Episode · Freakonomics Radio · 2025-06-13
Books mentioned on 636. Why Aren’t We Having More Babies?
For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite.
Stephen Dubner recommended The King's Midwife by Nina Rattner Gelbart, and discussed The Population Bomb by Paul R. Ehrlich.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Population Bomb
The Population Bomb by Paul R.
Discussed“That's Paul Erlick, a Stanford biologist who in 1968 co-wrote a book called The Population Bomb.”
Where to get it
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The King's Midwife
The King's Midwife by Nina Rattner Gelbart explores the life and historical impact of Madame du Coudray, an eighteenth-century French midwife who revolutionized obstetrical education under royal patronage.
Recommended“There's a wonderful book by Nina Galbart called The King's Midwife where she argues that you could extrapolate the number of successful births based on Kudra's training and then the midwives who followed her training.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Love, Money, and Parenting
“He also co-wrote a book called Love, Money, and Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way Wea, and he has three children, if you're wondering.”