Women Without Kids is a special podcast series created from research interviews for my book of the same title, which will be published in spring 2023. The conversations here are with the authors, philosophers, healers, activists, anthropologists, and social scientists, whose work has helped me make sense of everything it means to be a "woman without kids" today—whatever our reasons for this.
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Choosing The Life That's Right for Me with Rachel Cargle
1:17:08
1:17:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:17:08
Author, activist, and educator Rachel Cargle, talks about choosing to be childfree as a reflection of the kind of life she wants to live. In the episode we discuss: -How Rachel’s early childhood influences helped expand her vision for her life path -How her mother’s disability made her even more determined to go after what she wanted for herself -T…
…
continue reading
Stay tuned for a new format and more impactful conversations in Women Without Kids: Season 2!By Ruby Warrington
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Non-Motherhood and Mother Hunger with Kelly McDaniel
56:27
56:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:27
Therapist and author Kelly McDaniel on the links between non-motherhood and what she calls "mother hunger." In the episode we discuss: -Kelly’s definition of “mother hunger” and how she came up with the term. -Why 50% of the population experience mother hunger and how it manifests in issues around food and love. -What causes mother hunger - and why…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Life Beyond the Biological Clock with Stacy London
1:07:24
1:07:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:24
Rethinking aging as women without kids, with TV host and menopause activist, Stacy London. In the episode we discuss: -Stacy’s experience of being faced with her biological clock - and being confronted with the finality of menopause. -Her friend group getting younger and younger, as all the women her age got married and had kids. -What longer lifes…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Questioning Our Procreative Ethics with Carter Dillard
37:07
37:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:07
It's time to focus on less on what potential parents want and more on what the children of the future need, says human rights lawyer and founder of the Fair Start Movement, Carter Dillard. In the episode we discuss: -The origins and the mission of the Fair Start Movement. -Why all children deserve a “fair start” in life, from both an economic and a…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Opting For Irreversible Sterilization with Rachel Diamond
52:27
52:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
52:27
Childfree advocate Rachel Diamond on the complex reasons more women are opting for irreversible sterilization procedures. In the episode we discuss: -What a “bilateral salpingectomy” involves - and why Rachel decided to go this route versus other sterilization procedures. -Why her requests for sterilization were initially turned down, and all the r…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Are We Witnessing a Birth Strike? with Jenny Brown
1:06:13
1:06:13
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:13
It is time to revalue the unpaid labor of childrearing, says Jenny Brown—feminist organizer and author of Birth Strike: The Hidden Fight Over Women's Work. In the episode we discuss: -Jenny’s background campaigning for birth control access led to her deciding to write her book, Birth Strike. -Ominous insights into the forces that led to the overtur…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Evolutions in Sex Ed. with Justine Ang Fonte
37:08
37:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:08
It's time to teach kids about human sexuality beyond the procreative act, says sexuality educator, Justine Ang Fonte. In the episode we discuss: -Why sexuality education tends to reduce our bodies to their reproductive function - and what is problematic about this -Why human sexuality is equally about pleasure, intimacy, agency, and personal power,…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Creation, Contribution, and Collectivism with adrienne maree brown
59:30
59:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:30
Author, activist, and doula adrienne maree brown on mapping our procreative choices against the emerging needs of our species. In the episode we discuss: -The concept of “emergence” as a way to think about creation and contribution beyond procreation -Why we are both wary of describing our books as our “babies” -What the drop off in the birth rate …
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
A (Happy) Family-Free Holiday Special with Meghan Daum
1:08:05
1:08:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:05
Author, podcaster, and childfree OG Meghan Daum on finding meaning and fulfillment when biological family is not the center of your life. In the episode we discuss: Why we are so sentimental about family - and why it’s so hard to remove our rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to the subject of family life -The historical risk to life of both “goin…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Reparenting Ourselves in Non-Motherhood with Dr. Nicole LePera
1:08:22
1:08:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:22
Dr. Nicole LePera on creating a new legacy with our self-healing the potential impact of the "conscious parenting" revolution. In the episode we discuss: -How dysfunctional patterns and behaviors are passed down the generations and imprinted in us in childhood -Why not having children can be a way to stop the patterns repeating – as can conscious p…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Evolutionary Myth of the Maternal Instinct with Gillian Ragsdale
59:45
59:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:45
Evolutionary biologist Gillian Ragsdale on the myth of the "maternal instinct," and the extent to which the desire to birth a biological child is a social and cultural phenomenon. In the episode we discuss: -Why no mammal has a primal instinct that links sex to a desire to reproduce -Why we talk about a “maternal” instinct and not a “paternal” inst…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Redefining Our Reproductive Identities with Aurelie Athan
1:03:07
1:03:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:07
Psychologist Aurelie Athan on the emerging concept of "Reproductive Identity." In the episode we discuss: -How Aurelie defines the concept of “reproductive identity” and how she came to this work -The different life experiences that help to form our reproductive identity - and how this intersects with other identity markers -The cultural and social…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
What is Ending When Our Lineage Ends With Us? With Dr. Jennifer Mullan
57:08
57:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:08
Dr. Jennifer Mullan of Decolonizing Therapy on non-motherhood as part of our intergenerational healing. In the episode we discuss: -The intersections that are at play when we talk about intergenerational healing -Different ways of thinking about what is “ending with us” when we don’t have kids -The concept of the “soul wound” - and how this is pass…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
The Women Who Regret Having Kids with Orna Donath
56:21
56:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:21
Sociologist Orna Donath, author of the book Regretting Motherhood, on the roots and the impact on women of society's greatest taboo. In the episode we discuss: -Why the subject of “regretting motherhood” is so taboo – and why it is so hard for women to express their regret about having kids -The “feeling rules” about motherhood, which only permit u…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
A Legacy for Womankind Beyond Motherhood with Jeanne Safer
1:03:32
1:03:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:32
Psychotherapist Jeanne Safer, author of the 1996 book Beyond Motherhood on why not all women are destined to become mothers—and that's okay. In the episode we discuss: -Anticipating—and fearing—our parents’ responses to us writing on this subject -The value in accepting the cold, hard facts, for healing family dysfunction -Why being a “woman withou…
…
continue reading
![Artwork](/static/images/128pixel.png)
1
Beyond the Non-Mom Binary with Jody Day
1:06:01
1:06:01
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:01
Gateway Women founder Jody Day on the false divide that separates 'childless' women who can't have kids, from 'childfree' women who don't want to be mothers. In the episode we discuss: -The roots of the false binary that divides the ones who “can’t have kids” and the ones who “don’t want kids” -The role of pronatalism in this divide, which is the i…
…
continue reading
Women Without Kids is a special podcast series created from research interviews for my book of the same title, which will be published in spring 2023. The conversations I'll be sharing here are with the authors, philosophers, healers, activists, anthropologists, and social scientists, whose work has helped me make sense of everything it means to be…
…
continue reading