Trump Wrecks White House & New GOP Nazi Group Chat Drops | Catherine Bracy

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: Trump Wrecks White House & New GOP Nazi Group Chat Drops | Catherine Bracy
Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Michael Kosta (on behalf of Jon Stewart)
Main Guest: Kathryn Bracy (TechEquity founder and author)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, The Daily Show team, led by Michael Kosta, tackles some of the week’s most jaw-dropping political news: President Trump’s controversial White House ballroom construction in the midst of a government shutdown, the eruption of Nazi-adjacent group chat scandals in the GOP, and a deep dive with Kathryn Bracy on how venture capital is warping the American economy. Expect trademark satirical takes, fast banter among correspondents, and a sharp interview on the real costs of Silicon Valley’s growth-first mentality.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Trump’s White House Renovation: “Ballroom Blitz”

• [00:38] – [03:32]
  • The show opens with news that while the government shutdown enters its third week, President Trump is focused on building a lavish 90,000-square-foot ballroom near the White House.
  • Michael Kosta mocks the priorities, “90,000 gilded square feet for Trump to do the jerk off dance in. Got it.” (01:23)
  • Satirical assurance that the White House won’t be touched is debunked: “It looks like they touched it. I mean, holy shit, who’s this, General contractor Bin Laden apparently?” (02:52)
  • The segment lampoons Trump for supposedly loving White House history only as much as the immunity from prosecution it affords.

2. GOP Nazi Group Chat Scandal

• [03:32] – [07:48]
  • Kosta recounts the recent uproar over leaked Young Republican group chats where racist and Nazi-referencing messages were exchanged.
  • The Trump nominee for the Office of Special Counsel, Paul Ingrazia, is quoted: “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time. I will admit it.” (04:16)
  • The hosts pull no punches, equating “Nazi streak” with an unacceptable lifestyle choice and ridiculing the grotesqueness of the conversation.
  • The group chat includes offensive slurs and demands to end MLK Jr. Day, prompting another participant to simply reply, “Jesus Christ.” (05:25)
  • Kosta: “You know you’re racist when even the guys in your racist group chat are like, ‘jesus Christ, that was racist.’” (05:37)

3. Leaked Posts from a Maine Democrat’s Past

• [07:13] – [10:05]
  • Kosta compares the GOP scandal with a Democrat, Graham Platner, whose past Reddit posts surfaced: he called himself a communist, said all police are bastards, and disparaged rural white Americans, plus made a stereotypical remark about Black customers tipping.
  • Gravelly jokes about Platner: “Mr. Platner, you must step down from Maine's Senate race and move to Brooklyn to be their anointed king.” (07:14)
  • Platner’s apology is handled satirically as Kosta says, “I give that apology a solid B, and I will say they should add that as an option to the iPad screen. 20%, 10%. Or making up for structural injustice.” (09:38)

4. Comparing Scandals and Public Apologies

• [10:05] – [11:23]
  • The discussion turns toward how public figures respond to scandal.
  • Platner acknowledges and learns from his mistakes; Ingrazia’s attorney, by contrast, deflects using the excuse “in this age of AI, authentication … is extremely difficult.” (10:28)

5. Satirical Riff on Racism and Technology

• [11:23] – [14:48]
  • Ronnie Cheng joins for a tongue-in-cheek debate about online racism vs. in-person, with plenty of self-deprecating and meta-humor about stereotypes and “safe space” group chats.
  • Notable quote – Ronnie Cheng: “They should be saying racist shit in person, all right? That way there’s no paper trail.” (11:33)
  • What’s at stake for the politicians? Ronnie is skeptical either scandal will derail a career, joking that the Nazi’s approval will rise among Republicans and Mainers are too plagued by drugs to care.
  • Michael Kosta, on “white people not washing their legs”: “It’s because our maids do it for us.” (13:47)
  • The segment ends lampooning mutual racial curiosity and how easy it is to trap someone into saying something problematic.

6. The Use and Misuse of “Communism” in American Politics

• [15:53] – [21:24]
  • Ronnie Cheng, Desi Lydic, and a Communist Party co-chair explore how left-leaning politicians (like Zoran Mamdani or AOC) are constantly mislabeled as “communists.”
  • Satirical investigatory reporting: “Self proclaimed New York City Communist Zoran … well love him or hate him, everyone seems to agree this guy’s a communist.” (16:09)
  • Clear distinctions are made by party insiders: “The Communist Party believes that capitalism needs to be replaced. … Socialists believe capitalism can be reformed.” (Desi Lydic, 16:51)
  • The segment takes on “red-baiting,” tracing it from McCarthyism to modern soundbites likening anyone left-of-center to Stalin.
  • Notable quote: “People really need to stop throwing around the C word. It’s insulting to actual commies.” (Ronnie Cheng, 20:12)

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Feature Interview: Kathryn Bracy on Venture Capital & the Economy

[22:35] – [36:56]

Kathryn Bracy’s Origin Story & Urban Tech Invasion

• Bracy describes moving to Oakland in 2012 during the “good old days” of the internet, only for Uber’s arrival to spark neighborhood backlash (23:17).
  • “I had been in a little bit of a fairy tale … but my neighbors’ reaction to Uber coming to town was actually rational. That struck me as something that had gone wrong in the economy.”
  • Her Michigan roots: “If a company had announced they were bringing 2,500 good jobs to Detroit, there would have been parades. What went wrong?” (24:14)

What is Venture Capital (VC) and The “Power Law”

• Bracy defines VC’s historical origins: “Pioneered in the mid-20th century to solve a real problem … there wasn’t enough what they call risk capital … to support breakthrough technologies.” (25:46)
  • The “power law” concept: VC funds invest in lots of startups, expecting a tiny handful to be lucrative “home runs” that return the fund.
  • She uses an extended sports metaphor: “Venture capitalists like to say that what they do is hit grand slams … That ends up distorting how you approach baseball … usually means you end up cheating and taking drugs, right?” (27:30–28:14)

The Problem with “Move Fast and Break Things”

• “Blitzscaling,” Bracy notes, is literally VC’s playbook, rapidly expanding companies to dominate markets, “steamroll everything in your wake to get there.” (29:02)
• Kosta, with relatable humor, bemoans having to fill out endless online forms: “Is that because of venture capital?” (29:33)

VC’s Spillover into Every Industry—including Housing

• “Why does a fast casual restaurant need venture capital?” she asks, noting even non-tech sectors are now subject to high-growth, high-extraction models. (30:05)
  • On housing in particular: “What works for software does not work for brick and mortar building houses … some of these predatory financial models juiced by VCs to exploit and extract.” (31:18)

Can We Fight Back—or Opt Out?

• Citing Sam Altman and OpenAI: “Even he, who already had this great reputation in Silicon Valley … now investors run the show and are in charge of the direction this technology is going to take. … If Sam Altman can’t do it, it’s really hard for just any old entrepreneur off the street.” (33:33)
  • Bracy calls for “structural” solutions: “There are carrots … the government can catalyze money to flow to these other types of funds, like NDVC, which is basically playing Moneyball with doubles and triples” vs. just home runs. (34:50)

TechEquity and Hopeful Signs

• Bracy describes her group’s mission: “Trying to bend that arc of the tech industry towards better … not just sucking all the wealth up to the top.” (35:49)
  • Proud legislative win: “We passed a bill that makes it illegal for tech companies to use algorithms to set prices artificially high.” (36:50)

Memorable Quotes from Kathryn Bracy

• “We were promised cures for cancer and robots that fold our laundry, and we’re getting sex bots for eight-year-olds and all of our jobs automated.” (34:03)
• “If Sam Altman can’t do it, it’s really hard for just any old entrepreneur … it’s gonna require bigger systemic change in order to make those the norm.” (34:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It looks like they touched it. I mean, holy shit, who’s this? General contractor Bin Laden apparently?”
  —Michael Kosta, 02:52

• “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time. I will admit it.”
  —Paul Ingrazia (quoted by Kosta), 04:16

• “You know you’re racist when even the guys in your racist group chat are like, ‘Jesus Christ, that was racist.’”
  —Michael Kosta, 05:37

• “They should be saying racist shit in person, all right? That way there’s no paper trail.”
  —Ronnie Cheng, 11:33

• “People really need to stop throwing around the C word. It’s insulting to actual commies. Like my friend Joe.”
  —Ronnie Cheng, 20:12

• Kathryn Bracy’s critique:
  “We were promised cures for cancer … we’re getting sex bots for eight-year-olds and all of our jobs automated.”
  (34:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|--------------| | Trump’s White House “ballroom” scandal | 00:38–03:32 | | Nazi group chat GOP scandal | 03:32–07:48 | | Leaked Democratic posts/apologies | 07:13–10:05 | | Satire: racism and technology | 11:23–14:48 | | Debating “communism” in US politics | 15:53–21:24 | | Kathryn Bracy interview | 22:35–36:56 |

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Episode Tone and Language

The episode maintains The Daily Show’s classic blend of sarcasm, sharp political satire, and irreverent banter. Tough topics (racism, political hypocrisy, economic injustice) are dissected with biting humor, but the Kathryn Bracy interview brings focus, clarity, and a note of serious policy discussion.

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In Summary

This episode skewers the absurdity of the news cycle—“Nazis in group chats,” “Trump’s White House renovations during crisis”—while offering a genuinely illuminating interview on the failures of venture capital and the possibilities of more equitable technology policy. If you want quips about the “Nazi streak,” a satirical masterclass in red-baiting rhetoric, and clear-eyed analysis of venture capital’s real-world consequences, this episode delivers.

Transcript

[Michael Kosta]

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[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

From the.

