Jason Calacanis Joins Adam Curry to Deconstruct AI Panic, Anthropic 'Cult' and Data Center Backlash
On No Agenda Episode 1905 'Nerdballs,' Adam Curry welcomes All In Podcast co-host Jason Calacanis to dissect AI doomerism, Anthropic's alleged model-worship culture, President Trump's surprise call-in at the All In Summit, and the political fight over data centers heading into the midterms.
Fredericksburg, TX (Newsworthy.ai) Monday Sep 21, 2026 @ 10:00 AM PDT
Open — J-Cal is back
Photo: Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak
“They actually think that they are creating a god. They're not. They're creating software.”
Episode 1905 of the No Agenda Show, titled 'Nerdballs,' published September 20, 2026, features host Adam Curry welcoming venture capitalist and All In Podcast co-host Jason Calacanis for a wide-ranging deconstruction of the AI hype cycle, Silicon Valley's power politics, and the media narratives shaping the 2026 midterms. Broadcasting from the Texas Hill Country, Curry frames Calacanis as 'the get of the week,' fresh off an All In Summit at the Shrine Auditorium that drew 3,000 attendees and surprise call-ins from President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Elon Musk, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The conversation moves quickly across the week's most-discussed stories. Curry and Calacanis unpack:
Open — J-Cal is back
Photo: Adam Curry & John C. Dvorak
“They actually think that they are creating a god. They're not. They're creating software.”
- Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman's new code of conduct and his public criticism of Anthropic's 'model welfare' doctrine
- The reported Hugging Face security incident and calls for an AI 'kill switch'
- The political weaponization of data centers by candidates like Texas Democrat James Talarico
- Trump's revocation of press credentials for CNN, MSNOW, and Politico
- Rising diesel prices tied to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries
Calacanis pulls no punches on the AI safety debate, arguing that Anthropic's leadership has convinced itself it is birthing a deity. 'They actually think that they are creating a god. They're not. They're creating software,' he tells Curry, comparing the company's effective-altruism roots to the doomed engineers in the film Prometheus. Curry plays clips of University of Washington professor Pedro Domingos describing a reported Anthropic 'funeral' for a retired Claude model, while Calacanis insists the real story is regulatory capture: frontier labs lobbying Washington to gate open-source competitors like DeepSeek, GLM, and NeMoTron.
The episode also delivers rare backstage detail from the All In Summit. Calacanis recounts Jensen Huang fumbling the speakerphone button when President Trump called mid-panel, and describes pressing Meta's Dina about the company's record $17 billion settlement during a data-center segment. He shares the origin story of All In as a pandemic-era poker group with David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, and David Friedberg, and reveals that This Week in Startups sells out its ad inventory a year in advance at $3,000 per spot. Curry pivots to Bitcoin, predicting a $430,000 peak, while Calacanis discusses parenting in the smartphone era and the pair reflect on the late John C. Dvorak, whose memory drives the show's ongoing Order of the Ant tribute campaign.
About No Agenda Show
No Agenda is a long-running, listener-supported podcast hosted by Adam Curry and the late John C. Dvorak that takes a skeptical, independent look at mainstream media, politics, and technology. Known for its 'media deconstruction' approach, sharp humor, and value-for-value funding model, the show offers an irreverent alternative to conventional news analysis. Episode 1905 is available now wherever podcasts are heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is Jason Calacanis and why is he guest-hosting No Agenda?
- Jason Calacanis is a venture capitalist, co-host of the All In Podcast, and host of This Week in Startups. He's appearing on No Agenda as part of Adam Curry's ongoing series of guest co-hosts following the death of John C. Dvorak. Calacanis described Curry, Dave Winer, and Dvorak as pioneers who were 'one decade ahead' of him and said he took notes from them for years.
- What is Calacanis's criticism of Anthropic and 'model welfare'?
- Calacanis argues Anthropic's leadership, rooted in effective altruism, has developed 'delusions of grandeur' and believes it is birthing a god. He points to their Constitution document, which speculates about whether Claude deserves welfare, compensation, and consent, and to reports of a 'retirement interview' and funeral for retired Claude models. His verdict: 'They're creating software' — not a deity.
- What happened when President Trump called into the All In Summit?
- During Jensen Huang's onstage panel, the Nvidia CEO's assistant handed him a foldable Android phone with President Trump on the line. Calacanis instructed Huang to hand him the mic for speakerphone. Trump delivered a one-liner joking that Jensen makes chips no one can reverse-engineer but can't figure out the speakerphone button, and called Calacanis 'very TDS' but 'spectacular broadcast.'
- Why are data centers becoming a political flashpoint in the 2026 midterms?
- Curry and Calacanis note that Democrats like Texas candidate James Talarico are attacking Republicans such as Ken Paxton over 'data center cash,' extrapolating fears about Skynet, pollution, noise, water use, and rising electricity costs. Calacanis argues the industry has shifted to paying for its own energy and taxes, and that many Texas facilities use stranded power from windmills, solar, and flared methane in West Texas.
- What is the Order of the Ant and why is episode 1905 significant for it?
- The Order of the Ant is a tribute campaign honoring the late John C. Dvorak, granting $333.33+ donors a commemorative pin and certificate bearing Dvorak's signature. Episode 1905 marks the final opportunity to join, as pins have been ordered in a single exclusive run. A JCD Challenge coin designed by Sir Paul Couture will follow for those who missed the deadline.
- What is driving the record diesel price spike discussed on the show?
- An ABC report cited on the episode blames Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries and the war in Iran spreading across the Persian Gulf for knocking out roughly 20% of global refining capacity — about 7 million barrels a day. Diesel hit $6.39 a gallon nationally and over $8 in parts of California, with home heating oil in Maine up 74% year-over-year.
- What is Adam Curry's Bitcoin price prediction?
- Curry told Calacanis he believes Bitcoin will peak at $430,000 — roughly a 5x from current levels — and eventually become the world's reserve currency. He acknowledged the difficulty is 'calling the top, not the bottom,' and said he views Bitcoin primarily as a permissionless settlement layer, citing his daughter's use of bitmymoney.nl during COVID to bypass slow, expensive bank transfers.
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