PODCAST

Hear This Idea

Hear This Idea is a podcast showcasing new thinking in philosophy, the social sciences, and effective altruism. Each episode has an accompanying write-up at www.hearthisidea.com/episodes.

science social sciences

All Episodes

#28 – Anna Alexandrova on Measuring Well-Being and...

Hear This Idea ·

2021/05/03

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01:23:47

#27 – Eva Vivalt on Evidence-Based Policy and...

Hear This Idea ·

2021/04/12

Eva Vivalt is an Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Toronto. Her work is focused on reducing barriers to evidence-based decision-making, global priorities research, and cash transfers.You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/eva. It's not a transcript! If you have any feedback or suggestions for future guests, feel free to get in touch through our website or by using the star rating form on each

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Bonus: Longtermism Discussion (w/ Increments podcast)

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2021/03/29

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02:14:39

#26 – Thomas Moynihan on the History of Existential Risk

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2021/03/22

Thomas Moynihan is a writer and researcher interested in the history of ideas surrounding existential risk and human flourishing. He completed a PhD on the history of human extinction, and currently works with Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. His most recent book is called X-Risk: How Humanity Discovered Its Own Extinction. You can read much more about the topics we cover in this episode in our accompanying write-up: hearthisidea.com/episodes/thomas. It's not a transcript! If you have any

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01:20:00

#25 – Julia Shvets on Overconfidence, Rank...

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2021/03/08

Julia Shvets is an economist at the University of Cambridge and fellow at Christ's College. Her research focuses primarily on micro- and behavioural economics: exploring why people make the decisions they make. In this episode we discuss two of her recent papers. The first is about "overconfidence" — why people often think they are better than they have any reason to be. The second is on "rank incentives" — that is, how much people are inherently motivated by social prestige. We also explore many of

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01:33:04

#24 – Nikhil Krishnan on the History and Future of...

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2021/02/22

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01:21:45

#23 – Marcus Daniell on High Impact Athletes, EA...

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2021/02/08

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#22 – Sebastian Joy on ProVeg, Movement Building, and...

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2021/01/25

Sebastian Joy is the founding President of ProVeg International, a food awareness organisation working to transform the global food system. He is also a social entrepreneur: having developed several vegan products and helped launch the international 50by40 alliance. In this episode we discuss: [00:01:53] Welcome, Sebastian! [00:07:52] Direct animal advocacy [00:11:48] Career capital [00:14:46] ProVeg International [00:23:42] Corporate engagement and the meat industry [00:26:49] The business of

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01:14:37

#21 – Bruce Friedrich on Protein Alternatives and the...

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2021/01/11

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#20 – Leah Edgerton and Manja Gärtner on Animal...

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2020/12/21

Leah Edgerton and Manja Gärtner are respectively the Executive Director and a Senior Researcher at Animal Charity Evaluators — a non-profit whose mission is to find and promote the most effective ways to help animals. In this episode we discuss: [00:05:27] Why care about Effective Animal Advocacy? [00:09:09] Cognitive dissonance and the meat paradox [00:13:46] What does ACE do? [00:21:10] Measuring effectiveness and doing research [00:30:54] Value of information and capacity building [00:38:37]

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00:59:17

#19 – Peter Singer on Speciesism, Lockdown Ethics,...

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2020/12/07

Peter Singer is a moral philosopher and public intellectual, most widely known for his writings about animal ethics and global poverty. In this episode we discuss: [00:00:00] Introduction [00:01:43] Background — Peter Singer introduces himself. [00:02:16] Speciesism — Defining the term, and explaining the case against speciesism. [00:06:55] Wild Animal Suffering — hould we intervene to reduce suffering in nature? [00:09:00] Weighing and Ending Animal Lives — Are all animal lives equal? What, if

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01:13:32

#18 – Luke Freeman on Giving What We Can and...

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2020/11/30

Luke Freeman is the Executive Director of Giving What We Can. Before this, he was a entrepreneur and marketing specialist, including co-founding Positly. In this episode we discuss: [00:01:52] Background: History of EA [00:04:02] Luke's story: Discovering EA [00:09:30] Foreign Aid: Myths and valid critiques [00:14:58] Evidence: RCTs and the ITN framework [00:20:12] News: "Man bites dog" [00:26:35] GWWC: Taking the pledge [00:43:43] Donations: Risk and hidden zeros [00:46:41] GWWC: Common

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#17 – Sriya Iyer on the Economics of Religion

Hear This Idea ·

2020/11/23

Dr Sriya Iyer is a Reader in Economics at the University of Cambridge and fellow of St Catharine’s College. Her research applies the tools of economics to topics such as religion, development, and education. In this episode we discuss: [00:02:14] Introduction: Sriya Iyer [00:03:08] Background: What is the economics of religion? [00:07:25] Wealth: The Secularization Hypothesis (and why it's wrong) [00:12:02] Growth: Weber's Protestant work ethic [00:14:43] Demography: Religion and fertility in

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