190 - Marty Makary Resigns, AI Bubble Concerns Grow, and Healthcare Keeps California Afloat

Vic and Marcus discuss rising inflation driven by energy costs and the impact on consumers, travel, and wage growth. They examine newly confirmed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and debate whether AI investment and market enthusiasm are creating an economic bubble. The episode covers healthcare job growth becoming a key driver of California’s economy, major healthcare venture funding activity, and the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and what it could signal about the future of regulation. Additional topics include declining overdose deaths, changes to PBMs after Optum Rx moves to a fee-based model, Hims & Hers struggling after the GLP-1 shift, General Catalyst’s healthcare transformation efforts, US and China negotiations, and broader conversations around healthcare, policy, and technology.LinksStory 1: CPI1:44 - Inflation Soared to 3.8% in April, Driven by Gasoline Prices WSJ3:24 - Prices at the Pump Are Wiping Out Wage Gains WSJStory 2: New fed Chair4:51 - Kevin Warsh Is Confirmed as Fed Chair in 54–45 Senate Vote WSJStory 3: Jobs11:42 - U.S. Adds 115,000 Jobs in April With Solid Hiring Across Sectors WSJ13:43 - Cisco to Shed Jobs for All-In AI Push WSJ14:21 - Forget Tech and Hollywood. California Is Powered by Healthcare Jobs. WSJStory 4: VC rundown15:14 - Chromie Health picks up $2M in pre-seed funding, launches SMS AI-powered nurse staffing agent Fierce Healthcare16:07 - Salesforce Ventures, Echo Health Ventures back Optura's $17.5M series A to track AI performance Fierce Healthcare18:03 - Basata Secures $21M to Rebuild Healthcare’s Operational Layer: Automating Referrals and Scheduling End-to-End HIT 19:14 - Urologic Health: $11 Million Seed Financing Raised For Non-Invasive Bladder Function Monitoring Pulse 2.020:04 - Google-backed Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1B for AI drug discovery platform Mobi HealthStory 5: Policy rundown21:08 - FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Under Pressure From Trump, Resigns WSJ33:11 - Vance to States: Address Fraud or Lose Federal Medicaid Funding WSJ43:24 - U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Fall for Third Straight Year WSJ44:17 - Trump Was Flattering, Xi Was Resolute. The Difference Spoke Volumes. NYTStory 6: Optum Moving Away from Traditional PBM Model49:39 - Optum Rx replaces traditional PBM model with a fee-based structure Healthcare FinanceStory 6: UC reaches deal with Union51:38 - University of California, union reach late-night deal to avert system-wide strike Fierce HealthcareStory 7: Digital Health Earnings52:33 - Hims & Hers posts $92M loss in Q1 as it shifts to branded GLP-1 medications Fierce Healthcare54:22 - Omada Health posts 42% revenue jump in Q1, joins Eli Lilly employer weight loss program Fierce HealthcareStory 8: GC Hosts Kennedy in Ohio55:47 - General Cataylst & HatCo host Kennedy in Akron LIStory 9: Far Reaching Negative Impact of Hearing Loss58:17 - Walking Slower? Why Your Ears, Not Your Knees, Might Be the Problem WSJStory 10: Clarity Act1:00:27 - Clarity Act clears U.S. Senate committee, on its way to a final test in Congress CoinDeskStory 11: SpaceX & Google1:06:06 - SpaceX and Google Are in Talks to Launch Data Centers in Orbit WSJStory 12: Googlebooks1:08:45 - Google’s Android-powered laptops are called Googlebooks, and they’re coming this year Ars TechnicaStory 13: Robots You Wear1:11:37 - Human + Robot Limitless