Ill Conceived

THIS IS A PREVIEW OF A BONUS B-SIDE EPISODE. For access to the full length version of this and every other biweekly bonus B-side, go to Patreon.com/illconceived
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If Nathan Cofnas is to be believed, he’s going to retain his position at Ghent University, in no small part thanks to a petition of support that was signed by nearly 1,000 academics. We’re talking about it, plus digging into the work of Bouke de Vries, a UGhent professor who brought Cofnas into the fold and has published scholarly work with a eugenicist/natalist bent. We’re also making music recs and reading your letters about:
The connection between HDF and Malcolm Collins (watch the BBC4 documentary here or on BBC iPlayer)
Erik Ahrens’ whole deal and his connection to AfD in Germany
How to properly score the World Famous Mailbag

Back in December 2025, when we talked about the book The Bell Curve, we kept running into the Human Diversity Foundation. This organization, which disseminates bunk pseudo-science through its journal Mankind Quarterly and its blog Aporia, has long been dedicated to advancing the white nationalist cause. This week, two news stories broke—one fairly minor and silly, the other devastating and tragic—that find a common thread in HDF, so Josh and June decided to finally do a full episode about this organization and its key figures.
***WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***
EPISODE ART: Nathan Cofnas, a proponent of so-called scientific racism who was recently suspended from his doctoral program at Ghent University in Belgium. Cofnas, who is frequently cited in HDF publications and has appeared on their podcast numerous times, published an article to his blog alleging that recently appointed Cambridge professor Jason Arday, who was a black man, plagiarized his PhD dissertation. Though an investigation cleared Arday of the charges, the story gained overwhelming coverage in the British media. Arday was found dead on August 14.
SOURCES:
“Race Science Inc.” by Harry Shukman & Patrik Hermansson (Hope Not Hate, October 16, 2024)
“The Peter Thiel-Linked Race Science Network that Penetrated Cambridge University and Targeted Jason Arday” by Nafeez Ahmed (Byline Times, August 18, 2026)
“Academic who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism suspended by university” by Maia Davies (BBC, August 20, 2026)
“A statement in support of Nathan Cofnas's Right to Academic Freedom of Expression” (online petition)
Slutcon website
Summary of Slutcon events from their Substack
“Three Reasons Possession Of Child Porn Must Be Re-Legalized In The Coming Decade” by Rick Falkvinge (note comments on bottom by Emil Kirkegaard)
Summary of Emil Kirkegaard libel litigation from 2019
“DEI Fraud and Cover-Up at Cambridge” by Nathan Cofnas
Emil Kirkegaard buys Aella a bed on Amazon
Aella with Diana Fleischman’s baby
“The Beats: Decadence and Disease” by Simon Maass
“Why does success run in families?” by Noah Carl
“Adding genetic interests to utilitarianism” by Emil O. W. Kirkegaard
“Ideas Have Consequences” by Bo Winegard
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
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Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
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FOLLOW JOSH:
Website: joshboerman.com
Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
Bluesky: @junlper.beer
Other podcast: Kill The Computer
Writing: June's Substack
ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)

THIS IS A PREVIEW OF A BONUS B-SIDE EPISODE. For access to the full length version of this and every other biweekly bonus B-side, go to Patreon.com/illconceived
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Balaji Srinivasan's Network School got kicked out of Malaysia, so they're picking up stakes and moving to Kazakhstan while making a hard pivot into being a natalist compound. We're talking about it, plus we read your letters on:
The shape of Russia during the 90s, 2000s, and now
Traveling to Russia in the early 2010s
Different statistics used to measure birth rates and how one statistic doesn't paint the whole picture
Lyman Stone's tweet about Somalians and why he made the distinctions he did

Under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation managed for a time to greatly slow the population and fertility decrease that the country experienced in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union. However, things stalled out in the mid-2010s, and the escalation of the war in Ukraine has only made matters worse. This week, Josh and June take a look at Putin's attempts to engineer demographic growth in Russia over the years and discover how the war has created an insurmountable roadblock that is nevertheless changing fundamental principles of Russian society.
***WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***
EPISODE ART: Vladimir Putin, the president of the Russian Federation. First elected president in 2000, Putin will theoretically be able to serve as Russia's president until 2036 thanks to a series of rule changes and constitutional amendments.
AUDIO CLIPS:
1:17:25 – Putin's remarks at the 2026 Mother Heroine Awards
SOURCES:
Announcement of The Order of Parental Glory (Russian Kremlin, June 1, 2026)
Announcement of the Year of the Family (Russian Kremlin, January 23, 2024)
Putin's remarks from meeting with participants and winners of all-Russian family contests (Russian Kremlin, January 23, 2024)
Announcement of Executive Order on social support measures for large families (Russian Kremlin, January 23, 2024)
Total fertility rate statistics for Russia and Ukraine (The World Bank)
English-language constitution of the Russian Federation, including the 2020 amendments
Full text of Russia's demographic growth concept
Coverage of a Yakutian family winning in the 2025 Family of the Year competition (Yakutiya 24, 2025)
"Putin Honors Large Families, Links Mother Heroine Awards to Traditional Values" (APT, June 1, 2026)
"There are almost no reasons left for abortion" by Varvara Petrenko (Gazeta.ru, February 14, 2012)
"The Russian Orthodox Church and its fight against abortion: taking on the state and losing" by Pål Kolstø (Religion, State & Society, 2023, vol. 51 no. 2)
"Putin considers it necessary for families to "be born early" in Russia" (TASS, January 25, 2024)
"Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping." by Anna Nemtsova (The Atlantic, April 29, 2025)
"Russian kindergarteners, schoolchildren and students began to be massively taken to taken on excursions to registry offices" (Verstka, March 3, 2026)
VKontakte post about a school trip to a civil registry office
CDC data on births in the United States from 1999
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
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Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
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FOLLOW JOSH:
Website: joshboerman.com
Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
Bluesky: @junlper.beer
Other podcast: Kill The Computer
Writing: June's Substack
ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)

