Unf*cking The Republic - TopPodcast.com

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The Art of Trumpflation. Mar 21, 2026

Show notes

The February Producer Price Index (PPI) data release came in way hotter than expected, exceeding consensus expectations by nearly double. This is on top of an already hot January report, which signifies that goods and services inflation in the pipeline is very much a trend and not an isolated event. PPI typically foreshadows consumer inflation—where the public really begins to feel the pain—by about two to three months. And these numbers don’t include the impact of the war in Iran and the unbelievable spike in energy costs. Today we break down the nature of inflation shocks, why this differs from the dual oil shocks of the 1970s, but how it has already produced the same stagflationary result.

Resources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Producer Price Index News Release summary

Trading Economics: United States Producer Price Inflation MoM

Wolf Street: Core PCE Inflation Hits 3.1%, Worst in 2 Years, in Unique Twist Blows way past CPI Inflation. Driven by Core Services

Morningstar: Inflation Set to Rise in 2026 as Tariff Costs Hit Consumers

KPMG: Headline masks lingering inflation

CNBC: $100 oil? Prolonged Hormuz closure could spark a 1970s-style energy shock

Yahoo Finance: Oil at the Edge: Markets brace for the largest supply shock in decades: Oil & Gas 360

Investopedia: Understanding Hubbert's Peak Theory and Global Oil Production

Bloomberg Law: Morgan Stanley Sees Private Credit Default Rates Reaching 8% (2)

Business Insider: Morgan Stanley says AI disruption of software will send private credit defaults surging

UNFTR Resources

Video: Iran War, Energy Spike, and the Inflation Perfect Storm

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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Omnibus (3-14-26). Mar 15, 2026

Show notes

Max and 99 kick things off revisiting old predictions and check how they're holding up. They hit the headlines: billionaires breaking records, geopolitical conflict threatening economic stability, and monopoly concerns in the music industry. Listener emails cover politics, financial industry backdoors, and navigating complicity. They rank their Top 5 historical figures to reclaim, do some movie talk, and member shoutouts round it out. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:18

Housekeeping: 00:00:34

Headlines: 00:21:13

Emails: 00:48:54

Top 5: 01:00:23

Beyond the Bullshit: 01:19:35

Outro: 01:43:27

Resources

Acquired: Epic Systems (MyChart)

Bloomberg: Europe Rushes to Contain Price Fallout From War in Middle East

Foreign Policy: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy

Forbes: World’s Billionaires List

The Cut: ‘My Friends Live in a Bubble. Should I Dump Them?’

NPR: Live Nation and Justice Department reach settlement in antitrust case

Reuters: Judge tells Live Nation, state AGs to negotiate potential deal

Straight White American Jesus Podcast

John Fugelsang: Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists

Margin Call

Inside Job

Forbes: AI Minted More Than 50 New Billionaires In 2025

Matt Taibbi: Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History

Kanopy

UNFTR Resources

The End of the American Experiment.

The Clinton Series.

Phone A Friend: Zohran Mamdani.

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 Iran War Could Wreck the Global Economy: No Offramp and No Good Outcome. Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

Not a soul on this planet knows what comes next in the war theater. Because that’s war. But we can anticipate what comes next for the U.S. and global economy, or at least game out certain scenarios. This isn’t just another discretionary “police action” on the other side of the world or a simple regime change. This war is wired directly into the global energy, food, and financial systems. But a proper analysis must acknowledge how the circumstances of the U.S. economy and our monetary and fiscal policies have changed. There is no direct antecedent to the situation in which we find ourselves, which makes the folly of this war all the more absurd. We didn’t just launch a war. We may have just pulled the fire alarm on the entire world economy.

Resources

John J. Mearsheimer: Big Trouble Ahead in Iran

U.S. Energy Information Administration: Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical oil chokepoint

EnergyNow: CHARTED: Oil Trade Through the Strait of Hormuz by Country

Reuters: Asia’s oil and LNG dependence on the Middle East

Institute for Economics & Peace: Economic Consequences of War on the U.S. Economy

Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity: Modern Money and the War Treasury

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland: Fiscal Dominance and US Monetary: 1940–1975

UNFTR Resources

Video: Iran War Could Wreck the Entire World Economy

Essay: The Iran War Could Wreck the Global Economy.

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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On The Record (3-9-26). Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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Omnibus (3-6-26). Mar 07, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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John Goober Kennedy: The Louisiana Senator Thinks Poor People Are Faking It. Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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War in Iran and the Decline of the U.S. Empire. Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

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.

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.

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Pam Bondi and the Dow: Bondi Screamed the Loud Part, Loudly. Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

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

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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So…About Chomsky. (Noam Chomsky’s Tragic Coda.) Mar 02, 2026

Show notes

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.

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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To Be Named UNFTR Show (2-28-26). Feb 28, 2026

Show notes

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

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.

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

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