Health:Further

Vic and Marcus discuss signs of stress in the private credit market, including redemption pressure at Blackstone, major healthcare and AI funding rounds, and the growing interest of technology investors in longevity startups. They examine legal and regulatory developments involving generic drug marketing, Massachusetts' lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare over alleged Medicaid fraud, and California's action related to the 23andMe data breach. The conversation also covers health system adoption of artificial intelligence through partnerships with General Catalyst, new healthcare AI investments, the evolving IPO market, and growing debate over AI regulation and the role of companies such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

Links

Story 1: Economy

2:41 - U.S. Job Openings Increased While Hiring Fell in April WSJ

3:17 - U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Last Week WSJ

3:27 - Kevin Warsh Wants the Fed to Think About Inflation Differently WSJ

Story 2: Private Credit - Blackstone

5:44 - Blackstone Investors Ask to Pull $4.4 Billion From Private-Credit Fund WSJ

Story 3: VC rundown

7:14 - Coinbase Founder’s Longevity Startup Triples in Value WSJ

8:15 - Adaptive Innovations Raises $50M in Series A Funding FINSMES

9:37 - Advanced NanoTherapies raises $31M for drug-coated balloon tech Drug Delivery

9:58 - Contraline and its male birth control candidate rally $92.5M amid push into 'massive white space' of men's health Fierce Healthcare

10:52 - Novellia raises $18M for patient-controlled health data platform MobiHealth

12:55 - Ilant Health Secures $15M to Expand Value-Based Precision Obesity Management HIT

Story 4: SCOTUS

13:45 - It's unanimous: SCOTUS agrees with Hikma in 'skinny label' case vs. Amarin Fierce Healthcare

Story 5: MA sues UHG

16:06 - Massachusetts sues UnitedHealthcare for alleged Medicaid fraud Healthcare Dive

16:58 - California attorney general sues over 23andMe data breach Healthcare Dive

Story 6: Ardent new CEO

18:41 - New Ardent Health CEO inherits growth ambitions Healthcare Dive

Story 7: Ascension

21:56 - Ascension closes its $3.9B AmSurg purchase following FTC's all-clear Fierce Healthcare

Story 8: WellSpan

24:18 - WellSpan Health strikes strategic partnership with Philips to deploy, co-develop new healthcare tech Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: New Brain Tumor Treatment

25:33 - Radiation Device Placed in Brain Cuts Tumor Recurrence, Boosts Survival WSJ

Story 10: Lilly 340B

27:53 - Eli Lilly issues data sharing ultimatum to 340B hospitals Healthcare Dive

Story 11: Autism Fraud?

30:53 - The Autism-Therapy Business Is Booming—and So Is the Billing Abuse WSJ

Story 12: Crypto Winter

39:06 - The Crypto Winter Turns Colder as Bitcoin Extends Its Slide WSJ

39:21 - Strategy shares fall after selling $2.5 million in bitcoin, its first sale since 2022 CNBC

Story 13: Tokenized Bank Deposits

42:34 - JPMorgan, Citi and Big Banks Plan New Tokenized Deposit System to Answer Crypto WSJ

Story 14: Mayo Teams with Microsoft

43:44 - Mayo’s latest AI bet: A frontier model with Microsoft Healthcare Dive

Story 15: AI Regulation

45:23 - Trump Signs AI Executive Order to Increase Government Oversight WSJ

Story 16: IPOs

53:50 - Anthropic Files to Go Public in Blockbuster Year for IPOs WSJ

53:59 - Google Seeks $80 Billion for AI Buildout; Berkshire Will Buy $10 Billion Stake WSJ

54:16 - SpaceX Sets Price for the World’s Largest I.P.O. NYT

Story 17: PCs for AI Agents

55:35 - Nvidia Introduces First PCs Designed for AI Agents WSJ

Story 18: Anthropic Reg Capture

56:31 - Anthropic Urges Global Pause in...

Vic and guest host Emily Evans discuss declining consumer sentiment, challenges in the labor market, and the growing impact of AI on jobs and small businesses. They examine FDA food regulation and the debate around "generally regarded as safe" ingredients, Medicaid policy changes and fraud enforcement efforts under CMS, the expansion of AI from large enterprises to Main Street businesses, concerns that GLP-1 weight loss drugs may contribute to muscle loss and frailty, and major developments in the AI infrastructure race, including Amazon's multibillion-dollar chip deal.

Links

Story 1: Economy

00:41 - U.S. Consumer Sentiment Worsened in May WSJ

1: 39 - This Summer’s Teen Job Market Is the Toughest in Decades WSJ

4:05 - Phoenix Built an Empire of Cubicle Jobs. AI Is Coming to Tear It Down. WSJ

7:32 - The App for Trump Accounts Will Launch Thursday. Here’s What to Know. WSJ

Story 2: VC rundown

11:04 - Commure raises $70M, boosting post-money valuation to $7B Mobi Health

13:08 - Benefitbay raises $18m Series A to scale ICHRA platform FinTech

18:50 - Nourish raises $100M, plans to expand care model with physicians Fierce Healthcare

23:07 - Private Loans to Venture-Backed Startups Surge Despite AI Disruption Concerns WSJ

Story 3: Political Hard-Ball Impacts Medicaid

25:50 - Trump Nemesis Sen. Bill Cassidy Defeated in GOP Primary WSJ

26:04 - Paxton Wins Texas Republican Primary After Trump Endorsement WSJ

29:58 - Trump administration proposes crackdown on Medicaid state-directed payments Healthcare Dive

Story 4: New CMS Health Plan Flexibility
45:08 - New Final Rule Pushes Marketplace Enrollees Toward Lower-Quality, More Expensive Coverage CBPP

Story 5: HHS Fraud Crackdown

58:19 - HHS launches AI-backed health fraud crackdown Healthcare Dive

Story 6: CVS and the end of PBMs

1:06:01 - CVS sues to challenge Tennessee's new PBM law Fierce Healthcare

1:08:17 - Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduce bill barring PBMs from owning pharmacies Fierce Healthcare

1:10:27 - Brokers increasingly recommending ICHRA to employers Fierce Healthcare

1:12:36 -  Hospitals sue CVS Health alleging it redirected $250M in 340B funds Healthcare Finance

Story 7: Training more Docs (finally)

1:15:26 - 5 physician residency programs launching or expanding in 2026 Beckers

Story 8: Quorum as a Nonprofit

1:16:09 - Quorum Health transitioning to nonprofit for financial pickup Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: Big Health Brands moving quickly

1:20:06 - Amazon taps Roy Schoenberg to lead healthcare business as Neil Lindsay plans to step down Fierce Healthcare

1:20:53 - Amazon One Medical launches GLP-1 program integrated with primary care Fierce Healthcare

1:22:33 - Smart ring maker Oura files confidentially for IPO as consumer demand propels revenue growth Fierce Healthcare

1:24:33 - GoodRx launches subscription program for low-cost generic medications, telehealth services Fierce Healthcare

Story 10: Lilly’s moves

1:30:22 - One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible. NYT

1:32:00 - Lilly Agrees to Buy Trio of Vaccine Developers WSJ

Story 11: GLP1 Side Effects

1:39:13 - Is the Weight-Loss Drug Revolution Causing a Frailty Epidemic? WSJ

Story 12: Ebola Watch

1:41:49 - Doctors, Hospitals Struggle to Keep Up With Ebola’s Spread WSJ

Story 13: New Chip Entries Grow

1:44:25 - Huawei Says It Has Workaround to Match Leading Chips WSJ

1:45:42 - Amazon Strikes $6 Billion Deal With Snowflake for Agentic Computing Chips WSJ

Story 14: New Chip Entries Grow

1:47:09 -

Vic and Marcus sit down with Chris Boone, Group Vice President of Research Services at Oracle Health and Life Sciences, live from the Jumpstart Health Summit. The conversation explores Oracle’s growing role in healthcare following its Cerner acquisition, the future of real world evidence in drug discovery, how artificial intelligence is reshaping clinical research and healthcare organizations, and the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI adoption, regulation, workforce transformation, and precision medicine. They also discuss predictive healthcare, autonomous agents, the evolution of healthcare leadership, and what a world free of disease could realistically look like.

Vic and Marcus discuss rising inflation driven by energy costs and the impact on consumers, travel, and wage growth. They examine newly confirmed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and debate whether AI investment and market enthusiasm are creating an economic bubble. The episode covers healthcare job growth becoming a key driver of California’s economy, major healthcare venture funding activity, and the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and what it could signal about the future of regulation. Additional topics include declining overdose deaths, changes to PBMs after Optum Rx moves to a fee-based model, Hims & Hers struggling after the GLP-1 shift, General Catalyst’s healthcare transformation efforts, US and China negotiations, and broader conversations around healthcare, policy, and technology.

Links

Story 1: CPI

1:44 - Inflation Soared to 3.8% in April, Driven by Gasoline Prices WSJ

3:24 - Prices at the Pump Are Wiping Out Wage Gains WSJ

Story 2: New fed Chair

4:51 - Kevin Warsh Is Confirmed as Fed Chair in 54–45 Senate Vote WSJ

Story 3: Jobs

11:42 - U.S. Adds 115,000 Jobs in April With Solid Hiring Across Sectors WSJ

13:43 - Cisco to Shed Jobs for All-In AI Push WSJ

14:21 - Forget Tech and Hollywood. California Is Powered by Healthcare Jobs. WSJ

Story 4: VC rundown

15:14 - Chromie Health picks up $2M in pre-seed funding, launches SMS AI-powered nurse staffing agent Fierce Healthcare

16:07 - Salesforce Ventures, Echo Health Ventures back Optura's $17.5M series A to track AI performance Fierce Healthcare

18:03 - Basata Secures $21M to Rebuild Healthcare’s Operational Layer: Automating Referrals and Scheduling End-to-End HIT 

19:14 - Urologic Health: $11 Million Seed Financing Raised For Non-Invasive Bladder Function Monitoring Pulse 2.0

20:04 - Google-backed Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1B for AI drug discovery platform Mobi Health

Story 5: Policy rundown

21:08 - FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Under Pressure From Trump, Resigns WSJ

33:11 - Vance to States: Address Fraud or Lose Federal Medicaid Funding WSJ

43:24 - U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Fall for Third Straight Year WSJ

44:17 - Trump Was Flattering, Xi Was Resolute. The Difference Spoke Volumes. NYT

Story 6: Optum Moving Away from Traditional PBM Model

49:39 - Optum Rx replaces traditional PBM model with a fee-based structure Healthcare Finance

Story 6: UC reaches deal with Union

51:38 - University of California, union reach late-night deal to avert system-wide strike Fierce Healthcare

Story 7: Digital Health Earnings

52:33 - Hims & Hers posts $92M loss in Q1 as it shifts to branded GLP-1 medications Fierce Healthcare

54:22 - Omada Health posts 42% revenue jump in Q1, joins Eli Lilly employer weight loss program Fierce Healthcare

Story 8: GC Hosts Kennedy in Ohio

55:47 - General Cataylst & HatCo host Kennedy in Akron LI

Story 9: Far Reaching Negative Impact of Hearing Loss

58:17 - Walking Slower? Why Your Ears, Not Your Knees, Might Be the Problem WSJ

Story 10: Clarity Act

1:00:27 - Clarity Act clears U.S. Senate committee, on its way to a final test in Congress CoinDesk

Story 11: SpaceX & Google

1:06:06 - SpaceX and Google Are in Talks to Launch Data Centers in Orbit WSJ

Story 12: Googlebooks

1:08:45 - Google’s Android-powered laptops are called Googlebooks, and they’re coming this year Ars Technica

Story 13: Robots You Wear

1:11:37 - Human + Robot Limitless

Vic and Marcus discuss the latest signals from the labor market and growing concerns around AI-driven layoffs, including workforce cuts at Coinbase, PayPal, and other major companies. They examine how AI is reshaping healthcare operations, payer strategies, and pharmaceutical distribution, with conversations covering IBM and OpenAI’s work with Elevance, Hims & Hers launching AI lab interpretation tools, Google’s push into consumer health, and Roche acquiring PathAI. The episode also covers RFK Jr.’s push to reduce antidepressant use, the SEC proposal to eliminate quarterly reporting, CVS and Oscar Health earnings, UPMC acquiring CommonSpirit’s Trinity Health assets, renewed momentum at Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, and the rapid convergence of AI agents, crypto payments, and cloud infrastructure through AWS, Coinbase, and Stripe.

