Stuff Matters with Ed Conway

Globalisation’s next chapter is the focus here, as Ed answers listener questions about whether Western countries can rebuild their ability to produce goods. The episode also revisits a debate about dense cities, growth, and whether modern urban life is pushing people into “battery chicken” conditions.

This preview, based only on the episode notes, suggests Ed Conway uses children’s car seats to open a wider investigation into falling birth rates and global depopulation. It looks set to explore how modern life, technology and shifting social norms are reshaping family, work and parenthood.

This preview, based only on the show notes, points to a globe-spanning story behind an everyday fruit. The episode appears to explore how bananas became so cheap and ubiquitous, and why that system may now be under threat.

This preview is based on the episode’s published show notes. It points to an extended conversation with social scientist Dr Alice Evans on falling fertility, focusing less on why birth rates are dropping and more on who is still having children across different societies.

This preview, based only on the show notes, suggests an episode that uses the howitzer to explain a much bigger issue: how industrial capacity and supply chains shape modern war. It connects battlefield artillery from Napoleon to Ukraine with questions about NATO production, drone warfare, and Britain’s readiness.