Are There Too Many of Us? | Nandita Bajaj

A recent report on Deutsche Welle’s Eco India environmental news magazine recently asked, “Are There Too Many of Us on Our Planet?” The report mysteriously arrived at the conclusion that, “It’s not the population element that’s going to be the problem.” Reporter Aditi Rajagopal advised our attention should be redirected to, “the more hidden and dangerous concerns of waste and overconsumption.” We applaud Rajagopal for covering this topic, but we’re compelled to go through her report and correct an array of instances of faulty logic. At the top of our list with our guest Nandita Bajaj: the mistaken notion that there is a contest between overpopulation and overconsumption for biggest worry. We invite her to join us on a future episode if she’d like to discuss this with us. We need journalists to be up to speed on the human overpopulation issue. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript: https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/nandita-bajaj1   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  *Episodes from 2016-2021 were hosted by former executive director Dave Gardner and later with co-host Erika Arias, and then with co-host Nandita Bajaj. Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance