Unf*cking The Republic

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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'...

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...

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...

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 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...

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,...

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 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...

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 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...

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...