Adam Curry opened the latest episode of the No Agenda Show with a heartfelt reflection on the life and legacy of his longtime co-host, John C. Dvorak, who was memorialized in a private service in Oakland over the weekend. Broadcasting from a San Francisco hotel room, Curry described the gathering of about 70 attendees, including Sir Mark and Dame Astrid, who flew in from Tokyo, Void Zero from the Netherlands, Eric the Shill from South Dakota, and eulogist Marty Higgins. The service was a moment of closure for the community that Dvorak had built over decades of tech journalism and podcasting.
Curry emphasized Dvorak's unique role in technology criticism, noting, "He wrote about how these products sucked because he felt they could be better. That really was a big part of his role in the world." This perspective, Curry argued, was central to Dvorak's impact, as he held tech giants accountable and pushed for improvement rather than mere acceptance.
The episode, titled "En Banc," also delivered the media deconstruction that has become the show's trademark. The hosts dissected a D.C. Circuit Appeals Court ruling that blocked further construction on President Trump's $400 million White House ballroom, with a 2-1 decision. The court's use of the term "en banc" and its assertion that "whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide" sparked analysis across Fox, ABC, and CBS, which the show compared in its signature 3x3 segment.
Other stories covered included a $567 million judgment against Meta over child safety on Facebook and Instagram, a controversy in the WNBA following Clay Travis's $10 million offer for a game between the Las Vegas Aces and a high school boys' team, and Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed's Medicaid comments, which were juxtaposed with reporting on his wife's Ann Arbor practice, MindWorks Psychiatry.
The hosts also explored the strange case of British academic Jason Arday, whose book "Great and Unfortunate Things" was scheduled for release on August 11 amid allegations of fabricated credentials. Bleidner detailed the saga, questioning the integrity of Arday's claims. Meanwhile, O'Neill highlighted Staten Island activist Scott LoBaido, who chartered a banner plane over New York City to target Zohran Mamdani, all from his hospital bed just days after open-heart surgery.
The episode closed with meetup reports from ten cities, including Albany, Austin, Perth, Hamilton, Wilmington, Sonoma, Denver, Snohomish, Memphis, and Central New Jersey. No Agenda, a listener-supported podcast, continues to offer a skeptical, independent look at media and culture, and Episode 1893 is now available on all podcast platforms.
