Episode 101

End of Social Media, Fed Strikes Again, Assisted Suicide

First, Ravi and Rikki chat about SBF’s insistence that he either get some vegan meals or stay out of prison. Then the hosts turn to the Fed’s latest rate hike, look back on the strange economic year that was 2022, and look forward to what’s coming in 2023. Finally, the hosts grapple with a heated debate playing out in Canada and here in the U.S. on the ethics of medically assisted suicide.

SHOW NOTES

Ravi and Rikki kick things off with the latest on interest rates, inflation and recession prospects, looking back at a wonky 2022 in review and forecasting what might be coming in 2023. 

The hosts then turn their attention to Ian Bogost’s provocative piece in The Atlantic heralding “The End of Social Media.” They debate whether that’s a credible argument, what Bogost actually meant, and whether we’d be better off if he was right. 

Finally, Rikki takes us through Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying laws, debating whether and how those policies should be adopted more widely in the U.S. 

Economic Roundup [3:25]

Buckle Up: It’s Going to Be a Hard Landing (Barron’s, 12/12)
The Fed has to portray itself as tough on inflation even as it pushes through a smaller rate hike (CNBC, 12/13)
How Long Should Powell Keep Raising Interest Rates? Fed Officials Are Divided (Wall Street Journal, 12/12)
What’s Going On With the Housing Market? (Wall Street Journal, 12/7)
The Housing Market Has Gone From Bad to Worse (The Atlantic, 11/4)
Understanding America’s Labor Shortage (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 10/31)
The Most Impacted Industries (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 10/31)
U.S. Job Growth Remains Strong, Defying Fed’s Rate Strategy (New York Times, 12/2)
EXPLAINER: How will we know if the U.S. is in recession? (AP News, 10/27)
Recession Deniers Will Give Us a Depression (National Review, 8/11)
Economists Think They Can See Recession Coming – for a Change (Wall Street Journal, 12/4)

Social Media Age Ending…? [18:30]

The Age Of Social Media Is Ending (The Atlantic, 11/10)
Social Media Is Dead (Vice, 11/8)
Twitter Is Dying, and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself (Vanity Fair, 11/17)
Social media platforms will not last | Cal Newport and Lex Fridman (YouTube, 3/8/2021)

Assisted Suicide [32:57]

What Euthanasia Has Done to Canada (NYT Opinion, 12/3)
‘Disturbing’: Experts troubled by Canada’s euthanasia laws (AP News, 8/11)
Let Dying People End Their Suffering (NYT Opinion, 6/7/2018)
Aid in Dying, When Suffering Is Unbearable (New York Times, 6/20/2018)
Medical aid in dying is for preventing a hideous death, not for truncating an unhappy life (Washington Post, 1/21)