Hello, everyone, and welcome to Talk Nerdy.

Today is Monday, December 22nd, 2025, and I'm the host of the show, Dr. Kara, Santa Maria. And usually we would be on

hiatus right now. I tend to like to take two weeks off over the holidays, but I got an

opportunity that I absolutely couldn't pass up. And that's why I'm here with you now during this special episode.

So before we dive into today's show, I want to take a moment to ask you to stand with me for a good

cause. I'm joining 30 and counting podcasts in the Pods Fight Poverty campaign. This is a team effort to raise money for Give

Directly. And you may remember Give Directly because I interviewed Dr. Miriam LeCay back in

2022 about this incredible organization. So Give Directly doesn't build infrastructure. They don't dictate how

aid gets used. What they actually do is send unconditional cash transfers directly to families

living in extreme poverty around the globe. They give real people the dignity, stability,

and choice to decide what they need the most for themselves. With pods fight poverty, the dignity, stability, and choice to decide what they need the most for themselves.

With Pods Fight Poverty, the goal is to raise enough money to lift three villages in Rwanda

out of extreme poverty, giving families the cash that they need to buy food, safe housing,

medical care, education, start a small business, they know what they need.

So if you're able, please consider giving at give directly.org slash nerdy. That's give

directly.org slash nerdy because truly every bit helps. And with that, I thought it would be the

perfect moment to revisit

that favorite conversation that I mentioned from the archive, my 22 interview with Dr.

Miriam LeCare. She's a public health physician and the former director of research for Give

Directly. In this episode, we dig into the science, ethics,

and real-world outcomes behind direct cash aid

and why trusting people with resources

...