{"podcast":{"title":"Based Camp | Simone & Malcolm Collins","slug":"based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161","podcast_index_feed_id":6378161,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1643534/s/64409.rss","website_url":"https://basedcamppodcast.substack.com/s/based-camp-simone-and-malcolm","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/1643534/s/64409/a478854e7b409f02072d443b587bdd1d.jpg","author":"Based Camp | Simone & Malcolm Collins","episode_count":790,"summary":"We will try to have in depth conversations about intellectually engaging topics in a way that does not fall into simple left right pandering (and thus is both based and camp). This is the podcast by the creators of the Pragmatist Guide series and the Pronatalist movement, Simone Collins and Malcolm Collins.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161"},"episode":{"title":"Russia Makes Childless Women See a Psychologist (Should We Adopt This System?)","slug":"russia-makes-childless-women-see-a-psychologist-should-we-adopt-this-system","published_at":"2026-04-22T11:59:13+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161/russia-makes-childless-women-see-a-psychologist-should-we-adopt-this-system","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161","url":"https://basedcamppodcast.substack.com/p/russia-makes-childless-women-see","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/195016731/505f88d25ab83fec29298428bd7644a0.mp3","summary":"Russia’s Health Ministry just issued new guidelines: during routine reproductive health checks, doctors are now supposed to ask women how many children they want. If a woman says “zero,” the recommendation is to refer her to a medical psychologist to help form “positive attitudes toward childbirth.” In this episode of Based Camp, Simone and Malcolm break down the policy, Russia’s broader pro-natal cultural offensive (including the new ban on childfree propaganda, revived Mother Heroine medals, and “Year of the Family” initiatives), and whether framing voluntary childlessness as a psychological issue worth treating is a smart move or dystopian overreach. They explore: * Why this targets culture rather than just throwing money at the problem * The surprisingly recent history of “aspirational childfree” as a celebrated lifestyle * How societies throughout history viewed women who didn’t want children * Whether therapists could actually help shift mindsets (or if the real power is in the framing) * Bold ideas like no income tax for parents, school choice, and normalizing motherhood again Provocative, data-rich, and unapologetically pro-family. If you’re tired of the “childfree is empowerment” narrative and want to talk seriously about reversing fertility collapse, this one’s for you. Episode Transcript Simone Collins: [00:00:00] Hello Malcolm. I’m excited to be speaking with you today because Russia has introduced a new health ministry guideline saying that women who say they don’t want children should be referred for psychological counseling. And, and Russian officials present this as a prenatal measure to address, you know, their, Malcolm Collins: and I was like, I heard it and it generally was multi totalitarian things. I don’t like this much. This when I’m like. My gut…","meta_description":"Russia’s Health Ministry just issued new guidelines: during routine reproductive health checks, doctors are now supposed to ask women how many children th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1966,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161/episodes/russia-makes-childless-women-see-a-psychologist-should-we-adopt-this-system/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/based-camp-simone-malcolm-collins-6378161/russia-makes-childless-women-see-a-psychologist-should-we-adopt-this-system.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}