The Double Shift – Details, episodes & analysis

I am very angry right now. In my community, I’m witnessing a fixable systemic childcare problem be cemented squarely on the shoulders of individual families, rather than those with power and resources collectively addressing a real need.

My beleaguered public school district is waving the white flag of surrender to its working parents over our afterschool program. In this week’s audio newsletter, I’ll make a case for why we have to resist the dismantling of safety nets.

This is the last free audio newsletter for everyone. If you’re a paid member, you still have access. If you’ve loved these audio newsletters and want to try out our membership program, go to thedoubleshift.substack.com/listeners for a free 30-day trial.

Now I want to change gears from fire breathing to recommend a few Substacks to you:

I love the Substack from Lindsey Stanberry called The Purse. She gets personal with the people she interviews and it’s so illuminating. My favorite one of her series is Home Economics where people share al the nitty gritty details about what they spend money on in a month. Also has a Division of Labor series about household responsibilities among couples I think Double Shifters will love.

Also, definitely check out I’m Walking Here by Liz Gumbinner. She’s one of the original tastemakers in the mom space looong before momfluencers were a thing, and her newsletter is a great mix of common sense advice, analysis of current events, observations on parenting and parenting culture, pithy media commentary, unabashed feminism, GenX nostalgia, oddly persistent optimism, gift guides and recommendations.

Members-only Hangout THIS FRIDAY! 

I can’t wait for our Members-only hangout on March 15th at 3pm EST! I’m thrilled that two long-time Double Shift members will join me in conversation about how creativity and caregiving intersect, overlap, conflict, and interplay. This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot as my “day job” requires "creativity.” But writing doesn’t always feel “creative” for me when it’s part of my “work.” I will be joined by musician Jaspar Lepak and visual artist Ilyse Iris Magy. Whether you are also a professional creative, someone who explores creativity through hobbies, someone who’s shelved creativity because of your caregiving duties, or someone who thinks they don’t have a creative bone in your body, this will be an enriching discussion for us all!

After all of the intensity of being a business lady and switching platforms in the last few weeks, I thought I’d change gears with this occasional beloved series on a wide range of things that make my life better. None of these are a substitute or solution for a robust social safety net or a society that values care, but they are still fun. Nothing in this list is sponsored, and not all require purchases to experience.

If you love audio newsletters and what to try out our membership program, go to thedoubleshift.substack.com/listeners for a free 30-day trial.

Recommended Links:

* Zuri Kenya Dresses

* The DoubleTree Inn and Suites

* Ukiyo Teacup

* The Substack App

* Locopops

If you love the Double Shift, I think you’ll also love: 

* Matriarchy Report: Journalists Allison Lichter and Lane Anderson have a great weekly newsletter focusing on solutions to issues around care work and family life. Their formats include personal essays, Q&As with authors and experts of all kinds, as well as original reporting. I was honored that they recently featured my work at New America under the awesome titles 8 Great Gifts for Caregivers and Every Time Motherhood Radicalizes Someone, an Angel Gets Its Wings. Check out their great work and give ‘em a Subscribe.

Making it Work: If you liked this edition of The Double Shift newsletter, you’ll love the thoughtful recommendations from Youngna Park ’s great newsletter. Her taste is impeccable (or just very similar to mine) and well-researched, especially in the books department for both kids and adults. Also, I love that she makes great recommendations without being overly consumerist, which feels like a fine line sometimes. I think you’ll love it as much as I do.

COVID vaccinations for five to 11 year olds are here, and for so many parents and caregivers this moment could not have come soon enough. Others are taking a wait-and-see approach, including many moms who are vaccinated themselves but may feel anxiety about the COVID vaccine when it comes to their kids... and they don't necessarily have access to a doctor or health care worker who can help them sort through the information -- and emotion -- overload that dovetails with socially imposed expectations on what it means to be a “good mom.” 

Katherine has got you covered. She talks with her great friend AND trusted advisor, board certified family physician Dr. Liz Baltaro, about the science on kids and the COVID vaccine, and about the swirling vortex of “vaccine anxiety:” The worry many moms feel when making these weighty decisions about their children’s safety. Dr. Liz fields questions from you, our listeners, and brings calm to the chaos. Even if you are on board with getting your kids the shot, this episode may answer some important, lingering questions you have and will help you better understand those in your life who aren’t quite sold.

Some Helpful Resources:

Pfizer study on vaccines for ages 5-11 measures vaccines ability to neutralize antibody responses

The risk of myocarditis is higher from COVID than from the COVID vaccine --The New England Journal of Medicine

The official CDC guidance on vaccines for kids and teens 

American Academy of Pediatrics FAQs of the COVID Vaccine 

Answers to your Questions About the COVID Vaccine and Kids -- NYTimes

Research cited in this episode was based on information available as of October 2021. Research on the impact of the covid vaccine on children is being updated regularly -- check the CDC web page for children and teens for the most recent information on vaccine safety and effectiveness.

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

While other news outlets have “moved on'' from talking about how mad and burnt out moms are, we’re just getting started. In part two of this intimate, in-the-moment audio diary series, host Katherine Goldstein shares her story of caring for newborn twins and a four-year-old as the coronavirus shut the world down around her. She’s joined by co-host Angela Garbes to discuss the idea that mothers are the unacknowledged essential workers of the pandemic, what’s changed in the year+ since the audio diaries were recorded, and what hasn’t. Katherine and Angela also reflect how they both see collectively harnessing anger over what has happened in the last 19 months as crucial for finding a path forward.

Newsweek: Pandemic Could Cost Typical American Woman Nearly $600,000 in Lifetime Income

Check out The Nap Ministry on Instagram.

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

Every mother has been touched by the pandemic and every mother has a story that deserves to be heard...including our own host, Katherine Goldstein.

In this two-part series, Katherine shares her story of caring for newborn twins and a four-year-old as the coronavirus shut the world down around her. Through intimate, in-the-moment audio diaries, she strips away the tropes around self-sacrificing pandemic motherhood and lays bare the frustration, fear, uncertainty, and anger (so much anger) over how mothers, children, and caregivers have been abandoned in this crucial moment -- and have actually always been left to fend for themselves.

A year and half later, we all know where this story is headed....but we don’t yet know how it ends. 

----

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

-----

Listen to Battle Tactics for your Sexist Workplace wherever you get your podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/battle-tactics-for-your-sexist-workplace/id1391206534

While we are on hiatus, check out a show we think you’ll love. It’s called Home. Made. Today we are sharing the full episode of the series, called  “Is There A Doctor In The Dollhouse?” It’s about Dr. Kwandaa Roberts, who on the surface appeared to “have it all:” a thriving medical practice, a big house in the suburbs, two kids. But she harbored a secret dream to be an interior designer. Her chance to live this dream came about when she renovated a dollhouse that went viral on social media.... but then the pandemic happened, and Kwandaa was forced to make some difficult life decisions.

Katherine and Angela have built their careers thinking about motherhood, career and identity. Today, we hear from the Double Shifters who have influenced them most — their own mothers.  

Angela interviews Kay Goldstein about her trailblazing careers (plural!) as a second wave feminist, how she looks back at her life as a mom in the workforce now, and the lessons she shared with Katherine about not leaving anything on the table. Josie Garbes tells Katherine about her experiences as an immigrant who found her calling as a hospice nurse, the complexities of caring for the dying at work while raising three kids at home, and her new interest in activism during this time of targeted violence toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Turns out, the influence between mother and daughter is truly a two-way street.

Need a COVID-19 Vaccine? Go to vaccines.gov.  https://www.vaccines.gov/

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

A year and a half ago, Shana Thomas was a mom of three who earned a good salary. She’d worked her way up at a company she loved and was telling younger women they could "have it all.” The pandemic changed everything. She's now one of the 4.5 million women who has left employment behind since the start of 2020, and is now an in-home services caregiver for her youngest daughter who’s a wheelchair user, and an unpaid virtual teaching assistant for her older two kids. But nearly a year after leaving her career, she’s finding her footing and increasing moments of peace with her path.

This is a story about sacrifice and unexpected hope. 

Check out The Center for American Progress’ Calculator https://interactives.americanprogress.org/childcarecosts/ for the long term costs of leaving the paid workforce due to childcare needs.

This is part three of our series on the true cost of the pandemic for moms, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/covid-toll-working-mothers a partnership between us, The Guardian, and The Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

Need a COVID-19 Vaccine? Go to vaccines.gov. 

Also check out: Slate’s The Waves, wherever you get your podcasts. https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/07/the-waves.html

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

In Part 1 of this series, hosts Katherine Goldstein and Angela Garbes shared their own mental health challenges over the past year. They definitely aren’t the only ones who have struggled -- and in this episode we hear directly from some listeners who’ve sent us voice memos about how they are also not OK. We share some of the most pressing issues we are hearing about with Dr. Amber Thornton, a clinical psychologist and a motherhood wellness consultant. We discuss moms’ needs coming last, challenges in accessing care, additional obstacles for women of color in getting mental health support, some realities around self medicating, and more. 

You can find out more about Dr Amber at Balanced Working Mama, and her podcast The Balanced Working Mama Podcast.

https://www.balancedworkingmama.com/ & https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-balanced-working-mama-podcast/id1520168735

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Resources:

If you are needing mental health support, please check out the following organizations:

Postpartum Progress https://postpartumprogress.com/

Postpartum Support International Hotline: 1-800-944-4773 (1-Spanish, 2- English)

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (In English and Spanish) https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/ppc/documents/DBP/EDPS_text_added.pdf

Motherhood Understood, https://www.motherhood-understood.com/resources which includes Mother’s Manual for Postpartum Mental Health, Cheat sheet to Medications, Cheat sheet to Partners, and other resources.

SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline is 1-800-662-HELP (4357). They also have a treatment locator. https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255

Membership:

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.

The mental health impact, especially on mothers, in the last year has been enormous. But the realities are something that's rarely talked about openly, and still carries a stigma. Hosts Katherine and Angela share their own personal stories of mental health diagnoses and experiences with antidepressants during the pandemic.

Resources:

If you are needing mental health support, please check out the following organizations:

Postpartum Progress 

Postpartum Support International Hotline: 1-800-944-4773 (1-Spanish, 2- English)

Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (In English and Spanish)

Motherhood Understood, which includes Mother’s Manual for Postpartum Mental Health, Cheat sheet to Medications, Cheat sheet to Partners, and other resources.

SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline is 1-800-662-HELP (4357). They also have a treatment locator. 

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255

Also check out: 

Listen to Under The Influence with Jo Piazza, an 8 episode deep dive into the “momfluencer” industrial complex, wherever you get your pods. 

----

If you love the Double Shift Podcast, sign up for our newsletter, thedoubleshift.com/newsletter. 

Consider joining The Double Shift member community, which is a social change laboratory for moms. Learn more here at thedoubleshift.com/join.