Benjamin Soskis
@bensoskis.bsky.social
History of philanthropy and civil society; Philly sports; Irish trad music. Views my own.
Useful historical context, from @kavate.bsky.social, looking at the record of past tech mega-philanthropy to throw cold water on prediction that, in a "Third Wave" of AI philanthropy, donors could give away 10% of their wealth, leading a $50b bonanza. www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/are-ai-...
Are AI Donors Unicorns?
What the history of billionaire promises suggests about the donors some have called philanthropy's next big new wave.
insidephilanthropy.com
"This too shall pass,” interim [Phillies] manager Don Mattingly said.
New HistPhil post: Genevieve Shaker & William Plater on the largely forgotten but prescient 1974 essay by the science polymath Heinz von Foerster on the "cybernetics of philanthropy," which anticipated the current vogue for "systems thinking" in philanthropy & much else. histphil.org/2026/07/29/t...
The Cybernetics of Philanthropy: The Early Roots of Philanthropic Systems Thinking
Editors’ Note: Genevieve Shaker and William Plater shine a light on a forgotten 1974 essay by the “polymath scientist” Heinz von Foerster on the cybernetics of philanthropy, explo…
histphil.org
"Boards of trustees are composed of people with agency...So we address Yale’s trustees directly....By settling, you will not avert a crisis; you will create one. And it will not be the 'board' that is remembered, but each of you, individually." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Yale’s trustees face a decision with profound consequences
A lesson from Hungary: Boards don't capitulate to authoritarians. The people on them do.
washingtonpost.com
Undernoted part of recent Douthat interview w/ @sunraysunray.bsky.social is when they converge on a critique of "The Groups," "liberal NGOs" that Sunkara suggests are responsible for many of the unpopular positions dogging progressive & socialist candidates. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/o...
New HistPhil post: Inderjeet Parmar on the Hewlett Foundation, "a paradigmatic 'liberal crisis machine'"–"an elite institution that diagnoses threats to US democracy & hegemony but...ult shores up the corporate-lib order that fuels the very crises it claims to combat." histphil.org/2026/07/15/i...
Inderjeet Parmar on the Hewlett Foundation
Editors’ Note: In this post, Inderjeet Parmar summarizes a journal article he wrote on the Hewlett Foundation, as part of a special section on “The Pathologies of Philanthropy,” edited …
histphil.org
New HistPhil post: John Tyler & Brian Baird on the vast and varied associational commitments of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin is the exemplar, but he's certainly not alone. histphil.org/2026/07/13/t...
The Signers and “Civil Society”: Ben Franklin was One Among Many
Editors’ Note: John Tyler and Brian Baird discuss their research on the varied associational commitments of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and what that suggests about the im…
histphil.org
If a boycott is a form of dialogue, than so too is a blog post. The PEN controversy has very little to do w/ the defense of free expression and everything to do w/ progressive factionalism over the politics of Zionism/anti-Zionism.
Alina Stefanescu@alinaetc.bsky.social · 3w agowhat Dinaw Mengestu said, yes. 💯
A quote from Ken Griffin in recent NYer profile: "I think ur best private philanthropy is philanthropy that encourages the public govt to do things that are nec for the common good that would otherwise not be on their radar." Sounds good, esp given nihilism of his peers--but where are the receipts?
And here is part II: histphil.org/2026/07/08/p... Moving from JFK's Ideological Organizations Project, to the congressional investigation of the SPLC, to the Cato event in May featuring "strange bedfellows" in defense of civil society, Lawson Bader, @palfrey.org and @walterolson.bsky.social.
Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective, and the Defense of Civil Society (Part II)
Editors’ Note: Benjamin Soskis examines the emerging trans-ideological coalition in defense of civil society in the U.S., the commitment to “prudential pluralism” that fuels it, and the conception …
histphil.org
Benjamin Soskis@bensoskis.bsky.social · last mo.New HistPhil post (from me) on the emerging trans-ideological coalition defending civil society & the historical framework on which it relies: "Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective & the Defense of Civil Society" Part 1: histphil.org/2026/07/06/p... Full essay: histphil.org/2026/07/06/p...
New HistPhil post (from me) on the emerging trans-ideological coalition defending civil society & the historical framework on which it relies: "Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective & the Defense of Civil Society" Part 1: histphil.org/2026/07/06/p... Full essay: histphil.org/2026/07/06/p...
Prudential Pluralism, Historical Perspective, and the Defense of Civil Society (Full Essay)
Editors’ Note: Benjamin Soskis examines the emerging trans-ideological coalition in defense of civil society in the U.S., the commitment to “prudential pluralism” that fuels it, a…
histphil.org
New HistPhil post: There's been much attn on the threats to civil society at the national level. But as Beth Gazley & Jennifer Alexander argue, there's an urgent need to focus on "the efforts of U.S. states to restrict civic space thru statutory & executive authority." histphil.org/2026/06/29/a...
Authoritarianism in US State Policy and its Impact on Nonprofit Civil Liberties
Editors’ Note: Beth Gazley and Jennifer Alexander use an authoritarian framework to explain recent state government actions intended to restrict nonprofit activity in the US. This piece is based on…
histphil.org
FBI agents on Thursday raided the Cleveland offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a pro-democracy organization that helps register voters in that state, according to three people briefed on the search.
