3583 - China Decarbonizing; AIPAC On the Ballot in North Carolina w/ Assaad Razzouk, Nida Allam

Summary

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The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3583 — China Decarbonizing; AIPAC On the Ballot in North Carolina
Host: Emma Vigeland (in for Sam Seder)
Date: February 18, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into two major topics:

1. China's breakthrough in decarbonizing its economy—an in-depth interview with clean energy expert Assaad Razzouk on how China’s CO₂ emissions are falling despite continued economic growth, challenging long-held assumptions about the impossibility of "green growth."
2. The influence of AIPAC and big tech money in North Carolina politics—conversation with progressive congressional candidate Nida Allam about her campaign against establishment-backed opponents and the broader struggle for progressive priorities in the Democratic party.

The show also covers breaking national news and provides important updates on New York City's battle to balance its budget and preserve progressive policies in the face of state and federal resistance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. National and Local Political Headlines (00:06–17:52)

• Progressive Momentum in Blue Cities:

  • Emma highlights Zoran Mamdani's successes as NYC Mayor: securing three resignations from the Adams-appointed Rent Guidelines Board and moving forward to freeze rents on 1 million stabilized apartments.
  • [08:51] Zoran Mamdani's address on NYC Budget:

    “There are two paths that we can walk: one that offers long term stability and a second with significant pain that we deeply hope to avoid.”
    —Zoran Mamdani (08:51)

• Budget Impasse and Policy Stakes:

  • Mamdani is pushing Albany to raise taxes on the 33,000 NYC residents who make over $1 million/year, rather than raising property taxes—framing it as a fight for working- and middle-class New Yorkers ([11:24] discussion).
  • “He lays out the raw numbers... 33,000 New Yorkers would be taxed an extra 2% versus over 3 million affected by a 9.5% property tax increase.” —Emma Vigeland (14:13)

• Media and Political Dynamics:

  • Discussion of right-wing media tactics highlighting potential property tax increases while omitting context ([16:34] Brian: “They have to lie and talk about snow.”)
  • Framing the city-state fiscal relationship as similar to the dynamic of blue states subsidizing red states federally ([11:24] Emma Vigeland).

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2. Interview: China’s Decarbonization with Assaad Razzouk

[23:43–40:48]

China's Green Revolution

• China’s Path:

  • Razzouk explains China's success is rooted in years of public pressure on pollution, enshrining "ecological civilization" into the Communist Party constitution in 2017 in response to mass unrest—80,000 pollution-riots a year in the 2010s.

    “They usually don’t like to miss their goals and like to be a few years early... They are number one globally as a machine.”
    —Assaad Razzouk (24:43)

• Economic Growth & Emissions Reductions:

  • Emma asks how China disproves the “growth vs. decarbonization” myth.
  • Razzouk: Fossil fuel-based energy wastes two-thirds of input energy; electrification (solar, wind, batteries) is vastly more efficient and less environmentally damaging ([27:07–28:39]).
  • “We built a remarkably wasteful and destructive fossil fuel electricity system... when you electrify, almost 100% of what you use is usable energy.”—Assaad Razzouk (27:07)

• Long-Term Planning Contrast with U.S.:

  • “There’s no long-term planning here in the United States... In China, the investment in high-speed rail and infrastructure allowed rapid green energy advances.” —Emma Vigeland (28:35)
  • China, by 2030, will have the capacity to build the equivalent of the entire U.S. electricity system every year—thanks to solar, wind, and battery manufacturing ([29:43]).

• Tech Monopoly & Batteries:

  • Solar leads, batteries ramping, nuclear is important but slow to scale ([32:03]). Coal is being maintained as a transition and insurance, operating at declining capacity ([33:33]).
  • “You have to look at what they’re doing—their coal plants are running at 35% capacity ... they need it as a bridge.” —Assaad Razzouk (33:33)

• Impact on U.S. Competitiveness:

  • “It means China will have a massive competitive advantage ... in AI, data centers, at lower costs ... American business knows this, but the ‘machine’ here drives the wrong way.” —Razzouk (29:43)
  • Texas, an oil & gas state, is leapfrogging California in solar because ‘the market says it's cheaper, it's better’ ([39:27]).

• Should the U.S. Rely on Chinese Tech?

  • “Why would you not buy a solar panel that lasts 40 years... after that, the fuel is free and yours? It’s an energy security issue.” —Razzouk (37:37)
  • Ultimately, Razzouk asserts economics will force the U.S. toward clean energy, no matter the political stumbles.

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3. Interview: Nida Allam — Progressives vs. AIPAC in North Carolina

[42:24–55:39]

Fighting Corporate and Pro-Israel Money in Elections

• Background & Dynamics:

  • Allam, a Justice Democrat, is running again for NC-4 against Rep. Valerie Foushee—a race previously floodlit by AIPAC, DMFI, and crypto money, which combined to defeat her in 2022.
  • “This momentum and energy of anti-genocide, anti-war candidates is what working class people want in this country. They are sick and tired of seeing their tax dollars fund wars while they struggle.” —Nida Allam (43:35)

• AIPAC & Corporate Influence:

  • Although Foushee stopped accepting AIPAC money recently, she continues to take donations from corporate defense contractors and tech companies linked to both war and surveillance (Meta, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman).
  • “Why is a member of Congress in a safe blue seat accepting corporate checks from Raytheon, Northrop Grumman ... all these corporations that profit off genocide?” —Allam (45:00)

• AI Data Centers & Local Anger:

  • Growing community opposition to Meta’s massive data center in the district, which raises utility costs, uses immense water, and offers few jobs.
  • “Duke Energy is already hiking up electricity prices for the data centers. Why is that being passed down to residents?” —Allam (46:46)

• Progressive Platform:

  • Supporting the Green New Deal, Allam says the data center fight ties jobs, climate, and energy equity together—residents see the link between corporate projects and higher bills/jobs loss.
  • Launched the Carolina Contract to restore federal funding and jobs lost to budget cuts—promises a 150% restoration and worker protections ([51:03–52:35]).

• Immigration & ICE Resistance:

  • “I am the only candidate in this race that has called for the abolishment of ICE. Our current member just suggests body cameras—for an agency that’s murdering people. Cameras aren’t the solution.” —Allam (53:07)

• Activist Roots & Endorsements:

  • Describes entering politics after losing her best friend in a 2015 anti-Muslim hate crime; became politically active via Bernie Sanders’ campaign and now has his endorsement ([49:26]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Progressive Leadership:

  • “His governance is a laboratory for future left wing and progressive governance ... his aggression and ruthlessness, in the best way, is a lesson that should be learned.”
    —Emma Vigeland, on Zoran Mamdani (05:39)

• On U.S.-China Rivalry in Clean Tech:

  • “It means they [China] will build an entire US electricity system each year ... and reach a state of overabundance.”
    —Assaad Razzouk (29:43)

• On Corporate Capture:

  • “The problem is there’s a lot of Democrats who are basically bought by the rich ... the big billionaires who are making the giant towers and parking their investments in there.”
    —Matt (13:26)

• On Local Organizing:

  • “We are the only campaign running any sort of field program ... meeting voters where they’re at and building those relationships.”
    —Nida Allam (54:39)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:06–17:52: National and NYC political updates; Zoran Mamdani’s NYC budget address ([08:51])
• 23:43–40:48: Assaad Razzouk interview on China’s decarbonization
• 42:24–55:39: Nida Allam interview on AIPAC, anti-corporate organizing, and progressive strategy in NC
• Other Key Moments:
  • [14:13]: Breakdown of impact differences between taxing the ultra-rich and property taxes
  • [27:07]: Fossil fuels vs. electrification efficiency
  • [33:33]: China's coal as grid insurance during transition
  • [46:46]: AI data center impacts on local community
  • [49:26]: Nida Allam on origins in activism

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Tone & Style

The discussion is passionate, direct, and irreverent, blending sharp political analysis with personal anecdotes and humor. Both interviews probe the hypocrisy of status quo politics and challenge the inevitability of corporate-driven policy.

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For Further Engagement

• Assaad Razzouk’s “The Angry Clean Energy Guy” podcast (see show/episode links)
• Nida Allam’s campaign website: nidaalam.com

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This summary captures the critical analyses, interviews, and progressive calls-to-action that defined this Majority Report episode—a must-listen for those following the intersection of climate, political corruption, and grassroots organizing.

Transcript

[Sam Cedar]

The Majority Report with Sam Cedar.

[Emma Vigeland]

It is Wednesday, February 18, 2026. My name is Emma Vigeland in for Sam Cedar and this is the five time award winning Majority Report. We are broadcasting live steps from the industrially ravaged Gowanus Canal in the heartland of America, downtown Brooklyn, usa. On the program today, Assad Razouk will be with us to talk about China's CO2 emissions falling despite their massively growing economy. We were told it couldn't be done. And later in the show, Nita Alam, candidate for Congress in North Carolina's 4th district, will be with us to talk about her race. Also on the program, the US kills 11 more people with illegal strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific and an enormous military buildup of U.S. personnel ships continues off Iran's coast. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat left in the FCC calls CBS's censorship of Colbert's Talarico interview corporate capitulation. A Cambodian national, Lorth Sim is the latest to die in ICE custody, the seventh immigrant this year so far that we know of. Federal judges sound the alarm on ice's abuse of pregnant people and nursing people in their custody and ICE just deported that 2 month old I mentioned earlier this week who was hospitalized for vomiting. They only waited a few hours. Kristi Noem, spokesperson at the dhs, is resigning. Why? Some good news though. A judge has blocked the deportation of Palestinian peace activist Mohsen Madawi. And some more Good news here. RFK's FDA reverses its position and now says they will review Moderna's application for an MRNA based flu vaccine.

[Matt]

Fauci strikes back.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yeah, who paid them off? Who got the Moderna check? House Democrats are discussing forcing a vote to censure far right Zionist Republican Randy Fine after he said Muslims are inferior to dogs. A third Adams era rent guidelines board member resigns allowing Zoron to deliver on his campaign promise to freeze the rent for rent stabilized units. And speaking of rent, lastly, the Twin Cities tenants union announces plans for the largest rent strike in over 100 years. All this and more on today's Majority Report. Welcome to the show everybody. It is hump day, middle of the week, right smack dab in the middle around noon here. Hello Matt. Hello Brian. Great show today. People are praising my jacket in the ims. I do love this jacket. I bring it out for some special occasions because it's white and I don't like to get stains on it. But I am actually going to be going on that podcast later this afternoon. Doom scrol if people have heard of it with Josh. I don't know how to say his last name.

[Matt]

Citorella.

[Emma Vigeland]

Citorella. So I'm really looking forward to that. And that's why we got the big guns out today, AKA my white jacket. So this is going to be the story for blue cities around the country right now, what Zoran Mamdani is facing here because the federal government led by Donald Trump is waging all out war on cities that are led by Democrats, particularly if you're a person of color.

[Matt]

What cities aren't?

[Brian]

Right.

[Emma Vigeland]

I mean, but and in blue states, he's got it the way he's terrorized la, the way he's terrorized Chicago. The only thing, even though we're seeing increased ice activity in New York City, it seems like the only thing that is keeping him from doing the same to his hometown is one, his affection for it. Two, his affection for Zoran Mamdani. But particularly as Politico reported, Zoran apparently kind of appealed to Trump in that, in that meeting a few months ago by talking about his desire to like reform zoning, which is apparently something that Trump had been railing about for years prior to his political career as well. So someone on Zoron's team did great research and that was which keys to jingle. Exactly, exactly. But he, as I headline did, notch a significant win yesterday. He's going to be able to appoint six members to the Rent Guidelines Board, which is the board that basically determines whether or not he's going to be able to deliver on his campaign promise to freeze the rent for 1 million rent stabilized apartments.

[Matt]

The concern being that Adams had stacked it with a bunch of toadies that were going to get in the way of that. That has already cleared itself out.

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly. There were three resignations of the Adams toadies, meaning we don't know how Zoron got them to resign, but probably leveraging his enormous popularity and some other arm twisting behind the scenes, I mean, this is his governance is a laboratory for future left wing and progressive governance in many ways, but including his aggression and his ruthlessness, I mean, we don't in the best way, you know, that is what a lesson that should be learned is that he acts with urgency and he doesn't mess around. So he's gotten three resignations and he's going to be able to freeze the rent. And that means we're in mid to late February. He's already secured the ability to deliver on two of his four campaign promises, freezing the rent for those units. And he already secured funding from Kathy Hochul for his Universal Childcare pilot program. But we've still got free buses and we've still got the city run grocery stores to worry about, which were, frankly.

[Matt]

I would think, the lower 100%.

[Brian]

It seems to be an order of operations.

