Musings about Ourselves and Other Strangers

What do concert tickets and philanthropy have in common? Generally, not much, but a couple of friends of The Life You Can Save are working very hard to change that. Tech entrepreneurs Joshua Ross and Adam McCurdie could have made a fortune building their ticketing platform start up, but a trip to war-torn Sri Lanka fueled their desires to do work that was truly meaningful. It took a few years to get all the pieces aligned, but in 2016, Humanitix launched with a mission to be "The home of tickets for good, not greed." And in less than a decade, they've transformed more than $10 million (Australian) dollars to healthcare, housing, education, and more — including a donation of $4M AUD to The Life You Can Save! In this episode, Charlie talks with co-founders Josh and Adam about the history of Humanitix, the good it's done so far, and their mission to do even more in the years to come. Find more about Humanitix and founders Josh and Adam at their website, humanitix.com/us. Musings About Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world: www.thelifeyoucansave.org.

When the book The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty was first published in 2009, it completely changed (and re-ignited) the conversation around poverty, ethics, and philanthropy. Clearly it affected Musings host Charlie Bresler, who, after reading the book, ultimately approached its author about starting a non-profit based around philanthropy. According to its author, Peter Singer, those with money are behaving unethically — even immorally — if they don’t take steps to end the poverty and suffering of others. Singer’s parents were Austrian Jews who immigrated to Australian to escape the Nazis. Tragically, three of his four grandparents died at the hands of the Nazi regime, and in this episode, Peter and Charlie discuss how this history may or may not have impacted his world view. It’s a fascinating conversation around why we give or don’t. As you might imagine, the reasons are complex, rooted in human psychology, tinged with fear and cognitive dissonance, and seasoned with a lack of cultural pressure, thanks to an idea called the “diffusion of responsibility.” We hope you’ll enjoy this episode and share it widely. And remember, you can request a free copy of The Life You Can Save from our website: www.thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book. More about Peter Singer: Raised in Australia, Peter Singer was awarded a scholarship to attend Oxford, where he received a Bachelor of Philosophy and later a Master’s. He was a Radcliffe lecturer at Oxford, a visiting professor at NYU, and spent most of his career as a professor in Melbourne. In 1999 he moved to Princeton to teach, and in 2011 to London to lecture at the New College of the Humanities. Musings About Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

Most of us in the west have our first pair of shoes long before we can actually walk. Not true for Caroline Teti, who had her first pair of shoes at 12, when it was time to go to high school. From a very early age, Caroline understood the importance of education for finding a way out of the limitations that come from poverty — fewer choices, poorer health, less ability to contribute to her community. Her family and the people in her village all encouraged Caroline to pursue a formal education. And she did. Caroline took advantage of every opportunity that came her way, working hard to get a Bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials, then a Master’s degree, all while caring for her family. And she uses that education to help raise others out of the kind of poverty she experienced. Now the Director of Recipients Advocacy at GiveDirectly Global, Caroline previously spent years in the public sector working on reproductive health, education, water, sanitation, and other problems that impact people living in extreme poverty. We hope you’ll enjoy Charlie’s conversation with this absolutely inspiring woman. To find out more about Caroline Teti and GiveDirectly, visit the GiveDirectly website at www.givedirectly.org. Musings About Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

One of its first three employees, journalist Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent and head writer for Future Perfect at Vox. For those unfamiliar, Future Perfect tells stories about people and organizations “finding the best ways to do good.” Dylan came across Peter Singer’s book The Life You Can Save at a formative age, helping cement his interests around global health, anti-poverty efforts, philanthropy, and economic policy. In this episode, Dylan and Charlie muse about difficulties in maintaining the distinctions between truth and falsehoods in this age of social media, the necessity of transparency when dealing with societal problems, and the evolutions of the modern American political parties — all through the lens of the obligations and functions of journalism. It’s a fascinating discussion we hope you’ll share! To learn more about Dylan Matthews and Future Perfect and to find his writings, follow him on Vox: www.vox.com/authors/dylan-matthews. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

