Good Politic Guy (also known as our friend Mac) is on the show today to cover what feels like a week of unprecedented horrors in American politics (and at this point we’ve had a long succession of those). As political commentators within the landscape of independent media in the United States, we’ve dedicated our coverage of the news throughout the week to the sickening and status quo-shattering revelations from the latest releases from the Epstein files. We discuss that extensively in today’s show, of course, but we also attend to further ICE raids and crackdowns on anti-ICE protests, concerns about the future of independent elections in the United States (as if we’ve ever had those, but it could get a whole lot worse), and much more. Watch below!

Layoff and unemployment rates are skyrocketing, and the cost of living in the U.S. is higher than ever; AI is playing a significant role in eliminating jobs and prompting layoffs, and that role is only going to increase. Entire industries exist to provide legal or financial analysis for other companies, work that a computer has become increasingly capable of doing with the power of artificial intelligence. The result we foresee is that the wealth once concentrated in these sectors will now move within the even smaller circle of AI companies. It’s a major step in the consolidation of capital in a tiny section of our economy, and the prognosis isn’t good; the elimination of jobs will reach upper-middle-class workers in white-collar industries, while blue-collar workers will continue to suffer the greatest consequences. We take an unsparing look at the world AI companies are creating and what will happen if their command over our economy continues to grow.

As far as the Epstein files are concerned in this episode, we’ve basically learned that the most powerful men in our society participated in a vast child sex trafficking ring but also went to the greatest possible lengths to hide it and to protect its major architect, Jeffrey Epstein. We think about Melinda Gates’ recent response to the latest release of documents, which reveal her former husband as one of Epstein’s major and most powerful associates — she remembers trying to cut her husband off from Epstein’s circle, but Bill, recognizing Epstein’s possession of blackmail and position of power over him, was willing to blow up his marriage to remain in Epstein’s good graces. All of this goes to show the manipulative powers Epstein wielded over those who willingly participated in his disgusting crimes; as in the example of Bill Gates, Epstein was able to keep some of the world’s most powerful people wrapped around his finger to guarantee their support and their silence.

We’re talking about some of the worst moments in recent history here. But we hope you’ll find our discussion with Good Politic Guy (again, our friend Mac) lively, comprehensive, and full of fresh insights, and we’re grateful to you for subscribing to support our show and keep it ad-free. You can listen to this episode when it’s released tomorrow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and more.