The release of Episode 1908 of the No Agenda Show, titled 'Chivatican,' marks a notable shift toward financial analysis for the long-running listener-supported podcast. Host Adam Curry, broadcasting from the Texas Hill Country, is joined by first-time guest co-host Andrew Horowitz of The Disciplined Investor and DH Unplugged. The pairing, built on a 15-year friendship and a shared history with the late John C. Dvorak, delivers a three-hour media deconstruction that places markets, tariffs, and economic policy at the center of the show's trademark narrative dissection.
Horowitz's markets lens brings a new level of specificity to the episode. The duo unpacks the $15 billion Mesabi Metallics/SR steel plant deal in Iowa, dubbed 'Patriot Pellets,' and the Section 232 tariffs that made it possible. They scrutinize Kevin Hassett's shifting commentary on BLS jobs reports and PCE methodology changes, alongside ShadowStats founder John Williams. The conversation extends to Scott Bessent's bond-buying 'blunder,' private credit refinancing walls, and commercial real estate losses, offering listeners a deep dive into the mechanics of economic policy and its real-world consequences.
Artificial intelligence also comes under the microscope. Curry and Horowitz examine Trump's rebrand of AI as 'SI' (super intelligence) and Anthropic's reported $2 trillion IPO prospectus. Curry champions Meta's Muse assistant, predicts the collapse of traditional podcast apps, and recounts building a prototype 'while watching West Wing.' The episode also touches on AOC, Bill Gates, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman's 'Dots' launch, Pope Leo's Chicago-accented AI remarks, and Pete Hegseth's Pentagon purge, all run through the show's deconstruction machine.
A gripping segment focuses on the FlyDubai cockpit stabbing incident and Netanyahu's pre-election messaging. Curry hammers the shifting official story on FlyDubai Flight to Tel Aviv, noting conflicting ABC, BBC, and Netanyahu accounts of whether the plane dropped from 34,000 to 16,000 feet in two or three minutes, whether a knife or crash axe was used, and the now-famous Israeli plumber who allegedly leveled the aircraft. This segment exemplifies the show's commitment to questioning official narratives and exposing inconsistencies.
The episode's depth is further illustrated by Horowitz's dissection of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's Oval Office pitch alongside Iowa TV6 reporting that no permits have been filed and no major Lee County land has been purchased for the plant. He contrasts Cleveland-Cliffs' North American pellet dominance with Brazil's Vale, flags the Indian ownership of SR Technologies, and connects the timing to the midterms. Horowitz also shares his investing philosophy through a personal anecdote about a horseback ride in Costa Rica with his wife Jill: 'The horse doesn't want to fall off the mountain just as badly as you don't want to fall off the mountain. Hang on to the horse. It's the same thing with these markets.'
For followers of the No Agenda Show, Episode 1908 'Chivatican' represents one of the most finance-forward episodes in recent memory, bridging the gap between media criticism and actionable market insight. It underscores the show's unique value-for-value model, powered entirely by its audience of producers, knights, and dames, and its ability to attract knowledgeable guests like Horowitz. The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard, continuing the legacy of skeptical, humor-laced deconstruction that Curry and Dvorak pioneered.
