The Terrifying Impact Of Single-Parent Households - Melissa Kearney - #689

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello friends, welcome back to the show. My guest today is Melissa Kearney. She's a professor of economics at the University of Maryland and an author known for her research in the field of economic demography. Declining marriages and birth rates are frequently dominating discussions about the future of society. But what is the impact of separated parents on the kids who grow up in these homes? Melissa has spent years assessing the data and her findings are absolutely terrifying. Expect to learn how single parent households are massively worsening class divides. What happens to kids who grow up with only one parent? What is driving the decline in American marriage rates? What Melissa is hearing from both men and women who don't want to marry? Just how many of the problems we're seeing in the modern world are downstream from single parent households? Whether the decline in marriage and birth rate are all correlated? What can be done about this issue? And much more.
Melissa is hot stuff on Twitter at the moment and in the press, at least if you are someone who wants to criticize her. I recorded this probably three weeks ago and in the interim, since her book has come out, she has been absolutely piled on, on the internet. And it does not make any sense to me. I think that what she brings up today is mandatory listening for almost every single person, whether you have kids or intend to have them. It's so important to just get this information out there, front and center. And yeah, I love her work. I think that she's very dispassionate about the way that she goes about this stuff. She's genuinely trying to make the world a better place as far as I can see. And some people in the mainstream media and commentary at culture have taken big offense to her, which makes me even happier to have her on the show. So yeah, I really hope that you enjoy this one. There is an awful lot of interesting stuff to take away. This Monday, another Modern Wisdom cinema episode, this time with Jimmy Carr, one of the most legendary British comedians of all time, is joining me for a three hour podcast episode. And pretty much none of it is about comedy. He is a really, really smart guy and has become a good friend over the last few months. So we go through an awful lot that you probably weren't expecting to hear from one of the rudest one line comics in existence. So yeah, get ready for that one. Obviously make sure you hit subscribe or else you're going to miss it. I thank you. This episode is brought to you by Craftd London. They are the number one men's jewelry company worldwide. If you had seen me on any of the cinema episodes on YouTube wearing a necklace, it will always be Crafted London. I love their pieces, their casual wear works well, their formal wear works well, whether it's the daytime or nighttime, this is the solution. If you've wanted to get some men's jewelry but been struggling because everything sucks, this is where to go. They've got necklaces, chains, pendants, bracelets, rings and earrings in gold and silver. They're waterproof, sweat proof, heat proof and gym proof. Plus they come with a lifetime guarantee. So they will replace your piece if it breaks for any reason during the entire life of the product. Also, they ship internationally and you can get a 15% discount site-wide of everything by going to bit.ly slash cdwisdom and using the code MW15 at checkout. That's bit.ly slash letter c, letter d wisdom and MW15 at checkout. This episode is brought to you by Manscaped. If you are a guy who is still using an old face shaver from four Christmases ago to trim your gentleman's area, grow up, come on, join us here in the modern world. There are purpose-built tools for the job and Manscaped Lawnmower 4 is the best ball and body hair trimmer ever created. It's got a cutting-edge ceramic blade to reduce grooming accidents, a 90-minute battery so that you can take a longer shave, waterproof technology which allows you to groom in the shower, and an LED light which illuminates grooming areas for a closer and more precise trim or if you just wanted to do it in the dark. They've also upgraded to a 7,000 RPM motor with QuietStruck technology. It's got a wireless charging system that helps the battery to last even longer. Altogether, it means that you're going to hate trimming your body hair far less and you can get free shipping worldwide plus a 20% discount if you go to manscaped.com/modernwisdom and use the code modern wisdom a checkout that's manscaped.com/modernwisdom and modern wisdom a checkout this episode is brought to you by Marek Health I wanted to get my blood work done in America and after doing some digging I found that Marek Health was the best and most comprehensive company out there I loved the process so much I actually reached out to the owner and asked them to be a partner on the show that's how impressed I was you can stop guessing when it comes to your health by actually getting blood work done to provide valuable insights into what is going on inside of your body you go to any lab corp facility around the US. They will take your blood and you receive biomarker feedback with actionable steps to improve your metabolism libido mood cognitive health and everything else once you get your labs done you have the choice to meet with a medical provider to discuss potential treatment options to also you can get a 10% discount off everything site wide if you go to Marek health.com/modernwisdom and use the code modern wisdom a checkout that Marek health.com/modernwisdom and modern wisdom a checkout but now ladies and gentlemen please welcome Melissa Kearney.