THIS IS A PREVIEW OF A BONUS B-SIDE EPISODE. For access to the full length version of this and every other biweekly bonus B-side, go to Patreon.com/illconceived
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Wouldn't you know it, right after we put out our episode about the Times, they published yet another weird soft-focus profile of an anti-feminist woman. We're talking about it, plus we read your letters about:
The tragedy of Andrea Yates
Vanity license plates and car culture as a reflection of natalism
The relationship between right-wing ideology and social conformity

As part of the national push by natalists to roll back the clock on gender policy in the United States, recent articles about birth rates have started popping up in the country's paper of record. One of those articles, published just last week, was written by someone we've covered quite a bit on the show already. This week, Josh and June check it out alongside four other articles about birth rates in The New York Times to get a sense of how the issue is being framed, both in good and bad faith, as a matter of news and public opinion.
***WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***
EPISODE ART: The headquarters of The New York Times in midtown Manhattan
AUDIO CLIPS:
26:07 – The "Gen Z boss and a mini" TikTok that made a lot of men extremely angry
SOURCES:
“The Quest to ‘Make America Fertile Again’ Stalls Under Trump” by Caroline Kitchener (The New York Times, January 13, 2026)
“The Birthrate Is Plunging. Why Some Say That’s a Good Thing.” by Sabrina Tavernise and Jeff Adelson (The New York Times, February 27, 2026)
“Women in Their 20s May Not Be Having Babies, but by 45 Most Probably Will” by Claire Kane Miller (The New York Times, April 9, 2026)
“A Conservative Role Model for Ending the Fertility Crisis” by Anenoma Hartocollis (The New York Times, July 8, 2026)
“The Population Bust Is Coming Sooner Than Anyone Is Prepared For” By Lyman Stone (The New York Times, July 11, 2026)
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
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FOLLOW JOSH:
Website: joshboerman.com
Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
Bluesky: @junlper.beer
Other podcast: Kill The Computer
Writing: June's Substack
ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)

THIS IS A PREVIEW OF A BONUS B-SIDE EPISODE. For access to the full length version of this and every other biweekly bonus B-side, go to Patreon.com/illconceived
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This one's mostly about Rod Dreher. We also read your letters about:
Performing sex live on stage (this is a reminder to get your tickets to Thursday's Chicago live show!)
Why grandparents can't retire
The mechanics of Orbán's Home Building Allowance for Families policy and its longer-term impacts on the Hungarian housing market
The overlap between Fidesz and the Heritage Foundation, as well as their connecting link: the Danube Institute

***TICKETS TO OUR JULY 2 SHOW IN CHICAGO ARE ON SALE! GET YOUR TICKETS NOW BY CLICKING HERE!!!!***
While natalism as a political project has its proponents, few heads of state have been willing to attempt to use the full force of the state to raise birth rates. However, one leader does stand out: Hungary's recently-ousted prime minister, Viktor Orbán. This week, June and Josh take a look at Orban's 16-year term as PM, the effects of his policies, and the ways that right-wing authoritarianism in Europe both mirrors and partners with similar movements in the United States.
***WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***
EPISODE ART: Viktor Orbán, the former prime minister of Hungary.
AUDIO CLIPS:
1:08:34 – Marco Rubio speaking in Budapest in February 2026, declaring a "golden era" in relations between Hungary and the United States
1:14:09 – JD Vance calling Donald Trump at an April 2026 Viktor Orban election rally in Budapest
SOURCES:
How Viktor Orban hollowed out Hungary’s democracy
How Viktor Orbán’s Hungary Eroded the Rule of Law and Free Markets
Hungary’s opposition struggles to beat Viktor Orban’s stealth autocracy
Home Building Allowance for Families
Viktor Orban’s pro-natalist policies are not working
In a state of necessity. How has Orban changed Hungary
Hungary passes constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ public events
Hungary Ends Legal Recognition for Transgender and Intersex People
Hungary’s ongoing demographic decline: an increase in birth rates is the only hope
Authoritarian Populism in Disguise: Orbán’s Anti-Worker ‘Pro-Worker’ Regime
Hungary races to build border fence as migrants keep coming
Orbán rejects the European Union’s migration agreement and defends keeping asylum seekers out of EU territory
Conference of U.S. conservatives opens in Orban’s Hungary
Hungary offered €30,000 to couples having 3 kids—but its birth rate has still fallen to a record monthly low
Vance, after rallying in Hungary for Orban, says he wasn’t surprised by the autocrat’s defeat
Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced a seven-point family protection action plan
Hungary’s New Leader Reveals Viktor Orbán Was Paying CPAC 
Here's why American conservatives are heading to Hungary for a big conference
At CPAC, Hungary’s Orban decries LGBTQ+ rights, migration 
What one country's experiment says about attempts to boost birth rates 
Farewell To Hungary, And To Europe
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
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Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
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FOLLOW JOSH:
Website: joshboerman.com
Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
Bluesky: @junlper.beer
Other podcast: Kill The Computer
Writing: June's Substack
ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)

