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Ezra Klein explains the ice bucket challenge

My friend Nilay Patel tagged me in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge so blah blah blah I got a bucket of ice dumped on my head. But, since this is Vox, I did it in the form of an explainer.

Oh, and I challenged Arianna Huffington, Nate Silver, and Sommer Mathis to go next.

The serious point here is that this is about giving to charity. Lou Gehrig’s disease is a horror and I’m excited to support the ALS Association’s efforts. But the Ice Bucket Challenge has been so effective at raising money that the ALS Association is likely bumping against the limits of what they can spend effectively. And, of course, ALS isn’t the only awful disease out there.

So I'm also donating to the Deworm the World Initiative, which is one of GiveWell's recommended charities (the other two are Give Directly and Schistosomiasis Control Initiative). If you're looking for a great cause to support where your dollars will go a long way, you should check them out.

Ezra ice gif
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