EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

This is a link post.

If you’re looking for vetted, cost-effective options this Giving Tuesday (and throughout 2025) check out the newly updated list of our research team's top recommendations. We think these are among the best places to donate if you’re looking to maximise the impact of your next dollar – and be confident your money is leading to real impact.

These recommendations are informed by the outcomes of our Evaluating the Evaluators project, which you can read more about here.

As we start to wind down towards the end of the year, Giving Tuesday can help us take action on giving back, and help prompt us to finalise our giving before year-end.

So without further ado, here are our 2025 charity and fund recommendations:

Global Health and Wellbeing

All Grants Fund by GiveWell

Top Charities Fund by GiveWell

Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention by Malaria Consortium

Bednets To Prevent Malaria [...]

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Outline:

(01:02) Global Health and Wellbeing

(01:33) Animal Welfare

(01:51) Reducing Global Catastrophic Risks

(02:09) What's changed since last year?

(03:50) Why funds?

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First published:

December 2nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/HAstaLJi64vbe8SKS/gwwc-s-2025-charity-recommendations

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As we enter the holiday giving season, we’re continuing our tradition of sharing a list of giving opportunities suggested by Open Philanthropy program staff.

Notes on these suggestions:

• They fall within the cause areas Open Philanthropy has chosen to focus on.
• They should be seen as reasonably strong options in the relevant area. The person who made a suggestion isn’t necessarily arguing that their suggestion is the best option available across all areas, or better than every other opportunity within its area.
• Many of them were chosen because they are particularly good fits for individual donors. This shouldn’t be read as a list of our strongest grantees overall (though of course there may be overlap).
• The explanations we share are very brief and informal; we don’t expect readers to be persuaded unless they put a lot of weight on the judgment of the person making the suggestion.

Finally [...]

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Outline:

(01:12) 1. Global Health and Development

(05:02) 2. Effective Giving

(07:31) 3. Farm Animal Welfare

(08:31) 4. Forecasting

(09:49) 5. Global Public Health Policy

(11:49) 6. Innovation Policy

(13:11) 7. Land Use Reform

(14:17) 8. Potential Risks from Advanced AI

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First published:

December 3rd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/mhiF2BJRqN7u5udKP/suggestions-for-individual-donors-from-open-philanthropy-1

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The Giving What We Can Donor Lottery is now open with a block size of $200,000 USD!

Interested in donor lotteries? We suggest you read our in-depth page on donor lotteries to understand the concept better. Here's a quick summary:

• A donor lottery gives you a chance to direct a larger sum of money while keeping your own donation amount the same. For example, you could donate $1,000 and have a 1% chance of directing a $100,000 pot, or donate $5,000 and have a 5% chance of directing a $100,000 pot.
• If you win, the larger sum makes it worthwhile to spend more time deciding where the money should go. This extra time can lead to better decisions and greater impact, without changing the amount you were planning to donate in the first place.
• Because of this, we believe donor lotteries are one of the most effective [...]

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Outline:

(01:34) Key dates

(02:19) How to enter the donor lottery

(02:28) Providing backstop funds

(02:46) Questions?

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First published:

December 2nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JKRmp573DHCpcjSAr/the-2024-giving-what-we-can-donor-lottery-is-now-open

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I work on Open Philanthropy's AI Governance and Policy team, but I’m writing this in my personal capacity – several senior employees at Open Phil have argued with me about this!

This is a brief-ish post addressed to people who are interested in making high-impact donations and are already concerned about potential risks from advanced AI. Ideally such a post would include a case that reducing those risks is an especially important (and sufficiently tractable and neglected) cause area, but I’m skipping that part for time and will just point you to this 80,000 Hours problem profile for now.

• Contrary to a semi-popular belief that donations in global catastrophic risks merely “funge” with major donors, there are several ways for individual donors, including those giving small amounts, to reduce global catastrophic risks from AI. These include donating to:
  • Work that would be less impactful if they were [...]

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

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First published:

December 2nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/DKjXu7icFTdtiKtWj/a-case-for-donating-to-ai-risk-reduction-including-if-you

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Summary (TL;DR):

• Despite being promoted as a sustainable protein source, recent peer-reviewed research by members of the French National Observatory on Insect Farming (ONEI), in collaboration with the Insect Institute, reveals significant economic and environmental challenges.
  • Most farmed insects are used for animal feed and pet food, supporting conventional livestock farming and aquaculture rather than replacing it, diminishing the expected sustainability benefits.
  • One study we found indicates that insect-based products emit two to ten times more greenhouse gasses than traditional pet foods.
• We recently published several media articles on insect farming, with an op-ed published in one of France's top newspapers, and our research was mentioned in The Guardian and Bloomberg.
• ONEI, which we represent, is the only organization dedicated to providing evidence-based information on insect farming's impacts, aiming to inform policymakers, investors, and journalists in France, global leader of the sector.
• We are fundraising to expand our [...]

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Outline:

(00:08) Summary (TL;DR):

(01:43) Challenges and Impacts of Insect Farming

(02:57) International Media Coverage

(03:35) Our Work at ONEI

(04:16) What Weve Achieved So Far

(05:36) Support Our Work

(06:32) Overview of the challenges identified with insect farming in our first op-ed

(10:24) Get in Touch

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First published:

December 2nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/jb5aovXeAarw69hN7/insect-farming-new-media-coverage-on-the-hidden-challenges

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I'll be interviewing Allan Saldanha on Tuesday December 10th. I'll release a podcast version of the interview and a transcript a few days after we record. Leave a comment here if you'd like me to ask Allan a question on your behalf!

A message from Allan:

My name is Allan Saldanha, I’m a 47 year old compliance testing manager at an investment bank and I’m married with a wife and twin 16 year old boys.

I have been a Giving What We Can member since 2014.

In my first year after taking the pledge, I gave away 20% of my income. However I had been able to save and invest much of my disposable income from my relatively well paid career before taking the pledge and so had built up strong financial security for myself and my family. As a result, I increased my donations over time and since [...]

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Outline:

(00:23) A message from Allan:

(02:20) Some topics you might want to ask about:

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First published:

December 2nd, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/3ZSG22tDuDLxTLY4n/audio-ama-allan-saldanha-earning-to-give-since-2014

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This is a link post.

Note: This post was crossposted from Lauren Policy by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post.

Some housekeeping first:

This is the first post in a living literature review on migration. Basically, I’ll review what the academic literature has to say about a particular topic in migration. Topics may be as narrow as “the Mariel Boatlift” or as broad as “what is the effect of migration on economic growth”. You can see an example of a more complete living literature review at New Things Under The Sun.

I plan to put up a new post on migration about once a month (though it may be more frequent in the next couple of months, as public interest is high). All migration related posts will live in the migration section of my Substack; you can [...]

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Outline:

(01:34) The Mariel Boatlift

(03:52) What were the labor market effects of a sudden influx of workers in fields with low barriers to entry?

(11:47) Did the Mariel Boatlift increase crime in Miami?

(14:39) What were the electoral consequences of the Mariel Boatlift?

(15:58) What don’t we know about the Mariel Boatlift?

(16:34) So, what can we learn from the Mariel Boatlift?

The original text contained 30 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.

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First published:

November 30th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/5wByE3G8hEsLK8XJG/the-mariel-boatlift

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A joint post by Nina Friedrich🔸 from High Impact Professionals (HIP) and James Rayton🔸 from Giving What We Can (GWWC)

When we first commit to effective giving, it often starts with a pledge - a promise to donate a portion of our income to high-impact causes. But once that commitment is made, a new question arises: How can we amplify our impact beyond just our financial contributions?

In our recent webinar, "Expanding Your Impact: Effective Giving as a High-Impact Career Path," we explored this very question. We delved into different ways how you can use both your professional and personal network to inspire and enable others to join us on this journey. Here, we'd like to share key insights and ideas from that discussion.

Note that this is the second webinar in the Effective Giving & Impactful Careers webinar series. The content and recording of the first session can [...]

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Outline:

(01:08) Why These Strategies Matter

(02:04) Overview of strategies considered

(02:24) Professional Strategies: Making an Impact at Work

(02:49) Engaging More People

(02:53) 1. Host Lunch and Learn Sessions on Effective Donations

(04:00) 2. Start or Join Workplace Giving Groups

(05:13) 3. Offer Pro Bono Professional Services

(06:30) Encouraging Greater Giving

(06:34) 1. Implement Donation-Matching Initiatives

(07:56) 2. Organise Fundraisers

(09:07) 3. Launch Company-Wide Giving Campaigns

(10:21) Personal Strategies: Inspiring Your Community

(10:32) Engaging More People

(10:36) 1. Facilitate Discussions About Effective Giving

(11:47) 2. Share Impactful Content on Social Media

(13:07) 3. Join GWWC's Pledge Advocacy Program

(14:31) Encouraging Greater Giving

(14:35) 1. Inspire Regular Giving

(15:53) 2. Host Personal Fundraisers

(17:08) 3. Organise Giving Events

(18:22) Overcoming Common Challenges

(20:48) Next Steps: Structuring Your Path to Impact

(22:45) Join the Movement

(23:22) Final Thoughts

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First published:

November 29th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/Lwr6GLhpLCjnRAKwX/expanding-your-impact-effective-giving-beyond-donations

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We just published an interview: Cameron Meyer Shorb on dismantling the myth that we can't do anything to help wild animals. Listen on Spotify, watch on Youtube, or click through for other audio options, the transcript, and related links. Below are the episode summary and some key excerpts.

Episode summary

I really don’t want to give the impression that I think it is easy to make predictable, controlled, safe interventions in wild systems where there are many species interacting. I don’t think it's easy, but I don’t see any reason to think that it's impossible. And I think we have been making progress. I think there's every reason to think that if we continue doing research, both at the theoretical level — How do ecosystems work? What sorts of things are likely to have what sorts of indirect effects? — and then also at the practical level — Is [...]

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Outline:

(00:30) Episode summary

(02:12) Highlights

(02:15) One concrete example of how we might improve wild animal welfare

(06:00) How many wild animals are there, and which animals are they?

(09:26) Why might wild animals be suffering?

(12:59) The objection that we shouldnt meddle in nature because nature is good

(17:24) Vaccines for wild animals

(20:32) Gene drive technologies

(24:16) Optimising for high-welfare landscapes

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First published:

November 30th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/dvygW4KagcCztJtfB/210-dismantling-the-myth-that-we-can-t-do-anything-to-help

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This is a link post.

We are excited to release the Global Priorities Institute's new research agendas.

GPI's previous agenda integrated discussion of research priorities in both economics and philosophy. In contrast, we now have distinct agendas for each of our three core research areas: philosophy, economics, and psychology.

The new philosophy agenda has four sections. Section 1 covers ethical questions relating to the long-term future. Section 2 discusses issues in the philosophy of mind and wellbeing, with a special focus on nonhuman candidates for moral status (like non-human animals and digital minds). Section 3 discusses work exploring the risks and opportunities posed by advanced artificial intelligence. And Section 4 discusses broad questions about ethical prioritisation, engaging with issues that cut across the first three sections.

The new economics agenda has two main components. Section 1 centres on general or methodological issues in global prioritisation. This includes [...]

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First published:

November 29th, 2024

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/pBoSHGwjKJx98zpJG/new-global-priorities-institute-research-agendas

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