The Giving What We Can Podcast

#17 - Changing the Game: StrongMinds’ Mission to Improve Mental Health Globally

In this episode, Luke Freeman interviews Sean Mayberry, the CEO of StrongMinds, a non-profit organization that provides group talk therapy to people in low-income countries to improve mental health. Sean shares his background, including his journey from working as a diplomat to founding StrongMinds, and his experiences with depression. He also explains the importance of mental health and the problem of depression across Africa, where over 66 million women suffer from depression but only 15% have access to care. Since 2013, they've treated nearly 175,000 women in Uganda and Zambia. Sean highlights the impact of depression on families, the need for effective interventions, StrongMinds plans for growth and more.   CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction to Sean and his journey to founds StrongMinds 03:48 - Why focus on depression? 07:57 - The scale of mental illness in low and middle income countries (LMICs) 10:12 - What causes depression in LMICs? 12:25 - StrongMinds treatment model and how it works 15:16 - The diagnostic scale PHQ-9 18:15 - How do you remove bias from measurement? 20:10 - The indirect benefits of treating depression 21:58 - Why has StrongMinds focused on treating women? 23:35 - Comparisons to cash transfers by Happier Lives Institute 25:50 - How Sean's experience in HIV/AIDS informs StrongMinds program delivery 27:48 - Why is mental health still overlooked? 30:06 - Scaling funding and reaching more donors 31:42 - The biggest challenges implementing effective mental health interventions globally 33:17 - Lessons learned in adapting to different demographics 34:50 - How is the team structured 36:25 - Why is group talk therapy rate in places like Australia and the US? 40:33 - What are Sean's proudest moments with StrongMinds? 42:30 - Elevator pitch and closing comments   CREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Video editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Sean Mayberry

#16 - Advocating for animal friendly policies: Emma Hurst MP, Animal Justice Party

We are thrilled to have interviewed Emma Hurst MP of the Animal Justice Party who is an animal advocate with a background in psychology. Emma shared with us some of the most successful animal welfare policies that she has seen implemented, as well as strategies for policy selection and why momentum is so important when campaigning for change. She also spoke about the importance of learning from other countries, exporting successful policies overseas, and the progress that is being made on animal welfare globally. Finally, Emma discussed the role of philanthropy in animal welfare, the importance of individual advocacy, and how to gain broader political support for animal protection issues. CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 04:22 Successful animal welfare policies 06:13 Policy selection strategies 07:30 Why momentum is important 08:30 Learning from overseas 09:38 Exporting success overseas 10:54 Worldwide progress in animal welfare 13:06 Cellular agriculture policy 14:48 Proudest achievements of AJP 16:43 Psychology and messaging 17:52 Role of philanthropy in animal welfare 18:57 Individual advocacy 20:20 Enforcement of cruelty laws 22:37 Gaining broader political support 24:10 Coordination of campaigns 26:34 Anger fatigue 27:56 Being hopeful 29:37 Getting involved CREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Emma Hurst

#15 - How to best use your career | Rob Wiblin of the 80,000 Hours Podcast

We were lucky to be joined by Rob Wiblin, Director of Research at 80,000 Hours as well as the host of the 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin back in the middle of last year. In this interview, we hear about what 80,000 Hours does and how to find an impactful career. Rob also discusses how laziness was a key factor in creating the 80,000 Hours Podcast and why people might benefit from thinking less about the social impact of their work. To listen to the 80,000 Hours Podcast with Rob Wiblin visit: https://80000hours.org/podcast/ [https://80000hours.org/podcast/] Check out 80,000 Hours: https://80000hours.org/ [https://80000hours.org/] CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction with Luke and Grace 04:09 - Who is Rob? 05:15 - What does 80,000 Hours do? 07:32 - What factors should people think about when trying to find a career with positive impact? 10:40 - Some examples of existential risks (nuclear war, pandemics, bio-weapons) 14:05 - The difference between catastrophic risks and existential risks 16:00 - What are some ways people can address these risks? 19:18 - How can people from all types of careers help address these risks? 20:45 - Problem and career profiles 22:20 - How did Rob end up hosting the 80,000 Hours Podcast? 26:51 - The early days of 80,000 Hours and the growth of effective altruism 32:42 - Moral cluelessness 33:56 - Combatting overwhelm with fun and finding sustainable motivation 37:55 - Rob's final thoughts CREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Rob Wiblin

#14 - Against Malaria Foundation: How Rob Mather founded and operates a highly effective charity

Enjoy this fascinating interview where Rob Mather talks through how he started the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF), how it operates today and how malaria could be eradicated. Rob is truly an engaging speaker and this interview is well worth listening to in full. To learn more about AMF: https://www.againstmalaria.com/ [https://www.againstmalaria.com/] https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/charities/against-malaria-foundation [https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/charities/against-malaria-foundation] CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction with Luke and Grace 02:18 - Introduction to AMF and backstory including Swim for Terri 20:40 - How Rob got 1 million people swimming for malaria prevention and transition to AMF 42:20 - AMF's funding sources 48:05 - How does AMF do monitoring and evaluation? 1:02:00 - How do bednets compare to chemoprevention, gene drives and other existing and upcoming malaria prevention strategies? 1:14:56 - What would Rob do next if malaria was eradicated? CREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Rob Mather

#13 - Financial Independence to Philanthropy: Yield & Spread’s Rebecca Herbst

We interviewed Rebecca Herbst earlier in the year about financial independence, improving financial literacy and effective giving. Rebecca is an early retiree and now spends her time working on her project to improve financial literacy, Yield & Spread, where 100% of the profits go to charity via The Life You Can Save. Rebecca is also on the board of directors for EA Salt Lake City. Yield & Spread: https://yieldandspread.wixsite.com/personal-finance/course-experience [https://yieldandspread.wixsite.com/personal-finance/course-experience] EA Salt Lake City: https://www.effectivealtruismslc.org/ [https://www.effectivealtruismslc.org/] CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction and how Rebecca retired early and discovered effective giving 03:51 - How Rebecca feels about retiring early 05:01 - All about Rebecca's financial education project: Yield & Spread 07:27 - Some commonalities between effective altruism and financial independence 10:42 - What are some common mistakes people make with money? 14:48 - What should people be spending more money on? 15:44 - Different ways to think about managing money 21:30 - How Luke thinks about budgeting 26:49 - How much financial advice is universal 28:39 - Rebecca top financial tips related to giving 33:30 - Rebecca's thoughts on ethical consumption and ESG investing 41:06 - Resources on finance 44:08 - What can listeners do next? CREDITS: Production: Grace Adams Editor: Marco Shimabukuro Interviewer: Luke Freeman Guest: Rebecca Herbst