Podcast
Unf*cking The Republic
Hosted by UNFTR Media · EN
Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is dedicated to progressive politics, leftist economic theories, and social justice in the United States. Join us for deep dives into socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and the fight against inequality. Whether you're curious about Marxist ideas, modern social movements, or progressive policies, UNFTR delivers thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with the historical context mainstream media won't provide. Subscribe for informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.
58episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Is Private Credit the Pin That Pops the Bubble?
2w ago00:29:56Tap to summarizeIs private credit the pin that pops the market bubble? The short answer is no—but that’s the wrong question entirely. Private credit is now a $1.8–$3.5 trillion market, rivaling the entire U.S. leveraged loan and high-yield bond markets combined. It’s direct lending, shadow banking, and middle-market finance all rolled into one, and firms like Ares, Apollo, Blackstone, Blue Owl, and Morgan Stanley are at the center of it. Business development companies (BDCs), are gating redemptions. Pension funds, insurance companies, and retail investors are all exposed. And the Financial Stability Board issued a formal warning in May 2026. So what is private credit, how did it get this big, and what does it actually mean for the broader economy if it seizes up? In this episode, Max breaks down the entire private credit ecosystem—from its origins in post-2008 regulation to the mechanics of SOFR-linked floating rate loans, PIK interest, covenant-lite structures, and the $410–$540 billion in bank lending that ties the whole system together. We look at the BDC redemption crisis of 2025 and 2026, the First Brands and TriColor fraud cases and Jamie Dimon’s cockroach comment that won’t go away. Resources J.P. Morgan: Understanding Private Credit Bloomberg Television: Why Private Credit Is Not a Financial Crisis Threat Blackstone: What’s Really Happening in Private Credit? Expert Answers CNBC Television: Inside Alts: Private credit fears resurface CNBC Television: This is the start of a big crisis for private credit, says Verdad’s Rasmussen The Federal Reserve: Bank Lending to Private Credit: Size, Characteristics, and Financial Stability Implications Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Could the Growth of Private Credit Pose a Risk to Financial System Stability? IMF eLibrary: Chapter 2 The Rise and Risks of Private Credit in: Global Financial Stability Report, April 2024 Financial Stability Board: FSB warns on private credit vulnerabilities NAIC: How State Insurance Regulators are Responding to Growth in CLOs and Private Credit Bloomberg: Ares Private Credit Fund Caps Redemptions After 14% Seek to Exit Bloomberg: Apollo Caps Private Credit Fund After 17% Request to Exit Bloomberg: Private Credit Is Still a Hot Asset for Bond Investors Buying Debt Bloomberg: Morgan Stanley Caps Private Credit Fund After 11.6% Exit Request Bloomberg: Cliffwater Private Credit Fund Stung by 17% Redemption Requests Bloomberg: Blackstone Limits Withdrawals From $79 Billion Private Credit Fund BCRED Bloomberg: Private Credit BDC Redemptions Exceed Fundraising for First Time The Lead Left: Middle Market & Private Credit – 1/5/2026 - The Lead Left Financial Times: US debt investors raise alarm over lending standards UNFTR Resources Video: Will Private Credit’s Death Spiral Pop the Market Bubble? Essay: Is Private Credit the Pin That Pops the Bubble? UNFTR Newsletter UNFTR Progressive Trivia -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Omnibus (6-27-26).
2w ago01:04:49Tap to summarizeMax and 99 are back, back, back again. They hit headlines on the Supreme Court shielding Roundup from cancer lawsuits, Stephen Miller quietly gutting disability rights, a socialist congressman who tried to abolish the Senate in 1911, and the Netherlands criminalizing conversion therapy. Then they dive into listener emails on stablecoins and the Genius Act, the “upside” of losing the Iran war, and how Max’s economic outlook squares with the Scott Galloways of the world. Enjoy, Unf*ckers. Chapters Intro: 00:00:45 Headlines: 00:14:56 Emails: 00:30:07 Beyond the Bullshit: 00:59:22 Membership: 01:02:27 Outro: 01:04:24 Resources NPR: DOJ memo stokes fear among disability advocates of a return to institutionalization Bloomberg Law: Stephen Miller Said to Drive DOJ Memo Eroding Disability Rights New York Times: Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit Alleging Roundup Weedkiller Caused Cancer Jurist: Netherlands passes law banning conversion therapy Max: The Socialist Who Tried to Abolish the Senate Ed Zitron: Exclusive: OpenAI Losses Increased Nearly 8X in 2025, With Spending Hitting $34 Billion UNFTR Resources UNFTR Progressive Trivia -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →On The Record (6-23-26).
