The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies

The Backlash to Cardi B's Pregnancy Is Rooted in Old, Racist Ideas Online critics who lashed out at Cardi B's pregnancy announcement were echoing old, racist stereotypes about broken families and single mothers

Kudos to this journalist for talking to actual scholars, like @docthoughts.bsky.social and @christinajcross.bsky.social who have spent years studying Black families, to bring some much needed insight.

Why Black Families Fall Through the Safety Net For most of the last 20 years, policymakers and researchers have stressed the importance of a two-parent home for children’s success. New research complicates conventional wisdom.

Why do Black kids in nuclear families struggle to succeed while white kids in these families flourish?

What do these inequalities tell us about the power & limits of the two-parent family?

Check out my new piece in @harpersbazaar.com.web.brid.gy to learn more www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...

Are for-profits, private equity to blame for rising medical costs, reduced quality, choice? — Harvard Gazette Healthcare analyst says outside investment can boost innovation, growth, care, but profit needs to be aligned with patient outcomes.

Amitabh Chandra co-authored a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine that highlights the power of private investment in healthcare, as well as the pitfalls...
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Birth rate policies should focus on fertility preferences, not numbers, expert says | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Margaret McConnell discusses fertility choices and policies to help people facing challenges.

Margaret McConnell is quoted in the Newsweek article "The Good News Hidden in the Birth Rate Decline"
hsph.harvard.edu/news/birth-r...

Had a great interview with the Harvard Gazette about my new book, INHERITED INEQUALITY, & its connection to culture & policy: news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

YouTube video by Amanpour and Company Is the Benefit of a Two-Parent Family a Myth? Harvard Sociologist Explains | Amanpour and Company

I’m delighted to share that link to my PBS interview about INHERITED INEQUALITY is now available! Follow the link below:
youtu.be/w1P79Ryy50w?...

John Wilmoth presents at a Social Demography Seminar at Harvard Pop Center.

Harvard Pop Center welcomes John Wilmoth, director of the population division at the United Nations, as the speaker of our first Social Demography Seminar this fall.
popcenter.harvard.edu/seminars-and...

Are you wondering what our research affiliates have been working on? Here's our latest newsletter to loop you in...

hsph.me/Harvard_Pop_...

Social Demography Seminar logo and headshot of John Wilmoth

This Thursday (9/18) we are excited to welcome John Wilmoth, director of the population division at the United Nations, as our Social Demography Seminar speaker. Please join us in person or online via Zoom from 12:00–1:15 p.m. (ET).
hsph.me/John_Wilmoth

We're looking forward to hosting you on October 23 as you launch #inheritedinequality @christinajcross.bsky.social

Early reviews of INHERITED INEQUALITY are in I couldn’t be happier with its reception. I’ll be posting one each day this week.

First up, award-winning author & sociologist, Anthony Jack. THANK YOU!

Volume 62 Issue 4 | Demography | Duke University Press

The August issue posted last week--5 notes, 9 articles & a note from the new Editors in Chief. This issue includes research on mobility-based segregation, child migration in Africa, educational inequality in biological aging, and inequalities in dementia risk. read.dukeupress.edu/demography/i...

Stalking, obtaining restraining order linked with increased cardiovascular disease risk in women | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Risk of cardiovascular disease was 41% higher in women who experienced stalking and 70% higher in women with experience obtaining a restraining order, compared to women without these experiences, acco...

Risk of CVD found to be significantly higher among those women who experienced stalking and among those who filed a restraining order...Pop Center faculty member Laura Kubzansky, former GSA Audrey Murchland and former fellow Rebecca Thurston are among the authors.
hsph.me/stalking

We are excited to announce the #PAA2026 Call for Papers is now available! The submission site opens on Monday, Aug. 18 and the deadline is Sunday, Oct. 5. Meet me in St. Louis! May 6-9, 2026:
www.populationassociation.org/paa2026/call...

Here Is All the Science at Risk in Trump’s Clash With Harvard (Gift Article) More than 900 research grants worth $2.6 billion are in jeopardy. So is the 80-year-old model of American science.

Lisa Berkman says "This is science that rests on a public investment," in this NYT piece on the "80-year-old model of American science."
hsph.me/harvard-fund...

Congrats on the paper to our former Sloan Fellow on Aging and Work @sungspark.bsky.social !

Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe url:https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2834949?utm_source=bluesky&utm_campaign=content-shareicons&utm_content=article_engagement&utm_medium=social&utm_term=061025

Have you heard of "vicarious" trauma? Recent GSA Elisabeth Stelson (and colleagues) have published a study finding healthcare workers who interact with trauma victims and had symptoms of vicarious trauma were significantly more likely to develop disorders of gut-brain interaction.
hsph.me/vicarious

Researchers say moms and babies are ‘going to get hurt’ by federal pregnancy data team cuts In the remote villages of Alaska where social worker Laura Norton-Cruz works to improve maternal and infant health, there are no hospitals.Pregnant patients, almost all of whom are Alaska Native, ofte...

Our paper was conducted using CDC PRAMS data, the only national survey data set capturing perinatal health, which was recently terminated. Studies like this can no longer be done because of attacks on #science. I spoke about this @statesnewsroom.com: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/rese... 3/3

Strength of Long-Distance Ties for Aging Healthy with HIV: The Case of Rural South Africa url:https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbaf103/8152712

Congratulations to Harvard Chan School's Class of 2025, comprising 615 graduates from 33 U.S. states and 52 countries, who will officially be granted their degrees from Harvard University today at the Commencement Morning Exercises.

Watch the ceremony at hsph.me/graduation

#HarvardChan25

Here's the latest news and findings from the Harvard Pop Center...
mailchi.mp/hsph/latest-...

It's not too late to sign up for @bostonglobe.com #HealthEquity summit this Wed May 14, including panel I will be joining on the future of policy & practice. Details & registration here, including virtual options: healthequitysummit25.splashthat.com @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social

Our work has shown how cuts to SNAP hurt food security and mental health: www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10....
With sky-high food prices and the threat of recession, such cuts could be even more detrimental for #pophealth now. @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social

Congratulations to Marcy Carlson who will be the President of PAA beginning January 1, 2025! #Demography #PopulationScience @popassocamerica.bsky.social

Harvard Medical researcher sues NIH for cutting grant to study LGBTQ mental health "This is not just an attack on the LGBTQ community — it is a blow to the integrity of science and the health of every American," a Harvard Medical School associate professor studying the mental…

⛔ NIH ended ALL of my grants mid-project, given LGBTQ health focus 🏳️‍🌈

⚖️ So what am I doing? Suing RFK, Jr.

As one team member shared in this story👇: "The threats to our work don’t just make me fear for my career — they make me fear for my safety.“

#SaveDemocracy #SupportScience #PublicHealth

Our Director Lisa Berkman, Faculty Member Christina Cross, and Graduate Student Affiliate Jen Cruz met with MA Senators and members of Congress at #PAA2025

5 Science-Backed Longevity Hacks That Don’t Cost a Fortune (Gift Article) You don’t need a $40,000 gym membership to live a longer, healthier life.

Faculty member Laura Kubzansky's research on optimism and longevity is cited in this NYT piece, and she comments on how you can "train your brain."
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/w...

Harvard Pop Center's Spring 2025 Newsletter has hatched! There's a link at the end to subscribe.

hsph.me/harvardpopce...

America's Aging Workforce 'Retirement is a distant dream'

Our director, Lisa Berkman, shares insights into why its important to have flexible workplace policies (hint: it can help people stay employed in their 50s which sets them up better for working in their 60s, if they need or want to).
time.com/7260357/agin...