Jun 16, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min · 13 segments
**U.S. foreign aid is undergoing one of the most tumultuous transformations in its history.** **The Department of Government Efficiency’s dismantling of…
Gayle SmithGuest
Michael IgoeHost
Um, I got the impression that you feel like something has changed in terms of the way that these events are perceived, noticed, um, or sort of acted upon by the, the public at large.
And, you know, there's-- we're gonna segue in a minute here into sort of the current state of Global development, the state of U.S. foreign assistance in particular.
Um, but I wonder if you have any more to say about how the kind of context that these different efforts are operating in has changed, um, over the course of your career in terms of just what people notice and what they find to be, um, crises that are sort of beyond the pale that something needs to be done about.
Well, you know, on that beyond the pale, I mean, some would argue that, oh, well, there's compassion fatigue, right? People can't respond to all these crises.
Uh, I remember somebody said that to one of my Ethiopian colleagues during the famine, and he said, "Trust me, I've got beggar's fatigue." So, you know, I think, um, yeah, the fatigue is much more potent on the other side when you're struggling to survive.
But I think, I think the change-- the, the biggest contextual change, I think...
And it was the same footage and the same fairly simple, I would argue too simple, but nonetheless, the same simple story was told all over the world, so everybody had the same information.
Um, I can argue that because the war was sort of ignored, it distorted the relief effort.
Um, I got the impression that you feel like something has changed in terms of the way that these events are perceived, noticed, um, or sort of acted upon by the, the public at large.
And, you know, there's-- we're gonna segue in a minute here into sort of the current state of Global development, the state of U.S. foreign assistance in particular.
Um, but I wonder if you have any more to say about how the kind of context that these different efforts are operating in has changed, um, over the course of your career in terms of just what people notice and what they find to be, um, crises that are sort of beyond the pale that something needs to be done about.
Well, you know, on that beyond the pale, I mean, some would argue that, oh, well, there's compassion fatigue, right? People can't respond to all these crises.
Uh, I remember somebody said that to one of my Ethiopian colleagues during the famine, and he said, "Trust me, I've got beggar's fatigue." So, you know, I think, um, yeah, the fatigue is much more potent on the other side when you're struggling to survive.
But I think, I think the change-- the, the biggest contextual change, I think...
And it was the same footage and the same fairly simple, I would argue too simple, but nonetheless, the same simple story was told all over the world, so everybody had the same information.
Um, I can argue that because the war was sort of ignored, it distorted the relief effort.
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