As aid systems come under growing strain, a new form of giving is emerging online. Catherine Brahic follows two people in Gaza who have come to rely on crowdfunding to survive. She also meets the volunteers who have become their fundraisers, and asks what happens when humanitarian aid is shaped by algorithms not institutions.

Guests and host:

• Catherine Brahic, The Economist’s Environment Editor
• Rosie Blau, co-host of ‘The Intelligence’
• Sami Alshannat, agricultural engineer in Gaza
• Alaa Jaber, teacher in Gaza
• Natalie Naudus, audiobook narrator and donor
• Josh Leigh, digital fundraising consultant
• Olga Boichack, media scholar at the University of Sydney

Topics covered:

• Charity
• Crowdfunding
• Social media
• Gaza
• Ukraine

Click here to find out more about Sami and Alaa’s campaigns or Operation Olive Branch.

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Music by Ahmed Muin Abu Amsha & Gaza Birds Singing, blue dot and Epidemic.

This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.

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What do medieval monks, Brazilian leftists and New York academics have in common? They all want to know where our attention has gone. How can we regain our focus?

Barclay Bram visits The Strother School of Radical Attention in New York to find out. The founders hope to build a political movement to fight big tech’s domination of our attention. Their methods might not be what you expect.

Guests and host:

• Barclay Bram, presenter and senior producer of ‘The Weekend Intelligence’
• D Graham Burnett, historian and co-founder of the Strother School of Radical Attention
• Alyssa Loh, filmmaker, writer, and faculty member at the Strother School of Radical Attention
• Peter Schmidt, programme director at the Strother School of Radical Attention
• Jamie Kreiner, historian of the early Middle Ages at UCLA
• Tim Wu, professor of law at Columbia University

Topics covered:

• The attention economy
• The history of attention
• Big tech

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+

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Music by bluedot Sessions and Epidemic Sound.

This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com.

Read more about how we are using AI.

PETA and other left-leaning groups have tried for decades to end research on animals. They mostly failed. Then a Republican strategist found a far more effective way to campaign. Daniella Raz examines how an activist group has gained enough power to challenge a critical part of America’s innovation economy–and what that means for the scientists now facing pressure from across the political spectrum.

Topics covered:

• Animal testing
• MAGA
• MAHA
• Biomedical research
• Innovation economy

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

Music by Blue dot and Epidemic

For a transcript of this episode please see our website.