The long-running media deconstruction podcast No Agenda continued its twice-weekly broadcast on July 30, 2026, with guest hosts Darren O’Neill and Larry Blythner stepping in for regular co-hosts Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak. Curry is taking bereavement time following the passing of Dvorak, leaving the show’s trademark analytical and often irreverent style in the hands of two familiar fill-ins. Episode 1890, titled “Flock Off!” dove into several stories dominating the news cycle, but none more so than Dr. Anthony Fauci’s appearance before a Senate committee, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times.
O’Neill and Blythner opened the episode with a candid explanation of how they were tapped to keep the show running without interruption, then immediately pivoted to the day’s headlines. The most striking segment focused on Fauci’s testimony, which the hosts treated with a mix of disbelief and humor. Blythner did not mince words about the spectacle, calling it “the biggest, um, comedic event in the history of United States government, no question about it.” He argued that Fauci squandered a chance at a Caesar’s Palace residency by listening to his six attorneys instead of answering Senator Josh Hawley’s questions about the color of his tie and the carpet in front of him. The hosts also read verbatim passages from Fauci’s roughly 1,100-page diary, including entries about Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand, and a Kennedy Center evening with Joan Baez, which surfaced alongside the testimony.
The episode also tackled Elon Musk’s latest predictions on artificial intelligence, as reported by The Economist. Musk stated that AI will exceed human intelligence within five years, with a 10 to 20 percent chance of what he called “killer robots.” The hosts used their clip-driven analysis to deconstruct how the media framed these comments, contrasting them with other tech stories.
A significant portion of the show was dedicated to a growing bipartisan revolt against Flock Safety, a company that installs license plate cameras across the United States. The ACLU has joined right-leaning municipalities in Sedona, Arizona, and elsewhere to cancel Flock Safety contracts. O’Neill and Blythner delved into CEO Garrett Langley’s TED Talk and the company’s 120,000 cameras across 49 states, referencing the ACLU’s Chad Marlowe, the dflock.org tracking site, and reporting from Sir Ryan Bemrose about antenna sensors capable of harvesting MAC addresses from passing phones. They contrasted Langley’s pitch that “safety should just be a right” with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s stance on incarceration, El Salvador’s Bukele prison model, and Radley Balko’s book “Rise of the Warrior Cop.” The segment highlighted the tension between surveillance technology and civil liberties, noting that the issue is drawing unusual alliances.
Other topics included a McLaughlin poll on the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz strikes, and a WNBA controversy involving the Seattle Storm owner confronting two teenage Sophie Cunningham fans. The episode concluded with a lengthy donation segment honoring Dvorak with tributes from producers around the world, plus knightings and meetup announcements from Coeur d’Alene to Calgary.
The episode underscores the show’s commitment to questioning how stories are framed, amplified, or ignored across news outlets and government messaging. With guest hosts at the helm, the show continued its tradition of sharp commentary and humor, ensuring that listeners got their regular dose of media deconstruction even during a difficult time for the No Agenda family.