[Matt]

Yeah, smart. I mean, and that's where you move in terms of left politics. There's a time for expression of left ideals. There's also a time for implementing those things. And I think we're in that phase right now. For Zoran, at least.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes. And he's going to need, though, significant help from Albany because he's going to need Hochul to raise taxes on the rich. And he's been priming the public to understand this with talking about how Eric Adams left the city budget in disarray. It's just a smart way to frame it too, because Adams is an unpopular former mayor and he's using that unpopular. He's using his popularity to leverage what he needs and Adams unpopularity to leverage what he needs. So he yesterday, when talking about the city budget, basically issued kind of a warning here that if Albany does not approve tax hikes on the rich, the city might have to raise property taxes significantly. And he emphasizes that this is a last resort. Legally, you have to balance the budget in New York City. So this is not a question of if he can do it or if he has to do it, he has to do it. And so of course, the New York Post and all these other right wing outlets are running with the property tax hike piece. But Zoron repeatedly emphasizes that this is.

[Matt]

A last resort because those papers work for the ultra wealthy.

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly right. And property owners in New York City are, I mean, that might be the number one class of people other than just Zionists that the New York Post is trying to appeal to. And then also suburbanites who don't even live here but want to see some like, racialized content about crime in the scary city. But I digress. Here is Zoram Mamdani, Mayor of New York. Feels good to say it, still explaining what the two paths are right now for balancing the budget.

[Zoran Mamdani]

But I want to be clear. $5.4 billion is still a very steep mountain to climb. And there are two paths that we can walk. One that offers long term stability and a second one with significant pain that we deeply hope to avoid. The first path repairs the structural imbalance between the city and the state. We want to work with Albany to raise personal income taxes by 2% on the 33,000 New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year and to raise Corporate taxes on the most profitable corporations. And we know that for far too long, New Yorkers have given far more to the state than what we have received in return. It is time to end the drain. If we cannot follow this first path, we will be forced onto a much more damaging path of last resort. One where we have to use the only tools at the city's disposal. Raising property taxes and raiding our reserves. The second path is painful. We will continue to work with Albany to avoid it. This first path will deliver the structural change that we need to recalibrate the relationship between the city and the state. Because, as we know, New Yorkers contribute 54.5% of state revenue, but receive only 40.5% back. At the same time, New York City's portion of the state's GDP has grown by nearly 10% since 2010. That imbalance is untenable. Once again, I'm calling for Albany to end the drain. There is no third option of failing to balance the budget by law. Ever since the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, which placed the city on the brink of bankruptcy, New York City has been legally required to balance its budget. We will do so. If we cannot pursue the first path, the only option we have remaining is the second path. At the heart of this path is a property tax increase. This would effectively be a tax on working and middle class New Yorkers who have a median income of $122,000. The second path also requires us to raid our reserves. It would mean withdrawing $980 million from our city's rainy day fund in fiscal year 2026 and $229 million from the retiree health benefit trust in fiscal year 2027. These are steps that have been taken before, but only in moments of extraordinary external crisis. Mayor Bloomberg's response to the 2008 financial collapse and Mayor de Blasio's response to the enormous revenue shortfall caused by the pandemic. We do not want to have to turn to such drastic measures that to balance our budget.

[Emma Vigeland]

I love his refusal to treat voters like idiots and the way that he explains exactly what he's thinking to the public. And through an explanation, though, putting enormous pressure on Kathy Hochul. Enormous pressure. One, pointing out that the dynamic in New York in terms of taxation and what New York City provides for the state versus what it receives. That dynamic is quite similar to what we see on the federal level, with blue states like California and New York contributing a disproportionate amount to the funds that are at the federal government's disposal and providing and subsidizing poorer, more rural states in that regard. So you can see how these dynamics play out more broadly. But he lays out the number. 33,000 New Yorkers earn more than a million dollars a year. And raising Those income taxes by 2% is the way to avoid the disaster scenario that he's talking about.

[Matt]

Simple two birds with one stone as far as I'm concerned.

[Emma Vigeland]

But he, as he mentions property taxes are the only thing that he has control over. The income tax piece is what Kathy Hochul needs to agree to. Apparently the last time that the city raised property taxes, which is amazing, was in 2003 under Bloomberg because 911 led to a recession in the city. But that's the last time that property taxes have been increased in New York City. And, and you know, I mean it's as he mentions it would really impact, you know, all New Yorkers more broadly. So of course that's not the path that we should be going down. But just, I don't know something to note there and this is a Democrat.

[Matt]

Party problem and they need to be able to handle this sort of thing. And you don't have Republicans to point the finger to. This is the state Senate. Democrats have a big as big a majority as they've had in decades basically these past few years it's 41 to 22 in the state Senate. Assembly is 103 to 47. Figure it out. Any Democrats. And the problem is there's a lot of Democrats who are basically bought by the rich and which is to say like the ultra rich, not even like the property owning class. It's the extremely wealthy, like the big billionaires who are making the giant towers and in parking their investments in there so they can sell them later. That needs to be addressed, tax them or it's going to fall on somebody else.

[Emma Vigeland]

And I love how he lays out the raw numbers too there where you have the 33,000 New Yorkers that would be taxed an extra 2% versus the over 3 million residential owners in New York City and over 100,000 commercial property owners who would be affected by a 9.5% increase in property taxes. And also what in when he would have to draw on the city's reserves in this scenario in the rainy day fund. It would also mean taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of a fund that provides for health benefits for municipal retirees.

[Matt]

Yeah, I'm the only tenant of my landlord. If they get a tax increase on property taxes, my rent will probably go up.

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly.

[Matt]

I definitely prefer going after the ultra rich folks. And there's no excuse to not raise their taxes other than our political system and our press like the New York is corrupted by them.

[Emma Vigeland]

And I hope that there's a plan outside of just the public pressure campaign here. And I'd imagine there is. I have no reason to doubt Zoran Mandani's strategy at this point given the success he's had so far. But I am a little bit surprised that he endorsed Hochul so early on when she still has not agreed to raise taxes on the rich. Perhaps she is. They have some sort of handshake understanding that she has to put up some sort of fight. But given the severity of what he lays out there, it doesn't seem like there's been an agreement. What perhaps preceded this endorsement was Hochul saying that she was going to agree to give a $1.5 billion. To give $1.5 billion to the city over the next two fiscal years, which did address the budget gap projections. It drew it down from 7 billion to 5.4 billion. But without that tax increase that Mamdani is talking about. The doomsday scenario is what is being laid out. And we all, you know this is this the, the, the right wing media is just clipping that part where he talks about the property tax increase and not all of the other context about it. And just we should, everybody should be aware of the dirty tactics that are going to be used to try to try to smear this because the successes so far have been so undeniable that this is where they have to go.

