Rob & Luisa chat kids, the 2016 fertility crash, and how the 50s invented parenting that makes us miserable

Global fertility rates aren’t just falling: the rate of decline is accelerating. From 2006 to 2016, fertility dropped gradually, but since 2016 the rate of decline has increased 4.5-fold. In many wealthy countries, fertility is now below 1.5. While we don’t notice it yet, in time that will mean the population halves every 60 years.Rob Wiblin is already a parent and Luisa Rodriguez is about to be, which prompted the two hosts of the show to get together to chat about all things parenting — including why it is that far fewer people want to join them raising kids than did in the past.Links to learn more, video, and full transcript: https://80k.info/lrrwWhile “kids are too expensive” is the most common explanation, Rob argues that money can’t be the main driver of the change: richer people don’t have many more children now, and we see fertility rates crashing even in countries where people are getting much richer.Instead, Rob points to a massive rise in the opportunity cost of time, increasing expectations parents have of themselves, and a global collapse in socialising and coupling up. In the EU, the rate of people aged 25–35 in relationships has dropped by 20% since 1990, which he thinks will “mechanically reduce the number of children.” The overall picture is a big shift in priorities: in the US in 1993, 61% of young people said parenting was an important part of a flourishing life for them, vs just 26% today.That leads Rob and Luisa to discuss what they might do to make the burden of parenting more manageable and attractive to people, including themselves.In this non-typical episode, we take a break from the usual heavy topics to discuss the personal side of bringing new humans into the world, including:Rob’s updated list of suggested purchases for new parentsHow parents could try to feel comfortable doing lessHow beliefs about childhood play have changed so radicallyWhat matters and doesn’t in childhood safetyWhy the decline in fertility might be impractical to reverseWhether we should care about a population crash in a world of AI automationThis episode was recorded on September 12, 2025.Chapters:• Cold open (00:00:00)• Why did Luisa decide to have kids? (00:01:24)• Medicine doesn't take the burden of pregnancy seriously enough (00:03:32)• Rob’s parenting experiences so far (00:08:58)• Fertility rates are massively declining (00:20:44)• Why do fewer people want children? (00:28:40)• In what sense is parenting harder than it used to be? (00:38:23)• Feeling guilty for not playing enough with our kids (00:47:30)• Are there any good options to encourage people to have more kids? (00:59:31)• Returning to work with kids (01:11:42)• AI and parenting (01:29:14)• Screen time is tough (01:42:52)• Ways to screw up your kids (01:47:47)• Highs and lows of parenting (01:50:00)• Recommendations for babies or young kids (01:51:44)Video and audio editing: Dominic Armstrong, Milo McGuire, Luke Monsour, and Simon MonsourMusic: CORBITCamera operator: Jeremy ChevillotteCoordination, transcripts, and web: Katy Moore