E18: Inauguration talk, breaking down the $1.9T stimulus, the case for recalling Gavin Newsom & more

While Biden’s inauguration speech hit conciliatory notes and offered a ‘collective sigh of relief,’ the hosts argue that unity requires explicitly validating some opposing-policy concerns and avoiding punitive agendas like Truth and Reconciliation Commissions or overbroad domestic-terror laws.

Several hosts warn that a new ‘domestic Patriot Act’ would be weaponized against broad political dissent, create security honeypots for foreign adversaries, and punish many beyond actual violent extremists, all despite existing FBI powers already being extensive.

They criticize private, global oversight bodies like Facebook’s board as unaccountable and misaligned with national legal standards, advocating instead for First Amendment–like speech policies or common-carrier rules so platforms can’t deny access based on political views.

From TikTok data risks to extensive corporate espionage and Jack Ma’s apparent subjugation by the CCP, the hosts see Chinese firms as extensions of the state, arguing the U.S. needs comprehensive counterintelligence and industrial policy, including reshoring manufacturing.

Friedberg contends that pouring $160B into testing, PPE, and slow vaccination programs misses the chance to build modular biomanufacturing facilities that could rapidly produce vaccines and antibody therapies for future pandemics at relatively modest cost.