Netflix Wants To Have It All

Slate Money — "Netflix Wants To Have It All" (Released Dec 6, 2025)

Overview

In this episode, host Felix Salmon (Bloomberg) is joined by regular co-hosts Elizabeth Spires (NYT Opinion) and Emily Peck (Axios), with special guest Nick Kulish (NYT reporter), for a lively, insightful discussion of:

Netflix’s historic bid to acquire Warner Brothers (and what it means for media, antitrust, and consumers)
Michael Dell’s $6 billion donation to 'Trump accounts' for children, with an in-depth exploration of philanthropy, wealth inequality, and the future of social safety nets
The alarming, endemic practice of dollar stores and supermarkets overcharging poor consumers at checkout
The crew’s customary “numbers round,” with a few lighthearted asides

The episode is marked by its signature blend of skepticism, wit, and deep industry knowledge as the hosts analyze big business stories with both big-picture context and on-the-ground detail.

1. Netflix to Acquire Warner Brothers: The Endgame of Streaming Media? (02:06–13:55)

Key Points

The hosts recount the tortured corporate history of Warner Brothers, listing infamous takeovers (AOL/Time Warner, AT&T, Zaslav’s Discovery).
Netflix is now set to acquire the storied film and TV studio — a symbolic crowning of streaming’s dominance.
The discussion centers on who “wins” and “loses” (Netflix, HBO, Paramount/Ellison) and whether the deal will survive antitrust scrutiny under a second Trump administration.

Major Insights & Quotes

On the sheer scale and inevitability:
- Felix: “[Warner Brothers is] finally reaching its natural and teleologically predetermined home, which is Netflix.” (02:06)
On Netflix’s ambition:
- Emily: “Netflix needs to become HBO before HBO can become Netflix ... then Netflix was like: ‘HBO’s nothing. We want to be all the things.’” (04:08)
On antitrust hurdles:
- Nick: “Antitrust is all about defining the market. If you can define the market broadly, then you can skate through... But also, I mean, it doesn't seem like the Trump administration has a real trust buster vibe.” (06:00)
- Emily: “The real regulatory wildcard is not what the market is. The regulatory wildcard is just ... a very abnormal White House.” (06:35)
On how the deal might go through:
- Felix: “If you can get HBO Max and Netflix for the price of Netflix, that's good for consumers, right?” (08:35)
- Nick: “…we’re trying to predict how somebody’s gonna wake up… what mood he’s gonna wake up in bed one morning…” (08:54)
On consumer impact and the end of competition:
- Emily: “They're buying HBO Max, which … if you don't count YouTube, … the third biggest streamer, number one and number three are combining… More and more expensive streaming until we're way past where we were with cable when this whole mess started.” (10:10)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Historic failed Warner Bros deals: 02:10–03:30
Netflix’s evolving ambition: 03:30–04:43
Antitrust and Trump’s influence: 05:09–13:23
Consumer impact: 10:10–12:31

2. Michael Dell’s $6 Billion “Trump Account” Donation: Philanthropy, Politics, and (Broken) Social Safety Nets (15:51–39:55)

Key Points

Michael Dell donates ~$6 billion to seed savings/investment accounts for 25 million American children, but only U.S. citizens and those in certain zip codes qualify.
The accounts, originally intended as a non-partisan “Invest America” plan, are instantly politicized as “Trump accounts.”
The hosts examine whether this move is practical, progressive, and/or an effective philanthropic intervention, and discuss what happens when the government privatizes social benefits.

Major Insights & Quotes

On the magnitude and method:
- Nick: “Michael Dell gave an amount of money roughly equal to the size of the entire Rockefeller Foundation’s endowment in increments of $250 to 25 million children…” (16:41)
- Felix: “…if I was making a $6 billion charitable donation, I would be incredibly hard pushed to do something which has a smaller overall effect than throwing it all into index funds for 15 years and waiting for them to mature...” (21:49)
On the accounts’ political branding:
- Nick: “...they didn't call them Trump accounts. They called them Invest America accounts throughout the interview ... once you watch the press conference... anything called a Trump account ... is going to be immediately and, like, seriously politicized.” (18:15)
- Emily: “They were introduced as Invest America accounts ... then House Republicans called the MAGA accounts. And then the Senate said, okay, let’s call them Trump accounts...” (20:48)
On potential for inequity:
- Felix: “...the people it doesn't reach are going to be mostly the poorest and obviously anyone whose kids are not US Citizens.” (26:00)
- Elizabeth: “...the very poorest families are probably not going to take advantage because ... the understanding that you have to fill out this separate form...” (25:36)
On motives and macro trends:
- Emily: “...the big push is to sort of put the safety net on people…instead of giving you sick days, your employer gives you a few hundred dollars a year to pay for a sick day if you want to take it off … This is just the latest, you know, move in that direction.” (30:03)
On the original “baby bonds” idea and how it’s shifted:
- Nick: “...where it started ... every child born gets $1,000 in their account ... under the poverty line get $2,000 ... Now we ended up with the carnival of capitalism ...” (31:09)
On the struggle to give away big money:
- Nick: “In philanthropy, there's this kind of central question where rich people always say, ‘it's really hard to give away a lot of money.’... there’s this feeling that the solution...insofar as it's a problem and we can debate whether or not it's actually a problem... if you believe that it's hard to give away money at scale, then the solution ... is unconditional cash transfers, of which this is one flavor.” (33:53, 36:38)
On cash transfers:
- Felix: “...givewell ... re-rated GiveDirectly. ... UCTs (unconditional cash transfers) are holding up pretty well.” (37:12)
- Emily: “…we had sort of unconditional cash transfers in 2021 when we expanded the child tax credit ... The poverty rate fell… it was pretty easy …” (38:13)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Michael Dell's donation & naming: 16:01–19:30
Politicization and technicalities: 18:15–21:27
Efficacy and equity doubts: 21:49–28:47
“Carnival of capitalism” and safety net privatization: 30:03–32:50
Unconditional cash transfers: 36:38–39:55

3. Dollar Stores Overcharging Poor Customers: Small Overcharges, Big Problem (42:37–47:44)

Key Points

Dollar stores, core retailers for low-income Americans, are frequently found to charge more at the register than the sticker price.
This practice is widespread, legally dubious, and enabled by a cocktail of corporate indifference, limited staffing, and weak oversight.
The hosts express outrage at the normalization of such petty but harmful injustices.

Major Insights & Quotes

Felix: “...dollar stores, both big chains, seem to endemically overcharge ... an astonishingly high percentage of the goods in their stores. And I'm sitting here going, how is this even a thing?” (42:37)
Emily: “[After government inspections,] Dollar General stores have failed because their sticker prices are lower than the register prices ... the staff often says, there’s nothing we can do about it.” (43:36)
Elizabeth: “What’s crazy about this is that it is directly a labor problem as much as it is, you know, the company’s not prioritizing this … when you have one staffer in the entire store ...” (44:13)
Felix: “I don’t think that having E Ink prices is like, an expensive thing ... the reason they don’t do it is partly because they want ... to get away with mischarging.” (44:28)
Emily: “...an effective way to cut costs for people would be to just make sure companies charge you what they say they're going to charge you.” (46:38)
Felix: “...we’re in this kind of bizarre, laissez faire world where ... the cost of breaking the law on this kind of thing is negative, increasingly.” (47:00)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Guardian investigation, fines, and consumer impact: 43:36–47:16

4. Numbers Round: Music Tastes, Bob Ross, and Poop Analysis (50:27–57:13)

Emily's number: 67 — her "listening age" according to Spotify Wrapped; Elizabeth is 61, Nick's wife is seven (due to kid playlists). (50:42–51:58)
Felix's number: 1,044,000 — price paid at auction for Bob Ross's painting “Cabinet Sunset” (52:08–53:33)
Elizabeth's (from Emily): $599 — the price of the Dakota, a Kohler device that scans and “analyzes” your poop; with a (dubious) family subscription. (54:19–55:01)
Nick's number: $148 billion — Michael Dell’s remaining net worth after his $6 billion donation, illustrating how negligible the gift is relative to his fortune. “He could put about $6,000 more dollars into each of those 25 million [Trump] accounts” (55:34–56:06)

5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

“There’s less competition, that’s not good for consumers.” — Emily (11:26)
“No one ever competes on price. Prices only ever go up.” — Felix (11:26)
“The regulatory wildcard is just ... a very abnormal White House.” — Emily (06:35)
“If you believe that it's hard to give away money at scale, then the solution ... is unconditional cash transfers, of which this is one flavor.” — Felix (36:38)
“America first! ... Okay.” — Emily jokingly, on Felix’s suggestion Dell give to the world’s poorest instead (55:59)

6. Episode Structure & Tone

The tone is quick, skeptical, playful, and keenly analytical. Hosts display deep knowledge, sharp humor, and aren’t afraid to make political or moral judgments. They offer clarity for listeners outside the media/finance bubble, injecting memorable side commentary.

7. Timestamps Recap

02:06 — Netflix buying Warner Brothers
05:09 — Antitrust & the Trump White House
10:10 — The future of streaming & consumer impact
15:51 — Michael Dell’s $6B donation & Trump accounts
25:36 — Who benefits and administrative costs
31:09 — From baby bonds to “carnival of capitalism”
36:38 — Unconditional cash as a philanthropic trend
42:37 — Dollar stores’ overcharges
50:27 — Numbers round (Spotify age, Bob Ross, poop analytics)

For anyone who missed the episode:

This installment covers three of the biggest tectonic shifts in American business, philanthropy, and daily life right now — and tells you both what’s happening and how to think critically about it. Highly recommended for anyone interested in streaming media, social policy, or the sneaky ways the retail system can nickel-and-dime its most vulnerable customers.

Slate Money — "Netflix Wants To Have It All" (Released Dec 6, 2025)

Overview

Netflix’s historic bid to acquire Warner Brothers (and what it means for media, antitrust, and consumers)
Michael Dell’s $6 billion donation to 'Trump accounts' for children, with an in-depth exploration of philanthropy, wealth inequality, and the future of social safety nets
The alarming, endemic practice of dollar stores and supermarkets overcharging poor consumers at checkout
The crew’s customary “numbers round,” with a few lighthearted asides

The episode is marked by its signature blend of skepticism, wit, and deep industry knowledge as the hosts analyze big business stories with both big-picture context and on-the-ground detail.

1. Netflix to Acquire Warner Brothers: The Endgame of Streaming Media? (02:06–13:55)

Key Points

The hosts recount the tortured corporate history of Warner Brothers, listing infamous takeovers (AOL/Time Warner, AT&T, Zaslav’s Discovery).
Netflix is now set to acquire the storied film and TV studio — a symbolic crowning of streaming’s dominance.
The discussion centers on who “wins” and “loses” (Netflix, HBO, Paramount/Ellison) and whether the deal will survive antitrust scrutiny under a second Trump administration.

Major Insights & Quotes

On the sheer scale and inevitability:
- Felix: “[Warner Brothers is] finally reaching its natural and teleologically predetermined home, which is Netflix.” (02:06)
On Netflix’s ambition:
- Emily: “Netflix needs to become HBO before HBO can become Netflix ... then Netflix was like: ‘HBO’s nothing. We want to be all the things.’” (04:08)
On antitrust hurdles:
- Nick: “Antitrust is all about defining the market. If you can define the market broadly, then you can skate through... But also, I mean, it doesn't seem like the Trump administration has a real trust buster vibe.” (06:00)
- Emily: “The real regulatory wildcard is not what the market is. The regulatory wildcard is just ... a very abnormal White House.” (06:35)
On how the deal might go through:
- Felix: “If you can get HBO Max and Netflix for the price of Netflix, that's good for consumers, right?” (08:35)
- Nick: “…we’re trying to predict how somebody’s gonna wake up… what mood he’s gonna wake up in bed one morning…” (08:54)
On consumer impact and the end of competition:
- Emily: “They're buying HBO Max, which … if you don't count YouTube, … the third biggest streamer, number one and number three are combining… More and more expensive streaming until we're way past where we were with cable when this whole mess started.” (10:10)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Historic failed Warner Bros deals: 02:10–03:30
Netflix’s evolving ambition: 03:30–04:43
Antitrust and Trump’s influence: 05:09–13:23
Consumer impact: 10:10–12:31

