This article originally appeared on Mia Freedman's Babble, a newsletter delivering content on pop culture, modern life and being a Gen Xer in a Gen Z world. Sign up here.
Well hey.
Welcome to a new year where nobody's hair is on fire and the world has commenced 2025 at a leisurely pace with almost no news and nothing to talk about.
Personally, I would have appreciated a slightly slower start but here we are.
OK, so let me tell you how it's going to go for Babble this year. I've been fighting my resistance to cranking this newsletter back up (clearly not fighting it very well because until today, the resistance has won) and I realised it's because I feel an unspoken pressure to talk about the news cycle.
Which is, by definition, bleak and unpleasant. Unless you are an American tech billionaire, in which case you're living your best life and let me wave my arms in the air in a totally normal way.
At the end of every year, we record a special episode of Mamamia Outloud where Holly, Jessie and I announce our Word Of The Year.
It's a years-long tradition that many people do instead of making new year's resolutions — which invariably feels like punishment. WOTY is about intention.
It's setting the Google Maps of your life in a particular direction that you want to go and checking in every once in a while to check that you're still heading that way.
My word for 2025 was 'Make'.
In explaining my reasoning for the word I said to Hol and Jessie: I want to make not manage. Make things, make plans, make a difference.
Which is true. Listen to that ep to hear how we came to choose our words — it was one of the most enjoyable episodes we recorded. Super reflective.
But this week on Outloud, I broke the rules of Word Of The Year and did a bait and switch. Went rogue. Changed my word and made it two words, actually.
LET THEM. If you haven't heard about Let Them theory — by Mel Robbins — we spoke about it on the show last week.
Here's the summary:
- Radical Acceptance: Stop trying to control others. Accept people for who they are and recognise you cannot force behavioural changes.
- Non-Attachment: Release expectations and attachment to specific outcomes. Reduce stress by letting go of perfect scenarios.
- Personal Empowerment: Redirect energy from controlling external situations to focusing on your own growth and actions.
- Boundary Setting: Use "let them" as a mental tool to create emotional distance from others' behaviours and drama.
- Dual Approach: Balance "Let Them" (allowing others to be themselves) with "Let Me" (choosing your response and emotional investment).
Which brings me to this newsletter and why I've been resisting writing again in 2025.
I honestly cannot bear to have my attention sucked up by that man and that stuff for another four years. I got waaaay too invested last time around, and I even hosted a weekly podcast about it for a couple of years with my equally obsessed friend Amelia Lester.
So here's what I've decided.
This time, we're not doing that here. This is going to be a place for distraction, diversion, amusement and, yes, oftentimes, superficiality. I like guardrails, rules and leaderboards, and so I've made some for myself in order to rediscover the absolute joy I have in writing — writing for you, a like-minded group of people who value shades of grey and aren't looking for the shouty polarisation that algorithms and news sites hurl at us.
No news. No shouting.
Excellent!
Here's a Sexy Six — some of the things I've been pashing over summer.
Jorts — the summer sister of jeans.
Deeply comfortable and unflattering because who needs to be flattered. Can't stop, won't stop.
Mia Freedman styling her jorts. Image: Substack.
Baby rashies by Cea Cea Swim.
I couldn't love this more.
Baby rashies by Cea Cea Swim. Image: Substack.
Katie Jane Hughes makeup tutorial.
This makeup tutorial which has changed the way I apply foundation.
A small fan.
This is a tip from Leigh Campbell when I was complaining about how sweaty my face was in the morning after exercise, a shower, skincare and then sunscreen, so by the time I put my makeup on, it was a hot mess. She said to use a little electric fan to set it all between steps. This is the one I use.
Claire Lombardo's books — I read these two over summer on my Kindle.
The Most Fun We Ever Had and the Same As It Ever Was. Both are multi-generational books about family life and secrets. Just the right combination of easy to read, page-turny but also smart and thoughtful.
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (Right). Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo (Left). Image: Substack.
A Mamamia article about school holidays.
This story which spoke to the soul of every parent in Australia.
Which can be summed up pretty much by: FEBRUARY, are you KIDDING ME?
In case you missed it…
Naomi Watts is ridiculously normal.
We spoke about sex, shame, dating after divorce, surgery and feeling invisible in Hollywood and in the regular world.
Watch: A snippet of my interview with Naomi Watts on No Filter podcast. Post continues after video.
And BIG PUBIC HAIR ENERGY is the vibe some women are bringing into 2025, and we're here for it.
Listen more about it here:
Read more from Mia Freedman:
Feature image: Supplied.
