Media coverage
What Are Children For? Reviews
Inside Higher Ed, “What Are Children For?’ and Higher Ed’s Demographic Cliff,” by Joshua Kim (July 10, 2025)
Commonweal, “Little Life-Ruiners: How we came to see children as a burden—and how to stop,” by Naomi Fisher (January 29, 2025)
The Philosopher, “The Philosophy of Parenting: Ambivalence in an Age of Choice: Adam Ferner reviews What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice by Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman,” by Adam Ferner (December 11, 2024)
Guardian, “Mother State by Helen Charman; What Are Children For? by Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman review—the body political,” by Stephanie Merritt (September 15, 2024)
Wall Street Journal, “Three Books on What Being a Parent Really Means” by Jennifer Frey (August 23, 2024)
Law & Liberty, “The Progressive Case for Parenthood” by Elizabeth Grace Matthew (August 16, 2024)
The Dispatch, “‘What Are Children For?’ Can’t Remain a Question Forever” by Elayne Allen (August 10, 2024)
The Atlantic, “The Real Reason People Aren’t Having Kids” by Christine Emba (August 1, 2024)
Compact, “The Poverty of Secular Pro-Natalism” by Leila Meichoui (July 31, 2024)
First Things, “Why Millennials Aren’t Having Children” by Luke Lyman (July 29, 2024)
New Statesman, “Generation Not Yet” by Ann Manov (July 25, 2024)
Washington Post, “Why Are Today’s Young People Ambivalent About Having Kids?” by Katha Pollitt (July 18, 2024)
Christianity Today, “Kids Aren’t Cheap. That Doesn’t Fully Explain Why We’re Ambivalent About Having Them” by Bonnie Kristian (June 12, 2024)
New Yorker, “How Liberals Talk About Children” by Jay Caspian Kang (June 7, 2024)
Library Journal, “What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice” by Julia M. Reffner (May 1, 2024)
Publishers Weekly, “What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice” (March 18, 2024)
Kirkus Reviews, “What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice” (January 25, 2024)
What Are Children For? Podcasts & radio
Overthink Podcast, “What Are Children For?: a conversation with Anastasia Berg,” with Ellie Anderson (March 14, 2025)
Persuasion, “What Are Children For?” with Yascha Mounk (January 19, 2025)
Good on Paper, “Is Ambivalence Killing Parenthood?” with Jerusalem Demsas (November 26, 2024)
NPR, “Why pop stars aren't having kids (and why you might not either),” with Brittany Luse (November 15, 2024)
New York Times Opinion, “Why Have Kids? A Liberal Case for Natalism” (September 16, 2024)
Wisdom of Crowds, “What Are Children For?” with Damir Marusic and Christine Emba (August 9, 2024)
On Nonfiction, “Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman, Authors of What Are Children For?” with Callie Hitchcock (August 6, 2024)
Manifesto Podcast, “Should We Bring Children into Existence?” with Phil Klay and Jacob Siegel (July 25, 2024)
WOSU Public Media, All Sides, “Why Americans Aren’t Having Children” with Anna Staver (July 30, 2024)
Plain English, “The Radical Cultural Shift Behind America’s Declining Birth Rate” with Derek Thompson (June 21, 2024)
Commonweal, “How to Talk About Having Kids” with Dominic Preziosi (June 13, 2024)
KSL NewsRadio Inside Sources, “Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman: Keep Children Out of the Culture Wars” with Boyd Mathesen (June 12, 2024)
Time to Say Goodbye, “What Are Children For?: A talk with Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman about their new book” with Jay Caspian Kang and Tyler Harper Austin (June 5, 2024)
What Are Children For? TV
Amanpour & Co., “‘What Are Children For?’ Why Millennials and Gen-Zers Aren’t Having Kids,” with Michel Marti (September 6, 2024)
Novara Media, Interview with Michael Walker (August 31, 2024)
What Are Children For? Interviews & features
Comment, “Why Have Children?” with Brian Dijkema (June 2025)
Uchicago Magazine, “Swing State,” by Carrie Golus (Spring 2025)
New Statesman: Politics and Culture, “Why Are We having Fewer Children?” with Tom Gatti (January 19, 2025)
Usbek & Rica, “Être écolo ne devrait pas empêcher d’avoir des enfants,” by Pablo Maillé (September 2, 2024)
Public Discourse, “What Are Children For? A Q&A with Rachel Wiseman and Anastasia Berg” with Serena Sigillito (August 1, 2024)
Harvard Gazette, “What’s the Point of Kids?” by Samantha Laine Perfas (July 15, 2024)
Good Housekeeping UK, “Why Motherhood Has Become a Tougher Decision for Women” by Joanna Moorhead (July 1, 2024)
Publishers Weekly, “New Books on Deciding Whether to Have Children” by Pooja Makhijani (January 5, 2024)
What Are Children For? Other coverage
The New Statesman, “The Question of Childlessness,” by Madeleine Davies (January 15, 2025)
The Phoenix, “What Are Children For? Anastasia Berg Examines the Decision of Parenthood at Night Owls,” by Eleanor Xu (November 21, 2024)
Washington Post, “Why Americans Are Having Fewer Kids—and Why It Could be a Problem,” by the Editorial Board (September 27, 2024)
CNN, “Child-free Spaces, Dirty Looks on Planes and ‘Breeders’: Why People Seem So Annoyed by Kids,” by Harmeet Kaur (September 19, 2024)
New York Times, “Kids? A Growing Number of Americans Say, ‘No Thanks,’” by Christina Caron (July 25, 2024)
Upcoming book events
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Swarthmore
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE - NIGHT OWLS
October 5, 2024
with Jonny ThakkarDetails TBA
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Wheaton
WHEATON COLLEGE
October 9, 2024
with Ryan Kemp
Details TBA -
Chicago
UCHICAGO - NIGHT OWLS
October 10, 2024
with Agnes Callard
Classics 11
1010 E. 59th St.
8pm-? -
Evanston
NORTHWESTERN
October 11, 2024
with Samuel FilbyDetails TBA
Past events
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London
WATERSTONES
August 15, 2024
with Tom Whyman
82 Gower St.
London, UK
6:30-8:30 p.m. -
Online
INTERINTELLECT SALON
June 20, 2024
with Tara Isabella Burton
3-4:30 p.m. EDT -
New York
BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
June 12, 2024
with The Point at TJ Byrnes
77 Fulton St.
New York, NY
7-?? p.m. -
New York
MCNALLY JACKSON (SOHO)
June 11, 2024
with Elizabeth Bruenig
134 Prince St.
New York, NY
6:30-8 p.m. -
Chicago
SEMINARY CO-OP
June 10, 2024
with Agnes Callard
5751 S. Woodlawn Ave.
Chicago, IL
6-7 p.m. -
Oxford
EXETER COLLEGE - BOOK SYMPOSIUM
May 13, 2024
Respondents: Rachel Fraser, Tom Whyman & Maya Krishnan
Cohen Quad
Walton Street
Oxford, United Kingdom
3:15 p.m.