2. Michael Dell’s $6 Billion “Trump Account” Donation: Philanthropy, Politics, and (Broken) Social Safety Nets (15:51–39:55)

Key Points

Michael Dell donates ~$6 billion to seed savings/investment accounts for 25 million American children, but only U.S. citizens and those in certain zip codes qualify.
The accounts, originally intended as a non-partisan “Invest America” plan, are instantly politicized as “Trump accounts.”
The hosts examine whether this move is practical, progressive, and/or an effective philanthropic intervention, and discuss what happens when the government privatizes social benefits.

Major Insights & Quotes

On the magnitude and method:
- Nick: “Michael Dell gave an amount of money roughly equal to the size of the entire Rockefeller Foundation’s endowment in increments of $250 to 25 million children…” (16:41)
- Felix: “…if I was making a $6 billion charitable donation, I would be incredibly hard pushed to do something which has a smaller overall effect than throwing it all into index funds for 15 years and waiting for them to mature...” (21:49)
On the accounts’ political branding:
- Nick: “...they didn't call them Trump accounts. They called them Invest America accounts throughout the interview ... once you watch the press conference... anything called a Trump account ... is going to be immediately and, like, seriously politicized.” (18:15)
- Emily: “They were introduced as Invest America accounts ... then House Republicans called the MAGA accounts. And then the Senate said, okay, let’s call them Trump accounts...” (20:48)
On potential for inequity:
- Felix: “...the people it doesn't reach are going to be mostly the poorest and obviously anyone whose kids are not US Citizens.” (26:00)
- Elizabeth: “...the very poorest families are probably not going to take advantage because ... the understanding that you have to fill out this separate form...” (25:36)
On motives and macro trends:
- Emily: “...the big push is to sort of put the safety net on people…instead of giving you sick days, your employer gives you a few hundred dollars a year to pay for a sick day if you want to take it off … This is just the latest, you know, move in that direction.” (30:03)
On the original “baby bonds” idea and how it’s shifted:
- Nick: “...where it started ... every child born gets $1,000 in their account ... under the poverty line get $2,000 ... Now we ended up with the carnival of capitalism ...” (31:09)
On the struggle to give away big money:
- Nick: “In philanthropy, there's this kind of central question where rich people always say, ‘it's really hard to give away a lot of money.’... there’s this feeling that the solution...insofar as it's a problem and we can debate whether or not it's actually a problem... if you believe that it's hard to give away money at scale, then the solution ... is unconditional cash transfers, of which this is one flavor.” (33:53, 36:38)
On cash transfers:
- Felix: “...givewell ... re-rated GiveDirectly. ... UCTs (unconditional cash transfers) are holding up pretty well.” (37:12)
- Emily: “…we had sort of unconditional cash transfers in 2021 when we expanded the child tax credit ... The poverty rate fell… it was pretty easy …” (38:13)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Michael Dell's donation & naming: 16:01–19:30
Politicization and technicalities: 18:15–21:27
Efficacy and equity doubts: 21:49–28:47
“Carnival of capitalism” and safety net privatization: 30:03–32:50
Unconditional cash transfers: 36:38–39:55

3. Dollar Stores Overcharging Poor Customers: Small Overcharges, Big Problem (42:37–47:44)

Key Points

Dollar stores, core retailers for low-income Americans, are frequently found to charge more at the register than the sticker price.
This practice is widespread, legally dubious, and enabled by a cocktail of corporate indifference, limited staffing, and weak oversight.
The hosts express outrage at the normalization of such petty but harmful injustices.

