Plato's Cave: Economic and Media Analysis in a Dark Time

Join us as we discuss how OpenAI secured a lucrative Pentagon contract after Anthropic turned it down for ethical reasons. Then, take a deep dive into how the stock market really works to understand why commentators agree with us that Musk's IPO is a Ponzi Scheme and should remind everyone of the Tulip Craze, except then at least there were tulips after the bubble broke.

We know you keep up on the news. If you yearn for informed analysis spiced with humor, you have come to the right place. Bill, an academic economist, and Linda, a retired academic in media studies, are here to make sense out of the turbulence. This week: In National Intelligence, competence matters, so Trump names a loyal real estate mogul to the job; Sam Altman can charm the birds out of the trees. Is his race for unregulated Artificial General Intelligence another Tulipmania, only without anything as lovely and harmless as tulips? Bari Weiss, the hired gun of CBS News, "murders" "60 Minutes,"

On the cusp of Musk losing his lawsuit against Altman, or the Battle of the Stupid Titans, Linda takes a deep dive into Altman's charm, his hypocrisy, and why we should all be worried. Bill explains why the increase in bond yields means Trump will not get the lower interest rates he devoutly wishes for, even with his handpicked head of the Federal Reserve. Bill applies Thorstein Veblen's economic theories to argue that neither Altman nor Musk is an innovator, but each relies on the trappings of status to signal they have the Midas touch. Linda fulfills a promise to listeners to find out if Rubio was a jock in college (because of that crystal football he gave to the underwhelmed Pope).

It was a week even the Onion couldn't invent. A customer service representative in Chicago hung up on the Pope, people believed a spoof prank about the "Gays of Hormuz," and the Secretary of State gave the Pope a tiny, crystal football. The economy continues to head in the wrong direction, and the plan to escort shipping from the Gulf of Hormuz using AI sounds like a sci-fi thriller about totally autonomous warfare.

Linda takes a deep dive into "Slopaganda" and the pro-Iranian Lego animation videos flooding the platforms; Bill explains how the incoming head of the Federal Reserve will change how inflation rates are tracked and why it will not help with affordability; we discuss the widespread cynicism that the assassination attempt on Trump was staged; and we salute the King who schooled Congress.

Bill explains the route to approval by the new Fed Chairman, we discuss how the war in Iran threatens to lead into stagflation; Linda explains how enshittification of Amazon relates to Amazon's entry into the online entertainment industry. Bill introduces us to AI Theology Porn in response to Trump's meme of himself as Jesus, and Linda introduces the term Slopaganda to describe the AI generated videos from Iran that are flooding YouTube.

Bill walks us through the potential dangers of every major financial bank using the same AI at the same time, and the War in Iran stalemate; Linda analyzes the response to the NYT article about Netanyahu's war pitch to Trump; we take a first peek at the Lego propaganda ads coming from Iran; Linda explains why medievalists are thrilled with the attacks on the Pope and the enshittification of digital platforms; and presents the funniest headline ever.

This week, Linda explores the Roll Calls of God by Netanyahu, the Ayatollah, Hegseth, and the Pope as the War in Iran continues; Bill considers when insider trading is treason and gives a gloomy picture of a looming recession; and we both celebrate the success of NASA's mission.

Bari Weiss, Director of CBS News, joins the Ladies Who Fawn on Trump; the labor news is grim; the economic consequences of the war are grim; there's no comfort in how 18-30 year olds get their news; we explore the logic of black swans and white crows; we contemplate how AI will change employment; and say good-bye to Ice Barbie Noem.

Linda takes a look at the turmoil at CBS, theParamount/Skydance takeover of Warner Discovery, and Nexstar’s merger withTegna;  Bill explains wholesale pricesand the implications for inflation, and the broader implications of the Supreme Court’s decision that Trump’s tariffs are illegal; we both discuss the coming war with Iraq and  how Phillip Noble got that iconic photo of the arrest of the Andrew formerly known as Prince.

Linda analyzes why Pam Bondi is one of the Ladies Who Fawn on Trump; Bill explains why figuring out the figures is difficult but the negative effects of Trump’s tariffs are clear; we discuss why the Supreme Court is taking so long to decide on the legality of Trump’s tariffs; and discuss the joyous, surreal, and affirming halftime show by Bad Bunny, but Linda confesses she is not an admirer of twerking.

