OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance

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 of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review from 2021, a 600-page study that was commissioned by the UK Government, which examines the economic benefits of biodiversity and the cost of losing it. He also explains how he arrived at his approximation of 3.2 billion as a sustainable human population at a decent standard of living, and how using a behavioral economics approach, we can achieve such a goal. Dasgupta ends off by appealing to social scientists to embrace an integrative approach to academic thinking that is not encumbered by political correctness, which has led to such widespread denialism of the population factor and, as a result, a perilous situation for us and the rest of the planet. See episode website for show notes and links: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/partha-dasgupta   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 people and nature under the dominion of patriarchy, capitalism, imperialism, and anthropocentrism, we engage in a humbling dialogue about what it would mean for us to grapple with difficult questions and to consciously embrace limits, as a pathway to a more graceful and meaningful co-existence with nature. See episode website for show notes and links: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/robert-jensen   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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-Bandura method, a combination Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory—that people learn from role models whose behavior they wish to emulate, and Miguel Sabido’s serialized dramas that make use of such role models through mass media. We also hear about some of the most uplifting success stories Bill has witnessed over his 50-year long career in the field, as well as PMC’s exciting future plans.  See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/william-ryerson   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 earth. We discuss the biodiversity crisis and destruction of wild places, pathways to halt these trends, and ways forward toward creating an ecological civilization. Eileen shines a light on the worldview of human supremacy that foregrounds our relationship of dominion towards non-human animals and all of nature, and the role that human expansionism plays in driving a multitude of ecological crises. She concludes the discussion with a grounded, yet inspiring vision of how to protect this incredible life-giving planet by shifting our language, our identities, and our actions—through pulling back and scaling down—so that we are more in alignment with our indigenous-inspired roles as Earthlings. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/eileen-crist   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 Global Health, Mechai Viravaidya is the founder and chair of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA).  Using creativity, humor, and unassailability in finding partners and allies, Mechai championed the most successful family-planning, AIDS prevention, and poverty reduction programs ever known. With condom-blowing competitions, vasectomy festivals, the Cops and Rubbers program, and condom salads at his Cabbages and Condoms restaurant, Mechai made condoms so cool that condoms in Thailand came to be known as “Mechais.” Through his innovative efforts, Mechai not only brought prosperity to millions by helping to lower the Thai Total Fertility Rate (TFR) from 7 to under 2, but also was responsible for preventing upwards of 10 million AIDS-related deaths. He now runs some of the world’s most successful social enterprises, including the UN-endorsed Mechai Bamboo Schools, the goal of which is to use schools as a hub for education, community projects, and citizen-engagement. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/mechai-viravaidya   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

Human population has exploded, species extinction has accelerated, and humanity is busy “sawing off the limb on which it is perched”. Paul Ehrlich, 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 Johnny Carson - the largest late night show in the 1960’s and 70’s. We got the rare opportunity to chat with him about his decades-long career in sustainable population advocacy, his studies on natural butterfly populations, as well as his interest in cultural evolution with respect to environmental ethics. We delved into:  Why the population bomb was not a dud;  Humanity’s evolution over the last 300,000 years and the misunderstood and manufactured “normal” that currently defines us;  The need to end the unhelpful consumption vs. population debate;  Optimal population size and wealth redistribution for a decent standard of living for   all;  The ethics of nation states and borders;  Rights to nature;  The threat of a nuclear war;  The impacts of the agricultural revolution on the human jaw;  The maddening rate of planetary degradation and biodiversity loss and a variety of   actions that could be undertaken. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/paul-ehrlich   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 patriarchy and male domination plays in the relative powerlessness of women to take control over their reproduction, especially in BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities. Dr. Dennis emphasizes the need to have uncomfortable and real conversations in order to engage in authentic equity and justice work. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/kimya-dennis   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 India, joins us.   Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi, debunks the myth around exaggerated fears of Muslim numbers, born out of right-wing Islamophobic political propaganda, while also sharing that lack of socio-economic empowerment rather than religiosity fuels higher fertility rates. The Population Myth reveals how the right-wing spin to population data has given rise to myths about the 'Muslim rate of growth', often used to stoke majoritarian fears of a demographic skew. Dr. Quraishi uses facts to demolish these, and demonstrates how a planned population is in the interest of all communities. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/sy-quraishi   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 around the US spreading humor and activism, while offering free on-site mobile vasectomies, Dr. G is on a mission to help destigmatize male reproductive responsibility for the love of their partners and the planet. In this episode, we discuss the simplicity of a non-scalpel out-patient vasectomy procedure, the statistics and stigma surrounding sterlization, and the need to reclaim the procedure for reproductive liberation and responsibility. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/esgar-guarin   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance  

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 Action: Local to Global paper, Phoebe discusses the importance of moving beyond dichotomous thinking and rallying together leaders from communities across faith, science, and activism to urgently take actions to protect our incredible spaceship Earth - with humility, love, and deep collaboration. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/phoebe-barnard   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance