United States

The market that Formula One struggled to capture compared to the dominance of NASCAR.

“The starting lights flicker above the grid. Just six cars remain, sitting alone on the vast straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The starting lights go out, and the race is on. The smallest grid in Formula One history charges toward the first turn. Ecc…”

The primary market where Formula One struggled to gain traction compared to NASCAR.

“The increase in value is no surprise. By 1990, Formula One commands a worldwide television viewership of more than 1.2 billion people. But few of those viewers are in the United States. For all its global success, Formula One keeps spinning its wheels there. I…”

The country where stock car racing was conquering the market.

“For millions of snowbound Americans watching at home, this is their first real look at NASCAR. It's messy, dramatic, raw, and full of unfiltered emotion. And long before the age of social media, it becomes the perfect viral moment. But across the Atlantic, the…”

The host contrasts the popularity of NASCAR in the US with the global appeal of Formula 1.

“On any given Sunday, millions of fans tune in to see which driver will take the checkered flag in America's favorite motor sport, NASCAR. For decades, it's been the undisputed king of the track. Loud V8 engines, packed ovals, drivers trading paint at 200 miles…”

The speaker notes that Formula 1 needs more than fast cars and famous drivers to succeed in the US market.

“going to succeed in the US, fast cars and famous drivers won't be enough. But he doesn't have time to dwell on it. Formula 1 is facing a bigger threat than American apathy. Its biggest income stream is in danger. European governments are out to ban tobacco com…”

Discussed as a nation whose global standing and diplomatic strategies are being challenged by China and Iran.

“Well, I think my, just from observation and reporting, in the short term, I think China's fine with the strait being closed 'cause it embarrasses the United States. The president may say Mr. Xi is a great friend of his, but I think China loves seeing the Unite…”

The country currently maintaining sanctions on Cuba and debating its policy objectives.

“Yeah, one, one other quick point, just 'cause I don't think this gets discussed enough. One thing I learned while I was in Cuba talking to, interviewing top officials there is that they are absolutely wide open to basically whatever the United States wants in …”

Discussed as having a high volume of guns and facing potential refugee crises from regional instability.

“feels like what many in South Florida want is just a f- is just a failed state. Uh, and there are tons of guns in the United States, in Jamaica, in Haiti. It wouldn't be that diffic- in Mexico. It wouldn't be that difficult for all of a sudden Cuba to be flood…”

Discussed as the world's superpower and its complex relationship with Cuba and Iran.

“... watching its elderly and its babies die on ventilators that they can no longer power, is like, "Hmm, how can we, how can we attack the world's greatest superpower that in, like, 24 hours put every Iranian ship at the bottom of the ocean?" That's, that is n…”

Discussed as having its 'quarterback century' come to an end in terms of global dominance.

“That's who we are. We're the weird kid that knows how to get drugs, who may have a gun, and you could see yourself fucking. We're not the bully, we are not the jock, we are not the quarterback. The se- the American quarterback century is over. This is not Top …”

The nation being allegedly threatened by drone attacks from Cuba.

“Hey, everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show, and happy Monday. It's been a busy spring for politics, with far more contested primaries than in a usual cycle. Both parties undergoing intraparty battles as they try to position themselves ahea…”

Discussed in the context of its national goals and the risks associated with regional instability in Cuba and Venezuela.

“... as Kurt said, all of the national goals that the US has are achievable by the end of this week in negotiations with them. Anything we want, we can have it. So what, how many more babies and elderly people, and, uh, and, uh, not just babies, but people who …”

The nation currently involved in the potential use of military force in the Middle East.

“Right. So there's two, uh, areas that the hopeful people cite. One is the thing the president and Scott Bessent have been talking about for weeks, that Iran's gonna run out of storage capacity for its oil, and that that will cause them to cry uncle because at …”

Discussed as a historically reliable ally that is now perceived as unstable and unpredictable by global partners.

“What you're watching is everybody all over the world hedging. Everybody is looking for alternatives. So you now have an EU-India trade agreement, which nobody would have bothered to do a few years ago. You have Canada cr- in, s- initiating a security relations…”

The primary market and security partner whose internal stability is critical for global business and international security.

“And they, and they may be doing well at it. And as I said, there's a, there's a parallel thing that happened with US law firms. There were some frivolous lawsuits, and they settled them, and then there were some who said, "No, we won't settle. We won't do that…”

Discussed in the context of historical and current democratic deterioration.

“Not everybody was allowed to vote, so Black people weren't allowed to vote, or they were... It was very heavily restricted. It was hard for them to vote. And that existed in the United States, you know, between the Civil War and the, and the 1960s. You had ver…”

The speakers discuss the United States as the largest democracy and its role as a leader of the democratic world, noting concerns about its potential democratic breakdown.

“your bitter enemies can contest you and maybe beat you again. You know, you lose an election, you have to say, "Okay, we're allowing our rivals to stay in power, uh, but we trust that the system will remain fair, so four years from now we can also contest them…”

The United States is no longer classified as a liberal democracy on the map discussed.

“The map shows the level of, of democracy around the world, and of course, the thing that's immediately notable to me is that those who made the map don't count the United States anymore as a liberal democracy.”

The nation currently being analyzed through the lens of historical empire decline and political division.

“Exactly what I said. Uh, Assyrians to the British, um, Glubb found that despite differences in technology, geography, religion, and surprisingly shared a similar lifespan and life cycle. Glubb argued that empires typically go through a predictable sequence of …”

Discussed as a model of democracy that experienced significant social mobility and wealth equality in the 1950s.

“So historically, democracies have-- I mean, there have been different phases, right? So I don't wanna overgeneralize. But certainly in the twenty-- second half of the twentieth century, the, the democracies since the Second World War have tended towards equali…”

Discussed as a potential candidate for transitioning into an autocratic state or a one-party system.

“So the US could become a w- what I think on this map is described as an autocratic gray zone. So you could imagine the US as, in effect, a one-party state, so a state where one political party has control and the other just can't win national elections. You al…”

Applebaum expresses concern regarding the state of democracy and institutional respect in the country.

“Um, and so it's really important that we vote, that we know who we're voting for, that we vote in all elections, including local ones. When people become nihilistic, when they say, "They're all the same. I don't care who wins the election. It's not worth votin…”

Identified as a major established democracy where political parties are attempting to alter the system to stay in power.

“What feels different to me is for the first time in several established democracies, most notably the United States, but not only, you have political parties who come to power with the explicit idea that they will alter the system in order to make sure that th…”

The US has the largest healthspan to lifespan gap on Earth and poor healthspan statistics.

“[laughs] The US currently holds a rather grim record. It has the largest healthspan to lifespan gap on Earth. Despite the United States having lower overall life expectancy than almost all of its peer nations and premature death rate that is nearly twice the a…”

The speaker notes that food labeling for carbohydrates and fiber is calculated differently in the United States compared to the UK.

“The carbohydrate content. Now, um, this is done differently in the United States from here,”

Discussed as having similar health inequality issues to the UK.

“And, and the States is the same where it's not like the same nation.”

Huang notes that sentiment regarding AI is lower here than in other countries due to fear-based narratives.

“Uh, right now, the sentiments for AI in the United States is lower than most countries.”

The country where Jensen Huang's family moved to escape political unrest.

“remarkable thing about this story because a decade after NVIDIA started this experiment, the bet started to pay off. And when it did, it was like every slot machine in the casino hit at once. NVIDIA's chips found a massive new market in the emerging world of a…”

Referenced as a key market for the Chinese economy.

“I know that you don't like, uh, to talk about speculation, but I, I read a, an excerpt from a new book that's coming out. It's called Defending Taiwan by a writer named Ake Freeman. And he paints a scenario of a possible conflict, hot conflict, uh, where, you …”

Used as a benchmark for the economic scale of NVIDIA's market value.

“[gentle music] If NVIDIA were a country, it would be one of the five richest in the world, just behind the US and China. NVIDIA's value is now more than the entire economic output of Japan or the UK or France. That's how big this company is, and it's also prob…”

Referenced as a major geopolitical actor whose foreign policy often influences regimes in other countries.

“That's a good question. That's a question that would be answered by historians rather than me, but I think there's no doubt that we played a major factor in that. Don't you agree with that?”

