Episode 170: Care with Premilla Nadasen
Released April 21st, 2026
The discourse around today's crisis of care responds to the shredding of America's social safety net, but leaves out the most vulnerable almost entirely. In episode 170 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss how this works with Premilla Nadasen, author of Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. They discuss how gender fits into the care industry, the harms of associating care work with emotion, and how the practice of care has been commodified. How is it that we deny the most basic care from those who need it most? What are the harms of framing care workers as family members? And how has racial capitalism produced the explosion of the care economy that we're seeing today? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts think about the distinction between the practice of care and care itself and how labor workers can learn from care workers in their modes of organizing.
Subscribe to our paid Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more! Check out this week’s extended episode here!
Works Discussed
Arlie Hochschild, The Managed Heart
Premilla Nadasen, Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
