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Care and Feeding | Slate's parenting show - How Moms Became Our Social Safety Net

Slate Books

Slate Podcasts

Arts

3.8546 Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2024

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this episode: Zak sits down with Jessica Calarco, whose new book – Holding It Together – is out tomorrow. The two walk through the ways in which women, and especially mothers, replace a social safety net in the United States… and, more importantly, why it doesn’t have to be this way.


We also dole out a round of recommendations – and for our Slate Plus listeners, we continue Zak and Jessica’s conversation and ask Jamilah and Elizabeth what they think their unpaid labor is holding together. 


Elizabeth recommends: Brain Inflamed

Zak recommends: Play your favorite music videos for your kids. Like this

Jamilah recommends: If (in theaters now!)


Join us on Facebook and email us at careandfeedingpod@slate.com to ask us new questions, tell us what you thought of today’s show, and give us ideas about what we should talk about in future episodes. You can also call our phone line: (646) 357-9318.


If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Care and Feeding. Sign up now at slate.com/careplus to help support our work.


Podcast produced by Maura Currie.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to Karen Fating, the show where we parent together.

0:09.9

I'm Jamila Lemieux, a writer, contributor to Slate's Karen Feeding Parenting Column, and

0:15.9

mom to Naima, who's 11, and we live in Los Angeles.

0:18.8

I'm Elizabeth New Camp.

0:20.6

I write the family travel blog Dutch Dutch Goose. I'm the mom of three little's, Henry, who's 11 and we live in Los Angeles. I'm Elizabeth Newkamp. I write the family travel blog Dutch Dutch goose. I'm the mom of three little's, Henry who's 12, Oliver who's 10, and Teddy who's 7. We live in Tokyo, Japan. I'm Zach Rosen. I host another podcast. It's called The Best Advice Show. And I am Dad to Noah, who's six, and Am Ami who's three. We live in Detroit.

0:38.3

Today on the show, Zach sits down and talk with Jessica Kalarko, a sociologist with a new book out tomorrow.

0:44.3

That book is called Holding It Together, and it's about all the ways that women in this country replace a social safety net.

0:52.3

It's a fascinating listen and we can't wait for you to hear it. We'll also

0:55.8

share a round of recommendations. And then, if you're in the Slate Plus Club, we'll be brief on Zach's

1:01.4

interview by talking about the unpaid labor that we and other women are just, well, expected to do.

1:08.6

Here's what you'll hear if you have Slate Plus.

1:11.6

For a lot of women and particularly these like moms I'm talking to, they're like,

1:16.6

but I need this stuff to get done.

1:18.1

Like our functioning family is that I need to get this done.

1:21.6

And when I pass it off, it doesn't happen.

1:24.6

Which is of course the fault of the partner in the situation. But I don't know that

1:30.5

we know, like, how to get over that gap. And so often I think the partners don't see it,

1:36.5

like particularly male partners don't see that all of this is work because it seems very easy.

1:42.6

Like, well, you're just sending a text or you're just

1:44.6

doing this or like, oh, you just keep track of the calendar. And it's like, no, all of this actually

1:49.0

takes our mental energy to do. It is not easy for me. If you're listening on Slate Plus, thank you

1:56.1

so much for your support and we'll catch you later for your exclusive segment. If you're not listening on Slate Plus, we hope you'll consider it.

...

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