Unf*cking The Republic

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 precarit...

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 Politi...

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&rsq...

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 a...

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 frie...

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 th...

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 low...

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...

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&rsquo...

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...

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&rsqu...

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,...

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...

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 Democrati...

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 o...