Humanity at Eight Billion

The wars unleashed by October 7th have left the Middle East deeply fractured—Iran battered and defiant, Gaza destroyed, Israel militarized, the Gulf insecure and divided. And an even bigger disruption lies just ahead: the oil revenues that built the modern Arab world will halve b ... Show More

Theo Baker is no ordinary college senior. His student newspaper articles brought down Stanford’s president. Now he’s written a book about the making of the young tech elite. How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University reveals the “Stanford within Stanford” ... Show More

Russia’s surprising recent Internet shutdown did more than disrupt daily life: it also crippled the regime’s own communications and propaganda. It’s one of a series of strange events—from a diminished Victory Day parade to crackdowns on businesspeople and celebrities—that suggest ... Show More

As India is poised to overtake China as the world's most populous country, we put questions from World Service listeners to the author of 8 Billion and Counting. Dr Jennifer Sciubba explains how the number of humans is growing in some countries, declining in others, how people ar ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Malthusianism.In the eighteenth century, as expanding agriculture and industry resulted in a rapid increase in the European population, a number of writers began to consider the implications of this rise in numbers. Some argued it was a positiv ... Show More

This month the world population reached 8 billion people - and India is leading the charge. It's set to overtake China as most populous country in the world next year. India is currently home to more than 1.39 billion people. By April, the UN says it will hit 1.42 billion. What’s ... Show More

In part one of a three-part mini-series, we'll look at the global trend of shrinking populations and what it signifies for the future. Is the world's population really in decline, what are the reasons for this, and what does it mean for the world? Global population trends and dow ... Show More

Our planet is getting rather cosy. In just over 200 years, the global population has grown from 1 billion to almost 7.5 billion – and the best estimates suggest it’s going to keep on increasing. But just how far can it go? When will we reach ‘peak human’? That’s what CrowdScience ... Show More