Givers, Doers, & Thinkers—A Podcast on Philanthropy and Civil Society

Season 8 of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers is here! This special three-part season dives deep into the past, present, and future of American exceptionalism as we look ahead to America’s 250th birthday.

This season, we're spotlighting "Doers"—the bold leaders and innovative organizations tackling some of the country’s biggest challenges: from higher education and prison reform to religious liberty and the grow...

Jeremy speaks with Wendy Wang about the evolving state of marriage and family in America as we approach the semiquincentennial, what the lack of good jobs for men is doing to the marriage market, and, most alarmingly, what a shockingly high percentage of Gen-Zers are looking forward to an AI boyfriend or girlfriend.

Sponsored by AmPhil, helping nonprofits advance their missions and raise more money: https://amphil.com/.

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Jeremy speaks with Aaron Renn about his influential book, Life in the Negative World. They speak about his framework for understanding the three eras in which American Evangelicals have found themselves in the post-war context—the positive world, the neutral world, and the negative world—and we talk about the decline of institutions, Evangelical strategies for surviving and flourishing in the negative world, and much more.

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This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy is joined by political scientist and philanthropic leader James Piereson, who discusses his time at the helm of the Olin Foundation and William E. Simon Foundation. They also discuss the impact of conservative philanthropy since Reagan, the successes and missteps of conservative philanthropy during that time, what the future holds for the conservative movement, and what Trump’s ult...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy is joined by one of America’s foremost thinkers on philanthropy, Indiana University’s Les Lenkowsky, about the Jewish philanthropic tradition in America. They highlight, in particular, Julius Rosenwald, who funded over 5,000 schools for African Americans in the Deep South in the first half of the 20th century. They also discuss the impact of the Trump administration on contemporary...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy is joined by historian John Pinheiro to discuss the negative role philanthropy has sometimes played in American history. They discuss the “second great awakening,” anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic prejudice, the popularity of eugenics, how experts have turned apocalyptic, and the harm caused by even a well-intentioned technocratic mindset.

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Cha...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy interviews historian Wilfred McClay about his best-selling book Land of Hope, which offers a more balanced view of American history than the hypercritical perspective popular today. Wilfred expands on the importance of teaching history accessibly and free of academic jargon, the selective application of criticism to historical figures, what the adoption of technology says about the...

The seventh season of the Givers, Doers, & Thinkers podcast is here! In this special three-part season, we’ll explore the past, present, and future of American exceptionalism as we approach America’s 250th birthday. 

In this season, we will explore how American civil society came about, what challenges threaten its flourishing, and what the future promises for our great country. 

• In part one of the season, we discuss with lea...

To end the sixth season of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, we are opening the archive to share three particularly relevant episodes. The third episode features Patrick Deneen. 

Patrick Deneen, author of Why Liberalism Failed, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the David A. Potenziani Memorial College at the University of Notre Dame. Patrick specializes in the history of political thought, American political thought, religion...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, we are opening the archive to share three particularly relevant episodes. The second episode features Timothy P. Carney.

Timothy P. Carney is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on economic competition, cronyism, civil society, localism, and religion in America. He is also the a senior columnist at the Washington Examiner.

Jeremy sit...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, we are opening the archive to share three particularly relevant episodes. The first episode features social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who shares his thoughts on the moral intuitions and untruths that separate us but perhaps don't need to.

Jonathan Haidt is a You might know him from his New York Times bestseller, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politic...

This week on Givers, Does, & Thinkers, Jeremy talks with Amy Sherman about how people of faith can go beyond politics to seek good for their communities. 

Amy Sherman is the director of the Sagamore Institute's Center on Faith in Communities. She obtained her PhD in international economic development from the University of Virginia and is the author of Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society. 

Durin...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy sits down with Matthew Crawford about the rise of the Humanitarian Party and what it means for civil society and self-governance.

Matthew Crawford is the author of Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road, The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction, and the New York Times best seller Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the...

This week of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy sits down with Dr. Russell James to unveil why donors give.  

Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP® is a professor of the CH Foundation Chair of Personal Financial Planning and Charitable Giving Program Director at Texas Tech University’s School of Financial Planning. Before joining Texas Tech University, Dr. James was the Director of Planned Giving for Central Christian College in Mober...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with innovator and educator Jeff Sandefer about entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and education. 

Jeff Sandefer founded Sandefer Offshore and Sandefer Capital Partners, both of which performed exceedingly well, the former generating $500 million in profits over a five-year period, before going on to found the Acton School of Business and Acton Academy. Jeff has been a longtime ...