Third Sector is set to launch a limited podcast series that explores the challenges faced by modern charities and the disruptors shaking up the for-good landscape at a time of heightened need.
The End of Charity is hosted by multimedia reporter Lucinda Rouse and features a range of leading voices from across the sector, including the director of Why Philanthropy Matters Rhodri Davies, the anti-racism consultant Martha Awojobi and Emma Revie, chief executive of The Trussell Trust.
In each episode of the series, Lucinda unpacks a different challenge for the sector: from the chilling effect of the charity-state relationship on the ability of third sector organisations to campaign, to the historic power imbalances between charities and the people they exist to support.
She also explores the charitable ethics of the YouTube sensation MrBeast, who is on a mission to inspire the next generation of philanthropists, and goes behind the scenes of the Oxfam scandal with Sean O’Neill, the journalist who broke the story in 2018.
“The series asks some big questions, many of which the sector is already grappling with,” said Lucinda.
“It’s intended to provoke thought about what the future of charity might look like, as well as exploring alternative forms of doing good, such as socially conscious business.”
The series was produced by Rethink Audio, which has previously worked on the Third Sector Podcast alongside a range of popular titles including Happy Place, hosted by Fearne Cotton, and The Sunday Times’ series Tales of Silicon Valley.
Emily Burt, editor of Third Sector, said: “The End of Charity looks at the different ways that the landscape for doing good has shifted over the past two decades, from Extinction Rebellion to mutual aid.
“It has been a major project for Third Sector, and I hope the series resonates both with our existing audience and with people who may not have otherwise considered the complexities faced by charities today.”
Episode one of The End of Charity, which explores the evolution of the Trussell Trust from an organisation founded to deliver emergency aid in Bulgaria to a charity that delivered about three million emergency food parcels across the UK in 2023, will be published on 19 March.