10 episodes

Journalists Elise Hu and Amy Westervelt bring you the social science behind the many issues facing working families today. S1: How a global pandemic exacerbated the epidemic of American parenting misery.

Labor Critical Frequency

    • Kids & Family
    • 4.9 • 76 Ratings

Journalists Elise Hu and Amy Westervelt bring you the social science behind the many issues facing working families today. S1: How a global pandemic exacerbated the epidemic of American parenting misery.

    Season 1 Finale! What the Pandemic Taught Us About Parenthood

    Season 1 Finale! What the Pandemic Taught Us About Parenthood

    In the season ender Elise and Amy take a look back at what they've learned most this season, where we're at now, and where things might go from here.
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    • 38 min
    A Silver Lining? How the Pandemic Might Change Work Culture

    A Silver Lining? How the Pandemic Might Change Work Culture

    Leslie Forde joins us to talk about what she calls the "Mom's Hierarchy of Needs," and what she's hearing from companies about their desire and commitment to come out of the pandemic with dramatically improved workplaces.
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    • 23 min
    How to Take a Real Break

    How to Take a Real Break

    Petra Bueskens, is a psychologist and social scientist in Australia, and a well-known motherhood researcher worldwide. She coined the term "strategic absence" to describe a tactic she saw while studying women who were deliberately trying to upend traditional gender dynamics in their home. The idea is that if you plan the occasional absence from the home, not only does it help maintain your independence, but also it forces everyone else in the household to share the load of domestic tasks. But ... can it work in a pandemic?
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    • 20 min
    A Lesson in Communal Parenting from Native American Culture

    A Lesson in Communal Parenting from Native American Culture

    Midwife and public health research Janelle Palacios grew up on the Flathead reservation and specializes in native families. In this episode, she walks us through how American social workers pathologized Indigenous family structures, the long period of family separation in tribal communities that followed, and all the many ways that a communal approach to family is better than the nuclear family approach.
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    • 26 min
    The Complexities of Covering Moms, Way Beyond Mom Blogs

    The Complexities of Covering Moms, Way Beyond Mom Blogs

    Writer Heather B. Armstrong (aka Dooce) and author & Longest Shortest Time creator Hillary Frank join us to talk about the history of the mom beat and why it's still not taken seriously.
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    • 25 min
    No School Or After School. Now What?

    No School Or After School. Now What?

    School's not back after the summer, exposing even more need for after school programs that have filled the gap for working families. But those programs face a precarious funding future. Nikki Yamashiro from the Afterschool Alliance joins to share her latest research. PLUS a brief history of how daycare shame started in America.Check out the Afterschool Alliance: http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/
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    • 22 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
76 Ratings

76 Ratings

Cait/ ,

Fuel for Productive Rage

This podcast is both cathartic to listen to and super informative. It masterfully links the seemingly personal challenges of caregiving and family with the historical, social, and political forces that shape how the American family is (or, more frequently, isn’t) supported. Listen, then call your elected representatives and demand better!

Paixa ,

If everyone in power listened to this podcast I swear the world would be fixed

for real, the world is built on the unpaid labor of birthing and caring people and this podcast lays it all out in plain English, without too much academic theory and focused on solutions. It is so so good and I’m important going to make everyone I know listen.

teachtolearn1 ,

Timely show

Great topics with engaging hosts. Worth a listen!

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