Humanosphere

Being Nick Kristof

Ansel Herz — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:08:32 +0000

Welcome to the Humanosphere podcast, our weekly look at the world of global health and development. Tom and I begin with a discussion on the headlines – from the UN asking us to eat more bugs to the refusal of most American retailers to sign a pact improving worker safety overseas. Our featured guest this week … Continue reading →

A conversation with Nicholas Kristof, humanitarian provocateur

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:30:55 +0000

Kristof is, for many, the voice of the humanitarian movement. Not surprisingly, he gave a rousing, moving talk Thursday evening for the Seattle Biomed crowd in which he emphasized the stunning progress that has been made in global health over the past few decades. He also spoke on the danger posed for sustaining this success story due to public apathy and the mistaken sense that the fight against poverty is too overwhelming, a 'hopeless' task. Continue reading →

If a journalist is arrested in Ethiopia and jailed for 18 years, does he make a sound?

Tom Murphy — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:30:38 +0000

Eskinder Nega was arrested after raising questions about arrests under Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism legislation in September 2011. Now he serves an 18 year sentence thanks to the very law he questioned. “The Ethiopian government is treating calls for peaceful protest as a terrorist act and is outlawing the legitimate activity of journalists and opposition members,” said Amnesty International‘s … Continue reading →

Celebrated data guru Hans Rosling admits he doesn’t like data

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:15:09 +0000

Rosling is strikingly upfront about the limitations of data. Sometimes, the problem is that different countries measure things – like unemployment – in different ways, he says. In other cases, there are real uncertainties in the data that must be assessed: child mortality statistics are quite precise, whereas maternal mortality figures are not; global poverty measurements are infrequent and uncertain. Continue reading →

Male health neglected in global health policy, experts say

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:01 +0000

I’ve been waiting for someone to make this argument based on the numbers. I don’t expect it to be very popular or compelling. The long-standing emphasis on women and children’s needs in global health are based not so much on simple burden of disease numbers alone as on issues of equity. Source: Sciencedaily Men experience … Continue reading →

Washington Post Q & A with Bill Gates: ‘Death is something we understand extremely well’

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:50:10 +0000

The Washington Post’s chief policy wonk blogger Ezra Klein has published his conversation with Bill Gates about global health. Most of the discussion is focused on exploring how the Gates Foundation attempts to use data and better metrics to improve the fight against diseases of poverty. Ezra Klein: Your Foundation is known for taking a … Continue reading →

The case against the case against empathy

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:45:36 +0000

A rebuttal to this week’s New Yorker article by Paul Bloom who contends empathy is worse than useless. Michael Zakaras, in HuffPo, notes: (E)mpathy is an often irrational emotional response that plays favorites, he says. It is thus a poor mechanism for solving real problems and making tough choices — whether distributing international aid or … Continue reading →

Liking something on Facebook may actually hurt the poor

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:35:53 +0000

We reported weeks ago on a humorous campaign by UNICEF asking people to stop liking them on Facebook and just send money – “Like Us on Facebook and We’ll Vaccinate ZERO Children Against Polio.” Now here’s a report that says “FB likes” may be worse than useless. Source: Smithsonianmag Facebook allows people to connect around … Continue reading →

Is Homeopaths Without Borders one of the worst charities in the world?

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:30:20 +0000

That’s what William MacAskill, an ethicist at Oxford, explores in this article for Quartz. MacAskill (who inexplicably notes his last name used to be Crouch) begins his critique by noting the lack of scientific evidence for homeopathy and then digs into where the money goes. Source: Quartz I normally hate to be critical of specific … Continue reading →

Seattle’s GiveBIG raises a record $11.1 million

Tom Paulson — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:23:35 +0000

Another record for the Seattle Foundation’s annual one-day, online donation event. Source: Seattletimes Posted by Jimmy Lovaas The Seattle Foundation is calling its recent GiveBig fundraising drive an astonishing success, as well it should, having raised more than $11 million in 24-hours. The group said donations were up more than 50 percent from the previous … Continue reading →