Nick
Appearances
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You go to New York much? Never. I close my house. I basically, I trick my wife. You know how your wife always wants to renovate your house? No idea. No idea what that's like. My wife always wants to renovate my house, right? Every minute I've been alive, my wife has wanted to renovate parts of my house. So we moved out once a year and a half ago.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And I went to learn how he picked the judges, right? And the Supreme Court and why it didn't. And I'm just very detailed. And so I started studying what transition is, right? And I started studying it. and I started studying tariffs. because he wanted to talk about tariffs. And he's always thought the trade deficit was wrong and basically a rip-off of America.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And I started studying everything about it. And so he and I would talk about it. And we knew everything about it. And then he picked me to run Transition.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'll give you an example. So there's a book called The Gatekeepers that was written. And people gave me, oh, you should read this book. And it's about chiefs of staff. And basically, there's another way to call it. It's called the jerks, right? Because what they do, imagine you're the gatekeeper. You're the gatekeeper of what? Of the man who was elected president of the United States of America?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
He needs the gates kept from him? And if you listen to Nixon tapes, You hear him scheming to try to learn anything. Because what happens is the chief of staff, everybody reports to the chief of staff and the chief of staff reports to you. So you can't get on Air Force One without asking the chief of staff. You can't get a document unless you have the chief of staff.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Like literally the rubber chicken. So sort of every night you go out. And so the boss of my company, Bernie Cantor, he got tired of going. So he didn't want to go. So he would send me with his wife. And I would be her walker. I'm the 30-year-old CEO of the company. And I'd take her to the party. And after the party, I'd put her in a limo. And she'd go home. And DJT would say, well, let's go out.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No one can come see you unless you have the chief of staff. And if they take your phone away, you know what you are? You're imprisoned. And that's the gatekeepers. So I said to Donald Trump, I said, look, You fired Reince Priebus, who was your chief of staff. Then you fired John Kelly, who was the chief of staff. Then you fired Mick Mulvaney as the chief of staff.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Then you would have fired Meadows, but you didn't get a chance because of the next election. So I said, why don't you fire the job? What you need is a chief of staff who's actually a chief of staff, not who's the gatekeeper. Right. Right. And so that was an example of how I changed it. And so Susie Wiles is perfect for Donald Trump. You know why? She lets him be him.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
John Kelly took away his phone. So he couldn't communicate with anyone. Whereas Susie embraces who he is, helped him get elected, ran a great campaign. She's perfect for him. in this role. And so that's what I brought. So I brought like an understanding of him. Right. And an understanding of the role. Right. And that's why I convinced your friend, David Sachs. Every time he said, I can't do it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I would call him and say, it's an emergency. It's emergency. I need to see you. He'd fly and go, what is it? I go, you need to join the administration. He goes, that's what the emergency was. I go,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Okay, so Doge comes, it's October of, before the election.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Early October. October 2024. October 2024. Yeah. Like the beginning of October 2024. And I called the president and I said, I need to spend an hour with you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
i have my big ideas yeah right so he gives me he says look i'm not sure what to do october 7th right why don't we figure out what i should be doing october 7th so we decided we're going to go out to the oh hell which is uh uh a super religious uh hasidic jewish um messiah you know the people who wear black hats think he's the messiah and they have a crypt for him where you write a note and you put a note in all right and so
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We agreed we'd go out to that grave site and we'd probably win 60,000 of those kind of voters, which is pretty cool for a day. And then we drove there and back together, the two of us. So I had an hour and a half, just he and me talking. And I said, I want to balance the budget in the United States of America. And this is the way we're gonna do it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No one's ever checked the just under $4 trillion of entitlements. Every politician thinks what you have to do is you have to take the retirement age from 65 and make it a 70. And you have to do this and this and this and this because they never think about the money. But people like us would say, what's the first thing you do? What's the value I'm getting from my money? Right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And what you find is if nobody ever, like as in ever, like I could say the word ever 12 times, has looked at where the money goes. And so there's not even a process to get it back when you send it to the wrong person. You just send another one out. Like, think about it. You just, well, I sent it accidentally. Accidentally. Notice how it's accidental.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
It's always accidentally sent to the wrong person. Really, you wouldn't ever say the 5.9 million people who work for the government, there could be some crooks in there. No, no, no. It's all accidental. What a load of nonsense this is. There's some percentage of this. But you would say... And you would say. No, just zero base it and let's figure out where. It's got to be 25%.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We'd all say if it's never been checked, how could it not be 25%? Right. How could it not be?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And the answer is that's a trillion dollars a year.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Okay. So I said, I think we're going to cut a trillion dollars a year in expense. And then I think we can, through tariffs and other means, we're going to get revenues of a trillion dollars.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Incremental revenue. And we're going to balance the budget.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
There is zero basis. Zero basis. Where I was yesterday and where I am tomorrow, I get, oh, it's a tax cut. No, it's not. It's the exact same thing as yesterday as today. To say continuing yesterday, tomorrow, He's like, silly.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No, we'll talk about tariffs. Let's just finish. Let's just finish Doge. So I'm in the car with him, right? And I said, we're going to balance the budget. And I said, but I have one favor to ask of you. If we can balance the budget for you, will you agree to waive all income tax for every person who makes less than $150,000 a year for the United States of America.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And so we'd go out. It wasn't planned. But he was at the party. He was 45. I'm at the party 30. And we chased the same girls. It worked out fine. And by the way, Here's the thing about Donald Trump. He was the most famous, the most fun, the most interesting person 30 years ago, 33 years ago. I mean, here's the best thing. He's been on the cover of Time magazine 59 times. No way.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Which, by the way, is about 85% of America. And the reason you want to work for Donald Trump is he looks at me and goes, sure. You realize the President of the United States said, if you balance the budget, sure. And he's not lying. He's not kidding. He's like, yeah, that seems like a great idea. Right? And so... And then I tell him, okay, I'm gonna go recruit Elon. Because Elon's all in, right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
He's already said he's all in. He's already said he's going to Pennsylvania, right? So I call Elon and I don't know Elon. I don't know, but he's perfect for this. So I use my superpower, which is I call everybody else I know who knows him and they arrange and I'm texting with him and he agrees to meet me on October 14th. So I fly down to Brownsville, Texas. He's gonna catch the rocket.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
on October 14th. So he invites me down for the rocket catch. He's not inviting me for the rocket catch. He's just inviting me down that that's a good day for me to meet him. So I fly down, I see the rocket catch, which is awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. And then I expect to meet him.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Okay, so I flew down to see Elon and with with my with my son and So we watched the rocket right and then they said, okay He's gonna go hang out with his engineers and party with them Seems reasonable. It's like our hour and a half and then he just goes dark and
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm just sitting there waiting. And then they take me and I go to like the equivalent of a Margaritaville, you know, where you have like a basket and you can get quesadillas. And you get a Diet Coke and a red sort of plastic thing that's about this tall. I got 4,000 ounces of Diet Coke in it that comes in this big. Love that.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But now, to his credit, he sends me all the executives from SpaceX are hanging with me. But he's dark. And what happened is he took a nap. He was up all night doing the engineering and he went to sleep. So then when he finally wakes up, so I'm just sitting there like, you know, doing the, like, I don't know him really. So I'm just doing the thumb twiddle.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm going, okay, you know, this guy's- You had a couple cases of years.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So then he wakes up, he says, come to my house. right i'll see you in my house so his house is 1200 square feet it's got the furniture in it that i had when i graduated from college yeah right okay i'm not kidding i'm not kidding it's 1200 square feet and it's got the furniture plastic chairs and okay so i say um we're gonna balance the budget i need to cut a trillion he's like i'm in
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
He says, I think we should cut 80% of the federal government because the essential employees, if the government shut down, essential employees are 450,000. And there's 5.9 million people who work for the government. How can 450,000 be essential and there's 5.9 million? So he says, like Twitter, I think we should cut 80%. And I say, I know how to cut 50%. And he says, I want to cut 80.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I said, I know how to do 50. He goes, are you with me or against me? I go, I know how to legally do it. What do you have? And my son says it was like two alpha dogs just like fighting with each other for the first half hour. And then, so then X comes in, right? And then he's got to walk X. He's got to walk his son X out. So he walks his son X out. And I'm thinking maybe the meeting's over.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because we've been together a half hour, 40 minutes, and maybe it's over. Because he got up and he walked out and he comes back and he sits down and he goes, Howard, this meeting is... That's what it says. And we sit down and we map out the plan. I tell them what a gratis vendor is. Because I designed, because I was not going to go into the government. I was doing transition.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What is a gratis vendor? A gratis vendor is an approved vendor for the United States of America that gives product to the government. It doesn't sell it. So therefore, I don't have to go through the whole process of becoming a proper vendor because you're giving it to us. And then if you give it to Article 2, which is the president's stuff, then the president can accept it. Right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because it's give. Sorry, what's an example of this? I write some software.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I write some software for the Commerce Department to do a better job of X, Y, Z. You just give it to me. and then I do QA on it, and I can take it. If you sell it to me for $1, we go into government hell. Right, the whole rigmarole. Right, but if you give it to me, right, and then I set up, you know, so I said, I'm calling it Doge, and I registered the name Doge.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And were you familiar with Dogecoin? Of course, it's Elon. So what happens is, in the Defense Production Act in World War II, Yes. In order to get all the great executives of America to help with production, they named everything after jazz singers or everything. Of the people who were on the committee, that it would make them laugh and smile.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And then he leans over to me and he goes, and 20 were good. Like, but who can take that? I mean, who could take it? Like other people, when you have a bad cover of Time Magazine, you'd crumple, right, and be sand on the floor. Instead, he's like, bring it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? So I picked a doge so he would laugh and smile. And he said, get the F out of here. Like when I said, we're going to name it Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, which I didn't think of. It was on the internet sort of floating around in June.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? But I literally registered it. Right. As the Department of Government Efficiency, like make it a real thing as a gratis vendor. And I said, this is how I've done it for me. Yes. So that I can run Canada Fitzgerald. You can run SpaceX. Right. You're not you don't have to sign the conflict form and all this stuff because you're not working for the government. You just
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
giving stuff to the government. You are literally giving of yourself. But you're not looking for anything. You're not taking any money. You're not owning anything. You're not doing anything. You're not on that side of the wall. You're on this side. You're outside. And so we had fun. We talked for two hours.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And then on my Twitter feed, I took a picture of me and Elon outside, and I put up, welcome to Doge. We are going to rip the waste out of our $6.5 trillion government and balance the budget. We must elect Donald J. Trump president. And I posted that with my, I probably at the time had 25,000 viewers, and I got 45 million views. Wow. Right. So it was me and Eli.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And that was the beginning of Doge. Yeah. Right. Then I ran transition, which is so for the transition, I had a room in Mar-a-Lago. Big conference table in the middle. Four 85-inch screens on one side and a mirror of four 85-inch screens on the other side so that you and I could talk to each other. So the president sat across from me. Elon sat.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Oh, and then I'll tell you one other story about Elon. So he wins the election. President wins the election. He accepts it like Wednesday at 2 o'clock in the morning. Elon's not on stage. If you see, I'm on stage. Elon's way in the back of the room. There's 1,000 people in the room, 2,000 people. He's way in the back. He goes home. Thursday afternoon, I call.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm doing a dry run of the launch of my transition, right? And the president is superstitious. He's never had one conversation with me about transition. He totally trusts me. He wins the election. Now he's got a... You know, I'd sit on Jesse Waters already.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No, about one job, about one thing.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because he's superstitious. He's superstitious. Like, don't waste your time. Don't jinx it. Right? Just go win. You gotta go win. So what happens is he... So I'm doing a dry run. So I call Elon. And I say, where are you? He goes, what do you mean? I'm in Austin, Texas. Whatever. I go, what are you doing? I mean, what is the point?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
of you spending three weeks living in Pennsylvania helping the guy get elected if you're not gonna help him pick the cabinet? Like come on, right? Because the way President Trump works, he makes decisions by orchestra. He likes lots of views and opinions. He likes them. And anybody who says, oh, the last person who sees him gets him, that's because they don't know him at all.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
The answer is, it's an orchestra. And I would say, OK, I'm the first violin. At the time, I would describe myself as second violin. So this is an orchestra. So the president's not going to make a decision with me and him alone. No, no, he's gonna have, so it went like this. President sitting across from me, right? At the conference table, Elon to his left, Susie to his right, right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
JD to my left, Lyndon McMahon, who was my co-chair, right? But she wrote all those EOs that he did. That was, she was responsible for, and I was responsible for personnel, but she was with me for personnel. So she's sitting to my right, JD sitting to my left, Don Jr., right, Stephen Miller, and he, there was always 12 people in the room.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
They were never like me and him hushed in the corner doing this or that, never. And what we would do is I would put eight candidates on one screen, right? And then big candidate on each screen. Most beautiful AI picture of you you've ever seen. And people would walk in and go, where'd you get that photo? I'm like, what do you think I did? I took three of your photos.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So what happened is a big picture of the person. They're key highlights of the resume, not boring. With their education.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? And then you would click a button and you'd see him speaking. 20 seconds at a time, four of them. Right? So it was about 80 seconds. And you're not speaking about the job. Right. Just like, how do you present?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And what you can see is his whole cabinet. can talk. All of them. Because he picked them knowing I need you to be able to talk, to be able to present our ideas and our concepts out there. And that's key to him. And the way I would joke to people is, how do you do it? I go, watch. Pitch. So you'd throw him a curveball. He wouldn't swing. You'd throw him a fastball, he wouldn't swing.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
adds energy to him. So everybody else's energy, what they don't understand is people bring negative energy to Donald Trump and they're just charging his battery. Your energy around him comes to him. So when I come at him with a lot of energy, he comes back with a lot of energy. It doesn't matter. He never steps back. He just sort of takes it like the centrifuge and then hurls it back at you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You'd throw him a slider, he hits the ball, hits it to my glove, I go, here you go. You go, well, how do you know that? I go, because I know the guy for 33 years. I know what he wants. And he loved the process. And you know what happened? You saw what happened, right? First day, eight candidates, 12 jobs, national security. Okay, he says, what do you want? I go, eight to four.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I put up eight candidates. I recruited everybody. I had 150 of the best Republicans in the United States of America. They each gave me five people, who then gave me 10 people. I had thousands of people to pick from. The whole government was set up to pick from. And then we picked candidates. I had eight for every job. Eight, eight, eight, eight. Eight to four, that's Friday.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Sunday comes in, four to two. In the morning, I fly everybody in for the two. I prep them. We go in and meet them, two to one, final interview, give them the job. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. Monday, we're done with national security. Okay, now we're rolling on and it just pounds out. Why? Because he had every candidate. Everybody knew it. Everybody was prepped. Everybody was aware.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Everybody was done. You know, that's why I had to beat the heck out of David Sachs because I needed David Sachs to be in the government. I recruited David. I pounded on David. You can ask David, right? I beat him and beat him and beat him until he finally said, okay, I'm going to do it. And I did that for everybody. And I made sure he had the greatest choices.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And then every once in a while he would call me at night and say, throw this guy in, throw this guy in, throw this guy in. We did a vet on everybody, but I didn't take out anything negative. I am not a negative person, you can tell. I'm positive. So why would I discuss anything negative about any candidate? Until they get picked.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
He was tortured by his attorney general in the first term. And we were not going to have that ever again. So we needed strong backbone, strong capacity, of which Matt Gaetz has it. And I know Matt Gaetz, and he has it. But we did not know what that vet was gonna say from that report from Congress. So here was the idea. We fight for him. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And he's been that way always. So this is not new.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We moved out for a year and a half, about six years ago. And she only did half the house. And she still rues the day that she only did half the house.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
This is who he is. So those other people who attack him, they think they're attacking him. They're charging his battery. They're literally charging his battery. So he comes back bigger, stronger, bigger, stronger. And once you understand the man, the most intuitive person that you've ever met. And people say, well, okay, so people who know me, I don't suffer fools.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And they have all these derogatory, all my left liberal friends, all these derogatory statements about the guy. And they know me really well. And they'd say, well, how can you work for him? I'd say, how can I work for him? The most intuitive person, he senses it, he knows it. He calls me up and he says, Panama Canal. That's racist, because Panama Canal, it just feels wrong.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And then he sends me on the quest to go, I didn't do anything, I just start the quest to go look at it. The mouth that's east is a deep-water port by the Chinese. The mouth that's west is a deep-water port by the Chinese. They're building bridges over it, so our ships and our military ships should go under In our hemisphere, a Chinese bridge. So then I said, okay, let's go prove it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
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All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
a trillion of waste, fraud, and abuse out, and then make a trillion from having other people and resetting global trade. And once you understand global trade and how it makes sense and where it came from.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm going to give you a sad example. And so help us understand, are people going to lose their jobs? I'm going to give you a sad example. We all remember during the COVID, there was the PPP money. Remember that? Yeah, totally. So it was proven that $200 billion of the $1.2 trillion was going to Chinese fraud gangs.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Is that proven? You just make up a company, you know, Joe's Deli. You make it up, Joe's Deli, right? Say you're in trouble, file, and they sent you money. So why wouldn't Chinese gangs do that? Come on. So we show, not we, but people showed the government, those people, that money. And instead of stopping, they said, yeah, but we can't stop because there are real people who need the money.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And so what happens is because no one's ever been fired, ever, for sending money to the wrong place, people send it on purpose. I'm not saying everybody sends it on purpose. I'm saying there are some people who send it on purpose, some people who are complete morons, and an enormous number of people who work for the government who are awesome. I mean, amazing people, right? But what percentage?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So I have a friend of mine, he owns a big shipping company. I said, take two iPhones, put them on a stand, and just go through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal, they sort of drag ships through like this. And I said, just go video both ways. Just video both ways. 70% of every letter is Chinese. Then I'm talking like the size of container ships, the stores, like I'm not talking like. The signage.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
There's 5.9 million people who work for the government. You're like, Wow, that's like so many and we're paying them all and how many do you really need?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I mean if the answer is two million Wow, and we could talk about how We understand it and how we're going to retrain society for the AI Industrial Revolution is coming which is going to create the greatest set of jobs and greatest set of growth ever ever okay, but that but then we could talk about that but the key is
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
stop sending money to the wrong place so we can make sure we can always defend sending money to the right place. I would Never allow, if I can stand it, to not pay somebody who retired at 65 their benefits.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I find it disgusting when we're the richest country in the world and some politician says, in order to save Social Security, rather than getting rid of the waste, fraud, and abuse, we should move it to 70. How about no? How about we're rich enough to give people the benefit of the bargain of being a great American. But let's put great people in charge. That's really well said.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So I remind people that On the Earth, there was the Dark Ages. So the Dark Ages meant that the world knew how to read. And then because of religious and other actions, they burned all the books. And literally, the Earth stopped learning how to read for 500 years or 400 years. We didn't know how to read. And we knew how to read before. So how could you forget?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So America was built on tariffs with no income tax. No income tax till 1913. None. Greatest, richest country in the world. So when Donald Trump says, make America great again. What he's talking about is from 1880 to 1913, when the country had so much money that we had blue ribbon commissions, which you guys would have been on, to try to figure out how to spend the money. And no income tax.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Yeah. So that was the deal. What I did is I bought a house in Washington. I said, do you want to renovate the house? She said, yeah. I said, great. We hired a contractor. Wait, you bought Brett Baker's house, no?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Then we put in the income tax in 1913. Why? Because we're entering World War I. And don't we all need to contribute to protect democracy and to protect our way of life? Then what happens is the world goes into chaos. We come out of chaos, right? And then we're starting to think of, well, what do we do? What do we do? And then 1929, the stock market crashes, right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
1933, we start to say, oh, God, we forgot. We need to do tariffs. 1933, how can you do tariffs when the markets crash, the world's going into depression, and you're going to do tariffs in 1933? You can't charge the rest of the world money unless the rest of the world's okay. That's right. So it was... Too little, too late. So then we come out of World War II. It's 1945.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We need to rebuild the world. So we decide we're gonna take our tariffs down. And we'll let them, here's the key, we'll let them have tariffs be up. And we will export the power. of our economy to let them rebuild. And we let them rebuild. And that's what happens. So 1945, we have the Marshall Plan, right? And we do it in Japan, of course, because they need to be rebuilt.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What's the difference, right? So they need to be rebuilt. And then what happens? We have the 50s and we have the Korean War. So we let them rebuild, which means low tariffs here, high tariffs there. Low tariffs here, high tariffs there. Then we have the Vietnam War, right? So now all of a sudden we have all of Southeast Asia. Low tariffs here, high tariffs there.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You know what the best example I can give you to make it crystal clear? Kuwait. We spend almost $100 billion freeing Kuwait, right? You know who has the highest tariffs against the United States of America? The number one country with the highest tariffs against the United States of America? Kuwait. And you think, What? That's insane. But here's what it is.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Just random signage like you're riding on a road. It's all Chinese. And then I do the research and I call him back and I say the magic words between me and him. I have your path. which is I've done it, I've done the legal work, I've done everything, right? So when you start talking about it, you have a foundation. It's not just you talking. So people think he's just talking.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
If you go back to this understanding the way America thinks, you need to be rebuilt. You were just destroyed, right? All their oils were, you remember red, the guy's name was red something. And he was the guy who capped all the, there were fires in all the oil wells and he capped them all. And it was amazing. So we let them put up high tariffs. But you know what the problem is? then we forget.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And we let it go. So Donald Trump comes in and says, it's gotta stop.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So Donald Trump gets elected 2016. Who understands this? Okay? Let me give you a hint. Donald J. Trump. Who else? Nobody.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? You'd say, wow, he understands. And how long has he been talking about it? 40 years. Why? Because in the 80s, he's saying, what are you doing?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Okay. India, has a 50% tariff on average, 50. We have on average four, okay? I would say to the person who said that, can I ask you a question? What are you talking about? They're 50 and four. Here's what you're talking about. When we're all equal, And everything is free and fair. If you raise tariffs and they raise tariffs, isn't it bad for society? The answer is, of course it is.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But there's two differences. Number one, let's do human beings first. Before we go to the math, let's go to human beings. Once upon a time, we had an auto industry in Detroit and in Ohio.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But Detroit then some genius named Bill Clinton signs the North American free trade agreement or Corporations you can screw Americans and go get cheap labor in Mexico and break the unions by going to Canada now if you were a General Motors I'd say It's like my birthday. Yeah, but if you're a worker and who comes from Michigan or Ohio, they just signed, you know what they signed?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
He's never just talking. He has people behind him who bring him his foundational structural outcome. And then what does he do? He went and played golf that afternoon. He called me at seven in the morning. He said, what do you got? We talked from seven to eight. He went and played golf. And that afternoon, there's the American flag in the middle of the Panama Canal in some truth he puts out.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Worst statistic I'm gonna tell you today, average life expectancy. of high school educated workforce. So by the way, United States of America, two thirds is high school educated, one third is college educated. The difference today of average life expectancy between those two categories is seven years. Seven year average life expectancy.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
It's not the air, it's not the food, it's not the medicine, it's despair. My grandfather worked in the auto factory. My father worked in the auto factory. I have a good life. I'm going to do Friday Night Lights and football. I mean, it's going to be a good life. I have a good middle-class life. I'm a member of the United Auto Workers. Life is going to be good. The factory moves to Mexico.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And I am just screwed because the government of the United States of America didn't care about industrial policy and didn't protect me at all and let cheap labor in Mexico. I'm sure the Mexican people went from $4 an hour to $5 an hour and they're kicking it. But I destroyed you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And that is incredible failure of industrial policy, which nobody wants to talk about, but you talk about it as average life expectancy, and you're talking about it, about reshoring and building the life for the people who are America. That's why you elect Donald Trump president. You elect him because I didn't spend one minute doing politics. until he asked me to help him.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But when he asked me to help him, I started spending time with him. When did I learn this? And who taught me this? The President of the United States. This is not me teaching him. You understand, this is him teaching me, and you can see him talking about it in the 80s. Right? He's been talking about this for a while. And what it does is it means resource.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So number one, we have to care about human beings. That's a globalist view. Yes. If I take my production and move it to Mexico, it's better for me, Mr. Corporation. Okay? But it's not better for me, Mr. U.S. citizen of the United States of America who's working at a car plant. That's bad news for him. Okay? And that's number one. And now let's go to number two. which is the math of it all.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
If we say free and fair trade, I want to remind you, there ain't no such thing. There is no country in this world that is free trade, zero. And we are the lowest and the dumbest because everybody else is higher and more protective. So they protect their farmers. Here, I'm sitting at the dinner. Modi comes to town. And I say to him, when Donald Trump, we have dinner.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And after the niceties, Donald said, go ahead, Howard. And I said, you have 1.4 billion people. And you brag to us how amazing your economy is. Why won't you buy a bushel of our corn? We'll buy a bushel of our corn. So our farmers can't go to him, but his, of course, can come at us. Right? Why is that okay?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You know, and we can go into all the stuff that, oh, I mean, I don't even want to go into it because if I had another hour, I could regale you with stories that are fun with that.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Inflation comes from... Printing more money. Okay, let's say the United States of America had 1 trillion dollars. That's all we had. That's it. No more okay, and I Want to buy a bottle of water and you want to buy a bottle of water one came from America and the other one came from Fiji Right then and I tariff Fiji then that water is a dollar and a quarter and this water is a dollar and
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And that's the fun part. So you work for the most intuitive guy, unbelievably smart, unbelievably thoughtful, who knows what he's doing. And it's so fun for me.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
That's not inflation. That means that one's more expensive. But I can choose to buy this one. Okay, so you're right. This toy might be more expensive and that toy's not. I get it, but that's not inflation. Here's inflation. Snap my fingers, now we have two trillion. That water's $1.50, that water's $1.25, everything's more expensive. That's inflation.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So inflation without tariffs is everything's $1.25. Inflation with tariffs is $1.25 and $1.50. And so you have to understand inflation doesn't come from tariffs. Certain products, if I put a tariff on a mango, We can't grow mangoes in America. You just can't grow a mango. If you put a tariff on a mango, the mango would be more expensive.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But if the president chose to put a tariff on a mango, then the mango is more expensive. That just becomes a consumption tax. It's like a sales tax. Right? It's a sales tax. It's a consumption tax. If I want to buy a mango, it costs more money.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So then that's just like another version of income tax. How do you think about- Okay, so the idea is to not do that.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
That's the idea. The idea is to choose things that are going to reassure. Come here. This is so important. Hire my people. Bring it home.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Someone will say- $2 trillion so far. I mean, he's been in office, right? Like seven weeks, eight weeks? Yeah. $2 trillion of committed domestic production coming back because of his tariffs, right? TMC saying, I'll build semiconductor wafers. Yeah. In Arizona. Everything we do, they're going to build it here. That word is never coming.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Unless the tariffs. So what happens is you bring it here, you create the jobs here, and then they avoid the tariff.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
The beauty of putting Donald Trump in the White House is it's giant three-dimensional chess. So we all have Stockholm Syndrome for the Internal Revenue Service. We think we like the Internal Revenue Service. We don't say it, but when we say we're going to charge a tariff And other countries who lean on us, who rely on us, who bleed on us, who can't live without the oxygen that is our economy.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because remember, the thing about our economy is while we have a $29 trillion GDP, we are the consumer economy. of 20 trillion. And this is the key thing. We buy everybody's stuff. So who's more important? Let's say they have an economy that produces stuff and we have an economy that buys stuff. The customer's always right. We all know the customer's always right because
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
If no one buys it, they can't produce it. So everybody needs our economy. When? Now. I mean, to the fact that China consumes less than 10 trillion and primarily tries to figure out how to sell it to itself. So they don't buy anybody else's stuff. So we are the world's consumer. We're the world's customer. So that's point number one. So we want them to come here, and if they can't come here,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What if you pass? Okay, now let's say there was a 20% tariff. And in order to sell his goods, he knows he can raise the price 10%, but he can't really raise it 20. So he eats 10 and the price goes up 10. Let's just say. That 20 goes into the conference of the United States of America from the president of the United States who said, we're going to balance the budget.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And then his goal is to drive down income tax in the United States of America, including a waiving tax. So what has he said so far? With that in his pocket, knowing that this is what we're going to try to do, what does he announce? No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on social security. Why is he saying those things?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right, because he knows that he's got, Elon's gonna cut, and Howard's gonna raise, and he's gonna have the tools to deliver on his promise. Literally the money. More money for folks to spend. And they'll have more money to spend, right? So if you actually get the external revenue service, right, which of course I named, you know I named it, but you know what the funny part is?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I came up with the name. I wrote a truth, right? And I sent it to DJT and I wrote, this is my huge idea, you know, with one of those things that goes like this. You know, like this is my huge idea. Right? And because it's the external revenue service. But it only matters because I work for him. Because if I worked for Joe Biden or anybody else, they wouldn't care at all.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So the fact that he loves a great idea, the minute you say it, and it becomes his idea, my idea is useless. A good idea in his hands is all the value in the world. So the external revenue service, if we went back to Make America Great Again, which is pre-1913, which is let them pay, you don't pay.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
That's a beautiful house. I can talk about whatever you want, by the way. I'm happy to talk about serious things, casual things.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And what that means is let them pay, try to balance the budget, try to waive tax on everybody who makes less than $150,000. And look what you did for America. Holy moly, look what you did. And by the way, labor costs come smashing down. Because it's tax-free. So if their earnings are tax-free, then they're happy to work because they get the money.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So what happens is cost of labor comes down because we're run correctly as a government.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
John Paulson had a call with Donald Trump and was talking to Donald Trump and was kicking around the idea of we should sell, right? Why do we give away visas? We should sell them. And they're talking about it. Donald Trump calls me, gets me on the phone, right? We all talk about it, right? And then we go from there. And then my job is to figure out, like I always figure out, how to do it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Well, no, I wasn't the finance chair. I was the transition chair. Transition chair. Okay, so I ran transition, which we'll talk about. But so let's go through. So I'm friends with him, right? But I'm building my business, young guy building my business. And then 9-11 happens. Yeah. So, I'm friends with the guy. I'm just friends with the guy. But then 9-11 happens.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What's the path? Let's go figure it out. Of course, about two weeks from today, it goes... Elon's building me the software right now. And then out it goes. And by the way, yesterday I sold 1,000. Oh, you did?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So if you're a US citizen, you pay global tax. Yeah. So you're not going to bring in outsiders going to come in to pay global tax. So if you have a green card, which used to be a green card, now gold card, you're a permanent resident of America. You can be a citizen, but you don't have to be. And none of them are going to choose to be.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What they're going to do is they're going to have the right to be in America. They'll be $5 million, and they have the right to be in America. They have the right to be in America. As long as they're good people. And they're vetted. And they're vetted. And they can't break the law. We can always take it away if they're like evil or mean or bad or something.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Not mean, but you know, if they do something horrible, you can take it away, right? But the idea is if I was not American and I lived in any other country, I would buy six. One for me, one for my wife and my four kids because God forbid something happens Want to be able to go to America and I want to have the right to go to the airport to go to America and then to Say hello, mr. Letnick.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Hello, mr. Lennox and the letnick family. Welcome home, right? That's what I want to hear I don't want to hear I can't come here when there's a you know, a horrible war a horrible whatever right? I want to be able to go home right and once I'm home and meh, might as well build a business. So you have the most productive people in the world gonna start spending time here.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
They're gonna have a family office. They're gonna hire some people. And you're not gonna tax their external worldwide income. They only tax the money they make in America, which is what we do now. But their global income stays out.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
There are 37 million people in the world who are capable of buying the card.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Now, I'm not saying they will, but they're capable of buying. How many do you think you'll sell? the president thinks we can sell a million.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So the idea is, and it's going to go fast, meaning you apply. Right? We take your money and the way computers work now, they have these cool things, like these computer things.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You put stuff in and they actually check everything. It's fantastic. You don't even have to plug them in anymore. It's amazing. They get the information through the air. I mean, you could do a better vet than anybody in government has ever done it before in one second. Better than they've ever done it before.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Kind, sweet, calls me all the time. Just good human being. Nice, warm, caring, good human being. But then I'm knocked out. So, what do I do next? I try to rebuild my company, take care of the families of 9-11. I lost 658 people who worked for me. And we had a policy. We want to work with people that we like. So when we had an opening, we didn't use headhunters.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Do you know why? There's always a reason. And the reason is, it's a great reason, which is that in the mid-70s, we changed the way government accounts for software. We took a 10-year contract, and you have to take the contract upfront. So if I'm signing a contract with you for 10 years, a million a year, I have to take it against my budget for 10 million, so I'm not doing it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Where? Everywhere. Why? Because it's illogical. Now, what I'm doing is I'm saying, okay, I gotta collect tariffs. Right? So I go to one of the great software companies of the earth and I say, I want you to give me You're gonna build for me for America. You're gonna build the greatest customs processing ever. We're gonna take a photograph. It's gonna know what it is. It's gonna go through AI.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
It's gonna know what it is. It's gonna know what the tariff is. It's gonna determine the percentage. It's gonna know the weight. So when you weigh the thing plus the package, you'll know what it weighs. You don't even have to open it. It'll weigh exactly the right amount and you'll do this and that. And these are all things that I know and all things I could figure out.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because you know the way gold works? A gold bar is about 40 pounds. You know the way I know that gold bars, they weigh it, and they weigh it out 13 digits of decimals. So basically, if you touch the thing, it's not going to be 13 digits of decimals. So you have a perfect scale, and you weigh it, and that's like the code.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? Because you can't touch it. If you touch it, you'll change the, and you can't get it right out 13 digits. It's just not possible. So that's what we do with stuff. You know what it weighs, right? Three t-shirts on it. If you're sending the same three t-shirts, they always wear the same But what's incredible is you're convincing?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I say build it for me for free Yeah, I put it in for free. I Don't what other countries in the world you think gonna buy now? Right. If it works for us. Well, remember, you have to connect to me.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So every country is going to buy.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And it's a great business model. Right. If the greatest customer in the world says they'll take it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? And you got a guy like me there.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I mean... It's not that hard when you say it's free. You know, free is like not that hard. I mean, yes, it is... And then what I do is I get the head of that technology company, because then I use my superpower, which is my friendship with Donald Trump, and then I go in the Oval Office and we call them together. And we call the CEO together and make him promise the president.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Because promising Howard, he's like really nice. Promising DJT, that's something else entirely. So I get these guys to promise Donald Trump that they'll build it. Now let's see him renege. Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. So when you get Elon to say, I'm gonna build it for you, And he says in front of the president, like, how great is that?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You got like the greatest technologist, the richest guy in the world, he says, I'll build it for you. You're like, thank God, right? And then I get, you know, I go to the heads of Google and Microsoft and Amazon, they're all,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
for america building for us right for free right to make america better because they are great american companies and in exchange for that we're going to help them through all sorts of things that are towards fairness just towards fair because i you can't get me to do something outside the world of fairness but i tell you what if it's unfair
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We would say to everybody at the firm, does anybody know anybody who'd do this job? And so, you know, young lady works for me says, you know, my best friend is an HR person. They have to have capacity, but once they have capacity, imagine we hire that person. Now what happens is it's not one big happy family, but people really, really care about the company.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'll be on your side as hard and as positive as I possibly can be.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
All right. So I'll give you an example that's sort of live right now. Yeah. Right? So we have DeepSeq. We have Quinn. We have Dobao. Yeah. Right? And I don't think We should be having apps in America. And I don't think we should have their website in America because they all go back home.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But it's open source, and I want our American companies, including college students, to be able to download it and build on it. But I want to make sure that there's no part of it that says, send it home to Dada, or store now and analyze later. So I need that out. So what I want to do is I'm going to embrace what you guys know. You guys are used to product evaluations.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So let's do a security vow.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? And say your industry, and you can't let it get overrun by Chinese. Because what happens is if there's a policy, right, all of a sudden 100,000 people from China come in and they say they're John Smith and Todd Peterson, right, but they're not. And then you think the vote is this way.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And it's easily manipulated. So we have to be very careful. But my... First instinct is to lean on, and that's why I see it's important to have David Sachs as my partner, right? Someone who knows it and someone who can live and breathe the industry, right? And so what we're gonna have is we're gonna have security evaluation.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
and say if the security evaluation model says that this is a good model, then people can download it. But it's got to go through the industry. And I want it to feel and smell like what we're good at. I don't want to create like, oh, this is what government's doing. I don't want the government to do it. I want us to do it, but I've got to figure out the right way to do that.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And that's important for America.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And compete. The only thing I think I really need to do, and that's with regulatory, is post-quantum cryptography. Okay, I think that is vital to us. That's right. Yeah. Right? Yeah.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No, I'm gonna put it out because, you know, we all have passwords, right? For those who are watching who don't know this, our password's called asymmetric, right? Yours is different than mine. Right. That's the key. and cryptography is just the computing. So asymmetric key cryptography, you have your password, I have mine, and they're the key. Obviously the central hub has our key, duh.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
A quantum computer we know can break all of them in a nanosecond. Like all of them in the whole world, including the CIA, all of them, RSA 2048, all of them can get broken in a nanosecond by a quantum computer. So the defense of it is called post-quantum cryptography. Right? We know how to do it. And we'll come out with a rule that says America's got to protect itself.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And by the way, there are- Because every once in a while, you need to have a new standard that says it's coming. We know what it is. Please, God, go put it in because we need to have it in. We need America to live.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And that's our company that's on the top. five floors of the World Trade Center on 9-11 when the plane hits it. Kills everybody at the office. My brother Gary, he dies at 36. My best friend Doug, he dies at 39. I had just turned 40 that summer. I had a party. 65 couples.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
The greatest customer in the world. The United States government. The most powerful, the greatest customer. Buys stuff. We walk in. We're going to buy... Here's an example I like to use. We're going to buy 2 billion COVID vaccines. When we buy it, Pfizer and Moderna stocks are going to triple. They're going to triple. Because then we say, everyone's going to have this vaccine. If I were...
