White Picket Fence

We’re bringing you an episode of a new podcast we think you’ll love: The Amendment. A new podcast about gender, politics, and power from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network, The Amendment is hosted by award-winning journalist and 19th editor-at-large Errin Haines.Each week, Errin sits down with people who have fresh perspectives on the state of our country – and asks questions that center the voices of women, queer folks, and people of color. The Amendment adds much needed asterisks to America’s most pressing political conversations – and gets clear on the unfinished work of our democracy.In this episode, we hear from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones on what role the free press should play in ensuring the survival of our democracy. Nikole Hannah-Jones is the creator of the 1619 Project, Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and a leading voice on the vital role of journalism in our democracy today. In the inaugural episode of The Amendment, Errin and Nikole discuss the current state of journalism, the high stakes of this presidential election, the importance of historical context in our political moment, the challenges faced by Black women in journalism and more.  Follow The 19th on Instagram, Facebook, X and via our newsletters. Follow Errin Haines on Instagram @emarvelous and X @errinhaines.Follow Wonder Media Network on Instagram @wmn.media, X @wmnmedia, and Facebook. 

Organizing around motherhood works. It can activate women politically by helping them tap into a powerful identity. But maternal activism can also have some unintended consequences that don't advance justice. So in the final episode of the season, we're asking this season’s guests: should the left still be playing into maternalist politics? Or can we evolve beyond it — to a kind of politics that focuses on values, not a fixed identity, and makes space for all caregivers?This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN.

Much of the motherhood activism that is lifted up in our politics portrays women in a certain way: as uniquely moral, even apolitical, actors who were compelled to take action because they fear for their children’s safety. It’s a myth that's highly racially coded and obscures the realities of motherhood. The truth? Motherhood is political. Moms are political. And when we start acknowledging that and centering the most marginalized moms in our activism —  their needs and experiences — we end up building better policies for all of us.This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN. 

The political identity of "mother" is not owned by the right. There's also a rich history of mothers working to advance progressive change. Yet the framing of much of this activism—a mother spurred to action when awakened to a threat to her child's safety—remains grounded in an image of motherhood that is riddled with race and class privilege. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, began her activism journey as a stay-at-home suburban mom of five who felt compelled to fight for common-sense gun violence prevention in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting. But when Shannon met Rep. Lucy McBath, then a mother grieving the loss of her son, Jordan, to gun violence, something shifted. The more Moms Demand Action expanded their focus and passed the microphone to Black women who had been working on the issue for years, the more powerful Moms Demand Action became. This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN.

In the summer of 2022, Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, flew to Texas to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Onstage, his tirades against immigration, gender studies, and LGBTQ rights were met with roars of approval. Orban has made it his mission to codify traditional family values into law—and dismantle democracy in the process. American conservatives are taking note. And paving the way for these extremist policies is a group of social media "momfluencers" touting the glory of traditional family life. Are Moms for Liberty and #tradwives the harbingers of a backslide when it comes to women’s rights...and American democracy? This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN.

Moms for Liberty didn't appear out of thin air. They're building on a long history of white, conservative women who, for decades, have used their motherhood as a tool for political credibility. And it all started in 1960s California, where thousands of middle-class moms transformed into suburban warriors and helped build the modern-day conservative movement.This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN.

In the fall of 2020, a group of mothers gathered around a kitchen table. They were concerned that public school administrators were making decisions about their children's health and education that overstepped their bounds. It felt like they were losing control over their kids. So they decided to band together and fight for their parental rights. Pretty compelling, right? It's hard to argue with moms. The GOP knows that. And that's why they've weaponized our reverence for motherhood by propping up Moms for Liberty — the “grassroots” organization that’s leading the charge in the culture wars in American public schools.This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.White Picket Fence is supported by Planned Parenthood. For more information or to book an in-person or virtual appointment, visit plannedparenthood.org or call 1-800-230-PLAN.

The image of mothers — particularly white suburban mothers — has always carried a lot of weight in American politics. But why? This season, we’re exploring the political potency of motherhood. We'll investigate how right-wing groups like Moms for Liberty are making headlines by calling for classroom restrictions on discussions of race, gender, and sexuality. Their agenda is harmful, but their methods have proven effective. And we’re investigating how progressive moms can harness the power of motherhood for justice — and the risks that come with it.This season's cover art features a photograph by Jonathan Wilkins.

Although the Build Back Better Act could not deliver on all the care economy issues, there is still reason for hope. With a bipartisan oriented strategy, some of these issues can still get through the House and the Senate  – universal pre-k being one of those. On our final episode of the series, Jenny and Julie are joined by Representative Kathy Manning to discuss the importance of universal pre-k and what the future holds for care infrastructure.

