Blackmore quotes: "I hope we have bird flu or some other thing that will reduce the population"; "I take illegal drugs for inspiration"; "...without cannabis, most of my scientific research would never have been done."

A misanthropic dinner party elite wants to see the human race decimated by disease – just so long as it doesn’t affect them.

Brendan O’Neill - Nov 14, 2008

In the middle of all the hoo-hah over Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand’s childish phone calls on a late-night radio show, you may have missed a far more scandalous utterance that was made on BBC radio.

On 5 November, the upmarket Nightwaves on BBC Radio 3 aired a discussion about overpopulation between Dr Susan Blackmore (a neuroscientist) and Professor John Gray (of the London School of Economics).

Dr Blackmore said the “fundamental problem” facing the planet today is that “there are too many people”. Professor Gray agreed. Then Dr Blackmore declared: “For the planet’s sake, I hope we have bird flu or some other thing that will reduce the population, because otherwise we’re doomed.”

So, it’s official: at the Beeb it is unacceptable to make crude jokes about having sex with someone’s granddaughter, but it is perfectly OK to wish death upon large swathes of mankind.

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