Links

Story 1: Jobs market

1:52 - March Labor Market Was Stable, if Sluggish WSJ

3:08 - Job Market Starts to Show Glimmers of Good News WSJ

Story 2:  Private Credit watch

4:02 - HSBC Takes $400 Million Hit From Private-Credit Alleged Fraud WSJ

Story 3: AI Org changes

5:20 - AI Is Forcing CEOs to Make a Stark Choice: Lay Off Workers or Make Them Do More WSJ

5:40 - Coinbase layoff X

10:46 - PayPal to Cut 20% of Staff Amid Turnaround Push WSJ

12:12 - IBM CEO Says AI Triggers Need for New Operating Models WSJ

Story 4: VC rundown

13:37 -  Startup Enabling Aging at Home Raises $6M, Gains New MA and Medicaid Partnerships MedCity

15:32 - Enzo Health raises $20M to expand AI home health platform Mobi Health

17:09 - XCaliber Health scores $6.5M for workflow platform Mobi Health

19:06 - Village: $9.5 Million Raised For Specialty Pediatrics AI Platform Pulse 2.0

Story 5: Antidepressants

22:02 - RFK Jr. Wants to Wean Some Americans Off Antidepressants WSJ

Story 6: End of Quarterly requirements?

25:45 - SEC Proposes to Eliminate Quarterly Reporting Requirement for Public Companies WSJ

Story 7: Elevance

30:39 - California hospitals sue to block Elevance out-of-network penalty Modern Healthcare

Story 8: Payor earnings

33:22 - CVS’s Results Add to Positive Momentum for Health-Insurance Industry WSJ

35:48 - Oscar Health's profit hits $679M, membership rises in Q1 Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: UPMC

40:02 - UPMC to acquire CommonSpirit’s Trinity Health Modern Healthcare

Story 10: Health provider earnings

42:45 - Ardent touts outpatient volume, margin growth during hectic Q1 Fierce Healthcare

43:54 - Hinge Health lifts 2026 outlook after strong Q1 as it expands to new conditions Fierce Healthcare

Story 11:  Pharma

44:50 - Pfizer Posts Better-Than-Expected Revenue, Profit WSJ

46:30 - Novo Nordisk Shares Jump on Strong Demand for Wegovy Pill WSJ

48:46 - Bayer to Buy Eye-Drug Developer Perfuse Therapeutics for Up to $2.45 Billion WSJ

49:41 - Roche shells out up to $1B for PathAI in move to boost artificial intelligence-powered diagnostics Fierce Healthcare

Story 12:  Pharma

Hantavirus Case in Switzerland Spurs Race to Trace Contacts WSJ

57:06 - Global Health Officials Race to Track Hantavirus but Predict ‘Limited’ Outbreak NYT

Story 13:  AWS agent payments

59:36 - AWS taps Coinbase and Stripe to power USDC payments for AI agents The Block

Story 14:  Hims AI

1:02:57 - Hims & Hers debuts its first AI care agent to interpret biomarker lab results Fierce Healthcare

Story 15:  Google Fitbit

1:04:44 - A comprehensive view of your health: Google Blog

1:06:27 - Google unveils Whoop-like screenless Fitbit Air TechCrunch

Story 16:  Anth...

Vic and Marcus cover Jerome Powell remaining on the Federal Reserve board and concerns around Fed independence, global instability including the UAE exiting OPEC and weakening international institutions, and hyperscaler dominance with strong earnings from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft driven by AI and cloud growth; they discuss venture funding trends including brain-computer interfaces and clinical AI models, FDA adoption of AI to accelerate clinical trials, and policy shifts including the withdrawal of Casey Means’ nomination and Cigna exiting ACA markets; the episode also explores payer performance, Humana’s partnership with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, pharma consolidation led by Eli Lilly, and rising acquisition costs in biotech; they examine societal impacts of reduced human interaction due to technology, crypto instability and DeFi bailouts, and major AI developments including OpenAI’s slowing growth, legal challenges, China blocking Meta’s acquisition of Manus, and the accelerating gap between AI systems and human expertise in medicine

Links

Story 1: Fed Meeting

3:04 - Powell to Remain on Fed Board, Citing Legal Pressure From Trump WSJ

Story 2: OPEC 

5:45 - U.A.E.’s OPEC Exit Deals Major Blow to Cartel Amid Middle East Oil Squeeze WSJ

Story 3: Cloud providers 

9:35 - Google Profit Jumps 81% as Cloud Business Booms WSJ

12:49 - Amazon Posts Double-Digit Growth Anchored by Booming Web Services WSJ

13:15 - Microsoft Reports Strong Cloud Growth, but Questions About AI Returns Persist WSJ

Story 4:  VC 

15:54 - Axoft Raises $55M Series A to Advance Brain-Computer Interface Technology CityBiz

