Andrew Horowitz, host of The Disciplined Investor and DH Unplugged, stepped into the guest co-host chair alongside Adam Curry for Episode 1908 of the No Agenda Show, titled 'Chivatican.' The episode, released October 1, 2026, marks one of the most finance-forward installments of the long-running, listener-supported podcast. Curry broadcast from the Texas Hill Country, and the pair—who have known each other for roughly 15 years and share a history with the late John C. Dvorak—spent three hours dissecting media narratives around tariffs, jobs numbers, artificial intelligence, and a hijacking mystery over Saudi airspace.
Horowitz brought a markets lens to the show's trademark deconstruction. Among the topics: the $15 billion Mesabi Metallics/SR steel plant deal in Iowa, dubbed 'Patriot Pellets,' and the Section 232 tariffs that enabled it. Horowitz dissected Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's Oval Office pitch alongside Iowa TV6 reporting that no permits have been filed and no major Lee County land has been purchased for the plant. He contrasted Cleveland-Cliffs' North American pellet dominance with Brazil's Vale, flagged the Indian ownership of SR Technologies, and connected the timing to the midterms.
The episode also examined Kevin Hassett's shifting commentary on BLS jobs reports, PCE methodology changes, and ShadowStats founder John Williams. Scott Bessent's bond-buying 'blunder,' private credit refinancing walls, and commercial real estate losses were unpacked. On AI, Curry championed Meta's Muse assistant, predicted the collapse of traditional podcast apps, and recounted building a prototype 'while watching West Wing.' Trump's rebrand of AI as 'SI' (super intelligence) and Anthropic's reported $2 trillion IPO prospectus drew scrutiny.
A gripping segment focused on the FlyDubai cockpit stabbing incident and Netanyahu's pre-election messaging. Curry hammered the shifting official story on the flight to Tel Aviv, noting conflicting ABC, BBC and Netanyahu accounts of whether the plane dropped from 34,000 to 16,000 feet in two or three minutes, whether a knife or crash axe was used, and the now-famous Israeli plumber who allegedly leveled the aircraft.
Horowitz's investing philosophy got its own set piece when he recounted a horseback ride in Costa Rica with his wife Jill. 'The horse doesn't want to fall off the mountain just as badly as you don't want to fall off the mountain. Hang on to the horse. It's the same thing with these markets.'
The episode's depth comes from its specificity. AOC, Bill Gates, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman's 'Dots' launch, Pope Leo's Chicago-accented AI remarks, and Pete Hegseth's Pentagon purge all get run through the deconstruction machine. For listeners, the takeaway is a skeptical, detail-rich look at the forces shaping markets and media—and a reminder that independent, value-for-value journalism continues to offer an alternative to mainstream analysis.
