EA Forum Podcast (All audio)

I once took a seminar with Paul Bloom, author of Against Empathy. He often spoke about the limits of empathy as a motivation — how it misleads us where math wouldn't. It was all very EA-coded (and indeed, he ate dinner with Yale EA once).

His class got me thinking about all the different motivations behind EA, from boundless love for the world to a fear of what our friends will think.

This is my own list of motivations, no filter. Whether or not I endorse them, they all helped me get here. They appear in roughly temporal order, based on when they felt most salient, but they all resurface sometimes.

If I've left out one of your motivations, I'd be curious to hear about it!

Inheritance

Everything about my upbringing made it easy to believe that all people matter. My parents gave to charity, and rarely had an unkind word to say about anyone. We even had this Norman Rockwell print in our dining room:

Empathy

I used to be a picky eater. Once, my mother told me that I should appreciate food more — that lots of kids just went to bed hungry. This didn't make me [...]

---

Outline:

(00:53) Inheritance

(01:22) Empathy

(01:49) Realism

(02:09) Annoyance

(02:34) Admiration

(03:12) Friendship

(03:26) Fairness

(03:53) Guilt

(04:04) Fear

(04:31) Rage

(04:49) Schadenfreude

(05:11) Revenge

(05:31) Community

(06:14) Pride

(06:58) Metacognition

(07:30) Status

(07:56) Math

---

First published:

April 21st, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/LyLE23rmwrZPMmLah/my-unfiltered-motivations

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

This is a link post.

12 articles including 4 podcasts

EA/LW Intro: I believe clinical trial abundance could be an EA cause area - there's still a lot of disability/disease burden in the world, even in developed countries, and increasing the pace of progress is very tractable. And it's not just a matter of speed/quantity of innovation: the current system selects against ambitious risky bets. It deserves an EA-specific post, but for now here's a curated reading list.

Since the 1950s, the cost of developing a new drug has increased by ~80x. It now costs on the order of a billion dollars to get one drug approved (including the cost of failures). Consequently, fewer drugs get invented, ambitious but risky areas are avoided, and patients pay the price.

Why have clinical trials gotten so expensive, and what can we do about it? Why isn't Big Pharma interested in diseases like ME/CFS and Long COVID? Why won't advanced AI automatically lead to biomedical breakthroughs?

There's a growing movement of researchers, policy wonks, and patient advocates trying to answer these questions and fix what's broken. It's loosely organized under the banner "Clinical Trial Abundance." Here's what to read to understand it.

---

Outline:

(01:34) 1. The pharma industry from Paul Janssen to today: why drugs got harder to develop and what we can do about it - by Alex Telford, 2023

(02:16) 2. Diagnosing the decline in pharmaceutical R&D efficiency - by Jack Scannell et al., 2012

(03:56) 3. To Get More Effective Drugs, We Need More Human Trials - by Ruxandra Teslo and Jack Scannell, 2025

(04:38) 4. Why clinical trials are inefficient. And why it matters - by Adam Kroetsch, 2025

(05:22) 5. Clinic-in-the-Loop - by Ruxandra Teslo in Asimov Press, 2025

(05:52) 5. Interview with the CEO of Eli Lilly, Dave Ricks - by Patrick and John Collison

(06:39) 6. Clinical trial reforms that once seemed radical - by Saloni Dattani

(07:38) 7. Biotechs Lost Archive - by Ruxandra Teslo, 2025

(08:30) 8. Why More Biotechs Are Starting Trials In Australia - by Dan Schell, 2025

(09:10) 9. The Case for Clinical Trial Abundance - by many authors, 2024

(09:40) 10. Some questions about biotech that I find interesting - by Alex Telford, 2024

(10:19) 11. Clinical Trial Abundance (policy framework) - by 1DaySooner

---

First published:

April 20th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/wsMxedeaGTiNBmi7f/why-clinical-trials-are-broken-and-how-to-fix-them-a-reading

Linkpost URL:
https://open.substack.com/pub/viralpersistence/p/why-clinical-trials-are-broken-and

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

A lesson in courage from Washington, DC

Yesterday I described an experience that impressed upon fifteen-year-old me the importance of speaking with urgency and courage when something awful is happening.

I lived a fresh reminder of the importance of courage last week at PauseCon, a first-of-its-kind conference in Washington, DC run by PauseAI US.[1]

It was really, really good. I’m impressed and I want to see more work like this.

I was there in a personal capacity, but since I also work for MIRI, I was alert for ways that our organizations might support one another. (The opinions in this post are, of course, my own.) I was again impressed by the degree to which PauseAI laid out a clear and promising strategy for its members.

PauseCon's main programming consisted of an informal sign-making gathering, several presentations by local organizers, a lobbying workshop, scheduled meetings with Congressional offices, several social events, and a protest in front of the Capitol on Monday. They were all pretty fun and productive, and I’m dedicating a section to talk about each.

Sign-making and local presentations

I made a sign! Or tried to, anyway. I am not very good at making signs yet, but [...]

---

Outline:

(00:10) A lesson in courage from Washington, DC

(01:17) Sign-making and local presentations

(02:34) Lobbying workshop

(05:34) Meeting Congressional offices

(05:39) The talking points

(08:11) The meetings

(12:03) Social activity

(12:31) The protest

(14:35) Coda

---

First published:

April 20th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/ryywsub2Nagp9rdLM/reflections-on-pausecon-2026

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Tl;dr: You need to make specific moral weight assumptions to decide who to prioritize between animals with different degrees of sentience. And the moral weight of a given being is not its p(sentience). One could very well be certain that shrimp and insects feel pain (and are as badly off as they could possibly be), yet believe that they do so to a degree too small for them to be prioritized. Debates about interspecies tradeoffs should outline welfare ranges, over p(sentience), as the relevant crux.

When people defend prioritizing cognitively simpler animals over more complex ones, they tend to appeal to i) their numbers, ii) evidence of their sentience, and iii) some form of expected value maximization, even if slightly risk-averse.

While I am pretty sympathetic to prioritizing cognitively simpler beings, I think the above appeal misses the key crux, by mistakenly making (ii) about p(sentience) rather than about degree of sentience, or welfare range. For the conclusion to follow, (ii) needs to be: evidence of a welfare range that is not too insignificant to crucially undermine the importance of their large numbers.

It is quite easy to believe that shrimp and many insects are likely sentient.[1] In fact [...]

---

First published:

April 21st, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/36Ab5CdMDqfeb8ZtC/discussions-of-p-sentience-of-small-animals-miss-the-point

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

I made a database for "art with EA vibes" — books, movies, and other works, fiction or nonfiction, that cover topics or ideas related to effective altruism and are aesthetically pleasing or interesting.[1]

The second point is key. We already have reading lists for philosophy and such; this database covers content that most of us would read or watch for fun.[2]

I've started off with 19 items and will add more, but I need your help to make this a true public resource! (And avoid subjecting everyone to my questionable taste.)

How can I submit something?

Use this form! Or leave a comment below if that feels easier.

If you have comments on something already listed (e.g. content warnings, suggested tags), or ideas to improve the database itself, leave a comment or send me a message.

What are you looking for?

I'd love to see content that:

• Was made to address EA topics (e.g. AI in Context videos)
• Was made to convey EA-flavored messages (e.g. HPMOR)[3]
• Isn't related to EA, but still has the right vibes (e.g. Dr. Stone) or approaches related ideas in an interesting way (e.g. Consider the Lobster)
• Instills "EA values" like empathy or an [...]

---

Outline:

(00:43) How can I submit something?

(01:03) What are you looking for?

(02:12) Why did you make this?

---

First published:

April 20th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/KefbwQQukvkEojhK4/what-s-your-favorite-art-with-ea-vibes

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This week, we are highlighting Forethought's Better Futures series. Fin Moorhouse (@finm), who authored two chapters in the series (Convergence and Compromise, and No Easy Eutopia) along with @William_MacAskill, has agreed to answer a few of your questions about the series.

You can read (and comment) on the full series on the Forum. In order, the chapters are:

• Introducing Better Futures
• No Easy Eutopia
• Convergence and Compromise
• Persistent Path-Dependence
• How to Make the Future Better
• Supplement: The Basic Case for Better futures

Leave your questions and comments below, about any part of the series. Note that Fin isn't committing to answer every question, and if you see someone else's question you can answer, you're free to.

---

First published:

April 20th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/fbEz2h2ys9GcBN54h/better-futures-discussion-thread-with-fin-moorhouse

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

This is a link post.

Manifund is sponsoring 3 prizes for the best new essays that give us insight into how to navigate the future. Winners receive a $500 cash prize + a bonus prize, and winning essays may be republished (with attribution) on our newsletters.

This prize is in partnership with Inkhaven, though non-Inkhaven folks are welcome to submit.

Essays due midnight April 24; submit here!

Manifund: “What systems might manage the coming torrent of funding?”

Funding in EA may soon skyrocket. Between Anthropic & OpenAI tenders, the new OpenAI foundation, and short timelines to AGI, the amount of money available will be unprecedented. What mechanisms, incentive structures, orgs, and attitudes will help direct this windfall wisely?

