
2 Alan Weisman - Can We Finally Have a Serious Talk About Population?
About this episode
This week, Chris Mooney talks to environmental journalist Alan Weisman, who explains why, following on his 2007 New York Times bestseller The World Without Us, he decided to centrally take on the issue of human population.
For his just-published book Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?, Weisman traveled to 21 countries—from Israel to Mexico, and from Pakistan to Niger—to report on how different cultures are responding to booming populations and the strain this is putting on their governments and resources.
Importantly, Weisman is no supporter of coercive population control measures such as China's infamous one-child policy. Rather, he makes a powerful case that the best way to manage the global population is by empowering women, through both education and access to contraception.
This episode of Inquiring Minds also features a discussion of the latest myths circulating on global warming, and the brave new world of gene therapy that we're entering—where being rich might be your key ticket to the finest health care.
Subscribe:
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inquiring-minds/id711675943
feeds.feedburner.com/inquiring-minds
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/inquiringminds
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Get every episode summarized
Each time Inquiring Minds publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Inquiring Minds

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Social Brain with Dr. Bruce Miller
Inquiring Minds

Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's with Ch...
Inquiring Minds

Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground...
Inquiring Minds

The Purpose Code: How To Unlock Meaning, Maximize Happiness, and Leave A Lasting...
Inquiring Minds