Show notes
Bernie Sanders was asked about human overpopulation. How did he handle it? And how was that reported by the media and received by the public? The Overpopulation Podcast team offers observations and analysis.
Why do political candidates rarely volunteer a position about human overpopulation? In spite of the hard work of sustainable population advocates, and progress made, overpopulation and its solutions are still misunderstood. Misunderstandings and misassumptions are so common that the subject remain sensitive. But it shouldn’t be “a poisonous subject.”
That’s one of the main reasons we produce this podcast. The more people who understand the facts, and the more informed and sensitive our conversations, the easier it will be to have the conversations we need.
In this roundtable episode, we remind listeners The Overpopulation Podcast is dedicated to creating a safe space for each of us to openly and honestly discuss the truth about world overpopulation. The team acknowledges the importance of learning from past coercive and unjust attempts to slow population growth, but that doesn’t mean we run from humanitarian solutions.
It’s EVERYONE’S responsibility to take a stand. Our motivation stems from a human rights perspective. We underscore the benefits of equal access to family planning and choosing to have smaller families in an effort to reduce social inequality, poverty, climate disruption and other ecological destruction – to create a better future for us all.
With these goals in mind, we can sensitively and responsibly propose solutions that are based on facts, not misassumptions. We’re reminded that HOW we talk about the overpopulation crisis and its solutions is very critical.
A very special thanks to our hero, Martha Readyoff, for asking Bernie THE million-dollar question. Plus, World Population Balance team members share their take on the subject of episode 27: the groundbreaking paper titled A Human Rights Approach to Planning Families. Just how parent-centered are our reproductive choices, really?
The Overpopulation Podcast is produced by World Population Balance, a non-profit organization committed to alerting and educating that overpopulation is the root cause of resource depletion, species extinction, poverty, and climate change. Our mission is to chart a path for human civilization that – rather than causing greater misery – enables good lives on a healthy planet. We advocate and support a smaller, truly sustainable human population – through dramatic and voluntary reduction in birth rates.
We envision a world where no one suffers in dire poverty and misery for lack of enough food, water, and other basic needs. We see a world where all species thrive and where lower consumption and population are in balance with Earth’s finite resources.
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Disappointing Media Coverage of Bernie Sanders Population Response:
Bernie Sanders in Climate Change 'Population Control' Uproar (BBC)
Mollie Hemingway: Bernie Sanders' Population Control Plan Would Affect Black and Brown People Most, Supports Eugenics (Fox News)
Lowry: Bernie Sanders and the Anti-people Crusade (National Review)
Cruz Zings Sanders with 'Thanos' Joke After Dem's Response to Overpopulation Concerns
Democrats Once Again Embrace Population Control to Save the Planet (Stephen Moore)
A more informed and fair response:
Bernie Was Right: Climate Change Demands Family Planning (Forbes)
Other items discussed:
Family Size Decisions that Consider Welfare of ChildrenEpisode 27 of The Overpopulation Podcast
Paper: A Human Rights Approach to Planning Families
Choosing Small Families – Part of the Solution to Climate Change (Photos from the St. Paul, MN Climate Strike rally in September, 2019)
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