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Cash remains a most effective gift Revisiting an episode from 2022 with an opportunity to make a difference

15 December 2025 Filed under: Tags: ,

Poor people need money and they know what to spend it on

Villagers in Malawi learn about Give Directly

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Side by side portraits of two women. The one on the left wears glasses and has her hair tied back. The one on the right has loose hair. Both have open faces and smile gently.
Miriam Laker Oketta, left, and Esnatt Gondwe Matekesa

I’m proud to revisit an episode from 2022, in which two country directors of the charity Give Directly told me how cash transfers in Rwanda and Malawi make a real difference to the lives of poor people there. The reason is Give Directly’s Pods Fight Poverty campaign, which aims to raise $1,000,000 for families in Rwanda. They’re more than 10% of the way there, and I hope this podcast can add to the total.

The reason I made the episode in the first place was to ask whether cash enables people to improve their food security and nutrition. As I heard, it does, which is why I am happy to be part of the campaign.

Notes

  1. Please consider making a donation.
  2. Miriam Laker Oketta and Esnatt Gondwe Matekesa both stressed how evidence guides Give Directly’s activities. The website’s section for research on cash transfers provides summaries.
  3. The specific study Miriam Laker-Oketta referred to is Benchmarking a WASH and Nutrition Program to Cash in Rwanda.
  4. Here is the transcript.
  5. There’s a lot of economics literature on the problems of gift giving. Tim Harford offered some guidance.

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A Berliner Speaks From food blogger to acclaimed author

1 December 2025 Filed under: Tags: , ,

In 2005, Luisa Weiss launched The Wednesday Chef, an early food blog. Today she has three books to her credit and continues to write about food.

A banner from the original The Wednesday Chef showing a picture of some brown baked goods in a baking tin.

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Portrait of a woman with dark, shoulder length hair and glass, looking at the camera and smiling gently.
Luisa Weiss
It can be hard to remember the food blogs of yesteryear, when everyone knew everyone and the actual recipes were usually easy to find, unencumbered by endless cruft. Luisa Weiss discovered blogs relatively early, and soon became one of the most-read food bloggers. She was also part of a lively, supportive community, regularly reading and conversing with more than 40 other food bloggers. One thing led to another and she found herself first in cookbook publishing and then with a contract to write her first book, a memoir with food. Two cookbooks followed. We met in Berlin to talk about all that and more.

Notes

  1. Here’s a link to Luisa Weiss’ website.
  2. She also, and this is both impressive and useful, managed to salvage all of the original The Wednesday Chef when it’s original host, Typepad, decided to close everyone down earlier this year.
  3. Here is the transcript.
  4. Banner image liberated from an archive copy of The Wednesday Chef.

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