In a world where need is spiralling out of control and new, radical forces are shaping the landscape for doing good, can charity be the answer to the world’s social and environmental problems?

Lucinda Rouse presents The End of Charity, a new podcast series from the makers of Third Sector.

Guided by some of the leading voices of the philanthropy world, as well as radicals who believe the current model is on the brink of implosion, Lucinda asks: what are the flaws and contradictions baked into the ways charities work? How has the sector’s problematic past shaped its present? And who are the disruptors – from MrBeast to Extinction Rebellion – who could shake it up for good?

The End of Charity launches 19 March.

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Last year the UK food bank network the Trussell Trust distributed almost 3 million emergency food parcels, 1 million of which were for children, up from 50,000 a decade ago.

How has the UK landed in such a severe hunger crisis – and can food banks ever be the solution?

In episode one of The End of Charity, journalist Lucinda Rouse hears from the Trussell Trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, about the need to reimagine our social contract at a time when demand for charities is greater than ever.

And the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies traces the history of charity from its mediaeval and Victorian origins to its present state – where “something is fundamentally broken.”

Read the transcript.

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Meet Jimmy Donaldson, perhaps better known as MrBeast – the 25-year-old YouTuber who some say is on the verge of sparking a revolution in online philanthropy.

With more than 236 million YouTube subscribers and an estimated net worth of $500m, MrBeast has turned his focus from filling houses with Lego bricks to curing blind people and building wells.

Lucinda asks Darren Margolias, the executive director of Jimmy’s charitable venture Beast Philanthropy, why MrBeast’s storytelling may have the edge over charities in reaching a younger generation of potential donors.

Plus, the philanthropy expert Rhodri Davies and the anti-racism consultant Martha Awojobi ask: is there anything charities could learn from the ways MrBeast taps into the natural human instinct to give back?

And exactly how ethical are his approaches to making the world a better place?

Listen to The End of Charity: Can MrBeast save humanity? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice.

Read the transcript.

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