• Bonus prize: $1000 in donation credits on your Manifund account
• Examples of essays we love:
  • https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-to-start-an-advance-market-commitment/
  • https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/paMYXYFYbbjpdjgbt/future-fund-june-2022-update
  • https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/vpPee6NgMbPcdsam3/the-funding-conversation-we-left-unfinished
  • https://thecounterfactual.substack.com/p/the-anthropic-ipo-is-coming-we-arent
  • https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/10-technologies-that-wont-exist-in-5-yrs/
• See also How to spend 100x more on safety?

Mox: “How to create a flourishing EA & AI safety scene in San Francisco?”

The race to build AI is going on in SF. So why is the AI safety scene here so weak? Berkeley, London, and DC all offer examples to learn from, but SF has its own unique challenges [...]

---

Outline:

(00:41) Manifund: What systems might manage the coming torrent of funding?

(01:26) Mox: How to create a flourishing EA & AI safety scene in San Francisco?

(02:16) Manifest: How can we leverage forecasting into better decisions?

(02:58) Prize terms

(04:00) Appendix: some problems one might grapple with

---

First published:

April 20th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/PpsfMC9gNuqeftpku/manifund-essay-prize-on-ea-funding-the-sf-scene-and

Linkpost URL:
https://manifund.org/essay

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Trajan House is an office in Oxford for people working on humanity's most pressing challenges. There have been some changes to the project over the last few years, and it seemed time to give a public update about what we’re getting up to!

Here are some quick things to know:

• The anchor tenants in the space are Forethought and CEA. CEA manages the space.
• I’m the project's manager
• Over the next year, we are looking to add more:
  • Organisations that can utilise the space indefinitely or on a short-term basis. We have space for 3-5 more organisations.
  • Individuals who are looking to join an active, impact-focused community.
  • Events such as fellowships or bootcamps.

If you are curious about any of the above, read on! Below, you’ll learn more about the space, our theory of change, and how to get involved.

Here are some ways to engage if you're already interested:

• Apply to become a member, or
• Apply to visit the space in June (after EAG London) for a few days or a even a few weeks. Throughout the month we plan to have many more people, visiting organisations, speakers, and social events. You can learn more and submit [...]

---

Outline:

(01:32) Getting up to speed

(02:12) Purpose and place

(03:28) What is the space like?

(04:06) Ways to engage

---

First published:

April 17th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/JrSFzhdKCkrT4TfqC/trajan-house-current-goals-and-updates

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

I have lots of radical views about insects. I think probably most expected happiness and misery in the world is experienced by insects, and that our actions often have much more significant moral impacts on bugs than on people. But in this article, I’m not going to defend anything radical. My thesis here is very moderate: I think we should try to make pesticides kill insects less painfully.

Every year, quadrillions of insects are killed or harmed with pesticides—3.5 quadrillion, according to one estimate. This is about 30,000 times more than the number of people who have ever lived in human history. In the best cases, deaths take minutes or hours as the insects are slowly poisoned to death. In other worse cases, death takes days as the insects are left unable to shed their own skin and essentially crushed to death from the inside. In still other cases, insects starve to death as their guts malfunction. This is likely to be very painful.

It is plausible that many insects can suffer. When benchmarks are created to assess pain in animals, insects consistently meet most of the criteria, having nociceptors, responding to painkillers, demonstrating associative learning, and sometimes displaying [...]

---

First published:

April 17th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/qFAoZKpL5aRdqyBLb/humane-pesticides-are-massively-morally-urgent

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---

Images from the article:

Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Recently, I have come across a growing number of speculations suggesting that wild animals lead net negative lives. Proponents of this view typically refer to insects, arthropods, invertebrates, or species with r-selective reproductive strategies. The conclusion they draw is usually that we should aim to reduce their numbers in one way or another. Unfortunately, birth control is seldom discussed in this context. Habitat destruction appears to be the preferred method.

There is, of course, some value in speculating about virtually any topic in science. What troubles me is that such speculations may be mistaken for established theories, particularly given the way they are presented to broader audiences through public forums, podcasts, and YouTube videos.

The central argument typically runs as follows: animals with r-selective reproductive strategies produce many offspring, of which only a few survive. The experience of a usually violent death therefore constitutes a large proportion of their lives.

This argument rests on two assumptions:

1. The experience of death itself is something terrible.
2. The experience of death actually makes up a significant proportion of those animals' lives.

I want to push back against both assumptions.

First Assumption: Is a Violent Death Really That Bad?

When I contemplate [...]

---

First published:

April 18th, 2026

Source:

https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/6S9YLXLhdfFBtdyCh/why-we-need-to-resist-the-idea-of-net-negative-lives-in

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.