Ashley and Nick Evancho say raising their young daughter, Sophia, is one of the most joyous things they've ever done. But the Evanchos also made a decision that's increasingly common for families in the U.S. and around the world: one is enough. The trend is leading to populations that are dramatically older, and beginning to shrink, in many of the world's biggest economies.
Experts say a rapidly aging and gradually shrinking population in the world's wealthiest countries could force sweeping changes in people's lives, causing many to work longer before retirement, making it harder for business owners to find employees and destabilizing eldercare and health insurance programs.
This story is part of NPR's Population Shift series.
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.
This episode was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Jimmy Keeley. It was edited by Andrea de Leon and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Audio Mises Wire - In the New Year, We Will Hear Even More Environmental Doom Because the Doomsday Industry Never Rests
A wearisome part of modern life is the incessant chants of “doomsday” from intellectual, academic, political, and media elites. That their six decades of predictions all have been wrong only leads them to double down on the volume of their claims.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/new-year-we-will-hear-even-more-environmental-doom-because-doomsday-industry-never-rests
The Ezra Klein Show - This Question Can Change Your Life
I like to start the year with a few episodes on things I’m personally working on. Not resolutions, exactly. More like intentions. Or, even better, practices.
One of those practices, strange as it sounds, is repeatedly asking the question: “What is this?” It’s a question I got from a book of the same name, by Stephen and Martine Batchelor. In that book, they are describing an approach to Buddhist meditation built on the cultivation of doubt and wonder. You can see that as a spiritual practice, but it’s also an intellectual and ethical one. It is, for me, a practice that has a lot of bearing on politics and journalism.
Stephen Batchelor’s latest book, “Buddha, Socrates, and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times,” explores those dimensions of doubt more fully. And so I wanted to have him on the show to discuss the virtues of both certainty and uncertainty, the difficulty of living both ethically and openly. You can see this as a conversation about our inner lives or our outer lives, but of course they are one. And Batchelor, as you’ll hear, is just lovely to listen to.
Mentioned:
Buddha, Socrates, and Us by Stephen Batchelor
What Is This? by Martine Batchelor and Stephen Batchelor
Ethics of Care by Carol Gilligan
Book Recommendations:
Children of a Modest Star by Jonathan S. Blake and Nils Gilman
Work Like a Monk by Shoukei Matsumoto
The Second Body by Daisy Hildyard
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Kristin Lin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
First Things Podcast - John Searle’s Minds and Machines (ft. Edward Feser)
In this episode, Edward Feser joins R. R. Reno on The Editor's Desk to talk about his recent essay, “The Common Sense of John Searle,” from the December 2025 issue of the magazine.
Pod Save America - Meet Democrats’ Go-To Trump Stand In
In 2016, veteran Democratic advisor Philippe Reines stepped up for an unconventional task: impersonating Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton's debate prep. And in 2024, he did it all again for Kamala Harris. Jon Lovett and Reines discuss the intricacies of playing Trump, the impact of debate performance on elections, and what Democrats should do to outwit the president going forward. Reines reveals what really happened the night Biden called Harris moments before her debate, Trump's biggest debate weaknesses, and what it was like working with Lovett as a Clinton staffer back in 2005.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
For the full episode, plus more exclusive content and ad-free episodes of Pod Save America and other Crooked shows, subscribe to Friends of the Pod. Your support helps power Crooked’s mission as an independent, progressive media company. Subscribe at crooked.com/friends.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - We resolve to watch these 2026 indicators
2025 is finally over.
We had bad consumer sentiment vibes, tariffs, and a seemingly ascendant stock market. And those are just a few indicators from last year!
As we enter 2026, what indicators should we keep an eye on … in the future? On today’s episode, our top indicator predictions for the new year.
Related:
What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape ratio. Pick the Indicator of the Year!
What indicators will 2025 bring?
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 Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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We had bad consumer sentiment vibes, tariffs, and a seemingly ascendant stock market. And those are just a few indicators from last year!
As we enter 2026, what indicators should we keep an eye on … in the future? On today’s episode, our top indicator predictions for the new year.
Related:
What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape ratio. Pick the Indicator of the Year!
What indicators will 2025 bring?
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 Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Consider This from NPR - Tips to set yourself up for success in 2026
The new year is a time to set goals. But daily life often gets in the way of meeting our ambitions. NPR’s Life Kit podcast host Marielle Segarra give us some practical, daily life tips that can set us up for success in 2026.
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.
This episode was produced by Michael Levitt. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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Inside Europe - Climate jokes and a world of transport
We’re still on our winter break, but whilst we’re away - here’s a treat we’ve been saving up for you: a Living Planet episode all about climate humour, plus a journey through the marvelous world of transportation, courtesy of our partners at GBH and PRX's The World podcast.
Bad Faith - Episode 538 – The Final Somalilution (w/ Kit Klarenberg)
Investigative journalist Kit Klarenberg returns to Bad Faith to discuss what Israel's recognition of Somaliland and US strikes on Somalia have to do with the ongoing Gaza genocide and domestic attacks on Somalian Americans. Also, how does Israeli software offer backdoor access to your phone, and did AOC admit force the vote was a good idea?
Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).
Produced by Armand Aviram.
Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).
Audio Mises Wire - The Rise of the State and the Fall of Natural Law
In the wake of WWI, Pope Pius XI reminded his readers that governments instituted by men can never be perfect, and they cannot even be good if they neglect natural law.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/rise-state-and-fall-natural-law