While a Fox News poll shows Democrats neck and neck with Republicans statewide, the Texas GOP is forgiving all their internal bad blood from top to bottom and starting a push to do almost anything rural voters want even if it's potentially bad for almost everyone else. In that spirit, we'll take you to an old school tent revival fused with a professional wrestling pay-per-view event. And in that vein, Republican leaders pull back on plans for electricity transmission followed by some advice for Uncle Paul Bettencourt about his Trump impersonation. Our producer is the famous Evan Sherer and the original music for the show is by Checkmayne in Houston. 

The Context: The Week in Review

In this episode of Econ 102 originally aired on the Sphere Podcast, Noah Smith and Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry sit down for a debate on immigration. They cover the philosophical underpinnings of their arguments, where they find common ground, border enforcement, deportation, public opinion, and more. - Sponsors: Notion AI meeting notes lives right in Notion, everything you capture, whether that's meetings, podcasts, interviews, conversations, live exactly where you plan, build, and get things done. Here's an exclusive offer for our listeners. Try one month for free at https://www.notion.com/lp/econ102. NetSuite More than 42,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.netsuite.com/102 Found  Found provides small business owners tools to track expenses, calculate taxes, manage cashflow, send invoices and more. Open a Found account for free at https://found.com/ - Shownotes brought to you by Notion AI Meeting Notes - try one month for free at https://www.notion.com/lp/econ102 Noah Smith and Pascal Emmanuel Gobry (PEG) engaged in a debate about immigration policy, focusing primarily on illegal immigration and enforcement approaches. The conversation centered on philosophical positions about borders, practical enforcement strategies, and the societal impacts of immigration policies. Both agreed that nations should have borders and control who enters, though they differed on enforcement methods. Noah advocated for employer-focused enforcement through company audits and fines rather than deportations. PEG supported stronger deportation measures and argued for the value of deterrence. They debated whether deportations would reduce crime affecting legal residents. Both agreed on the fiscal costs of illegal immigration as a significant issue. They discussed the political challenges of passing immigration reform. - Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 05:00 – Philosophical Foundations: Borders, Nations, and Policy 09:00 – “No Human is Illegal” & Historical Context 13:25 – Sponsors: Notion | Netsuite 15:30 – Enforcement, Detention, and Public Perception 24:00 – Asylum Law, Legislative Gridlock, and Political Realities 28:10 – Sponsor: Found 41:00 – Mass Deportation: Crime, Economics, and Evidence 56:00 – Trust, Public Sentiment, and Policy Limits 1:10:00 – Final Thoughts & Outro - Listen to the Sphere Podcast: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/48eWEcxSYDyrgjC3lO0EJZ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB2gs2TBXeP7vyn9QUaaxjQ- - FOLLOW on X: Pascal - https://x.com/pegobry_en Noah - https://x.com/Noahpinion - Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see https://a16z.com/disclosures.

Jeffrey Epstein and the necropolitical economy of the undead

Clara Shih on how AI will soon displace the first few rungs on the career ladder — and why she left Big Tech to do something about it

Leaders from Brex, Synctera, Natural, and more are joining us in San Francisco on Sept. 29

And with Ayana Johnson!