All-In PodcastNick Shirley: Exposing Government Fraud, Suing California & Taking on the Media
All-In Podcast
California's High-Speed Rail to Nowhere 0:05
California's high-speed rail project began in 2008 with a promise to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco. Eighteen years and about fifteen billion dollars later, no track connects any two towns, and the finished project would cost between one hundred and two hundred billion dollars more. By contrast, China built its own high-speed rail system starting the same year and has connected over thirty thousand miles across the entire country.
Costs Spiral Far Past Original Estimates 1:30
The original 2008 estimate for the project was thirty three billion dollars. That number jumped to one hundred twenty six billion, then to a newest estimate of two hundred thirty six billion, putting it on track to become the third most expensive infrastructure project in world history, behind the 1950s interstate system and the International Space Station. Unlike those two projects, which people can actually drive on or fly to, no one will ever ride this train. A 2016 video reportedly shows Governor Newsom privately admitting the project may never be finished in this lifetime.
Where the Money Actually Went 3:00
About a third of the total cost has gone to change order delays, largely because officials did not know where the infrastructure was or how to build the train. Contractors owed money for delays have collected roughly one hundred seventy thousand dollars a day, and California just settled one delay claim in February for over half a billion dollars. The state has still not purchased any actual trains, which critics take as a sign officials know a train will never run on these tracks. At current ridership between San Francisco and LA, the money spent so far could have funded free one-way flights for one hundred fifty years, or three hundred years at the new cost estimate.
Confusion on the Ground and Along the Route 6:01
Workers near the supposed rail hub could not say where the hub would actually be. Land bought back in 2006 for development is now being built into houses directly along the planned rail alignment, even as construction on the rail continues elsewhere, meaning the state may eventually have to buy back newly built homes at many times raw land value. A city manager said the rail line largely duplicates an existing Amtrak route and that communication from the state has been sparse, leaving local officials in the dark. California has since abandoned the full Los Angeles to San Francisco route and is now focused only on a shorter stretch between Merced and Bakersfield.
Farmers and the Ballot Promise 8:00
A farmer explained that the rail line will split ranches that have stayed contiguous for hundreds of years, forcing irrigation and power infrastructure to be duplicated on both sides. Voters did approve the project, but the ballot language was vague and did not specify a route, and the current path serves an area that farmers say never needed high-speed rail. One farmer argued that the same money invested in water and energy infrastructure could have transformed agriculture in the state instead.
A Senator Defends the Project 9:31
At the California High-Speed Rail Authority office, staff had already left before closing time. Senator Cortezi, who helped secure one billion dollars a year for twenty years for the authority, defended the commitment as a long-term investment and called it the greatest economic development project in the country, comparing it to building dams, bridges, and highways. He acknowledged no track has been laid yet but said twenty one construction projects are underway with thousands of workers, and that the project is happening even if it might not be finished within his lifetime.
The Role of Elon and X 25:00
You hear that much of this new wave of citizen journalism owes its reach to Elon Musk and X. A video about fraud that got only a few million views on YouTube reached 140 million views on X, putting it in front of the most important people in the world and forcing government action. Nick says he hopes he is motivating his generation to be doers rather than complainers, and he stresses that he does not just report a story and walk away, he keeps following it because real corruption needs to be taken down.
Past Danger and Ongoing Fraud Work 26:30
Before the Minnesota video made him famous, Nick had already done dangerous reporting, including nearly being kidnapped by the head of Comando Vermelho in a Rio de Janeiro favela and nearly being taken hostage in Cuba by a two-star communist general questioning his early departure. He wants to return to that kind of work, but fraud investigation has taken over his life, with new corruption stories surfacing every morning. He points to welfare fraud in the United States as especially severe, citing a Portland strip club that accepts SNAP cards and widespread looting of food stamp, daycare, adult daycare, and hospice programs.
Safety Concerns and Needed Support 28:30
Security has become a real worry, since fraudsters he confronts could react violently rather than let a video expose them. His hosts encourage him to keep confronting subjects, as outlets like 60 Minutes have long done, and urge him to professionalize his operation by seeking bigger audience support, including higher-tier subscriptions, so he can hire a researcher and video editor. They call for tougher sentencing for those who defraud government programs and close by praising his work, citing California's high-speed rail project, its $240 billion cost between Fresno and Modesto, and a half-billion-dollar payment to an Italian billionaire as an example of legal but wasteful spending worth exposing.
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