Episode 95: Philanthropist Dr Ewan Kirk on giving £7m to causes he wants to see fail

Do More Good podcast

"Nobody really knows what they're talking about and neither do I."
Our guest this week co-founded The Turner Kirk Trust in 2007 and since then has granted over £7million to charitable causes across the UK and the developing world. His achievements include a PhD in General Relativity, chairing numerous businesses and launching the UK’s first algo-hedge fund. The perfect match for your host’s combined four GCSEs, 400m swimming certificate and a rather vague Culinary Skills badge from Beavers.
We kick off with Kenneth’s employment reveal, and his plans to go full-time on the podcast between dog walks and the driving range. James wants to spend a million on paper clips and betrays a fondness for tie pins. From then it’s all business we meet the self-proclaimed ‘smuggest man in town’ fresh from his win at Midnight Madness. He tells us about growing up in an infamous location, a lifetime love of computing and embracing his inner-geek.
Kenneth ruthlessly sacks Dan from the Pub Quiz Team live on air, we ponder buying a boat and agree on the concept for a new airport-bookshop business title. There’s the importance of good fortune, embracing experimentation and how we face government-sized problems in the third-sector before we discover how to run a hedge fund, form some long-term strategic goals and find that the answer is probably Cat.
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