Vic and Marcus discuss rising inflation, the AI-driven data center boom, and growing concerns about the long-term economic impact of artificial intelligence. They examine major healthcare venture funding rounds, the resurgence of biotech investment, Medicare policy changes, PBM scrutiny, rising healthcare spending driven by GLP-1 drugs, rural hospital transformation, chemotherapy drug shortages, new cancer treatments, and the growing use of Wegovy in children. The episode also covers Bitcoin's sharp decline, venture capital consolidation, and the future of healthcare innovation.

Story Lineup

1 — In This Economy

1:59 - Story 1: PCE Hits 4.1% — The Iran War, the AI Build-Out, and a Fed Caught in the Middle  [WSJ]

7:13 - Story 2: AI Infrastructure Is Inflation's New Structural Driver  [WSJ]

16:17 - Story 3: AI Bubble Fears Trigger Nasdaq Rout; KOSPI Crashes 10% Overnight  [Axios]

18:02 - Story 4: Scott Bessent: Hamilton Inspires Trump Economic Statecraft  [WSJ]

2 — VC Deal Review

20:33 - Story 1: Menlo Ventures Closes $3B Fund — Biggest Ever — on the Back of Its Anthropic Bet  [TechCrunch]

28:49 - https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/ai-and-machine-learning/assort-health-scores-120m-series-c-scale-voice-ai-agent-platform-healthcare 

30:21 - Story 2: Cadence Closes $100M Series C at $1.23B Valuation for AI-Powered Chronic Care  [MedCity News]

31:33 - Story 3: Ollin Biosciences Hauls In $330M Series B to Challenge Roche's Vabysmo in Wet AMD  [Fierce Biotech]

3 — Policy

32:34 - Story 1: U.S. Health Spending Hits $5.7 Trillion in 2025 — GLP-1 Costs Are a Primary Culprit  [Healthcare Dive]

34:43 - Story 2: 31 House Democrats Demand Transparency on CMS's AI Prior-Auth Pilot in Medicare  [Healthcare Dive]

4 — Health Payors

38:35 - Story 1: Florida Opens Antitrust Probe Into CVS/Caremark as State-Level PBM Crackdown Accelerates  [Healthcare Dive]

43:07 - Story 2: Abarca Health and LucyRx Merge to Build a Scaled Independent PBM Alternative  [MedCity News]

44:33 - Story 3: Medicare Advantage at an Inflection: Reset or Retreat?  [MedCity News]

5 — Health Systems

50:11 - Story 1: Cancer Chemo Shortages Force Hospitals to Consider Rationing  [Becker's]

52:33 - Story 2: Eli Lilly Halts 340B Discounts for Non-Compliant Hospitals, Triggering Legal Battle  [MedCity News]

55:39 - Story 3: States Are Using the $50B Rural Health Fund to Shrink Hospitals, Not Transform Care  [Healthcare Dive]

6 — Pharma & Novel Therapies

57:38 - Story 1: FDA Approves Two New Drugs to Replace Chemo as First-Line Treatment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer  [WSJ]

59:23 - Story 2: Pfizer's First Major ADC From the $43B Seagen Acquisition Fails Phase 3  [Fierce Biotech]

59:47 - Story 3: AbbVie Pays $10.9B for Apogee to Challenge Dupixent in Eczema  [Fierce Biotech]

7 — About Health & Us / The Clinician's Voice

1:00:39 - Story 1: Wegovy for Elementary Schoolers: Pediatricians Turn to GLP-1s as Childhood Obesity Rates Climb  [WSJ]

8 — Web3

1:03:47 - Story 1: Bitcoin Hits Multi-Year Low of $58K as BTC and ETH Each Post 20%+ Monthly Losses  [CoinDesk]

9 — The AI Tracker

1:06:18 - Story 1: Anthropic Accuses Alibaba of Running a 'Brazen' Campaign to Illicitly Access Claude  [WSJ]

1:10:30 - Story 2 : https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/glm-52-why-im-replacing-opus-in-claude

1:12:32 - Story 3: OpenAI Unveils 'Jalapeño' — Its First Custom AI Inference Chip Built With Broadcom  [WSJ]

1:13:05 - Story 4: X - Satya Nadella - "Frontier without an ecosystem is not stable."  [X]

Marcus welcomes Ash Shehata, former KPMG executive and current Impact Advisors leader, as guest host for a wide-ranging discussion on healthcare, technology, finance, and policy. They examine the Federal Reserve’s evolving approach under Kevin Warsh, the economic implications of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and SpaceX’s historic IPO alongside its reported Cursor acquisition. The conversation also covers the resurgence of biotech and pharmaceutical M&A, FDA flexibility around gene therapies, rural hospital transformation funding, information blocking enforcement, Medicare Advantage contract disputes, PBM transparency battles, smart hospital rooms, longevity medicine, GLP-1 coverage expansion for seniors, digital assets, tokenized stocks, and the growing role of AI across healthcare and society.

Story Lineup

1 — In This Economy

2:34 - Story 1: Warsh's Fed Ditches Forward Guidance — Markets Brace for Hikes  [NYT]

• New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh holds rates but abandons forward guidance at his first FOMC presser, sending rate-hike odds higher and rattling markets — a fundamental shift in central bank posture.
• Tension / discussion: Is Warsh's opacity a feature or a bug? Does removing guidance restore Fed credibility or introduce dangerous ambiguity for markets and borrowers?
• also: Axios
• also: WSJ

6:22 - Story 2: U.S.-Iran Deal Reopens Hormuz, Sends Oil Prices Tumbling  [NYT]

• Strait of Hormuz reopens under a U.S.-Iran MOU signed ahead of schedule, driving oil prices lower, gas below $4 nationally, and stocks higher — the biggest macro relief valve in months.
• Tension / discussion: How durable is this deal? A fragile MOU with Iran may give markets false comfort while the underlying geopolitical fault lines remain very much alive.
• also: Axios
• also: Axios

11: 07 - Story 3: SpaceX Acquires AI Coding Agent Cursor for $60 Billion  [WSJ]

• SpaceX deploys post-IPO capital in a $60B all-stock acquisition of Cursor, extending Musk's empire into enterprise AI tooling and setting a new benchmark for AI startup valuations.
• Tension / discussion: Does a $60B price tag for a coding agent represent genuine enterprise value or peak AI deal froth? And what does it mean that a rocket company is now a software conglomerate?
• also: Strictly VC

2 — VC Deal Review

14:52 - Story 1: Biopharma M&A Is Back: PwC Reports Strongest Deal Quarter Since 2020  [Fierce Biotech]

• PwC data shows life sciences deal values exceeded $65B in Q1 2026, the strongest quarter in six years — a macro signal that the biopharma financing cycle has turned.
• Tension / discussion: Is this a genuine ecosystem recovery or a buyer's market where big pharma is snapping up distressed assets at favorable prices while smaller biotechs remain starved for capital?

17:58 - Story 2: Kardigan Prices $400M Upsized IPO to Fund Cardiovascular Drug Push  [Endpoints]

• Cardiovascular biotech Kardigan prices above expectations in a upsized $400M IPO, the latest evidence that the biotech IPO window is open for the right therapeutic areas.
• Tension / discussion: Cardiovascular drugs have a historically brutal Phase 3 attrition rate — does the IPO enthusiasm reflect genuine science confidence or investor FOMO in a hot market?

FYI

• InStride Raises $30M Series C for Pediatric Mental Health  [MedCity News]
• Altaris Acquires AI Drug Dev Platform Simulations Plus for $375M  [Fierce Biotech]
• Vedana Therapeutics Emerges With $46M for Next-Gen Migraine Prevention  [Fierce Biotech]

3 — Policy

20:01 - Story 1: FDA Reverses Course on uniQure Huntington's Gene Therapy — A Signal of New Regulatory Flexibility  [MedCity News]

• FDA greenlights uniQure's Huntington's gene therapy for accelerated approval filing after reversing a prior requirement for an additional trial — a bellwether for how the agency will treat the broader rare disease pipeline.
• Tension / discussion: Is this welcome regulatory modernization for patients with no other options, or does loosening approval standards for gene therapies create a safety accountability gap that will haunt the field?
• also: STAT News
• also: Fierce Biotech

23:35 - Story 2: Rural Hospitals Told to 'Hang On' as Medicare Opt-Outs Accelerate and Closure Funds Lag  [Becker's]

• Rural hospital leaders are skeptical the $50B HR 1 transformation fund arrives before closures hit, while a parallel JAMA analysis shows rural physicians are opting out of Medicare faster than anyone is tracking.
• Tension / discussion: Is the Rural Health Transformation Program a genuine lifeline or a political promise that arrives too late for the hospitals and patients that need it most?
• also: Becker's

31:28  - Story 3: Trump HHS Launches Active Information-Blocking Enforcement Under 21st Century Cures Act  [Becker's Hospital Review]

• After years of soft implementation, HHS is now actively enforcing information-blocking rules — a compliance wake-up call for health systems, EHR vendors, and health IT companies.
• Tension / discussion: Will enforcement pressure actually unlock data interope...

Vic and Marcus discuss rising inflation tied to escalating conflict in Iran and the broader economic implications for energy markets, review major venture capital and healthcare startup funding activity including surgical AI company Uncovr, examine developments in AI adoption and productivity across healthcare, analyze the competitive landscape between Apple and leading AI labs, explore IPO activity ranging from SpaceX demand to healthcare and pharmaceutical offerings, and close with a discussion on robotics, automation, and the impact of humanoid robots on future labor markets.