Referenced as a country with extradition mechanisms and a standard for liberty.

“be the case that a bank robber or a pedophile goes back to Thailand if there are no extradition, uh, you know, mechanisms to bring them back to the, to the United States. So my position of defending the United States or Israel or whomever else really stems fro…”

Discussed in terms of its global power, foreign policy decisions, and whether it acts in its own self-interest.

“... that is made up of these utopian machines, that as they navigate the world, they look to the other for their... unless they are suicidally empathetic. So the US is made up of real human beings endowed with real brains, whereby they might say, "Hey, maybe i…”

Discussed as a primary actor in regional meddling and intervention.

“Yeah. I see what you're saying. You know, there's a really good argument that the reason why, um, ISIS and these various radical organizations exist is because of the United States meddling in all these countries for decades and decades. You know, um, I don't …”

Described as having unique liberties that require protection through careful social policy.

“I am explaining a trajectory. So if you wish to protect the liberties that make the United States so uniquely wonderful in the full range of societies that have ever existed, recognize that all religions are not equally likely to be congruent with the American…”

Criticized for its foreign policy interventions and lack of cultural understanding regarding democracy in other regions.

“Yeah. But by the way, that last sentence, I would argue that that's because of the Americans' lack of cultural theory of mind, because they presume that the desire to have democracy around the world is exactly what everybody wants, and therefore they're cultur…”

The country where the alleged Chinese spy network has been operating for a decade.

“Give Al a little credit on this podcast right now today. Everybody listening, everybody watching, Alex Media has said that there is a Chinese spy network that has been operating in the United States for the last decade-”

The hosts question the requirements for holding public office in the country.

“Do we even have a country? You can, you can be an elected official and you're not even a citizen of the United States of America? What the fuck is the point?”

Mentioned in the context of granting citizenship status as a joke.

“... in the United States. I mean, he could use his African accent.”

The hosts note that the only person convicted in the Epstein case within the United States is a woman.

“It is a ki... It's, it... I mean, it's not funny, but it is, that, uh, so far the only person that's been arrested in the entire Epstein case in the United States of America is a woman. [laughs]”

Referenced in the context of a hypothetical reality show about loyalty to the country.

“... which ones are actually loyal to the United States of America and which ones are working for China.”

Andrew Schulz notes the benefit of having an American fighter as a belt holder in the sport.

“I think it's always good to have a American fighter be a belt holder, especially, like, a wild one. I know people will hate the certain things that he's said, et cetera. Like, I mean-”

Referred to as a superpower with an inextricably linked economy to China.

“W- economically, I think, you know, they hold most of our debt. 90% of our antibiotics are made in China, [laughs] among other things. So not to say anything of semiconductors or whatever. Like, if you wanna talk about two economies that at this point are pret…”

Referenced as the source of the speaker's perspective on UK free speech laws.

“I'm gonna have dinner with a few people, and they're gonna say some things that are vaguely racist, and then I'll basically kind of transcribe them and then make them appropriate for YouTube. But I... No, I'm not gonna be doing, like, docs. And God bless the p…”

Discussed as a nation that would lose a ground war against China.

“Here's the reality. We cannot... You're not gonna win in a, a war with China. You're not gonna win in a ground war with China. I don't know what you're thinking. And can we, one more time, please, let's bring that up. Let's bring that up, 'cause it just makes …”

Characterized as a declining power that needs to abandon its arrogant 'bully' stance.

“We need China. This whole idea that we're against China or anti-China is itself a lie. That, I mean, the Steve Bannons of people will talk about how, how dangerous the CCP is, and they might be right. There's no fucking option. We have no option. We have no op…”

The host compares the American youth and culture unfavorably to the Chinese display.

“Look at all the Chinese children. They are in... They... First of all, they're all in colorful outfits, and they're doing something that children in America cannot do. They're jumping up and down. They're jumping up and down. They are full of life. And by the …”

Discussed as a nation that needs to recognize its declining global influence.

“We are not in the prime of our life anymore, okay? Our girlfriend doesn't know she's pregnant, and as soon as she finds out, she begins to wildly punch her own stomach. We are not there anymore, folks. And if you don't realize that... By the way, you could suc…”

Building out domestic manufacturing capacity to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor fabs.

