Effective non-altruism: Elon Musk’s foundation

About this episode

<p>The world’s richest person does not say much nice about philanthropy, and his foundation does not say much about itself. Our correspondent <u><a href="https://www.economist.com/business/2026/10/13/elon-musks-foundation-is-opaque-miserly-and-self-serving?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">digs deeper</a></u>. The next stop for our <u><a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/10/28/our-forecast-of-the-midterms-outcome?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">midterm-elections</a></u> series is Kansas, where a Republican-seeming Democrat has an unlikely shot at the Senate. And an examination of the <u><a href="https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/10/09/do-you-need-to-walk-10000-steps-a-day?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">received wisdom</a></u> about how many steps to walk in a day.</p><p>Guests and host:</p><ul><li>Avantika Chilkoti, global business writer</li><li>Daniel Knowles, Midwest correspondent</li><li>Sam Wikeley, science correspondent</li><li>Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li><li>Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”</li></ul><p>Topics covered: </p><ul><li>Elon Musk, Musk Foundation, philanthropy</li><li>America’s midterm elections, Kansas</li><li>wellness, walking, received wisdom</li></ul><p><em>Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—<u><a href="https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscribe to The Economist</a></u>.</em></p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>