China, Russia, the Middle East, and Geopolitical Predictions

Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg discuss the new geopolitical dynamics in Asia and the Middle East, why demographics may mean waning conflict, and take a dive into Ireland’s wealth. 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” + 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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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Odd Lots is a Bloomberg podcast hosted by Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway. Each week they speak with the perfect guest to explore the most interesting topics in finance, markets and economics.

https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 

Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff

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LINKS:

- Noah Smith, How Ireland Got So Rich https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/how-ireland-got-so-rich

- Noah Smith, The Middle East is Getting Older: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-middle-east-is-getting-older

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X / TWITTER:

@noahpinion (Noah)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:47) Noah’s reflections from the Kilkenomics Festival

​​(02:44) Why and how Ireland got rich

(11:14) What is the legacy of Brexit?

(13:16) Pro and counter arguments for Brexit

(15:27) Sponsors: GiveWell | Daffy

(18:10) Noah on the 2nd Cold War

(24:20) Why Asia is more important to the US than the Middle East

(29:57) Sponsor: NetSuite

(31:04) Iran in the Israel-Gaza conflict

(34:45) Predictions for the next decade in Middle East

(41:17) On fertility rates 

(45:51) Where would Israel be in 10 years?

(50:13) The endless pressures on Israel

(51:07) What would need to be true for Noah to be bullish on Israel?

(57:08) Countering the collaboration between Gaza and Israel