PODCAST · society
Simon's Unsubject Podcast
by Simon Lee
unsubject covers (1) random topics; (2) the Sinosphere and the world; (3) economics, public policy, and technology. unsubject.substack.com
Episodes
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Beyond the Left-Right Trap
Every night the news draws the same line. Left or right. Pundits place the parties on it, pollsters place the voters on it, and each of us is quietly asked to find our spot and stand there. We have used this line because it is quick and everyone understands it. But over the years I have come to...
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Why We Fall in Love With Things That Can’t Love Us Back
His name is Punch. He is seven months old, weighs perhaps half a kilogram, and lives at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo. His mother rejected him at birth. His peers bully him — dragging him by the hair, shoving him away from food. He has no allies in his troop, no one to groom him, no warmth to...
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If We Cannot Enter the Mind of a Bat, How Can a Computer Enter Ours?
Imagine you are tasked with building a perfect simulation of a bat. You have access to everything science knows about bat cognition: the mechanics of echolocation, the neural architecture that processes sonar signals, the frequency ranges the bat uses to navigate in darkness, to locate prey, to...
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When Information Begins to Think
Information is the representation of reality. It sounds simple, even trivial, but if you stay with it for a moment, it begins to open into something vast. The universe once existed without anyone to think about information. There was no record, no communication, no trace of thought except the...
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A Costly Alignment
The Illusion of Simplification For shareholders of HSBC Holdings PLC, the proposed privatization of Hang Seng Bank (HASE) is a textbook case study of how politics and institutional concerns trump shareholders’ interests. Despite the elegant management’s narrative put forward by HSBC and Hang…
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The Great America: 250 Years of Reinvention
Two hundred and fifty years is a blink in the span of human civilization. Empires have risen and fallen over centuries; religions have endured for millennia. Yet in that quarter of a millennium, the United States compressed more transformation into its history than perhaps any other society. What...
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McCarthyism's Long Shadow
It was 1954. Millions of Americans sat glued to their television sets as Senator Joseph McCarthy, once the most feared man in Washington, was humiliated during the Army–McCarthy hearings. “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” the famous rebuke rang out, and the chamber fell silent. For many, it…
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Elon’s $1 Trillion Ask
Tesla’s second quarter of 2025 was brutal: deliveries fell 13.5% year-on-year, revenue contracted 12%, and operating margins compressed to mid-single digits. Yet, in the middle of this slump, the board is asking shareholders to approve the largest CEO pay package in corporate history—potentially...
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Arches Without Keystones
What if I told you that Southeast Asia — one of the fastest-growing regions in the world — rests on fragile arches without keystones? Indonesia, the demographic engine. Thailand, the geographic pivot. Two nations that hold up ASEAN. But here’s the paradox: their democracies look complete —...
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The Architectures of Control
There are concepts that, while seemingly abstract, possess a profound and often insidious power to shape our lives, our societies, and the very future of human liberty: Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, and Extremism. These are not mere political labels; they are pathologies of power, each...
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From Rules-Based to Rival Visions
It has been some time since the last update. The seismic shifts following the events of early 2020 have left many feeling adrift. Subsequently, the trade war destabilized markets. The push for deglobalization is a worrying retreat from the principles of comparative advantage and global…
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A Free Market Lens on Canada
As a free marketeer, I typically do not publicly support candidates for political office. The following interview with the leader of the People's Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, was recorded in March. I also want to be transparent and disclose that my friend Mimi Lee is running for the...
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Why Jimmy Remains Unbroken
A few days ago, I attended an event where someone asked, "Why doesn’t the CCP just ‘take care’ of Jimmy Lai? Wouldn't that be the simplest solution?" It was the launch of Mark Clifford’s new book, The Troublemaker. I was there as an audience to show support. During the discussion, the topic of…
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The Trial of Jimmy Lai
For those familiar with the 2019 resistance movement in Hong Kong, images of mass protest and calls for freedom remain vivid. What is less known is the aftermath, the events that unfolded once the global spotlight faded. Among these developments, the trial of Apple Daily and its founder, Jimmy…
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Tariffs and the Fentanyl Crisis
Yes, you heard me. There are people in the United States and Canada who support Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S. I’m not surprised, though I can hardly see how imposing tariffs on all imports could magically make Fentanyl disappear from our streets. As a father of a...
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What exactly is populism?
"What exactly is populism?” A listener asked me this after my recent Cantonese podcast. It's such a simple question, but it really made me think. We throw this word around all the time, don't we? Populism this, populism that. But what does it actually mean? I started looking into it, and here's...
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A Global Wave of Incumbent Defeats
This year, 64 countries, representing 2 billion voters, held national elections—a density of political activity unparalleled in history. As we reflect on these global political shifts, one trend is particularly striking: the widespread struggles of incumbent governments. Across various regions,...
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How I Vote
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority." Lord Acton As election day approaches, friends and...
