Donald Trump stole the headlines once again by speaking ill of Rob Reiner after the tragic death of Reiner and his wife Michele. It was yet another vulgar display of Trump’s unbridled narcissism that takes away from the legitimate conversation we should be having about Reiner’s legacy, what his films meant to a generation that came of age before 9/11. In many ways, Reiner became the avatar of white establishment liberalism, reflecting an America that never really existed. Throughout his remarkable career he was firmly planted on the right side of history but his art had a way of papering over the brutal reality of the American system. In other ways, he represented the best of us and he left us some of the greatest pop culture moments that endure the test of time. This is the discussion I think he deserved.

Resources

Current Affairs: How Liberals Fell In Love With The West Wing

Politico: Words must match deeds

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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Max and 99 are back for another round of Show Notes! They talk Mets news (RIP), The Fed, healthcare, and get to some Unf*cker feedback.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Headlines: 00:13:54

Email: 00:55:43

Memberships: 01:47:13

Outro: 01:50:41

Resources

Yahoo Finance: Live coverage: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 0.25%

Lava Song

NPR: Head Start centers told to avoid 'disability,' 'women' and more in funding requests

UNFTR Resources

Video: On The Record (12/8/25)

Video: Trump Official Gaslights on Labor Data

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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Donald Trump is tearing the nation apart. To place his revenge-filled presidency in historical context we have to reach deep into the annals of history and revisit the tenure of famed Roman Emperor Commodus who historians perceive as the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. With this second term Trump has entered rarified air that few U.S. presidents have breathed. He has fundamentally altered the culture, the country and its people. Moving past this moment will be our greatest challenge.

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. economy has already crashed. The stock market is just the last one to figure it out. In this essay, Max talks about what happens when hegemonic economies collapse and how the U.S. has been able to keep things afloat while the bottom falls out. He draws parallels to the crash of 1929 and the subsequent Depression and speaks to the differences. There is a path forward for Progressives but it won’t be a presidential run. The DNC will make sure of that. But we can borrow from Russell Vought’s playbook to build a coalition of support on the ground.

Resources

DSA: Chapters

Working Families Party: Get Involved

Sherrod Brown

UNFTR Resources

Trump is Looting the Treasury.

“Russputin” and the Tsar.

Medicare for All.

Zohran Mamdani Has Already Won.

Civilian Labor Corps.

Housing First.

UNFTR 5NN.

Video: The Financial Crisis is NOW & The Path Forward for Democrats.

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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Max and 99 are back for another round of Show Notes. They (surprise) talk about the economy, the housing crisis, Venezuela and much more. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Emails: 00:26:21

Memberships: 00:41:24

Reviews: 01:37:16

Outro: 01:38:50

Resources

Video (UNFTR for MeidasTouch): Trump's Kitchen Sink Recession Response

UNFTR Bookshop

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Likely Lost 50,000 Jobs in October, Goldman Sachs Says

The Budget Lab: Evaluating the Impact of AI on the Labor Market: Current State of Affairs

Progressive Punch

Ballotopedia

UNFTR: 5NN: Housing First

UNFTR: How We Built the Housing Crisis (And Why We Can Dismantle It)

ABC: Boyer Lecture 2025: Justin Wolfers

UnHeard: Javier Milei is no libertarian: He is beholden to Argentina’s oligarchs

Video (UNFTR for MeidasTouch): Manufacturing Consent for War in Venezuela

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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Max reports on the growing cracks in the financial markets and the unprecedented lengths the Federal Reserve has already gone to in order to stabilize the global financial system. The U.S. is heading toward a full-blown liquidity crisis that threatens to seize up the financial markets. The situation is worsening daily at this point and Trump’s erratic policy decisions are contributing to the destabilization.

View the charts related to this episode.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:37

Post Show Musings: 00:19:33

Outro: 00:39:38

Resources

Challenger, Gray & Christmas: Challenger Report: September 2025

MacroMicro: US - Hourly Wage Growth by Wage Level

MacroMicro: US - Consumer Price Index (CPI)

MacroMicro: US - Fed Overnight Reverse Repurchase Agreements (ON RRP) Trading Volume

MacroMicro: US - Treasury Yields vs. Fed Funds Rate

MacroMicro: US - Federal Fund Interest Rates

MacroMicro: US - Fed Overnight Reverse Repurchase Agreements (ON RRP) Trading Volume

