I spoke with Dr. Jess Calarco about her recent book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net.

In the first half, which posted in the previous episode, Dr. Calarco shared how there are many labor-intensive tasks that are required for society to run in its current form and structure. But rather than ensure that those necessary tasks are done and paid for by the society that demands them, we dump them onto women, in the process limiting their ability to fully participate in society. 

In this episode, we continued to speak about why that is a problem, the ways that it manifests as such, and how we might build something better for everyone.

Other resources recommended by Dr. Calarco:

Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It by Elliot Haspel 

The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America by Ai-Jen Poo 

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land 

Also available as a Netflix show: Maid: Season 1 Trailer 

9 to 5 starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin

Music is by Evan Schaeffer. 

I spoke with Dr. Jess Calarco about her recent book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net. Dr. Calarco shared how there are many labor-intensive tasks that are required for society to run in its current form and structure. But rather than ensure that those necessary tasks are done and paid for by the society that demands them, we dump them onto women, in the process limiting their ability to fully participate in society. 

Because the conversation ran over an hour, I broke it up into two parts. The second half will post in the next episode.

Music is by Evan Schaeffer. 

I spoke to Josh Shepperd about his book, Shadow of the New Deal. In his book, Shepperd analyzed the history of how public media developed in the United States.

You can find his book at bookshop here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shadow-of-the-new-deal-the-victory-of-public-broadcasting-josh-shepperd/18826284?ean=9780252087257&next=t

I spoke with Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy about her book, Corporatocracy, and about how money influences politics and what we can do about it.

You can buy her book at Bookshop (Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians).

Also, check out her podcast, Democracy and Destiny .

Music by Evan Schaeffer

I revisit an interview with Annette Gordon-Reed (@agordonreed) on her book, On Juneteenth and consider how best to celebrate the history of the holiday and build on and defend its legacy.

For more Juneteenth resources, see Penn Law's resources on Juneteenth. 

Music by Evan Schaeffer

I revisited an interview with Eitan Hersh on his book Politics is for Power: How to Move Beyond Political Hobbyism, Take Action, and Make Real Change.

Music by Evan Schaeffer 

In light of recent national news involving young citizens being sent out of the country, I revisited an interview from 2021 about historical efforts to strip citizenship rights, including the right to remain, from Americans. In the inverview, I spoke with Amanda Frost about her book on the topic.

You can find her book here: You Are Not American: Citizen Stripping from Dred Scott to the Dreamers by Amanda Frost

I interviewed Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer, to discuss his recent column about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the importance of that case to everyone in the United States. 

Why Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the Jenga piece that could topple the American Experiment

An interview with Rebecca DeWolf (@outofthetowerh), author of Gendered Citizenship: The Original Conflict Over the Equal Rights Amendment, 1920-1963

An interview with Tom Moore of the Federal Election Commission about some creative solutions to reduce the influence of big money in politics.