E18: Inauguration talk, breaking down the $1.9T stimulus, the case for recalling Gavin Newsom & more
Jason Calacanis (host), Chamath Palihapitiya (host), Jason Calacanis (pre-recorded intro/outro) (host), David Sacks (host), David Friedberg (host), Narrator, Narrator, Narrator, Jason Calacanis (pre-recorded intro/outro variations) (host), Narrator
In this episode of All-In Podcast, featuring Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya, E18: Inauguration talk, breaking down the $1.9T stimulus, the case for recalling Gavin Newsom & more explores post-Inauguration Politics, Big Tech Power, China, Stimulus, and Newsom Recall The hosts react to Biden’s inauguration as a national ‘sigh of relief’ while debating whether impeachment and expanded surveillance laws promote reconciliation or revenge. They examine Big Tech’s growing role as a speech gatekeeper, critiquing Facebook’s Oversight Board, de‑platforming decisions, and proposals to regulate platforms like common carriers. The conversation then shifts to China, espionage, TikTok, and reshoring manufacturing, before unpacking Biden’s $1.9T stimulus and its implications for inflation, inequality, and future infrastructure. They close by making the case for recalling California Governor Gavin Newsom over COVID mismanagement, taxes, and business climate, and joking about running for governor themselves.
Post-Inauguration Politics, Big Tech Power, China, Stimulus, and Newsom Recall
The hosts react to Biden’s inauguration as a national ‘sigh of relief’ while debating whether impeachment and expanded surveillance laws promote reconciliation or revenge. They examine Big Tech’s growing role as a speech gatekeeper, critiquing Facebook’s Oversight Board, de‑platforming decisions, and proposals to regulate platforms like common carriers. The conversation then shifts to China, espionage, TikTok, and reshoring manufacturing, before unpacking Biden’s $1.9T stimulus and its implications for inflation, inequality, and future infrastructure. They close by making the case for recalling California Governor Gavin Newsom over COVID mismanagement, taxes, and business climate, and joking about running for governor themselves.
Key Takeaways
Lower political temperature doesn’t equal real national reconciliation.
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.
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Expanding domestic surveillance in response to January 6 is seen as dangerous overreach.
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.
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Big Tech’s control of modern ‘town squares’ is untenable without clearer free-speech standards.
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.
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China is treated as a systemic strategic threat, not a one-off platform issue.
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. ...
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Current COVID spending is backward-looking; investing in biomanufacturing would be more strategic.
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.
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Massive fiscal stimulus raises serious long-term debt and inflation risks, worsening inequality.
With multi-trillion-dollar packages and a 75% jump in M1 money supply, they warn of potential debt crises and inflation that erode middle-class savings, while asset owners are protected, arguing for broader ownership (e. ...
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Newsom’s recall push reflects perceived systemic failure in California governance.
They blame high taxes, poor infrastructure and schools, mishandled COVID lockdowns and vaccine rollout, and hostility to innovation for driving people and companies to states like Texas and Florida, seeing the recall as a legitimate response rather than just pandemic frustration.
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Notable Quotes
“I’m not gonna swoon over an octogenarian reading cliches off a teleprompter.”
— David Sacks
“The town square got privatized and our speech rights are now in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey.”
— David Sacks
“If we’re gonna be printing trillions of dollars… put the money to work. Let’s reclaim a bunch of this capability onshore and let’s rebuild America.”
— Chamath Palihapitiya
“We have now created an inhospitable culture for innovation… this is a multi-generational decay that we’re starting.”
— Chamath Palihapitiya (on California)
“You might win this particular battle, but you’re losing the war because you’re now buying into the premise of cancel culture.”
— David Sacks
Questions Answered in This Episode
Where should the line be drawn between combating domestic extremism and protecting civil liberties in the post–January 6 environment?
The hosts react to Biden’s inauguration as a national ‘sigh of relief’ while debating whether impeachment and expanded surveillance laws promote reconciliation or revenge. ...
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What is the most realistic and effective way to regulate Big Tech’s role in public discourse without stifling innovation?
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How far should the U.S. go in decoupling from China in technology, data, and manufacturing, and what are the economic trade-offs?
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If we redirected a portion of COVID and defense spending into biomanufacturing and green infrastructure, what would a 10-year plan concretely look like?
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Is California’s crisis primarily about leadership (e.g., Newsom), structural governance, or broader economic shifts—and what reforms would actually reverse the state’s decline?
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Transcript Preview
Hey, everybody. It's me, Jason Calacanis. Welcome, welcome.
Hi, everybody. It's me, Jason.
Thank God Trump's out. (upbeat music) This is the-
I hate Trump and I love myself. (laughs)
I'm going all in. Let your winner slide. Rain Man, David Sachs. I'm going all in. And I said we open sourced it to the fans and they've just gone crazy with it.
Love you, bestie.
Queen of quinoa. I'm going all in.
Hey, everybody. Happy days are here again.
(laughs)
Champagne car- bottles popping, Veuve Clicquot again.
(laughs)
Happy days are here again.
(claps)
Yay. Sachs is so happy. Trump's out of office.
(laughs)
He gave an amazing speech about how great-
(laughs)
... Biden's inauguration was. Welcome to the All In podcast.
(inhales deeply) Oh my gosh.
With me today in our post-inauguration afterglow-
(laughs)
... is the dictator, Trumpy Pypatia.
(laughs)
The queen of quinoa, David Friedberg. And riding the blue wave, diving in, no more red pills, the blue wave is David Rain Man Sachs is with us. David, how did it feel to watch-
(sighs)
... Biden's inauguration speech, which you said hit all the notes? And I see you're wearing blue today.
(claps)
Let me have a sip of my Veuve Clicquot and tell us, you've got the blue jacket, the blue shirt, and the blue headset on. You've ridden the blue wave. Tell us how you feel with Biden in office. I'm going to drink my Veuve.
J- Jason, I'm, I'm just happy to see that, uh-
(exhales)
... that you're happy.
(exhales)
And, uh-
(exhales)
... it's, it's-
(laughs)
Does, does this mean, does this mean that I, that, uh, your Trump derangement is over? You're, uh, you've gone, uh, cold turkey? You're on the wagon and, uh-
(laughs)
... yeah, I'm just happy, I'm just happy to have my friend back and, uh-
(laughs)
... not have you part of this, uh, this Trump derangement zombie horde that, uh, that you've been in for the last few years.
I, uh-
(laughs)
... I'll tell you two quick stories.
(laughs)
Um, the first one turned out not to be true, but there was a New York Times alert that, that came out this weekend saying that, um, they were going to lift the travel ban. And, um, for, uh, for a moment, I was like, I, I wa- I was a li- I was a little in shock. And, you know, my, my... I'm Canadian. My family's in Canada, I haven't seen them in a year. My mom is 80 years old. I haven't seen her in a year. Um, and then the second, uh, was on the day of the inauguration, Biden signed an EO, um, I guess, that, that, you know, starts to co- basically, um, create a path to citizenship. And there are, um, you know, two women in my life who I fi- who I think are just lovely, lovely people, who I've never been able to hire. And, uh, and now this gives us a path to hire them and compensate them and the way that we wanted to. And so in, in these moments, I started crying. And, uh, I- I've probably had three or four moments and I realized like, "Holy shit, I have had so much pent-up emotion waiting for, honestly, just like a normal (laughs) average day, um, and like simple humane good things." Uh, and I'm not, I'm not trying to sort of jump on the Biden bandwagon. I think that he's got a lot of work to do, but I, but I, I do think that just at a level, simple basic level of humanity, it was a different... it was a big sea change. How did you take it, Friedberg? I'm curious. Did you cry as well?
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