In this special episode, Kate sits down with her daughter Audrey on the week of her 18th birthday. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by adulthood, or underwhelmed by the milestone, Audrey describes herself as simply “whelmed.”

They talk about what turning 18 actually means today: the excitement of voting for the first time, the freedom to walk into an over-18 venue (even if you choose not to), and the strange mix of independence and expectation that comes with being a young adult in 2026.

From Sydney Swans fandom to the pressures facing Gen Z, Audrey shares how her generation sees the world, and what they wish older generations understood about growing up today.

A thoughtful, funny conversation about coming of age, changing expectations, and the moment between childhood and whatever comes next.

In this episode of On the Mones, Kate reflects on what it means to grow up as a young woman today as her daughter Audrey turns eighteen and prepares to vote for the first time. Named after Kate’s grandmother, born in 1925, Audrey represents three generations of women who have lived through enormous social change.

From marriage bars that forced women out of the workforce, to the feminist movements that fought for economic independence and voting rights, the freedoms women have today were hard-won.

So why is social media suddenly romanticising a return to “traditional wives”?

Kate explores the rise of the tradwife movement, the nostalgic aesthetic that makes it appealing, and the historical realities often left out of the story — including economic dependence and limited choices for women.

Along the way she looks at:

• why the tradwife aesthetic spreads so easily on social media

• the connection between tradwife culture and anti-feminist online movements

• the surprising return of anti-suffrage rhetoric

• why Australia’s mandatory voting creates a very different political system

• and what women’s rights have to do with astronauts flying around the Moon.

There’s also a detour into hormone pharmacology, a satirical wellness advertisement for the revolutionary Whole Body RetoX™, and a reminder that sometimes nostalgia looks better from a distance.

Because the real achievement of the last century isn’t that women must work, or must stay home.

It’s that women get to choose.

This episode starts on a Sydney oval before sunrise.

Kate reflects on her weekly Wednesday run — the quiet rituals of turning up, the characters who share the track, the sociology of shared spaces, and the reminder that the ability to move your body is never something to take for granted.

From there, the conversation moves into medicine.

After watching The Pitt, Kate unpacks a common myth about morphine in palliative care — the persistent idea that opioids given at the end of life hasten death. Drawing on her experience in palliative care pharmacy, she explains how opioids are actually used to relieve pain and breathlessness, why addiction is not the issue people think it is, and how careful dosing can restore comfort and dignity for patients.

Finally, with winter approaching, Kate walks through the 2026 influenza vaccine rollout in Australia — explaining why flu vaccines change every year, why all vaccines are now trivalent, and how the different options (Influvac, Flucelvax, Fluzone High-Dose and FluMist) work.

Along the way, she explores the idea that healthcare decisions rarely affect just one person — whether it’s medication myths, palliative care, or vaccination — we’re all part of a much bigger chain.

Evidence-based medicine, midlife health, and a few observations from running laps in the dark.

Follow Kate for more no-nonsense health education at @prescribeorpass on Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook.