On the Lean Out podcast, we’ve talked a lot about plummeting birth rates in the West, about high rates of unhappiness among modern women, about the loneliness epidemic in our society, and about the crisis unfolding among men, with large numbers of suicides and overdoses. 

Our guest on the program today says there’s a factor we should consider with each of these issues — and that is low marriage rates. And he thinks it’s time to have a conversation about the state of our unions. 

Brad Wilcox is a professor of sociology and director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia. He’s also the author of Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization. 

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com