Best Outside curators Podcasts (2025)

1
“Why Many EAs May Have More Impact Outside of Nonprofits in Animal Welfare” by lauren_mee 🔸, Animal Advocacy Careers 15:19

Play Pause

10d ago15:19

15:19

Many thanks to @Felix_Werdermann 🔸 @Engin Arıkan and @Ana Barreiro for your feedback and comments on this, and for the encouragement from many people to finally write this up into an EA forum post. For years, much of the career advice in the Effective Altruism community has implicitly (or explicitly) suggested that impact = working at an EA nonprof…

1
“Leaving Open Philanthropy, going to Anthropic” by Joe_Carlsmith 32:02

2d ago32:02

32:02

(Audio version, read by the author, here, or search for "Joe Carlsmith Audio" on your podcast app.) Last Friday was my last day at Open Philanthropy. I’ll be starting a new role at Anthropic in mid-November, helping with the design of Claude's character/constitution/spec. This post reflects on my time at Open Philanthropy, and it goes into more det…

1
Vibeability & Cayenne 19:35

1d ago19:35

19:35

In Episode 135, we’re turning up the heat with a little spice and a lot of soul. Jimmy IV will dive deep into Vibeability: Your ability to honor your energy, curate your life, and hold your frequency accountable and Cayenne, the assertive spice that protects your peace and keeps you from chasing what doesn’t align. Discover how to create your vibe …

1
Super Chickens vs. Super Coops: The Power of Team Intelligence 20:15

5d ago20:15

20:15

For decades, we've been told that high performance is about gathering the brightest stars—the so-called “super chickens”—onto one team and watching the magic happen. But what if this approach is exactly what’s holding us back? In this episode, we challenge the myth of the lone genius and superstar culture, inspired by the research of evolutionary b…

1
“How Well Does RL Scale?” by Toby_Ord 15:39

6d ago15:39

15:39

This is the latest in a series of essays on AI Scaling. You can find the others on my site. Summary: RL-training for LLMs scales surprisingly poorly. Most of its gains are from allowing LLMs to productively use longer chains of thought, allowing them to think longer about a problem. There is some improvement for a fixed length of answer, but not en…

1
“Recommitting to Giving: A Personal Update” by frankieaw 3:59

8d ago3:59

3:59

TL;DR: I took the 🔸10% Pledge in 2016 and haven’t kept to it consistently. I’ve decided not to pay the backlog donations, and instead to recommit fresh from today, with simple systems to keep me on track. Sharing this for transparency and in the hope it may be helpful to others - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -…

1
Step Outside the SexyCoolLounge This Halloween | Throwback Bonus Episode: “Spooky Cool” featuring author Jynell Hull 25:30

6d ago25:30

25:30

Step outside the SexyCoolLounge this Halloween with a lighthearted Throwback Bonus Edition Episode: Spooky Cool, featuring special guest Jynell Hull, a published author of novels and short stories. Jimmy IV and Jynell VIBE on all things October: 🎃 The origins of Halloween 🍬 How “Trick or Treat” became the phrase it is today 🍫 Their favorite candies…

1
“Framing EA: ‘Doing Good Better’ Did Worse” by Rethink Priorities, David_Moss 9:35

11d ago9:35

9:35

Summary As part of our ongoing work to study how to best frame EA, we experimentally tested different phrases and sentences that CEA were considering using on effectivealtruism.org. Doing Good Better taglines We observed a consistent pattern where taglines that included the phrase ‘do[ing] good better’ received less support from respondents and ins…

1
[Linkpost] “The Charity Trap: Brain Misallocation” by DavidNash 10:22

11d ago10:22

10:22

This is a link post. In Ugandan villages where non-governmental organisations (NGOs) hired away the existing government health worker, infant mortality went up. This happened in 39%[1] of villages that already had a government worker. The NGO arrived with funding and good intentions, but the likelihood that villagers received care from any health w…

1
[Linkpost] “The Four Pillars: A Hypothesis for Countering Catastrophic Biological Risk” by ASB 17:53

