The U.S. could have hundreds of thousands of fewer births next year than it would have in the absence of a pandemic. — By now, the pandemic has disrupted Americans’ daily lives for nearly as long as a baby typically spends in the womb. This means that many children conceived in mid-March are weeks away from joining us in this disorienting new world, but just as notable are the children who won’t be…

The odds of altering the outcome of the election: close to zero. The odds of altering your relationship with your family: much higher. — Lately, Sunshine Hillygus has been hearing the same question from some of her politically active friends. …

Marital instability can be inherited — but less often than it used to be — Justin Lange did not grow up with many good examples of a stable, long-lasting partnership. After his parents’ divorce, his mom remarried twice more; his dad, three more times. One lesson Lange took away from his upbringing, he told me, is that “actions speak louder than words — people were…

Out with the kitchen table, and in with the couch — According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 American adults, the table is becoming a less and less popular surface to eat on. …

The same technological and economic developments that are pulling couples apart are also making geographic separation less stressful and more enjoyable — The love life of Stanley Davidge, a 25-year-old network administrator for a national restaurant chain, is absolutely extraordinary. Almost all day, Davidge, who lives in South Carolina, is in touch with his girlfriend, Angela Davila, who lives in Virginia and is job hunting. Despite being separated by a six-hour drive…

It’s common to prize novelty in leisure activities, but research suggests that revisiting the familiar can offer unexpected pleasures — A common, low-stakes living-room scenario: A couple is trying to decide on a movie to watch. There’s an option one-half of the relationship is thrilled about, but the other has already seen it. On those grounds, it’s ruled out. But a new study suggests that this notion that having already…

Several schools forgo or have abandoned the practice, and seem to be faring just fine — Applying to college as a legacy is like having a superpower. It has been estimated to double or quadruple one’s chances of getting into a highly selective school, and has been found to be roughly equivalent to a 160-point boost on the SAT. …

America’s devotion to the practice stems in part from the fact that it’s what today’s parents and teachers grew up with themselves — America has long had a fickle relationship with homework. A century or so ago, progressive reformers argued that it made kids unduly stressed, which later led in some cases to district-level bans on it for all grades under seventh. This anti-homework sentiment faded, though, amid mid-century fears that the U.S…

The reflections of more than a dozen people who did dedicated cleanouts of their living spaces years ago — For Martin Law, Marie Kondo’s tidying regimen was life-changing, until it wasn’t. Law, a 32-year-old Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge, went through with most of Kondo’s popular tidying method two years ago. …