The Giving What We Can Podcast

Join us as we explore how to use our resources to do the most good. Learn more about effective giving, high impact charities, philanthropy, and effective altruism.

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Episodes

Thursday Oct 06, 2022

Choosing where to donate is incredibly difficult. Luckily, the charity evaluator GiveWell spends thousands of hours on program research each year to help people find highly-impactful giving opportunities. In this episode, Luke sits down with Neil Buddy Shah, GiveWell's managing director at the time of recording, for a deep dive into GiveWell's work. We cover GiveWell's origin, approaches, and focus areas, as well as Buddy's personal background and relationship to effective giving. We also discuss why funding gaps exist despite foreign aid, and the important role donors play in improving people's lives. Buddy responds to some common critiques of GiveWell's work, and clarifies some misconceptions about how the organisation operates.  Neil Buddy Shah is now the CEO of The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).Note: This interview was recorded in April 2022. GiveWell has since updated its cost-effectiveness bar to be higher than it was at the time of recording. A shorter version of this interview is available on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/BC64OnNHH9A👉To learn more about GiveWell, visit their website: www.givewell.orgCHAPTERS:00:00 - Introduction 02:12 - GiveWell's origin02:57 - GiveWell's goals and research approaches06:39 - How does GiveWell define and measure effectiveness?09:52 - Can you talk more about how GiveWell calculates cost-effectiveness?10:52 - How does GiveWell evaluate impact that is harder to measure?14:50 - Transparency15:15 - The importance of small donors 19:40 - Why does GiveWell roll over funds when highly-effective organisations still have funding gaps? 22:50 - Critic's question: does GiveWell only focus on "measurable" programs and ignore policy/advocacy initiatives?26:06 - Can you talk more about the concept of fungibility? 29:30 - Critic's question: GiveWell primarily focuses on health-based approaches to poverty alleviation. What about economic approaches? 32:12 - Critic's question: Do GiveWell's recommendations take into account the needs and preferences of the communities they aim to serve?36:08 - Does the continued existence of extremely cost-effective giving opportunities like the Against Malaria Foundation indicate a failure of the public sector?39:17 - People's reactions to the cost to save a life (and other striking figures!)43:12 - Why aren't GiveWell's recommended programs funded by government foreign aid organisations?46:43 - GiveWell's role in grantmaking 50:22 - Clarifying additional common misconceptions about GiveWell52:56 - Buddy's personal background and relationship to effective giving56:30 - Buddy's ask for listenersCREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Video/audio editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Neil Buddy ShahOUR RESOURCES: ✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge 💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities🤑'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org 🤓Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources 🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan 👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Thursday Sep 22, 2022

The vast amount of animal suffering in the world can feel overwhelming, but there are several concrete ways to help. In this episode, we cover some major causes of animal suffering that even animal lovers often overlook, and discuss some of the best ways you can help animals.👉You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/hYm443i3lb8CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction 00:21 - Why focus on farmed and wild animals? 00:46 - Farmed animals and factory farming: the problem 02:18 - What you can do: diet changes 03:18 - What you can do: supporting system change 04:46 - What you can do: supporting alternative proteins 06:04 - Wild animal suffering: the problem 07:30 - What you can do: supporting wild animal welfare research 08:28 - Additional information about where to donate 09:04 - Final thoughts ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANISATIONS MENTIONED: Fish Welfare Initiative: https://www.fishwelfareinitiative.org/ The Humane League: https://thehumaneleague.org/Wild Animal Initiative: https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/ Animal Charity Evaluators: https://animalcharityevaluators.org/ Faunalytics: https://faunalytics.org/ EA Animal Welfare Fund: https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare SOURCES: 1. https://faunalytics.org/global-animal-slaughter-statistics-and-charts/ 2. https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/lewis-bollard-end-factory-farming/3. https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/lewis-bollard-end-factory-farming/4. https://thehumaneleague.org/article/factory-farming-animal-cruelty 5. https://www.greenmatters.com/p/what-is-sea-lice 6. https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/global-animal-farming-estimates 7. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/ 8. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2020/sep/15/covid-farm-animals-and-pandemics-diseases-that-changed-the-world 9. https://mercyforanimals.org/blog/antibiotic-resistant-infections-will-kill/ 10. https://www.sentienceinstitute.org/aft-survey-2020 11. https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production 12. https://animalcharityevaluators.org/donation-advice/why-farmed-animals/ and https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=42 13. https://animalcharityevaluators.org/donation-advice/why-farmed-animals/ 14. https://www.aspca.org/helping-people-pets/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics 15. https://animalcharityevaluators.org/research/dietary-impacts/effects-of-diet-choices/ 16. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22430749/beef-chicken-climate-diet-vegetarian 17. https://a-z-animals.com/blog/cow-lifespan-how-long-do-cows-live/18. https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_12,_Farm_Animal_Confinement_Initiative_(2018) 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_California_Proposition_12 20. https://www.effectivealtruism.org/articles/lewis-bollard-lessons-learned-in-farm-animal-welfare 21. https://rethinkpriorities.org/publications/corporate-campaigns-affect-9-to-120-years-of-chicken-life-per-dollar-spent 22. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf 23. https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=66df320da8400b581cbc1b539&id=a9ce5c198b 24. https://rethinkpriorities.org/publications/forecasts-estimate-limited-cultured-meat-production-through-2050 25. https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/blog/juvenile-welfare 26. https://wildlife.org/the-return-of-an-odious-invader/27. http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf 28. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fish-feel-pain-180967764/29. https://reducing-suffering.org/how-many-wild-animals-are-there/ 30. https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/transparency 31. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/11/14/18091698/future-perfect-podcast-killing-fish-ikejime-animal-welfare 32. https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/blog/humane-insecticides33.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f04bd57a1c21d767782adb8/t/5f160c91bc0bff4abe964d5a/1595280529848/WAI_PersistenceAndReversibility_Dec2019.pdf 34. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207746/ CREDITS: Script: Gage Weston Production: Grace Adams Video/audio editor: Marco Shimabukuro Host: Luke FreemanOUR RESOURCES: ✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge 💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities🤑'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org 🤓Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources 🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan 👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Wednesday Sep 21, 2022

