MissPerceived

"The Mental Load Isn't Real" — Debunking the Internet's Favorite Comment

"The mental load doesn't exist. It's just something women made up to make men feel bad." If you talk about the mental load online, you've seen this comment — and in this

The Hidden Mental Load of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

What happens when caregiving never ends — when you cared for your siblings as a child, your own children as an adult, and now your grandchildren in older age? In this ep

Return-to-Office Is Pushing Women Out of Work

When employers demand that people return to the office full-time, who pays the biggest price? In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah Ruppanner responds to a li

You Can’t “Strengths-Based” Your Way Out of a Broken System

What does a strengths-based approach actually mean — and when does it become another way of asking people to solve impossible problems alone? In this episode of MissPerc

Why Women Use AI Less at Work (And Why That Really Matters)

Are you using AI at work — or quietly avoiding it? In this episode of MissPerceived, Leah digs into new research showing that women are about 25% less likely than men to

I Was Just Diagnosed With Breast Cancer. Please Stop Saying These 5 Things.

When someone you love gets a cancer diagnosis, you want to say the right thing — but often, what comes out does the opposite. In this very personal episode of MissPerceiv

Is Upward Mobility Dead? How Parenting Styles Shape Your Kids’ Future

Are you secretly preparing your kids for downward mobility? In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah Ruppanner asks a huge question many parents are quietly wrest

When Your Brain Works Differently: Neurodiversity and the Mental Load

What if your brain works differently from everyone else’s — and you’re still expected to carry the same invisible load for your family, work, and life? In this episode of

The Truth About Care: What Americans Get Wrong About Child & Aged Care

Most people say care is valuable. They believe childcare workers and home care aides are skilled and that governments and employers should help pay for care. But when you

Lifecrafting: The Hidden Mental Load of Building the Life You Actually Want

Have you ever heard the term "lifecrafting"? It comes from a new piece of research out of UCL — and it describes something you might already be doing without knowing it:

The Clutter Problem: Why Piles Around the House Are Draining Your Mental Load

Leah posted one question on Instagram — "What do you hold to a higher standard in your household than anyone else?" — and got 26,000 views and 200 comments. The answer th

Equality vs. Equity: Which One Does Your Relationship Actually Need?

A listener emailed Leah with a question straight from the middle of a relationship argument: what's the difference between equality and equity and which one should we act

Do Men Feel Guilt? The Science of Guilt, Motherhood & Why You Can't Stop Upscaling

Do men actually feel guilt — or does it just look different? In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah Ruppanner dives into one of her most viral Instagram moments

From Lean In to Leaned On: The Workplace Trap No One Warned Women About

You were told to lean in. Work harder, say yes, show up, do more — and you'd be rewarded. But what if leaning in actually created a trap? In this episode of MissPerceived

Why "What's For Dinner?" Feels So Hard: The Mental Load Behind Every Meal

Why does figuring out what's for dinner feel so exhausting — every single night? In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah Ruppanner breaks down exactly why dinner

How to Do a Mental Load Audit (And Finally Get Your Energy Back)

You can't fix what you can't see. In this episode of MissPerceived, Professor Leah Ruppanner walks you through the Mental Load Audit — the step-by-step tool at the heart

Maycember Is Real: The Mental Load Spike No One Warned You About

Have you heard of #Maycember? It's the viral term capturing what parents — especially moms — experience every May: a relentless pile-on of teacher gifts, summer camp sign

Let Them: Why Letting Go and Delegating Feels So Hard

In this episode of Missperceived, Leah paints a painfully familiar picture: you finally hand off a task—signing the permission slip, managing a parent’s medication, organ

Do Some People Just Have More Bandwidth? How to Grow Your Capacity (Without Burning Out)

In this episode of MissPerceived, Leah celebrates that Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More is finally out—and dives into a question readers keep askin

How Your Job Follows You Home (and Back Again)

In this episode, Leah finally pulls back the curtain on a piece of her research she hasn’t fully shared yet: the mental load at work and how it travels both directions be