This week we had a Q&A with Catherine Pakaluk, professor of economics at The Catholic University of America and author of Hannah’s Children, a study of women with six or more children — what makes them different, how they understand the decision to raise a large family, and what they can teach us about the causes of demographic decline.

Topics:

* What causes some people to maintain a firm connection between marriage and children?

* Why are secular Israelis the only secular population in a developed country that are maintaining replacement fertility?

* How does mortality salience affect people’s desire for large families?

* What percentage of large families are needed to create a “halo effect” that drives higher fertility in the general population?

* How important is mentorship from older women in guiding young women to start families?

* How to balance large family with other ambitions?

* How can we change the way female employment is structured to incentivize family creation?

* How do people with large families get their own children excited to raise families?

EXIT News

* Natal Conference is officially sold out. See you this weekend in Austin!

* NatalCon Agenda (ticket-holders, check Luma for location details):

* Thursday:

* Final virtual meet-&-greet for ticket-holders this Thursday, 3/27 at 7PM.

* Friday:

* In-person pre-event mixer with Jack Posobiec and other speakers on Fri 3:30PM.

* Dinner and Reception from 6:00PM - 9:30PM

* Saturday:

* Lunch at 11:00AM

* Conference from 12:30PM to 6:00PM

* Dinner from 7:00PM to 9:00PM

* After-party from 9:30M to 11:30PM

* Sunday:

* Brunch at 10:00AM

* On tonight’s full-group call (3/25) we’ll be discussing preparedness in the Trump Administration. The honeymoon is over, markets are volatile, shadowy quasi-state violence is back — it’s time to adjust our threat model.

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NatalCon Sold Out; Catherine Pakaluk on Hannah's Children

EXIT Podcast (private feed for joe.substack@hootman.org)