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
After Jared Kushner negotiated the best deal he could, if Howard Letnick walked in the room, Howard Letnick would say, what do you think? 20% warrants? 20% warrants? Right. Right? What? So we'd make $50 billion off of who? Nobody. We didn't take from anybody. We didn't do it. Okay. The shareholders of Pfizer, who we've just tripled them with our order. Right.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Now, how many of my customers in my life have required that from me? All of them? All of them. Lucky. This isn't like, oh, Howard, this is the greatest new idea ever. This is just proper. So I don't view risk of the sovereign wealth fund. I view the first couple of years of the sovereign wealth fund or Scott Besant and I making money Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Say, well, but you can't invest and lose. Don't you lose money? No. Why? Well, if I have big daddy of the United States of America behind me, And I'll give you an example. We buy missiles episodically. Launch a missile, buy a missile. Launch a missile, buy some missiles. The people who sell us missiles have bad quarterly earnings or good quarterly earnings, but they're episodic. Here we go.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I will sign a contract with you. 10-year contract, cancel it at the end of five years to buy X amount of missiles, and I'll pay you quarterly. then they can take that contract, they can go finance it. Their financing costs go . Their earnings are steady, and their multiple improves, and their stock doubles. And I say, in exchange for that reasonable thought, how about a little warrants?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
But don't give me some stock. Just give me the upside. If I help your stock go up, I get to share it, and you know what I do with that money? Wet my beak a little bit. And then I take the money, for the United States of America, and I put it into the social security system of the United States of America. And then all of a sudden, so the social security system says it's $4 trillion in the hole.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
If we cut the waste, fraud, and abuse out, it becomes $1.5 trillion. And by the way, Frank Bisognano, the greatest executive, the greatest payments executive ever to join the US government is about to get confirmed and take over the social security system. Okay, Frank ran Fiserv, $120 billion public payments company. And when Donald Trump asked him in his interview, can you handle social security?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
40th birthday, yeah. Right? 27 people at my party get killed.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
It's 1.3 trillion a year. He goes, well, let's say I handle 500 billion a day, so Wednesday. Thank you. Thank you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
These are my friends. These are my friends. So I'm driven to take care of the families of the people who died. And I commit 25% of all of our profits. But the company is destroyed. So we go from making a million a day. I was a rich guy, right? What's the definition of a rich guy? No personal debt, no corporate debt. Ken Fitzgerald, no debt. So how do you survive 9-11?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You don't owe anybody any money. The only money you're losing is your money is your money so we survive and we take care of our friends families And then we build the company back up. So you could see like I'm a special guest on the Celebrity Apprentice, the first season of Celebrity Apprentice when Piers Morgan wins. Did he fire you? No, no, I wasn't a contestant.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm a little beyond being a contestant. I was a special guest. I'd come in like, if you see during the auction, I'm standing next to him at the auction, you know, and I'm helping him. Like I'm just his friend sort of as an extra all along the way, you know, every once in a while.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a P a
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
We're friends all the way, but I'm rebuilding my company. Yeah. And then, so I'm not interested in politics. Okay? I don't do anything in politics because I got my head down. We had the financial crisis. Candidate for Children was great in the financial crisis.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Raise your hand. And the other thing is, do me a favor, color inside the lines, okay? In high school, if she says this guy is orange, the answer to the test is orange. When you get to college, you can argue with the professor all you want. High school, color inside the lines, give the teacher what she wants, make sure she loves you, and you're getting a good grade. That's the rules of life.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Yeah, New York candidates. Think about it. You're in New York. You try to pick social liberals, fiscal conservatives, if that even exists anymore. But if you're in New York, you have to pick. Look, I grew up in New York, so I'm socially liberal. What else could I possibly be?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And my wife beat that into my children so that they would have it in their souls, in their moral character of someone who's fighting for you needs to have your love and respect back. You take them for granted. If you treat them badly, if you treat them like, oh, aren't I so great, then you deserve what you get. And my wife has taught that moral fiber into my children and it resides in them.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And the other thing my kids have is they have empathy. which is a very unusual thing for young people. And it's because they were raised with their father crying every day. I cried every day until October 21st, 2004. every day because I thought of someone I hadn't thought of, you know, or someone would say 650 people died. And I just, there was, you can't process all of that death without crying.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And the only reason I remember is because as I fell asleep, I told my wife that I didn't cry today and she wrote it down. That's the only reason I remember. So my kids are fantastic. They've been incredibly supportive. And my wife's the best. And she lives with me in Washington. We bought Bret Baier's house. So I have a nice house, big enough for my ego to expand. Very important.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So my husband found one that big yet.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You're an incredible American. Thank you very much for everything. This was really fun in coming to talk.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
They are so capable. Each of them is so capable, so thoughtful. I mean, I am honored to be on this cabinet with them. But we all get to work for Donald Trump, who can intuitively tell you, go fix eggs. And then Brooke goes fix eggs and eggs are down like 40% and Brooke fixes eggs. I mean, how awesome is that? And gas is down 40 cents. Right, and he's only just begun.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
If we get the Constitution Pipeline in New York passed, and I sat with him while Donald Trump lectured Governor Hochul on the unbelievable oil and fracking that they have in New York and the wealth that New York could have if they unleashed it, but they refused to unleash it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So he's gonna force the Constitution Pipeline, which by the way, will drop gas on the east coast of the United States of America in half. I mean, this is, and that's, you know, then you got, that's Chris Wright. That's Doug Burgum. You got Brooke Rollins. I mean, you could just go, you know, Scott Besson, you know, so thoughtful and elegant. I mean, he just step by step by step.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You know, so early when Chuck Schumer was young before he became what the president now calls a Palestinian, you know, you know, he, you know, I raised him, you know, I raised the money and gave money. Donald Trump gave him money. Same. Right. I did, too. Yeah. I mean, because he was he was that's what he said he was. He was social liberal, fiscal conservative.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And you have really the most fun cabinet working for the most intuitive, smartest guy to ever sit behind the resolute desk. And we're going to make America great again, not as a slogan, but we're going to balance the budget. We're going to change America.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And and so, you know, we all give to those kind of candidates, but mostly, you giving to get along and to be able to ask him a question if you needed to ask him a question. But there was really no, I had no drive in that. Like I said, the first four nights I slept in Washington in the last 20 years were when Donald Trump was elected. I had never slept there. I'd come down, visit a little, go home.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
What am I staying here for? So he calls me at the end of October 23. Okay.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
No, no, I was, so I gave him money and I gave Hillary money. You gave Hillary money in the first term. Yeah, because Hillary was incredibly helpful to me post 9-11. Remember, she was a senator. Right. And New York needed help. Right. And Hillary was incredibly helpful. And I was driving the team to help New York rebuild because I had relationships with a whole bunch of congressmen.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And they were going to do nice things. Like Bill Young ran house appropriations. Right. Bill Young was my friend.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Through a whole variety of things that had to do with... I used to go to Bethesda Naval Hospital and I used to walk around and I would bring music there for the men who got hurt from the military who were in Bethesda Naval Hospital. And we would walk around. I'd go with my wife and then I would engage the young man with music. I'd give him music and ask him what CDs he wanted.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
This is when CDs were there and I'd bring up a Walkman. And my wife would pull the family outside. And she'd pay a year of their mortgage and all their expenses. Because what people don't realize is your son loses his leg. Right? Dad and mom come flying in and they're gonna stay by his bedside. What job do these people have that allows them to be at their son's world?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And their world is falling apart because their son lost his leg. So their world is falling apart. But at home, their world is falling apart. And so my wife would just try to figure out how much money it was and just give him a check. And no form, no nothing, just give him the money.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
and and help him so i would bump into bill young and his wife who they were just they ran then defense appropriations and they were there just being good human beings and so we became friends and he said to me once he said is there anything i could ever do to help you I'm like, look, you're like a congressman from Florida who does defense appropriations.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And I'm like a Jewish guy from New York who's in finance. If there ever were two SKUs that we're never going to meet, this is two ships going, right? We got nothing. So I said to him, look, we're just going to be friends, right? We're never going to do anything. And then he runs house appropriations. And so when New York needs money to rebuild after 9-11,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
They go see Bill Young to try to get a bill passed. And he said, how can you come see me without Howard? This is post 9-11. So I'm running New York, and Hillary does a really nice job for New York. And I told DJT, I call him DJT because I've known him for always. I said, I told him that I can't forget. I'm just not the person who's going to forget. Of course I gave him money. Right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
And by the way, he still tortures me for it. You know what the best part is? As a good friend does. Right. You know what the point is? See, other people would sort of curl back.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
Right? So here, right after he gets elected, okay, here's a story for you. So right after he gets elected, he has a dinner in New York. Right? So he invites me to the dinner in New York because I'm his friend. And then while he's giving his talk to his first dinner in New York, he goes, wait, wait. Hillary's supporter. And he points at me. Right? So I stand up. I go, hey, everyone. And I sit down.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
You know, he's just sassing me. OK? Because I gave him tons of dough. He knows I love him. And it's fine. OK, so we're 2023. So we're 2023. And he calls me. And he says, will you help me? And I had not thought politics. Now, I gave him money in 2020 reelection. Probably gave him 10 million bucks. I raised him 15 million bucks. So I was, you know, once, I'm on his side the whole way through.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
I'm raising him money in 17, 18, 19, 20. While he's president, I'm totally on his side. But I'm just his friend. I'm not engaged. Okay, because I'm still rebuilding my life. Okay, and then 2023 calls me, says, will you help me?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
and i actually thought about it like and that was the first time i really thought politics and then i said yes and i gave him 10 million bucks right then and there and then i started talking to him i started going on the campaign trail i started doing research i started doing knowledge i wanted i talked about everything i talked to him all the time about everything did you love it
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So I've known the president since I was 30 years old. So I used to go on the, we call it the charity circuit in New York. So there's basically a charity party every night when you live in New York.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
There's nothing not to love. As Donald Trump says, this is 1,000 Super Bowls for him. And for me, it's only 100 Super Bowls. If you're dedicated to America and you're willing to wear America's clothing and to stop worrying about yourself and only care about America and have no objective post. The president hates when these people have, like they raise money post from people they met in here.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Howard Lutnick | All-In DC
So I'm never going to work again. I'm never going to work. This is all I care about. I'm just going to help America. So he asked me to help him. And I start thinking about it. I start studying everything. And I read everything. And I read everything about the White House. I read everything about everything I can possibly read, because I'm just that way. And then I start helping them, right?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
The AI Cold War, Signalgate, CoreWeave IPO, Tariff Endgames, El Salvador Deportations
Mm-hmm.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
The AI Cold War, Signalgate, CoreWeave IPO, Tariff Endgames, El Salvador Deportations
Look at how he sits. He's so cute.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
White House BTS, Google buys Wiz, Treasury vs Fed, Space Rescue
Oh, okay.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
White House BTS, Google buys Wiz, Treasury vs Fed, Space Rescue
What I'm doing is I'm saying, okay, I got to collect tariffs, right? So I go to one of the great software companies of the earth, and I say, I want you to give me You're going to build for me for America. You're going to build the greatest customs processing ever.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
White House BTS, Google buys Wiz, Treasury vs Fed, Space Rescue
I put it in for free. I don't know. What other countries in the world do you think are going to buy now? Right. If it works for us. Well, remember, you have to connect to me.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
White House BTS, Google buys Wiz, Treasury vs Fed, Space Rescue
So every country's going to lie.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
White House BTS, Google buys Wiz, Treasury vs Fed, Space Rescue
This is awesome.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I don't think that someone's genetics should determine race. whether or not they go to a school. And I think that their socioeconomic background, experience set, values, successes, failures are the things that they could have affected or that I think probably better define whether we want to take a moral stance on giving other people opportunity.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So I think that that's a kind of good and reasonable place for us to end up.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
What do you guys think about... creating a leg up for people that came from a disadvantaged socioeconomic background. So put race aside.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
but an individual that grew up in a difficult circumstance that didn't have the privilege of going to a good school or having a good education, worked hard, tried, but didn't end up with the best test scores or didn't end up with the best GPA because of the conditions they were born into.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Do you think it's appropriate to give those individuals a leg up in the application process, putting race aside, but just call it socioeconomic disadvantages?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And they went to school in Atherton.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Or a rural district with no education. Appalachia. Appalachia. Both are kind of equivalently disadvantaged or differently, but both disadvantaged. Yep.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Totally. I 100% agree. And I feel like we've used race as a heuristic for that conditional background.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And that's what makes it hard because race is not necessarily, it's certainly there's a correlation, but it's not necessarily indicative of the socioeconomic disadvantage that someone may have faced and had to overcome in order to perform and succeed at the level that they could have given their conditions.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And so I certainly think that the incorporation of one's socioeconomic background should be a critical part of the application process. And it's certainly in the same in the job setting, ultimately.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Well, I think that would go a long way. Because we do still have a college application process, Chamath. So there are still going to be a set of criteria used to determine whether or not our kids end up getting into a specific school if we and they all kind of say, hey, it makes sense.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Well, in my work cohort, North Carolina State's a great school. We hire a ton of people from there. So that's a great school, actually.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I think the structural... Monopoly is that they then get and have the most capital, which they can then use to build facilities and support staff that can come and do core research. And so you then get all these research staff, particularly in technical fields, in science and medical fields and so on, that want to come and be on campus.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And that then creates the network effect of undergrads getting a better education because they're getting exposed to the best talent.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I think you're the only Ivy Leaguer here.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
But did you get exposed to it? I mean, I know when I went to Berkeley, I worked at Lawrence Berkeley Labs. I got to be exposed to Nobel laureates. It was actually like... I think particularly in my field, like I majored in astrophysics and physics, like that was a great school to get exposure and you actually had that opportunity. I think that's part of the challenge.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Schools with really great graduate programs and research that goes on on campus actually can give a better educational experience to the undergrads. It's almost like you're getting these internships and these fellowships and these TAs and professors.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Yeah, that's right.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I think that that's a lie we tell ourselves. I'm talking about applied work too much. So I'm talking about you go up to Lawrence Berkeley Lab and you work in an actual lab that does really interesting research. Okay, so my point is, if we both agree that these fundamental sciences is the key. Definitely, yeah, yeah. That's what I'm pointing out, yeah.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Well, I do think in a digital era, core education has commoditized. And I think most people can get most of the way there without necessarily paying 60 to $80,000 a year, and then being partnered in some way with that on the ground internship or integrated kind of program where you get actual hands on experience.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So I don't know, like, I mean, the university model, maybe does not make sense for most fields. J. Cal, what do you think?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Where did you go to school, Jake?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I will say, I feel like my experience in the workplace is that One's college or university is completely decoupled from one's performance or ability to succeed in the workplace in an meritocratic workplace. And when I say meritocratic, I mean excluding nepotistic workplace settings and excluding demographically biased workplace settings. 100%.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And if you exclude those two, it honestly does not matter what school someone went to. They could be brilliant. They could be hardworking. They could be passionate. They could be a leader. The school doesn't matter.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And in fact, perhaps the corollary is true, which is the people that went to the schools that determine success generally have a very hard time succeeding in the workplace because anytime they face failure, it is a challenging circumstance for them that they are unable to overcome.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And that's particularly true in entrepreneurship, that's been my experience, perhaps in the broader workplace setting, they could work well, where they're told all the time, if you do this, then you get that they do this, they get that they feel good, they succeed in that model. But in the in the real world, that's not the model.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And I think that that's a really important fact that's colored my point of view on how the higher education system actually does perform with respect to improving the quality of our workforce in the US. Separate of that, I will say that in technical fields, the research environment on certain college campuses can be incredibly, to Chamath's point,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
opportunistic for getting exposure to hands-on work that you might not otherwise get in technical field.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
That's what I mean by like the basic, the base education has been commoditized. You know, it's the hands-on experience that one gets that makes a huge difference.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Well, I think you and we keep... Everyone keeps trying to reduce this down to some deterministic binary system, which is like it works or it doesn't. And the truth is... that the conditions of the world are changing all the time. The news is changing all the time. People are taking action all the time. There's a shift in current events all the time.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
As a result, the forecast is changing all the time. And so what a betting market or a poll does is provide a probabilistic forecast of the future. There is a probability of something happening. It is not trying to say I as a poll or I as a market am right 100% of the time or not. It is saying here's the estimated distribution of outcomes in the future.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So there is a 20% chance or an 80% chance of Shapiro, 20% chance of him not being the case. Turns out that that 20% is where Harris ended up going based on some meeting she had in some room with some group of people that we aren't privy to and that the market in that case was not privy to. What Nate Silver does, and I think people need to understand this a little bit,
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
When you gather polling data, that poll has some predictive power based on how the pollsters conduct their poll, who they call, how they screen candidates for the poll, et cetera, et cetera. So different polling companies, it turns out, are better or worse at making that directional probability bet than others.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And what Nate's models do is they account for the historical performance of different pollsters and weight them differently to create a basically a multipole prediction. And so that's what his system is set up to do. And remember, he similarly doesn't give you one outcome. He gives you a distribution of outcomes.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I think his simulation model has probably a thousand or 10,000 simulations that come out of it. And those simulations, he says, look, there's a 29% chance of this happening, 70%. He's not trying to say, here's what's going to happen. He's trying to give everyone a point of view on the distribution of things happening in the future, just like weather forecasting is not perfectly predictable.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
It's very predictable for tomorrow. It's less predictable for three days from now. And it's very unpredictable 12 days from now. And that's how these polls also work out. And that's also how these massive mega models of polls and it's also how prediction markets work.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So basically, when I read those polls... or I read the summary of the polls, I have a bias based on my interest in the outcome that says that thing is BS, that thing is right. Oh, look at this. And everyone points to this stuff for confirmation bias of their opinion and to denounce the other side. And so it all gets caught up as kind of a media angle when people use polling data.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And also fundamentally when people kind of get involved in polls and create polls, there's also the risk of bias. And part of what Nate Silver and others try and do is figure out, does that bias come out in the polling performance historically?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And that's how they kind of weight whether or not this poll is gonna be a better or worse indicator than other polls of the distribution of things that might happen in the future.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So I think it's actually a step a little bit deeper than that. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have only ever worked for government. Trump and Vance have worked in private industry. It's not just their perspective being colored by the lack of participation in the private economy, but the lack of employment in the private economy. They've never worked for a private business.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
They've never been employees of a private business. They've never built a private business. I'm not trying to be disparaging, but I do think, I'm just trying to underline the point here, Chamath, which is the voters' choice is, do you want candidates that are not typically government operatives? Or do you want candidates that have spent their whole career as government operatives?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And that is effectively what the voters are going to be voting for. And they're going to make a decision, they may want to have someone that's going to lead the biggest government in history, because they've spent their whole careers in government. Or they're going to say, you know what, the biggest government in history needs to be significantly altered.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And we want to bring someone in from the outside that's worked in private industry. And that is the voter's choice. That's one way to view the voter's choice here.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
That could be because he's never, it could be because he's never, it's because he's never, maybe it's because he's never had a private sector job.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
It might be a feature to their ticket. And I think that there's a perception of experience in government that is deemed to make a government leader more appropriately suited to be a government leader. A career politician. Well, not even a politician, just career experience, either being employed by or working within a government, local, state, or federal.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And remember, Kamala started her career at the DA's office in Alameda County before moving over to San Francisco DA's office. And then she was DA of San Francisco and then attorney general and so on and so forth.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And how the free market incentivizes the creation of improved productivity, which over time translates into improved prosperity for the society within which that is taking place. That is so critical. And we saw that happen even in China in the last 30 years when the government allowed entrepreneurship to flourish in certain parts of the country.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
As a result, there were significant productivity gains and they brought a billion people out of poverty.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Three, two. I just had to take a leak. I just, I go outside my office and then I come back. Oh, you like a nature pee? You're a nature pee guy? Me too. I love a great nature. Well, I have this great office at home, which is like a building outside of my house.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Yeah, so just to give a little more detail to it, J. Cal, and you can actually see it, I think, Nick, if you want to pull up the page 8283. in the document. So the wealth tax is 25% of your unrealized capital gains if your net worth is above 100 million. And the first time this happens, you can split up the payments over nine years.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
You have nine years to kind of pay down the assets or sell the assets or borrow the money you need to make those tax payments. After that, you can actually make those payments over five years. Those payments are ultimately treated as prepayments on taxes that will be due when you realize the capital gains.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Every year you have to report to the IRS, separated by asset class, the cost basis and the estimated value of every asset you have. You then have to determine your tax that you owe because of the difference from last year. You start out with tradable assets of stocks. Those are just valued at the end of year. Illiquid assets like private companies or real estate.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
You don't have to get a valuation. If there was a financing event or some other sort of major revaluation, you have to use that value. And if there isn't, the number goes up every year by some nominal rate that will be set by the treasury. So the treasury is basically gonna tell you what they think the value of your company has gone up on an annual basis. And that's the determination evaluation.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
You can file an appeal. So for all the entrepreneurs and startup people listening, There's a process that they're proposing that is basically the government saying, if you didn't get a new financing round done, the price goes up. And if you disagree with the price going up, you go back and you appeal it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So they've addressed this and that's the final provision. And what they said is that if a taxpayer is treated as what they're calling illiquid, meaning that their tradable assets, the stocks that they own or the cash that they have is less than 20% of their total wealth, then they may elect to include only the unrealized gain in their tradable assets to determine their tax liability.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
However, if you do this, you will actually have a deferral charge, which means you'll ultimately pay a higher tax on the capital gains on your illiquid asset when you do have a realized capital gain on it. So they're trying to cover the fact that people might have all their assets tied up in real estate or all their assets tied up in private company stock.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And again, I feel like we're kind of shouting into an abyss here because this is only going to affect such a small number of people. But they've really tried to write this in a way that ultimately covers the kind of pushback that you're highlighting. I'll say one other piece of pushback that's been received and tested in the Supreme Court.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
A lot of people have said that the 16th Amendment prohibits this taxation. A ruling from the Supreme Court was published June of this year. And in that particular case, there was a repatriation tax for folks that left the country. It's the Moore versus United States tax case.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And when people left the country, the government under the Tax and Jobs Act, which was passed under the Trump administration, the government had a right to go after people's assets and tax them on their unrealized gains, even after they give up their US citizenry. This was challenged to the Supreme Court, and there was a number of amicus briefs filed
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
on this case that said the government does not have the authority and Congress doesn't have the authority to actually tax on unrealized capital gains. And at the end of the day, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. And they did not overturn on the position that the government actually did not overstep their authority to be able to tax unrealized capital gains.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So there is some Supreme Court case precedents here that indicates that this will not get thrown out on an unconstitutional ground basis. So there is a lot of conversation that this might actually become a real case. I'll pause there. And I actually have a theory I want to talk about in a minute, but it's a little bit of an extension from this point. But that's a summary.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Okay, I've got a theory.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I was trying to figure out why we seem to be like embracing socialist principles and why I keep seeing more of this stuff become mainstream and almost become normalized. And I was looking at the total GDP of the United States is $25 trillion. The federal budget for next year is proposed to be 7.2 trillion. And state and local budgets combined is about 4 trillion.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
So if you look at government spending, it's about half of GDP now, state, local and federal, which roughly equates to about half of people in the United States are employed directly by government, or indirectly, because the government is the primary revenue source of their business.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And I think that that's why this set of policies, and I'm not talking about the tax on the centimillionaires as much as a simple disregard for the fact that the United States over time, the prosperity that we've realized has been driven by a free market economy. by enterprising individuals going out and saying, there are people that are asking for things.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I'm gonna figure out a way to build those things and make it for them and sell it to them. People will pay for it. They will work hard to do it. And the incentive structure in a free market has enabled productivity improvements and enabled ultimately prosperity. but we've reached a tipping point.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
And the tipping point is when half or more of the population begins to be employed by the government, at which point that concept is lost because now it is the government that is the employer, not one's own individual liberties and ability to go out and be enterprising. And so I think that the budget of government tipping to 50% of GDP is the reason why these policies become mainstream.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
That's my theory. And so it's a relationship of government spending as a percent of total GDP, which translates into employment. Very reasonable.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I wouldn't use the term taker sacks because there are hardworking people that work for the government. And so it's not necessarily about just taking a free check or there's certainly an aspect of that to some degree. But it is about the government becoming the primary supporter of individuals in this country through employment or through subsidies or through checks or through what have you.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Or private company workers that just happen to have the government as their only customer.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
What's the political affiliation of like, has there ever been surveys done of employees at the federal level and what their political affiliations are?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Do you support the Trump tariffs as a solution there, Sachs? Because those are fundamentally going to be inflationary, which is going to make the costs go up for everyone. Well, I don't know.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Sachs, let me ask you one more question. Do you think that the Biden administration's bills, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, both of which were meant to revitalize that middle class kind of industrial economy through government funding of developing new facilities in the US to onshore manufacturing, is that not a good, reasonable solution to that problem?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
It should have been renamed the Inflation Maximization Act, the IRA.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
What about the chipsack?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
you know, they can't manufacture.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Buenos Aires is a beautiful, beautiful city.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
No, this is great. Sitting while urinating aids in muscle relaxation, benefiting men with tight pelvic floor muscles, or symptoms of an enlarged prostate. Sitting to pee enhances stability, reduces the risk of falls, and minimizes messiness, especially for him.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
I mean, I think the Fed target is 4%, which is kind of where we're at. I think we're at 4.2 or 4.3 now. And so the Fed tries to balance inflation, unemployment and rates. That's kind of the three things that they're looking at. So they make adjustments to rates. Obviously, if you take rates too low, too fast, you have an increase in inflation. So they're targeting inflation's 2%.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
They're targeting unemployment's 4%. So if you take rates too high, you can certainly reduce inflation, but then the economy can contract or slow down and job cuts start to come through. So now...
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
With inflation kind of supposedly approaching 2% and unemployment over 4%, the market, if you look at the trading markets, they are now estimating a 100% chance of a three-quarter of a percent rate cut by the end of 2024 and a 70% chance of a one-point rate cut by the end of 2024. So the question is, are they going to do three quarter point cuts by the end of the year?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Are they going to do a 50 basis point cut and then a 25 or a 50 and a 50? The next couple of weeks will determine which direction. And then obviously, Chairman Powell has his big speech happening on Friday.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
50 or 75% chance of a quarter point cut, 20% chance of a 50 basis point cut. and then 6% chance of no cut, which is kind of strange because the trading markets, this is obviously a prediction market, but the trading markets are showing effectively 100% chance of a three-quarter point cut by the end of 24.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Massive jobs revision, Kamala's wealth tax, polls vs prediction markets, end of race-based admissions
Like, do they hold you?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
I don't think they'll be seeing me pulling tits on the dairy farm anytime soon. That's colloquial for milking, by the way.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Okay, perfect. So now do you want me to add that to my bet for this one?
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
One and done is absolutely the way to go about this. Here we go. First part we've got to do here is pick out a dealer.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
These definitely are real dealers. They're certainly Eastern European as far as I know. I don't know what their quality of life is like. I imagine they're warehoused somewhere and put on the tools. Now, I went with a young lassie today and she rolled bold and asked for me. So I'm going back to the boats because they've been good to me.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Yeah, it's gone from 15,000 to 1.3 million in this entire journey. So, yeah, a little bit nonsensical, but... Okay, this looks like a good... He looks like a hot worker.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
He's going to work for us. You're going to cop the insult live as I do it. All righty. It is day 15, going to Blackjack and betting $1.73 I've got. We have a $14,000 bet going on the line for me personally, but I actually have some absolute legends with me today. I'm betting for the besties from the All In podcast as well.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
They're going to bring the luck, having been rolled, bowled, and arsed by a young lassie yesterday. So $34,000 goes on the line. Oh, no, no, you guys want $10,000, right? Not $20,000? Jeez, I better not take it.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
did. 24,000 is going on the line. Aldela looks like the kind of bloke who stops at red lights playing GTA. We won't hold that again. I will not, if you will. I need to see good cards. Jackets! Jackets!
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Gentlemen, that has really just happened. You've just turned 10 into 25. Holy. Holy cow.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Mate, I'm actually breaking my own rules for you guys. I filmed today's hand, day 14, but I'm going to film tomorrow's hand for you guys right now. It'll roll out.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
We just keep rolling every week.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
I wouldn't have to run anything if I could just play one hand of blackjack with you guys and I'd land jack ace every week. That is unbelievable.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
How about I go first class to the Orland Summit? Now there's a guy.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Correct. Yep. Kiwi living in Calgary. Been here since September 2022. The missus and I.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
From Taranaki, so West Coast, North Island, certainly not somewhere, it's not a holiday destination for certain if you're going there. It's like dairy farming country. It's beautiful, but it's off the beaten path. So, yeah.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Gentlemen, what an absolute pleasure to walk amongst some goddamn greats. Let me see if I can put a bit of pep in your step with a one-time blackjack hand to kickstart one of the greatest podcasts on earth. It is, I can't confirm this is not AI. You did this? We're going to rock and roll proper today.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
Do you know what? We holidayed here, my fiance and I, May 2022. And we thought it was just going to be a holiday then back to the farm.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg
Elon gets paid, Apple's AI pop, OpenAI revenue rip, Macro debate & Inside Trump Fundraiser
But I guess we had that COVID cabin fever like the rest of the world and loved our time here so much that we just decided before we even finished the holiday that we cracked on to getting our visas and got back, sold up my livestock and leased the farm back to my parents. And and made the move. And we haven't looked back.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
James Kimmel Jr. (revenge and forgiveness expert)
This is Nick. And this is Jack. We're best friends, ex-finance guys, and resident 90s experts. And every week on our podcast, The Best Idea Yet, we're bringing you the untold stories behind your favorite products. For instance, can you guess which billion-dollar fashion company went viral thanks to a rhinestone-covered tracksuit?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
James Kimmel Jr. (revenge and forgiveness expert)
Or which cartoon turned four turtles into a global toy empire by accident? It started as a joke. Last one. Which cold beverage was so hated by Starbucks, they actually ended up acquiring it? Spoiler, the Frappuccino. Howard Schultz apparently thought cold coffee was super lame, and then he bought it. From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Juicy Couture to the Orange Mocha Frappuccino.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
James Kimmel Jr. (revenge and forgiveness expert)
Join us every week to learn how your favorite things got made. Follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. And you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. And if this podcast lasts longer than 45 minutes, call your doctor.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Armchair Expert early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome, welcome, welcome to Armchair Expert. I'm Buck Rogers and I'm joined by Jean Lightyear.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You should watch it with him. This is what daddy should be doing if he hadn't done what he did. You couldn't control your emotions for four minutes while I self-taped. But, you know, I do just want to put a fine point on that. I, too, have been liberated by casting people. I just wish every actor could start casting. Yes. Because, man, it takes all the fucking onus off your shoulders.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay, well, that was great. You turned down nobody wants it. I think that'll be a hot story. Headlines flying.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
People are going to be so thrilled by what the final outcome is.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, so if I've decided it's in the window, I want her to work. If I've decided she's done having children. We have such opposite personalities. I know what she'll get in love with and she'll get blinded by this one element. And then I'll just be the little voice going, well, you also need a really good director or you also need blank.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then conversely, she'll be monitoring my ego and my low self-esteem and reminding me, you know, we help each other in that way.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. Now, you know, since I interviewed you, I don't know if this is a fair assessment, but I had this, and maybe I told you then, I don't think I was brave enough to, but I have admired your choices from the get-go, truly. And I guess my conclusion was, it maybe was just to mitigate my judgment of myself, but do you think knowing your dad has money has helped?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I wondered more because you do produce things now and there is an element of your now growing business. By the way, my favorite production company name I've ever seen, you know, his production company's named Good at Business, right?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It's so, so good. As a performer, you just want to be ignited and have fun and be engaged and keep that momentum going. As a producer, it's a different endeavor. You must consider the marketplace.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
What I did see, I want to give my dad credit. My dad was an entrepreneur. He started many businesses and they would work out for a while and he would buy a bunch of stuff and then he would go bankrupt and just over and over again. He was a passionate guy at starting things and not a great manager of things.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. The endurance aspect of the business isn't something that people really talk about or think about quite often.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And that's my problem with your fucking dad tell me yeah please let her rip this is season eight of big mom yeah by the way i watched three episodes last night it's as good now or better than it has ever been thank you i just was dying last night it's so fucking good that's the longest running show on netflix adult show
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
This is the final season. Yeah, this is the last interview.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Because we all died from Kroll's children's illness they picked up at preschool. Not because we wanted to end the show, but with your show, eight seasons in, do you have these psychotic moments where you're like, I think the show sucks and nothing new is happening. I got to change it. And then I'm like, no, you don't. Do you have that battle?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
There's a sweet spot. Howard evolved. If you chart Stern from 95 till now, it is a different show, but it was just this perfect level of incremental change as he acknowledged his own changing.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I want to frame this whole thing. The theme of this one, I want to be best friends. This interview. Great. Because I'm still best friends with my best friend from 11, Aaron Weakley. You talk to him daily.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But you know why it didn't work? Sadly, it's W-E-A-K. Like he's a weakling, but he's very strong. I bet he is. Please don't challenge him.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, this has an explanation. And I'm curious, do you ever buy stuff off Instagram, the ads that are curtailed to you?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
No, he's way cooler. He loves who he is more than I do. And that's why you guys are good friends. Yeah. You're a star who hates himself, and he's a regular guy who's totally at peace. So I'm watching last night the show, and it still shockingly goes hard. Yeah. The whole time you're kind of like, I really can't believe it's on TV, which is a fun feeling to constantly have. Thank you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I wonder, could you have done that show solo? Or do you think you and Andrew have a bubble where you're like, as long as you and I think this is okay, it's okay.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. Somebody does do his research. I watched you and McFarlane talk. It was really interesting. Even the thing you just said that your characters age, it didn't even occur to me like, oh yeah, cartoons, the characters don't ever age. No.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. Can we also just throw in Goggins as like a hint of maybe Goggins? Unintentional, but I can tell you what really happened was I see an ad, they weren't these. And I was like, those look fun. Maybe I would wear those in the summertime. A light pant. Ordered them. And then it was like, when funding gets complete. And I was like, I didn't know this was a business model.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, yeah. We've done other shows with other people. And if we sit down, we have to stop ourselves. On the fact check, we literally have to stop ourselves. Like, oh, it's been too long.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Hello. Returning guest, but long, long time. Why? Seven years long time. Nick Kroll, an actor, a writer, a comedian, a producer.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
She's about to tell you that she loves working with other people. And that she would like to permanently work with other people.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Mulaney, I was going to bring that up too. I got to say, I was embarrassingly kind of ill-informed on Mulaney. Turns out so was I. Yeah. Then I was on a trip that he was on, and I was like, oh, I really like him. I'm going to watch his stand-up special. I watched it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You had been pushing hard for Mulaney. You're a first-in-Mulaney fan.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And so I watched his stand-up special, and I'm an addict. Anything addict, I like. It's so fucking great. But then I was wondering, were you at that intervention? I produced that intervention.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Good for business? Good at business? Good at business?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I mean, you've been on probably both sides of it. Just to tell you really quick. So Aaron, the reason we're back in business is he went another 19 years after I got sober. He got sober five years ago. And so we too had a restart basically five years ago. And it's like, oh good, back in business.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It was so, I mean. You can tell me you don't want to talk about it. No, because I mean, I do. Because I had a relapse and Monica had to deal with it. Yeah. And she had to be detecting things. And we've explored that a lot. And I think a lot of addicts get to go on TV and talk about the experience. And I think they get to do stand up about it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I don't really think you hear enough from the people who are fucking terrified and thinking you're losing your mind, maybe.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That's a business model now that I didn't know about. And they're selling them and it appears they've already made them, but I don't know if it was maybe just a digital, whatever. I took a fucking gamble. And then like months later, they raised funding. They arrived.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But I wonder, so for Aaron, we had 16 years of him still at it. And I never said a word. I knew what was going on. He knew what was going on. I'd go back to Detroit. We'd spend time together. I knew he was doing his best in those times to not be as fucked up as he was.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And the very first time I ever said anything was he was growing weed at the time. There was a house next door. He wanted to buy this. Nothing wrong with that. Keep going.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
On the up and up. So I bought him this house. I bought like a house in Detroit for $65,000. And I called him on a Monday to say like, hey, the house is closed. You can start growing weed in there. And... He didn't call me back for like five days, which is just not him. Even in the height of his addiction, he's very responsive. By day four, I'm wondering, is he dead?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then when I finally get on the phone with him on day five and he goes, oh, hey, sorry, dad, I had the worst flu ever. And I go, Aaron, dude, who do you think you're talking to? I had a lot of those flus too.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I go, I think you're going to die really soon. And I don't want you to. And I have a fucking treatment center in the Caribbean. If you want to go, it's handled. In my mind, I'm like 98% sure he's going to say, fuck you. And he goes, yeah, I'll go. And I was like, oh my fucking God. Yeah. Well, I just got to add one thing for the comedy. He doesn't have a passport.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. And then I went on and I just said, I'm going to only wear these all summer. So I ordered every version they make and I'm waiting for funding. But these ones just came.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
So now he knows he's going to dream it, but we have to wait five days. That was the most stressful five days of my life. Is he going to make it?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
If I tell you I'm doing it, then the next thing is I have to stop.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. And then I'll put an end to this because I don't want you to feel like in any way it's exploitative. But I will add, I just told a story recently. I worked with a comedian. who was supposed to be sober, got fucked up in the movie, did so many things. I was about to say innumerable. You already said it a while ago, and I didn't want to repeat innumerable. It's so good. He did so many things.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
We almost got in a fistfight on sex. He tried to put glasses on my face and poked me in the eye, and he was so disruptive, and it was a mess. And then two weeks after, I hate his guts, he has to have an actual cop on set with him. That's how bad it got. And there was a point where he's running through this store and the cops chasing him like Barney Fife is a heavyset cop.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And he's going, chase me, officer, chase me. And I'm on my fucking chair waiting. I just start laughing so hard. And I'm like, oh, my God, he's so fucking funny. It broke my hatred. And I started laughing. And it's hard to have compassion for people who are charismatic. But it can be harder for people who are really funny and charismatic because they can win people back over.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. I wanted to say a few more things about Big Mouth. One is, did I write it? You're at 67 characters you've done on the show. I believe it's... 79. Wow. More than... It was fun to watch you and McFarlane talk. I encourage people, if they're animation nerds, to find you guys chatting. And I was also thinking, what an accomplishment for you to have done eight seasons there.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But you're also talking to a dude who's done 20. I minimize this. He's like, actually, I've done 138 seasons of American Dad.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I asked Mike Sher this at one point when I was interviewing him. I'm like, does it make you a little bit mad that if you had the same career in the 80s and 90s, you would own the Red Sox? You'd be Tom Warner. Yeah, totally. And you, eight seasons of a fucking show, you'd have a couple hundred million dollars. Mm-hmm.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yes, and by the way, this is so in keeping with the thing I admire about you, which is you might not have gotten $100 million, but you made something that could almost not be made. And of course, on your deathbed, you'll have so much more pride in that.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay, the other thing I wanted to say about Big Mouth specifically Similar to when I was watching the studio. Have you watched the studio? I watched most of it, yeah. There's so many accomplishments in the studio. Technically, it's so impressive. It's so fucking funny. It's so well acted.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But when we met with Seth about it, I was like, can you zoom out and take a little bit of pride about the people that are willing to come be with you? And when I look at the amount of people you've had on Big Mouth over the last eight years, are you able to take in what a testament it is to your character and just that people would want to work with you?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Is Instagram a sponsor? They're huge. They're our only sponsor. Congrats. But yes, I feel guilty. And the way I've talked myself out of the guilt is like, yeah, who knows what the sizing is whenever you order online. But I'm not going to go to a store. I get so sleepy when I shop. You shut down? Yes. Do you ever go with your wife somewhere and she wants to shop?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Like that to me, I would hope would be one of the nicest things about the show.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You may be invited to play golf. Hockey, hockey.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That whole last dance, everything is just like, that's when it became personal. Most of his energy was figuring out how he could hate his opponent.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And it proves, more importantly... You think a trophy and success will heal those wounds. No, you actually just got to go heal those wounds.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yes, harness it and then put it away when you need to put it away.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Shall we talk for a second about I Don't Understand You? Sure. Tell us what happens in this.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Or you dress up like your wife and go shopping on your own. Yes. I walk into a store with either my daughters or my wife, and the very first thing I do is look for a bench. Look for the chair. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And a fucking active cruise ship. I've got a one and three-year-old. Was that Rogan? Was that Laura Miller Rogan's movie? Yes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Baby's got a diarrhea. Do you want to hear really quick? Aaron and I, my best friend, we figured out where that saying comes from. It is from the early 1900s. And a woman brought her baby to the Italian doctor. Mamma mia. Baby's got a diarrhea. It's not a big deal. We weaponized it. But it was just good news. They were so worried the baby was something wrong. Or is the baby dying of dysentery?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Big Mouth, Kroll Show, The League, Sazeej Party. Eighth and final season of Big Mouth out. On the 23rd.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
We recently read the top 10 earners of stand-up, and we were just aghast.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, good. Yeah. It went bankrupt, and we no longer have anything to do with it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I don't know that's any better because you put it on there and you're like, this is a bingo. You bring it home and then still somehow something went wrong. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So my thing is just like I just order stuff and then I try it on and I go, great, someone in LA is going to get a great pair of pants. It goes straight to Goodwill. Oh, really?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Really good at business. Especially the diaper business.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Aaron and I have an N.A. beer. Can I try it? Absolutely. Please send it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Use a mortar and a pestle. A lot of people aren't. They don't know. And bring that with you everywhere you go.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It's brutal. Have you watched Love on the Spectrum? I've watched a little bit of it. Watch a little bit more just to get this. And I think this was Kristen's observation. The thing that unites all kids on the spectrum is they are relentlessly mean to their mothers. Every time their mom starts talking, they're like, oh, ma!
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Like, these poor mothers, they have this kid that they have to give so much time to. Yes, yes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You just... Yeah, so there's just like a stream of stuff going to Goodwill that still has the tags on it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, so lastly, this is a very busy couple months for you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then I Don't Understand You, June 6th. Yeah. So every few days, you have a big project coming out.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
They're all dramatically different as well, which is helpful. It's not like you have three superhero movies coming out in a week and you got to somehow explain how that's the next year. I can't believe I'm the bridge between DC and Marvel again. So adults is... I watched it last night. Oh, you did? Yeah. Awesome.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You can immediately sense when something's generated by the people in the show and that they have some rapport and that they're real comedians and they weren't just cobbled together with whoever had an agent.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And one of the gals wants to now incorporate her new boyfriend. Yes. A young Monica Padman. She's fantastic.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
When I was watching it, I don't know why I get so comforted by this. I've said this before, but when I watched English Teacher, I don't know if you've seen that show. Yeah. Not to get on a soapbox, but I think early when I was adjusting to the transition in comedy, which was totally righteous, you should let the folks make the jokes who the jokes are about.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I watched English teacher and I was like, yes, this dude's gay and he's going so fucking hard on this topic. And that was the solution. What I didn't want was for these topics to go away. Everyone needs to get made fun of.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I think we all have this maybe knee jerk concern that the younger generation is so fragile and precious. Yeah. And so the thing that was so comforting about seeing this is like, oh, they're going fucking hard. Like the kid they know comes out about being molested and they're just going so hard about him being molested. And I was like, oh, wonderful. Comedy is still very much alive.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And the younger kids are going to push just as fucking hard and just let them do it. That's the part I really liked about the show.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
No, I was just enormously relieved watching it. Oh, good. Comedy is going to win.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Because I go into everything thinking, oh, these fucking precious. They can't even take a joke about each other. Yeah. I hope I'm owning it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Just to push back a little bit, hard to hate on a hustler. Like, if there's someone combing through... Sure, absolutely. And they profit off my thing...
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, of course you wouldn't say that. Billy Bobble Bottles. What's his name? Billy Bottles.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Can I be your brother that shows up as Billy Bottles? Yeah.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I want to have a quick conversation with Coach Steve. Okay. As Hermium Permium.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Because I feel like they share an essence, and I just want to see how it goes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
So I'm just going to introduce you to Hermium Permium. He lives by himself in an apartment, and it goes pretty well. Where do you live, Steve? I'm not living anywhere particularly, so I'm just wondering if you got extra space in that place.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, I'd love to have some visitors over. My mom misses Monica. She's in and out sometimes, and she'll bring snacks.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
This has been great. Okay, and then the last one, I want to do Frito talking to Hormone Monster.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
So, yeah, it's been seven years since you were here. Wow. And if I had bumped into you on the street last month and said randomly, how long do you think it's been since you were on, what would you have said?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Because I feel like we could go somewhere that might make Monica throw up. She hates Frito. Does she hate the Hormone Monster?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You're going to have to double up on the Z. Can you double a Zeep? I always double my Z. Nick, you're a blast. I wish you came more frequently than every seven years, but I'll take you. That's what my wife says. Hey! Got a Deesh!
