A few weeks ago I was sitting in my friend’s backyard shed that had been turned into a nautical-themed speakeasy. She shook up tiki drinks for the group – all of us in our 30s – as we chatted about work, travel, and politics. Then someone dropped what feels like the question right now: “so, do you want kids?”
Becoming a parent is not the default path it once was, as demonstrated by falling birth rates in the past couple decades. My friends are all over the map, and it can be a tricky subject to navigate even with close friends or your partner. The conversation can be colored by stigma, pressure and uncertainty. The conversation around this topic can be colored by stigma, pressure and uncertainty.
Thankfully, Life Kit dropped a great conversation with psychotherapist Merle Bombardieri. Her book The Baby Decision delivers practical advice for how to challenge norms and decide if parenting makes sense for you. For example: having kids (plural) is the typical question we ask ourselves, but if that feels overwhelming, does the idea of having one kid ease your worry?
Listening to Bombardieri identify the best questions to ask your partner and yourself, I felt a knot in my chest slowly loosen. Even if you’re not in this stage of life yourself, there are helpful bits of advice to share at your next backyard nautical speakeasy hang (or, like, happy hour I guess).
Setting sail for now,
⚓ Em
The week’s best episodes
…to share with your friend group
🛍️ Honey, have you seen my baby Grogu purse?
Have you noticed movie and TV merchandise has become little… wacky? (Wait, there’s Handmaid’s Tale wine?) Play along with Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts as they guess which promotional product partnerships are real, and which are just a fever dream.
☄️ The sky Swift is falling
The Swift satellite was always supposed to fall to Earth… but not like this. Short Wave speaks with NASA about the rescue mission they’re planning to save the satellite from destruction – they’re calling it the “Swift lift.”
🗽This American Life is America-maxxing
It’s a big year for the U.S. In addition to the World Cup, the midterms, and Taylor Swift’s wedding, it’s also America’s 250th birthday. This episode of WBEZ’s This American Life covers five quintessential American stories including: baseball’s new era of challenging the umpire and what it’s like to trek Michigan’s tallest sand dunes.
💸 Listen Back: Planet Money Live AMA + more!
This special episode was recorded live! The Planet Money hosts (and special guests) cover tipping culture and why automation doesn’t have to mean that workers will be replaced. (Psst, stay tuned for more NPR+ subscriber events coming soon!)
Get access to this episode (and sponsor-free listening) by signing up for NPR+.
One to Watch
🫐 The Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts has identified a reliable but surprising indicator of weather trends: the blueberry bush. WBUR chats with scientists from the Observatory who have been collecting and analyzing weather data for 141 years!
@wbur/Instagram
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