3w ago00:23:34Tap to summarizeThis week we said goodbye to Alan Greenspan, the man who spent two decades quietly rigging the economy for the wealthy, and encouraged working people to take on debt he knew would blow up in their faces (he would eventually call this a “flaw” ). Then we looked at housing starts, which just posted their worst number since COVID, with multifamily construction down 40% in a single month—because between 6.4% mortgage rates, all-time high home prices, and tariffs jacking up the cost of every material that goes into a build, the math simply doesn’t work. Chapters Intro: 00:00:38 Quick Takes: 00:01:20 Max Notes: 00:06:27 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:13:47 Chart of the Week: 00:17:09 Headlines: 00:22:02 Outro: 00:23:17 Resources The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder: How Did Hasan Make Emma Cry? Ed Zitron: Exclusive: OpenAI Losses Increased Nearly 8X in 2025, With Spending Hitting $34 Billion Yahoo! Finance: SpaceX stock tumbles 16.4%, shaving off most IPO gains since debut Owen Jones: Keir Starmer: Dishonest, Unprincipled - And FINISHED Walter Masterson: Trolling Nick Shirley in NYC United States Census Bureau: Monthly New Residential Construction, May 2026 Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates NAHB: New Tariffs on Lumber, Wood Product Imports Add Headwinds to Housing Market Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: Median Sales Price of Existing Homes Justice for Colombia: Who is De la Espriella, the Colombian far right’s presidential candidate? The New Yorker: The Repo Man is Coming for Your Ride Mother Jones: Why GM Is Betting on a Future With Sodium-Ion Battery Storage UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 6-23-26 (Greenspan, SpaceX, and the Colombia Coup Nobody's Ready For.) UNFTR Progressive Trivia Essay: Alan Greenspan Has Died. Episode: Housing in America. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →We Lost More Than This War: Iran Ascendant.
3w ago00:16:23Tap to summarizeTrump lost more than the war with Iran. U.S. media tends to look at things through a bilateral or ethnocentric lens of winners and losers. The bigger story is how Trump singlehandedly altered the calculus for multiple nation states, and fundamentally shifted historic alliances. Israel stands to lose the most and is increasingly isolated now that Iran and its proxies are triumphant. But this also has enormous implications for the Gulf States who have to renegotiate their relationship with Tehran. Whether there are any actual payouts in this agreement is icing on Iran’s liquidity cake as entry to market oil prices and flows alone will amount to a huge windfall. In three short months Trump weakened the position of U.S. allies and strengthened Iran and its allies. Resources CNBC: Pres. Trump: MOU is not final, if I don’t like agreement we will go back to dropping bombs AL-MONITOR: Analysis-Gulf recalibrates as Iran emerges intact from war Al Jazeera: Will a US-Iran deal unlock $300bn in investment fund for Tehran? Middle East Eye: US-Iran deal leaves Israel isolated and Netanyahu exposed Brookings: The end of the American way of war? Media Bias Fact Check: Shafaq News – Bias and Credibility Shafaq News: Two powers, one grid: The geopolitical siege of Iraq’s economy Frontline: Qassem Soleimani’s Complex Legacy in Iraq Alcon Intel: Iran Proxy Network Post-War: Reconstitution & Threat U.S. EIA: Country Analysis Brief: Iran Tehran Dispatch: Iran Quietly Expands Oil Sales to Asia, Bypassing Western Sanctions UNFTR Resources Video: Trump Weakened U.S. Allies While Strengthening Iran. Essay: We Lost More Than This War. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Omnibus (6-20-26).
3w ago01:29:02Tap to summarizeYour host pals Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus! They hit headlines on AI as a political problem dressed up as a spiritual one, Carville’s prediction that Trump walks away by Easter, the new Spielberg film, and a leaked member list from Peter Thiel’s secret society, then tackle listener emails on whether there’s any coming back from this level of democratic destruction and what’s coming for the dollar and gold + more. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:18 Headlines: 00:14:10 Emails: 00:51:57 Memberships: 01:22:55 Outro: 01:26:54 Resources The Hill: Carville doubles down on Trump departure prediction: ‘Your life is miserable’ CNBC: ‘A signal of where power sits’: Trump and world leaders joined by OpenAI, Anthropic, Google at G7 Bloomberg: SpaceX Pounces on $60 Billion Cursor Takeover Days After IPO Jacobin: The Soul of AI and the Future of Humankind Wired: Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel’s Secretive ‘Dialog’ Society Bluesky: Post by @crimew.gay Adam Grant Poem Slate: Steven Spielberg’s New Movie Is a Monument to the Power of Watching Something Together CBS News: Mamdani delivers passionate Knicks victory speech to ‘a city overcome by happiness’ USA Today Sports: Knicks owner James Dolan says ‘I don’t need your vote’ at NYC parade celebrating NBA Finals title Book Love Jeff Sharlet: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power UNFTR Resources Series: Palestine: A Political History of Palestine from the 1880s through Today. Video: Trump Weakened U.S. Allies While Strengthening Iran. Video: Elon Musk Is Now the Leader of the “Free” World. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →On The Record (6-16-26).
4w ago00:21:32Tap to summarizeThis week we took a detour into the joy of the Knicks championship and what it says about New York, collective identity, and why Zohran Mamdani’s politics make sense in a city where the billionaire and the bodega worker share the same sewer pipe. Then we got back to the markets, where a flood of new share issuances is quietly changing the supply and demand math that’s driven equities upward for 40 years. With bond yields actually competing for attention, the irrational exuberance warnings are starting to sound less crazy. Chapters Intro: 00:00:37 Quick Takes: 00:01:18 Max Notes: 00:04:57 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:13:17 Chart of the Week: 00:15:34 Headlines: 00:19:51 Outro: 00:21:03 Resources 270 to Win: 2026 Senate Election Interactive Map Sharing Sociology: From Redlining to the Court: How Systemic Racism Shaped Basketball Culture in NYC Nate Rattner: Courts of New York (A visual atlas of the city’s public basketball spaces) Courts of the World: Basketball Courts in New York City, NY NYC Parks: About the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Forbes: The Cities With The Most Billionaires 2025 The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini): Ivanka and Jared Chased Out Of Albania SIFMA: US Equity and Related Statistics CounterPunch: What’s Wrong With the American Left: Captured by the Professional Class Dissent Magazine: AI is Theft Grist: For first time, Americans are getting more of their electricity from solar than coal UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 6-16-26 (Zohran & Knicks outshine Trump & UFC). Essay: Be Like NYC. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Omnibus (6-13-26).
4w ago01:43:21Tap to summarizeMax and 99 are here for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on Jared Kushner’s foreign entanglements, the screwworm outbreak threatening the beef supply, a tribute to revolutionary historian Gordon Wood, and a 77-year-old who lost his life savings to a gold coin scam. Then they tackle listener emails on stopping Musk’s grift and Bernie’s proposed AI wealth fund. They rank their Top 5 people who owe them a personal apology. Enjoy! Chapters Intro 00:00:20 Headlines: 00:29:13 Emails: 01:11:55 Top 5: 01:32:14 Memberships: 01:42:45 Outro: 01:43:09 Resources The Hill: Trump officials play Biden blame game as screwworm spreads Politico: A flesh-eating pest threatens Trump’s beef price hopes Mother Jones: They Went to Jared Business Insider: A 77-year-old lost $390,000 of his retirement savings after picking up a scam call. Now he wants to help others. WSWS: A Tribute to Gordon S. Wood, Historian of the American Revolution New York Times: Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at ‘60 Minutes’ Business Insider: Bari Weiss was supposed to ‘restore trust’ in CBS News. It’s eroding, says CNN’s Brian Stelter. New York Times: Bernie Sanders: A.I. Is a Public Resource. You Should Own Half of It. Book Love Stephen Kinzer: The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War UNFTR Resources Episode: F*ck Milton Friedman. Video: SpaceX IPO: What They’re Not Telling Retail Investors. Episode: Dear Rebekkkah Mercer. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Demand Destruction and the “Resilience Paradox.”
4w ago00:25:31Tap to summarizeDonald Trump has already destroyed much of the global economy, but the worst has yet to hit the United States. This “resilience paradox” is the result of early stage demand destruction, something economists fear and policy makers have no defense against. There are multiple factors holding the U.S. economy together in a way that other countries cannot manage. And most of the damage is baked in and irreversible. Thus far, one of the more powerful dynamics has been the market’s hesitation to bet long or short on price movement, because of the fluid and unpredictable nature of Trump’s on-again/off-again announcements regarding the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. We dissect it all and lay out the scenarios ahead and what it means for the American consumer. Resources The Hill: Trump's sharp Iran reversal: Teases deal & cancels strikes after Kharg Island threats RSMUS: American demand destruction: Seven channels that compound to threaten U.S. growth CarEdge: The Auto Loan Crisis Just Hit a 32-Year Record: What It Means for Car Prices McKinsey: An update on US consumer sentiment: Gloomier outlook ahead of sunnier days Bloomberg: Why Oil’s Not at $200 After the Biggest Supply Shock in History Autoweek: U.S. Auto Sales On Track for 2.6 Percent Drop in 2026 as War and Tariffs Cloud Outlook BLS: CPI Data MacroMicro: US - Housing Price Index vs. Rent Inflation BLS: Real Earnings Summary - 2026 M05 Results -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →The SpaceX IPO Fraud: Truly Out of This World.
Jun 1100:20:05Tap to summarizeThis episode of UNFTR is an exclusive deep dive into the SpaceX IPO prospectus. It reveals what might be the biggest fraud and money grab in the public markets ever. The baseless $1.77 trillion dollar valuation at a list price of $135 at auction stands to add hundreds of billions of dollars to Elon Musk’s net worth, and that’s not the most outrageous part about this. The company currently loses billions of dollars every year, admits freely that most of the anticipated revenue streams are either currently illegal, highly unethical or perhaps non-existent. But hey, it’s Elon. What’s the worst that can happen? Believe it or not, there’s a lot more at risk here than just one company tanking after an outrageously overhyped IPO. And the average American investor with a 401(k) or IRA is very much an unwitting participant in the scam. Resources Bloomberg: SpaceX IPO Is Well Oversubscribed With Orders Closing Wednesday New York Times: How Banks Are Using SpaceX to Woo the Superrich SEC: SpaceX Form S-1 CNBC: SpaceX’s market-moving potential: Here’s what to know More Perfect Union: We Uncovered a Hidden Wealth Transfer in the SpaceX IPO. You’re Holding the Bag. UNFTR Resources Video: SpaceX IPO: What They're Not Telling Retail Investors Essay: The SpaceX IPO Fraud. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Omnibus (6-8-26).
Jun 801:06:07Tap to summarizeMax and 99 are back after a week of colds, poison ivy, and Knicks supremacy. They hit headlines on the left’s idea problem, Google’s water pledges and data center backlash, Meta embedding face recognition into its smart glasses app, and Phoebe Bridgers playing MSG. Then they tackle listener emails on Democratic double standards, Israel and the hypocrisy talking point, and keeping Gaza woven into every story. Plus, they rank their Top 5 unhinged things they’d do with billionaire money. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:05 Headlines: 00:14:28 Emails: 00:36:22 Top 5: 00:53:33 Memberships: 01:03:21 Outro: 01:05:57 Resources The Verge: AI has a water problem. Google thinks it has a fix Dissent Magazine: The Left Needs Ideas TechCrunch: Erin Brockovich takes aim at data center secrecy The Verge: Republicans want the FBI to probe whether foreign adversaries are stoking US data center backlash. Wired: Meta Silently Added Face-Recognition Code for Its Smart Glasses to Millions of Phones Pitchfork: Phoebe Bridgers to Play Surprise Madison Square Garden Show UNFTR Resources Read: The Donroe Doctrine. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →