Ill Conceived

• Lyman Stone, Marriage Defender

  With natalism coming to the forefront of American politics in recent years, people who have long been writing about the declining birth rate have begun to take center stage in the larger political discourse. Many of these thinkers skew toward a conservative ideology. This week, Josh and June read through the writings of a modern conservative natalist writer, Lyman Stone, to get a better picture of where the natalist movement stands and better understand the political demands of the conservative natalist in the era of Donald Trump. EPISODE ART: Lyman Stone press photo from Demographic Research  SOURCES: As women have far fewer babies, the U.S. and the world face unprecedented challenges Lyman Stone on America’s falling birth rate Now Political Polarization Comes for Marriage Prospects You can’t even pay people to have more kids President Trump’s First 100 Days, April 2025 How Politics Drive Our Personal Relationships – and Even Where We Live Arranged and non-arranged marriages have similar reproductive outcomes in Nepal Promise and Peril: The History of American Religiosity and Its Recent Decline The Declining U.S. Birth Rate: A Demographic Shift with Far-Reaching Implications What Workism Is Doing to Parents Now Political Polarization Comes for Marriage Prospects Hungary’s Demographic Failure How to Fix Our Falling Fertility Rate (with Lyman Stone) Want More American Babies? Make the US More Livable More Thoughts on Falling Fertility AUDIO CLIPS 21:12 / 25:44 - Lyman Stone in an interview with Vox Media's Today, Explained  FOLLOW THE SHOW: Send us an email: [email protected] Website: illconceivedpodcast.com Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com Tumblr: @illconceivedpod FOLLOW JOSH: Website: joshboerman.com Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds Stream: Traditional Scrench FOLLOW JUNE: Bluesky: @junlper.beer Other podcast: Western Kabuki Writing: June's Substack

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• James Dobson & Focus on the Family

  In the history of the evangelical Christian family movement, one figure stands tall above the rest: a children's psychologist from Louisiana named James Dobson. For three decades, Dobson built up his media empire, Focus on the Family, on the back of his plain-spoken traditionalist approach to child rearing. Then, as the broader cultural tide shifted in favor of normalizing homosexual relationships, he got kicked out. This week, Josh and June take a look at why Dobson's approach resonated with so many parents in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, how his work institutionalized the natalist project among evangelical Christians, and how religious fundamentalism, no matter how polite, corrodes a healthy society. SUPPLEMENTAL LISTENING: Listen to I Hate James Dobson: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Pocket Casts / YouTube Listen to The Worst of All Possible Worlds episode about the James Dobson/Ted Bundy interview: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Pocket Casts / YouTube EPISODE ART: Focus on the Family press photo of James Dobson c. 2007 SOURCES: Focus on the Family's official historical timeline Focus on the Family 2015 financial disclosures, ProPublica Dobson's 1999 announcement of the leadership succession plan Dobson's 2003 announcement of Don Hodel's appointment as CEO Focus on the Family's Guiding Principles as enumerated on their website in November 2002 Focus on the Family's Guiding Principles as enumerated on their website today Family Research Council list of Family Policy Councils AUDIO CLIPS: 33:52 - James Dobson interviews Ted Bundy on death row 1:00:24 - James Dobson in a Focus on the Family Radio broadcast, October 6, 2005 1:04:03 - Guy Raz interviews Jim Daly on NPR All Things Considered (February 12, 2012) 1:11:16 - James Dobson interviews Ken Harrison, former Promise Keepers chairman, on Family Talk Radio 1:15:38 - James Dobson talks about declining birth rates on Family Talk Radio FOLLOW THE SHOW: Website: illconceivedpodcast.com Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com Tumblr: @illconceivedpod FOLLOW JOSH: Website: joshboerman.com Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds Stream: Traditional Scrench FOLLOW JUNE: Bluesky: @junlper.beer Other podcast: Western Kabuki Writing: June's Substack

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• Catholics, Evangelicals, and the In Vitro Fertilization Debate

