The Philip DeFranco Show - The Truth Behind The SpaceX IPO Everyone Is Ignoring

Starting point is 00:00:00 Volvo is leaving the chaos of rush hour outside. Start by settling into your saddle-stitched Napa leather seats. Notice the open space around you, uncluttered, elegant, intentional, warm ambient light, and natural wood details to ground you. This is Volvo's Scandinavian sanctuary for every journey. Learn more at VolvoCars.cault.caps.caultional features mentioned. SpaceX may be about to go public in what may be the biggest IPO in history, valuing the company at up to $2 trillion, and making Elon Musk a certified world's first trillionaire. And the pitch to investors essentially trust him with building a self-sustaining city on Mars with a million people in it.

Starting point is 00:00:44 But there's really a lot going on here. So we're going to walk through this step by step and talk about exactly why this pitch is one of the most ambitious, or depending on how you look at it, most absurd propositions in the history of public markets. People will most likely be able to start buying shares of the company around the middle of next month. I mean, we're talking upwards of $75 billion in new funding. So it'll push the company to $1.5 to $2 trillion, Eon, Musk's net worth, probably gonna go from over $800 billion between $1.4 and $1.6 trillion in SpaceX, they're gonna need the money.

Starting point is 00:01:10 Because while its revenues up, its costs are also up even more, so it lost nearly $5 billion last year. With most of those losses coming from its space and AI products, especially since it merged with XAI. In fact, at least for right now, the only profitable part of SpaceX is internet connectivity, which means it's Starlink satellites. But when the company actually released its prospectus

Starting point is 00:01:26 for investors last week, The pitch was like, hey, give us your money so we can just double down on all the stuff that's not profitable right now. And to what many have called an absolutely fantastical claim, it's projected that the market for all of its products would be about $28.5 trillion dollars, which is almost the entire U.S. economy equivalent. And nearly $23 trillion of that is enterprise computing, which basically means data centers in space. With Elon's pitch being that by putting them in orbit, they can feed off the limitless energy of the sun and exploit the free cooling potential of the vacuum of space. Which some support, though that's an idea that's also been criticized by skeptics who point out that it is actually. surprisingly hard to cool a hot object in space, even though the background temperature is insanely cold. It has to do with the way that heat travels through a vacuum. I'm not going to get too deep into it.

Starting point is 00:02:05 But the point is, is that a normally sized data center would require millions of square meters of panels, which is then way of places like the Telegraph calling it an absurd proposition. As well as the Wall Street Journal, noting that the company's prospectus is full of so many red flags that it would have scuttled other launches. Those including not just the massive bet on AI, but also the quote, incestuous transactions between Elon's companies, such as the $131 million worth of cyber trucks at SpaceX bought. Plus, the company itself acknowledges that its growth, its operations, its entire vision is dependent on a single 54-year-old man, much of whose time is occupied running several other huge companies.

Starting point is 00:02:38 So if Elon dies, he falls ill or just has a spiritual epiphany, and he decides to live the rest of his life in a cave, that ship's going to be left without a captain. But also, as long as he's at the helm, Elon's got 85% of the company's voting power even after the IPO. And for many investors, that concentration of authority in his hands alone it's not just a risk, it's the biggest appeal. Because Elon, yes, he has gotten this far

Starting point is 00:02:58 on a staggering amount of real world success for sure. But also, whatever you feel about the man, you cannot deny the influence of his, we'll call it vibes. Right, to many of his supporters, he has built this image as the guy who can accomplish literally anything through sheer force of will and personality,

Starting point is 00:03:12 even if it seems impossible. And that faith, in his singular abilities, it's evident in this IPO too. Elon, he doesn't get the huge pay package worth $6 to $800 billion unless SpaceX meets two very ambitious conditions. One, reach a total mark evaluation of $7.5 trillion. And two, establish a permanent human colony on Mars with at least one million inhabitants.