18:11 - Photon: $16 Million Raised To Modernize Prescription Infrastructure And Return Transparency To Patients Pulse 2.0

19:22 - Aidoc banks $150M backed by Goldman Sachs to scale clinical AI foundation model Fierce Healthcare

Story 5:  FDA Looking to RWD 

24:30 - FDA Turns to AI to Speed Up Clinical Trials WSJ

Story 6:  Surgeon General 

26:23 - Trump Withdraws Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General NYT

Story 7:  Payors

29:54 - Cigna to exit ACA market, pursue strategic alternatives for eviCore unit Fierce Healthcare

31:01 - Centene swings to $1.5B profit as Medicaid business improves even as ACA membership falls by 2 million Fierce Healthcare

34:24 - Humana teams with Mark Cuban's Cost-Plus Drug Company Healthcare Finance

Story 8:  UHS

36:13 - Universal Health Services' Q1 2026 earnings growth dampened by volume hits Fierce Healthcare

Story 9:  Pharma

37:36 - Eli Lilly to Buy Ajax Therapeutics for Up to $2.3 Billion WSJ

39:06 - Sun Pharma to Buy U.S. Healthcare Firm Organon in $11.75 Billion Deal WSJ

40:47 - There’s a Revolution in Cancer. But Can Big Pharma Afford It? WSJ

Story 10:  

43:20 - We’re All Talking to Each Other Less Than We Did a Decade Ago WSJ

Story 11:  Robinhood

50:00 - Robinhood Profit Rises on Boost From Prediction Markets, Gold Subscriptions WSJ

Story 12:  Aave

51:48 - Crypto Rushes to Bail Out Decentralized Lender Targeted by Hackers WSJ

Story 13:  AI Diagnosing Patients

56:23 - In real-world test, an AI model did better than ER doctors at diagnosing patients NPR

N/A - Performance of a large language model on the reasoning tasks of a physician Science

Story 14:  OpenAI

58: 11 -OpenAI Misses Key Revenue, User Targets in High-Stakes Sprint Toward IPO WSJ

1:00:20 - OpenAI Sued by Seven Families Over Mass Shooting Suspect’s ChatGPT Use WSJ

1:01:35 - Elon Musk Testifies He Was a ‘Fool’ to Fund OpenAI WSJ

Story 15:  China

1:02:41 - China Bans Meta’s Acquisition of Manus on National Security Grounds WSJ

1:03:53 -

Vic and Marcus recap insights from the Health Evolution Summit, focusing on high-value networking versus weak conference content, then break down major economic and policy developments including Kevin Warsh’s expected appointment as Fed Chair, the end of the investigation into Jerome Powell, and shifts in Fed governance. They cover venture activity across AI healthcare, biotech resurgence, and crowded revenue cycle startups, alongside new accelerators backed by Anne Wojcicki. Policy wins include FDA gene therapy breakthroughs, marijuana reclassification, and faster CMS coverage pathways. The episode dives into payer performance with improved MLR trends, ongoing health system struggles, and biotech deal momentum led by Eli Lilly. They explore AI’s growing role in healthcare, including dementia care and OpenAI launching clinical tools, while also unpacking infrastructure pressures from data center demand, chip innovation, and inference growth. The episode closes with geopolitical tensions in AI, highlighting Nvidia vs China debates, the rise of DeepSeek, and rapid advancements in robotics performance. 

Links

Story 1: Kevin Warsh - Fed

5:12 -  Warsh Pledges Independence at Fed Hearing WSJ

6:11 - DOJ drops investigation into Fed’s Powell Roll Call

Story 2:  VC 

8:36 - Amperos Health secures $16M in series A funding, unveils AI-native denial management solution Fierce Healthcare

9:37 - Tortugas comes out of its shell with $106M to fund 4 phase 2-stage neuro drugs licensed from Asia Fierce Healthcare

11:59 - Courier Health scores $50M to scale CRM technology Mobi Heath

12:53 - Ethermed: $8.5 Million Series A Brings Total Funding To $15 Million+ To Scale AI Prior Authorization Platform Pulse 2.0 

13:19 - Esther and Anne Wojcicki back new healthcare accelerator, fund TechCrunch

Story 3:  1st Gene Therapy

14:54 - FDA Approves First-Ever Gene Therapy to Restore Hearing WSJ

Story 4:  Marijuana reclassified

16:51 - Trump Administration Reclassifies Marijuana as Less Dangerous Drug WSJ

Story 5:  RAPID

18:44 - CMS and FDA announce RAPID Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices Healthcae Finance

