S2E35: Matthew Yglesias tells us why climate people should root for One Billion Americans

Can you advocate for climate solutions and dramatic population growth at the same time? Or are the two ideas mutually exclusive? Matthew Yglesias argues that while electoral politics is a zero-sum game, policy is not. And any two priorities can be reconciled to craft a win-win, provided both sides accept the premise that we need to take action on climate change.

Matthew Yglesias is the cofounder of Vox, host of The Weeds Podcast, journalist and author of the national bestseller, One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Matt joins Ross and Paul to discuss the premise of his book, explaining why it’s crucial for the US to grow its population and commit to keeping our #1 status in the world. He shares his liberal approach to this conservative idea, describing how immigration makes us stronger and what we can do to support families with children.

Matthew goes on to offer insight on the dysfunction of American federalism, discussing how a shared goal would create more constructive politics, and why it’s shortsighted to invoke climate change as an argument against population growth. Listen in for Matthew’s take on why we need right of center solutions to climate change and learn how we can prioritize both population growth and climate solutions in a way that moves America forward.

Nori on Patreon

Vox

Matthew on Vox

The Weeds Podcast

One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger by Matthew Yglesias

The Idea of a European Superstate by Glyn Morgan

Bryan Caplan on Reversing Climate Change S2EP2

Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration by Bryan Caplan

‘Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing’ in PEN America

Wendell Berry

Dorothy Day

Brad Plumer at The New York Times