Unf*cking The Republic

UNFTR Media
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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.

  1. 1d ago

    Did Ronald Reagan Destroy the American Dream?

    Ronald Reagan. Champion of neoliberalism. To some, the man who lifted the spirits of a nation and restored a sense of pride and optimism after a period of despair. To others, the Reagan years marked the death of liberalism. A dark turn toward unfettered capitalist exploitation and the decapitation of working class movements and civil rights. So, which is it? Was Ronald Reagan responsible for ushering in an era of prosperity and restoring national pride as his boosters maintain? Or was he indeed the harbinger of doom and the reason we have Donald Trump today? Like most things, it’s complicated. But there are three ways in which Reagan fundamentally altered the trajectory of the United States to the detriment of most American families. Max walks through each of them before offering a bit of context for the era and ends with an example of a modern political figure that borrows from Reagan’s political playbook but with a twist: this time it’s to do good in the world. Resources Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute: Americans Still Believe in Strong U.S. Global Leadership and Engagement, Including Young MAGA Republicans The New York Times: Javits Sees G.O.P. Hurt By Reagan NPR: 1976: The Last Time Republicans Duked It Out To The Last, Heated Minute : NPR 270ToWin: 1980 Presidential Election Interactive Map Center for Public Integrity: How four decades of tax cuts fueled inequality Roosevelt Institute: To Put Trickle-down Economics to Rest, We Need a New Tax Code Wikipedia: Americans for Tax Reform Brennan Center for Justice: Citizens United, Explained Heritage Foundation: Reagan And Heritage: A Unique Partnership The Nation: The Mandate for Leadership, Then and Now The New York Times: The Strike That Busted Unions Jacobin: The Legacy of the Crushed 1981 PATCO Strike NPR + Code Switch: The Truth Behind The Lies Of The Original ‘Welfare Queen’ History: Just Say No History of Cannabis Project: Reagan Drug Policy — Just Say No & the 1986 Act Wikipedia: Dark Alliance U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General: CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy PBS: The Iran-Contra Affair National Archives: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961) Peter G. Peterson Foundation: The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 6 Countries Combined Frederic Lemieux: Militarization of Law Enforcement in America ProPublica: The Best Reporting on Federal Push to Militarize Local Police CounterPunch: The Hidden Cost of the U.S. Military: The Real Budget is Far Larger Than Reported UNFTR Resources Video: Did Reagan Destroy the American Dream? Essay: Did Ronald Reagan Destroy the American Dream? The Carter Series. -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  2. 2d ago

    On The Record (09-01-26).

    This week we tore apart The Heritage Foundation’s spin on the Venezuela oil deal—the “world’s gas station” line slogan, the math on what Venezuela gets back is embarrassing, and what’s really happening is a century-old colonial playbook dressed up in PR language. Then we looked at a Pew chart: global favorability of the U.S. just dropped below China’s for the first time. That’s where dollar dominance eventually ends—not in the bond market, but in reputation. And we’re burning through ours fast. Chapters Intro: 00:00:38 Quick Takes: 00:01:43 Max Notes: 00:06:13 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:20:47 Chart of the Week: 00:22:17 Outro: 00:24:20 Resources NBC News: Far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos detained by ICE at New Orleans airport The New York Times: Milo Yiannopoulos, Right-Wing Agitator, Deported Home to U.K. U.S. Democratic Socialists: Angie Nixon DESTROYS Laura Loomer After Disgusting Comments! The Omission: 78 Days NBC News: Kalshi permanently bans George Santos after he secretly bet on himself WGRZ-TV: Seneca nation President reacts to Lake Ontario name change The Progressive: The Long Con of John Roberts CNN: Google Maps changes Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ in US searches Bloomberg Podcasts: Venezuela Oil Deal Raises Questions Over US Role PBS News: What we know about Trump’s deal giving U.S. access to vast oil reserves in Venezuela The Heritage Foundation: Why American Energy Dominance Is a Strategic Imperative Reuters: Venezuela PDVSA’s 2011 net profit rises 42 pct El País: Venezuela’s economic crisis fueled by looting of its state-owned oil company The Heritage Foundation: Fighting a Just War in Iraq ConocoPhillips: International Arbitration Tribunal Orders Venezuela to Pay ConocoPhillips $8.7 Billion for Unlawful Expropriation of Company’s Oil Investments Al Jazeera: ‘Profoundly pro-American’: Machado outlines a vision for Venezuela’s future CNBC: Venezuela’s interim president says U.S. energy deal will last 25 years Marketplace: Earnings show why big oil isn’t eager to go all-in on Venezuela Council on Foreign Relations: The U.S. Took Over Venezuela’s Oil Industry. Where Has All the Money Gone? Vox: How success in Venezuela set Trump up for disaster in Iran Brittany Page: The Exact Moment Darline Graham Fumbled Her Campaign Pew Research Center: Views of China have turned more positive – and views of the U.S. more negative – across 20 countries UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 09-01-26 (The Real Story Behind the ‘Great’ Venezuela Oil Deal.) Essay: Iraqezuela. Video: Did Reagan Destroy the American Dream? -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  3. 5d ago

    Omnibus (08-29-26).