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, well, thank you. You're part of that success story. Everyone in the first year when there was no reason to trust us, I have deep gratitude. Next time you have three projects coming out in a week, please come back. And congrats on getting married and having two children since we saw you last.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay, well, then I'm relieved by that. I don't mind that you're not in the show, but the fact that you're disgusted by my bride is unacceptable. All right, be well. Thank you for having me.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Fuck. Oh, but I didn't know if you were making a decision like everyone's making. That was a fair question. God. What happened?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, I wanted to celebrate you if you were embracing. Fuck that.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, that's great. Can you understand there's a movement where women aren't shaving anymore, and I thought maybe you'd join that movement.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I shave my arms now. I have all this money tied up in these tattoos and I want them to be visible.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, and I feel terrible for you. I've said that now that I'm grooming a lot.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, yeah, it's growing. Although I may have a big, I might have a, I'm now thinking I might have a nice deposit in the drawer in my bathroom. I think maybe I haven't transferred some to the main storage.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay, so we all went to Monster Jam on Saturday.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay, so we all is Charlie and the boys, Ace and Wilder, the two handsomest men in Los Angeles. And then my girls, Lincoln and Delta, and then Delta's friend.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, and then Eric. Eric, yeah, that's all. So we went. It was immediately fun. It's so fun. Monster Jam's so fun. We got to ride in the, like, 12-passenger monster truck. That's great. I was kind of not clocking any of this, but apparently Delta and her friend had brought their two most important stuffies in a red bag. I didn't know that.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And it's spectacular. I watched it. It's spectacular. It is a laugh riot.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I probably would have been like, maybe we don't bring them into the event.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It's imperative that people understand the stakes here. So anyone that knows Delta would know her son, Groot.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I don't know that I've ever seen, and I had very deep relationships with my stuffies. I had three bears that I loved and I thought about them. And if I was gone too long, I felt guilty. Like I was very in touch and close with my stuffies.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I don't, I didn't name them. One was a polar bear. One was a brown bear. And one was like a-
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Koala bear. There were different breeds, so I didn't, breeds, the species.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I just never was like addressing them. I was just squeezing them and feeling guilty.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Never. Okay. And they didn't travel out of my room either because I was too afraid something would happen to them in the wild. Okay, but to put like this in perspective, Groot goes everywhere with us. Groot has truly a bigger wardrobe than Delta. Yeah. He has many different jammies. He has swimwear.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That mostly, that's all she asks for, is things for Groot. And he has books he reads, and he's an artist, and she makes him dinner. It's such a huge part of her life, Groot. And then I didn't know this. I learned this recently about Groot. She was kind of explaining what was going on with him athletically. And then I said, is Groot disabled? And she said, yeah, Groot is disabled.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I said, oh, what's his disability? And she said, well, he's half tree and half boy. So he needs to breathe carbon dioxide as a tree, but he needs to breathe oxygen as a boy. So his lungs are like half dedicated to breathing. And so that's kind of an impairment for his cardiovascular. Additionally, this is all real. Like I didn't even know Groot was disabled. But I just had a hunch.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
There was some way she was talking about his athleticism and his outfit. Sure. I don't know. I asked. And he is. And then she went on to tell me another challenge he has is he's got both veins. And then he also has to have plumbing for the water.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Double duty. Also, his bark hasn't come in and that's going to make him more stable.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I'm going to be honest. I love Groot. Like he's also my grandson. And when we snuggle at night, I go, I want a little time with Groot. So he has to be in my milk.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
No, no, no, no. Just I will want Groot in my left nook and Delta in my right nook if we're all laying together. But she's got to give me some grandpa visit.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, like a little baby boy. So, okay. So, great time. We're having the best time. Now we're up in this huge suite. There's like 50 people in there. It's a blast. It's hectic. And Delta comes up like mid-show. Again, I'm going to say it. I've said it before. There's no better show on earth than Monster Jam. It starts and it doesn't let up. Race, race, race, race, race. Stunts, stunts, stunts.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. So it's a party. We're eating food. And then Delta comes up to me and she is... She's passed. I don't want to say she's hyperventilating. She is so scared and panicked. And she said, we lost... Groot. And I'm like, what do you mean? I didn't even know Groot was in here. We lost the bag. So her friend was in charge of carrying the bag. She brought it in here.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Someone maybe stole it or whatever. And I'm like, okay, no one stole it. Everyone that came is still here. No one left mid time, you know? So now we start scouring all the bathrooms in there. And then we go through systematically and we look under every single chair. This takes 35, 40 minutes. I'm missing the monster jam. Sure.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I can hear it. That is helpful. And, um, I say at some point, okay, it's not in here, which means it didn't come up here.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Now, we arrived and we went right out onto the arena floor to take that ride. So it's like we're seven stories up. That was pre-show.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, so, well, here becomes the investigation. So then Carly and I are, I'm like, oh, I made a video of them getting, I'm like, did they even bring the bag out of the car?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I took pictures. Yeah. I take some, oh, yeah, there's the red bag. Then I have footage of them getting on to the monster truck and she's carrying the bag. We don't have footage of them getting off, but I'm like, but this is, she would have never set it down in the elevator or on the walk. It definitely had to get left in the truck. So now, exactly. And we're now mid-show. This is hours later.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
No, that truck has now been already put in a trailer to go to the next Monster Jam. So I asked my friend Sally, who I've been... You know, going to Monster Jam with Sally as our host for, I don't know, eight years now.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
She's an incredible lady. Nice. She's an arm cherry.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
She's so sweet. And I'm like, I don't know what else to do. But, like, here's the situation. She's a mom. She put out a full court press.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, look, okay, I'll try to get into that truck. Like, I'll try to find the truck in the parking lot and try to get into the semi to get into this monster.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
So, like, an hour goes by, and Delta's really, like, she lost her son. Oh, my God. And I'm very pessimistic. I'm like, who knows? They set that bag down anyway. There were so many bags and so many things and so much equipment, and it's in an arena. So I was really, really— And then the show ends. And then we just sit there for another 45 minutes while the whole place clears out.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
We're kind of like waiting to see if they're going to find group. And then she says, well, you guys are free to, if you want to just wait in the car. So anyways, we go sit in the car now. And then I get a text from Sally. It's a picture of her and she's elated and she's holding the bag. She found the bag in a random golf cart somewhere.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
On its way to a sex trafficking. Don't say that.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
When that bag returned. You know, I was starting to think about what our next two weeks to a month. Like I was like, this is going to be.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. It's going to be devastating in a way that I'm not sure how we're all going to deal with. We lost Groot forever.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then I said to her, I was like, once we had Groot, I was like, you know, I started thinking like, what do I do? Would you have wanted me to find the same Groot? And she's like, no. Yeah, because it's real and he's real and there's no replacing him.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
If we bumped into each other, my guess would have been, I think three and a half.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. She is. I guess she has ethics. I don't know.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I guess I'm wondering, is your time now warped as you age like mine is?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And like, they love him and he becomes kind of a mascot for Monster Jam.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, but he's like, now he chews tobacco and he's grown up a little bit.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yes, yes. He could have been on a real adventure.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, not given what I've learned about his. Now, what if like the driver of Gravedigger found him and started keeping him on the dash? And we could like, then we were watching and he was riding on the dash proudly.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, it was really an event. So I missed a good half of Monster Jam. Both looking for and then panicking over.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, I mean, if you were to ask me at some point what I would pay for his safe return, it would have been embarrassing.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
No, I know. So that was all happening. She now feels so guilty and she's crying. Delta's crying inconsolably.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I'm like the dad watching. And so I kept going, oh, sweetie, it's totally okay. Delta should have been carrying her own bag. Oh, that's nice. I was like trying to comfort her and trying to comfort Delta. Her Groot is in there too.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
She's got the double whammy. She's lost her stuffy and she lost Delta's stuffy.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I didn't get a good gander at it once. They were all reunited. I didn't even know we were bringing stuffies to Monster Jam.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I hope not. And then, okay, now this is the thing that we go back to. We've been talking about this the last few episodes. I'm like, and I'm talking to Charlie and Eric. I'm like, you know, all I got to do is keep trying to find Groot and not say, this is why we don't. What you want to say as a parent is this is why we don't bring stuffies to sporting events.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I was like, she has learned that lesson. I don't need to tell her that. She is in major discomfort.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And so I let it go. But then I, on the way home, I was just saying how grateful I was that he was back.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
A little bit. And then, and then I said, he's just so valuable. We got to make sure that we're safe when we bring him places. She goes, but he can't just be a boy that lives at home and doesn't go and do things. I can't just be protecting him from, and I'm like that. I know that's a great
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But there's a ton of things we can take him to so he's not stuck in the house, but that are also maybe not so distracting as Monster Jam.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay. I just can't imagine holding that little guy. He's so sweet looking.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I told her that's why I didn't know he had a disability because he's so smiley. I have no idea he's suffering from anything. He's in a perpetually great mood.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It sounded like there's some pain accompanying these. Okay. Yeah.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Sure, sure. A great way to spend three and a half hours. Wow, you're right. That's a new element I haven't incorporated into my overarching theory on accelerating. There was so much more boredom and boredom takes longer. Yes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It's so stupid. It's so funny. It's a real life who's done first.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
How many episodes in each? Ten. So you watch 20 episodes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Right, right, right. You just didn't put it very high on the list.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Sending it to you. My body. My physical body. My physicality and my body. And I sent it to you. For your leisure, for your entertainment, for your critique. I think it's only been three years. I do have seven years of photos of you. And I love mapping the progress.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Right. Yeah. Who just was everyone obsessed with that also was a murderer? Wasn't there recently someone everyone thought was hot? Was it the United Health assassin with people really horny for him? Luigi.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, you can't go back in time. He's got very powerful eyebrows.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I think that industry is evil and I don't think you're allowed to kill people.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Busy couple weeks for him because also on the 28th, he has the FX show Adults. It's on Hulu and on FX. And then he has a new movie out on June 6th, I Don't Understand You. Those are the many projects and offerings of Nick Kroll. Please enjoy Nick Kroll.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, wow. That's great. Five seasons. Oh, there's five seasons. Oh, so you're fucked for the whole week.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Like this is, you think you're a killer or you think you're a pervert.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
He's only so culpable. It was very confusing. But it was just. And he didn't do a good job. Like he should have recognized what was going on much sooner and said, it's a television show on Netflix and the title is you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But he did say I was watching You about seven times before it's a show on Netflix.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
When he said daddy's money, when he brought that, I keep thinking how funny that was when he said that. Do you remember that?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
He was a mess. He was coughing and snorting. A little indigestion there for a minute. I fucking loved it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
My kink. That is your kink. Sick little cutie. That could be your clothing line. Sick little cuties. Sick little cuties.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But it's more than that. He's got that thing some people have. Where he is just like infinitely comfortable in his own skin, which is so appealing.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. The women came after me. Should I tell you that?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
What I thought was an incredibly obvious joke about period underwear and Tampax. Such a joke. Some women really came at me hard.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We really did uncover, though, something with the X. Yeah, I know. Because Maxi Pad, Tampax-
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Now, last interview, I don't remember that I hit you with anything really gotcha, but I do have a single gotcha this one. I'm going to go a little shorter today. Okay, so. I immediately start sweating. Oh, Jesus. Here it comes. Here it comes. I've been waiting.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Someone said that. Someone suggested that in the comments. And I think that's brilliant. And I don't think that's what it is, but that's a brilliant.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I'm just trying to imagine the Tampax people going like, okay, let's call it, it's a tampon, but let's build on that and let's add X because of the chromosome.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That they wanted to imbue a sense of max, like max comfort, max absorption, max freshness, max... What was the word?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
They had the word attached to Tampax in the ad we showed.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That's good. It's good. We'd have to track down whoever named.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay. Well, while you read a fact, I'm going to ask AI if the inventor of maxi pads is still alive.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, it had to have. Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, an African-American inventor, is renowned for her development of the adjustable sanitary belt, a precursor to the modern maxi pad. Okay, so they really went back. That was 1912. Oh, wow. She passed away in 06, so that's off the table.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Okay. You turn down, nobody wants this. Pause. And so my question is, why didn't you want to kiss my wife slash how long have you been closeted?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Kenner's invention patented and featured a moisture-proof pocket designed to hold menstrual pads securely in place. The innovation. Okay, we're in our face. Uh, racial discrimination. That's a bummer. And of course, uh, was awarded five patents. In summary, Mary Beatrice Davis and Kenner passed away.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And I was like, okay, so I don't know if we're giving her credit for a maxi pet or she did the belt.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Or they do it weird. They'll do like a minute. So I just saw this. And congrats to Dumal and Minka Kelly, friends of the pod.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Ransom Canyon has 2.6 billion minutes viewed. And to put it in perspective, Mobland, which I love and is seemingly a hit, everyone I know is watching it, had like 580 million. So a four and a half X of second place. But they do minutes, right? So that's an interesting way to quantify it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Wow. I wouldn't have picked that up just from walking around and people telling me to watch stuff.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Give Money Heist another shot. It was subtitled?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Oh, I know when I started, which is so fucking good. The Pit? Deli Boys. Oh! Have you tried? You gotta try it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
It's such a unique tone that they are pulling off beautifully.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
You know, I like discovering these hiccups in my thinking.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
They have to deal with this Italian mob boss quite often.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And they're Pakistani. And the patriarch, not even the patriarch, one of the partners in the criminal organization, an older guy, he hates Indians, right? He's constantly talking about how he hates Indians. And so he's sitting across from this Italian mobster and he He says, I'm Pakistani, but I'm telling the truth. Indians are terrible. And the Italian goes, oh, I thought you were Indian.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And he goes, no, I'm not. They are our mortal enemy. And then the Italian mobster goes, so you guys look identical to each other and you hate one another? And he goes, oh, cookie just got canceled. Then they all laugh at the notion of a mobster could get canceled.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But then I was like, I think people do go, how do these two people hate each other so much? They're clearly related. And then I was like, yeah, I would never think that about the Irish and the English.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then I wondered if people in India are looking at those people going like, wait, you guys are the same people. Why are you fighting? I wonder if it's like whatever in-group you're in, it seems crazy on the outside.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
So this is a great gotcha. By the way, I wouldn't have even known. I was FaceTiming with Kristen right before this. I go, I have Nick. And she goes, oh, yeah, you know, he turned down. Nobody wants this. And I was like, oh, my God, thank you so much. Thank you for giving me. I did my research. Thank you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. Like six. Six more years he's got of being sick. We're not sick anymore.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Probably more sick than I was pre-kids in general.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But, like, they just stop putting their fingers in each other's mouths and butts. And, like, they just, they get a little more separated as they get older.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Right. I'm just saying I revealed a lot that I had some vestigial racial thinking that I caught myself.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And you can keep it time locked in your mind and memory.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Is it painful? Is it painful because you feel like you're missing out on the mothering experience or is it painful because you feel excluded from your friends in a way? I. Which pain is it?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
This is like Matt Damon turning down Avatar and missing out on $250 million. Do you know that story?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
If I were you, I would just want to be crystal clear if it is a desire to have the experience versus the A student in you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
He tells it openly. It's wonderful. He was offered 10% of Avatar on the phone with James Cameron. To be Signore Weaver? And I said everything right here. Yes, absolutely. To be Signore Weaver. You cannot ignore Signore Weaver.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That's hard to know which is driving it. But I think one is worth chasing and one is worth overcoming.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. So what does a guy in your situation do? Like, what is this 37 year old guy who can't go get a donor?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
I mean, yeah, they could. And then they got to get a surrogate. And it's definitely more complicated. You're like you're a stop at a sperm bank away from having a kid.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, maybe because of fertility. But, you know, like a dude who's not loaded and can't pay for a surrogate and egg and all that stuff. I wonder what how they wrestle with it, you know?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
How much is a sperm donor? That's not terribly expensive.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Carrie sent me this incredible post that a girl at our high school had put on Facebook and, um, she was a grade younger than us. I believe I didn't like, of course I didn't recognize her right away, but it was this really heartfelt, beautiful post about the complicated nature of Mother's Day and
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
She basically had to say goodbye to her mom at 16 because the mom moved to Arizona and the mom was not healthy mom. And so this girl was living, going to my school.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Paying for an apartment. She sent it to me because she goes, side note, that's fun. I was once in detention and Dax Shepard said to me, what'd they put you in for?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And then went on to say, don't worry about all this. Your life's really going to start in two minutes. And I know mine's not ending here in this.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Whether I said that or not, who knows? Maybe in her mind, I said that. But I'm delighted that on that detention, we had, you know, like a fun.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Yeah. But it was just a really sweet post and a reminder of like, man, some kids like the experience can be so right. Carrie sent it to me going, I'm such a fucking asshole for bitching about my two loving parents, you know, whatever.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
But yeah, there's kids in your high school that are like, they're supporting themselves and living in an apartment.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Follow Armchair Expert on the Wondery app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to every episode of Armchair Expert early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And when Monica edits, you're going to go like that guy, Todd Haynes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Well, hold on a second. I swear to God. Okay, great. By the way, I didn't know till today they offered it to you. But when I read it, I was like, you got to get Brody. He's the only option.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
That was meant to be aggressive. This was not. Can I have that over here? Oh, yeah, absolutely. I'm going to take one from me. Mind if I just spit loogies out while we... No, of course. ...his monocle, a test. I'm just a disgusting mess of coffee. He's constantly nose-blown.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
And we're both blowing our nose in a very cute and appealing way. Sick little cuties.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Now, did you go so far as to go back through your emails to see? You did. It was an offer. I don't remember.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Nick Kroll Returns
Overcoming a lot of childhood trauma of being overlooked and then trying to rule the world because no one wanted to. Exactly.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
It's funny. About five minutes ago, I was in my daughter's bedroom, which is a little smaller and probably better for the sound. And our neighbor across the street is doing a construction project and just whipped up their drywall mixer. Do you live across the street from me? Yeah. In the last five minutes, I've been frantic.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I have been. I was working in the wine industry for almost 20 years.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
What were you? I worked in marketing, social media.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
So now I work at our regional food bank called the Redwood Empire Food Bank. And I do grant writing and corporate partnerships. Busy time of year?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
We do. This takes place in a little town called Windsor, just north of Santa Rosa. That's the home of Charles Schultz. That's right.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
It's January 2000. I'm 18 years old. In between my semesters at my freshman year of college, I was going to the junior college here in town. Most of my friends had already left to go back to their schools. Some post-holiday blues, post-Y2K excitement.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
So I was just kind of moping around the house and my sister lived at home. She was a little bit older than me and she loved going to the gym. So she dragged me to the gym one day. Put on, you know, new pair of warm-up pants that I had, a big hooded sweatshirt. Exactly what I thought someone who would go to the gym would wear, you know, but not at all. Ooh.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
it's not a very big gym it was the first time i'd ever been to a public gym they kind of had the check area and the machines kind of in the front and then tucked in the back were a few treadmills and all the free weights so we went in hopped up on a couple of the treadmills to do a little warm-up we were jogging for a few minutes and my sister she'd hopped off and went to go do like her routine whatever she was going to do and i decided to stay on the treadmill i did a little running in high school so
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
Started building my confidence a little bit, putting up the speed, trying to get familiar with, you know, being on a treadmill. You know, probably five minutes go by and I'm going pretty fast and feeling good. Of course, I've got lined sweatpants on and a big hooded sweatshirt. So I'm getting hot. I'm way overdressed. Decided I need to take my sweatshirt off.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
The thought does not even cross my mind to like stop the treadmill, take my sweatshirt off and start up again. I'm going to just go ahead and try and take my sweatshirt off while I'm on the trip.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
Yeah, you know that move in the car where you're driving and they take a sweatshirt off or something and you can kind of do it real quick.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
No, if anything, I wanted to be anonymous. I was a pretty shy kid. Luckily, it wasn't very busy. I was kind of off on my own. You know, got one arm out of the sweatshirt, pulled the sweatshirt over my head. And that was when I lost sight for the first time. Oh, wow. And immediately stopped feet. I fly off the back of the truck. Oh, no. And I wish it would have ended there.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
And that would have been fine. I probably would have been okay. But the way this gym was set up was that, you know, it was 2000. It was pre-flat screen TVs. So the TVs were hanging on the ceiling. And they were the big tube TVs. And they were down the middle of the gym. So the treadmills were turned to face the middle of the gym, backed against a wall. Oh, no. Okay, okay, okay.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
Bounced off the wall, landed back on the treadmill. Back on the wall. Wait, what?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
So I'm basically like in a dryer and a tumble cycle is kind of what it felt like. Are you still blinded by the sweatshirt? Completely blinded. Sweatshirt completely halfway over my head. Can't see anything. I'm just kind of bouncing back and forth between the treadmill and the wall over and over again.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
So, you know, eventually I hear my sister screaming, not really helping, but she's screaming from the other side of the room, you know, somebody help. All this is happening so fast. It was probably only 30 seconds, but it feels like 10 minutes that I'm just bouncing back and forth between treadmill and wall. Eventually somebody came and stopped the treadmill.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I took inventory outside of my torn warm-up pants. No, this is so sad.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I mean, I feel fortunate that it wasn't too busy. There wasn't that many people there. I pretty much left immediately after that. I was like, I'll wait in the car while you finish your workout. I'm not hanging out anymore. I'm done with the workout. I'm never ever going to exercise again.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I have a feeling that people who work there probably had that on security footage and probably got a real charge.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I was pretty sore the next day. Burnt up knees a little bit, but more bruised ego than anything.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
Call 911! I called her last night to kind of corroborate the story. And she was like, what I remember is I was working out and all of a sudden I hear this big thud. And then I turn around and I see her arms flailing around on the treadmill.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I have. Stayed outside for my running for a while.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
I wouldn't say I'm the most graceful person either, so I've been known to trip just on the sidewalk.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
You just start telling people, you know who I look like. Shout out to my daughter, Grace, and my son, Sam. I let them listen to a very choice few of these.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Best of Friday 2024
Oh, God. I'll wait until they're a little older for that one.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Yeah, nothing out of the ordinary, except she was a little bit older. I told her, hey, I'm moving back to Washington, D.C. I don't think it's going to work out. And so she made me promise and promise and promise that we'd be best friends.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
She was absolutely a wreck. I fly back to D.C. and I'm getting involved in life. I work at a warehouse, 12 hour shifts. And I get a call a couple of months in from Amy. And she goes, oh, the best thing happened. I found a really good program at this college that's in Washington, D.C. And I'm thinking about doing that program. And I was like, oh, OK. You know, I'd already moved on by that point.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Yes. But she was like, wouldn't that be cool? I'd be like, it'd be interesting, sure. Two weeks later, there is a knock at my parents' front door, and it's Amy. Oh, no. She's like, surprise, I'm here. And she grabs me, and she hugs me, and she starts to kiss me. And she's like, I'm so glad. We're meant to be together. And I was like, whoa, freaked out. And you're fucking 18 or 19? Yes.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Oh, no. Super awkward. Very non-confrontational. And so she's like, hey, since I'm here now, do you think maybe we could date? I should have said no, but I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I was like, oh, okay. Because she was a friend and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Yes, this is tricky. And she goes, the only thing is I need a place to stay.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
There was no notice. She was just there. I asked my stepmom, hey, do you think that she could crash here for a week until she figures out her dorm? So it turns out that she wasn't in some program at the university. She enrolled in the community college nearby.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Yes. So basically what would happen is I would work these 12-hour shifts. I would come home. And she would be sitting there waiting for me. Oh, you're here. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad you're here. Let's go out. Let's do this. Let's do that. It was very, very overwhelming. And I wasn't feeling it at all. If I tried to make plans with friends, she would sort of fly off the handle.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
They did, but I was like, I'm 18. I could handle this. My dad was like, hey, she find a place yet. She wasn't working. She was going to class like twice a week. And so this goes on for about six months.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
It was to the point where I didn't want to come home from work. I would stay late after work. And if I didn't call her on my breaks at work, when I got back, she would be angry and it would be like I was in trouble. Right. Why didn't you do that? Who are you talking to? Super controlling. And I could see it now in hindsight. And I was like, wow, this was super intense.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
I wanted to find a way to have it, but I didn't know what to do. I started looking at colleges again, and I found a really cool university program in England. Now you're on the hunt for a program to escape. I'm getting out of here, right? Yeah. Oh, my God. At this time, my dad's job moves to Florida. This is my out. They're moving over the summer. I'll help them move.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
And then once they're moved, I'll go to England and go to the program. This is great. Clean break all around. I let her know, hey, it's not that I don't like you. You're great. But my parents are moving. I'm going to help them. I need to move on. She completely broke down so that she was going to kill herself. She couldn't be with me. She didn't want to be with anybody else.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
She said that one person can't decide to end a relationship. Both people have to make that decision. Oh, those are the rules? Apparently. She was from Michigan. And so her mom drove from Michigan to D.C. to pick her up. And I helped to pack all of her stuff. I was like, all right, I'm sorry. But, you know, it's been great. See you.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Yeah, that was part of why it was so hard to let go.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Exactly. Time comes for parents to move. I helped them move from D.C. to Jacksonville, Florida, get them set up in their house there. And it's the summer. I had like six weeks until I moved to England. I got accepted into the program. I was like, this is great. So about a week after being there, I'm moving some boxes, I'm packing stuff, and there's a ring at the doorbell. So I go and answer it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
And it's Amy. In Jacksonville, Florida. Yes. Address I didn't give her. I don't even know how she knew that was the address, but she just showed up. She was so excited. Oh, my gosh, I'm so happy to see you. And she ran in and she hugged me and she tried to kiss me. And I sort of went, whoa, what's going on? And she's like, I found another college program here in Jacksonville.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
She said her dad was a long haul trucker. And he had a route going from where they lived in Michigan down to South Florida. So he agreed that he would drop her off on the way down. And then he'd pick her up six days later on the way back if she decided that she didn't want to stay. And so at that point, I'd had enough. We could be friends, but this is just way too much.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
This is more than I can handle. She immediately threw herself on the ground, crying, writhing like she was in pain. And then she ran in the house to the back bedroom, which just happened to be the bedroom I was staying in, like our guest bedroom. And she locked herself in and she wouldn't come out. Oh. Now I was there by myself and I didn't know what to do. I called my dad and stepmom.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
I was like, hey, I have a visitor, but I don't really want them to be here? They're like, is it Amy? I was like, yes, it's Amy. They come home and now there's a negotiation through the door, trying to get her out of the room. It goes on for hours. She's like, I just need a good night's sleep. And then I could think clearly about this.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
And so my parents were like, all right, we'll talk about this in the morning. Just go to sleep. I slept on the couch. And then in the middle of the night, I woke up to Amy on the couch. on me. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, we're not doing that. At this point, she runs back to the bedroom and it's about maybe four o'clock in the morning.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
My dad wakes up and he goes, hey, listen, you're going to have to deal with this or I'm going to deal with it. This is going to be done either way. Do you want to talk to her or do I want to talk to her? So I said, you know what? I'll talk to her. So I told her, hey, let's go for a ride to the beach. We went down to the beach and I laid it all out there and she cried.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
And I was like, it's not going to work. She's like, all right, but can we still be friends? I was like, we can be friends if you get on a plane tomorrow back to Michigan. And she said, I agree. Okay, fine, fine. So I bought her one way ticket back to Michigan and she goes back to Michigan. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm so glad this is over. I didn't hear from her for another couple of weeks.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
It's two weeks before I was moving to the UK. One night, my phone rings. It's her number and I answer it. She's on the other end, but she's screaming, why are you picking up the phone? You got to make this work. Relationship, it takes both people. I can't believe the way you've treated me. I'm like, what are you talking about?
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
It turns out in that period of time that less than two weeks, she on a whim moved back to Seattle, moved back to where our friends were in the program and was like, He said he wanted to be with me and now he doesn't. And now he's treating me bad. And so they were all, well, let's call him and try to get him to work it out. They had no idea what had been going on.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
So now I'm on speakerphone with all my friends while she's saying all these things that I did, which I didn't do. And so I finally said, you know what? This is over. I don't love you. Never did. Don't call me again. And I hung up. That night she called my cell phone and then the house phone over 300 times.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
We had to unplug the phone and turn my phone off. And she started peppering with long emails, maybe 20, 25 a day. But she was posting pictures of us together on MySpace talking about we're so in love, we're getting married. And so this is where I did something that I don't know the legality of it, but I just sort of made the decision.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
I knew her MySpace password and her email password because it was my name. I logged into her MySpace and I deleted every single photo that there was of us. It's absolutely everything. Cleaned out the entire thing. And then I logged into her email and I deleted every single email that we'd ever sent to each other. And I'm like, that's it. A couple of weeks later.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
I moved to England a couple of weeks into that. I was talking to one of the registrars there and they pulled me aside. Like somebody listed you as a reference. They're trying to get into the program. I was like, who's that? And I was like, it's this girl, Amy. She said that you would vouch for her. I was like, absolutely not. No, thank God. They were like, no. So I haven't spoken to her since.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
The only person that's heard from her was randomly six months after all this went down. My sister who lives in Maryland got a package. She opened up the package and there was a loaf of bread. And then there was a picture of Amy. Oh my God. Not like a smiley picture, just like a deranged bug-eyed picture. And on the back it said, Happy President's Day. And that was it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
She's sick. So I've never heard from her since. I've tried to like Google to see where she's at. cannot find her anywhere. And nobody that I know has heard from her.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
I learned quite a bit from that one is speak what your truth is and not try to just go along with it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Can I be sincere just for a sec? Is that okay? Since all this has happened, I'm a police detective and I specialize in homicide investigations, crimes against children and sexual assault investigations, including stalking. I'm a day one arm cherry. I actually emailed you guys in 2018 to say like, thanks, please keep doing the podcast.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
One of the parts of my job is I work with people who are survivors of crimes and abuse. I myself am a childhood abuse survivor. One in six boys at some point in their childhood will experience sexual abuse. And some boys never talk about it their entire life. It becomes a thing that weighs on their masculinity and really, really traumatic to even bring it up, much less work through it.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Some of the guys that I've worked with that have disclosed this type of background, I've used you as an example to show that just because you acknowledge something for healing, it doesn't emasculate you. It helps you to be able to own your identity and who you are. It's something that can bring healing and you don't have to sacrifice who you feel you are to be able to do that.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
So I just want to say thank you. I really appreciate what you've been doing and Monica as well.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Yeah, what a pleasure meeting you. Thank you so much for having me on. Of course. All right.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Do you want to sing a tune or something? I want to have a theme song. Oh. Okay, great.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Okay, so this starts almost 21 years ago. So 2004, I graduated high school two years early. My family and I, we lived in Washington, D.C. at the time. I was 17 and I don't want to commit to a college just yet. So I was looking for something interesting to do. And the University of Washington in Seattle had a program that worked with people experiencing homelessness.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
It was like a work study where you lived in the university district, you shared a house with other people in the program, and you would get college credit at the end of it. It was a one-year program. This sounds great. I wanted to get it as far away from my family as possible. So I get out there. I'm obviously the youngest because I'm 17.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Everybody's sort of like 19 to 21, except this woman that's part of the program. She was 26. Her name was Amy. Obviously, it's a fake name, but Amy sort of takes a liking to me. I'm like, oh, this is great. She wanted to hang out with me. She can buy beer. Exactly. Yeah. Everything was working in my favor. But as time went on, I could say now I could see what the pattern was.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
But she started isolating me from the other people. She would get mad if I hung out with another housemate. If I was going to grab something out to eat, she'd want to meet me there. She'd call me if I wasn't back at a certain time. I just was like, oh, maybe that's just part of having a friend that's a little bit older.
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Armchair Anonymous: Stalking II
Other housemates start to notice and start reaching out. Hey, are you cool with her? I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, everything's fine. Fast forward at the end of the year, before I leave, Amy sits me down and she says, hey, I really, really like you. I just turned 18 and I think that we're made to be together. And I was like, oh, geez. Was she attractive?
Bad Friends
New Episode Out on Patreon
Yaxi, Yabora. Yaxi, Yabora. Yaxi, Yabora. Where are your arms now? Yaxi, Yabora. Yaxi, Yabora. Yaxi, Yabora. The yard bone is gone.
Cleared Hot
Episode 372 - Seth Gehle
Okay, got the red smoke. North and south. West of the smoke. West of the smoke.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Howdy, Caleb. Any idea what this straggler's doing here?
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
I reckon it's a runaway tourist attraction from a few towns over. He rubbed his bushy chin.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Help me put it in the back of the truck. I'll store it in the barn until its owner shows up.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Mr. Scarecrow, Mr. Scarecrow is doing a good job today. What?
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
I'm calling aliens. I'm betting on aliens. What do you think?
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Transformer exploded. Must be. I guess it's Megatron and Optimus Prime fighting out in the cornfield again. Do you mean that the Go-Box and the Decepticons are fighting again? There it is. That's right, Spencer.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
It's going to be a long night. Yes, ma'am.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
You mind doing one last thing? There's a tarp in the barn. Be a dear and go get it for me. Sure, ma'am.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Spence, lunch is ready. Get down from there.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Where's Spencer? He's trying a brand new diet of cold eggs and ham. Ew. He's trying a brand new diet of beating his cock off.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
You're going to be just like him when you're older.
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Yeah, he asked for a couple Jolly Ranchers. Oh, God. Did you give him the Jolly Ranchers?
CreepCast
The Pigeons Around Here Aren't Real | Creep Cast
Don't move, honey. Mom, what are we doing? We're playing dead, honey. If you do good, we'll bake you your favorite cake. But you gotta be perfectly still, alright? Okay!
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
All right, boys, this podcast is sponsored by Shopify. I couldn't be happier because we have used Shopify since the very beginning for the last like 10 years to be able to sell full send merch and now happy dad merch, board jerky, a ton of different stuff to you guys.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
So all the note boys, we've agreed on one play for UFC and it's live on the app right now. It's our community play. So if you guys are looking to fire this weekend on the fights, ride with us on our picks. We all agreed on this pick. It's going to hit guaranteed. Also people that ride with us on these UFC picks, prize picks is going to be given out 50 pieces of merch.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
So if you guys have a new business venture this year that you guys want to start, Shopify is by far the best e-commerce platform that you guys need to use. No matter what stage of your business at, if you're at our stage in your business, or if you guys haven't even started a business, if you're brand new, Shopify is there for you every step of the way. And it's so easy to get started guys.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Take it from me. I did this back in the day about 12 years ago and Shopify is good for any different type of business venture. If you're starting a fitness company, or you're selling granola bars, whatever you're doing, it doesn't matter. Shopify's backend is unmatched.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
My favorite thing about it too is like I said, whether you're small or big, it has everything you need to take control of your business and take it to the next level. They're always there for you every step of the way. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. They are truly a global force in e-commerce. They're in over 170 countries.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Plus, Shopify's award-winning customer service is there to help you every step of the way. Boys, don't wait now. Starting your business in 2025 is the year to do it. We got you guys on a special deal if you guys want to sign up. Go to shopify.com slash full send and you get a $1 per month free trial. Easy as that. I want to see you guys getting fired and starting your own businesses.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Shopify.com slash full send. I love Shopify, like I said. Guys, take it from me as an entrepreneur and someone that has been using Shopify literally for 12 years. I don't even know what other platform I would use before Shopify. It's literally just a one-stop shop. They are the best in the game.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
So go to shopify.com slash full send $1 per month free trial and take your business to the next level today.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
to people that win so that's pretty sick if you ride with us you have a chance to win an exclusive piece of merch this is like the best time to to fire on prize picks nfl playoffs sweating prize picks and watching nfl playoffs there is nothing like it also we got the college finals monday there's a free square right here add this to any of your picks It's just going to boost your entire lineup.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Yeah, I think we're good. We don't want to take up too much of your time. We know you got a big week. We appreciate you coming through, brother.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
I think last time we saw you was in Elbrus. the mountains when we go back i want to come back we were going to ask you i think we need to come there for like two weeks plus and actually train and the best months i think it's may april may you can come did you go back up there for this camp
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
And as always, we got you guys on Code Nelk. If you guys put in $5, you get $50 for free. No strings attached with that code. I love PrizePix. There is no better time to fire. NFL playoffs, UFC, college, Super Bowl's coming up. Download the PrizePix app. Use Code Nelk. Let's get in the pod.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
10 years to get to where you are. Yeah, yeah, of course. Do you feel like you've sacrificed a lot to get to where you are now?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Golf's good when you start to see improvements and you start hitting good shots. You get addicted. It gets addicting. Yeah. Because it's all mental too, right? I know what you mean.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Do you think this could be the last fight if you win at lightweight?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Because if you beat Arman, you've cleaned out the entire division, right?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Because I saw Dana said today that he's going to fight in the fall.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
That guy's not stepping foot in Dagestan. He's not going anywhere.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
You're getting a lot of business opportunities, I'm sure. So you're purposely just saving.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
I've seen you guys talking too recently about Coach Habib. Is he like a little too crazy in the gym now pushing you guys? Because the way you guys talk about it, it seems like... Yeah, of course.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
We don't want to take too much of your time. I know you're cutting weight.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Thank you, guys. Did you have any of that honey? You said you had honey?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Good training camp and we're ready. Is this your first time doing a long camp in the United States? No? Before fight in UFC, we're always doing... We always prepare here. Is it different when you like leave Dagestan to come train to United States? Do you like it here?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
I saw Khabib talking about sacrifice and we asked Islam too. But do you feel like you've had to sacrifice a lot to get to where you are now?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
How do you, how do you see yourself beating Murab in this fight?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
And real quick, in the spirit of UFC, we just dropped brand new UFC full send stuff on fullsend.com. If you guys head over there, we got tees, we got hoodies. Super simple, super clean. I like this shit. You can just rock it anywhere. You can rock it to the club. I love this shit. UFC full send. So go to fullsend.com right now. Grab some UFC full send shit. Let's get in the pod.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Were you good at hockey and do you still watch the NHL at all?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Do you envision that moment in the octagon, like getting the belt wrapped around you?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
After the fight is there or when you come here and you're not about to fight, is there any American fast food that you like?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
if I said it I would say it I would stand on it you just keep I get scared once he's sitting with you it's crazy bro alright we don't want to take up too much of your time we know you're cutting weight you got a big week and we wish you the best of luck bro thank you bro appreciate you thank you so much thank you yes thank you Ali
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Yeah, you think you could take Ovechkin and a scrap on the ice?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
He said he's more Georgian than you and he represents Georgian values better than you. Yeah.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Do you think that was the best Sean O'Malley that night? Or do you think it was your style that just threw him off?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Does it suck when you see Dana saying that in the media?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
You got to let some girls hold the belt though, right? Oh yeah, of course.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
What do you expect from the press conference tomorrow? Because last time, you guys kind of stole the show.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Yeah. How do you see your, like, title reign playing out? Like, how many times do you want to fight, and would you ever move... I guess Toporia's up at the next weight class, but...
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
All right, boys, as you guys know, Bitcoin has been on fire. I just opened up the MoonPay app and it is absolutely booming. I've been really focused on holding more crypto recently and I have switched to MoonPay. I find it the easiest app for anything crypto related. So what I really like about MoonPay that I discovered is you can use Apple Pay,
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
You can use like any credit or debit card and you can use PayPal to buy crypto, which I love. It's super easy. Like you could buy it in any way and it always works. If you hold different cryptos like Bitcoin, ETH, Solana, you can monitor in real time the changing of the markets on Moonpay app. Moonpay also has 24 seven customer support that's there at all times, which I love.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Or like the licking. Did you lick him, Sugar, or something?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Yeah, you kept kissing him. What's up with that? Is that like a troll? Totally a troll. What?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
So guys, if you're looking to get into crypto, buying, selling, holding, make sure you download the Moonpay app. Trump's back in office, so we've seen what's happened already. Who knows what's going to come? If I was you guys, I'd be holding. That's what I'm doing. The Moonpay app is available on the iPhone and the Android, or you can go to moonpay.com to sign up.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
We also have a link in the description as well. Make sure you guys follow at Nelk Boys and at Moonpay on X because we're going to be doing a ton of crypto giveaways, like for real. So make sure you guys follow us. Don't miss out on that. It's going to be absolutely free money. We're going to be doing that every month. So don't miss out on that. It's literally free money.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Just follow Nelk Boys and Moonpay on X and be looking out for it, boys. Buy some crypto. Take advantage of what's to come. Trump's back in office. We never know what's going to happen. I'm feeling good about it. I'm holding. Download the Moonpay app. Let's get back into the pod.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
How do you see yourself winning this fight? Because you guys have very similar styles wrestling, and you're both really good at striking. So how do you see yourself, like, winning this fight?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
What's your watch collection like? How many pieces do you have?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
I saw you weren't impressed by his performance with Poirier. You didn't think he did a good job?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
What's a post-win fight present look like? What was the last one?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Are you, like, were you ever a fan of, like, McGregor? Yeah, of course.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
All right, boys, we have a massive UFC pod today. The co-main event and the main event all on one pod. This is insane. Before we get into it, if you guys have not downloaded the PrizePix app, you've got to try it. It's an absolute no-brainer. I have fired on every app when it comes to firing on sports, and PrizePix is by far the best, hands down. We have a special play this weekend.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Armand's not going to be on Frontier Airlines, right? Nah, he's not taking that.
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
What do you think about Teporia? Do you think he moves up to your division?
FULL SEND PODCAST
UFC 311 Special | Ep. 145
Is that a fight that you'd potentially like down the line?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, firstly, I was never super physically strong compared to other guys. Even though I do go to the gym once or twice a week, but just going back to childhood and up to this day, I never felt like I was quite physically as strong as a lot of other men. And I was always, especially as a teenager, I was super skinny.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
So that also kind of contributed to this belief that I'm just not physically strong enough. Also, I was never much of a risk taker. I was always more on the cautious side. And I have a tendency to kind of overthink and analyze things. I was never like a daredevil slash, you know, reckless risk taker.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Right. I was always more on the sensitive side, like... Emotionally, I would be more sensitive than the average guy, I feel. And I also have a tendency to be introverted slash on the shy side, like you mentioned, similar to your previous belief.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I guess I just assume that all these things I listed make me less masculine compared to my competition, and therefore a woman will likely to choose more masculine guys rather than myself.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah? Well, also there was a girl back in freshman year of college that I was interested in. Um, and, but back then I was super skinny, like on the borderline underweight and we got along really well, but she just, she ended up friend zoning me. And I thought that part of the reason was that I was too skinny. And she actually mentioned me being super skinny a couple of times.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
So I thought that had something to do with it.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
She never dumped me. She just friend-zoned me. We were friends.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
No, she gave me a bullshit reason saying that she doesn't want to ruin our friendship, but obviously I knew that was just the cover-up. But she did mention me being skinny a couple of times, and Okay.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I mean, a woman never directly told me that I'm not masculine enough. But... Because they don't give you a reason why they reject you, typically. It's just something I assumed might be part of the problem.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, my first girlfriend mentioned that she didn't break up with me because of it, but she did mention one time that I'm a little feminine. That was years ago though. So I feel I changed a lot since then, but that was like 12 years ago or 11.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Zero.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
No.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I would say probably similar to you that it gives me a reason not to approach, especially if I'm at the bar at night. I see my competition and I see a decent amount of guys that I think are more physically strong and maybe more masculine looking or more attractive.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
So having that belief allows, like it gives me a reason not to try to approach because I think, you know, it's probably not going to work because I'm not as good as some of my competition.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Exactly.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I guess it gives me something to work towards maybe. Like if I can become physically strong or masculine. Like there's something to strive towards.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Makes me feel inferior, disempowered, and also kind of hopeless about my dating prospects.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Disempowered as in... I'm unable to attract the woman that I want because I feel I'm not good enough or masculine enough in that sense. Okay. Hopeless because I assume that, uh, you know, most women aren't going to be into me. And so I'm probably not going to be dating, not going to be able to date the kinds of women that I really want.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Inferior to more attractive or more masculine than.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Okay.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, I'm in that position.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I am just not man enough for really hot girls.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I feel so disempowered.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Look at all these men, and I'm not a man. I'm small.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
This is not fixable. I'm hopeless.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
This is unfixable.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm too sensitive. My muscles are too small.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm not a risk taker.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm like a woman.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Women want a man. I'm just too ladylike. Why would they want me? Jesus Christ, this sucks. Jesus Christ, this sucks. Why bother? Why bother?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Like 3.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Pretty hard. Borderline impossible.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Very unattractive.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Oh, absolutely.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, I usually don't even try. So that probably prevents me from potentially getting some success at least. And also having that fear. It's also self-fulfilling prophecy because if I do go on a date and I'm super worried about not being masculine or confident enough, that just puts me more in my head, makes me very not confident. And then the girl can probably sense that and then it's just...
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
It just proves my original beliefs.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, I am six feet tall and a lot of women would think that's kind of masculine because they prefer taller men and they associate that with masculinity in a way.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Great start. I'm a healthy weight now, so I'm no longer that borderline underweight teenager, young adult that I used to be. Okay. I do have some muscles. I weigh 180 pounds.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I used to weigh 130 back in the day.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I used to practice kickboxing. And I was 15 at the time, and I remember I was doing this drill with this big, muscular guy who would go pretty hard on me, even though I was only 15. He was like 29, I believe. I remember he hit me in the jaw, and a piece of my upper tooth chipped off, but I didn't even feel it.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
And then another guy in my kickboxing class, after the class, he actually complimented me, saying that I'm a very strong guy.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I hope it's just muscle. No, it's actually not, but that would be nice. I like being dominant in the bedroom.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
On the rare occasion that I do have the opportunity.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Nothing too inappropriate, but I just show dominance.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, tall is good, but also someone kind of wide, really broad shoulders, really muscular arms. My arms are pretty skinny. So muscular arms, big shoulders. That's the physical part. And then personality wise, I would say also like someone with a broader face, bigger jawline.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Part of that physical approach.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I like Gerard Butler. I kind of like Gerard Butler. He seems very alpha.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Maybe. Maybe. Is it possible? I think so. What do good lawyers do?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, that must be the case.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Remember where? No, just like random people on the street. Well, I actually do know, I used to have a crush on this young professor in college, not in college, in grad school. And I assumed her husband must be this big macho guy. And then I found him on the internet and he was like this short, very chubby, bald, balding, unattractive guy. And I was like, whoa, what happened over there?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
So I used to have a crush on this young university professor. At university? She was really beautiful. Yeah.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
He is her husband.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
The ones here? Biceps.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Unfortunately, they don't find out the dominant and bad part until later. That's unfortunate, but yeah. Okay. Got it.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Definitely it would feel more powerful and confident. And I have moments where I feel that way when I believe kind of falls off temporarily. Okay. And I feel more masculine and dominant and it makes me feel much more powerful, confident. And yeah, hopeful about my prospects. So basically the opposite of having that belief.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yes.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I think so, although I would probably feel... that I don't want to burst, I believe. So even though I might internally feel that I'm masculine in the moment, I would be afraid that if I approach and she rejects me that It's going to burst my belief, and then I'm going to go back to feeling not good enough. You know what I mean?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Does it have to be like the exact opposite of the non-masculine belief?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Okay. I would say something like a lot of women would find me attractive because I am tall, intelligent, charming, and A gentleman, but also dominant in the bedroom.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Tall, intelligent, charming.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
And a gentleman, but also dominant in the bedroom.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Hopefully the latter. I guess it depends on the woman.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Probably gentleman.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, it seems reasonable.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
It's all intelligent, attractive, or sexy.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I like calling myself Nico because it sounds so cool and sexy.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Are going to be attracted to me because I'm tall.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm a gentleman.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I am intelligent.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
And I am dominant in bed.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Nico is going to make them go, oh.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Nico is going to make the girls go, oh.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm six foot, bitches.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Do that again. I want a 10% more vocal commitment. Go. 180 pounds of kickboxing muscle.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I'm not masculine or man enough for women.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I was friend zone 15 years ago.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I am Nico.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I have an abundance of quality women.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Because I am tall, intelligent, and a gentleman.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Go. Nico will make you go, oh.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
So I started doubting my old belief and started focusing more on... a better belief that I also think has a lot of truth to it. And then I basically changed my body language to reflect that new belief.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah. Absolutely.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, for sure.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, that sounds great.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I am attractive to a lot of beautiful women because I am tall, intelligent, charming, gentleman, and dominant in the bedroom. I am Nico.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Thank you. It was life-changing.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Sounds great.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
I would say one belief slash fear is that I worry that the woman will sense that I'm maybe not masculine or confident enough. Maybe she'll sense that I'm a little more on the shy side, like shy slash sensitive. And when I start worrying about it, that makes me feel even more shy or not confident. So it's like a negative spiral that I go into.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Yeah, I'm also kind of insecure about showing my interest to the girl because I feel as though it will make... It will automatically put me below her because girls, and especially if they're attractive, they're used to guys showing a lot of interest in them. So I feel if I show interest, I'll be just like all the other guys that have shown interest in her.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
And she will automatically put me in that category of every other guy and basically...
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, I guess physical attractiveness. I don't think I'm a bad-looking guy, but I haven't had a whole lot of success with online dating, even though I think I have pretty decent photos. But there's obviously room for improvement. But since I've had so little success in online dating, it kind of carries over into the real world, too.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
And I think, well, these girls don't like me when they see my good pictures, so why would they like me in person?
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
That I'm not attractive enough to date the kinds of women that I find attractive.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Well, if we're talking about pictures, it's more physical attractiveness.
How to Get a Girlfriend with Connell Barrett
Struggling with Dating Confidence? Try this Mindset Shift to Become Instantly Magnetic to Women (Live Coaching Results)
Right, and in the real world.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
Wow.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
Hi, Michelle and Craig. My name is Nick and I'm 38 years old and I live in Miami, Florida. I have an elderly mother who's recently been admitted to an assisted living community due to her Alzheimer's disease progressing beyond our family's care. But the road to getting there was tough. For several years, my dad and I were her primary caregivers.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
Well, my dad was her primary caregiver, taking care of the house, cleaning, cooking. And then I was my dad's caregiver. I'd grocery shop for him, make sure he was eating properly, come over to watch the game. But that often meant I was leaving my own wife and young son at home a few nights a week. Now my relationship with my wife is suffering.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
She's very understanding of my situation, but we lack any real time together outside of going to work, taking care of our house, making sure our son has everything he needs. And then recently, in one of our weekly visits to see my mom in her new care facility, she introduced us to her new boyfriend that she met there.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
The only problem is, my dad is very much in love with her and dedicated to her still. We know in our heads that this is the disease taking its effect. but were having a difficult time watching my mom turn into someone that sees me and my father as, quote, the assholes out to ruin her relationship with the love of her life.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
And now I'm left wondering, after all these years of strain, what will the emotional fallout of all of this be? My dad's sense of himself without my mom and his heartbreak at what's happening at the end. I'll continue to be there for him, but my own home life has suffered so much for so long, and I know my wife and son deserve so much more.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
In the midst of it all, I haven't even begun to try to come to terms with the fact that my mom is no longer the same person that raised me and supported me through the best and worst moments of my life, and soon that she won't be here with us at all.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
How do we even begin to come together again as a family when we're all exhausted, already devastated, and have no real time to take care of ourselves? How do we move forward, each of us, successfully from here? Thanks for your thoughts. Nick. Ooh, Nick.
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Caretakers Need to Care for Themselves with Seth and Lauren Rogen
She's great.
Kinda Funny Games Daily: Video Games News Podcast
Report: God Of War Side-Story Releasing This Year - Kinda Funny Games Daily 03.24.25
Trey?
Kinda Funny Games Daily: Video Games News Podcast
Report: God Of War Side-Story Releasing This Year - Kinda Funny Games Daily 03.24.25
Yeah, it was, yeah.
Kinda Funny Games Daily: Video Games News Podcast
Report: God Of War Side-Story Releasing This Year - Kinda Funny Games Daily 03.24.25
I thought he was having a movie night.
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Nick, we have to just light it without engaging it.
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Get ready to dodge! I don't know how else to say this, but whale!
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will start. Tomorrow I will, Pingas! Tomorrow I will slam on the cooler.
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Derek, that is such a fucking move. Oh, but there's a sail. Well, of course you know that they would keep the canvas here.
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Near. Your. We found something. We found something for you. Well, what is it? Look at this! And we have this horrific bone effigy.
Legends of Avantris
Icebound | Ep. 24 | Passage of Rime
Would you enjoy some calming burning alive? A calming cup of being burned alive.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm a CEO being attacked by two inmates. I hit the button and nobody comes? Correct. I was illegally, medically terminated.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So our procedure is when that light is on, the red light, you run to the front, you suit up. It's called suit up. And then we all go in as a unit. And believe me, they're not running out there the way you described.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They are marching slowly. Yeah, these guys aren't waiting for the... There's no suit. They're coming straight in.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that's for the people who actually suit up. Again, you know how many people pass by the other thing and say, fuck it, I'm not going. I'm not going. I'm not... That all comes down to management. That's gross mismanagement. And again, it's on camera. Right. The whole thing. That's why I feel like people are like, oh, you feel so confident. How can I not be? It's all on camera.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They have to explain this in court.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So this thing becomes technical. So I almost have to think like a lawyer, which I know you do. So I get... Do I?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What do you think? Yeah. Think like a fucking idiot sometimes, but okay. No, listen, trust me. People are constantly, it's kind of like the asshole thing, you know, where it's like, I'm like, you know, if, if 50 people call you an asshole, you, you probably an asshole.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
you know but i mean and people are constantly doing the whole like you know what you know you're super smart and i'm always like am i like i always feel like i feel like i'm fucking i'm i'm i'm kind of a tard sometimes like i i lose my car when i leave the the restaurant like where we park like i'm you know i have no idea like that but everybody keeps saying that so i'm gonna go with i'm with you i like that version better yeah but it's it's accurate trust me it's coming from me okay it's got to be true so certified right yeah
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, but you are a smart guy. Listen, to do what you did, you have to be smart. Now, smart people sometimes fuck up. They have weaknesses. Keep all this in there. Smart doesn't mean perfect. Exactly. Exactly. Smart is not perfect. So you are a smart guy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Overconfidence. It's overconfidence. You screw up sometimes. You get overconfident.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's why there's erasers on pencils. Because everybody makes mistakes somewhere at some point.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's why there's prisons. So what happens? So these guys, so nobody's coming.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, eventually I do get one guy who comes in.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
By accident.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They don't tell you that in the academy. Right. And all of a sudden, like, hey, Matthew Cox just got jumped in his cell. What the hell's going on? Oh, Nick, it's your fault. You know, cell doors weren't secured. Tag, you're it. Suspension. So when you're in that academy, you better pay attention to it, especially the rules and regs part. The physical stuff is whatever. It's physical.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, someone who actually does his job.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. How many guards are here? Are in the vicinity? How many COs are in the basic general vicinity? Not many. Okay, 10? Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, they're not allowed to leave their post. The ones that are in the vicinity, no, you cannot abandon your post, period, under any circumstance.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm a CO being attacked by two inmates. I hit the button. These guys aren't allowed to leave their post to come?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Correct. So I'll give you a scenario. No, I'm telling you black and white, like what's rules and regulations. So where I was was called Quad Upper 4A. Right. So that means there's an officer in called the bubble that just sits there all day watching that. And there's also quite a before B. So now that meaning there's two officers within the vicinity of of from here to the refrigerator.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, they cannot leave their post to come help me, even if I'm being stomped out. They cannot. No, no, that's that's black and white. If when they roll back the cameras. They say, oh, no, Matt, you went to help Nick. Well, you abandoned post. You're not allowed to do that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
This is not as good of a job as you said it was.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, I said it's a good paying job. I said, yeah, yeah. All right. Yeah, yeah. If somehow you could last.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Go ahead. So those guys would lose their job if they left their post.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Depending on their status, the disciplinary status, how far they are up the thing. But you're definitely getting written up for it. You're getting what we call tagged, like disciplined. Oh, you're going to get tagged.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
For sure. I mean, they made that clear to us in the academy as well. You can't abandon your post. You got to stay there. Be the best possible witness. Now, unless it's a DPF, which is a deadly physical force, they teach us this crap.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It doesn't make sense.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. So I could stop the guy getting beat to death, or I could just make sure I'm a good witness.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If it's a DPF situation, then all hands on deck. Then anything goes.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But if it's just me getting punched in the mouth or something, that's not DPF.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I feel like that is. I feel like that's quickly going to.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's the argument I would make as well.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, if I was in that situation, I'm like, I'm going in, helping you, and I'll deal with the discipline later on. That's just me personally, and I've done it. And somehow I didn't get written up or whatever.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Sorry. After I finally get help, which is supposed to be a unit with a captain. But it's one guy. Just one guy. No, this guy's fucking big. Yeah. He's huge. I mean, this guy can move a car. And once I saw him, I was like, okay, cool, cool. We're going to finally put this thing to rest, whatever quarrel these two have. Because one of them was anti-LGBTQ and the other one's exactly that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And it became very sexist, the story. That's why I believe that something was going on between them romantically. It was like lover's quarrel or something. I can't prove it, but whatever. I'm exhausted, dude. Obviously, 32 minutes is just agonizing stress because one of them's in there for murder. This other one's here for triple murder.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
These are not guys like you or who stole cars or bank fraud or anything like that. Right. And I go there. I'm against the wall like this, just covered. I'm exhausted, man. I'm trying to catch my breath. I'm hurt. I needed four surgeries after this.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
From all the, I'm sorry, say it again?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like shoulder surgeries?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Shoulder, back, elbow, and knee.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. I mean, how many people out there are trained or could go out there and do this for 32 minutes? Right. I could practically drive back to where I just came from. In 32 minutes.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. So once you graduate the academy, do you... I mean, they don't just throw you into a unit. Yes, they do. Do they? You don't have like somebody that watches you for a little bit?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. You see, that's a long time. It's not like even professional boxers get the bell every, what, four minutes or something?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Three minutes and I think one minute break or something. Something along that line. Yeah. Yeah. And then you get their buddies tapping. I'm like, yeah, keep going. And they're trained. Right. And I'm definitely not. Right. Right. Not for something like this.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I get this, and I'm going to show you, I'll tell you something here, how I had the respect of the guys, because I treat everybody with respect, regardless of your charges, even though you might be a piece of shit and everything. Until you give me a reason not to treat you with respect and dignity, I treat everybody the same way I treat you. And they saw that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Believe it or not, my incompetent captain there comes in now, now when that big guy comes in. Mm-hmm. And because once he gets the other guy, I said, I can't get this one here. Everything's settled. I'm against the war like this. The inmates put their arms around me. And a captain, a useless captain, what should I do? What should I do? Looking around. Inmates curse her out.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What the fuck are you doing, you dumb bitch? Don't you see Officer G needs help? Call medical emergency. What are you doing? She says, you know what? Go to the clinic by yourself.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Imagine that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Tells you to walk there instead of calling them.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. And you see me limping out there. Again, I'll keep emphasizing, everything's on camera. Everything's on camera. This is what we go to court with. I go there and they're like, oh, listen, you need to go to the hospital. Because you're almost having a heart attack because they're checking you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Now, of course, my blood pressure is going to be extremely high in a tense situation like that, being overly exhausted on top of that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that's it. So, you know, go to the hospital. They recommend I take a month off, you know, to recover. And then during that time, I'm going to get MRIs, x-rays. Turns out I needed to get four surgeries because of this incident. And then now this is where it becomes tricky. That's when they say, OK, fine, Nick, you come back to work on light duty. It's called an accommodation.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No. Part of the academy, at least in mine, now they've trimmed it down. In my academy, we had four weeks of what's called OJT, on-the-job training. And so that's when they sort of throw you to the wolves, but not completely because they'll put you in a housing area where you get the... The nice guys, the compliant guys. So someone like yourself who's non-violent.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So basically, instead of being in the housing area watching the guys, I could be behind the scenes answering phones or hitting the button to let some of the gates open.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
A non-inmate. So it's sort of like just sitting here. Like, okay, oh, you're coming through. Show me your ID. Zap. Okay, go through. Watch the door close. And then just wait for the next person to come through. It's called an accommodation. Right. Yeah, so they accommodated me.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So what they can't do, this is where my lawsuit really gets into play, is what they can't do is give me an accommodation, say, Nick, you're injured really bad, but you're good enough to come in and answer phones and stuff, and then take that accommodation away from me. Why you have people who don't need accommodations doing that same exact work.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So let's say you, Matt, you're an officer just like me, but you're hooked up. Your uncle's the warden or you're the neighbors, your neighbors with the warden in real life or whatever. So he said, Matt, I don't want you out there fighting with these drug addicts and gang members and all this shit. Come in and I'll find you a nice perky post over here answering phones or answering emails. No, no, no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Matthew is not injured. Matthew has no restrictions. Matthew's supposed to be in the housing area. I apologize for pointing. It's fine. That's rude. Matthew's supposed to be in the housing area with the inmates, and Nick is supposed to be here until he recovers. That's the way it's supposed to be. Right. So that's where it becomes a discrimination. It's called a cooperative dialogue.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's a little clause in the ADA, American Disabilities Act. And they're in huge violation of that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Huge. So they move you back there, and what, three weeks or two months later or six months later, they say, oh- I think it was four or five weeks.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They gave me a desk job answering phones.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I needed some kind of pension or something. And so I ran into some guy, some correctional officers, and they're telling me all the money they're making and that there's no wage limit. And I'm like, are you serious?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. So then they say- Then once you come back, they say, okay, well, you're going to put you back in the housing unit?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, so they kept me there. No, so they kept me there and they said, oh, okay, so we're letting you go. After, I think it was 16 months. Don't quote me on it right now. You're going to let me go for what?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What's the reason for letting me go?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was still on probation at that point. Okay. But I got injured.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Keep going. Keep going. Yeah, I agree.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You can't use me up. You can't allow me to get injured and then fire me because I'm on probation for no reason. I'm injured. So you're letting me go on probation because I'm because I mean, what's the justification for letting me for for firing me on probe? You know, you're saying it's not like you're saying, hey, you're not working out.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The reason you're saying I'm not working out is because I was injured. Like that's not a justification to fire me. I can still do the job. It's not like, hey, I'm showing up late fucking over and over again or I'm showing up drunk or I'm – or I can't – you find out I can't read. I'm not able to fill out the paperwork or something like that. Like that doesn't make sense.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that's exactly the scenario. I mean, you sounded like my lawyer, right? Just without the actual legal.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I'm sure he's got the actual verbiage.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, exactly. But that's exactly that's what we're going to court with. So they said that, oh, Nick, you're on probation. We could do exact words. We could do whatever we want to you. That's not true. I know it's not true. You know, it's not true. But this is what they say. So we could do whatever we want to you. You have no rights. And I'm like, that doesn't make sense. We have rights.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So I go up to him like this, just to shut them up. Because some people just, they're too dumb. They just believe everything they hear. And it was a black person that said it to me. Now, I had to play the race card because he's saying I have no rights. I'm like, okay, cool. I said, do you want to test your theory out? He's sticking his chest out like, yeah, I want to test it out.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I said, sure, let's go. How about this? I said, you're black and I'm white, correct? He says, yeah. I said, so basically what you're saying is if I'm in charge, I could say no black person ever gets off of probation, period. They could be perfect because you have no rights. He said, no, you can't do that. I said, So you do have rights then. Oh, okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Yeah, exactly. So they're going to be all polite and stuff. And I remember my first date, I'm like, I called my girlfriend when I got out of there. I'm like, oh, sweetie. The media, they are, they are, Trump is right. They are fake news. They make Rikers Island seem like this place is full of animals. Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Funny how all of a sudden now, when we test this little theory of yours, or what you believe to be the theory... Now, all of a sudden, no, you can't do that. Right. Oh, okay. Again, that's why we go to court. They got to explain themselves.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So it's like religion, race, and in your case, it's disability. Yeah. I'm injured. You fired me because I'm injured. That's the only justification you can have for firing me or letting me go. And the probation thing is arbitrary. You've determined, oh, by the way, you're on probation for two years. Really? You just pick two years?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, they make it, we're aware of it. We sign paperwork. No, I understand being aware of it, but of course you're going to sign the paperwork. I'm being hired. Like, I think I'm not going to do anything wrong for two years, but you arbitrarily chose a time limit. Like, all of this is just kind of policy. You know what I'm saying?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Policy isn't, your policy doesn't trump my, you know, my civil liberties, right? It doesn't trump my rights, right? You know, under the Constitution, you don't get you don't get to say, by the way, we're going to we're going to pay you while you're on probation or whatever. We're going to pay you less because you're black. Sign here. You see what I'm saying? You could sign there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You could say, yeah, that's fine. And sign there. But guess what? I can sue you. Why? Because because that's because you your policy doesn't trump my rights. You're not allowed to discriminate. Yeah, but you signed it. Doesn't matter that I fucking signed it. You weren't allowed to even put it down. Matt, this is what I go to court with.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Again, if my lawyer happens to die before my trial starts, I'll hire you. I'm serious. I'll fly you in.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'll get the words down a little bit better. Yeah, I'm sure. I'll read a couple.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
A couple of dollars here and there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I'll have a better argument. This is just off the cuff. I'll be better.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Absolutely. Me and you were speaking on the same non-lawyer lingo. Yeah. And that's exactly what we're going to court with. And they're going to delay, delay. My lawyer already told me it's going to take two to five years because they're going to delay, delay, delay, deny, deny, deny, offer some money to shut me up, which, by the way, I'm going to deny.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Even if it's a million dollars, I'm denying it because there's a bigger jackpot here at the end of this rainbow.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay. They chose it. Why not come in – you know what always kills me about the government is like their delay – in the end, it must work for them, to be honest. The delay tactic must work. But I hate to say that because the government – listen, nobody – And I used to say that we say this in Coleman all the time, but it's true in any facet of government.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, because day one, I'm there with the guys who are scammers, so everybody's polite, well-groomed, no one's cursing at you, throwing feces, nothing like that. And I'm like, what's going on here? This is not the Rikers Island. This is not the job that I signed up for. I'll take it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Nobody gets to the top of their field and ends up working for the government. Absolutely. I agree. They're like, oh, well, go to the doctor. It's like, first of all, Nobody becomes a doctor, the BOP, because they're at the top of their field. Definitely not. That's a huge pay cut. You're on the bottom fucking rung. So it's like the same thing with the lawyers.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like if you become a US attorney or whatever, unless your goal is I'm going to sacrifice because I think – I can end up being like U.S. attorney or maybe you have career aspirations or you don't need the money. For instance, Robert Mueller, who was the FBI director and he wanted to be U.S. attorney, right? He didn't need the money. His family had, they were already rich.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So if you're saying, hey, we're wealthy and we've done very well for myself and I'm now gonna go into government. Okay, I get that. Maybe you were successful, but for the most part, if you're a lawyer working for the state of New York, you know, And you're basically in their civil department. You're probably not a great fucking lawyer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I 100% agree.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're thinking the standard MO is delay, delay, delay. They'll get frustrated and they'll take whatever we offer them because they're so desperate for the money after four years. But I wonder if there's some actuary out there that hasn't crunched the numbers to say, listen, you're better off going in right away. Because that's what insurance companies do.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They go in right away and say, look, take $50,000 because you just got hurt. And you're probably thinking, I'm going to have a surgery. I'm going to be better. I'll be back at work in six months. Not realizing- If the insurance company knows if we wait, this guy is going to realize that the injury he has is he is now going to be permanently, partially disabled for the rest of his life.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that it's not worth 50. That's worth a fucking million dollars minimum. Right. Because you will even if you get a job, you are now excluded from certain jobs. You may say, oh, you can work. Yeah, I can work. But I can never work as a CO. I'll never be able to work as a – any physical jobs like a police officer. I'll never be able to turn this into become an FBI officer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's tons of stuff I can't do now because I'm permanently partially disabled. So that wasn't worth $50,000. That was worth a couple million dollars because I'm – even the jobs I can take now are going to pay less. And they may not be the jobs I want because let's face it, the job you liked – was kind of being the CEO. You probably liked, some people like that environment.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Some people like being cops. So you've now permanently taken me out of law enforcement. by this injury.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. And there's a certain dollar value to that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So even if you can work, you're still partially disabled from here on out. Right. By the way, I was a workman's comp adjuster for about a year. Were you? Yeah. So I know the difference being, you know, people are like, oh, you're, you're disabled. Well, yeah, but then there's partially disabled. And then there's, you're permanently. So you can be partially disabled for a certain period of time.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But boy, oh boy, the media made it sound like this place was a zoo. It wasn't. Reality check.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And now you're a hundred percent. Then you can be permanently partially disabled, which means you can work. but you'll always be at 20% capacity, and so you have to pay people for that. And workmen's comp. There's even a calculation, and that's a shitty calculation.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'll tell you a story. Matt, this thing has been one disaster after another in terms of dealing with either incompetence or lies, blatant lies. So what happens is in order for me to get medically terminated like I was, you have to go to this place called HMD, which is Health Management Division.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So you go there every single month to the corrections doctors, which are bottom of the barrel doctors that we talked about. The guy who barely passes class, who's not good enough to get his own practice.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's this guy. Or he's been fired from two or three hospitals and isn't getting a job.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, that's this guy. And so they sit down and they say, okay, it's been one year. Who do we get rid of? And so my name came up. So it's a doctor and an ADW. I'm not mentioning names, but we could do a Google search on what happened to this guy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, another beauty. He gets caught stealing overtime from the city, forging paperwork. Okay. And they give him a promotion. Doesn't get fired, doesn't get arrested. He gets to be in charge of that whole division, the management division. Not to go to the jails, to be around inmates where he's supposed to. Even their union, the ADW's union, said this should not have happened. Guess what?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Not only did he get promoted to that position, just recently, within maybe a month, he got promoted again. to Deputy Warden.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I mean, I could tell you how it works in the BOP.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Enlighten me, because I know there's plenty of people out there that are in support of me, and I just got this information recently.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So here's what happens. If you're a problem for the BOP, so they have such a strong... Once you become, you know, you're fully vested and you're a part of the union, right? So the COs have a union. Yeah, once you pass probation. Right, and this is in the federal. And this is what I've been told by...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But even there, they don't send you to the high classification guys because you just don't have the training and the experience to go out there or even know what the hell you're doing to deal with those guys. And they know those guys are savages. They're sharks. They can smell the newness in you, and they'll take advantage of you immediately. I mean, like blood in the water.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
other what what i've been told by other um staff members yeah so we had a counselor that was named miss jenkins i will use names so and this is normal right so you become so now you're you're whatever, your staff, you're on your union. And so if you're such a problem for a facility that they can't just come to you and fire you. They can't say like, look.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Why not? You could go out there and steal from a job and they're entitled to keep you?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, typically you'd have to probably be charged with that crime.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like you would have to have like the- That's my point, incompetence, governmental incompetence.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What I'm saying is that you would have to be charged from like, let's say the local, whatever, the local cops would have to come and arrest you. And even then you have hearings and all these things you can do. And he did what he's been accused of and he kept his job. Right. Well, what happened, let's say Ms. Jenkins was like a horrible CO, correctional officer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
She was such a problem writing up so many people, causing so many problems and making stuff up and whatever. The point is, is that she's such a problem. They want to get rid of her. First, what they'll do is they'll give you assignments that they think will frustrate you and get you to quit. Absolutely.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So if you don't quit and you keep being a problem, then they'll get to a point where they'll try and move you to another – usually what they'll do is they'll try and get rid of you from, let's say, that prison.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
you know what, let's move her to another prison, to another this, move her around. Because a lot of these prisons are complexes. They have multiple prisons. Like they'll have a pen and they'll have a camp.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because the people at the camp, the inmates at the camp will take care of the prison. They'll mow the yards. They'll do maintenance, right? They're trustworthy. But the guys at the pen, you can't let them work on the mowers. Hell no. They'll turn them into knives and start killing people. So the point is that they'll move her from the pen to the camp. Then they'll say, okay, well, you know what?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
let's move her to a completely different facility and keep in mind that's a problem because the moment they do that they have to buy your house right that they either have to buy it or they have to put it on the market and then they have to provide you a bonus or they have to provide you a per diem to move you know a moving whatever they call that per diem they give you money to move they do all this that doesn't going on over here but okay okay so that's the fed the feds
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So, but they have to offer you that, like, hey, we have an opportunity for you to go here, this other place, or this other prison. Now, she can say no if it's a lateral move. If it's a lateral move, she can say, no, I like it where I'm at. I don't want to move. I don't want to go to California. No, but you get extra money because it's, you get better pay. Yeah, but the cost of living is higher.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, so it's not.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And she's like, yeah, I don't want to do that. My family's local. And they'll be like, or maybe they'll say, hey, I know you have family in Georgia. We're going to move you to Atlanta, Georgia. Yeah, I don't want to do that. They're like, fuck. So then here's what you can't do. You cannot turn this down. We have a promotion in Atlanta. So you get to be a unit manager.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Turn that down and we can fire you. Really? And so she has, they're like, Now she's like, fuck. So they move you here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I mean, you know how it is.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And why do they do that? Because the warden at the prison that you're at right now doesn't like the fact that you're constantly writing up inmates. You're doing too much. You're doing too much. You're causing us too much work.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. They could tell with the shiny shoes, the new belt, the shield. Actually, no, at the academy, we didn't have the shields yet. But a lack of a shield, they're like, oh, that's like a substitute teacher. Hey, fellas, party is on.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, even whether it's true or not. It's caused too many waves. Right. It's true or not. You're causing everybody problems. You're creating too much paperwork, too much work for us. We're sick of it. We told you to calm down. You won't do it. So guess what? You can now be a unit manager or whatever, a counselor. Whatever, yeah. We're going to transfer you. You have to take it. So you take it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But it's also a bump in pay. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, a forced promotion. Poor woman.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Jenkins.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, poor Miss Jenkins.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Let me set up a GoFundMe for her. So now she's a counselor. And then what happens is after two or three years there, they're like, she is such an issue here. The new warden's like, I got to get rid of her. I've tried to get rid of her. I can't.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The warden or the union keeps stepping in every time we complain about her or we write her up and they fight it and we have to drop those write-ups or whatever. We can't get rid of her. So you know what? We're going to get rid of her this way. We know that a position is here. So they move her here and they give her.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So what happens is the bad apples or the people that nobody wants to deal with, people that are a problem, they keep getting pushed up, pushed up, pushed up. Before you know it, they're unit managers or they're assistant wardens of some little, some little unit, whatever bullshit camp somewhere that nobody wants to be at.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And then they get there and they start, they try and eventually get them to a point where they're, They're not a problem for them anywhere. But the problem is, by that point, they've been in the system for 10, 15, 20 years. They know the game. They've been pushed up. They've got clout. I'm now a warden of a camp, and I'm making $200,000 or $250,000, and I've got... 15 guys underneath me.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And you go, how did this person become... Because they were doing too much or they were a problem or they... Now, if you actually catch another charge and they can... Because you can get a charge and still not lose your job, right? But if you become like a felon or something, a lot of times they can... They can basically fire you. But that takes a lot to get these people charges.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You'd have to get arrested for something. It can't be like a DUI. It's got to be something major. It's got to be you got caught for whatever, shooting somebody or burglary or something really.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Something that's very unlikely is not going to happen.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. And so that's what happens a lot of times is you get these COs. We had a guy who was a CO. He was a CO.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He'd been caught harassing. This is a male CO harassing male inmates. What? This guy had been doing this for 10, 15 years. And he literally, every year or two, he got so many write-ups for it. So they go to him and they're like, we can fire you. Or? And you could fight it. Or? You can just go to this other prison. It's easier to transfer, for you to take a transfer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So how long do you work there? I mean, how long-
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like, it's a fresh start for you. Stop doing whatever these people are saying you're doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right, you're right. And he moves. Six months later, he's harassing other inmates. He gets a couple write-ups, and the new guy says... Look, man, we're going to transfer you, bro. I'm sorry you can't be doing this.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm not saying it's true, but we've got three guys saying it like it's an issue. And he doesn't necessarily know that this has been an issue at the other prison. They move him again. It's like the priests. We just keep shifting them from one prison to another, just like they'd send them to one church or one jurisdiction or whatever it was. They just keep doing it. We had a guy that was there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He's probably in his 50s, late 50s, and he was harassing the inmates, calling them in there, telling them, you work out, do you? You look like you work out. How old are you? You know, if you have sex with another man in prison, it doesn't make you gay. What? What? That's the conversation.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was there for three and a half years before I was illegally, medically terminated.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, and the guy's got to be like, what did you say?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
yeah i i'm gonna go oh let's talk no we're good i'm good i'm leaving do it can i leave if you want to leave yeah if you want just shooting the shit with you i don't want to be a part of this conversation bro it's kind of kind of yeah so that's why these guys you you that's why that's the same kind of thing you're like how is this guy still got a fucking job because it's too difficult to fire them yeah with this one uh you know i don't know how the rules are over there in the feds with the transfers and stuff uh
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
we're in New York city. So he can only go so far. Right. Yeah. And, uh, from what I'm hearing, I can't verify it to this guy. It doesn't even jail. Like, like he's always given, he, he knows the right people. God bless him. I wish I knew the right people. I wouldn't, I wouldn't be on this podcast. I wouldn't be on this podcast if I did. Right. You know what I'm saying?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You ever read a headline and think, wait, that's not what I read earlier. Or hear a story that was covered two totally different ways and think, I wonder which one's telling the truth. We all know the news can be biased. Algorithms push stories that they think you want to see. And some outlets spin stories to fit a certain agenda.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I wouldn't be in a situation I'm in, but I don't know the right people. This guy does, but he gets a steal from the city and it gets swept under the rug. And meantime, that's the motherfucker that signs off on my termination. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, maybe he should run for Congress. He's a shoo-in. They're like, he's one of ours. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, by the way, the guy, he's not really... I don't know how you get overtime in an office setting and you're not even in the jail. The guy made over $260,000 last year. Like I said. Public information. Congress. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He's one of us. He should run. I thought you were going to say he's not that smart.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't know him personally. I've never even met him. I mean, him... We might not have even crossed paths. Right. As far as I know. I know what he looks like. I don't recall ever seeing him besides pictures. Yeah. But whatever. Like I said, I'll see you in court. Right. Yeah. So naturally you said you worked at, I didn't, but by the way, I didn't know that, that you worked up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
How old were you?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So what are they going to do? The second you get a claim? Oh, he walked in injured.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Even though you said they've already, say, strip-searched you, they did a physical check.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But I'm saying that that's what workers' comp does, that their first line of defense is, oh... He was always injured. Yeah, he's injured. By the way, I've never been injured. Right. For anything. Not one. Right. So... When I lost my job, I called my attorney. When they let me go, it's like, oh, they can't do that. We have a case open, all this shit.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was like, yeah, what do you want me to tell you? I can't force them to take me back. He's like, don't apply for unemployment. He tells me, we're going to have workers' comp pay. It pays you way more. So they squeezed me for five months without pay. So five months, I have zero income coming in. And all they're doing is delaying the hearings, delaying, delaying to squeeze you, squeeze.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're following me. Squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. You believe they try to bring in a fake witness? on a hearing against me. Who? The warden who was not there. Okay. They're like, oh, well, your honor, we need another delay because we need to bring in the warden there to have the warden testify. And my lawyer's like, the fuck is your, the warden wasn't even there. Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
A witness is a person that saw something there or heard something with their own ears, eyes. That's witness. That's the very definition.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I told my lawyer, I was like, listen, that's just another delay. You sure the warden doesn't have anything against you? I said, no, I was actually, I don't want to sound conceited or anything, but I was liked and respected by everybody that I ever come across at the job, whether it's inmates, doctors, lawyers, warden, captains, whoever, all of them. And I was like, no, no, no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was 44. Really? Yeah. And everything they said checked off and I applied and here I am.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's exhausting trying to figure out what's real, what's exaggerated, and what's just straight up misinformation. That's why I use Ground News. It's a news platform that doesn't just show you the headlines. It shows you the whole story.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The warden's not going to show up. And lo and behold, of course, they didn't show up. What are they going to say?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They weren't there. It's just a way to try and get an extra delay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Exactly. Exactly. It's ridiculous. And then recently, the IMEs, another lie by them. You know what an IME is? It's an independent medical examination.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So in order for you to keep collective workers' compensation, you need to go see their doctors, not your own doctors. And then from there they say, okay, Nick, you might've improved or something. So if you improved a little, they start deducting your paycheck. I'll just use round numbers for the sake of it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Let's say I was getting a thousand dollars a week and the IME, the independent, independent, the government, the city picks a doctor, the city pays a doctor, but we call these labels independent, another scam. Right. Yeah. And they say, um, Oh, Nick, I feel like you improved by 20%. So now your weekly payments drop. Now it's 800 bucks. Exactly. So that's how that works.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So recently, and I have the documentation, I can't wait to show it to a jury again with this one too. They say, oh, Nick, why didn't you show up to your IME? I said, what are you talking about? You didn't show up. It was the last Friday of February, whatever the number was. I was like, yes, I did. He's like, oh, no, you didn't. I got the letter. I said, yes, I did.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It was a black girl with big boobs, low-cut shirt, hair tied backwards, listening to R&B music. I was in the front desk with her from 425 to about 433, hanging out, talking about music. Yes, I was there. I mean, exact specifics. And the girl's like... You have an attitude problem.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It gathers articles from across the political spectrum, tells you the bias of each source, and even lets you compare how different outlets are framing the same event. For example, the recent federal health agency layoffs. Left-leaning news described the layoffs as a major crisis, calling them a bloodbath that could harm important public health work like tracking diseases.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Attitude problem. You're lying. Yeah, you're lying to me right now on the phone. Why do I have an attitude problem when you're lying?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
How is it an attitude? I'm giving you the exact specifics of even what the girl was wearing and her hair and everything and the exact location where you could find me on camera. But you're saying I have an attitude? And then I called my lawyer. I'm like, listen.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
This is what they're doing. So they come back and say you were there? Yeah, of course.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Of course. My lawyer asked for paperwork on what happened that day. Another thing, by the way, another piece of document with their letterhead. Oh, we need something that reports on what happened to Nick Goitia there on April 21st, 27th of 2021. Oh, we have no records at all with his name. Nothing ever happening to him that day. That's on record too.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Do you already have all the video and everything from the prison? No, I don't have the video. They won't release it? Like you're telling me he hasn't ordered the video? They're not releasing it. Yeah, that bothers me because to me that's their last line of defense is suddenly to say, oh, we can't. We can't find it. It was erased.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. No, no, that's fine. And what my lawyer said, that's par for the course.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, because then you get in front of a jury and say, oh, and then they magic. We ordered it. We requested it, requested it, requested it. And by the time they had to provide it, suddenly it got erased. And in front of a jury, they're going to be like, these motherfuckers.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Are you starting to see how I know I'm going to win?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Exactly. So even if they do that. then what we are accusing them of stands. Stands, I don't know what that means. No, stands meaning that the city can't rebut it because if they're the ones who...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
deleted the video yeah so if nick is saying so they can't oh they don't get you don't get to erase the video and then and then deny what happened exactly yeah so basically whatever i'm saying as long as it's reasonable as long as i don't say like a ghost came in and threw me against the ceiling right long as nothing like you know something reasonable which i'm just speaking everything as if they had the video it stands stands meaning right it's good um it's it's it's accepted evidence
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So what are you doing now?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're waiting for a... I'm still collecting workers' comp checks.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're waiting for a job? I mean, not jobs. You're waiting for a court case?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm waiting for court cases and stuff. It's very taxing, Matt. It really is. Because you're constantly anxious. As to like, what the hell is going on here? This doesn't make sense. Like if someone would have told me ahead of time that this goes on, I would say you're full of shit. It just does not make sense at all. Right. But I have no regrets.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
On the other hand, right-leaning news saw the layoffs as positive change. They called it a win-win for taxpayers, which could save $1.8 billion a year. Both sides agree the layoffs and changes were happening, but they strongly disagree on what it meant. Ground News lets you compare these side-by-side so you can actually see the bias and decide for yourself what to believe.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And even with what I know now, I would still go back. Believe it or not. Right. Because the job for me was easy. I'm sure it was the places that you spent, what, 12, 13 years. The officers who treated people with respect and dignity, for the most part, almost always got it back. You're going to have a couple exceptions here and there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But if you're supposed to get your three square meals, you're supposed to go see the doctor every Tuesday at 8 o'clock, and Joe Blow out there is supposed to get his religious services at 3 o'clock on Thursdays, just ensure that they get it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Yeah, this isn't a difficult job.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Yeah, you just do that. Some CEOs will make it difficult. But the guys, and we used to always like the nine-to-fivers.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's what you, you like the nine-to-fivers. Yeah, that's me. Because they were, the guys were like, listen, I'm just here to do a job. Like, I'm not here to judge you. I'm not here to punish you. I'm here to open the fucking door when they say it's your turn for chow. I have to walk through the unit. I'm not trying to give you a hard time.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you guys are tattooing, fucking get a lookout so they can see me coming. Because if I walk by and I see you tattooing, I'm going to have to take the fucking tattoo. It depends on which level you're at. Because in the pen, they'll just let you tattoo. They'll walk right by, see you, and be like, fine, as long as you guys aren't stabbing each other or stabbing us.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The medium, I had a CO tell me this one time. They call them SIS. When we first went in, they said, listen, at the pen... we're trying to keep the inmates from stabbing us. At the medium, we're trying to keep them from stabbing each other. At the low, we're trying to keep them following the rules. He goes, follow the rules, you'll be fine. And I was like, yeah, I'm a rule follower. I'm good.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So it was funny because at the medium, they didn't give a shit if you were tattooing. At the pen, they'll walk right by. At the low, most of the nine-to-fivers would be like, listen, If you're going to tattoo, get a lookout so that when I walk in to walk my round— Be a smart criminal. Yeah. Put it away. If I see it, I have to take it. Yeah. You make my job difficult. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But then you had some guys who were like literally—the guards are like running in on them and trying to do this. It's like, come on, man. I'm already here. I'm already fucking miserable. Why are you searching my fucking locker? Oh, you got six pairs of socks. You're only allowed to have three. I'm writing you up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What are you doing? Well, those are the guys that are going to get—
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They get shit thrown on them. There you go. That's it. They go to grab the door handle and guys will take peanut butter and rub peanut butter on it because it looks like, because these guys aren't going to touch feces.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He'll go to grab it. He'll be like, oh, you motherfuckers. They'll scream and holler. It's like, bro, it's peanut butter. Like, you know, you can tell pretty quick.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But just now you understand the point. Get off my fucking dick with the goddamn six socks.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Exactly. Exactly. Like, I don't want to make your, don't make my job harder. Don't make yours. But some guards, listen, when you were talking, when we're talking about the deuces, I wanted to mention something. There was a guy named, and you've heard me say this guy, his name, I'll never forget it. His name is Solo. Solo.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
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Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Solo, like by himself, Solo. Like he walks solo?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, well, I think his last name was something. Because, you know, all it is is like it'll say like, you know.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Probably Solomon or something.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, but it'll say like, you know, G. Solo. Like his probably name is Greg Solo, but they don't give you your last name. It's like, you know, Officer Solo. Well, they don't give last names out there? No, they give last names. Okay. That's what I'm saying. It'll be like G. Yeah. Solo. Got it. They don't say Greg Solo. They want you to look in these guys up. They get it anyway. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
These guys know my fucking license plate numbers. Oh, yeah. I don't know how. Well, this is federal. I don't know how. Anyway, it's not going to be hard. But the point is Solo fought like ultimate fighting. Like this was a guard. This CO was – It was about it. He had an attitude. In fact, he had such an attitude, he had to wear a sleeve over his tattoos because he had racial tattoos on his arm.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And they hired him. Oh, absolutely.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Incompetence.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're not supposed to hire that. But they do. They just make you wear a sleeve. So he wears a – he had a sleeve over it. So he's walking around. And, I mean, he was one of these guys. He was a super cop. But here's what's funny about him. One time, he went to shake somebody down, and the guy ran. And this is like a tranny. He runs into the bathroom. Now, these are...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
group bathrooms right there um these aren't individual cells this is at the low so it's a where they call them a dorm uh with it open bay okay so there's there's cells but they're only five foot tall concrete block walls right you could walk up and look into there's no doors and you have a group you have 180 guys between 180 150 to 180 guys holy shit It's low. We're children. Nobody's heard.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So it's a shared bathroom. So you have like eight toilet stalls, eight urinals, probably a dozen sinks. And then I'd say probably 10 showers, right? For everybody. So you go in like... What happens, it depends on the time of the day. You might walk in the bathroom.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's nobody in this, in the whole, in all of these, for all, this is all one massive, this is probably a 1,500 square foot space, maybe 2,000 square foot space of all this stuff that I just mentioned. And nobody might be in there. Because almost everybody's out on the yard. Like, there's so much stuff to do in prison. Like, this isn't, you know, Rikers.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You don't have much to do. You're dying of boredom. Tons of stuff to do there, right? So, but anyway, so Solo grabs this guy. He runs. He runs from Solo. He gets into the bathroom, jumps, he goes into a toilet stall, and he's standing, he's in the toilet stall. Solo, like, bangs on the, and kicks open the toilet stall.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It helps me cut through the noise and stay truly informed. And right now you can get 40% off the Vantage plan for unlimited access. Just hit the link in my description, ground.news backslash inside and start seeing the news differently today.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Grabs the guy. The guy attacks him. And he's supposed to have, like, I heard. By the way, all this was inmate. Inmate. Inmate. Gossip. Dot com. Inmate. Dot com. Okay. It's got gossip. So, but I do know he attacked him. And Solo hit the ground. And as Solo's trying to hit the deuces, the guy wouldn't let him hit the deuces. He's fighting with Solo so he couldn't hit the deuces. He eventually does.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But I heard Solo start screaming. Because this guy, he's in transition, one of these guys. And Solo's screaming. He's also got a razor. So he's holding the hand. He's trying to hit the button. No doubt he was in panic. But the funniest thing was... Guys get, so Solo's gone. He has to stay gone for a couple of days. Cause I think he had a black eye or something.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So did you have to go to like a school or something?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
