Unf*cking The Republic

Here we are Unf*ckers. It’s our great hope that we contextualize the Chicago School of Economics and its high priest Milton Friedman by alternately expanding our view of the world and narrowing in on crucial moments that changed the course of history. As mentioned in the teaser last week, we’ll give credit where credit is due. At no point will we call into question the intellect or even integrity of Milton Friedman or the institution he is synonymous with. To the contrary, we firmly believe that Milton Friedman was indeed a man of great integrity. His downfall, as we’ll argue, was his undying commitment to orthodoxy. His belief that economics is an exact science and that markets are inherently just and therefore capable of taming the worst instincts of human nature. Fuck. Milton. Friedman. Show Notes: Pod Love Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff: economicupdate.libsyn.com Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer: pitchforkeconomics.com The David McWilliams Podcast: davidmcwilliams.ie/podcast Pod Love Joseph Stiglitz- People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780393358339 Binyamin Appelbaum- The Economists' Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780316512329 Johan Van Overtveldt- The Chicago School: How the University of Chicago Assembled the Thinkers Who Revolutionized Economics and Business: bookshop.org/a/23377/9781932841190 Zachary D. Carter- The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780525509035 Thomas Piketty- Capital and Ideology: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780674980822 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Immodest Max and distributed by people who care about the world.  Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this teaser episode we do a quick recap on why the fuck we're so mad at Milton Friedman and briefly summarize prior episodes that are useful primers on our upcoming blowout episode on The Chicago School of Economics. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftrpod.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written, hosted and distributed by Max. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we examine Conscious Capitalism™ as an organization (the trademarked entity) and Conscious Capitalism the movement characterized by the investment concepts of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). This is the final building block as we continue on our collision course with Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics. The promise of Conscious Capitalism as a concept, ESG and SRI is that capitalism on its own can and will voluntarily cure the societal ills it causes through the auspices of further deregulation and free markets. Spoiler: It’s a load of horseshit. Enjoy! Show Notes: Resources Economic Policy Institute- Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts: epi.org/publication/charting-wage-stagnation Good Jobs First- Violation Tracker Parent Company Summary: violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/dte-energy Yahoo! Finance- Vanguard FTSE Social Index Fund Admiral: finance.yahoo.com/quote/VFTAX/holdings?p=VFTAX Infoplease- The Toxic 100: Top Corporate Air Polluters: infoplease.com/math-science/earth-environment/the-toxic-100-top-corporate-air-polluters Conscious Capitalism- Board of Directors: consciouscapitalism.org/boardofdirectors -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com).The show is written and hosted by Sonny Crockett and distributed by Tom from Whole Foods. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 1959, the island nation of Cuba has been giving the middle finger to the United States. Cuba has been in the control of a Castro through thirteen separate presidential administrations and they’ve made it in the most unlikely of ways under the most improbable circumstances. This is episode of UNFTR begins with a slightly different perspective on the 1959 Revolution that has evaded most retellings in U.S. history books and follows the twisted journey of Fidel Castro and his brother Raul through the heights of the Cold War, the despair of their “Special Period” and quasi-resurgence as the beating heart of the socialist movement in Latin America. Show Notes: Pod Love Blowback Season 2- The Cuban Revolution: https://blowback.show/ Book Love Samuel Farber- Cuba Since the Revolution of 1959: A Critical Assessment: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781608461394 Jorge G. Castañeda- Companero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780679759409 Richard A. Dello Buono + José Bell Lara- Imperialism, Neoliberalism, and Social Struggles in Latin America: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781608460403 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Camilo’s Hat and Beard and distributed by The Buena Vista Social Club Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The media has been hard at work lately trying to rehabilitate the image of three significant members of the Republican Party. So we’re not going to let them. In today’s Quickie we examine the legacy of George W. Bush, John Boehner and Rick Santorum and remind everyone of just how terrible they are as people and were as politicians. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by John Wick’s lesser known brother and distributed by Elon Musk’s lies. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Assange is a complicated figure personally and historically. And he evokes pretty strong reactions on both sides. Mostly though we don’t think about him at all. With the exception of occasional reports whenever there’s an update on his charges or extradition attempts, Assange has been sort of back burnered. Considering the stakes at play for the U.S. media, this should be surprising or even troubling. Today we’re going to review the story of WikiLeaks and put the debate over the fate of Assange in the only context it should be - to answer the question of just how serious we are about our concept of democracy, free speech and the role of the fourth estate. Show Notes: Pod Love Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill- Joe Biden's War Powers: https://spoti.fi/3hb95oM Media Roots Radio with Abby & Robbie Martin- Assange Trial: Torture, Trumped Up Charges & A Warning to Us All w/ Kevin Gosztola: https://spoti.fi/3f4bMGg News Beat- Chelsea Manning: Collateral Murder Cover-Up: https://spoti.fi/3nVIEVu News Beat- Espionage Act & The Battle For The Free Press: https://spoti.fi/2R6rt7E Book Love Glenn Greenwald- No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781250062581 Tariq Ali + Margaret Kunstler- In Defense of Julian Assange: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781682192214 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Immodest Max and distributed by the dark fantasies of Empire. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We briefly recap what we covered in Part I as a refresher then launch into some of the more egregious examples of how corporations have used their political leverage to create massive tax loopholes and that have left them flush with cash. This preposterous sum of cash has also given corporations the ability to flout regulations they have yet to rewrite by simply paying fines instead of complying with the law. For the first time we also hear directly from this show’s dead nemesis, Milton Friedman, to understand how contributed to the scaffolding around the corporate wall of fuckery that helped corporate America wage war on the consumer. We conclude with a warning about e-commerce giant Amazon and highlight critical changes that must be made to our system of regulations and taxation to take back some of the power corporations have gained over the past fifty years. Show Notes: Pod Love Useful Idiots- David Sirota on the SALT Tax Cap, Plus: Is Biden Really the new FDR? https://open.spotify.com/episode/56YGPgcvSacHi45266ZABR?si=h7iLcO8lSU6QVV_od9aS5Q&nd=1 Best of the Left- #1414 Go Home and Go Big (Infrastructure Investment, Jobs and Climate Mitigation) https://open.spotify.com/episode/1rdqVp9vIJVG10ERHNRQ7m?si=2YqmjDCEQh6FfBZNefNDGQ Book Love Matt Taibbi- Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780385529969 Jane Mayer- Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780307947901 Zachary D. Carter- The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9780525509035 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Gomer Pyle and distributed by push-ups and sit-ups. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mitch McTurtlefuck recently chastised Corporate America for butting into politics, which we all know is a joke. But it highlights the insidious nature of the relationship between American companies and the U.S. government. One of the biggest grifts of our time isn’t just the rapid rise of the billionaire class in this country, it’s the mechanisms that allow corporations to hide trillions of dollars from taxation. This week’s UNFTR delves into the movement to lower corporate tax rates that started in the late 70’s and explains how the tax evasion shell game really works. It’s the first of a two-part series on financial fuckery, much of which was devised by old you-know-who. #FMF Show Notes: Pod Love Timesuck with Dan Cummins - Blackwater and the US Private Military Industry: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/timesuck-with-dan-cummins/id1156343076?i=1000511166712 Resource Articles HBR: Why Are Companies Sitting on So Much Cash? hbr.org/2020/01/why-are-companies-sitting-on-so-much-cash The Atlantic: When the Top U.S. Tax Rate was 70 Percent—or Higher theatlantic.com/notes/2019/01/tax-rates-davos/581257 Bloomberg Tax: 10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/insight-10-steps-states-should-take-to-end-corporate-giveaways Politico: Actually, it was Democrats who killed the 70 percent tax politico.com/agenda/story/2019/02/05/democrats-70-percent-tax-rate-000879 Foreign Policy: To Pay for the Pandemic, Dry Out the Tax Havens foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/16/tax-havens-apple-costs-pandemic Tax Policy Center: What is the TCJA repatriation tax and how does it work taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-tcja-repatriation-tax-and-how-does-it-work Tax Justice Network: Financial Secrecy Index - 2020 Results fsi.taxjustice.net/en/introduction/fsi-results OCCRP: Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption occrp.org/en/panamapapers/overview/reforming-secret-world Tax Foundation: How Much Revenue Would a 70% Top Tax Rate Raise? An Initial Analysis taxfoundation.org/70-tax-proposal FRED: Unemployment Rate fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE Trading Economics: Corporate Tax Rate in the United States remained unchanged at 21 percent in 2021 from 21 percent in 2020 tradingeconomics.com/united-states/corporate-tax-rate BLS: Inheritances and the Distribution of Wealth, Or Whatever Happened to the Great Inheritance Boom? bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2011/pdf/ec110030.pdf Tax Foundation: Corporate Tax Rates around the World, 2020 taxfoundation.org/publications/corporate-tax-rates-around-the-world -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Silence Dogood and distributed by Nikola Tesla’s energy field. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s Quickie we’re taking a look at a developing phenomenon related to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In reality it’s an age-old issue that all powerful women experience. The three separate things happening to AOC take the form of detractors from conservative, moderate and progressive circles. Related, because they all have one thing in common, which will become painfully clear. Show Notes: Pod Love Best of the Left: bestoftheleft.com/listen Book Love John Steinbeck- The Grapes of Wrath: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780143039433 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Cadwalader P Rittenhouse Jones the third and distributed by children in sweatshops. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And a good day to you my beloved Unf*ckers. We’re back with another blood-boiling, enraging episode of Unf*cking the Republic. Mass Incarceration: The War on Drugs. It’s a topic that has thankfully come further into the light thanks to the profound work of several organizations such as the Prison Policy Initiative, The Sentencing Project, Innocence Project and more. This episode features a special clip from another incredible pod, News Beat, which does a ton of work on the issue of mass incarceration. Show Notes: Pod Love News Beat Podcast: link.chtbl.com/newsbeat Book Love Johann Hari- Chasing the Scream: The Opposite of Addiction Is Connection: bookshop.org/a/23377/9781620408902 Michelle Alexander- The New Jim Crow: bookshop.org/a/23377/9781620971932 Bryan Stevenson- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption: bookshop.org/a/23377/9780812984965 Resource Articles News Beat Podcast- Mass Incarceration: usnewsbeat.com/mass-incarceration Prison Policy Initiative: prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html, prisonpolicy.org/probation_parole.html The Sentencing Project: sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/ Brookings: brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/03/14/5-facts-about-prisoners-and-work-before-and-after-incarceration The Intercept- Gary Webb: theintercept.com/2014/09/25/managing-nightmare-cia-media-destruction-gary-webb The Atlantic- Violent Crime on the Decline: theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/what-caused-the-crime-decline/477408 -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. The show is written and hosted by Tony Clifton and distributed on the wings of fireflies.  Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite the occasional reference to poverty statistics or coverage of events like Standing Rock, the plight of Native Americans continues to be a blind spot in our politics. This episode frames the issue of economic justice by examining the historical relationship between sovereign Indian nations and the conquering governments of the U.S. and Canada. While the corporate media obsess over “cancel culture,” we explain how our governments tried to cancel the entire indigenous culture. The show ends with a modest proposal to borrow a Canadian strategy to begin an economic reconciliation in the U.S. that could be the proving ground for universal basic income. Show Notes: Pod Love The Laura Flanders Sho‪w‬- Indigenous People’s Powe‪r‬ Let's Talk Native... with John Kan‪e‬ -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. Written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States seems to have lost the ability to govern and has given itself over to the whims of corporations that are designing every inch of our lives, our economy, our domestic and foreign policies and ultimately our national priorities. In between busts in the boom and bust market cycles, we’re only capable of tinkering around the edges. As much as we desperately need another round of stimulus, it will be a pyrrhic victory if we don’t fix the structural imbalance in our nation that has repressed and subjugated the poor and working class. Show Notes: Pod Love Chapo Trap House - Episode 503 Unlocked: Will Talks to Steven Donziger About Taking on Chevron Professor Richard D. Wolff's Economic Update Podcast Book Love Michael Grunwald - The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, Original music by Tom McGovern. Written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Unfuckers. We have a new “inter-episode” format - Unfucking Quickies - meant to parachute into more current events by looking at three different, but related things happening in the world right now. In this inaugural Quickie we take a topical look at three members of the Democratic Party that are having very different experiences of late: embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, failed O.M.B. appointee Neera Tanden, and Senator I’m-so-fucking-important Joe Manchin. -- I If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” These are the nine words Ronald Reagan called “terrifying.” Just another brick in the wall of disdain and deflection politicians use to get elected to the government they hate so much. Cascading structural failures in the system appears to give credence to claims of government incompetence but how much