted her though; this is as candid a conversation as you’ll hear. So let’s get into it.Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.Working mums, motherhood, parenting, feminism, returning to work.
Emma Grede’s content isn’t designed for us (and that’s okay)
37:06|Welcome back to the show! Coming up today:The state of screen time in our homes: We polled you on all things screentime and let’s just say… we felt a little guilty and gobsmacked by the results. Then, Everyone is talking about that work from home grab from Emma Grede and we need to talk about it, and Joeli Brearley’s reaction reel.Here’s the clip we played at the top of the clip about babysitting.Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.Working mums, motherhood, parenting, feminism, returning to work.
Am I the only one who doesn’t want my husband home during mat leave?
17:13|DEAR READY OR NOT: How do you tell your partner that works from home to get the f*ck out of the house while you’re on maternity leave? Should you stay in a job you love with no flexibility? And should you be calling recruiters before applying for roles, or is that outdated advice?Got a question? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.
What we’d go back and tell ourselves… with Estelle Griepink & Lana Murphy
36:50|MOTHER’S DAY SPECIAL! Welcome back to a different episode of Ready or Not, where ahead of Mother’s Day, Lu and Loz sit down with journos, mums, and best mates Estelle Griepink and Lana Murphy to reflect on what we’d go back and tell ourselves about:BirthPostpartumBreastfeedingGoing from one to twoReturning to paid workGot a question for Dear Ready or Not? Submit it here! —Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram:@readyornot.pod@laurentreweek_@lucindamckimm_And join us on DOME below! YEEHAW!homeofdome.com/ready-or-not/— This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land. We Pay The Rent and you can too here.