12d ago17:53

17:53

This is a link post. Biological risks are more severe than has been widely appreciated. Recent discussions of mirror bacteria highlight an extreme scenario: a single organism that could infect and kill humans, plants, and animals, exhibits environmental persistence in soil or dust, and might be capable of spreading worldwide within several months. …

1
Slow Down To Go Fast (Why Optimizing Isn't the Answer) 31:07

12d ago31:07

31:07

In this episode, we dive deep into what it truly means to sustain high performance—without losing ourselves along the way. We explore why the relentless pursuit of optimization can leave us exhausted, disconnected, and ultimately unsatisfied, even as our productivity dashboards look more impressive than ever. We sit down with Dr. James Hewitt, a hu…

1
The Art of Small Wins 28:37

10d ago28:37

28:37

The world celebrates the big moments, the headlines, the trophies, the milestones. But real growth? That happens quietly, in the steps no one sees. In this episode, Jimmy IV explores The Art of Small Wins, the subtle, powerful ways that consistency, courage, and intention shape our evolution. From the psychology of progress to the energy of daily e…

1
“Entertainment for EAs” by Toby Tremlett🔹 2:45

15d ago2:45

2:45

I’ve used the phrase “entertainment for EAs” a bunch to describe a failure mode that I’m trying to avoid with my career. Maybe it’d be useful for other people working in meta-EA, so I’m sharing it here as a quick draft amnesty post. There's a motivational issue in meta-work where it's easy to start treating the existing EA community as stakeholders…

1
Ep 17 — Halloween: Costumed Revelry, Voices From Beyond, and YAY, Candy! [ repost from 2020 ] 1:05:23

16d ago1:05:23

1:05:23

We’re currently visiting Wales with bookish friends for our Readers Weekend at Trevor Hall. But since Halloween is coming, we thought you might like to revisit our previous episode devoted to Spooky Season. In this episode from 2020, we talk about the origins of Halloween monsters and the tricky laws around selling a haunted house. And we recommend…

1
“Canva to donate $100M over 4 years to GiveDirectly” by MartinBerlin 2:56

16d ago2:56

2:56

All quotes are from their blog post "Why we chose to invest another $100 million in cash transfers", highlights are my own: Today, we’re announcing a new $100 million USD commitment over the next four years to expand our partnership with GiveDirectly and help empower an additional 185,000 people living in extreme poverty. We’re also funding new res…

1
Safe Danger: Why Play Is Serious Business 30:07

19d ago30:07

30:07

In this episode, we dive deep into the paradoxical space where creativity thrives: the intersection of safety and danger. Drawing inspiration from IDEO’s iconic reinvention of the shopping cart, we explore how play, risk, and psychological safety fuel real innovation. We’re joined by Ben Swire—author of “Safe Danger” and former IDEO design lead—and…

1
Feet Ahead 24:19

17d ago24:19

24:19

In Episode 132 “Feet Ahead,” Jimmy IV dives into how to navigate life’s biggest challenges by focusing on small, manageable steps that lead to real progress. Packed with practical insights and inspiration, this episode shows listeners how to move forward through uncertainty, overcome obstacles, and embrace growth—making it a can’t-miss guide for an…

1
“My EA Senescence” by Michael_PJ 5:59

19d ago5:59

5:59

I have some claim to be an “old hand” EA:[1] I was in the room when the creation Giving What We Can was announced (although I vacillated about joining for quite a while) I first went to EA Global in 2015 I worked on a not-very successful EA project for a while But I have not really been much involved in the community since about 2020. The interesti…

1
“You should probably track your time (and it just got easier)” by Christoph Hartmann 🔸 4:09

20d ago4:09

4:09

TLDR EA is a community where time tracking is already very common and yet most people I talk to don't because It's too much work (when using toggl, clockify, ...) It's not accurate enough (when using RescueTime, rize, ...) I built https://donethat.ai that solves both of these with AI as part of AIM's Founding to Give program. It's live on Product H…

1
LoLT: What is Gothic? [re-post] 16:16

23d ago16:16

16:16

We’re currently tucked up in a manor house in Wales with a slew of bookish friends for our Readers Weekend at Trevor Hall. Since it’s Spooky Season — aka, the best season of the year — we’re sharing our previous episode of The Library of Lost Time all about the Gothic. --- In this show, we’re excited about two books: The Murders at Fleat House by L…

