Make More Kids

Why modern culture is stopping us from having families.

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Having endured years of Jonah’s targeted bullying campaign, AEI senior fellow Tim Carney joins the pod to celebrate the release of his new book Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture is Making it Harder to Raise Happy, Healthy, and Successful Children. The two discuss why millennials aren’t having kids, why being a father in public is stigmatized, and whether feminism is undoing itself.
Show Notes:
-Germany’s birth rates are dropping
–Rethinking Sex: A Provocation
–Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us
-Michelle Goldberg on Family Friendly in the New York Times

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Comments (49)
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  1. Clark.Monson

    Very much enjoyed this. I laughed right out loud when Carney said, in the context of parenthood being the easiest path to sainthood, "You know, the Bible says 'feed the hungry, clothe the naked'--there are literal hungry and naked people in my house when I wake up."

    My wife and I have three kids, and I love all of them for their own little personalities, but if I could change anything it would be two things: I would have started earlier (I was 31 when our oldest was born), and I'd have had more (in a perfect world, of course--my wife was told after our third that if she gets pregnant again she could experience a uterine rupture. Having seen a friend go through that and nearly die, she's understandably nervous about another pregnancy--and I'm not going to push her).

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  2. Brian Collins

    Really enjoyed this podcast.
    -Excellent insights about the importance of mediating institutions--and on not running them along economic or political lines (e.g., as democracies or businesses)--while remaining positive about capitalism as an economic system.
    -Appreciated the call-outs to the significance of stay-at-home moms. That was what my mom did, and the benefit to my life is incalculable.

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  3. Michael.Terrien

    A Bailey's Irish Creme sign in your living room? Do you live in a dorm? For the love of god defer to your wife on the decor!

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    Emily Spenla

    This pod was really great. It was a good challenge for me. My husband and I feel totally swamped by 3 kids, but ideally would have more. We don’t go on fancy vacations or have many fancy/new things. But I’m totally guilty of “bespoke parenting.” I can tend towards obsessing over eating/cooking the healthiest food possible and searching for the ideal “Christian Homeschool Hybrid school” with my preferred curriculum. Instead of just sending my kids to the school one block away and feeding them what the average American eats.

    I also have TERRIBLE pregnancies. I think one way to support people having larger families is helping provide significantly more affordable and better prenatal care. (The healthcare system is so broken and just likes to provide bandaids instead of getting to root causes.) We should have a culture of offering to carry groceries for pregnant moms, immediately giving up one’s seat for pregnant moms, letting pregnant moms have special parking spots when it’s 118 degrees out ect. Basically society should have a very “gentlemanly” attitude towards pregnant women.

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  5. Phillyex1

    I’m all in favor of society being friendlier to families and children, but I draw the line at the government subsidizing child rearing. I’m a NO on expanding the child tax credit. In fact, I’d like to see what is now in place sunsetted out. Tim Carney is welcome to his six kids, but I’m not helping him pay for them. It is no more legitimate for the government to subsidize having kids, than it is for the government to subsidize electric vehicles or solar panels or sugar plantations.

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  6. Kalo

    Great discussion. Thanks.

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    Amy Edmonds

    Such a good podcast. A lot to think about as a strong pro-life supporter. The idea of more family friendly infrastructure is one I'm going to suggest to some legislators in my home state. What a good idea!

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  8. Bigdonmck

    My attention span in my old age is about an hour. Jonah knows no such boundaries. This podcast was fantastic. I am one of seven sibs from a devout Roman Catholic mother ( back in the day one would get a letter from the Vatican for less than six kids ). I could definitely relate to the subject matter.
    Great job. And I stayed awake for the entire podcast!

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  9. Bloodredinabluestate

    When we four kids were growing up and complaining about the unfairness of it all, my father would say that our family was not a democracy but a benign dictatorship.

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    1. Clark.Monson

      I got something similar: "benevolent dictatorship" was the phrase, I believe.

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    Marc Frischhertz

    Jonah, I challenge you to have Paul Waldman on to discuss his new book “White Rural Rage”. I would love to hear you challenge him on his conclusions

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