OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance

Humans are overpowering Earth's natural systems and oppressing one another. Richard Heinberg, author of Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival and one of the world's foremost experts on energy and sustainability, joins us.  Using his latest book,  Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival  as the basis of our conversation, we unpack how humans have come to overpower Earth's natural sy...

If autonomy is a basic human right, why do many women have little or no choice when it comes to motherhood? Amrita Nandy, a feminist scholar and author of Motherhood and Choice: Uncommon Mothers, Childfree Women , joins us. India has just surpassed China as the most populous country in the world. What role has patriarchal pronatalism played in spurring this growth? What roles do patriarchy, religi...

A declining birth rate is a positive trend that can lead to greater prosperity. Vegard Skirbekk, population economist and author of the book, Decline and Prosper! Changing Global Birth Rates and the Advantages of Fewer Children , joins us.  To counteract the increasingly alarmist fears of population decline, we have a sobering conversation with population economist, Vegard Skirbekk. He takes us th...

Human supremacy keeps us from appreciating the incredible beauty and complexity of other creatures and their cultures. Carl Safina, ecologist and author of Becoming Wild , joins us.  We discuss how human supremacy keeps us from appreciating the incredible beauty and complexity of other creatures, and has led to the diminishment of most wild beings and places. Carl's work fuses scientific understan...

Medical institutions help fuel pronatalism. Kristyn Brandi, a proud abortion provider and board chair with Physicians for Reproductive Health, debunks the "biological clock" and discusses what the overturning of Roe v Wade means in terms of safe abortion care for already marginalized communities. In this episode Dr. Kristyn Brandi, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, shares how the medical institution i...

We were scheduled to speak with Helen Kopnina and Haydn Washington on December 16th when this episode was recorded. We are very sad to report that Haydn died on December 10th after a battle with cancer. We are grateful to be joined by his friend and colleague, Helen, and we dedicate this episode to the memory of Haydn Washington. Highlights of this episode include: Helen's tribute to Haydn and his...

The dominant worldview that we are machines driven by selfishness and competition needs to be dismantled and replaced with a life-affirming worldview of deep interconnectedness that weaves together modern science and traditional wisdom. Jeremy Lent, author of The Web of Meaning and The Patterning Instinct , joins us.  Jeremy's work integrates science and traditional wisdom to lay out a solid found...

Women who choose not to be mothers are frequently warned that they will regret their decision later in life, yet we rarely discuss the possibility that mothers who have children might regret it. Sociologist Orna Donath, author of Regretting Motherhood , joins us.   In this episode with Israeli sociologist Dr. Orna Donath, we unpack her work on this highly stigmatized topic of motherhood regret. Or...

Current growth-based economic models devalue and destroy nature. Partha Dasgupta, economist and author of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review , joins us. Partha Dasgupta describes how the current growth-based economic models came to be, and why their nature-destructive policies have turned our planet into a house of cards. We unpack Dasgupta's most recent publication The Economics o...

The human species faces multiple cascading social and ecological crises that require embracing the limits to growth. Robert Jensen, retired journalism professor, social activist and organizer, and co-author of An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity , joins us. Against the backdrop of cascading ecological and social crises of subjugation of peop...

Mass media can be used to model positive social change at large scale. Bill Ryerson, the founder and long-time leader of Population Media Center, joins us. Population Media Center's TV and radio shows have promoted important social and cultural changes and have helped 500 million people in more than 50 countries. Bill discusses the inspiration for PMC's groundbreaking edu-entertainment—the Sabido-...

How can we reframe our relationship with the planet to foster harmony with all life on Earth?  Eileen Crist, environmental writer and author of Abundant Earth: Toward an Ecological Civilization , joins us.   Eileen Crist—a deep, profound, and compassionate systems thinker—leads us through a journey of how to reframe our relationship to the planet for a more harmonious co-existence with all life on...

Creativity, humor, and a keen sense for collaboration defined one of the most innovative small family campaigns ever undertaken. Mechai Viravaidya, public health leader and visionary, joins us. Affectionately known in Thailand as "Mr. Condom," one of TIME Magazine's "Asian Heroes," and the winner of many awards including the United Nations Gold Peace Medal and the Bill and Melinda Gates Award for...

