The Professional Left Podcast with Driftglass and Blue Gal

Ep 991: Underbabied?

Driftglass and Blue Gal Episode 991

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Episode 991 of The Professional Left starts with a question that sounds absurd on its face — are Americans "underbabied"? — and then spends an hour making the case that the people asking that question are the same ones who have spent decades doing everything in their power to make starting a family feel financially impossible. Driftglass and Blue Gal trace the long arc from the post-war baby boom through the Reagan era's war on the social safety net, showing how decades of Republican policy quietly transformed children from a shared public good into a personal lifestyle choice that you'd better be able to afford on your own. A detour through the Enron collapse and the Great Recession ties it all together — because low birth rates aren't the disease, they're the symptom, and this episode lays out exactly what's causing them.

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Artwork courtesy of "america has rabies" on BlueSky @thebatshitsutras.bsky.social


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