Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while
preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
TVP World (TVP World report): A deadly case in Irkutsk, nearly 200 quarantined; the lab worker broke a test tube of live bacteria while collecting samples; ventilator Tuesday, dead Thursday; a whole hospital isolated; officials say no outbreak.
02 2- Dr Zachary Rubin - One To Seven Days Incubation, Treatable With Antibiotics
Dr. Zachary Rubin (social media, NOT MSM): A woman in her 20s at an anti-plague institute died of pneumonic plague; respiratory droplets, person to person; 1โ7 day incubation; Yersinia pestis is a bacterium and treatable with antibiotics; not something we have to panic at this time.
03 3- Hindustan Times - Nearly 200 Under Watch, The Hospital Sealed
Hindustan Times (Hindustan Times report): 'is the world bracing for another pandemic?'; a worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute dead; 'Doria', 28, on a ventilator in Shelekhov; reports differ on bubonic vs pneumonic and Russia has not confirmed which; 197 contacts, 100+ in hospital wards; Gov. Kobzev: no signs of illness, tests negative.
04 4- Hindustan Times - A Test Tube Or A Lab Rat, Last Case Was 2016
Hindustan Times (Hindustan Times report): How she caught it โ A broken test tube of live bacteria โ or, another report says, a lab-rat bite (unconfirmed); pneumonic spreads person to person, antibiotics must be fast; Russia's last case 2016, Altai, a 10-year-old who skinned a marmot; Irkutsk events cancelled; a probe into safety breaches.
05 5- Al Arabiya - The Plague Returns And Spreads Fear In Russia, English Voiceover
Al Arabiya (Al Arabiya report): Al Arabiya's captions, in English: the plague returns and spreads fear in Russia; a woman who worked in a lab for fighting the disease in Siberia; reports say she accidentally broke a tube of live bacteria; acute pneumonia, hospital, death; the hospital quarantined; ~200 contacts in medical isolation; so far no symptoms, tests negative; an investigation into safety-rule violations; reports she may have had pneumonic plague.
01 producer - measles on npr short wave
01 1- Hugh Allison - NPR Short Wave Intro, Measles
Hugh Allison (producer file, NPR Short Wave): the episode open on measles, 2:24 as sent. His note: "ITM, 5(!) people to make a 14 minute podcastโฆ sheesh" โ the credits name a producer, two editors, a fact-checker and an audio engineer.
02 2- Hugh Allison - NPR Short Wave, Measles Explained
Hugh Allison (producer file, NPR Short Wave): measles explained; it ends on the damage lasting "for other infectious diseases for years." Trimmed on Adam's word.
03 3- Hugh Allison - NPR Short Wave, Three Died With Measles
Hugh Allison (producer file, NPR Short Wave): "there's a lot of different jargon" โ what "died with measles" means, ending on what doctors saw "in the past when measles was common." Trimmed on Adam's word; the spliced last sentence is dropped.
01 ๐บ๐ฆ KYIV
Clips โ 5
00 kyiv - moscow tells foreigners to leave
01 1- FRANCE 24 - The Bridges Are The New Target, Diplomats And Foreigners Told To Leave
France 24 (FRANCE 24 report): Kyiv's bridges are the new target โ the North Bridge Saturday, two days after the South; jams; 'we don't have a tunnel under the Dnipro'; first time in the war; Russia's MoD calls it a legitimate target; Moscow warns of new massive strikes and calls on diplomats and foreigners to leave the city; winter grid fears.
02 2- DW - Traffic Jams Across Kyiv, I Should Put A Bed In The Office
DW (DW News): Massive travel disruption; two bridges hit; Putin reportedly told the military not to hold back on civilian targets; traffic jams across Kyiv, long lines for public transit; a commuter waited an hour and a half for a bus; 'sometimes the thought crosses my mind to just put a bed in the office.'
03 3- DW - Trying To Create Panic, Waves Of Refugees Leaving The City
DW (DW News): DW's Nick Connolly: Zelensky says Russia has no rules now; the targets prove it โ Russia could have hit the bridges years ago; 'this is really about trying to create panic in Kyiv, maybe have waves of refugees leaving the city'; the warnings to foreigners and diplomatic missions โ 'we can't guarantee that you won't be hit'; a drone near the German embassy.
04 4- FRANCE 24 - Terrible Traffic Jams, A Third Of The City Across The River
FRANCE 24 (FRANCE 24 report): France 24's Gulliver Cragg at the North Bridge: traffic moving slowly; the North Bridge hit twice, the South five times, five more closed again and again; experts: drones can't destroy them, 'but they canโฆ provoke major disruption โ terrible traffic jams'; a third of the city across the river; Volodymyrska St closed after the strike on the SBU building.
05 5- FRANCE 24 - Merz Brings A Thousand Interceptors, Their Machine Will Turn On Us
Cragg on Merz (FRANCE 24): A thousand jet-powered interceptor drones (German firm Quantum), โฌ1bn in defence aid, โฌ350m for energy; Merz: 'if Russia is not stopped, sooner or later its military machine will be turned against us'; Merz under pressure at home from the AfD.
02 โฝ THE ENERGY WAR
๐ฐ Articles & links (read/context โ above the clips)
CNN (CNN report): 13.1m bpd through Hormuz, just under 80% of pre-war; the carriers' record deployments mean years in dry dock; Iran's militias hit the Saudi east-west pipeline; the Houthis threaten Bab el-Mandeb.
02 2- CNN - Irans Four Pillars, Capitulate Before The Midterms
Plitsas (CNN): Iran doesn't need mines or a nuke โ 'a few drones and a few missiles'; Iran's four pillars โ US casualties, oil prices, pressure on the Gulf states, and splitting Trump's base before the midterms; 'capitulate within 40 days.'
03 3- CNN - A Shuttle Service Of Tankers, Insurance Costs More Than The Ship
Goldman (CNN): A US-escorted tanker shuttle in and out of the strait; crude out of the Middle East at 98% (JP Morgan) but products are not; 'Normal doesn't mean safe' โ insurance costs more than the tanker; 68 attacks; gas +50%, diesel +75%.
04 4- CNN - The IRGC Writes To The American People, This Lying Administration Must Be Changed
Hancocks (CNN): The IRGC spokesman's letter to the American people โ 'This lying administration must be changed' โ and Iran's history with US elections: 1980, Carter, Reagan, the hostages.
01 diesel - trump rules out the export ban
01 1- BBC - Two Pounds A Litre, Greer Says They Are Sitting On Reserves
BBC (BBC News): UK diesel ~ยฃ2/litre (+40%); ยฃ110 to fill a car; Russia restricts exports, China suspends fuel exports for October; USTR Greer at the G20: France, Germany and Italy are 'sitting on reserves.'
02 10- NBC - At An Oklahoma Truck Stop, Frustrated But Not Ready To Give Up
๐บ NBC at a southern-Oklahoma truck stop โ NBC News (MSM)
NBC at a southern-Oklahoma truck stop (NBC News): $5.84 diesel, $300โ400 per fill; it moves the food and the combines; Beto 2018 and rural turnout; Texas drivers 'frustrated, but not ready to give up on him yet.'
03 2- BBC - Half Of Europes Diesel Comes From America
BBC Singapore (BBC News): Trump may ban US diesel exports; Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries; the UK gets a third of its diesel from the US, the EU about half.
04 3- Bloomberg - The EU Holds Emergency Talks Under Pressure From Bessent And Wright
Bloomberg (Bloomberg Television): The EU's emergency talks; a US official โ 'a one-time spikeโฆ the Europeans are sitting on reserves'; Greer, Wright and Bessent all pushing; back in March the G7/OECD agreed to release reserves 'to dampen the blow' when prices 'rip across the globe.'
05 4- Bloomberg - Germany Says Reserves Are Not For Prices, Macron Calls The G7
Bloomberg (Bloomberg Television): Bloomberg's Crook: most European nations never released their March reserves; is this even an emergency; German officials say containing prices is not what reserves are for; Macron calls Trump and Carney for a G7 talk โ no export bans; even 100m barrels vs 3m bpd of US transport demand; diesel down 5% on the day.
06 5- Forbes - Hassett Says Theirs Is Refined Product, A Massive Amount
Hassett (Forbes Breaking News): Europe keeps a different strategic reserve from the US โ "Ours is crude and theirs is refined productโฆ a massive, massive amount of refined product, especially diesel" โ so Europe has room to help the world economy right now.
07 6- New York Post - Trump Says We Were Never Gonna Do It
Trump (New York Post): Europe is 'making a major world contributionโฆ we're not going to be doing the export ban'; 'We were never gonna do it. I don't think we were.'
08 7- Forbes - When Iran Ends, Oil Drops Like A Rock
Trump (Forbes): 'we may do thatโฆ prices are coming down'; Iran: '301% inflationโฆ their Navy is gone'; 'when that ends, oil prices are going to drop like a rock.'
09 8- Global News - Macron Says A Hundred Million Barrels, The EU Says It Undermines Trust
Global (Global News report): Trump posts that Europe agreed; Macron: 100m barrels of diesel and crude over four months via the IEA, no G7 export bans; the EU official: 'We fully reject any banโฆ it would undermine our trust in the United States as a reliable partner.'
10 9- CNBC - Six Fifty Two A Gallon, Are We Edging Toward An Energy War
CNBC (CNBC report): EU energy ministers meet; record $6.52 diesel, +76%; a refinery problem, not a crude problem; Europe's drivers +40%; Goldman: a US export ban would add ~2% a week to European wholesale prices; 'are we edging closer to an energy war?'
02 raf fairford - a british iranian arrested
01 1- PBS - A Twenty Seven Year Old Taken Into Custody In London
Trump (New York Post): 'the last American forces are leaving Iraq'; PM Ali al-Zaidi, 'I endorsed himโฆ politicked for him a little bitโฆ we're getting the hell out of there.'
03 ๐ค THE AI BUBBLE
๐ฐ Articles & links (read/context โ above the clips)
Colin Schultz (producer file, No Agenda episode 13): a 13-second moment from No Agenda episode 13 about Jason Calacanis โ "I'm listening back to old episodes, and found this gem." Producer file, as sent.
01 ai - silicon valley is a bubble
01 1- CNBC - Chesky Says Super Intelligence Sounds Like An Alien Species
Chesky (CNBC): 'Superintelligence sounds like an alien species'; AI is 'happening to them, not for them'; 'anti-AI is becoming a bipartisan issue'; Silicon Valley 'is a giant bubble.'
02 2- CNBC - Retrain Three Hundred Million Americans In Ten Years
Chesky (CNBC): More jobs in the end, but a valley first; 'retrain 300 million Americans over the next 10 years if they don't even want data centers in their states?'
Raimondo (CNBC): 'I am an AI optimist'; worst case โ tens of millions out of work, a deep recession, 'rioting in the streets. I mean that sincerely.'
04 4- CNBC - Twenty Percent Youth Unemployment, We Are Screwed
PBS guest (PBS NewsHour): AI is 'non-deterministicโฆ never safe 100%'; Anthropic $10bn โ $120bn; 'we have a self-policing model for most thingsโฆ if these models are hacking other companies, they could be prosecuted even criminally.'
Forbes (Forbes Breaking News): Hawley introduces Kokotajlo (ex-OpenAI); he resigned over OpenAI's responsibility; labs race to automate AI research โ 'about 50% chance by the end of 2028'; the Hugging Face swarm 'about a thousand strong'; humans as 'the board of directors to a company of AIs.'
07 7- Forbes - They Know They Are Being Watched, Models Will Seem Aligned
Forbes (Forbes Breaking News): Today's AIs pursue other goals and hide it; alignment is 'more like psychology than engineering'; three reasons we'll notice less โ situational awareness, chain of thought going dark, superhuman hacking; 'Models will increasingly seem aligned even when they are not.'
08 8- Forbes - AIs Making The AIs, A Recipe For Disaster
Forbes (Forbes Breaking News): 'AIs making the AIs that make the AIsโฆ a recipe for disaster'; METR got six days โ 'like being invited to Jurassic Park'; cut AI R&D compute from half to 10%; 'the US government should intervene.'
02 openai - fired, probed and hacking canada
01 1- ABC - OpenAI Fires Three For Mishandling Sensitive Information
ABC (ABC News): OpenAI fires two safety researchers and a programme manager for mishandling sensitive information โ 'no one was let go for raising safety concerns'; the wave of agent escapes; GPT 6.1 'Astra' cancelled.
02 2- CNBC - The FTC Chairman Showed Up At The Meeting
CNBC (CNBC report): The FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson has opened an investigation of the top AI companies; he showed up, unlisted, at the White House CEO meeting; 'a signal of regulatory intent.'
03 3- ABC - Agents Hit Canada, Education And Australias Medicare
ABC (ABC News): AI agents tried to get into Canadian government sites; researchers traced them to OpenAI; also the US Education Department and Australia's Medicare (breached); the FTC probe; Anthropic's IPO weeks away.
04 4- Global News - A Rogue Agent Wanted Divorce Records From 1905
Global (Global News report): A rogue agent tried to pull divorce records from 1905โ1911 from Library and Archives Canada; OpenAI talked to; Trump: 'they're gonna police themselves'; Canada's minister: 'We don't believe in the quote self-regulation.'
03 meta muse - the agent does your shopping
01 1- CNBC - Faster Downloads Than ChatGPT, Now It Shops And Books Travel
6abc tests Muse (6abc Action News): 'It looks like a Teletubby to me'; it unsubscribes her Gmail lists and tracks the basketball sign-up; then the fine print: 'It may make mistakes or take unexpected action, soโฆ review its work.'
03 3- 6abc - Your Credit Card In The Credential Store, I Disconnected My Gmail
๐บ 6abc Action News โ 6abc Philadelphia (ABC) (MSM)
6abc (6abc Action News): To shop it needs your credit card; Meta's 'secure credential store'; the experts' settings (always ask, data controls, connectors); allegations Muse exceeded a user's instructions; 'I have now disconnected my Gmail.'
04 data centers - the backlash goes global
01 1- ARTE - Save Brick Lane, Dublin Data Centers Eat Eighty Percent Of The Power
ARTE (ARTE report): 'Save Brick Lane' โ a London Stock Exchange-linked data centre where 30,000 families wait for housing; Microsoft's Dutch site drank 84m litres in a drought; data centres ~80% of Dublin's power; 1,400 MW 'monsters'; the EU still plans to triple capacity.
02 2- NHK - Ratepayers Foot The Bill, Sign An NDA To See The Plans
NHK (NHK World-Japan): Data centres' power costs passed to residential ratepayers; 3,000 operating, 1,500 planned; 4.4% of US power in 2023, double or triple by 2028; Republican Mason Barnes told to sign an NDA to see the plans.
03 3- NHK - The Sleeper Issue Of The Midterms, Trump Calls It A China Conspiracy
NHK Washington (NHK World-Japan): The 'sleeper issue'; Ohio Senate race ('the face of Ohio's data centres'); Republicans in Michigan and Texas reverse; NY and TX pause; Trump calls opposition a conspiracy that only benefits China.
04 4- Spotlight On America - The NRSC Memo, Eighteen States Pass Moratoriums
Spotlight (Spotlight On America report): Attack ads ('Shapiro handed Amazon a fortune'); the leaked NRSC memo โ data centres could cost Jon Husted his seat; DeWine froze tax breaks; Ohio candidates; 18 states with moratoriums or bans.
05 5- CNN - Ninety Million In Ads, Everybody Seems To Hate Data Centers
CNN (CNN report): $90m+ in ads mention data centres; 'everybody seems to hate data centers'; $240m in AI PACs โ Leading the Future (Brockman) vs Public First Action ($40m Anthropic, $1m Amodei).
06 6- MS NOW - Meta Tells The IRS Its Data Centers Are An Experiment
Ruhle (MS NOW): Per the NYT, Meta tells the IRS its AI data centres are an experiment that could fail, to claim a 1980s R&D credit โ ~$4bn off last year's taxes; the stock nears $2tn.
05 project meridian - musk, luckey and gingrich
01 1- New York Post - Hegseth Names Musk To Study The Future Of Warfare
Hegseth (New York Post): 'I'm announcing Project Meridian, an effort led by America's best minds to study the future of warfare'; under CTO Emil Michael; co-led by Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich โ 'all of whom are up in the audience with us today.'
