A hundred years ago, there were roughly 2 billion people in the world. Today, there are almost 8 billion. 

This rapid quadrupling of the world’s population has people asking, is the planet overpopulated? Some say, yes. Others say that it’s not so simple.

This isn’t a new question. Researchers in the 19th and 20th centuries warned that unfettered population growth would lead to famine, poverty, and climate destruction. Some governments and aid agencies took those warnings to heart, and implemented programs to try and lower fertility rates. These programs were sometimes coercive, often incentivizing poor people to be sterilized or have abortions they didn’t want. Some societies are still living with unintended consequences of these efforts to control population. Still, the question of whether the earth is overpopulated is still contested

UnTextbooked producer Oliver Wang had always been curious about population control. He’s Chinese American, and his family had been shaped by the One-Child policy. So he read the book Fatal Misconception by Dr. Matthew Connelly to learn more. On this episode of UnTextbooked, Oliver and Dr. Connelly explore the origin and impact of population control efforts.

Book: Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population

Guest: Dr. Matthew Connelly

Producer: Oliver Wang

Music: Silas Bohen and Coleman Hamilton

Editors: Bethany Denton and Jeff Emtman