America Isn’t Under-babied. It’s Motherless.
In today’s episode I dove into the cultural forces hiding beneath Dr. Oz’s claim that America is “under-babied.” We talked about declining birth rates, reproductive rights, healthcare, economic instability, gender politics, and the unsettling ways language can normalize ideas before policy follows.
Along the way, the conversation expanded into Motherless, consent, the radicalization of young men, what women are seeing when they look at the future, and why so many people are opting out of systems that no longer feel safe, sustainable, or equitable.
Mostly, though, this was a discussion about the gap between what America says it wants from women and what it is actually willing to provide them. Based on the chat, many of us are asking the same question: If the country wants more babies, why does it keep making life harder for the people who would have them?
You can read my essay here:
America Isn't "Under-Babied." It's Motherless.
Dr. Oz and the Trump administration would like us all to know America is “under-babied.”
Thank you Amy Gabrielle, Stuart Cohen, Richard, Maura, KarenC-Book Collector📚⚖️🗽🗳️🧿♒️, and many others for tuning in.
Thanks for listening.
I’m Dana DuBois, an essayist and GenX word nerd living in the Pacific Northwest — and founder of I Write Out Loud and co-host of The Daily Whatever Show.
Through memoir writing, audio storytelling, and community spaces, I explore the larger cultural forces shaping relationships, feminism, parenting, media, modern dating, and life in mid-flight.
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