Ill Conceived

In 2020, Vox cofounder Matt Yglesias published a book entitled One Billion Americans which ostensibly sought to lay out a liberal argument for dramatically increasing the population of the United States. This week, June and Josh read the book. Hoo boy, do we have thoughts about it.

***BIG NEWS: WE HAVE A PATREON NOW! We'll be recording bonus mailbag episodes that will release at the beginning of each week. The main show will continue its regular release schedule at the end of each week and will stay free to all of you, our beloved babies. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Matthew Yglesias, the author of One Billion Americans. In 2014, Yglesias cofounded the news website Vox alongside Ezra Klein and Melissa Bell. He departed Vox in 2020 to join the Niskanen Center, a centrist think tank. Yglesias also publishes a newsletter called Slow Boring. 

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

In March 2025, 200 natalists and their closest friends assembled in Austin, Texas for the second gathering of NatalCon, a convention intended to discover the core causes of declining birthrates and come up with solutions to address those problems. This week, Josh and June watched videos recorded from that convention to see what they were cooking. Turns out that it was mostly fascism.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Kevin Dolan, the founder of Natalcon. Dolan posts on X under the pseudonym "Bennett's Phylactery" and was fired from his position as a data scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton after being doxxed in 2021.

FURTHER READING:

AUDIO CLIPS:

SOURCES:

Next week we're recording our first in-person episode together and Josh is still prepping, so it's time for another mailbag episode. This week's topics include Elon Musk's super-sperm, Warhammer 40K, adoption as a tool of natalism, the pitfalls of accelerated home learning, and how we've discovered the flow and format of the podcast as we've gone along.

***COME SEE JOSH IN CHICAGO THIS MONDAY... Josh will be performing as part of Genius Night: A Night For Geniuses on Monday, October 20 at 7pm... This free event (with a $5 suggested donation) will be at Cafe Mustache, located at 2313 N Milwaukee Avenue... SEE YOU THERE????***

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: The cover for the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly except it's been edited to say The Good, the Bad and The Mailbag

FURTHER READING:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

Elon Musk was once hailed as one of the brightest wealthy Americans who was standing up for progressive causes like climate change. Then he threw away that reputation as he rapidly shifted rightward and publicly embraced white nationalist conspiracy theories. This week, June and Josh explore Elon Musk’s under-discussed but high-priority views on birth rates, natalism, the Great Replacement theory, and sexy chatbots.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Elon Musk, the current wealthiest man in the world and by some metrics the wealthiest man to ever live, wearing a black hat that says DOGE on it. Musk's current net worth is estimated around a half trillion dollars based on his equity positions in Tesla and SpaceX. He also owns X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter.

AUDIO CLIPS:

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

It's no secret that large families tend to homeschool their children. But why is this their approach of choice, and how does it work? This week, Josh and June take a look at the origin of homeschooling and discover how the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), an advocacy organization founded by homeschool parents, has effectively created a parallel education system in the United States with almost no oversight or accountability.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Monica Swanson, a Christian homeschool advocate and author of the books Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You; Raising Amazing: Bringing Up Kids Who Love God, Like Their Family, and Do The Dishes; and Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, A Strong Family, and a Life They'll Thank You For Later. Swanson also has hosted podcasts about homeschooling and has four sons. 

AUDIO CLIPS:

FURTHER READING:

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown created an online ecosystem ripe for misinformation and radicalization. One of the new right wing movements that got its start during this time was the "Parents' Rights" movement, and the group that has pushed this the hardest is Moms For Liberty, who portray themselves as moms standing up for freedom. This week, June and Josh dig into Moms For Liberty to unravel their true agenda and discover how they’ve managed to become an organizing base of the Republican Party in their goal of dismantling the public education system.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Bridget Ziegler, co-founder of Moms for Liberty and current member of the school board in Sarasota County, Florida. In 2022, Ziegler accepted a director position at the Leadership Institute, a conservative training center in Arlington, VA, but was later forced to resign due to sexual assault allegations involving her, her husband, and an unnamed other woman.

AUDIO CLIPS:

FURTHER READING:

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

We dug into the mailbag again for thoughts on how natalists pass that shit on, fulfilling or shirking your family’s desires for your life, TeenPact, being a T4T tradwife, the natural gendered division of labor, the impact of benevolent sexism, daddy/daughter dances vs. father/son camping trips, and handing your daughter off to her husband. Our programming will resume as usual next week with an episode on Moms for Liberty, and thank you as always for your continued support.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: The box art for the 1991 Amiga game Oh No! More Lemmings except it's been edited to say "Oh No! More Mailbag"

FURTHER READING:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

Quiverfull is an evangelical Christian philosophy that takes the Biblical command to "be fruitful and multiply" extremely literally by refusing to use any contraception, including natural family planning. It rarely sees coverage in the mainstream media, so this week, Josh and June look into the principles and practical lifestyle of Quiverfull and discover why it holds such a strong appeal to a certain type of Christian.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Jim Bob Duggar, a realtor and politician from Arkansas. After serving as a member of the Arkansas State House of Representatives for four years, Duggar mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge for US Senate in 2002 and again for Arkansas State Senate in 2006. From 2008 to 2015, Jim Bob, his wife, and their children were featured on the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting (formerly 17 Kids and Counting and 18 Kids and Counting).

AUDIO CLIPS:

FURTHER READING:

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

Within the last few years, women portraying themselves online with a “trad wife” aesthetic have skyrocketed in popularity. This new trend embraces long dresses, traditional gender roles, cooking homemade meals, and raising massive families. Josh and June take a look into what the Trad Wife life experience is all about, what’s so appealing about it to some women, and the aspects that make it more than just a harmless apolitical lifestyle.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Abby Shapiro Roth, a "traditional lifestyle" content creator who formerly published videos on YouTube as Classically Abby and now writes a newsletter called The First-Gen SAHM. She's also Ben Shapiro's sister.

AUDIO CLIPS:

SOURCES: 

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE:

Purity is a load-bearing concept in the conservative Christian ideal of family and reproduction. From as young as five years old, Christian girls are told to guard their hearts and bodies against men with bad intentions. But what about a positive model of masculine pursuit? This week, Josh and June take a look at the men who believe the best way to teach their daughters about their worth is to take them out on dates and pledge to guard their virtue in elaborate ceremonies known as purity balls.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Randy Wilson, field director for the Family Research Council and creator of the concept of the purity ball

AUDIO CLIPS:

SOURCES:

FOLLOW THE SHOW:

FOLLOW JOSH:

FOLLOW JUNE: