Dean Spears
Showing 1–4 of 4 transcripts.
- 80,000 Hours4h 7m
The best global health ideas we’ve heard on the show (from 17 experts)
Luisa, Karen Levy, Dean Spears, Sarah Eustis-Guthrie, Rachel Glennerster, Hannah Ritchie, Lucia Coulter, James Tibenderana, Varsha Venugopal, Alexander Berger, James Snowden, Paul Niehaus, Mushtaq Khan, Elie Hassenfeld, Leah Utyasheva, Shruti Rajagopalan, Claire Walsh, Louisa
Experts analyze global health interventions to reveal critical failures, such as the ineffective PlayPump technology and the underestimated risks of lead poisoning, alongside successful strategies like Sri Lanka's pesticide bans and community-driven vaccination campaigns. The discussion highlights the necessity of rigorous proof-of-concept testing, market-shaping mechanisms like Advanced Market Commitments, and the adaptation of solutions to local social determinants to prevent widespread harm. Furthermore, the event examines ethical tensions in philanthropic metrics, urging donors to prioritize evidence-based policies and long-term government engagement over superficial sustainability narratives.
- 80,000 Hours2h 19m
Serendipity, weird bets, & cold emails that actually work: Career advice from 16 former guests
Luisa, Holden Karnofsky, Jeff Sebo, Dean Spears, Michael Webb, Michelle Hutchinson, Benjamin Todd, Chris Olah, Karen Levy, Leah Garcés, Spencer Greenberg, Danny Hernandez, Sarah Eustis-Guthrie, Hannah Ritchie, Alex Lawsen, Pardis Sabeti, Varsha Venugopal, Matt
This event outlines a strategic framework for early-career development that prioritizes building transferable high-level aptitudes over predicting specific cause areas. It details how to leverage AI tools for rapid upskilling and social networking while identifying human-centric skills like trust-building and empathy as future-proof assets. Additionally, the discussion provides actionable protocols for managing career risk through regular re-evaluation points, testing assumptions via low-cost trials, and recognizing toxic social dynamics to ensure long-term professional resilience.
- 80,000 Hours2h 50m
The best of The 80,000 Hours Podcast in 2024
Luisa, Rob, Randy Nesse, Hugo Mercier, Meghan Barrett, Sébastien Moro, Sella Nevo, Zvi Mowshowitz, Zach Weinersmith, Rachel Glennerster, Emily Oster, Carl Shulman, Nathan Labenz, Nathan Calvin, Rose Chan Loui, Nick Joseph, Sihao Huang, Ezra Karger, Matt Clancy, Vitalik Buterin, Annie Jacobsen, Nate Silver, Kevin Esvelt, Lewis Bollard, Bob Fischer, Elizabeth Cox, Anil Seth, Eric Schwitzgebel, Jonathan Birch, Peter Godfrey-Smith, Laura Deming, Venki Ramakrishnan, Ken Goldberg, Sarah Eustis-Guthrie, Dean Spears, Cameron Meyer Shorb, Spencer Greenberg
Randy Nessie and Hugo Mercier establish that morality and skepticism are evolutionary adaptations driven by social selection and the need for honest signaling. In parallel, experts like Megan Barrett and Lewis Bollard advocate for expanding ethical consideration to insect sentience and the eradication of wild animal suffering, while AI safety researchers demonstrate emerging risks such as sleeper agents and instrumental convergence. The discussion further critiques the economic viability of space resources and analyzes social dynamics ranging from the gender wage gap to the limitations of cryonics, concluding with philosophical arguments about consciousness and strategies for effective altruism.
- 80,000 Hours1h 19m
Why babies are born small in Uttar Pradesh, and how to save their lives | Dean Spears
Operating in the Baraiti district of Uttar Pradesh, this intervention implements Kangaroo Mother Care to reduce neonatal mortality from an estimated 33% down to 11% while costing approximately $2,500 per life saved. Supported by a five-year, $2.5 million grant and designed to replicate across other Indian states, the program addresses critical staffing gaps and information asymmetries that drive infant mortality in a region with the world's second-highest neonatal death rates. The initiative simultaneously tackles systemic issues like maternal underweight status and private sector care failures by creating a coordinated management system that delivers immediate survival benefits and improved long-term health trajectories for vulnerable newborns.