[Brian]

They have to lie and talk about snow.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yeah, right.

[Matt]

And the opposite should be yeah, he needs to do more snow removal. But also we can't do anything to raise tax. What's the alternative? But besides these two things, it's massively slashing the government budget austerity which is an absolute no go. And even the New York Post can't even say that's what we want because they just spent the last month saying Zoran needs to do more to do snow removal. Well, I guess who pays for that, you idiots?

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly right. Exactly right.

[Matt]

Shall say the sanitation department has done a great job in really hard winter around the clock shoveling snow into trucks that melt it straight into the sewer. I've been shocked by how impressive that is.

[Emma Vigeland]

I mean and the people that are like the snow thing that all they have, the snow is still here. It's been the coldest winter in like 20 years. You know. Yeah, there was some dummy I saw on Twitter being like, it's been sunny every day and the snow hasn't melted. This was a few weeks ago, girl.

[Matt]

It was John Patoritz.

[Brian]

Check, check out Antarctica.

[Emma Vigeland]

It was John Potort's.

[Matt]

Yeah, it's like it needs to be above freezing. Dumbass.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brian]

What?

[Sam Cedar]

It's sunny in Antarctica like every day.

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly. Right? I mean, skiers, you think that like, skiing stops if it's not cloudy. Can you explain this? Yes.

[Matt]

To adults.

[Emma Vigeland]

This is. This isn't. I was about to make a Twilight reference and I stopped myself. Okay, in a moment we are going to be speaking to our next guest, Assad Razuk, about the advances that China has made in infrastructure and clean energy. But first, a word from some of our sponsors here. Life can feel like a big puzzle. You're constantly trying to fit all of the pieces together. Your career, your passions, your relationships, your finances, and of course, your health care. Yeah, it is a lot. But finding care should not be the trickiest piece to fit into everything going on. ZocDoc makes it easy to find and book an appointment with a doctor you will love. ZocDoc is a free app and website that helps you find and book high quality in network doctors so you can find someone you love. We're talking about booking in network appointments with more than 150,000 providers across 50 states. Whether you're looking for dermatology, dentistry, primary care, eye care, or one of the other 200 plus specialties offered on Zocdoc, you can easily search by specialty or symptom to build the care team that is right for you. Want to see your doctor in person? Great. You prefer a video call? Well, you can do that too. Appointments made through Zocdoc happen fast, typically within 24 or 72 hours of booking. In between that range and you can even score same day appointments. That is how I found my dentist, who I really like, in spite of being a dentist, which is, you know, tough because I don't like going to the dentist, nobody does. But he makes it easier by being a good doctor and I found him through zocdoc. I've, when I've had like kind of emergency sickness situations, zocdoc is my go to. I quite literally can't believe it's a free app because of how useful it is. And I can't also believe that this kind of like the, the technology of it isn't being absorbed by more doctor's offices who still, if you're not using ZocDoc, make it impossible for you to make an appointment without these like insane phone tag situation zocdoc, you don't have to worry about that. And if you're like me and you get social anxiety on the phone, you don't have to worry about that either. I would like to thank zocdoc for sponsoring today's episode. Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com Majority to find and instantly book a doctor you will love today. That's Zocdoc.com Majority Zocdoc.com Majority Thanks Zocdoc for sponsoring this message. Links down below in the video and episode descriptions andjority FM and lastly, this episode of the Majority Report is brought to you by Wild Grain Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box for artisanal breads, seasonal pastries and fresh pastas. This is around the time that my mouth starts watering as I read the ad. Plus, all items conveniently bake in 25 minutes or less. Unlike many store bought options, Wild Grain uses simple ingredients you can pronounce and a slow fermentation process that can make it easier on your belly and richer in nutrients and antioxidants. There are no preservatives and no shortcuts. Wild Grains boxes are fully customizable. In addition to their variety box, they have a gluten free box, vegan box and a new protein box. I love those dang apple cider donuts so much that we got from Wild Grain and I don't remember the name of the bread but it's like a French bread or something like that. I had that on a really, really cold day and it was perfect. I didn't have to leave my apartment and it was like just a wonderful treat in my household. Oh it was the sourdough. The sourdough also. That was a different bread. That was great.

[Sam Cedar]

Smell of fresh baked bread in the.

[Brian]

Winter is the greatest thing in the world.

[Emma Vigeland]

I know, I know. It's getting me right now. I mean it delivers right to your door. Baking under 25 minutes. It's great for weekend brunches for dinner, what have you warming yourself up in cold weather. You've got an artisanal bakery right in your right delivered right to you and then right in your freezer. There is nothing like having an artisanal bakery in your freezer to chase away the winter chill. Now is the best time to stay in and enjoy comforting homemade meals with Wild Grain. I highly recommend giving Wild Grain a try. Right now. Wild Grain is offering our audience $30 off your first box plus free Croissants for Life when you go to wildgrain.com Majority to start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free Croissants for Life when YOU visit wildgrain.com Majority. Or you can use promo code Majority at checkout link down below in the video and episode descriptions and at Majority fm. Quick break. When we come back, we'll be joined by Asad Razou.

[Brian]

Sam.

[Emma Vigeland]

We are back and we are joined now by Assad Razouk, CEO of Guren Energy, a renewable energy company and host of the Angry Clean Energy Guy podcast. Assad, thank you so much for coming on the show.

[Brian]

Thank you, Emma.

[Emma Vigeland]

It's a pleasure, really happy to have you here to talk about this. Pretty incredible news about China basically being able to grow at this rapid pace but also successfully decarbonizing. Last week, Carbon Brief published this analysis showing that China's carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% in the final quarter of last year. Which means when you add it up with the rest of the quarters of last year, it indicates that China's CO2 emissions have fell overall in 2025. And this matches with other trends showing their emissions flatlining or falling. Talk about the significance of this.

[Brian]

Yeah, the Chinese don't really mess around. And I've seen this over 15 years. It's all previewed and they then just deliver. So if you go back to the history of their decarbonization, it started with a war on pollution, but then it was enshrined in in the Communist Party constitution back in 2017 as under ecological civilization. And it wasn't coming out of nowhere. It came from the fact that in the early 2010s they routinely had 80,000 riots per year about pollution. And so if you're the Communist Party governing China, that is an attack potentially on your legitimacy and has been to enshrine this ecological civilization concept into their constitution and then move their entire economy to deliver on what they said they were going to do. So they said, I think that President Xi Jinping said in 2020 that they will cap emissions by 2030. And as you can see, they usually don't like to miss their goals and they like to be a few years early. And that's what they delivered. And it's very consequential because it takes away many arguments against decarbonization because of course, not only are they still growing, but they are dominating the space because they're number one in solar deployment, wind deployment, offshore wind Deployment electric cars than the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, I mean, you name it, they're number one globally as a machine. And it's all geared towards that ecological civilization enshrined in their constitution.

[Emma Vigeland]

Can you speak a little bit about the arguments that you mention that have been used to basically say that decarbonization and electrifying your economy isn't incompatible with economic growth?

[Brian]

Yeah, these are cheap arguments, to be honest, because they have no basis in fact really. The thing is that we have built, I mean, we had good reasons to do so, but since the industrial revolution, we built a fossil fuel electricity system which is remarkably wasteful and destructive. And you know, order of magnitude you put in, whatever you put in, basically two thirds of it is wasted before you get any useful energy. Whereas when you electrify, almost 100% of what you use is usable energy. Not only that, your footprint, your environmental footprint is massively lower, I mean, orders of magnitudes of something like 1000th of the environmental footprint of a fossil fuel economy and so on. However, you can understand where these arguments are coming from because you've had a fossil fuel industry that's gotten very wealthy over 100 years, it's got a lot of money, it buys a lot of airtime and whatever and it pollutes the, not only does it pollute our air, but it also pollutes the waves, the airwaves, so to speak. So.

[Emma Vigeland]

Right, it pollutes the conversation.

[Brian]

Exactly.

[Emma Vigeland]

Can you speak a little bit about how, you know, you mentioned how China's long term planning has led us, led them to this moment. And that's something obviously that the United States completely lacks. We, it is a completely instable political system, unstable, I should say, political system here. Biden does the inflation Reduction act, does some sort of like infrastructure bill, and then Trump comes in just three years later, two years later, scraps the entire thing. So there's no long term planning here in the United States. And when you compare that to the targets that China has set out, I mean like their investment in high speed rail and infrastructure also allowed them to advance green energy because you can more quickly transport materials and energy. And it's a big part of why this massive country has been able to electrify so quickly.

[Brian]

Yeah, and it's even more concerning, I think from a, if you look at the kind of state of the US economy today, it's even more concerning because China today has already on its books the manufacturing capacity to deliver about one entire United States of energy of electricity per year from 2030 only from solar, wind and batteries. What this means is they'll build an entire US electricity system each year, per year from 2030. Then in turn, what that means is they will reach a state of overabundance of energy, which will allow them to have a massive competitive advantage when it comes to things like AI and data centers and what have you, all at much cheaper cost than the American competition can. And you don't have to go far away to see who's shouting from the roofs. Elon Musk, if you just read his Twitter feed, one third is about the craziness of what's going on in the United States now because it's not building the electricity of the future and it's therefore limiting its ability to power the chips that it needs for AGI. Right. I think the US Is going to run of electricity to power all the chips that have been ordered by the end of this year. And I'm not quoting anybody else other than Elon Musk again. So you've got voices across the political spectrum that are all actually talking sense, yet the machine is just driving in the wrong direction.

[Emma Vigeland]

And can you elaborate a little bit on what types of energy China is using to reduce their emissions? I mean, solar, wind, what is driving this mostly, or a combination of all of it?

[Brian]

Well, the overwhelming tech is solar. China is now rapidly also ramping up batteries as well as nuclear energy. I mean, they have an enormous, by global standards, they have an enormous nuclear energy program. And notwithstanding how big their nuclear energy effort is, if you project to 2035 or 20 or 2040, effectively the overwhelming source of electricity in China is going to be solar and then batteries, followed by wind. With nuclear probably stabilizing at 5% just because it takes you so much longer to build nuclear power plants and it's a much, much slower process. So you can do. It takes, you say 15 or 20 years to deliver a nuclear power plant. By that time you've delivered maybe 150 nuclear power plants. In solar power. The Chinese are also building coal, which is another common argument that you hear.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes, that was going to be my next question about. Because then you'll hear the argument about how much coal they're burning. But it's being offset by everything we just discussed.

[Brian]

I see it on my Twitter feed and LinkedIn feed all the time. And yeah, I mean, but you have to look at what they're doing because it's actually very smart. Yes, they're building coal. They're building coal partly to replace old coal, but also partly because it's insurance. I mean, if you think about it logically for a minute, the argument falls away. If I'm going to replace the entire US Electricity system today with solar, wind and batteries, it's going to take me a few years to do so. In those years, I'm going to have a stressed grid and my grid needs a stabilizing factor which has to come from coal. Until the batteries have scaled up and you can see it in their capacity utilization. All the data is public, so, so their typical coal fired power plant used to run 5,600 hours per year, so say 60% capacity factor and it's now on its way to running at 35% capacity factor, which means they're going to be losing money on that coal, but they need it as a bridge, in effect and as insurance until they have built out enough solar, wind and batteries. And what I'm saying is not controversial. I mean, it's literally math. Basically.

[Emma Vigeland]

What is the, how much do the Chinese have a monopoly on this technology? I mean, and we know that they're producing around 70% of electric vehicles that are being manufactured across the globe. But in terms of like the technology of solar and some of the more these advancements that we're talking about, talking about here, how far ahead are they of the United States?

[Brian]

They're very far ahead. But the United States can catch up. They're very far ahead. Yes, they control over 70% of pretty much every single sector that matters in the clean technology revolution. But the United States can of course catch up and there are efforts to do so in terms of building out the capacity of the country to deliver the technology of the future. So that's solar panels and batteries and wind turbines, notwithstanding the current political climate, because US businesses and big tech and the hyperscalers, they know that exactly how their competitive position is going to be weakened once China, and it's very close, has an overabundance of electricity, which means the ability to develop data centers and therefore ultimately AGI faster than the United States. And these are consequential choices that are being made today in the US political environment. Because it's not like you can catch up forever, right? Once you have scaled enough, it's going to be not possible to catch up.

[Emma Vigeland]

But catching up also still means that China is going to own the technology. Just from a leverage standpoint. The United States is eventually going to have to rely on China, most likely for this advanced technology. If and when we're forced to build out the capacity of green energy that we should be doing right now?

