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Mommy Maddest

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Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Author Judith Warner follows up on Betty Friedan’s “Feminine Mystique” with a wake-up call for modern mothers in “Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety.” She joins guest host Sarah Crichton to talk about how society’s overwhelming expectations and underwhelming support are enough to drive a mother mad.

Desperate Housewives

Mike McIntire reporter for the new York Times
- on creative ways around campaign finance laws
» New York Times

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Outpost of Tyranny

Andrew Meldrum, South African Correspondent for the Guardian
» The Guardian
and
Abraham McLaughlin, Africa Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor
» Christian Science Monitor
- on the Parliamentary election in Zimbabwe

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Bar Room Rawl

Sarah Ludwig, Executive Director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, an organization devoted to economic justice in New York City
- says instant-refund tax rebates need to be regulated
» NEDAP
and
Megan Van Hart, Director of development for the Lower East Side ...

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Mommie Maddest

Judith Warner, journalist and author, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety (Riverhead, 2005),
- on the perils of modern motherhood
» her book

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Open Phones

Listener calls on whether women are keeping their maiden names when they get married, or taking their husband's names.

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Don't Get Mad

Judith Warner joined guest host Sarah Crichton to talk about her new book, "Perfect Madness: Motherhead in the Age of Anxiety"

Here are some listener emails:
I think the crux of the problem is the basic idea that good motherhood means spending as much time as possible with your child. My mother spent a lot of time leaving my brothers and me alone. Her philosophy was (and is) that no child can withstand the full-time attention of an intelligent woman.
Thanks,
--T.

I need to move to France. I have four children, I work full time and I'm pregnant with my fifth. Everyone including my friends family husband and employer looks at me as though I've committed a mortal sin and as though I've committed it by myself. I hear a lot of derogatory comments as to how much I must love sex when I'm walking down the street or from rude cab drivers who think they're being funny. My husband is almost praised and certainly never judged for having so many children. I constantly feel guilty and I have to fight off shame. --D.

What about stay-at-home fathers? Continue reading...

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