The landscape of global development is shifting—shrinking aid budgets, emerging funding models, and evolving priorities are forcing philanthropic capital to move faster, take greater risks, and fill critical gaps left by governments and multilateral institutions.

What should the role of philanthropy look like? In this time of disruption, philanthropic donors are also presented with an opportunity to rethink, identify and remove barriers, and consider what changes can be truly game-changing.

In this episode, I speak with Katrina Sill, Global Health and Development Lead at Founders Pledge, about their newly launched Catalytic Impact Fund. We discuss risk, impact, evidence, and how philanthropic entities can balance responding to immediate needs and foster resilient systems for the future.

From chatbots supporting new mothers and nutrition coaches guiding families, to tutoring tools for children and apps advising farmers, artificial intelligence is beginning to find its place in development. But is it ready—and are we?

In this episode of the CGD Podcast, I'm joined by Temina Madon, Executive Director of the Agency Fund, and Han Sheng Chia, CGD Fellow and Director of our new AI initiative.

We discuss where AI shows promise—from health and education to livelihoods and agriculture—what risks it could amplify, and how the development community can ensure these technologies improve lives rather than deepen inequalities.

CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with Lord Jim O'Neill and Dr. Akhil Bansal on the nature and scale of the problem of neonatal sepsis, how an advance market commitment could help incentivize the development of a diagnostic, and what steps policymakers can take to help save newborn lives.

CGD's Helen Dempster speaks with the Inter-American Dialogue's Manuel Orozco about the key role that remittances play in development, the impact of the new tax, and how remittances could be better supported and managed.

Following the 2025 Development Leaders Conference, CGD's Rachel Glennerster speaks with BMZ's Dirk Meyer and SAIIA's Elizabeth Sidiropoulos about conference takeaways, including whether climate should be a focus for development agencies, how to get more bang for your climate-change buck, and how developing countries might prioritize between climate mitigation and adaptation.

After a large share of USAID's work was terminated, a small cadre of development experts created Project Resource Optimization, or PRO, to identify highly cost-effective, life-saving programs that were on hold and connect them with philanthropic donors who could fill the gaps. CGD's Erin Collinson speaks with two PRO team members, Rob Rosenbaum and Caitlin Tulloch, about the origins and limits of the PRO initiative, its successes to date, and the lessons from the work that could help re-envision US foreign aid.

CGD's Sanjeev Gupta and Benedict Clements of Universidad de Las Américas discuss the considerations that influence the design of sound monetary and fiscal policies, the role of income taxes, and the kinds of reforms that can bring equity to both emerging and advanced economies.

As the second season of Pandemic Proof comes to a close, host Javier Guzman reflects on the progress made in pandemic preparedness since COVID-19, the challenges we still face, and the rapidly shifting global landscape that will shape what comes next.

Ahead of the African Development Bank's presidential election in May, CGD's Karen Mathiasen and AfriCatalyst's Daouda Sembene interview three of the candidates – Amadou Hott, Samuel Munzele Maimbo, and Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala – on their priorities for the Bank and their views on how to help steer countries through a volatile and uncertain time and achieve their development goals.

Takahiro Tsuda and Atsushi Mimura from the Japanese Ministry of Finance join Javier Guzman to examine current funding mechanisms for pandemic preparedness and response, explore Japan's role in driving global efforts (and insights gained), and discuss potential pathways to strengthen PPR financing.