Story 6: Payor Financial Reports

20:43 - UnitedHealth Shows Signs of Turnaround With Strong Quarterly Results WSJ

21:58 - Molina controls costs in Q1 but future Medicaid spending in doubt Healthcare Dive 

22:33 - Elevance perks up in 2026 though Medicare Advantage payout could ding profits Healthcare Dive

Story 7: CHS Reports Loss

23:11 - Flagging first-quarter volumes dragged CHS’ earnings Healthcare Dive

Story 8: Pharma Rundown

23:58 - Boston Scientific Net Grows Sharply WSJ

24:56 - Two Drugs Stir Hope for Treatment of Deadly Pancreatic Cancer NYT

25:41 - After Lilly’s $7B Kelonia deal, are there any in vivo CAR-T biotechs left to buy? Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: Pharma Rundown

26:58 - New York Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Crypto Exchanges’ Prediction Markets WSJ

Story 10: AI for Dementia

32:03 - For Dementia Patients, AI Can Be a Good, Non-Judgmental Listener WSJ

Story 11: OpenAI

33:44 - OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Clinicians, a free AI tool for physicians, NPs and pharmacists Fierce Healthcare

37:03 - OpenAI's GPT-5.5 is here, and it's no potato: narrowly beats Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview on Terminal-Bench 2.0 Venture Beat

Story 12: Datacenters and Infrence

39:17 - Oracle’s Deluge of AI Debt Pushes Wall Street to the Limit WSJ

43:38 - Intel Shares Jump 20% as AI Agents Drive Big Growth WSJ

44:22 - Google Introduces Specialized Chip for New Wave of AI Computing WSJ

47:06 - Dwarkesh Podcast w/ Jensen - YouTube

51:54 - Deepseek on X - X

Story 13: Robot Marathon

56:05 - Chinese Robot Beats Human Best Time in Half-Marathon, After a Stumble WSJ

Vic and Marcus break down a surge in AI development, starting with Vic’s hands-on experience building autonomous agents and what it reveals about the future of work, productivity, and identity. They discuss the growing gap between economic growth and job creation, the psychological impact of AI on workers, and parallels to past industry disruptions. The episode covers venture activity in healthcare, including AI-native operating systems, fertility innovation, and value-based care startups, alongside policy updates like digital health reimbursement models and system-wide labor tensions. They examine the expanding role of GLP-1 drugs beyond weight loss, major pharma momentum, and the increasing convergence of AI and healthcare. The conversation shifts to infrastructure challenges with data centers, global competition, and regulatory friction, before diving into rapid AI advancements across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and robotics, ending with a broader reflection on purpose, identity, and adapting in an accelerating world.

Links

Story 1: Economic Rundown

12:32 -The Economy Is Growing, Jobs Aren’t. Why That Might Be OK. WSJ

18:50 - Process to Refund Tariffs to Begin Next Week WSJ

19:22 - U.S. Economy Remains Resilient in Face of Iran War, Banks Say WSJ

Story 2:  VC 

20:06 - Keebler Health secures $16M in series A funding for AI-powered risk adjustment platform Fierce Healthcare

20:36 - AI-Enabled Fertility Care and Longevity Provider ONTO Health Closes $20 Million Series funded by ARTIS and Humania Yahoo

N/A - Helical raises $10M seed for virtual pharma AI lab Axios

21:05 - Ultralight Raises $9.3M Seed Round SaaS News

22:32 - Joyful Health Raises $17M in Series A Funding for FinTech FinSms 

Story 3:  FDA Peptides

23:01 - FDA moves toward easing restrictions on certain peptides Healthcare Dive

Story 4:  ACCESS

23:56 - CMS accepts more than 150 providers, digital health firms for ACCESS model Healthcare Dive

Story 5:  BSW Exits ACA & Medicaid

25:38 - Baylor Scott & White Health Plan to depart individual market, Medicaid this year Fierce Healthcare

Story 6:  Walmart Better Care

27:59 - Walmart expands digital health platform’s weight loss offerings, including GLP-1 prescribing Healthcare Dive

Story 7:  UC Health Strike

28:19 - UC Health workers plan open-ended, system-wide strike for May 14 Fierce Healthcare

Story 8:  J & J

30:28 - J&J’s First-Quarter Sales Grow on Cancer-Drug Strength WSJ

Story 9:  Lilly Acq

31:32 - Lilly makes preclinical ADC specialist CrossBridge its latest acquisition in vague $300M deal Fierce Healthcare 

Story 10:  ?

32:34 - (The New York Times) Online and in Doctors Offices. People are Finding that GLP-1s

Story 11: Web 3

35:28 - Elon Musk’s X Money Stands to Disrupt Payments and Pressure PayPal

38:18 - Charles Schwab Begins Rollout of Spot Bitcoin, Ethereal trading Platform

Story 12: Anthropic

39:38 - Anthropic Adds Novartis CEO to Board WSJ

40:42 - Anthropic Releases Claude Opus 4.7 to Remind Everyone How Great Mythos Is Gizmodo

Story 13: Open AI 

43:14 - OpenAI unveils GPT‑5.4‑Cyber, an AI model for defensive cybersecurity 9to5Mac

43:40 - OpenAI’s big Codex update is a direct shot at Anthropic’s Claude Code The Verge
OpenAI unveils GPT‑5.4‑Cyber, an AI model for defensive cybersecurity - 9to5MacVerge

Story: 14  Data Center Fights

45:29 - Elon Musk’s xAI Sued by NAACP Over Memphis Data Center WSJ

47:49 - Maine Lawmakers Pass Ban on Large Data Centers WSJ

48:38 - AI Is Using So Much Energy That Computing Firepower Is Running Out WSJ

Story 15:  Gemini 

51:02 -Google launches a Gemini AI app on Mac The Verge

51:59 - DeepMind launches Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 to meet precise physical AI demands SilconAngle

Vic and Marcus break down revised GDP data and slowing economic growth, rising concerns around private credit exposure across banks and pensions, and the long-term decline in labor force participation driven by aging demographics and immigration policy. They discuss the evolving job market as AI creates new roles and skill demands, while also examining venture activity including Yuzu Health’s funding and broader digital health investment trends. The episode covers major healthcare policy shifts like Medicare Advantage rate changes, California’s stance on private equity in medical practices, and health system performance driven by scale. They also explore breakthroughs in osteoarthritis treatments, ongoing challenges with nurse burnout and workforce retention, and increasing cybersecurity risks in healthcare platforms. The conversation expands into pharma developments, GLP-1 market expansion, and direct-to-consumer healthcare models. Finally, they dive deep into AI’s accelerating impact, including data center pushback, emerging policy frameworks, quantum security risks, and the implications of next-generation AI models capable of exposing widespread system vulnerabilities.

Links

Story 1: Economic Rundown

1:07 - US economy grew a sluggish 0.5% in fourth quarter, government says, downgrading previous estimate AP

1:47 - Insurers’ $1 Trillion Buildup in Private Credit Is Leaving Regulators in the Dust WSJ

4:04 - Why More People Are Dropping Out of the Job Market WSJ

6:20 - The New Jobs Being Created by AI WSJ

Story 2: Q1 VC Growth & AI firms enter Health

8:27 - Yuzu Health Raises $35M in Series A Funding FINSMES

9:46 - Q1 2026 funding overview: Capital continues concentrating and four other market signals Rock Health

12:02 - Anthropic acquires stealth AI startup Coefficient Bio in $400M deal: reports Fierce Healthcare

Story 3: CA Limiting PE in Healthcare

13:18 - California AG Urges Walling Off Medical Practices From Private Equity Rob Bonta stakes out a strict position on private equity’s roe in healthcare WSJ

Story 4: HHS moves

19:05 - CMS finalizes higher Medicare Advantage rates for 2027 in gift to insurers Healthcare Dive

20:57 - Federal Agency Unveils Three Potential Osteoarthritis Treatments NYT

Story 5: Advocate Improved Financials

22:45 -  Advocate Health improves to 4% operating margin, $4.6B bottom line across 2025 Fierce Healthcare

Story 6: Nurse Job Satisfaction

24:55 - Nurses' job satisfaction stumbles after post-pandemic gains: survey Fierce Healthcare

Story 7: Hims Cyber Attack

27:35 - Hims & Hers says limited data stolen in social engineering attack Healthcare Dive

Story 8 - 2 Acquisitions

29:20 - Gilead to buy cancer biotech Tubulis for more than $3 billion Stat

29:56 - Neurocrine to Buy Soleno, Nabbing Drug for Relentless Hunger Disorder WSJ

