#1216 Laura Carroll: Childfree Choices, and How Pronatalism Promotes Disinformation and Misogyny
RECORDED ON OCTOBER 28th 2025.
Laura Carroll is a nonfiction author, expert on the childfree choice and pronatalism, and a passionate reproductive rights and ethics advocate. She is the author of The Baby Matrix: Why Freeing Our Minds From Outmoded Thinking About Parenthood & Reproduction Will Create a Better World.
In this episode, we talk about childfree choices and pronatalism. We first get into what it is to be childfree, why people morally condemn childfree choices, whether most people without children are “childless by circumstance”, whether people with children are happier, whether we have evolved to want children, and whether people want large families. We also discuss whether we are headed toward “population collapse”, whether aging populations need more babies, the link between pronatalism and eugenics, and whether pronatalism is a threat to women’s reproductive rights.
Time Links:
Intro
What it is to be childfree
Why do people morally condemn childfree choices?
Are most people without children “childless by circumstance”?
Are people with children happier?
Have we evolved to want children?
Do people want large families?
Are we headed toward “population collapse”?
Do aging populations need more babies?
Is pronatalism linked to eugenics?
Is pronatalism a threat to women’s reproductive rights?
Follow Laura’s work!
Follow Laura’s work:
Website: https://lauracarroll.com/
The Baby Matrix: https://tinyurl.com/mshsvz6t