Starting point is 00:03:31 In fact, the prospectus even featured an artistic rendering of a life on Mars that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Now, when you think of a colony on Mars, you might imagine something like a modern city with high-rise towers and case and a big glass dome. But also, if you, like, stop to actually think about how that would work, you kind of quickly realize that it feels ridiculous. Or just off the bat, you'd have to build it, which would be a massive feat of off-world engineering unlike really anything. humanity's ever done before. Then you've got to keep that thing tightly sealed or else everyone dies. Then you have to somehow keep meteorites and other space debris from punching holes in it. Then you have to shield the whole thing from space radiation since Mars is an atmosphere 1% as thick as Earth's and there's no magnetosphere. Then you have to endure the wild temperature

Starting point is 00:04:09 swings on the outside which goes from plus 70 degrees to minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit at the equator and as cold as minus 200 degrees at the poles in winter. Then you have to pressurize the inside of the dome which could threaten the structural integrity of the whole thing that you spent so long building. And then, and only then, can you focus on the basics, like clean water, air, food, medicine, energy, equipment, healthy people, and a functional government. All of which, you know, are things that any Martian colony will have to sort out whether it's a dome or not. Instead of deal with some of these problems, you have many experts proposing either burying the habitat underground or covering it in several meters of Martian soil known as Regolith.

Starting point is 00:04:39 And Regolith, notably, isn't like soil on Earth. Right, it's dead. It's made up of broken rocks and dust and it's sharp particles that could create microscopic tears and space suits. Plus, about 1% of it is per chlorates. Right, that's a class of chemicals that are only found in trace amounts in Earth and will interfere with your hormones produced by your thyroid. If you inhale that, you've potentially got a problem, especially if you're hoping to make space babies in the long run. Also, if Martian Regolith is anything like Lunar Regolith, which scientists expect that it would be in that respect, it will be electrically charged, meaning that it will cling to equipment in space, so they need to figure out how to keep astronauts from tracking it into the habitat, right? And there are some ideas, for example, designing dust repellent space suits or specialized rooms that clean you up before you go back inside. So assuming we take care of that, the Regolith could provide decent protection against radiation.

Starting point is 00:05:19 Unless, of course, one of the planet's frequent dust storms blows it away, which is one of the reasons people are proposed packing it in sandbags or baking it into bricks. But then also choosing the best solution here would be easier if we had solid data on the effects of deep space radiation, which right now we don't. Or the only people who have been to space for months at a time were on the ISS and that's shielded by the Earth's magnetosphere. The journey to Mars alone, that's six months right now. Then at least you have two years before Mars and Earth's orbits align again and presumably six months back. But that's not even the worst potential health concern. Right, another huge one is that Mars only has about 40% of the gravity that we take for granted here on Earth.

Starting point is 00:05:51 Well, obviously, nobody's been up there to let us know what that does to the human body. We do have some idea from the 0% gravity on the ISS. Most notably, deterioration of bone density and muscle mass. And once again, if you are making space babies, we really just don't know what that'll do to them as they grow and develop. Then that's also not the end of it, right? Without gravity, all the fluid in your body drifts upward from your legs to your head. It causes what's informally known as puffy head chicken leg syndrome.

Starting point is 00:06:14 But then also, there's a business of actually living. And if you're going to be there for a minimum two-year stretch, you'll need to know how to grow your own food, distill your own water, pump your own air. Right, unlike on Earth, Martians won't have rich brown soil to work with. Instead, they'll have to make do with the dead regolith, which will have to be thoroughly cleansed to get rid of the poisonous perchlorates. Then they'll need to add nutrients, water, and microbes, and even then, the plants probably won't turn out, right? And then on top of all that, the greenhouse needs light, which is in short supply on Mars. The planet's distance from the sun and its frequent dust storms, mean a colony would require artificial light, which requires a lot of electricity.

Starting point is 00:06:44 And because there's not a ton of natural light, solar panels wouldn't be very efficient. and you need to make many, many square miles of them. Plus the dust storms, meteorite strikes, wild temperatures, intense radiation, it's going to force colonists to venture outside for cleaning and maintenance. And as far as other methods, fossil fuels, probably a no there, hydropower. It's not going to work without a ton of water. Wind turbines would have to be just stupidly big to make use of the thin atmosphere there. And geothermal energy would draw as heat from deep underground.

