About this episode

The episode discusses the rise of family estrangement, particularly among adult children and their parents, often triggered by political disagreements.

Back in 2013, the Obama administration endorsed an ad campaign that came to be derisively known as the “pajama boy” campaign. “Pajama boy” was actually an adult man who encouraged young adults to make the case for Obamacare over Thanksgiving dinner with their relatives. “Wear pajamas. Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance.” was the tag line. Most people thought it was pretty silly and the image survives now as an online meme. In retrospect, “pajama boy” was actually a little bit sinister because it was symptomatic of a shift in the culture. While families have always fallen out over personal conflict, it is now increasingly common for relationships to break down over politics . This is directly downstream of a new expectation that confronting relatives about political disagreements at the family dinner table is not just acceptable, but actually virtuous. My guest today has written a book about the rise of family estrangement, and particularly of adult children going ‘no contact’ with their parents. The proximate trigger for this new kind of divorce is often political: arguments about Trump, or Covid, or gender identity are common. But behind these individual…

People in this episode

Host: Louise Perry

Guest: Noelle Mering

Topics covered

• family estrangement
• political disagreements
• cultural shifts
• adult children
• relationships

Keywords

• family estrangement
• politics
• adult children
• Noelle Mering
• cultural shifts
• Obamacare
• pajama boy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Obama administration, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Books & works: No Co

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