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UNFTR 5NN.

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

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Show Notes [November 15, 2025.]

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 03:54:05 +0000

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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The Plumbing of the Financial Markets Is Leaking: Understanding the U.S. Liquidity Crisis.

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:15:00 +0000

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

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Stephen Miran Is Going To Be Fed Chair: The Gospel According to Miran.

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 11:15:00 +0000

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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Phone A Friend: Keith D. (You Can’t Afford To Ignore Crypto.)

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 22:44:36 +0000

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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The Controlled Demolition of the U.S. Economy: Shadow Banks, Dollar Debasement and Basis Trades.

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 20:14:07 +0000

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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Show Notes [October 18, 2025.]

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:12:15 +0000

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

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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Barack Obama: The Greatest Republican President of My Lifetime.

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Barack Obama was the greatest Republican president of my lifetime—a statement sure to fire up establishment liberals and conservatives alike. But for progressives in the United States, this is what the Obama years felt like. Today’s episode examines the seminal policy achievements of the Obama years from the Affordable Care Act and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to DACA and the response to the Global Financial Crisis. We offer the liberal and conservative views of the same issues, then finish with the progressive perspective on all.

Resources

Migration Policy Institute: The Obama Record on Deportations: Deporter in Chief or Not?

TBIJ: Obama’s covert drone war in numbers: ten times more strikes…

NPR: Pledging To End Two Wars, Obama Finds Himself Entangled In Three

Video: Cornel West's Note to Obama

Obama Library

UNFTR Resources

Video: Barack Obama: The BEST REPUBLICAN President Ever

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

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Bailing on Farmers to Bail Out Argentina: Two to Tango.

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently pledged $20 billion of support to Argentina to prevent its currency from sliding further and to backstop Javier Milei’s Trump-like economic agenda. Then, Argentina turned around and lowered its export tariffs and dumped its soybean crop on the market. They found a willing buyer in China, who has ceased purchasing U.S. agriculture due to the Trump tariff war. The whole affair boiled over when an AP photographer snapped a picture of a text thread on Bessent’s phone from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Collins who said U.S. soybean farmers were livid because their market collapsed. It’s another example of the Trump administration putting ideology and pettiness ahead of his own constituents. But there’s a larger game afoot that no one is talking about that this situation perfectly illustrates: We’re playing checkers and China is playing chess.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:36

Post Show Musings: 00:25:22

Outro: 00:27:43

Resources

Americas Quarterly: A Key Pending Challenge for Milei’s Argentina

New York Times: Milei Vowed to Fix Argentina’s Economy. Then Came a New Crisis

Newsweek: Trump’s Argentina bailout sparks fury among farmers, Republicans

Paul Krugman: Why Is Trump Bailing Out Argentina?

Federal Reserve: Dollarization in Argentina

The Observatory of Economic Complexity: United States (USA) and Argentina (ARG) Trade

International Trade Administration: Argentina - Market Overview

MercoPress: Argentina records 21st straight trade surplus

CEIC Data: Argentina Consolidated Fiscal Balance, 1993 – 2025

Americas Quarterly: Milei’s Path to Dollarization: Riddled with Doubts

J.P. Morgan: De-dollarization: The end of dollar dominance?

Become a UNFTR Member

Book Love

Carol Wise: Dragonomics: How Latin America Is Maximizing (or Missing Out On) China's International Development Strategy

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Show Notes [October 4, 2025.]

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Max and 99 are back to discuss headlines (AI, government shutdown, Hegseth speech + more) and recent Unf*cker feedback. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Emails: 00:46:56

Memberships: 01:40:10

Outro: 01:40:37

Resources

Wired: Palantir Wants to Be a Lifestyle Brand

Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At

Track Star: Pete Alonso

"Department of War:" Pete Hegseth FULL REMARKS at the WAR DEPARTMENT ADDRESS

New York Times: Text of the Email That Pete Hegseth’s Mother Sent Him

How I Built This: Bob's Red Mill: Bob Moore

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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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Running Out of Time: The Political and Economic Realization of Project 2025.

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 02:56:31 +0000

We continue to build on the idea that white Christian nationalism is, was and has always been the foundation of this country. To suggest otherwise is to be both ahistorical and absent in our politics today. The violent response to a concept so utterly innocuous such as “Black lives matter” should tell us everything. Before it was a movement (of sorts) it was a simple statement. But the reality is that they don’t. We need to stop calling it “Trump’s America” and just call it what it is. America.

Resources

The Ezra Klein Show: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ezra Klein Hash Out Their Charlie Kirk Disagreement

New York Times: Charlie Kirk Was Practicing Politics the Right Way

Democracy Now!: Project 2025 Co-Author Lays Out "Radical Agenda" for Next Trump Term in Undercover Video

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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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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The End of the American Experiment: Nice, for Some, While It Lasted.

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:59:41 +0000

It’s evident now that the alt-right figures in charge of this administration are quickly realizing the vision set forth in Project 2025. But it’s also clear that they are moving just as quickly to implement the vision of Project Esther, the Project 2025 companion and follow-up from the Heritage Foundation. The two visions work in tandem to destroy the institutions that barely held Donald Trump in check during his first term and to undermine free speech of anyone opposed to their radical agenda. The combined projects are so well coordinated and overwhelming that we may be living through the end of the American experiment.

Resources

BBC: JD Vance hosts Charlie Kirk’s daily talk radio show

NPR: Trump files $15 billion defamation lawsuit against ‘New York Times’

Zeteo: The New McCarthyism: UC Berkeley Just Handed Over the Names of 160 Students and Faculty to the Trump Admin

Democracy Docket: Left-Leaning Nonprofits Push Back on Trump’s Crackdown Threats

PBS NewsHour: Economic fallout mounts as Trump halts near-finished wind power project

Truth Social: Donald Trump

The Chris Hedges Report: We Are All antifa Now

Just Security: The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers Are Domestic Terrorists, It’s Past Time to Call Them What They Are

PBS News: Elected officials, police officers and members of military on Oath Keepers membership list, report says

World Population Review: KKK Population by State 2025

Defense360: Bad Idea: Domestic Terrorist Organization Designations

The Nation: Barbara Lee’s Stand

Mondoweiss: From COINTELPRO to Project Esther: The evolution of domestic counterinsurgency in the U.S.

IISS: Iran’s nuclear programme after the strikes

Book Love

Branko Milanovic: Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War

UNFTR Resources

The Carter Series: Reexamining Jimmy’s Time in Office.

The Clinton Years: The Most Neoliberal Presidency in U.S. History.

Video: The End of the American Experiment. 1776 to 2025.

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The Murder of Charlie Kirk: There Are Monsters Under the Bed.

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:18:54 +0000

This week Max expands on his initial response to the murder of Charlie Kirk and reflects on the diseased state of the online American male. Gen Z gamers who came of age during “Gamergate” are still living more online than “IRL” and appear to be divorced from their consequences. From school shootings to the Kirk murder, the motivations of incels are becoming harder to divine and even more radicalized from their roots. How this evolves is anyone’s guess but don’t look to this administration to dig into the problem or provide clarity; not while the anger and confusion provides the perfect cover for their Project 2025 agenda.

Resources

Mother Jones: The Key Missing Piece to the Megahit “Adolescence”

New York Times: Vance hosts Kirk’s podcast with a parade of Trump officials.

Britannica: Gamergate

UNFTR Resources

Video: Charlie Kirk Dead at 31.

It’s Like the Elites Want Us Raging Against Each Other.

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Left Turns: Gerrymandering and Dark Money.

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The “left” is a wide spectrum with ever deepening divides. This week’s essay highlights two newsworthy items that perfectly illustrate the fracture between leftists and liberals and how we’re willing to accept anything on the Democratic side that shows signs of life; even if those things are undemocratic in nature. Part one addresses the fallout from the Wired Magazine article uncovering the relationship between online creators and a group called Chorus. The second part addresses California’s move to neutralize Texas’ recent redistricting effort designed to pick up Republican House seats in the midterms.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:00

Part One: 00:00:56

Part Two: 00:14:01

Resources

Wired: A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers

Chorus

Tucker Carlson: Ana Kasparian: Epstein Cover-Up, Israel Strikes Gaza Church, & the Great American Political Shift

TYT: Cenk Explains Why He’s REMOVING A Contributor From TYT Network

Sixteen Thirty Fund

270 to Win: 1964 Presidential Election

Yes on 50

New York Times: The Democratic Party Faces a Voter Registration Crisis

UNFTR Resources

Video: Journalist Exposes Dark Money on the Left

Video: Democrats fight back with California redistricting plan

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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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Show Notes [September 6, 2025]

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Max and 99 jump in for another edition of Show Notes, covering headlines and some recent Unf*cker feedback. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Headlines: 00:26:07

Emails: 00:33:02

Memberships: 00:53:09

Outro: 00:53:25

Resources

Sign the Petition To Stop the Senate From Passing These Bills

Max for MTN: Trump makes FATAL MOVE that Instantly RUINS LABOR DAY

The Guardian: Florida to end vaccine mandates for children as state’s surgeon general likens them to ‘slavery’

Politico: Poll: California Democrats like Gavin Newsom over Kamala Harris in 2028

Quinn Slobodian: Hayek's Bastards: Race, Gold, Iq, and the Capitalism of the Far Right

I Am Leg

Chloe Sorvino: Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat

Unf*cker Recommendations

Carlota Perez: Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages

UNFTR Resources

Video: Journalist Exposes Dark Money on the Left

Video: Democrats fight back with California redistricting plan

Californication: F*cking Around with our Biggest Economy.

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The Fed, Tariffs & Big Beautiful “Sequel.” The 3 Punch Combination to Knockout the American People.

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

The U.S. is running out of options to service the national debt. Secretary Bessent announced that we will now use revenue from tariffs to pay down budget deficits, rather than reinvest them into the economy. Some are treating this as welcome news. At the same time, the GOP has formed a working group to draft up a “sequel” to the Big Beautiful Bill to deepen cuts to Medicaid and federal student aid. They’ll do anything other than raise taxes on those that can afford them. But tariffs and more cuts to vital programs will only hasten economic decline, so team Trump is running out of options to stop the bleeding. And that means only one thing: Printing more money. But that’s more complicated than it seems and will lead to disastrous results. It does explain, however, why Trump is so desperate to take over the Federal Reserve.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:57

Post Show Musings: 00:32:55

Outro: 00:47:04

Resources

UNFTR.com

Sign the Petition To Stop the Senate From Passing These Bills

Politico: House Republicans want another megabill. One GOP senator says it could be ‘damaging.’

X: Republican Study Committee

Republican Study Committee: One Big Beautiful Sequel: RSC Chairman Launches Working Group for Second Reconciliation Bill

Brookings: What is the repo market, and why does it matter?

St. Louis Fed: What Is Yield Curve Control?

Treasury: Treasury Announces Marketable Borrowing Estimates

UNFTR Quickies

UNFTR Discord

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The Toxic Nature of Hustle Culture: The Mythology of the American Worker.

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Hustle Culture relies on the toxic myth of rugged individualism. Four out of every ten Americans rely on “side-hustles” in the gig economy to make ends meet. For many these side hustles are the only source of income. For decades our political leaders have sold the myth of self-reliance rather than bolstering worker protections. The result is a population that lives in economic precarity and without the benefits and peace of mind associated with steady labor guarantees. There’s nothing inherently wrong with entrepreneurism but our political economy takes advantage of this mindset to strip away safety nets and blame those who cannot fend for themselves.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:39

Chapter One: The Bipartisan Consensus on Self-Reliance. 00:04:01

Chapter Two: The Psychology of Rugged Individualism. 00:10:27

Chapter Three: The AI Acceleration: Nothing New Here. 00:16:52

Chapter Four: Reimagining Work. 00:24:37

Resources

Economic Policy Institute: National survey of gig workers paints a picture of poor working conditions, low pay

Upwork: Freelance Forward 2023

MBO Partners: Authentic and Intentional: State of Independence in America 2024

ADP Research: Illuminating the Shadow Workforce: Insights into the Gig Workforce in Businesses

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union Membership (Annual) News Release

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Union Members Summary

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Civilian labor force participation rate

Axios: Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath

St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED): Labor Force Participation Rate

Economic Policy Institute: 16 million workers were unionized in 2024

Book Love

Giovanni Arrighi: The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power and the Origins of Our Times

UNFTR Resources

Un-Cooperative: Why Worker Co-Ops Don’t Work in America.

Strike! Reality checking the labor movement.

Understanding Socialism: A History of Socialist Thought from Beccaria to Trotsky.

Video: What They Don’t Tell You About Hustle Culture

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Show Notes [August 2025]

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 03:25:39 +0000

Max and 99 are back at it for another edition of Show Notes! They cover a few trending headlines plus Trump Stablecoin ep. feedback, and have an unnecessarily long conversation about soap. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Headlines: 00:12:14

Episode Feedback: 00:51:32

Memberships: 01:25:42

Outro: 01:30:12

Headlines

New York Times: Cracker Barrel’s New Modern Logo and Aesthetic Become a Political Rorschach Test

The Guardian: Target CEO steps down as company faces weak sales and customer boycott

CNBC: Former Walmart U.S. CEO Bill Simon questions stock drop: ‘It was about as good of a quarter as any retailer could have in any environment’

The Guardian: CEO-to-worker pay gap surges to 632 to 1 at US’s lowest-paying large firms, study shows

USA Today: Eric Adams adviser accused of bribery after giving reporter cash inside potato chip bag

New York Times: Goodbye, $165,000 Tech Jobs. Student Coders Seek Work at Chipotle

Resources

UNFTR Resources Environment

The Bulwark: Is Tim Miller closer to endorsing Zohran Mamdani than Hakeem Jeffries is?

Petition: Stop Trump's USD1 Stablecoin

Video, Max for MTN: Trump’s SHADOW CRYPTO Network is WORSE Than You Think

Video: Trump's Crypto Scheme MUST Be Stopped

Episode: Trump is Looting the Treasury.

Congress: S.394 - GENIUS Act of 2025

Congress: H.R.3633 - Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025

Congress: H.R.1919 - Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act

Molly White Citation Needed

Molly White on Bluesky

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Trump is Looting the Treasury: Time Is Running Out To Prevent Trump From Becoming the World’s Shadow Central Bank.

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump has laid the groundwork to become one of the wealthiest people on the planet by personally making money from every dollar printed in the United States. And the worse the economy gets, the more money he stands to make. The House has already passed three crypto bills that would make this potential a reality by allowing the Trump family to control the global stablecoin market. Now it’s up to the Senate. It’s a wild story that the media won’t report on because they don’t get it. But some very powerful people have figured it out and now the race is on to stop Trump from becoming the shadow central banker to the world.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:35

Chapter One: Bitcoin and Burgers. 00:01:17

Chapter Two: The Stablecoin Genius. 00:07:15

Chapter Three: FIAT. 00:12:40

Chapter Four: Crypto Fasist. 00:17:34

Chapter Five: Looting the Treasury. 00:28:53

Chapter Six: 00:38:59

Resources

Sign the Petition To Stop the Senate From Passing These Bills

Stablecoin Resources

The Coin Republic: Tether Leads Crypto Revenue Chart With $87M Weekly Fees

Corporate Finance Institute: Tether

Cointelegraph: Tether made $5.2B in 2024: Here’s how stablecoins make money

Onchain: How Businesses Generate Revenue With Stablecoins

Webisoft: How Do Stablecoins Make Money? [The Crypto Finance]

Binance: How Do Stable Coin Issuers Make Money?

Gemini: What Is USDC? How Does It Work?

White Paper: SoK: Stablecoin Designs, Risks, and the Stablecoin LEGO

White Paper: Stablecoins: Fundamentals, Emerging Issues, and Open Challenges

White Paper: Hybrid Monetary Ecosystems: Integrating Stablecoins and Fiat in the Future of Currency Systems

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City: Stablecoins Could Increase Treasury Demand, but Only by Reducing Demand for Other Assets

Bitbo: Stablecoin Issuers Now Hold $182B in US Treasuries

Bitstamp: What is Circle?

Regulation and Legislation Resources

Federal Reserve: Federal Reserve Board announces the withdrawal of guidance for banks related to their crypto-asset and dollar token activities and related changes to its expectations for these activities

Yahoo Finance: Trump signs stablecoin bill into law, capping string of ‘Crypto Week’ victories

Associated Press: Senate passes crypto regulations, sends to House without addressing Trump’s investments

Congress: S.394 - GENIUS Act of 2025

Congress: H.R.3633 - Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025

Congress: H.R.1919 - Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act

Politico: Crypto industry amasses colossal war chest for elections

Public Citizen: Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 Million Influencing Elections

AInvest: Senator Gillibrand’s $217,000 Crypto Donations Fuel GENIUS Act Debate

ETF Trends: Corporate Crypto Adoption Trends Remain Encouraging

Trump & Crypto Resources

Bloomberg: Binance Aided Trump Crypto Firm Before Founder CZ Sought Pardon

Binance Academy: What Is World Liberty Financial USD (USD1)?

American Bazaar: World Liberty Financial, tied to Trump, grows ETH holdings to $275 million

BingX: What Is USD1 Stablecoin Launched by the World Liberty Financial (WLFI)?

MEXC: What is USD1? Complete Guide to World Liberty Financial’s Revolutionary Stablecoin

Common Dreams: How GOP’s Crypto Bills Would Benefit Trump and His Family

New York Times: What to Know About the Three Crypto Regulation Bills in Congress

NPR: A ‘Crypto Week’ win: Congress passes 1st major crypto legislation in the U.S.

TOKEN2049: A Fireside Chat with Eric Trump and World Liberty Financial

Wall Street Journal: The Recipe Behind the Trump Family’s Crypto Riches: PancakeSwap

BusinessWire: ALT5 Sigma Corporation Announces $1.5 Billion Registered Direct Offering and Concurrent Private Placement to Initiate World Liberty Financial $WLFI Treasury Strategy

Reuters: Trump's stablecoin chosen for $2 billion Abu Dhabi investment in Binance, co-founder says

Definitional Resources

Brookings: What are stablecoins, and how are they regulated?

The Block: What are the advantages and disadvantages of stablecoins?

Binance: Stablecoins vs. Fiat Money: Why are they a good option?

Polkadot: CBDCs vs. Stablecoin: Competing visions for digital currency

Fireblocks: State of Stablecoins 2025

International Resources

Atlantic Council: Central bank digital currencies versus stablecoins: Divergent EU and US perspectives

Reuters: Crypto firm Tether and its founders finalizing move to El Salvador

BIS: The next-generation monetary and financial system

UNFTR Resources

The Global Order of Money.

Video: Trump's Crypto Scheme MUST Be Stopped

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Trump and the Fed: Why Trump is Determined to Fire Jerome Powell.

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently took himself out of the running to take over as Chair of the Federal Reserve at the end of Jerome Powell’s term. (Or when Trump fires him illegally.) Perhaps it has something to do with his serious flub recently when he said the quiet part out loud about privatizing Social Security. Either way, Trump is on a mission to cut the Federal Funds rate to as low as one percent. In today’s episode, we game it out to explain what would happen if rates suddenly dropped so low in this economic environment. (Spoiler: It would be catastrophic for the average American.) Then we reveal what Trump’s actual motives might be for doing so.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:40

Post Show Musings: 00:14:59

Resources

The New York Times: Trump says Treasury’s Bessent rules out replacing Powell as the Fed chair.

MSNBC: Bessent walks back suggestion that Trump accounts are 'backdoor' to privatize Social Security

UNFTR Resources

Trump Accounts.

Stablecoin and the Stable Genius: Donald Trump’s Plan to be the Central Banker to the World

Video: Trump’s SHADOW CRYPTO Network is WORSE Than You Think

Project 2025.

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Trump vs. Lula: Trump’s Arrogance Toward Brazil and the LAC Is a Threat to Us All.

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump recently announced a new round of tariffs including outrageous ones on Brazil that bring the effective tariff rate to 50%. Forget that we have a surplus with Brazil or that they’re one of the biggest economies in Latin America, one of our closest allies historically and the biggest democracy in South America. Trump’s upset that the Lula administration is targeting his friend Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics.” Or so he claims. There’s a lot more to this ridiculous and misguided trade war than hurt feelings and bad economics. It’s about Brazil’s leadership of the BRICS+ alliance that threatens to undermine Trump’s plan to personally become the central banker to the world.

Resources

Jeffrey Group: Brasil June 6th, 2025

IMF: IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Visit to Brazil

OECD: OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2025 Issue 1

Deloitte: Brazil economic outlook, March 2025

Al Jazeera: Trump’s hefty tariff on Brazil expected to push the country towards China

The Guardian - President Lula hits back as Trump tariffs threaten US-Brazil trade showdown

VoxDev: Understanding Brazil’s falling income inequality

PBS: Argentina secures IMF loan and ends most capital controls in key milestones for President Milei

MeidasTouch: Trump’s PANICKED MOVE delivers DEATHBLOW

Atlantic Council: The stablecoin race

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Income Inequality in the U.S.: Why You’re Struggling.

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:34:32 +0000

Income inequality is often spoken about but still widely misunderstood. There’s a reason why the vast majority of Americans are barely getting by while the top income earners continue to pull ahead. We’re entering a new phase of capitalism, however, and it stands to affect even some of those who were previously untouched by economic downturns. There is trouble brewing that threatens the preeminence of the U.S. Dollar as the cheap and easy money era comes to a grinding halt. Few of the old tools in the Fed and Treasury toolkit will be as effective as they once were, and the Trump administration seems determined to build a private shadow central banking system that will make matters worse for everyone but the uber-wealthy.

Resources

US Leading Indicators

Art Market Research: Benchmark Indices for the Art Market

Book Love

Jodi Dean: Capital’s Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle

UNFTR Episode Resources

Stock Buybacks Surge: Another Red Flag for the U.S. Economy.

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Show Notes.

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 23:50:26 +0000

Max and 99 are back together to cover emails, comments and headlines! Tune in and enjoy.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:19

Headlines: 00:23:46

Emails: 1:07:20

Memberships: 1:34:20

Reviews: 1:34:55

Outro: 1:35:07

Headlines

CNN: Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans advance nomination of former Trump lawyer Emil Bove as Democrats walk out

The Hill: Favorable views of Democratic Party lowest in decades: Polling

CBS News: 20 states sue DHS, FEMA for cuts to disaster mitigation program

Resources

Max’s Meidas Touch Contributor Playlist

Steven Semler: Polygraph

UNFTR Resources

Progressive Spotlights

We Watched Tucker So You Don’t Have To. Is It Time To Worry?

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Our Eroding Empire: Max Unfiltered. It’s Now or Never.

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump is implementing the Project 2025 playbook faster than anyone anticipated, and old guard Democrats have no idea how to combat him. But there’s another endgame coming into focus that will shock even astute political observers. This “Max Unfiltered” episode plants the seeds for upcoming episodes that examine how Trump and his allies are planning to loot the Treasury and control the world’s money supply. It turns out they aren’t just intent on destroying the system to remain in power—they’re setting themselves up to BE the power. Full disclosure: it’s a bit of a rant, but it’s the foundation for more to come.

Resources

Civiqs: Donald Trump: Job Approval, Second Term

The Untouchables: The Chicago Way

UNFTR Resources

Mamdani’s Mayoral Bid Exposes the Real Threat to NYC

Video: The Case AGAINST Buttigieg in 2028

The Prosperity Doctrine.

F*ck Milton Friedman.

Libertarians Are Exhausting: But They Might Be On To Something(s).

Manufacturing Dissent.

“Project 2025.”

Video: Yanis Varoufakis on Technofeudalism and the End of Capitalism

5 Non-Negotiables

Video: Old Democrats Must Go or Trump NEVER Will

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Immigration Smokescreen: Masking Trump’s War on the Poor.

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The Trump administration has declared war on immigrants and poor people and is using immigration as a smokescreen to cover for Medicaid cuts in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Henchmen like Stephen Miller and Scott Bessent are promoting the false narrative that “illegal” immigrants are receiving Medicaid coverage and responsible for much of the fraud and abuse in the system. It’s a specious argument to distract from the fact that they’re cutting healthcare for millions of vulnerable Americans.

KFF: Potential Impacts of 2025 Budget Reconciliation on Health Coverage

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:36

Chapter One: Cruelty. 00:01:55

Chapter Two: Smokescreen. 00:05:29

Chapter Three: Emergency. 00:10:35

Chapter Four: Theft. 00:14:47

Post Show Musings: 00:16:48

Outro: 00:20:21

Resources

New York Times: A List of Nearly Everything in the G.O.P. Bill, and How Much It Would Cost or Save

Rising: Stephen Miller “Torches ICE”

New York Times: The Senate Wants Billions More in Medicaid Cuts, Pinching States and Infuriating Hospitals

KFF: 5 Key Facts About Immigrants and Medicaid

FactCheck.org: A False Claim About Illegal Immigration and Medicaid - FactCheck.org

Healthinsurance.org: Can undocumented immigrants get Medicaid?

Video: Trump's WAR on Immigrants and Poor People

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The SALT Deduction: How “Tax Relief for Homeowners” Became Another Giveaway to the Rich.

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 20:26:30 +0000

Today we’re diving into one of the most contentious tax battles happening in Washington right now—the State and Local Tax deduction (SALT). Now, if you’ve been hearing politicians talk about “tax relief for hard-working homeowners” or “supporting middle-class families,” you might think this sounds pretty good, right?

But here’s the thing— like so many tax policies that sound great on the surface, the SALT deduction is actually one of the most regressive tax breaks in our entire system. We’re talking about a policy that overwhelmingly benefits wealthy households while doing absolutely nothing for the majority of Americans. And right now, Congress is debating whether to make this tax break even more generous.

Resources

Brookings: The SALT tax deduction is a handout to the rich. It should be eliminated not expanded

CNBC: Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ passes SALT deduction limit of $40,000. Here’s who benefits

Forvis Mazars: Be Wary of Pre-Emptive Tax Planning on Itemized Deductions & SALT

TIME: A Wonky Tax Break for the Well-Off Is a Bigger Problem for Democrats Than You'd Think

Gottheimer: RELEASE: SALT Caucus Co-Chairs, Members Meet & Discuss Fight to Restore State and Local Tax Deduction

Tax Foundation: A More Generous SALT Deduction Cap in the Big, Beautiful Bill Would Cost Revenue and Primarily Benefit High Earners

RSM US: Bill limits SALT deductions for some financial and professional services firms

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BONUS: 2025 Manny + 99 Takeover.

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:37:11 +0000

Manny and 99 jumped into the studio to have some fun and connect while Max was away. They covered headlines, some music recommendations and general UNFTR business. Enjoy!

Access episode resources.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:00

Housekeeping: 00:02:13

Headlines: 00:09:01

Recommendations: 00:46:00

Memberships: 01:00:26

Outro: 01:00:50

Outro pt. 2: 01:16:26

Resources

FMF Day sale through June 30

UNFTR’s 5NN

POLITICO: MAGA right attacks Zohran Mamdani’s religion following his win

News Beat Podcast

Free The Press Substack

Hip Hop Can Save America! Substack

Rolling Stone: People Are Discovering NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s Rap Past

UNFTR Discord

AP News: Fed’s Powell repeats warning about tariffs as some GOP senators accuse him of bias

Contraband Camp: How the Growth of AI is Endangering the Health of Black People

Manny Faces Book

HHCSA Discord

Silent Knight

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)

Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz

Goose: Everything Must Go

Matt Berninger: Get Sunk

Max for MTN

Buy UNFTR Coffee

NPR: Chew On This: Is It Chomping Or Champing?

UNFTR Resources

Zohran Mamdani Has Already Won.

Video: Zohran Mamdani Already Won: Leading the Race & the Way

Max for MTN: Why Zohran Won the NYC Primary

Mamdani’s Mayoral Bid Exposes the Real Threat to NYC

The Economics of Racism.

Video: The Economics of Racism.

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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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Zohran Mamdani Has Already Won: Leading the Race and Leading the Way.

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:14:58 +0000

We’re only a day away from the New York City Democratic Primary for mayor and early voting turnout is the largest in years. No matter what happens, Zohran Kwame Mamdani has already won the race. Mamdani’s candidacy has galvanized the national media in a way that a local primary race has rarely ever done. CNN, MSNBC, Zeteo, Hasan Piker, MeidasTouch, Pod Save America, The Breakfast Club, Bulwark Podcast and, of course, UNFTR (ahem) have all featured Mamdani. In some ways, he might be even more popular as a national political figure among leftists than he is among New York City voters. We’ll find out in a matter of days. There are those, however, who see this race as an isolated case and in no way a bellwether in a broader political sense. They would be wrong.

Chapters

Intro: 00:40

Post Show Musings: 00:19:10

Outro: 00:46:37

Resources

The City: Who Votes the Most in New York? West Siders, Older People and College Grads

POLITICO: Mario Cuomo was disappointed, 'homo' signs or not

Zohran For NYC

Emerson Polling: New York City 2025 Mayoral Poll: Mamdani Surges into Second, Cuomo Holding Lead One Month Out

Emerson Polling: New York City Mayoral Poll: Mamdani Catches Cuomo In Rank Choice Voting

FairVote: Ranked Choice Voting

UNFTR Resources

Phone A Friend: Zohran Mamdani.

Video: Zohran for NYC Mayor: The Democratic Socialist Taking Over Gotham

Video: Zohran Mamdani Already Won: Leading the Race & the Way

FMF Day Sale through June 30

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Trump Accounts: A Drop in the Leaky Bucket.

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Trump is touting his new “Trump Accounts” plan as part of the Big Beautiful Bill Act. The plan would provide $1,000 to every baby born in America between 2025 and 2029 in a tax deferred account that allows matching each year of up to $5,000. It’s a way to encourage savings at a young age and works similar to the successful 529 education funds, but there are key differences. Today we dissect the plan and reveal how it’s mostly political theater. It’s another giveaway to Wall Street that increases inequality because of the way it’s structured. But there’s another reason why the GOP is so keen to pass this plan that has nothing to do with making babies rich, and everything to do with erasing entitlements.

Pulling Apart the GOP Budget.

Resources

Congress: H.R.1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act

MarketWatch Guides: How Much Is the Average American Saving?

UNFTR Resources

Video: Why is Trump Giving Babies $1000 Just For Being Born?

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Show Notes.

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 18:06:58 +0000

Max and 99 return to answer Unf*cker emails, talk Discord episode topic suggestions, and cover current events. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Headlines: 00:09:10

Discord: 00:24:09

Emails: 00:59:40

Memberships: 01:36:38

Outro: 01:37:59

Resources

FMF Day Deals

Politico: Mamdani surges in new poll, leading Cuomo for first time in New York mayor’s race

Video: Zohran for NYC Mayor: The Democratic Socialist Taking Over Gotham

Maintenance Phase: The Bulletproof Diet

AP: RFK Jr. is targeting ultraprocessed foods. What are they, and are they bad for you?

Bryant Research: A Drop in the Bucket: Comparing the Water Footprint of AI and The Cattle Industry

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Protests in LA: Posse Comitatus is Long Over.

Sat, 14 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Donald Trump overrode Governor Gavin Newsom to federalize the California National Guard to police the streets of Los Angeles. Protests over ICE’s deportation tactics are growing, prompting the Trump administration to leverage extreme authority over the protests, with Pentagon head Pete Hegseth warning that he will call in the Marines if necessary. All of this calls into question the limits of presidential authority in domestic civil disturbances and whether Posse Comitatus is still the law of the land. While it’s still on the books, it has been effectively gutted over the past 30 years by multiple administrations through procedural changes to the U.S. Code that have gone largely unnoticed.

AP News: What to know about the protests over Trump's immigration crackdown in LA and other cities

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:52

Chapter One: Defining Presidential Authority. 00:03:15

Chapter Two: Timeline to Total Authority. 00:09:45

Chapter Three: Handing the Keys to the “Fascist in Chief.” 00:16:08

Epilogue: De Facto Nullification of Posse Comitatus. 00:18:48

Post Show Musings: 00:21:01

Resources

Public Intelligence: DoD Directive 3025.12 Military Assistance for Civil Disturbances (MACDIS)

Department of Defense: DoDI 3025.21, February 27, 2013, Incorporating Change 1 on February 8, 2019

Gov Info: Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 71 (Friday, April 12, 2013)

Department of Defense: DoD Directive 3025.12

POLITICO: Newsom blasts deployment of National Guard to LA as ‘purposefully inflammatory’

TIME: Trump Sparks Backlash Ordering National Guard to LA Protests

U.S. Code: Positive Law Codification

Legal Information Institute: 19 U.S. Code § 1677 - Definitions; special rules

U.S. Code: uscode.house.gov

The New York Times: Newsom Criticizes Hegseth for Saying Marines Could be Mobilized in California

Legal Information Institute: 18 U.S. Code § 1385 - Use of Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force as posse comitatus

Bonnie Baker: The Origins of the Posse Comitatus

NPR: Trump expands military use at the southern border. Are there legal limits?

UNFTR Resources

Video: LA Protests: Is this the END OF POSSE COMITATUS?

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The Job Report Is a Lie: The Labor Market Is Falling Apart.

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:28:22 +0000

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the United States added 139,000 “non-farm payroll jobs” in the month of May, 2025. These figures came in close to what experts projected and depending upon one’s ideological perspective, it was either evidence of economic strength and resilience under Trump or a sign of a slowing job market as a result of Trump’s tariff policies and economic uncertainty. What the mainstream media didn’t cover as much were the prior month revisions, or how the demographic shifts are artificially boosting labor participation numbers. With an economic slowdown on the horizon, AI already taking entry-level jobs, recent graduates having trouble finding employment, a quarter of the population participating in the gig economy and an aging population, there is trouble brewing. And some of it is already here.

CNN: AI company’s CEO issues warning about mass unemployment

Resources

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation Summary - 2025 M05 Results

Tulane: Importance of Data Collection in Public Health

Common Dreams: Hitler’s First 100 Days — And Trump’s

St. Louis Fed: Labor Force Participation Rate (CIVPART)

St. Louis Fed: Labor Force Participation Rate - 25-54 Yrs. (LNU01300060)

St. Louis Fed: Labor Force Participation Rate - 55 Yrs. & over (LNS11324230)

AARP: Are the Last Boomers Ready for Retirement?

Gig Economy Data Hub: How many gig workers are there?

US Census Bureau: Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060

UNFTR Resources

Iceberg. Dead Ahead.

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse.

5NN

Video: 2025 Jobs Data is Total BULLSH*T

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Pulling Apart the GOP Budget: Red States and Deficits.

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

We’re experimenting with something. As we work toward a complete breakdown of the federal budget in a comprehensive essay and companion episode, we’re bringing our audience into the content creation process. We have a feeling this is going to be one of our behemoth entries into the canon (and potentially a two-parter.) So rather than overwhelm everyone with information in one shot, we thought it would be useful to break it apart as we go. The first two entries made it to YouTube already but I’m packaging them up in a single episode today. The first is how the GOP budget disproportionately impacts red states. And not in a good way. The second brings us back to our Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) discussions and reframes the way we think about the national debt. Both are crucial building blocks in our understanding of the federal budget.

NACO: U.S. House passes reconciliation bill: What it means for counties

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:36

Red State: Fucked. 00:01:30

We Solved the Debt Crisis: 00:06:39

Post Show Musings: 00:21:49

Outro: 00:25:05

Resources

Congress: H.R.1 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Bipartisan Policy Center: Federal Balancing Act

White House: Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request

Jacobin: Trump’s Budget: Starving Everything Except the Military

Bloomberg Television: Millstein on US Downgrade, Tariffs, Trump Tax Bill

PBS News: What’s inside the House GOP’s budget bill? Here’s a look

Congress: H.Con.Res.14

PGPF: Chart Pack: The U.S. Budget

PGPF: What Is Budget Reconciliation?

The Conference Board: Reforming the Broken Federal Budget Process

Bipartisan Policy Center: What’s in the FY2025 Senate Budget Resolution

Georgetown CCF: Medicaid and CHIP Cuts in the House-Passed Reconciliation Bill Explained

Reuters: US Treasuries: Who owns US debt?

UNFTR Resources

Modern Monetary Theory.

Stock Buybacks Surge.

Updated Tax Evasion Figures.

Video: GOP Spending Bill is a Red State Bloodbath

Video: Big Bullsh*t Bill adds $2.4 trillion to National Debt

5NN

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Credit Risk: The Looming U.S. Credit Crisis.

Sat, 31 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

How much credit risk is in the market? Equities get the headlines but the world runs on credit. Jamie Dimon recently declared that credit was a “bad risk” on the heels of Moody’s downgrading the U.S. credit rating and a spike in the 10 Year Treasury yield. Suddenly, the boring old credit and bond markets are all the rage on the financial news channels, and it goes much deeper than treasuries. Today’s episode examines the scope of the global credit market and unpacks the difference between the systemic threat posed in the global financial crisis (GFC) and the looming credit crisis today. And, it shows how the big corporations prepared for the gathering storm by rewriting the rules of the game after the GFC. The big guys are fairly insulated from any sort of looming credit shock, but the rest of us are pretty much toast.

MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies Increase Slightly in the First Quarter of 2025

Chapters

Intro: 00:01:00

Post Show Musings: 00:28:25

Outro: 00:33:39

Resources

Moody’s: Moody’s Ratings downgrades United States ratings to Aa1 from Aaa; changes outlook to stable

Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Household Debt and Credit Report

Federal Reserve Bank of New York: The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates

Coleman Report: Small Business Loan Defaults Expected to Peak Next Year

Offshoring

Lincoln International LLC: Q1 2025 Lincoln Private Market Index™

Investopedia: Payment-in-Kind (PIK): What It Is, How It Works, Pros and Cons

Axios: Americans are behind on car payments at a record level

HBR: U.S. Commercial Real Estate Is Headed Toward a Crisis

J.P. Morgan Private Bank U.S.: Municipal Bonds: Back in the Spotlight

U.S. Department of the Treasury: Treasury International Capital Data for March

Everything Policy: Where are the key Panama Papers figures, seven years later?

Secondaries Investor: Yale sells up to $6bn of its PE portfolio amid federal funding challenge

NBER: The Offshore World According to FATCA: New Evidence on the Foreign Wealth of U.S.

Peter Lang Publishing: Hip Hop Can Save America!

UNFTR Episode Resources

The U.S. Dollar and 10 Year Treasury.

Updated Tax Evasion Figures.

Video: Credit Risk: The looming U.S. Credit Crisis

UNFTR 5 Non-Negotiables

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President Pete Buttigieg: Not What We Need.

Thu, 29 May 2025 17:45:56 +0000

Pete Buttigieg is a legitimate star in the Democratic Party. Having moved his family to Michigan there was speculation that he might run for the governor’s office or become a Senator. But he turned down both options and instead set his sights on the 2028 Presidential election. In addition to making the rounds on multiple cable shows and podcasts to help rehabilitate the image of the Democratic Party, he recently held a massive town hall in Iowa, where he was victorious in the 2020 Caucus. But who is Pete Buttigieg and why do so many people consider him a frontrunner for the Democratic ticket in ‘28? His experience as a small city mayor and single term as Transportation Secretary in the Biden Administration would still make him one of the least experienced candidates in U.S. history. So why all the attention?

Resources

Win The Era PAC

Washington Examiner: Buttigieg high school essay praised Sanders as courageous for calling himself ‘Socialist’

UNFTR Resources

Video: The Case AGAINST Buttigieg in 2028

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Stock Buybacks Surge: Another Red Flag for the U.S. Economy.

Tue, 27 May 2025 20:10:14 +0000

Corporations announced a staggering $233.8 billion in stock buybacks in April, the second-highest monthly total ever recorded. But unlike previous buyback bonanzas, this isn’t a sign of economic strength or corporate confidence. Quite the opposite. Are buybacks just one big shell game or are they fiscally prudent? Corporate stock buybacks have inspired great debate since a Reagan era tax law change and a Clinton era deal sweetener. On the one hand they have enriched shareholders and made executives extremely wealthy. On the other hand, the growth in buybacks mean companies aren’t investing in innovation, workers, or expansion. Let’s talk about it.

Resources

Longtermtrends: S&P 500 PE Ratio

FRED: Quarterly Financial Report: U.S. Corporations: All Information: Total Cash on Hand and in U.S. Banks

BNN Bloomberg: Corporate America plans record stock buybacks as turmoil mounts – BNN Bloomberg

Bipartisan Policy Center: How the U.S. Taxes Stock Buybacks and Dividends

Congress.gov: Stock Buybacks: Concerns over Debt-Financing and Long-Term Investing

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: The Great Leverage 2.0? A Tale of Different Indicators of Corporate Leverage

Penn Wharton: Raise the Excise Tax Rate on Stock Repurchases

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: Newly Proposed Regulations on Stock Buyback Excise Tax Largely Adopt Approach From Initial IRS Guidance

The New Republic: Bill Clinton Created This Terrible Corporate Loophole. Will Hillary Close It?

ProPublica: The Executive Pay Cap That Backfired

Harvard: Short-Termism And Capital Flows

Roosevelt Institute: Regulating Stock Buybacks: The $6.3 Trillion Question

ICIJ: The Panama Papers: Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry

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OPEC, Oh Sh*t! Crude Oil Tanks as OPEC+ Floods the Market.

Sat, 24 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Crude Oil tanks as OPEC+ floods the market with product. Russia and Saudi Arabia just did the unthinkable by announcing that they’re increasing output by 411,000 barrels per day starting in June. With demand forecasts going down every day as the world braces for a Trump induced global recession, it’s the exact opposite move from what everyone expected. This episode tackles what this means for the economy, the future of energy, Trump’s tariff gambit, inflation and unemployment.

Peak Oil: It's a Crude, Crude World.

Resources

OPEC

OilPrice.com

U.S. EIA: Advances in technology led to record new well productivity in the Permian Basin in 2021

EnergyNews: OPEC maintains its forecast for oil demand growth in 2025 and 2026

Reuters: US agrees to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion arms package

Responsible Statecraft: Lobby Horse: Trump’s ‘trillion dollar' visit to Saudi Arabia

Deloitte: 2025 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook

World Economic Forum: 5 trends shaping the energy world in 2025

AInvest: JPMorgan Cuts 2025 Oil Price Forecasts 12% on Weak Demand, OPEC+ Output

ExxonMobil: ExxonMobil Announces First-Quarter 2025 Results

Reuters: OPEC output hikes, trade wars have US oil producers wary of 'drill baby drill'

Trading Economics: United States Exports By Category

St. Louis Fed: Breakeven Fiscal Oil Price for Saudi Arabia (SAUPZPIOILBEGUSD)

UNFTR Episode Resources

Bitcoin & Crude Oil.

The Energy Independence Myth.

Iceberg. Dead Ahead.

Video: Oil Prices TANK as OPEC Floods the Market

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The End of Capitalism: A Journey Into the Unknown.

Sat, 17 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Is this the end of Capitalism? If so, what comes next? Does it even matter what we call it? Today Max pauses to reflect on the speed and totality of damage wrought by the Trump administration, and whether it’s bringing about the end of Capitalism on purpose in order to return to a state reminiscent of the industrial era when the working class lived to serve the elite and the poor thrown to the streets.

Resources

Marketplace: Higher income Americans drive bigger share of consumer spending

Book Love

Jacob Riis: How the Other Half Lives

UNFTR Resources

YouTube: The End of Capitalism: What comes next is worse.

YouTube: Phone A Friend: Yanis Varoufakis

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Show Notes [Mixed Bag.]

Tue, 13 May 2025 04:42:09 +0000

Max and 99 return from their Show Notes hiatus to discuss the 5 Non-Negotiables, global events, and share some genuinely insightful tangents (for a change lol). Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:21

Discord Comments: 00:06:46

5NN: 00:10:04

Emails: 00:33:34

Memberships: 01:58:40

Outro: 02:01:41

Resources

Only 3 days left in our Spring Fund, Friend, and Hell Raiser! Become a member today.

Subscribe to the YouTube Channel.

Visit our 5NN homepage.

Save PBS and NPR!

Unf*cker Recommendations

Sarah Smarsh: Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth

Timothy Snyder: On Tyranny Graphic Edition: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century

Jason Stanley: How Fascism Works:The Politics of Us and Them

Ilan Pappe: A Very Short History of the Israel–Palestine Conflict

Sayash Kapoor + Arvind Narayanan: AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference

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Bitcoin & Crude Oil: How Speculators Feast on America’s Carcass.

Sat, 10 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Market speculation into commodities like Bitcoin and Crude oil pose dangerous risks during the best of times. Heading into a recession, the stakes are even higher. The temptation to participate during volatile periods is a psychological phenomenon that takes hold among casual investors who rarely realize when they’re part of an institutional con. When leveraged institutions are in desperate need of liquidity they’ll stop at nothing to game the system. In this episode, Max offers a cautionary tale of speculative behavior in the crude oil markets during the financial crisis that very few people even know about. He then connects it to the dangers posed to investors who dabble in digital currencies like Bitcoin, especially under a pro-crypto Trump administration.

Forbes: ‘Worse Than 2008’—Bitcoin Price Braced As Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns Of ‘Monetary Order Breakdown’

Resources

Forbes: ‘Big Catalyst’—Serious Fed Warning Spurs Huge BlackRock Bitcoin Price Prediction

NPR: What to know about Trump's 'crypto strategic reserve' plan

Yahoo Finance: Donald Trump’s 29-year-old crypto guru lays out the president’s plans for regulating crypto and rolling back a Biden-era crackdown

Pillsbury Law: Trump 2.0: A New Era for the Regulation of Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets

SDLC Corp: Stablecoins: Characteristics, How They Work, Functionality, and Use Cases

Bitpanda Academy: Meme Coins: Definition & Characteristics

St. Edward’s University: What Are the Exchange Coins

The Digital Chamber: Why is Bitcoin a Commodity?

Investopedia: Is Crypto a Commodity? What It Means, Examples

Book Love

Dan Dicker: Oil's Endless Bid: Taming the Unreliable Price of Oil to Secure Our Economy

Emily Lambert: The Futures: The Rise of the Speculator and the Origins of the World's Biggest Markets

Peter Maass: Crude World

Leah McGrath Goodman: The Asylum: Inside the Rise and Ruin of the Global Oil Market

UNFTR Episode Resources

Peak Oil: It’s a Crude, Crude World.

The U.S. Dollar and 10 Year Treasury: Why Economists Are Freaking the F*ck Out.

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Iceberg. Dead Ahead: Tariff Chaos, Shadow Repo and Liquidity Crisis.

Fri, 09 May 2025 03:54:30 +0000

There’s a hidden market that might crash the economy in 2025. Tariff chaos. Leverage in the Repo Market. A burgeoning liquidity crisis. There’s an iceberg, dead ahead, only we can’t see below the surface to know how big it is. In this episode Max takes a big swing at the existential crisis brewing in the financial markets. Trump’s tariffs, declining economic data and slumping global demand will potentially neutralize half of the Fed’s crisis response arsenal. The logical and expected response to what is shaping up to be a catastrophic summer is the “Fed Put.” In other words, another bailout. But if the Fed looks to expand its balance sheet to accomplish this during a liquidity crisis, will the buyers of U.S. debt show up? Inflation and a weak dollar, frayed nerves in the bond market and more reckless behavior coming out of the White House could cause a run on the big banks and other firms that live in the “shadow repo” market leaving the Fed balancing the world on its shoulders.

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Resources

Apollo Global Management: How are US consumers and firms responding to tariffs?

LendingTree: BNPL Tracker: 41% of Users Late in Past Year

The Fed: What Happened in Money Markets in September 2019?

Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Treasury Market Dysfunction and the Role of the Central Bank

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#5NN: This is How We Win. The 5 Non-Negotiables of the Left.

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

This is how we win. This is the closing argument of the project to build the foundation of the people’s platform and take over the Democratic Party: The 5 Non-Negotiables of the Left. Three to earn the trust of the American people to win back the country, and two to salvage our democracy and our planet. The Trump administration is the culmination of a 70 year neoliberal plan to divide the population and place the wealth of the nation and levers of power into the hands of the few.

The dystopian doctrine that drives this agenda is rooted in fear born from economic precarity. As such, the opposite holds true as well. Everything positive is attainable when a population lives in economic security and has satisfied the most basic human needs. We need a politics centered on achieving this goal before we can broaden our horizon. To accomplish this we have to use the tools at our disposal, which means we have to take over most functional political apparatus available: The Democratic Party. Our contribution to this plan is simply to provide structure and clarity. This is how we win.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:30

Non-Negotiable #1: 00:26:16

Non-Negotiable #2: 00:28:14

Non-Negotiable #3: 00:30:04

Non-Negotiable #4: 00:31:59

Non-Negotiable #5: 00:33:56

The People's Platform: 00:36:22

Get Involved: 00:37:50

UNFTR Episode Resources

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse: Non-Negotiable #2.

Medicare for All: Non-Negotiable #3.

Election Integrity: Getting Money Out of Politics: Non-Negotiable #4.

Climate Action: Non-Negotiable #5.

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Show Notes [A Special Visit]

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 04:00:00 +0000

We have a special edition of Show Notes today! In a rare occurrence, Max, Manny and 99 were all in the same place and they took to the mics to mark the occasion. Enjoy!

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The U.S. Dollar and 10 Year Treasury: Why Economists Are Freaking the F*ck Out.

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 19:49:37 +0000

Are there hidden market patterns that signal massive economic change? A weak dollar and rising yield on the ten year treasuries sent Wall Street into panic mode over fears that Trump was torching the global economy with his tariff wars. Since 1945 the U.S. dollar has been the bedrock of the global economy. Trump’s reckless behavior has allies and enemies alike wondering if this is the end of U.S. hegemony in the world. Last week when the dollar and ten year treasury yield briefly split, the global bond market suddenly came into focus and was on everyone’s radar. This episode boils down the jargon to explain what’s going on and why everyone freaked out. Ultimately, while we may not tear down the global order, there’s no question that we won’t restore faith in the U.S. Dollar and economy until Trump is out of office.

Access the episode Show Notes.

Resources

Compound Real Estate Bonds: Bond Vigilantes: Definition, Role & Impact on Markets

EWA: The Relationship Between US Dollar Index and US 10 Year Treasury Bond

Investopedia: Bonds: Treasury Yields and Interest Rates

CNBC: Investors are growing concerned about a U.S. asset exodus as Treasurys and the dollar decline

Privalgo: The relationship between bond yields and currencies

ScienceDirect: International capital flows and U.S. interest rates

St. Louis Fed: Nominal Broad U.S. Dollar Index (DTWEXBGS)

St. Louis Fed: Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity, Quoted on an Investment Basis (DGS10)

Darden Report Online: What the Sell-Off in Treasuries Means for Your Mortgage

The Washington Post: Fact Check: Has Trump declared bankruptcy four or six times?

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Phone A Friend: Zohran Mamdani. Meet the Democratic Socialist Candidate Making Waves in NYC’s Mayoral Race.

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 19:54:35 +0000

We have a cool one for you today, a conversation with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Currently, Mamdani is a member of the New York State Assembly. He’s a Democratic Socialist running in the Democratic primary against a pretty busy slate of contenders, and he’s polling second to former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who only recently entered the race. Now Mamdani was the first candidate to hit the fundraising threshold for city matching funds—setting it in record time—and doing it primarily through small dollar donations. His campaign is extremely organized, and it’s galvanized New Yorkers in every borough with a stunning clarity of message. Now, in many ways, to us, at least, Zohran has captured the zeitgeist as it feels like his campaign is a proxy for the discontent felt not just in urban areas, but throughout the country. So it’s our great pleasure to welcome to the show Zohran Mamdani.

Resources

Zohran for NYC Website

UNFTR Resources

Watch the interview on YouTube.

Access the transcript.

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Trump is Singlehandedly Manifesting Stagflation.

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 18:02:57 +0000

Probably the scariest, most dreaded term in economics is stagflation. Those who lived through the crisis in the 1970s can attest to this. In short, stagflation is defined as a period of low-to-no economic growth combined with high unemployment and high inflation. It’s a deadly recipe that took extraordinary measures to break the last time we experienced this phenomenon, and the method used back then is still highly contested territory.

If you’ve heard the term more often in recent months, it’s because some economists are beginning to fear a resurgence of stagflation due to the policies of the Trump administration. So today we’re doing a very deep dive into the economy to discuss the differences between now and the crisis of the ‘70s and show how Trump might be singlehandedly pushing us into an entirely new and preventable stagflation crisis.

Access the Show Notes online.

Chapters

Intro: 00:01:00

The Phillips Curve: 00:03:34

Unemployment and Labor: 00:17:18

Trump's Conundrum: 00:20:05

Time to Rewind: 00:24:53

Lessons and Insights: 00:30:19

Post Show Musings: 00:42:28

Outro: 00:54:13

Resources

Investopedia: What Is Stagflation, What Causes It, and Why Is It Bad?

The New York Times: Strong Dollar vs. Weak Dollar

Office of the Historian: Oil Embargo, 1973–1974

Federal Reserve History: The Great Inflation

NBER: The Nixon Shock after Forty Years: The Import Surcharge Revisited Douglas A. Irwin Working Paper 17749

FRED: Personal Saving Rate

FRED: New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units

FRED: Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food in U.S. City Average

BIG by Matt Stoller

UNFTR Episode Resources

The Energy Independence Myth.

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse. Non-Negotiable #2.

The Global Order of Money: How Exactly Does It Make the World Go ’Round?

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Show Notes [Climate Action.]

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Fresh off the heels of our fifth and final Non-Negotiables of the Left series, 99 and I spent some time in the studio reviewing feedback from the UNFTR audience. While I stomped my feet like a toddler, 99 was able to finally get me under control and a productive conversation ensued.

The upshot is that the feedback was fairly muted, with most of you signaling that the Climate Trust is out of step with the other four Non-Negotiables. While I stand by the concept of Social Security for the planet and the funding mechanism behind the idea, I hear you. In the consolidated episode that will serve as the baseline for our curriculum moving forward, I’m making notes and adjustments to improve this perspective.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Emails + Comments: 00:16:25

Memberships: 01:23:13

Outro: 01:25:42

Resources

Spring Fund, Friend, and Hell Raiser: Become a UNFTR Member or donate today, and subscribe to us on YouTube

The Ezra Klein Show: Democrats Need to Face Why Trump Won

UNFTR Episode Resources

The Climate Trust: Non-Negotiable #5.

UNFTR Non-Negotiables.

A (Mostly) Vegan World.

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Climate Action: Non-Negotiable #5.

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 04:00:00 +0000

This is the final installment of our 5 Non-Negotiables of the Left series where we detail three short-term goals to take back the country and two long-term fights that must be waged for the sake of our democracy and the planet. This fifth entry speaks to the now back-burnered but ever-present threat to life on this planet: Climate change. This is the most difficult case we’ll make to you.

We expect pushback and disappointment at first but if we do our job, we’ll shift you to acknowledgement and resolve. This fifth Non-Negotiable isn’t for us. It’s for someone you might know, but more than likely it’s for someone you’ll never meet. We present the establishment of The Climate Trust: Social Security for the Planet.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:57

Chapter One: Diet, Exercise and Nuclear Power. 00:01:25

Chapter Two: The Social Cost of Carbon. 00:06:21

Chapter Three: Settling into Reality. 00:10:37

Chapter Four: We’ve Known It All Along. 00:17:55

Non-Negotiable #5: The Climate Trust. 00:26:36

Post Show Musings: 00:30:30

Outro: 01:23:22

Resources

IPCC: Summary for Policymakers — Special Report on Climate Change and Land

Institute for Policy Integrity: Gauging Economic Consensus on Climate Change

The Center for Climate & Security: Chronology of Military and Intelligence Concerns About Climate Change

World Economic Forum: This is How Climate Change Could Impact The Global Economy

Swiss Re: World economy set to lose up to 18% GDP from climate change if no action taken, reveals Swiss Re Institute's stress-test analysis

The New York Times: 40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River. It’s Drying Up Fast.

The Black Vault: Global Climate Change Implications for the U.S. Navy

Thomas Malthus: On the Principle of Population

United Nations: Food Systems Summit

United Nations: Secretary-General’s Chair Summary and Statement of Action on the UN Food Systems Summit

US EPA: Global Greenhouse Gas Overview

Penn State: Plant-Based Diet

Rodale Institute: Farming Systems Trial

Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index

The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health

Energy Education: Discovery of the greenhouse effect

APS: August 1856: Eunice Foote Concludes That Carbon Dioxide Could Warm the Atmosphere, Three Years Before John Tyndall Did

DQYDJ: Income Percentile Calculator for the United States

Eunice Foote: Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun’s Rays

CNA: National Security and the Threat of Climate Change

GovInfo: National Security Implications of Global Climate Change to 2030

U.S. Department of Defense: Department of Defense 2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap

Global Monitoring Laboratory: Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

UNIDO: HCFC Phase-Out

PBS NewsHour: Antarctic ozone hole believed to be shrinking

Book Love

James Howard Kunstler: The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Cent

Cass R. Sunstein: Climate Justice: What Rich Nations Owe the World—and the Future

Tad Delay: Future of Denial: The Ideologies of Climate Change

Nicoletta Batini: The Economics of Sustainable Food: Smart Policies for Health and the Planet

Mark Bittman: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal: A Food Science Nutrition History Book

Michael T. Klare: All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon's Perspective on Climate Change

Lester R. Brown: Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization

John Tyndall: Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion

William Stanley Jevons: The Coal Question

UNFTR Resources

Building the Climate Industrial Complex.

The Montreal Protocol.

Phone A Friend: Tad Delay.

A (Mostly) Vegan World.

UNFTR Non-Negotiables.

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Trump Unhinged and Third Parties.

Sat, 08 Mar 2025 05:00:00 +0000

This week is an attempt to organize disparate content pieces from the past few weeks. Thoughts on third parties, Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress (which we mistakenly referred to as the State of the Union, oops!), notes on the final non-negotiables and random thoughts Max is working through. We’ve got a mashup of sorts on our hands so prepare for a bit of rambling.

Resources

UNFTR Non-Negotiables

Associated Press: Elissa Slotkin delivers Democratic response to Trump’s speech

Britannica: United States presidential election of 1912

Time: How Ross Perot Changed Political Campaigns

LWV: The League's History Sponsoring Presidential Debates

The Commission on Presidential Debates

Tampa Bay Times: Nader, Buchanan kept out of debate

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Election Integrity: Getting Money Out of Politics. Non-Negotiable #4.