Human population has exploded, species extinction has accelerated, and humanity is busy "sawing off the limb on which it is perched". Paul Ehrlich,  biologist, ecologist, and author of The Population Bomb , joins us. Author of over 40 books, including the best-selling book The Population Bomb , published in 1968, Dr. Ehrlich was made more famous by numerous appearances on the Tonight Show with Joh...

What does it mean to be Black and childfree in a world that often imposes rigid expectations around race, gender, and reproduction? Kimya Nuru Dennis, sociologist and community advocate, joins us. We discuss the findings of her research on the Black childfree diaspora in countries around the world, as well as the unique challenges of being Black and childfree. We also touch upon the role that patr...

Within India there are exaggerated fears of Muslim numbers and a lack of appreciation that Muslims' greater poverty, not their religiosity, helps explain their higher fertility rates.  S.Y. Quraishi, author of The Population Myth: Islam, Politics, and Family Planning in Indi a, joins us.   Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi, debunks the myth around exaggerated fears of Musl...

Offering free, non-scalpel vasectomies in a mobile vasectomy clinic helps men take reproductive responsibility - as an act of love for their partners and the planet. Esgar Guarín, vasectomist and family and reproductive health specialist, joins us.  Escar talks about his journey that led him to becoming a full-time vasectomist. Using a mobile vasectomy clinic as his advocacy vehicle to drive aroun...

Collaborative efforts across boundaries of faith, science, and activism are desperately needed to protect Earth. Phoebe Barnard, biodiversity scientist and global change advocate, joins us. Phoebe Barnard is on a mission to bend the curve on population and consumption. With decades of experience working in South Africa and Namibia, and as the lead author of the World Scientists' Warnings Into Acti...

The choice to be childfree is made so much harder by the intense pronatalist cultural messages that we're all exposed to. Therese Schecter, filmmaker of the documentary, My So-Called Selfish Life , joins us. My So-Called Selfish Life is about one of our greatest social taboos: choosing not to become a mother. At a time when reproductive rights are increasingly under threat due to growth-driven pro...

Michael Bayliss from Sustainable Population Australia shares his vision for a post-growth society that is rooted in a background in economics, on-the-ground town-planning advocacy, tangible conversations with stakeholders, indigenous consultation, experiential awareness, spirituality, compassion, and love. Michael also discusses how being childfree, vegan, and minimalist offers him existential rep...

Human reproductive decisions affect the biodiversity of all life on Earth. To discuss how they broach this sensitive topic within their work, Sarah Baillie and Kelley Dennings from The Center for Biological Diversity, join us. They share their exciting initiatives and advocacy work on destigmatizing sex, contraception, and reproductive decisions. They also share the state of the sex ed curriculum...

Human overpopulation creates habitat destruction and species extinction. Physician turned documentarian Sofia Pineda Ochoa joins us to expose the harms of population denialism on other species and future generations. Sofia Pineda Ochoa explains why she is taking our society to task for ignoring the peril of human overpopulation. Habitat destruction, species extinction, and animal agriculture top t...

Pronatalism and Overpopulation Webinar  The decision to have children or not is largely regarded as an isolated personal decision, but how personal is it really? We are joined by four expert international panelists to unpack the pervasive and oppressive powers of pronatalism. Are our decisions about having children really made freely – without pressure from government, church, business, media, fam...

"The only way out of overshoot is less production and less consumption, so it means a much smaller economy and far fewer people." William Rees, ecologist and co-creator of ecological footprint analysis, joins us. "Humankind is using up the biophysical basis of its own existence." That's the bottom line of this Earth Overshoot Day conversation with William Rees, the father of ecological footprint a...

Great strides have been made in advancing women's reproductive autonomy, but there is still much to accomplish. Kathleen Mogelgaard, president of the Population Institute, joins us. Kathleen discusses the Population Institute's work, including reducing the unmet need for family planning (affecting over 200 million women around the world) and an active effort to permanently repeal the global gag ru...