    Max and 99 are back for another round of Omnibus. They hit headlines on John Roberts’ 40-year project to kill the Voting Rights Act and Spirit Airlines selling decades of flight attendant data to Google to train AI. Then they tackle listener emails on wage labor as a central issue, whether UNFTR is a GRU op (lol), and tech bros engineering technocratic feudalism. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:40 Headlines: 00:07:38 Emails: 00:31:04 Memberships: 00:59:34 Outro: 01:00:33 Resources Frazier Chorus: Dream Kitchen Wired: Spirit Airlines Wants to Sell Its Data to Google. Former Flight Attendants Are Freaked Out The Progressive: The Long Con of John Roberts FiftyPlusOne: We tracked every candidate in the 2026 primaries. Here’s who voters are nominating. UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 08-25-26 (Scott Bessent is a Loser Who Wants to be President.) -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  4. Aug 25

    On The Record (08-25-26).

    This week we staged an intervention for Scott Bessent—the failed hedge fund manager who lost 90% of his assets during the greatest bull run in history and is now the most interventionist Treasury Secretary in decades, scoring own goals in the bond market, undermining the new Fed chair, and threatening Iran with sanctions while refusing to answer a single question about China. Then we checked in on the Trump family stablecoin, which has quietly doubled in market cap. It’s a reminder that the most corrupt president in American history is building the most powerful personal wealth machine in the world, and Congress is about to hand him the legislation to run it. Chapters Intro: 00:00:38 Quick Takes: 00:01:28 Max Notes: 00:10:28 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:21:28 Chart of the Week: 00:23:05 Outro: 00:24:19 Resources Jimmy Carter Presidential Library: Economic Sanctions of Iran Associated Press: Bush Prods Allies for Tougher Stance on Iran American Rhetoric: Barack Obama - On United Nations Sanctions Against Iran C-SPAN: President Trump announces sanctions on Iranian National Bank Bloomberg Podcasts: US to End Dollar Access to Those Laundering Iran Money Says Bessent The New York Times: Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly The New York Times: Court Allows Trump to Pursue Mail Voting Limits, for Now Politico: Trump votes by mail again in his home state of Florida Financial Times: Natalie Harp, the devoted ‘human printer’ in Trump’s entourage PBS NewsHour: The potential economic fallout of Trump’s trade war with Canada Charles Booker for U.S. Senate Daily Kos: Sean Duffy afraid Harvard will ‘corrupt’ daughter’s brain Mother Jones: It Just Got Way Easier to Sue Fossil Fuel Companies Over Climate Change Bloomberg: Bessent Becomes Most Interventionist Treasury Chief in Decades Fortune: Scott Bessent is using moves from his hedge fund days to prop up Japan’s yen—and America’s $40 trillion national debt The New York Times: He Helped ‘Break’ the Bank of England. Now He May Run the U.S. Treasury. The Bulwark: How Trump’s Treasury Secretary Crashed His Own Hedge Fund (w/ Marshall Brandt) Bloomberg: Will Bessent’s Old Trump Jokes Make His Treasury Job Tricky? Bloomberg: Bessent Is Stealing a Playbook He Didn’t Even Like AlterNet: Trump Treasury secretary torn apart for leaving out ‘to-do’ list ‘on-purpose’ Reuters: US will do ‘whatever it takes’ to support Japan after yen intervention, Bessent says CNBC: Bessent’s efforts in the Treasury market so far haven’t worked. Here’s what else he can try The Hill: Federal Reserve shifts away from forward guidance under new chief Kevin Warsh Politico: Bessent’s ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran begins with a ‘warning shot’ Straight White American Jesus: Christian Nationalists and Tech Lords: Derek Chauvin Should Go Free & George Floyd Wasn’t Murdered Reuters: Trump’s stablecoin chosen for $2 billion Abu Dhabi investment in Binance, co-founder says CoinGecko: USD1 UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 08-25-26 (Scott Bessent is a Loser Who Wants to be President.) Essay: President Scott Bessent. -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  5. Aug 24

    Don’t Tax the Rich. Cut Them Off.

    Billionaires are easy to hate. And there are several efforts underway to get them to pay their “fair share.” In this episode, Max argues that focusing on taxing billionaires is the wrong discussion and distracts from attaining the tax policy we truly need. Instead of focusing on the individual billionaires, focus on preventing individuals from becoming billionaires. The real story is corporate taxes. Resources Legal Information Institute: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: The 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises Tax Policy Center: What is the TCJA repatriation tax and how does it work? Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: U.S. Corporations’ Repatriation of Offshore Profits: Evidence from 2018 The White House: White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Releases End of Year Deregulatory Stats: Showing the Trump Administration Has Best Deregulation Year in History The Washington Times: Impact of Trump’s 646 deregulatory actions diluted by tariffs, executive orders Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Who Is Paying for the 2025 U.S. Tariffs? Elizabeth Warren: Warren Pushes Giant Corporations to Give Billions in Tariff Refunds Back to Consumers npr: Companies are getting tariff refunds of up to $2 billion from the Trump administration CNN: Corporate America got billions of dollars in tariff refunds. Where’s your cut? Congressional Budget Office: Monthly Budget Review: February 2026 Wall Street Journal: Tariff Revenue Exceeded Corporate Taxes as 2025 Ended npr: Proposed California wealth tax sparks debate: Will billionaires leave the state? The New York Times: Founders Wade Into the Wealth Tax Debate Democratic Socialists of America Democracy: A Journal of Ideas: Why Corporations Must Pay More UNFTR Resources Video: Why Taxing Billionaires Won’t Save Us. Essay: Don’t Tax the Rich. Cut Them Off. Episode: Updated Tax Evasion Figures. Video: On The Record 8-17-26 (The AI Bubble is About to Burst | Corporate Control of Trump.) 5 Non-Negotiables -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  6. Aug 23

