Benjamin Todd on the history of 80,000 Hours
In this episode of 80k After Hours — recorded in June 2022 — Rob Wiblin and Benjamin Todd discuss the history of 80,000 Hours.
They cover:
- Ben’s origin story
- How 80,000 Hours got off the ground
- Its scrappy early days
- How 80,000 Hours evolved
- Team trips to China and Thailand
- The choice to set up several programmes rather than focus on one
- The move to California and back
- Various mistakes they think 80,000 Hours has made along the way
- Why Ben left the CEO position
- And the future of 80,000 Hours
Who this episode is for:
- People who work on or plan to work on promoting important ideas in a way that’s similar to 80,000 Hours
- People who work at organisations similar to 80,000 Hours
- People who work at 80,000 Hours
Who this episode isn’t for:
- People who, if asked if they’d like to join a dinner at 80,000 Hours where the team reminisce on the good old days, would say, “Sorry, can’t make it — I’m washing my hair that night”
Producer: Keiran Harris
Audio mastering: Ryan Kessler and Ben Cordell
“Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue, original 1924 version” by Jason Weinberger is licensed under creative commons
Articles, books, and other media discussed in the show
Proto-EA inspiration and discussion:
- Sustainable Energy — Without the Hot Air by David MacKay
- Taking Charity Seriously — Toby Ord’s talk that convinced Benjamin to take the Giving What We Can pledge
- Brian Tomasik’s blog
Early days of 80,000 Hours:
- Replaceability, career choice, and making a difference by Will MacAskill — the paper that inspired the name of 80,000 Hours
- Media coverage since launching 80,000 Hours in 2011
- Experience with Y Combinator:
- What’s it like being a nonprofit in Y Combinator? — Benjamin’s reflection after participating in the startup accelerator
- Essays by Paul Graham, Y Combinator cofounder
- How to Start a Startup YouTube series from Y Combinator
Other 80,000 Hours podcast episodes:
- Holden Karnofsky on building aptitudes and kicking ass
- Andrés Jiménez Zorrilla on the Shrimp Welfare Project
Everything else:
- My current impressions on career choice for longtermists by Holden Karnofsky — a proposed alternative to the importance, neglectedness, and tractability framework
- The Effective Altruism Handbook
- Works in Progress
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Learn more
Related episodes
About the show
80k After Hours is a podcast by the team that brings you The 80,000 Hours Podcast. Like that show, it mostly still explores the best ways to do good — and some episodes are even more laser-focused on careers than most original episodes. But we also widen our scope, including things like how to solve pressing problems while also living a happy and fulfilling life, as well as releases that are just fun, entertaining, or experimental. Get in touch with feedback or suggestions by emailing [email protected].
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