During World War II, the U.S. planted the seeds of universal child care through the Lanham Act — only to rip them up once men returned from war. In this episode, we trace how shallow commitments to child care exposed deep inequities. From federally funded centers that vanished overnight, to the boarding school era that stripped Native families of culture, to licensing systems rooted in exclusion — we uncover how racism and sexism shaped who was trusted to care for children.

We ask: Who is deemed worthy of support? Whose labor is valued?

Featuring direct quotes from Franklin Roosevelt’s mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and reformer Catharine Beecher, we connect history to today’s reality: women of color, who do the bulk of early education work, are still paid the least. And yet, as Ai-jen Poo reminds us, “Care work makes all other work possible.”

This is the story of soil too shallow to sustain roots — and the urgent need to rebuild a foundation where equity, justice, and respect for care can grow.