[Brian]

Yes, I think so. I think it's actually better off relying it because you can buy Chinese once, but then it's your solar power, right. And the solar panels are going to be around for 30 years, so why would you not 40 years, why would you not buy them that once? It's the same thing with the wind turbines. The batteries last 20 years. Right. So if you want to catch up, yes, of course, build your own manufacturing capacity. But why would you not buy that solar panel that lasts 40 years, given that once you've bought it, the fuel is free and yours? I mean, it's an energy security issue and the arguments don't make sense.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes, but that is where I think we see why China's state capacity versus the United States is a big reason for this dynamic. Because, I mean, in part, when you install solar panels, when you install wind turbines, it is finite, as you say, these can be structural and they can produce energy. But oil and gas is a resource that you have to keep tapping into. And so if your economy is driven more by speculators, by investors, by the market, versus a state impulse to build out infrastructure for the betterment of the country, investors prefer oil, gas, coal, what have you, versus solar panels and stuff like that, or at least here in America, the existing wealthy, I.

[Brian]

Find that, okay, that argument is going to go away. And it's going to go away because.

[Emma Vigeland]

I hope so, right?

[Brian]

Yes, it's already cheaper. We look at Texas or California. Forget California, look at Texas. Why would an oil and gas state, a proud oil and gas state, be building solar batteries and wind turbines like there's no tomorrow? Right. They've leapfrogged California now in solar power, for example. And they're doing that because in Texas, the market speaks and the market says it's cheaper, it's better, and therefore they are building it. And as a bonus, they don't have any blackouts anymore, electricity blackouts anymore, when they have extreme weather events, for example. And so I think the argument, the economics has got to win, especially as you say, in a market economy, it's just unavoidable. It's, you know, today, tomorrow, the day after, but it's unavoidable.

[Emma Vigeland]

Well, from your mouth to God's ears. Really appreciate your time today. Asad Razouk, CEO of Gear and Energy renewable energy company and host of the Angry Clean Energy Guy podcast. You can check that out. We'll put a link down below to that in the video description and episode descriptions. Thanks so much for your time today.

[Brian]

Pleasure.

[Emma Vigeland]

Quick Break, folks. And when we come back, we'll be joined by Nita Alamo.

[Brian]

It. Sam. It.

[Emma Vigeland]

We are back. And we are joined now by Nita Alam, vice chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners and candidate for Congress in North Carolina's 4th congressional district. The primary is on March 3rd. Early voting ends February 28th. Nita, welcome to the show. So glad to have you.

[Nita Alam]

Thank you so much for having me, Emma. I'm happy to be here.

[Emma Vigeland]

I'm happy to be speaking with you because you are a justice Democrat. You're one of the progressive candidates running this cycle against an incumbent. And you already ran for Congress in 2022 and the pro Israel lobby went really hard against you, both AIPAC and DMFI spending millions of dollars against you. And this time, four years later, you're running against the same opponent, the incumbent, Representative Valerie Fouche, who eventually buckled and refused to accept AIPAC money in August after all of this pressure. So talk a little bit about that four year difference between the first time you ran and the dynamics of your candidacy and that of your opponent and how things have changed.

[Nita Alam]

Absolutely. Yeah. And let's not forget the crypto billionaire who is sitting in the Bahamas now in jail for fraud that also dumped in over a million dollars into the race in 22. Right. Yeah. And we're seeing like this momentum and energy of anti genocide, anti war candidates all across the country because it's what working class people want in this country. They are sick and tired of seeing their taxpayer dollars to be used funding wars when they're struggling here right now to make ends meet, that families are not even able to keep a roof over their heads, put food on their table and told that we don't have enough money to fully fund our public education, that we don't have enough money to make healthcare a human right, but yet we have money to endlessly send bombs and missiles overseas.

[Emma Vigeland]

So I mean, the fact that your opponent caved on this front, on the money that she was taking is I think, indicative of what you're talking about here. That she sees that energy within the voting population and that they want to be prioritized over genocide, over cryptocurrency and all of these kind of tech AI, venture capital people, but she still takes corporate PAC money. Talk a little bit about the, the funders of her campaign that she still is accepting.

[Nita Alam]

Absolutely. And it also to note, as you mentioned, it just happened this past like August, we're what, like two, three years into the genocide for that stance to be taken? And it Happened even in the middle of this genocide, to fly to Israel and take pictures, smiling with Netanyahu, still to this day, continuing to refuse to call it a genocide, refusing to call Netanyahu a war criminal when we've seen this live streamed in front of our eyes every single day. And now she still continues to take money from these corporate defense contractors that are profiting off of the United States, endlessly funding war. The Pentagon has not passed an audit in over 30 years. Why is a member of Congress in a safe blue seat accepting corporate checks from Raytheon, Northrop, Grumman, Honeywell, Caterpillar, all of these corporations that profit off of the genocide and also taking money from organizations, corporations like Meta, that we know has been working to limit people's voice and putting outreach and information out about ice. She has been asked with there's a data center being debated in this district. She's been asked point blank by residents, are you going to reject AI PAC money? And she refuses to answer.

[Emma Vigeland]

There you go. And that data center is becoming a flashpoint. It's not just in your potential district, it's across the country. But it's causing people's electricity bills to go up and they're trying to buy off politicians to ignore that very fact. What are you hearing from your members of your community about the potential construction of this AI data center?

[Nita Alam]

Oh, majority, I've heard from hundreds of residents that are all against it. They've been showing up to town council meetings to express their anger and frustration that they don't want this center being built. Because we see corporations like Meta spending millions of dollars across the country right now with these ads to try to convince us that these AI data centers are going to create jobs and they're good for us. The data is very clear and it shows us that they are killing our jobs. And along with destroying our environment here in this district, Duke Energy is already hiking up our electricity prices to provide the services that it needs to for the data centers. Why is that price increase being passed down to residents? We also have seen across the country that these data centers are using millions of gallons of water a day. The town of Apex, their water source is a lake. When that lake runs dry, what happens?

[Emma Vigeland]

Right, right. And you support the Green New Deal I saw on your website. Have people in your district or potential district spoken to you about the AI data centers in that context? Like, I mean, do you find that it's basically easier to make some more environmental arguments when it's become really practical for people when they've Experienced it with their energy bills.

[Nita Alam]

Yeah, it's folks are saying it from multiple aspects. It's that job aspect that people are fearful of losing their jobs. This district was hit with the highest number of federal funding cuts, more than any congressional district in the country. So those are hundreds of jobs that were lost already. And now people are scared that what is a data center going to mean for their jobs. And then on the top, on top of losing their potentially losing their jobs, their electricity prices are going to go up and there's no regulations put in place. And our current member is the co chair of the AI task force in Congress. And to be the co chair of an AI task force that's meant to regulate an industry but then not say you're going to reject money from that industry, how are you supposed to regulate them?

[Emma Vigeland]

Well, I mean, that's why they're interested in spending on her behalf, it seems. I saw that you received an endorsement from Bernie Sanders. He went and he campaigned with you last week in Durham. Just I guess if you could speak a little bit about that event and that endorsement and how you would define your political ideology, maybe in comparison to someone like Sanders.

[Nita Alam]

Yeah, I mean, my first start into politics, it wasn't a traditional one. I never expected to ever run for office myself. However, when I was in my final year of undergrad, I lost my best friend Yusra Abu Salha, her younger sister Razan, and Yusra's husband, Diya Barakat, when they were murdered in their home in Chapel Hill by their Muslim, by their neighbor who hated them because they were Muslim. And seeing how politicians and the media labeled it a parking dispute. And having grown up in a post 9 11America where Muslims were demonized and now to just be dehumanized in such a way, to have our debts be brushed under the rug, that's what pushed me to start looking at how do we have a louder voice and a seat at the table so that others are writing our narratives. And that led me to Senator Sanders when I was still in undergrad and actually started organizing and working for him. And so it's kind of come full circle moment now that 11 years ago I was in Greensboro speaking at a coliseum campaigning for him. And now he's come to Durham to campaign for me.

[Emma Vigeland]

I mean, I'm just so happy for you in just hearing that story. That is just so heartwarming. I mean, he's an inspiration for many of us. So I relate to you on that front. You mentioned that your district had like the largest single Loss in federal funding because of doge. What has your opponent said about that?

[Nita Alam]

She's put out letters, strongly worded letters.

[Emma Vigeland]

Or done about that, I should say. I mean in Congress she's in power.

[Nita Alam]

Yeah. No, we've been having sit downs and meetings with laid off FEMA workers, FEMA responders, USAID workers, academic professors and researchers that have been doing life saving research and talking to them about the impact that these cuts have had on them. And we've heard the same thing in all of these conversations that they've been over a year of looking for a new job, months on unemployment. A lot of them were about to start their own families or had just started their own families or were just weeks away from being laid off. Sorry. From being from retired. And so to have a member that's not proactively fighting for them to have their jobs be returned and to just be putting out letters and providing sympathy, our residents need more than that. And that's why we've introduced the Carolina contract, which is my promise to the District of How once I get to D.C. we are going to be advocating for not just a return of the federal funding, but a return at a higher level of 150% until we return to the same level of work that was being done prior to the DOGE cuts, creating protections for our federal employees so that they can't just be laid off for doing their jobs well. And that there's actually protections for them and the right to unionize and also a fund created so that if push comes to shove and we have an emergency situation, that there's a fund to help workers get through that difficult time.

[Emma Vigeland]

Yes. I mean, that's a phenomenal idea. Has she responded directly to your proposal? No. Okay. So lastly, I wanted to ask you about ICE because I know that ICE has been quite active terrorizing people in North Carolina. We saw some really, I think, positive examples of resistance. I believe it was in Charlotte of ice. What would you do as a member of Congress to protect your community from ice?

[Nita Alam]

I would one do the same thing I've been doing as a county commissioner is showing up in the streets, standing shoulder to shoulder with my neighbors, as an immigrant woman, as a Muslim woman who is the very person that ICE was created under the Bush administration to target. I am the only candidate in this race that is called for the abolishment of ice. The fact that our member of Congress has seen what's happening in Minneapolis, seen what's happened in our own backyards, seeing our taxpayer dollars be used to murder innocent civilians in broad daylight and still only be saying that body cameras will save us. They're being live streamed, murdering people. What is a camera gonna change about that?

[Emma Vigeland]

Exactly, Exactly. I mean, it's, and you read a little bit about like what ice really what would benefit ice and they kind of like the body camera thing because it's surveillance of people that they can put into some sort of, you know, Palantir technology. And they have a recording of every single interaction that they can use for mass surveillance. So, you know, obviously you're not taking corporate PAC money. You're taking only small dollar contributions. As a Justice Democrat, that's the barrier to entry. How can people support your campaign in the critical final weeks ahead of. I guess now it's 13 days until election day.

[Nita Alam]

Yes, 13 days. It's, it's a sprint. Ways that people can support is nidaalam.com donate to make contribution. But also you can volunteer from anywhere in the country. So if you go to nidhalam.com volunteer, you can sign up to text, bank, phone bank or if you're in the district or around us, come out and canvass and knock doors because we're also the only campaign that's running any sort of field program that's meeting voters where they're at and building those relationships.

[Emma Vigeland]

That's great. All right. Well, we'll put a link to that down below in the video and episode descriptions. Nita Alam, thank you so much for your time today. As a reminder, you're running in North Carolina's 4th congressional district. The election day is March 3rd, but early voting ends February 28th, so you can still early vote up until that point, until, you know, 10 days from now. So thanks so much for coming on the show today. Really appreciate it and best of luck.

[Nita Alam]

Thanks, Omar.

[Emma Vigeland]

Of course, with that, folks, we are going to head into the fun half in just a second. We'll bring in Francesca Fiorentini, who's going to be joining us for the fun half. But Matt, what's happening on Left Reckoning and with the Jacobin show?

[Matt]

Yeah, big giant left Reckoning. Yesterday afternoon I talked about Hillary Clinton going to the security conference and say we can have a debate about immigration. They did it go too far, which is rich for someone who failed to stand up to a coup that the administration she worked for initially stood up to in Honduras, which led to half a million people being displaced. So, yeah, it's bad when migration has to happen. This idea that it happens because our border is weak, because we're not giving Security contractors enough to do down there and not because of our foreign policy is I can't believe we still are stuck in the mud on that object permanence of why people come here. It's not because of the apple pie and the freedoms that we all love.

[Emma Vigeland]

To have and our non existent social.

[Matt]

Programs because we destroy their governments and civil society by letting mafiosas and cartels taken over. But yeah, and we also had a number of guests on the program. So check that out. Love Trucking YouTube channel.

[Emma Vigeland]

All right, check it out folks. And hello. Hi buddy.

[Francesca Fiorentini]

I was getting my stretch in.

[Emma Vigeland]

I was like I'm on deck. All right, get ready stretch. We're going to make fun of some right wingers and you're going to probably have to see RFK without his shirt on. Hello. Francesca Fiorentini.

[Francesca Fiorentini]

Hi. Emma Vagaland. Thank you for having me on White Jacket day.

[Emma Vigeland]

Wow, this jacket is really, really causing quite a stir. What's happening on the Bituation Room outside of what I've been talking about and I mean I'm just teeing you up to plug our live show. Just do it.

[Brian]

Oh, sorry.

[Francesca Fiorentini]

I was gonna tell you about our last show. Abby Martin was on our last show that I'm gonna plug now. But also yes, Emma and I will be live at the Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles on March 22nd. That's a Sunday at 3:30pm Just very for our crowd. Oh beautiful. We know you're coming from far away. We're still drinking. I just want to put that out there. The bar is open but the special guests other than yourself will be announced soon. But yes, get your tickets in the link or Dynasty typewriter or Francesca fiorentini.com or all of the other things. And I'm so excited.

[Emma Vigeland]

I'm so excited too. I mean I've been telling. I've been texting you every time it's getting cold here. Like wish it was tomorrow. Wish I wasn't here when it was real. Feel minus 2 degrees. Oh my God. It's at least better now but there we are. Hey, the Bituation Room live. That's gonna be a blast. Okay so yeah, link in the episode description and right like down below and yeah, you can go to Francesca's site as well. Anything else? Join the MajorityReport.com Just Coffee.com. just Coffee Co op Fair trade tea and Fair trade coffee and chocolate. What's the one that we're not supposed that it doesn't exist? I don't know what else I don't.

[Brian]

Know which ones don't exist. I know the coffee does.

[Emma Vigeland]

Existing it the same way for three years. And then we, like, figured out that two of the things he was saying are not offered on the website, and I forget which one they are. So just coffee, co op, fair trade stuff, but definitely coffee. And you can get the majority report blend. All right, guys, see you in the fun half.

[Brian]

Okay.

[Sam Cedar]

Emma, please.

[Emma Vigeland]

Well, I just. I feel that my voice is sorely lacking on the majority report.

[Brian]

Wait, whoa.

[Sam Cedar]

Look, Sam is unpopular. I do deserve a vacation at Disney World, so, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome Emma to the show.

[Emma Vigeland]

It is Thursday.

[Matt]

Thank you.

[Emma Vigeland]

Need to take over for Sam? Yes, please.

[Brian]

No, no, no.

[Nita Alam]

I'm.

[Emma Vigeland]

I'm.

[Sam Cedar]

I'm going to pause you right there.

[Brian]

Wait, what?

[Sam Cedar]

You can't encourage Emma to live like this. And I'll tell you why. Was offered a twerk, sushi and poker with the boys. Twerk, sushi and poker with the boys. Who was offered a tour? Yeah, sushi and poker with the boys. What tour? Sushi and poker.

[Emma Vigeland]

Tim's upset torch.

[Sam Cedar]

And poker with three boys. It was offered with twerk, sushi and that's what we call biz. Twerk, sushi, and poker with three boys.

[Emma Vigeland]

Right.

[Sam Cedar]

Twerk, sushi and we're gonna get demonetized. I just think that what you did to Tim pool was mean.

[Emma Vigeland]

Free speech.

[Sam Cedar]

That's not what we're about here. Look at how sad he's become now. You shouldn't even talk about him. I think you're responsible.

[Emma Vigeland]

I probably am in a certain way. But let's go get to the meltdown here.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi and poker with the boys. Oh, my God.

[Brian]

Wow.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi.

[Brian]

I'm sorry.

[Sam Cedar]

I'm losing my mind. Who was offered a tour? Sushi and poker with the boys. Logic. Sushi and poker with the boys. I think I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a little kid? Think I'm like a kid? I think I'm like a little kid. Think I'm like a little kid? Add this debate 7,000 times. Think I'm like a little care? Little care. Think I'm like a dim. So I'm not trying to be a dick right now, but, like, I absolutely think the US should be providing me with a wife and kids.

[Emma Vigeland]

That's not what we're talking about here.

[Sam Cedar]

It's not a fun job.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

That's a real thing. That's got a real thing. Willy Wonka. That's a real thing. That's got a Real thing. That's a real thing. That's got real thing. Real thing. That's a real thing that's offered. Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Rogan has done it again. That's a real thing. Oh, I think he might be blowing.

[Brian]

It out of proportion.

[Sam Cedar]

Real thing. That's a real thing. That's poker.

[Brian]

Let's go, Joey.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi and poker with the boy.

[Matt]

Take it easy.

[Sam Cedar]

Sushi and poker. Things have really gotten out of hand. It Sushi and poker with the boys. Sushi. You don't have a clue as to what's going on live YouTube.

[Emma Vigeland]

Sam has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Sam doesn't want to do this show anymore.

[Sam Cedar]

Anymore.

[Emma Vigeland]

It was so much easier when the majority report was just you happy?

[Sam Cedar]

Let's change the subject. Rangers and Nicks are doing great now.

[Nita Alam]

Shut up.

[Emma Vigeland]

Don't want people saying reckless things on your program.

[Brian]

One of the most difficult parts about this show.

[Emma Vigeland]

This is the pro killing podcast.

[Sam Cedar]

I'm thinking maybe it's time we bury the hatchet.

[Emma Vigeland]

Left his best Violet twerk.

[Sam Cedar]

Don't be foolish and don't tweet at me. And don't. The way Emma has cucked all of these people.

[Brian]

Love it.

[Emma Vigeland]

That's where my heart is. So I wrote my honors thesis about it.

[Brian]

She wrote an honest thesis.

[Emma Vigeland]

I guess I should hand the main.

[Sam Cedar]

Mic to you now. You want to go right up to the unformed policy.

[Emma Vigeland]

We already fund Israel.

[Brian]

Dude.

[Emma Vigeland]

Are you against us?

[Sam Cedar]

That's a tougher question I don't have an answer to. Incredible theme song.

[Emma Vigeland]

Hi, bumbler.

[Sam Cedar]

Emma Vilan. Absolutely one of my favorite people.

[Nita Alam]

Actually.

[Sam Cedar]

Not just in the game like period.