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OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance
OVERSHOOT tackles today’s social and ecological crises driven by our excessive population and consumption and explores the paradigm shifts needed to bring our human footprint into balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests, hosts Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware examine the drivers of overshoot: from the pronatalism fueling overpopulation, to economies based on consumerism and social injustice, to the worldview of human supremacy that exploits animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance offers transformative pathways beyond technological fixes, toward interconnectedness with all beings. With a global rank of 1.5%, we draw listeners from across 150 countries.
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There are over 90 episodes of OVERSHOOT. If you are new to the podcast and looking for a good place to start, we recommend you listen to these episodes first.
Episodes
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Catastrophe Ethics
Modern life is filled with confusing and often terrifying problems, leaving many of us struggling with how to make morally decent choices. Travis N. Rieder, bioethicist and moral philosopher and author of Catastrophe Ethics, joins us.
Breaking Out of the Baby Matrix
Pronatalism shapes how we think about parenthood and reproduction, often in ways we don’t even notice. Laura Carroll, an expert on pronatalism, the childfree choice, and author of The Baby Matrix, joins us.
Overpopulation and the Ethics of Procreation
What are the ethical implications of bringing new life into existence, both for the child and the planet? Trevor Hedberg, environmental and procreative ethicist and author of The Environmental Impact of Overpopulation: The Ethics of Procreation, joins us.
Men Confronting Patriarchy
Male involvement in family planning is key to changing population dynamics and promoting gender equity in Uganda. Andrew Kyamagero, an award-winning Ugandan journalist and family-planning advocate, joins us to discuss how engaging boys and men is critical to confronting patriarchy.
Regretting Motherhood
Women who choose not to be mothers are frequently warned that they will regret their decision later in life, yet we rarely discuss the possibility that mothers who have children might regret it. Sociologist Orna Donath, author of Regretting Motherhood, joins us.
Accounting for Nature
Current growth-based economic models devalue and destroy nature. Partha Dasgupta, economist and author of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, joins us.
Vasectomy as an Act of Love
Offering free, non-scalpel vasectomies in a mobile vasectomy clinic helps men take reproductive responsibility - as an act of love for their partners and the planet. Esgar Guarin joins us.
Child-First Family Planning
We need to put our children first. Carter Dillard and Karin Kuhlemann of the non-profit, Having Kids, join host Dave Gardner to explain "child-first" family planning and how it will benefit our children and make human civilization more sustainable.
Small Family Campaigns and Incentives
Are there ethical and moral ways for governments to accelerate the move to smaller families in order to contract population? Ethicists Colin Hickey and Jake Earl weigh in on why this should be done and how we might do it fairly.
Toward a Small Family Ethic
Everyone should consider the ethics of having children on an overpopulated, climate-disrupted planet. Travis Rieder, bioethicist and author of Toward a Small Family Ethic: How Overpopulation and Climate Change are Affecting the Morality of Procreation, joins us.
Choosing Childfree
For over 20 years Laura Carroll has been researching the childfree choice and she’s interviewed thousands who’ve made this choice. We discuss the roots of our pronatal culture, where to get support for the childfree decision, myths about family size, the cost of raising children, and doing your part to solve overpopulation.