Will Rayward-Smith has spent his adult life learning about the effects of climate change. Fortunately, unlike many who feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis, Will has dived in to help bring about lasting change. A specialist in decarbonization and transitioning to clean energy with a PhD in Clean Energy from Cambridge, Will understands the urgency of the issue. He founded SunSHIFT to replace diesel generators with mobile solar power in remote areas, with a goal of lowering carbon emissions. Now as a Partner in Energy and Sustainability at Deloitte, Will helps clients identify and take advantage of the opportunities provided by clean technology — to the benefit of us all. In this episode, Will and Charlie muse on the necessity of understanding how climate change disproportionately affects poorer areas of the world and how finding clean-energy solutions ultimately improves quality of life for everyone. Find out more about Will Rayward-Smith on his LinkedIn profile (www.linkedin.com/in/decarbonisation) and on the Deloitte website: www.deloitte.com/cbc/en/about/people/profiles.d57b94b6.html. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

What drives us to do good things? And what dissuades us from doing those good things, even if we generally believe ourselves to be good people? This has been the topic underlying Season One of the Musings podcast, and Charlie has had some truly fascinating conversations on that question. In Season Two, Charlie plans to look at a different perspective on philanthropy and doing good: “Effective Hedonism.” He gives us a brief introduction to the term in this episode, and you can read his article in Time magazine for more information: time.com/6549552/effective-hedonist-essay/. Join us in Season Two to hear more on the subject of Effective Hedonism, as well as other journeys into the human psyche and what drives us to do (or not do) the good acts we know will benefit others. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

The “mildly talented” (100% his term, not ours) actor, Nick D’Agosto tweeted enthusiastically about The Life You Can Save, and when the team saw the tweet, they jumped on it! They reached out and connected Nick and Charlie, and a friendship was formed. Nick invited Charlie to appear on his (Nick’s) podcast, “God & Other Delicacies,” and now Charlie is returning the favor. If Nick sounds familiar, it’s because his voice graces the beginning and end of each of Charlie’s episodes (and some movies and TV shows, as well). Born and raised in a middle- to upper-middle-class, largely white, neighborhood in Nebraska, Nick made the effort to have a broader world view, including studying poverty and race issues in the Dominican Republic for a semester when he was a student at Marquette University. As of this recording, Nick is back in grad school, pursuing an advanced degree in Divinity at Meadville Lombard Theological School, a Unitarian Universalist seminary. In this episode, Nick and Charlie talk about how ending poverty is a value they share, how ending poverty is a central tenet to Christianity and ethical atheism alike, what influences shape us as we go through life, and why it’s so easy to fall short of our professed values. Nick is a member at Antaeus Theatre Company in Los Angeles, volunteers at his UU church in Pasadena, and supports the charity "The Life You Can Save." He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and young son. You can find out more about Nick on IMDb: Nicholas D’Agosto - IMDb. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world. Resources: God & Other Delicacies on Podbean: godsdelicateshow.podbean.com Election on Rotten Tomatoes: ​​rottentomatoes.com/m/election Charlie’s episode on Nick’s podcast: godsdelicateshow.podbean.com/e/15-charlie-bresler/

It seems almost ridiculously simple: when donors give money directly to recipients, poverty goes down. Michael Faye, co-founder of GiveDirectly and Segovia, and CEO of Taptap Send, came to this “cash works” realization in the early 2000s. Michael was working on his PhD in Business Economics at Harvard University, evaluating ways to help bring about the end of extreme poverty. Once it became apparent that cash in the hands of recipients worked as well or better than any other intervention for relieving poverty, Michael shifted focus to finding ways to make it simple for donors to give and recipients to receive. Many of us in the west balk at handing over cash without some middle organization vetting how the money is spent; we’ve heard too many stories of recipients using the money for drugs or alcohol or other wants we might find objectionable or frivolous. In fact, numerous randomized controlled studies demonstrate the opposite impact of direct cash transfers. Michael sys the data reflects the fact that the recipients generally use the money to feed their families, invest in businesses, upgrade their living conditions, and so on. In this episode, Michael and host Charlie Bresler talk about the ripple effects of financial stability in small communities, the notion of UBI (Universal Basic Income), the cultural challenges of convincing potential donors to give cash, and the technological challenges of getting cash in the hands of recipients. Find out more about Michael Faye and learn about (and donate to!) GiveDirectly at givedirectly.org. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

