The total fertility rate is a small number with big consequences.
It measures how many babies, on average, each woman will have over her lifetime. And for a population to remain stable - flat, no growth, no decline - women, on average, have to have 2.1 kids.
In the U.S., that number is 1.6, and dropping. It's driving a new political debate about what – if anything – can be done about it.
The thing is, beneath that demographic data point are millions of families making intimate decisions about kids. NPR's Sarah McCammon and Brian Mann dug into the politics and personal stories behind America's shrinking birthrate.
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State of the World from NPR - What a Long Lost Typewriter Says About Chinese Culture
A typewriter recently discovered in a basement in upstate New York holds important clues about the origins of Chinese computing. And brings up questions about language and culture.
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1A - ICYMI: Rescue And Recovery Efforts Continue In Texas
On Friday, central Texas, near San Antonio, was hit by what officials are calling a "100‑year flood." Heavy downpours caused a deadly 30‑plus-foot surge on the Guadalupe River and catastrophic flash flooding.
Nearly 90 people have been killed and dozens remain missing. Search and rescue operations continued Monday as more heavy rain threatens the region. Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said they lost 27 campers and counselors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River.
Authorities vowed that one of the next steps will be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in areas long vulnerable to flooding.
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Nearly 90 people have been killed and dozens remain missing. Search and rescue operations continued Monday as more heavy rain threatens the region. Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said they lost 27 campers and counselors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River.
Authorities vowed that one of the next steps will be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in areas long vulnerable to flooding.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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Up First from NPR - Texas Flooding Update, Tariff Limbo, Health Groups Sue RFK, Jr.
Crews continue their search and rescue efforts in Central Texas, the Dow tumbled on Monday after President Trump threatened stiff new import taxes, and prominent health organizations filed a lawsuit against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.
Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Alfredo Carbajal, Rafael Nam, Jane Greenhalgh, Janaya Williams and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Zo van Ginhoven.
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Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Today's episode of Up First was edited by Alfredo Carbajal, Rafael Nam, Jane Greenhalgh, Janaya Williams and Lisa Thomson. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Zo van Ginhoven.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Will the tax cuts pay for themselves?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now law. It's expected to cost the government a pretty penny. The Congressional Budget Office predicts a $3.4 trillion increase in the deficit over ten years. This is driven by significant tax cuts, including extensions of those made in 2017.
Trump's advisors argue the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Today on the show, we speak with the guru on that school of thought, Arthur Laffer, and dig into some of those claims with a tax economist.
Related episodes:
The simple math of the big bill (Apple / Spotify)
What's going to happen to the Trump tax cuts? (Apple / Spotify)
So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go? (Apple / Spotify)
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Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Trump's advisors argue the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Today on the show, we speak with the guru on that school of thought, Arthur Laffer, and dig into some of those claims with a tax economist.
Related episodes:
The simple math of the big bill (Apple / Spotify)
What's going to happen to the Trump tax cuts? (Apple / Spotify)
So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go? (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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NPR's Book of the Day - In the new speculative novel ‘Weepers,’ mourning is outsourced to professionals
In Peter Mendelsund's novel Weepers, many in the world are concerned they'll be replaced by smart machines. But a cowboy poet named Ed has found work in the American Southwest. He's a professional weeper, part of a group of union workers hired to mourn at funerals. In today's episode, Mendelsund tells NPR's Scott Simon that the novel was inspired, in part, by the author's own experience with depression and "oversensitivity."
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To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday
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Short Wave - Itchy? Air Pollution May Be Making It Worse
Short Wave producer Hannah Chinn has adult-onset eczema. They're not the only one. Up to ten percent of people in the United States have it, according to the National Eczema Association — and its prevalence is increasing. Despite its ubiquity, a lot about this skin condition remains a mystery.
So today, Hannah's getting answers. In this encore episode, they sat down with Raj Fadadu, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Diego, to ask: What is eczema? What triggers it in the first place? And might climate change make it worse sometimes?
If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the science of itchiness. Also, follow us! That way you never miss another episode.
Interested in hearing more about climate change and human health? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear your feedback!
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So today, Hannah's getting answers. In this encore episode, they sat down with Raj Fadadu, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Diego, to ask: What is eczema? What triggers it in the first place? And might climate change make it worse sometimes?
If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the science of itchiness. Also, follow us! That way you never miss another episode.
Interested in hearing more about climate change and human health? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear your feedback!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
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State of the World from NPR - In Nigeria, Farmers and Herders Battle Each Other for Land
In the fertile central region, the fights between herders and farmers for land access has become violent. We go to one village where over 160 people were killed in what villagers say was an effort to drive them off their farms.
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Consider This from NPR - Flooding is common in Texas Hill Country. This was different
Imagine standing in water shallow enough to just barely hit the soles of your feet. And then it rises so fast that in just about ten minutes, it's up to your neck. That's how fast the Guadalupe River in Texas rose last week, according to state officials.
Twenty-six feet in less than an hour.
That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more survivors will be found. But in a press conference today, officials warned the death toll will continue to rise.
In the Texas Hill Country, climate change and geography conspired to create one of the worst floods in generations.
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Twenty-six feet in less than an hour.
That flooding left dozens dead, devastated homes and businesses. Officials, emergency crews and volunteers are hoping more survivors will be found. But in a press conference today, officials warned the death toll will continue to rise.
In the Texas Hill Country, climate change and geography conspired to create one of the worst floods in generations.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
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1A - ICYMI: The Megabill, Medicaid And Rural Americans
On Friday, President Donald Trump celebrated the passage of his signature tax and spending bill into law.
At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. It will also reduce Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. That will result in an estimated 11.8 million people losing health insurance coverage. Among those who will be hardest hit? Rural Americans.
We discuss what kind of challenges people living in rural areas could face with the new law and what ripple effects the law could have across rural public health systems.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a
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At nearly 900 pages, the legislation is a sprawling collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. It will also reduce Medicaid spending by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. That will result in an estimated 11.8 million people losing health insurance coverage. Among those who will be hardest hit? Rural Americans.
We discuss what kind of challenges people living in rural areas could face with the new law and what ripple effects the law could have across rural public health systems.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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