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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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Miriam | The Surprising Joys of Rejecting Motherhood
Miriam was raised in France in an emotionally demanding family dynamic, a product of her mother’s poor mental health and her parents’ unhappy marriage. As the oldest daughter, she felt responsible for her younger sisters as well as her parents’ emotional wellbeing. At 20, a conversation with her ecologically-minded, childfree partner helped her realize, with a great sense of relief, that she didn’t have to become a mother and follow the life script she was raised with. Now a junior doctor in southern Germany, Miriam happily embraces the freedom and possibilities of her childfree life.
Elisa | Living with Ecological Grief
Raised in Greece by progressive, highly educated parents, Elisa felt little pressure to become a mother and ultimately chose a childfree life shaped by concerns for her own mental health and the future of life on Earth. We explore her work on ecological grief and why society often overlooks grief related to environmental loss and the death of companion animals. Dedicated to the protection of animals and the more-than-human world, Elisa finds deep satisfaction in the freedoms that her nomadic, minimalist, childfree lifestyle offers her.
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.
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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