The infamous overpopulation bet: Simon vs. Ehrlich - Soraya Field Fiorio
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In 1980, Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon bet $1,000 on a question with stakes that couldn’t be higher: would the earth run out of resources to sustain a growing human population? They bet $200 on the price of five metals. If the price of a metal decreased or held steady over the next decade, Simon won. If the price increased, Ehrlich won. So, what happened? Soraya Field Fiorio investigates.
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The economist Julian Simon believed that humans were endlessly clever and could find a solution to any problem. He was not worried that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation. Why not?
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Soraya Field Fiorio
- Director Avi Ofer
- Narrator Alexandra Panzer
- Music Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
- Sound Designer Nirana Singh, cAMP Studio
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Editorial Producer Elizabeth Cox
- Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
