10/16/26: Running Out Of Ships In Strait Sinkings, MAGA Voters Revolt In Iowa, AI Bubble Watch, Nicole Lockin Florida Congress Candidate, Wapo Journalist Beaten In West Bank

October 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Running Out Of Ships, MAGA Voters Revolt, and AI Hits Reality

The episode opens with a striking admission from Sam Altman: "I thought when we got to GPT4, which was back in 2023, that very quickly after that, there was going to be much more disruption in software business being up for grabs right away than turned out to be." That confession about overpromised timelines sets the tone for a wide-ranging Friday show where the hosts track a Republican coalition under severe strain — from tanker shortages in the Strait of Hormuz to MAGA voters in Iowa rejecting their own Senate candidate over corruption, to a Washington Post journalist being beaten by West Bank settlers while covering the olive harvest.

The Physical Limits of War and the Economy

Ryan reported on a conversation with oil analyst Rory Johnson about the tanker fleet transiting the Strait of Hormuz. There are roughly 950 VLCC tankers globally, and "a couple are getting hit every day or several a week, depending on the volume of attacks coming from Iran." The hosts argued this is approaching a breaking point: "When Trump says the strait is open, if he means that two out of every ten ships going through are getting hit, that means at some point they're going to run out of ships." There is also a repair bottleneck — damaged tankers queue for months-long repairs behind other vessels with blown-out engine rooms.

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What you'll learn

1 (01:52) **Show Open & Midterm Preview** - Krystal, Saagar, and Emily preview the day's topics: the economy, MAGA voter revolt, AI bubble concerns, Florida candidate Nicole Laughlin, and a Washington Post journalist attacked in the West Bank.
2 (05:19) **Jim Cramer Sounds Like Marx on Wages** - The hosts react to Jim Cramer's admission that real wages are falling and that the wealth effect only helps the rich, framing it as undeniable evidence of a broken economy.
3 (07:54) **Running Out of Ships in the Strait** - Analysis of the physical limits of the global tanker fleet as attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and from the Houthis escalate, with ships getting hit daily.
4 (10:35) **MAGA Voters Feel Personal Betrayal** - The hosts discuss how Trump's broken promises on war and the economy feel like a personal betrayal to his voters, driving some to consider voting Democrat.
5 (16:50) **Iowa Focus Group: Corruption Over War** - MSNBC focus group of MAGA voters in Iowa reveals they won't vote for the Republican Senate candidate due to personal corruption, not just the war.
6 (24:36) **Texas & Maine Senate Races Tighten** - The hosts examine the unexpectedly close Senate races in Texas (Paxton vs. Allred) and Maine (Collins vs. Jackson), where Trump and Elon Musk are heavily involved.
7 (33:44) **Data Centers as Future Political Flashpoint** - A protester at the Maine debate shouting about AI data centers destroying the climate highlights a growing grassroots backlash that could define future politics.

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Show Notes

This Friday the crew takes a look at the non stop sinking of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, MAGA voters in Iowa refusing to vote Republican over corruption, midterm updates in Texas and Maine, a Washington Post journalist savagely beaten by Israeli Settlers in the West Bank and rescued by journalist and friend of the show Jasper Nathaniel, and Florida Congressional Candidate Nicole Locklin joins to talk about the shifting Latino coalition in South Florida after ICE and her chances to flip a long term red district blue.

Nicole Lockin for Florida: https://locklinforcongress.com/?r=0
Jasper Nathaniel: https://substack.com/@infinitejaz

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