The Mothership

If you’ve ever felt intimidated by money — or wondered how to raise kids who see it as a source of confidence and possibility rather than fear — this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

When Alexa von Tobel was just 14, her father died unexpectedly. In the midst of unimaginable grief, she watched her mother struggle to make sense of their family finances. That experience changed the course of her life: Alexa vowed to become an expert in money so she would never feel that vulnerable again. Today, she manages hundreds of millions of dollars through her venture capital firm, Inspired Capital, and joins Daphne on The Mothership to explore why financial literacy is about so much more than wealth—it’s the foundation of independence, confidence, and security for ourselves and our families.

Alexa announces the Money Matters Academy, a financial literacy program with a real test for retention at the end. There's an adult version, plus a kids' version for ages 7 to 14 that she developed with her 11-year-old, Toby. She also shares the everyday habits that make money something her kids can see and feel: a clear chore jar on the counter; letting them analyze the restaurant bill; and bringing them in on daily decisions to spend or save — with the difference being added to their savings and often invested into stock.

Then the conversation gets bigger: why Alexa thinks AI makes financial preparedness urgent, the biggest lesson she has learned from interviewing almost 300 billion-dollar founders about how their parents raised them, and what she prizes most in a founder as Inspired Capital closes its fourth fund at $450 million and looks to bet big on businesses and people who “zig when the world zags.”

What You’ll Learn

Chapters

• 00:00:00 When Loss Becomes Purpose
• 00:04:00 Why Money Shouldn't Be Taboo
• 00:05:18 Why Financial Literacy Is About More Than Money
• 00:07:04 The Basics No One Teaches
• 00:10:21 Celebrating Uniqueness Over Conformity
• 00:14:06 Teaching Kids Financial Literacy
• 00:18:35 Making Finance Proximate for Kids
• 00:27:18 AI, Jobs, & the Financial Gear Shift
• 00:35:46 American Ambition & the Power of Failure
• 00:40:25 Backing Founders Who Rewire Their Entire Existence for a Mission
• 00:48:14 Unconditional Love, Chores, & Gratitudes

Featured Guest
Alexa von Tobel is the founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital. Prior to Inspired, she was founder and CEO of LearnVest and the chief innovation officer at Northwestern Mutual. She is the author of Financially Forward (May 2019) and the New York Times bestseller Financially Fearless. Von Tobel has been featured in Fortune's 40 Under 40 list as well as in Inc.'s 30 Under 30 list of cool young entrepreneurs.

Resources Mentioned
Alexa von Tobel’s Financially Fearless, including Money Matters Academy - https://www.financially-fearless.com/

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Few figures in American government are as beloved—or as vilified—as Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In this episode of The Mothership, he sits down with Daphne Oz for a revealing conversation about the advice his father gave him at 14 that shaped his lifelong commitment to critical thinking, courage, and a higher calling.

From Big Tobacco's move into Big Food, to the alarming rise of Alpha-gal syndrome and the tick bite behind it, Secretary Kennedy shares his perspective on some of the most urgent challenges facing American health. He also explores the future of regenerative farming, how AI and emerging technologies could help American farmers move away from chemical-intensive agriculture, and what it will take to make healthier food more accessible to everyone.

Secretary Kennedy and Daphne head into the kitchen to make her famous “Faux Tuna” Chickpea Salad, a delicious example of what it looks like to eat inexpensive, uncomplicated, real food. See this and other easy recipes like it featured on the Secretary’s new cooking show, Eat Real Food. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMrXDx0lb-A

And in deeply personal moments throughout, Secretary Kennedy reflects on how he really feels about his critics, pain as a touchstone for spiritual growth, the role faith has played throughout his life, and the extraordinary ways he believes God speaks to him. A wide-ranging conversation about the future of American food and health—and the man on a mission to change both.

What You’ll Learn

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Welcome to The Mothership with RFK Jr.
• 00:05:02 Pigeons, Hawks, and Falconry: The Surprising Origin Story
• 00:07:35 The $3 Meal That Meets Dietary Guidelines
• 00:09:31 Ultra-Processed Food & the Tobacco Playbook
• 00:12:20 Choice Not Coercion: The FDA's Real Job
• 00:13:27 Regenerative Agriculture
• 00:19:05 Farmers, Lasers, & the Future of Food: Real Stories from the Field
• 00:21:06 Pollution as Privatization
• 00:24:26 Alpha-gal & the Spread of Ticks
• 00:27:36 Fearlessness, Faith, & the Gift of Opposition
• 00:30:02 The Thanksgiving Table: Family, Friendship, & Cheryl's Cooking

Featured Guest
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the 26th U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, an environmental attorney, author, and longtime public health advocate. The son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, his life has been shaped by a legacy of public service, deep faith, personal tragedy, and a commitment to questioning the status quo. After decades fighting pollution and protecting America’s waterways and natural resources, Kennedy turned his attention to the relationship between our environment, food safety, and the health of our families. As Secretary, he leads the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, focused on addressing chronic disease, improving America’s food supply, and reshaping the nation’s approach to public health. A father of seven, he remains a fierce advocate for personal health freedom and the power of informed individuals to make good choices.

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Are we making our kids less resilient by trying too hard to protect them? Child psychologist Dr. Tovah Klein reveals why rescuing kids from discomfort can backfire — and the one question every parent should ask before stepping in: “Whose discomfort am I fixing — mine or my child’s?”

