Intro

Quick Takes

Max Notes

Killer Left Take of the Week

Chart of the Week

Headlines

Pod Love

Book Love

Outro

This week we dug into the Treasury’s TIC data—the report nobody reads but everybody should—which shows central banks quietly stepping back from U.S. debt while private money fills the gap. That’s a problem when you’re carrying $39 trillion and yields are climbing. Then we looked at what that actually means at the kitchen table: record household debt, credit card rates near 24%, and an inflation measure that doesn’t even count the cost of carrying all that debt.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:38

Quick Takes: 00:01:34

Max Notes: 00:06:34

Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:19:12

Chart of the Week: 00:21:25

Headlines: 00:23:00

Pod Love: 00:25:02

Book Love: 00:25:58

Outro: 00:26:15

Resources

CNBC Television: Squawk Pod: Scott Bessent from Beijing

CNBC Television: President Trump: Had extremely positive and productive meetings today

Yahoo! News: CNBC’s Jim Cramer Left Literally Speechless by Trump’s Personal Stock Trades

Bloomberg Television: US Faces Challenging Summer Gas Season, BofA’s Blanch Says

U.S. Department of the Treasury: Treasury International Capital Data for March

Signified B Sides: Kevin Hart is a Symptom...

Polygraph: Falling wages, spiraling credit card debt

New York Times: Over 100,000 Family Separations in Deportation Push, Report Estimates

Truthdig: Cuba Announces That Its Fuel Reserves Have Been Depleted

Mother Jones: Memphis Is “Under Full-Blown Occupation” by ICE. Here’s Why You May Not Know That.

Pod Love

Best of the Left: Capitalist Class Warfare: AI, Billionaire Capture, and the How to Fight Back

Book Love

Unf*cker Book Recommendations

UNFTR Resources

Video: On The Record 5/19/26 (Treasury Numbers Don’t Lie | Jim Cramer Melts Down | BofA Shocker)

Video: They Hide These Economic Words From You—Here’s Why

--

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.

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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.

This week we dug into the Treasury&rsquo;s TIC data&mdash;the report nobody reads but everybody should&mdash;which shows central banks quietly stepping back from U.S. debt while private money fills the gap. That&rsquo;s a problem when you&rsquo;re carrying $39 trillion and yields are climbing. Then we looked at what that actually means at the kitchen table: record household debt, credit card rates near 24%, and an inflation measure that doesn&rsquo;t even count the cost of carrying all that debt.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:38
Quick Takes: 00:01:34
Max Notes: 00:06:34
Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:19:12
Chart of the Week: 00:21:25
Headlines: 00:23:00
Pod Love: 00:25:02
Book Love: 00:25:58
Outro: 00:26:15
Resources
CNBC Television: <a href="https://youtu.be/6LQmY7zz0ec?t=1032">Squawk Pod: Scott Bessent from Beijing</a>
CNBC Television: <a href="https://youtu.be/f9loHHKuADc?t=374">President Trump: Had extremely positive and productive meetings today</a>
Yahoo! News: <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cnbc-jim-cramer-left-literally-155748499.html">CNBC&rsquo;s Jim Cramer Left Literally Speechless by Trump&rsquo;s Personal Stock Trades</a>
Bloomberg Television: <a href="https://youtu.be/0sjIWKHOvEg?t=105">US Faces Challenging Summer Gas Season, BofA&rsquo;s Blanch Says</a>
U.S. Department of the Treasury: <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0499">Treasury International Capital Data for March</a>
Signified B Sides: <a href="https://youtu.be/IstPQgpLyNU?t=900">Kevin Hart is a Symptom...</a>
Polygraph: <a href="https://www.stephensemler.com/p/falling-wages-spiraling-credit-card">Falling wages, spiraling credit card debt</a>
New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/us/brookings-institution-report-family-separations.html">Over 100,000 Family Separations in Deportation Push, Report Estimates</a>
Truthdig: <a href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/cuba-announces-that-its-fuel-reserves-have-been-depleted/">Cuba Announces That Its Fuel Reserves Have Been Depleted</a>
Mother Jones: <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/memphis-safe-task-force-still-operating-aclu-lawsuit-cameras-filming-ice-harassment-homeland-security-tennessee-highway-patrol/">Memphis Is &ldquo;Under Full-Blown Occupation&rdquo; by ICE. Here&rsquo;s Why You May Not Know That.</a>
Pod Love
Best of the Left: <a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1792">Capitalist Class Warfare: AI, Billionaire Capture, and the How to Fight Back</a>
Book Love
<a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations">Unf*cker Book Recommendations</a>
UNFTR Resources
Video: <a href="https://youtu.be/9k_CO7Uxucw">On The Record 5/19/26 (Treasury Numbers Don&rsquo;t Lie | Jim Cramer Melts Down | BofA Shocker)</a>
Video: <a href="https://youtu.be/_0U5nrm3mTk">They Hide These Economic Words From You&mdash;Here&rsquo;s Why</a>
--
If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: <a href="https://unftr.com/rate">unftr.com/rate</a> and follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Unfucking-The-Republic-102319714930389">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/unftr.com">Bluesky</a>,&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/unftrpod/">Instagram</a> at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/">unftr.com</a>.
Become a member at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/memberships">unftr.com/memberships</a>.
Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at <a href="https://shop.unftr.com/">shop.unftr.com</a>.
Visit our bookshop.org page at <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod">bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod</a> to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at <a href="https://bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations">bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations</a>.
Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at <a href="https://www.unftr.com/accessibility">unftr.com/accessibility</a>.

Unf*cking The Republic® (UNFTR) is dedicated to progressive politics, leftist economic theories, and social justice in the United States. Join us for deep dives into socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and the fight against inequality. Whether you're curious about Marxist ideas, modern social movements, or progressive policies, UNFTR delivers thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with the historical context mainstream media won't provide. Subscribe for informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.

Unf*cking The Republic&reg; (UNFTR) is dedicated to progressive politics, leftist economic theories, and social justice in the United States. Join us for deep dives into socialism, labor rights, climate justice, and the fight against inequality. Whether you're curious about Marxist ideas, modern social movements, or progressive policies, UNFTR delivers thoroughly sourced critiques, analyses, and interviews with the historical context mainstream media won't provide. Subscribe for informative and unabashedly progressive coverage of the leftist political and economic landscape.