logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2023
26m 10s

Not born yesterday: the world’s ageing p...

The Economist
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Today
Elbows up, again: a US-Canada trade flare-up
Promising trade talks imploded after a literal 11th-hour change from the American side. We examine the new trade barriers being erected, and the complex calculation for Prime Minister Mark Carney. In Japan Gen X workers are even still bearing the costs of an economic bubble-burst ... Show More
21m 48s
Aug 21
I, robot? AI and consciousness
The rise of generative AI has put new urgency into ancient questions. What is consciousness, and can machines ever have it? We dive into the data that reveal a surge in sexually transmitted infections in Europe. And our obituaries editor considers the life of Mary de Rachewiltz, ... Show More
24m 48s
Aug 20
Bombs and bombshells: Zelensky under pressure
From anti-corruption probes to a disgruntled ex-minister calling for elections to disrupted grain shipments, headaches are mounting for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. China has until now coped with a patchy, pricey system for mental-health treatment. The government is no ... Show More
22m 45s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2023
Not born yesterday: the world’s ageing population
<p>Fertility rates are falling to worrying levels, and an <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/06/01/global-fertility-has-collapsed-with-profound-economic-consequences?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.conten ... Show More
26m 10s
Sep 2025
Honey, we shrunk the kids: population fall
Falling fertility makes a global decline in population inevitable. That will change the shape and make up of societies. But it may not make us poorer. Are large language models really woke? And reading is on the wane – and why that matters. Listen to what matters most, from globa ... Show More
23m 46s
Nov 2021
Baby Boom or Bust
Birth rates in many countries, including China, Japan, Italy and the UK have dropped below replacement level. Clare McNeil asks if we should be concerned about this, and the burden it will place on taxpayers and the young, or welcome it as a good thing for climate change, where s ... Show More
29m 8s
Nov 2025
How Smaller Families are Changing the World
Across the globe, there is a shift in the size of families as birthrates decline. Communities, schools, and workforces are all shrinking at an alarming rate. Even in the wealthiest countries populations are aging and straining key social systems. How are smaller families changing ... Show More
22m 5s
Feb 2023
How to adapt for an ageing world, with Vegard Skirbekk
Following the Japanese prime minister Kishida Fumio's recent warning that his country's demographic crisis was approaching a tipping point, Katie Stallard speaks to Vegard Skirbekk, a population economist at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and author of Decline and Prosp ... Show More
20m 44s
Jun 2025
Diaa Noureldin on Growth Prospects in an Aging World
Most advanced economies are witnessing their populations age and labor forces shrink, and the same trend is expected to hold for the largest emerging economies within the decade. So the largely touted demographic dividend of previous decades is making way for a demographic drag. ... Show More
15m 15s
Jan 2019
Western Population Is In Decline, America Gets Bad News
Western Population Is In Decline, Americans Not Having Kids. Past forecasts were favorable for America but a new report from the CDC shows that America has fallen below replacement levels. Similar trends can be seen across Europe and other Western nations. Millennials are not get ... Show More
12m 45s
Nov 2024
Social infertility: What's behind falling birth rates?
The proportion of people without children is growing around the world. For some, this new reality reflects changing social attitudes and a desire not to have children, but for others, the decision has been taken out of their hands by a range of factors. The latest statistics avai ... Show More
26m 7s