Seated In Action

In the first half of the episode, your hosts finally introduce the topic of effective altruism. This topic was briefly alluded to in the previous episode (about global aid), and Andrew, of course, articulates the principles central to the effective altruistic movement by disparaging mainstream, traditional charitable organizations. Ryan re-centers the conversation, and the two discuss, at great lengths, the rational, empirical methodologies the effective altruists employ when determining the effectiveness of a given charity, the criteria they use to determine which global problems to address, and the goals they lay out when prompting people to rethink the ways they give to charity. In the second half of the episode, Andrew discusses the merits of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative and the Sight Savers organization; Ryan, then, discusses the merits of the Against Malaria Foundation and an organization called “Give Directly.” They then provide some practical advice about charitable donations and lay out a f