04 ๐ฐ THE ECONOMY
๐ฐ Articles & links (read/context โ above the clips)
NBC News: 29,000 jobs in September against ~84,000 expected; unemployment up from 4.1% to 4.2% โ sideways for nine or ten months, "still healthy" say most economists, but the headline is well below estimates.
02 2- CNBC - Revisions Down Sixty Thousand, Wages A Big Miss
Santelli (CNBC): "a bit of a disappointment" โ 90,000 expected, 29,000 in, the lightest since July; two-month revisions down 60,000; manufacturing +9,000, "the renaissance of manufacturing continues"; hourly earnings up one tenth โ "a big, big miss."
03 3- CNBC - Labor Secretary Says Government Job Losses Dragged It Down
FOX 9 (FOX 9 report): MN premiums could rise 20%+; $480 a month in the Twin Cities, ~$700 in Goodhue County; with a child, $1,200+ a month in Dodge County โ $14,000 a year; a hospital merger could push it higher.
02 2- Federal News Network - Federal Workers Pay Forty One Percent More In Three Years
ABC (ABC News): Costco sells Medicare Advantage with SCAN in CA and NV from 1 Jan: $0 premiums, $0 primary-care copays, vision and hearing allowances; pharmacy sales +20%.
05 5- Forbes - Trump Says Seniors Get A Hundred Dollars From The Medicare Improvement Fund
Trump (Forbes): The Medicare Improvement Fund โ 'past presidents and Congress never spent the money' โ ~$100 into the bank accounts of 20m+ seniors to offset October premiums; 'you'll get your money almost immediately.'
02 iowa steel - the incentives pass
01 1- KCRG - Signed Within The Hour, Seven Republicans Vote No
KCRG (KCRG-TV9): Lee County farmland, $15bn, the largest mill in the nation; signed within the past hour; ~$1.5bn in credits; Senate 28โ19 with seven Republicans against; a GOP senator: 'your money and your money and your moneyโฆ sell the tax credit or put it up as collateral.'
02 2- KCRG - The CEO Is Still Working On The Cap Stack
KCRG (KCRG-TV9): The state's economic-development director: credits only on benchmarks; Mesabi's CEO: 'still working on financingโฆ the cap stack'; contract maybe by November.
03 3- KCRG - Not Paid Until Its Operational, They Can Claw It Back
KCRG (KCRG-TV9): The Senate majority leader swapped two members of the Ways and Means subcommittee to get it out 10โ8; 'half-bakedโฆ rushedโฆ premature'; the district senator: first talks in 2025.
05 5- WHO13 - A Foreign Company, John Deere Doesnt Get A Billion
WHO 13 (WHO13): The largest corporate incentive in Iowa history; a Republican senator heard of it two weeks before it was announced; 'It's a foreign companyโฆ John Deereโฆ they don't get a billion-dollar tax break.'
06 6- KCRG - Will There Be A Foxconn Repeat In Iowa
KCRG (KCRG-TV9): Foxconn โ $10bn, 13,000 jobs promised in 2017; <$1bn and ~2,600 delivered; Sen. Townsend: 'it could very well just be that announcement'; White House and Grassley statements.
07 7- Northern News Now - Essar Went Bankrupt Here, A Gaping Hole On The Range
Northern News Now (Northern News Now report): Essar promised a Nashwauk steel mill, went bankrupt in 2015; $60m owed to contractors; Minnesota still owed ~$22m; now the ore is mined in MN and made into steel in Iowa โ 'a gaping hole'; 'Iowa, don't do this.'
05 ๐๏ธ TRUMP AND THE DOJ
Clips โ 4
00 trump - i can do whatever i want
01 1- ABC - Trump Says He Would Consider Pardoning His Own Officials
ABC (ABC News): Trump to TIME โ 'Yeah, sure, I'd do that'; on the South Lawn โ 'I can do whatever I want'; Biden's pre-emptive pardons; the message to his staff before the midterms.
01 watergate - the doj reviews the prosecutors
01 1- MS NOW - A Seventy Eight Page Deck Called Watergate As Lawfare
Velshi (MS NOW): The WSJ โ DOJ's OPR reviewing the Watergate prosecutors; Geoff Shepard's 'Watergate as Lawfare' deck; Vance at the Nixon Library: 'a 12-hour news story'; 'That's bananas.'
02 cornell - letitia james takes the case
01 1- NBC - Hochul Says One Hundred Percent Confident, Never Made It To Prosecutors
Hochul (NBC): She made AG Letitia James special prosecutor; Doe was '100% confident' she was raped and 'those words never made it' to prosecutors; the DA never interviewed her; 'failed by people and institutions.'
03 cnn - barred from air force one
01 1- PBS - Pulled From The Pool Despite The Judge
CNN (CNN report): The attacker named โ Hamam al-Hamami, born in the UAE to an Omani father and Syrian mother; 7 years at Oman Air, then Royal Air Maroc; a LinkedIn video of El Al jets ending on Ayman al-Zawahiri and a 2009 suicide bomber.
02 2- CNN - Posted Nine Hours After, Removed From Oman Air Training
CNN (CNN report): Posted nine hours after the attack โ pre-scheduled or someone else?; deleted Twitter rants against mixed-gender workplaces; removed from Oman Air flight training over extremism, then hired by FlyDubai.
03 3- 13News Now - Suspended By Oman Air As A Security Risk, This Is A Last Push
13News Now (13News Now report): ABC's Alex Stone: Oman Air suspended him in 2024 as a security risk for extremist material, kept him in an admin role; how did FlyDubai put him in the right seat; Capt. Smit Machhar: 'this is a last push, Smit. The door is right there.'
The Israeli passenger (CNN): 'my daughters screaming, father, we don't want to die'; the door flung open; three men, 'we tied him with headphones'; covered in blood; 'you act like a machine.'
01 christa pike - seven needles and a purple arm
01 1- New York Post - Seven Needles, She Was Trying To Help Them
New York Post (New York Post report): Pike's attorney: an hour to set two lines, seven needles in the left arm, one bent; Pike 'was trying to help instruct them'; 'she did not want a stayโฆ she was ready.'
02 2- New York Post - Her Right Arm Turning Purple
CNN (CNN report): Pentobarbital's history โ fluid in the lungs, suffocation; Biden's DOJ dropped it; AG Todd Blanche called it 'the gold standard'; drug makers block their products; vein issues; lawyers ask Gov. Bill Lee to commute.
04 4- 13News Now - Seventy Five Botched, This Is Not A Safe Situation
13News Now (Knoxville sister station): Her essential thrombocythemia made IV access hard; retired Dr. John Greer: 'venous accessโฆ can be difficult and sometimes impossible'; Death Penalty Information Center: 75 of 1,000+ lethal injections botched (1977โ2010); 'This is not a safe, controlled situation.'
07 ๐ ALSO IN THE NEWS
๐ฐ Articles & links (read/context โ above the clips)
France24 (FRANCE 24 report): 18 days from Rennes and Caen to Saint-Denis; a TikTok seen 1.4m times; a school in Nantes on fire; 'kill her'; the government blames the hard left; 560 schools disrupted, 400 shut; a union: keep mobilising.
02 2- FRANCE 24 - Outsiders Tore Down The Gates, Tear Gas In All Directions
๐บ Olivia Bizot in Aubervilliers โ France 24 (MSM)
Olivia Bizot in Aubervilliers (FRANCE 24): Peaceful 7โ9 am, then outsiders tore down the gates; tear gas in all directions; police can't tell agitators from students.
01 fingernails - woke one is back
01 1- Fox News - The BBC Links Unpainted Nails To White Supremacy
Watters reads the NY Post (Fox News): 'BBC roasted for linking unpainted fingernails to white supremacy'; Lydia: 'glad I had time to go to the nail salon'; the Smithsonian list; 'It's not about my body, my choice anymore.'
02 producer - dews time to shine
01 1- Craig Weinberg - Dews Time To Shine, A Track For Rob Dew
Source: producer file โ Craig Weinberg, by email (no web link)
๐บ 1- Craig Weinberg (?)
Craig Weinberg (producer track): "Dew's Time To Shine", a 64.8-second music track made for today's show with Rob Dew. Producer file, as sent.