EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

This is a link post.

Hi Everyone. I'm Carley, Director of the Open Wing Alliance.

I wanted to share our Year in Review blog post with you. Highlights of 2024 include:

- Almost 150 new cage-free corporate commitments gained by groups around the world. In often very challenging conditions, groups are taking on corporations and winning.
- A global OWA flagship campaign against Kewpie, one of Asia's leading brands, resulted in a commitment that will spare an estimated 700,000 hens from cages. This would not have happened without the alliance's collective efforts, including on-the-ground protests.
- We expanded to 95 groups across 75 countries and 5 continents. We held 3 summits in Latin America, Asia and Africa, where we shared tactics, successes and visions for the future.

I hope you enjoy reading our year in review. As we look forward to 2025, the OWA is focused [...]

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First published:

February 18th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/NGbG8fsbokrS9iGXG/in-2024-the-open-wing-alliance-made-critical-progress-for

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In the U.S., egg prices have recently skyrocketed. The text below is copied and pasted from a proposition I produced about an idea to replace eggs with plant-based alternatives in New York City businesses that sell baked goods. I'm posting here for 1) general feedback 2) potential pitfalls/oversights 3) brainstorming 4) contact from people who want to either help me with this or take over the idea entirely 5) to inspire similar projects in other U.S. cities.

VALUE PROPOSITION
The current U.S. climate with egg prices and bird flu present a unique opportunity to promote the use of plant-based methods for binding and emulsification in baking. Small businesses hurt by the increased costs may currently be more receptive to alternate recipes for baked goods. Following a similar model to Plantega [an NYC org that has resulted in menus of veganized offerings at local delis], PlantBake could offer curated [...]

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First published:

February 18th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/MbQqLNwzT8CjKikwH/u-s-egg-price-opportunity

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

In the U.S., egg prices have recently skyrocketed. The text below is copied and pasted from a proposition I produced about an idea to replace eggs with plant-based alternatives in New York City businesses that sell baked goods. I'm posting here for 1) general feedback 2) potential pitfalls/oversights 3) brainstorming 4) contact from people who want to either help me with this or take over the idea entirely 5) to inspire similar projects in other U.S. cities.

VALUE PROPOSITION
The current U.S. climate with egg prices and bird flu present a unique opportunity to promote the use of plant-based methods for binding and emulsification in baking. Small businesses hurt by the increased costs may currently be more receptive to alternate recipes for baked goods. Following a similar model to Plantega [an NYC org that has resulted in menus of veganized offerings at local delis], PlantBake could offer curated [...]

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First published:

February 18th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/MbQqLNwzT8CjKikwH/u-s-egg-price-opportunity

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Summary

Kidney stones cause an immense amount of suffering worldwide. Weighted by their intensity, and depending on some assumptions, we posit that kidney stones may account for a large fraction of human suffering worldwide.[1] Finding cost-effective solutions for this hedonic catastrophe should be a very high priority in any suffering-focused research agenda.

While researching kidney stone pain, we were very impressed with the online reports of patients using chanca piedra (Phyllanthus niruri) to treat their pain and prevent the formation of stones, so we decided to take a closer look. Given the limited number of high-quality studies on the efficacy of chanca piedra, we decided to look for additional evidence online and collected thousands of WebMD, Amazon, and Reddit reviews about chanca piedra and other kidney stone treatments, and classified them along a few dozen different dimensions (such as reported side effects, reported pain reduction, etc.).

While we [...]

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Outline:

(00:13) Summary

(04:50) Context

(06:26) Introduction

(09:24) Scope

(11:31) A Thought Experiment

(13:55) A Preliminary Case for Chanca Piedra

(19:26) Chanca Piedra as an Acute and Prophylactic Treatment

(19:59) Randomized Controlled Trials

(22:48) Other Notable Studies

(27:40) Treatment Options

(28:43) Alternative treatments

(30:29) A Note on Epistemology

(33:56) Analysis of Online Reviews

(34:04) WebMD Reviews

(37:48) Amazon Reviews

(39:25) Reddit Reviews

(41:18) Side Effects

(43:28) Cost-Benefit Considerations

(45:41) Recommendations

(46:05) More Dakka: Chanca Piedra as an Add-On

(48:56) Increase the Notoriety of Chanca Piedra

(50:51) Final Recommendations

(52:35) Author Contributions and Acknowledgements

The original text contained 40 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

February 18th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JNNrkeWdTHrS87opd/the-quest-for-a-stone-free-world-chanca-piedra-phyllanthus-1

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

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This is a link post.

It's also dangerous to the health of thousands of trial participants

The path from the atrocities of Nuremberg and Tuskegee to today's robust ethics of medical research has not been easy.

In response to these horrific events, a remarkable global consensus emerged, across countries in very different parts of the world and with very different types of governments: Medical researchers, and the institutions and companies who fund their work, are bound by a series of ethical obligations. These obligations are designed to protect and respect the interests of people who participate in their research. They include minimizing foreseeable harms to participants and keeping the promises that researchers make to study volunteers.

While the fate of USAID remains murky, one thing absolutely is clear. The abrupt termination of critical USAID-funded clinical trials, with insufficient time to safeguard the welfare of people who are participating, is [...]

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First published:

February 17th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/hzcojdjuejNsqarmH/the-abrupt-end-of-usaid-funded-clinical-trials-is-profoundly

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Status of this post: in writing this I prioritised speed over quality. I'm not particularly expert on this topic. I fully expect there to be things I’m missing or have got wrong. This post is more a request for feedback than a statement of a high-conviction claim.

Summary

I think it's moderately likely that action to bolster American democracy may be high impact.

• Importance (“I of ITN”): this seems high to me. For reasons of brevity, I haven’t carefully defended this claim.
• Tractability (“T of ITN”): unclear. I’ve set out some thoughts, and it seems there are several things that can be done (either with people's time or their money). I haven’t taken the time to assess the quality of these ideas, but I have hope that at least some proportion of them are effective.
• Neglectedness (“N of ITN”): moderately high, I think. There are people doing [...]

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Outline:

(00:25) Summary

(01:57) When I say democracy I roughly mean good governance

(02:28) To what extent is democracy under threat in the US?

(03:00) I of ITN: Importance seems high

(04:35) T of ITN: Several things can be done, but how effective are they?

(06:07) Checks and balances

(08:55) Responsive (lawsuits, media, citizen action)

(10:10) Preventative (free and fair elections)

(11:09) Deprioritised because they don't cover the US, as far as I know

(11:59) Deprioritised for misc reasons

(12:23) N of ITN: is there already enough happening to tackle this issue?

(12:53) Is this only a matter for Americans?

(13:49) Appendix: signs of democracy being under threat in the US

(14:13) Erosion of democratic institutions

(15:41) Free and fair elections

(15:45) Attempts to undermine the outcomes of the 2020 election

(17:18) Treatment of 6 Jan rioters/hostages

(17:42) Voter suppression

(19:22) Disinformation and misinformation

(19:56) Attacks on the free press

(20:41) Attacks on civil society

(24:04) Capture of the private sector

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First published:

February 17th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/FKJjBWpke2WfSj95K/is-american-democracy-at-risk-should-we-work-on-this

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Why it's important to fill out this consultation

The UK Government is currently consulting on allowing insects to be fed to chickens and pigs. This is worrying as the government explicitly says changes would “enable investment in the insect protein sector”. Given the likely sentience of insects (see this summary of recent research), and that median predictions estimate that 3.9 trillion insects will be killed annually by 2030, we think it's crucial to try to limit this huge source of animal suffering.

Overview

• Link to complete the consultation: HERE. You can see the context of the consultation here.
• How long it takes to fill it out: 5-10 minutes (5 questions total with only 1 of them requiring a written answer)
• Deadline to respond: April 1st 2025
• What else you can do: Share the consultation document far and wide! 
• You can use the UK Voters for Animals GPT to help draft your [...]

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Outline:

(00:07) Why it's important to fill out this consultation

(00:40) Overview

(01:38) Questions and suggested responses:

(05:13) Any questions?

