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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Billionaire philanthropists in the business of curing diseases

    Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg thinks we can cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century. And he and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan announced Wednesday that they’ll give $3 billion over the next decade toward the effort. Another billionaire, Bill Gates, was there for that announcement.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Sep 22, 2016 • 1 min read

    Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg thinks we can cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of the century. And he and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan announced Wednesday that they’ll give $3 billion over the next decade toward the effort. Another billionaire, Bill Gates, was there for that announcement. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given more than $10 billion to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Earlier this year, fellow Facebook co-founder Sean Parker announced he’d give $250 million to find a cure for cancer. So what happens when billionaires’ private foundations get into the “business” of eradicating disease?

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    Police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte spark divergent responses
    1. 0:30Lessons from the responses to police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte
    2. 8:59Reactions from 2 MacArthur ‘Geniuses’
    3. 17:14Billionaire philanthropists in the business of curing diseasesYou’re reading this
    4. 25:17National Museum of African American History & Culture opens in DC
    5. 42:17Will a business be able to force Yelp to remove a review?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jolie Myers

      Managing Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Amy Costello

      Reporter

      News

    The full episode

    3 of 5
    Police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte spark divergent responses
    1. 0:30Lessons from the responses to police shootings in Tulsa and Charlotte
    2. 8:59Reactions from 2 MacArthur ‘Geniuses’
    3. 17:14Billionaire philanthropists in the business of curing diseasesYou’re reading this
    4. 25:17National Museum of African American History & Culture opens in DC
    5. 42:17Will a business be able to force Yelp to remove a review?
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand