Singapore, Xi Jingping Cleans Up SF, & Progressive Dystopias

"Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg discuss Noah’s travel reflections from Singapore, the recent San Francisco cleanup, and the dystopian routes of progressivism. Daffy is offering Econ 102 listeners a free $25 for the charity of their choice when they join: https://www.daffy.org/econ102

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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Sponsors: GIVEWELL | DAFFY | NETSUITE

Have you ever wondered where your donation could have the most impact? GiveWell has now spent over 15 years researching charitable organizations and only directs funding to the highest impact opportunities they’ve found in global health and poverty alleviation. Make informed decisions about high-impact giving. If you’ve never donated through GiveWell before, you can have your donation matched up to $100 before the end of the year, or as long as matching funds last. To claim your match, go to https://givewell.org and pick “Podcast” and enter Econ 102 at checkout.

Daffy is the most modern and accessible donor-advised fund, making it easier to put money aside for charity. You can make your tax-deductible contributions all at once or set aside a little each week or month. And you don’t just have to donate cash, you can easily contribute stocks, ETFs, or crypto. Plus, you never have to track receipts from your donations again. It’s free to get started and Econ 102 listeners get $25 towards the charity of their choice. Daffy is offering Econ 102 listeners a free $25 for the charity of their choice when they join Daffy https://www.daffy.org/econ102

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Econ 102 is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: www.turpentine.co

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:53) Noah’s Travel Reflection

(03:58) Singapore’s Secret to Solar Punk

(07:33-18:08) Policies we can learn from Singapore

(10:06) Healthcare

(11:33) Housing Policy

(16:35) Singapore and El Salvador’s Strict Crime Policies

(18:09) Sponsor: GIVEWELL

(19:35) San Francisco’s Sudden Cleanup

(22:00) Government and Social Media and AI

(31:00) Sponsors: DAFFY and NETSUITE

(33:22) Progressive Dystopias

(39:47) Immigration vs Gentification

(43:38) Progressive Education

(46:47) Why Liberalism is Losing the Information War

(51:50) Banning Tik Tok

(57:32) Pronouncing Xi Jing Ping Correctly