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First published:

February 15th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/sfZqfNwaAk6iapbcR/take-action-to-help-insects-uk-government-consultation-5-10

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

The LTFF recently switched to doing grant rounds, our first round closes on Saturday (deadline EOD anywhere 2025-Feb-15). I think you should consider submitting a quick application in the next 24 hours. We will likely consider applications submitted over the next few days in this round (unless we are overwhelmed with applications).

Apply now

In my personal view, I don't think there has been a better time to work on AI safety projects than right now. There is a clear-ish set of priorities, funders willing to pay for projects, and an increasing sense from the AI safety community that we might be close to the critical window for ensuring AI systems have a profoundly positive effect on society.[1]

I am particularly keen to see applications on:

• publicly communicating AI threat models and other societal implications
• securing AI systems in ways I don't expect to be done by default [...]

The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

February 14th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xtnYgoLvvkavFktsX/quick-nudge-to-apply-to-the-ltff-grant-round-closing-on

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

How to explain Effective Altruism to someone who's never heard of it—and make them interested?

A few months ago, I was given the opportunity to give a TEDx talk about Effective Altruism.

As a former community manager of EA Israel, I’ve spent years explaining EA to newcomers, refining how I communicate its principles, and observing the common misconceptions that make it harder for people to engage with EA ideas. Preparing for the talk forced me to organize my thoughts on what works—and what doesn’t—when I try to convey EA to a broader audience.

I would love to discuss with you some of the choices I made when I wrote this talk, and hear your thoughts about them.

Note: I don’t read the forum often, so the writing might not be in the usual style of the forum. I use many anecdotes, personal stories, and my views. However, hopefully, these [...]

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Outline:

(01:07) 1. Generic Examples → Shared personal stories

(04:31) 2. Expected Value → Venture Capitalist Investing

(05:49) 3. ITN → Blue Ocean Strategy

(06:42) 4. Niche EA examples →Broad Familiar Examples

(08:26) 5. Should I mention EA?

(09:31) Closing thoughts

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First published:

February 13th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JWf2dQQvfvxAstCsp/explaining-ea-what-i-learned-from-giving-a-tedx-talk

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

TL;DR: During a research stint at AIM the idea of a policy charity advocating for a ban or limitation of fish stocking in Canada was evaluated. Fish stocking is the practice of releasing cultured fish into natural water bodies to maintain or enhance fish populations. The idea was dropped as the probability of policy success was estimated to be merely 5% and the uncertainty is large, including doing harm with the intervention. These major uncertainties concerned key factors like fish suffering levels, re-catch rates of the stocked fish, and effects on wild populations, making it too risky to pursue despite promising average cost-effectiveness estimates.

Epistemic status

After researching this idea for about 100 hours, I am fairly certain that it is not worthwhile to pursue advocacy efforts against Salmon stocking in Canada. Do note that this is dependent on a bunch of subjective judgements, and one's risk appetite. [...]

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Outline:

(02:55) Executive summary

(08:33) 1     Background

(08:37) 1.1        Introduction to fish stocking

(11:38) 1.2        Fish welfare concerns

(15:10) 1.3        Substitution effect

(17:12) 1.4        Wild animal welfare

(18:57) 1.5        Ecological concerns

(21:08) 1.6        Economic viability of fish stocking

(21:45) 2     Theories of change

(22:16) 2.1   Assumptions

(24:01) 3     Geographic assessment

(24:05) 3.1        Where existing organizations work

(25:16) 3.2        Geographic assessment

(29:04) 4   Quality of evidence

(29:08) 4.1   Evidence that a charity can effect change in this space

(33:06) 4.2   Evidence that the change has the expected welfare effects

(33:33) 5     Cost-effectiveness analysis

(35:53) 5.1   Costs

(36:55) 5.2   Effects

(44:05) Appendix 1 - Interview with Canadian civil servant from the relevant ministry

(47:50) Reference list

The original text contained 42 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

February 14th, 2025

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/aHmX7MMiXGzmrQNPd/policy-advocacy-against-salmon-stocking-in-canada-does-not

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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