[Michael Kosta]

Most trusted journalists at Comedy Central. It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily show with your host, Michael Costa. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Michael Costa. We've got so much to talk about tonight. The White House shows hole, Communism's running wild. And texting about how you're a Nazi. Good idea or bad idea? I investigate. So let's get into the headlines. Come on. The government shutdown is now in its third week. Countless federal employees aren't being paid. Food stamps will run out soon, and there's no end in sight. But not to worry. President Trump is working day and night to build a ballroom. It's exactly what you voted for. Coal miners in Pennsylvania. 90,000 gilded square feet for Trump to do the jerk off dance in. Got it. But if you're worried such a renovation might damage the people's house, let Donald Trump put your fears to rest. It won't interfere with the current building.

[Desi Lydic]

It won't be.

[Michael Kosta]

It'll be near it but not touching it. And pays total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of. It's my favorite. Yeah, it's my favorite. I never want to leave and I'm never going to. I believe it's his favorite building, though. He loves the history, the decor, the immunity from criminal convictions that it provides. But great. The White House itself is going to be fine. They're not going to touch it. They're not even going to touch it.

[Ronnie Cheng]

This morning, demolition day at the White House. Crews tearing down walls as construction For President Trump's 90,000 square foot ballroom ramps up.

[Michael Kosta]

It looks like they touched it. I mean, holy shit, who's this? General contractor Bin Laden apparently not touching the White House turned into demolishing the White House. And for what? Does he really need a ballroom attached to his home? I mean, it would be good to have one room where Barron didn't have to crouch, but still, I mean, they're tearing apart the entire East Wing. I hope there's nothing important going on there.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Constructed in 1902, the East Wing houses The office of the First Lady.

[Michael Kosta]

That's harsh. That's harsh. Do you think Trump warned Melania in advance or did a crane just scoop her up mid bubble bath? Let's move on. You might remember that last week there was a little bit of a scandal where members of the Young Republicans group had a bunch of their texts leak where they reportedly made jokes about sending people to gas chambers and how much they loved Hitler. But it was a one time thing. And now hopefully the Republican Party can move on from this isolated incident of Nazi text messages. Right, right, right. President Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel's in jeopardy after the publication of a group chat.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

The nominee, Paul Ingrazia, saying, I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time. Quote, I will admit it.

[Michael Kosta]

First of all, why do these guys who think they're the master race always look like this? It's never a Hemsworth. It's always a big toe with eyes. But, yes, we have yet another Republican apparently sending Nazi texts. And I've never heard someone say they have a Nazi streak before. That's by far the worst streak you can have. Even worse than the streaks I got freshman year in high school. Look at that. And when you see his other reported text, you know it wasn't a streak. It was more like a lifestyle. Engracia allegedly wrote, never trust a Chinaman or Indian. Never. Ingrassia uses an Italian American equivalent of the N word, saying, quote, no blank holidays From Kwanzaa to MLK Jr Day to Black History Month to Juneteenth, adding, every single one needs to be eviscerated.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

In one exchange, he wrote, MLK Jr. Was the 1960s.

[Ronnie Cheng]

George Floyd and his holiday should be.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs. That prompted another participant to respond, jesus Christ.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Wow.

[Michael Kosta]

Wow, you know you're racist. When even the guys in your racist group chat are like, jesus Christ, that was racist. Look, in general, I try not to judge people on what they say in private. Our group chats should be a safe space to express ourselves, where someone can say, I don't know, that they can't shake these feelings about their hot cousin Stephanie. By the way, Stephanie, you never replied to that. But the point is, I don't love people getting scrutinized for their private thoughts. But on the other hand, what I don't love even more is Nazis getting nominated to our government because I, Michael Kosta, believe Nazis are bad. And that's my brave political stance of the day. I am. I'm A hero. I'm a hero now. To be fair, having a paper trail of offensive comments isn't just a Republican phenomenon. Up in Maine, there's a Democrat named Graham Platner running for Senate. He was getting a lot of momentum until this happened. CNN reviews, social media posts, mostly made under Platner's Reddit handle five years ago, that were deleted ahead of his campaign launch. In them, he once called himself a communist, dismissed all police as bastards, and said rural white Americans actually are racist and stupid.

[Desi Lydic]

Ooh.

[Michael Kosta]

Oh, boy. A communist who hates police and thinks rural white people are stupid. Mr. Platner, you must step down from Maine's Senate race and move to Brooklyn to be their anointed king.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I'm kidding.

[Michael Kosta]

I think Platner still has a chance. Sure, his posts are offensive to rural white Americans, but keep in mind, most of them can't read. But hey, it's at least refreshing that we found someone's old post, and for once, they weren't saying racist things about black people.

