In this episode, I sat down with Ness Sándoval, a Professor of Demography and Sociology at Saint Louis University and one of the leading voices sounding the alarm on population decline. Ness walks through his personal journey from growing up in a small, segregated town in Nebraska to becoming deeply focused on demographic trends and spatial inequality. His early exposure to contrasting environments and access to education shaped his perspective on opportunity, migration, and long-term societal shifts.

We dive into the reality that population growth as we’ve known it is ending, driven by declining birth rates, aging populations, and reduced migration. Ness explains how this shift will fundamentally impact housing, economies, and entire regions—especially cities like St. Louis. He outlines why migration is now the only path to growth, why young people are the key to survival, and why many regions are unprepared for what’s coming. The conversation highlights both the risks of inaction and the narrow window of opportunity cities still have to adapt before long-term decline becomes irreversible.

Connect with the Host

Twitter: ⁠twitter.com/ItsRajTut⁠⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajtut/⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠instagram.com/ItsRajTut⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrajtut

Connect with the Guest

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ness-s%C3%A1ndoval-a42ba938/

Email: [email protected]

Timestamps:

00:00 Demographic collapse warning

 01:07 Guest introduction and background

 03:00 Early exposure to inequality and education

04:20 Transition from pre-med to demography

07:00 Discovering demographic trends and data

 08:50 Global examples: Japan, Russia, Middle East

11:00 The Great Recession as a demographic shock

 12:30 Why population decline matters economically

14:00 Housing demand collapse and empty towns

16:00 Migration as the only growth solution

19:00 Why St. Louis is losing population

 22:00 Attracting young people and “stickiness”

 24:00 COVID’s impact on births and deaths

 26:00 Pittsburgh as a case study

28:00 Housing shortages and policy resistance

30:00 Immigration and growth in suburbs

34:00 Schools driving family migration decisions

37:00 Best vs worst-case future scenarios

42:00 Aging population and economic strain

 46:00 School closures and declining youth population

49:00 Midwest’s future opportunity for growth

 52:00 Why St. Louis fails at storytelling

55:00 Tracking migration with IRS and cell data

01:01:40 Where to follow Ness and closing thoughts

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