E39: West coast super drought & climate crisis, Nuclear virtue signaling, chaos in SF & more

Friedberg’s California warning was an electricity-and-smoke problem, not simply a water shortage: he said statewide snowpack had hit zero by June 1 and hydro generation was down 70% from 2019. With hydro normally supplying 11–15% of electricity, he wanted masks, powered community centers and other contingency measures before fire season.

Palihapitiya said his team had explored buying water rights and selling them back to states, but he judged private “water baron” ownership politically untenable. His alternative was to place acquired rights in a foundation guaranteeing public access, showing how scarcity could create valuable assets that are difficult to own credibly.

Calacanis said his crowdfunding campaign had raised about $60,000 and hired a journalist to scrutinize San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office for six to 12 months. The GoFundMe’s stated goal was $75,000 for dedicated coverage, and it ultimately recorded $59,225 from 515 donors. (GoFundMe)

Sacks converted a dispute with a Boudin adviser into more political spending, saying he added $50,000 to the recall campaign. Later campaign-finance reporting put his total contribution to that recall effort at $75,000, making him its largest individual donor. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Calacanis said the San Francisco DA’s office contacted him about a startup investment within weeks of his journalist project scrutinizing Boudin’s office, which he interpreted as intimidation. The office sought an interview over another investor’s fraud complaint, and another host explicitly raised the possibility that the timing was coincidental and the inquiry routine.

Calacanis said he was preparing to leave California for Texas or Florida because he expected a decade-long decline and his business partner also wanted out. At 50, he planned to spend the next decade investing in 100–200 companies a year before ending his active investing career.