[Ronnie Cheng]

In another controversial comment, Platner referenced his time bartending, asking why black customers, quote, don't tip.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, so now I'm having a hard time figuring out this guy's politics. He's like, we gotta stop the police from abusing these cheap black people. Keep in mind, he's from Maine, so the stereotype he's relying on is based on the one black guy from Maine, and that black guy is actually just a white guy who likes hip hop. And this is why I never post on Reddit. Well, that and I'm banned. Okay? Apparently, ask me anything doesn't include asking for butthole pics. And again, my apologies to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. There's a lot of strange jokes here, and you guys are doing a great job with it. That's why, you know. But look, but look, I'm not gonna pretend that these two guys are the same or that they said is even on the same level, and one of the ways you can differentiate them is how they respond to their leaks. Graham Platner, let's start with you. You asked why black people don't tip. Please report to the nearest podcast and explain what you meant. What's your response to people who hear that and think that is, like, textbook racism and it's offensive? I remember this time when I first started bartending, and then I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was black, who was a bartender, who did a great job of walking me through structural injustice and the fact of feelings of lack of agency. There were A whole bunch of reasons. And after that, I was like, oh, yeah, that makes absolutely perfect sense. Okay, there you go. Platner says, I thought black people didn't tip, but then I talked to a black person, and now I still think black people don't tip. But it's. But it's because of structural injustice. I give that apology a solid B, and I will say they should add that as an option to the iPad screen. 20%, 10%. Or making up for structural injustice. I would do that, but.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Okay.

[Michael Kosta]

Platter acknowledged his mistake and learned from it, which is great to see. Plus, love the hair. Now, what about Mr. Nazi Streak? Mr. Let's send MLK Jr. Day to hell. Let's see how he responded to his scandal. Now reach for comment by Politico on Gracia's attorney said, in this age of AI, authentication of allegedly leaked messages is extremely difficult. Okay, first off, if your apology starts with in this age of AI, that's not a great apology. Baby, did you forget to flush the toilet? Listen, honey, in this age of AI, he didn't even say AI doctored his messages. He just said, AI exists. Deal with it. I'm sorry, but that apology is not going to cut it. If you think the administration of Donald J. Trump will tolerate Nazi rhetoric and ideas, the White House doors are closed to you. Okay? But you can enter through the hole in the east wing because it's wide open now. For more. For more on the response to both scandals, we go to Maine with our very own Ronnie Ch.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Ronny.

[Michael Kosta]

What's the latest on these leaked messages?

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Well, they make me sick, Michael. Nobody should be writing racist shit online.

[Michael Kosta]

Thank you. Thank you. I totally agree, Ronny.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

They should be saying racist shit in person, all right? That way there's no paper trail, so they can keep saying racist things.

[Michael Kosta]

I thought you were gonna say people just shouldn't be racist at all.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Don't be such a stupid white moron.

[Michael Kosta]

All right?

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

People. People are always gonna be racist. But before technology, you just quietly be whispering it to your friends. All right? For example, you walk by me, and then I say to my Asian friend, like, wow, can you believe he wears those shoes from the subway into his bed? What a. What a gross race of people. And then I walk by you, and then you turn to your white friend, and then you say racist things about Asians. Like. Like, what would you say about Asian.

[Michael Kosta]

I don't say racist things about Asian people.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Oh, come on, man. I already said my racist thing, all right? This is a safe space.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Just.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Just go you round out giraffe.

[Michael Kosta]

All right? You ask. You're asking me to. So I guess if I said anything, if I have to, it would be stop taking so many pictures, you know, like you asked me. You asked. The Internet exists. How many photos of the Empire State Building do you need? You.

[Desi Lydic]

Wow.

[Michael Kosta]

Wow.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

That was so racist. Okay, we need those pictures because of structural injustice.

[Michael Kosta]

Look, look, you made me say it. You made me say it.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

No, no, no, no. It's okay. It's okay, because we didn't write it down, so no one's ever gonna know how racist you are.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay? Okay, can we just get back on track? Do you think this is gonna derail any of these men's political careers?

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Uh, no. No, probably not. I mean, the Nazi guy's Republican, so his approval rating went up. And, uh, the guy from Maine is in Maine where everyone's on heroin, so they got, they got. They got bigger problems. All right? Um, also, racial curiosity is not a bad thing. I mean, he's got questions about black people, just like I've got questions about white people. For example, I've always wanted to ask, why don't white people wash their legs?

[Michael Kosta]

I mean. Okay, I'll answer you in good faith, Ronnie. It's because our maids do it for us.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Oh, okay. See? See, this is great. We are healing the nation with this dialogue. Yeah, and now you get to ask me a question.

[Michael Kosta]

This feels like a trap.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, all right. Okay. All right. I, I, I. I guess I've always wondered why we see Asian people driving so poorly. I mean, I mean.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Oh, oh, oh, no, no, no. It. I'll tell you why. It's because you're a racist.

[Michael Kosta]

That's why. You set me up again?

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Yeah.

[Michael Kosta]

Well, yeah, and you set me up.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Yeah, yeah, but you fell for it because Asians are smarter than you.

[Michael Kosta]

Oh, that's true. That's true. You people are smart.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean, you people?

[Michael Kosta]

You know what? Look, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm growing, and I will try to do better.

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

Thank you, Michael. I appreciate your apology to Asian people.

[Michael Kosta]

And maybe you want to apologize for what you said about white people.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

What?

[Ronnie Ch (Ronnie Cheng)]

I didn't say anything.

[Michael Kosta]

That was AI, Ronny, Cheng, everyone. I got trapped. When we come back, we have a list of all the communists in the US Government. Don't go.

[Ronnie Cheng]

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[Michael Kosta]

Welcome back to the Dana Show. Did you know that the way politicians describe their political opponents isn't always accurate? Desi Lydic discovered one such example.

[Ronnie Cheng]

There's an election happening in New York City and one candidate is making people see red.

[Michael Kosta]

Self proclaimed New York City Communist Zoran.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Mandami, who is a socialist. Communist.

[Michael Kosta]

Mandami the communist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

An avowed communist.

[Michael Kosta]

I call him my little communist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Well, love him or hate him, everyone seems to agree this guy's a communist.

[Desi Lydic]

You're saying Mandami's a communist?

[Ronnie Cheng]

I'm not saying that. People are saying that.

[Desi Lydic]

Really? How come nobody told me? I'm the co chair of the Communist Party.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Co chair.

[Desi Lydic]

Co chair.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Wow.

[Ronnie Cheng]

They really make you share everything, don't they?

[Desi Lydic]

Well, it's better. Cooperation is the name of the game.

[Ronnie Cheng]

According to Joe Sims, co chair of the Communist Party. We're using the C word all wrong. So you're saying he's not a communist?

[Desi Lydic]

Not at all. No. He's a democratic socialist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Okay, so explain the difference to me between the Communist Party and the democratic Socialists.

[Desi Lydic]

Well, the Communist Party believes that capitalism needs to be replaced. Fundamentally.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Joe, what's so distasteful about capitalism anyway?

[Desi Lydic]

Everything, really.

[Ronnie Cheng]

I disagree. Ooh, my package is here.

[Desi Lydic]

I'm waiting for this.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Ugh, it's the wrong color. What were you saying?

[Desi Lydic]

Anyway, socialists in this country generally believe that capitalism can be reformed. But also socialists believe that they can function within the framework of the Democratic Party. We don't believe that the Democratic Party can be reformed.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Well, I agree with you there. Oh, God, does that make me a communist? All my life I thought communism was about military parades, dictatorships, and using the full apparatus of the state to train one single boxer.

[Michael Kosta]

I must break you.

[Desi Lydic]

We've gotten a bad name over the years. A bad reputation, I should say. People believe that communism and socialism means government control. But that's not true.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

No.

[Desi Lydic]

No, not at all. Socialism, communism and democracy are not opposites. And one of the great things is that you should be able to choose what you do. Perhaps you'd like to run a food co op. And if you don't want to run a food co op, maybe you'd like to run a Farm. And if you don't want to run a farm, maybe you'd like to run a theater company.

[Ronnie Cheng]

I don't think so.

[Desi Lydic]

Maybe you'd like to be a fisher person.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Nope.

[Desi Lydic]

A park ranger. Ugh. No park ranger. How about an astronaut?

[Ronnie Cheng]

Terrified of stars.

[Desi Lydic]

Tell me what you'd like to do. You can spend more time with your family. Ugh.

[Ronnie Cheng]

That's the worst. So communism isn't for me, but why do people think that Mamdani supports it? Mamdani?

[Michael Kosta]

He's a communist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

What is it exactly that you think people see Mamdani doing that would cause them to call him a commie?

[Desi Lydic]

He champions affordability. Any effort to put forward an idea of a more equitable distribution of wealth is labeled socialist or communist in an effort to just dismiss it out of hand. It's called red baiting.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Red baiting.

[Desi Lydic]

Red baiting. Anti communism goal is to just divide people. That's what happened to us during the McCarthy period, you know.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Okay, but McCarthyism was 70 years ago. Surely we've learned our lesson by now.

[Michael Kosta]

Members of Congress and even former presidents have been openly embracing vile creeds such as socialism, Marxism, and straight up communism.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

AOC the little communists from New York.

[Michael Kosta]

City, Comrade Kamala Harris is a radical left Marxist communist fascist. Can the commie cavalry save the day?

[Ronnie Cheng]

Okay, that sounds a lot like red baiting. But how do we know for sure that the Democratic Party isn't full of communists? Joe, it was time to name names.

[Desi Lydic]

Not a communist. No, no, no, no, no. AOC here's what she says.

[Ronnie Cheng]

She is not a communist.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

That's a no.

[Ronnie Cheng]

All right.

[Desi Lydic]

Please. No, no, no. Not a communist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Not a communist. So none of these Democrats are communists. You know, people really need to stop throwing around the C word. It's insulting to actual commies. Like my friend Joe, it's up to me to set the record straight and remind people that words matter. How do you feel about Mandani?

[Michael Kosta]

I think he's extremely dangerous.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I would categorize him as a communist.

[Ronnie Cheng]

But he's not a communist. I think that he may be a communist. You are going to be so relieved to hear this. I just learned he is not a communist. He is a democratic socialist. Well, he can call himself that. I spoke to the co Chair of the Communist Party, and there's actually a pretty significant difference. The communists believe that the capitalist system cannot be reformed. Democratic socialists, they believe fundamentally make changes within the framework of the Democratic Party has been captured by the billionaire class. But I'm sure you already know all that.

[Michael Kosta]

I disagree with you.

[Ronnie Cheng]

I apologize. So even though people weren't convinced, if we're gonna be divided, at least the red baiting will be word perfect.

[Michael Kosta]

Thank you, Desi. When we come back, Kathryn Brace will be joining me. Don't go. This episode is brought to you by Lifelock. It's Cybersecurity awareness month and Lifelock has tips to protect your identity. Use strong passwords, set up multi factor authentication, report phishing, and update the software on your devices. And for comprehensive identity protection, let Lifelock alert you to suspicious uses of your personal information. Lifelock also fixes identity theft, guaranteed or your money back. Stay smart, safe and protected with a 30 day free [e-mail] podcast terms apply.

[Ronnie Cheng]

This episode is brought to you by CBS. DMV is a brand new workplace comedy turning misery into magic and chaos into comedy. Starring Harriet Dyer And Tim Meadows, DMV is here to serve you laughs.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Watch Mondays at 8, 37, 30 Central.

[Ronnie Cheng]

On CBS and streaming on Paramount.

[Michael Kosta]

Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is the founder and CEO of Tech Equity and the author of World How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy. Please welcome Kathryn Bracey.

[Desi Lydic]

Come on.

[Michael Kosta]

This audience, this audience loves venture capital.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, it sounds like it. Sounds like it.

[Michael Kosta]

Thank you for writing this book. Great book, World Eaters. You opened the book talking about your experience of living in Oakland when Uber moves in.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yes.

[Michael Kosta]

Share that story with us and why it inspired you to write World Eaters.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, well, so I moved to the bay area in 2012. Oh, yeah?

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah, big time.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Go Warriors. I think.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah, I think that's good. Yeah.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I moved to the bay area in 2012 from Chicago. I was working on the Obama campaign they sent me to. What else can I throw out?

[Michael Kosta]

I know, this is good.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I moved there to open our technology office and 2012 was like the peak of the Internet. Those were the good old days, back when the gig economy was still the sharing economy.

[Desi Lydic]

Right.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

The don't be Evil era. And I decided to stay because it was a really exciting place to be after the campaign was over. But I wanted to live in Oakland. I preferred Oakland. It was a little bit more, let's just say colorful than maybe San Francisco was.

[Michael Kosta]

Fair enough.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

And we kind of had the best of both worlds over there. Like, we could see we benefit from all the stuff that was going on with tech, but a little bit sheltered and still had just normal people. And then one day, Uber announced that they were moving in across the street from my apartment building. And the community totally revolted. And I Had kind of been in a little bit of like a fairy tale, like not really seeing how, you know, the tech industry was evolving and it turned out to be not great for a lot of people. And, you know, it occurred to me then that like, their reaction, my neighbor's reaction to Uber coming to town was actually a rational reaction. And that struck me as something that had gone wrong in the economy. Grew up in Michigan in the 80s. If a company had announced they were bringing 2,500 good jobs to downtown Detroit, there would have been parades. What went wrong? I started Tech Equity to answer that question and really think about how we could redirect the energy of the Internet, which felt like it was going towards, not the future. We were promised to better things for better people. So that as tech was growing, it was benefiting everybody. And long story short, I came to understand that there was this force that was directing the industry towards these really negative outcomes. And that force was the economic structure that surrounds the tech industry. And that's of course, venture capital.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, and I know, but there's some dumb idiot in this audience that doesn't know what venture capital even means.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Well, I didn't, I didn't really know. So actually I kind of wrote, I wrote this book for myself, so it's super accessible in that way. But you know, essentially. So maybe some history is helpful here. Venture capital was pioneered in the middle of the 20th century to solve a real problem, which is that there wasn't enough what they call risk capital in the economy to support breakthrough technologies that were going to not just create financial benefit, but also really change the world in a positive way.

[Michael Kosta]

People investing in risky ideas.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, startups that were bringing the idea was new technologies to market and it wasn't clear whether they could even be commercialized. And traditional financial investors were not really willing to take those kinds of risks. So some civic and business leaders developed this hypothesis that if they created what they call a portfolio approach, if they pooled their money and then spread it out across a bunch of different companies instead of just going one by one, they could see these big returners that would more than make up for the failures. And that worked. And it turned out to be the best. The natural result of when you invest in high risk startups, what happens in the portfolio. And what that's called is the power law. And that's now the law that governs Silicon Valley.

[Michael Kosta]

And you talk about the power law here, and it's essentially that the driving force behind why venture capital wants risky ideas in companies.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Well, basically Did I just crush that? I'm gonna.

[Michael Kosta]

No, I mean, how about.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Can I use a sports metaphor, please?

[Michael Kosta]

Thank you. I've been waiting for a sports metaphor.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Well, venture capitalists like to say that what they do is hit grand slams. It's not even a home run game, it's a grand slam game. So, you know, if you're like, you know, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, your strategy is every time you go out to bat or whatever, is that.

[Michael Kosta]

That's right. That's right. You're doing this right?

[Ronnie Cheng]

You're doing this right.

[Michael Kosta]

The sports metaphor is working for me.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Okay. You're trying to hit a grand slam, right? And that ends up really distorting how you approach baseball. And like, for those of us who remember the Bash Brothers, you know, what it usually means is you end up cheating and taking drugs, right? Doing all these things to, like, ensure that you get grand slam outcomes. It's not enough to just hit doubles and triples, even though that's a totally, perfectly fine way to win a baseball game.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah. Why? You know, you describe it in the book, but why don't. Why isn't venture capital investing in a company that hits singles and doubles?

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Well, what they will tell you is you have to achieve the power law. And we don't know which of these companies in the portfolio are going to be the grand slam. So we force every company in the portfolio to try to be that outcome. And by forcing all of these companies, there's like 10 or 15 companies a year that really naturally have that potential. And thousands of startups get venture capital. For all of those companies that are not actually built for that kind of growth, it creates a whole bunch of harms that we usually society ends up.

[Michael Kosta]

Paying the price for, meaning these companies are forced to grow too fast or not create a better product for us.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Move fast and break things. It's basically what it is. There's sort of playbook for VCs called blitzscaling, and that's pretty much what they try to do. And I mean, I think they may be regretting naming it after a Nazi military strategy, but not exactly great branding. But you're trying to move as fast as possible to get as big as possible, take as much market share as possible as quickly as possible, and you steamroll everything in your wake to get there.

[Michael Kosta]

One of the things I love in the book was when you start talking about software and why VC loves software, because they can scale it up faster. And I am furious. Everywhere I go, I have to fill out an Online form, I take my family skiing and it's like you can't even talk to a human. It's fill this thing out. My home insurance, it's fill out all this stuff. And after I read your book, I'm going, holy shit. Is that because of venture capital?

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Well, I mean, I know you don't.

[Michael Kosta]

Maybe know the exact specifics of where I go skiing with my family.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I do think. I mean, it is a question. The reason I called the book World Eaters is because, you know, what really did actually work for certain types of companies that were building deep technology or software companies, where this model of moving fast, trying to get as big as possible possible as quickly as possible did actually make sense. Now you're applying it to every corner of the economy. Everything from like fast casual restaurants. Did you know Cava is VC backed? Like, why does a fast casual restaurant need venture capital? Right. Yeah, Everything from that to like the housing market. And housing is one of the issues I write about in the book. It's not built to scale, like software.

[Michael Kosta]

Talk more about that. That was really fascinating and blew me away because there's a part of me that thinks, okay, VC shouldn't be in fast casual restaurants, but I don't really give a shit about that restaurant. Whatever. But housing, yeah, this is. I mean, housing is one of the fundamental purposes of our life and who we are as people.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

The cornerstone of the real economy.

[Michael Kosta]

That's how you say it.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah. And.

[Michael Kosta]

That'S why she wrote the book and I'm asking her questions. Why is VC in housing?

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah. Well, they're in housing because they're trying to make a lot of money and everything is now a financial asset. And that's what they do. But what they would tell you is like, this is an industry that's ripe for disruption and we need to bring this new mindset to this industry to make it work better. But what works for software does not work for brick and mortar building houses. And it definitely doesn't work for the kinds of financial vehicles that they're developing in order to, like, get more people on the ladder to homeownership, which is one of the things I write about in the book. Some of these really predatory financial models that are now juiced, you know, by VCs to exploit and extract. When there are other models that do actually help people get on the homeownership ladder that can't find the capital they need to build out those models because they aren't, you know, they're not going to hit the grand slam There'll maybe only be a triple.

[Michael Kosta]

So let's say you are and you talk about and you share some of these stories in the book. And one thing that I took away from it was I was happy. There are good people out there. There are good companies out there that aren't just going for these huge returns. Yeah, but what do you do if you're trying to start a good business that's going to be of service to people and your community and you need money? Are you just. Do you have to work for these ghouls and vc or can you do it differently?

