DULUTH — Every episode of Ileini Hirt's podcast starts with a warning: The topics that are discussed over the course of each episode might be difficult for people to hear — and that's OK.

"This episode talks honestly about mental health and includes mentions of suicide. If you need to pause, breathe or come back later, please do," Ashley Hirt, Ileini's mother and co-host on "Mom & Me: Climbing Mountains Together," narrates during what she has come to refer to as the "mom disclaimer" that opens each episode.

Funded through a grant from the Ann Bancroft Foundation, a St. Paul nonprofit organization, the mother-daughter duo’s unscripted podcast is a very personal exploration of mental health advocacy and access that unpacks their own story following Ileini’s struggles with mental health at

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