Unf*cking The Republic

Dems are already in the fetal position crying over races they have yet to lose and blaming progressives for losing them. Fuck that. Today we look at three upcoming races (two Senate, one House) that demonstrate how much the landscape has changed for progressives and the importance of primaries. The Democratic establishment is lining up against very capable progressive candidates in key races in Wi...

In today's Show Notes minisode, we hear a bit more from John Kane of Let's Talk Native, have a lengthy conversation about how to deal with Trump-supporting parents, and read Bobby McD's new inscription for the Statue of Liberty. Listen to the main episode accompaniment here Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Emails: 00:03:33 Facebook Shout Outs: 00:51:16 Twitter Shout Outs: 00:57:46 Instagram Shout Outs: 01...

A run-of-the-mill, one-day news story about a billionaire holding a city hostage over a sports team and a new stadium buried the lede on the dark underbelly of Native American relations with the U.S. government. New York State agreed to finance a significant chunk of the $1.4 billion stadium for the Buffalo Bills, an NFL team owned by a billionaire worth 5.5x that amount. A deal done almost entire...

In today's Show Notes minisode, Max abandons 99 and delirium takes hold as she struggles to do show notes by herself. Listen to the main episode accompaniment here Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Emails: 00:01:13 Facebook Shout Outs: 00:10:48 Twitter Shout Outs: 00:10:59 Instagram Shout Outs: 00:13:53 Substack Shout Outs: 00:16:24 Buy Me A Coffee Donations + Memberships: 00:38:00 Reviews: 00:41:29 Outro:...

The time has come to honor our Down Under F*ckers who have been supporting UNFTR since we launched. As we’ve done in prior shows about other countries, we attempt to explain the Australian political system, provide an overview of key issues and draw parallels between our experiences. Basically, a rough translation of Aussie politics for American listeners that only scratches the surface of this in...

In today's Show Notes minisode, we shit on Clinton, discuss the disparity of letting some immigrants into the country and unveil a dark secret from Max's past. Listen to the main episode accompaniment here Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Previous Episode Update: 00:02:48 UNFTR Coffee Chat: 00:08:30 Emails: 00:11:51 Facebook Shout Outs: 00:27:50 Twitter Shout Outs: 00:31:13 Instagram Shout Outs: 00:36:16...

As Ukrainians flee the war in their home country, some have found their way to the U.S. southern border where they are immediately escorted into the country. Because they're seeking refuge from a dangerous conflict and seeking asylum in the land of the free. And they're getting in. Quickly. Through Mexico. Meanwhile... you can probably guess where this is headed. Anyhoo, today's episode looks at i...

In today's Show Notes minisode, Max revisits Thomas Piketty's theory of universal inheritance, we continue talks of NATO + Russia, and 99 yells about Phish some more.  Listen to the main episode accompaniment here Chapters Intro: 00:00:20 Previous Episode Thoughts: 00:01:36 Emails: 00:08:03 Facebook Shout Outs: 00:30:59 Twitter Shout Outs: 00:32:45 Instagram Shout Outs: 00:35:59 Coffees and Member...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the global political calculus almost overnight. While catastrophic and horrific in nature, this shift has provided unforeseen opportunities that were unthinkable just a few months ago. The question is how best to mobilize in this darkness to affect positive change moving forward. We examine the work of Thomas Piketty and Erica Chenoweth to help wrap our minds a...

In today's Show Notes minisode, Max reads a cutting room floor draft, we share some Unf*cker feedback, and discuss Russia and Ukraine a bit further.  Listen to the main episode accompaniment here Chapters Intro: 00:00:21 Cutting Room Floor: 00:00:55 Buy Me A Coffee Donations + Memberships: 00:07:38 Facebook Shout Outs: 00:24:52 Twitter Shout Outs: 00:26:27 Instagram Shout Outs: 00:31:44 Emails: 00...

A psychopath in Russia just committed a war crime by invading Ukraine. Now he’s a mass murderer as well. Today’s episode examines whether the United States has standing in this fight, the role of NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bullshit narrative surrounding rising oil and gas prices that literally no one is getting right. We also destroy some current popular right wing talking...

On this bonus UNFTR, 99 revisits Book Love segments past in hopes to inspire your reading lists. We’ll be back with full-fledged Unf*ckings very soon!  Resources UNFTR Book List on Bookshop.org Unf*cker Book Recommendations -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at...

Today we have a special episode for you—a Manny & 99 takeover. While Max is away the minions will play! We run through some listener feedback and share some behind the scenes details of our recording process. Enjoy! Unf*cker Resources Swing Left Indivisible Manny + 99's Podcast Recommendations News Beat Hip-Hop Can Save America Louder Than A Riot Code Switch Stuff You Should Know Last Podcast...

The showwwwww noteessss. In this experiment, we break out show notes into their own unf*cking minisode so we can spend more time answering y'all Unf*ckers. Listen to the main episode accompaniment here . Resources from Unf*ckers Bobby McD on Instagram and Facebook Jacobin: Can We Criticize Foucault? Josh Mitchell: The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe -- If you like #UNFTR...

Because inflation is on everyone’s minds and the media can’t seem to get this right, we dive even deeper into the inflation narrative to dispel both propaganda and myth. Surprise, surprise, the real story of inflation is wrapped up in corporate America’s rather impressive year. We’ll talk about how increasing rents, pain at the pump and higher consumer prices went back into the pockets of large co...

We’re hitting the pause button in honor of our 50th full episode. Quite the milestone and we wanted to celebrate together. And in true UNFTR fashion, we celebrate by running through 2021 from a congressional perspective. What did we actually accomplish and why? How? We top it off with some ways for Unf*ckers to get involved and make change in their communities so that come end of ’22 we can (hopef...

Oil is everywhere. It’s all around us. It’s in everything and it makes the world go around. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that renewable energy will comprise 27% of the world’s energy production by 2050, all things being equal. Pretty great, right? Not really. Based upon population and economic growth trends, the EIA also predicts that the use of liquid fuels will continue t...

This week’s alliterative Quickie is brought to you by the letter “i.” In typical Quickie fashion we delve into three distinct but related topics: Invasion, Inflation & Immigration, as seen through the lens of Fox News. We’ll tie in some prior themes and set the table for a couple of future episodes in this barn burner of a Quickie featuring the worst people on television. For those listening a...

In part two of “Libertarians are Exhausting” we’re still talking about freedom and liberty. Economic freedom, personal liberty and the next important concept we need to unpack: The Rule of Law. Plus we'll take a look at the masters of the libertarian universe (aka the brains, money, economists and lawyers) behind the nouveau American style fiscal-anarcho-capitalist-minarchist-neoliberal-objectivis...

Libertarians can be exhausting. Because libertarianism has so many attractive features and strong statements about “freedom” and “liberty” they have a lot of perceived political high ground when arguing with them. The problem with libertarianism - as it is with Marxism, capitalism and so many other philosophies - is that it’s entirely theoretical. Trying to construct an actual framework around the...

As many of you know, we’ve had this on the pod-docket for months. It’s finally time to unf*ck our food system and talk about veganism. We decided not to pursue this topic from a moral or ethical perspective, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a story about justice. 40% of the world’s working population is in some way employed in the food and agriculture sector. A third of all food is wasted. 50% of...

Our little Unf*cking team wishes the Unf*cking community a safe and healthy holiday season. We'll be back on January 8th with a new drop but here's a Holiday Quickie to tide you over. In this Quickie we examine three positive things that have occurred since Biden took office. (We had to look pretty hard for these, but wanted to end on a positive note.) Then we offer thanks and praise to Joe Manchi...

From Pullman and Carnegie to Kellogg's and the PRO Act, this week we unf*ck the labor movement in the United States. No single episode can possibly do labor justice but we give it our best shot. The episode includes a blow-by-blow analysis of a recent interview with the CEO of Kellogg's to translate Wall Street speak for “how to fuck workers and influence inflation.” And we rip off a few Milton re...

There were 15 references to China in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. The recent bill passed by the House, which is more than what President Biden requested (because that makes fucking sense) contains 89 references to China. It’s official. We have our new existential bogeyman threat. Battle stations, everyone. We’re going to war with China. Someday. Or are we? Why would we? What the ac...

Today we celebrate the life of Noam Chomsky who turns 93 this week and discuss the nature of punditry, the role of true intellectuals in today’s society and the cult of pseudo intellectual charlatans.  [2026 Edit] To learn how we feel today, please read our post-Epstein take on Chomsky . Chapters 00:01:32 Intro 00:04:52 Segment 1 00:17:22 Segment 2 00:27:02 Segment 3 00:33:28 Show Notes...