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

The movement to get money out of politics will take a very long time. I know people don’t want to hear that. My guess is, in the best case scenario, we’re looking at 20 years. Best case. If it makes you feel any better, the movement to get money into politics took 181 years so by that measure, two decades to unravel what took 181 to build isn’t all that bad. Either we’re committed to playing the long game or not. The assholes that got us here were.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:33

Chapter One: Non-Negotiable #4. 00:01:11

Chapter Two: The Long and Winding Road to Citizens United. 00:07:05

Chapter Three: Media Complicity. The Revolution Was Already Televised. 00:16:46

Chapter Four: Defying Its Creator. The Tale of Mitch McGolem. 00:20:43

Bring it Home, Max: 00:28:47

Post Show Musings: 00:37:13

Outro: 01:11:09

Resources

OpenSecrets: Money-in-Politics Timeline

Brennan Center for Justice: Since Citizens United, a Decade of Super PACs

Cambridge University: Dark Parties: Unveiling Nonparty Communities in American Political Campaigns

De Gruyter: Television Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

De Gruyter: Digital Advertising in the 2022 Midterms

Bowdoin College: Government Scholar Michael Franz on Impact of Ads during the 2024 Election Cycle

Brennan Center for Justice: Life Tenure for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Is a Global Oddity with Clear Costs

Ballotpedia News: Looking ahead at 2025 ranked-choice voting legislation

Justia: Citizens United v. FEC | 558 U.S. 310 (2010)

Senate: Saving American Democracy Amendment

Constitution Center: Interpretation: The Twenty-Seventh Amendment

American Promise

CampaignFinanceReform.org

Book Love

Adam Jentleson: Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy

Kermit L. Hall: The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States

UNFTR Episode Resources

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse.

Medicare for All.

Project 2025.

What’s the Deal with Peter Thiel?

“Russputin” and the Tsar.

Convention of States.

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Show Notes [Misc.]

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 00:25:10 +0000

Max and 99 are back for Show Notes! They catch up with some movie talk and dive deep into the Non-Negotiables and hives. Enjoy!

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:20

Housekeeping: 00:19:47

Emails: 00:32:20

Memberships: 01:23:32

Outro: 01:24:59

Resources

Join us on Bluesky and Discord

Ken Lefkowitz: Medicare For All: An Economic Rationale

Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson: Medicare For All: A Citizen’s Guide

Unf*cker Recommendations

Michael Bazzell: Extreme Privacy: What It Takes to Disappear

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Kevin Mitnick: The Art of Invisibility + The Art of Deception

The Guardian: US immigration is gaming Google to create a mirage of mass deportations

UNFTR Episode Resources

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

A Civilian Labor Corps.

Medicare For All.

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Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP.

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It Ends With Him: Trump Is the End of Neoliberalism.

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 07:50:14 +0000

Regardless of what happens next in the United States, the American experiment ends with Donald Trump. But Trump is a Trojan Horse. The real dismantling of our systems and norms is embodied by the man he ceded power to, the wealthiest person in the world. Elon Musk is the living avatar of the new corporate colonial era and there’s no going back to the way it was. This administration serves as the capstone to the neoliberal era, which itself was the professional culmination of previous social and political movements such as the John Birch Society and the Know Nothing Party. The only way to stave off economic, social and political collapse is for the left to mount a coordinated counteroffensive to the tech oligarchs who seek to consolidate all of the wealth and power in the world.

Resources

The Globe and Mail: Opinion: Trump’s election is a crisis like no other, not only for the U.S. but the world

Washington Times: Elon Musk: Judge Paul Engelmayer should be impeached for thwarting his DOGE squad - Washington Times

Propublica: Elon Musk’s Boring Company Is Tunneling Beneath Las Vegas With Little Oversight

Planalto: Brazil announces Indonesia as full member of BRICS

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Medicare For All: Non-Negotiable #3.

Sat, 08 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

America’s healthcare system isn’t broken—it’s working exactly as designed. The problem is that it was designed to generate profits, not health outcomes. We spend roughly 20% of our GDP on healthcare, about double what other developed nations spend per capita, yet we have shorter life expectancy, higher infant mortality rates, and leave tens of millions uninsured or underinsured. Medicare for All is the obvious and attainable solution but it has fallen out of mainstream conversation since Biden bested Bernie for the 2020 nomination. Rekindling this spark is vital and should be one of the primary non-negotiables of the Left movement.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:40

Chapter One: Changing the Intent. 00:03:09

Chapter Two: Building the Narrative. 00:07:51

Chapter Three: A System Designed to Fail. 00:11:44

Chapter Four: Understanding Medicare for All. 00:16:34

Bring it Home, Max: 00:24:20

Post Show Musings: 00:28:41

Outro: 00:38:57

Book Love

Ken Lefkowitz: Medicare For All: An Economic Rationale

Abdul El-Sayed and Micah Johnson: Medicare For All: A Citizen’s Guide

Steven Brill: America’s Bitter Pill

Paul Starr: The Social Transformation of American Medicine

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Extraordinary Cruelty, Ordinary Policy: Immigration and Deportation Under Trump 2.0.

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Given the turmoil and disgust surrounding Trump’s shock and awe deportation campaign, we thought it a good time to dig back into the immigration issue and update some of our findings from prior episodes. There’s no question Trump’s ICE is more brutal and seemingly indiscriminate, so we tried to put these efforts in context with prior administrations. Then we zoom out to look at root causes of immigration and the failure of U.S. foreign policy toward the LAC.

Chapters

Intro: 00:01:01

Post Show Musings: 00:26:03

Outro: 01:05:29

Resources

Texas Tribune: Trump promised mass deportations. Here’s one way they could quietly happen.

Vox: Removals vs returns: how to think about Obama’s deportation record

Migration Policy Institute: The Biden Administration Is on Pace to Match Trump Deportation Numbers—Focusing on the Border, Not the U.S. Interior

Migration Policy Institute: The Obama Record on Deportations: Deporter in Chief or Not?

Migration Policy Institute: Net Number of Migrants by Country, 1950-2020 (by Five-Year Intervals)

U.S. Department of Justice: Executive Office for Immigration Review Adjudication Statistics

Washington Post: Deportation at ‘light speed’: How Trump’s crackdown could unfold

House of Representatives: Laken Riley Act

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Child Nutrition Programs - National School Lunch Program

Center for Immigration Studies: Mapping the Impact of Immigration on Public Schools

UNFTR Episode Resources

Fox in the Outhouse: Invasion, Immigration & Inflation

Over The Borderline:

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Day One: Max Unfiltered.

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

We’re through the first two “non-negotiables” of the Left (Housing First and a Civilian Labor Corps) and I’m taking my sweet ass time with the third: Medicare for All. In the meantime, this week’s pod is a compilation of thoughts and writing I’ve done since the inauguration; officially another Max Unfiltered entry into our canon.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:51

Post Show Musings: 00:23:20

UNFTR Episode Resources

Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse.

YouTube: Day One: A Progressive Reaction to Trump's Inauguration

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Building a Civilian Labor Corps: Bracing for the AI Job Apocalypse. Non-Negotiable #2.

Sat, 18 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Today we’re tackling our second non-negotiable pillar of establishing a Civilian Labor Corps, and the timing couldn’t be more critical. You may have picked up on chatter in the wind about the impending job apocalypse at the hands of artificial intelligence (AI). I’m here to tell you that this is real. It is coming faster and more furiously than you realize, and we are wholly unprepared. This episode breaks down the speed and totality of what’s coming in the AI revolution and speaks to how prominent economists from history through today would manage the impending employment crisis.

Chapters

Prologue: 00:00:43

Introduction: Storm Clouds. 00:03:52

Chapter One: The Coming AI Job Apocalypse. 00:06:52

Chapter Two: Full Employment. 00:20:55

Chapter Three: Breaking from Neoliberal Thinking. 00:28:34

Bring It Home, Max. 00:37:26

Post Show Musings: 00:42:23

Outro: 01:10:58

Watch

YouTube Video: Unpacking the Ceasefire Agreement: Shades of the Iran Hostage Deal. https://youtu.be/Bnfzl1xWumc

Resources

Goldman Sachs: What to expect from AI in 2025: hybrid workers, robotics, expert models

Levy Institute: Working Paper No. 542 Keynes’s Approach to Full Employment: Aggregate or Targeted Demand?

Fisher Phillips: U.S. House Delivers Sweeping AI Report: 10 Biggest Takeaways for Employers

118th Congress: Bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence

Congressional Budget Office: Artificial Intelligence and Its Potential Effects on the Economy and the Federal Budget

Congressional Research Service: The Macroeconomic Effects of Artificial Intelligence

Convin: Is AI a Threat to the BPO Industry? AI in BPO Industry Explained

UNFTR Episode Resources