E148: McCarthy ousted, border chaos, Cruise's robotaxi "accident" & more

Sacks corrected the show’s earlier Airtable numbers: the cited $150 million ARR was about three years old, and the 15% growth figure was roughly threefold too low. He estimated Airtable near $500 million ARR and said roughly two-thirds of its $1.4 billion raised remained in the bank.

Sacks argued that McCarthy’s fall was fundamentally about broken trust, not simply spending or Ukraine. He said McCarthy privately softened his hawkish Ukraine rhetoric to him, while rebel Republicans also faulted McCarthy for abandoning promises on single-subject appropriations; McCarthy was removed 216–210 with eight Republican votes. (Clerk of the House)

The border segment’s strongest concrete fact was an October 2023 DHS waiver for new barriers and roads in Starr County, Texas. The Federal Register said there was an “acute and immediate need” for physical barriers; the hosts treated that as politically significant because the Biden administration had avoided calling the project a wall. (Justia)

The Cruise crash was not initiated by the robotaxi: a human hit-and-run driver struck the woman first and threw her into the Cruise vehicle’s path. Cruise braked but stopped with a rear tire on her leg, and police told the company to keep the car stationary until responders could lift it off.

The strongest autonomy insight was Tesla’s data advantage, not a claim that robotaxis are already solved. Chamath argued Tesla’s fleet gives it training coverage Cruise and Waymo lack, while geofenced rivals can work in simpler cities; the panel placed broad autonomy roughly four-to-ten-plus years away depending on geography.

JSX’s “private-jet-like” service is built on a regulatory distinction: it flies scheduled public charters under FAA Part 135 rather than airline Part 121 rules. That enables FBO boarding without normal TSA lines and lower pilot-hour minimums, although JSX said its captains average over 8,000 hours and first officers over 3,000.

Jason Calacanis said he spent three or four years as a volunteer EMT with Bravo Ambulance in Brooklyn. On his first shift, the night before Thanksgiving, he helped treat a stabbing victim whose blood pressure was collapsing; the crew used military-style MAST pants, and the man survived.