A couple of days later, that's all it was. He comes back and guys are saying stuff like in the unit. So you could hear throughout the whole unit, guys are basically saying, like, you know, they're screaming out, like, you know, watch out for them trannies, Solo. Watch out for them trannies. Of course. And he's—this is an attitude. Who the fuck's in there? Who the fuck's in there? Who the fuck?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like, you can't— Oh, they found his trigger. Oh, that was it. It was it. He was gone. He was gone. Within probably a month or so, he was—eventually, they just had to move. I think—keep in mind, Coleman, it's got two pins, a medium and a low. They put Solo at the low, and it's got a camp. They put Solo at the low.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's easy for them to act tough also.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right, because if he goes to the medium or pin, these guys will just beat you to death. They'll attack him. They're not getting out. They're not losing. So I don't know where they sent him, but I know they sent him somewhere. But, yeah, he had a real attitude. And I saw him, I want to say on two separate occasions, but one of them I literally was like right there and looked at him.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He grabbed the guy to put him up, and the guy yanked back, and Solo – Reached down, flipped him over the air and slammed, full body slam. Jumped on him and handcuffed him. Listened. I never see anything like it. It was like watching an ultimate fight. This fucking guy, this was the worst cop you've, because he wasn't just an asshole. He was dangerous. Like he'll fuck you up in a second.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I can't wait for my day in court. I could talk about it freely on this podcast because everything I say, I have the paperwork, everything lines up to everything I'm saying. Cities, all they're doing is just delaying, delaying, delaying because my foot's on their throats.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He looks like he took the job just to do this legally. Yeah, exactly. He wanted you to. He was, get up, and he grabbed you. And of course, a lot of these guys were like, don't fucking touch me. And, oh, that was a mistake. The moment you yank away, he gets to use force.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There are cameras, man, those cameras don't, half the cameras, and this is kind of like the Epstein thing. I don't want to talk about that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I don't want to get in trouble.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay, well, I'll just say in general, it's all these guys, we have all these guys that will come on here and talk about how You know, Epstein was killed and this and this. It's like, listen. And they're like, oh, the cameras weren't working. Man, half the cameras don't work in the low. Tons of cameras don't work. What happened, I don't know. But there's so many.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I used to, because you'd get something stolen. You'd go to the cops and you'd say, listen.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
my mp3 player was stolen off the the charger yeah can you go to the camera and they're like they don't want to get involved yeah yeah well there's sometimes they're just like which camera right and you tell them this camera they'd be like that camera doesn't work i can go to this camera right you're like what do you mean that camera you mean the camera does an angle that you can't see shit on yeah that one yeah thank you right they're like yeah like this one works right um
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And listen, I've been in SIS and walked in and seen all the camera systems. Yeah. But a lot of them don't work. They'll tell you they just don't work.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They don't give a... Just like our government.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. They just don't give a shit. They're like, well, why don't you guys fix them? They're like... Like this place runs pretty good. Why would we fix the fucking, we got to come in? What's the purpose of having it there then? You know what it is? It's to make you think the camera's there. Like that stops a lot. Just thinking, fuck, we're on camera. Let's go somewhere else.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Even though the camera doesn't, you don't know if it doesn't work or not. So the inmate, trust me, the inmates. Partial deterrence. Yeah, the inmates will, let's go over here. And they will. You'll walk to somewhere where there's not a camera. There's lots of places there aren't cameras.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not happening here. I mean, what some of these guys have done to block the cameras is they'll say, but this is more in like the high classification, like the really rowdy guys.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Toilet paper?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Will they throw toilet paper up? Take jelly or butter or peanut butter on the toast, on the sliced bread, and they'll say, hey, Cox, we're going to fuck up so-and-so at 3 o'clock on whatever time. I need you to just take the sliced bread. Paste it on top of the cameras.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And there's no way they can get out of it. And I can't wait until somebody takes a stand right there in front of a jury and faces me and my attorney on what happened there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They do it. Yeah. They don't have a choice. Either that or they're going to be next. Yeah. Or they'll take toilet paper and they mesh the toilet paper up and you can just throw it and it'll stick. Stunk.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You'd be shocked what you can do. You can build all kinds of stuff with toilet paper. Absolutely, yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Especially when it dries up. Yeah, yeah. Oh, it's hard.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. It's hard as fuck. Yeah. It's amazing.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. I'll tell you an interesting story there. We talked about how we just found Solo's Trigger. And the guys were all giving him about the tranny and everything that they move him out. I was with the Crips, these Maximum Crips. Yeah. So I know that these guys liked me as much as you could possibly like an officer. But they'd like to fuck with me and be engaging.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because I would stay there and chit-chat with them just like I'm sitting here with you. I had no problem with it. Because I'm locked in there with them.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, you're just there to follow the rules, just to make sure, hey, you know you can't do that, bro.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Sort of like the way I described when I was in high school, I just wanted to get by. If D was passing, that's what you're getting. That's what the job was getting out of me. They're getting the D. Enough to stay employed. Yeah. I don't want to be a superhero like Mr. Solo.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no, that's not me. He's causing more problems than he's solving. Correct. We had a guy who was a former CEO who was talking about the balance. Whoever's making the rules doesn't understand the job. So you have to have somebody go in there and you have to have a balance of following the rules while keeping the peace. You know what I'm saying? It's a balance. You can't be so...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
overly strict on the rules that you create major problems for yourself.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They'll be right. If they followed every single rule, the way it's written, black and white, rules and regs.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. It wouldn't function. They'd be attacking guards left and right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You won't have officers.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Period. Right. And that's a fact. Right. So as I was saying, so these guys wanted to really give me a hard time. You know, they're always looking for your trigger to try to find something so they could weaponize it and use it against you. So make you cry or something.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So they're con men.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're all, all inmates are fucking scammers, con men. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But this, this guy, I liked, you know, what he said with the creative shit that he came up with, just built me up just to shatter me. And he played the racial component, the racial factor in the black guys are blessed in a certain way more than white guys.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. And my last name is Goichai, right? And he says my last name perfectly, like he's Albanian. Right. And most of these guys are from the Bronx just like I am. And so I think that in some ways we kind of connected in that sense that lived in the same neighborhoods and stuff. It's like, hey, Goichai, man. And I see all of a sudden now the whole housing area gets quiet. So something's up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was like, they put this kid up to do something, some kind of trick or something. Whatever it is, I'll figure it out eventually. He's like, hey, man, I could tell that when your girlfriend brought you home to meet her family, they were really proud of you. They would say, they put their arms around you and said, yeah, he's one of us. He's with us.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're working there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no, no. I mean, they hire you. They just show up the day.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I'm working there. Everything's fine. I'm breaking up a fight. This is during COVID. So now we have a severe staffing shortage. We have staffing shortages constantly because of gross mismanagement of nepotism that's flooded like cancer throughout the department. But on top of that, combine that with COVID where we were the epicenter of COVID-19 in New York City.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Matter of fact, now mind you, he's 22 years old, black. He's like, matter of fact, mind you, I could be his father. Right. You know, in terms of the age gap and stuff. He's like, matter of fact, you're such a good guy. If you dated my mom, sister, or aunt or anything, I'd be proud to claim you as one of our own as well. And I'm like, oh, thank you, Mr. I'm not going to say the name, Mr. Inmate.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Thank you. Thank you. It's very nice to see you. He says, and you're a good guy because you're out here working overtime. You don't have a problem coming to, you don't try to talk your way out of coming to this housing area and stuff. So we all quote unquote fuck with you, meaning they like me. Yeah. Yeah. Just for the audience.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. So we fuck with you like that. I thought, thanks. I fuck with you guys too. He's like, but I could tell you a little naive. And I said, naive, I'm like, oh shit. Why he's distracting me here, somebody's getting shanked in the back. Again, these are maximum security guys. These are all high classification. And I'm like, I jump up because I'm on camera here lollygagging with you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, somebody might be getting attacked in the back.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He saw that he read my mind. He's like, no, no, don't worry about it. Nobody's getting stopped out. I said, I just did a real quick tour. I said, no, so what are you talking about? About the naive part. He says, you're out here working all this overtime, making all this money, treating your girl real good, buying her nice stuff, going on vacations.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But do you know why you're working and doing this, putting all these hours here? She's sucking off two, and the word is, I'm going to use the word ninja. It's the word that white people can't call blacks.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. She's sucking off two ninjas that look just like me. Long hair, tattoos, getting sprayed in the face.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And then he comes around. He comes around to my desk and he puts his arms around me just like this. He says, but don't worry about it, Goichai. She really does love you. Well, the whole thing was just to make me insecure about me, the white guy who's not blessed. Right. My girlfriend's cheating with the two guys that I can't compete with. Right. Oh, no, please, Mr. Inmate, you ruined my day.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I have to quit now. I guess they were hoping to get some kind of response out of me. And I told them, I said, Mr. Inmate, when I see you outside, when you do your time, because you're in there for armed robbery, so you're looking about 7 to 10.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If I see you outside at a bar or restaurant, I will cover your tab for you and whoever you're with. That's a good one. I like that. And I kind of saw that guys were disappointed.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, he's hoping you were going to fucking get upset and scream.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Don't talk about my girlfriend or wife, you piece of shit. Yeah, no. Didn't happen. But I like the attempt, though, the creative attempt. They must have been thinking about that shit all day long.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, but you're always going to run into interesting characters out there, unique stories that you're not going to find at a regular workplace. Yeah. So if you're working at Target or Walmart or Applebee's or UPS, some of the stories that you have or I have, they're just- when we tell them like, what?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, that's, that's what I always tell whenever the, you know, guests come on and we start talking, I'm like, look, you have to, especially guys that have been locked up or been committing crime most of their life is they're like, I'm like, don't skate over anything. Don't skim over it. Don't be like, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, I got arrested.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And so my lawyer said, it's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like, how did you get arrested? Tell me about the arrest. They're like, you know, bro, I got arrested. No, I know. But the guys who are watching this are driving forklifts. They're laying drywall. They're putting down, you know, they're doing, like, they haven't been arrested. Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They don't know anything about the shit that you did. Exactly.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So they've never been arrested. Or maybe they had a DUI or they got a buddy who's been arrested. That doesn't count. Right. But you know what I'm saying? So, so, you know, let's go through that slow.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And they're like, Oh, cause that's the problem is like, if I talked to my buddy, Zach or something, he'll, but you know, he does very, you know, so it is, it's always, I got arrested or this or that, you know, because I know the whole process. So when you're talking to somebody like you, you, but it's funny too, because then when you meet a normal person,
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
We were letting guys go because of COVID-19 because you're high risk. Oh, you're 50 years old? As long as you're not in there for murder. All right. Something less, a little less, or we'll let him go because he's high risk.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They think you're the crazy one, right?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Everything about that person. Just say some guy who works at, you know, he's a manager at Walmart for the last 25 years. And then, you know, he went to college. He went to high school. He married his high school sweetheart or something. And he's been doing this job for 20, 25 years. You talk to him. Almost every story or everything about my life is, what? Huh? What'd you say? Huh?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They give you a badge.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And you get to a point you're like, fuck, like there's nothing I've done that's normal. Like there's nothing I can say to this guy that he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I know. I understand that. Everything you've done, everything I've done has been like, wait, you did what? How did that?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But I thought, other than, you know, the only other job that probably he would have been like, oh, okay, I understand. Yeah, I got a buddy who does that, is I worked as a workman's comp adjuster. Right. So I've worked, you know, for a year or so, I worked in construction. Well, I worked in workman's comp Which is funny because I never really talk about that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right out of college, for about a year, I worked as a workman's comp adjuster. Then I worked doing construction because I got laid off. So for about a year, I worked construction. And that's when the girl I was dating was like, you've got to become a mortgage broker because she had gotten a job. And then everybody knows the story. But other than that,
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Every story is just fucking – they're constantly like, what the fuck happened? And even getting out of prison. It's like if I mention – somebody's like, oh, yeah, I met my wife on Match.com. Or, oh, yeah, yeah, it was – no, no, my wife – we went to high school together. Or it was my buddy Jimmy's sister. I met her at a party. Oh, where did you meet your wife? Oh, I met her at the halfway house.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And they're like, she worked there? No. You were in the halfway house and she was working a regular job? No, no. We both got out of prison. Together and just the stars were aligned. What? Like every single thing that's happened, even since then, has been like...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
insanity insanity insanity from a norm from an average person's perspective of course of course i'll tell you uh i mean but if you worked in as a co it's the same thing your every day is insane compared to the guy that works driving a forklift it's like everybody's like what do you mean the guy they threw feces on somebody what happened what yeah yeah or they two two fucking inmates attacked a fucking co and you ran like what are you talking about like yeah i had a palate fault today
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no. You have to take a test.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Yeah. Well, that's, I mean, they were doing that in the federal system too. They let thousands and thousands of inmates go. Yeah. They just sent them home on an ankle monitor. Like you're not, you're not, you're, you're over 50 years old and you have diabetes or something, or you're breathing issues or whatever it is, you know, and you're high risk and you've got 10 years left to go.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Whoa, whoa, let's stop the press. That's the story of the day. That's the excitement in this guy's day. It's like a pallet fell off of this guy's fucking forklift. I don't give a fuck about your pallet. Somebody attacked you. Exactly. You know, these six inmates jumped me in the hallway. What?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Exactly, exactly. So, I mean, some of these guys, I have a personality. I like to chit-chat. So, guys would chit-chat. Matt, I was surprised at how open some guys would even talk about some of the stuff that's going on. One time I'm watching. Have you ever seen a Yamiko wearing crackhead?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Never.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Have you?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Never.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I did see there was a guy who was... Orthodox shoe, right? He had the curls.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, no, this one didn't. He had the yarmulke on.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, I'm saying I was locked up with a guy. This is some... Fully tattooed. What? Yeah, which is absolutely... Yeah, you can't do that. You cannot get tattoos. Right. You cannot. But he would... And we used to always say like... What? Did you have... I got to see that. Did you have the... He was like, oh, no, on the street, I was just like this. Oh, I've been ostracized. They hate me.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The Jews hate me. He's Jewish. He's like, oh, my parents are furious. He's like, I mean, they talk to me. He's like, but they're furious. And then he ended up running a scam and coming to... Actually, I think his was drugs, which is another thing that's like, what are you doing? Another no-no. Yeah. But he was super... I forget his name, too. We used to talk to him. He was super cool.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But anyway, go ahead. But that's the oddest thing I've seen.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay, yeah. But this is going to be very close to the odd thing. And I'm looking at him in a... it's a big dorm room one, right? So I'm just watching him. I'm like, this is odd. Like, listen, it is what it is. 85, 90% of the demographics at Rikers Island, the inmates are either Latino or black. Right. It is what it is. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I didn't make these numbers up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I didn't arrest them. That's just how, that's the people that I'm watching over.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But a Jewish crackhead.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. And he's small. He's puny. He's like 140 pounds, 150. How tall? Maybe 5'6", 5'7", somewhere around there. But he looks so comfortable, Matt. This is where he belongs. And everybody's embracing him. So I'm thinking like he's an embezzler. He's got a mortgage for it or a credit card for it or something. And that guys are like, okay, teach us how to do it and we'll let you live here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And you sleep in peace. We're not going to rob you or anything. Just give us it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
wrong answer that was not him so I tap on one I'm like yo dude out of curiosity as a what are you here for if you don't mind me asking I said I could check your card anyway without knowing but just he's like he's real proud of himself he's like oh you didn't read about me in the papers puts his arms together like real I'm like I said no maybe I did maybe I didn't you do read the papers but I can't say I remember every single article I've ever read do me a favor
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't want to talk to you. Google me. And when you read the article, come and tap the window. I'll come and talk to you. This guy, what he did is the most unique thing I've ever heard. Priceless. Okay. He broke, he, he pretended to be an off-duty cop. He goes into the police station in Brooklyn.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Fuck it. Send them up, send them home.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He walks in like he belongs. Like he's a cop walking into the locker room to get ready to change and put on a uniform and go on patrol. And cops are like, yo, who are you? He's like, oh, he made up some name. Oh, I am John Doe, whatever the name is. Officer so-and-so.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I don't know the numbers because obviously I didn't have access to that information, but they were doing basically the same thing. Right. So I'm breaking up this fight. Surprisingly, it's a one-on-one by themselves. Bare knuckles. Nobody's helping. I mean, nobody's jumping in. Personally, I think that they were former lovers or something.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. 22nd Precinct.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I've been deep undercover in this drug operation, and I'm getting promoted. I'm here to just pick up my shit. I'm going to one police plaza, which is the police headquarters, to pick up my shit. So he knew the layout of the whole precinct, the lingo. And the steps on where to get promoted and where to go. He knew all that. He goes in. He breaks into an off-duty cop's locker. Not to steal the gun.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Not to steal anything. To steal the uniform. He puts the uniform on. Walking past dozens of cops. It's like, yo, something's up with this guy. Something's up. Something doesn't make sense with this fucking guy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yes.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I mean, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. That's what makes the story even more amazing. He makes it. He's right at the front door. Boom. He runs into two cops that arrested him in the past and then knew him. Like, hey, I know you. What the fuck are you doing? You're not a cop. I changed my life. No, no. It's a redemption story. I personally arrested you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You have to pass a background check, drug tests. They physically check you to see. You have to do some physical stuff, which is all relatively easy. Okay. They go through your phone. Right. You have to get naked in front of them to make sure that you're not coming in pre-injured. Right. With injuries that you're not disclosing.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's no way you could be a cop. cover of the newspaper i think it was the daily news of new york post him with the yarmulke on in handcuffs with the uniform on that's insane so i'm like yo dude so i read it i'm like this cannot be real now this story's so juicy i can't not ask a question i have to yo come here come here come here so i said i googled you you asked me to i did
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You don't need to answer the question. I'm not trying to grill you to bring you up on charges or anything. You know, media sometimes runs with stuff. They lie or exaggerate to sell clicks or papers. How much of it is true? Put songs together, kid. All of it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What can I tell you, man? I'm a crackhead. We do stupid shit.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I wonder what his ultimate... He was thinking steal the uniform, walk out. He was going to... He had a second... There was a secondary plan to that other than just... Most likely.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But... So, you know, when they check your paperwork, for the people that don't know what that is, I mean, you know what it is. Yeah. And the inmates are like, hey, what are your charges? You know, the reason they found it to be cool is because, A, what he did. So they call their people like, hey... Check this out. Check this guy's name. See if he's lying to us.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because if he's lying, we're going to fuck him up. Everything checked out. Right. And so now he's embraced by everybody there as the guy that broke into the police station. That's insane. In front of the cops. And almost got away with it. So maybe he should have an episode with that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. I'm shocked at that. He got into the police station. You know what I'm saying?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He's been arrested so many times.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But everything was always like small, petty. You know what I'm saying? So it's like come in, get processed, and then you get.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Typically when you come in, like now they have doors. You have to get buzzed in. You have to get buzzed.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He knew the layout. I'd never been in that precinct, so I don't know.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But whatever it is, he did it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So he knew something.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, yeah. No, I'm not doubting. I'm just saying that— You're thinking of jail.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm saying precinct, just where the cops park their cars. No, I know. I've been in precincts.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay. I mean, typically what happens is there's a guard at the front, and so even if you're a guard or even if you're a police, you walk in, you go to the side door, and they'll buzz you in, or they'll have a code. Now, he may have walked in with someone else. Possibly, yeah. Whatever it was, he somehow or another got through that door, and then sometimes they'll have internal doors—
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you get on the elevator, like the ones I've been in, you get in there, you hit the button, there's usually a code or a card to go up to the floor.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, I do. Because it wasn't just like, typically a fight is me and you. We fight over a bag of potato chips or the TV or phone time or something. You know, boom, boom, boom. No, these two wanted to keep going. This whole fight lasted 32 minutes. That's insane.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
This is New York City. We don't have that kind of technology. I promise you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was going to say, because part of my story is where I was taken into the police station, and I actually was in there waiting for the cop, and I saw my... my wanted poster. And people were like, bro, why didn't you take off? And I'm like, because it was three doors to get buzzed in. Even if I ran in down the hall to the elevator and hit the button, I'm not going down.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm not leaving in this elevator unless I have a card or whatever code. Even if I got there, I'm not walking out of the police station. There's another guy that's got a buzzer door. Now, maybe you could walk out, but to get in, these guys are buzzing doors, hitting buttons. So when people were like, why didn't you run? I was like, I don't think I can get out of here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And now it definitely looks bad. Now I take off. So I just stood there. I just had to stand there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He walked me out. Holy shit. So that's why I'm saying to get in, he must have. But then again, New York, there's so many cops going in and out all the time. They may not have that level of scrutiny. Why? There's fucking 180 cops in this fucking place at any given time. Oh, way more.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Way more. Way more than 180. In a precinct? Yeah. Especially in Brooklyn over there? I'm curious what he was going to do.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What was he going to do once he got all the influence?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I would say he probably, because I did speak to him, he's not that bright.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. You think he probably didn't have much of a plan at all?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. I think he just did it for thrills. Because you can get this off of, you can get a uniform.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
yeah and all it is is a blue shirt with a patch at the end of the day that's what it is you can get the patch somewhere on amazon yeah and get it just knit it in if you if you really wanted to avoid the cops do do cops wear um in new york do they have like bulletproof vests and shit yeah okay yeah did he get the vest or you just know he got the uniform i you don't know i don't know i i i'll show you the picture when uh i'll show you the picture on uh while we're done with this
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because I was thinking he could probably go shake down drug dealers, walk up to them as a cop, boom, up against the wall, and then take whatever he wanted and walk away. What are they going to do?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I would say that I'd love to see him try.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. A three-minute fight is a long time.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right, right, exactly. Because you need to have a little presence when you say, hey, back the fuck up. Put your hands up against the wall right now. If you can't do that and have that kind of presence, especially in a the drug dealer guy, they're not just going to comply very easy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know what I'm saying? A bank for us, but not the guys who start moving kilos. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. 32 minutes. I sprayed him. And one party, one of the persons... The bigger guy. He was like a boxer. The way he moved and everything. And even when the other one would try to spit, he was so fast. He was dodging even the spit. I'm like, oh, shit. And he got what the department calls the desired results.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I wasn't even thinking kilos. I was thinking local guys selling rocks on the corner.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Even those guys. Even those guys. They're not going to comply that easy. Probably just run. Yeah. You're going to outrun me. Yeah. And you know those guys have guns all around the place, whether or not on their person. But that car that appears parked, that's where the guns are at.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because you imagine being shot as a police officer. You're faking being a police officer, and you get shot as a police officer. You're like, I'm actually just a drug dealer like you, or a drug addict.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right, yeah. Unbelievable. You talk about drug dealers and stuff. Now, I met one guy that I was absolutely fascinated by. I'm not going to mention his name because I know he pulled it off. He just didn't collect the money yet.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
This guy, 50 years old. I come up to him. I'm in the dorms just talking. He comes up to me. Now, this guy's scary. Look, he's the only guy out of the hundreds of guys that I've seen that I was like, holy shit, this guy's scary. He barely talks to anyone, minds his business. He's becoming like a lawyer and studying his own case. And he's like, yo, G, can I talk to you? I was like, sure.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I got nowhere to go. I got to be here for eight hours. You want to tell me your story for eight hours? I'll listen. He's like, I just need your patience right here. Listen to my case and tell me how you would vote as a juror. I said, sure, no problem. He said, because I'm 50 years old, either I'm going to die here in jail or I'm going to be a multimillionaire. I'm like, okay. Now my intent is over.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
raised to the because I want to hear this so he starts breaking it down first of all this guy allegedly rumor has it that he kidnaps drug dealers kids knowing that they can't run to the cops right so just give you an idea of the caliber type of person he is I mean he walks anywhere in the housing area people make room they don't want to even touch his shoulder
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because I think that he's one of those guys that can kill you bare hands, like real quick. And he starts showing me all the paperwork on, he's there on a murder charge. And how the detectives messed up the paperwork. And he asked me how, like, well, it's impossible for me to be at this angle and there. I said, yeah, because you're a human. You cannot be at both spots at the same time.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
How the cops messed up the report that bad. And he was facing 25 to life. And the prosecutors knew that the paperwork didn't, you know, there's enough reasonable doubt.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Indiscrepancies in the paperwork. Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
To create reasonable doubt, they knew. So they started offering him. He was there already at that point for five years. So they're like, okay, how about you just take a plea deal and take down 15 or 17? And they just, the plea deals started getting lesser and lesser, lesser, lesser. Matt, when I met him, they had offered him, admit to it and we'll let you go right now. Time served. He says, no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because if he admits to it, if he accepts the time served. He can't sue. Exactly. He can't get it for false imprisonment and everything. And New York is just under, at that time, I'm pretty sure the price has gone up. For false imprisonment, it was just under $800 a day.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So this was the ultimate gamble for him. And he won.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They eventually dropped the charges or he went to trial and won?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Not sure. One or the other. Somehow he made it out.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because you're not walking out of there on a murder charge.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, they'll still take you to trial. Right. Even if they know they're going to lose. Okay, yeah. Is that it?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, so I just don't know. I can't tell you if he actually took her to trial or did they just say, oh my God, we're going to embarrass ourselves. Just drop the charges. Just drop, let him go now. That's a possibility. I just don't know if that's the exact one. Either way, he's out. That guy is out.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I would think they would take him to trial even if they lost because then they can still try and I don't know if they can. They can't really appeal it because once you lose, it depends. Anyway, there's a chance they might win. But go ahead. So, okay. But you don't know if he got paid?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, we know when the collecting ends, that's going to take years and years and years. And so I think it was like late 2021 or early 2022 he was released. When I saw his thing, I was like, oh, shit, the motherfucker did it. He pulled it off. Holy cow. And he asked me, how would I vote? I said, because the law says guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I said, as a juror, I would vote.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I would say, no, not guilty. But I told him, I still think you did it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, I told him straight out, even though I was shitting in my pants. But I still think you did it. If you didn't do it, you were part of the team. Right. Something. But legally, from a legal standpoint, the way the law is written, you're not guilty by reasonable doubt. But, you know, beyond a reasonable doubt, you're not guilty. But I do believe you did it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He screamed and hit the ground and ran to his buddies on the back end of the tier. But the other one was part of the LGBT community transitioning. So I think that that's the one that when I sprayed him or her, whatever you want to call, had no effect.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So like I say, whenever you meet your maker, if you are religious, you're going to have to answer that one. You were involved somehow, whether you were the trigger guy or the guy who distracted the driver or whatever. You're involved. But not guilty, and he beat it. Yeah, we'll talk about this guy. I'm sure the drug addicts over there, how did they deal with the drug addicts when you were there?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
In Coleman? I was in Coleman. Coleman put his name in the prison. I was in, sorry. At Coleman? How'd they deal with him? What do you mean?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I mean, like, let's say the hardcore addicts that are going off it. Because I would talk to some of these guys. I was always fascinated by some of the guys because... Obviously, we all do drug addicts and stuff, but just to have to see one and then hear how their lives go, I'm like, whoa, this is wild. So I was like, how much does it cost? I don't know anything about the H drug.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I really don't. I've heard of it. If you put it in front of me, I wouldn't know what it is. And I'm like, how much does it cost? And how much does it cost a day to maintain your habit that you need? This fat white guy with a big beard. He's like, $300 a day. I said, whoa, $300 a day habit? That's a lot. If you don't mind, how do you afford $300 a day? Maybe the ADW can afford it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, but 99.9% of the public cannot. Right. Like, how are you getting this? He's like, he breaks into cemeteries. I said, what? He goes to the mausoleum and he swears on it. Now, he wasn't in there for these charges. Right. Because he was in there for robbing a deli, a bodega. But I said, how do you get $300 a day and stealing shit at $300? That's a lot.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He says he could go into the cemetery, bare hands, no tools, by himself, go to the mausoleum. I always struggle to say the name, mausoleum. Am I saying it correctly? Yeah. Rip out the door either for the copper or the metal and sell the weight. He could do that in a minute and 20 seconds. He was swearing to it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that's how he supplied. And he'd get whatever X amount of dollars for depending on the size and the weight of it. And that's how he supplied. That's how he supported his drug habit. $300 a day. Okay. You don't think the cops somehow pieced this together that there's some kind of serial mausoleum door stealer somewhere?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He says no, because he would just go to different cemeteries all over the place. Yeah, what are you going to do? Are you going to sit on a cemetery mausoleum, all of the cemetery mausoleums for a month straight to try and catch them? Like, what do they care?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right, exactly. That was exactly his attitude.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What are they going to do? That's the cemetery's problem.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Create a task force to catch the door stealer?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
All right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, and I'm like, listen, man, salute to you. You're definitely creative. What was it?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What was the metal?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Either copper or whatever it's made out of. He'd go out there and just sell it. Go to the places that...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Is there a market for this? Apparently. You know, do you remember the Ford? I want to say that they were Ford F-150s or 250s or 350s, whatever. The back, so they had, I don't think they do this anymore, but the tailgate.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You could drop the tailgate. So you can just go up to the one right now, your next door neighbors, boom, take it down, twist two little things and pull off the tailgate. The tailgates are like 400 bucks. So there are guys that are just driving around, stealing them, throwing them in the back, and then they'd go and they'd sell them to junkyards or whatever for $1.50. Yeah. And so think about it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no. I don't know if it's like the hormones or the shots or even maybe what drugs they were taking. Totally immune. I mean, the eyes did not even get red.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You could go get 10 of them. Yeah. That's $1,500 a night. What does that take?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
An hour? That's what they're doing with the— Cadillac converters. Exactly. It's taking these guys 30 seconds, 30—you know what I'm saying? And they're doing five, six of them a night.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's a good business if that's something that you want to get into.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I mean, not me. Yeah, if you want to get shot. Yeah, to me, I'd be... In Florida?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, but over here, like let's say where we're at right now, you're going to get caught. But where I'm at in New York City... There's so much going on, nobody would even notice. They're like, oh, it's just a car theft. Who cares? Oh, no, no. Yeah. No, I'm saying, yes, that's what people are looking at. The person that's been violated cares.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, in Florida, the cops will show up and hold the guy down while you shoot him. Like, they're not... The sheriffs aren't playing... They're ready. The sheriffs are telling you, come get gun lessons. Shoot these guys. Drag them back into your fucking houses.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
We're good. We're good.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, you're good. We'll mess up the paperwork for you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
We'll tell them we got there. He had shot the guy. He looked like a clean shoot. He was in the house. He was in the front yard as long as you're still on the property.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. It's very different in New York City. It's ridiculous. They'll catch you 15 times doing that. I have a lot of NYPD friends, and they get so frustrated. Even with gun charges, they're being released. They take it to the precinct, book them, run the fingerprints and everything. Okay, just show up to court, whatever date.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Listen, I got a buddy right now who's locked up. Zach, he's been locked up how many months now? Probably four months, three, four months.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
yeah about four months he's been locked up right now on a charge that what's the charge um they're like they were he had i i'm assuming he had someone's id and he'd gotten credit cards in their names or use their credit card information he had like a fake id like literally it's like a fake id and a couple credit cards and he's still locked up he's not getting bond
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Oh, in New York City, you definitely would have been right there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, his bond, he does have bond. That's not true. He has bond. It's $180,000 bond, which means you got to put down about close to 20 grand to get him out. And by the way, even then they're like, don't do it because you have a hold in another county.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
In another county, so it's just a waste of money.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. So you're just going to sit there and they'll let him sit. He's had another charge a couple of years ago. What was the other charge he had done? Eventually they dropped it, but they kept him in jail 14 months. 14 months on a state charge in the county jail. That's unbelievable. I sent him money the whole time he was locked up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no, no, no. The other one gave me nothing but headaches. Mind you, this person was hanging out with me for like an hour just talking. Talking to me by my desk.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
i mean it's just listen these guys they'll they'll lock you up and you hear these guys you're like you got locked up for like vagrancy for what the fuck is that what's that what's that oh in in what county is it what the hell is that is it polk vagrancy polk is polk county what is that what does that mean vagrancy i never heard of it you're you're you're basically you're homeless you're you're not a lot it's it's illegal to be homeless you can't sleep
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
the park bench yeah you can't cannot no of course not no of course i don't know it's against the law it's not against the law nothing's against the law i mean drive go drive through tampa and look at how many homeless people are there's maybe you could probably round them all up in a day maybe you'd get 40
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's a little camp underneath one overpass where they've got – they don't have tents or anything because they're not going to let you put up a fucking tent. You might for the day or something until they come and grab your tent. They'll just tear it up or take it away or tell you to grab your shit and start walking. But there's only maybe a camp or two of 10 or 20 people.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Out of all of – there's probably 40 or 50 people at max downstairs, maybe 60. Maybe 60 throughout all of downtown Tampa that are homeless. But if a cop pulls up, they're vaulting. They're standing up and they're walking. They're never going to be laying down. Because if you're caught laying on a bench or sleeping on a bench or something, they'll either tell you to move or they could lock you up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Jesus. In Polk, it's a charge. You can get a charge for it. You can get a charge for it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Come to New York City.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, it's horrible. And I've been to San Francisco, LA. It's insane. You've got guys peeing and pissing in the street in front of everybody. Here, they'll lock you up and charge you and you'll be registered as a sex offender. You pull your shit out and take a piss on the side of the road. What? Boom, you're done. You're a sex offender. You're registering. What if my kids saw that?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, I mean, I get it. I get the logic. Just remember where I'm from? New York City, very liberal.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, before.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Haven't you ever seen the... So there's a... I almost said CO. There's a sheriff. He did a press conference. And so one is Grady Judd. Grady Judd's famous press conference. And by the way, Grady Judd gets elected... Every two or three years he runs, I mean, 80%, 90% positive rating, like just gets arrested. He's harsh. But, you know, I like him. So he's a kind of CEO.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, just a regular conversation from the Bronx. In there for triple murder. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Tell me a little about the details of the case. And I'm like, oh, geez, you know, get comfortable.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He's a kind of guy that shows up at your door that you want to show up. He's not real particular. If you're a citizen, if you're a criminal, you hate his guts. But Grady Judd's famous thing is he did a press conference. And there had been, what was the, what was the issue again? The guy had shot a cop.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And he escapes into a double, into like a trailer and they find him in the trailer. The cops fired into the trailer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
it or they fired at him was it a hundred times it was it was excessive yeah so let's say that so he's at a press conference talking about the shooting you know we we tracked him down to this trailer whatever uh he was in the trailer he shot at the police officers from inside the trailer whatever and there and we we fired and killed him and there was a liberal reporter who said
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
why did your officers fire into the trailer 120 times? And he said, because they ran out of bullets. Yeah, I did hear that. He said, evil can't be dead enough. You fire at a police officer, he goes, we will kill you. There's another- You can't be dead enough. You can't be dead enough. Evil can't be dead enough if you're fired. So the other thing is, there's another press conference from a sheriff.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's probably a dozen of them. The other one was, he did a press conference. He said, listen, We found a guy who's been arrested for burglary like six times, been incarcerated in the prison system two or three times. We found him dead in the street. We believe he broke into someone's house and they fired at him, shot him, and he escaped off their property and died in the street.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So we believe he was burglarizing someone's house and the person shot him and killed him. He said, we're asking that person to come forward. He goes, you are not in trouble. And I don't know what county it was. Let's say it was Hillsborough County. He goes, in Hillsborough. Turn yourself in, but you won't get in trouble. No, no. Oh, I guarantee they won't. They said, you will not get in trouble.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He said, we encourage our citizens to shoot burglars that are breaking into their house. He said, we encourage you. You are not in trouble. He said, what we'd like to do is give you free gun lessons. Because we would have preferred you kill him in the house. You apparently shot him and he got away. We'd like to give you shooting lessons for free. He said, we do it every week.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It sounds like both those people had it coming.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
We give free shooting lessons at the sheriff's. He has a whole thing because the guy's been arrested six times for fucking murder. We know this. They got the right guy. Right. We know what happened. He's like, but, you know, he got away. He's like, trust me, in this county, we prefer you to shoot anybody on your property that's breaking in. He said, but, you know, you didn't kill him.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. They disrespected me. No, it wasn't even like that. No. I don't want to get too much details of it because I know the people from the city are going to be watching. I don't want to affect that person's case.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He stumbled away. You had to kill him right away. Yeah, don't have a chute. Yeah. So these guys, these sheriffs, they come out and they do these press conferences that are just, you know, there was an Uber, there's an Uber driver that got mugged by a guy in the car and then got out of the car and the Uber driver pulled his gun, chased him down, and killed him. They're like, why is he... Whoa.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're like... Chased him down. Chased him down and killed him. And so the reporter's like, why is he not under arrest? He's like, because he was robbed. And they're like, yeah, but he wasn't in danger. He's like, well, the guy had a gun, and he chased him down to recuperate his property. And the man still had a gun, and so he fired on him. Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that's... He's like... Now, in New York, that would be absolutely a no-no. You can't... You're not in danger anymore. Let him take your stuff. Here... You don't get to take my stuff.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'll explain to you the way it works in New York.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like it's insanity. Yeah, yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you're a citizen, if you're a good citizen, it's great. Even for us as officers. And again, remember I told you the academy was like six months long, the gun training and the gun laws. And I'm explaining this to you. You cannot shoot someone Legally, in New York, unless you totally ran out of options. So, me and you are on a train. You pull a gun on me. I have my gun on me.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're about to beat me up. I have to be able to run first.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no, no, no. I hear you. I understand that's New York. I get it. They're standing your ground here. I don't have to do shit.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Exactly. So there is no standing ground in New York. You have to run out of options. So I would have to run all the way to the corner of this room, not have a window, not have a door to exit out of, and say, don't take another step or I'm going to shoot. There has to be so many steps. Otherwise, my man, you're going in. In New York, even for us.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know what I'm saying? I'm not here for that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. So, I mean, it feels like another country, another world right now with the way you're describing some of the stuff that I did not know.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'll tell you what, though. What? People are very polite to officers here. Like, I see some of the people in these videos, like on TikTok and shit, where the guys are mouthing off to the cops and arguing, and I'm not getting out of the car, and the fuck, I can say what I want. It's like, listen, a cop shows up here,
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So you sprayed the one guy. He's loving it. I mean, the one guy runs off. He takes off. The other guy is totally immune. Totally immune.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yes, sir. What do you need, officer? I am extremely polite to officers here because it can go bad for you very easily. Yeah. So to me, I'm super respectful. But if he said, I want to search your vehicle. Of course you did. I mean, of course you want to search it. I don't know why I didn't offer, officer. Let me get out. I'll cuff myself. Can I sit on the stoop here? Where would you like me to wait?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. I mean, I'm extremely... But, you know... Yeah, no, there's not... But if you're a normal citizen, if you're a normal citizen, Grady Judd's the guy you want showing up. Right. Because he's going to be cool with, you're the citizen, and what did that guy do that's on your property? What did that guy do to you and you called me?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you're the guy that called, things are probably going to go your way.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, they're going to give the... If you're the person causing the problem, you got a fucking problem. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Wow. I don't like that there's different laws, like let's say two different worlds between how Florida and New York... We're in America. We should all have one law.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I know, but the problem is your values are different. And that's the whole thing. That's why you have states and districts and federal. And so I get what you're saying. I would love it. The priorities of someone in California are vastly different than my priorities. You know what I'm saying? I get it. In some ways, I think...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I have a foreign last name. Right. So a lot of people felt like they would disrespect me if they mispronounced it, even though I told them how to say it, which is fine. I've dealt with it all my life. So it's not news to me that someone misspells or mispronounces my name. So everybody calls me G, even my captains and wardens, everybody. G, G, G, G. It's like, yo, G, get the fuck out the way.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you're homeless, you know, like sleeping on a park bench, in some ways I think to myself, like, come on, bro, the guy's just sleeping. He's a drug addict. He's got issues. In some ways, I think, come on, you can't arrest him.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But then in other ways, I think, but if you let him sleep here, then before you know it, it turns into a dozen, then it's two dozen, then it's a hundred, then it's thousands. And you have to raise your kids here. Like I have to raise my children here. People have to raise their kids here. And I don't want to see guys shooting up, sleeping on park benches when my kids play in the park.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
In the quality of life, yeah. Right. So you go, okay, well, what do you do? Well, then you... You spat to the Grady Judd. Then we make it illegal. We make it so difficult here for you. You either clean your act up or you go sleep in the fucking woods where nobody can see you. There are communities out in the woods. Woods? Oh, yeah. They sleep in the woods. There's tent cities.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Woods? Yeah. But you can sleep in the woods here. Because, well, you don't have woods really. I'll just say New York you do, but you'd freeze to death. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Wait a second. It's camping. It's camping. I guess. Yeah. Dude, this is another world to me, the way you guys describe it. So it's illegal to sleep on a park bench.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But they say go, whatever, 100 feet into the woods and sleep there. I don't have to see you there. And my kids don't see you there. I don't want to have to see you there. I don't want to have to see you sleeping on the park bench.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you're paying $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 a year into taxes, I don't want to have to see guys shooting up in the alleyway or sleeping or getting drunk or pissing, pulling their shit out and taking a piss. I don't want my kids seeing it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I get the logic, but I guess the way the rules are being applied, that this is another world. I keep saying it. Jeez. Very different.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There's probably a mix. There's probably a there's probably no decent, no good solution. In general, there's no good solution. Let's face it. Like if you have mental health, like most of these guys have mental health issues. So there's no good. There's not going to be a good solution for these guys. in the end. And the drugs, oh, they're drug addicts. Yeah, but they're drug addicts.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's more than just addiction. It's mental. There's mental issues. And the drug addiction is just a symptom of their problem, their real problem, the mental issue. And if you'd ever surveyed people to steal their identities, you would know this. So I've dealt with- I wish I was smart enough. Yeah, I've dealt with-
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, it's not that easy. Uh, it's you realize after about by, by question number 10, you start to realize like, Oh, you're not all there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're perfect. You're never cleaning your act up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Um, clever guys. I'm always gravitate towards to the guys who just think outside the box. There was a guy that I met, um, I mean, he eventually lost it. I mean, he lost his argument. His case? No, no, not his case, but his argument. So you know how they say you have a right to a jury of your peers? He was challenging that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't want to hurt you. This person, one-on-one, can't hurt me unless they get me from behind or something. I'm like, listen, I'm not letting you guys keep fighting. My job is to break this up. There's no way. If you got to run through me... Boom, boom, boom. Did it several times. I'm pushing her away. And there's a door that divides the tier. And I didn't even know that there was a chain on it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You don't want a jury of your peers? Or he couldn't find a jury of his peers?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Didn't exist?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No. His logic, which is... Whoever you put up there is not a jury of my peer. I don't care who it is. You want to say whether it's my age group, my skin color, my religion, where I went to school, whatever it is, they're not my peers. Why not? He says, a jury of my peers, if they can't talk their way out of jury duty, they're not my peer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I get the logic. Some people want to be on jury duty.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I get it, but then you're not my peer.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay, that's just silly. You're asking for a perfect equivalent. That's not going to happen. I agree, but— Peer is not perfect equivalent.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I agree. Again, the lawyer talk.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I was going to say, I actually—so I was on federal probation, right? And I got a jury duty summons. I was thrilled. I thought, how cool. Like, what a great story this is going to be if I go down there. But when I called them, I said, look, I want to serve. And they were like, okay. My name is Matt Cox. Okay. They were like, okay, so what does it say?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I was like, well, here's the problem is that, you know, I am on federal probation and I have a felony. They go, yeah, you don't have to show up. I said, no, no, I want to show up. They said, no, no, you can't show up. Do not show up. I was like, oh, okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, it would just have been like to go through the process and to be sitting on a jury and and for once be sitting on a jury and listen to the whole thing and think to myself, like, is that fair? You know, like what if it was a criminal case and they're putting people up there that are some guy who was locked up in jail with the guy and I'd be like, I don't really know if I believe this guy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
This guy will say anything. And so their main witnesses are three guys that say they were in a cell and he admitted to the murder. Like, come on, you guys. Like, is he really going to admit to the murder? Of course not. You know, so I wanted to be able to go through that. And now, look, it's different. It's like, look, we got videotape. We've got cells. Like, look, he's done. He did it.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Absolutely.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, but give me something more than some guy's word or an eyewitness. Because, by the way, an eyewitness... Worst witness against you. Eyewitnesses, they're extremely unreliable. Absolutely. And we're all guilty of it. Oh, he saw it. He saw them. You don't know what he saw. I saw two guys one time when I was about 19 years old. I saw two black guys break into a car.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
When I got out of my car, I yelled, hey, is that your car? One guy looked at me and goes, yeah. I said, no, that's not your fucking car, bro. I started walking towards him like an idiot. I'm 19. I'm jacked up on steroids. I'm squatting 405. I'm binging 315. Oh, I was massive when I was like 19 years old. Really? Oh, yeah. I would have never guessed.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Oh, I was like 200 pounds and pumped full of steroids. I was massive. So I started walking towards him like I don't know what I was going to do. He was still – there were still two black guys that were probably – Here's the problem. I want to say 5'10", 5'11", but they could have been both 6'2". They could have both been 5'8". They were just a little bit taller than me.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I didn't get close to them because they both bolted. When they saw me coming, they bolted. And that was here in Florida? Here in Florida at the mall, back when you had malls and you went to malls. I was 15 feet away from the closest guy. I go inside. I call the police because there was no cell phones and we had pagers. Call the police. The police show up. Yeah. Police show up.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I tell them what happened. As we're there waiting, the owner of the vehicle comes and sees what happens. They take my account, their account. And when the guy that was taking the cop that was taking the report, he said, do you know what they look like? And I was like, they were maybe roughly 5'10", each one of them, thin, black guys. And he goes, could you pick them out of line out? And I went...
