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Red Medicine
A History of Wages for Housework w/ Emily Callaci
Mar 11, 2025
Emily Callaci, a History Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, delves into the fascinating origins of the Wages for Housework movement. She highlights five key women, including Selma James and Silvia Federici, who championed recognition for unpaid domestic labor. The discussion covers the movement's resurgence in contemporary feminism, especially during the pandemic, and critiques mainstream narratives. Callaci also explores the intersections of race, class, and caregiving in activism, revealing the timeless struggles women face within economic systems.
57:45
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Quick takeaways
- The podcast emphasizes the need to recognize unpaid care work as essential to societal functioning, challenging individualistic solutions to work-life balance.
- Emily Callaci highlights the historical significance of the Wages for Housework movement in advocating for women's rights and drawing connections to broader struggles against capitalism.
Deep dives
Personal Reflections on Care Work
The discussion begins with a personal account of navigating the complexities of care work as a new parent. The speaker expresses dissatisfaction with the prevalent advice aimed at achieving work-life balance, highlighting the inadequacy of individual-centric solutions that often ignore systemic issues. This perspective emphasizes the need for a broader societal discussion about how care work is organized and the political implications surrounding it. The speaker calls for a rethinking of societal structures, proposing a need to have bigger conversations about how we live and work collectively.
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Discover
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Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode