Tiny Spark
We investigate philanthropy, nonprofits and international aid. In-depth interviews and shoe leather reporting from across the globe. Send us your tips. www.tinyspark.org
- Update frequency
- every 15 days
- Average duration
- 21 minutes
- Episodes
- 156
- Years Active
- 2012 - 2021
From War Photographer to War Crimes Investigator
MacArthur “genius” award winner Corinne Dufka was a photojournalist for Reuters, covering armed conflicts in 17 nations. But inside a hotel room in Rwanda, she had an “epiphany” that compelled her to…
00:21:05 |
Tue 01 Mar 2016
There's More Aid than Ever, So Why are Poorest Nations Getting Less?
Foreign aid reached its highest point in 2014 but less has been going to the poorest nations. Development economist Owen Barder gives reasons for this trend and explains why he won’t sit on panels th…
00:12:37 |
Mon 15 Feb 2016
Ardent Aid Critic Says He's Misunderstood
It turns out that one of America's fiercest aid critics is just a soft-spoken guy from Ohio. "A lot of people start characterizing your work who really haven’t read you very closely, or even at all. …
00:12:31 |
Tue 02 Feb 2016
Promo: Doing Good in Repressive Regimes
Promo: Economist Bill Easterly talks about the challenges of doing good in repressive regimes.
00:01:00 |
Thu 28 Jan 2016
Occupy Charity: Big Money in Few Hands
Until recently, Ken Berger led the world’s largest charity evaluator. He found that money wasn't necessarily flowing to the best charities. “I don’t see a correlation between where the dollars are go…
00:10:45 |
Tue 12 Jan 2016
Promo: Charities Must Measure What Matters Most
Former CEO of nation's largest charity evaluator says few nonprofits know if they're having impact.
00:01:00 |
Tue 05 Jan 2016
Why are Billions of Charitable Dollars Sitting in the Bank?
U.S. laws allow billions of dollars in charitable assets to sit in bank accounts and private foundations. Ray Madoff says it’s time to change those laws so that charitiable dollars are put to work ta…
00:11:24 |
Mon 21 Dec 2015
Promo: Why are Billions of Donor Dollars Sitting in the Bank?
Next time on Tiny Spark: The case for releasing billions of dollars in charitable assets now sitting in banks and private foundations.
00:01:00 |
Wed 16 Dec 2015
Part Three: Is This Charity Any Good?
In the final segment of Tiny Spark's Guide to Good Giving, Columbia University professor Doug White says before giving to charity, donors should ask key questions of certain people there.
00:11:41 |
Tue 08 Dec 2015
Tools for Good Giving
How do you vet solicitors calling on behalf of big name charities? Should we rate charities based on overhead costs? Why is it important to give year-round and not just this holiday? In Part Two of T…
00:14:18 |
Tue 01 Dec 2015
Is it Better to Give Locally or Globally?
We explore effective altruism, which urges donors to stretch their charitable dollars as far as possible by giving to the world's extreme poor. But aren't families living in our local homeless shelte…
00:13:18 |
Mon 23 Nov 2015
The Great Surge in Developing Nations No One is Talking About
Think people in developing nations are worse off than ever? Steven Radelet says it isn't so. “The biggest misperception is that people are stuck in poverty. That might have been true up until 25 year…
00:10:53 |
Thu 12 Nov 2015
Good Deeds in Cold Blood: Extreme Altruists
Would you consider giving most of your money to charity? Donate your kidney to a stranger? New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar talks extreme altruists.
00:17:35 |
Fri 16 Oct 2015
Quick Update for our listeners
Quick update to let you know what we're up to.
00:01:22 |
Wed 07 Oct 2015
When a School Markets Students as Charity Cases
Anthropologist Amy Brown gives a behind-the-scenes look at the sometimes troubling ways a NYC public school markets its low-income students of color to donors.
00:17:33 |
Wed 16 Sep 2015
Promo: Public School Teachers Get Cozy with Donors
Author and anthropologist Amy Brown goes inside a NYC public school and emerges with tough questions about marketing, race and philanthropy.
00:01:00 |
Wed 02 Sep 2015
No Tech Solutions for Poverty, says former Microsoft Researcher
A Yale and Harvard-trained computer scientist worked for Microsoft in India for several years, trying to see how tech could improve the lives of the world's poor. His conclusion? Computers and smart …
00:08:40 |
Thu 13 Aug 2015
Curing Violence Like an Infectious Disease
American communities are still reeling and healing from recent gun violence, including the June mass shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., and the gang violence that killed 10 people over July 4t…
00:12:07 |
Thu 30 Jul 2015
Building a Self-Reliant Africa from the Bottom-Up
Ugandan-born writer and entrepreneur TMS Ruge challenges the current model of aid intervention. “Just because you're doing something for the poor doesn't mean you're doing it right.”
00:12:55 |
Thu 09 Jul 2015
Your Letters: 'Cultural Imperialism,' Aid Work Advice
We hear your advice on a moral dilemma involving aid work, plus your reactions to John Paulson's $400M gift to Harvard.
00:02:59 |
Tue 07 Jul 2015
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