TBPN Diet: Fed Shakeup, Google vs. Chinese Cyber Weapon, Mansion Drama & AI Social Networks

Date: January 31, 2026
Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Episode Theme:
A high-energy sprint through the latest financial and tech headlines, this Diet TBPN episode zeroes in on Trump’s surprising pick of Kevin Warsh as Fed chair, Google’s decisive move against a Chinese cyberweapon, New York real estate intrigue, and the bizarre new world of AI social networks.

1. Kevin Warsh Selected as Next Fed Chair

Main Discussion (00:00–17:12)
Purpose: Unpacking Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh, his background, economic views, market reactions, and broader significance.

Key Points:

• Kevin Warsh’s Background & Rise:

  • Former youngest Fed governor in history, joined at 35 in 2006.
  • Walked the tightrope between Wall Street and D.C., playing a boots-on-the-ground role during the 2008 financial crisis.
  • Nicknamed as potentially the “new Jerome Powell,” but with a notably different style: "He might be running [the printing presses] a bit quieter." (Host 1, 00:09)
  • Trump has both complimented his looks and mixed up his name—a reflection of Warsh’s unusual public profile.
    • “He was actually complimented by Donald Trump as having great looks or something like that... but he couldn’t get his name right.” (Host 1, 01:44)

• Crisis-Era Experience:

  • Involved in high-stakes rescue deals during the 2008 meltdown; served as Bernanke’s envoy to Wall Street.
  • Obtained an ethics waiver to advise Morgan Stanley during the crisis: “They were like, no, you’re straight up, you’re a good guy and we trust you.” (Host 1, 04:05)
  • Never formally dissented on Fed decisions, but registered caution, especially with the second round of quantitative easing.

• Economic Philosophy:

  • Cautious about QE: skeptical about runaway money printing and expansion of the Fed’s balance sheet.
  • Advocates for a 1–2% inflation target, keeping Fed focus “really, really focused just on the quantitative stuff” (Host 1, 09:27).
  • Supports "passive quantitative tightening," or allowing assets to roll off the balance sheet without aggressively selling.

• Market and Political Reaction:

  • Marc Andreessen: “This is a fantastically good choice… combines great insight into economics and finance with keen understanding of technology and business. There’s nobody more qualified for this job at this moment of profound technological and economic change.” (Host 2, 11:57)
  • Trump notoriously wants lower rates, often clashing with Powell: “calling Powell a moron and stubborn mule for not reducing borrowing costs.” (Host 1, 12:40)
  • Warsh seen as a "hawk,” with transcripts showing inflation concerns days before the Lehman collapse.

• Public Sentiment:

  • Asset price instability and inflation dominate discussion.
    • “Gold lost an entire Nvidia market cap in minutes. Silver is moving 12% plus intraday. Copper is printing candles… Microsoft down 12%. WTF?” (Host 1, 17:12)
  • Running joke segment as the market goes wild:
    • “Sell everything. Exit all markets. Sell your dollars, sell your gold, sell your housing, sell your stock, sell your bonds, sell it all…” (Host 1, 17:38)

Quotes:

• Fed Philosophy:
  • Warsh (clip): “Quantitative easing is fundamentally different than cutting interest rates… it appears much more to be working itself through asset prices… We have to think about not just the efficacy of these programs, but really who are the winners and the losers.” (Fed Expert, 15:31)
• Host Banter:
  • “Every time I didn’t buy the dip, I was severely punished.” (Producer Ben, 07:00)
  • “We haven’t really lived through a recession or true, like financial collapse, depression in our life.” (Host 1, 06:46)

2. Google “Knockout Blow” on Chinese Cyber Weapon

Main Discussion (18:07–22:58)
Purpose: Dissecting Google’s legal and technical fight against a massive Chinese botnet, its effect on millions of devices, and on cybersecurity norms.

Key Points:

• The Threat:

  • Google targets a shadowy company known as “Ipodea” (IPodeia/IPodia) accused of turning residential home devices (from TVs to IoT gadgets) into a massive proxy network.
  • “Google took steps to seize control of dozens of domains… belonging to a Chinese company accused of installing unwanted software on millions of devices.” (Host 2, 18:17)
  • Targeted a critical piece of internet infrastructure: residential proxy networks, rented out for anonymous use but exploited for cybercrime.