Bill returns refreshed from Egypt. Linda questions why there have been no prosecutions of Epstein's pals and how the world would be different if the files had been released during Biden's Administration. Bill and Linda agree that ICE needs to be put out of business, and we discuss the implications of the EU stepping up its pressure against Russian oil transported on the ghost fleet.

Bill and Linda consider what an odd use of administrative power at Texas A&M it is to ban certain of Plato's texts; Bill reports on the decline in economic indicators; Linda and Bill mourn the tragedy of the extrajudicial murder by ICE; and both take a deep dive into what is behind the kidnapping of Maduro and his wife. Hint: It isn't about oil for the USA.

Bill explains how the governors of the Federal Reserve outwitted Trump's efforts to manipulate their votes; Linda discusses the appointment of an Ombudsperson and Bari Weiss to CBS News and the Vanity Fair article; Bill discusses Trump's 20-minute rant on the major networks and the untruths he spewed.

Bill reviews the news of our soured economy as well as the deeper and disturbing reality of the affordability crisis; Linda continues the saga of Billionaires Buying Media; Bill considers the silly nonsense of Trump's efforts in the courts; and in reaction against Trump's immoral and gloating comments about the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Linda calls out politicians and the press for "sanewashing."

Bill explores the illegality of Trump's backtracking on food tariffs, the specifics of the Military Code of Conduct, and the economist Larry Summers' fall from grace. Linda explores the nonsense of Trump unleashing the head of the FCC on the BBC, Trump's ignorance about the BBC, and why it is dangerous when bored millionaires and billionaires want to be media moguls. Bill shares insights he gained from touring Vlad the Impaler's castle.

We disagree slightly on whether the Democrats snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, consider the long-term consequences of Trump's willingness to allow Americans to go hungry, the foolishness of the Republicans in not extending the ACA subsidy, and how rattled they are by the revolt in their own ranks over the Epstein Files. Then, we take a deep dive into the evidence that Trump's threat to sue the BBC for $1 billion was contrived by multi-billionaires who really dislike investigative journalism and want it to go away.

Bill explains the Federal Reserve's accounting maneuver, why it is acting blindfolded in setting interest rates, and why the Senate's move to block tariffs is significant-- if the House ever returns to session. Linda does a deep dive in Project Nimbus, the obscure contract between Israel and the AI/Cloud platforms of Amazon and Google that allows for a wink-and-a-nod approach to international law.

After a brief discussion of current CPI inflation numbers, we discuss the role of Donald Trump in the Gaza Peace accord such as it is. Then we do an exploration of the simplistic narrative of events leading to the cease-fire, or at least, diminshed-fire. Linda provides some context on the history of the dispute and the current exclusion of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from delivering vital humanitarian aid.

A discussion of what is going on in the economy and how we know since the Bureau of Labor Statistics along with the rest of the Federal Government is shut down. Also, a response to a listener. The issue we address in our current political situation, policy discussion is focused on which person's are responsible, rather than reasoning about the causal processes that have created the problem. This is a special case of magical thinking which we discussed in some detail.

Where to start? Bad economic news, rising unemployment and prices, illegal deployments of the National Guard in US cities, and preparations of the military for the war within--Really! One unconstitutional presidential executive order after another, along with insane and illegal actions to create spectacles to distract the public from catastrophic policies, are becoming the norm. Jimmy Kimmel is back! Money talks and so do UNIONS!

We discuss the Congressional Budget Office's projection of tariff revenues and whether those revenues will cover the costs of the tax cuts in his Big Awful Bill.We also discuss the recent use of parody and irony by Governor Newsom of California, to illustrate the hypocrisy and foolishness of Trump's use of social media to corrupt political discourse. We also note that neither Trump nor his followers seems to have the capacity to understand either, while possessing a sense of humor less sophisticated than that of most five-year-old children.We return to the topic of Trump's ongoing attempt to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, as a continuing part of his attack on the Federal Reserve System.Additionally, we observe Trump's attempts to distract the public from the consequences of his policies by issuing clearly ridiculous executive orders, which attract news coverage, that the media can't seem to resist. These include, an unconstitutional executive order making flag burning a criminal offense with a one-year prison sentence because it incites riots (Trump knows a great deal about inciting riots and insurrections). He is also floating a proposal to use the National Guard to invade Chicago and Baltimore.And he has thrown tantrums over the "blue slipping" of a judicial nomination in the Senate and a Trump-appointed district judge throwing out his lawsuit against all the Maryland Federal District Court Judges because the lawsuit had no legal or constitutional basis.

