Introduction: I’ll be your host this week, Iona Italia. My guest this week is Nicholas Wolfinger. Nick is Professor of Family and Consumer Studies and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Utah. He is also the editor of a recent collection of tales of academic cancellation, called Professors Speak Out: The Truth about Campus Investigations. I’ll be talking to Nick today about the main topic of his research: marriage, divorce, and parenthood. I’ve been a fan of Nick’s work on the subject for years. He’s the author of the sociological study, Thanks for Nothing: The Economics of Single Motherhood since 1980 (co-authored with Matthew McKeever). He’s also written for Quillette a number of times; his most recent contribution is an article called In Defence of the Moynihan Report (also co-authored with Matt). In this discussion, I will draw heavily on a chapter he contributed to the International Handbook of Family Policy, called “Family Change in the Context of Social Changes in the U.S.”—which might sound dry but is actually lively and readable. (If you’re listening to this as an audio podcast, please note that you can find a free link to that chapter in the shownotes to this episode on the Quillette website.) I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nicholas Wolfinger.

In Defence of the Moynihan Report

Sixty years later the Moynihan Report still divides us. American families have paid the price.

QuilletteNicholas Wolfinger