Links

Story 1: Economy

5:16 - Inflation Jumps as Iran War Intensifies Price Squeeze NYT

9:16 - SpaceX IPO Draws at Least $5 Billion Order From BlackRock

Story 2: VC rundown

15:32 - Surgical AI Startup Uncovr Emerges from Stealth with $7M Seed Funding HIT

16:55 - Stepful raises $55M for healthcare training platform Mobi Health

Story 3: Price transparency

17:40 - Kennedy & Oz Discuss Price transparency on X

Story 4: CMS Top 5 Priorities

22:39 - The 5 Areas Where Dr. Oz Says CMS Can Make Healthcare More Affordable MedCity

Story 5: Drug prices inside EMRs

26:41 - BCBS of Massachusetts partners for lower-cost drug alternatives Healthcare Finance

Story 6: GSK Oncology

28:21 - GSK to Buy Nuvalent for $10.6 Billion in Oncology Push WSJ

Story 7: GLP-1 Pills

28:40 - Novo Nordisk Weight-Loss Pill Prescriptions Hit Three Million Since Launch WSJ

Story 8: Pharma IPO in Canada

30:01 - Apotex Shares Rally as Trading Begins Following Pricing of C$1.3 Billion IPO WSJ

Story 9: Wearable Showdown 

31:33 - The Wearable Showdown: Oura Ring 5 vs. Fitbit Air vs. Whoop MG vs. Apple Watch WSJ

Story 10: Agent Payments

34:41 - Coinbase Launches Tool That Lets AI Agents Trade Crypto and Make Payments for Users Decrypt

35:35 - Mastercard Launches Agent Pay for Machines, Ripple and XRPL Join 30+ Partners to Power AI-Driven Commerce Merkle

Story 11: Abridge growth

38:53 - Abridge picks up strategic investment from Eli Lilly, expands payer, research workflows Fierce Healthcare

Story 12: Claude Fable5

40:08 - Anthropic Releases New ‘Mythos-Class’ Model to General Public With Guardrails WSJ

41:16 - bWe've Never Seen an AI Like This (Claude Fable 5) YouTube

Story 13: Price War Coming?

1:05:55 - OpenAI Considers Drastic Price Cuts, Anticipating War for Users With Anthropic WSJ

Story 14: Apple Developer Conf

1:07:37 - Apple Unveiled the New Siri AI. Here Are the Key Takeaways. WSJ

Story 15: Apple Developer Conf

1:12:47 - Driverless Trucks Are Here—and They’re Delivering Bags of Doritos WSJ 

Vic and Marcus discuss signs of stress in the private credit market, including redemption pressure at Blackstone, major healthcare and AI funding rounds, and the growing interest of technology investors in longevity startups. They examine legal and regulatory developments involving generic drug marketing, Massachusetts' lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare over alleged Medicaid fraud, and California's action related to the 23andMe data breach. The conversation also covers health system adoption of artificial intelligence through partnerships with General Catalyst, new healthcare AI investments, the evolving IPO market, and growing debate over AI regulation and the role of companies such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI.

Links

Story 1: Economy

2:41 - U.S. Job Openings Increased While Hiring Fell in April WSJ

3:17 - U.S. Jobless Claims Rose Last Week WSJ

3:27 - Kevin Warsh Wants the Fed to Think About Inflation Differently WSJ

Story 2: Private Credit - Blackstone

5:44 - Blackstone Investors Ask to Pull $4.4 Billion From Private-Credit Fund WSJ

Story 3: VC rundown

7:14 - Coinbase Founder’s Longevity Startup Triples in Value WSJ

8:15 - Adaptive Innovations Raises $50M in Series A Funding FINSMES

9:37 - Advanced NanoTherapies raises $31M for drug-coated balloon tech Drug Delivery

9:58 - Contraline and its male birth control candidate rally $92.5M amid push into 'massive white space' of men's health Fierce Healthcare

10:52 - Novellia raises $18M for patient-controlled health data platform MobiHealth

12:55 - Ilant Health Secures $15M to Expand Value-Based Precision Obesity Management HIT

Story 4: SCOTUS

13:45 - It's unanimous: SCOTUS agrees with Hikma in 'skinny label' case vs. Amarin Fierce Healthcare

Story 5: MA sues UHG

16:06 - Massachusetts sues UnitedHealthcare for alleged Medicaid fraud Healthcare Dive

16:58 - California attorney general sues over 23andMe data breach Healthcare Dive

Story 6: Ardent new CEO

18:41 - New Ardent Health CEO inherits growth ambitions Healthcare Dive

Story 7: Ascension

21:56 - Ascension closes its $3.9B AmSurg purchase following FTC's all-clear Fierce Healthcare

Story 8: WellSpan

24:18 - WellSpan Health strikes strategic partnership with Philips to deploy, co-develop new healthcare tech Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: New Brain Tumor Treatment

25:33 - Radiation Device Placed in Brain Cuts Tumor Recurrence, Boosts Survival WSJ

Story 10: Lilly 340B

27:53 - Eli Lilly issues data sharing ultimatum to 340B hospitals Healthcare Dive

Story 11: Autism Fraud?

