The ManFlu | Exploring Gender Dynamics, Partnerships & Raising Boys Who Care

By Lucy McAfee

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Image by Lucy McAfee

Category: Relationships

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Subscribers: 4
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Episodes: 12

Description

You’ve heard of the “ManFlu” — that mysterious illness that somehow hits men way harder than any woman could ever fathom. Well, we’re not handing out tissues. We’re here to talk about the real stuff underneath it: the disconnection, the imbalance, and how we can start to change it.


The ManFlu is a metaphor we use to dig into something deeper: the cultural scripts, gender roles, and unspoken rules that keep men sidelined and leave women carrying more than their share of the mental and emotional load.


Host Lucy McAfee has spent years studying how gender dynamics play out at home. As a wife and boy mom, she’s still working them out in her own family. Each week, The ManFlu brings together researchers, thinkers, and families themselves to explore emotional labor, modern partnerships, and how we raise more connected boys. Together, we examine why these patterns persist, how they affect families, and the practical shifts that build stronger partnerships today and help break old patterns for the next generation. You’ll leave each episode not just nodding along, but equipped with one small shift you can try at home.

Join us to lighten the load and build a future where women and men can both show up as their whole selves. New episodes drop every Wednesday, follow the show so you don’t miss one. And share it with your friends, because no one should have to face the ManFlu epidemic alone.


Follow Lucy on Instagram @lucypmcafee for more on gender dynamics, mental and emotional load, and raising boys who care.


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Episode Date
Balanced, Not Equal: How Two Wives Share the Mental Load | Julia Markish & Krissa Lagos
Sep 30, 2026
Before It Had a Name: A Teacher of 30 Years on the Load, the Village, and What Changed for Boys
Sep 23, 2026
The Manosphere and Our Boys: What It's Teaching Them, What We Can Do
Sep 16, 2026
You Can't Do It All: Five Years Straight of Breastfeeding and the Reckoning at Home | Victoria Tice
Sep 09, 2026
“You’re Just a Housewife”: Recognizing the Value of Making a House a Home | Lori Sugarman-Li
Sep 02, 2026
"Did I Agree to This Rule?": Ditching Impossible Standards for Working Parents | Jess Weisz
Aug 26, 2026
That Village Everyone Talks About: How to Actually Build Yours | Jessica Hill
Aug 19, 2026
Before We Lose Their Attention: Raising Boys in a World of Screens | Julie Messer
Aug 12, 2026
He Googled 'How to Be a Great Husband': Now He's the Expert Your Marriage Needs | Brian Page
Aug 05, 2026
Don't Let Go First: Friendship, Motherhood, and Raising Boys | Sarah Koopmann
Aug 05, 2026
A Case of the ManFlu: Women Carrying It All, Men Missing Out
Aug 05, 2026
The ManFlu - Trailer
Jul 22, 2026