You would have thought with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, China wouldn’t be too worried about the number of people living there declining a bit.

But as it faces the challenges of an economic slowdown and an ageing society, Beijing is urging families to have more babies to stop a population decline that’s been recorded for a second year in a row. 

But is a falling birth rate necessarily a bad thing? 

Featured: 

Stuart Gietel-Basten, Professor of Social Science and Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Why more babies won’t fix China

ABC News Daily is the podcast that helps you understand the issues affecting your world. Every episode, host Samantha Hawley walks through one story with the help of an ABC colleague or expert in under 15 minutes. When you want coverage you can trust, listen to ABC News Daily.

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You have to be aged at least 13 to access social media like TikTok, Twitter and Instagram in Australia. 

But is that an appropriate age, given the disturbing content available and harm heavy social media use can cause? 

Could we just ban smartphones and social media for Australian kids altogether?

Today, we meet a father who has limited his daughter’s phone use and a psychiatrist who’ll explain the problems that smartphones can cause. 

Featured: 

Danny Elachi, The Heads Up Alliance founder

Dr Yann Poncin, child psychiatrist at the Yale Child Studies Center

The case for banning phones for kids

Two deadly crashes and a mid-air door blowout have rocked the reputation of Boeing, with questions intensifying about the quality of its planes.

Concerns about the 737 MAX aircraft peaked when a hole opened up on the side of an Alaska Airlines flight in January this year. 

Today, Jerry Useem, who’s been investigating Boeing for more than two decades, charts the firm’s departure from in-house manufacturing. 

He’s been writing for the Atlantic magazine about how Boeing switched its focus to its stock price and what that meant for the safety of its aircraft.

Featured: 

Jerry Useem, contributing writer at The Atlantic

Can Boeing rebuild trust after safety scares?

At Columbia University in the heart of New York City late one evening this week riot police stormed a university hall. 

They entered via a window to arrest students who’d for weeks been camping out at the campus to protest against the war in Gaza. 

Now, the pro-Palestinian movement that’s seen more than a thousand students arrested across the US has landed here. 

Today, we look at the encampments popping up on campuses across the country and ask how will university leaders allow freedom of speech while ensuring Jewish students and staff feel safe? 

Featured: 

Dr Tim Dean, senior philosopher at the Ethics Centre

When should uni protests be shut down?

Most Australians had never flown it and now they may never get a chance. 

Bonza has followed so many other airlines and gone into administration, meaning yet again less competition in our aviation market. 

Today, the rise and rapid fall of the budget carrier and whether we will one day get a third major airline to drive down airfares across the country. 

Featured: 

Justin Wastnage, adjunct professor in aviation at Griffith University

Why budget airlines keep failing

Inflation pressures were meant to be coming off a bit more by now, but a higher than expected reading has one prominent economist suggesting interest rates could go up three times this year.

So, why is inflation so sticky? And will the Reserve Bank feel compelled to lift rates to further dampen economic activity? 

Today, chief business correspondent Ian Verrender explains what’s going wrong. 

Featured: 

Ian Verrender, ABC Chief Business Correspondent

Why more babies won’t fix China

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