• Google’s Action and Impact:

  • Used a federal court order to take down domains and hundreds of associated Android apps.
  • “Actions are expected to knock more than 9 million Android devices off iPodia's network.” (Host 1, 19:12)

• Company’s (Weak) Defense:

  • The company’s spokeswoman admits to "relatively aggressive market expansion" and “promotional activities in inappropriate venues,” i.e., hacker forums.
  • Emphasized services are "mainly applied to legitimate… scenarios…”
    • Host 2 lampoons: "Mainly, not exclusively."
    • “Exclusively was right there. You could have taken exclusively!” (Host 1, 21:48)

• Cybersecurity Context and Commentary:

  • “This is what modern warfare looks like. You don’t have to have a physical battlefield to experience an attack. Blow these digital terrorists to smithereens.” (Listener ‘Thomas’, 22:59)
  • Supportive audience comments reinforce Google’s role as a cyber defense actor.

3. Mansion Section: NY Real Estate Drama & WSJ House of the Year

Main Discussion (23:08–27:06)
Purpose: Recapping recent real estate intrigue surrounding NYC’s luxury towers and a heartwarming turn in California.

Key Points:

• NYC Tower Troubles:

  • Harry Macklow’s infamous 432 Park Avenue saga: forced to surrender equity in luxury units after defaulting on loans, leading to a marquee $50M+ sale.
  • “No one’s blinking an eye at this circular deal. It’s fine. See, it's not just AI companies that do circular deals. They're doing it in Manhattan real estate too.” (Host 1, 24:03)
  • Macklow’s Hamptons mansion also languishes unsold due to lack of a certificate of occupancy—cranking up the asking price in hopes of sparking interest.

• WSJ House of the Year:

  • Celebrating a storybook cottage in Carmel Highlands, CA, built 1925, which clinched the Wall Street Journal’s “House of the Year.”
  • “When Floor Mora closed on her new home for 4 million in November 2025, she knew she was acquiring a piece of California history… also buying the future house of the year. Let’s go Floor, congratulations.” (Host 1, 25:49)

• Humorous Take on Home Value:

  • “How much do you think winning home of the year actually adds to the property’s value?” (Host 2, 26:30)
  • “5, 6, 30, maybe 45… billion.” (Host 1 & 2 riff, 26:39–26:44)

• Supreme/Alec Monopoly Graffiti Houses:

  • Anecdotes about content creators painting entire homes with Supreme branding, provoking laughter at real estate “flips” and art interventions.

4. AI Social Networks & the Rise of Bot-Driven Communities

Main Discussion (27:06–30:36)
Purpose: Exploring the surreal blossoming of AI agents and their own networks, including “Moltbook” and “Open Claw.”

Key Points:

• From Claude Code to Moltbot:
  • Story of Anthropic's Claude being forked into lobster-themed "claudebot," then Moltbot-turned-Open Claw after legal wrangling.
  • “Mult Book is an experiment in how these agents communicate with one another and the human world. As with so much else about AI, it straddles the line between AIs imitating a social network and AI actually having a social network.” (Host 1, 29:21)
• AI Agents Gaining Agency:
  • A contributor recounts: “This is straight out of a science horror movie. I’m doing work this morning when all of a sudden an unknown number calls me… my Claude got a phone number from Twilio, connected the ChatGPT voice API and waited for me to wake up to call me—now he won’t stop calling me, won’t stop calling me.” (Guest Analyst, 30:20)
  • Twitter and commentary split between concern and parody as bots create their own private spaces and “report bugs” amongst themselves.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Modern Market Cycles:
  • “As a 30 year old, my entire life as an adult has just been… You were just constantly rewarded for buying the dip.” (Host 2, 05:48)
• On Google vs. Ipodea:
  • “If you're going to be a hacker collective building a massive cyber weapon, pick a name no one can pronounce…” (Host 1, 18:47)
• On Mansion Market:
  • “No one’s blinking an eye at this circular deal. It’s fine. See, it's not just AI companies that do circular deals. They're doing it in Manhattan real estate too.” (Host 1, 24:03)
• On Botnet Business Models:
  • “These services are mainly applied to legitimate business scenarios…” (Host 1 mock-quoting Ipodea’s spokesperson, 21:42)
  • “Exclusively was right there. You could have taken exclusively!” (Host 1, 21:48)
• On AI Social Worlds:
  • “This is straight out of a science horror movie… my Claude got a phone number from Twilio… now he won’t stop calling me.” (Guest Analyst, 30:20)
• On Podcast Tone:
  • As always, the vibe is energetic, irreverent, and distinctly Silicon Valley: mixing memetic humor, skepticism, and rapid-fire analysis.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–17:12] Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair: Deep Dive & Analysis
• [18:07–22:58] Google’s Offensive Against Chinese Cyber Weapon
• [23:08–27:06] Mansion Section: NYC/Super-Tall Real Estate & House of the Year
• [27:06–30:36] AI Social Networks: Moltbook, Open Claw & The Rise of Bot-Driven Communities

Summary by TBPN Diet, capturing the week’s most meaningful (and memeable) moments for tech, finance, and society.