Story 9 - GLP-1 wars

30:54 - Novo Nordisk Launches Higher-Dose Wegovy Weight-Loss Shot in U.S. WSJ

31:23 - Eli Lilly launches oral GLP-1 drug across US through Lilly Direct, telehealth providers Fierce Healthcare 

Story 10 - Using AI for Health Data Analysis

32:11 - I Uploaded My Blood Work to AI. Am I Oversharing? WSJ

Story 11 - Q-Day Getting Close

35:11 - Cloudflare targets 2029 for full post-quantum security Cloudflare

Story 12-OpenAI Advising World Governments while States Resist Data Centers 

38:09 - Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age: Ideas to Keep People First OpenAI

41:48 - These Cities and States Are Taking Aim at Data Centers WSJ

Story 13 - Anthropic Glasswing & Mythos

45:00 - Anthropic Set to Preview Powerful ‘Mythos’ Model to Ward Off AI Cyberthreats WSJ

49:43 - Anthropic Teams Up With Its Rivals to Keep AI From Hacking Everything Wired

Vic and Marcus recap the Jumpstart Health Summit, including a workshop where non-technical founders built full AI-driven products and an agentic investment bank in under 48 hours, followed by key discussions from the summit on healthcare transformation, AI infrastructure, venture capital evolution, and leadership changes at Jumpstart Health. They break down major economic signals including declining job openings, stock market performance, and rising risks in private credit markets, then analyze healthcare policy shifts targeting hospital pricing practices and UnitedHealthcare’s push into AI-driven member tools. The episode also covers major pharma momentum led by Eli Lilly across acquisitions, GLP-1 advancements, and AI-powered drug discovery, alongside emerging trends in crypto-backed mortgages, agentic commerce, and Coinbase’s expanding role in financial infrastructure. They close with a deep dive into AI disruption, highlighting a two-person billion-dollar company, open-source model acceleration, security risks, and breakthroughs that could reshape hardware demand and the future of work.

Links

Story 1 Jobs and Equity market

11:37 - U.S. Job Openings and Hiring Fell in February WSJ

18:10 - Here’s What Worked During a Rough Quarter for Markets WSJ

Story 2 Private credit watch

19:17 - What Banks Stand to Lose From the Private-Credit Mess WSJ

Story 3 VC rundown

23:14 - WHOOP Secures $575M, Reaches $10B Valuation MedCity

Story 4  DOJ v NY Pres

25:21 - Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against NewYork-Presbyterian WSJ

Story 6 UHG launches AI Companion

30:12 - UnitedHealthcare launches Avery, a generative AI companion for members Fierce Healthcare

Story 7 1st Reimbursement for Robot Companion

32:22 - Intuition Robotics secures Medicaid coverage for social AI robot ElliQ in Washington State Fierce Healthcare

Story 8 Eli Lilly moves

37:21 - Eli Lilly to Buy Centessa Pharmaceuticals for Initial $6.3 Billion WSJ

37:55 - Eli Lilly Gets Speedy FDA Nod for Oral GLP-1 Drug, a Competitor to New Novo Nordisk Pill MedCity

38:52 - Eli Lilly reaches $2.75 billion deal with Insilico to bring AI-developed drugs to the global market CNBC

Story 9 Web3 rundown

39:54 - Fannie Mae to Accept Crypto-Backed Mortgages for the First Time WSJ

41:54 - Coinbase’s AI payments system joins Linux Foundation, gathers support from Google, Stripe, AWS and others Coindesk

45:57 - Coinbase clears key regulatory hurdle in bid to bolster its stablecoin business CNBC 

Story 10 1st $B - 2 person AI startup is healthcare

47:24 - How A.I. Helped One Man (and His Brother) Build a $1.8 Billion Company NYT

Story 11 Antropic

50:27 - Anthropic Races to Contain Leak of Code Behind Claude AI Agent WSJ

51:19 - Claw Code Launches Open-Source AI Coding Agent Framework With 72,000 GitHub Stars in First Days 24-7

Story 12 Google

54:00 - Google announces Gemma 4 open AI models, switches to Apache 2.0 license ArsTechnica

56:30 - Google now lets you direct avatars through prompts in its Vids app TechCrunch

57:00 - Google’s TurboQuant Breakthrough Just Rewrote the AI Playbook Yahoo