Tiny Spark

We explore effective altruism, which urges donors to stretch their charitable dollars as far as possible by giving to the world's extreme poor. But aren't families living in our local homeless shelters equally deserving? We dive into the local versus global debate with Charlie Bresler of the nonprofit The Life You Can Save, which guides donors on fighting extreme poverty.

Think people in developing nations are worse off than ever? Steven Radelet says it isn't so. "The biggest misperception is that people are stuck in poverty. That might have been true up until 25 years ago, but the situation has dramatically changed since then." Radlet's new book details the promising news in the fight to end extreme poverty across the globe.

Would you consider giving most of your money to charity? Donate your kidney to a stranger? New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar talks extreme altruists.

Quick update to let you know what we're up to.

Anthropologist Amy Brown gives a behind-the-scenes look at the sometimes troubling ways a NYC public school markets its low-income students of color to donors.

Author and anthropologist Amy Brown goes inside a NYC public school and emerges with tough questions about marketing, race and philanthropy.

A Yale and Harvard-trained computer scientist worked for Microsoft in India for several years, trying to see how tech could improve the lives of the world's poor. His conclusion? Computers and smart phones will never solve the world's problems. This former tech evangelist offers some old school ideas for helping us have greater impact.

American communities are still reeling and healing from recent gun violence, including the June mass shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., and the gang violence that killed 10 people over July 4th weekend in Chicago. But our guests say there is something we can do about gun violence. To get there, we have to stop looking at the problem through a victim/perpetrator lens and begin tackling it at its root, like an infectious disease.

Ugandan-born writer and entrepreneur TMS Ruge challenges the current model of aid intervention. "Just because you're doing something for the poor doesn't mean you're doing it right."

We hear your advice on a moral dilemma involving aid work, plus your reactions to John Paulson's $400M gift to Harvard.