Kathy Patalsky - Notes
Notes is the audio home for the writing and voice of Kathy Patalsky - a Los Angeles writer, photographer, longtime internet creator, and cookbook author.
Short essays about motherhood, identity, creativity, ambition, pop culture, technology, and modern life - saying out loud the moments many people carry quietly.
Cinematic snapshots. Tiny personal essays. Shiny moments that catch the light and memories worth stepping back into.
Episodes
29 episodes
first friends
Today’s note starts with a Band-Aid and ends with one of the biggest lessons parenthood has taught me: I can’t choose my daughter’s friends. I can only help her recognize what love, kindness, and safety feel like — and trust that she’ll find he...
summer camp
This was our first week of real summer camp - the kind with the big yellow bus and long days and tired happy kids coming home at dinner.I wasn’t sure it would feel like summer.Instead, I found myself loving the strange rhythm of i...
bike loop
Moving with a child feels different once you realize kids don’t only attach to homes. They attach to puddles, bike routes, neighborhood cats, cracked sidewalks, wind chimes, backyard sounds, and the invisible rhythms of daily life.In thi...
dad's chair
A chair in the middle of the living room.Caramel brown, worn down, always facing the TV.This is a memory about growing up in the kind of house that felt loud, imperfect, and completely whole, until one day it wasn’t.About what...
pink lemonade
If you need one easy win this week - this is it.In this episode, I’m talking about the blur of weekends with a young kid, the moments that don’t stick, and the one thing we did that actually did: homemade pink lemonade.It’s simple...
titanic
Titanic came out on December 19, 1997. I saw it opening weekend, Sunday afternoon, December 21st, in a packed theater in downtown Santa Cruz. I still have the ticket stub.In this episode, I go back to that moment an what it fe...
school pickup line
The school pickup line might look like a line of cars, but for many parents it’s a strange little pause in the day. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the ritual of waiting for your child at the end of the school day.From quiet momen...
five and a half
When your child reaches five and a half, something shifts. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the moment when the little-kid years begin to feel fleeting.Watching my daughter grow into a bigger version of herself makes me want to pau...
night walk
Some of the best adventures happen on ordinary evenings. In this episode of Notes, I talk about spontaneous night walks with my daughter — flashlights in hand, slippers on our feet, and the moon rising overhead.These small nighttime outi...
sunbeam
A quiet sunbeam on the floor can become a small invitation to pause. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the tension between productivity and rest — especially as a mother navigating work, creativity, and family life.Lying in the sunl...
shakespeare at 3am
How about some Hamnet at 3am. Aka, Shakespeare at 3am.Last night, as a 45 year-old mom will do, I woke up at 2 AM and couldn’t fall back asleep.One of those nights where your brain just switches on - replaying conversations, think...
tiny pockets
Life is full of tiny pockets of beauty - moments that appear unexpectedly if we’re paying attention. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the small windows of time where joy and meaning sneak into ordinary life.Whether it’s a quiet mor...
shake it off
Raising kids while realizing you are still raising yourself. Giving yourself grace as you learn as you go.In this episode, I’m unpacking midlife triggers, motherhood and nervous systems — and the real definition of healing I’ve landed on...
why this exists
This episode is about starting small on purpose.About choosing art over relevance.About putting something in your bio before it has traction.About learning a new tool and using it anyway.Two followers. A microphone. ...
canyon light
Los Angeles can sometimes feel like a city built on image — but the canyons tell a different story. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on hiking in the hills above LA and how nature offers a kind of redemption from the surface-level culture th...
dew drops
Sometimes the smallest details hold the most beauty. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the quiet magic of noticing tiny things — like dew on flowers in the morning garden.Through photography, macro lenses, and simple moments outside...
playground
The playground is one of the few places where both kids and parents get permission to be a little chaotic. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the wild, joyful energy of playground life.Kids run, climb, shout, and explore - while ...
eminore
Today's episode is about a tiny little fly. Yes, really. And the muscle that gets worked as we learn to care for tiny things in a world that wants you to toughen up. Eminore is a injured fly that we found and kept and instead of feeling silly a...
night swim
There’s something magical about swimming at night - especially when you’re a kid. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the feeling that happens when the pool lights turn on and the world shifts into evening.From the sensory details of ...
trailer
trailer for the new podcast notes with Kathy Patalsky.it's pop culture meets motherhood meets ambition.bound in honesty, vulnerability - and always a good time with heart.
britney
Growing up as a millennial girl meant growing up with Britney Spears. In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the nostalgia, cultural impact, and emotional loyalty many millennial women still feel toward Britney.From teenage memories to t...
open mic
This is the first Open Mic episode — a more unedited check-in where I let myself talk without a script.In this episode, I share why this podcast exists, why I started it quietly, and what it means to say things out loud in this season of...
one & done
What does it feel like to raise an only child? In this episode of Notes, I reflect on the experience of being a “one and done” family and the emotions that come with raising a single child.From questions people ask about siblings to the ...