Unf*cking The Republic

Today is a Max solo adventure; join him as he covers feedback from the new Over the Borderline series, as well as some Unf*cker comments from the recent Phone A Friends. Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Emails: 00:02:31 Outro: 00:42:34 Resources Over the Borderline: Part One. Phone A Friend: George Laws García, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council. Phone A Friend: ​Briahna Joy Gray of t...

We kick off the first installment in our series “Over the Borderline” where we examine the plight of immigrant families, the socioeconomic and political conditions that drive people to migrate to the United States and the current crisis that has become a central talking point in the 2024 election. This first episode is a spotlight on New York City, which has been overwhelmed by a surge in migrant...

Max and 99 are apart this week but meet up ~virtually~ to discuss feedback from the two recent Phone A Friends! Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Email: 00:10:43 Outro: 00:33:19 Resources Phone A Friend: George Laws García, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council. Phone A Friend: ​Briahna Joy Gray of the Bad Faith Podcast. -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the...

This is the brief introduction to our series “Over the Borderline” where we update our reporting on immigration and the border crisis to examine the myriad moving parts of this hot button topic. The series kicks off this weekend with a look at the current crisis facing New York City with busloads of migrants continually flowing into the city on a daily basis and stretching city services to their l...

Our guest this week is George Laws-García, the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council. A longtime policy advocate and consultant and native of San Juan, Laws-García was tapped to be the organization’s first executive director to increase the engagement of Puerto Rico statehood supporters. George and I have a great conversation about the hows and whys of statehood, roadblocks and r...

On this week’s UNFTR Phone a Friend we’re speaking with the incomparable Briahna Joy Gray. Briahna is the host of the popular politics podcast and YouTube channel Bad Faith and co-host of The Hill’s Rising. Prior to this she was the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, was senior politics editor at The Intercept and has written for The Guardian, Rolling Stone, New York Ma...

In today's Show Notes Max and 99 catch up on the last few weeks, discussing 'The Banality of Violence,' 'Unf*cking Healthcare,' the 'Palestine' series + more. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:40 Housekeeping: 00:08:07 Emails: 00:38:18 Memberships: 01:24:10 Outro: 01:27:23 Resources Become a UNFTR Member Bobby McD's new book: The Occulting Light Manny Faces Online -- If you like the pod version of #UNF...

This week is a flashback. Yes, that means re-run but there’s a good reason for it as we covered in Show Notes. We’re bringing back our episode titled Immigration Nation to refresh crucial misconceptions around migration so we can update certain data points and troubling trends. In the weeks to come we’re digging back into the border crisis as it has become one of the central talking points in the...

Watching Sean Hannity casually ask Curtis Sliwa to turn the cameras toward Sliwa’s Guardian Angels crew “taking down” a person they perceived to be an undocumented migrant in the streets of New York stuck with me. This particular moment falls so far down on the list of horrifying takes from Hannity and Fox News but for some reason it hit a nerve. The detached indifference of the brief affair promp...

Today we get to all live tuition free inside the head of one of the most prominent intellectuals on the left, Ben Burgis. Ben is a Jacobin columnist, an adjunct philosophy professor at Rutgers University, and the host of the YouTube show and podcast Give Them An Argument. He’s also the author of several books including  Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left, Canceling Comedians While the World...

In today's episode of Show Notes, Max & 99 talk 'Don't Sweat The Election' + 'Mental Health Care in America' feedback, and spend plenty of time lightening the mood with pop culture tangents. Enjoy! Resources To access the Premium Newsletter, become a member today! The Ringer: Dewey Cox Ain’t Dead: An Oral History of ‘Walk Hard’ -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out t...

Some of you are upset that I’ve targeted Biden so much lately given the threat of another Trump term. We’ve hashed and rehashed this on Show Notes but I did a little soul searching on my own to address this situation. We’re off to a strong start this year in terms of our editorial calendar but I’ve been finding it difficult to dig further into several topics knowing that there’s a growing sense of...

Max and 99 take some time to read feedback from the mental health episode. Unf*ckers were very gracious with their submissions and openness. Thank you all! Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Emails: 00:10:21 Social Shout Outs: 01:07:46 Memberships + Donations: 01:13:21 Reviews: 01:15:18 Outro: 01:16:33 This Episode Online Show Notes Essay Resources Video Resources Snopes: Is PETA Stealing and Killing Pets?...

Back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire have the nation bracing for a rematch between Trump and Biden. This episode explores how other nations are dealing with the ‘strongman’ wannabe dictator phenomenon. Maybe there are lessons to glean from the experiences of other countries. So in that spirit we’re going to do some globetrotting to look at three countries in two states of authoritarianism a...

This week’s episode examines the connection between capitalism and declining mental health in the United States. From the pressure the system places on workers to its ruthless manner of discarding those who suffer from mental illness, capitalism has become a central figure in the mental health narrative in frightening ways. This Episode Online Essay Resources Video Resources National Institute of...

In today's Show Notes Max and 99 catch up and discuss the most recent two episodes. Enjoy! Resources UNFTR Memberships UNFTR Resource Directory NPR: The pope wants surrogacy banned. Here's why one advocate says that's misguided Unf*cker Recommendations David Fleming: Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the v...

In response to a number of listeners suggesting that Max be less dismissive of religion and pay attention to the UNFTR creed of meeting people where they are, Max invited his friend Reverend Roger Williams on the show. The wide ranging discussion covers fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, the struggle Black Americans have aligning with political parties, and how the next generation of vot...

Max shakes off the cobwebs to take stock of where the country is as we head into 2024. In this “Max Unfiltered” take to start the year he examines the tension between the past and present. Has the arc of history bent toward progress? Sure. But it's maddening to know that there is still so much unnecessary suffering in the world when the U.S. has the capacity to solve so much of it both at home and...

In this episode, the team winds down 2023 with a very special edition of Show Notes. Max and 99 experience peak silliness as they discuss the new UNFTR website, headlines, and hear from a special guest. Happy holidays Unf*ckers! Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Hold Fast Theme: 00:11:39 Headlines: 00:26:41 Emails: 00:37:03 Social Shout Outs: 01:23:01 YouTube Shout Outs: 01:28:41 Buy Me A Coffee Membership...

Our series on The Carter Years looks back at the brief but remarkable tenure of President Jimmy Carter. In Part One we cover Carter's rise to the Presidency. Part Two peers into the first half of the White House years to understand the challenges that faced the new administration. In Part Three, trouble brews from within the Democratic ranks, and the global economy plus several bad actors abroad c...

There was a time when we listened to scientists. Believe it or not, it actually happened in the 1980s. Under Ronald Reagan. (Don’t get me wrong, he’s still a quasi-villain in this story.) When set against the backdrop of Cop28 being run by an oil and gas executive, that time we banned a whole bunch of products and chemicals in the 80s will make you wistful. When scientists discovered a hole in the...

In today’s Show Notes Max and 99 review the schedule for the rest of December and trade some stories on the heels of the (thankfully) lighter Quickie episode. Enjoy! Listen to the corresponding episode. Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Headlines: 00:03:41 Emails: 00:30:30 Facebook Shout Outs: 01:25:20 YouTube Shout Outs: 01:26:55 Buy Me A Coffee Memberships + Donations: 01:28:27 Outro: 01:28:43 Headlines...

Today’s Quickie predicts the three men who will combine to beat Joe Biden next November. Can you guess any one of them? Chapters Intro: 00:00:12 Subject One: 00:01:12 Subject Two: 00:06:35 Subject Three: 00:11:30 Outro: 00:17:51 Sketch: 00:19:54 Post Show Musings: 00:22:26 Resources The Guardian: ‘Steve Bannon is watching us closely’: Naomi Klein on populists, conspiracists and real-world activism...

This week's Show Notes has Max and 99 catching up on the last three episodes; they cover more Palestine series feedback from the Unf*ckers, and announced some exciting holiday merch! Resources Holiday Merch Shop Coffee UNFTR Bookshop.org Shop UNFTR Episode Resources Palestine: An Introduction. The Land Imperialism Left Behind. Palestine: Part One. The Jewish Question. Palestine: Part Two. The Pale...

The epilogue to the Palestine series is an essay from Max that draws upon personal experience and reveals what he learned from putting together these episodes. The conclusions are far from uplifting. In fact, they’re dire. Resources Marxists.org: Leon Trotsky on Zionism   Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel PBS: Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The A...