  When the first human baby was born through the use of a blossoming treatment called in vitro fertilization in the late 1970’s, society largely viewed this as a miracle of science that gave those struggling with fertility a chance to start a family. Catholic leadership, believing that taking procreation out of pregnancy went against God’s will, aligned themselves against the practice. Evangelicals, meanwhile, have still to this day not found solid guidance from their leaders on whether this procedure should be embraced or condemned. This week, Josh and June explore the history of in vitro fertilization and the complicated relationship many on the religious right have with it. EPISODE ART: Bishop Richard Burbidge, Catholic anti-IVF advocate SOURCES: The Alabama Supreme Court’s Ruling on Frozen Embryos Alabama legislature votes to restore IVF access The History of IVF: Origin and Developments of the 20th Century In Vitro Fertilization Comes of Age INSTRUCTION ON RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE IN ITS ORIGIN AND ON THE DIGNITY OF PROCREATION REPLIES TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS OF THE DAY Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology Bishop Burbidge Writes against a Federal IVF Mandate Despite church prohibitions, Catholics still choose IVF to have children Abortion Viewed in Moral Terms: Fewer See Stem Cell Research and IVF as Moral Issues Pope Francis calls for a universal ban on surrogacy. He says it exploits mother and child Protestant Denominations Need Stronger Leadership on Assisted Reproductive Technology IVF: Moral and Ethical Considerations IVF is life-changing for infertile families. But the Christian right says it’s not in ‘God’s plan’ How the Christian Right Became So Hostile to IVF Republicans are rushing to defend IVF. The anti-abortion movement hopes to change their minds. Americans overwhelmingly say access to IVF is a good thing Republican IVF bill fails in U.S. Senate In vitro fertilization bills from both Democrats and GOP blocked in U.S. Senate Trump has signed an executive order on IVF. Here’s what you should know about the procedure What Trump’s IVF executive order means for access to fertility assistance for Americans Alabama IVF ruling looms over 2026 statewide elections VIDEO CLIPS Bishop Burbidge talking about the immorality of IVF  From the archives: Pope Francis explains why he's against surrogacy

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• How Evangelicals Came to Oppose Abortion

  Opposition to legal abortion wasn't always a consensus matter across the Christian Right. In fact, as recently as the early 1970s, Protestants mostly considered it a "Catholic issue." But against a backdrop of paranoia about government overreach into religious affairs and fear of demographic decline, a Catholic named Paul Weyrich and an evangelical named Jerry Falwell joined hands to turn abortion into the signature mobilizing issue of their new Moral Majority. This week, June and Josh look at how this historical moment was primed for exploitation, why Christian rhetoric and policy toward abortion shifted so quickly, and what the long-term durability of this unholy alliance means as Americans continue to see their civil rights rolled back by the Trump administration. CLICK HERE AND DONATE TO AN ABORTION FUND IN YOUR AREA TODAY EPISODE IMAGE: Paul Weyrich, cofounder of the Moral Majority, in a Heritage Foundation portrait from 1982 SOURCES: "Creating the Litmus Test: Abortion, Mainline Protestants, and the Rise of the Religious Right" by Sabrina Danielsen "Family Values" and the Formation of a Christian Right Agenda by Seth Dowland Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right by Randall Balmer “How the Right Uses Abortion Restrictions to Reinforce Racist and Gendered Hierarchies” by Cassie Miller, Southern Poverty Law Center “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching” from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today from Planned Parenthood Action “The Religious Right and the Abortion Myth” by Randall Balmer, POLITICO "Here's how much the ICE budget would increase under Trump's megabill" by Grace Deng, Snopes AUDIO CLIPS: 42:55 – Ronald Reagan delivers an address to religious leaders at the 1980 National Affairs Briefing FOLLOW THE SHOW: Website: illconceivedpodcast.com Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com Tumblr: @illconceivedpod FOLLOW JOSH: Website: joshboerman.com Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds Stream: Traditional Scrench FOLLOW JUNE: Bluesky: @junlper.beer Other podcast: Western Kabuki Writing: June's Substack

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• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Health & Human Sicko

  Josh and June look into the past of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current Health and Human Services secretary, and how his history led to him getting involved with the MAGA movement. Once a liberal and advocate for environmental issues, Kennedy took a turn into anti-science and pseudo-health political movements later in life and gained notoriety within Trumpworld. Now that this conspiracy theorist holds the reins of America’s largest government health institution, we zoom into how these beliefs inform what he has done, what he still intends to do with this power, and why his long-standing emphasis on children's health resonates so strongly with people who are invested in the natalist agenda. SOURCES: RFK Jr. Suggests Not Enough Teens Are Getting Pregnant, Rails Against Youth Testosterone Levels Inside RFK Jr.'s nonprofit's legal battles over vaccines and public health 'RFK'ing the french fries': Steak 'n Shake becomes a MAHA darling RFK Jr.: I’m fighting chronic disease, slashing unhealthy fat at HHS RFK Jr. says autism database will use Medicare and Medicaid info How R.F.K. Jr. Went From Environmental Champion to Trump Backer AUDIO CLIPS: 16:29 - Bernie Sanders asks RFK Jr. if he is supportive of these onesies in a Senate hearing (C-SPAN, January 29, 2025) FOLLOW THE SHOW: Website: illconceivedpodcast.com Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com Tumblr: @illconceivedpod FOLLOW JOSH: Website: joshboerman.com Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds Stream: Traditional Scrench FOLLOW JUNE: Bluesky: @junlper.beer Other podcast: Western Kabuki Writing: June's Substack

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