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

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

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...

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...

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...

Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel

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 o...

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 though...

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 Exami...

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 Peop...

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 Sha...

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 S...

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...

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 Act...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy chats with Christie Herrera about the threats facing the American charitable sector and what we might do to protect it. Christie Herrera is President and CEO of the Philanthropy Roundtable . At the Roundtable, Christie works with her team to foster excellence in philanthropy, protect philanthropic freedom, and help donors advance liberty, opportu...

Today on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with Permanent Equity CEO Brent Beshore about what's wrong with private equity, what good organizations have in common, and why small private companies matter.  Brent Beshore founded Permanent Equity in 2007 and is the author of The Messy Marketplace: Selling Your Business in a World of Imperfect Buyers . He is originally from Joplin, Miss...

Welcome back to a new season of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers !  To kick off the sixth season, Jeremy sits down with Jeremy Tedesco to discuss how we might better protect viewpoint diversity, free speech, and religious freedom in the workplace.  Jeremy Tedesco is senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) .  Jeremy has litigated First Amen...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy speaks with John Cuddeback about the art of crafting a joyful, rich, and worthy life.   John Cuddeback is a professor of philosophy at Christendom College, where he has taught since 1997. He writes often for academic and nonacademic publications and is the author of True Friendship: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness . John founded LifeCraft, a commu...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy speaks with Marcus A. Ruzek about how to help and how to hurt our nation's veterans. Marcus Ruzek is the Senior Program Director at the Marcus Foundation. Marcus is a combat veteran who served as an Army Special Forces Officer (Green Beret). He served in the Army for 13 years and received three Bronze Star medals. His work at the foundation...

This week on Givers, Doers, and Thinkers , Jeremy sits down with Aaron Withe to discuss the peculiar challenges government unions pose for a healthy civil society.  Aaron Withe is the Chief Executive Officer of the Freedom Foundation. He began his career at the Freedom Foundation in 2015 and was appointed CEO in 2021. Aaron is the author of Freedom is the Foundation: How We Are Defeating Progressi...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy speaks with Alexandra O. Hudson about how cultivating the misunderstood virtue of civility can help us overcome our individual anxieties and social pathologies.  Alexandra Hudson lives in Indianapolis, where she is an Adjunct Professor at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She was a Novak Journalism Fellow and the creator...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with Oren Cass about the rising cost of thriving, our broken labor movement, alternative visions of the free market, and how to build stronger families and communities.  Oren Cass is the executive director of American Compass, an increasingly influential nonprofit policy organization based in Washington, DC. Oren is the author of The Once a...

During this week's episode of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy speaks with Joshua Mitchell about how and why today's neo-puritans think our liberation depends on destroying those mediating institutions that constitute civil society. Joshua Mitchell is a professor of political theory at Georgetown University. He was on the start-team for Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in Doh...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy speaks with journalist Ericka Andersen about why so many women have stopped attending church and what can be done about it.   Ericka Andersen is a freelance journalist and author of a new book titled Reason to Return: Why Women Need the Church and the Church Needs Women . Ericka writes regularly for the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , C...

What are the characteristics of genuine charity? During this week's episode of Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy Beer and James Whitford explore this question together. James Whitford is the Founder and CEO of True Charity . James founded the True Charity Initiative to advance the cause of privately funded effective charity at the most local level nationally. His work has appeared in the...

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers , Jeremy sits down with leading philanthropy scholar Les Lenkowsky about the giving landscape in America and how it may or may not be changing. Leslie Lenkowsky is a leading scholar on philanthropy and has been a faculty member of Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Policy since 2004, and, for five years, was the director of Gradu...