{"podcast":{"title":"Big Brains","slug":"big-brains-1022699","podcast_index_feed_id":1022699,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/4FF7CAnQ","website_url":"https://big-brains.simplecast.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/2e7c76ad-7ecc-479b-8749-f0cb2f4f2dc5/a6bb7391-0c19-412c-9235-27ca5edc6296/3000x3000/bigbrains-ucpn-logo-largebrain-multicolor-rgb-black-3000.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"University of Chicago Podcast Network","episode_count":222,"summary":"Big Brains explores the groundbreaking research and discoveries that are changing our world. In each episode, we talk to leading experts and unpack their work in straightforward terms. Interesting conversations that cover a gamut of topics from how music affects our brains to what happens after we die.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-26T00:19:41.185737+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/big-brains-1022699"},"episode":{"title":"Why Are More Women Saying No To Having Kids? With Peggy O'Donnell Heffington","slug":"why-are-more-women-saying-no-to-having-kids-with-peggy-o-donnell-heffington","published_at":"2025-11-13T13:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/big-brains-1022699/why-are-more-women-saying-no-to-having-kids-with-peggy-o-donnell-heffington","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/big-brains-1022699","url":"https://big-brains.simplecast.com/episodes/why-are-more-women-saying-no-to-having-kids-with-peggy-odonnell-heffington-82FJ1sU0","audio_url":"https://afp-920658-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/b15505d2-a359-4f02-b0c3-b7602dbe79f1/episodes/7b2fd6c0-233b-487d-801f-c3a8e572def8/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=b15505d2-a359-4f02-b0c3-b7602dbe79f1&awEpisodeId=7b2fd6c0-233b-487d-801f-c3a8e572def8&feed=4FF7CAnQ","summary":"More and more women in the United States are saying no to motherhood. In 2023, the U.S. fertility rate reached the lowest number on record. But the idea of non-motherhood is actually not a new phenomenon, nor did it come out of the modern feminist movement. For centuries, women have made choices about limiting births and whether or not to become mothers at all. This history is documented in a new book, \"Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother,\" by University of Chicago Assistant Instructional Professor Peggy O'Donnell Heffington. Heffington writes about the historic trends of non-motherhood as well as the modern factors that are playing a role in women's choices to not have children today — from lack of structural support in the workplace, to a national law for paid maternity leave, and the sheer lack of affordability. She writes that if these trends continue, American millennials could become the largest childless cohort in history.","meta_description":"More and more women in the United States are saying no to motherhood. In 2023, the U.S. fertility rate reached the lowest number on record. But the idea o…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1924,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/big-brains-1022699/episodes/why-are-more-women-saying-no-to-having-kids-with-peggy-o-donnell-heffington/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/big-brains-1022699/why-are-more-women-saying-no-to-having-kids-with-peggy-o-donnell-heffington.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}