In July 2023, I walked away from academia and tenure after 15 years as a professor. This decision in and of itself was not so unusual. It is the 21st century, and plenty of people change careers, after all—especially in this post-2020 age of the Great Resignation. What shocked both friends and strangers alike, however, was what I decided to do instead. Instead of opting for the more typical alternative career choice for ex-academics, such as a consultant or UX researcher, I decided to stay at home full time (aside from some freelance writing and editing) to homeschool my children. “What a loss to the profession,” several friends and former colleagues commented. A couple of friends made tradwife jokes, all in good humor, about my becoming a stereotypical housewife.

Greece which has been referred to as the “cradle of civilization” now has a fertility rate of 1.3, one of the lowest in Europe, and far below the rate of 2.1 that is needed to maintain the population. The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called a “national threat.”

Texas sued TikTok on Thursday, accusing the social media platform of violating children’s privacy and state law by sharing children’s personal identifying information without consent from their parents or legal guardians.