Bill discusses the criminal referral by the head of the Federal Housing Authority of Lisa Cook, a Governor of the Federal Reserve, as a shameful attempt to drive her off the Board of Governors.Linda explores predictive policing and other scary data-driven surveillance. A deeper dive into the activities of Palantir Gotham.Additionally we return to the cherry crisis, immigration, and add the issue of visas for foreign students. Finally, Linda brings to our attention the content-less television coverage of the meeting between Putin and Trump, likely caused by the fact that (predictably) nothing of substance happened at the meeting. Trump once again showing the world that he knows nothing about the conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy, but will do anything for coverage of his feeble attempts at both.

We start this week with a return to Statistics, specifically Trump's nominee to lead the Ministry of Truth (the Bureau of Labor Statistics). Trump's nominee (which we somewhat gleefully note) is being savaged in conservative media as, well, completely incompetent, and is seen as evidence that Trump wants someone to manipulate the numbers rather than present the truth. We examine why this is significant for constituencies that usually support Trump unequivocally and look forward to the drama that is likely to unfold. We also explore the plan by the Palantir corporation—a data gathering and analysis firm that uses all your data available anywhere on the web—to create a film production company. The goal is to make pro-American films featuring military action, anti-Chinese themes, and heroes from the right. Their list of projects sounds tediously boring and somewhat offensive. Shades of Project Vertas. Anyway, Hollywood has a glorious past and well-deserved high regard for the propaganda films it has made, especially in times of crisis. And there is no shortage of wacked-out right-wing military glorification on mainstream media. So what is the new agenda of this group? Finally, we wonder why Trump wants to sell our most sensitive computer chips, which are highly restricted in sales, to the highest bidder as long as the government receives akickback from the sales. Can this possibly be legal? We all know felon Trump doesn't care if it is.

We discuss Trump's attack on the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its real consequences. We discuss the defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of a larger attempt to control the content of news. We also ponder the Texas redistricting scandal and the war between the Governors of Texas, California, and New York on non-Census redistricting of congressional districts.

Linda explains the FCC's approval of the Skydance and Paramount merger. The corruption of the meaning of broadcast news as serving the common interest by informing the public, and redefining the public's best interest by turning the news into infotainment centered on ratings and profits.Bill discusses the Brain Drain. Trump's attacks on higher education and research are leading to a loss of U.S. scholars to other countries, keeping foreign scholars and students out of the U.S., and degrading our workforce. Additionally, foreign student expenditures are the largest 'export earning industry' in the U.S., which completely contradicts Trump's trade policies and goals of improving our balance of trade. Additionally, this international brain drain exacerbates the regional brain drain within the U.S., with red states losing their best-educated workers to the blue states to which their educated citizens migrate, exacerbating regional inequality and economic development.We follow up with our loyal listener's queries regarding the details of the 'so-called' tax cuts in the Big Bad Bill.And we briefly return to cherry trees and cherry picking.

Harvard is defying the Trump administration's attempt to seize control of the academic life of Harvard by withholding research grant money. The accusation of antisemitism is Trump's stalking horse for this blatant attack on academic freedom, attempt to eliminate dissent, and thereby control higher education in the same manner that all authoritarian regimes do.

Linda explains the recent ACLU challenge to Trump's attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship.Bill discusses the impact of indiscriminate ICE raids on the agricultural labor market and its impact on future food availability and prices, especially in light of impending tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

The Big Bad Bill passed Congress. Linda and Bill discuss the impact of this piece of legislation on the taxing of Social Security beneficiaries. They also discuss the fraudulent claims of Mr. Trump that tips will not be taxed. In the final section, we note that cause-and-effect reasoning is irrelevant when policymakers and the public both prefer magical thinking about the consequences of proposed policies.

Linda and Bill don't panic over bond yields on US Treasury bonds exceeding 5%.Bond interest versus bond yields are explained.It is explained why the US cannot be forced to default. This makes US treasury bonds highly secure assets for individuals and financial institutions of all kinds.The impact of Trump's magical thinking about tariffs and policy in general, as opposed to actual outcomes for the economy is also discussed.