Noah Smith, an economist, and journalist, discusses the possibility of a second Cold War with China, debunking stereotypes about Japan, the impact of AI on workers, and China's industrial policy on technology development and national security. He also covers the collapse of global poverty, the YIMBY movement, and the risks associated with Taiwan and global war.
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Born From A Laugh, Raised In Aggie Country
Noah Smith was born in Oklahoma after his mother laughed so hard at a Fawlty Towers episode that her water broke. He then grew up in Texas near Texas A&M and later attended Stanford.
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Early Internet As An Escape Valve
Noah argues the early internet was an escape that reduced teen depression, unlike modern social media which increased it. He says smartphones plus social networks turned the internet into the default public arena and worsened mental health.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Living Near The Yakuza In Tokyo
Noah lived in a Yakuza neighborhood in Tokyo and witnessed organized crime rituals and violence firsthand. He describes arson, a finger-cutting ceremony, and a fatal stabbing that closed his favorite club.
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Noah is a journalist who covers economics and geopolitics. A former assistant professor of Behavioral Finance at Stony Brook University and an early blogger, he became an opinion columnist at Bloomberg in 2014. He left after seven years to focus on his own substack, Noahpinion, which you should definitely check out.
For two clips of our convo — on why we should fear a military strike from China, and the good news about tech and the economy we don’t pay enough attention to — pop over to our YouTube page. Other topics: the amazing story of Fawlty Towers triggering Noah’s birth in Oklahoma; raised in Aggie country; his father the psych professor; Noah’s clinical depression after his mom died young; trolling X File fans on the early web; the internet as an escape back then, before social media ruined it; joining the early blogs; Jonah Goldberg and Liberal Fascism; Noah living in Japan after Battle Royale gripped him; Yakuza burning down his apartment; the MAX show Tokyo Vice; debunking stereotypes about Japan (e.g. xenophobia); his tech optimism; Ozempic and HIV drugs; wages and wealth growing in the US; tuition falling; inflation leveling; the YIMBY movement; how AI will empower the normies; the collapse of global poverty; the China threat; EVs and tariffs; industrial policy as means for national security; risking global war over Taiwan; Noah downplaying the chips factor; the chance of another Pearl Harbor — from China; TikTok and controlling US media; the woke wars as a distraction; “information tournaments”; debating mass immigration; agreeing about the asylum clusterfucker; questioning whether the US was ever a melting pot; Biden catching up on the border and inflation; how he’s more likely to tighten the budget than Trump; debating which nominee is losing his marbles more; and why Ukraine and Gaza are diversions from China.
Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy (the first 102 are free in their entirety — subscribe to get everything else). Coming up: Nellie Bowles on the woke revolution, George Will on Trump and conservatism, Lionel Shriver on her new novel, Elizabeth Corey on Oakeshott, Tim Shipman on the UK elections, Erick Erickson on the left’s spiritual crisis, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy on animal cruelty, and the great Van Jones! Send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.
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