Major Insights & Quotes

Felix: “...dollar stores, both big chains, seem to endemically overcharge ... an astonishingly high percentage of the goods in their stores. And I'm sitting here going, how is this even a thing?” (42:37)
Emily: “[After government inspections,] Dollar General stores have failed because their sticker prices are lower than the register prices ... the staff often says, there’s nothing we can do about it.” (43:36)
Elizabeth: “What’s crazy about this is that it is directly a labor problem as much as it is, you know, the company’s not prioritizing this … when you have one staffer in the entire store ...” (44:13)
Felix: “I don’t think that having E Ink prices is like, an expensive thing ... the reason they don’t do it is partly because they want ... to get away with mischarging.” (44:28)
Emily: “...an effective way to cut costs for people would be to just make sure companies charge you what they say they're going to charge you.” (46:38)
Felix: “...we’re in this kind of bizarre, laissez faire world where ... the cost of breaking the law on this kind of thing is negative, increasingly.” (47:00)

Notable Segment Timestamps

Guardian investigation, fines, and consumer impact: 43:36–47:16

4. Numbers Round: Music Tastes, Bob Ross, and Poop Analysis (50:27–57:13)

Emily's number: 67 — her "listening age" according to Spotify Wrapped; Elizabeth is 61, Nick's wife is seven (due to kid playlists). (50:42–51:58)
Felix's number: 1,044,000 — price paid at auction for Bob Ross's painting “Cabinet Sunset” (52:08–53:33)
Elizabeth's (from Emily): $599 — the price of the Dakota, a Kohler device that scans and “analyzes” your poop; with a (dubious) family subscription. (54:19–55:01)
Nick's number: $148 billion — Michael Dell’s remaining net worth after his $6 billion donation, illustrating how negligible the gift is relative to his fortune. “He could put about $6,000 more dollars into each of those 25 million [Trump] accounts” (55:34–56:06)

5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

“There’s less competition, that’s not good for consumers.” — Emily (11:26)
“No one ever competes on price. Prices only ever go up.” — Felix (11:26)
“The regulatory wildcard is just ... a very abnormal White House.” — Emily (06:35)
“If you believe that it's hard to give away money at scale, then the solution ... is unconditional cash transfers, of which this is one flavor.” — Felix (36:38)
“America first! ... Okay.” — Emily jokingly, on Felix’s suggestion Dell give to the world’s poorest instead (55:59)

6. Episode Structure & Tone

7. Timestamps Recap

02:06 — Netflix buying Warner Brothers
05:09 — Antitrust & the Trump White House
10:10 — The future of streaming & consumer impact
15:51 — Michael Dell’s $6B donation & Trump accounts
25:36 — Who benefits and administrative costs
31:09 — From baby bonds to “carnival of capitalism”
36:38 — Unconditional cash as a philanthropic trend
42:37 — Dollar stores’ overcharges
50:27 — Numbers round (Spotify age, Bob Ross, poop analytics)

For anyone who missed the episode:

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Summary

1. Netflix to Acquire Warner Brothers: The Endgame of Streaming Media? (02:06–13:55)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

2. Michael Dell’s $6 Billion “Trump Account” Donation: Philanthropy, Politics, and (Broken) Social Safety Nets (15:51–39:55)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

3. Dollar Stores Overcharging Poor Customers: Small Overcharges, Big Problem (42:37–47:44)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

4. Numbers Round: Music Tastes, Bob Ross, and Poop Analysis (50:27–57:13)

5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

6. Episode Structure & Tone

7. Timestamps Recap

Summary

1. Netflix to Acquire Warner Brothers: The Endgame of Streaming Media? (02:06–13:55)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

2. Michael Dell’s $6 Billion “Trump Account” Donation: Philanthropy, Politics, and (Broken) Social Safety Nets (15:51–39:55)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

3. Dollar Stores Overcharging Poor Customers: Small Overcharges, Big Problem (42:37–47:44)

Key Points

Major Insights & Quotes

Notable Segment Timestamps

4. Numbers Round: Music Tastes, Bob Ross, and Poop Analysis (50:27–57:13)

5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

6. Episode Structure & Tone

7. Timestamps Recap