Canada Wants to Link Up with the EU & America Reveals its Space Weapon

September 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

"Maybe they'll shoot you." That's how Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the current state of US-Canada relations, recounting a story about Trump giving him a key to the White House. It was a darkly comic way to frame a historic shift: Carney is now racing to plug Canada into the European Union's single market, a cartographic gamble that would redraw the alliances of the Western world. Meanwhile, the Pentagon admitted for the first time that it has weapons in orbit, and the AI industry is fighting over how—or whether—to regulate itself.

Canada's European Pivot and the $500 Billion Bet

Mark Carney is making a bold play to steer Canada away from its economic dependence on the United States, where 70% of its total exports still go. This week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated a plan to make Canada an "associate member" of the EU, telling Carney, "We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world." Finnish President Alexander Stubb added, "Wouldn't it be lovely if Canada was the 28th state of the European Union rather than the 51st state of the United States?"

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What you'll learn

1 (00:28) **Show Open & Host Introductions** - Neal and Toby preview the day's top stories: Canada's EU pivot, US space weapons, and Netflix's new reality show.
2 (00:54) **Netflix Revives the Stanford Prison Experiment** - The streamer commissions an unscripted series based on the controversial 1971 study, with participants randomly assigned as guards or prisoners.
3 (03:07) **Canada's Bold Pivot to Join the European Union** - Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a serious diplomatic push for Canada to become an associate member of the EU, steering the country away from US dependence.
4 (04:37) **EU Diplomats Give Carney's Plan a Cool Reception** - Despite top-level enthusiasm, lower-level EU diplomats express skepticism, fearing the move could antagonize the Trump administration and bruise their own egos.
5 (06:05) **Carney's Personal Connections and Investment Push** - Carney leverages his extensive network from his time at Goldman Sachs and as head of central banks to woo European leaders and global investors.
6 (08:32) **AI Regulation Stalls as Industry Leaders Clash** - A week after an Anthropic employee's warning about superintelligent AI, lawmakers and tech CEOs remain deeply divided on how to regulate the technology.
7 (11:35) **AI Leaders Propose Industry Self-Regulation** - Executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Tesla begin coalescing around the idea of peer review and a Finra-style industry-funded regulator.

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Guests on this episode

Mark Carney Larry Fink Dario Amodei Sam Altman

Show Notes

#934: Canadian PM Mark Carney seeks a special relationship with the EU as it shuns the US, according to reports. Despite numerous proposals, Congress can’t agree on any substantial AI regulation. The US military confirms they’ve launched weapons into space. An African billionaire opens up his refinery to the public, which could swell his wealth even more. Finally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates the Iran war has cost $38 billion so far.

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