Jess Calarco
@jessicacalarco.com
Sociologist. Author. Professor. Roosevelt Institute Fellow. Expert on families, schools, kids, privilege, and power. Bylines in NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, Atlantic, etc.
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
This was *entirely* preventable.
December 14, 2025 at 11:36 AM
This was *entirely* preventable.
All the problems in the world right now, and the State Department is worried about "woke" fonts.
December 11, 2025 at 12:43 PM
All the problems in the world right now, and the State Department is worried about "woke" fonts.
I'm seeing parents complain about schools closing at the chance of flurries. Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, the roads looked like this this morning, and school still started on time.
December 11, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I'm seeing parents complain about schools closing at the chance of flurries. Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, the roads looked like this this morning, and school still started on time.
Care is the holy grail of automation. Because we need it to survive, but it's too labor-intensive to be profitable, even as it gets more expensive. And because we could make it a public good, but only by raising taxes on billionaires.
So, be *very* skeptical when they claim AI can replace care.
So, be *very* skeptical when they claim AI can replace care.
December 10, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Care is the holy grail of automation. Because we need it to survive, but it's too labor-intensive to be profitable, even as it gets more expensive. And because we could make it a public good, but only by raising taxes on billionaires.
So, be *very* skeptical when they claim AI can replace care.
So, be *very* skeptical when they claim AI can replace care.
Giving boys baby dolls to play with won't make them grow up to be gay. But it will make them grow up to be dads who can parent without ChatGPT.
December 9, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Giving boys baby dolls to play with won't make them grow up to be gay. But it will make them grow up to be dads who can parent without ChatGPT.
Fitting attire for both the end of the semester and the end of 2025.
December 9, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Fitting attire for both the end of the semester and the end of 2025.
It's the last day of class! Which means it's Treat Day for my students. And which means I owe big thanks to @dancalarco.bsky.social for dropping me off at my office, so I didn't have to lug a cake and a couple dozen muffins and other goodies up a snowy Bascom Hill.
December 9, 2025 at 1:43 PM
It's the last day of class! Which means it's Treat Day for my students. And which means I owe big thanks to @dancalarco.bsky.social for dropping me off at my office, so I didn't have to lug a cake and a couple dozen muffins and other goodies up a snowy Bascom Hill.
Thanks! I got the sheep to go with a piece I made from my daughter's art last year.
December 7, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Thanks! I got the sheep to go with a piece I made from my daughter's art last year.
For those not familiar, @dancalarco.bsky.social is an avid seamster who makes clothes for our kids, makes his own custom sweatshirts, and volunteers teaching kids how to sew.
December 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM
For those not familiar, @dancalarco.bsky.social is an avid seamster who makes clothes for our kids, makes his own custom sweatshirts, and volunteers teaching kids how to sew.
If you see this, repost with your model of positive masculinity.
December 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM
If you see this, repost with your model of positive masculinity.
I like patterns for bigger projects, because I don't have to think as much. But I've done some smaller freehand pieces, too. Like this one, turning my daughter's sketch of a pile of sheep looking at a hamburger into a stitched design.
December 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I like patterns for bigger projects, because I don't have to think as much. But I've done some smaller freehand pieces, too. Like this one, turning my daughter's sketch of a pile of sheep looking at a hamburger into a stitched design.
This new one might be my favorite of the landscapes I've done recently. Both because I managed to get the tension right on the fabric to avoid bunching and because the texture of this one makes it very 3D.
December 6, 2025 at 3:42 PM
This new one might be my favorite of the landscapes I've done recently. Both because I managed to get the tension right on the fabric to avoid bunching and because the texture of this one makes it very 3D.
In case you need a break from the chaos in the news, here's an embroidered landscape I finished last night--my latest project to avoid doomscrolling before bed.
December 6, 2025 at 3:31 PM
In case you need a break from the chaos in the news, here's an embroidered landscape I finished last night--my latest project to avoid doomscrolling before bed.
Or, for more sinister version...
December 6, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Or, for more sinister version...
Same difference, indeed.
December 6, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Same difference, indeed.
Of course, when I say something cringe-worthy at the dinner table, she's quite happy to look at me with an exasperated teen-like glare.
December 4, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Of course, when I say something cringe-worthy at the dinner table, she's quite happy to look at me with an exasperated teen-like glare.
I love that, even though she's almost a teenager, she still likes me enough to smile at me when she's onstage : )
December 4, 2025 at 11:38 PM
I love that, even though she's almost a teenager, she still likes me enough to smile at me when she's onstage : )
Yes, winter is super cold in Wisconsin. But super cold air can't hold moisture. Which means that winter is full of bright, clear, cloudless days.
December 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Yes, winter is super cold in Wisconsin. But super cold air can't hold moisture. Which means that winter is full of bright, clear, cloudless days.
On top of the feasibility issue, there's also an equity problem, given that the program isn't open to state employees with certain types of jobs, or where work takes them to certain types of spaces or requires travel.
December 4, 2025 at 11:34 AM
On top of the feasibility issue, there's also an equity problem, given that the program isn't open to state employees with certain types of jobs, or where work takes them to certain types of spaces or requires travel.
Indiana is one of the worst states in the US for childcare. So, I can see why state employees might welcome a take-your-infant-to-work program. But I'm skeptical about how it will work in practice, given that infants are allowed only if they cause no disruptions and have no impact on productivity.
December 4, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Indiana is one of the worst states in the US for childcare. So, I can see why state employees might welcome a take-your-infant-to-work program. But I'm skeptical about how it will work in practice, given that infants are allowed only if they cause no disruptions and have no impact on productivity.
Snowy days make for good baking days, so I finally got around to making the sourdough everything bagels my 11-year-old has been requesting for a month.
November 30, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Snowy days make for good baking days, so I finally got around to making the sourdough everything bagels my 11-year-old has been requesting for a month.
I got this one in high school (Pillsbury's The Complete Book of Baking), and it has served me well enough that my favorite recipes are crusted with bits of batter, and some of the pages are falling out.
November 30, 2025 at 7:27 PM
I got this one in high school (Pillsbury's The Complete Book of Baking), and it has served me well enough that my favorite recipes are crusted with bits of batter, and some of the pages are falling out.
The timing for this article is also particularly bad, as holidays stretch even politically engaged parents super thin. I've had 8 kids (ages 2-11) staying at my house this week. And even with 7 other grownups to help, I can count on one hand the number of news articles I've had time to read in full.
November 29, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The timing for this article is also particularly bad, as holidays stretch even politically engaged parents super thin. I've had 8 kids (ages 2-11) staying at my house this week. And even with 7 other grownups to help, I can count on one hand the number of news articles I've had time to read in full.
Meanwhile, even if a reader takes the time to click on and read the article, they still have to scroll past two ads and a list of related stories to get to the "okay but" paragraph explaining that real scientists are highly skeptical of these new FDA claims.
November 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Meanwhile, even if a reader takes the time to click on and read the article, they still have to scroll past two ads and a list of related stories to get to the "okay but" paragraph explaining that real scientists are highly skeptical of these new FDA claims.
Headlines like this are extremely dangerous. Because moms of young kids are the people who make the bulk of the vaccine decisions for famillies. And for a lot of them, "reading the news" looks like scrolling past headlines on social media in the spare moments of the chaos of caring for kids.
November 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Headlines like this are extremely dangerous. Because moms of young kids are the people who make the bulk of the vaccine decisions for famillies. And for a lot of them, "reading the news" looks like scrolling past headlines on social media in the spare moments of the chaos of caring for kids.