E60: Trump Coin, US Industrial Policy, and TikTok Ban

On this week's episode of The Riff, Erik Torenberg and Byrne Hobart explore the impact of technological change on markets, touching on meme investments, ESG, the rise of meme stocks and coins, Trump’s policies, China’s economic strategies, industrial policy debates, and how these factors could shape the future political and economic landscape. --- 🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse. --- Highlights from the Episode: Trump's recent cryptocurrency launch represents a significant shift in his financial strategy. Meme coins/markets serve as a way to quantify social media competition and turn online engagement into measurable outcomes. China's growth model succeeded in transitioning from low to middle income but faces difficulties reaching high-income status. Japanese 30-year bonds now yield more than Chinese ones, suggesting market expects higher long-term growth in Japan. Bipartisan concerns over TikTok's influence and Chinese ownership, coupled with Trump's reversal on the ban, highlight shifting political coalitions. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov and researcher Nadia Asparouhova kick off the series with an unfiltered conversation about their relationship evolution. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod -- SPONSORS: Notion 📝Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/upstreampod Vanta: Vanta simplifies security and compliance for businesses of all sizes. Automate compliance across 35+ frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO 27001, streamline security workflows, and complete questionnaires up to 5x faster. Trusted by over 9,000 companies, Vanta helps you manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1,000 off at https://vanta.com/revolution --- LINKS: Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co --- X / TWITTER: https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne) https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)