What Adds Up to the Panini Effect

What happens when love isn’t enough to hold up a broken system?

Ai-jen Poo—award-winning organizer and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance—joins Kate Bowler to talk about caregiving in America. Who provides it. Who’s left out. And why we need a system that treats care as the sacred, shared labor that it is.

Together they explore:

• Why more than 100 million Americans are caregiving right now
• What it costs to support a loved one—and why the math doesn’t add up
• The long shadow of slavery in how we treat domestic workers today
• Why dignity and agency are essential in every stage of life
• What it would look like to build a policy solution that works for everyone

If you’re carrying the care of someone else—or fearing the moment when you will—this conversation is for you.

Show Notes

• Caring Across Generations – A movement co-led by Ai-jen Poo to transform the way we care in America.

• National Domestic Workers Alliance – Advocating for the dignity and rights of the people who care for our homes and loved ones.

• The Age of Dignity by Ai-jen Poo – A powerful read on what the “elder boom” means for all of us.

• Find your elected officials – Contact Congress to protect Medicaid and support caregiving policies.

• State-by-state Medicaid info – Learn what Medicaid is called in your state and how it supports care.

• Congressional Budget Office – For context on recent Medicaid budget cuts and projections for coverage loss.

• Aspen Ideas Festival

• Share your caregiving story on Substack – Join the conversation with others who are navigating care.

• A Blessing for Care-Givers and Care-Receivers – A gentle word for those in the trenches of giving or needing care.

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