Guardian Focus podcast: Do celebrities have a role to play in development?

Since Bob Geldoff brought a group of musicians together for the famine-relief Live Aid concerts 25 years ago, celebrities have come to play a high profile role in aid and development. Celebrities are leading campaigns, championing causes and meeting world leaders on behalf of the poor. But is this a good thing? Do celebrities cause more harm than good? Or are they a necessary evil? Madeleine Bunting is joined by the executive director of the advocacy organisation ONE, Jamie Drummond , assistant head of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, Tom Cargill , and professor of economics at New York University and co-director of its development institute, William Easterly , to debate the issue. We also hear the views of the director of the global justice organisation, the World Development Movement, Deborah Doane , the founder of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation and the Council of Europe's goodwill ambassador, Bianca Jagger , and the professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, in Canada, and author of the book Celebrity Diplomacy, Andrew Cooper . • Research by Claire Provost