The Giving What We Can Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Luke Freeman interviews Sean Mayberry, the CEO of StrongMinds, a non-profit organization that provides group talk therapy to people in low-income countries to improve mental health. Sean shares his background, including his journey from working as a diplomat to founding StrongMinds, and his experiences with depression. He also explains the importance of mental health and the problem of depression across Africa, where over 66 million women suffer from depression but only 15% have access to care. Since 2013, they've treated nearly 175,000 women in Uganda and Zambia. Sean highlights the impact of depression on families, the need for effective interventions, StrongMinds plans for growth and more.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Introduction to Sean and his journey to founds StrongMinds

03:48 - Why focus on depression?

07:57 - The scale of mental illness in low and middle income countries (LMICs)

10:12 - What causes depression in LMICs?

12:25 - StrongMinds treatment model and how it works

15:16 - The diagnostic scale PHQ-9

18:15 - How do you remove bias from measurement?

20:10 - The indirect benefits of treating depression

21:58 - Why has StrongMinds focused on treating women?

23:35 - Comparisons to cash transfers by Happier Lives Institute

25:50 - How Sean's experience in HIV/AIDS informs StrongMinds program delivery

27:48 - Why is mental health still overlooked?

30:06 - Scaling funding and reaching more donors

31:42 - The biggest challenges implementing effective mental health interventions globally

33:17 - Lessons learned in adapting to different demographics

34:50 - How is the team structured

36:25 - Why is group talk therapy rate in places like Australia and the US?

40:33 - What are Sean's proudest moments with StrongMinds?

42:30 - Elevator pitch and closing comments

CREDITS:

Production: Grace Adams

Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro

Interviewer: Luke Freeman

Guest: Sean Mayberry

We are thrilled to have interviewed Emma Hurst MP of the Animal Justice Party who is an animal advocate with a background in psychology. Emma shared with us some of the most successful animal welfare policies that she has seen implemented, as well as strategies for policy selection and why momentum is so important when campaigning for change. She also spoke about the importance of learning from other countries, exporting successful policies overseas, and the progress that is being made on animal welfare globally. Finally, Emma discussed the role of philanthropy in animal welfare, the importance of individual advocacy, and how to gain broader political support for animal protection issues.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction

04:22 Successful animal welfare policies

06:13 Policy selection strategies

07:30 Why momentum is important

08:30 Learning from overseas

09:38 Exporting success overseas

10:54 Worldwide progress in animal welfare

13:06 Cellular agriculture policy

14:48 Proudest achievements of AJP

16:43 Psychology and messaging

17:52 Role of philanthropy in animal welfare

18:57 Individual advocacy

20:20 Enforcement of cruelty laws

22:37 Gaining broader political support

24:10 Coordination of campaigns

26:34 Anger fatigue

27:56 Being hopeful

29:37 Getting involved

CREDITS:

Production: Grace Adams

Editor: Marco Shimabukuro

Interviewer: Luke Freeman

Guest: Emma Hurst

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/hYm443i3lb8 CHAPTERS: 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-insecticides 33.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 Freeman 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

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/efVh51hbRHY CHAPTERS: 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 RCTs 14:11 - 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 Noetel 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

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

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 welfare 03:53 - 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 2020 https://farmedanimalfunders.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/External-FAF-State-of-the-Movement-Report-2021.pdf 👉 Neglected spending areas https://www.vox.com/2021/11/26/22772693/animal-rights-welfare-movement-global-factory-farming 🌍Donor advice & resources: 👉 Giving What We Can Recommendations https://givingwhatwecan.org/best-charities 👉 EA Animal Welfare Fund  https://funds.effectivealtruism.org/funds/animal-welfare 👉 The importance of small donors https://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 Dullaghan 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

💌 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

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 Foundation 00:37 - The documentary that started it all 01:24 - 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

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

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