“Money, although it won't make us happy in and of itself, is an incredibly powerful tool in our lives, when we use it in alignment with things that matter to us. Because whether we like it or not, money is needed and necessary to accomplish things that matter.” John Hagensen, Managing Director at wealth management firm Creative Planning, probably handles the “tool” of money better than most. With a profound belief in the power money can have to improve lives of those in need, John is very committed to philanthropy and to encouraging high-net-worth folks to give as well. John’s values are underpinned by a deep faith and humility — as a teenager, he took a trip abroad where he had an eye-opening experience into life for those with far less. He and his wife Brittany have practiced their values not only in their giving but also in their personal lives, adopting four of their seven children from very impoverished circumstances. As far as his work in wealth management is concerned, John focuses on helping clients feel secure in their financial futures, so they’re not operating from a “scarcity mindset.” This frees many clients to consider giving or giving more without fear. If you want to learn more about John and Creative Planning, you can find information on their website. You can also check out John’s two books, The Retirement Flight Plan and Unleash Your Investments, and listen to his podcast, Rethink Your Money. Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

The only thing more high-impact than tennis champion Marcus Daniell’s serve is his philanthropy and his mission to encourage other athletes to give. An Olympic bronze medallist with five ATP titles, Marcus realized he had a unique opportunity to help the less-fortunate not only by donating but by using his platform to spread the word. In 2020, he co-founded High Impact Athletes to encourage other high-profile athletes to follow his example. In this episode, Charlie and Marcus talk about treating all Earth’s creatures with respect, whether human, furry, feathered, or finned. In addition to human poverty, they touch on factory farming and climate change initiatives which can help make the world a place of less suffering for all. Be sure you check out the website highimpactathletes.org, to find a running tally of human and animal lives improved, tonnes of CO2e mitigated, and money influenced towards non-profit giving. High Impact Athletes works with “12 of the most effective charities in the world,” ensuring each donation goes as far and helps as many as it possibly can. And with a roster of more than 180 athletes representing 40 sports and 31 countries, HIA is doing a lot. Be sure to subscribe to The High Impact Athletes Podcast wherever you listen to Musings! Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers is the podcast for the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save, and is hosted by co-founder Charlie Bresler. Please check out other episodes as well as our website for ideas on how you too can extend your impact for good in the world.

“Typical tech nerd”? Whatever that is, Ankur Shah Delight probably doesn’t fit the definition. The once-math and computer science student is now an Executive Coach with Momentum Lab, where he helps people discover themselves through finding a purpose that truly aligns with their values. Of Eastern Indian heritage and one of the few students of color in his town in rural Washington State, Ankur didn’t always fit in with his overwhelmingly white class, nor did he readily identify with his Indian roots. Like many, the journey of self-discovery started after high school: in Ankur’s case, while taking philosophy classes at Stanford. Gandhi’s ideas in particular appealed to Ankur and inspired him to learn more about the world. After finishing university, Ankur wasn’t interested in the traditional route of ivy league school > investment banking. Instead he traveled widely for more than a decade, most often staying with peasant farmers around the world to learn how they lived. This experience gave him a grounding in “real” life that complemented and filled in the gaps of his university education. Now Ankur is on a path to achieve excellence in his relationships with himself, with the greater community of humanity, and with other living creatures on Earth. Whether personal progress comes through reading philosophy or having conversations with as many people as possible or trying psychedelics or fasting or engaging deeply with nature, Ankur urges us all to be more aware of the world around us. Subscribe to Ankur's weekly newsletter on meaning, purpose, and community at momentumlab.com/newsletter

Am I even making a difference? Is helping one cause, one kid, or one family going to make a difference that lasts? In this episode, Charlie welcomes Ingrid Srinath’s musing on this topic. She shares that making a difference is a combination of giving now, advocating for policy change, and building the ecosystem that can support both of those. Ingrid Srinath has held many titles in her career, including formerly Director of the Centre for Social Impact & Philanthropy at Ashoka University, a private, nonprofit university offering students a multidisciplinary liberal education. But she prefers to describe herself as, “a philanthropy geek and champion of civil society in India and around the world.” Charlie and Ingrid share musings on the giving movement, how the framework of profit marketing and advertising could have a place in the nonprofit sector, and how to use marketing to manage donations. They discuss the process Ingrid has used to close the gap between supporters who know, like, and trust an organization but don’t actually donate. Ingrid has such an insightful and thought-provoking perspective on a wide range of topics. Enjoy this conversation and all she has to offer. To learn more and make a donation to The Life You Can Save, visit our website, https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/.