1
“Experts & markets think authoritarian capture of the US looks distinctly possible” by LintzA 5:45

25d ago5:45

5:45

The following is a quick collection of forecasting markets and opinions from experts which give some sense of how well-informed people are thinking about the state of US democracy. This isn't meant to be a rigorous proof that this is the case (DM me for that), just a collection which I hope will get people thinking about what's happening in the US …

1
How To Be Lucky (By Design) 24:33

26d ago24:33

24:33

Episode 80: Lucky By Design – Show Notes Is luck really just random, or can we engineer it? In this episode, we explore how “luck” is often the result of preparation, pattern recognition, and a deep understanding of hidden systems that shape opportunity. Drawing from the unlikely success story of Gary Dahl’s Pet Rock and the groundbreaking research…

401
Bad at Sports Episode 919: Kohler, Throckmorton, and Grabner 1:00:01

26d ago1:00:01

1:00:01

This week, Bad at Sports hits the road and heads north to Sheboygan and Kohler, Wisconsin — where art, industry, and community collide. We drop into the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) and the Kohler Arts/Industry Residency program to see how a small Midwestern town sustains one of the most ambitious intersections of art and manufacturing i…

1
“Your Sacrifice Portfolio Is Probably Terrible” by Midtermist12 13:40

27d ago13:40

13:40

or Maximizing Good Within Your Personal Constraints Note: The specific numbers and examples below are approximations meant to illustrate the framework. Your actual calculations will vary based on your situation, values, and cause area. The goal isn't precision—it's to start thinking explicitly about impact per unit of sacrifice rather than assuming…

1
“Effective altruism in the age of AGI” by William_MacAskill 37:35

30d ago37:35

37:35

This post is based on a memo I wrote for this year's Meta Coordination Forum. See also Arden Koehler's recent post, which hits a lot of similar notes. Summary The EA movement stands at a crossroads. In light of AI's very rapid progress, and the rise of the AI safety movement, some people view EA as a legacy movement set to fade away; others think w…

1
Halloween: About 31% More Gothic than Normal 1:12:49

1M ago1:12:49

1:12:49

In no particular order, here is an incomplete list of some awesome things about Spooky Season: bats, witches, vampires, scary ghost stories, sad ghost stories, funny ghost stories, werewolves, dogs in Halloween costumes, tiny candy bars, full-size candy bars, caramel corn, bobbing for apples, a chill in the air, staying up late to watch scary movie…

451
Bad at Sports Episode 918: Amanda Ross-Ho 1:02:04

28d ago1:02:04

1:02:04

This week we sit down with Amanda Ross-Ho, whose large-scale sculptures, staged environments, and uncanny translations of domestic and studio life have made her a vital presence in contemporary art. Recorded in Chicago around her latest exhibition, the conversation spans everything from monumental t-shirts to the politics of labor, and from the int…

1
“Taking ethics seriously, and enjoying the process” by kuhanj 54:08

1M ago54:08

54:08

Here's a talk I gave at an EA university group organizers’ retreat recently, which I've been strongly encouraged to share on the forum. I'd like to make it clear I don't recommend or endorse everything discussed in this talk (one example in particular which hopefully will be self-evident), but do think serious shifts in how we engage with ethics an…

151
Your Compass & Creative Fuel 29:06

1M ago29:06

29:06

How do we keep our creative edge—and ourselves—intact while navigating constant demands, distractions, and emotional turbulence? In this episode, we explore two distinct yet overlapping paths to real impact and creative resilience. We first sit down with Robert Glazer, best-selling author of The Compass Within, who demystifies the role of core valu…

501
Bad at Sports Episode 917: Two Palms and Alex Slattery 1:02:44

1M ago1:02:44

1:02:44

This week, we print big or go home. Bad at Sports cast their eyes to New York from the safe confines of the Chicago Architectural Biennial booth at EXPO 2025 to talk with the legendary Two Palms studio in the guise of Alex Slattery. If you've ever stood slack-jawed in front of a monoprint the size of a small car or a woodblock cut so large it neede…

