Blythe Terrell

Um, yeah, it's worse than I thought it was.

Yeah, you know, I actually told one of the protesters some of the science about menstruation and she was like, great, thanks.

That's like another thing for me to Google when I'm awake in the middle of the night.

So I also am sorry.

Yeah.

But to me, it's like, okay, well, figuring out what we know, what we don't know.

Hi, I'm Blythe Terrell filling in for Wendy Zuckerman, and you are listening to Science Versus.

This is the show that pits facts against falling fertility.

Today, we're talking about the claim that people are having fewer and fewer babies and that it could be bad news for humanity.

We've actually been hearing about this fear for years, but recently it has made its way to the White House.

Vice President J.D.

Vance has gone in on this, too.

And it's not just the US.

This idea that people need to have more babies has been popping up all over the world with headlines about low birth rates in parts of Europe.

China, which famously had a policy limiting couples to one child only, has done a 180.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., there's actually a whole movement building around this of people called pro-natalists.

And they seem to have the ear of President Trump.

Some of the proposals we're hearing about to get more babies include stuff like $5,000 cash bonuses for parents, classes to teach women about their menstrual cycles, and even a grand prize for the most fertile among us.

A national medal of motherhood for women with six or more children.

So there's a few reasons that people are eager to turn this around.