    Omnibus (08-22-26).

    Max and 99 are back for another Omnibus. They hit headlines on Tether, the $200 billion crypto company nobody can see inside, and a food safety traceability rule that’s stalled for 15 years. Then they tackle listener emails on Flock cameras doing far more than license plate reading, whether the broligarchy can dump the economic damage on the next Democratic president, and what happens to the dollar if it loses reserve currency status. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:19 Headlines: 00:16:07 Emails: 00:36:11 Beyond the B******t: 01:10:54 Memberships: 01:13:51 Outro: 01:14:13 Resources Arizona Sky: China Crisis The Guardian: US law to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks has been delayed for 15 years ICIJ: The $200 billion company you can’t look inside Scientific American: Major COVID study that fueled vaccine skepticism retracted over ‘misinformation’ Book Love Michael Grunwald: The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era Michael Grunwald: We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  7. Aug 18

    On The Record (08-18-26).

    This week we named what’s actually happening to the American economy—Corporate Colonialism, the full realization of the Powell Memo’s 50-year project to hand the keys of democracy to the boardroom—and made the case that the real fight isn’t Trump, it’s the day after Trump. Then we got into the AI financing structures that are starting to look uncomfortably familiar: shell companies, off-balance-sheet guarantees, and phantom liabilities that only become real when everything goes wrong at once. If you get 2007 vibes, you’re paying attention. Chapters Intro: 00:00:38 Housekeeping: 00:01:28 Quick Takes: 00:02:31 Max Notes: 00:06:33 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:15:17 Chart of the Week: 00:16:57 Outro: 00:22:47 Resources Reuters: US retail sales slump unexpectedly and sharply after a summer tax-refund boost fades AARP: July 2026 Employment Data Digest The Guardian: US navy veterans and military health experts express concern over USS Abraham Lincoln sailors CNBC: AOC says she’s been saving up to freeze her eggs. Here’s how much the procedure can cost npr: ICE plans to outfit officers with electric shock gloves Truthout: Jeffries Says He Opposes Medicare for All — Which Would Save 114k Lives Yearly Great Memos: The Powell Memorandum More Perfect Union: We Tracked the Private Jets Your Insurance Premium Paid For Bloomberg: Bond Traders Are Agonizing Over $70 Billion of Shadow Credit Backstops For AI Companies UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 08-18-26 (The AI Bubble is About to Burst | Corporate Control of Trump.) Essay: Trump’s Corporate Masters. -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  8. Aug 11

    Omnibus (08-11-26).

    Max and 99 are back in action, (though IRL, Max is still on vacay!). They hit headlines on MAHA’s fault lines, Flock cameras tracking cars, the world’s most prolific Wikipedia editor, and OpenAI flying influencers to a luxury nature retreat. Then they tackle listener emails on the difference between socialism/communism/and fascism, and an Elon musk sycophant. Enjoy! Chapters Intro: 00:00:33 Headlines: 00:18:18 Emails: 01:07:48 Feature: 01:26:43 Memberships: 01:35:32 Outro: 01:36:30 Resources Mark Curry: Sorry About The Weather The Independent: Women’s historic pro baseball game anthem goes viral for all the wrong reasons The Baffler: Overmedicalization and Its Discontents Business Insider: Flock cameras are everywhere. Here’s how they track cars. 404 Media: Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed 404 Media: LAPD Regularly Pulled Over Innocent People Because License Plate Readers Flagged Their Cars As Stolen 404 Media: Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People 404 Media: Wildlife Conservation Police Are Searching Thousands of Flock Cameras for ICE 404 Media: Cop Used Flock to Wrongfully Accuse a Woman Then Refused to Look at Evidence That Exonerated Her, Body Camera Shows 404 Media: Cops Used Flock to Monitor No Kings Protests Around the Country New Yorker: The Accidental Architect of the Internet’s Brain Fast Company: Influencers are being dragged for indulging in a luxury New York nature retreat on OpenAI’s dime The Wall Street Journal: Google Was a Lifeline for Publishers. Now Some Are Thinking of Cutting It Off. Social Media Today: Meta still has widest social media reach Inc.: 55 Percent of Leaders Regret AI Layoffs—and a Major Hiring Reversal Has Begun Book Love Cory Doctorow: Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It -- 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/memberships See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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