The simplicity of life back then is appealing today, as long as you don’t mind Church hegemony, the occasional plague, trial by gossip — and the lack of ibuprofen. (Part two of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Jordan Cavalier, performer at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire.
  • Matt Schwarz, harpist at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire.
  • Phillipp Schofield, professor of history at Aberystywth University.
  • Neslihan Şenocak, professor of history at Columbia University.

• RESOURCES:
  • A People's Church: Medieval Italy and Christianity, 1050–1300, co-edited by Agostino Paravicini Bagliani and Neslihan Şenocak (2023).
  • The Routledge Handbook of Medieval Rural Life, edited by Miriam Müller with a contribution by Phillip Schofield (2021).
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail, film (1975).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Are You Having a Midlife Crisis?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).

For decades, the great fear was overpopulation. Now it’s the opposite. How did this happen — and what’s being done about it? (Part one of a three-part series, “Cradle to Grave.”)

• SOURCES:
  • Matthias Doepke, professor of economics at the London School of Economics.
  • Amy Froide, professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
  • Diana Laird, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco.
  • Catherine Pakaluk, professor of economics at The Catholic University of America.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Fertility Rate, Total for the United States," (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2025).
  • "Global fertility in 204 countries and territories, 1950–2021, with forecasts to 2100: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021," (The Lancet, 2024).
  • "Suddenly There Aren’t Enough Babies. The Whole World Is Alarmed." by Greg Ip and Janet Adamy (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
  • "Taxing bachelors and proposing marriage lotteries – how superpowers addressed declining birthrates in the past," by Amy Froide (University of Maryland, 2021).
  • "Is Fertility a Leading Economic Indicator?" by Kasey Buckles, Daniel Hungerman, and Steven Lugauer (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018).
  • The King's Midwife: A History and Mystery of Madame du Coudray, by Nina Rattner Gelbart (1999).
  • The Population Bomb, by Paul Ehrlich (1970).
  • "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," by Gary Becker (National Bureau of Economic Research, 1960).

• EXTRAS:
  • "What Will Be the Consequences of the Latest Prenatal-Testing Technologies?" by Freakonomics Radio (2011).

A famous essay argues that “not a single person on the face of this earth” knows how to make a pencil. How true is that? In this 2016 episode, we looked at what pencil-making can teach us about global manufacturing — and the proper role of government in the economy.

• SOURCES:
  • Caroline Weaver, creator of the Locavore Guide.
  • Matt Ridley, science writer, British viscount and retired member of the House of Lords
  • Tim Harford, economist, author and columnist for the Financial Times
  • Jim Weissenborn, former CEO of General Pencil Company
  • Thomas Thwaites, freelance designer and associate lecturer at Central Saint Martins.

• RESOURCES:
  • "When ideas have sex," by Matt Ridley (TED, 2010).
  • "How I built a toaster — from scratch," by Thomas Thwaites (TED, 2010).
  • "Look on this toaster, ye mighty, and despair!" by Tim Harford (Financial Times, 2009).
  • "I, Pencil," by Leonard Read (Foundation for Economic Education, 1958).

• EXTRAS:
  • “Fault-Finder Is a Minimum-Wage Job,” by Freakonomics Radio (2025).