MacroMicro: US - Fed's Balance Sheet - Liabilities

Fortune: Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says

Video: MTN: Trump in Full Blown Panic as Market Collapse Imminent

Track Star: Zohran Mamdani

Become A UNFTR Member

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Follow Us On Social: Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok

Share the 5NN

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Miran isn’t auditioning to run the Federal Reserve. He’s auditioning to destroy it. Like so many in Trump’s sphere, Miran was selected for his ability to appear like he’s doing the right thing and making the tough choices. In reality, he exists to destroy the thing he’s spent his entire life trying to be a part of. Miran is a highly educated and competent analyst whose academic veneer and projection of empathy belie his craven desire for power and to eradicate the independence of the Fed and place it under direct authority and control of the president. And make no mistake, when Jerome Powell’s term is up, this is who will be in charge of the Fed.

Chapters

Intro: 00:01:00

Chapter One: The Audition. 00:02:10

Chapter Two: The Power and Powers of the Fed. 00:07:15

Chapter Three: Who Is This Numbnut? 00:13:06

Chapter Four: Consistently Inconsistent. 00:18:34

Bring It Home, Max: 00:23:46

Resources

Federal Reserve Board: Stephen I. Miran

Barron’s: Last Year, Trump’s New Man at the Fed Thought Rates Were Too Low. What Changed

Miran’s Articles + White Papers

City Journal: Is Having the Reserve Currency Good for the U.S.?

Manhattan Institute: The Fed Isn’t as Independent as It Seems

Manhattan Institute: The Fed Doesn’t Need to Cut. Financial Conditions Are Already Loosening.

Manhattan Institute: The Fed Is Facing a Changed World. The Case Against Cuts.

Hudson Bay Capital: A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System 

Manhattan Institute: Reform the Federal Reserve’s Governance to Deliver Better Monetary Outcomes

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this Phone a Friend, Max sits down with crypto entrepreneur and advisor Keith D. The pair discuss the history of Bitcoin, expansion of crypto markets and whether the public is in safe hands as the influence of cryptocurrency grows exponentially.

Resources

Keith D. on YouTube

Video: You can't afford to ignore Crypto with Keith D.

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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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.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. economy is headed for financial collapse. Repo market stress. Private credit market liquidity crunch. Subprime lending crisis. Spiraling deficits. Basis trade exposure. Dollar debasement. U.S. states in recession. Oil market contango. Tariff and trade wars. Each of these are like explosive devices hiding in the corners of the economic edifice that is the U.S. economy. And the Federal Reserve just released a shocking paper that exposes the biggest potential threat of all. Explosive devices have been set all around the economy and a new bomb was just uncovered in the most unlikely of places.

Chapters

Intro: 00:05:21

Chapter One: The Road to Economic Hegemony. 00:06:24

Chapter Two: Collision Course. 00:30:55

Chapter Three: Hidden Bomb. 00:35:50

Chapter Four: Bring It Home, Max. 00:44:50

Resources

The Lead Left: Middle Market & Private Credit – 2/10/2025

Mark Zandi on X

Axios: 22 states are in a recession or close to it, new analysis finds

The Fed: The Cross-Border Trail of the Treasury Basis Trade 

FSB: Leverage in Nonbank Financial Intermediation: Final report

Morningstar: Official data dramatically underestimates hedge funds' involvement in the Treasury market, Fed paper finds

Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Repo Operations

Fidelity: Investor behind Zions, Western Alliance bad loans is tied to $270 million in troubled debt

Car Dealership Guy: Tricolor: The messy collapse of a subprime auto lender explained

Investopedia: Basis Trading: Definition, How It Works, Example

The Guardian: What is private credit, and should we be worried by the collapse of US firms?

OilPrice.com: Oil Market Braces for Contango and Shale Slowdown

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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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.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 are back this week for Show Notes; they start with a little pop culture music/movie talk, and transition into Unf*cker emails where they cover why the 1% doesn’t care if the economy is gutted, what figures you can trust from the Trump administration, Technocracy in Silicon Valley and a host of other things. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Emails: 00:27:51

Memberships: 01:24:16

Outro: 01:30:08

Resources

The Baffler: The Substance

Follow Us On Social: Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

Leave a Review

Become a UNFTR Member

The Rewatchables: ‘Sneakers’ With Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt, and Joanna Robinson

Jacob Riis: How The Other Half Lives

Climate Disruption: Lee Zeldin Cancer Gala

Paris Marx

New York Times: A Plea From Doctors: Cool It on the Supplements

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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, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord.

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.

Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.