Higher Ed, Being a Dorm Room Socrates, and the American Workforce

In episode 5, Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg discuss the promise and failings of higher education, working class economic prospects, the American healthcare system, and more. Noah’s articles are linked below. Econ 102 is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. To learn more: www.turpentine.co  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. -- 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 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  NetSuite has 25 years of providing financial software for all your business needs. More than 36,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform head to NetSuite http://netsuite.com/102 and download your own customized KPI checklist. -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Episode preview (01:23) How Noah joined, and then left academia (04:29) The current state of universities (09:30) Universities should invest in student companies indirectly (11:03) Why Americans are falling out of love with college (15:37) What stopped colleges from being able to provide a job and intellectual fulfillment  (15:48) Sponsor: NetSuite (19:55) It's not harder for the average non-college educated American to get jobs nowadays (22:00) Michigan's rust belt (24:08) Was populism driven by economic or socio-cultural factors? (26:23) Is the working class grievance justified? (29:00) Why we don't have a healthcare system like Japan or Korea's (31:42) Healthcare and housing instead of UBI (36:45) Expectations around higher ed (41:00) Why aren't employers starting their own universities? (43:50) Custom training programs for big corporations (45:57) What higher education will look like a decade from now -- LINKS: Americans are Falling Out of Love with the Idea of College https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/americans-are-falling-out-of-love -- X / TWITTER: @noahpinion (Noah) @eriktorenberg (Erik) -- 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.