The Myth of the Poverty Trap

In 1981, an estimated 44 percent of the global population lived in extreme poverty. In 2019, that number shrank to just 9 percent. We often think of poverty as a trap, but recent research shows it doesn’t have to be. The economist and co-founder of GiveDirectly, Paul Niehaus, explains how extreme poverty fell over the past 40 years and how it could be eliminated for good.  Further reading:  “How Poverty Fell,” by Vincent Armentano, Paul Niehaus, and Tom Vogl  “How Progressives Froze the American Dream,” by Yoni Appelbaum One Illness Away: Why People Become Poor and How They Escape Poverty, by Anirudh Krishna Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ’90s are sometimes described as the beginning of the postfeminist era. But if feminism died 30 years ago, who killed it? The Atlantic staff writer Sophie Gilbert seeks to answer this question in her new book, Girl on Girl, and finds a likely suspect in the contemporaneous rise of internet pornography.  Further reading:  Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, by Sophie Gilbert  “Don’t Call Them Trash,” by Sophie Gilbert  “Would You Give PornHub Your ID?,” by Jerusalem Demsas “Romantic Love Is an Under-Rated Driver of Gender Equality,” by Alice Evans Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women now outnumber men on U.S. college campuses. There’s a common belief that the college gender gap has led to a decrease in marriage rates for college-educated women, but the economist Benny Goldman says the data just don’t support that narrative. Instead, shifts in educational attainment and marriage rates have had a much starker effect on non-college-educated women and low-earning men.  Further reading:  “Bachelors Without Bachelor’s: Gender Gaps in Education and Declining Marriage Rates,” by Benjamin Goldman, Clara Chambers, and Joseph Winkelmann  “Marriage Market Sorting in the U.S,” by Anton Cheremukhin, Paulina Restrepo-Echavarria, and Antonella Tutino Get Married: Why Americans Must Defy the Elites, Forge Strong Families, and Save Civilization, by Brad Wilcox Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It, by Richard Reeves  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Framers of the U.S. Constitution designed a government that they hoped would be impervious to tyranny of the majority. What they didn’t spend much time worrying about was the reverse: a tyranny of the minority. The political scientist Steve Teles explains how very small minorities have come to dominate government and what should be done about it.  Further Reading:  “Minoritarianism Is Everywhere,” by Steve Teles Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt “The Great Political Sort Is Happening at the Office,” by Jerusalem Demsas  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

States are cracking down on online porn—but is it working? The researcher Zeve Sanderson explains how age-verification laws backfire, why teens outsmart them, and what that means for the future of internet regulation.  Further reading:  “Do Age-Verification Bills Change Search Behavior? A Pre-Registered Synthetic Control Multiverse,” by David Lang, Zeve Sanderson, et al.  “The Online Porn Free-for-All Is Coming to an End,” by Marc Novicoff  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1975, white schoolchildren at some Louisville, Kentucky, public schools were faced with a choice: stay in the school system and undergo busing to integrate the schools, or leave the system entirely. A remarkable new study by the economist Ethan Kaplan shows that for students who stayed, busing had lasting effects on their political identities, making them more likely to identify as Democrats, support unions, and say that the world is not inherently fair.  Further reading:  “A Different World: Enduring Effects of School Desegregation on Ideology and Attitudes,” by Ethan Kaplan, Jorg L. Spenkuch, and Cody Tuttle The Nature of Prejudice, by Gordon Allport  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers have suggested that lifestyle choices explain the remarkably high number of very old people living healthy lives in regions of the world known as “blue zones.” That research has spawned cookbooks, docuseries, and diets and turned blue zones into a household name. Today’s episode is a conversation with Dr. Saul Newman, who has upended the field by questioning the underlying data and research methods that hold up the now-controversial theory.   Further reading:  “Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud,” by Saul Newman  “The Science Behind Blue Zones: Demographers Debunk the Critics”—an open letter signed by scientists and demographers supporting the “blue zones” theory  “Sorry, No Secret to Life Is Going to Make You Live to 110,” by Saul Newman for The New York Times  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do politicians really think of their voters? A new study looking at 11 different democracies finds that politicians hold an unflattering view of their constituents, while voters view themselves as thoughtful, policy-oriented decision makers. The political scientist Jack Lucas explains why politicians think voters are dumb and why they might be wrong.  Further reading:  “Politicians’ Theories of Voting Behavior,” by Jack Lucas, et al.  “Are politicians democratic realists?,” by Jack Lucas, Lior Sheffer, and Peter John Loewen  Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government, by Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels  “‘Everything Is Terrible, but I’m Fine,’” by Derek Thompson  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump won back the White House last year by stoking fears of scarcity. The zero-sum thinking of the right that says there aren’t enough houses or jobs to go around laid the groundwork for the forces of illiberalism currently at play in the federal government. In their new book, Abundance, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson argue that to combat the politics of scarcity, liberals at every level of government must embrace abundance.  Further reading:  Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson  Why We’re Polarized, by Ezra Klein  “Do Democrats Need to Learn How to Build?,” by Benjamin Wallace-Wells  “A Simple Plan to Solve All of America’s Problems,” by Derek Thompson “Blue States Gave Trump and Vance an Opening,” by Jerusalem Demsas  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shaken baby syndrome has been discredited, criticized, and even classified as “junk science” by a New Jersey judge, so why is it often being treated as settled fact in hospitals and courtrooms? The neuroscience researcher Cyrille Rossant was plunged headfirst into the controversy of shaken baby syndrome, now called “abusive head trauma,” when his child was believed to have been shaken by a nanny. After years of research, Rossant is now a leading voice among skeptics who say shaken baby syndrome isn’t backed by scientific proof.  Further reading:  Shaken Baby Syndrome: Investigating the Abusive Head Trauma Controversy, co-authored by Cyrille Rossant  “How Antiscience Creates Confusion About the Diagnosis of Abusive Head Trauma,” by John Leventhal, et al.  “No Science Supports the Diagnostic Methods for Abusive Head Trauma,” by Cyrille Rossant, et al.  “False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications for Reform,” by Saul Kassin  Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices