Capitalism Hits Home with Dr. Harriet Fraad

In this episode of CHH, Dr. Harriet Fraad traces back the origin of gender roles to the beginning of civilization to explore how and why certain types of work have been historically and traditionally performed by the female gender.

In this week's episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad continues her discussion of the personal effects of inflation. In a country that bombards all of us, even our youngest children, with images of wealth and prosperity as a symbol of worthiness, it is humiliating to struggle to make ends meet. Our culture blames the individual for being stuck in a cycle of poverty, yet most of our policies pu...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home , Dr. Fraad is joined by Prof. Richard Wolff, host of Economic Update to discuss inflation and the collateral damage it has caused Americans. In the first part, Prof. Wolff explains what inflation is and the real reasons behind the rising prices. Dr. Fraad then explains what inflation means to the majority of people. She explores the personal, social and psy...

"Denial is a way the brain copes with a painful reality." In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad continues her discussion of how Americans are coping with a falling empire: by not facing it. Human brains have the capacity to look away or shift blame when facing reality is too difficult, mainly through denial, dissociation, projection, and transference. Fraad looks at the war in Ukraine...

Welcome to Season 6! In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad dissects a harsh reality: the American empire is falling and the signs of its decline are everywhere. High divorce rates, low wages and high unemployment, mass shootings, shortened lifespan, election denials, price gouging, and war are all side effects of this American decline. We are not the empire we once were. When will we...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad continues her discussion of the impact of broken social bonds on our mental health. This week she focuses on government and the ways in which our American government has failed to protect us— with huge increases in poverty, low wages, unjust workplace practices, inflation, excessive military expenditures, and more. Many Americans are feeling aband...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad speaks on the value of connection for our emotional, political, psychological and social lives as human beings. We're seeing more and more disconnection as the pandemic draws on, remote work increases, and our state fails to take care of our needs. Connection is what separates us from other animals, and has always been what has allowed humans to s...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad traces the history of the traditional family unit and offers a class analysis of how it has shifted and evolved since the 1700s. Fraad discusses the feudal arrangement of families, the impact of the French Revolution and WWII, and how issues of family form are being disputed in the political sphere today.

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home , Dr. Fraad argues against capitalist values like individualism and freedom. Too often those in charge, the "great male heroes," receive all the credit for achievements built on the backs of so many. Fraad suggests that freedom through connection, gratitude for those who do the work to build our lives, celebration of our common goals and interests and our po...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad dissects the bizarre American adoration of the British monarchy following Queen Elizabeth II's death. The monarchy symbolizes the absence of social mobility, hierarchy, and the appropriation of public money for private wealth. What do ordinary people get out of this unequal system and why are we all so comfortable with it?

**CW: This episode contains discussions of rape** In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad takes a look at capitalist-driven loneliness. Crime is often thought of as a person breaking the law, but what about the crimes capitalism allows, and even celebrates? In our workplaces we get ripped off, monitored, and lose our humanity. Commodities are sold to us only to get recalled, addictive p...

**CW: This episode features discussions of sexual assault and police brutality** In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad draws on her therapeutic expertise to discuss psychological mechanisms people unconsciously rely on when facing a reality that is too much to bear. These tools—dissociation, denial, and projection—can happen in both our personal and political lives. Fraad looks at per...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad continues her discussion of the recent Supreme Court decisions and asks: why were these decisions made when they do not align with the majority of American's beliefs? When a system fails for the mass of people, fascism can develop to ensure that system continues. As the US becomes more and more divided, Fraad argues that we must remember our commo...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad looks at the recent dramatic US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. She argues that all of the SCOTUS decisions for 2022 share a common purpose. First, they help to create a capitalist authoritarian state enforced by unaccountable police. Secondly they divide the mass of people. They antagonize divisions between people and fuel culture...

"We have to accept that empire and militarism is not what's going to save the world, it's what's going to destroy the planet." In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home , Dr. Fraad continues discussing America's problem with gun violence. Because the US never converted to a peacetime economy after WWII, it continues to spend billions waging wars, stockpiling military equipment, and funding overseas...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad looks at mass shootings in the US and in particular the most recent tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. She examines the psychological, emotional, political, and economic reasons the US is the world leader in mass murder, and suggests solutions to end this cycle of violence and death.

"Capitalism is really bad for our health." In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad discusses mental health through the lens of a 4-legged table of connection: intimate relationships, friends, larger groups such as PTAs, work, or political groups, and connection to your country and shared humanity with the world. Under capitalism, Fraad explains, each leg of the table is made very shaky....

With rising inflation rates, mass resignations, poor working conditions, and expensive housing, it's clear that capitalism in the US is falling apart. To counter this, the right wing is working hard to repress each and every marginalized group in order to keep the working class divided. In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad looks at that fascist push to maintain a hierarchy in family,...

In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad continues her discussion of mental health. She argues that we need to do away with the medical model of mental health that diagnoses depression as a brain disease and seeks to treat it exclusively with medication rather than acknowledging the societal and systemic conditions which lead to this chronic unhappiness. Fraad contends that human misery...

"One out of four American women take antidepressant drugs." In this episode, Dr. Fraad addresses how mental health is diagnosed and treated in the US. Human suffering and misery have been systematically categorized as disorders for which treatment with medication is needed and prescribed by psychiatrists. She argues that the collusion of medical doctors, insurance companies, pharmaceutical compani...

During its inception, the Women's Liberation Movement was rooted in anti-capitalist and anti-racist ideals, pushing for equality for all. Today, however, feminism tends to focus mainly on gender equality. In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad discusses how that fracture happened and the deliberate forces behind it. Now more than ever we need an intersectional and collaborative approac...

Our nation's racism was a deliberate policy developed in response to rebellions in the 1600s when white indentured servants, free black men and women and enslaved black people rose up together against their exploitation. In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad shares the story of this hugely important, yet often untaught, historical moment and its implications today.

**CW: RAPE, SEX TRAFFICKING** In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad brings a Marxian class analysis to a highly controversial topic: sex work. Though illegal in the United States, sex work is all around—from brothels and sex trafficking to the sugar industry and communes. Fraad traces a brief history of sexuality and exploitation from antiquated marital expectations and slavery to the...

**CW: THIS EPISODE DISCUSSES ABORTION AND FORCED STERILIZATION**  Control of women's reproduction is a common weapon in the hands of the Right Wing. In the episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Harriet Fraad breaks down the fight for reproductive rights by looking at abortion access and forced sterilization. These issues are fundamentally about class and control: forcing women to have unwanted preg...

Declining living standards, joblessness and pronounced inequality are leaving Americans feeling disconnected, helpless and depressed. In this episode, Dr. Fraad talks about the 3 Ds: depression, dissociation and denial, Americans are resorting to as coping strategies for their stark decline in health and living standards. Fraad offers examples of more productive and beneficial ways to cope and hea...