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Tiny Spark

We investigate philanthropy, nonprofits and for-profit social good initiatives. In-depth interviews and shoe leather reporting from across the globe. Send us your tips. www.tinyspark.org
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Tiny Spark
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Now displaying: Page 3
Jan 10, 2019

In their new book, Outbreak Culture: The Ebola Crisis and the Next Epidemic, Dr. Pardis Sabeti and journalist Lara Salahi argue that epidemics don’t just spread deadly diseases, they can also breed a toxic culture among those who are helping.

Dec 7, 2018

This Giving Season, we look at the growing phenomenon of online crowdfunding for medical bills. Who is winning on these platforms, and who is falling short? And what does the rise of sites like GoFundMe say about our fraying social safety net?

Nov 15, 2018

In the face of growing political polarization, spaces for thoughtful dialogue across ideologies have all but disappeared. Spaceship Media seeks to fill this void by bringing people together to talk about contentious issues. In this conversation, an NRA member and an anti-violence activist both discover that they are not as different as they think.

Nov 8, 2018

Stanford professor Rob Reich’s new book Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better investigates how charity can undermine democratic values, and explores the ways federal policies help to facilitate greater inequality.

Nov 1, 2018

Following the 2016 election, there was a spike in charitable giving, especially among female donors. We hear how women are wielding their financial and political muscle ahead of this year’s midterm elections.

Oct 25, 2018

A viral video of an American missionary abusing local hotel staff in Uganda exposed the ongoing racism and colonialism that continues to infuse global aid and development. Through voices with deep experience in the sector, we hear how the white savior complex continues to harm those receiving and giving aid around the world, and think about ways to help it become a more equal space.

Oct 11, 2018

In his new book, Gay, Inc: The Nonprofitization of Queer Politics, Myrl Beam argues that as many of the largest queer nonprofits have accepted millions from wealthy donors and foundations, the LGBT movement has become less radical.  

Oct 4, 2018

There is a profound lack of diversity in America’s finest cultural institutions. We examine the scope of the problem, why it matters, and highlight innovative programs aimed at growing more diverse leadership across the nation’s arts and cultural institutions.

Sep 27, 2018

From rural Wisconsin to the Bronx, there’s a crisis in home healthcare. It may be one of America’s fastest growing industries, but there aren’t enough workers to meet this demand. We spend time with home care workers and their clients, and learn why it will be hard to age in the comfort of our own homes without wide-scale reform.

Sep 20, 2018

Global elites have been credited for using their power and privilege to ‘change the world’ whether through apps that purport to tackle poverty or by making large donations to charity. In his new book, Winners Take All, former New York Times correspondent Anand Giridharadas offers a searing indictment of the notion that America’s wealthy are fixing our social problems

Sep 18, 2018

In an updated podcast, two years after being sexually assaulted by South Sudanese soldiers, an Italian aid worker remembers the attack, explains why she testified in court, and is relieved by recent news that they have been given jail terms. “I won. We won. Women won,” she tells us.

May 17, 2018

As the leader of a second chance program for young people, YouthBuild USA’s John Valverde describes what it means to live out his own second chance.

Apr 27, 2018

Many artists are asked to donate their work to charity auctions. The nonprofit raises money for a good cause, the buyer gets a beautiful piece of work, but what does the artist gain?

Apr 5, 2018

Nearly a decade after being violently assaulted while working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Sri Lanka, Shannon Mouillesseaux has tough words for her former employer.

Dec 22, 2017

Want to give to the homeless this holiday season? Three insights into the benefits and the harm of giving money directly to people on the street.

Oct 26, 2017

Nonprofits, tech companies and even NFL players have raised millions to help after recent natural disasters. But giving may be the easy part. Having an impact is harder.

Sep 13, 2017

In an increasingly unequal world, where money and power are closely linked, sociology professor Linsey McGoey says philanthropy is part of the problem.

Sep 1, 2017

We discuss fifteen successful social change campaigns that have had major impact, from South Africa's anti-apartheid campaign to the legislative success of marriage equality in the US. We learn what made them successful and why lasting social change requires patience and audacity.

Jul 8, 2017

Human smuggling has grown into a multibillion dollar industry. We explore the complex relationships between migrants, refugees, and the myriad players involved in smuggling them across borders.

Jun 26, 2017

There are over 900 hate groups operating across the US right now. Ryan Lenz monitors them, and former skinhead Angela King works to deradicalize those who want to leave them. They discuss their work and why they do it.

Jun 9, 2017

As aware citizens, it might feel good to check our privilege and that of others, but writer Phoebe Maltz Bovy says that privilege awareness has its problems.

May 25, 2017

Instead of feeling gratitude towards billionaire philanthropists, Stanford professor Rob Reich says we should scrutinize the power they wield.

May 9, 2017

Forty years after making his name with a famous psychological experiment about what makes good people do bad things, Philip Zimbardo has decided to flip the script. He tells us about his project that teaches people how to act heroically and describes his journey from studying evil to inspiring hope.

Apr 18, 2017

We explore the growing influence that private donors are exerting in national and local politics and why the power the wealthy are wielding today is likely to intensify in the years ahead. An interview with David Callahan, author of The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.

Mar 28, 2017

At the nation’s top universities and colleges, children of privilege are taking spots away from straight A students without the same connections, and the problem is only getting worse.

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