On Background: Effective Altruism Still Has Friends
Against the Rules with Michael Lewis
Pushkin Industries
4.4 • 9.9K Ratings
🗓️ 13 June 2023
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One-time crypto-currency king Sam Bankman-Fried was a big proponent of a philosophical movement known as “effective altruism,” or EA. Advocates of EA say we should use data and reason to find the best ways of doing good. EA’s popularity grew as investors like Bankman-Fried used it to guide generous donations to causes. Micheal Lewis speaks with two college students who got involved in effective altruism through clubs at their universities. Gabriel Mukobi and aL Xin explain the philosophy behind effective altruism and what impact the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried has had on the movement.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Pushkin. |
| 0:07.0 | Hey there against the rules, listeners, it's Michael Lewis here. |
| 0:16.2 | You might have heard that I've been working on a new book about the crypto exchange FTX |
| 0:20.5 | and its founder, Sam Beckman-Fried. |
| 0:22.4 | And I'm still working on it, talking to experts on background here in this feed. |
| 0:28.4 | But I'm finally able to tell you just a bit more about the book itself, like the title, for instance, |
| 0:33.7 | and when it will be published. |
| 0:36.0 | So here we go. |
| 0:38.6 | My next book is going to be called Going Infinite, The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon. |
| 0:46.0 | It's coming out October 3rd. |
| 0:49.5 | And rather than tell you what's in it, because I think a lot of the pleasure is going to come from you not knowing what's in it, |
| 0:55.3 | how about I just read you a little jacket copy? |
| 0:57.7 | And I quote, |
| 0:59.2 | Michael Lewis takes you along on a quest to understand who Sam Beckman-Fried really is. |
| 1:04.2 | What motivated him and what his spectacular rise and fall means for the rest of us? |
| 1:09.2 | Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks whose eyes twitched across zoom meetings |
| 1:14.0 | as he played video games on the side? |
| 1:17.0 | Right on the roller coaster with me is I traced the ups and downs of a character |
| 1:21.0 | who never liked the rules and was allowed to live by his own until it all came undone. |
| 1:26.2 | I didn't write those words, but I think they sound okay. |
| 1:29.1 | I'd read that book if I weren't still writing it. |
| 1:32.6 | Going Infinite, The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon will be available October 3rd, 2023. |
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