logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
50m 28s

636. Why Aren’t We Having More Babies?

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher
About this episode

For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite. How did this happen — and what’s being done about it? (Part one of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”)

 

  • SOURCES:
    • Matthias Doepke, professor of economics at the London School of Economics.
    • Amy Froide, professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
    • Diana Laird, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco.
    • Catherine Pakaluk, professor of economics at The Catholic University of America.

 

 

Up next
Oct 3
648. The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted
The N.F.L. is a powerful cartel with imperial desires. College football is about to undergo a financial reckoning. So maybe they should team up? (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:DeMaurice Smith, former executive director of the National Football League Players Association ... Show More
1h 6m
Sep 26
Is the U.S. Really Less Corrupt Than China? (Update)
In this episode we first published in 2021, the political scientist Yuen Yuen Ang argues that different forms of government create different styles of corruption — and that the U.S. and China have more in common than we’d like to admit. SOURCES:Yuen Yuen Ang, professor of politic ... Show More
57m 34s
Sep 19
647. China Is Run by Engineers. America Is Run by Lawyers.
In his new book “Breakneck,” Dan Wang argues that the U.S. has a lot to learn from China. He also says that “no two peoples are more alike.” We have questions. SOURCES:Dan Wang, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, author of Breakneck: China's Quest t ... Show More
1h 1m
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
Birthrates Are Plummeting Worldwide. Why?
For a long time, the story about the world’s population was that it was growing too quickly. There were going to be too many humans, not enough resources, and that spelled disaster. But now the script has flipped. Fertility rates have declined dramatically, from about five childr ... Show More
1 h
Nov 2024
221. Why Are We So Pessimistic?
Are things really as bad as they seem? Has Gen Z given up hope for the world? And why was the father of positive psychology a lifelong pessimist? SOURCES:Albert Bandura, professor of psychology at Stanford University.David Brooks, author and opinion columnist. Andrew Grove, forme ... Show More
39m 8s
Jun 2023
The Depopulation Bomb: Stephen J. Shaw
Stephen J. Shaw is a data scientist & demographer. He is the writer and director of ‘Birthgap - Childless World’, a documentary exploring the global decline in birth rates. Check out part one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6s8QlIGanA SPONSORED BY: EasyDNS - domain name re ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2024
209. Why Do We Settle?
Why does the U.S. use Fahrenheit when Celsius is better? Would you quit your job if a coin flip told you to? And how do you get an entire country to drive on the other side of the road? SOURCES:Christian Crandall, professor of psychology at the University of Kansas.Stephen Dubner ... Show More
35m 2s
Sep 20
#996 - Stephen J. Shaw - Why Population Collapse is Closer Than You Think
Stephen J. Shaw is a data scientist and filmmaker. Birth rates in Western countries are collapsing, a trend even Elon Musk calls an existential threat. But what’s the true cause? Is it economics, fear of the future, cultural shifts, or something deeper? And more importantly, can ... Show More
2h 53m
Nov 2024
Anatomy of the Great Replacement Panic feat. Steven Monacelli & Dr. Michael Phillips
Around the world, racist influencers have instigated a panic over shadowy global elites who have supposedly conspired to flood white-majority countries with immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia in order to destroy Western civilization.  This idea, called the Great Repla ... Show More
31m 44s
Feb 2021
Episode 91, ‘How to Save the World from Financialisation’ with Grace Blakeley (Part II - A Green Future, Further Analysis and Discussion)
‘History has ended, and capitalism is the last man standing. The innovations and freedoms enjoyed by the Global North have shown that the free market is the only viable economic system; it is almost impossible to imagine a coherent alternative.’ This was certainly the view of Mar ... Show More
26m 59s
Sep 27
167. The Secret of Humanity? It’s Common Knowledge.
Steven Pinker’s new book argues that all our relationships depend on shared assumptions and “recursive mentalizing” — our constant efforts to understand what other people are thinking. He and Steve talk about the psychology of eye contact, the particular value of Super Bowl ads, ... Show More
58m 45s
Aug 18
08/17/2025: The Promise and The Land of Declining Sons
Twenty-three years later, over 1,000 families are still waiting for news of loved ones lost in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. Correspondent Scott Pelley looks at how efforts to search for and identify their remains have never stopped, driven by the promise made by the Ne ... Show More
44m 48s
Jan 2024
Don’t Die Before Your Time - Longevity Expert Gary Brecka
Gary Brecka is a Human Biologist, ‘Biohacker’ and co-founder of 10X Health System. Formerly a mortality researcher for the insurance industry, he now uses his experience to help people optimise the mind, body and spirit through modern science. His system has been credited with ch ... Show More
1 h