Intro

Quick Takes

Max Notes

Killer Left Take of the Week

Chart of the Week

Headlines

Outro

This week we looked at the AI capital black hole—three companies with a combined $3 trillion in prospective market cap preparing to go public while public R&D budgets get gutted and the rest of the economy gets starved of investment. Then we checked in on consumer sentiment, which has basically fallen off a cliff, because when gas hits $5 a gallon and inflation keeps eating your paycheck, reality has a way of setting in.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:38

Quick Takes: 00:01:33

Max Notes: 00:04:47

Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:18:17

Chart of the Week: 00:20:03

Headlines: 00:21:38

Outro: 00:22:57

Resources

Remarkably Bright Creatures

The Vanguard: Jillian Michaels ROASTED by Her OWN AUDIENCE After Sam Seder SMACKDOWN (Plus She Calls US Out???)

CNBC International Live: Jeff Currie on potential U.S.-Iran peace deal: Sell the tweet, buy the molecule

National Science Foundation: Trends in U.S. R&D Performance and Funding

Goldman Sachs: Tracking Trillions: The Assumptions Shaping the Scale of the AI Build-Out

CNBC: Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags

McKinsey: The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers

IG: SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic: upcoming IPOs to watch in 2026

New York Times: OpenAI Prepares to File to Go Public in Coming Weeks

Reuters: OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation

Bankrate: The 10 Largest American IPOs Of All Time

WIPO: Global Innovation Index 2025 - Global Innovation Tracker

Nature: US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains

Scroll Deep: Why are they people-shaped?

ITIF: How Reducing Federal R&D Reduces GDP Growth

University of Michigan: Final Results for May 2026

WSWS: The Ebola epidemic, imperialism and the political economy of social murder

Truthout: The Justice Department Just Shut Disabled People Out of Essential Online Services for Another Year

The Lever: The Pro-Israel Lobby’s Quiet Cash Shuffle

UNFTR Resources

Video: On The Record 5/26/26 (Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market?)

Essay: The AI Black Hole.

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This week we looked at the AI capital black hole&mdash;three companies with a combined $3 trillion in prospective market cap preparing to go public while public R&amp;D budgets get gutted and the rest of the economy gets starved of investment. Then we checked in on consumer sentiment, which has basically fallen off a cliff, because when gas hits $5 a gallon and inflation keeps eating your paycheck, reality has a way of setting in.
Chapters
Intro: 00:00:38
Quick Takes: 00:01:33
Max Notes: 00:04:47
Killer Left Take of the Week: 00:18:17
Chart of the Week: 00:20:03
Headlines: 00:21:38
Outro: 00:22:57
Resources
<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/remarkably-bright-creatures/">Remarkably Bright Creatures</a>
The Vanguard: <a href="https://youtu.be/Si5y28H_8J4">Jillian Michaels ROASTED by Her OWN AUDIENCE After Sam Seder SMACKDOWN (Plus She Calls US Out???)</a>
CNBC International Live: <a href="https://youtu.be/IvHJSRiSp_E?t=22">Jeff Currie on potential U.S.-Iran peace deal: Sell the tweet, buy the molecule</a>
National Science Foundation: <a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20257/trends-in-u-s-r-d-performance-and-funding">Trends in U.S. R&amp;D Performance and Funding</a>
Goldman Sachs: <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/tracking-trillions-the-assumptions-shaping-scale-of-the-ai-build-out">Tracking Trillions: The Assumptions Shaping the Scale of the AI Build-Out</a>
CNBC: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/google-microsoft-meta-amazon-ai-cash.html">Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags</a>
McKinsey: <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-cost-of-compute-a-7-trillion-dollar-race-to-scale-data-centers">The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers</a>
IG: <a href="https://www.ig.com/en/news-and-trade-ideas/spacex-openai-anthropic-2026-ipo-deals-260520">SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic: upcoming IPOs to watch in 2026</a>
New York Times: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/technology/openai-ipo.html">OpenAI Prepares to File to Go Public in Coming Weeks</a>
Reuters: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-lays-groundwork-juggernaut-ipo-up-1-trillion-valuation-2025-10-29/">OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation</a>
Bankrate: <a href="https://www.bankrate.com/investing/largest-american-ipos-all-time/">The 10 Largest American IPOs Of All Time</a>
WIPO: <a href="https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/global-innovation-tracker.html">Global Innovation Index 2025 - Global Innovation Tracker</a>
Nature: <a href="https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-026-00088-9/index.html">US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains</a>
Scroll Deep: <a href="https://youtu.be/NAvaQ71n9Ek?t=253">Why are they people-shaped?</a>
ITIF: <a href="https://itif.org/publications/2025/09/15/how-reducing-federal-rd-reduces-gdp-growth/">How Reducing Federal R&amp;D Reduces GDP Growth</a>
University of Michigan: <a href="https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu">Final Results for May 2026</a>
WSWS: <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/05/23/lpzs-m23.html">The Ebola epidemic, imperialism and the political economy of social murder</a>
Truthout: <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/doj-just-shut-disabled-people-out-of-essential-online-services-for-another-year">The Justice Department Just Shut Disabled People Out of Essential Online Services for Another Year</a>
The Lever: <a href="https://www.levernews.com/the-pro-israel-lobbys-quiet-cash-shuffle">The Pro-Israel Lobby&rsquo;s Quiet Cash Shuffle</a>
UNFTR Resources
Video: <a href="https://youtu.be/ES13Z_G1ivE">On The Record 5/26/26 (Will SpaceX and OpenAI Starve the Market?)</a>
Essay: <a href="https://www.unftr.com/blog/the-ai-black-hole">The AI Black Hole</a>.
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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.