The transformative power of care - with Elissa Strauss
What are the physical, psychological and spiritual benefits of caring for others? How does caregiving benefit society, and what could society do to value care more? In what ways does care change men, and how can we encourage men to participate more in caregiving? And how are care and spirituality connected?
These are some of the questions we explore in this episode, with Elissa Strauss. Elissa is a journalist, essayist, and opinion writer, based in Oakland, California, who has been writing about the culture and politics of care for fifteen years. Her work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times and The Atlantic, and she has been a contributing writer for CNN and Slate, where her articles have focussed on feminism and motherhood. In addition to her work as a writer, Elissa is also an artistic director of LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture.
Elissa's book, When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others, was published earlier this year to widespread acclaim. Reviewers have described the book as 'brilliantly argued and timely', 'urgent and necessary', and 'destined to be a modern classic'.
We discuss the following topics in this episode:
How Elissa got started as a writer (02:10)
Why Elissa wrote When You Care (03:18)
The main message of the book (07:50)
Discovering meaning and purpose through caregiving (09:38)
The social, political and economic value of care (13:48)
The ambivalent image of motherhood and caregiving in feminist literature (20:55)
Breaking down the 'glass doors' : building a feminism of care (25:58)
The forgotten history of care feminism and its lessons for today(29:20)
Men and care (33:36)
The physical and psychological benefits of caregiving (40:43)
Elissa's discovery of feminist care ethics (46:14)
Care and spirituality (50:55)
The need for political and cultural change to support caregiving (58:00)
Elissa's plans for future research and writing (01:01:30)
Elissa's recent articles
'I hated the story of Abraham and Isaac - until I became a mother', Kveller
'The branch of philosophy all parents should know', The Atlantic
Other publications discussed in the episode
Rachel Cusk, A Life's Work
Nell Noddings, Caring
Some of the writers, thinkers and activists mentioned in the episode
Other links
'Made with Care' (Elissa's Substack newsletter)
'Young men, masculinity and wellbeing' (Martin's research with Promundo)
Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Jusitice (formerly Promundo)
Eshet Chayil (traditional Jewish poem/song)
For a transcript of this episode, follow this link to the Careful Thinking Substack
