Unf*cking The Republic
Unf*cking The Republic (UNFTR) is a progressive politics podcast that explores leftist economic theories, socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and social justice in the United States. It offers deep dives into Marxist ideas, modern social movements, and progressive policies, featuring thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with historical context. The show aims to provide informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.
Episodes
Trump and the Black Jelly Bean Theory: CLOs Echo the MBS Fiasco from the GFC.
The New York Fed released a troubling report detailing the risk of Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) exposure in the insurance industry. Over the past several years, private equity has taken larger and larger stakes in insurers who are historically risk averse. But now they’re acting more like hedge funds in their investment strategies and have more than $2 trillion in corporate debt expo
Omnibus (07-23-26).
Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on the Trump administration restricting visas for foreign journalists, tribes suing to block the gutting of the Endangered Species Act, SpaceX’s massive share unlock, and a defense of reading books in an era of mass literary abandonment. Then they tackle listener emails on coordinating progressive media against AIPAC, wheth
Shitty: The Quest to Make Everything Terrible.
Everything is getting worse, but the country hasn’t collapsed. This is all by design. Donald Trump is a useful idiot for the people behind the scenes and Project 2025, most notably Russell Vought. The Trump administration is using the nation’s finances like a personal piggy bank for themselves and large corporations while gutting agencies that provide critical services. The misconcepti
On The Record (07-21-26).
This week we went to see The Odyssey and came out thinking about Bronze Age collapse, because Nolan’s Odysseus is haunted by the wreckage of a civilization that mistook conquest for strength—and the parallels basically write themselves. Then we checked in on the Leading Economic Index, which has been declining for years while the coincident index keeps climbing, and the gap between tho
On The Record (07-14-26).
This week we read the federal budget the way it’s meant to be read: as a moral document. What it shows is individuals paying more, corporations getting refunds, classrooms getting gutted, and the pentagon getting fed, all while the deficit stays exactly where it always was. The “fiscally responsible” costume is just that. Then we looked at the strategic petroleum reserve, which i
Omnibus (07-11-26).
Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on the left’s role in silencing Platner’s accusers, the ICE shooting of a Houston father, a parasite outbreak causing explosive diarrhea, and Meta using your Instagram photos to train AI. Then they tackle listener emails on the difference between socialism and social democracy, and creative vision versus collective co
The New Republicrats: Snakes of the Democratic Party.
Ten sitting house democrats and five candidates just signed the “Promise to America” pledge ensuring the public they are not socialists. It has six banal points with no specifics, no plan, and no agenda that might actually help anyone. Of the six, five are limp, empty platitudes. The sixth is a Trojan horse to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. So either these “Democrats
On The Record (07-07-26).
This week we asked whether 2026 is 2008 or something worse, and the answer is: different disease, same symptoms. The hiring freeze, the housing collapse, the credit stress all rhyme with the last crisis, but this time the economy is drowning in money that just isn’t moving, pooling at the top while the bottom quietly bleeds out. Then we pulled on the thread of where all that leverage actuall
The Bear and the American Male Archetype: Carmen Shrugged.
The hit series The Bear has finally concluded. The final episode is so uplifting that most reviewers appear to believe the arc of the show’s main character follows suit with a redemptive arc. But the connection to Ayn Rand’s famous book The Fountainhead might reveal the opposite meaning. The show’s main character Carmen Berzatto, portrayed beautifully by Jeremy Allen White, shows
On The Record (6-30-26).
This week we mapped out how Wall Street has talked itself into a story it can’t stress-test—Accenture getting punished whether AI succeeds or fails, Saylor quietly selling the Bitcoin he swore he’d never sell, and the hyperscalers borrowing billions to fund a buildout that may be obsolete before it’s finished. Then we looked at the inflation numbers, which are stuck well ab
Is Private Credit the Pin That Pops the Bubble?
Is private credit the pin that pops the market bubble? The short answer is no—but that’s the wrong question entirely. Private credit is now a $1.8–$3.5 trillion market, rivaling the entire U.S. leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets combined. It’s direct lending, shadow banking, and middle-market finance all rolled into one, and firms like Ares, Apollo, Blackstone, Blue
Omnibus (6-27-26).
Max and 99 are back, back, back again. They hit headlines on the Supreme Court shielding Roundup from cancer lawsuits, Stephen Miller quietly gutting disability rights, a socialist congressman who tried to abolish the Senate in 1911, and the Netherlands criminalizing conversion therapy. Then they dive into listener emails on stablecoins and the Genius Act, the “upside” of losing the Ir
On The Record (6-23-26).
This week we said goodbye to Alan Greenspan, the man who spent two decades quietly rigging the economy for the wealthy, and encouraged working people to take on debt he knew would blow up in their faces (he would eventually call this a “flaw” ). Then we looked at housing starts, which just posted their worst number since COVID, with multifamily construction down 40% in a single month&m
We Lost More Than This War: Iran Ascendant.
Trump lost more than the war with Iran. U.S. media tends to look at things through a bilateral or ethnocentric lens of winners and losers. The bigger story is how Trump singlehandedly altered the calculus for multiple nation states, and fundamentally shifted historic alliances. Israel stands to lose the most and is increasingly isolated now that Iran and its proxies are triumphant. But this also h
Omnibus (6-20-26).
Your host pals Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus! They hit headlines on AI as a political problem dressed up as a spiritual one, Carville’s prediction that Trump walks away by Easter, the new Spielberg film, and a leaked member list from Peter Thiel’s secret society, then tackle listener emails on whether there’s any coming back from this level of democratic destru
On The Record (6-16-26).
This week we took a detour into the joy of the Knicks championship and what it says about New York, collective identity, and why Zohran Mamdani’s politics make sense in a city where the billionaire and the bodega worker share the same sewer pipe. Then we got back to the markets, where a flood of new share issuances is quietly changing the supply and demand math that’s driven equities u
Omnibus (6-13-26).
Max and 99 are here for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on Jared Kushner’s foreign entanglements, the screwworm outbreak threatening the beef supply, a tribute to revolutionary historian Gordon Wood, and a 77-year-old who lost his life savings to a gold coin scam. Then they tackle listener emails on stopping Musk’s grift and Bernie’s proposed AI wealth fund. They ran
Demand Destruction and the “Resilience Paradox.”
Donald Trump has already destroyed much of the global economy, but the worst has yet to hit the United States. This “resilience paradox” is the result of early stage demand destruction, something economists fear and policy makers have no defense against. There are multiple factors holding the U.S. economy together in a way that other countries cannot manage. And most of the damage is b
The SpaceX IPO Fraud: Truly Out of This World.
This episode of UNFTR is an exclusive deep dive into the SpaceX IPO prospectus. It reveals what might be the biggest fraud and money grab in the public markets ever. The baseless $1.77 trillion dollar valuation at a list price of $135 at auction stands to add hundreds of billions of dollars to Elon Musk’s net worth, and that’s not the most outrageous part about this. The company curren
Omnibus (6-8-26).
Max and 99 are back after a week of colds, poison ivy, and Knicks supremacy. They hit headlines on the left’s idea problem, Google’s water pledges and data center backlash, Meta embedding face recognition into its smart glasses app, and Phoebe Bridgers playing MSG. Then they tackle listener emails on Democratic double standards, Israel and the hypocrisy talking point, and keeping Gaza
On The Record (6-02-26).
This week we made the case that AI breaks a fundamental economic law: the bigger it gets, the more expensive it is to run, which is the exact opposite of how transformative technologies are supposed to work. The IPO trio of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX looks less like the next internet and more like the last big exit for early investors before the whole thing deflates. Then we looked at the manuf
Omnibus (5-30-26).
Max and 99 return to close out the month with another Omnibus. They hit headlines on the Jacobin AI debate, U.S. complicity in the flotilla torture, and USDA plans, then tackle listener emails on financial repression, mortgage rates, and a stablecoin question from the crypto heist episode. They rank their Top 5 fictional characters you'd want on your side in a crisis, and close out with some movie
On The Record (5-26-26).
This week we looked at the AI capital black hole—three companies with a combined $3 trillion in prospective market cap preparing to go public while public R&D budgets get gutted and the rest of the economy gets starved of investment. Then we checked in on consumer sentiment, which has basically fallen off a cliff, because when gas hits $5 a gallon and inflation keeps eating your paycheck
Omnibus (5-23-26).
Max and 99 are back, again! They hit headlines on Cuba, prediction markets, AI getting booed at graduations, and James Murdoch. Then they tackle listener corrections, emails on data centers and why Americans cling to empire. Plus, they rank their Top 5 things we all pretend are normal but are absolutely ridiculous. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:23 Max Is Tweaked: 00:07:54 Headlines: 00:27:57 Emails
The Real Story Behind the Castro Indictment.
The charges against Raúl Castro are the pretext for another invasion into a neighboring country in Latin America. Our sick paternalistic attitude toward the LAC region is a cancer on the world, and it’s clearly not in our own power to put an end to it. In this episode, Max discusses the charges, speaks to the Castro regime, the history between our nations after the ‘59 revolutio
Full Clarity: The Crypto Heist Happening Right Under Our Noses.
The Trump family crypto grift moved into high gear by clearing an important legislative hurdle this week. The CLARITY Act officially moved out of committee and now goes to the Agriculture Committee before being paired with the House version and going for a final vote. Despite valiant attempts by Elizabeth Warren to put some guardrails and ethics provisions in place, the GOP shot them all down. Hun
On The Record (5-19-26).
This week we dug into the Treasury’s TIC data—the report nobody reads but everybody should—which shows central banks quietly stepping back from U.S. debt while private money fills the gap. That’s a problem when you’re carrying $39 trillion and yields are climbing. Then we looked at what that actually means at the kitchen table: record household debt, credit card rates
Inflation, The Fed and What Comes Next.
Inflation figures came out this week and they were absolutely brutal. April CPI was startling enough, but the Producer Price Index (PPI), which is an indicator of inflation in the pipeline was shocking. Oil reserves are running down to dangerously low levels and it’s clear now that there’s no immediate resolution to the oil crisis, so we’re about to realize our worst economic fea
10 Economic Terms To Know in This Economy.
Economics is too often weaponized by jargon. High concept terms of art to explain basic behaviors or circumstances that should otherwise be accessible. Socioeconomics takes the math off the page and puts it into a human context. It helps us break from specific doctrines and be slightly less dogmatic. So today I thought we would take a break from the doctrine and dogma to bring certain concepts dow
Omnibus (5-9-26).
Max and 99 are back for another episode of Omnibus. They hit headlines on vitamin K refusal, abortion pill access hanging by a thread, Germany asking Israel for jet fuel, and a robotic companion with AI surveillance built in, then tackle listener emails on deflation, data center slowdowns, and book recommendations. They rank their Top 5 brands to support and close with some light bullshit. Enjoy!
Don’t Cry for Milei, Argentina: U.S. Economic Canary Has Black Lung.
Javier Milei is brash and audacious, and he loves Donald Trump. But in many ways Donald Trump is the one who is following Milei. Argentina has an 18 month head start on Russell Vought’s wet dream of implementing a harsh libertarian doctrine. For a while it looked like everything Milei did was succeeding. He tamed inflation, created an export surplus and got back on track with debt service. E
On The Record (5-5-26).
This week we took a hard look at Canada’s Mark Carney. Competent, well-spoken, yet quietly running a neoliberal playbook. Then we checked Trump’s approval numbers, where even Republicans are starting to feel the gas prices, though 84% are still on board, which is somehow both unsurprising and completely bonkers. Chapters Intro: 00:00:00 Quick Takes: 00:01:17 Max Notes: 00:04:51 Killer
Omnibus (5-2-26).
Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on Google selling AI to the Pentagon, Sergey Brin’s rightward shift, military impact on marine life in the Strait of Hormuz + more. Then they tackle listener emails on socialism, the Trump shooting, and oil price manipulation before the midterms. They rank their Top 5 brands to boycott and close with book recommendations an
On The Record (4-27-26).
This week we zoomed out to take stock of the greatest financial heist in recorded history. Sixteen years of bailouts, money printing, and acronym soup that kept corporate America whole while the rest of us fell further behind. And then we took a quick detour into crypto, where Bitcoin is quietly creeping back up and the guy sitting on $62 billion worth of it really wants you to think that’s
Omnibus (4-25-26).
Max and 99 are back! They hit headlines on constitutional war powers, Tucker Carlson turning on Trump, digital life preservation, and Anthropic’s dangerous AI model, then tackle listener emails on identity politics, economic anxiety + more. They rank their Top 5 dead dinner party guests and close with some movie-themed Beyond the Bullshit. Intro: 00:00:09 Headlines: 00:12:51 Emails: 00:45:49
On The Record (4-21-26).
This week’s On the Record covers how Donald Trump is killing our collective brain cells. We’re giving flowers to Brittany Page of the Page Perspective, talking about an aspect of the looming private credit crisis that financial pundits aren’t talking about, Kash Patel, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Super Troopers 3, headlines from The American Prospect, The Lever and Current Affairs. Who&
On The Record (4-17-26).
This edition of On The Record highlights Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and Mike Figueredo of the Humanist Report. Max Notes digs into the economic weeds to make sense of how the war in Iran is going to shake out. Plus: Chart of the Week and headlines from the Jacobin, Truthdig and Progressive Magazine. Chapters Intro: 00:01:35 Max Notes: 00:09:34 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:19:15 Chart o
Omnibus (4-18-26).
Max and 99 are back for another episode of Omnibus. They break down why the 25th Amendment won’t work, hit headlines on climate math, vigilantes, and Trump’s Diet Coke cancer theory. Then they tackle listener emails on Trump’s successors and moving beyond No Kings. They rank their Top 5 celebrity dinner party guests and close with documentary recommendations. Enjoy! Chapters Intr
Omnibus (4-12-26).
It’s week two of the Spring Fund, Friend and Hell Raiser (become a yearly member by 4/30/26 and get an exclusive UNFTR hat)! Max and 99 dive into the Iran crisis, breaking down the impossible logistics of war and the absurdity of competing peace plans. They hit headlines on the MAHA pipeline, record military spending, and crypto-backed mortgages, tackle listener emails on rallies and we
Trump and Hegseth (Professor Dunning & Corporal Kruger).
Leaders far smarter and more capable than Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth have started foreign wars that turned to quagmires. So in this regard they are not special. What’s different this time around is that incompetence prevails in every corner of this administration and the economic levers that are usually pulled to mitigate the domestic economic impact are no longer available to us. In ever
No King.
The No Kings rallies fanned out across the United States in protest of Donald Trump’s increasingly dangerous, erratic and autocratic regime. Cuba remains in darkness, the war in Iran has already turned into a quagmire, the economy is cratering and Americans are feeling powerless in the face of Trump’s rule. In this episode Max ruminates on the liberation of “America” from a
Omnibus (4-3-26).
Max and 99 are back from vacation and kicking off their Spring Fund, Friend and Hell Raiser. They hit headlines on Olympic testing, Israel's Lebanon plans, and ChatGPT in cars, then tackle listener emails on U.S. solvency narratives and economic warning signs. They rank their Top 5 local issues, and they close with some lighthearted beyond the bullshit. Chapters Intro: 00:00:08 Housekeeping: 00:04
Housing in America: Property Is Theft.
The United States is in a full-blown housing crisis — and Congress just passed the most significant bipartisan housing legislation in a generation: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act cleared the Senate 89-10, co-sponsored by Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott. So why won’t it fix the problem? In this episode, we break down exactly what the bill does, what it deliberately leaves out, and
Why I’m So Mad at the Democratic Party.
Why the Democratic Party’s promise of “restoration” misses the mark; how decades of economic crises reshaped American politics, and why returning to center means chasing a target that keeps moving right. One side built a durable monument to white nationalist capitalism while the other became its world-class pit crew. The fight isn’t about competence or committee chairs. It&
Omnibus (3-21-26).
Max and 99 are running hot this week. They break down catastrophic inflation data and what it means for stagflation ahead, hit headlines on animal welfare legislation and foreign policy chaos, and tackle listener emails on Democratic failures and economic warning signs. Off-topic covers toxic RFK Jr. and standout character actors. They rank their Top 5 comfort movies and close with spring training
The Art of Trumpflation.
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&
Omnibus (3-14-26).
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 ta
The Iran War Could Wreck the Global Economy: No Offramp and No Good Outcome.
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 fina
On The Record (3-9-26).
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 Pe
Omnibus (3-6-26).
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 Trum
John Goober Kennedy: The Louisiana Senator Thinks Poor People Are Faking It.
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 Secretar
War in Iran and the Decline of the U.S. Empire.
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. Th
Pam Bondi and the Dow: Bondi Screamed the Loud Part, Loudly.
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.
So…About Chomsky. (Noam Chomsky’s Tragic Coda.)
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
To Be Named UNFTR Show (2-28-26).
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
To Be Named UNFTR Show (2-21-26).
Max and 99 kick off another episode of their still-unnamed weekly show, diving into everything from grocery inflation and RFK’s bizarre workout videos to the future of progressive organizing through the Working Families Party and DSA. They workshop show name suggestions from listeners, tackle emails on how to influence the Democratic Party, and debate their Top Five movie villains. Chapters
Stupid Is as Stupid Does: Will the real Scott Bessent please stand up?
Trump’s economic policies overseen by Scott Bessent are torching the U.S. dollar and tanking the economy. In this episode, Max does a deep dive into the decline of the dollar, U.S. fiscal mismanagement, and bizarre monetary policy that has many questioning whether we’re witnessing the decline of U.S. economic hegemony in real time. The episode examines U.S. policy through the actions o
To Be Named UNFTR Show (2-14-26).
Max and 99 are back this week to debut an experimental new format for the podcast—that is yet to be named—which mixes Show Notes vibes with a little more structure. The two dive into a mix of on-topic and off-topic headlines before heading into listener feedback and emails. They wrap up the episode with their Top 5 lists focused on formative protest songs, and of course some member sho
Why the Stock Market Keeps Going Up: (While Everything Else Goes Down.)
