What would make you want to have more children? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat speaks with Dr. Alice Evans, a social scientist who is as concerned about the global decline in fertility as he is. The two discuss why this isn’t just a gender issue — it’s “a solitude issue” – and whether there’s a way to bring relationships back.

• 02:03 - What are the stakes of declining fertility?
• 06:41 - Alice's master theory for why birth rates are falling
• 09:04 - There are too many single people
• 10:27 - We can thank technology for the coupling crisis
• 12:58 - The digital segregation of men and women
• 16:31 - Men have less to offer these days
• 20:11 - What can bring the sexes back together
• 24:31 - Could Hollywood help fix the problem?
• 25:46 - Can the government incentivize people to have babies?
• 27:30 - What role does religion play in all this?
• 28:59 - The role of IVF
• 40:50 - Does the fantasy of youth impact the numbers?
• 43:43 - The world in 2080...

(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.) 

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