THIS IS A PREVIEW OF A BONUS B-SIDE EPISODE. For access to the full length version of this and every other biweekly bonus B-side, go to Patreon.com/illconceived
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We weren't able to cover everything we wanted to discuss about the Collins family in the main episode, so this week we dug in for a look at the Based Camp Discord community, the Collins Institute's bespoke homeschool learning management system Parrhesia.io, and Malcom's attempt at crafting a core family theology.
Plus, we read your letters about:
Josh blowing it on knowing anything about Lord of the Rings
The sociopolitical context of the University of St Andrews in Scotland
The creative output of genetic dead-enders like us

In mainstream media coverage of natalism, one specific couple keeps popping up. Their eccentric appearance and apparent ironclad commitment to the principles of tech natalism make them catnip to curious reporters, who have profiled them exhaustively. But who are Simone and Malcolm Collins, and what are they actually trying to sell you? This week, Josh and June do their best to find out.
***GET TICKETS TO JOSH'S SHOW IN CINCINNATI HERE AND THE ILL CONCEIVED JUNE 4TH LIVE SHOW IN CHICAGO HERE!!!***
***WANT MORE ILL CONCEIVED? Every other week, we release B-side supplements to the main episodes where we read your e-mail responses and discuss things further. Come check us out at Patreon.com/illconceived!***
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WORLD FAMOUS MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to illconceivedpod@gmail.com***
EPISODE ART: Malcolm and Simone Collins in a press photo by Hannah Yoon
AUDIO CLIPS:
18:35 – Simone Collins in a YouTube video entitled "Are You an Ambivert?" originally uploaded in November 2011
24:15 – Simone performing a cover of the Firefly theme song in a video originally uploaded to YouTube in July 2011
46:59 – Simone introduces Malcolm to the channel in a video originally uploaded to YouTube in November 2014 
1:00:08 – Malcolm and Simone discuss "A Pragmatist's Take on the Red Pill" originally uploaded to YouTube in March 2020
1:16:46 – The introduction to the Based Camp episode "One Conspiracy Explains All Modern Culture (This Explains EVERYTHING)" originally uploaded to YouTube in May 2026
1:20:09 – The Bort license plate scene from "Itchy And Scratchy Land" (The Simpsons, S06E04)
SOURCES:
"How I Proposed to My Girlfriend on Reddit" by Malcolm Collins (Huffington Post, August 6, 2013)
ArtCorgi's profile on Crunchbase
"Why Many Entrepreneurs Are Turning to a ‘Search-Fund’ Model" by Glenn Hunter (D Magazine, January 9, 2017)
"Scoop: Dialog, a secretive forum, plans D.C.-area campus" by Mike Allen (Axios, August 7, 2025)
Simone's LinkedIn profile
Malcolm's LinkedIn profile
Simone's Reddit account
Malcolm's Reddit account
"Meet the ‘elite’ couples breeding to save mankind" by Io Dodds (The Telegraph, April 19, 2023)
"About Simone and Malcolm Collins’ Smear Campaign Against Me" by Lyman Stone (Medium post, October 22, 2024)
"America’s premier pronatalists on having ‘tons of kids’ to save the world: ‘There are going to be countries of old people starving to death’" by Jenny Kleeman (The Guardian, May 25, 2024)
Based Camp on YouTube
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
Website: illconceivedpodcast.com
Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
Tumblr: @illconceivedpod
FOLLOW JOSH:
Website: joshboerman.com
Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Stream: Traditional Scrench
FOLLOW JUNE:
Bluesky: @junlper.beer
Other podcast: Kill The Computer
Writing: June's Substack
ILL CONCEIVED THEME SONG BY: Caleb (Linktree / Bluesky)