A Milestone for Humans: Eight Billion People on Earth

The human race has reached a milestone.  There are now an estimated eight billion people on the planet.  Overall, less people are living in extreme poverty, and we have generally better access to health care, food, and clean water.  Half of the population still just lives in 7 countries, and it could take us about 15 years to hit the next milestone of nine billion.  Stef Kight, politics reporter at Axios, joins is for what to know as we still face several challenges as the population continues to grow.

Next, there is a mystery in the labor market as older Gen Z workers are missing from the workforce.  We are seeing fewer people ages 20-24 with a job which equals to a shortfall of about half a million workers.  In 2021, wages were rising and there were tons of job openings, it attracted teens, but didn’t stick with others.  We have also seen a rise in the number people in this age range that are neither working or in school.  Bryan Mena, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Finally, a mother was arrested recently after he 10-year-old son got a tattoo.  Last month, the boy walked into the nurse’s office looking for Vaseline, he wanted to rub it on his new tattoo.  While there have been shifting attitudes about tattoos recently, there are many laws on the books where those under 18 cannot get a tattoo, even if they have parental consent.  Sarah Maslin Nir, staff reporter at the NY Times, joins us for what to know.

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