GiveWell Conversations

GiveWell•www.givewell.org

Welcome to GiveWell’s podcast sharing the latest updates on our work. Tune in for conversations with GiveWell staff members discussing current priorities of our Research team and recent developments in the global health landscape.

Last refreshed: August 15th, 2025 at 4:15 AM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Advancing GiveWell’s Work on Family Planning: August 7, 2025

This episode was recorded on June 24, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. As GiveWell’s research team grows, that increased capacity and expertise allows us to evaluate a wider range of programs to find the most cost-effective opportunities to help people. Over the past year and a half, we’ve been investigating a new research area—family planning services that help people decide whether and when to have children. Family planning programs have particularly complex challenges ...

Aug 07, 2025•31 min•Ep. 9

Malaria Funding at a Crossroads: July 18, 2025

This episode was recorded on July 16, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. Malaria is the cause area where GiveWell has directed the most funding over our 18-year history. We’ve recommended over $1 billion to malaria programs, which we estimate will avert over 200,000 deaths, mostly in young children, through support for programs like Against Malaria Foundation’s insecticide-treated nets and Malaria Consortium’s seasonal malaria chemoprevention. Despite significant progress a...

Jul 18, 2025•36 min•Ep. 8

Deepening GiveWell’s Focus on Livelihoods Programs: July 10, 2025

This episode was recorded on June 25, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. GiveWell has long grappled with fundamental questions about how to value different positive impacts and make funding decisions across diverse programs. In particular, how much more valuable it is to save a life than to substantially improve it? And how can we prioritize between programs that achieve those outcomes in different measures when there’s no “right” answer to that question? In this episode, G...

Jul 10, 2025•31 min•Ep. 7

Forecasting the Future of Global Health Funding: June 26, 2025

This episode was recorded on June 11, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. In the face of potential major cuts to foreign aid, how can we anticipate the impact on global health and effectively direct resources to the areas of greatest need? In this episode, GiveWell’s CEO and co-founder, Elie Hassenfeld, speaks with Principal Researcher Alex Cohen to discuss the forecasting work GiveWell has undertaken to better understand what the future of global health funding might look l...

Jun 26, 2025•30 min•Ep. 6

Exploring HIV/AIDS Funding Cuts and Emerging Needs: June 5, 2025

This episode was recorded on May 30, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. The US government has historically been a major funder of HIV/AIDS programs, providing around $5 to $6 billion annually through PEPFAR and other initiatives. With anticipated major reductions in US government foreign aid, including potential cuts of 20% to 50% to HIV/AIDS funding, GiveWell is assessing where new, cost-effective needs might emerge. GiveWell aims to find programs where additional funding ...

Jun 05, 2025•28 min•Ep. 5

Supporting Governments Navigating US Funding Cuts: May 15, 2025

This episode was recorded on May 2, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. Cuts to US government foreign assistance have created unprecedented challenges for global health programs. Countries that have relied on this funding must now navigate substantial gaps and make difficult decisions about program priorities. In the fourth episode of GiveWell’s podcast series on these cuts, GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speaks with Program Officer Dan Brown about grants to cre...

May 15, 2025•31 min•Ep. 4

Making Cost-Effective Grants Amid Uncertainty: April 23, 2025

This episode was recorded on April 15, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. The US government has historically spent approximately $12 billion to $15 billion annually in foreign assistance dedicated to global health. The funding cuts announced in the first few months of 2025 disrupted the global health landscape and created the possibility of enormous funding gaps that are still coming into focus. In response, GiveWell has approved around $18 million in grants to support urge...

Apr 23, 2025•24 min•Ep. 3

Addressing Urgent Needs in Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention: April 3, 2025

This episode was recorded on March 31, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. Our first episode shared a broad overview of the impacts of US government aid cuts and GiveWell’s initial response. This time, GiveWell Program Officer Natalie Crispin joins CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld to zoom in on a specific case, focusing on grants we’ve made to support urgent funding gaps for seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC). SMC is one of the most cost-effective programs we’ve found—...

Apr 03, 2025•24 min•Ep. 2

GiveWell’s Response to USAID Funding Cuts: March 19, 2025

This episode was recorded on March 12, 2025 and represents our best understanding at that time. In this discussion between GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld and Senior Program Officer Julie Faller, we provide snapshots of how US funding changes are affecting global health programs: Immediate program trade-offs: As funds are paused, country governments are having to choose between essential health services, including one country that said it would prioritize HIV treatment programs while...

Mar 19, 2025•23 min•Ep. 1

Hosted on Transistor

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android