Dr. Michael Noetel shares 10 mistakes he made when trying to improve the world, so you don't have to make the same ones! Michael is a Giving What We Can member, effective altruist and academic. We were grateful to have him share what he's learnt with us. To learn more about him, visit: https://noetel.com.au/ 👉You can also watch this episode on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/efVh51hbRHYCHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction 01:08 - Mistake 1: I wasn't using science and reason 02:20 - Mistake 2: I didn't focus on the most important problems 04:27 - Mistake 3: I wasn't looking for low hanging fruit 07:22 - Mistake 4: I focused on what was in front of me 08:45 - Mistake 5: I thought effective altruism was only for utilitarians 11:03 - Mistake 6: I thought I needed to be morally obliged, and morally oblige others too 12:20 - Mistake 7: I thought effective altruism was just bed nets and RCTs14:11 - Mistake 8: I would start with the really controversial ideas 15:40 - Mistake 9: I thought the size of the problem should motivate people to act 16:36 - Mistake 10: I thought talking about doing good made me look sanctimonious CREDITS: Script: Michael Noetel Production: Julian Hazell Video/Audio Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Host: Michael NoetelOUR RESOURCES: ✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge 💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities🤑'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org 🤓Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources 🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan 👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Member Story: Zachary Brown

Monday Sep 12, 2022

Monday Sep 12, 2022

Member Zachary Brown shares how the neighborhood where he grew up cast a spotlight on suffering and inequality, motivating him to effect change from an early age. He also discusses why he's passionate about helping future generations, how the Giving What We Can pledge ties into his Jewish background, and how effective giving has become a part of his identity. We are so pleased that we've been able to interview some of our members about their experiences with effective giving. Big thank you to Zachary and our other community members who make Giving What We Can such a special organisation. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - How did you learn about Giving What We Can? 00:55 - Why were you motivated to take the pledge? 02:45 - What is the role of effective giving in your life? 03:58 - Where are you giving now? 05:22 - Advice for others considering the pledge: "Just start!"
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
 
BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter
🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan
🤳 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@givingwhatwecan

