<p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">From politicians to Silicon Valley, a growing chorus is sounding the alarm and calling for more babies. But the story behind America’s declining birth rate is more complicated than headlines and political talking points suggest. Is this just a temporary trend, or something deeper — and what does it mean for the kind of society we’re building?</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Host Megan McArdle is joined by economist and demographer Lyman Stone to discuss what’s really driving the decline in birth rates — from delayed marriage to cultural shifts and rising anxiety about the future.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Subscribe to The Washington Post&nbsp;</span><a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/acquisition/?s_l=OFFSITE_PODCAST&amp;p=s_v&amp;s_dt=yearly&amp;utm%5B%E2%80%A6%5De-podcast&amp;utm_medium=acq-nat&amp;utm_campaign=podcast-subs" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">.</span></p>