No Agenda Show – Episode 1842: "A Dog A Day"

Hosts: Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak
Date: February 12, 2026
Podcast Theme: Media deconstruction with humor, skepticism, and critical analysis of current events, surveillance, privacy, politics, tech, and cultural phenomena.

Overview

Episode 1842 of the No Agenda Show, "A Dog A Day," continues Adam Curry and John Dvorak’s trademark media deconstruction, dissecting surveillance technology controversies, the Nancy Guthrie case, the latest in U.S. politics, a much-criticized Super Bowl, election strategies, AI hype (and skepticism), trust in government, and the near-complete absence of mainstream coverage of sensitive topics like the Canadian trans shooter. The episode is peppered with witty banter, memorable rants, deep dives into the nuances of policy and technology, and a healthy dose of skepticism about both government and media narratives.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. The Nancy Guthrie Surveillance Case & "Dog a Day" (00:58–07:26)

• Comparison with Hostage Scenarios: Adam and John open with a comparison between Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping and historic hostage crises, setting a skeptical, irreverent tone.
• Surveillance & Privacy Deconstruction
  • Ring/Nest Camera Data Retrieval: John notes that despite Guthrie not subscribing to Ring services, video was still retrieved by the FBI and Google. Adam asks: “So why bother having a subscription?” (01:30)
  • Privacy Concerns: Adam and John discuss the implications for surveillance, particularly with new AI features for finding dogs. The “Search Party for Dogs” Super Bowl ad is dissected for privacy holes and contradictory logic:
    • Dvorak: “If you say yes, your privacy’s not protected. That’s the point here.” (04:58)
    • Curry: “If you say yes, what privacy are we dealing with here?” (05:11)
  • American Attitudes: John jokes about privacy going out the window for dogs. “It’s a dog, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a dog.” (05:21)
  • Slippery Slope: They raise concerns that features for finding dogs could be used for humans—a “surveillance state” issue that's casually dismissed by companies (06:23–07:26).
• Cultural Callback: Adam: “If you can do it with dogs, well, how about humans?”

Memorable Moment

• John: “We saw this coming down Mount Main Street a long time ago.” (07:08)
• Adam: "It's no big deal." (07:26) – (followed by John: “Well, I don’t know…”)

2. Drone, Airspace & Media Spin: Texas “Cartel Drone” Incident (08:21–14:38)

• Texas Airspace Closure: Media coverage of a supposed "cartel drone" over El Paso is contrasted across outlets:
  • BBC: Dramatic tone, cartel fears—city officials blindsided, public panic (09:01)
  • NPR: Suggests the “drone” was actually a party balloon, not a cartel device; military wasted expensive laser on Mylar balloon (10:19)
• Satirical Real-life Antecdotes: Adam recalls floating garbage bags with helium, lampoons the military response.
• Skepticism about DoD Tech: Questions about whether the laser weapon does anything more than pop balloons.
• Publicity Stunt Theory: Adam speculates the event might be PR for laser systems (12:55).
• Drug Drone Hysteria: Hosts question if shooting drones full of fentanyl could spread drugs (“just asking questions!”—John)

Notable Quote

• Dvorak: "I was reading that it’s a 20 kilowatt laser... The little laser pens are a watt. Imagine 20 kilowatts. I think that could do some damage. If it’s true." (14:05)

3. Election, Demographics, & Outrage Management (21:37–29:48)

• Super Bowl Cultural Analysis & Political Messaging:
  • Super Bowl Recap: Adam reviews the game (boring), the “gruesome” commercials, and spectacle aspects (21:37).
  • Political Messaging via Entertainment: John notes a shift—increased Spanish-language presence, appealing to Latin American voters ahead of the midterms.
• Election Strategy & Demographics: Analysis that Democrats have shifted focus from Black to Latinx voters following BLM's perceived lack of results (23:17–25:27).
• Disinformation & Outrage Cycles: In-depth breakdown of “The Lion King meme” scandal that embroiled Trump, pointing out how media fixates on 2-second “racist” video and ignores substantive claims about voting machines (32:33–36:51).
  • Adam: “None of the news outlets actually discussed it, all they said, ‘that was just Trump claiming that the election was stolen.’ No, it was forensic evidence.” (36:01)

4. AI Hype, Tech Ethics, and Changing Job Markets (39:04–55:10)

• AI Email Doxing: Adam shares AI can now find public email addresses, sometimes more easily than Google ever could.
• AI Model Training: John and Adam agree AI’s primary leap has been in code writing, not creativity or research.
• Job Disruption & Education:
  • Computer Science Degree Bust: UC system sees fewer enrollments—entry tech jobs now often automated by AI (44:17–46:27).
  • Host Recommendations: John urges listeners to “understand systems” not just learn to code; predicts productivity-enhancers, not full job replacement.
• Big Tech & Decentralization: Adam predicts data center glut; John anticipates a crash or consolidation similar to the dot-com/“fiber-to-dark-fiber” era.
• Endgame Skepticism:
  • Dvorak: "I'm trying to eliminate myself here." (51:15)
  • Both agree AI as productivity tool is huge, but will not (yet) wholly replace human strategizing.

Notable Quote

• Curry: “If you're going to ignore the tools, yeah, you're going to be out of a job.” (52:59)

5. Media Manipulation, Trust Crisis, & Economic Perceptions (61:02–67:18)

• Doom Cycles & Economy: The hosts make predictions on economic manipulation tied to politics (“crash after the midterms,” Dems will take the blame).
• NPR & Affordability: Discussion of NPR’s framing of the economy and inflation—hosts note inflation is cumulative, prices rarely go down (67:19).
• Deflation Myth: Adam: “If you have a deflation economy...everything collapses. So you're just stuck with the situation the way it is and bitching and moaning about it doesn't help.” (68:32)
• Inflation Messaging: John critiques Biden’s “I’ll bring prices down”—calls it “the biggest mistake in economic communications.”