1
“Charity Entrepreneurship is bottlenecked by a lack of great animal founders” by Ben Williamson, Amalie Farestvedt 🔸 10:24

1M ago10:24

10:24

TL;DR - AIM's applicants skew towards global health & development. We’ve recommended four new animal welfare charities, have the capacity to launch all four, but expect to struggle to find the talent to do so. If you’ve considered moving into animal welfare work, applying to Charity Entrepreneurship to launch a new charity in the space could be of …

1
“Cultivated Meat: A Wakeup Call for Optimists” by CianHamilton 26:36

1M ago26:36

26:36

Summary: Consumers rejected genetically modified crops, and I expect they will do the same for cultivated meat. The meat lobby will fight to discredit the new technology, and as consumers are already primed to believe it's unnatural, it won’t be difficult to persuade them. When I hear people talk about cultivated meat (i.e. lab-grown meat) and how …

201
Supercommunicators 25:49

1M ago25:49

25:49

How often do our teams, family members, or collaborators end up misunderstanding each other even when we think we’re being perfectly clear? In this episode, we dive into the high cost of miscommunication and what it takes to become a “super communicator” in a noisy, divided world. We’re joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg, wh…

1
Manor House: The Fall of the House of… Almost Everyone, Really 1:19:29

1M ago1:19:29

1:19:29

For most people, home represents comfort, safety, maybe family. It’s the place where you can be yourself — and where you keep all your stuff. For the wealthy, the right home can mean status, reputation, and legacy, especially in the UK. For hundreds of years, the traditional English manor was more than simply a big house staffed with servants. It w…

1
“Why I think capacity building to make AGI go well should include spreading EA-style ideas and helping people engage with EA” by Arden Koehler 16:11

1M ago16:11

16:11

Note: I am the web programme director at 80,000 Hours and the view expressed here currently helps shape the web team's strategy. However, this shouldn't be taken to be expressing something on behalf of 80k as a whole, and writing and posting this memo was not undertaken as an 80k project. 80,000 Hours, where I work, has made helping people make AI …

1
Bad at Sports Episode 916: Alex Ross and two fan boys 1:06:28

1M ago1:06:28

1:06:28

Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller drive up to the Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL to talk with legendary comics painter Alex Ross. Known for Marvels, Kingdom Come, and decades of redefining superhero realism, Ross reflects on his career trajectory, his education at the American Academy of Art, his influences (from Neal Adams to Dave McKean), h…

1
“Moving to a hub, getting older, and heading home” by ElliotTep 11:06

2M ago11:06

11:06

Intro and summary “How many chickens spared from cages is worth not being with my parents as they get older?!” - Me, exasperated (September 18, 2021) This post is about something I haven’t seen discussed on the EA forum but I often talk about with my friends in their mid 30s. It's about something I wish I'd understood better ten years ago: if you a…

251
Thriving In Times of Epic Disruption 21:42

1M ago21:42

21:42

In this episode, we explore the exhilarating—and sometimes terrifying—landscape of disruption with innovation expert Scott Anthony, author of Epic Disruptions. Together, we examine the rapid shifts happening across every industry and what it takes not just to survive, but to lead through change with courage and creativity. We discuss why disruption…

1
Bad at Sports Episode 915 – Kenny Schachter and Bianca Bova: From Autodidact to Art World Outsider 1:04:27

2M ago1:04:27

1:04:27

In Part Two of our late-night conversation, Bad at Sports digs deeper into the remarkable trajectory of Kenny Schachter. From law school dropout to autodidact philosopher, from Sotheby's bidder to artist and teacher, Schachter traces the unlikely path that brought him into the heart of the art world — a place he insists remains strangely conservati…

1
Bad at Sports Episode 914 – Kenny Schachter: Chickens, Auctions, and Foundries (Part 1) 1:03:51

2M ago1:03:51

1:03:51

This week on Bad at Sports, Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller find themselves in Chicago with curator Bianca Bova and the indefatigable Kenny Schachter — artist, writer, teacher, collector, and provocateur. What begins as a conversation about Schachter's exhibition at Old Friends Gallery — featuring chicken-assisted artworks and bronze casts f…

