Weekend reads

The Life You Can Save is much more than a book. It has inspired a global movement of people to take actions that can be characterised by their amelioration of human lives.

In defining the idea of effective altruism (EA): doing the most good, its author, known as the father of effective altruism, has mobilised the wider public into being effective agents for change.

“We have a whole movement now called effective altruism that talks about how to be the most effective altruists. To not only give away some of your money and do some good but really make sure you are getting the best value for everything that you give,” Peter Singer, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, and widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential moral philosophers, told me on Inside Ideas this week.

After buying the rights to the book Professor Singer made the ebook and audio versions free through the Life You Can Save charity, with Stephen Fry and Kristen Bell among the celebrity audiobook narrators.

The Life You Can Save continues to be a guide in showing millions of people how to take actions that are powerful in transforming the lives of people thousands of miles away. And there are lots of EA groups worldwide from ‘small social groups to larger professional networks’ people can get involved with – find one near you.

Catch up with the full podcast for more from the pages of The Life You Can Save.

Sitopia

Carolyn Steel was one of my first guests on Inside Ideas. And what a brilliant guest she was, engaging and enlightening, just like her wonderful book Sitopia.

In this award-winning book Carolyn explores the ways food can save the world, using food as a ‘lens to explore the origins and dilemmas of our current situation’, and how it is being shaped by issues including climate change, pollution, deforestation, and antibiotic resistance. In the process she explains the critical role our food choices are going to play in overcoming these challenges.

Carolyn draws on the stories of famers, economists and designers; as well as insights from philosophy, literature, science and politics, to deliver a clear and inspiring vision for a better future.

Catch up with the full podcast for more from the pages of Sitopia.