In-depth conversations about the world’s most pressing problems and what you can do to solve them.
Search for “80,000 Hours” wherever you get podcasts, or click one of the buttons below:
Selected episodes
We speak with people pursuing a wide range of career paths – from academics and activists to entrepreneurs and policymakers — to analyse the case for and against working on different global challenges and which approaches are best for solving them.
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Every episode has a full transcript and links to further reading.
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Quotes from the show
I am pretty persuaded that progressives […] need to develop a better theory of technology. When I look at the set of issues I care about solving, like really am worried about, animal suffering is one of them, but climate change is another, a lot of dignity of work issues about how work is done, and inequality. I think with basically all of them, the politics don’t work without tremendous advancements in technology.
…more teachers, more books, more inputs, like smaller class sizes – at least in the developing world – seem to have no impact, and that’s where most government money gets spent…
We’re talking about a general purpose infrastructure for funding public goods in the same way that money is a general purpose infrastructure for funding private goods. There’s definitely a lot of challenges. But at the same time, if we can make that work… it’s huge.
About the show
The 80,000 Hours Podcast features unusually in-depth conversations about the world’s most pressing problems and how you can use your career to solve them. We invite guests pursuing a wide range of career paths – from academics and activists to entrepreneurs and policymakers — to analyse the case for and against working on different issues and figure out which approaches are best for solving them.
The 80,000 Hours Podcast is produced and edited by Keiran Harris. Get in touch with feedback or guest suggestions by emailing [email protected]
How to listen
Search for “80,000 Hours” wherever you get podcasts, or click one of the buttons below:
You’ll find transcripts and links to further reading on the episode pages.
“The podcast has substantially changed how I think about the entire world, how I donate money, and has made me open to exploring job opportunities that would do more good for the world.”
— Steven Bills
What is 80,000 Hours?
80,000 Hours is a non-profit dedicated to helping people have a larger positive influence on the world with their careers. If you’re new here, read our “Key ideas” series to get our current take on how to think about careers that have a positive impact and where the best opportunities may lie.
About Rob Wiblin
Robert Wiblin is one of the interviewers I most respect, and indeed, envy. He is Director of Research at a nonprofit called 80,000 Hours, and their mission is to figure out and then communicate to people how they can do the most good with their careers.
Robert is a long-standing leader in the effective altruism movement. He runs an excellent podcast called the 80,000 Hours Podcast. And he is from Adelaide.
— Tyler Cowen
Rob studied genetics and economics at the Australian National University, graduating top of his class and later being named Young Alumnus of the Year. He worked as a research economist in various Australian Government agencies, before joining the Centre for Effective Altruism in Oxford, first as Research Director and then Executive Director. In 2015 he joined 80,000 Hours as Head of Research.
Rob is known for predicting pandemics on Twitter and ranting about non-utilitarians on Facebook. You can find out more on his personal website.
A serious reasoning error that is particularly common among educated people is to argue that if a study hasn't been done on a particular question we have 'no data', and therefore no basis on which to form beliefs or act.
This is incorrect and dangerous. 1/
— Robert Wiblin (@robertwiblin) January 3, 2021
Octopuses are pretty nuts.
Totally separate evolution of intelligence — our nearest common ancestor was a worm or something. They're highly curious and learn the way we expect primates to do. But:
• They're not social, so intelligence didn't emerge for a social purpose. 1/
— Robert Wiblin (@robertwiblin) May 14, 2021
What could be the harm in temporarily pausing putting out the fire and getting the whole fire department to carefully check over its hoses for tiny leaks?
— Robert Wiblin (@robertwiblin) April 15, 2021
Effective Altruism: An Introduction
A collection of ten top episodes of The 80,000 Hours Podcast, specifically selected to help you get up to speed on the school of thought known as effective altruism.
1: Holden Karnofsky on the world’s most intellectual foundation and how philanthropy can have maximum impact by taking big risks
2: Toby Ord on why the long-term future of humanity matters more than anything else and what we should do about it
3: William MacAskill on why our descendends might view us as moral monsters
4: Spencer Greenberg on the scientific approach to updating your beliefs when you get new evidence.
5: Paul Christiano on developing real solutions to the ‘AI alignment problem’6: Philip Tetlock on lessons learned from 40 years studying how to predict the future
7: Hilary Greaves on moral cluelessness, population ethics and tackling global issues in academia
8: Ben Todd on the key ideas of 80,000 Hours
9: David Denkenberger on how we might feed all 8 billion people through a nuclear winter
10: Arden Koehler and Ben Todd on the core idea of effective altruism and how to argue for itSubscribe by searching for “effective altruism” wherever you get podcasts, or click one of the buttons below:
