Unf*cking The Republic

Markwayne Mullin fails his first test. Lindsey Graham wants to blow the Iranian people. The markets are getting Blackrocked. OpenAI and Oracle have a bit of a cash crunch. Dario Amodei is full of shit. What Crude markets tell us about the war. Truth bombs from the House of El. Actual journalism on Iran from American Prestige and Dissent Magazine. ProPublica doin’ the lord’s work and Persopolis.

Chapters

Quick Takes: 00:00:36

Max Notes: 00:06:44

KLTW: 00:15:02

Headlines: 00:17:04

Pod Love: 00:18:26

Book Love: 00:19:27

Outro: 00:20:04

Resources

Bloomberg: BlackRock $26 Billion Private Credit Fund Limits Withdrawals

Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time: Charles Merrill and the Democratization of Stock Ownership

IRA Financial: Trump, Alternatives, and the Solo 401(k): The Retirement Plan That Paved the Way for Alts in 401(k)s

Bloomberg: BlackRock’s Retail Private-Credit Hopes Run Into Market’s Angst

House of El: DOLLAR COLLAPSE: Japan to DUMP $1.2T in US Treasuries After Trump Cuts 95% Oil Supply

Dissent Magazine: War, Revolt, and Iran's Unfinished Struggle

Grist: Kristi Noem all but killed FEMA. Will her departure save it?

ProPublica: Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,500 of His Appointees

ProPublica: Event: How to Use Our News App of Disclosures From Political Appointees

Pod Love

American Prestige: War in the Gulf and the Global Economy w/ Esfandyar Batmanghelidj

Book Love

Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis

UNFTR Resources

Video: On The Record (3-9-26).

Video: MTN Macro Take (3-7-26).

Episode: Trump Accounts.

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Welcome to the first-ever Omnibus—the show finally has a name! Max and 99 open with the weight of the moment, addressing the U.S.-backed strikes on Iran before diving into the AI-military pipeline. Off-topic headlines hit on small business closures in NYC and fighter pay in the streaming era. Listener emails cover everything from financial anxiety to the mechanics of shadow banking, and Trump finding time to pump crypto mid-war. They rank their Top 5 everyday products they can’t live without, plus fit in some movie talk and member shoutouts to close it out. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:19

Housekeeping: 00:10:06

Headlines: 00:14:33

Top 5: 00:58:28

Beyond the Bullshit: 01:12:18

Memberships: 01:23:32

Outro: 01:24:07

Resources

Fast Company: Bitcoin, XRP, and other crypto prices are rising today. What Trump said on Truth Social to boost digital assets

The Verge: How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance

The Hill: OpenAI goes on defense as Anthropic surges after Pentagon fallout

The Baffler: A Fighting Chance: Going up against the UFC

Brooklyn Vegan: Long-running NYC vegan restaurant Red Bamboo is closing

Acquired: Google Part III: The AI Company

UNFTR Resources

Video: Iran War, US Empire and What The Media is Hiding

Episode: War in Iran and the Decline of the U.S. Empire.

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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.

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Senator John Kennedy is a bad caricature of a southern gentleman and he masquerades around Capitol Hill as a folksy “just asking questions” kind of fella. In reality, he’s a wealthy, elite, fraud with a $20 million net worth who attended Oxford. Despite representing the poorest state in America, this Louisiana senator took his allotted time at a hearing with the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to review how poverty is calculated and take issue with it. So this is our response.

Resources

Senator John Kennedy: Kennedy questions Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on poverty data in Senate Banking Committee

USAFacts: What is the poverty rate in Louisiana?

World Population Review: Poorest U.S. States 2026

The Data Center: Health as resilience capacity in New Orleans: The critical role of community-based collaborations

Prison Gerrymandering Project: Federal Census policy harms Louisiana’s democracy — but state lawmakers can fix it

Wikipedia: John Kennedy (Louisiana politician)

Buzzfeed News: John Kennedy Is America’s Folksiest Senator. Some People Who Know Him Say It’s An Act.

Quiver Quantitative: Senator John Kennedy has filed a new financial disclosure - here’s what we see

UNFTR Resources

Video: Senator Questions Poverty Calculations | Here's Why That's INSANE

Essay: John Goober Kennedy: The Louisiana Senator Thinks Poor People Are Faking It.

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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The U.S. and Israel have declared war on the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite indications from Omani negotiators that the parties were close to agreement as late as the night before the bombing of Tehran and other Iranian cities began. Mainstream media have already cranked up the propaganda machine to frame this as everything from a necessary and just maneuver to an unfortunate turn of events. The anglo-centric framing is undeniable and we risk losing the plot. There’s also a stunning lack of historical perspective in any current analyses. Make no mistake, this is an illegal move conducted by a waning empire that put a madman in charge. And it threatens us all.

Apologies for any mispronunciations! -Max

Resources

Drop Site

American Prestige

Al Jazeera English

UNFTR Resources

Video: Iran War, US Empire and What The Media is Hiding

Essay: War in Iran and the Decline of the U.S. Empire.

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi took to Capitol Hill with her burn book in hand and a message to Congress, the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and the American people: Shut up, the Dow hit 50,000. She was right about the Dow Jones Industrial performance until the next day, when stocks dumped out on news that AI might be real and that the economy added 400,000 fewer jobs last year than we originally thought. That’s the thing about building an entire narrative around the stock market. The stock market is not the economy. And the victims of Epstein’s crimes deserve better.

Resources

MS Now: FULL HOUSE HEARING: AG Pam Bondi testifies over handling of release of Epstein files

Business Insider: Anthropic and OpenAI release dueling AI models on the same day in an escalating rivalry

Fortune: Anthropic’s Claude triggered a trillion-dollar selloff. A new upgrade could make things worse

Matt Shumer: Something Big Is Happening

Matt Shumer on X

U.S. Department of the Treasury: Monthly Treasury Statement: Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government For Fiscal Year 2026 Through January 31, 2026, and Other Periods

UNFTR Resources

Video: Epstein Victims Deserve Better Than Bondi's Economic Theater

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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.

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Noam Chomsky’s superpower is his intellect and ability to communicate complicated subjects with clarity. He made politics accessible for multiple generations. Chomsky is the gateway drug to leftist ideology. He’s also close friends with the most prolific child abuser and sex trafficker of the modern era. It’s okay to acknowledge Chomsky’s contributions and even more okay to let them go and bury his legacy.

Resources

Wall Street Journal: Epstein’s Private Calendar Reveals Prominent Names, Including CIA Chief, Goldman’s Top Lawyer

The Harvard Crimson: Jeffrey Epstein Met With Harvard Professor Martin Nowak and Noam Chomsky in 2015 in Harvard Office

Manufacturing Intellect: Noam Chomsky interview on Dissent (1988)

UNFTR Resources

Video: Genius Doesn’t Excuse What Chomsky Did. Goodbye, Noam.

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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.

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It’s the last episode of To Be Determined (next time the show gets an actual name)! Max and 99 run through headlines on Bill Gates’s Epstein apology and the humanitarian crisis in Cuba. The listener emails include an econ 101 starter pack, a great idea for a “remember this” segment, and more. They rank their Top 5 TV show finales, sound the alarm on private credit, and give takes on the Democratic Party’s obsession with empty centrist candidates over actual policy. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:31

Housekeeping: 00:03:38

Headlines: 00:04:47

Emails: 00:17:57

Top 5: 00:38:37

Beyond the Bullshit: 00:56:39

Memberships 01:11:27

Outro: 01:11:46

Resources

Wall Street Journal: Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties

WSWS: Cuban worker describes hellish conditions, appeals to US workers to force an end to embargo

Rolling Stone Magazine: Bob Weir’s Beautiful Second Act

New York Times: The Anguish of a Tourette’s Outburst

Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Econoclasts (Yanis Varoufakis + Wolfgang Munchau)

Gary’s Economics

Professor Steve Keen

Justin Wolfers

Instagram: @showtoolsai

The Atlantic: ‘I Genuinely Am Upset That Your Kids Are Vaccinated’

Unf*cker Recommendations

Moose on the Loose

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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.

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Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99. The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max and 99 kick off another episode of their still-unnamed weekly show, diving into everything from grocery inflation and RFK’s bizarre workout videos to the future of progressive organizing through the Working Families Party and DSA. They workshop show name suggestions from listeners, tackle emails on how to influence the Democratic Party, and debate their Top Five movie villains.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:15

Housekeeping: 00:02:30

Headlines: 00:16:14

Emails: 00:36:35

Top 5: 01:03:59

Beyond the Bullshit: 01:20:33

Memberships: 01:22:53

Outro: 01:23:26

Resources

Vengaboys: Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!

devilleforcongress.com

In These Times: Read This If You're New and Trying to Find Your Way

RFK Jr. Instagram Video

Business Insider: I followed an RFK-approved, $15-a-day diet

Philosophy for the People w/Ben Burgis: Losing Lucy

The Block: Polymarket investor Vitalik Buterin says prediction markets need to stop catering to 'dumb opinions'

Bruce Springsteen: Streets Of Minneapolis

Working Families Party

Democratic Socialists of America

UNFTR Resources

Chester A. Arthur and Julia Sand: Strange Bedfellows.

Video: On The Record (Cuba Libre | AOC Stumbles Abroad | Racist Caught at Senate Hearing)

UNFTR's 5 Non-Negotiables

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump’s economic policies overseen by Scott Bessent are torching the U.S. dollar and tanking the economy. In this episode, Max does a deep dive into the decline of the dollar, U.S. fiscal mismanagement, and bizarre monetary policy that has many questioning whether we’re witnessing the decline of U.S. economic hegemony in real time. The episode examines U.S. policy through the actions of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent whose erratic behavior belies his moderate past.

Access the corresponding graphs.

Resources

Conference Board: US Consumer Confidence Fell Sharply in January

Money Maze Podcast: Who is Scott Bessent? Meet Trump's New US Treasury Secretary

Census Bureau: Monthly Construction Spending

MacroMicro: U.S. Dollar Index

MacroMicro: Japan - US/Japan 10Y Bond Yield Spread vs. USD/JPY

MacroMicro: Gold / US Dollar / 10Y Yield

UNFTR Resources

Video: Scott Bessent's DERANGED plan to destroy the dollar and economy

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

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Max and 99 are back this week to debut an experimental new format for the podcast—that is yet to be named—which mixes Show Notes vibes with a little more structure. The two dive into a mix of on-topic and off-topic headlines before heading into listener feedback and emails. They wrap up the episode with their Top 5 lists focused on formative protest songs, and of course some member shout outs. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:34

Headlines: 00:13:35

Emails: 00:42:47

"Carve Outs": 01:16:31

Top 5: 01:24:32

Memberships: 01:44:15

Outro: 01:46:00

Resources

The Verge: Discord says ‘vast majority’ of users won’t see its new age verification setup

BIG by Matt Stoller: The Beginning of the End for Big Corporate Medicine

Politico: MAHA and Mike Tyson want you to ‘eat real food’ during the Super Bowl

Super Bowl Ad: Processed Food Kills, Eat Real Food

The Ringer: How Hannibal Lecter Made His Film Debut in ‘Manhunter’

Yahoo News: JD Vance says U.S. Olympic athletes are 'not there to pop off about politics.' Here's what they've said.

Democratic Socialists of America

Working Families Party

Top 5s (And Beyond)

Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam

John Lennon: Working Class Hero

Sting: Russians

XTC: Dear God

Simple Minds: Belfast Child

Green Day: American Idiot

Joni Mitchell: Big Yellow Taxi

Marvin Gaye: What's Going On

Sly & The Family Stone: Everyday People

Childish Gambino: This Is America

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Fortunate Son

Johnny Paycheck: Take This Job And Shove It

Buffalo Springfield: For What It's Worth

4 Non Blondes: What's Up

Brandi Carlile: The Joke

The Chicks: Travelin' Soldier

The Chicks: Not Ready To Make Nice

Bob Dylan: Masters of War

T-Pain: War Pigs

Gil Scott-Heron: Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Kendrick Lamar: Alright

NWA: Fuck Tha Police

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: The Message

Public Enemy: Fight The Power

Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come

UNFTR Resources

Pharmacy Benefit Managers: The American Drug Cartel.

UNFTR Resources Page

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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, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com.

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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). 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.