Daniel Petre is an insightful no-nonsense conversational partner, so be ready for some frank talk in these musings. A former Microsoft executive, who worked closely with Bill Gates and later founded several highly successful venture capital funds. Daniel has worked and lived among high-powered, monied individuals. He has been struck by how “old rich, white men” do not want to part with their money, while young tech entrepreneurs, who don’t feel as entitled to their wealth, are more generous. Daniel decided to focus the next stage of his life on philanthropy, so in 2022 he founded StartGiving to inspire a culture of giving in the innovation community. StartGiving encourages tech founders to start their giving journey early and to give to charities they care about now. Daniel’s view of philanthropy has been impacted by reading Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save – the same book that inspired host Charlie Bresler’s non-profit of the same name. In that book, a particularly motivating story is “the girl in the pond,” which Daniel and Charlie reference in this episode. Humans often freeze when confronted by the true scope of inequality and desperation in the world. But ask someone if they passed by a pond and saw a little girl drowning, would they try to save her? Of course they’ll answer yes. Helping people make the connection between the girl in the pond and all the girls (and boys) worldwide who need help is critical to unfreezing people – and their generosity. Enjoy Daniel, a most fascinating, intelligent and humble individual. Resources: StartGiving: startgiving.com The Life You Can Save organization: thelifeyoucansave.org Get a free copy of Peter Singer’s book: thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book

Is it possible for life to be both fulfilling and moral? How do we strike a balance between our obligations to others and living a pleasurable life? In this conversation, Charlie and Neela Saldana, a fellow board member of The Life You Can Save, muse on how cultural differences, religion, identity, education, wealth, family upbringing, even travel all influence our moral principles. In order to impact someone’s philanthropic behavior, do we need “marketing” that understands and speaks to all the components of that person’s moral code? At Wharton School of Business where Neela obtained her Ph.D, she became interested in consumer behavior and how it motivates people’s decisions, such as whether to donate or not to a non-profit. Neela currently leads the Yale Research Initiative on Innovation and Scale We hope you’ll join us as we muse over these fascinating and crucial questions. Links: The Life You Can Save - Best Charities of 2023 Neela Saldanha

From bingo to the Bellagio, Elaine Wynn’s life hasn’t followed what one might term a “conventional” path. She and her now-ex-husband Steve Wynn were introduced by their fathers when both were very young. They started their lives together running Steve’s father’s bingo business; a series of opportunities took them to Las Vegas, where they built some of the most famous resorts in that city. Elaine was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1999. Despite a very successful life, Elaine never lost focus on equity for those less fortunate. She’s particularly interested in the lives of children, helping children affected by poverty gain access to support through the organization Communities in Schools (CIS). CIS recognizes that children can’t succeed in school if they aren’t safe, nurtured, well-fed, and empowered — ideals that so mirrored Elaine’s own that she founded CIS Nevada. Elaine has served in many governmental and organizational positions, always with the aim of finding ways to help people thrive. She’s been incredibly generous with her time, intelligence, and money, and her beliefs about morality and ethics are reflected in her service to others. We hope you’ll listen to the brilliant Elaine Wynn as she and Charlie muse on the urgency of climate change, leadership, community service vs individualism, philanthropy and power, access to resources, the necessity of art, and so much more. You can find out more about Elaine Wynn on her profile page on the Communities in Schools website. Organizations mentioned: Communities in Schools: www.communitiesinschools.org LA County Museum of Art (LACMA): lacma.org

In this episode, guest Professor Joshua Greene and host Charlie Bresler hit upon an important question — and have somewhat different answers. Many of us claim to be pretty “moral” human beings with an admirable set of values. But do we always live up to it? Obviously not, or we likely wouldn’t need police or lawyers or jails. The question Josh and Charlie found thornier is the why. Why don’t we live up to our professed values? According to Charlie, it seems we simply learn to suppress our better angels when they aren’t convenient or comfortable. Sure, it may cause cognitive dissonance to pass by a hungry homeless person, but somehow we manage. For Josh, the reason may be more embedded in our survival instinct. We have evolved to live in relatively small groups of friends and family, and our nobler intentions don’t always extend beyond that circle. Universal cooperation just isn’t in our genetic makeup. Which is it? Nature, nurture, or a smidge of both? Whatever, the larger question here — and the one they agree on — is how do we overcome our smaller, more selfish behavior to help anyone in need? Josh Greene is an experimental psychologist, neuroscientist, philosopher, and professor at Harvard University . He studies how humans make moral judgments and decisions, but includes a very science-based perspective: primarily behavioral experiments and functional neuroimaging (fMRI). He is the author of Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them.

Musing with Michael (Mike) Schur is a bit like playing chess with Garry Kasparov. No matter what conversational move you make, he has a counter that will likely stun you. No wonder his book is called How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question… In this episode, host Charlie Bresler is musing with Michael Schur. Creator of the critically acclaimed NBC comedy The Good Place, co-creator on Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, and Rutherford Falls, writer on The Office and Saturday Night Live, Michael has a long history of being both very smart and very funny. Events in young adulthood led him to read philosophy as a way of understanding himself and those around him. In particular, a seemingly very minor incident that got a bit out of control caused Michael to question the morality of what he was doing. Fortunately for all of us, this spiraling minor incident ultimately led to the television show The Good Place, a show that tackles the question of how we judge if a life has been “good” or “bad.” Moral dilemmas also produced the book How to Be Perfect. In his book, Michael talks about the principle of umbuntu, a concept in many parts of Africa that is described as the philosophy of “I am because you are.” “Our happiness depends on the happiness of others and vice versa,” he explains. And in many ways, he says, it’s almost the opposite of one of the central precepts here in the west: “I think therefore I am.” It’s not a commonly known idea here in the west, but, says Michael, it might be an antidote to some of the selfishness that individualism often leads to. We strongly recommend you read or listen to How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question. You can find out more about Michael Schur on IMDb: Michael Schur––IMDb. We also hope you’ll share, rate, and review this podcast so others can find us more easily. Then learn more about The Life You Can Save on our website: thelifeyoucansave.org

If you enjoy the introductory music that begins our show, you’ll really love this episode — host Charlie Bresler is talking with composer and musician José González, who generously agreed to allow his music to grace Musings on Ourselves and Other Strangers. José has had a fascinating history: his parents fled the dictatorship in their native Argentina in 1976. Because José’s parents were at university and his father was an activist, they were targeted by the government. They were able to flee through Brazil, and ultimately the Swedish embassy helped them to relocate to safety. They landed in Sweden, where José was born. As you might guess, politics and activism were frequent topics around the family dinner table. José himself prefers to communicate his thoughts and reflections through his music, with allusions and metaphors that can speak to us on a deeper level. “Many songs have a crystal-clear, secular humanist agenda: anti-dogma, pro-reason,” he says. A scientist by training, José left academia to pursue his music career, but he admits to missing learning and reads broadly to pursue his interests. Though he’s created “only” three solo albums in 18 years, each album is intricately designed, the music’s apparent simplicity belied by a deep, inner complexity. He regularly plays to sold-out venues and devoted followers. José says his music takes on the Big Questions, the existential conundrums that reflect the journey of “smart apes on a quest to understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos.” Like Charlie, José is interested in why humans — himself included — behave the ways we do, and his music gives us openings to view ourselves through. We hope you’ll enjoy this episode. To find more music by José, visit his website jose-gonzalez.com. To learn more about Charlie Bresler, effective altruism, and The Life You Can Save, visit our website, thelifeyoucansave.org.

Most of us think we know ourselves pretty well. But do we? We all have a moral code we aspire to live by, but sometimes we fall short, and we may not always understand our motivations to act or not to act. In this podcast, host Charlie Bresler is interviewing some fascinating people in the quest to find out why there can be a pretty big gap between who we think we are and how we behave.