WanderLearn: Travel to Transform Your Mind & Life

Meet Moses Ochonu, African History Professor at Vanderbilt.

Professor Ochonu wrote, "On Failed States and the Pitfalls of Western Commentary" on AfricaIsACountry.com

Watch the discussion on YouTube.

Although I think that our conversation is tame and reasonable, Internet extremists and hyper-sensitive people may bristle at something I say in the interview.
 


That's why part of me dreads releasing such a video/podcast.
 

In our 1-hour civil and lively discussion, we hit on the following topics:

00:00 Intro
01:00 Why did he write this article?
04:00 "This is Nigeria" song
08:00 B. Obama's tough love for Africa
13:20 The Danger of a Single Story
16:30 Racist critics?
18:00 Infantalizing Africans and denying them agency
19:00 Go where the facts lead you
22:30 Is the single story outdated?
25:00 6 Causes of Africa's condition
30:00 Is Balance always good?
33:00 Should we just blame the system?
38:00 Corruption in Sweden
40:00 Capital outflow
41:00 Moral consequences of corruption
46:00 How to become like Sweden
49:00 Balance vs. One-Sided
54:30 Liberal Guilt

To read Ochonu's articles visit:

- AfricaIsACountry.com

- His Vanderbilt page

Feedback

Leave an anonymous voicemail on SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

Or go to Wanderlearn.com, click on this episode, and write a comment.

More info

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

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My Patrons sponsored this show!

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

In the USA, I recommend trading crypto with Kraken or FTX.us

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear

 

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Watch the May 2022 video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3BWdciKZ7c 

Once a year, I review Plan B's stock-to-flow model, which predicts Bitcoin's price. I first critiqued it on May 11, 2020, which was the day of the 3rd Bitcoin halving. Plan B blocked me because of it.

Last year, on May 11, 2021, I reflected on how well the price had been tracking the model, but I warned that we should not become overly exuberant. I predicted that we would drop below $40,000 in 2022, perhaps below $30,000, and maybe even below $20,000. It all seemed rather ludicrous given that BTC was at $55,000. Still, I insisted that on May 11, 2022, things would be far more "sober."

As I write this on May 9, 2022, Bitcoin is trading at $31,000. See my video (which was filmed on May 9, when BTC was around $35,000).

Timeline

00:00 Intro
00:52 May 2021 clip
02:07 Has Plan B Failed?
03:09 S2F range
03:40 Anthony Pompliano Plan B Interview
05:19 S2F $50k Model
06:15 Moving the goalposts
07:45 My BTC Predictions
08:25 BTC Chart analysis
10:00 Updated price prediction
10:47 Where I went wrong
12:20 Conclusion

More info

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at http://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

My Patrons sponsored this show!

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

DISCLAIMER

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing herein shall be construed to be financial legal or tax advice. The content of this video is solely the opinions of the speaker who is not a licensed financial advisor or registered investment advisor. Trading cryptocurrencies poses considerable risk of loss. The speaker does not guarantee any particular outcome.

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

People who call themselves "Asians" and "Americans" have usurped words that have a much broader definition than the one most people use today.

If you don't understand, please listen to this mini-podcast!

And give me feedback below on what would be a good solution.

Here are some ideas:

American => Gringo or Yank(ee)

Asian => East Asian

Or let East Asians keep "Asian" as their term and then we refer to things from Asia as "Oriental" (Asia used to be called "the Orient").

What do you think?

You can give feedback on Speakpipe or email (see below).

Mini-podcast episodes

In 2021, I made a 30-min WanderLearn episode about 12 words/phrases that are commonly misused. 

Although the video and podcast got decent attention, some people have a short attention span. 

Therefore, I broke that long episode into short segments that are easy to share. 

These bite-sized chunks are perfect for sharing.

You might only agree with three of my suggestions and not all 12. 

Therefore, evangelize the words/phrases you want the world to change. Together, we can change their use. Yes, it's ambitious, but let's embark on this journey!

Feedback

What do you think of these mini-episodes?

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

https://speakpipe.com/ftapon  

Or email me at [email protected] 

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

No, You Can NOT Give More Than 100%! Stop exaggerating!

If your employee tells you that he's giving you 110%, fire his ass for lying.

I explain in this mini-podcast!

Mini-podcast episodes

In 2021, I made a 30-min WanderLearn episode about 12 words/phrases that are commonly misused. 

Although the video and podcast got decent attention, some people have a short attention span. 

Therefore, I broke that long episode into short segments that are easy to share. 

These bite-sized chunks are perfect for sharing.

You might only agree with three of my suggestions and not all 12. 

Therefore, evangelize the words/phrases you want the world to change. Together, we can change their use. Yes, it's ambitious, but let's embark on this journey!

Feedback

What do you think of these mini-episodes?

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

https://speakpipe.com/ftapon  

Or email me at [email protected] 

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

I respect vaccine skeptics.
They keep vaccine proponents honest.
They force vaccine defenders to provide strong justifications.
It's important to communicate with them with respect, not derision.

