Sep 23, 2026 · 53 min
Beef prices expose fast food’s private-equity squeeze
9/23/26: Beef Prices Skyrocket, Susan Collins Corruption, Troy Jackson Hijacked By Dem Elites
The episode connects household food costs and health-care oversight to deeper questions about corporate ownership, campaign finance, and who controls political agendas.
- 1Wendy’s closures and soaring beef prices reflect both economic pressure and years of private-equity-driven financial engineering.
- 2ACA enrollment removals raise alarm, but targeting fraudulent brokers and accounts may protect confidence in public health programs.
- 3Susan Collins’s network and Troy Jackson’s campaign illustrate competing claims about corruption, donor influence, and consultant-driven politics.
Don't miss
The hosts’ debate over whether the Susan Collins reporting demonstrates transactional corruption or primarily campaign-finance violations.
The brief
Ryan Grim and Emily Jashinsky begin with Wendy’s closures and soaring beef prices, asking whether today’s pressures or years of private-equity financial engineering did more damage.
The fast-food discussion widens into a critique of franchise land sales, declining quality, and ownership models that can extract value while leaving customers with higher prices.
On ACA enrollment, the hosts weigh the alarm surrounding mass removals against the case that eliminating fraudulent brokers and fake accounts can preserve public trust.
A ProPublica investigation into Susan Collins’s super PAC, defense contractors, shell companies, and Scott Reed prompts a debate over corruption versus campaign-finance violations.
The Troy Jackson discussion turns to Washington consultants, wealthy donors, scripted messaging, and shifting positions on Israel and Gaza as Maine politics strains under competing constituencies.
Featuring
Ryan Grim
Donald John Trump
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