
About this episode
Dean Spears and Michael Geruso are economists, demographers, and associate professors at the University of Texas at Austin. Their book After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People is out on July 8, 2025.
In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk, Dean Spears and Michael Geruso explore whether a higher population really impacts climate change, why more people on the planet means more geniuses, and how we can avoid depopulation.
Podcast production by Jack Shields and Leonora Barclay.
Connect with us!
Spotify | Apple | Google
X: @Yascha_Mounk & @JoinPersuasion
YouTube: Yascha Mounk, Persuasion
LinkedIn: Persuasion Community
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Good Fight 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.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Good Fight

Lant Pritchett on Why Foreign Aid Misses the Point
The Good Fight
May 2, 20261:11:35failed

David Bromwich on Why Americans Have Lost Faith in Universities
The Good Fight
Apr 28, 20261:01:51failed

Luis Garicano on the Economics of Artificial Intelligence
The Good Fight
Apr 25, 20261:09:41completed

Jacob Mchangama on the Global Free Speech Recession
The Good Fight
Apr 21, 202653:57failed