30:53 - The Autism-Therapy Business Is Booming—and So Is the Billing Abuse WSJ

Story 12: Crypto Winter

39:06 - The Crypto Winter Turns Colder as Bitcoin Extends Its Slide WSJ

39:21 - Strategy shares fall after selling $2.5 million in bitcoin, its first sale since 2022 CNBC

Story 13: Tokenized Bank Deposits

42:34 - JPMorgan, Citi and Big Banks Plan New Tokenized Deposit System to Answer Crypto WSJ

Story 14: Mayo Teams with Microsoft

43:44 - Mayo’s latest AI bet: A frontier model with Microsoft Healthcare Dive

Story 15: AI Regulation

45:23 - Trump Signs AI Executive Order to Increase Government Oversight WSJ

Story 16: IPOs

53:50 - Anthropic Files to Go Public in Blockbuster Year for IPOs WSJ

53:59 - Google Seeks $80 Billion for AI Buildout; Berkshire Will Buy $10 Billion Stake WSJ

54:16 - SpaceX Sets Price for the World’s Largest I.P.O. NYT

Story 17: PCs for AI Agents

55:35 - Nvidia Introduces First PCs Designed for AI Agents WSJ

Story 18: Anthropic Reg Capture

56:31 - Anthropic Urges Global Pause in...

Vic and guest host Emily Evans discuss declining consumer sentiment, challenges in the labor market, and the growing impact of AI on jobs and small businesses. They examine FDA food regulation and the debate around "generally regarded as safe" ingredients, Medicaid policy changes and fraud enforcement efforts under CMS, the expansion of AI from large enterprises to Main Street businesses, concerns that GLP-1 weight loss drugs may contribute to muscle loss and frailty, and major developments in the AI infrastructure race, including Amazon's multibillion-dollar chip deal.

Links

Story 1: Economy

00:41 - U.S. Consumer Sentiment Worsened in May WSJ

1: 39 - This Summer’s Teen Job Market Is the Toughest in Decades WSJ

4:05 - Phoenix Built an Empire of Cubicle Jobs. AI Is Coming to Tear It Down. WSJ

7:32 - The App for Trump Accounts Will Launch Thursday. Here’s What to Know. WSJ

Story 2: VC rundown

11:04 - Commure raises $70M, boosting post-money valuation to $7B Mobi Health

13:08 - Benefitbay raises $18m Series A to scale ICHRA platform FinTech

18:50 - Nourish raises $100M, plans to expand care model with physicians Fierce Healthcare

23:07 - Private Loans to Venture-Backed Startups Surge Despite AI Disruption Concerns WSJ

Story 3: Political Hard-Ball Impacts Medicaid

25:50 - Trump Nemesis Sen. Bill Cassidy Defeated in GOP Primary WSJ

26:04 - Paxton Wins Texas Republican Primary After Trump Endorsement WSJ

29:58 - Trump administration proposes crackdown on Medicaid state-directed payments Healthcare Dive

Story 4: New CMS Health Plan Flexibility
45:08 - New Final Rule Pushes Marketplace Enrollees Toward Lower-Quality, More Expensive Coverage CBPP

Story 5: HHS Fraud Crackdown

58:19 - HHS launches AI-backed health fraud crackdown Healthcare Dive

Story 6: CVS and the end of PBMs

1:06:01 - CVS sues to challenge Tennessee's new PBM law Fierce Healthcare

1:08:17 - Bipartisan lawmakers reintroduce bill barring PBMs from owning pharmacies Fierce Healthcare

1:10:27 - Brokers increasingly recommending ICHRA to employers Fierce Healthcare

1:12:36 -  Hospitals sue CVS Health alleging it redirected $250M in 340B funds Healthcare Finance

Story 7: Training more Docs (finally)

1:15:26 - 5 physician residency programs launching or expanding in 2026 Beckers

Story 8: Quorum as a Nonprofit

1:16:09 - Quorum Health transitioning to nonprofit for financial pickup Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: Big Health Brands moving quickly

1:20:06 - Amazon taps Roy Schoenberg to lead healthcare business as Neil Lindsay plans to step down Fierce Healthcare

1:20:53 - Amazon One Medical launches GLP-1 program integrated with primary care Fierce Healthcare

1:22:33 - Smart ring maker Oura files confidentially for IPO as consumer demand propels revenue growth Fierce Healthcare

1:24:33 - GoodRx launches subscription program for low-cost generic medications, telehealth services Fierce Healthcare

Story 10: Lilly’s moves

1:30:22 - One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible. NYT

1:32:00 - Lilly Agrees to Buy Trio of Vaccine Developers WSJ

Story 11: GLP1 Side Effects

1:39:13 - Is the Weight-Loss Drug Revolution Causing a Frailty Epidemic? WSJ

Story 12: Ebola Watch

1:41:49 - Doctors, Hospitals Struggle to Keep Up With Ebola’s Spread WSJ

Story 13: New Chip Entries Grow

1:44:25 - Huawei Says It Has Workaround to Match Leading Chips WSJ

1:45:42 - Amazon Strikes $6 Billion Deal With Snowflake for Agentic Computing Chips WSJ

Story 14: New Chip Entries Grow

1:47:09 -

Vic and Marcus sit down with Chris Boone, Group Vice President of Research Services at Oracle Health and Life Sciences, live from the Jumpstart Health Summit. The conversation explores Oracle’s growing role in healthcare following its Cerner acquisition, the future of real world evidence in drug discovery, how artificial intelligence is reshaping clinical research and healthcare organizations, and the opportunities and challenges surrounding AI adoption, regulation, workforce transformation, and precision medicine. They also discuss predictive healthcare, autonomous agents, the evolution of healthcare leadership, and what a world free of disease could realistically look like.

Vic and Marcus discuss rising inflation driven by energy costs and the impact on consumers, travel, and wage growth. They examine newly confirmed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and debate whether AI investment and market enthusiasm are creating an economic bubble. The episode covers healthcare job growth becoming a key driver of California’s economy, major healthcare venture funding activity, and the resignation of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and what it could signal about the future of regulation. Additional topics include declining overdose deaths, changes to PBMs after Optum Rx moves to a fee-based model, Hims & Hers struggling after the GLP-1 shift, General Catalyst’s healthcare transformation efforts, US and China negotiations, and broader conversations around healthcare, policy, and technology.

Links

Story 1: CPI

1:44 - Inflation Soared to 3.8% in April, Driven by Gasoline Prices WSJ

3:24 - Prices at the Pump Are Wiping Out Wage Gains WSJ

Story 2: New fed Chair

4:51 - Kevin Warsh Is Confirmed as Fed Chair in 54–45 Senate Vote WSJ

Story 3: Jobs

11:42 - U.S. Adds 115,000 Jobs in April With Solid Hiring Across Sectors WSJ

13:43 - Cisco to Shed Jobs for All-In AI Push WSJ

14:21 - Forget Tech and Hollywood. California Is Powered by Healthcare Jobs. WSJ

Story 4: VC rundown

15:14 - Chromie Health picks up $2M in pre-seed funding, launches SMS AI-powered nurse staffing agent Fierce Healthcare

16:07 - Salesforce Ventures, Echo Health Ventures back Optura's $17.5M series A to track AI performance Fierce Healthcare

18:03 - Basata Secures $21M to Rebuild Healthcare’s Operational Layer: Automating Referrals and Scheduling End-to-End HIT 

19:14 - Urologic Health: $11 Million Seed Financing Raised For Non-Invasive Bladder Function Monitoring Pulse 2.0

20:04 - Google-backed Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1B for AI drug discovery platform Mobi Health

Story 5: Policy rundown

21:08 - FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, Under Pressure From Trump, Resigns WSJ

33:11 - Vance to States: Address Fraud or Lose Federal Medicaid Funding WSJ

43:24 - U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths Fall for Third Straight Year WSJ

44:17 - Trump Was Flattering, Xi Was Resolute. The Difference Spoke Volumes. NYT

Story 6: Optum Moving Away from Traditional PBM Model

49:39 - Optum Rx replaces traditional PBM model with a fee-based structure Healthcare Finance

Story 6: UC reaches deal with Union

51:38 - University of California, union reach late-night deal to avert system-wide strike Fierce Healthcare

Story 7: Digital Health Earnings

52:33 - Hims & Hers posts $92M loss in Q1 as it shifts to branded GLP-1 medications Fierce Healthcare

54:22 - Omada Health posts 42% revenue jump in Q1, joins Eli Lilly employer weight loss program Fierce Healthcare

Story 8: GC Hosts Kennedy in Ohio

55:47 - General Cataylst & HatCo host Kennedy in Akron LI

Story 9: Far Reaching Negative Impact of Hearing Loss

58:17 - Walking Slower? Why Your Ears, Not Your Knees, Might Be the Problem WSJ

Story 10: Clarity Act

1:00:27 - Clarity Act clears U.S. Senate committee, on its way to a final test in Congress CoinDesk

Story 11: SpaceX & Google

1:06:06 - SpaceX and Google Are in Talks to Launch Data Centers in Orbit WSJ

Story 12: Googlebooks

1:08:45 - Google’s Android-powered laptops are called Googlebooks, and they’re coming this year Ars Technica

Story 13: Robots You Wear

1:11:37 - Human + Robot Limitless

Vic and Marcus discuss the latest signals from the labor market and growing concerns around AI-driven layoffs, including workforce cuts at Coinbase, PayPal, and other major companies. They examine how AI is reshaping healthcare operations, payer strategies, and pharmaceutical distribution, with conversations covering IBM and OpenAI’s work with Elevance, Hims & Hers launching AI lab interpretation tools, Google’s push into consumer health, and Roche acquiring PathAI. The episode also covers RFK Jr.’s push to reduce antidepressant use, the SEC proposal to eliminate quarterly reporting, CVS and Oscar Health earnings, UPMC acquiring CommonSpirit’s Trinity Health assets, renewed momentum at Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, and the rapid convergence of AI agents, crypto payments, and cloud infrastructure through AWS, Coinbase, and Stripe.

Links

Story 1: Jobs market

1:52 - March Labor Market Was Stable, if Sluggish WSJ

3:08 - Job Market Starts to Show Glimmers of Good News WSJ

Story 2:  Private Credit watch

4:02 - HSBC Takes $400 Million Hit From Private-Credit Alleged Fraud WSJ

Story 3: AI Org changes

5:20 - AI Is Forcing CEOs to Make a Stark Choice: Lay Off Workers or Make Them Do More WSJ

5:40 - Coinbase layoff X

10:46 - PayPal to Cut 20% of Staff Amid Turnaround Push WSJ

12:12 - IBM CEO Says AI Triggers Need for New Operating Models WSJ

Story 4: VC rundown

13:37 -  Startup Enabling Aging at Home Raises $6M, Gains New MA and Medicaid Partnerships MedCity

15:32 - Enzo Health raises $20M to expand AI home health platform Mobi Health

17:09 - XCaliber Health scores $6.5M for workflow platform Mobi Health

19:06 - Village: $9.5 Million Raised For Specialty Pediatrics AI Platform Pulse 2.0

Story 5: Antidepressants

22:02 - RFK Jr. Wants to Wean Some Americans Off Antidepressants WSJ

Story 6: End of Quarterly requirements?

25:45 - SEC Proposes to Eliminate Quarterly Reporting Requirement for Public Companies WSJ

Story 7: Elevance

30:39 - California hospitals sue to block Elevance out-of-network penalty Modern Healthcare

Story 8: Payor earnings

33:22 - CVS’s Results Add to Positive Momentum for Health-Insurance Industry WSJ

35:48 - Oscar Health's profit hits $679M, membership rises in Q1 Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: UPMC

40:02 - UPMC to acquire CommonSpirit’s Trinity Health Modern Healthcare

Story 10: Health provider earnings

42:45 - Ardent touts outpatient volume, margin growth during hectic Q1 Fierce Healthcare

43:54 - Hinge Health lifts 2026 outlook after strong Q1 as it expands to new conditions Fierce Healthcare

Story 11:  Pharma

44:50 - Pfizer Posts Better-Than-Expected Revenue, Profit WSJ

46:30 - Novo Nordisk Shares Jump on Strong Demand for Wegovy Pill WSJ

48:46 - Bayer to Buy Eye-Drug Developer Perfuse Therapeutics for Up to $2.45 Billion WSJ

49:41 - Roche shells out up to $1B for PathAI in move to boost artificial intelligence-powered diagnostics Fierce Healthcare

Story 12:  Pharma

Hantavirus Case in Switzerland Spurs Race to Trace Contacts WSJ

57:06 - Global Health Officials Race to Track Hantavirus but Predict ‘Limited’ Outbreak NYT

Story 13:  AWS agent payments

59:36 - AWS taps Coinbase and Stripe to power USDC payments for AI agents The Block

Story 14:  Hims AI

1:02:57 - Hims & Hers debuts its first AI care agent to interpret biomarker lab results Fierce Healthcare

Story 15:  Google Fitbit

1:04:44 - A comprehensive view of your health: Google Blog

1:06:27 - Google unveils Whoop-like screenless Fitbit Air TechCrunch

Story 16:  Anth...

Vic and Marcus cover Jerome Powell remaining on the Federal Reserve board and concerns around Fed independence, global instability including the UAE exiting OPEC and weakening international institutions, and hyperscaler dominance with strong earnings from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft driven by AI and cloud growth; they discuss venture funding trends including brain-computer interfaces and clinical AI models, FDA adoption of AI to accelerate clinical trials, and policy shifts including the withdrawal of Casey Means’ nomination and Cigna exiting ACA markets; the episode also explores payer performance, Humana’s partnership with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, pharma consolidation led by Eli Lilly, and rising acquisition costs in biotech; they examine societal impacts of reduced human interaction due to technology, crypto instability and DeFi bailouts, and major AI developments including OpenAI’s slowing growth, legal challenges, China blocking Meta’s acquisition of Manus, and the accelerating gap between AI systems and human expertise in medicine

Links

Story 1: Fed Meeting

3:04 - Powell to Remain on Fed Board, Citing Legal Pressure From Trump WSJ

Story 2: OPEC 

5:45 - U.A.E.’s OPEC Exit Deals Major Blow to Cartel Amid Middle East Oil Squeeze WSJ

Story 3: Cloud providers 

9:35 - Google Profit Jumps 81% as Cloud Business Booms WSJ

12:49 - Amazon Posts Double-Digit Growth Anchored by Booming Web Services WSJ

13:15 - Microsoft Reports Strong Cloud Growth, but Questions About AI Returns Persist WSJ

Story 4:  VC 

15:54 - Axoft Raises $55M Series A to Advance Brain-Computer Interface Technology CityBiz

18:11 - Photon: $16 Million Raised To Modernize Prescription Infrastructure And Return Transparency To Patients Pulse 2.0

19:22 - Aidoc banks $150M backed by Goldman Sachs to scale clinical AI foundation model Fierce Healthcare

Story 5:  FDA Looking to RWD 

24:30 - FDA Turns to AI to Speed Up Clinical Trials WSJ

Story 6:  Surgeon General 

26:23 - Trump Withdraws Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General NYT

