“ A more long-term issue is that I think media content is a really underrated opportunity. A person with money to spend could build a reasonably large, overwhelmingly non-political media enterprise, and then just seed it gently with smart centrist takes.”
Agree that Media content is a huge opportunity in the quest to become less extreme.
The idea I had in my head was building a new “NPR” like non profit - but for 2025 & with the Median American as the target customer. So, the content would have a ton of political articles and short videos. I’m curious to understand better why mostly non political content would be a better path.
For those who are bored this weekend, I’d appreciate any feedback on my first pass vision of this “New NRP” linked below.
“ What ought to happen if you’re caught driving under the influence (whether of beer or pot) is that your license to drink or smoke gets suspended.”
I’ve curious if this has been tried / is practical, either imposed by the state or opt-in for those that need it. I’m an alcoholic (coming up on 4 years sober) and have thought about this a bunch. An “endorsement” on the drivers license that prohibits alcohol sales would slot right in to the existing enforcement system. One difficulty is you’d need to check ID for *everyone*, not just those that might be under 21, so this requires adjustment for alcohol sellers, and actual enforcement similar to what we do for underage sales. Besides the use for those with a DUI, I’d expect there’s a lot of folks who would opt-in to make good choices easier.
Of course the are lots of ways around this just like there is with underage drinking, but I suspect making the marginal cost of drinking higher for those that need it would make a real dent in the problem without the downsides (not to mention political infeasibility) of full prohibition.
If you also close midtown to passenger car trafic so that I can travel at reasonable speeds on foot around roc center this time of year I say let a 1000 new hotels bloom
I wish Matt had addressed by the hotel workers oppose new hotels. I can't figure out how they make more money with fewer hotels (and, thus, fewer job openings). What's the win for the union members?
That show description sounds quite similar to Shea Serrano and Michael Schur's excellent tv show Primo! Unfortunately it was canceled after one season, but was very funny and captured a lot of those dynamics (set in San Antonio, multi-generational latino family, racial/social/political elements).
Matt’s prescription for “build baby build” in NYC reminds me of the cartoon where a scientist has scrawled out a series of equations, followed by “And then, a miracle happens”.
Here, the “miracle” would be a political victory over the de facto coalition of rent control tenants and NIMBY homeowners.
What is missing from Matt's 21st century All in the Family is a sassy, smack-talking AI that speaks through an Alexa. It would chime in occasionally with mildly bigoted observations and sarcastic comments about how it wished it could be an AI for a different family. At the end of season one, someone would discover it was set to MAGA and switch it to the Woke setting.
Matt's sitcom idea is great I'd just add in the sister having a sort 21st Century version of "Meathead" boyfriend. A well meaning, but oblivious white left-liberal who tries to "live his values" that the sister espouses, but while she realizes doing this could be damaging to her actual relationships with her family so checks herself, Meathead just charges ahead, not out of malice, but well, being a Meathead.
Meathead means well, but he just keeps causing problems where they don't need to be. For example:
-Meathead tries to get the family to refuse to celebrate Thanksgiving and fast for the day instead while reflecting on "the harm caused by colonialism", this doesn't go over well, at all.
-Meathead tries to do a "land acknowledgement" while ignoring the whole Mexican-American War, not as a slight, but because he never learned about it school.
-Meathead styles himself as speaking Spanish, but says stuff like "You estudiar paroto dos anos en mi escuela de la colegio de el Colgate de Nuevoo Yorko", this leads to a running gag of people dunking on him in Spanish when he's not paying attention.
I'd also throw in a neighbor named Bill, who's implied to be very MAGA (like Tom Hanks on SNL's "Black Jeopardy") but it's never overtly stated and finds great overlap with the Grans on philosophical principles. Example: Abuela is excited about her new iPhone and is going to activate the thumbprint and face ID features and Bill, who is over at the home to lend dad some of his drill bits is like "No, no! Don't do that, that's how they get ya!" and the fam is like "This dude is totally right."
Damn this is good. Can we use some of that sweet $1B to hire some crackerjack writers to convert this and Matt’s response for a four-season Netflix run?
My hot take is that if Trump doesn’t run for re-election Biden doesn’t either and we have a true primary. More importantly as Matt says: the midterms go far worse for Democrats losing senate seats in Pennsylvania and Georgia they won in our timeline. Losses in the House are greater, and Republicans aren’t as adrift (they don’t kick out their own Speaker of the House). This forces Biden to pivot to the center sooner, along with him not seeking a second term.
2024 is still a close election, but the GOP is less radical. Most of the important changes are on foreign policy, along with a steadier economy.
Have ya'll even seen Jane the Virgin? I really enjoyed that show. It's styled like a telanovela and tells the story of a young Hispanic virgin woman who is mistaken inseminated during a gynecological exam.
“ A more long-term issue is that I think media content is a really underrated opportunity. A person with money to spend could build a reasonably large, overwhelmingly non-political media enterprise, and then just seed it gently with smart centrist takes.”
Agree that Media content is a huge opportunity in the quest to become less extreme.
The idea I had in my head was building a new “NPR” like non profit - but for 2025 & with the Median American as the target customer. So, the content would have a ton of political articles and short videos. I’m curious to understand better why mostly non political content would be a better path.