of it is actually by design? This week we unfuck the corporate attack on the system and break down the inherent evils of privatization and deregulation, the dreaded sisters of oligarchy. Show Notes: The Lewis Powell Memo: A Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy Capitalizing on Mass Incarceration: U.S. Growth in Private Prisons From Pittsburgh to Flint, the Dire Consequences of Giving Private Companies Responsibility for Ailing Public Water Systems Towns sell their public water systems — and come to regret it -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress is a quirky place. The rules are arcane. The people are diverse. The power struggle is real. We take a brief, and sometimes ridiculous journey through history to examine the beating heart of our democracy to find out whether or not Congress has always been this fucked up. We call out some of the best and worst actors in the 117th Congress, why it’s impossible to get anything done these days and look back at some of the biggest assholes that ruined it for everyone else. (Hint: Newt Gingrich has a starring role.) We finish with the biggest hurdles we face in straightening out this whole mess and the one priority that supersedes all else. Show Notes: The text of H.R. 1: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text NYT Kinzinger Profile: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/us/politics/adam-kinzinger-republicans-trump.html Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy by Adam Jentleson: https://bookshop.org/a/23377/9781631497773 The Man Who Broke Politics Story by McKay Coppins: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/ NYT Op-Ed. Former Congressman Steve Israel: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/opinion/steve-israel-confessions-of-a-congressman.html -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we covered in our insurrection episode, it’s actually quite difficult to take down an Empire, particularly one as fortified as the United States. But that hasn’t stopped one family from trying. If you haven’t met them yet, it’s our pleasure to introduce you to the Mercer family. The patriarch Robert is a reclusive billionaire—we think—who uses his fortune to fund fun initiatives like, rolling back Civil Rights legislation, climate change denial and alt-right white supremacist groups. His willing co-conspirator is his middle child, Rebekah, who is the subject of this episode and recipient of our love letter. Join us as we unfuck the Mercer fortune and discuss chaos is their chief desire. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The minute the election was called, the GOP went into high gear reshaping its image for the next cycle. Because nostalgia is its single greatest weapon, they’ll be digging into the archives to revise history once again. Nixon’s still forever off the table. George W. Bush will have Iraq hanging over him for decades to come. Bush Sr. was so forgettable he couldn’t win a second term. So that leaves the Gipper. Mark my words, the beatification of Ronald Reagan is already underway so it’s time to brush up on Dutch and remember his most fucked accomplishments, including one caper so diabolical we’re still living with it today.  -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is he gone yet? I mean really gone? Okay. Wow. So that happened. Holy shit, what a four years. This episode of Unf*cking The Republic briefly encapsulates the utter shit show that was the Trump administration while pointing out that we ultimately dodged a massive bullet precisely because it was a shit show. But while Trump’s stupidity is ultimately what saved the republic, he left behind a playbook for a more capable authoritarian to dismantle our democracy. Lastly, we’ll review the conditions necessary for a proper collapse and the one surprising factor that is ironically holding it all together.   -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of UNFTR we unfuck the theory of “objectivism,” a movement inspired by novelist Ayn Rand in the 1950s and talk about how it still influences our politics today. We’ll uncover how this little Russian chain smoking gnome garnered a massive American following from her crappy novels and inspired generations of politicians who see themselves as the embodiment of John Galt, the protagonist of her most famous novel Atlas Shrugged. Who IS John Galt? Answer: Who gives a shit? -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prior to the 20th Century evangelical Christians were seen as the babbling mystics and frauds that they were. Then something happened in the 1920s to legitimize these maniacs. Since then, conservative Christians have been inserting their throbbing dogma into America’s policy womb and transforming the nation. In this episode we trace the journey of the Christian Fundamentalist movement from its origins through to today where millions of Americans believe that a thrice divorced cheater who shits on a gold toilet is somehow a modern day savior in the image of Jesus Christ. -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic on Substack at unftr.substack.com to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by adding this direct RSS link into your podcast app. Full instructions here. Unf*cking the Republic is produced and engineered by Manny Faces Media, and written, hosted and distributed by Nunya Fuckin’ Bidness. Podcast art description: Image of the US Congress ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.