Is Overpopulation a Myth? | FEAT. Baewolf

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*Listener discretion advised: Passionate and frustrated Wolf rears his head in this episode.*

For the better half of almost 200 hundred years, overpopulation and the risks associated have been wedged into the psyche of modern society. From the time that we were children, the alarm bells over "too many people, not enough [insert noun here]" has echoed chillingly. In pop culture, movies like Soylent Green, Wall-E, Elysium, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Purge, Avengers: Endgame, and even Godzilla: King of the Monsters have the underlying message of overpopulation immersed within their respective, and fictional, worlds. Celebrities, politicians, prominent scientists, and nearly every influential figurehead has repeated the overpopulation mantra, in unison, without any loud semblance of criticism. What if they're all wrong?

Over the last decade, despite the alarmist narratives of overpopulation, questions regarding those respective narratives have begun to arise. Why? Purely because recent statistics on procreation have echoed an opposite position. Data, quotable, reference-able, testable data points, have all begun to imply that the opposite may be true: that the world's population will grow, peak, and then inevitably, and quite quickly, shrink. 

For humanity to continue to exist, there must be a minimum child fertility rate of 2.1%. This number, not only accounts for eventual adults who can't have children, but also for those that pass away beforehand. If we sustain a fertility rate below 2.1%, it is entirely plausible that humanity extinguishes itself, with nothing more than a whimper. 

In episode 69 of The Wolf and Bull, the team discusses whether the narrative of overpopulation is correct or not. Tune in now to hear more! 

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