Downsizing

In Episode 13 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are talking about the film Downsizing. Resting on the premise that people can choose to shrink to around 10cm tall as part of a project to reduce overpopulation, this odd comedy is full of themes of science fiction, environmentalism, innovation, social justice, and relationship. In this episode, we refer to this study in our discussion of global methane emissions, and these facts and figures for our understanding of overpopulation. In our exploration of the fictional physics of cellular shrinking, we talk about the history of the genre as recounted in this blog, as well as the many thoughts the people of Quora have given to this debate. The episode also looks at responses to irreversible climate tipping points, and we learned more about these here. Last but not least, Masha encouraged all listeners to take a look at the amazing and tiny art of Willard Wigan, and you can visit his website here. Please do rate and review us if you enjoy this podcast, and consider following us on Instagram for our latest news, or subscribing to our fortnightly newsletter.