Stanford's Rob Reich (not Berkeley's Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor), speaks to colleague and former Stanford Dean Larry Kramer in a discerning look at the real impact of charitable giving.

Both men have incredible experience, with Reich co-directing the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and law lecturer Kramer offering his insight as a board member for multiple nonprofit groups throughout his career. Their conclusions may change your outlook and giving practices permanently.

Largely unaccountable and alluringly tax-deductible, charity can sometimes act as an exercise of power which does surprisingly little to help those in need, worsening inequality while bypassing the democratic process. We have seen individual instances of charity gone wrong throughout the years—scandals around percent-of-dollar impacts at various nonprofits.

What approach can we take to bend philanthropic giving more towards the moral arc of justice? In a strong liberal democracy, how does philanthropy best operate? Join two experts as they discuss this issue on the merits, and resolve to take a new approach to giving in the New Year.

For the generous and for anyone concerned about money in politics comes this talk on the incisive book, Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better.