Pregnant pause: India’s slumping fertility

<p>After decades of overpopulation worries, the country now has the opposite concern. We examine India’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/04/indias-surprise-baby-bust-is-a-warning-to-the-world?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">unusual demographic turn</a>, and why it is a wider warning to the world. Vegan substitutes have broadly improved in recent years—so why is there <a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/1843/2026/05/08/grate-expectations-the-troubled-quest-for-tasty-vegan-cheese?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">no good vegan cheese</a>? And remembering <a href="https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/06/04/sonny-rollins-believed-that-jazz-was-all-there-was?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sonny Rollins</a>, an absolute colossus of the saxophone.&nbsp;</p><br /><p><em>Watch extended clips from Insider </em><a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/insider/previews?utm_campaign=a.brand_fy2627_q1_awareness-imp-tr_prospecting_global-global_direct_na&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.pd&amp;utm_source=economist&amp;utm_content=discovery.awareness.anonymous.tr_nativeread_np-tiinsider-apr_na-na_web_na_na_na_na&amp;utm_term=sa.arc-isi" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>here</em></a>.</p><br /><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Tom Sasse, South Asia bureau chief</li><li>Sam Colbert, senior series producer, Economist Podcasts</li><li>Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p><br /></p><p>Topics covered:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>India, fertility rates, global population</li><li>vegan cheese</li><li>Sonny Rollins, jazz</li></ul><p><br /></p><p><em>Get a world of insights by </em><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>subscribing to Economist Podcasts+</em></a><em>. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our </em><a href="https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>FAQs page</em></a><em> or watch </em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>our video</em></a><em> explaining how to link your account.</em></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>