FBI raids Ohio voting-rights organization
“Just straight up intimidation tactics”: Sources tell MS NOW agents also fanned across the state, showing up at staff members’ homes.
ms.now
New HistPhil post: Andrew Fisher on Nathan Straus, the Macy's magnate and somewhat forgotten philanthropic titan from turn of the century NYC, the man who brought us affordable pasteurized milk, and an early paragon of "giving while living." histphil.org/2026/06/04/n...
Nathan Straus: From Macy’s Magnate to International Humanitarian
Editors’ Note: Andrew Fisher shines light on a lesser-known philanthropic titan of the turn of the last century, Nathan Straus. This post is adapted from the prologue of Fisher’s recent…
histphil.org
Not sure if there’s a more Trumpy storyline than the rise of Bill Pulte from narcissistic Twitter philanthropist to Director of National Intelligence. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/u...
Trump Names Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence
nytimes.com
New HistPhil post: Kathi Badertscher on philanthropic archives: the barriers that explain why systematic archiving remains the exception rather than the norm w/in the sector, and their importance fundamental importance to the pursuit of philanthropic mission and legacy. histphil.org/2026/05/26/p...
Philanthropic Archives: A Literature Review and Call to Action
Editors’ Note: Katherine Badertscher introduces a recent article she published with Huitan Xu in The Foundation Review on “Philanthropic Archives and Legacy.” In 2024, my colleagu…
histphil.org
A fascinating event just wrapped up at Cato, featuring @palfrey.org, DonorTrust's Lawson Bader & @walterolson.bsky.social discussing the Freedom to Give. An important expression of what Bader called the emerging "strange bedfellows" coalition in defense of civil society. www.cato.org/events/freed...
The Freedom to Give: Philanthropy, Civil Society, and the Limits of State Power
A free, open, and civil society depends on the freedom of individuals and institutions to direct private resources toward the causes they value.
cato.org
New HistPhil post: Carmen Rojas continues our book forum on @johnfabianwitt.bsky.social The Radical Fund, calling it "one of the best books I’ve read about the perils & promises of philanthropy in the United States," offering important lessons for leaders of the sector. histphil.org/2026/05/04/h...
How the Radical Fund Sustained Radical Imagination
Editors’ Note: Carmen Rojas continues HistPhil’s book forum on John Witt’s The Radical Fund (Simon & Schuster, 2025). John Fabian Witt’s The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a …
histphil.org
BREAKING: Fidelity won't let customers donate to the SPLC anymore via their charitable gift/donor-advised funds, citing Trump admin indictment of SPLC. No response yet from Schwab, Vanguard... but soon. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...
Fidelity Won’t Let Fund Holders Donate to Southern Poverty Law Center
nytimes.com
SCOOP --> Paramount, Meta, and X are refusing to say what happened to their huge contributions to Trump's presidential library after Sen Elizabeth Warren raised questions about its fund getting dissolved. Ds say tens of millions remain unaccounted for. Details here: newrepublic.com/article/2092...
Trump Library Saga Takes Dark Turn: Where Did Millions in Funding Go?
Four huge media conglomerates forked over $63 million in “settlements” earmarked for Trump’s presidential library. Democrats are trying to track that money—and the latest developments don’t inspire co...
newrepublic.com
The challenge facing good-faith reformers of our institutions, in face of plummeting public trust, is to take on the project of reform while pushing back on unrelenting attacks from bad-faith critics, who borrow some reformist tropes but just want to burn stuff down. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/u...
Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems
nytimes.com
INBOX: Amid rising tendons between Trump and Pope Leo, the administration has abruptly canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities to shelter and care for migrant children who enter the U.S. alone, ending a relationship dating back to the first arrivals of Cuban exiles in South Florida.
Amid quarrel with pope, Trump strips Miami charity of funding to house migrant kids
The move comes amid rising tensions between the administration and American Catholics.
miamiherald.com
Some important reporting that marks a new chapter in the broader recent history of the globalization of efforts to shrink civic space, w/ the vectors of influence flowing back and forth btw the US and other right-wing regimes. We don't just import this stuff! www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...
nytimes.com
In an Urban Institute research brief, I lay out 4 ways the current turbulence facing US nonprofits might transform the giving infrastructure, including the emergence of systems of triage to respond to funding disruptions & efforts to recover & protect public datasets. www.urban.org/sites/defaul...
urban.org
The request for list of the members of Jewish campus groups seems to me a clear threat to the right of association and opens a door for targeted harassment of certain disfavored group by govt authorities under pretense of combating discrimination. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/u...
Federal Judge Approves Trump Effort to Obtain List of Jews From Penn
nytimes.com
Buried *far* beneath the admin's weaponization of accusations of anti-semitism & efforts to enforce anti-affirmative action ruling, there's been occasional efforts to address admissions to college and universities linked to major donors. Curious who is behind this & what they think the politics is.
Democrats have offered to pay the salaries — fully fund, no conditions — for TSA. It’s Republicans who keep blocking that.
Reuters@reuters.com · 5mo agoElon Musk offers to pay TSA salaries amid budget battle, airport lineups reut.rs/4bFJcbk
