What if the family, as we know it today, was no longer the foundation of society?

In this episode of The Parallel Effect Podcast, we travel to a parallel world where the nuclear family has been transformed, replaced by expansive networks of communal care, shared resources and an entirely different economic structure.

Returning from this alternative reality, our Many Worlds Traveller, writer and organiser M.E. O’Brien, shares insights into a society where care is collectively organised, relationships and kinship take many forms, and the needs of children, older generations and entire communities are met through shared responsibility.

Exploring the concept of family abolition, we look at how the nuclear family became intertwined with capitalism, colonialism and racial inequality, and how this alternative world reveals so much about our own assumptions, as well as the possibilities of living differently.

Episode Credits:
Producer/Presenter/Editor: Daz Chandler
Many Worlds Traveller: M.E. O'Brien
Original Music/Soundmix: Edwin Montgomery
Graphic Design: Ahmed Salama

The artist, Nicole Barakat has responded to this parallel world. To watch a documentary about her thinking and creative practice visit our project hub:
https://theparalleleffect.substack.com/p/a-world-without-the-nuclear-family