Thursday Sep 01, 2022

In this interview, we chat to Neil Dullaghan, a Senior Researcher at Rethink Priorities, a think tank that pursues and shares research with key decision makers about how to best help people and non-human animals both now and in the long-term future. We talk about Neil's work on animal welfare, why people might choose to prioritize farmed animal welfare or wild animal welfare, the role of research in the animal welfare landscape, and what you can do to help non-human animals Neil also discusses how the principles of effective altruism inform his work, and that of Rethink Priorities.If you'd like to learn more about Rethink Priorities, visit their website: https://rethinkpriorities.org/ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to Neil and Rethink Priorities 01:24 - What attracts Neil to effective altruism 01:51 - Neil makes the case for focusing on farmed animal welfare 03:21 - The work Rethink Priorities is doing on farmed animal welfare03:53 - Considerations for working on wild animal welfare 05:16 - Advice for small to medium donors interested in farmed animal welfare 07:00 - The different approaches to improving animal welfare 08:53 - Policy intervention success stories 09:36 - Why research is important for improving animal lives 11:39 - How Neil became passionate about animal welfare 12:10 - Beyond donating, what can people do to help? 13:03 - How Neil has changed his approach to giving, research, and advocacy 14:10 - Forecasting the cultured meat landscape going forward 16:58 - How would Neil spend a billion dollars? 17:54 - Neil's asks for viewers SOURCES & FURTHER READING: 🌍Organisational spending on farmed animal welfare: 👉 Spending in 2020https://farmedanimalfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/External-FAF-State-of-the-Movement-Report-2021.pdf 👉 Neglected spending areashttps://www.vox.com/2021/11/26/22772693/animal-rights-welfare-movement-global-factory-farming 🌍Donor advice & resources: 👉 Giving What We Can Recommendationshttps://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities 👉 EA Animal Welfare Fund https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare 👉 The importance of small donorshttps://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/cjH2puDzAFrtrrThQ/despite-billions-of-extra-funding-small-donors-can-still CREDITS: Production: Julian Hazell & Grace Adams Videographer and video editor: Andy Brice Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Neil DullaghanOUR RESOURCES: ✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge 💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities🤑'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org 🤓Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources 🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan 👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Friday Aug 26, 2022

💌 Sign up for our newsletter here: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter/
🧑‍💻 RSVP to this months meetups at: givingwhatwecan.org/events
👇 Links for items mentioned in the video:
The Longtermism Fund: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/charities/longtermism-fund
GiveWell's announcement: https://blog.givewell.org/2022/08/17/changes-to-top-charity-criteria/
Our response to GiveWell's update: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/blog/update-to-our-recommended-global-health-and-development-charities
What We Owe The Future: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1541618629
Time magazine article: https://time.com/6204627/effective-altruism-longtermism-william-macaskill-interview/
The Tim Ferriss Show interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9C41fx64dw
The Ezra Klein Show interview: https://time.com/6204627/effective-altruism-longtermism-william-macaskill-interview/
The Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/21/william-macaskill-what-we-owe-the-future-philosopher-interview
Other media: https://whatweowethefuture.com/press/
Rob Mather and Against Malaria Foundation video: https://youtu.be/Ex7hgpXfw0U
 
Script & Production: Grace Adams
Editor: Marco Shimabukuro
Host: Luke Freeman

Thursday Aug 25, 2022

Hear the powerful, personal story behind AMF, the organisation responsible for protecting 400 million people from malaria (roughly equal in size to 40% of the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa!) and saving tens of thousands of lives. It started with one man's fundraiser for a little girl who had suffered 90% burns in a house fire at her home in Suffolk, England, and turned into one of the most efficient and effective charities in the world. Rob Mather's journey shows us the power of combining the head and the heart to make a tremendous difference in the lives of others.Watch this story on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Ex7hgpXfw0U👉 You can donate to the Against Malaria Foundation via Giving What We Can: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/charities/against-malaria-foundation WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AMF? 👉 Check out their website at https://www.againstmalaria.com/ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to the story of Rob Mather and the Against Malaria Foundation00:37 - The documentary that started it all01:24 - Rob's Swim for Terri fundraiser 02:32 - Swimming for other causes 03:01 - Why malaria? 04:45 - The first world swim against malaria 05:09 - Beyond swimming: the founding of AMF 05:24 - Why AMF is so unique, transparent, and impactful 07:38 - GiveWell's evaluation of AMF 07:54 - Rob's thoughts on shifting the focus from swimming 08:20 - 100% of your donation goes to buying nets 09:30 - AMF's remarkable achievements 10:16 - The need for more funding 10:33 - Why donate to AMF? 11:12 - Concluding thoughts CREDITS: Production: Julian Hazell & Grace Adams Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Rob Mather OUR RESOURCES: ✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge 💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities🤑'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org 🤓Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources 🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved BE OUR FRIEND: 💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter🌍 Our website / blog: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/ 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan 👍 Facebook: https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan

Wednesday Aug 17, 2022

In this interview, we chat to Joey Savoie, CEO and co-founder of Charity Entrepreneurship, an incubator that helps launch high-impact nonprofits by connecting entrepreneurs with effective ideas, training, and funding.
Joey provides an overview of Charity Entrepreneurship and the problems they're working to solve; he also shares his thoughts on the charity sector, the concept of efficacy, and the role altruism plays in his life.
Since its founding in 2018, Charity Entrepreneurship has helped launch 18 impactful nonprofits, which have reached over 5 million humans and improved the lives of 1.2 million animals.
You can donate to Charity Entrepreneurship via Giving What We Can: https://donate.givingwhatwecan.org/partners/charity-entrepreneurship
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CHARITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP? 👉 Check out their website at https://www.charityentrepreneurship.com/
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction to Joey and Charity Entrepreneurship
01:04 - The story behind Charity Entrepreneurship's founding
04:21 - Projects Charity Entrepreneurship has helped launch
07:05 - Cause areas Charity Entrepreneurship focuses on
08:48 - Charity Entrepreneurship's core propositions, benefits, and why donors might be interested in supporting the org
12:52 - What value can smaller donors bring to philanthropy?
15:29 - Joey's pitch that "efficacy" in charity can be evaluated, measured, and aimed for
17:39 - Some surprising realizations about the charitable sector
21:07 - The nuances of bottlenecks
24:50 - What mistakes do people make when thinking about the concept of effectiveness, especially at first?
26:38 - Joey's relationship with altruism
28:07 - How would Joey spend a billion dollars?
31:05 - Joey's advice/asks for viewers
CREDITS:
Production: Julian Hazell & Grace Adams
Videographer and video editor: Andy Brice
Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro
Interviewer: Luke Freeman
Guest: Joey Savoie

Wednesday Aug 10, 2022

In this interview filmed at EA Global London 2022 with Simran Dhaliwal, the co-CEO of Longview Philanthropy, we talk about what Longview Philanthropy does, what problems it is working to solve, and Simran's own journey to effective giving.
If you'd like to learn more about Longview Philanthropy, visit their website: https://www.longview.org/
One bonus fun fact about Longview is that all their senior staff have signed the Giving What We Can Pledge.
CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to Simran and what Longview Philanthropy does
02:13 - Longview runs events to turn longtermist ideas into action
03:26 - How Simran would pitch longtermism and Longview's impact to a new audience 05:30 - What's it like to work with donors interested in the long-term future?
06:30 - How did these donors find these ideas?
07:38 - How Longview approaches helping people prioritise different causes
08:22 - What has Simran changed her mind about in the last year?
09:51 - What are some of the positive changes in effective altruism and any areas of concern?
11:00 - The comparative advantages small donors bring to the table in philanthropy
13:13 - Plans for growing Longview Philanthropy
16:55 - Media grantmaking program
18:36 - Conclusions and final thoughts
CREDITS:
Production: Julian Hazell & Grace Adams
Videographer and video editor: Andy Brice
Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer:
Luke Freeman Guest: Simran Dhaliwal

Newsletter Summary: July 2022

Saturday Jul 30, 2022

Saturday Jul 30, 2022

💌 Sign up for our newsletter here: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsletter/
👇 Links for items mentioned in the video:
RSVP to this months meetups at: givingwhatwecan.org/events
Watch our interview with Bruce Friedrich: https://youtu.be/qCFZBJ0aMG0
GiveWell's update on their funding: https://blog.givewell.org/2022/07/05/update-on-givewells-funding-projections/
Non-trivial's new course: https://non-trivial.org/courses/how-to-change-the-world
10m less caged hens in Europe: https://www.poultryworld.net/poultry/layers/shift-to-cage-free-in-eu-continues/
Ted-Ed Video, The 4 greatest threats to the survival of humanity: https://youtu.be/WP6T4MH0Dn4
Gates Foundation annoucement: https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Commitment-to-the-Gates-Foundation
Script & Production: Grace Adams Video Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Host: Luke Freeman
OUR RESOURCES:
✍️ Take a giving pledge: https://givingwhatwecan.org/pledge
💕 Giving recommendations: https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-char...
🤑. 'How Rich Am I?' calculator: https://howrichami.givingwhatwecan.org
🤓. Recommended books, videos, podcasts: https://givingwhatwecan.org/resources
🙋‍♂️ Get involved: https://givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved
BE OUR FRIEND:
💌 Sign up to our monthly email newsletter - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/newsl...
🌍 Our website / blog - https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/
📸 Instagram - https://instagram.com/giving_what_we_can
🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/givingwhatwecan
👍 Facebook - https://facebook.com/givingwhatwecan
 

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About Giving What We Can

Giving What We Can is a community of effective givers.

We support each other in our commitments to helping others and learning about effective giving. We aim to create a culture where people are inspired to give more, and give more effectively.

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