Liv Boerees life story reads less like a biography and more like the plot of a badly-written Mary Sue fanfiction. She began her adult life by getting a 1st class degree in astrophysics. At age 21, she learned to play poker. She fell in love with the game and proceeded to become one of the most well-known female poker players in the world . Not content to play for her own gain, she founded Raising for Effective Giving , an organization that encourages poker players to give back to the most cost-effective charities in the world. REG has raised $1.5 million since its founding in 2014 and is now widely known in the poker world. Oh, and on top of all that, Livs a former model and heavy metal musician.

Meeting Liv in person was understandably somewhat unnerving. She combines a palpable aura of charisma and self-assurance with a sense of genuine niceness.

In this extended interview, Liv and I discuss how to do good in the world, places where the analogy between poker and charitable donations break down, and the importance of self-reinvention.