With natalism coming to the forefront of American politics in recent years, people who have long been writing about the declining birth rate have begun to take center stage in the larger political discourse. Many of these thinkers skew toward a conservative ideology. This week, Josh and June read through the writings of a modern conservative natalist writer, Lyman Stone, to get a better picture of where the natalist movement stands and better understand the political demands of the conservative natalist in the era of Donald Trump.
EPISODE ART: Lyman Stone press photo from <a href='https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/articlesbyauthor/10028'>Demographic Research</a> 
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.npr.org/2025/07/07/nx-s1-5388357/birth-rate-fertility-replacement-pronatalist-politics?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr'>As women have far fewer babies, the U.S. and the world face unprecedented challenges</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/394507/lyman-stone-pronatalism-birth-rate'>Lyman Stone on America’s falling birth rate</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-marriage-rate-different-political-views/674358/'>Now Political Polarization Comes for Marriage Prospects</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.vox.com/23971366/declining-birth-rate-fertility-babies-children'>You can’t even pay people to have more kids</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/president-trumps-first-100-days-april-2025/'>President Trump’s First 100 Days, April 2025</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://news.virginia.edu/content/how-politics-drive-our-personal-relationships-and-even-where-we-live#:~:text=decade%20or%20so?-,A.,marriages%E2%80%9D%20appears%20to%20be%20decreasing.'>How Politics Drive Our Personal Relationships – and Even Where We Live</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-61467-8#Sec14'>Arranged and non-arranged marriages have similar reproductive outcomes in Nepal</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/promise-and-peril-the-history-of-american-religiosity-and-its-recent-decline/'>Promise and Peril: The History of American Religiosity and Its Recent Decline</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.insightfultake.com/details/the-declining-us-birth-rate-a-demographic-shift-with-farreaching-implications'>The Declining U.S. Birth Rate: A Demographic Shift with Far-Reaching Implications</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/what-workism-doing-would-be-parents/618789/'>What Workism Is Doing to Parents</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-marriage-rate-different-political-views/674358/'>Now Political Polarization Comes for Marriage Prospects</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.aei.org/articles/hungarys-demographic-failure/'>Hungary’s Demographic Failure</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://ncfamily.org/how-to-fix-our-falling-fertility-rate-lyman-stone/#:~:text=LYMAN%20STONE:%20In%20historic%20comparison,is%20missing%20half%20a%20child.'>How to Fix Our Falling Fertility Rate (with Lyman Stone)</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.aei.org/op-eds/want-more-american-babies-make-the-u-s-more-livable/#:~:text=It%20seems%20much%20more%20ethical,still%20be%20undershooting%20their%20preferences.'>Want More American Babies? Make the US More Livable</a></li>
<li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://medium.com/migration-issues/more-thoughts-on-falling-fertility-366fd1a84d8'>More Thoughts on Falling Fertility</a></li>
</ul>
AUDIO CLIPS
21:12 / 25:44 - <a href='https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/394507/lyman-stone-pronatalism-birth-rate'>Lyman Stone in an interview with Vox Media's Today, Explained</a> 
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<ul>
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<li>Other podcast: <a href='https://www.worstpossible.world'>The Worst of All Possible Worlds</a></li>
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FOLLOW JUNE:
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<li>Bluesky: <a href='https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mf5dzzqkp7fnmby6blfeljwj'>@junlper.beer</a></li>
<li>Other podcast: <a href='https://linktr.ee/westernkabuki'>Western Kabuki</a></li>
<li>Writing: <a href='https://junlper.substack.com'>June's Substack</a></li>
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