Charitable Consumerism and the Convenience Factor

Philanthropy is so weird. Celebrities: also weird. When the two collide, you get something even more bizarre. Why should we believe what Ashton Kutcher has to say about human trafficking? How did Bill Gates change the very core of his image? What does The Gilded Age teach us about philanthropy and social position? And why does giving feel more and more like shopping? Amy Schiller joins the pod to work through the tangled knot of modern philanthropy.

Show Notes:

• The RED celebrity-filled video Amy and I watch at the very beginning of the episode

• My interview with Amy Schiller over on Culture Study

• Amy’s book, The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong — And How to Fix It

• Ashton Kutcher testifying before congress re: human trafficking

• Kutcher’s anti-trafficking software company THORN, which “defends children from sexual abuse”

• The Eagles Autism Challenge and the jacket bidding war

• The Gilded Age Season Two (and using philanthropy as a means to achieve social status)

• The Heritage Brick Locator at Gateway Plaza, home of the Cleveland Guardians

• The “GrantLove” Project from Alexandra Grant

• In case you needed a refresher on KONY 2012

• The exquisite (and free to all!) Cleveland Museum of Art

• Follow Amy on Instagram

• And don’t forget to follow the show on Instagram!

We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

• The romance novel boom

• Student loans— how we talk about them, think about them, take this wherever you want

• Very Contemporary Architecture Trends (like ‘modern farmhouse’) and/or wtf is going on with Chip & Joanna Gaines these days, why is their new show so banal

• Whatever Bradley Cooper’s deal is

• Anything you need advice on!

• You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (and here’s the subscriber-only priority form)

For today’s discussion: What celebrity philanthropy still gives you pause? What other types of philanthropic appeals still give you the creeps? What celebrity did you email from your mom’s email account when you were 11?