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'The Empty Cradle' and Shrinking Birth Rates The population explosion is overdue for an update. A new book argues that too few -- not too many -- babies pose an unexamined threat to everything from American productivity to your retirement. Join NPR's Neal Conan and his guests for a look at the long-term effects of the empty cradle.

Guests:

Phillip Longman
*Author of The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity (And What to Do About It)
*Senior fellow at the New America Foundation -- nonpartisan think tank

Peter Kostmayer
*President, Population Connection
*Former congressman from Bucks County, Penn.

'The Empty Cradle' and Shrinking Birth Rates

Heard on Talk of the Nation

'The Empty Cradle' and Shrinking Birth Rates

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The population explosion is overdue for an update. A new book argues that too few — not too many — babies pose an unexamined threat to everything from American productivity to your retirement. Join NPR's Neal Conan and his guests for a look at the long-term effects of the empty cradle.

Guests:

Phillip Longman
*Author of The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity (And What to Do About It)
*Senior fellow at the New America Foundation — nonpartisan think tank

Peter Kostmayer
*President, Population Connection
*Former congressman from Bucks County, Penn.

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