We get into how kids actually build grit, confidence and resilience; why we’re often hardest on our firstborns; when to step in and when to back off; what to do when you don’t like your kid’s friends; why every playdate should have a basket by the door; how to stop whining; and how to build the kind of trusting relationship that makes your teenager call YOU first when something goes wrong. Whether you’re raising a toddler or a teenager, it’s never too late to prepare your kids for the road ahead.

What You’ll Learn

Chapters

• 00:00:00 What Raising Resilient Kids Really Means
• 00:08:10 The Truth About Parenting in the Information Age
• 00:09:08 The Homework Dilemma: When Rescuing Your Child Actually Weakens Them
• 00:10:08 Whose Discomfort Are You Fixing?
• 00:14:11 Why It's Never Too Late to Course Correct Your Parenting
• 00:16:45 Birth Order, Firstborn Pressure, and Why Your Standards Are Probably Too High
• 00:17:55 Parenting the Child You Have (Not the One You Wish You Had)
• 00:32:28 What to Do When You Don't Like Your Kid's Friends
• 00:43:10 Parenting in the Digital Age
• 00:45:37 Building Trust So Your Teen Calls You First
• 00:48:27 Rapid Fire
• 00:53:10 Final Takeaways: Listen and Let Them Know You Trust Them

Featured Guest

Dr. Tovah Klein is a leading child psychologist and expert on children’s social and emotional development. She is the author of How Toddlers Thrive and Raising Resilience, and has spent decades studying what children need from their parents to become capable, confident adults.

Resources Mentioned

Raising Resilience by Dr. Tovah Klein - https://go.shopmy.us/p-93903432

How Toddlers Thrive by Dr. Tovah Klein - https://go.shopmy.us/p-93911713

DopamindKids, an organization that empowers schools and families to build healthier technology habits - https://www.dopamindkids.org

The Tech Parenting Rulebook: 100 Simple Tips to Raise Digitally Healthy Kids by Aniko Hill (forward by Dr. Tovah Klein) - https://go.shopmy.us/p-94662028

Find Tovah on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tovahklein/

Tovah’s Website - https://howtoddlersthrive.com/author/

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Rebecca Minkoff built a $100M brand while being mama to four amazing kids and mentoring female founders around the globe... and then she lived through a pandemic business collapse, a forced sale, and a Real Housewives of New York season.

On the premiere episode of The Mothership, she sits down with Daphne Oz to talk about her “delusional optimism,” the wins and losses of mothering while building a business, how she got her power back after losing it inside her own company, and the moment she realized she could let it all go... but not just yet!

What You’ll Learn

• [00:01:46] Why Rebecca’s parents gave her zero structure growing up — and how that became her greatest business asset
• [00:04:05] How she networked her way into New York fashion with binders full of business cards and sheer boldness
• [00:05:04] The two times someone took over her company and nearly erased her from it — and what she learned from letting it happen
• [00:09:19] The joy of motherhood nobody talks about enough: the sibling giggles, the 11-year-old pitch deck, the moments that make it all worth it
• [00:10:05] The honest truth about being physically present but mentally absent — and why having her fourth child finally taught her what presence really means
• [00:18:57] The pelvic floor therapy, hormone journey, and months of hard work that saved her marriage after baby four
• [00:23:15] Delusional optimism defined: what it means, why it works, and how to develop it even when the CEO is calling with bad news on your birthday
• [00:25:01] How COVID cut Rebecca Minkoff’s revenue from $70M to $30M — and the forced clarity that came from surviving it
• [00:27:19] The panic attack she had the day she moved into her new partner’s office, and the walk from 39th Street to Dumbo that got her through it
• [00:28:48] Why going on Real Housewives raised brand awareness 40% — and why she’d do it again
• [00:37:26] The triangle theory of brand building: from the woman who buys the statement bag to the woman who buys the stud on the flip flop — and why both matter
• [00:39:03] The quiet realization she had five months ago: she could walk away from her own name — and for the first time, that didn’t scare her

Featured Guest

Rebecca Minkoff is the co-founder and creative director of Rebecca Minkoff, the fashion brand she built with her brother Uri Minkoff starting in 2005. Known for her downtown New York aesthetic and her early adoption of technology in retail, she has grown the brand into a global operation with hundreds of retail doors worldwide. She is also the founder of the Female Founder Collective, a network supporting women-owned businesses, a public speaker, and a recurring voice on entrepreneurship and female leadership.

Resources Mentioned

• The Female Founder Collective — Rebecca Minkoff’s network for women-owned businesses: femalefoundercollective.com (https://www.femalefoundercollective.com/)
• Rebecca Minkoff (brand): rebeccaminkoff.com (https://www.rebeccaminkoff.com/)
• The Business of Being Born — the documentary Rebecca credits with shaping her approach to motherhood: thebusinessofbeingborn.com (https://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/)

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Welcome to the Mothership, a new weekly video podcast hosted by Daphne Oz for curious, multi-faceted people who want to live more beautiful, delicious, informed, and fulfilling lives.

Think cocktail party energy meets dinner table intimacy: warm, wide-ranging, nuanced conversations with the most captivating people in the room. Together, Daphne and her guests explore the questions that matter and turn exceptional insight into real-life reward for every listener.