6. Epstein Fallout, Congressional Hearings & International Scandals (69:58–88:47)

• U.S. Congressional Hearings: In-depth discussion of Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein case, her combative style during hearings, and Democratic efforts to highlight slow-walking and coverups.
  • Dvorak Quote: “She’s not doing a good job.” (75:34)
  • Guest analyst: “You’d ask management to escort [Bondi] from the restaurant.” (75:58)
• Britain Scandal:
  • Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Peter Mandelson, and Epstein connections are under the spotlight in the UK; leaked documents reveal possible financial and info-sharing corruption tied to Epstein (80:00–88:47).
  • John: “Think about the people who were in on that gambit... if Epstein knew, he probably called all his buddies.”
• Total Trust Breakdown: Adam: “Complete loss of trust, which for me, it already happened…” (91:02)

7. Health, COVID Legacy & Trans Issues (93:31–110:57)

• COVID Blowback: Surge in early-onset colorectal cancers, speculated as possible side effect of mass-lifestyle changes/COVID measures/vaccines (93:31).
• Woke Medicine/Lawsuit: Lawsuit over child transitioning, hosts insist damages are too low given lifetime consequences (108:06).
• Trans Shooter in Canada:
  • Story almost entirely absent in U.S. media, with hosts suggesting a deliberate suppression to avoid political fallout ("Don't give Trump any ideas. We're on a roll." – 111:46).
  • Detailed timeline of the suspect's transition and past mental health interventions; hosts blame parents, therapists, and the culture industry for pushing gender transitions on children.

8. Tech, Energy & Environmental Policy (139:04–149:48)

• EPA Authority Rollback: Trump administration to revoke EPA authority to regulate CO2 as a pollutant; hosts recap history of climate narratives, mock linguistic games (“carbon” vs. “carbon dioxide”), and reflect on the entire arc from “climategate” to now (140:24–144:31).
• Skepticism of Green Narratives: French energy statistics cited to question renewables’ real impact; coal's revival as energy for AI/data centers (147:10).
• Language Manipulation: Hosts note new euphemisms like “commuting” instead of “following” in ICE-related reporting (149:25).

9. Final Segments: Other Notables

• Listener Interaction: Several listener notes and donations read aloud, with extended discussion of value-for-value, meetups, and personal shoutouts (117:10–129:31).
• "Tips with JCD": John’s home gadget recommendation—LED remote-control “candles” for safe ambiance, plus a tongue-in-cheek “tip” to prank restaurants with the remote (180:30).
• End-of-show Mixes: Custom music and parodies, including an “I Got Ants” song in memory of a deceased producer.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Surveillance State Concerns
  John: "So, if you say yes, your privacy’s not protected. That's the point here." (04:58)
• Wild Media Spin
  Adam: “You fire up a big laser… and pops a balloon.” (11:17)
• Election Outrage Cycle
  Adam: “It was forensic evidence. That was a lot more interesting than Trump claiming the elections weren’t stolen.” (36:01)
• AI & Jobs
  Dvorak: “Many software engineers report that they are now using AI assisted coding for the vast majority of their code production... Now their role shifted... to debugging, scrutinizing…” (49:39)
• Economic Reality Check
  Adam: "Inflation is cumulative. It doesn’t go down." (67:19)
• Epstein Fallout
  Analyst: “If you saw someone acting like [Bondi]... you’d probably ask management to escort them from the restaurant.” (75:58)
• Trust Collapse
  Adam: “No one trusts government anymore. Not even the nut jobs protesting in Minneapolis.” (88:47)
• Media Manipulation
  John: “Slowly driving away. Commuting. It’s all so bad.” (149:48)
• AI Reality
  John: “I'm trying to eliminate myself here.” (51:15)
• Tech and Life Advice
  John: “If you understand systems, then you can create something that could enhance your own productivity.” (46:27)

Highlighted Segments & Timestamps

• Surveillance, Cameras, & Privacy: 00:58–07:26
• Drone Hysteria & Balloons: 08:21–14:38
• Elections, Outrage, & Media Memes: 32:33–36:51
• AI and White-collar Job Disruption: 39:04–55:10
• Economy & Inflation Explainer: 61:02–68:32
• Epstein, Congress, and UK Scandal: 69:58–88:47
• COVID-19, Heath Trends, and Trans Issues: 93:31–110:57
• Language Manipulation—Media Examples: 149:25–149:48

Overall Tone & Style

Conversational, irreverent, and highly skeptical. Both hosts use satire, wordplay, and callbacks, critically analyzing news, political strategy, and tech hype with an eye for propaganda or semantic manipulation. Their analysis is always colored with humor, inside jokes, and direct engagement with their audience.

For Further Listening

• Skip: Advertisements, intros, outros, technical donation segments.
• Focus: Dissections of surveillance tech, AI job market, media memes (especially “Lion King meme”), value-for-value segment for cultural insight.

No Agenda continues to provide a unique, sometimes acerbic but always insightful look behind the media veil—deconstructing both the narratives we’re fed and the technologies that shape our world. This episode is particularly recommended for those interested in surveillance, privacy, AI hype, media bias, and the cycles of outrage in American politics.