Starting point is 00:07:08 It would be a huge construction project and may not work well at the spots that are best for habitat. So that then leaves nuclear power and as it actually turns out, the smart people they've been working on this for a while now. And so you've got a lot of labor just to essentially stay alive, right? You've got to manage a greenhouse run a power plant Keep the air fresh, cooking cleaning, get along with each other all while Constantly exercising to keep your bones and muscles from degrading and that's all without having even touched the colossal problem of space politics Right, any Martian colony they're gonna develop their own culture their own rules and own economic and political structures And with that in mind what we've seen with other company towns in history is that they tend to reflect the particular quirks of their founders

Starting point is 00:07:42 So for example Henry Ford set up departments of sociology and his factories at Fortlandia at a monitor certain behaviors that he disapproved of like drinking and adultery. Well, the quirks of a colony that is founded by an Elon Musk is to be determined, a hostility to unions would probably be chief among them. Though also because the labor mobility on Mars will be so extraordinary low, that might actually give the workers their leverage. But the company can't evict them because that would literally be murder. And it would be painfully expensive to transport more workers from Earth, which it could only do when the planet's orbits were aligned every two years anyway. Then also, I guess there are other factors that suggest that the balance of power might swing in the other direction.

Starting point is 00:08:14 I mean, if you have a million people, some of them, they're going to be a little crazy at least, especially in an environment like that. With so many ways that things could go wrong, especially in a deadly way, it probably wouldn't be too hard for someone to sabotage crucial life support systems like air and water. Which is then why you've had some arguing that a colony like this would likely gravitate toward pretty intense surveillance and control over its members' behavior. And that then raises thorny questions. Like, what do you do with people that commit crimes? Do they have rights or their courts? Will there be any democratic institutions or goods and amenities rationed and shared? or is anything transacted in a market.

Starting point is 00:08:45 Well, Elon Musk, you know, he might be able to handle technical problems. We're talking about things that are political, economic, and social. Things he has shown he loves to have a hand in and manipulate, but also he's done so with kind of a hammer. But ultimately, what we're going to see is that investors are going to give him his vote of confidence next month, and he's going to barrel ahead with these plans, I guess, at least on paper, to make life interplanetary whether it's feasible or not. So with all that said, especially in the meantime,

Starting point is 00:09:06 I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below. And then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, Listen, I don't think that most people need another motivational quote slapped over a sunset. What I think is that they need an objective person to help them stop spiraling, cut through the noise, and figure out what they actually want. That's what today's sponsor, Strawberry.me, is doing for thousands of people every week. Even the most successful people in the world do not figure it out alone. They have mentors, coaches, people on their corner providing guidance, a sounding board.

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Starting point is 00:10:05 At strawberry dot me slash DeFranco, it is a game changer. But then diving right back into the news, hunger strikes, human chains, escalation, anti-ice protests, elected officials being pepper sprayed, and a governor being turned away from a facility in her own state. That's what Memorial Day weekend looked like a New Jersey this year. Right, and more specifically at this whole shit show is all going down in Delaney Hall, which is an ice detention center in New Jersey. Where for at least several days, there's been an ongoing hunger and labor strike over the facility's god-awful conditions as well as the immigration system in general. You had a letter signed by 300 detainees saying that those inside were detained without warrants and that they don't have adequate legal representation. Saying they're met by judges with two heavy. case load, sometimes they go without translators and their meetings are often canceled and delayed for months. In this letter reading, we feel vulnerable and, in a way, kidnapped, detained without justification, not to mention that we are being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided. They then go on to say that sickness has run rampant inside, that COVID and the flu are

Starting point is 00:11:05 spread and fast, right, and that those with serious conditions like HIV, cancer, diabetes, and heart problems, they're not receiving the care they need. And so for all those reasons, they launched this hunger and labor strike, with their initial demands being to close Delaney Hall and release everyone detained there. many advocates kind of highlighting the organization that it took to get this letter out, saying that it's actually unusual and impressive, a testament to how bad things really are inside. And it was Gabriela Soto, the wife of one of the organizers on the inside, Martin Soto, who actually spread the news about the strike. She's been organizing protests outside of the facility as well,

Starting point is 00:11:33 all while being several months pregnant. In the protests, they've grown substantially when words spread about the hunger strike, and then things really started heating up when ice dried transferring Martin Soda. According to the outlet, the city, Gabriella was waiting in line to visit Martin on Sunday when she noticed a man being shoved into a van. When she realized, that it was actually her husband, she rushed over saying that she and Martin were both screaming and banging on the van, her on the outside, him on the inside. But then other protesters joining her and forming a human chain around the facility to block guys from leaving with Martin. Locking arms. Locking arms.