1
“Student group organising is hard and important” by Bella 3:48

2M ago3:48

3:48

It's been several years since I was an EA student group organiser, so please forgive any part of this post which feels out of touch (& correct me in comments!) Wow, student group organising is hard. A few structural things that make it hard to be an organiser: You maybe haven’t had a job before, or have only had kind of informal jobs. So, you might…

251
The Creative Shift 23:21

2M ago23:21

23:21

Why does so much around us feel "vaguely familiar"? In this episode, we dive deep into the creative malaise of our overstimulated world—where endless scrolling, constant content, and a deluge of data make everything seem slightly derivative and uninspiring. We unpack the concept of “vague familiarity” and examine why our passion for novelty is cons…

1
Bad at Sports Episode 913: Shannon R. Stratton and Ox-Bow 1:01:56

2M ago1:01:56

1:01:56

This week, Bad at Sports reconnects with one of Chicago's most beloved curators and cultural instigators Ox-Bow School of Art's Executive Director, Shannon Stratton. From founding Threewalls to serving as Chief Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York, Stratton's career is a masterclass in weaving together artists, audiences, and …

1
“Rejected from all the ‘EA’ Jobs you applied for - What to do now?” by guneyulasturker 🔸 10:13

2M ago10:13

10:13

Hi, have you been rejected from all the 80K listed EA jobs you’ve applied for? It sucks, right? Welcome to the club. What might be comforting is that you (and I) are not alone. EA Job listings are extremely competitive, and in the classic EA career path, you just get rejected over and over. Many others have written about their rejection experience,…

1
“How cost-effective are AI safety YouTubers?” by Marcus Abramovitch 🔸, Austin 17:32

2M ago17:32

17:32

Early work on ”GiveWell for AI Safety” Intro EA was founded on the principle of cost-effectiveness. We should fund projects that do more with less, and more generally, spend resources as efficiently as possible. And yet, while much interest, funding, and resources in EA have shifted towards AI safety, it's rare to see any cost-effectiveness calcula…

1
Baseball Diamond: Root, Root, Root for the Home Team 1:16:11

2M ago1:16:11

1:16:11

There’s nothing else quite like a night at the ballpark, especially when the light and temperature hit just right. The air is soft, the crowd is genial. You’ve got a hot dog in one hand and an icy-cold drink in the other. Your only job? Sit there, take in the action, and occasionally join in a cheer or shout at the ump. Since the 1860s, baseball ha…

1
“Marginally More Effective Altruism” by AppliedDivinityStudies 7:23

2M ago7:23

7:23

There's a huge amount of energy spent on how to get the most QALYs/$. And a good amount of energy spent on how to increase total $. And you might think that across those efforts, we are succeeding in maximizing total QALYs. I think a third avenue is under investigated: marginally improving the effectiveness of ineffective capital. That's to say, im…

1
Why Hustle Culture Fails—and What to Do Instead 17:29

2M ago17:29

17:29

In this episode, we explore what it takes to sustain creative leadership—not just for the next launch, but through the marathon of a meaningful career. We sit down with serial entrepreneur and author Chris Ducker to dig deep into his philosophy from his new book, "The Long Haul Leader," where he shares battle-tested frameworks for combating burnout…

1
“My TED Talk” by LewisBollard 10:04

2M ago10:04

10:04

Note: This post was crossposted from the Open Philanthropy Farm Animal Welfare Research Newsletter by the Forum team, with the author's permission. The author may not see or respond to comments on this post. How I decided what to say — and what not to I’m excited to share my TED talk. Here I want to share the story of how the talk came to be, and t…

1
“Consider thanking whoever helped you” by Kevin Xia 🔸 6:35

2M ago6:35

6:35

TL;DR: If a (meta) org had a meaningful impact on you (in line with what they hope to achieve), you should probably tell them. It is essential for their impact reporting, which is essential for them to continue operating. You are likely underestimating just how valuable your story is to them. It could be thousands of dollars worth. Thanks to Toby T…

Outside Curators Podcasts