Break Fake Rules

Break Fake Rules is back! Join us for a new season of rulebreaking to change the future of Big Giving for good.
Get ready for more episodes, more often! This season, we're excited to welcome a few of our favorite rule breakers as recurring co-hosts. Alongside Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, they will call on us to rethink the stories we tell about money, wealth, and power—and imagine a future where resources are shared, not hoarded. If you have ever questioned why we live by certain rules and wondered what becomes possible when we do things differently, this show is for you.
New episodes drop weekly starting January 28, 2026.

That’s a wrap on season 2! In this bonus episode of Break Fake Rules, hear some of Glen and Claire’s favorite moments from the season. And spoiler alert - they drop exciting updates about what’s coming next season on Break Fake Rules.
Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change.
Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.
Host: Glen Galaich
Guest & Producer: Claire Callahan

In the season wrap of Break Fake Rules, Carmen Rojas (CEO & President, Marguerite Casey Foundation) and Jamie Allison (Executive Director, Walter & Elise Haas Fund) bring the vibes to a year-defining conversation with host Glen Galaich. Together, they reflect on how philanthropy showed up in 2025—and how it needs to evolve in 2026.
Jamie Allison calls on the sector to embrace courage and purpose: “Our communities and nonprofit leaders need from us what they've always needed from us. They need us to be courageous and to show that the project of philanthropy is about redistributing privilege and resources.”
Carmen Rojas offers a bold vision for the road ahead, challenging philanthropy to think generationally and confront its own complicity: “We have an opportunity… to reset that table.” And: “We need to reconcile and have a meaningful conversation about the ways each of our institutions is enabling… this political movement.”
Looking ahead at 2026, Glen Galaich reminds us why imagination matters: “So many foundations limit themselves to a cap… It stops us from dreaming and imagining things that could be leveraged for a better society.”
Tune in for a finale filled with the kind of rule-breaking energy that sets the stage for a transformative 2026.
Learn more about the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the We Initiative to cultivate belonging.
Explore the Marguerite Casey Foundation and learn about their decision to significantly increase grantmaking to protect communities under attack.
Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change.
Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich
Guests: Jamie Allison & Carmen Rojas
Producer: Claire Callahan

Progressives have lost sight of a central issue: class. Lawyer, professor, and author Joan C. Williams joins Break Fake Rules to unpack how the Left lost touch with working-class Americans—and how we can win them back. As income inequality deepens across the U.S. and Europe, Joan explains how class blind spots and broken promises have fueled distrust and driven voters toward the far right. Joan offers actionable, research-backed steps for funders and policymakers to rebuild trust, restore credibility, and reconnect with the working class.
Joan C. Williams: “Not only have we been class clueless, we've often been class condescending.”
Read Joan’s book, Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back.
Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change.

Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.

Host: Glen Galaich
Guest: Joan C. Williams
Producer: Claire Callahan

“It's only when you show your own courage that the performativeness of being inspired by others moves to allied-ness.”
Ludovic Blain returns to Break Fake Rules, this time at a live recording at California Donor Table’s 20th anniversary convening and celebration! Last season, Ludovic delivered a master class in philanthropic giving across tax statuses. Now he’s back to urge us to play offense — by funding bold, long-term investments to counter the well-coordinated efforts of conservative groups and donors that harm our communities. How can donors fund initiatives that not only defend democracy but also create a better government for all? What lessons can we take from local-level wins to build progressive power at the national level? Tune in to find out.
Break Fake Rules is a podcast from the Stupski Foundation that questions philanthropy’s self-imposed rules and looks for ways philanthropy can better serve communities and contribute to lasting change.
Learn more about the California Donor Table.
Learn about the Stupski Foundation’s work.
Host: Glen Galaich
Guest: Ludovic Blain
Producer: Claire Callahan
Mentioned in this episode:
Designing Tomorrow Podcast
Check out another social impact podcast called Designing Tomorrow. It’s hosted by Eric Ressler — founder of the creative agency Cosmic — and Jonathan Hicken, executive director at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. If you’re looking for a show that’s real, smart, and made for this moment in social impact — give Designing Tomorrow a listen. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts.