Episode 1870 of the No Agenda Show, titled "VBS" and published May 21, 2026, deconstructs a week dominated by a vice-presidential cameo at the White House podium, a Kentucky primary upset, and an unprecedented federal indictment of former Cuban dictator Raul Castro. Hosts Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak analyze how ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, and MSNBC framed — and in some cases buried — the stories driving the 2026 midterm cycle.
The episode opens with Vice President JD Vance filling in for Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, fielding questions on Iran, gas prices, and the ongoing ceasefire. Curry argues that Vance's performance revitalized the press briefing, stating, "He is making the press briefing exciting again." The hosts then dissect Rep. Thomas Massie's primary loss to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein, a $32 million race shadowed by an alleged AI-driven smear campaign. Curry contends the collapse — from a 71% win probability on May 8 to a near 10-point loss — was driven by an algorithmic smear ignored by legacy outlets. Dvorak explains, "It was a smear campaign that indicated that once Massey's wife died, he had an affair with at least 2 women," while Curry counters with a listener letter alleging the story was manufactured to take down both Massie and Lauren Boebert.
The hosts turn to the DOJ's indictment of Raul Castro over the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, framed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Dvorak floats the theory that President Trump is "completing the Bay of Pigs operation that Kennedy chickened out on," noting the Nimitz strike group's entry into the Caribbean. Other segments cover the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund born from Trump's settled IRS lawsuit, his 3,700 stock trades attributed to high-frequency trading algorithms, and Polymarket insider-betting concerns tied to Donald Trump Jr.
The episode also explores Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "Economic Fury" sanctions program targeting UK-domiciled tanker operators, the San Diego Islamic Center shooting, and Google's $190 billion Gemini Spark rollout at I/O. Curry and Dvorak emphasize the importance of understanding how stories are framed, amplified, or ignored across news, government, and tech platforms. For more details, listeners can access the full episode at noagendashow.net and wherever podcasts are heard.
