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Can you have kids and care about climate change? Listeners respond

caption: My current babies: a labradoodle named Burnaby and (not shown) a Triumph Bonneville.
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My current babies: a labradoodle named Burnaby and (not shown) a Triumph Bonneville.
COURTESY OF ASHLEY AHEARN

Should we have kids, given where the planet is headed? It's a deeply personal question that my husband and I are struggling with right now.

It took me over a year to report our terrestrial episode on this topic. I talked to couples who are having kids and couples who have chosen not to.

We also heard from a scientist about how climate change will play out in the coming decades and what the world might be like during the lifetime of kids being born now.

terrestrial is a podcast about the choices we make in a world we have changed. We're celebrating the launch of season two on October 10. Join us. And subscribe to make sure you don't miss a single episode. When that episode came out, an amazing conversation unfolded in the terrestrial Facebook group (check it out, anyone can join). We heard from terrestrial listeners all over the country.

People told us why they chose to have kids, despite their environmental concerns. Others shared the hard conversations they're having with their partners as they debate this decision.

Some kid-free couples talked about life without kids and how they came to their decision.

And! Adoption. Lots of people wrote in about their rewarding experiences with adoption.

Hear their stories in their own words:

Thanks to all the terrestrials who shared your personal stories with us. These are hard conversations. But I think they’re important conversations that more of us will be having in years to come.

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