Future of Reproduction: Demographic Anxieties and Reproductive Technologies

What does the future of reproduction look like, and who gets to shape it?

As fertility rates decline and authoritarian tendencies intensify, selective pronatalism has (re-)emerged as a significant political and social force. This webinar examines the future of human reproduction as envisioned by Big Tech figures in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Joining us are Helen Hester, author of the forthcoming book Silicon Dynasties: Tech Elites and the Future of Babies, and June Sternbach, co-host of Ill Conceived, a podcast exploring far-right narratives on natalism.

Together, we will examine how once-speculative reproductive technologies and techno-futurist visions are increasingly becoming material realities through the investments, influence, and public narratives of figures such as Peter Thiel and Sam Altman. We will discuss how these developments intersect with demographic anxieties, right-wing politics, and emerging forms of technological governance, raising critical questions about power, reproduction, and whose futures are being imagined, valued, and shaped.

About the Speakers

June Sternbach is the social media manager for the satirical news publication The Onion and the host of two podcasts: Kill the Computer, which explores how the internet spills into the real world, and Ill Conceived, which examines far-right natalism—an ideology that frames declining birth rates as one of the most pressing political issues of our time.

Helen Hester is Professor of Gender, Technology and Cultural Politics at the University of West London. She is the author of Post-Work: What It Is, Why It Matters and How We Get There (Bloomsbury, 2025, with Will Stronge), After Work: A History of the Home and the Fight for Free Time (Verso, 2023, with Nick Srnicek), Xenofeminism (Polity, 2018), and Beyond Explicit: Pornography and the Displacement of Sex (SUNY Press, 2014). She is currently working on a project examining Silicon Valley investment in the reproductive bioeconomy.

Contact:

Naida Kucukalic, Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy naida.kucukalic@de.boell.org

Amina Nolte, Gunda Werner Institute nolte@boell.de 

Web 3: 7 July, 2026 Who shapes the future of reproduction? Future of Reproduction: Demographic anxieties and Reproductive Technologies (Helen Hester and June Sternbach) - Register here -