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I mean, you can. It is very hard. And actually, one of the stories that really brought home to me how hard it actually is is the story of OpenAI. And I interviewed Sam Altman for the book before he got fired. And he told me, OpenAI, I don't know if many people know this is a nonprofit, the same way a local soup kitchen is a nonprofit.

[Michael Kosta]

Strange.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, very strange. A $500 billion nonprofit. But he told me he very explicitly set up OpenAI as a nonprofit because he did not want to be held to the same standards that a normal tech company would be held to and have to raise venture capital, because he understood very clearly how investors would manipulate the incentives around the technology. And he said this technology is too dangerous to be at the whims of investors.

[Michael Kosta]

Right.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

And even he, who was already had like this great reputation in Silicon Valley and this company was the darling. They are now rolling back their nonprofit structure and opening it up to investors. And investors run the show there now and are in charge of the direction this technology is going to take. We were promised cures for cancer and robots that were going to fold our laundry, and we're getting sex bots for eight year olds and all of our jobs automated. I mean, that's true.

[Michael Kosta]

So the investors start to take over the idea, and that's where everything gets all.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

And if Sam Altman can't do it, it's really hard for just any old entrepreneur off the street to come in and say, I'm gonna do this without venture capital. So it's really like the solution set has to be more structural. And I do talk about people who are really creating the template that we can follow, but it's gonna require bigger systemic change in order to make those the norm.

[Michael Kosta]

What are some other solutions you think we can do or that we should be aware of or supportive of?

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, well, first of all, you know, there are some sticks, like closing the carried interest loophole. I don't that's too wonky for.

[Michael Kosta]

I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

I won't get into it.

[Michael Kosta]

I mean, you talked a little bit about ndvc, which I thought was really compelling.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah. And then there are carrots. So there are ways that the government can, you know, sort of catalyze money to flow to these other types of funds, like ndvc, which is basically doing. To extend the sports metaphor, they're playing Moneyball. They're trying to make money off of all the vast majority of startups that are actually doubles and triples. There should be an opportunity there, and it's unclear why Silicon Valley isn't necessarily pursuing that. So there are ways that the government can sort of shape financial markets so that money will flow to funds like that. And I outline some of that in the book as well.

[Michael Kosta]

It's a refreshing voice in the tech world right now to read this book because it just feels like we're all victims of what is about to happen to us. And you explain kind of how we got here. Talk a little bit about your CEO and founder of Tech Equity. I don't hear tech and equity together too often. Talk a little bit about that and what that means.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yeah, so we mean like the DEI type of equity and not the equity like, I own a share of the company in Silicon Valley. That's something you have to. That's a distinction you have to make. So, you know, we're trying to bend that arc of the tech industry towards better, you know, making sure that the industry is creating opportunity for everybody and not just sucking all the wealth up to the top. Yeah. You know, we're not making as much progress as I would like, but, you know, we see California as a place where it's really possible now that the federal government is no longer a place where you can really make policy for people anymore. Trying to regulate AI in the backyard of where the companies are building it and put some guardrails around this technology and the investment that's going into it. So we've had some wins. We passed a bill that makes it illegal for tech companies to use algorithms to set prices artificially high. That's good this year. Yes.

[Michael Kosta]

More work to be done.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

A lot, lot more work to be done.

[Michael Kosta]

Thank you for writing the book. Thank you for being here. World Eaters is available now. Kathryn Bracey, everybody. We'll get a quick break.

[Desi Lydic]

We'll be right back after this.

[Michael Kosta]

At Capella University. Learning online doesn't mean learning alone. You'll get support from people who care about your success like your enrollment specialist who gets to know you and the goals you'd like to achieve. You'll also get a designated academic coach who's with you throughout your entire program. Plus, career coaches are available to help.

[Ronnie Cheng]

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[Michael Kosta]

A different future is closer than you.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Think with Capella University.

[Michael Kosta]

Learn [e-mail]. that's our show for tonight. Now here it is, your moment of Zen. You came through this door. Did you notice the white marble floor that was put there? That was. That was made out of Home depot tiles about one foot by one foot. They were all broken, about 30 years old. And I replaced it with book matched marble paid for by your friend President Trump. Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount. This has been a Comedy Central podcast and Doug Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug. Uh, limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us. Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Fairy underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Excludes Massachusetts Ark Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure video game set in a lethal.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Yet vibrant future Earth.

[Ronnie Cheng]

As a raider scavenging the remnants of a derelict world, you settle into an underground settlement hoping to thrive. You jump on the chance to start over.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

But doing so means you must return.

[Ronnie Cheng]

To the surface, where arc machines roam and survivors.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Motives remain dangerously unclear, but if you're.

[Ronnie Cheng]

Brave enough, who knows what you might find. Pre order now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS and PC.

[Guest or Co-host (possibly Kathryn Bracey or another guest)]

Available October 30th.