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No. And he goes, why? He said, well, what else? Any other characteristics? I said, they were black guys. And he goes, he has anything distinctive about him. I said, honestly, bro. I said, you could have been one of them. No offense. I said, you could. I said, I don't know. He was like, and he was like, well, you were, we were standing where I was. He's like, you were right here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I was like, I couldn't tell you what they look like. Like my adrenaline spiked. They stood up. They looked at me. I said, he's like, how old were they? I was like, you got the good skin, bro. They could have been 15 years old. They could have been 35 years old. I mean, that's the span for a black guy on what their age is, 20 years.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Unless they have gray hair and they're bald, then I would say in his 50s. But they both had a full head of, you know, they had a crop top, the crop cut haircut. I was like, I don't know. So, and I, listen, and I was just, I looked like if you'd line them up, I'd have been like, I fucking don't know. But from an adrenaline witness perspective, I know how difficult it is.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And look, those two guys could have been white guys.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't think I could have told. Same thing. I would have been like, I don't fucking know. My adrenaline spiked. I saw them for a second. They looked up. Yeah, the one guy I was focusing on. The other guy, I don't know. I could never tell you what that guy looked like. This guy was... you know, whatever.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And that, then they give you a starting date on the start of the academy. Yeah, that's what I meant, the academy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like, it's actually chained open. Okay. Believe it or not. I had no idea because no one ever opens or closes that door. Not once, ever. So I'm like, okay. I pushed her away, and I'm like, okay, let me slam this door shut.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like if he was been looking right at me, maybe I could, I don't think I could have, but if you said, are you a hundred percent sure? I would have had to say no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And so can you imagine if you were on, you were on trial for your life for murder and you have some guy that saw you from 40 feet away for two seconds and the jury is relying on that guy to say you were the guy at the crime scene holding the gun. Yeah. Unless he knew you prior. If you're a total stranger, yeah, then throw it out the window. Correct. Total stranger.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Now it's different if, no, no, that's my buddy Jimmy. That's different. That's not the same. Totally different. But that's where the problem is. That's what happens is a jury gets there and you've got some guy that says, yeah, that was him. You saw him from 40 feet away for two seconds. Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And you're going to remember his face 18 months from now at trial? Right. I don't think so.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're 100% sure? Oh, absolutely 100% sure. No, you're not. You're lying. That's not true. How many victims who clearly spent a significant amount of time with the rest say, oh, no, absolutely, that's him. And then five years later, 10 years after the guy's gone to prison, they get the DNA back, not him. And then they catch the real guy, and then he says, oh, yeah, yeah, I remember that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, she's one of my victims. What about this other guy that did 10 years? You went to trial. You looked him in the face. You said 100%. Right. And that happens all the time. Absolutely. How many of those guys do 15, 20 years— And their life is ruined.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't care how much money you give them because everyone's going to look at them like, somehow you managed to beat your ass and you beat the charges. Absolutely. Yeah. And you can never get that back.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So I just thought it would be cool to go and sit on a jury as a felon having gone through, not that I have any bias, but by being able to say, I know the system inside and out. The non-lawyer. I'm lying. I'm sorry, lying. I'm dying to I'm dying to see how this plays out with my probably I like to say non-bias, but with my understanding of how the system is manipulated.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If people really understood the law and followed it to the T, we would barely get any convictions.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Oh, absolutely. Look, if people stopped—I love these guys who are always like, you shouldn't snitch. If you didn't have snitches, 95% of the cases wouldn't be solved. You wouldn't want to—one, you wouldn't survive. You wouldn't want to live in that society, and you couldn't survive in that society either.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I just wait. There's a fucking chain. Okay. I didn't know. I didn't know. I know now, but then I'm like pulling, pulling. I look up, and I thought the gate, the door was jammed against something in the ceiling. I'm looking up. By the way, Matt, all of this is on camera.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Because people could just walk in and kick in your fucking door and rob you and do whatever and guys aren't rolling over on each other and guys aren't snitching each other out. It'd be complete pandemonium.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Totally agreed. Very few cases are ever solved just based on superb police work and nobody snitching. Very few cases are ever solved like that. No. Very few.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Maybe with DNA, but that's very few.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, but you could work around that to not leave DNA.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. If you're a smart criminal. It's a horrible system.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. What was it? Did you say something like nothing's perfect?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, there's no perfect solution.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, there's no perfect solution to anything. You know what I'm saying? Is our system flawed?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Does it make errors? Absolutely. But I don't have a solution.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No. I'm not right enough for that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, you're just trying to get your reasonable compensation for a – I don't want to say it's not an illegal act. It's a violation of your civil rights. Which makes it illegal.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, I guess so.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Civilly.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't know how to say it. Civilly.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You don't want anybody to go to jail. Just pay me what I'm owed.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Just give me the money. It's only money, Matt. At the end of the day, that's all it is. I'm not looking to take your freedom, yours, or anybody. It's just money. We're giving it away to other countries anyway.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, but I'm just saying. I just want what's rightfully mine. I don't want a penny more. I'm not looking for charity.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Because had they not made that decision to cut you loose, you'd still be working there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Absolutely.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. And I want to go back. Right. I want to. Aren't they trying? Listen, I talked to a guy the other day that contacted me. And there's some commission that he's a part of that's trying to close Rikers Island.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They've been trying to do that forever. I mean, put it this way. For a developer, if you have these billions of dollars, it's actually beautiful land. Yeah. You get a clear, clear, crisp look of the Manhattan skyline, New York City skyline, and LaGuardia Airport is literally one baseball throw away from there.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Is it loud, though? Aren't the planes going over you?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They're going all over New York City. Oh. I mean, Manhattan from there, from Rikers Island, if you're a bird, you know, from thing. Yeah. It's what, two, three miles?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So they have to bulldoze – they have to drop the prison and build some – It's actually so many buildings.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't even know how many. I'd only be guessing. But there are dozens of buildings all over the island.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
They have to bulldoze all of them and turn it into a condo. Yeah, knockout. Bulldoze.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Exactly. High-rise. I could see that happening at some point because some developers are just going to pay off the politicians and say, you know, do something. Because the land is just too beautiful, and it's being wasted on –
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
On a jail, yeah. Criminals.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. And infrastructure is horrible.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There is footage of this the whole time, and I've seen it. And I'm looking up. I'm like, what the fuck's going on? Why doesn't this door close? You see me climbing, sort of like Spider-Man, holding on to the thing, just trying to pry it, pry it, pry it. I look down. The chain is at the bottom. Okay. And the chain's as thick as my forearm. Okay, well, guess what? I'm not winning that battle.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, no, no. Maybe it was built well when it was built, but like anything else, it needs to be maintained and stuff, and it is terrible. It really is. It's almost ancient.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Did you ever see the movie Carlito's Way?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, many times.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He escapes Rikers. The one guy escapes Rikers. Okay, look.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
The only way you could do it, the only way, you have to be beyond wealthy. And you have to find an array of officers all willing to give up their pensions. Like I said, give everybody a million dollars in cash. Right. So like... The housing area officer. The officers, as you leave, the housing area officer. It's a movie. Just do remember that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay. Listen, in the movie Carlito's Way, there's a corrupt lawyer, and he's got a client who's a mobster, and the mobster has paid off a guard. We know at least one guard, but it's got to be several. It has to be. And then they get him in the water and he swims to a buoy and he needs his lawyer who's already stolen over a million dollars from him. In the 70s. In the 70s.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He's going to take his boat and meet him at the buoy. So he meets him at the buoy, gets him on the boat, and then he can take him away and he escapes. So that's supposed to be the plan. But in the movie, the guy does get to the buoy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
right he's a fat mobster gets to the buoy the guy goes with his takes his boat meets him there and then takes i don't know what kind of a device or a pole or something and just hits him in the head a bunch of times basically kills him and drowns him he's super fat drowns him in what is it hudson
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I think it's called the East River.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
In the East River. And he drowns him. And then he gets on the boat and he takes the boat back. Because he did steal a million dollars. He doesn't want to save this guy.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He actually did do it, yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He feels like he might be murdered. So he kills him in the Hudson. So... Or East River, sorry. East River, yeah. So anyway, so yeah, it's a movie. I know it's a movie. Okay, so that's the only way. You'd have to pay off three or four or five, six guards to be able to make that happen.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Everybody would have to be perfectly aligned, but then someone would have to call the alarms, and then the NYPD would be alerted on the surrounding areas. I mean, it's a movie. It looks good for Hollywood.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Disappointing because I can't tell you how many years I spent daydreaming about escaping prior to like when I initially got arrested. I spent a good year dreaming about going to a camp and escaping or going to a low and escaping till I actually got to. Then they sent me to a medium and I realized you're not getting out of here. Went to the low and I thought you're still not getting out of here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like, you know, the whole time you're realizing like, oh, no, they got this locked down. They know what the fuck they're doing.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
At the end of the day, it's not even worth it. I mean, I guess the factoring in age and stuff, but for the extra time that you're going to get for it. You're going to get two or three years extra.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. You're incentivized then. Right. But you have to think... You have to have less than 10 years to go to a camp. So most guys that go to a camp only have a few years. So leaving to be on the run the rest of your life, why wouldn't I just? And by the time they go to a camp, by the way, they've probably already been through the process. They got arrested. They didn't get out on bond.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So they've already done maybe a year. They get sentenced. They go to a camp for, let's say they get three years. You already did a year. Now you go to a camp. You already get good times. You got 18 months to go. Do you escape?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I would say no. I would say no.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's a camp. It's a camp. Stay there. Yeah. It's like a shitty high school. Yeah. So stay there. I'm going to hang out here for 18 months. Matter of fact, honestly, 18 months, probably in a year, they're going to send me to a halfway house and I'm going to do.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's even worse.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Keep me at the camp. Yeah. They'll put me on an ankle monitor though. And a lot of times they'll just send you home.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know, so, so there's just no reason to.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
There was a guy that this kid, um, actually felt bad for him. Um, He's Italian from Queens, and he kind of gravitated towards me because I'm Albanian, and he kind of spoke Albanian a little because in the area of Queens that he grew up in, there's a lot of Albanians. And he's talking, and I was like, dude, what are you charging? He says, murder. I'm like, you're not no murder. Right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like, you have to go, yeah, you have to go, that's training?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I had a captain and an officer on the bridge, this thing called the bridge. So basically, when you're leaving your housing area to go get your methadone or go see the doctor or lawyer or visits, there's a small area called the bridge, about the size of a small car, about the size of a Toyota Corolla.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You know what I'm saying? Because I see he's really like an innocent type of kid. I was like, dude, did you get drunk or high or something? Girlfriend cheating, you killed her? Like, what's going on?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, something reasonable.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, well, he walked in. His girl's banging his best friend. Right. Happened to have a gun.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's the only thing I could think of. And he's like, no, even worse. What are you talking about? He said he was riding one of those, like, ATVs, the illegal ones, at least in New York City. I don't know about over here in Florida. He's just out there riding it as a group. And he makes a turn, and he ends up hitting a Chinese food delivery guy on a bicycle. The guy was not wearing a helmet.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He falls, bangs his head on the floor, and dies. Vehicular manslaughter. That's what it is. But because the vehicle was illegal, they're saying since you're driving it, then they're considering that commission of a crime. They charge, yep, they upcharge him to murder.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's stupid.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I agree with you. No, so then I'm like, okay, that makes sense there with the murder charge. But then now, since we're on the subject of escaping, at that point, I met him when he was at Rikers Island, but he was held in Brooklyn House, which is on a major street, just like a regular building. And he didn't, because this is how much of a non-criminal the guy is,
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He doesn't realize that those phones are tapped. They listen to every single word you say. He had no clue. He calls his friends and says, I'm at such and such a location, whatever the street is. I've never been to that building. I'm at the third floor window. I need you to get a bazooka and shoot me out of here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I died laughing. I'm like, dude, you got to be fucking kidding me. You said this on the phone.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
With them listening. Was he expecting them to go to the bazooka store?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And I said, forget about that. You hang around with people who have access to bazookas?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
He doesn't hang around with anybody who's got access. He's an idiot.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Attempted escape?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Or planning escape. Whatever it is.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Conspiracy tube.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Something along those lines. There's the extra charge on top of the murder. I was like, the murder, you're going to be able to talk it down to manslaughter. Yeah, he's going to get a few years. Five years?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Ten years? Yeah. He was already there for like two or three. In Florida, I think he'd probably get 14 years for vehicular manslaughter. First time. He'd probably get about that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And he told his friend on the phone, I don't care if I die. But I need you to shoot me out of there. He was on the third floor. He said to shoot him out of there. The drama. Yeah. You really had no idea that someone's listening to this phone call.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah. Stupidity. You're comfortable? You're not going in here? Put in for a two-man cell? Join a softball team. Sign up for the HVAC class.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's where the officers are supposed to pat frisk you and check you before you go on out into the rest of the building. And so they were escorting what we call a red ID. A red ID is a person that was either highly violent or brought contraband in. So this person needs, quote, unquote, extra attention. Right. Yeah, yeah. Pay attention to this one here. So they're paying attention to that.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You're not going anywhere.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
You can't snitch on anyone on this one. Find a good series of books that you like. Start reading the Game of Thrones series. Get the first book. Yeah. Yeah. Unbelievable. J.R. Tolkien, start reading this stuff. Get to The Hobbits. It's going to be a long, long ride. Right, right, right.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So he innocently goes there. Innocently, like to me, he didn't go. He tried to hurt anyone with a moped or whatever the device is called.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
We call them four wheelers. Yeah, whatever it is. He didn't have any kind of intent to go hurt anyone. He was just joyriding with his friends. And then they snitched on him because there's no license plate. It wasn't registered.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. Oh, so he took off also? Yeah. He hit the guy and ran?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So the cops were able— That's a series of bad decisions on his part.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, yeah. And then the cops figured out that, oh, that blue one right there, that's the guy who lives down the street. Put pressure on him. And it wasn't me. It was that guy. Yeah. And they got him. I hear you.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like we said earlier, that's typically how cases are solved. Little Jimmy's got to go. I wasn't on it. Huh? I wasn't on it. I wasn't driving it. Jimmy got it. Jimmy was driving it. Yeah, I'm not taking this murder charge. They knock on the door and open the door. You know why we're here? I said, because Jimmy hit that Chinese dude while you were here.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Yeah, yeah. This is the pre-hire stuff that I was just talking about. Right. And then the academy is five and a half months long for us.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
What you're saying happens 90% of the time.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
People come out and lie. 90% of inmates cooperate, but 100% lie about it. That's a fact.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
For anybody who has any questions out there, feel free to reach out to me on my social media. Don't ask to follow me. No friend request. Strictly DMs. It's Nick Goychai. It's Nick, N-I-C-K, G like George, O like Orange, J like Jack, C like Charlie, A like Apple, J like Jack. Reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram. I will respond to all DMs or instant messages on Facebook and Instagram.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Tell him we're going to leave the link in the description box.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And Matthew has said he's going to leave a link in the description box as well.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right, exactly. Thanks a lot. All right. Hey, you guys, I appreciate you watching. Do me a favor, hit the subscribe button, hit the bell so you get notified of videos just like this. We're going to leave all of Nick G's links in the description box so you can click on that, not get accepted as a friend, but you can DM him and he will respond. Also, please consider joining our Patreon.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It's $10 a month and it really does help Colby and I make videos just like this. Thank you very much. See ya.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
But that person's on the bridge by themselves with two officers, a captain and an officer. They could have came in and helped, but no. They stood there, arms against the doors, stood there watching the whole time. Again, this is all on camera. I need DOC to explain this in court. Right. Yeah. Why didn't they come in? I never spoke to them.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
By the way, I've never seen that captain or officer before that day or after, ever. Okay. So I don't know. It was like, hey, I'm not mentioning names, but do you remember Captain Sosa? Like, no. Who's that? Who's that? Who's that? I'm asking also. I don't know.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay. So what happens with the guy that's trying to get through you and the chain on the door? What happens? Like, how do you keep him separated from the other guy?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Well, that's what I did for 32 minutes. This person was just sort of like a football player. I know you're not into sports and stuff. Like, you know, when they try to break to get that touchdown. You're just pushing them back for 30-something minutes. And just prying them apart because the 32 minutes is also part of me prying them apart in the beginning. And I'm like, yo, I'm going to spray.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Fuck.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I'm going to spray. I'm trying to do everything not to spray because it's going to get on me too as well as the other inmates because it's not like ventilation is very good in there. Just like anything else, nothing's good in there. And I'm hitting the alarm, hitting the alarm, hitting the alarm. No backup. You know why? Mismanagement.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Do you get paid? Yeah, yeah.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Doesn't the alarm button go to everybody?
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
No, it's called a PBA, personal body alarm.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Right. So doesn't everybody get notified there's a guy? Correct. Because we just call it the deuces. He hit the deuces. Okay. Have you ever heard of that term? No.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
In the federal system, they hit the deuces, which means... And as soon as they just had a little red button on the radio, they hit that button.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And... you could immediately, they start screaming lockdown.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
I don't make enough money or have enough money if I live long. I'm going to have to work till I die.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Okay. Yeah, you get paid. I mean, they beat the hell out of you, demean you. In the beginning, teach you a lot of rules and regulations. I mean, there is so much stuff there that people don't realize how much Trouble we can get, us as officers, can get for not even turning a blind eye to some stuff. Right. Yeah. Cell doors don't work over there. It's insane.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
And everybody, every, out of every single unit, every guard in every single unit runs full blast out of their unit and converges on that one spot. You would see 20, 30 guards running across the compound towards that unit. And they would rush straight up the stairs or straighten the door and run straight to them. I mean, it wasn't 20, 30,
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
It wasn't probably 20 seconds before at least the first guard gets there because you guys think some people are closer. Right. Within a minute, everybody on the compound's there, swarming in, screaming a lockdown. They've pulled you apart. There's no way. It wouldn't even take a full minute.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
Like I said, probably 15, 20 seconds before the first two or three guards even run it because they're only that far away.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
So then they hit the button, you know, hit the deuces and you hear lockdown, lockdown. You can immediately look up and see doors, bram, bram, you know, and guards just fucking full blown running. Cause if you didn't run, you're fired. Right. Like nobody's walking.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
That's the way it's supposed to be. Matt. Being that this whole incident is everything's on surveillance, what you just described is the way it's supposed to be. Right. That place is wherever location you were at was managed properly and the rules were enforced. Right. The exact opposite happens at my building, AMKC. Okay.
Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Rikers Prison Guard Fired ILLEGALLY!? Massive Lawsuit Hits NYC
If you're walking the halls and those red lights start coming on, you're supposed to do exactly that. You're supposed to go suit up, put on a turtle suit, and go out there. You're not running in like I've seen where you just described, where guys are just coming in like- Blind? Yeah, blind. No, that's not happening there. No, that's not. I mean, that's not even procedure.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And I ended up getting into bringing on clients that just weren't a great fit. They weren't a great fit. And for what it's worth, when you're starting out, you say yes to everybody because you just need to generate cash flow. Low hanging fruit, right? Exactly.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
But over the years, through that learning, I can say, OK, you know, out of all these clients I've worked with, who are the 20 percent that I meshed with the best that I was able to get the best result for? That 20%, that's who I want to focus on. That's who I want to attract.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Those other 80%, I can find other solutions for them, whether it's in online programs, free lead magnets, trainings, YouTube videos, or maybe I can say, hey, Jim, you're not a great fit for me, but Jill over here is awesome. Talk to Jill. I think she's going to be a better fit.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And so I think focusing on that, I think, again, is a real challenge, is saying yes to everybody, finding yourself in the wrong situations, and then, like I said, learning from that, taking on the 20% that are going to be a good fit.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You know, we're always learning. And I'm kind of in this growth phase of my life right now in that in order to hit new milestones, it requires us to change as human beings, right? And we kind of talked a little bit about this up front. Where does God want me to go? Because there's so many different routes and avenues that I could take, which are going to lead to all sorts of different outcomes.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And it's not always clear what the right path is. So what I pray for, what I read when I read the Bible is, what's the direction? Where do you want me to go? And I don't know exactly what that looks like, Mick. But what I do know is that there's certain characteristics of that person, of my future self. There's going to be things that I'm going to need to be doing.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Nick, I'm just so honored and blessed to be here on the mic with you. Your camera looks amazing. For someone who just started their podcast in March, you are freaking crushing it, bro. Thanks for bringing me on the show.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I'm going to need to be lifting weights. I'm going to need to be reading daily. I'm going to need to be waking up early. I need to make my bad habits more difficult to accomplish. So, for example, I like to play video games. I like video games. I know that makes me unattractive to women or whatever.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I like video games, but I also realized that that's more of a consumption when I should be creating. So, so what do I do if I find myself playing a video game too much? I delete it. I unsubscribe. I make it harder. It doesn't mean I can't go out and download the game again or resubscribe again. I could do that.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
But putting all those additional steps in the way make it less likely I'm going to do that because it's more difficult. I want to make my good habits easier to accomplish. I don't think my bad habits harder. And I think that's been a big part of my personal growth path.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Mentorship is a tough one. It's very difficult to find good mentors. I was at a men's group at church the other day, and we're reading this book, Become Your Future Self Now. And I remember I was just talking about, I'd had a guy on my podcast. He's a billionaire. He's just like one of the biggest real estate investors in the world. I got invited out to his home in Fort Lauderdale.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
He's got a yacht in the back. He's got like 12 people on staff inside his home. It's Crazy. So I was kind of telling the story real quick. And afterwards, after the session was over, this guy comes up to me and basically hard sells me on becoming part of his coaching program. And I was like, that's, that's not the type of mentor I want, you know? And so it's tough. I think, you know, for me, Mick,
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And I don't necessarily know that I have any specific mentors, like the pastor at my church is great. My father's great. I can learn a lot from them. But I think one of the best ways for me to learn is working with clients that are farther ahead than me. So finding someone who's built something amazing, that's doing millions of dollars in revenue, how can I add value to that organization?
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And then I get a chance to actually get paid to learn. Because... now I'm generating income for me and for my team, but I'm also learning like, Ooh, wow. That's the way that he set up his organizational structure. That's really smart.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I can kind of take that back to my team or wow, that his tech stack is really working or that, that AI tool that they're using and the way they're integrating AI into their client. That's really good. I'm going to, I'm going to take that back. So,
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
you know, I think for me, and again, kind of moving this year, I wanted to surround myself with killers, people that are, that are farther ahead than me. And a lot of that has just been working with clients that are generating more cash or running bigger teams and bigger organizations and taking that as lesson, not just for me, but for my team and for the other clients that I'm working with.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Cause if something's working for this client, well, let's go and let's replicate it over for this client too. And then everyone shares in that growth.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And this is, I think, probably one of the most important topics of our generation right now. We're going through something as dramatic as the printing press right now with AI. And where I think people should be focused on is a couple of things. A, how can I train AI models properly? and prompt AI models to give me the output that I want. And that is going to evolve over time.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
But I think that a couple of things that are going to be true is the more information that I have digitally on my business, as far as vision, mission, ideal team members, ideal customer profiles, all the branding, the brand guides. where I'm finding people maybe have big spreadsheets full of financial data, marketing data, customer journey data.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
All that data has become very, very, very important because you're able to train AI models specifically within the context of your own organization. And the more streamlined and the more documentation that you have on your organization and what you're trying to accomplish, the faster you're going to be able to train models to accomplish things. different things.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Yeah, it's incredible the opportunities that you get. I mean, I've gotten the chance to talk to people like Pat Flynn, Sean Cannell, Patrick Bet-David, Dave Rubin. I've talked to presidential candidates, the mayor of our city and our county down here in South Florida. Quick funny story. I was president of the board in my condo association in Coral Springs, Florida recently.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And honestly, this is one of the first things I do when I bring on a client. I say, send me over your brand guide. You know, if I'm doing, you know, YouTube, if I'm doing email marketing, give me all the information you have on your organization. Let me see your customer, all that stuff that I mentioned. And I'm going to train an AI model on that specific business so that
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I'm able to give them results much more quickly, much more rapidly, and much more accurately. And then it becomes a sounding board that can ask questions. Hey, I'm thinking about running this type of campaign. What do you think? It'll help me see blind spots. It'll help me find opportunities that I didn't know. It'll help me find leaks in the business. It's kind of funny when you start...
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Leveraging this properly, you get results so quickly, Mick, that there's almost this temptation to say, I actually can't send this result to a client yet because he's going to think that it devalues the work. When you can do something in 10 minutes that it used to take two days to do, it almost devalues what you're doing. Right. And the flip side, I had Chris Doe on my podcast.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
We kind of talked about this and he said, well, if the client is upset because you're sending them work too quickly, you say, oh, well, you know, if you like, I'd be happy to send it to you three days later. Would that do you want it? I could give it to you now because speed is actually the value that you're giving. Speed is the value that you give to your customers and your clients.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
So it starts with starting. And I know that sounds obvious, but I'll go back to an example of Mr. Beast. Mr. Beast, one of the biggest YouTubers on the planet is constantly asked, how do I grow a big YouTube channel? And the advice that Mr. Beast gives is, make 100 YouTube videos and try to make each video better than the last video.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And it sounds elementary, but what ends up happening is you just get better the more you do something, right? And I think there's a lot of that. I think people are a little bit afraid. It's a big hamburger to just swallow in one bite. We have to take bite-sized chunks out of it. But I would start, like I said, you could pop open ChatGPT. You should be opening up a ChatGPT every day.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
It's $20 for a premium account that gives you better results. It gives you web search. It gives you the ability to create GPTs. And amongst other things, you get a greater, you can get more results. So a $20 chat GPT, it's 20 bucks. It's the greatest tool that humankind has ever seen.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
So opening up something like that, implementing it using automation is level two, starting to automate it with things like forms. I'll give you a cool example here, Mick. People, this will get juices flowing here. I had to hire a new position recently for an email copywriter, an email marketer to help me out with my newsletter, AIupdate.ai.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And what I did is I put out a post on this job listing board, said, hey, everyone, I'm hiring an email copywriter. If you're interested, go fill out this Google form. It's a Google form. And I asked various questions at Google Form that were very specific, that only someone in that realm would know. Like, what are the KPIs I'm looking for? How would you improve open rates on emails?
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And there was this weird rule, this weird bureaucratic rule that you couldn't have shingles on your home in this particular little development. Although right across the street, all the homes had shingles. And we had a huge roofing project. We didn't have the budget for it. But shingles were recommended by a roofer, A, because they would be more effective.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
If you were going to spam, how would you solve that problem? Some kind of technical stuff. And I automated that using Zapier. Over to ChatGPT and I said, hey, ChatGPT, I want you to review all the people, all the responses that people send in. And this is what I want you to specifically look for. And I prompted it. I trained it again.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
This is the skill of our generation is knowing how to train and prompt. Totally agree. Gave ChatGPT all the context that it needed to actually handle these prompts coming in or handle these responses coming in. And I said, for all the responses, I want you to give them a ranking response. one being the worst, 10 being the best.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And what it did is it was able to go through dozens and dozens and dozens of applicants. And I was able to narrow it down to the top three instantly. instantly. And it is so hard to find good talent. It is very difficult. It's extremely time consuming, but when you can use some, I set this up in an afternoon and now it's replicable. Anytime I want to bring on a new team member, boom, done.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I can get it done. And so it's, it's, it's unbelievable what you can start to do once you start using AI as a To answer your question, start using it for 10 minutes a day, get comfortable with prompts, learn better prompts, and then eventually you can start automating with forms and information like that to just completely scale out any sort of system or process.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
It gets me so excited. You know, any team member that's not using AI, they need to be using AI. And I think for a lot of team members, it's kind of scary because they think, oh gosh, if I'm using AI all the time, then I'm gonna, my value is gonna be lessened, but it's actually the opposite.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Because what AI inexorably does is it turns beginners into proficient, proficient, whatever their thing is. You can go from beginner to proficient like that using AI. But what it also does is it makes experts efficient. Because now all that little busy work stuff that you were doing and like, oh, I got to sit down and write an email. This is what used to take me an hour.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And B, they were going to cost about half as much to execute the plan. And the city building department was like, nope, you can't do it. You can't do shingles. And so I said, you know what I'm going to do? I know the mayor. I'm friends with the mayor because I've had him on my podcast. I went into the next council meeting, went up, shook his hand, shook the hands of some commissioners.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Now it takes you two minutes.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
It's unbelievable. Another thing that I just put out there when it comes to AI is everyone, if you walk away from this, here's one thing that I really want you to think about. If you are using Zoom calls, you absolutely must have an AI Zoom note taker that follows you around the internet. It is absolutely life-changing. There's a bunch of them out there. I'm using Fathom right now.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
That's the one that I like, but there's a bunch of different ones. But it's changed my life. I don't even barely do phone calls anymore. If I'm going to do a phone call, I'm just going to do an audio Zoom call because this note taker will take away key highlights. objections, key moments in the call, next steps.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You always want to walk away from a Zoom call with like, what's the next thing that I need to do? What's the next thing that this person should do? It lays all that out. It can automatically send the notes to the person who is on the other line. It's taking out a transcript. By the way, you can use all these transcripts. You can use all these notes to program and set up AI models.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
So if I know I've had all, if I'm keeping track of all the Zoom calls that I'm having with a use that to train my chat GPT prompt. Now you're gonna system for training your GPT models. And additionally, this program Fathom uses an API and it automatically adds all the notes to my CRM. So anytime I'm on a sales call, Boom, automatically going into my CRM. I'm gathering data.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
That's the key here is we wanna gather as much data as possible because as AI gets better and more efficient, all the data that we have is gonna be used to instantly program what the next thing is.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Yeah, I will say that the number one objection I hear from people when they start talking about AI is they say, well, a robot can't replace what I do. I'm about human to human connection. That's what's important. I think what people miss is that the AI tools on the back end enable you to be more focused on the person that's in front of you.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Right. AI in implementing just some of the things we talked about today, Mick, is the best way to start working on your business instead of in your business. Because you can set up that GPT, like you said, that COO one is brilliant. You set that up once and now you've got an executive assistant that you probably were going to be paying $75,000 a year for. Yeah. Boom. Boom.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I got a chance to just say, hey, guys, this is the deal. This is what our roofer recommends. I kid you not, Mick, the very next day we had approval for shingles for our community. Unbelievable the connections you can make through podcasting and new media.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I'm really excited about what I'm doing on YouTube right now on the Mark Savant channel. It just grows like crazy. I'm a YouTube partner. Like I said, over 1.5 million views. I'm just focusing a lot on these AI tools. What am I learning? What are other people learning? How can we leverage that? We're in a golden age. There's a lot of fear out there right now.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And I think that there's some of the fear is warranted, but we're in a golden age of opportunity right now. It doesn't matter where you're born, where you come from. These AI tools are so inexpensive. A lot of them are free. And if you could find a lane, you can start to leverage it. And it's a very exciting time.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
So I would just encourage people, if you want to know more about some of these specifics, where I can actually do a screen share and go deeper on some of these tactics, I'm doing that all on the Mark Savant YouTube channel.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You can find Mark Savant Media all across the web. Mark Savant Media.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You too, Mick.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
That works, that works. Or create your own AI agent that goes around and communicates and spreads love and word, you know?
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Well, I come from an insurance background. I've been an employee my entire life. My entire life was an employee. And then at about age 35, I was like, you know, I'm tired of being yelled at on the phone all the time. And I decided I was going to shift and I tried different sorts of businesses, Mick, but I eventually was like, I'm listening to podcasts all the time. I'm learning a lot.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
These are fun. Let me try out a show. And within a month, I was speaking to presidential candidates, NFL players locally, the mayor of my city. I was like, this is awesome. I want to do more of this. And I just kept doing more and more of it. And now I've got a pretty mature agency with nearly a dozen team members. We're producing some of the larger shows in the fatherhood space.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
We're doing a lot of YouTube. And now I've got a thriving YouTube channel with over 1.5 million views, over 5,000 subs. And it's been a real blessing and a real honor to just do this. It's so much fun.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I think that there is some value in trying to go viral. And what I mean by that is on YouTube specifically, the first thing I do before I hit record is I try to understand what the title of my episode is going to be.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I appreciate that. And I will say, you know, on the idea of going viral, I think that there is some value in trying to go viral. And what I mean by that is on YouTube specifically, the first thing I do before I hit record is I try to understand what the title of my episode is going to be.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And on YouTube specifically, you want to make sure that there's alignment from curiosity driven by the thumbnail, clarity delivered by the title, and then confirmation delivered in the first opening hook of your video. While you shouldn't necessarily be chasing views, you should be aware of the market cap. How many people are searching for this?
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
What's the chance that I'm going to get in front of more eyeballs so I can actually deliver my message? And I think that it's important to understand that concept of search, volume, competition, all that matters with standing out in the YouTube world.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I come from an insurance background. I've been an employee my entire life. Eventually was like, I'm listening to podcasts all the time. Let me try out a show. And within a month, I was speaking to presidential candidates, NFL players locally, the mayor of my city. I was like, this is awesome. I want to do more of this. And now I've got a thriving YouTube channel with over 1.5 million views.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Well, God bless you, man. It's a tough road. Basically, when I graduated from college, I was trying to find a job. I just couldn't find a great job, nothing I was excited about. My dad, who is a state farm agent, said, hey, Mark, why don't you come kind of learn the insurance business. You can work for me. So I got licensed pretty quickly, certified pretty quickly.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And it just started kind of running the things at the office in short order. The agency was really successful, but there were a couple of things that I noticed, Mick. And one of the things I think is really important for everyone to be kind of hyper aware of what's going on in your industry, our industry trends. And what I had noted is that
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Every day, every week, every month that went by, more leads from our business were coming in through the corporate website and being closed in a call center corporate. And I said, hmm, well, this is interesting. How relevant am I going to be to this whole value proposition if I'm not actually closing the leads myself? Everyone was just going to statefarm.com and closing the leads.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And then we'd follow up with them the next day and kind of tweak things and fix things and be that face. So I think it's really important right now in the world of AI to in the world of robotics, in automation, in new media. Where do I fit into this? Because things are going to change. The jobs that are here today are not necessarily going to be around in the next decade.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
One of the things I think is really important for everyone to be kind of hyper aware of what's going on in your industry, our industry trends. And what I had noted is that more leads from our business were coming in through the corporate website and being closed in a call center corporate.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Well, I think the first thing that most agencies and most corporations get wrong is that they think that social media and content creation is about selling. You know, for example, I was just at a local chamber meeting. I'm going to be hosting an AI panel at the chamber next month. And I was kind of going through their Instagram.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Every single Instagram post was an ad for an upcoming event or an upcoming sponsor. And I just don't know that that's the most effective way. I'll give you another example. I took on a client recently who was a hyper niche. He's one of the biggest Amazon sellers in the world. He's doing $20 million in sales on Amazon every year.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
in addition to his own SaaS program, in addition to his mastermind program. And what we recognized when we got in there is we're watching his videos and all the videos were just kind of talking about join this new session, join this new program, sell this, sell that. And we went in there, we kind of revised the strategy to just be, let's teach people how to do the thing. We'll use your software.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And what we found is that by demoing, by showing, by connecting people how to do something, it just completely transformed the channel. I would say four times the views immediately. And the other thing that we switched up was the call to action. So he had had a call to action. And this kind of goes back to your original question about what should we be doing? What should our goals be?
