In episode 204 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Stephen J Shaw.
Stephen is an academic, data scientist and the writer, director and producer of the film ‘Birthgap – Childless World’.
Birthgap analyses the data of falling birth-rates across the world, the societal, economic and cultural reasons this is happening and what the consequences of it will be.
Stephen also speaks to a range of people in the field of fertility medicine, couples who don’t have children and most powerfully, men and women who are involuntarily childless.
In this episode we discuss Stephen’s academic journey, a deep dive into the film and all of the issues it explores through a mental health lens and the reaction it’s had upon its release both positive and negative.
We also discuss the mental toll that the filming of Birthgap had on Stephen himself and hearing these hugely traumatic stories of grief from the interviewees who were involuntarily childless.
For Stephen’s mental health, we discuss the impact that his divorce had on his mental health and the trauma of being separated from his children.
As always, #itsokaytovent
- You can watch Part 1 of Birthgap on YouTube here.
You can find out more about Stephen’s work here.
You can follow Stephen on social media below:
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