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Human RightsGlobal issues

Living on a planet with 8 billion other people

November 9, 2022

The world's population is set to hit 8 billion on November 15. On this week's show, the UN's Sara Hertog helps us separate fact from the fiction when it comes to understanding exactly what that means for the planet. Plus, a story of death, an old recipe for sweets and the future of Japan. We'll also hear why Georgia's farmers, bakers and government officials are uniting around ancient grains.

https://p.dw.com/p/4JGH7

On this week's show, we're taking a closer look at the upcoming milestone of the world's population surpassing the 8-billion mark. UN demographer Sara Hertog joins us to explain more about what's behind those numbers, why the world's population growth is actually slowing down, and how experts pinpointed November 15 as the big day.

Plus, Japan is said to have approximately 40,000 companies that are more than 100 years old. We'll hear about a confectioner who's still serving up a historic recipe, and how she, like many other businesses, faces an uncertain future amid a dismal birth rate.

Then it's off to Georgia's wheat fields and restaurants to get an upclose listen to the ancient grains that are uniting farmers, bakers and goverment officials alike against industrial wheat.

Kathleen Schuster headshot at DW
Kathleen Schuster Kathleen Schuster is a freelance producer and host of DW’s environment podcast Living Planet
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