<description>&lt;p&gt;This week we looked at the AI capital black hole&amp;mdash;three companies with a combined $3 trillion in prospective market cap preparing to go public while public R&amp;amp;D budgets get gutted and the rest of the economy gets starved of investment. Then we checked in on consumer sentiment, which has basically fallen off a cliff, because when gas hits $5 a gallon and inflation keeps eating your paycheck, reality has a way of setting in.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chapters&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Intro: 00:00:38&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Quick Takes: 00:01:33&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Max Notes: 00:04:47&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:18:17&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Chart of the Week: 00:20:03&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Headlines: 00:21:38&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Outro: 00:22:57&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Resources&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/remarkably-bright-creatures/"&gt;Remarkably Bright Creatures&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Vanguard: &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/Si5y28H_8J4"&gt;Jillian Michaels ROASTED by Her OWN AUDIENCE After Sam Seder SMACKDOWN (Plus She Calls US Out???)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;CNBC International Live: &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/IvHJSRiSp_E?t=22"&gt;Jeff Currie on potential U.S.-Iran peace deal: Sell the tweet, buy the molecule&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;National Science Foundation: &lt;a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20257/trends-in-u-s-r-d-performance-and-funding"&gt;Trends in U.S. R&amp;amp;D Performance and Funding&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Goldman Sachs: &lt;a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/tracking-trillions-the-assumptions-shaping-scale-of-the-ai-build-out"&gt;Tracking Trillions: The Assumptions Shaping the Scale of the AI Build-Out&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;CNBC: &lt;a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/google-microsoft-meta-amazon-ai-cash.html"&gt;Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;McKinsey: &lt;a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-cost-of-compute-a-7-trillion-dollar-race-to-scale-data-centers"&gt;The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;IG: &lt;a href="https://www.ig.com/en/news-and-trade-ideas/spacex-openai-anthropic-2026-ipo-deals-260520"&gt;SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic: upcoming IPOs to watch in 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;New York Times: &lt;a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/technology/openai-ipo.html"&gt;OpenAI Prepares to File to Go Public in Coming Weeks&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Reuters: &lt;a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-lays-groundwork-juggernaut-ipo-up-1-trillion-valuation-2025-10-29/"&gt;OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Bankrate: &lt;a href="https://www.bankrate.com/investing/largest-american-ipos-all-time/"&gt;The 10 Largest American IPOs Of All Time&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;WIPO: &lt;a href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/global-innovation-tracker.html"&gt;Global Innovation Index 2025 - Global Innovation Tracker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Nature: &lt;a href="https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-026-00088-9/index.html"&gt;US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Scroll Deep: &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/NAvaQ71n9Ek?t=253"&gt;Why are they people-shaped?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;ITIF: &lt;a href="https://itif.org/publications/2025/09/15/how-reducing-federal-rd-reduces-gdp-growth/"&gt;How Reducing Federal R&amp;amp;D Reduces GDP Growth&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;University of Michigan: &lt;a href="https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu"&gt;Final Results for May 2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;WSWS: &lt;a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/05/23/lpzs-m23.html"&gt;The Ebola epidemic, imperialism and the political economy of social murder&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Truthout: &lt;a href="https://truthout.org/articles/doj-just-shut-disabled-people-out-of-essential-online-services-for-another-year"&gt;The Justice Department Just Shut Disabled People Out of Essential Online Services for Another Year&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;The Lever: &lt;a href="https://www.levernews.com/the-pro-israel-lobbys-quiet-cash-shuffle"&gt;The Pro-Israel Lobby&amp;rsquo;s Quiet Cash Shuffle&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UNFTR Resources&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Video: &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/ES13Z_G1ivE"&gt;On The Record 5/26/26 (Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market?)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Essay: &lt;a href="https://www.unftr.com/blog/the-ai-black-hole"&gt;The AI Black Hole&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;--&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: &lt;a href="https://unftr.com/rate"&gt;unftr.com/rate&lt;/a&gt; and follow us on &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://bsky.app/profile/unftr.com"&gt;Bluesky&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;and &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at &lt;a href="https://www.unftr.com/"&gt;unftr.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Become a member at &lt;a href="https://www.unftr.com/memberships"&gt;unftr.com/memberships&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at &lt;a href="https://shop.unftr.com/"&gt;shop.unftr.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Visit our bookshop.org page at &lt;a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod"&gt;bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod&lt;/a&gt; to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at &lt;a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations"&gt;bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at &lt;a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility"&gt;unftr.com/accessibility&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.unftr.com/memberships" rel="payment"&gt;Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/memberships&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Unf*cking The Republic

UNFTR Media

On The Record (5-26-26).

MAY 26, 202623 MIN
Unf*cking The Republic

On The Record (5-26-26).

MAY 26, 202623 MIN

Description

This week we looked at the AI capital black hole—three companies with a combined $3 trillion in prospective market cap preparing to go public while public R&D budgets get gutted and the rest of the economy gets starved of investment. Then we checked in on consumer sentiment, which has basically fallen off a cliff, because when gas hits $5 a gallon and inflation keeps eating your paycheck, reality has a way of setting in. Chapters Intro: 00:00:38 Quick Takes: 00:01:33 Max Notes: 00:04:47 Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:18:17 Chart of the Week: 00:20:03 Headlines: 00:21:38 Outro: 00:22:57 Resources Remarkably Bright Creatures The Vanguard: Jillian Michaels ROASTED by Her OWN AUDIENCE After Sam Seder SMACKDOWN (Plus She Calls US Out???) CNBC International Live: Jeff Currie on potential U.S.-Iran peace deal: Sell the tweet, buy the molecule National Science Foundation: Trends in U.S. R&D Performance and Funding Goldman Sachs: Tracking Trillions: The Assumptions Shaping the Scale of the AI Build-Out CNBC: Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags McKinsey: The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers IG: SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic: upcoming IPOs to watch in 2026 New York Times: OpenAI Prepares to File to Go Public in Coming Weeks Reuters: OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation Bankrate: The 10 Largest American IPOs Of All Time WIPO: Global Innovation Index 2025 - Global Innovation Tracker Nature: US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains Scroll Deep: Why are they people-shaped? ITIF: How Reducing Federal R&D Reduces GDP Growth University of Michigan: Final Results for May 2026 WSWS: The Ebola epidemic, imperialism and the political economy of social murder Truthout: The Justice Department Just Shut Disabled People Out of Essential Online Services for Another Year The Lever: The Pro-Israel Lobby’s Quiet Cash Shuffle UNFTR Resources Video: On The Record 5/26/26 (Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market?) Essay: The AI Black Hole. -- 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.