Why does the stock market keep going up when the economy feels so bad? It’s the question we probably get the most and, quite frankly, it’s not a bad one. The primary reason equities seem invincible is because of the dramatic increase in the money supply over the past four decades. That explains the supply side of the equation at least. But a lot had to happen behind the scenes to allow
The Unstoppable Donald John.
Is Donald Trump unstoppable? He has defied laws and norms, thumbed his nose at Congress and foreign allies alike. He has displayed open hostility toward immigrants and American citizens, threatened extreme force against protestors, recently going so far as to mention the Insurrection Act. His ICE thugs roam the streets and are committing atrocities with impunity. We kidnapped the leader of a sover
Little Marco’s Coup D’Etat: Kidnapping Maduro.
The United States carried out a special-operations strike in Caracas, Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores who are reportedly being taken to Manhattan to face criminal charges for drug trafficking. In this video, Max breaks down what’s really behind this stunning intervention, perhaps the most brazen and illegal action undertaken by the U.S. since
The BRICS Unit: The Beginning of the End for Dollar Dominance?
In December of 2025, Brazil passed the BRICS leadership torch to India, which wasted no time revealing its priorities for the economic alliance—to build an international payment system that rivals the SWIFT system and chip away at U.S. economy hegemony by attacking the exorbitant privilege of the U.S. Dollar. Defending the dollar should be the easiest policy ever. Instead the Trump administr
Show Notes [January 12, 2026.]
Max and 99 are back for another round of Show Notes. They tackle the good, the bad and the ugly of the news. Thanks for tuning in! Chapters Intro: 00:06:13 Emails: 01:16:39 Memberships: 01:32:02 Reviews: 01:35:28 Outro: 01:36:04 Resources Mother Jones: RFK Jr. Just Flipped the Food Pyramid to Create a Funnel of Performative Masculinity UNFTR Resources Video: The Truth Behind Maduro's Capture | It'
The Rob Reiner Conversation We Deserved.
Donald Trump stole the headlines once again by speaking ill of Rob Reiner after the tragic death of Reiner and his wife Michele. It was yet another vulgar display of Trump’s unbridled narcissism that takes away from the legitimate conversation we should be having about Reiner’s legacy, what his films meant to a generation that came of age before 9/11. In many ways, Reiner became the av
Show Notes [December 13, 2025.]
Max and 99 are back for another round of Show Notes! They talk Mets news (RIP), The Fed, healthcare, and get to some Unf*cker feedback. Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Headlines: 00:13:54 Email: 00:55:43 Memberships: 01:47:13 Outro: 01:50:41 Resources Yahoo Finance: Live coverage: Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 0.25% Lava Song NPR: Head Start centers told to avoid 'disability,' 'women' and more i
The Revenge Porn Presidency: Trump, Commodus, and the Unraveling of Empire.
Donald Trump is tearing the nation apart. To place his revenge-filled presidency in historical context we have to reach deep into the annals of history and revisit the tenure of famed Roman Emperor Commodus who historians perceive as the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. With this second term Trump has entered rarified air that few U.S. presidents have breathed. He has fundamentally altere
The Music Has Stopped: The Political Response We Need to This Financial Crisis.
The U.S. economy has already crashed. The stock market is just the last one to figure it out. In this essay, Max talks about what happens when hegemonic economies collapse and how the U.S. has been able to keep things afloat while the bottom falls out. He draws parallels to the crash of 1929 and the subsequent Depression and speaks to the differences. There is a path forward for Progressives but i
Show Notes [November 15, 2025.]
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,
The Plumbing of the Financial Markets Is Leaking: Understanding the U.S. Liquidity Crisis.
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
Stephen Miran Is Going To Be Fed Chair: The Gospel According to Miran.
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 anal
Phone A Friend: Keith D. (You Can’t Afford To Ignore Crypto.)
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. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Appl
The Controlled Demolition of the U.S. Economy: Shadow Banks, Dollar Debasement and Basis Trades.
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 Rese
Show Notes [October 18, 2025.]
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 Out
Barack Obama: The Greatest Republican President of My Lifetime.
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
Bailing on Farmers to Bail Out Argentina: Two to Tango.
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 tar
Show Notes [October 4, 2025.]
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 Y
Running Out of Time: The Political and Economic Realization of Project 2025.
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
The End of the American Experiment: Nice, for Some, While It Lasted.
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 Dona
The Murder of Charlie Kirk: There Are Monsters Under the Bed.
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
Left Turns: Gerrymandering and Dark Money.
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 arti
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