ATR: The UK Bends the Knee & New Surgeon General Doesn't like Glyphosate with @zebulousprime

About this episode

Zach Smith (Stock Cropper, @zebulousprime), a self-described "passionate leftist" regenerative-leaning farmer, discusses the new US-UK trade deal eliminating tariffs on American beef (both broadly supportive, cautious Trump skeptic conceding a policy win), the surgeon general nomination of glyphosate critic Dr. Casey Means (Smith gives a notably nuanced, pro-glyphosate-with-caveats defense from direct 25-year personal use experience, criticizing the "throw the baby out with the bathwater" framing while granting glyphosate carries some risk profile concerns), and farmer reaction to Vance's prior AI demonstration episode (both enthusiastic, viewing AI adoption as an urgent competitive necessity). The show's most contentious exchange is Smith's Peter Thiel paradox — a full-throated defense of public education against what he frames as a manufactured "war on public schools," blaming two generations of "failed parenting" rather than institutional failure — which Vance strongly rejects as effectively state-subsidized ideological capture, drawing one of the episode's sharpest live disagreements (scored 8-9 by Vance for how strongly he personally disagreed). Smith's worthy adversary is Elon Musk, whom he respects but feels has been radicalized/embittered by personal and political setbacks around DOGE and his family situation.

“82% of independently funded studies show harm from processed food, while 93% of industry sponsored studies reflect no harm... 95% of the people who created the recent USDA food guidelines... had significant conflicts of interest.”

“I'm not trying to be a shill for Big Ag. I'm trying to live in reality... cover crops are a really important practice that could be used at scale, but only with the help of glyphosate.”

“I think, you know, there's a big war against public education right now... I think that's a bunch of bullshit... it's really two generations of failed parents.”

Key moments

• US-UK beef trade deal — both view it as a genuine tariff-reduction win (autos, steel, digital services tax) though Vance flags looming US beef price hikes given historically low cattle herd numbers.
• Surgeon General nominee Casey Means and glyphosate — Smith delivers a detailed, personally-grounded defense of continued glyphosate use in cover-crop systems, citing 25 years of use without personal harm while acknowledging the science isn't fully settled; both agree the debate needs more nuance than "ban everything."
• AI adoption reaction segment — Smith describes being "blown away" watching Vance's AI-interview episode, sending it to his wife and daughters as a wake-up call about accelerating adoption speed.
• Bitcoin/land comparison — Winnebago County land vs. Bitcoin ratio improved from 4.5 acres/BTC (Aug 2024) to 8.1 acres/BTC; Smith says he'd rather hold Bitcoin than buy land right now given policy tailwinds.
• Peter Thiel paradox — Smith's defense of public education against "war on public schools" narrative, attributing school struggles to failed parenting across two generations rather than institutional/curricular capture; Vance sharply disagrees, calling public education "inherently communism" and citing Keynesian economics instruction as embedded propaganda; scored 8-9 for strength of disagreement.