Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

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The Ezra Klein Show - What Does It Mean to Give Well?

“This lightbulb went off that almost no one was asking these questions.”

In 2006, Elie Hassenfeld and a few of his friends pooled some money they wanted to donate to charity. And they wanted to find charities where their money would go the farthest in improving lives. That information, it turned out, was incredibly hard to find.

That was the seed of GiveWell. For almost a decade, GiveWell has dedicated itself to rigorously researching the impact of charities around the world and channeling donations to the ones that are the most effective at saving lives. It might sound simple, but this was a radically new approach in the world of charitable giving, and the work itself isn’t simple at all.

I’ve supported GiveWell through the years. So as the year winds down and other people might be thinking about giving to a charity, I wanted to invite Hassenfeld, GiveWell’s chief executive, on the show to talk through this work. How does it measure impact? Are there limits to what you can measure? As an organization, has it made mistakes? What does it really mean to give well?

If you like what you hear, I hope you’ll also consider donating to GiveWell. Learn more at givewell.org.

Mentioned:

GiveWell

“Trust in Radical Truth and Radical Transparency” by Ray Dalio

Harlem Children’s Zone

Against Malaria Foundation

Helen Keller Intl

New Incentives

No Lean Season

Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

PATH

GiveDirectly

ALIMA

Book Recommendations:

Factfulness by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund

Poor Economics by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Aman Sahota and Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Pod Save America - Donald Trump, Empath in Chief

Trump says the savage murder of Rob and Michele Reiner was the result of their own "Trump Derangement Symptom" and says Reiner was bad for the country. The one real surprise: the number of Republicans in Congress, and even Trump's own social media followers, who denounced the post. Jon, Tommy, and Lovett discuss the Republican pushback and the weekend's (many) other tragedies, including shootings at Brown and Bondi Beach, and the death of two U.S. service members in Syria. Then they look at MAGA voters' growing disappointment with their president, Erika Kirk trying to stop Candace Owens from spreading conspiracy theories about her husband's assassination, and growing speculation about Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom's political futures. Finally, CNN's Jake Tapper talks to Tommy about the fate of his network now that its parent company is for sale, the sham Pentagon press corps, and his new book, "Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War."


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Chapo Trap House - 995 – The Numerology Guys feat. Alex Nichols (12/15/25)

Alex joins us to talk about Bari Weiss’s bizarre interview with Erika Kirk, Trump’s #PACKWATCH response to Rob Reiner’s death, and Candace Owens’ feud with just about every single member of Con Inc. over her bestie’s legacy. After a brief grab bag of new Epstein photos, we finally stage an intervention for Rod Dreher, who is currently having his artistic voice deteriorated by the stuffy losers at The Free Press. By popular demand, ¡No Pasarán! Matt Christman's Spanish Civil War is back both for a second round of orders and an ebook. PLUS: everything is still 20% off for the holidays! Order now at https://chapotraphouse.store/ Year Zero: A Chapo Trap House Comics Anthology is also 15% off at badegg.co. Through end of year purchases of the book also include a free digital version of the comic. The digital version also available through GlobalComix. Follow the new Chapo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chapotraphousereal/
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The Gist - Chris Dalla Riva: “Billboard’s become a Christmas chart.”

Data journalist Chris Dalla Riva brings charts, facts, and plenty of fight to Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us About the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves, a tour through every Billboard Hot 100 #1 and the strange incentives that pick our "popular." They debate whether streaming makes the charts more accurate or just more boring—why Christmas songs now squat in the Top 10, why covers almost always slow songs down, and what the early "wilderness years" of the Hot 100 were missing. There's also a detour into the power of platform kings (hello, Sean Parker) and how a playlist can turn "Royals" into destiny. Plus: Trump's ghoulish Rob Reiner post, a reminder of Reiner's unreal directing run, and a weekend that managed to be both pointless and ugly.

Produced by Corey Wara

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The Source - The degree debate: The crisis on college campuses

Higher education is in crisis. American colleges and universities face declining enrollment and rising costs. Campuses have become ground zero for the culture war, sparking debates about diversity, equity, and inclusion and free speech.What is the value of higher education today, and how can college leaders respond to the crises and controversies on their campuses?array(3) { [0]=> string(38) "https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-source" [1]=> string(0) "" [2]=> string(1) "0" }
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The Bulwark Podcast - Bill Kristol: A Weekend of Tragedy

From the shooting at Brown University, to the Oct. 7-style slaughter in Australia, and the shocking murder of Rob Reiner and his wife—it’s been one blow after another. But leave it to Trump to seize the moment to remind Americans what a disgusting human being he is. Meanwhile, social media algorithms keep pushing people to antisemitic content, and Kash is going to have quit with the live-tweeting during FBI investigations. Plus, the MAGA crackup continues, Trump sounds like he’s losing his fight fight fight spirit, DOGE cuts hit red America, Dems should invest in campaigns in Iowa and Kansas, and Tim reads from the mailbag.

Bill Kristol joins Tim Miller.

show notes


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1A - ‘If You Can Keep It’: The Pentagon And The Press

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to tightly control the news that comes out of the Pentagon — even as he deals with the fallout over strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

In October, nearly all mainstream media outlets left the Pentagon press pool after refusing to comply with restrictive rules from the Trump administration. The exodus included the Associated Press, NPR, and The New York Times along with conservative outlets like Newsmax and Fox News.

Two weeks ago, the Pentagon held its first press conference with a new hand-picked press corps, now mostly made up of right-wing outlets and Trump allies including former Rep. Matt Gaetz and right-wing media influencer Laura Loomer.

Now, The New York Times is suing the Pentagon over violating the first amendment rights of journalists.

As more questions arise over the Venezuela boat strikes and the contentious relationship between the Trump administration and the press heats up, what does the absence of traditional press at the Pentagon mean for accountability for the U.S. military, press freedom, and our democracy?

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.

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Bad Faith - Episode 535 Promo – It Was All A Stream (w/ Alvaro Bedoya)

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock our full premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast

Former FTC commissioner returns to Bad Faith to explain the Netflix/Paramount battle over Warner Brothers, and what media consolidation means for the price of streaming services, censorship, the quality of media content and the future of movie theaters.

Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod).

Produced by Armand Aviram.

Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

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The Daily - How Biden Lost Americans’ Faith in Immigration

A New York Times review of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s actions on immigration showed that decisions he and his closest advisers made created an opening for a more aggressive Trump administration agenda.

Christopher Flavelle, who interviewed more than 30 former Biden administration officials who worked on immigration and border policy, explains how Mr. Biden fumbled the immigration issue, and what the Democratic Party can learn from his missteps.

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

Photo: Paul Ratje for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.