{"podcast":{"title":"The Global Story","slug":"the-global-story-6677479","podcast_index_feed_id":6677479,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/w13xtvsd.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xtvsd","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0ncxykc.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":615,"summary":"Where the world and America meet, with episodes each weekday. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T18:19:57.205426+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-global-story-6677479"},"episode":{"title":"Hungary pays couples to have babies: Does it work?","slug":"hungary-pays-couples-to-have-babies-does-it-work","published_at":"2026-06-17T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-global-story-6677479/hungary-pays-couples-to-have-babies-does-it-work","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-global-story-6677479","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct8mkx","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0nsf814.mp3","summary":"Global fertility rates are at record lows globally, and governments around the world are urging couples to grow their families. Under Viktor Orbán’s leadership, Hungary implemented some of the most aggressive pro-natalist policies in the world — including generous subsidies for couples who promise to have children, lengthy paid maternity leave, and thousands of dollars in interest-free loans. But does paying people to have kids actually work? We speak to BBC populations correspondent Stephanie Hegarty about the possibilities and limitations of pro-natalist government policies. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore Executive producer: Bridget Harney Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: A mother holding the feet of her baby. Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire","meta_description":"Global fertility rates are at record lows globally, and governments around the world are urging couples to grow their families. Under Viktor Orbán’s leade…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1616,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-global-story-6677479/episodes/hungary-pays-couples-to-have-babies-does-it-work/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-global-story-6677479/hungary-pays-couples-to-have-babies-does-it-work.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}