Past Present Future

Are There Too Many People?

This week David talks to science writer Meehan Crist about Thomas Malthus and the perennial question of overpopulation. Malthus wrote 225 years ago and was wrong about almost everything, yet his ideas still have a powerful hold on our imaginations and our fears. How many people is too many? What are the limits of population in the age of climate change? And why does Elon Musk think we should all be having more children?Thomas Malthus, <a href="https://bit.ly/3pbT5cN" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘An Essay on the Principle of Overpopulation’ </a>(1798) Meehan Crist’s 2020 LRB lecture,<a href="https://bit.ly/444D7Qg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> ‘Is it OK to Have a Child?’</a> Sign up to LRB Close Readings:Directly in Apple: <a href="https://lrb.me/ppfapplesignup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://apple.co/3pJoFPq</a>In other podcast apps: <a href="https://lrb.me/ppfsignup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lrb.supportingcast.fm</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Past Present Future is a bi-weekly History of Ideas podcast with David Runciman, host and creator of Talking Politics, exploring the history of ideas from politics to philosophy, culture to technology. David talks to historians, novelists, scientists and many others about where the most interesting ideas come from, what they mean, and why they matter. Ideas from the past, questions about the present, shaping the future. Brought to you in partnership with the London Review of Books. New episodes every Thursday and Sunday. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.