Story 7:  Payors

29:54 - Cigna to exit ACA market, pursue strategic alternatives for eviCore unit Fierce Healthcare

31:01 - Centene swings to $1.5B profit as Medicaid business improves even as ACA membership falls by 2 million Fierce Healthcare

34:24 - Humana teams with Mark Cuban's Cost-Plus Drug Company Healthcare Finance

Story 8:  UHS

36:13 - Universal Health Services' Q1 2026 earnings growth dampened by volume hits Fierce Healthcare

Story 9:  Pharma

37:36 - Eli Lilly to Buy Ajax Therapeutics for Up to $2.3 Billion WSJ

39:06 - Sun Pharma to Buy U.S. Healthcare Firm Organon in $11.75 Billion Deal WSJ

40:47 - There’s a Revolution in Cancer. But Can Big Pharma Afford It? WSJ

Story 10:  

43:20 - We’re All Talking to Each Other Less Than We Did a Decade Ago WSJ

Story 11:  Robinhood

50:00 - Robinhood Profit Rises on Boost From Prediction Markets, Gold Subscriptions WSJ

Story 12:  Aave

51:48 - Crypto Rushes to Bail Out Decentralized Lender Targeted by Hackers WSJ

Story 13:  AI Diagnosing Patients

56:23 - In real-world test, an AI model did better than ER doctors at diagnosing patients NPR

N/A - Performance of a large language model on the reasoning tasks of a physician Science

Story 14:  OpenAI

58: 11 -OpenAI Misses Key Revenue, User Targets in High-Stakes Sprint Toward IPO WSJ

1:00:20 - OpenAI Sued by Seven Families Over Mass Shooting Suspect’s ChatGPT Use WSJ

1:01:35 - Elon Musk Testifies He Was a ‘Fool’ to Fund OpenAI WSJ

Story 15:  China

1:02:41 - China Bans Meta’s Acquisition of Manus on National Security Grounds WSJ

1:03:53 -

Vic and Marcus recap insights from the Health Evolution Summit, focusing on high-value networking versus weak conference content, then break down major economic and policy developments including Kevin Warsh’s expected appointment as Fed Chair, the end of the investigation into Jerome Powell, and shifts in Fed governance. They cover venture activity across AI healthcare, biotech resurgence, and crowded revenue cycle startups, alongside new accelerators backed by Anne Wojcicki. Policy wins include FDA gene therapy breakthroughs, marijuana reclassification, and faster CMS coverage pathways. The episode dives into payer performance with improved MLR trends, ongoing health system struggles, and biotech deal momentum led by Eli Lilly. They explore AI’s growing role in healthcare, including dementia care and OpenAI launching clinical tools, while also unpacking infrastructure pressures from data center demand, chip innovation, and inference growth. The episode closes with geopolitical tensions in AI, highlighting Nvidia vs China debates, the rise of DeepSeek, and rapid advancements in robotics performance. 

Links

Story 1: Kevin Warsh - Fed

5:12 -  Warsh Pledges Independence at Fed Hearing WSJ

6:11 - DOJ drops investigation into Fed’s Powell Roll Call

Story 2:  VC 

8:36 - Amperos Health secures $16M in series A funding, unveils AI-native denial management solution Fierce Healthcare

9:37 - Tortugas comes out of its shell with $106M to fund 4 phase 2-stage neuro drugs licensed from Asia Fierce Healthcare

11:59 - Courier Health scores $50M to scale CRM technology Mobi Heath

12:53 - Ethermed: $8.5 Million Series A Brings Total Funding To $15 Million+ To Scale AI Prior Authorization Platform Pulse 2.0 

13:19 - Esther and Anne Wojcicki back new healthcare accelerator, fund TechCrunch

Story 3:  1st Gene Therapy

14:54 - FDA Approves First-Ever Gene Therapy to Restore Hearing WSJ

Story 4:  Marijuana reclassified

16:51 - Trump Administration Reclassifies Marijuana as Less Dangerous Drug WSJ

Story 5:  RAPID

18:44 - CMS and FDA announce RAPID Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices Healthcae Finance

Story 6: Payor Financial Reports

20:43 - UnitedHealth Shows Signs of Turnaround With Strong Quarterly Results WSJ

21:58 - Molina controls costs in Q1 but future Medicaid spending in doubt Healthcare Dive 

22:33 - Elevance perks up in 2026 though Medicare Advantage payout could ding profits Healthcare Dive

Story 7: CHS Reports Loss

23:11 - Flagging first-quarter volumes dragged CHS’ earnings Healthcare Dive

Story 8: Pharma Rundown

23:58 - Boston Scientific Net Grows Sharply WSJ

24:56 - Two Drugs Stir Hope for Treatment of Deadly Pancreatic Cancer NYT

25:41 - After Lilly’s $7B Kelonia deal, are there any in vivo CAR-T biotechs left to buy? Fierce Healthcare

Story 9: Pharma Rundown

26:58 - New York Sues Coinbase, Gemini Over Crypto Exchanges’ Prediction Markets WSJ

Story 10: AI for Dementia

32:03 - For Dementia Patients, AI Can Be a Good, Non-Judgmental Listener WSJ

Story 11: OpenAI

33:44 - OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Clinicians, a free AI tool for physicians, NPs and pharmacists Fierce Healthcare

37:03 - OpenAI's GPT-5.5 is here, and it's no potato: narrowly beats Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview on Terminal-Bench 2.0 Venture Beat

Story 12: Datacenters and Infrence

39:17 - Oracle’s Deluge of AI Debt Pushes Wall Street to the Limit WSJ

43:38 - Intel Shares Jump 20% as AI Agents Drive Big Growth WSJ

44:22 - Google Introduces Specialized Chip for New Wave of AI Computing WSJ

47:06 - Dwarkesh Podcast w/ Jensen - YouTube

51:54 - Deepseek on X - X

Story 13: Robot Marathon

56:05 - Chinese Robot Beats Human Best Time in Half-Marathon, After a Stumble WSJ

Vic and Marcus break down a surge in AI development, starting with Vic’s hands-on experience building autonomous agents and what it reveals about the future of work, productivity, and identity. They discuss the growing gap between economic growth and job creation, the psychological impact of AI on workers, and parallels to past industry disruptions. The episode covers venture activity in healthcare, including AI-native operating systems, fertility innovation, and value-based care startups, alongside policy updates like digital health reimbursement models and system-wide labor tensions. They examine the expanding role of GLP-1 drugs beyond weight loss, major pharma momentum, and the increasing convergence of AI and healthcare. The conversation shifts to infrastructure challenges with data centers, global competition, and regulatory friction, before diving into rapid AI advancements across OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and robotics, ending with a broader reflection on purpose, identity, and adapting in an accelerating world.

Links

Story 1: Economic Rundown

12:32 -The Economy Is Growing, Jobs Aren’t. Why That Might Be OK. WSJ

18:50 - Process to Refund Tariffs to Begin Next Week WSJ

19:22 - U.S. Economy Remains Resilient in Face of Iran War, Banks Say WSJ

Story 2:  VC 

20:06 - Keebler Health secures $16M in series A funding for AI-powered risk adjustment platform Fierce Healthcare

20:36 - AI-Enabled Fertility Care and Longevity Provider ONTO Health Closes $20 Million Series funded by ARTIS and Humania Yahoo

N/A - Helical raises $10M seed for virtual pharma AI lab Axios

21:05 - Ultralight Raises $9.3M Seed Round SaaS News

22:32 - Joyful Health Raises $17M in Series A Funding for FinTech FinSms 

Story 3:  FDA Peptides

23:01 - FDA moves toward easing restrictions on certain peptides Healthcare Dive

Story 4:  ACCESS

23:56 - CMS accepts more than 150 providers, digital health firms for ACCESS model Healthcare Dive

Story 5:  BSW Exits ACA & Medicaid

25:38 - Baylor Scott & White Health Plan to depart individual market, Medicaid this year Fierce Healthcare

Story 6:  Walmart Better Care

27:59 - Walmart expands digital health platform’s weight loss offerings, including GLP-1 prescribing Healthcare Dive

Story 7:  UC Health Strike

28:19 - UC Health workers plan open-ended, system-wide strike for May 14 Fierce Healthcare

Story 8:  J & J

30:28 - J&J’s First-Quarter Sales Grow on Cancer-Drug Strength WSJ

Story 9:  Lilly Acq

31:32 - Lilly makes preclinical ADC specialist CrossBridge its latest acquisition in vague $300M deal Fierce Healthcare 

Story 10:  ?

32:34 - (The New York Times) Online and in Doctors Offices. People are Finding that GLP-1s

Story 11: Web 3

35:28 - Elon Musk’s X Money Stands to Disrupt Payments and Pressure PayPal

38:18 - Charles Schwab Begins Rollout of Spot Bitcoin, Ethereal trading Platform

Story 12: Anthropic

39:38 - Anthropic Adds Novartis CEO to Board WSJ

40:42 - Anthropic Releases Claude Opus 4.7 to Remind Everyone How Great Mythos Is Gizmodo

Story 13: Open AI 

43:14 - OpenAI unveils GPT‑5.4‑Cyber, an AI model for defensive cybersecurity 9to5Mac

43:40 - OpenAI’s big Codex update is a direct shot at Anthropic’s Claude Code The Verge
OpenAI unveils GPT‑5.4‑Cyber, an AI model for defensive cybersecurity - 9to5MacVerge

Story: 14  Data Center Fights

45:29 - Elon Musk’s xAI Sued by NAACP Over Memphis Data Center WSJ

47:49 - Maine Lawmakers Pass Ban on Large Data Centers WSJ

48:38 - AI Is Using So Much Energy That Computing Firepower Is Running Out WSJ

Story 15:  Gemini 

51:02 -Google launches a Gemini AI app on Mac The Verge

51:59 - DeepMind launches Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 to meet precise physical AI demands SilconAngle