Unf*cking The Republic

Donald Trump has already destroyed much of the global economy, but the worst has yet to hit the United States. This “resilience paradox” is the result of early stage demand destruction, something economists fear and policy makers have no defense against. There are multiple factors holding the U.S. economy together in a way that other countries cannot manage. And most of the damage is baked in and irreversible. Thus far, one of the more powerful dynamics has been the market’s hesitation to bet long or short on price movement, because of the fluid and unpredictable nature of Trump’s on-again/off-again announcements regarding the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. We dissect it all and lay out the scenarios ahead and what it means for the American consumer. Resources The Hill: Trump's sharp Iran reversal: Teases deal & cancels strikes after Kharg Island threats RSMUS: American demand destruction: Seven channels that compound to threaten U.S. growth CarEdge: The Auto Loan Crisis Just Hit a 32-Year Record: What It Means for Car Prices McKinsey: An update on US consumer sentiment: Gloomier outlook ahead of sunnier days Bloomberg: Why Oil’s Not at $200 After the Biggest Supply Shock in History Autoweek: U.S. Auto Sales On Track for 2.6 Percent Drop in 2026 as War and Tariffs Cloud Outlook BLS: CPI Data MacroMicro: US - Housing Price Index vs. Rent Inflation BLS: Real Earnings Summary - 2026 M05 Results -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 are back after a week of colds, poison ivy, and Knicks supremacy. They hit headlines on the left’s idea problem, Google’s water pledges and data center backlash, Meta embedding face recognition into its smart glasses app, and Phoebe Bridgers playing MSG. Then they tackle listener emails on Democratic double standards, Israel and the hypocrisy talking point, and keeping Gaza woven into every story. Plus, they rank their Top 5 unhinged things they’d do with billionaire money. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:05 Headlines: 00:14:28 Emails: 00:36:22 Top 5: 00:53:33 Memberships: 01:03:21 Outro: 01:05:57 Resources The Verge: AI has a water problem. Google thinks it has a fix Dissent Magazine: The Left Needs Ideas TechCrunch: Erin Brockovich takes aim at data center secrecy The Verge: Republicans want the FBI to probe whether foreign adversaries are stoking US data center backlash. Wired: Meta Silently Added Face-Recognition Code for Its Smart Glasses to Millions of Phones Pitchfork: Phoebe Bridgers to Play Surprise Madison Square Garden Show UNFTR Resources Read: The Donroe Doctrine. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 return to close out the month with another Omnibus. They hit headlines on the Jacobin AI debate, U.S. complicity in the flotilla torture, and USDA plans, then tackle listener emails on financial repression, mortgage rates, and a stablecoin question from the crypto heist episode. They rank their Top 5 fictional characters you'd want on your side in a crisis, and close out with some movie talk. Enjoy, Unf*ckers! Chapters Intro: 00:00:08 Headlines: 00:02:36 Emails: 00:42:29 Top 5: 01:02:01 Beyond the Bullshit: 01:12:46 Memberships: 01:24:25 Outro: 01:25:00 Resources Common Dreams: Global Sumud Flotilla Urges Probe of US Complicity in Members’ Abduction and Torture by Israel Jacobin: Democratic Governance of AI Is the Real Solution Jacobin: Stop the AI Build-Out, Start the Fight Bad Faith: Breaking Down Jacobin's MIND BOGGLING Pro AI Article (W/ Levine, Ongweso & Regunberg) Mother Jones: USDA Plan to Jack Up Line Speeds at Meatpacking Plants Seems Like a Terrible Idea UNFTR Resources Episode: A (Mostly) Vegan World: Plantf*ckers Can Save Us All -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 are back, again! They hit headlines on Cuba, prediction markets, AI getting booed at graduations, and James Murdoch. Then they tackle listener corrections, emails on data centers and why Americans cling to empire. Plus, they rank their Top 5 things we all pretend are normal but are absolutely ridiculous. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:23 Max Is Tweaked: 00:07:54 Headlines: 00:27:57 Emails: 00:54:24 Top 5: 01:26:34 Beyond the Bullshit: 01:45:56 Memberships: 01:51:21 Outro: 01:51:55 Resources Common Dreams: 11,000 Children Among Tens of Thousands ‘Waiting for Surgery’ in Cuba Due to US Blockade npr: Minnesota becomes first state to ban prediction market Bloomberg: Communist Cuba Is Leaning on Capitalists After Oil Runs Out New York Times: James Murdoch, Intent on ‘Thoughtful Journalism,’ Buys Half of Vox Media HuffPo: Speakers At College Commencement Ceremonies Are Being Met With Boos For Bringing Up AI UNFTR Resources Video: Castro Indictment Proves US Plans to Invade Cuba Video: These Trump Scandals Are Unprecedented Video: Trump’s Crypto Bill Just Cleared Committee—Here’s What It Actually Does -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Trump family crypto grift moved into high gear by clearing an important legislative hurdle this week. The CLARITY Act officially moved out of committee and now goes to the Agriculture Committee before being paired with the House version and going for a final vote. Despite valiant attempts by Elizabeth Warren to put some guardrails and ethics provisions in place, the GOP shot them all down. Hundreds of millions in lobbying from the crypto industry has been sunk into a bill that has the potential to damage the banking system and enrich the President’s family. This is an update to an ongoing story about the ultimate financial heist happening in real time and right under our noses. Resources CoinDesk: Clarity Act Markup Session Bloomberg: Quiet Token Sales Boosted Trump Crypto Wealth by $660 Million CNBC: Crypto industry scores win as Clarity Act regulation bill clears Senate hurdle Public Citizen: Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 Million Influencing Elections American Bankers Association: ABA Community Bankers Council Letter Urging Senators to Close the Stablecoin Loophole Circle Stablecoin Reserve Tether Stablecoin Reserve Senate Banking Committee Markup News: Chairman Scott, Senate Banking Committee Advance Clarity Act in Historic Bipartisan Vote UNFTR Resources Episode: Trump Is Looting the Treasury. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflation figures came out this week and they were absolutely brutal. April CPI was startling enough, but the Producer Price Index (PPI), which is an indicator of inflation in the pipeline was shocking. Oil reserves are running down to dangerously low levels and it’s clear now that there’s no immediate resolution to the oil crisis, so we’re about to realize our worst economic fears. We take a look back at our predictions from nine months ago to see how accurate they are and to build on them for what comes next. Against the backdrop of this horrible inflation data, we have a new sheriff in town at the Federal Reserve. The man whose job it is to theoretically tame inflation has no tools in the box to deal with this level of crisis. The real question is whether he ever intended to. Resources Bloomberg Podcasts: Senate Confirms Warsh to Lead Fed as Trump Tests Its Autonomy CNBC Television: Wholesale inflation jumps 6% in April on annual basis, biggest increase since 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Producer Price Index News Release summary - 2026 M04 Results U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index Summary - 2026 M04 Results WSJ: Kevin Warsh’s Full Fed Chair Confirmation Hearing Manhattan Institute: Reform the Federal Reserve’s Governance to Deliver Better Monetary Outcomes Hudson Bay Capital: A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System EPI: Profits and price inflation are indeed linked Groundwork Collaborative: Inflation Revelation: How Outsized Corporate Profits Drive Rising Costs IEA: Oil Stocks of IEA Countries – Data Tools CNBC: Analysis: Warsh emerges from a difficult hearing with his Fed ‘regime-change’ plan intact’ UNFTR Resources Essay: Inflation, The Fed and What Comes Next. Video: Stephen Miran Is Going To Be Fed Chair. Video: The Warsh Man for the Job. Max for MTN. Episode: 10 Economic Terms To Know in This Economy. Episode: The End of the American Experiment. Episode. Stupid Is As Stupid Does. Episode: Labor Unions: From Pullman to Kellogg’s. Episode: Stephen Miran Is Going To Be Fed Chair. Episode: Project 2025. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 are back for another episode of Omnibus. They hit headlines on vitamin K refusal, abortion pill access hanging by a thread, Germany asking Israel for jet fuel, and a robotic companion with AI surveillance built in, then tackle listener emails on deflation, data center slowdowns, and book recommendations. They rank their Top 5 brands to support and close with some light bullshit. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:08 Headlines: 00:05:49 Emails: 00:30:48 Top 5: 01:09:33 Beyond the Bullshit: 01:22:49 Memberships: 01:25:52 Outro: 01:26:35 Resources ProPublica: Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth Mother Jones: Supreme Court Reinstates Access to Abortion Pills—For Now SCOTUSblog OilPrice.com: Germany Seeks Israeli Jet Fuel As Hormuz Disruptions Cripple Airlines The Verge: The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion Book Love Samuel Farber: Before Stalinism: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Democracy Paul Kriwaczek: Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation Naomi Klein: No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need Rachel Cockerell: Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land Cory Doctorow: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It Peter Joseph: The New Human Rights Movement: Reinventing the Economy to End Oppression Clara E. Mattei: Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention Howard Zinn: A People’s History of the United States Daniella Mestyanek + Amy Reed: Young: The Culting of America: What Makes a Cult and Why We Love Them Yuyi Morales: Dreamers Michael Hudson: J Is for Junk Economics: A Guide to Reality in an Age of Deception David Graeber: Debt: The First 5,000 Years Stephanie Kelton: The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy David Graeber: Bullshit Jobs: A Theory Astra Taylor + Naomi Klein: End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World Top 5 Mother Jones ProPublica PBS The Marshall Project Dr Bronner’s Bookshop.org Wear The Peace Greyston Bakery UNFTR Resources Video: Milei Promised Miracles, Delivered Chaos—Trump Is Next Video: Canada’s Working Class Under Attack: Carney’s Economic Update Decoded Video: They Hide These Economic Words From You—Here’s Why -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.