Common Sense Media Review
By Crystal Stone
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Celeb stories of adolescence; language and mature themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Listen
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
Alana Haim and Sasha Spielberg are two famous musicians and actors who've now turned to podcasting in FREE PERIOD. Each episode is structured as a conversation between these two best friends as they reflect on their middle and high school years, sharing stories and lessons of insight. Episodes discuss common adolescent experiences such as going to prom, bar mitzvahs, graduating and getting your first kiss. The chemistry between the hosts helps make this podcast entertaining, funny, and interesting. While many stories may be relatable to adults and young adults and others may represent what some teens are currently going through, the fact that the hosts and their celebrity guests come from famous families and backgrounds can feel a bit detatched.
Is It Any Good?
For adults and young adults, this is sure to be an entertaining, relatable and sometimes motivating podcast, but it's not very educational and could send mixed messages to younger audiences. Hosts Alana Haim and Sasha Spielberg bring their unique experiences and personalities to Free Period, making the podcast humorous and interesting. However, for tween and younger teen listeners this podcast could be interpreted as glorifying behaviors such as underage drinking, lying and drug use.
One of the shows strengths is how it discusses middle and high school stories and feelings that many people can relate to, helping listeners not feel seen and understood in these experiences. In some ways, episodes also model how to overcome obstacles and have a more positive outlook on life and these experiences. The constant use of swearing and references to mature activities may drown out the more positive aspects of the podcast for younger audiences, but it can also be a positive conversation starter and bonding exercise for adults and their older teen or young adult kids.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the use of alcohol and drugs discussed in Free Period as they are not explicitly condemned. From listening to the stories told in the episode, what negative impacts did the use of alcohol or drugs have on the hosts and their experiences? What does this teach us about alcohol and drug use? How does the way drugs and alcohol are portrayed in media affect how you feel about alcohol and drug use?
Many episodes discuss partying, drinking and other activities where individuals were pressured or influenced to engage in a certain activity from their peers. Where do you see peer pressure in your life? How do you respond to peer pressure?
Hosts Alana and Sasha discuss embarrassing experiences they had in middle and high school and how those experiences impacted them in adulthood. What makes an experience embarrassing or hurtful? How can we learn from and overcome those experiences? What experience has had a lasting impact on you?
Knowing the hosts and many of their guests come from fame and celebrity, how relatable does this podcast feel? How can a podcast or other media feel more relatable to your adolescent experience?
Podcast Details
- Release date : October 11, 2022
- Genre : Entertainment
- Run time : 48 minutes
- Website : https://link.chtbl.com/FreePeriodPR
- Hosts : Alana Haim , Sasha Spielberg
- Production Company and Network : Cadence13
- Pricing structure : Free
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , School ( High School , Middle School )
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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