Home Podcasts Theory of Change

Theory of Change

Devex 1 Episodes Aug 25, 2026

Theory of Change is a podcast about the future of global development and the people trying to reshape it. Hosted by Devex Senior Reporter Michael Igoe, the show features candid conversations with leaders in philanthropy, foreign policy, technology, finance, media, and humanitarian aid. It explores the forces transforming how global change actually happens: power, politics, money, influence, and ideas. Episodes are published every Tuesday.

Episodes

What does 'country ownership' really mean? Aug 25, 2026 3167 What is “country ownership,” really? And what gets in the way of making it a reality?Against a backdrop of historic cuts to development assistance by many of the world’s largest donors, the chorus of voices calling for national governments to set — and finance — their own development agendas is growing louder.Yemi Osinbajo, the former vice president of Nigeria and co-chair of the Future of Develop

How Jacqueline Novogratz invests for global change Aug 18, 2026 3191 Twenty-five years ago, when Jacqueline Novogratz founded the impact investing nonprofit Acumen, she still had to prove that markets and entrepreneurship could work for people living in poverty — and help lift them out of it.In the years since, that has moved from a relatively fringe approach to fighting poverty, to the center of global development efforts. Development finance institutions, philant

Mark Dybul says this was never the plan for PEPFAR Aug 11, 2026 5196 For over two decades, the U.S. government has been a lynchpin in the global fight against HIV, pouring billions of dollars into treatment, prevention, and health systems strengthening through initiatives like the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.Then came Elon Musk, the foreign aid freeze, and a disruptive set of reforms to U.S. global health programs under President Dona

How Kakenya Ntaiya turned pain into progress Jul 28, 2026 3753 Philanthropists and global development donors have made a lot of promises about supporting local leaders and community-based organizations. But their insistence on finding scalable models might be getting in the way of a simpler achievement: helping people.Kakenya Ntaiya is a one-woman case study in persistence. As a girl in southwestern Kenya, she underwent the traditional Masaai practice of fema

Jim Richardson believes we can still agree about US foreign aid Jul 21, 2026 4384 U.S. foreign aid advocacy groups are soul-searching in the wake of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and deep cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.Bipartisan support for U.S. aid programs crumbled quickly in the face of Elon Musk’s attack on the agency via the Department of Government Efficiency, and USAID’s legacy is now viewed through a starkly po

Ebere Okereke believes global health is about power Jul 14, 2026 5396 Global health is entering a period of profound upheaval. As governments reassess foreign aid, donors rethink decades-old models, and African leaders push for greater ownership of their health systems, one question looms over the sector: Who should hold the power to shape global health?Dr. Ebere Okereke is a prominent voice in that conversation. She joins Theory of Change for a wide-ranging convers

Why Rachel Kyte doesn't listen to climate polls Jun 30, 2026 3446 Rachel Kyte has spent decades shaping global climate change policy — from the World Bank to the United Nations to the United Kingdom. More than a decade since the signing of the Paris climate agreement, Kyte — the U.K. special representative for climate — is both inspired by how much has been done to tackle the climate crisis, and clear-eyed about the fact that it is not enough."It's joyful, tinge

William Easterly still believes development is freedom Jun 23, 2026 3549 Development economist William Easterly famously does not mince words about the disappointments of anti-poverty megaprojects and far-fetched foreign aid plans.For much of his career, Easterly has taken aim at experts who export their visions onto other people’s countries and communities — drawing from his own experience as one of those very experts.In his latest book, “Violent Saviors: The West’s C

Gayle Smith on the next fight for foreign aid Jun 16, 2026 3973 U.S. foreign aid is undergoing one of the most tumultuous transformations in its history.The Department of Government Efficiency’s dismantling of USAID and transfer of its remaining programs to the State Department upended the U.S. global development industry. But it’s much more than a question of organizational charts and institutional responsibilities.At stake are fundamental questions about Ame

Seth Berkley has seen our pandemic future Jun 9, 2026 4729 Much of Seth Berkley's career has been an attempt to answer the question: How do you get vaccines to people who aren’t well-served by an inequitable global health system?When the COVID-19 outbreak exploded in early 2020, that question took on new urgency — along with a mind-spinning slew of political, economic, technological, and cultural complications.Berkley, then the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Al

How Alexander Berger weighs the world’s biggest problems Jun 2, 2026 3989 Coefficient Giving, one of the world’s largest effective-giving funders, is about to go even bigger.On the heels of its biggest funding year ever in 2025 — in which it channeled over $1 billion to highest-impact causes — the organization formerly known as Open Philanthropy and funded by Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna is eyeing annual growth upward of 50% and bringing on

Theory of Change

Episodes

Recommended