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
But the original call to action that we were sharing in pinned comments and in the description was get on a call with one of our sales team members. members, right? Get on a call. And the problem with that seems so obvious, but we need to nurture people. People do business with people that they like.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And when I think about content creation, that's like, how do I connect with someone and make people feel like they're They can actually like me and know me. And so we changed that up. And immediately, now we're generating about two quality leads every single day from his YouTube channel. And this hyper-niche program, the customer lifetime value for each lead is about $1,500.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
So it's kind of powerful when you stop thinking about it as an advertising tool and as a connection entertainment or teaching tool.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Well, it's incredibly, incredibly important, even more so in this AI world where everyone kind of feels somewhat disconnected. I want to actually talk about a kind of a really practical example. You know, we just had a presidential election and they're calling it the podcast election. Because all the views, like, you know, you look at the two candidates, Kamala and Trump.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
trump and see what was their media strategy how were they connecting with the people trump's going on rogan he's going on i recorded video he went on like the top four four of the top five podcasts right and i think people feel like they really got to kind of know him whereas kamala she did some big shows you know she went on like the breakfast club she went on call her daddy but most of the the things that she was doing was like bite-sized content like right you're going to
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You're going to hear me talk for 10 minutes on a particular topic, maybe 20 minutes. But when you listen to someone talk for an hour, two hours, three hours, you start to feel like you're kind of getting to know them. And so that's kind of like a practical example of like what happened there. Probably give you even a more practical example, Mick. And this is kind of funny.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Every single time I go to a conference, somebody recognizes me. Every single time. I was at Patrick David's Vault Conference last year and I was just talking to someone and this guy Abraham comes up and goes, Mark, Mark, is that you? I'm like, yeah, hey, I'm Mark. He's like, I listen to your podcast all the time. I was like, cool. It's nice to meet you. It's really cool to meet you.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
A few months later, we were doing business together. He became kind of a student in one of my programs. And the following year, we were rooming together at another conference and he's referring me business. And so it's that kind of like you said, people like we talked about people do business with people they like, they know, they trust.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
And when someone can watch you, hear you, listen to you, it paves that path forward. People are getting primed up. So we don't want to, I think, be selling in our programming. We want people to kind of get to know, to like us, say, I want to know a little bit more. And then we let our backend do the selling, our websites, our landing pages, our emails, our lead magnets, that sort of thing.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Wow, that's a deep question. I think, you know, for me, the biggest impetus is legacy and being an example for my children. Like I said, I was an employee my entire life. And then when my daughter hit about two or three years old, I was like, I want to set a better example. I want to build something better. And so I think a lot of it comes down to setting an example for our children.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
You know, I just remember growing up, seeing my dad building his agency, going to work early, coming home, dinner with the family, and then two, three hours, opening up that Rolodex, making calls, making it happen. And he was able to carve out a great life for himself, for his family. It's empowered him to provide for various churches and homeless organizations.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
My parents actually had a homeless person living in their house for nearly a decade because they wanted to invest. To me, I think it's about giving, more so about giving back to the next generation, showing this is how we treat people. This is how we build up the world in a better way. And I think that the legacy is really where that because comes from. I wanna feel valued.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
I wanna feel like every time people experience me, they walk away a little bit better than they were before.
Mick Unplugged
Mark Savant | Content Creation and AI: Mark Savant's Expert Insights on Strategy and Success
Well, I think this is something you talk about a lot, Mick, is leadership. And one of the most challenging things I think for me has been how do I surround myself with the right people? How do I bring on the right team members? How do I bring on the right customers? And, you know, another challenge I think when you're new is you kind of have to say yes to every opportunity that's out there.
Mind Pump: Raw Fitness Truth
2541: This Strength Building Technique Activates More Muscle Fibers... & You're Probably Not Using It (Listener Live Coaching)
Yeah, exactly. He's super pale like Justin. He has the same last name, too, basically. He's a Scottish guy. Is he Andrew's? Andrew. A couple of albino buddies, huh?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Oh, und du hast sie einfach zusammengefüllt, um dein Sandwich zusammenzubringen? Sehr klug.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich hoffe, das sind die Pancakes. Das war früher mein Lieblings-McDonalds-Frühstück.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Glaubst du, dass jemand die Pancakes bestellt hat, das Essen gegessen hat und dann die Packung gesichert hat und gesagt hat, ich werde das für die nächsten 40 Jahre versichern?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Was du tun kannst, ist, deine Pancakes zu kaufen, deine Sausage zu kaufen. Normalerweise würde ich Maplesirup benutzen. Eine andere Pancake. Boom. Mmmh.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das ist alles, was ich in einer Platte von Essen wollen könnte.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Warte, also das ist was, 40 Jahre altes Tee? Ja. Kann ich es riechen? Es riecht wie schwarzer Tee. Es riecht älter. Oh, schau dir die Farbe an. Das ist legit. Ich denke nicht, dass ich das trinken soll, oder? Ist das nicht gefährlich? Ich trinke es. Es ist unmöglich, dass es sicher ist.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich kann es trinken. Wirklich? Es ist eine once in a lifetime opportunity. Es kann nicht sicher sein. Es riecht nicht sehr gut. Ich meine, es riecht wie Tee. Es riecht wie Stahl. Die rauhe Version riecht viel besser. Im Hinterkopf hätte ich wahrscheinlich mehr darüber nachgedacht.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Mh. Lass uns auf die Barbecue gehen. Muss man das? Es ist so gut. Du bist der Fleischmann. Warum erklärst du es nicht? Wir haben ein paar schöne, saubere Rippen, einen schönen Beutel von gehacktem Teig. Wir haben die Chilis auf der Seite. Ein süßes kleines Burger, obwohl das damals nicht ihre Fokus war. Und ein paar Chips.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
In einer guten Art und Weise. I feel like I'm eating real chicken.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
You mentioned a lot of things, but when you said bacon, I mean, that's how I know this is the burger for me. Can I feed you? Please. Really good.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Und dieser hat so Retro-Vibes. Ja, das ist wirklich, wirklich cool. Nick, wir haben eine Chance, hier 1 Million Dollar zu gewinnen.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
I freaking love these things. The Grimace. No way. Ronald McDonald. Is that the Hamburglar? Right there. Is that the Hamburglar? It looks like them. We shouldn't eat these. Given that it's been expired for 30 years, it's not bad. It's disgusting. It's not good. It's time for the Holy Grail.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich muss auf einer dieser Rippen anfangen. Möchtest du einen Klo? Ich muss mich um die Hände kümmern. Ich will das Gefühl haben, das sie in den 40ern hatten. Das sieht so gut aus.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Not based on taste, that looks so good. I'll give you a hint. Think about how big it is. Oh, it can't fit in a bag? Close. Zu groß für ein Kind? Nein.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Es sieht aus wie eine Supreme Pizza. Es hat wirklich jedes Thema. Verdammt, das sieht gut aus.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
That is definitely fitting through the drive-thru window. Das riecht gut.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
I know I'm Max the Meat Guy, but I would have crushed these back in the day.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Kannst du dich für das überziehen? Wow, das funktioniert. Das Problem, mit dem ich immer gestruggelt habe, war, dass der Boden nie das Salat-Dressing-Distribution hatte. Ich fühle mich, als ob wir es gut gemacht hätten.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Vielleicht wusste ich nur nicht, wie man back in den Tagen schicke. Das hat sich sehr gut gemacht. Oh, diese guten alten soggy Croutons. Ich habe sie vergessen. Das ist definitiv eine höhere Qualität Salat, als ich es damals gewohnt habe.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Es ist, aber ich glaube, ich habe gehört, dass die Kalorien und das Trösten alleine so viel wie ein ganzer Burger sind. Ist es tatsächlich gesellschaftlicher?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ja, hol es auf. Das Ding hat sich komplett öffnet. Es macht im Grunde eine Platte. Richtig, es ist eine kleine Platte, als würdest du sitzen und boom.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Freshly opened seal. It's a chicken nugget Tetris. No way. Yeah. Dude, is that thing still gonna work with batteries?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ja. Das bringt wieder Erinnerungen. McDonald's Changeables. Die großen French Fries. Du hast die Arme. Was? Du hast den Kopf hier. Das ist das Pikachu-Tool. Verdammt. Es macht einen Geräusch. Das ist cool. Das ist ziemlich cool. Ich muss mit Sonic gehen. Ich denke, er geht hierher. Oh, hier sind wir. Was ist das? Einer dieser Verhandlungen? We've got ourselves a minion.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich erinnere mich, dass sie nach dem Bestellen immer sagten, würdest du diesen Super-Size lieben? Ich würde immer sagen, ja.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das sind zwei meiner Lieblingsstücke. Ich sehe McFlurry und einen McRib.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
I always go with M&M. They kind of freeze and they get all nice and crunchy. Do you really? Every time. It really is so good.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
The entire menu? What? And it smells... Wir haben einen klassischen McDonalds-Burger, die OG-French-Fries und einen absolut perfekten Schokoladen-Milkshake.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich bin einfach überrascht, wie zirkulär die Eier immer sind. Na, sie haben sie in einen Mold gebrochen. Oh, ich dachte, sie hatten nur zirkuläre Eier. Das ist gut. Das ist wirklich gut.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ist das das beste McDonalds-Menü-Item aller Zeiten? Oder das schlechteste?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
This looks like real rib meat. The problem with the current McRib is that it's essentially a burger in the shape of a boneless rib rack. Whereas this looks like the real deal. We have our bun, that beautiful saucy meat. Looks like a bunch of pickles, onions, simple sandwich. But in my opinion, it is hard to beat.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich liebe es. Nick, das ist zu viel Sauce. Willst du etwas? Klar.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ja, ich liebe das. Wow, es ist saucy. Die Sauce ist das, was es macht. Es ist ein dreckiges Sandwich.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Danke. Das ist die Travis-Scott-Kollaboration. Wege ich den Hat so? Oder so?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
This sandwich is so big that you can't really even bite it. That doesn't mean we won't try. It just all looks very fancy right now.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das könnte die kleinste Frise sein, die ich je gesehen habe. Das ist echt. Das ist wie ein Ein-Biter.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das ist der original Container, in dem sie die Friesen befestigt haben. Das ist so verrückt. Sie sind wirklich eine Art und Weise. Das könnte der einzige original McDonalds Backen aus den 50er Jahren sein.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Du kannst sagen, dass es alt ist, aber wie du gesagt hast, ist es in guter Form. Wie riecht es? Es riecht wie Papier. Hier, Max.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Viel dicker, viel mehr substanziell. Ich habe keine Zutaten. Es ist nur Käse und Burger. Das ist wahrscheinlich, wie es sein sollte.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
And remember, it only cost 15 cents. I'd buy like 100 of those. Well, this is the real test, the French fries.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Nick. I really enjoyed my time on this video, but this is enough.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich denke, ich brauche das zu retten. Ich meine, wie viel kosten diese Sachen?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Okay, ich wecke meine Hände nicht mit diesem. Wir retten das hier. Dude, Nick, das ist...
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich meine, es sieht aus wie ein Postcard. Sie machen keine Kupone mehr.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
25 wäre zu viel gewesen. 24, das ist gut. Wir haben auch ein paar andere Coupons. Wir haben einen Cheeseburger, einen Doppel-Cheeseburger, einen Doppel-Hamburger und einen Triple Thick Shake. Sind diese heute noch valid? Mal sehen, wann es ausgeschlossen ist.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich glaube nicht, dass meine Großmutter mir jemals ein Fisch-Sandwich gemacht hat. Meine hat es. Wirklich?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ich glaube nicht. Ein speerter French Fry? Das ist echte Milch aus Macau. Die machen das nicht mehr.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ah, sieh, ich würde das machen, aber ich würde jeden einzelnen Teil von Soda Flake machen. Und was macht dir Shake zu denken, wenn du über McDonald's denkst? Es gibt natürlich die gebrochenen Maschinen. Es gibt den grünen Shake. Der Shamrock-Shake. Der Shamrock-Shake.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Wie fühlt es sich an, die Möglichkeit zu haben, diesen aus einem originellen Shamrock-Shake-Kuppen zu trinken? Ich fühle mich, als hätte ich in der Vergangenheit tatsächlich transportiert. Mein Geist spielt Tricks auf mich selbst. Das ist so verrückt zu sehen. Minty.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Like a real mint flavor. Yeah. Max, there's one last thing that you know we need to do to move on. When you say we, are you referring to you?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Es gibt viel hier. Ist das das erste Mal, dass wir ein Happy Meal gesehen haben?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ja, es ist wie ein Big Mac von heute, aber viel stärker. Hartiger. Hartiger, ja.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ist das, was ich denke? Wer ist das? Ist das der Hamburger? Es ist der Hamburger. Oh mein Gott.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Und schau dir einfach die Preise auf dem Menü an. 10 Cent für ein Brotbeer, Peanut Butter Jelly und French Fries für 20 Cent. und ihr berühmtestes Gemüse, das gebarbecuierte Fleisch, Ham oder Pfeffer.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
He actually stole my burger? That is unbelievable. The Hamburglar actually burglarized my burger.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ist das der originelle Salz und Pfeffer? Der originelle 1970er Salz und Pfeffer von McDonald's. Denn das ist das erste Lebensmittel aus dem Zeitraum, das wir theoretisch tatsächlich probieren können.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das ist wahrscheinlich der coolste für mich. Du denkst das? Ja, es ist das echte Essen. Total real, originelles Essen. Das ist wirklich verdammt cool.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Tastes exactly like salt. Put some pepper. You think it's still gonna taste peppery? Yeah. Nichts?
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
This is 50 plus year old cookies. 1975 McDonald Corporation. So these cookies are exactly 50 years old.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Ja, wir werden etwas herausfinden. Was ist das? Ist es Ronald McDonald? Es sieht so aus, als wäre es sein Gesicht. Das ist sein Kopf.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Das ist sein Kopf. Ich denke, um es zu sagen, dass ich es gemacht habe, muss ich den 50-jährigen Kuchen probieren. Es riecht wie ein 50-jähriger Kuchen.
Nick DiGiovanni
100 Years of McDonalds
Is it really? Yeah, yeah. Mine's dry as the freaking Sahara. Seriously? Bone dry. Wow, ich fühle mich. Wie kann das, wie kann das? Hör auf zu Max.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Robots are becoming more and more like humans. They can build cars, clean your house, and even do parkour. But in this video, I'm cooking against three levels of robots to find out who's the better chef, robots or humans.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Yeah, but your robots aren't even touching the nuts. I actually think I might win this challenge. I'm actually going to do something the robots can't do and switch my pans around to kind of keep things even as well. And the robots, they just don't have arms.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
And start. Oh, there it goes. So the key to making a nice slice of toast, Mark, while your toaster just slowly takes its sweet time over there, I like to quickly hit both sides of the toast right away. And you have to be very gentle. You don't want to press into the toast. Wait, why tweezers? I'm cooking against a $500 robot.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
The key with toast is to make sure that the outside is nice and crispy while the inside stays nice and light and fluffy. This is a butter knife, right? No. Oh my gosh, look at that.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
At this point, I'm just trying to finish my pizza before Mark makes number four.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I'm done too. Very, very different looking pizza. Very different looking.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
All righty, I feel like this is off to an unfair start, but it's not done yet.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I am sorry, Mark, because I know you wanted robots to win. I did. Deep down. I really did.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
For level two, I'll be cooking against MOLY, the world's first fully robotic kitchen. I'm kind of scared. It took 10 years of research to make this robot, and it can recreate movements of a professional chef and has over 5,000 recipes uploaded to its memory. We're going head-to-head to see who can make a better pasta dish, and at the end, a blind taste test will determine who wins this round.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Before we start cooking, I'm going to choose the recipe that Molly's going to make today. And since we're doing pasta, I'm going to go with a spaghetti puttanesca. I just found out that this is a kill switch, so if he starts beating me, I'm just going to whack him. It's time to find out if Moley's really worth that $100,000 price tag. And here he goes.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
First things first, it looks like he's turning on the cooktop. Oh, we're going for the olive oil. Good start, Moley. Now it's grabbing some olives, anchovies, some garlic, some capers. Sometimes I feel like Moley's just doing fancy movements to flex on all of us. What? He's using a spatula?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Moley's scraping the bottom of the pan right now, making sure all those nice little flavorful bits aren't sitting there and burning. The more I watch right now, the more nervous I'm getting about this competition. Thinking about pressing the red button. It just tapped, and now he's scraping off the extra ingredients on the spatula. This is unbelievable. And in we go with the tomato sauce.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
And he's gonna mix it all up. Here comes the pasta. Oh, come on, with the tap. That just seems like you're rubbing it in. Some of that pasta is sitting above the water right now, so I'm wondering if Moley's gonna do anything to make sure that that goes under the water. Okay, at this point, you have to wonder if the robot just heard me say that, or maybe it's just really that smart on its own.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
So I'm guessing right now that Moly has it down to an exact timing. And I'm thinking right now that this might be the most perfectly cooked pasta I have ever seen in my life. Oh, you missed the noodle, Moly. Let me help you. It's very well cooked. This here seems like the final step, just throwing in these herbs. So after one last wipe of the spatula, it looks like the dish is complete.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
That was amazing. The only chance that I might have is if the judge picks up on that some of the pasta might be a little bit less cooked than the rest of the pasta. Molly didn't quite fully stir it all the way here, but I'm going to help Molly plate it onto a nice dish so the judge cannot tell which is the robot's and which is mine.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I'm going into this challenge a bit nervous, but for my dish, I'll be making an uni butter pasta. To begin, I'm starting out with this fresh sea urchin. Sea urchin tastes almost like butter, so it's gonna be perfect with our pasta. First, I'll add these to a small blender, making sure to use plenty.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Then for a bit of acidity, I'll add just a touch of yuzu juice, and for a bit of color, just a touch of saffron oil. Now, because we wanna make an uni butter, I'll take a few nice knobs of butter and add that to my uni. Once it reaches a nice, smooth and creamy consistency, our uni butter is done. Now, I'm actually gonna cook my pasta a little bit earlier than Moly cooked his.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I'll start by tossing a generous amount of salt into my pasta water, and then in we go with some fresh homemade pasta. You hear that, robot? Homemade pasta. I'll go in with a bit of pasta water to a new pan, and then drop in a nice few spoonfuls of our fresh uni butter. We'll mix this together so it forms a nice sauce, and then in goes our pasta.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I know robots aren't supposed to be able to feel emotions, but I have a feeling Molly's scared right now. I'll add in my pasta, nice and tight in the center of my plate, then finish with a nice drizzle of herb oil, a few pieces of fresh sea urchin, and just a few nice microwaves. Time to see who wins.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
After a bit of plating help, here's the robot spaghetti puttanesca, and here's my dish, an uni butter pasta. The way they're plated, the judge shouldn't be able to tell who made which dish. Harrison will be the judge for our blind taste test.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I just lost to a robot, fair and square. That means we're tied one to one, and it all comes down to round three. For level three, our final challenge, I'll be cooking a steak against Neo Beta, an advanced humanoid robot. What's up, Neo? How's it going? The way this will work is simple. In front of us are three steaks. We've got a porterhouse, a filet mignon, and a ribeye.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
We're each gonna cook one, and the audience will decide in the comments below who is the true champion.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I'm down for rock, paper, scissors. You ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. I beat you. Fair is fair. You get to pick first. Go ahead.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Go for it. It's all you. Oh. I'm probably going to go with the ribeye. The stakes have been chosen. Best of luck, Chef Neo.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
The first thing with a steak, of course, is salt and pepper. So I'm going to go salt all over my beautiful rib eye, and I can see you're also starting with your salt. By the way, how long have you been cooking? I'm curious. Three months. You've only been cooking for three months?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I don't know if you're trying to get in my head or what you're doing, but it's not going to work.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Okay, perfect. So our oil is in both of our pans. I think my oil is getting to that temp that I'm ready to put my steak in. What about you? Me too. Nick, would you mind handing me that spatula over there? Yeah, absolutely. Not a problem at all.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Nice and easy. Hey, are you ready for this sound? Yeah, let's see it.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
No way you just did that. All right, I'm going to go for my flip now. Mine doesn't look as good as yours.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Mine's actually done. I'm gonna go ahead and start resting it.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Listen, this is it. I'm not helping you anymore. I need to make my chimichurri. Now I'm going to go in with a bit of olive oil and a nice splash of white wine vinegar. Then some garlic, fresh parsley. Whoosh. Whoa. Just a touch of paprika, a few red pepper flakes, a bit of garlic powder, a touch of salt, a good amount of fresh cracked pepper, and last but not least, my secret ingredient.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
A few pistachios. You see what you're up against right now? Yeah, that's advanced stuff. Here we go. You want a taste?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Congratulations, Neil. We finished cooking both of our steaks. The question now is, whose do we cut into first?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
They are very cute. Thank you. Because stirring just one pan wouldn't be much of a challenge, we each have five pans, but there's just one of me and there are five robots. We're going to be stirring pine nuts, which are expensive and burn really easily.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I'm gonna cut right in the middle. I'm going to give you a sneak peek first. What do you think?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
Moment of truth, OK? Three, two, one. Look at that. As much as I hate to admit it, it looks like Neo also got a perfect medium rare. Before you all vote in the comments below who won this challenge, I won the first level. Then the robots won round two with that amazing spaghetti puttanesca. So it all comes down to this, level three. Neo, why don't you explain your dish first?
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
I will admit, yours actually looks pretty good. But what I have here is a more flavorful ribeye cooked perfectly medium, which is my personal favorite. You and I can agree to disagree on that one.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
And under it, I've made a pistachio chimichurri and topped it off with a few extra parsley leaves.
Nick DiGiovanni
I Cooked Against Robots
They don't really do much. All right, guys, you've seen everything you need to see, so make sure you go subscribe and then go down to the comments below and say who you think won. Neil, any last words? Let's face it, Nick.
Nick DiGiovanni
World's Largest Chicken Nugget
Here are all the shapes of the nuggets. We got a bell, we have a ball, we got a boot, and a bone. Nick, I think we should make a bone.
Nick DiGiovanni
World's Largest Chicken Nugget
And we're going to make a nugget a thousand times bigger than this.
Nick DiGiovanni
World's Largest Chicken Nugget
Go slower, Nick. We made it back with the nugget. Now put it down, Nick.
Serialously with Annie Elise
225: Stalked, Harassed, & Shot 14x on the Bathroom Floor! The Twisted Case of Becky Bliefnick
What's the biggest mistake you made at your wedding? Honey, I love you, but said I do.
Serialously with Annie Elise
225: Stalked, Harassed, & Shot 14x on the Bathroom Floor! The Twisted Case of Becky Bliefnick
Hey, my name is Ted Bleifnick. It's me.
Serialously with Annie Elise
225: Stalked, Harassed, & Shot 14x on the Bathroom Floor! The Twisted Case of Becky Bliefnick
What's the biggest mistake you made at your wedding? Honey, I love you, but said I do. Not my mistake. Not my mistake. I love my wife.
Serialously with Annie Elise
225: Stalked, Harassed, & Shot 14x on the Bathroom Floor! The Twisted Case of Becky Bliefnick
The idea of murdering someone, let alone the mother of my kids, is not any part of who I am.
Serialously with Annie Elise
247: Exposing The Truth About Belle Gibson & Netflix’s ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
I don't like that hate word, but sometimes I feel like turning around to her and saying, Belle, I hate you.
Serialously with Annie Elise
247: Exposing The Truth About Belle Gibson & Netflix’s ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
She's stuffed it up real bad. I've had to go through counselling myself. I don't like to be in public. I've had people come up to me and ask me questions and they think I'm like her when I'm nothing like her. But I really hope she does watch this and see how much I am hurting.
Serialously with Annie Elise
247: Exposing The Truth About Belle Gibson & Netflix’s ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
I am. My kids see me hurting as well. I don't have autism at all, no. Even when I was a kid, she used to call me retard.
Serialously with Annie Elise
247: Exposing The Truth About Belle Gibson & Netflix’s ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
I hated myself and I didn't want to be around. I was shy, placid and I didn't like to be out in the public just because things she said.
Serialously with Annie Elise
247: Exposing The Truth About Belle Gibson & Netflix’s ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’
That's correct. Like, I talk to a lot of people. I do have trouble with reading or writing, but that's, you know, always been the case. She knows what she's done and said is completely wrong. Like, it's... it's embarrassing.
Talking Counter
Episode 126: PGL Cluj Playoff results, PGL's Field of Dreams and the CS ecosystem
Do you like cheeses? What do you want to talk about with the counterfeit, Jason?
Talking Counter
Episode 126: PGL Cluj Playoff results, PGL's Field of Dreams and the CS ecosystem
And they aired it, too, didn't they?
Talking Counter
Episode 126: PGL Cluj Playoff results, PGL's Field of Dreams and the CS ecosystem
Yeah, it's only about fucking 20 euros a beer in fucking Sweden.
Talking Counter
Episode 126: PGL Cluj Playoff results, PGL's Field of Dreams and the CS ecosystem
But we are in a nice hotel.
Talking Counter
Episode 126: PGL Cluj Playoff results, PGL's Field of Dreams and the CS ecosystem
All right, let's get the fuck out of here. Let's get out. Goodbye.
The Best One Yet
🦅 “Falcon Mode” — Lyft’s enshittification. Labubu’s viral dolls. Bezos vs Trump on “Tariff Fees.”
Let's hit our three stars. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we're here to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🦅 “Falcon Mode” — Lyft’s enshittification. Labubu’s viral dolls. Bezos vs Trump on “Tariff Fees.”
Start the show.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Salute Jay Wednesday, January 29th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. Here's the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Well, Jack, we're back, baby. Stocks rebounded Tuesday after freaking out on Monday. Yeah, the panic from China's DeepSeek AI app has eased a bit.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
They're developing infrastructure that we would need if we wanted to live on Mars or the moon, including space farming. Besties, there are like four or five other satellite building companies we found too, publicly traded, all up double digits so far this year. Oh, in the startup scene, they're buzzing too. That's true. Last week, two space startups filed to IPO, Voyager and Carmen. That's big.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
We haven't had IPOs in so long. If SpaceX IPO'd, that'd be like the wildest IPO of the decade. And now, Houston, we do have a problem we should point out, shouldn't we, Jack? All those companies and all those stocks Nick and I just mentioned, they are very risky investments. After all, they depend on Earth colonizing Mars, something that's not exactly guaranteed to happen.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And that's why in the last two years, there's kind of been a black hole in the space industry. All the stocks have been down, sucked away, and only now are they reemerging. One small step for my portfolio, one giant leap for my risk profile. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over in the space industry? We are entering the final four frontiers.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Yetis, most people think that everything has been discovered, that the days of exploration are over behind us. But there are four frontiers ripe for exploration still in our lifetimes. space, the deep seas, the Arctic, and artificial intelligence. Yetis, those four frontiers are the new Wild West. They are the new world that are still open for us to explore. They're the new new world.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Yeah, they are, Jack, because no one nation fully controls any of them, nor does any nation fully understand their potential. And yet, each is filled with economic opportunity and resources. And power. And with a power-loving president in the United States and the disruption of global norms and alliances, there is a new land rush literally into this 21st century.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Space, the Arctic, the deep seas, and the unknowns of artificial intelligence. Those, Yetis, those are the four final frontiers. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? X just announced X money with 61 words and a tweet. It's a partnership with Visa. It's basically Venmo. But the real measure of success in finance is getting your direct deposit, the Beyonce of banking.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It's a corn chowder cough drop. It's a matzo ball of menthol. We'll take two more. Now, Progressive is selling these things starting with their chicken noodle flavor. But you open up the aluminum can of soup with a can opener, and instead of soup, you got two dozen candies in there. They're a little like cough drop-y kind of candies, but it's soup.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
For our second story, it's Royal Caribbean. Their stock hit an all-time high yesterday on record earnings and an expansion to rivers. Because cruises have always been the value meal of vacations. And our third and final story. The space industry is buzzing after Trump's goal to put an American flag on Mars. Space. It's one of the four final frontiers. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Here's what else you need to know today. First, we got an update on DeepSeek. On Tuesday, we told you how China's AI app did AI at a fraction of the cost. It wasn't just chip stocks that fell as a result of that news. A bunch of big energy stocks fell over 20% too. Big energy companies expected a surge in demand on electricity because of AI's electricity needs.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
But China's app shows they may not need that. DeepSeek showed that AI doesn't require expensive chips, and it doesn't require lots of energy either. Also, quick correction to yesterday's show, we said that DeepSeek does AI without NVIDIA chips. However, three eddies pointed out DeepSeek does have NVIDIA chips, just their older, less advanced chips.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
DeepSeek bought NVIDIA's H800 chips before export restrictions kicked in. Second, Google is changing the name Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in Google Maps. Google said they will follow the U.S. government's lead when it comes to the naming of places. To users in Mexico, it will still be called the Gulf of Mexico. And finally, Starbucks earnings are out, and the theme was back to barista.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Sales fell, but not as bad as expected with Starbucks' turnaround. And as of this week, Starbucks has brought back the condiment counter so you can pour your own damn half and half in your coffee. Oh, and they brought back mugs with free refills, like porcelain mugs, if you're taking a latte. For here, please. For here. They're also encouraging baristas to go full Picasso.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
They're encouraging baristas to make latte art. You know, I know how much you love coffee, Jack. One of my life goals is to hand you a macchiato with a hummingbird in it. I love hummingbirds. I know you do. No one else knows that about you, but I know you do. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Brian Kane from lovely Cheyenne, Wyoming.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
We just discovered, thanks to Brian, there is a musical road over in Hungary. Get this. Near the town of Tapiozin Martin in Hungary, there are grooves in the pavement that create vibrations that play a song, usually a Hungarian folk song, while you drive at just the right speed.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It's basically a rumble strip, but they're spread out in certain distances and have different like texture so that it makes a song as you rumble over them, but only when you drive the right speed. Right, so Jack, if you go 50 miles per hour in Hungary on that highway, you will hear this song. musical road.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Basically, this soup company turned chicken noodle into a sucking candy. But we actually think there's a bigger market here. Jack and I were talking before the pot and we're thinking cough drops with Kleenex tissues as the packaging. Yeah, you open up the cough drop and you have a tissue ready for the next time you sneeze. Or Jack, could Ricola come out with a grilled cheese cough drop?
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It's not good for the wear and tear on your tires, but it is good for keeping people driving the speed limit. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And if you're sucking on a soup cough drop, all the more power to you. You look even better. And as always, we'd love if you shared the show with a friend because that's how we grow. HYHTBOI, have you heard the best one yet?
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And Jack and I will see you tomorrow. If you know, you know. And there's the third one. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Jack Gonzalez over in Chicago doing logistics. Happy birthday to Felipe Scalette in St. Louis, Missouri, who listens with dad in the car. And Brooklyn Barco down in Phoenix, huge ABBA fan, is a dancing queen for the birthday celebration.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And I just have one question for birthday girl Amanda Balce in Vancouver, British Columbia. Who is the current quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers? We heard that you know more NFL quarterbacks than the rest of your family.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It's a birthday celebration. Happy birthday. And to the Kansas Yetis out there, happy Kansas Day. Big day for Kansas. Well, Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for Kansas. True, true, true. They got two. And Chris Marslender, 3V, and the Chia Network team, congratulations on launching a brand new financial product, Permuto. Permuto. Cool name. It is a cool name, Jack. Cooler than X money.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And if you want to get a shout out on this podcast, all you got to do is fill out the form in our episode description. This is Jack. Nick and I both own one Bitcoin. And his name is Ben. Somebody recently asked me, who likes alliterations more, Nick or you? I was like, that's a tough race. I couldn't tell you. It works. It works every time.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Would that kill them over there? Only if it came with a side of tomato soup cough drops. Okay, Jack, here's what I'm thinking. An oatmeal flavored Dayquil cough syrup. Would you buy that? If it knocks me out and has me sleep through the night, I would buy that. Again, we'll take two.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
So besties, if you're sniffling, wiping your nose or sneezing right now, you don't actually need a spoon to solve your physical problems. You can just suck on a soup drop instead. Tissue sold separately. Jack, let's hit our three stars.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Now, Yeti's Nvidia stock is still down 10%, but the rest of the market thinks a low-cost AI provider, even from China... is a potential good thing. Just like we said in yesterday's pod, actually. But in the meantime, Jack and I found three fantastic stories for you. Jack, what's on today's T-boy? For our first story, Twitter just turned into a financial firm.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
For our first story, X, formerly known as Twitter, just announced a partnership with Visa for peer-to-peer Venmo-like payments. Is X on its way to becoming the everything app or is it a nothing app? And why does this remind us of Beyonce? I haven't told you this part, Jack, but it just did remind me of Beyonce. You ready? I'll save for the takeaway. Okay. I got you.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
But yetis, have you ever heard of Goldman Musk? How about JP Twitter or Morgan Stanley Tweet? Well, now you will because Elon's ex finally announced their first big payments feature powered by Visa. It's called Ex Money. It's basically a Wall Street and social media love child. Yeah, which got its daddy's credit card.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And it's been a long time coming because financial payments, that is a regulated sport. So in the two years since Elon has owned Twitter, he's been quietly gaining approval from all the states to do something with finance. And he's up to 41 states that have approved it. Well, here's the news.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Instead of securing the final nine states to build out his own finance network on social media, Elon is partnering with Visa. Everyone with an ex-account will soon be able to send money to other ex-users through their Visa debit card. And then ex-users could actually transfer money to their bank accounts using X. Your move, Instagram.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
So if you just had brunch with buddies, you can tweet a picture of the pancakes and then pay Timmy on X for everyone to see. Because the ultimate millennial flex really is telling people what you just spent money on indirectly through emoji. All right, so Elon has always wanted X to become the everything app, right? I like that that got a little chuckle out of you, Jack.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It wasn't a huge chuckle, but it was a little bit of a chuckle. Well, back to Elon. Soon, with this news, you can buy anything on X, right? Well... I got to pause the pod on you right there. And you know why, don't you? Internally, Nick and I call this section of the story the caveats. Because first of all, X money isn't a thing yet. They only announced that it will launch, and I quote, this year.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Yeah, you got to bring a huge grain of salt the size of the Atlantic to this thing. Because Elon said back in 2022 that he would have payments on X by 2023. And with Tesla, everything he announces ends up being five years later. Like the cyber car. So it wouldn't be a surprise if X money launches way later than this year.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Also, we should point out that Visa didn't actually say anything about this new deal at all either. And the entire announcement from X was just one tweet by the CEO, Linda Iaccarino. 61 words total. We were looking for a press release. We couldn't find one. Finally, Jack, when you look at what this product is, what is X actually launching here?
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
They're just launching a copycat of Venmo, which has been around for 16 years already. We would call this Venmo 2.0, but it kind of is just Venmo 1.0. Yeah, 16 years after Venmo. So this news doesn't really make X the everything app, kind of makes X the like maybe something, anything more app. We'll see. But we've said that Elon practices roundup marketing.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Because X is partnering with Visa. But there is one golden anchor that everyone in finance really wants. And X doesn't have it yet.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
When he's not quite done with a product, he always just rounds it up. Well, the new Venmo version of X is the perfect example of it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over in finance? The real measure of success in finance is direct deposit. Ah, yetis. For X to really become the everything app or a finance app, it has got to get your direct deposit, your weekly paycheck.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
The ultimate anchor product in banking is where your paycheck goes. Yeah, that's the direct deposit. Basically, if all your financial things, products, and accounts are destiny's child, then the direct deposit is the Beyonce. You see what I'm saying, Jack? Basically, whatever bank account gets your direct deposit, that's where you link your credit cards.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
That's where you make most of your transactions. If you request a loan, it's probably from that bank. It's the anchor of your financial existence. The fintech industry is so desperate to get your customer direct deposit that they offer bonuses just to move it over there. And when we worked at Robinhood, a fintech company, it was a key internal goal.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
They were always asking, how can we get people to send their paychecks to their Robinhood account? So yeah, it is this Visa announcement. It could be the start of a respectable financial business for the social media platform X. But the real measure of success in finance and payments It's direct deposit. Because if finance is destiny's child, then direct deposit is the Beyonce. Okay.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
That's pretty good. It's pretty good.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
For our second story, there's one stock beating Bitcoin since the pandemic, and it's Royal Caribbean Cruises. A Americans are going gaga for cruises because the cruise is the value meal of vacations. And our third and final story is the biggest winner of the Trump presidency so far, the space industry. Space.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
For our second story, the comeback stock since the pandemic is Royal Caribbean Cruises. Royal Caribbean is now expanding from oceans to rivers. America is absolutely gaga for cruises because it's the value meal of vacations. Jack, let's whip out the calendars here. Take us back to March 9th, 2020. What did we see when we looked out the window?
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☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
March 9th, 2020 is when the pandemic symbolically arrived in the United States via cruise ship. That's right. The ship was quarantined in San Francisco Bay. A hundred people were on board who had COVID. And Jack and I were recording an episode in San Francisco. Remember, we waved to the ship. I saw it go under the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Yeti's no industry was more hurt during the pandemic than the cruise industry. Stock in Royal Caribbean fell from January to March of that year, just two months, by 85%. Airlines got a bailout, but cruises did not. Cruise stocks were all in the dumpster for three full years. Investors avoided them like the plague because they kind of had the plague on board, potentially. Literally. Literally.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
But since 2022, Jack and I have been keeping track, and no stock has recovered more from its pandemic lows than one particular cruise stock. Royal Caribbean. Yeah. If you bought stock of Royal Caribbean in mid-2022, congratulations, because it has 8x'd in value since then. That's right. This cruise stock is outperforming Bitcoin over there.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And Royal Caribbean just put a cherry on top of the self-served ice cream sundae you did on the poop deck. Right next. They're now expanding to a new body of water. Here's the news, yetis. Royal Caribbean is launching lake cruises. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I read that wrong. Pond cruises. I'm sorry, Jack. I read that wrong. Royal Caribbean is launching river cruises. Starting with Europe.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
This is bad news for Viking river cruises, which we've all seen the commercials targeting senior citizens. That's true. They fell 12% on news of new competition from Royal Caribbean. But it is great news for Royal Caribbean, whose stock jumped to a new all-time high on news they are moving to a different body of water. And it's not just that Royal Caribbean stock has recovered from the pandemic.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Their stock today is twice as high as it was ever before the pandemic. Jack, do you still own Norwegian crew stock over there? No, I bought Carnival for a short period. How did that go? I should have hung on to it, but I felt guilty about it. Story for another podcast. In the meantime, Yetis, toss on your tankinis because Americans have gone gaga for all sorts of cruises these days.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Pre-pandemic, Royal Caribbean could charge $150 per person per night to ride on their cruise ships. All right, Jack, what's it going to cost you now if you want to get the unlimited shrimp buffet on a Royal Caribbean? They've jacked up prices by 48%. They're now charging $223 per person per night on average. That's not even the best part, is it, man?
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Satisfied cruisers are telling Royal Caribbean they would do a river cruise with them too if they would offer it. So Royal Caribbean ordered up 10 new river boats and they're making their maiden voyage down the Danube River in 2027. The next MTV spring break, maybe on a Royal Caribbean Mississippi River cruise going down to like Panama City Beach. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Trump has started a new space race, so we need to tell you about the four final frontiers. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. How's that for alliteration? We got three Fs in that final one, Jack. Not too shabby. Could we buy a consonant? But Nick, right now, every family I know has at least one sick person in it. Well, Jack, it makes sense. It is peak runny nose season.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Heads up if you live on the bayou, because apparently Royal Caribbean is going to do an Okefenokee swamp trip the next time. Did you say whompy swampy? I said Okefenokee. And if you know Jack, you know. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the freshwater cruise industry? Cruises are the value meal of vacations. Yetis, back in May of last year, Viking Cruises IPO'd.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
We covered it on this pod. They were capitalizing on record demand for cruises. Then in December of last year, we covered news that Disney is doubling their cruise ship fleet from six vessels to 12 vessels. Suddenly now, Royal Caribbean is racing to the Rhine with River Cruises 2. What's going on, man? The reason is easy. Cruises are a cheap vacation with one clear price.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
It's an all-inclusive ticket. Full disclosure, not a cruise guy. I like a land spa, Jack. I want to be seated during my massage. You're not a cruise guy because you love planning vacations. No, that's true. And cruises are the opposite of that. You don't plan at all. No, I would jump off in the middle of the ocean. Oh.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
But with a cruise, you don't need to fly because the cruises now depart from 51 different port cities. Pretty appealing. So you can bring the family on a vacation just by driving to your nearest port. Yeah, cruises have gotten more expensive as cruise lines have more pricing power right now, but... But they're still an affordable choice overall in the $2 trillion global tourism market.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Besties, in this inflation ravaged economy, there is value in offering value meals. Donald's offers a value meal that's one low price and includes everything you need. So does Royal Caribbean with their cruise tickets. And that is why cruises are at all time highs right now. They've always been a value meal of vacations. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
For our third and final story, 10 days into the Trump presidency, one industry has taken off, and that industry is space. Space docs and space startups are popping right now. So we have to talk about the four final frontiers. This is Major Tom to ground control. I'm buying shares of SpaceX. I love that song by David Bowie. Reminds me of that scene from Walter Mitty, If You Know, You Know.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
We already said If You Know, You Know on the show, Jack. You can't say it twice now. Too many people won't know. Yeti's one overlooked detail about President Trump's first term as president, he actually established the sixth branch of our military, the Space Force. 50 years after we landed on the moon, the Space Force was established in 2019.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Schools are teaming up with tissues these days. So chances are you could use a bowl of soup or maybe a cough drop right now. But yetis, if that's the case, Jack and I have some fantastic practical news for you. And what is it, Jack? Progressive Soup Company just invented soup drops. Get this. It's not a cough drop and it's not a soup. It's a soup drop. Let's explain. It's a lentil lozenge.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
And it immediately took over the Space Command from the United States Air Force. And guess what? That means the Space Force already has a space base. And guess where it is? Where is it, Jack? The very northern tip of Greenland. That's right. We've already got a military base in Greenland, and it's the Space Force.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Now, everyone knows that Trump loves tariffs and attention, but his favorite industry may be space. After all, Trump's first buddy, Elon Musk, is the planet's top space entrepreneur with SpaceX. And at his inauguration, Trump said that he will, and I quote, "...pursue our manifest destiny into the stars and place the stars and stripes on the planet Mars."
