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Beyond Pronatalism
Finding fulfillment, with or without kids
To have or not have kids is one of the biggest decisions we make in our lives, and yet how many of us know that we even have a choice about how we define and create our families? Beyond Pronatalism host Nandita Bajaj interviews people from diverse backgrounds who are courageously and creatively navigating pronatalism - the powerful pressures to have children - whether from family, friends, or the culture at large. Through intimate conversations, they discuss how they are forging unconventional pathways to fulfillment, including redefining what family means to them - whether that means being childfree or childless, having biological children, adopting or fostering children or animals, or creating close-knit communities of friends and loved ones.
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Episodes
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Molly Peacock | A Poetic Childfree Life
Raised in a chaotic and violent household, poet Molly Peacock knew from a young age that she didn't want to be a mother. Escaping the trauma that surrounded her, she developed a rich, internal world of poetic imagination fed by voracious reading and writing that would lead to her decades-long career as a poet, biographer, and essayist. An accidental pregnancy at age 38 led Molly to affirm her childfree choice with an abortion and tubal ligation. In her mid-forties she reconnected with her high school boyfriend and they remained happily married for decades until his death. Now widowed, Molly retains a deep joy for her richly creative and socially engaged life.
Jenn | In Search of a Childfree Partner
After watching her parents struggle raising her and her siblings and experiencing similar challenges with extensive babysitting in her youth, Jenn knew that she didn’t want children. But cultural narratives made her believe that motherhood was mandatory, pushing her to become engaged to a person who wanted children and wasn’t right for her. Two years later, realizing that she was unwilling to compromise, she ended the engagement and committed to being fully honest to any future partner about her desire to remain childfree. Now happily married and childfree, Jenn and her husband enjoy exploring nature, developing hobbies, and caring for their companion animals.
Episodes are released every other Tuesday and available on all podcast platforms.
Producer and Host: Nandita Bajaj
Production Team: Josh Wild, Alan Ware
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