Mike and Jon follow up on the cost of cabs and Ryanair flights, and make corrections about car ownership and New York hurricanes.  They also talk about the Economist Newspaper’s odd practice of collective authorship, and why we trust certain media sources sources.  After this they explain the Catalan independence movement and have a discussion on various secession  movements and the future of the European Union more broadly.

Listen to this Episode and Learn:

The origins of the Economist Newspaper

Our thoughts on trust of the media

The forces driving the Catalan independence movement

Our thoughts on secessionists, nationalism, and self determination

Mentioned in the Episode:

Ryanair: 10 euro flights between the UK and Ireland

New England hurricane killed 60 people

the Economist Newspaper

Why Economist Authors aren’t listed

Bloomberg Businessweek

Economist founded September 1843 - to fight corn laws among other things

Catalan Independence

Galencia and basque independent movements

Scottish independence referendum

Catalonia’s referendum - October 2017 - 92% for 8% against

2016 US Election - 58% of eligible voters turned out

Correction: Catalonia accounts for 20% of Spanish GDP

Population of Catalonia is 7.5 million > Ireland (4.7M) or Denmark (5.7M)

Italy’s Northern League

Correction: Naples is Italy’s 3rd largest city

IRA - Irish Republican Army not to be confused with NRA - National Rifle Association

Peruvian ethnic and linguistic diversity

Chinese Languages

Indian linguistic diversity

Esperonto - the second language of the world

Gaudi houses in Barcelona

Listen to this Episode and Learn:

Some history of social change and the the issue of gay marriage in the USA

How demographics, birth rates, and life spans are changing around the world

Our thoughts on why people struggle with change and how integral change is to human perception

How Generational change is unique

The importance of the aging of the populace and how that will affect society in the coming decades

Mentioned in the episode:

Hate listening to podcasts: The Joe Rogan Experience

Books:

The righteous mind  - Jonathan Haidt - People make political choices due to morality more than economic interests

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Demographic changes and life extension in asia: Japan, China, India, Indonesia

Japan Population is in Decline

China population will decline by 2025