How The iPhone Drove Men and Women Apart | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

Video Description

Did the smartphone kill sex? This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat speaks with Dr. Alice Evans, a social scientist who is as concerned about the global decline in fertility as Ross is. The two discuss why this isn’t just a gender issue — it’s “a solitude issue” — and whether there’s a way to bring relationships back. Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/opinion/dating-marriage-children-fertility.html 01:03 What are the stakes of declining fertility?? 05:51 Alice's master theory for why birth rates are falling 08:19 There are too many single people 09:44 We can thank technology for the coupling crisis 12:20 The digital segregation of men and women 16:08 Men have less to offer these days 19:24 What can bring the sexes back together 23:59 Could Hollywood help fix the problem? 25:20 Can the government incentivize people to have babies? 27:08 What role does religion play in all this? 28:44 The role of IVF 40:37 Does the fantasy of youth impact the numbers? 43:44 The world in 2080… This episode of “Interesting Times” was produced by Elisa Gutierrez, Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Andrea Betanzos and Katherine Sullivan. It was edited by Jordana Hochman. Mixing by Pat McCusker. Engineering by Jeet Vasani. Cinematography by Eliot deBruyn, Jonah M. Kessel and Marina King. Video editing by Arpita Aneja. Original music by Isaac Jones, Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker and Aman Sahota. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair, Michelle Harris and Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Video directed by Jonah M. Kessel. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Watch more on @InterestingTimesNYT.