If you think there's skepticism in the high-income, educated world, you should visit the rest of the world.

It's higher.

I'd like to respectfully address some of the concerns that vaccine skeptics have.

Two-year anniversary

The Coronavirus Pandemic has lasted for two years, which is the same amount of time that took for the Spanish Flu Pandemic to begin to die out.

Are you fearful?

I fear neither the Coronavirus nor its vaccines.
Most people fear one or both.
That fear pushes them to take a strong position.

I don't take a strong position because I don't give a f**k what people do since COVID is no big deal unless you're old and/or fat.

Answer these 3 questions

1. What is the percentage chance that you'll get COVID?

2. If you get COVID, what is the percentage chance that you'll get extremely sick or die?

3. What is the percentage chance that you will get extremely sick or die from getting a COVID vaccine?

My estimates

1. 80% - if it's not already endemic, it will be in 2022.

2. Less than 1%. If you're old/fat, much higher. If you're thin/young, much lower.

3. 10-1000x less likely than #2.

I took the vaccine because I figured that the odds that I would get hospitalized (or die) due to COVID was probably 1 in 1,000 since I'm old but not fat.

Meanwhile, the odds of getting seriously fucked up from the vaccine was probably, at worst, 1 in 10,000.

If my estimates are reasonable, the answer was clear. Neither poses a grave risk. I do many things that are far riskier. So I need not lose sleep over either the vaccines or COVID.

Of the two highly unlikely events, getting fucked up from the vaccine was even less likely than the virus destroying me.

What do anti-vaxxers say?

Of course, anti-vaccine folks probably flip my estimates.
Some flip them to a comical level.
One friend claimed that if she took the vaccine, there was an 80% chance that she would be hospitalized, which is f*****g hilarious.

I'd advise you to research this, but the problem with the internet is that you can find a seemingly "reliable source" for almost anything you can imagine.

I can "prove" that:

• the moon landings didn't happen


• the world is flat


• broccoli is bad for you

When to question the majority

If you don't want to take a vaccine, it's probably because you don't trust the standard news sources. And you don't trust over 90% of doctors and medical experts.

I'm all for taking contrarian perspectives - I do it all the time. There's a famous line:

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. - Mark Twain

However, at some point, you might want to pause and reflect more carefully if you're in the minority.

Why not be skeptical about whether murder, stealing, or Hitler are bad?

The evil mainstream media, the powerful politicians, and the fat cat corporations are unanimously pushing the narrative that murder, stealing, and Hitler are horrible. Shouldn't that make you suspicious? Isn't obvious why that is? I'll tell you why:

• They're against murder because they want to keep the population high so that more people are competing for jobs and that brings wages down!


• They're against stealing because the prison and justice system makes fat profits from all the thieves - and powerful people don't want to cut into their ill-gotten gains!


• They're against Hitler because all those powerful entities are run by Jews and they don't want another populist to get elected!

The point of my ludicrous arguments is that you can always take a contrarian viewpoint. You can always invent a conspiracy theory. However, believe it or not, the majority is usually right about most things. 

Why should anyone care whether others take the vaccine?

The libertarian in me doesn't give a f**k if someone doesn't want to take the vaccine just like I don't give a f**k if someone doesn't want to wear a seatbelt.

The only problem I have is when taxpayers have to pay for the hospitalization costs of those who don't wear seatbelts.
Unfortunately, it's too draconian to put a law that says, "No seatbelt, then the government will not cover your car accident costs."

The same goes for vaccines. If people want to defy the conventional wisdom that vaccines and seatbelts are helpful, that's fine, but don't expect society to pay for your medical bills if you're wrong.

Long-term side effects of vaccines?

The skeptic fears the long-term side effects of vaccines. But those same skeptics have several vaccines in their bodies. Most of us have taken vaccines for typhoid, tetanus, rubella, measles, mumps, Hep A/B, and polio. If you've traveled to the tropics, you probably got the yellow fever vaccine.

If vaccines are going to have nasty side effects, they always show those side effects hours, days, or weeks after the shot. It won't show up 5 years later. 

On the contrary, vaccines get weaker with time, which is why we usually need booster shots.

But what about mRNA vaccines?

If you're worried about the dreaded new technology of mRNA, you can do what I did: take the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine. Or the Chinese or Russian vaccines, which are based on traditional vaccine development methods. 

If those vaccines haven't significant side effects after being out for over one year and having gone through 100 million shots, then they won't have side effects in five years.

Every year, vaccines for typhoid, tetanus, rubella, measles, mumps, Hep A/B, yellow fever, and polio send people to the hospital due to horrible side effects. However, those are exceedingly rare events.

If one in 100,000 people who get a vaccine get hospitalized due to the vaccine, that's 80,000 cases worldwide (assuming everyone gets the vaccine)!

Imagine that! 80,000 potential news stories of people falling gravely ill due to a vaccine!

And if kills one in a million, then that's 8,000 deaths from vaccines! Horrible, right?

Not necessarily.

You must ask yourself, are my odds of dying from the coronavirus lower than one in a million?

Humans are poor with math and statistics. I hope this helps. 

Share

Share this post if you think it might help an open-minded person who is on the fence (if such a creature still exists).

Record feedback

Leave anonymous verbal feedback at Speakpipe.com/ftapon 

More info

If you like this, subscribe and share!

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

Gossamer Gear is my favorite backpacking gear provider.

 

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Maybe "pride comes before the fall," but there's nothing inherently bad about being proud of something - unless you didn't earn it!

I explain in this mini-podcast!

Mini-podcast episodes

In 2021, I made a 30-min WanderLearn episode about 12 words/phrases that are commonly misused. 

Although the video and podcast got decent attention, some people have a short attention span. 

Therefore, I broke that long episode into short segments that are easy to share. 

These bite-sized chunks are perfect for sharing.

You might only agree with three of my suggestions and not all 12. 

Therefore, evangelize the words/phrases you want the world to change. Together, we can change their use. Yes, it's ambitious, but let's embark on this journey!

Feedback

What do you think of these mini-episodes?

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

https://speakpipe.com/ftapon  

Or email me at [email protected] 

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Recently, you may have heard that bond yields have "inverted."

What does that mean? 

Financial reporters talk about bonds and yields often.
It must be important, but why?
What's the difference between a Treasury bill, a note, and a bond?
Why are inverted yield curves scary?

Timeline

00:00 Question from a listeners
01:00 What's a bond?
02:20 Fed funds rate & inflation
03:00 3 Types of bonds
03:48 Bonds interest rates impact
04:33 Inverted yield curve
05:50 Why bond values are inversely proportional to yields
07:45 Conclusion

Thanks to Dan Coplan for asking the question!

Watch the Video

Feedback: Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using SpeakPipe.

More info
If you like this, subscribe and share!

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always ftapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

Gossamer Gear is my favorite backpacking gear provider.

 

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

This ain't no April Fools!  Yes, you judge. Everyone does.

Do you know people who self-righteously claim they don't judge anyone?

They're lying.

I explain in this mini-podcast!

Share it with anyone who demands that you stop judging them.

Mini-podcast episodes

In 2021, I made a 30-min WanderLearn episode about 12 words/phrases that are commonly misused. 

Although the video and podcast got decent attention, some people have a short attention span. 

Therefore, I broke that long episode into short segments that are easy to share. 

These bite-sized chunks are perfect for sharing.

You might only agree with three of my suggestions and not all 12. 

Therefore, evangelize the words/phrases you want the world to change. Together, we can change their use. Yes, it's ambitious, but let's embark on this journey!

Feedback

What do you think of these mini-episodes?

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

https://speakpipe.com/ftapon  

Or email me at [email protected] 

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

Nejc Trušnovec is a War Analyst who has been following the Ukraine War closely.

We recorded this on March 27, 2022.

You can watch the video interview on YouTube.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

04:00 Current War Situation

05:50 Tactics

14:00 Are we rushing to judgment?

17:00 What's next?

19:10 What will happen to Putin?

23:00 Best News Sources

24:00 Final predictions

 

Nejc's Top 3 War News Sources

Battlefront Forum

Military Land

Understanding War

 

Feedback

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe

It's remarkable how many smart people say, "It's a fraction of..."

They are leaving out an important word that comes before the word "fraction."

In this mini-podcast, I explain.

Mini-podcast episodes

In 2021, I made a 30-min WanderLearn episode about 12 words/phrases that are commonly misused. 

Although the video and podcast got decent attention, some people have a short attention span. 

Therefore, I broke that long episode into short segments that are easy to share. 

These bite-sized chunks are perfect for sharing.

You might only agree with three of my suggestions and not all 12. 

Therefore, evangelize the words/phrases you want the world to change. Together, we can change their use. Yes, it's ambitious, but let's embark on this journey!

Feedback

What do you think of these mini-episodes?

Give anonymous verbal feedback to this show or to the podcast in general by using the SpeakPipe link below.

https://speakpipe.com/ftapon  

Or email me at [email protected] 

More info

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

My Patrons and Gossamer Gear sponsored this show!

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Follow me on:

• http://facebook.com/ftapon


• http://twitter.com/ftapon


• http://youtube.com/user/ftapon 


• https://instagram.com/ftapon 


• http://pinterest.com/ftapon


• http://tumblr.com/ftapon

Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron at http://Patreon.com/FTapon

Rewards start at just $2/month!

If you prefer to send me a one-time tip on PayPal, use my email [email protected]

Lastly, for cryptocurrency tips, use my address: FTapon.x

Affiliate links

Start your own podcast with the same company I use, Podbean, and get one month free!

https://www.podbean.com/ftapon

 In the USA, trade crypto with Kraken

https://r.kraken.com/c/2226643/687189/10583 

or FTX.us

https://ftx.us/home/#a=8886044

Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

Get full access to Francis Tapon at ftapon.substack.com/subscribe