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Shattered Binary
A mentor figure sent me an email about one of my latest blog posts. He said he stopped reading after the first line because I had used the left-right paradigm to frame my argument. My initial reaction was a mix of emotions – first, the pleasant surprise that people are actually reading my work,...
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Beyond Milei's Chainsaw
Last year, Argentina elected what many would consider unthinkable a few years ago: a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist president who campaigned while wielding a chainsaw. But here's the thing - Javier Milei's rise to power isn't just some political oddity. It's what happens when a country…
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Boeing's Downfall
Boeing was once the gold standard in aviation, synonymous with safety, reliability, and engineering brilliance. For decades, its aircraft not only filled the skies but did so with unmatched precision and excellence. However, the Boeing of today is a far cry from the Boeing of yesterday. In the…
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What Really Ails Canada
I’ve noticed that most Hong Kong immigrants lean center-right, often finding Canadian progressivism too extreme for their tastes. Some are eager to change their circumstances through the ballot box but feel that, as a minority, our influence is limited. The Progressives Before discussing what…
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Economics in One Concept
Over the years, I’ve received requests from those eager to dive deeper into the world of economics. While there are plenty of resources available for those who want to study the subject, I understand that many of you are looking for something more personal, something that reflects my unique...
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The Disappearing Middle and the Barbell Economy
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit unsubject.substack.com Let me cut right to the chase: in the not-so-distant future, many small and medium-sized businesses are going to disappear. Why? Because of disintermediation. The market is shifting into a "barbell" structure. On...
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Harris' Plan to Regulate Prices
Inflation is one of the central issues in the upcoming election, and Kamala Harris’ campaign is no exception in addressing it. Her solution? Ban price gouging. On the surface, it’s an easy sell—attack the big, bad corporations and promise lower prices. But anyone with even a passing understanding...
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Taiwan's Political Deadlock
As a Hong Konger, I have witnessed firsthand how institutions can crumble when an authoritarian regime, such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), undermines and eventually erodes the institutions of a once free and open society. The CCP, often thinking of themselves as playing the long game, has...
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The New Cold War with China
The specter of the Cold War continues to haunt us. In an essay written in 1945, George Orwell introduced the term "Cold War" with prescient clarity, capturing an era where nuclear arsenals promised mutual destruction and rendered total conquest impossible. This led to perpetual tension, a world...
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The Question Li Ka-Shing Should Have Asked About Hong Kong's Future
This morning, I came across a news report about Li Ka-Shing. The Singaporean authority filmed Li Ka-Shing for the centenary commemoration of Lee Kuan Yew's life. Li Ka-shing's participation was a textbook example of public relations, and it made perfect sense for him to honor the Lee family of...
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Reminiscence of an Aborted Revolution
If you're interested in a success story about the subscription economy, look no further than Apple Daily. We launched our subscription model in 2019, and within just three months, we skyrocketed from zero to nearly 800,000 subscribers. For context, it took the New York Times almost five years to...
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The Post-Copyright Era
The 15th-century introduction of the printing press led to the increased distribution of literary works, prompting writers to seek protection for their intellectual property. In 17th-century England, the Licensing Act of 1662 granted limited rights to authors, providing them exclusive control…
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Co-evolving Worldview and Reality
Throughout history, our understanding of the world has shaped the technology available to us. As our comprehension of reality evolves, so too does our potential for innovation. This is why it is crucial to study metaphysical problems, as they can provide us with valuable insights that guide the...
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Why Free Speech is the Most Basic Right
In a Facebook post, Hong Kong rapper MC Yan remarked that freedom of speech is not just about saying what you want but also about the freedom to hear what you want. But what exactly is freedom of speech, and why is it so important? Some suggest that freedom of speech includes the right to remain...
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Why Fixing Higher Education Key to Defending Liberty
In the past three years, I have shared my thoughts on how Hong Kong lost its freedom with my American friends, who often ask me how liberty is lost. Liberty is more than just the absence of government control; it's the ability to think independently, challenge ideas, and pursue knowledge. It…
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What "National Security" Really Means in China
I would like to apologize for the lack of updates on the blog in recent weeks. I have been busy learning how to use various AI tools to improve my effectiveness, which has taken up much of my time. However, I am excited to share with you that I am determined to keep updating this blog and share...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
unsubject covers (1) random topics; (2) the Sinosphere and the world; (3) economics, public policy, and technology.
unsubject.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Simon Lee
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Simon's Unsubject Podcast have?
Simon's Unsubject Podcast currently has 34 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Simon's Unsubject Podcast about?
unsubject covers (1) random topics; (2) the Sinosphere and the world; (3) economics, public policy, and technology. unsubject.substack.com
How often does Simon's Unsubject Podcast release new episodes?
Simon's Unsubject Podcast has 34 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Simon's Unsubject Podcast?
You can listen to Simon's Unsubject Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Simon's Unsubject Podcast?
Simon's Unsubject Podcast is created and hosted by Simon Lee.
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