Starting point is 00:12:00 Somebody needs to record! Not retorting. Recurred in case there's violence. We're not going to note here is that Martin Soto reportedly isn't supposed to be transferred. According to the executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, Martin has a court order preventing his transfer to any other facility. So you've got this massive protest with the human chain preventing ICE from going anywhere, and that is also when elected officials start to show up. We'll start with New Jersey Representative Rob Menendez, who came to Delaney Hall around

Starting point is 00:12:24 8 Sunday evening for the purpose of seeing Martin Soto for himself, as well as a general oversight visit. But rather than just getting that visit over and done with, ICE had Menendez waiting all night long. In fact, he reportedly spent the entire night pacing the fenced-in parking lot, occasionally talking to Gabriella and other advocates through the fence. And the supposed justification as to why he was being shut out, reportedly shifted and changed throughout the night. First, it was because it was too late in the day, then it was because of safety concerns regarding the protest. And according to Benendez, this just kept up, despite his many suggestions for a solution.

Starting point is 00:12:51 He said he offered to meet with Martin in an isolated room instead of walking to his housing unit, to speak with him over video call or even have staff send a video of Martin giving a message to his wife. With Menendez saying at around 2 o'clock in the morning, they said no to every single thing. Now, the only option is staying here

Starting point is 00:13:06 to make sure that at 4 in the morning, five in the morning, they don't try to move him. And it wasn't until later that morning that they finally allowed him inside where he reportedly found confirmation at everything that the detainees claimed in their letter. Or them saying that he spoke to a lot of people on the inside

Starting point is 00:13:17 including a young woman who just wanted to go to her high school graduation, a pregnant woman who was trying to get medical care, or a man who showed him a cart in a milk that had gone rancid. With him saying, I heard just desperation from so many people in there. But also, he wasn't able to meet Martin Soto because ICE had successfully gotten him transferred to a different facility. And with that, you had a DHS spokesperson saying, after, quote, agitators obstructed the vehicle's path, preventing the transfer, they removed about 70 protesters and got Martin moved.

Starting point is 00:13:40 And that's a serious concern that advocates have, that ICE is just going to separate those engaging in the hunger strike and spread them out to different facilities to dilute their message. Though for their part, ICE and DHS have actually denied that a hunger strikes even happening. Swearing up and down that they provide, quote, three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries and dadding. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dietitians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.

Starting point is 00:14:07 But it also wasn't just Menendez that saw inside of that facility. Senator Andy Kim was also allowed into the building and ended up backing up what Menendez found, saying many of them raised big problems when it comes to getting medical treatment, the food, being inedible, water problems. One judge has 74 cases before them just on Tuesday. This is clearly a farce of a judicial process. The meeting calling for the facility to be shut down entirely. And Kim himself actually got involved in the protests outside as well.

Starting point is 00:14:28 Coming out to de-escalate it, he did a situation between protesters and ICE agents. And also when I say he did, I mean, agents reportedly tried moving a military-style vehicle that Kim described as a tank with an armed guard towards the crowd. It wasn't until Kim walked down and went over to support the protesters that the agents appeared to back off a little bit. But then also, soon after, they fired pepper balls

Starting point is 00:14:44 and mace into the crowd catching Kim as well. He's shooting, what's shooting? Don't for the protest. Don't go out. Lean over, let over. He ended up having to sit down with the protesters to have his eyes rinsed out. And then on Monday afternoon, we saw New Jersey Governor Mikey Cheryl making an appearance of the protest as well. Right? And she stood in the crowd listening to people talk about their loved ones inside,

Starting point is 00:15:15 who weren't getting the medical care they needed, about the rotten and spoiled food, and way more. And even Cheryl's saying, no matter what your immigration status is, you shouldn't be treated with anything less than dignity in this country. But she also wasn't able to actually see it for herself, but she also wasn't able to actually see it for herself, the spokesperson saying that she was denied entry into the facility. Though with that you had DHS pushing back saying that Governor Cheryl's visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended

Starting point is 00:15:36 due to riots outside of the facility. And actually, Cheryl was not universally loved with the crowd as well, right with many protesters getting in her face about not showing up earlier in the weekend or even jeering when she left after about an hour. So as now, this remains a developing situation that we should definitely keep eyes on. But then as a situation with ice, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:51 it's getting more violent. I don't wanna talk about something that's more on the international stage. And that, because you have the US, launching all new strikes on Iran, the regime's vowing to retaliate, and Israel's now using this latest escalation as cover for an expansion of its occupation and invasion of Lebanon. And all of this is coming within 24 hours of Trump once again, implying that a deal to end this could be imminent. He kicked off the day yesterday, claiming that negotiations with Iran were proceeding nicely,

Starting point is 00:16:13 though he then added, it will only be a great deal for all or no deal at all, back to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before, and nobody wants that. Also in that post, he pushed for an expansion of the Abraham Accords. I'm referring to a grievance that he held broker to normalize relations between Israel and some other countries in the region. Right with him also saying that it should be mandatory for Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and a few others, including two that already have diplomatic relations with Israel to join. He didn't claim that once a deal struck, Iran could take part, writing, wow, now that would be something special.

Starting point is 00:16:39 This will be the most important deal that any of these great but always in conflict countries will ever sign. Nothing in the past or in the future will surpass it. And yeah, you have many experts saying that would definitely be something special. And that's because it seems extremely unlikely that any of those other countries, let alone Iran, would be signing anytime soon. especially since it's not really clear whether there's actually been true progress on a deal to end the war. The latest U.S. proposal is reportedly focused on ending Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz,

Starting point is 00:17:01 with potentially leaving some of the most contentious issues to be dealt with later. So we're talking about things including sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and Iran's nuclear program. You know, those little things. With the key questions on that last one being how it's going to dispose of the already highly enriched uranium and the length of any potential moratorium on enrichment. And actually with that, you had Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson claiming just yesterday. The focus of the negotiations is on ending the war.

Starting point is 00:17:22 And at this stage, there is no discussion. about nuclear details. So you had Trump claiming in another post that the deal being negotiated would address the nuclear issue with him, also saying it would be the exact opposite of the nuclear agreement reached under Barack Hussein Obama and the rank amateurs of his administration. Which, of course, he called as he as many times before, one of the worst deals ever made by the United States. Well, under that Obama deal, Iran turned over most of its uranium stockpile to Russia and enrichment was capped at 3.67% for 15 years. And then Trump, on the other hand, is called for a full moratorium on enrichment for 20 years. Though notably, that came after

Starting point is 00:17:52 having repeatedly insisted in the past that the country should never be allowed to do so. It's Trump also demanding that Iran surrender its new stockpile, almost a thousand pounds in near-weapons-grade uranium acquired since he pulled out of the Obama deal to the United States. And now he's ever so slightly walked back that demand as well with him saying in yet another post yesterday that an alternative would be for Iran to destroy the material with the Atomic Energy Commission or its equivalent being witnessed to this process and event. Now notably with that, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission actually hasn't been around since 1974, So I'm thinking that he's referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the

Starting point is 00:18:23 UN nuclear watchdog. So for the sake of moving forward, we'll just assume that it was that. But Trump's ramblings about, you know, what's going to come when the war ends? They were also followed up with a show of force that threatened to prolong the conflict. Right, with the US strikes were poorly targeting missile launch sites in southern Iran and boats that were trying to place mines. The military saying that their actions were in self-defense and meant to protect U.S. troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.

Starting point is 00:18:43 And then as far as Iran, they claim to have shot down an American drone and forced a fighter jet to turn around, something that also stands out when you consider how often that Trump's claim that Iran's ability to defend itself has effectively been obliterated. And with that, it's important to know that even American intelligence agencies don't appear to agree with Trump. Right, they've reportedly found that Iran's regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities, including 30 and 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz. And that's as senior American military officials have also voiced concern about dwindling stockpiles along-range missiles and other munitions, right? The same kind of equipment needed to destroy Iran's fortified underground missile sites.

