Build or Break

Andrew Yang Explains Why 94% of Congress Never Loses Reelection

September 15, 2026·1h 10m
Episode Description from the Publisher

Andrew Yang was right about the 2024 election. He was right about AI. He was right about MATH. When he talks, you better pay attention! I sat down with Andrew Yang for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from personal to political and back again — getting bullied as the only Asian kid in his school, quitting a prestigious law firm five months in, and building the "Yang Gang" from a fringe campaign into a national movement built on a $3 million baseball cap. Andrew opens up about the hardest year of his life — becoming a father to a son later diagnosed as on the autism spectrum — and connects it directly to why he ran for president. He breaks down why 94% of Congress never loses reelection despite a 10% approval rating, why he quit the Democratic Party in 2021, and why investors will fund almost anything as long as it has "AI" in the name. Along the way: the real story behind "MATH," his viral Cupid Shuffle moment, and a live demonstration of my favorite party trick/pain tolerance tester I brought over from Mexico! Andrew is funny, blunt, and still relentlessly early on the things everyone else eventually catches up to. Watch the full interview now. 0:00 – Cold open & Intro 2:05 – Getting bullied as the only Asian kid in school 4:40 – Quitting his law career & his first failure 9:12 – The roots of his entrepreneurship 13:32 – Investors who'll only fund you if you slap "AI" on it 19:55 – The real origin story of "MATH" 24:45 – Gerrymandering, primaries, and why Congress doesn’t work 39:04 – Andrew’s vision for an independent presidential primary 44:57 – His two biggest lessons for anyone running for office 48:50 – His biggest professional regret 54:38 – What Andrew’s doing now 58:23 – Mexican Inquisition and Toques 1:08:06 – Rapid-fire: Build or Break round  Follow Andrew:  https://www.youtube.com/@AndrewYangPodcast https://www.instagram.com/andrewyang/ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialandrewyang https://x.com/AndrewYang https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewyangvfa/ https://www.instagram.com/DanielLubetzky https://www.tiktok.com/@daniellubetzky https://x.com/DanielLubetzky https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellubetzky https://daniellubetzky.com/ 🙋🏻Become a Builder: https://buildersmovement.org/  Music: Amos Cochran https://www.editscoremusic.com/ Production: Straybird Studios https://www.straybird.studio/ Post Production: Jennell Lewis & Scott Convery Social Media Production: https://www.edits-etc.com/ Build or Break Team:  Executive Producer & Host: Daniel Lubetzky Executive Producer: Kristin Schneider Head of Programming & Production: Joel Rubin Marketing & Communications: Sarah Black Associate Producer & Social Media: Taylor Larned Booking & Scheduling: Kayla Rose Network Relations: Julianna Cohen

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