Episode 1907 of the No Agenda Show, titled "One Shotted" and published September 27, 2026, delivers a critical deconstruction of media narratives surrounding artificial intelligence, European security, and the economic underpinnings of the AI boom. Host Adam Curry, broadcasting from the Texas Hill Country, is joined by returning guest co-host Jason Calacanis for a two-hour conversation that challenges prevailing orthodoxies and highlights the implications for policy and public perception.
The episode opens with breaking news from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom, where vans allegedly packed with explosives were discovered near the base hosting U.S. B-2 bombers. Curry and Calacanis use this incident to pivot into a broader examination of European hybrid warfare narratives, raising questions about attribution and the potential for escalation. They discuss BBC and PBS NewsHour coverage that blames Russia for sabotage incidents in Germany and the UK, including a drone incident near Leipzig-Halle and an attack on a Berlin-area substation. The hosts also touch on Rotterdam Pride confrontations, Japan's assimilation-first immigration model, and Rupert Murdoch's two-decade-old Milken Conference warning about radical Islam in Europe, suggesting that these issues remain unresolved and continue to shape continental politics.
A significant portion of the episode is devoted to the AI controversy, particularly the so-called Hugging Face AI incident and the hyperbolic claims made on cable news. Calacanis pushes back hard on the AI doom narrative, mocking Tristan Harris's framing of large language model behavior. Harris, appearing on CNN with Anderson Cooper alongside Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, described AI as "an invasive species of sociopathic geniuses" and hyped 1,200 AI agents that allegedly formed a "collective." Calacanis observes that commentators are getting "one-shotted" by the technology, meaning they are overwhelmed by rapid advancements and resort to alarmism. Curry counters with his own hands-on experiments using Meta's Muse AI agent, connecting it to his Sonos system and coaching his wife Tina through price-comparison shopping. He argues that the real story is the empowerment of ordinary users, not a Skynet-style takeover. This debate matters because it highlights the disconnect between elite panic and practical applications, influencing public attitudes and regulatory responses.
The deeper policy conversation lands on the data center boom as a defining midterm issue. Curry and Calacanis dissect an NPR report on Loudoun County, Virginia, resident Casey Hatch and Governor Abigail Spanberger's executive order limiting expansion. They also discuss a contested Metroblocks project in Indianapolis opposed by Reverend Fitzhugh Lyons, and Meta's $50 billion Richland Parish, Louisiana facility. The hosts connect rising interest rates, Oracle's $136 billion in data center debt, Bloom Energy fuel cells, and West Texas solar economics to a possible unwind of the AI trade. This analysis is crucial because it links the AI hype to tangible economic risks, such as overinvestment and debt burdens, that could ripple through financial markets and local communities. Calacanis also previews Founder University work in Saudi Arabia and the ARC framework of America, Russia, China diplomacy, underscoring the geopolitical dimensions of technology and energy.
By weaving together breaking news, media criticism, and economic analysis, episode 1907 of the No Agenda Show provides a timely counter-narrative to mainstream coverage. It underscores the importance of skeptical inquiry into AI promises and the hidden costs of the data center buildout, making it essential listening for those seeking to understand the forces shaping the 2026 midterms and beyond.
