Tiny Spark

We explore ways to decrease wealth inequality in the US with economist Darrick Hamilton who proposes giving every newborn thousands of dollars in a ‘baby bond’ account which they can access when they turn 18.

As inequality grows, we look at look at ideas for narrowing the economic gap between the races, from reparations to raising the minimum wage.

Using fiery Instagram posts, and uncomfortable tweets, the social media campaign No White Saviors challenges white people to examine race, power, and their own roles when attempting to 'help' in communities and countries not their own. Its co-founders explain why their motto is: "If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not listening."

Is it possible for charity to worsen the lives of those they purport to help? We investigate how a global surge in one form of “voluntourism” exploits vulnerable children and contributes to child trafficking

We explore nonprofits’ propensity to create “survivor porn” and the ways in which the sector trades in “parading trauma".

Megan Ming Francis explains how philanthropists—even well-intentioned ones—can “capture” the social movements they fund and, in doing so, steer grassroots organizations and activists away from their original missions.

On International Women’s Day, we speak to the founders of #VisibleWikiWomen about their efforts to decolonize the Internet, and to “make all of the wonderful women in the world visible” on one of the world’s most popular websites: Wikipedia.

The co-directors of GrantAdvisor, a Yelp-like site that rates the nation's charitable foundations, describe how fears of retribution in the field inspired them to launch the platform, and why honest dialogue between nonprofits and foundations can help make philanthropy better.

Whether vocally critiquing the sector on his blog Nonprofit AF, or working to develop leaders of color at his nonprofit in Seattle, Vu Le’s frustrations fuel his drive to make the industry do better.

Hoping to diversify the next generation of doctors and deal with a drastic decrease in the number of primary care physicians in the US, New York University is now offering free tuition to its medical school students. But will it work? And is free tuition enough to choose primary care over higher paying specialties?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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