Lyman Stone is a demographer, researcher, and a writer.
It’s no surprise that birth rates are plummeting; raising kids feels harder than ever. Life is expensive, the future feels uncertain, and chaos is everywhere. So how do we reverse course? What would actually convince people to have more children and pull us back from a looming population crisis?
Expec ... Show More
Sep 26
How To Make Your Creativity Beat The Algorithm (Live Performance) - Dylan Gossett - #1155
Dylan Gossett is a country singer, songwriter, and music producer. Dylan's breakout hit 'Coal' took him from an aspiring musician in Austin, Texas, to a rising name in country music. But what did that seemingly overnight success actually take, how has it changed his life, and wha ... Show More
1h 29m
Sep 24
“This Will Be The Most Violent Election Of Our Lifetime” - Robert Pape #1154
Robert Pape is a political scientist, professor at the University of Chicago, and author. Why is political violence on the rise in America? With the midterm elections approaching, could this be one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime? What’s driving the hostility, ... Show More
1h 43m
Nov 2023
Counterintuitive Ideas About Marriage, Family, and Kids
There are a lot of popular ideas out there around marriage, family, and culture, like, for example, that living together before marriage decreases your chances of divorce, people are having fewer children because children are expensive to raise, and society is becoming more secul ... Show More
47m 34s
Oct 2025
Birth Rates: Are We Running Out of Babies??
Birth rates are falling all over the world, and some people are freaking out, saying this could tank our society — and even spell the end of humans. In the U.S., so-called pronatalism is having a major moment, with lots of people making the case for more babies — President Trump ... Show More
43m 8s
Oct 2024
Why Paying People to Have Babies is a Billion-Dollar Mistake
Overpopulation has been our biggest fear for decades, but now, shrinking populations are the real crisis. From aging societies to dwindling birth rates, countries worldwide are grappling with the risks of a declining population and struggling with radical measures to reverse it. ... Show More
15m 45s
Mar 2024
Birthrates Are Plummeting Worldwide. Why?
<p>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 chi ... Show More
1 h
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
<p>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 <a href="https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/cradle-to-grave/">three-part series</a>, “Cradle to Grave.”)</p><p> </p><ul><li><strong>SOU ... Show More