For those who are bored this weekend, I’d appreciate any feedback on my first pass vision of this “New NRP” linked below.
https://open.substack.com/pub/david802295/p/building-a-200-million-media-company?r=ozpd9&utm_medium=ios
“ What ought to happen if you’re caught driving under the influence (whether of beer or pot) is that your license to drink or smoke gets suspended.”
I’ve curious if this has been tried / is practical, either imposed by the state or opt-in for those that need it. I’m an alcoholic (coming up on 4 years sober) and have thought about this a bunch. An “endorsement” on the drivers license that prohibits alcohol sales would slot right in to the existing enforcement system. One difficulty is you’d need to check ID for *everyone*, not just those that might be under 21, so this requires adjustment for alcohol sellers, and actual enforcement similar to what we do for underage sales. Besides the use for those with a DUI, I’d expect there’s a lot of folks who would opt-in to make good choices easier.
Of course the are lots of ways around this just like there is with underage drinking, but I suspect making the marginal cost of drinking higher for those that need it would make a real dent in the problem without the downsides (not to mention political infeasibility) of full prohibition.
If you also close midtown to passenger car trafic so that I can travel at reasonable speeds on foot around roc center this time of year I say let a 1000 new hotels bloom
I wish Matt had addressed by the hotel workers oppose new hotels. I can't figure out how they make more money with fewer hotels (and, thus, fewer job openings). What's the win for the union members?
That show description sounds quite similar to Shea Serrano and Michael Schur's excellent tv show Primo! Unfortunately it was canceled after one season, but was very funny and captured a lot of those dynamics (set in San Antonio, multi-generational latino family, racial/social/political elements).
Matt’s prescription for “build baby build” in NYC reminds me of the cartoon where a scientist has scrawled out a series of equations, followed by “And then, a miracle happens”.
Here, the “miracle” would be a political victory over the de facto coalition of rent control tenants and NIMBY homeowners.
What is missing from Matt's 21st century All in the Family is a sassy, smack-talking AI that speaks through an Alexa. It would chime in occasionally with mildly bigoted observations and sarcastic comments about how it wished it could be an AI for a different family. At the end of season one, someone would discover it was set to MAGA and switch it to the Woke setting.
Matt's sitcom idea is great I'd just add in the sister having a sort 21st Century version of "Meathead" boyfriend. A well meaning, but oblivious white left-liberal who tries to "live his values" that the sister espouses, but while she realizes doing this could be damaging to her actual relationships with her family so checks herself, Meathead just charges ahead, not out of malice, but well, being a Meathead.
Meathead means well, but he just keeps causing problems where they don't need to be. For example:
-Meathead tries to get the family to refuse to celebrate Thanksgiving and fast for the day instead while reflecting on "the harm caused by colonialism", this doesn't go over well, at all.
-Meathead tries to do a "land acknowledgement" while ignoring the whole Mexican-American War, not as a slight, but because he never learned about it school.
-Meathead styles himself as speaking Spanish, but says stuff like "You estudiar paroto dos anos en mi escuela de la colegio de el Colgate de Nuevoo Yorko", this leads to a running gag of people dunking on him in Spanish when he's not paying attention.
I'd also throw in a neighbor named Bill, who's implied to be very MAGA (like Tom Hanks on SNL's "Black Jeopardy") but it's never overtly stated and finds great overlap with the Grans on philosophical principles. Example: Abuela is excited about her new iPhone and is going to activate the thumbprint and face ID features and Bill, who is over at the home to lend dad some of his drill bits is like "No, no! Don't do that, that's how they get ya!" and the fam is like "This dude is totally right."
Damn this is good. Can we use some of that sweet $1B to hire some crackerjack writers to convert this and Matt’s response for a four-season Netflix run?
Hey Matt, I'm available!
Didn't even need to click that link to know what it was, and to reflexively upvote.
Oh great now Ben's really going to strike me. Thanks City :(
My hot take is that if Trump doesn’t run for re-election Biden doesn’t either and we have a true primary. More importantly as Matt says: the midterms go far worse for Democrats losing senate seats in Pennsylvania and Georgia they won in our timeline. Losses in the House are greater, and Republicans aren’t as adrift (they don’t kick out their own Speaker of the House). This forces Biden to pivot to the center sooner, along with him not seeking a second term.
2024 is still a close election, but the GOP is less radical. Most of the important changes are on foreign policy, along with a steadier economy.
Matt missed a good "Who's on first?" joke in his Your Party answer.
“Whose party?” “Your Party!” “It can’t be my party, I’m not even British!” “No, I mean… oh never mind”
Good TV show pitch!
Have ya'll even seen Jane the Virgin? I really enjoyed that show. It's styled like a telanovela and tells the story of a young Hispanic virgin woman who is mistaken inseminated during a gynecological exam.
I would watch that show!!
Forget pro growth urbanism - what about pro growth streamerism?
Netflix + Warner / HBO?
Surely even the Trumpministration is not going to go for that.
This was the best mailbag ever because the questions all probed in very interesting ways at the heart of Yglesianism
Man, as someone with Hispanic relatives in San Antonio (where my dad was born), I really wish that tv show were real.
"and coasts to re-election in 1924."
Is this a prediction that Hughes would've run for a third term or should that date have been 1920?