The American child care system is full of contradiction. For individual families, care costs keep rising. But many caregivers are barely paid a living wage. The Build Back Better Act would have been the first federal intervention in this sector in fifty years. Without it, this broken cycle continues. On today’s crossover episode with Women belong in the House, Jenny and Julie are joined by Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark to discuss the precarious state of our care economy.

The need to take family or medical leave touches every American. Yet, despite overwhelming popularity, the U.S. stands alone as the only industrialized nation without paid leave. In this crossover episode, Jenny and Julie are joined by Representative Lauren Underwood to unpack why America continues to lag behind and the ongoing political fight around this crucial issue. 

In this new season of Women belong in the House x White Picket Fence, we’re examining America’s caregiving crisis. In our first episode, Jenny and Julie explore the child tax credit with one of its longtime supporters -- Rep. Rosa DeLauro.

White Picket Fence is continuing our conversation around the caregiving crisis, this time, with the help of another WMN show: Women belong in the House. Catch Julie on new episodes of Women belong in the House discussing the critical caregiving policies that we still hope could pass in Congress. Check out Women belong in the House

So many things came together that could  have made this moment different. The ascendance of a new progressive economics. A more intersectional gender justice movement. Greater numbers of women political leaders. Multi-racial organizing that is centering women of color and making caregiving a central political issue. But once again, a handful of politicians have prioritized personal success over the well-being of the many.In our final episode of the season, we're honoring the work that brought the U.S. closer to public investments in caregiving than at any point in history. And talking about the cultural work that still needs to be done, for tangible changes to take root. 

When it comes to the failure of the 1971 Comprehensive Childcare Development Act, it's easy to point a finger at conservatives. But that's not the whole story. This week, join host Julie as she dives into the battle between care feminism and career feminism, and how the winner of that match up has impacted women's right advocacy for the last 50 years. If this season's topic resonates with you, we want to hear about it! Leave us a voicemail at 212-655-5048 with your questions, ideas, experiences, and get a chance to be featured on the show. Check out our website, www.wondermedianetwork.com/white-picket-fence, for more information.

This week, Julie dives deep into the economic ideology that arose alongside social conservatism and prevented public investments in care. We’ll break down what “neoliberalism” is and what the rise of it has meant for family life -- how the mix of low taxes, deregulation, and privatization has made family life more economically precarious for the vast majority of Americans. If this season's topic resonates with you, we want to hear about it! Leave us a voicemail at 212-655-5048 with your questions, ideas, experiences, and get a chance to be featured on the show. Check out our website, www.wondermedianetwork.com/white-picket-fence, for more information.

How did the U.S. become a society that treats caregiving as a private family responsibility rather than a public good?In this episode, Julie explores the longstanding and continued role racism has played in preventing investments in public goods that would benefit everyone, including caregiving. We’ll also do a deep dive into the 1970s when the U.S. nearly invested in universal childcare -- and how fear was deployed to block it. If this season's topic resonates with you, we want to hear about it! Leave us a voicemail at 212-655-5048 with your questions, ideas, experiences, and get a chance to be featured on the show. Check out our website, www.wondermedianetwork.com/white-picket-fence, for more information.

This week, host Julie Kohler travels back to the mid-20th century to examine the creation of the “traditional” nuclear family — a myth only made possible through the exploitation of Black women’s domestic labor — and how the family values and nostalgia of this era continue to exist in today’s debate over “caring economy” policies.If this season's topic resonates with you, we want to hear about it! Leave us a voicemail at 212-655-5048 with your questions, ideas, experiences, and get a chance to be featured on the show. Check out our website, www.wondermedianetwork.com/white-picket-fence, for more information.

In March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic became a global health crisis. But from it bore a whole set of complementary crises: an economic crisis and a caregiving crisis.The pandemic erased more than 30 years of gains in women’s labor force participation, while simultaneously leaving women to shoulder the majority of the family responsibilities. But the conditions for these crises existed long before COVID-19 hit American shores. How exactly did we get here?

Welcome to season 2 of White Picket Fence. We're investigating the caregiving crisis that has left millions of Americans —including our host Julie Kohler, a single mom — on the verge of cracking. Raising kids is challenging enough. Why does it have to be this hard?If this season's topic resonates with you, we want to hear about it! Leave us a voicemail at 212-655-5048 with your questions, ideas, experiences, and get a chance to be featured on the show. Check out our website, www.wondermedianetwork.com/white-picket-fence, for more information.