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America's Declining Birthrate

America's birthrate is tanking. People who study fertility and families say there are lots of reasons for that: college debt, political uncertainty, climate change, rising home prices, delayed marriage. We’ll talk about what all this means for the future, and what can be done to reverse the trend.

RadioWest divider.

Monday, we’re talking about the American birthrate. In short, it’s tanking. The decline started when the Great Recession hit, and it just continues to fall. People who study fertility and families say there are lots of reasons for that. There’s college debt, political uncertainty, climate change, rising home prices, delayed marriage—the list goes on. People are even having less sex than they used to. We’ll talk about what all this means for the future, and what can be done to reverse the trend.

GUESTS

  • Lyman Stone is an economist based in Washington, D.C. He is a research fellow at the Institute for Family Studies and an adviser at Demographic Intelligence, a consulting firm. He blogs at In a State of Migration and a co-host of the podcast Migration Nation.
  • Stephanie Coontz teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, and is Director of Research and Public Education for the Council onContemporary Families. She's the author of several books, including The Way We Really Are and The Way We Never Were.
Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.