Starting point is 00:19:13 But then also with this, you have Iran's foreign ministry accusing the United States of violating the ceasefire agreement, arguing that the latest strikes undermined diplomatic efforts to end the war. Also the Revolutionary Guard warned of the violation justified a decisive reciprocal response. And you with the Supreme Leader, whose father, of course, the previous Supreme Leader, was killed by American-Israeli strikes on the first day of the war, similarly suggested that his country would not back down. Writing, the hands of time do not turn backward and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for American bases. America, in addition to no longer having a safe place for aggression and military bases in the region is moving further away from its former status day by day. Though despite all of that,

Starting point is 00:19:47 You had Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling reporters that talks were still continuing. And on one hand, he said that a deal could be finalized within a few days, but then, on the other hand, he left kind of the door wide open for failure. There's going to be a deal. We're going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it's either going to be a good deal or there isn't going to be one. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman also confirmed that talks were still happening, but rejected Rubio's timeline saying it is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion.

Starting point is 00:20:10 But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent, no one can make such a claim. But either way, while, you know, these latest U.S. strikes might not have deal railed peace talks entirely, recent events in Lebanon, they do have the potential to complicate negotiations. Right, and that's because Iran has said that it wants Lebanon protected in any agreement. But yesterday, you had Netanyahu announcing that Israel would instead intensify strikes in the country in response to Hezbollah's recent drone attacks, which have actually proven to be relatively effective at penetrating Israeli air defenses. So, of course, like, this whole thing, it is still highly asymmetrical. Hasbola has reportedly killed two dozen people in Israel, while Netanyahu

Starting point is 00:20:40 claimed that Israeli forces had killed more than 600 Hezbollah fighters in recent weeks. And the overall death toll in Lebanon since early March, has now reached 3,185 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced. And with that, while Hezbole claimed several attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon last night, the Israeli military said that it struck more than 100 targets in the country. And today, they ordered residents to evacuate one of southern Lebanon's largest cities and expanded its grout operations beyond the so-called yellow line, which is the line marking the boundary of the occupied Lebanese territory that Israel described as a buffer zone. In addition to all that, Israel's now reportedly pushing the United

Starting point is 00:21:12 States to give Israel free reign in Lebanon and any proposed peace deal with Iran. With one far-right Israeli minister, the same one who went viral for his treatment of detained foreign activists saying in a press conference yesterday, the time has come for the prime minister to bang on Trump's desk and inform him that we are resuming the war in Lebanon. We must cut off the electricity in Lebanon, conquer more territory in return to high-intensity warfare. And then also another far-right minister who actually said that the Trump administration is the most supportive one ever, he reportedly argued yesterday that for every drone, 10 buildings in Beirut will come down. And if there were 7, then 70, and if 15, then 150. If the buildings in Beirut run out, then we'll move on to other parts of Lebanon. So that is what he

Starting point is 00:21:48 said out in the open on camera. And it's also far from the first time that he said something like that. So the U.S. and Iran talks, they're often kind of the main focal point. You then also cannot forget about what Netanyahu and these other political figures are doing and what's happening in Lebanon. And then there's more we got to dive into in just a minute. But first let me say, you know, with a crashing out tour coming up, I already know that there's going to be late nights, after show drinks, travel, and mornings where I still need to function like a responsible adult. And that is exactly why I'll be bringing today's sponsor, Zbiotics pre-alcohol probiotic with me. But this isn't one of those drink more water and manifest wellness-type fixes.

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Starting point is 00:22:47 And for everyone, May is packed with so many other reasons to be out there. Games, weddings, everything in between. So do not let the next morning slow you down. Just go to Zbiotics.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco for 15% off your first order. Or just scan the QR code and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Then, having right back into the news for our final block, more news you need to know. Let's start with Pope Leo.

Starting point is 00:23:06 He just warned that AI can lead to war. He's put out a massive 40,000 word warning that AI can, erode human judgment, deepen inequality, destabilize democracy, and simulate care without real relationships. He also had concerns for AI's potential impact on workers, saying that they're just as consequential to the ones that Pope Leo warned about during the Industrial Revolution, adding that artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed, freed from the logic that turned it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death, saying it must be at the service of all and of the common good. And to do that, he called for more government regulation, protections for anyone whose jobs threatened by AI, better educational intervention, protection for minors, and stress that humans should remain in control of the U.S. of weapons. Though also I'll note that Vatican officials say that he's not fully anti-AI.

Starting point is 00:23:45 He's just pro-regulation. So this is not an all-out rebuke of artificial intelligence. Oh no, no, no. It's a artificial intelligence is a great human achievement, but we can't renounce responsibility. That's that's the main point. Repo Leo, he delivered all that alongside Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olai, who's publicly taking a similar approach to the future of AI. If this technology is coming, it must go well. For a common home, and for the children to come. And notably, anthrabics come under fire

Starting point is 00:24:14 from the president for pushing back against the idea of unrestricted military use of AI with Trump posting. The United States of America will never allow a radical left woke company to dictate how our great military fights and wins wars. And with all this, you had Olai warning that some AI leaders, they fold under that kind of pressure,

Starting point is 00:24:28 saying that the industry can fall victim to quote, a set of incentives and constraints that can sometimes conflict with doing the right thing. And adding that we need moral voices that the incentives cannot abandon, saying that this is the start of a long collaboration between those of us who are building this, and those who can see what we from the inside cannot.

Starting point is 00:24:44 So you've got reports saying that this sets the Vatican up to be sort of a moral compass for the AI industry and the Pope saying that his talks with Olai were a great sign of hope that in their differences, they can still listen to one another. But then, in other news over in Texas, the exact opposite is happening because we're about to see the full effects

Starting point is 00:24:58 of Trump endorsing Ken Paxton and his run off against incumbent senator, John Cornyn. Right, that election's actually happening today, but some Republicans, they're kind of scared shitless that it's become so dirty that it's ultimately gonna cost them control the Senate come November. And this is now one of the most expensive

Starting point is 00:25:11 primary runoffs on record. And it's gotten to the point where the chairman of the Texas GOP had to ask him to cut the mudsling and focus on November. And so notably with that, right, the endorsement had already given Paxton the lead and the polls. So he pulled his attack ads and his campaign on a more positive note and he urged Cornyn to do the same. But kind of, long story short, Corning kind of said, not happening and he plans to continue to tell the truth about Paxton in his words, saying that he wanted a few more days to burn in the fact that Paxton plea bargained with a child sex offender. And that, it kind of gives you a taste of the energy and also an idea of why the stakes are so high for Texas Republican.

Starting point is 00:25:41 Paxton, you know, he's sitting on scandals that a lot of people say makes him a riskier candidate for the midterms. And Cornyn, he spent $50 million on ads and created a fake dating app with Paxton's alleged mistress to make sure that all the Texas knew about it. So that could risk things in November where the winner is going to be going up against Democrat James Tilarico, with many thinking that Tilarico is actually going to perform better against Paxton because Paxton is generally a weaker candidate in part because of his scandals. But Cornyn is seen by a number of Republicans as two, not centurist, but more bipartisan for Texas. So while I now expect Paxton to kind of just walk through this runoff, it's going to be very very very, telling how the people that were voting for Cornyn feel about voting in November. But then finally, I gotta mention how Ball State University now has to pay a former staffer

Starting point is 00:26:19 for $225,000 after firing her for a post that she made about Charlie Kirk after his death. Right, their former health director, Suzanne Swerich, she posted, if you think Charlie Kirk was a good person, we can't be friends and saying that his death was a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he so. But then the university saying that the post was inconsistent with a distinctive nature and trust of her role. And this whole situation leading to Swerich and the ACLU filing their lawsuit, lawsuit, claiming that the university had violated her First Amendment rights. You had swear X saying she had just as much right as anybody else to make the post and

Starting point is 00:26:47 adding that she doesn't regret it and still believes in what she said. So now she's just one of many that are going to get paid since the conservative push to shame, punish, or fire professionals for any critical comments against Kirk. Right, the state of Florida, they had to pay almost half a million dollars to a biologist that they fired after she posted that the whales that she worked with cared just as much about Kirk's death as he did about children being shot in classrooms. Also, a university in Tennessee, they have to pay out of half a million dollars and reinstated tenured professor's job after firing him over reposting an article titled Charlie Kirk says

Starting point is 00:27:13 gun deaths unfortunately worth it to keep the Second Amendment. And then of course there was that retired police officer in Tennessee who was thrown in jail for more than a month after posting a meme alluding to Kirk's death and he just got $835,000 from his lawsuit. But that by friends, you beautiful bastards, brings us to the end of your Tuesday, Philip DeFranco show. Thank you for watching today's show. If you miss last night's Philip DeFranco show, we put out a Memorial Day show, you can click or tap or I got links in the description. But no matter what you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love you, O' Faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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