No Agenda Show Episode 1904: Adam Curry and Rob Dew Call AI Doom Panic a Rerun of the COVID Playbook

On September 17, 2026, the No Agenda Show released Episode 1904, titled 'Junkie Communism,' featuring host Adam Curry and returning guest co-host Rob Dew (Sir Deucifer). Broadcasting from the Hill Country of Texas, Curry framed the escalating artificial intelligence panic as a near-perfect rerun of the COVID-19 playbook, complete with expert priesthood, division, government regulation, and a push toward global governance. The pair combed through roughly 170 clips to trace how the narrative is being manufactured.

The episode digs into several interlocking threads from the week's news cycle: Congresswoman Maxine Waters grilling Treasury officials on AI safety, Senator Bernie Sanders equating AI risk with nuclear weapons, and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang's CNBC appearance claiming self-replicating bot swarms have polluted the internet, requiring 'synthetic internets' and a kill switch. The hosts also cover President Trump's proposed $5,000 tariff dividend to every adult American citizen and the possible stablecoin mechanism behind it, Canadian PM Mark Carney's Strasbourg speech proposing Canada become the EU's first associate member, and Houthi advances near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the new Mecca Accords defense pact.

Curry's media deconstruction approach is on full display as he maps the AI hoax structure. 'The reason why I can easily explain this being a hoax, because you've got the models, the large language model, and that thing by itself... turns out wasn't very useful unless you give it access to tools... Then you have the harness. Oh, I love these terms,' Curry explains, before walking through how guardrails on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini prove companies can throttle output at will. Dew adds context from a friend's Hegelian dialectic analysis mapping eight cultural inhale-exhale cycles from 1945 to present, from the Cold War through COVID to today's AI narrative.

The conversation ranges into the effective altruism movement (with Sam Bankman-Fried as its poster child), Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's warnings, Jensen Huang's semiconductor push, and a Purdue University report on the 157,000-worker shortfall facing US chip fabs. Dew, who once worked at Tokyo Electron America servicing Micron and other clients, pushes back on the mystique around semiconductor manufacturing. The hosts also cover Ilhan Omar's alleged marriage fraud investigation under Tom Homan, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's Kids Act targeting social media for under-13s, Canadian MAID euthanasia expansion, the Yalta European Strategy conference attended by Boris Johnson and David Petraeus, and the mysterious glitter industry centered in New Jersey.

For Texas, the episode's focus on the semiconductor workforce shortage is particularly relevant. With Texas emerging as a hub for chip manufacturing, the Purdue report's finding of a 157,000-worker shortfall nationwide signals both a challenge and an opportunity for the state's economy. Dew's firsthand experience in the industry challenges the narrative that semiconductor manufacturing is uniquely complex, suggesting that with proper training, Texas workers could fill these roles. Moreover, Curry's critique of the AI doom narrative has implications for how businesses and policymakers approach AI regulation. If the panic is indeed a rerun of the COVID playbook, it could lead to unnecessary restrictions that stifle innovation. Texas, known for its business-friendly environment, may need to navigate these pressures carefully to maintain its competitive edge in tech and AI development.

The episode also touches on broader global shifts, such as Canada's potential EU associate membership and Houthi escalation, which could affect Texas trade and energy markets. As a listener-supported show, No Agenda provides an alternative perspective on these issues, encouraging critical thinking about media narratives. Episode 1904 is available now wherever podcasts are heard.