636. Why Aren’t We Having More Babies?
Episode
50 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Economics & Policy
AI-Generated Summary
What It Covers
Global fertility rates have fallen by half in fifty years, creating economic and social challenges as countries shift from overpopulation fears to birth dearth concerns.
Notable Moment
Catherine Pekalik, Harvard-trained economist with fourteen children, describes how colleagues assume her large family reflects irrational decision-making despite her professional expertise in rational choice theory.
You just read a 3-minute summary of a 47-minute episode.
Get Freakonomics Radio summarized like this every Monday — plus up to 2 more podcasts, free.
Pick Your Podcasts — FreeKeep Reading
More from Freakonomics Radio
We summarize every new episode. Want them in your inbox?
Similar Episodes
Related episodes from other podcasts
Marketplace
Feb 26
A private credit market boom
The Daily (NYT)
Feb 18
Can A.I. Already Do Your Job?
The Prof G Pod
Feb 17
China Decode: What the Fire Horse Reveals About China’s Past and Future
Lenny's Podcast
Jan 29
Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet
a16z Podcast
Jan 29
Marc Andreessen on Why This Is the Most Important Moment in Tech History
Explore Related Topics
This podcast is featured in Best Finance Podcasts (2026) — ranked and reviewed with AI summaries.
You're clearly into Freakonomics Radio.
Every Monday, we deliver AI summaries of the latest episodes from Freakonomics Radio and 192+ other podcasts. Free for up to 3 shows.
Start My Monday DigestNo credit card · Unsubscribe anytime