“So as we build out our own manufacturing capacity here in the US, and I know we've struggled, and there are fits and starts and issues with it and whatnot, but the, the TSMC facility in Arizona is running. They're printing. And if it works and they figure out …”

Referenced as a global power with a stranglehold on energy and intelligence, currently negotiating trade and economic collaboration with China.

“The money that's gonna be raised plus the gerrymandering that h- will get done and undone over the next few months. Again, I think, I think the, the Chinese and the, and the Americans have a very strong incentive to kind of divide up the world. Like, I think t…”

Discussed in contrast to China's societal structure and its role in global trade.

“It's still largely closed off, and so I think what this is was about bringing some amount of financial firepower with them so that they could start to penetrate that market. Planes, cars, ships, you know, very much hard equipment type stuff. I've said this bef…”

The nation seeking to expand economic prosperity and avoid conflict with China.

“like the perfect moment to say, "Hey, maybe the world can be more multipolar. It doesn't need to be unipolar. It doesn't need to be bipolar, but everyone can participate in the expansion of the pie." And I think that that's kind of the idealistic way to look a…”

The location where food adulteration was a major cause of death in the 19th century.

“Flour was routinely laced with gypsum, which we use in wallboard. Uh, spices were sometimes eighty to ninety percent adulterated. Brick dust was used in cinnamon. Floor sweepings were used in pepper. Ground bone was used in some of the other ground spices. Mos…”

Mentioned in the context of Iran's potential missile range and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

“... that would include them being able to deliver them to the United States as well. And I think, see, it's like this. Here's how it worked, okay? The Iranians, they're members of the Non-Proliferation Treaty going way back, and they had a safeguarded civilian…”

Discussed in contrast to China's foreign policy and as a potential site for chip manufacturing.

“... they're not doing what we're doing.”

Discussed as the nation that would be dominated under the New World Order theory.

“Okay, well, I mean, the New World Order conspiracy was that American foreign policy ultimately is about building a one world federal government under the United Nations that would ultimately dominate the United States, the John Birch Society-”

The primary power enforcing international law and maintaining a neo-colonial global order.

“But at the end of the day, there is no actual world state to enforce that law other than just the United States of America. But there is no one world army, one world police force to enforce these things. It's all about coercing and cajoling governments to go a…”

Described as having a strategic fear of a German-Russian alliance and suspected involvement in the pipeline sabotage.

“They closed down all their nuclear in Germany, and then the idea was, "Don't worry, we're gonna import all this clean burning, uh, CH4 from the, uh, Russians." And then, but to the Americans, this is the worst thing that could happen, would be an alliance or t…”

Criticized for its persistent global interventionism and failure to allow controlled experiments in international relations.

“Yeah, you know, it, it just so happens, right, that America never leaves anybody alone, so we just don't have a controlled experiment, right?”

The nation responsible for the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent massive financial expenditure.

“This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. It's good to be passionate about something. Exploring what interests you adds more color to your life. It makes it more fulfilling in a way. And that's not just limited to your personal life. If you run a busines…”

Highlighted for having a culture of allergy injections and easier access to allergists compared to the UK.

“this is mainstream management. But really, in the UK, there is a huge issue about access to these treatments. In the US, you can go to your allergist and get allergy shots. There's much more of a culture of giving injections there because it's easy to visit an…”

Mentioned as a location where food allergy prevalence is estimated at around 5% in children.

“It's a really, really good question. And you're absolutely right regarding your impression because when I was at school, 1980s, I was at school with 1,500 kids, and there was one child who had a peanut allergy. And everyone knew about it 'cause it was such a s…”

Mentioned as a region where studies show similar patterns of penicillin allergy over-diagnosis.

“Yeah, absolutely. And very similar studies from Europe, from the US, from Australia. Very, very similar. And then when you ask people, "Where did this come from? What, why have you been told to avoid it?" the story is almost invariably it's the s- the same. It…”

Mentioned as a country with high rates of allergic disease.

“disentangle, and it's gonna take a, a, a long time to do that. But then of course, as you'll know, you know, anyone, you know, in this space knows, this is such an almost overwhelmingly complex area because we're not just talking about a, we often refer to a d…”

The US is experiencing record-low consumer sentiment despite high stock market performance and faces significant challenges from high public debt.

“In Egypt, for example, they are, they just had a month-long energy curfew, right? Because their natural gas import bill tripled. And when, when everyone's kinda scrambling for LNG, Egyptians can't outbid Europe. They can't outbid China. They can't outbid, you …”

Compared to Egypt in terms of GDP per capita and purchasing power buffer against high energy costs.

“Yeah, good question. So zooming out for a second, I think the world can take $100 to $150 oil. It's not comfortable, especially when you, when you get there very quickly like we have. But especially on infla- you point out the difference between nominal and in…”

Used as a reference point for historical travel times.

“It's an interesting question, 'cause I'm not sure I learned anything new about investing, but I think I learned new about technologies, right? So the engineer in me wants to try to make things realistic where possible. I'm not, like, fully committed to, like, …”

Discussed as the primary issuer of the reserve currency and a nation with erratic foreign policy.

“Yeah, I think, I think, I mean, whether or not it happens, all countries have to consider the possibility of it happening now, right? So that, that's the first order thing is like you can't just wait till it happens. Again, going back to the question, are you …”

Discussed as the issuer of the dollar network and Treasuries, which are subject to dilution and potential geopolitical weaponization.

“better method is to look at money supply growth for the jurisdiction in question, let's say the US. So in the US, money supply growth is historically, um, above inflation levels because we have technological productivity increases that offset some of that mone…”

The US is currently experiencing structural fiscal dominance, which has changed the effectiveness of monetary policy.

“was, like, a technical bubble, a, kind of a, a local bubble forming. And that, I think, was breaking pre-war, and the war didn't help it. Whereas ironically, I mean, you know, Bitcoin is often seen as risk on, and it sells off during crisis, and actually held …”

The US has recently entered a state of fiscal dominance.

“the problem is you do slow down that private sector stuff to some extent, but then you blow out the fiscal deficit by an even bigger number. So you actually in some ways accelerate total credit growth by raising rates. And that's, that's the state of fiscal do…”

Discussed regarding its reserve currency status, industrial base, and geopolitical alliances.

“Yeah, I think, like I mentioned before, we've had decades of these imbalances. And while I do think that the US at one time benefited from having the reserve status, especially during the Cold War, I think it was a massive tailwind, and then even a little bit …”

Discussed in the context of historical market conditions where macro factors could often be ignored by investors.

“Of course, and I think it's a symptom of the age we're in. I, I've been describing this as a macro-heavy decade. And so the advice to either ignore macro or include macro can vary much depending on the times. I think, you know, f- to, to Buffett and Munger's p…”

The US benefits from the dollar's reserve status, allowing it to run large fiscal deficits and maintain global military influence.

“outside of the US. It's like, well, how, how did those dollars get there? And the answer is structural trade deficits. They overvalue our dollar, and therefore they, we, we run trade deficits with the rest of the world for, like, fifty years straight and, and …”

Mentioned as the location where people are participating in the smart underwear study.

“That's right. And people from all over the United States can join from home. The scientists will compare the tooting patterns with what people eat and the tiny little living things inside their guts called microbes.”

Analyzed as the successor to the British Empire's global influence.

“No, it's, it's so right. Um, so that brings us to the United States, which is the heir to the British Empire. So if the British Empire was the product of th- this deal that John Dee made to bring the Tempest to”

Referenced as a place where these ancient stories are still heard in churches every Sunday.

“Well, you can hear that story in any church in the United States every Sunday.”

Referenced as the location where public discourse on genetics was suppressed for decades.

“I-- For about 50 years in the United States, it, it was basically”

The Federal Reserve's independence was a new experiment for the country.

“Yeah, so nice. McChesney Martin was Fed Chair in a hugely important time for Fed independence. In fact, Fed independence was a brand-new experiment for the United States.”

Referred to in the context of the country going to war and the general understanding of presidential conduct.

“And now, as inflation has started to go back up, as the US has gone to war and continues to try and levy the most comprehensive tariffs since, like, the 1940s.”

Described as having a socialist-leaning welfare structure that faces sustainability issues due to demographic shifts.

“... th- these are relatively new inventions. United States is a socialist utopia, and people don't even realize it. And we're like, "Oh, well, you know, China is soc- " No, they're not. We're way more socialist than China.”

Discussed as the primary location where fertility policies and tax penalties are being analyzed.

“We, we do. We do. Okay? If the US added, it'd be about 5, 6% of GDP a year max for the US to buy our way out of our current fertility situation back to 2.1. Um, if we added that amount of spending and taxation, we would still be spending and tax-”

The primary focus of the fertility and motherhood statistics discussed by the speakers.

“Look, it, it, maybe a way to think about it is if you're 15 years old today in the US,”

Simone Collins cites the United States as an example of a modern developed country with less social support for parents.

“... women do in, in, in places where there's less social support, which is like the modern developed country, like in the United States, where you're not really getting a lot of help, especially if you're a middle class or above woman, women especially do take…”

Stephen J. Shaw notes that the US has a slightly younger peak age of motherhood compared to other nations.

“South Korea 33, US a little younger. There's a curve, and that curve is almost perfectly smooth. If you want to throw R squareds at it, and then we're not getting too scientific here, but it's like 98% R squared matched to a perfect bell curve.”

Mentioned regarding fertility rates and the age at which people become parents.

“and then look at all other women currently childless at 27, how many would be expected to become mothers at current prevailing fertility rates? And in the US, that's 50/50 at age 27. Um,”

Discussed as a place where CPS intervention is a significant concern for families, particularly those of color.

“Um, in the US, it's, it's quite a concern.”

The US is experiencing record-low fertility rates and significant declines in births compared to 2007.

“Global fertility is projected to keep falling, reaching around 1.8 by 2050 and 1.6 by 2100. By 2100, only six countries are expected to still be at or above replacement level. The US recorded its lowest ever fertility rate of 1.6 births per woman in 2024. Arou…”

Mentioned as a country where the likelihood of becoming a mother drops significantly after age 27.

“Even if it was just a minute percentage of people who get to 32, 35, having been sure that they were gonna become parents, because everything was mapped up, mapped out. They even had the partner. And then there's that breakup, and then they're back starting ag…”

Discussed as the location where fertility rates are below replacement levels and where miscarriage prevention could save thousands of pregnancies annually.

“Even though it's been in, been, it's been around for 30 years. Even though recurrent miscarriage, if all we did using clinical, clinically demonstrated effectiveness, was get every person using that drug after their first mir- miscarriage or even after their s…”

Mentioned in the context of historical child labor laws and their impact on fertility rates.

“I will say there actually is a study showing that child labor laws in, in US history do reduce fertility.”

Mentioned regarding the stability of family size and the average number of children per mother over recent decades.

“You know, one of the remarkable things to me, um, I don't think I'm overusing it, is that when you look at the stability of family size over decades. Now so, in, in the US it's actually gone up from around 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 children per mother, if we focus on moth…”

Discussed as a country that can print money to fund social programs without the same budget constraints as smaller European nations.

“It's a problem for small budget constrained countries like a Euro country, but it's not a problem for the US where you can just print it.”

Discussed as the location where the likelihood of becoming a mother at age 35 or older is approximately 15%.

“Let, let, let's say we're successful collectively in that people should become more aware of the risks of delayed parenthood, that the likelihood of becoming a mom in the US, I think at age 35 or older, is around 15%. Once people start to understand that, and …”

The country where Wafaa Bilal moved to and where Jamil Zaki's parents settled.

“Wafaa was born and raised in Iraq. He came to the US in the early '90s.”

Facilities in the United States are monitoring passengers from the affected cruise ship.

“18 American passengers from the hantavirus-affected cruise ship are now being monitored at two facilities in the United States.”

Ted Maher returned to the United States after his release and attempted to start a new life.

“In his first 10 years back in the United States, John Green tried to shed his alter ego, Ted Maher of Monaco. He found a new job driving trucks, and began a new romance with Dr. Kim Lark, who he went on to marry in 2020. But the marriage crumbled, and in 2023 …”

Vanguard is the largest provider of index funds in the United States.

“And we are your hosts. Today's episode is more relevant for you than any other company we have ever covered. For most of you, you have most of your net worth tied up in this company, or the copycats who followed. The company is Vanguard, who effectively create…”

Mentioned as a benchmark for successful outdoor brands like Patagonia.

“Fjallraven or Patagonia has done for Sweden or for the United States.”

Identified as a key international market with high demand for their products.

“There's a huge amount of demand, though, from, uh, from Japan, from, from, from the US, uh, from some other military teams, you know, around the world. Those other countries I mentioned were, you know, individuals buying. We're, we're actually very governed by…”

Cited as an example of a country that employs an aggressive 'buy American' policy for its public sector.

“So look, the classic economic argument would be that the government should buy cheapest, and that is definitely the mindset that this government has had, uh, certainly since, really pretty much since Thatcher, uh, and, and onwards. Um, th-there is a really int…”

The country is approaching its 250th anniversary, which is being linked to potential presidential pardons.

“So one point seven seven six billion. If you take out billion, it's seventeen seventy-six. Trump has thrown himself into this year's two hundred and fiftieth birthday for the United States. Trump is looking to the celebration itself as a possible moment for ad…”

The office holder who famously used BlackBerry devices during the company's peak.

“I would drive through Waterloo in those years and see building after building after building with a big RIM logo on it. Even today, my mom lives across the street from a giant recreational center donated to the city by RIM back in that era, RIM Park. It is imp…”

Mentioned in the context of the presidency of the United States.

“Yeah. Well, you know, I mean, it really does help to be motivated by doing something than by being something. I mean, the w- world of politics divides in these, into these two cohorts, the people who run 'cause they wanna be something, and that's the larger co…”

Referenced as a comparison to Hungary regarding the ability to overcome political obstacles.

“uh, in his asymmetric toolbox, but we still don't know what is going to happen relative to, uh, voter, uh, suppression, voter purges, uh, you know, uh, the Justice Department, uh, showing up and seizing voting boxes, uh, and all kinds of other things that are …”

The country where there is currently a waiting list for families looking to adopt children with Down syndrome.

“... you can a- uh, adopt a child with Down syndrome today in the United States, and there's a waiting list for these kids in most places. The other thing that happens, though, is what ha- what could have happened to us at three months, and I think this is more…”

The Weather Underground's stated mission was to overthrow the United States government.

“Yeah. Well, I think their mission evolved over time, you know? I would say for my mother, for example, she started out as a civil rights activist. She was in law school in Chicago, and she joined, uh, Dr. King's rent strike in Chicago, kind of earnest young la…”

A region where power shifted away from organized religion toward secular humanism.

“Okay, Chuck, uh, we're back, and we're going to talk about the development of humanism in the, the, the way that we know it today. Because up to this point, we've been talking about little bits here, little bits there, that all together changed the world and e…”

Described as a society that reveres extreme performance and high-level achievement.

“Certainly in the United States, we love to revere the examples of extreme performance, Michael Jordan, um, you know, uh, Mike Tyson, um, amazing gymnasts, um, uh, you know, Yo-Yo Ma, like all these people. But if you, if you talk to them, or people from the ti…”

The country the student was fascinated by and hoped to move to.

“Across that crackly phone line, those words, "Your father is a crook," must have landed like a thunderclap. Learning that your parent is the villain of someone else's story is painful. Secrets like this can cause deep ruptures in families. Now, the secrets tha…”

The hosts discuss the government's strange and potentially destructive narrative regarding UFO sightings.

“And I don't know why the government is being so fucking weird about this.”

Mentioned in the context of high veteran suicide rates.

“The veterans, you know, these stories from veterans about the transformative effects of ibogaine have been really difficult to refute politically. Twenty-two veterans on average are committing suicide in the US every day, and Trump in the Oval Office when he s…”

Mentioned as the host country for the 2028 Olympics.

“Yeah. Especially with the 2028 Olympics being in the US, it's like this is home team for her. [laughs]”

Mentioned as the destination for a cruise ship passenger returning home during a health scare.

“And then for our last topic, if you didn't hear, over the last few days there's been news of a deadly outbreak of hantavirus that has been circulating. So it started on a cruise ship, and while as of the time we're recording this, it's been reported that risk …”

Mentioned in relation to military actions against Iran.

“[instrumental music] This episode is brought to you by The Times and by The Sunday Times. Now, if there is one thing that history, and indeed Bob Dylan teaches us, it is that the times they are always a-changing. And Dominic, I guess we're living in changing t…”

Compared against China in global leadership approval ratings and described by some as increasingly dysfunctional.

“Okay. I would like to take a turn at looking at the public's attitudes towards everything going on here. Uh, some interesting indicators for you. China seems to be coming up in the world's esteem. According to a global poll conducted by Gallup, 36% of people s…”

Engaged in a delicate diplomatic balance between mainland China and Taiwan while managing trade.

“Like most countries, the US has been doing this delicate dance between mainland China and Taiwan. It's been appeasing the Chinese Communist Party by saying that the US doesn't recognize Taiwan as a real country. Then in 1982, President Reagan reassured Taiwan,…”

The Chinese route on Everest was historically restricted to American climbers, with only rare illegal attempts.

“So basically, they concluded that, um, something happened that, that made Irvine drop this ice ax, but they recovered it in '33, and then in 1975, uh, there were some Chine- uh, Chinese climbers who made, uh, a successful summit all the way to the top, and the…”

The country Jasper fled from to avoid regulatory investigation.

“In fact, Jasper, who we had mentioned was selling worms, he and his wife actually fled the US because they were being investigated by the FDA.”

Discussed as a nation struggling with inflation, healthcare costs, and a lack of serious political discourse.

“What people miss, we're very focused on unemployment, and we think that unemployment causes unrest. It's actually not unemployment that causes the greatest levels of unrest. It's, um, what really upsets people and moves them to political action and sometimes e…”

Mentioned regarding legal systems and the use of VLC by the US military.

“Answering to a court order does not make you bankrupt, right? It's not like in the US where it can actually bankrupt you, right? Th- there is-- The, the way the law system work is that, like I, I receive lawyers' letters every week, right? And I can tell you t…”

Anthropic's commitment to supporting the US and democratic nations through their technology.

“We prioritize having a strong relationship on this because we do think that regulation has a role to play. We've been pretty vocal about that. We are very America first in our approach. We want the technology to support the US as well as democratic countries a…”

Mentioned in the context of official AI discussions with China.

“So there was some, uh, reporting in The Wall Street Journal last week that both the US and China have been considering a series of official discussions around AI. We know that AI is on the agenda for President Trump's meetings with Xi in China this week. And w…”

Mentioned regarding earnings performance and rising long-term interest rates.

“Yeah, somewhat similar. I would say we had a stagflationary shock. Stagflationary shocks are often not as problematic for cash flows. Earnings for the equity market have held up really well, partially because of the compositional things I mentioned earlier. Al…”

Discussed as a challenging environment for implementing strict food availability and marketing regulations.

“Definitely be more serious about taxes, right, and moving on from taxes just to sugar, from sugary beverages to other classes of products that we think are problematic. I would definitely want to look at sort of the, uh, availability of foods. You know, I don'…”

Used as a cultural reference point for how psychological terms are defined compared to other regions.

“Ooh, that's a good question. So a lot of times what I will ask people to do is to clarify that. So h- how do you define that? Like, what are you using to gauge that, right? Especially now that social media is as big as a, as it is. A lot of people are getting …”

Used as a historical comparison for the Persian military intervention in Greece.

“Well, I think the Persians think there are good geopolitical reasons for it, because if the punishment of Athens is delayed, then it risks encouraging the emergence of other similar terrorist states in the mountainous wilds of Greece. I think Greece, uh, to th…”

Discussed as a primary beneficiary of big tech headquarters and economic growth.

“That's not to say we shouldn't hold them accountable. It's not to say they shouldn't be subject to the same rules and regulation as other industries. But if you had a red button to push and do away with all big tech, you wouldn't wanna do it. And for all the p…”

The US is described as an enthusiastic country with a pioneer spirit that contrasts with British cultural norms.

“Like you, you're a very enthusiastic country, right?”