California Land Use, The Best American City, San Francisco Politics, and more with Dan Romero

Noah Smith guests on the Moment of Zen podcast (hosted by his Econ 102 co-host Erik Torenberg and founder Dan Romero) to discuss California land use, housing, politics, policing, and more. Subscribe to listen to Moment of Zen, a weekly show about tech, business, and culture, wherever you listen to podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/moz

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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SPONSOR:

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Econ 102 and Moment of Zen are part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: www.turpentine.co

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:07) Antonio as Dennis Rodman

(02:05) The left and right version of “it’s time to build” i.e. Ezra Klein vs Marc Andreessen

(04:50) California skewed political identities

(07:00) California vs Texas GOP stance on immigration

(09:30) Should Gary Tan strategize from the left or the right, structurally

(11:11) Can the Asian block become a machine in SF? In California?

(12:50) Is LA better run than SF?

(17:40) What’s the best run city in the US?

(22:15) Best format for affordable housing in cities

(26:30) California is a class society based on land

(28:40) House-rich progressives in California

(31:00) Prop 13, property tax, and SALT debates

(39:30) The tide of YIMBYism

(51:10) Effective building in Japan

(58:00) YIMBY movement in SF lost because of crime

(59:00) The future of San Francisco

(01:09:00) Policing

(01:16:00) WWII and the atom bomb

(01:22:00) Will patriotism come back?

(01:25:00) Biggest misconception about Japan?

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LINKS:

Noah's Substack https://www.noahpinion.blog/

Book Recommendation on Prop 13: Golden Gates https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Gates-Fighting-Housing-America/dp/0525560211

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X / TWITTER:

@noahpinion (Noah)

@dwr (Dan)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@moz_podcast

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.

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