Tag Archives: bill gates

Tim Schwab: Charity and the Billionaire Class

Are billionaire-backed philanthropies making the world a better place or are they pernicious sleeper cells? The answer may be one of those “both/and” situations rather than an “either/or.” This week on Sea Change Radio, we examine philanthropic giving with journalist Tim Schwab who investigates high-profile entities like the Gates Foundation, that are working for positive impact but funded by the billionaire class. We peel back the layers on these types of organizations with a particular eye toward their funding of independent media, and explore the question, “Are foundations vestiges of a colonialist mindset offering scraps from the master’s table or are actually important vessels for change?”Read the show transcript

Amy Harder: Investments in Nuclear Power + Plastics

If you had a million dollars what would you do with it? OK, now what if it were $100 billion? Today on Sea Change Radio, we are talking with Amy Harder, environment and climate reporter for Axios, about where some titans of industry are investing their money and the environmental impact it might have. You might be surprised to learn, for example, that Bill Gates has been pouring some of his considerable wealth into the nuclear energy sector. Harder recently interviewed Gates about his estimated half a billion dollar investment into TerraPower. She tells us about that as well as the big bets that companies like Exxon Mobil are making on ethane, a petrochemical by-product that is used to produce plastic.