Body Count
Radiolab24 Jan 2020

Body Count

Right now, at this very moment, all across the planet, there are 7.6 billion human beings eating, breathing, sleeping, brushing their teeth, walking their dogs, drinking coffee, walking down the street or running onto the subway or hopping in their car, maybe reading a summary of a podcast they’re about to hit play on … and the number is only going up. Everyday 386,000 babies are born (16,000 an hour). We’re adding a billion new people every 12 years.

So here’s a question you’ve probably never thought about: Are there more people alive right now than have ever lived on the planet in history? Do the living outnumber the dead? Robert got obsessed with this odd question, and in this episode we bring you the answer. Or, well, answers.

This episode was reported by Robert Krulwich and produced by Annie McEwen and Pat Walters, with help from Neel Dhanesha. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Music and mixing by Jeremy Bloom. Special thanks to Jeffrey Dobereiner.

Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(663)

Return of Alpha Gal

Return of Alpha Gal

Several years ago, in 2016, we told a story about Amy Pearl. For as long as she could remember, Amy loved meat in all its glorious cuts and marbled flavors. And then one day, for seemingly no reason, ...

24 Juli 0s

Neither Confirm Nor Deny

Neither Confirm Nor Deny

In an episode we first ran back in 2014, we explore how a sunken nuclear submarine, a crazy billionaire, and a mechanical claw gave birth to a phrase that has hounded journalists and lawyers for 40 ye...

17 Juli 0s

The Holy Shiver

The Holy Shiver

Lauren Brown gets goosebumps. A lot. Sometimes several times a day. When her partner, writer Carmen Maria Machado, noticed it...she couldn't stop thinking about it. Why does she get them in so many di...

10 Juli 0s

Atomic Artifacts

Atomic Artifacts

Back in the 1950s, facing the threat of nuclear annihilation, federal officials sat down and pondered what American life would actually look like after an atomic attack. They faced a slew of practical...

3 Juli 40min

The Gondolier

The Gondolier

Back in 2017, reporters Kristen Clark and David Conrad came to us with a story that dug into the difficult and often dark places discrimination creates. We start in Venice, Italy, where they meet gond...

26 Juni 1h 13min

This is Your Brain on Hormones

This is Your Brain on Hormones

After reading something that said her menstrual cycle changes her brain each month, Senior Correspondent Molly Webster goes on a reporting mission to see if that’s true, and, if so, how. This journey ...

19 Juni 39min

Bonus: Wild Animal Dads from Terrestrials

Bonus: Wild Animal Dads from Terrestrials

In honor of Father's Day, here is a family friendly bonus episode from our kids' podcast Terrestrials.  What does it really mean to be a dad? In the animal world, fathers have long been painted as ag...

18 Juni 35min

On the Media: American Emergency

On the Media: American Emergency

A little while back, our friends over at On the Media released a gripping and immersive reporting series about FEMA, the agency that is supposed to be there for all of us in the wake of disaster. In A...

12 Juni 55min

Populärt inom Vetenskap

p3-dystopia
dumma-manniskor
allt-du-velat-veta
hacka-livet
rss-ufobortom-rimligt-tvivel
sexet
svd-nyhetsartiklar
medicinvetarna
det-morka-psyket
rss-vetenskapsradion
4health-med-anna-sparre
rss-spraket
bildningspodden
rss-arkeologi-historia-podden-som-graver-i-vart-kulturlandskap
rss-ronden
paranormalt-med-caroline-giertz
psykopatpodden
dumforklarat
rss-broccolipodden-en-podcast-som-inte-handlar-om-broccoli
kvalificerat-hemligt-poddradio