How two Hollywood writers launched one of the most popular parenting podcasts
Amy Wilson and Margaret Ables launched What Fresh Hell in 2016 and now run an entire network of women-focused podcasts.
By 2016, Amy Wilson had been a sitcom regular, acted on Broadway, written a book, and launched a one-woman show about motherhood. Yet when she and fellow writer Margaret Ables decided to record a parenting podcast together, it was less a grand strategy than an experiment.
“We just wanted to try it,” Wilson recalled. “We didn't go into this thinking we’d turn it into a money-making venture that'll last a decade. It was just sort of, let's try this. We're creative people. It seems like it might be something fun.”
That “something fun” became What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood, a podcast that now draws hundreds of thousands of downloads a month, sells out advertising inventory, and has spun off a podcast network serving dozens of shows targeting female audiences. Along the way, Wilson and Ables have built one of the most enduring brands in the parenting content world—while also weathering seismic shifts in the podcasting industry itself.
This is the story of how Wilson pivoted from traditional acting into digital entrepreneurship, how she and Ables capitalized on the early days of podcasting, and why she believes the best shows will endure even as the industry contracts.
From Sitcom Star to Parenting Content Creator
Wilson’s first act looked like a traditional Hollywood success story. After performing improv in college, she landed an agent and quickly found work in sitcoms. She appeared on The Norm Show with Norm Macdonald, then Daddio with Michael Chiklis, and landed steady commercial work.