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Jack, aren't you reading like a little kid's space book to the pod sun right now? Yeah, I'm reading a National Geographic book about space. Are you learning anything? I'm learning more than the kids are. Get this. One day on Mars is almost exactly equal to one day on planet Earth. Can I explain? Hit me. What do we got? Earth takes 24 hours to spin around, i.e. one day.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
Mars takes 24 hours as well, plus 37 minutes. Yeah. What are the chances we have the same day length with Mars? Those Martians are the same age as us. We really are similar. Yeah. But yet, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Donald Trump's JFK-style race to Mars mission, it's actually brought the attention of Wall Street to space. We found six pure play outer space stocks.
The Best One Yet
☄️ “The 4 Frontiers” — Space Inc.’s Trump jump. X’s Venmo-y Visa deal. Royal Caribbean’s value meal.
that are all up double digits so far this year. Yeah, to quote the movie Wicked, all these space docks are defying gravity right now. Intuitive Machines, for example. They're making vehicles that can drive on the moon and on Mars. They're up double digits. Or Jack Rocket Labs. They provide rocket launch services to NASA and other space groups. How about this company called Redwire?
The Best One Yet
🏃 “We Met on Strava” — Strava’s $2B run app. Nuclear’s hot streak. Nespresso’s Frappu-pivot.
Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🏃 “We Met on Strava” — Strava’s $2B run app. Nuclear’s hot streak. Nespresso’s Frappu-pivot.
So how about we say our three stories? 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🏃 “We Met on Strava” — Strava’s $2B run app. Nuclear’s hot streak. Nespresso’s Frappu-pivot.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🏃 “We Met on Strava” — Strava’s $2B run app. Nuclear’s hot streak. Nespresso’s Frappu-pivot.
It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
It spreads across Southeast Asia, making its way to, among other places, South Vietnam.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
They don't blame anybody. They just say, I am so sorry that you don't have sriracha on your shelves this season.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
Apparently, taste perception is different in a zero-gravity environment, which makes tasting astronaut food kind of unpleasant. Okay.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Nick and I will be back Monday. Have a great weekend. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
Yeah, they get past the booby traps because the girl can play the organ.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire
It's 2011. Nick, you and I are roommates living in our shared apartment in the East Village of New York.
The Best One Yet
💑 “The Parenting Pod” — Our 3 Best Pop-Biz Stories on Parenting
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
🎩 “Cheat on Anything” — Cluely’s cheating app. Home Depot’s secret garden. The Fed’s Batman independence.
Jack, let's hit our three stars. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🎩 “Cheat on Anything” — Cluely’s cheating app. Home Depot’s secret garden. The Fed’s Batman independence.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🫰 “Andreessen-In-Chief” — Trump’s Venture Cabinet. Netflix’s Live Adele Quarter. Trump’s Executive Orders.
38.
The Best One Yet
🫰 “Andreessen-In-Chief” — Trump’s Venture Cabinet. Netflix’s Live Adele Quarter. Trump’s Executive Orders.
38.
The Best One Yet
🫰 “Andreessen-In-Chief” — Trump’s Venture Cabinet. Netflix’s Live Adele Quarter. Trump’s Executive Orders.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
Talk Like Yoda Day today is.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
You can be Tom Brady, you plant nanny on weekends. Yetis, remember to five stars, drop down and give us please. Because the best way to show the grow.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
And Now, personally, I should point out, I believe Jack has been fighting for three years to keep his bird of paradise alive. Is that true, man?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
Either the market wants it or the market doesn't.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
That's true. That's true.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
And today's pod is the best one yet.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
I'm sorry, Harris. Can we get a recount over there?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
What?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
You did say that.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
That's right. According to the New York Times, plant nannies will now come to your home to pamper your plants.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Trader-Costco-Gonia” — America’s favorite brands. Dockers’ Casual Friday innovation. Klarna’s revenue-per-human.
Operator!
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, November 20th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This, this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. I could get used to this, Jack. I'm wearing the same sweatsuit three days in a row. I like it. Yetis, the winners have been picked for our T-boy holiday merch giveaway number one. We actually have a second and final giveaway.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
They were going for the combo of low prices and convenience. You used to hit up Target, J.Crew, and Whole Foods on a Saturday, but now one Walmart trip does the trick. And it's because of Walmart Plus. Walmart's free shipping for online and a bunch of other perks that are in one annual new subscription. Walmart Plus has 50 million paying members. 50 million. Million.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Now that is about a quarter as big as Amazon Prime, but it is still 50 million Americans, man. And most of them are the upper income folk. And that's why I just saw Bugatti in the Walmart shopping mart. No, you didn't. Could have been Bezos. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Walmart? Execution is underrated. Yeah, it is.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Interesting thing Jack and I have noticed in over a decade of working and covering Wall Street. Many of the most valuable companies in the stock market are valued so high based on their potential. Right now, Tesla has the potential to win in autonomous driving and humanoid robots, so it's worth a trillion dollars.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Jack, right now, every tech company has the potential to blow up profits through AI, so they're all valued really high. Even oil companies, they're at record high valuations, partly on the potential to transition to clean energy. But Walmart pretty much only gets rewarded for its execution, not its potential.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
And the people in Bentonville, Arkansas, they've been executing on transitioning to the Amazon-dominated e-commerce world. Which is why Walmart is shockingly the best-performing non-tech stock of 2024. Execution.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Get this, Yetis. A piece of art is expected to sell today for one and a half million dollars at a Sotheby's auction. And that art is a banana duct taped to a wall. This normal but really expensive banana is actually the work of an Italian artist named Maurizio Catalan. He's actually made three pieces of this one-of-a-kind artwork. Yeah, no joke.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Jack, you'll whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday. To end Google's monopoly, the DOJ wants Google to be forced to sell Chrome. But if that happens, besties, would consumers actually be better off? Would you take a monopoly for efficiency? Let us know what you think in the comments. For our second story, it's Jersey Mike's. They just sold for $8 billion.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
It is booming while other restaurants are busting. Jersey Mike's advantage? It's training. This food chain is really an education company. And our third and final story is Walmart. It's the best non-tech stock of 2024 as everyone flocks to their low prices. Walmart stock. It is proof that execution is underrated. And that's why Bezos gets his avocados from Walmart. I'm not fact-checking, man.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Buddy Timmy was in the text. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Greece. Yeah, the country that struggled with all those debts, they just repaid $5 billion in long-term debt early. It's an incredible show of financial strength for a formerly debt-ravaged country. Second, Shake Shack and Delta just formed a new partnership 35,000 feet high.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Delta will now serve Shake Shack burgers on domestic flights starting on December 1st from Boston, and then it expands. That sounds amazing. Yeah, it does. The Shack burger is Delta's new competitive advantage for airline loyalty. And finally, we just got the numbers on that epic Netflix fight. It was the most streamed sports event in history. 108 million watchers globally.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But that live stream was riddled with glitches. This puts Netflix under some major pressure on Christmas Day when they're streaming their first ever live NFL game. And as we mentioned yesterday, Beyonce is doing the halftime show of that Netflix Christmas Day football game. No pressure, Netflix. If Netflix glitches that halftime show, there's going to be riots. No pressure.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Vito over in sunny Santa Monica. On Monday, we did a story on the only child economy. How the only children in America make different financial and career decisions that have an impact on our economy. Only children are less likely to be entrepreneurs, but they're more likely to become CEOs. Now, interesting detail here.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
We mentioned that Leonardo da Vinci was an example of a legendary only child in history. Slight correction here. Yeah. While he was an only child from his two parents together, he ended up having 17 half-siblings. After Da Vinci's parents had him, they both went on to have more kids with other spouses in Tuscany, so Leonardo da Vinci ended up with 17 half-siblings.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
It was a complex family situation, though, so he kind of... He was basically risen... as an only child. Yeah, and then he basically just focused on flying things and building rocket ships and making a lot of drawings, so he never interacted with them. I love how Mona Lisa's like an afterthought when it comes to da Vinci's resume. That's why Leonardo da Vinci would have shopped at Walmart, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Okay, that's enough. Yetis, you'll look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday, but you'll look even more fantastic if you snag some T-Boy merch because you only got 24 more hours to do it. It's a pre-order. It's going to arrive before Christmas, and you're going to look fantastic if you buy this product. Jack, I'm going to move right up to the camera right now so people can see the merch.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
It's a puffed white hoodie. The hoodie's amazing. Touch it.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
If you're watching on YouTube, check this out. If you're not on YouTube, check us out on Instagram. All these products look fantastic. I'm so proud of it, Jack. It feels like really running a lifestyle business here. The best one yet. This is so cool. Alex is really upset. I haven't gotten her a second. We got to get more orders.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
So yeah, he's going to tboypod.com slash shop and grab your merch ASAP. We dropped a link in the episode description too. Nick, And before we go, a congratulations to Yeti's Nick and Bridget Rothwell in Hanover, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, who are celebrating their fourth and most fantastic wedding anniversary. Congrats, guys.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
There are three versions of this one piece of banana stuck to wall. Oh, and twice, the banana actually got eaten. The art was on display in South Korea, and a museum visitor ate the banana. We're actually glad someone ate this really expensive banana, because otherwise it would have rotted in like three days. Rotting aside, the investors don't care because...
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Happy 35th birthday to Nevin, who's celebrating with his girlfriend Sonia at an incredible dinner, Albee, in Washington, D.C. And Karen Tsai in Overland Park, Kansas, is celebrating a birthday as a huge Chiefs fan, almost undefeated. Happy birthday to the future business dragon, Luke Baker, in skinny-at-lees New York. And Jacob Haft, happy 25th birthday doing logistics in Chicago.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
And a happy 70 to Sandy Freshy in Menlo Park, California. What a birthday bash. 70th Not Too Shabby in Grover Byer to turn 13 years old celebrating down in Jacksonville, Florida. Happy 10-year birthday to Matthew Stewart of Houston, Texas, who, like me, loves tall buildings. Loves them. I still look up at the skyscrapers when I'm in New York City. Never gets old. Congrats, Matthew.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
And Austin Belhansley in Morrisville, North Carolina, is celebrating his best birthday yet with wife Lex and their cats, Maze and Max. And finally, a big shout out to Jeremy Braunschweig, who reaches out to us on Instagram. Jeremy's been a Yeti for years because he says this show makes him a most interesting person in the room.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But he just shared it with his sister, who now may become the most interesting person in the room. So thanks for sharing it, Jeremy, and sharing the spotlight of being the most interesting. Yeah, Jeremy, that kind of backfired, actually.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
You're both the most interesting. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix. Nick owns stock of Delta and Shake Shack. And we both own stock of Apple. And we both own one Bitcoin, whose name is Ben.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Because the first banana duct taped to a wall sold for 120 grand five years ago. But today, this provocative banana art is going for $1.5 million. Unclear whether they replaced the banana or not with a fresh one. And yet it is going for 10 times the original price. Sit down, stand up, and peel it again, man. Nick, I know banana prices have risen the past five years, but this better be organic.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Oh, yeah, it is Jack and I. We are taking bids right now in a poll on Spotify about this banana art. Will this banana duct tape to the wall go over one and a half million dollars or under one and a half million dollars? FYI, the wall is not included. Congratulations in advance to the Bitcoin bro, who is the new proud owner of this banana artwork.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
You're going to have to DIY and tape that banana to the wall after you drop a million and a half bucks on it. Let's hit our three stars. Hey, Shakita, you hear the price up?
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
If you missed it, go to Instagram for details. We're giving away our T-boy holiday merch. And you know what, Jack? I'm going to wear it tomorrow. I'm going to go four days a while in the same T-boy sweatsuit. It looks beautiful. Our T-boy holiday merch collection. Pre-orders end Thursday at noon Pacific, and they'll arrive by Christmas. Go to tboypod.com slash shop. Snag yours now.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
For our first story, Google may have to split off its prized internet browser, Google Chrome. If that happens, Google would be the first big tech company ever to be forcibly broken up. We've got like three relationship analogies to explain all of it.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But Jack, I'm looking back on the history of this fantastic podcast, and we've covered Google Search, we've covered Google Ads, we've covered Google Maps, we've covered Google Gmail. Covered pretty much the whole Google universe, except Google Chrome. Google Chrome, the web browser that controls 61% of all of our access to the internet. Three billion people use Chrome to access the internet.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
It's installed on MacBooks, iPhones, PCs, Android phones, anything connected to the web. It might be connected to Chrome too. Besties, you want to know how Google has 90% of all internet search? A key part is the 61% they get from Chrome. The Google universe, it's bigger than the Marvel superhero universe. But wait, there's more. Chrome also tracks your activity while you're logged in on Chrome.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
which lets Google target you with freakishly relevant ads that are even more freakishly profitable for Google. You want to know how Jack shows up in this podcast studio in a new cute top every other week? Well, it's because he's Googling these ads and Google Chrome serves him up some cute tops. Well, here's the news. Chrome might be forcibly separated from the rest of Google by our courts.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Now, Jack, could you please approach the bench and sprinkle on some legal context for us over there? In August, a federal judge ruled that Google is an illegal monopoly when it comes to online search. So to remedy that, you know, illegal monopoly situation, the Department of Justice is asking the judge to force Google to sell Chrome. We've never covered a story like this on our pod.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
No, we have not. So yeah, Google might have to break up with Chrome. I mean, I'm feeling the vibes here. Now we should point out, investors might actually be relieved by this news because the DOJ could have asked the courts for something even more painful. Good point. The government could have asked the courts to make Google sell YouTube or sell Android or sell Gmail.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Those are hugely valuable, all of them to Google. Or randomly sell Waymo, which would have made no sense, but would have been a wild story too. Could happen too, but still for the first time ever, a big tech company may be forced to sell a hugely popular product that's also a profit puppy. If Chrome became its own company, that'd be really cool for the news. We would dive in T-Boys outside S1.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
We'd be on the New York Stock Exchange for that IPO. I mean, this would be fun for us to cover. I mean, think about it. If Google had to do this, they would probably end up IPO-ing Chrome and selling off all the stock in this internet browser company.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
In the meantime, Jack. We got three wonderful stories for today's show. What's on the pod, man? For our first story, Google's Chrome browser dominates the internet. It's used by 60% of Americans. But now the courts may order Google to sell off its record-breaking browser. For our second story, Jersey Mike's. This submarine sandwich chain was just acquired by PE for $8 billion.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
besties what we're saying is you could end up buying stock in chrome the number one internet browser that could be its own publicly traded company soon or instead of an ipo google could just sell chrome to one company let's whip out the whiteboard here jack who even thinking that chrome could get sold to open ai would love to own chrome oh they would they would oh and chrome's price tag it's estimated by one analyst to be worth about 20 billion dollars
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Now, we should point out, if Alphabet does have to sell Chrome, don't cry for them. They're going to get paid if they get rid of Chrome. Handsomely. Google would get paid billions of dollars in cash from the spinoff. Again, Chrome is worth about four lifts. And then they could use that money to build another internet browser.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But either way, this big news update is like a chaperone breaking up two teenagers who've been grinding on the dance floor, Jack. The DOJ thinks that separating Chrome from the rest of Google would restore competition on the internet and that customers would be better off. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in big tech? Would consumers actually benefit from this split up?
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Yeah, it is. There is a reason why our government has broken up monopolies since the Teddy Roosevelt days. Monopolies, like Standard Oil Company, they destroy competition, they raise prices, and consumers get screwed. But interesting alternative argument here. Today, with tech, it's possible that consumers are fine with it. After all, all these big tech products, they are free.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
The way that big tech abuses their monopoly is very different than the way old monopolies abuse their monopolies. Yeah, picture this, Yetis, your everyday usage. Like, there is a frictionless magic to iPhone, AirPods, and iMessage all syncing up in the Apple universe. And there's a frictionless magic to Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Chrome all syncing up on your laptop.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
So in theory, yeah, consumers, yeah, we benefit from more choices like splitting up Google and Chrome. But in practice... consumers might be okay with this big tech monopoly situation. You may prefer the seamlessness to the split up. But besties, we want to know what you think. Drop an idea in the comments. Do you think consumers would be better off if Chrome was separated from the rest of Google?
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
For our second story, Jersey Mike's, the sandwich chain, just sold for $8 billion. But Jersey Mike's Subs isn't actually in the food business. Good point, Jack. They're in the education business. And we'll explain. But funny things yet is, you know, Jack and I have noticed that even more so than politics, few things are more divisive than the terms we use for sandwiches.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Where I grew up, we called the sandwich a grinder. Like I want a six inch meatball grinder. Jack, where I grew up in New York, they were calling them heroes. When I was in Philadelphia for business school, they were calling them hoagies. Down on the Jersey shore though, they're called submarines. Oh, and the submarines from Jersey Mike's are huge.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Jersey Mike's basically turned the cold cuts into a hot business. Let's jump in, Jack. Founded in 1956 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Jersey Mike's has 4,000 locations today. Jersey Mike's is basically Subway's cooler, more profitable cousin topped in oil and vinegar, drowning in oil and vinegar. Or the juice, as they call it in Jersey. If you know, you know. But here's the news, yetis.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Jersey Mike's was just acquired by a private equity firm for twice the value of Lyft. Blackstone is the proud new owner of Jersey Mike's, but they didn't buy it for the Capicola. No, they didn't. They bought Jersey Mike's for the cash flow. Yeah. You know, the state of New Jersey, it is known for Taylor Ham Jack, but Jersey Mike's is known for turning profits, and we got the numbers and receipts.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But Nick, now that they're owned by PE, those meat slicers are going to have a lot of mileage put on them. Blackstone, they're getting hungry for that gobble ghoul. But Jack, I got to ask at this point. Let's talk mortadella. I mean, money. What is the context on the broader restaurant industry right now? This is the worst year for restaurants in years.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But Jersey Mike's isn't really in the food industry. We think Jersey Mike's is in the education industry. And our third and final story is the best performing company of the year that isn't tech. What is it, Jack? Walmart. It's Walmart, Yetis. Walmart is winning thanks to six digit salaries. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I'm comfy. You're comfy. Three wonderful stories.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Besties, remember that whole $20 Big Mac drama we talked about over the summer? People are upset about restaurant prices, and they've been trading down to frozen pizzas. In fact, so far in 2024, it's been a record number of restaurant bankruptcies in America. And yet- Jersey Mike's is defying all those trends. They're feasting on record revenues and just had a really nice exit to private equity.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
So in order for us to really analyze Jersey Mike's, Jack and I thought we needed a comp, a comparison. So Jack, how can we compare Jersey Mike's to Subway? We can compare it to Subway. There's 4,000 Jersey Mike's locations compared to Subway's 40,000. Okay, so Subway has 10 times as many locations. But what about Jersey Mike's performance on a per location basis?
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
average Jersey Mike's has one and a half million dollars of sales per location, which is three times more than your average Subway location. Subway's only doing $500,000 per location. I mean, Quiznos would kill for these kind of Jersey Mike's numbers. So Jersey Mike's is crushing it at each location and they're growing really fast too.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
In the last five years, Jersey Mike's has opened more locations than any other fast food brand other than Starbucks. Mike's Way must be the right way. But what is Mike's Way? It's actually our takeaway. It's in the gabagool. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Jersey Mike's? Jersey Mike's is actually in the education business.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Now, Yetis, Jack and I have talked about franchise businesses before, but Jersey Mike's is 95% franchisees. Basically, the vast majority of the company is run and managed by other people. So the success of this chain depends on the small business person who opens a Jersey Mike's in their neighborhood. And Jersey Mike's doesn't own these locations.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
They just give the brand, the recipes, and the playbook. The franchisee owners are the ones who own and operate most of the locations, 95%. And that's why the CEO said last year, we're really a training company. That's right. Jersey Mike's ran over 5,000 classes last year to train the franchisees. That was their real business.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
They're teaching those local franchise owners who are just getting into the sandwich business how to properly slice that salami. In fact, Jersey Mike's nine-week training program for new franchisees, it's twice as long as the Burger King program. So Jersey Mike's real success, it's not in sandwiches, it's in seminars.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
So in a year of record restaurant bankruptcies, why is Jersey Mike's enjoying record revenues? Because Jersey Mike's realized they're actually in the education industry. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
For our third and final story, Walmart only speaks one language and that language is low prices, which is why Walmart just had its best quarter in its entire history. Here's why the best non-tech stock of 2024 is Walmart and why rich people love Walmart now. But Jack, why don't we just kick things off by going straight to the charts? What kind of numbers have we seen over at Walmart, man?
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Walmart stock is up 66% so far this year, which is its best year since 1999. Besties, if you want to know why Walmart stock is doing so well, well, just read their slogan again. Walmart's slogan used to be always low prices. Always. Always. They threw in like three always. They had to make it really, really clear. But since 2007, it's been save money, live better.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
I love the mix, Jack. How much would you pay for a banana? Jack, I'd pay 25 cents. How about a banana and a piece of duct tape? Maybe 50 cents. How about a banana duct taped to a wall? Jack, I'm going back down to 10 cents. I'm going to pay him 10 cents. False. How about one and a half million dollars, Nick? One and a half million bucks for a banana taped to a wall. Please go on, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
So in this year of inflation, a vibe session, and people getting pissed about the price of a peach in this economy, record numbers of shoppers have been coming to Walmart for those low prices. Sit down, stand up, and attention Walmart shoppers. Here's the news. Walmart just announced their best ever revenue and best ever profit for the third quarter.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Besties, every fast food chain we cover has been offering value meals because they're desperate to win back the love of customers. Value meals is all that Walmart does. That's all they are. In every aisle of the store. Walmart is basically a value meal company from aisle one to aisle 42, especially in grocery, which now makes up 60% of Walmart sales.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
But yet here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Jack, who is Walmart thanking for their new sales record? People with six-figure salaries. Wealthy people are fueling the latest Walmart surge. It's the six-figure salaries, Bessie's interesting detail we noticed in the earnings. But it is not just lower-income people shopping at Walmart right now.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
They've always gone to Walmart to save money. It is now high-end people shopping at Walmart too. Walmart said that last quarter they gained market share, meaning some people left competitor stores and went to Walmart instead. And the shoppers, they were putting their Walmart goods in a Birkin bag.
The Best One Yet
🛒 “Where the rich shop” — Walmart’s renaissance. Jersey Mike’s $8B sandwich. Google’s Chrome divorce.
Walmart said that three quarters of their new customers were upper income, people who made over a hundred grand per year. I heard that Jeff Bezos now shops at Walmart. No, you didn't. Yeah, our buddy Timmy texted us. For the record, Daddies, this is a rumor. Unconfirmed, unconfirmed. In the meantime, though, the rich, like Bezos, didn't just go to Walmart for the low prices.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
How do you do, fellow kids? Try to not be that guy.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
That's true. And if the other person swiping is a science nerd, they'll be very turned on by that remark.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
Please don't make this a thing.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
Don't know what this Ineality stuff is, which is fine. I'm fine to be like the ignorant doofus. Occasionally.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
I think you took it too far on that one, Jack, but we'll blame your Audi for it. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
👿 “Don’t Pick Duke” — March Madness investing advice. Google’s biggest acquisition. Corporate Nickname Curse.
I have no idea. That must be something that went way over my head.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, December 18th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeti is one reason we lost our voices last week. What was it, Jack? The Knicks game in J.G. Mellon. Also, we were preparing bonus podcasts for the holidays for you, the besties out there. True.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And NVIDIA's chip eggs are the most expensive thing on earth right now. Good point, Jack. So besties, add it all up. And today there are eight American tech companies worth $1 trillion. And together they form an amazing new acronym. Oh, it's amazing. Jack, why don't you list off those companies? Here's the eight companies. Broadcom, Alphabet, Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And Jack, what do the first letters of all those companies spell out? Batman. Batman. Double M, double A, because you know you got Amazon and Alphabet and Apple in there. But it still spells out Batman. When Nick and I worked at banks, there were five big tech stocks, and Wall Street liked to refer to them as the FANG stocks.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And last year, there were seven big tech stocks, and Wall Street referred to them as the Magnificent Seven Stocks. But now with Broadcom in the mix, that's a solid consonant. The letter B? Yeah, yeah. It changes the acronym potential immensely. Totally. We now have eight tech companies worth a trillion dollars known as Batman. Yetis, get this.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
The eight Batman companies are worth a combined $19 trillion. That means those eight companies alone are worth more than the entire stock markets of the European Union and China combined. Sit down, stand up, and put on a cape again. It's insane how top-heavy our stock market is, dominated by tech stocks. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Batman Stocks?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Within AI, there's guts companies and there's brains companies. Now, Yetis, we have said before that behind everything digital, there is something physical. Behind every chatbot, there's a server humming with NVIDIA chips inside. Well, that physical digital combo is a really good framework to understand where all the players in artificial intelligence sit.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Batman. The Batman stocks. It's a real thing. And Batman stocks. It's happening. This is Jack. I own one Batman stock and I wish I owned all eight. It's hard not to be bullish on Batman, Jack. But yet it is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix for Ceviche Wednesday. Love the mix. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But Jack, is that open fire burning with chestnut tree wood?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Because, Yetis, each of the eight Batman stocks is a winner in some way of this artificial intelligence boom. For example, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla, Apple, and Alphabet are developing the brains of AI. The brains, the consumer-facing AI, like Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Copilot, Tesla's CyberCab, or Meta's AI Assistant. On the other hand, NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Amazon are building the guts of AI.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
The guts! NVIDIA has chips, Broadcom has chip infrastructure, and Amazon puts it all together as cloud computing. So the way we see it, there are eight American tech companies worth a trillion dollars that are booming with AI, and they are the Batman stocks. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for ceviche Wednesday? After 58 years, Hot Wheels sales have never been higher.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Hot Wheels, they took a trick from the candy industry. They put them near the register because that's an impulse buy. For our second story, a stegosaurus skeleton is IPO-ing on Friday. And they're targeting 31-year-olds with money, but not millionaires. This dino IPO is a reminder to not just know your customer, paint your customer. And our third and final story.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
With Broadcom hitting a trillion dollars, the Magnificent Seven is dead. It's the era of Batman. They're all AI winners. They're guts companies or they're brains companies. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, today is the big Fed decision day, probably the market's biggest day of the month because of our Federal Reserve.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Investors expect our central bank to cut interest rates across this economy by 0.25%. But there's a lot of hesitation in the markets because there's a big question about whether they'll cut rates again next year. Second, Bluey is getting a Disney movie. Bluey! But not until 2027. Yeah, those Australian puppies are profit puppies. And the franchise, it's actually worth $2 billion.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
We did a whole story on it earlier this year. So Disney's partnering with the BBC for the movie rights to that wonderful, wholesome Heeler family for the big screen. And finally, Starbucks wants to be the best job in retail, so they're making a big move, doubling down on paid parental leave.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
They're giving baristas who work at least 20 hours a week, 18 weeks if you're a birth parent, and 12 weeks if you're a non-birth parent. We're talking paid parental leave. To sprinkle on some more context, that's better than the 14 weeks guaranteed in all European Union countries. The new CEO, Brian Nicol, wants baristas to smile again, so he's giving them some nice benefits.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because you know what? When we did our dinosaur research for today's story, we dove in deep T-boy style. Dude, this is actually from Wilder. Wilder, the podson whipped this up. He came home from school the other day and he said, dad, the T-Rex is American. And I was like, what?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
The T-Rex is a native American dinosaur is what we're saying. According to Wikipedia. Tyrannosaurus rexes are from the western North America. Yeah, more T-Rexes have been found in Montana, in fact, than in any other state. And Jack, wild follow-on fact, the Stegosaurus and the T-Rex never even met. Really? There were nearly 100 million years between the Stegosaurus and the T-Rex.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, you look fantastic because tonight I'm going to Hamilton thanks to your Christmas gift. There we go. There we go. A Christmas gift for Nick and Molly. Hamilton. Nick. I'm so excited. It's a story about the United States, patriotism, ambition, and New York City. It's a combination of all the things I love.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
If a Tyrannosaurus wax walks on the screen, I'm going to like it even more. Throw in a couple hot wheels. I'm so excited for you guys to finally see Hamilton. Yetis, if you haven't yet, check out our newest episode of The Best Idea Yet, our weekly show. This one's on the untold story of Pez. We dropped the link in the episode description.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Because yetis, you may not realize it, but every flame of every fire differs depending on the wood that's being burned. The flame, the shape, the aroma, the crackle, those are the variables of classic firewood. Those are the fire fundamentals because not all fires are created equal. And it turns out there's always money in the fire shed. Get this, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And remember to hit us up at tboypod on Instagram to tell us your favorite story of the year. The best ones yet of the best one yet. We'll see you next. And before we go, a happy first birthday to Yeti Arthur Hahn in Bainbridge Island, Washington. His grandma's taking care of him because he's the best baby yet.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Happy birthday to Marlo Williams in Nahant, Massachusetts, who sings the T-Boy theme song and knows the words by heart. Just outside Boston. And Kevin Dolan, the Rangers fan, is turning 33 in Tudor City with bar trivia. Jack Kevin was at our live show. Yeah. He was looking fantastic in row four. Feels like 94. Yes, it does.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And Deegan Dwyer has got a big boy birthday down in Charlottesville, Virginia. Happy six-year anniversary of starting an accounting firm to CEO Nick Samuel of Samuel Associates. And Justina Oginaka is publishing their first children's book available on Amazon when Prince and Reggie didn't win. Great book.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And a big shout out to Justin Canney, who's starting their planuary planning over in Philadelphia. Yeah, Justin created his own planuary calendar with every weekend for the year already mapped out, which is exactly our vision of planuary. Awesome job, Justin. All of 2024's trips I had planned in January felt really satisfying to look forward to those trips.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Bestie, stay tuned because next month we got a whole lot of planuary talk. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Amazon, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Startups are now selling different types of firewoods to give you a different fire effect in your fireplace. That's why we love capitalism. You can even make a market out of a fireplace, Jet. So naturally, Nick and I dove in T-boy style to the fancy firewood industry. Hardwoods like oak, they burn slower. But softwoods like pine, they burn quicker.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Cherrywood burns quieter, while sprucewood burns louder. If you're cooking a romantic meal for two, applewood is going to waft out scents of apple. Now, Jack, if you're hosting a party for 12, then hickorywood is going to smell like nostalgia. This is Jack. I just bought a cord of firewood for $350. I think it was a good deal, but I actually don't know what kind of wood it was. This is Nick.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
I don't know what a cord is. It feels like a lot of money. Well, overall, the cracklier the sound, the more you're going to have to pay for that wood. It turns out spruce wood, to get that pop, is going to cost you a premium. I just read that kiln-dried mature wood with character goes for $250 a quarter cord. Again, I think you're making up this cord word, Jack. Doesn't seem real to me.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Never heard of that measurement. Sorry, Nick, if you buy firewood, I guarantee you it's sushi grade wood. Oh, I'm only buying the sushi grade straight out of Tokyo, Jack. See, yetis, we've discovered an entire fancy firewood industry. Yeah, real thing. Because it turns out there is some yield in that Yule log. And there's always money in the fire shack. Later up, Jack. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
We're about to take a couple weeks of vacation, but we have six bonus episodes we have prepared. And one of them that we prepared is the best one yet of the best ones yet. But we need your help to create that special episode. Yes, we do. We need you to tell us your favorite T-Boy stories of 2024. Was it the can of babes? Was it the Costco Kirkland condos? Was it our live show in New York? Maybe.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
For our first story, the hottest toy this year is one of the oldest toys in history, and that toy is the Hot Wheel. After nearly 60 years, Mattel's Hot Wheel toys, they're accelerating, while the price of Hot Wheels is actually breaking. Full disclosure, Yetis, but this is Nick, and I own... 318 Hot Wheels. Really? Unopened. I know. I didn't tell you about the opened ones. What?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
I've been to Nick's childhood bedroom. They're all hung up on the wall like it was a toy store. Yeti is the toy industry. It's struggling right now. Kids, they're shifting from traditional toys to screens. But the big outlier is Hot Wheels. Hot Wheels, the tiny toy cars with die-cast chassis. A dragon-shaped sports car. I bet that's in your collection. I got three of them. A potato-shaped SUV.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
I got four of them. 1967 first edition Ford Bronco. Yeah. That's a keeper. And according to a UBS analyst, the demand for Hot Wheels is shockingly only growing. After 58 years of selling Hot Wheels, sales of Hot Wheels are at an all-time high right now. Get this, besties. Mattel's steadiest business is Hot Wheels. Sales are up 14% and just hit $1.4 billion this year.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
That's 20% of this toy company's revenue, and one-third of Hot Wheels are sold to adults like Nick. Yeah. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, Mattel is selling 23 Hot Wheels cars every single second. That's over 700 million a year. Which leads to one of our favorite trivia questions. Who is the world's top car seller? It's Mattel.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
In fact, Mattel makes 10 times more tires than the entire global car industry. Take that, Matchbox. For the record, Hot Wheels are superior to Matchbox cars, but that's a story for another pod. So given everything Jack and I just said, Yetis, Mattel is now strategically applying the Barbie playbook to Hot Wheels. They're giving Hot Wheels a movie. That's right. Mattel hired J.J.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Abrams, director of Star Wars and Star Trek, for a live-action Hot Wheels movie. The cast and premiere date are TBD, but we think a two-inch sedan with fire paint on the doors could win an Oscar someday. Yeah. It's got potential. And since Barbie sales jumped 16% after her record-breaking film, we expect Hot Wheels sales to probably set another record in the coming years. So watch out, Ken.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Hot Wheels is Mattel's new favorite son. Which actually, Jack, leads to the wildest part about this whole Hot Wheels story. You ready for this, yetis? Hot Wheels was invented by a man named Elliot Handler. Interesting. Who was married to a woman named Ruth Handler. Interesting. who happened to invent Barbie. We repeat, Barbie and Hot Wheels inventors were married in real life.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Maybe. It was a cookie crisp. Cookie crisp. My voice is back, baby. Oh, yes, it is. So we just posted on Instagram and we would like you to comment with your picks of best stories at T-Boy Pod. Help us pick the best mix yet on Instagram by telling us your favorite T-Boy story of the year. But in the meantime, today's show is the best one we've ever done. Jack, three stories for today's show.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And together they co-founded Mattel, which has to be an episode of The Best Idea Yet. Oh, we got to do a whole deep dive on this, Jack. Now, Elliot's insight was that cars are the one product that kids can't own until they're much, much older. So he created the first car replicas, sold them at car shows, and hoped that dads during the post-World War II car boom would bring them home to their kids.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
A lot of pent-up demand. And I think that's how your car collection began. All 300 plus of them. But yes, Deez, the reason why Hot Wheels is selling better than ever right now is actually because Mattel didn't get greedy. Which leads to our takeaway. Yes, it does. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Mattel? Hot Wheels took a strategy from the candy industry. It's an impulse buy.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Yeti's shocking hero stat here. But after six decades, Hot Wheels are now cheaper than when they launched. The average price of a Hot Wheels car is $1.25. I'm looking at Mattel's website. It's $1.25 for just about every car. Jack, if you adjust for inflation, that price today is less than when it was 58 years ago. So Hot Wheels has bucked the trend of inflation. But get this.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Hot Wheels is the only toy that's widely distributed at grocery stores. That's right. Aisle 6 at Stop and Shop, you can buy Hot Wheels. In fact, pro tip, I buy them for my nieces and nephews, $1.25 at the grocery store. And they're at grocery stores because Hot Wheels borrowed a strategy from the candy industry. They're an impulse buy.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Yeah, the impulse buy, the blink buy, an unplanned purchase of a cheap surprise product at the end of your shopping trip when you're psychologically open to doing so. Kit Kats and Tic Tacs, they're kept right by the register because you're like, yeah, sure, throw it on there too. In this economy, I'll take six Hot Wheels.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Hot Wheels are priced for $1.25 and kept by the register, too, for the same reason. So Hot Wheels, they're the top toy this holiday season because they borrowed a strategy from candy. Stay cheap and stay close to the register. For our second story, the final IPO of the year is the wildest IPO of the year. Because on Friday, you can buy shares of a dinosaur.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
So we dove into the fossil financials of this wild IPO. Now, Yetis, to start with some context here, have you noticed that Jack and I have covered fewer IPOs on the podcast this year? It's true. There are half as many companies going public as there were two years ago. Jack, it's almost like IPOs have gone extinct. Interesting, because the final IPO of 2024 is a stegosaurus. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
It is a pure play paleontology stock. Ross from Friends is pumped about this because over in Wyoming, they have discovered already two-thirds of a skeleton of a stegosaurus. And Jack, why are they securitizing the Stegosaurus? Because the market for dinosaurs is booming. Yeti's last year, Ken Griffin, the financier, paid a record $45 million for another Stegosaurus dino.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
The market for Littlefoot is lit. It's the best moment for dinosaurs since 200 million BC. Yeah, that's the Cretaceous period. So when Nick and I heard about an SEC filing for a dinosaur IPO, we grabbed a pickaxe and we jumped in T-boy style. We called up our buddy, Dr. Grant, and we jumped into the numbers. Jack, let's talk about the asset. What are we looking at here, man?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
The asset that's being sold here is a Stegosaurus fossil. Late Jurassic period. It's 23 feet long, seven feet tall. And now small detail, but important detail. They found 17 of the 22 back plates of the Stegosaurus. They already got them. Those are the spiky things that come out of the back of a Stegosaurus. It's the distinguishing feature of that dino.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
What do we got on the pod? For our first story, sorry, Barbie, but Mattel's top toy this year is Hot Wheels. Hot Wheels, their sales are up 14% because Hot Wheels pumped the brakes on inflation. For our second story, for the first time ever, a stegosaurus is going public today. That's right. True story. A dino IPO.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Part of this financing is to help find the rest of those back plates of the Stegosaurus. Now, once the excavation is complete, the company is going to keep 80% of the ownership and put the dinosaur skeleton in their company museum in New York City. Sounds terrifying and awesome at the same time. Now, Jack, those are the assets. What about the financials?
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
They're selling 20% of the ownership of the Stegosaurus for $14 million spread across 200,000 shares. Mr. Wonderful, that means they value this dinosaur at 69 million bucks. So this is a fractional investing opportunity. It is. You can own a tiny share of a stegosaurus. And if it grows in value and then the owner sells it one day, you could enjoy a return on that stegovestment.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
But like any investment opportunity, there are risks. Yes, there are. The risks are that, you know, the price is pretty high after we got to research the industry. They price the shares to be 50% more expensive than Ken Griffin's stegosaurus. Now, will this dinosaur make money? Yeah, maybe. It could generate ticket income if they put it in a museum.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Or someday if they sell it at an auction for a higher price. In the meantime, though, you cannot buy this Stego stock on a stock exchange. You can only buy this stock through the Rally app. Which presents another risk. When you want to sell, there might not be a buyer there because it's not that liquid a market. Even though you want to put some fossils in your 401k.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
But when Nick and I saw the $69 million valuation and the $69 per share price of this IPO... We got curious. Yeah, life finds a way to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our dino buddies over at the Stegosaurus IPO? Don't just know your customer, paint a picture of your customer.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Yetis, the most interesting part of these financial documents that we noticed, it was the description of the potential buyer. Rally, the collectibles company that bought this dinosaur and is IPO-ing 20% of it, said this about their potential buyers. And they said the expected stock buyer is a 31-year-old who made a little bit of money, but is not necessarily a millionaire. That's specific.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
It is very specific, yeah. So before IPO-ing this stegosaurus, the startup has a very clear image of who they're trying to sell to. Yeah, maybe this guy made money on Bitcoin and wants to go to New York City to look at the Stegosaurus that he partly co-owns. He's going to tell the person next to him, I bought stock in that for $69. Someday, I'm going to sell it for $420.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
Jokes aside, this is actually an important marketing exercise for successfully launching any product, even a dinosaur stock. Paint a visual picture of the core target customer you're trying to sell to. Come up with a description of their age, their style, their finances, because the better you know them, the better you can target them.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
This dinosaur IPO for 31-year-old kind of wealthy people, but not millionaires, it's a reminder. It's a reminder to paint your customer. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
So Jack and I jumped into the dinosaur stock that was 250 million years in the making, or billion. It's million, I think. It is million. We can round up on that. For our third and final story, Broadcom just passed a $1 trillion valuation. It's the eighth American big tech company to hit that trillion dollar milestone. So Jack and I need to discuss the new acronym on Wall Street. Here it is.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
For our third and final story, with Broadcom joining the $1 trillion club, The Magnificent Seven is out. The cool way to describe big tech stocks right now? What is it, Jack? Batman. Batman. The best acronym yet. But Jack, before we talk about... The Batman. Batman. Let's talk about Broadcom. Who is Broadcom? This is the latest company to hit a $1 trillion valuation.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
And shocker, they did it thanks to AI. Broadcom has always been a chip company, but now they've got an AI division. Broadcom, based in California, makes wires, cords, and connectors that hold AI processing chips together within a data center. But Bessie's Jacker, I'm trying to think of an analogy for you for how to understand Broadcom's business.
The Best One Yet
🦕 “Dino IPO” — Stegosaurus goes public. Mattel’s Hot Wheels win. Broadcom’s BATMMAAN stocks.
If NVIDIA makes the eggs, Broadcom makes the egg carton. Yeah, we opened up the refrigerator on this. And those egg carton revenues quadrupled already this year, thanks to the AI boom. In just the last few days, Broadcom stock is up 30% after awesome earnings, making it the 12th company ever to hit four commas. Because Broadcom makes the egg carton the stuff that holds NVIDIA's chip eggs together.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
This is Nick.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
It is.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
Yeah, I'd like to report a urinal that I left in the backseat. I don't know. I just forgot to bring it out with me.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
Well, you can't see me from the bottom down, Jack. Let's just round up on that one.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
Honestly, if we're in a calm period, I'm getting scared. I don't know what that means, man. But Jack, three stories for today's show.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
Jack, don't leave that plunger in the back of your Uber X. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
That's kind of a cynical way to look at it, but you could look at it that way.
The Best One Yet
📕 “Hedge Fund University” — Harvard’s $2B battle. Coachella’s Pay-Now-Party-Later. Netflix’s Dr. Evil plan.
Literally.
The Best One Yet
🏟️ “Football = Housing” — Stadiums’ apartment strategy. Nutella’s Americanization. Hotels’ junk fee ban.
Yeah. I haven't met a girl Scotty yet.
The Best One Yet
🏟️ “Football = Housing” — Stadiums’ apartment strategy. Nutella’s Americanization. Hotels’ junk fee ban.
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🏟️ “Football = Housing” — Stadiums’ apartment strategy. Nutella’s Americanization. Hotels’ junk fee ban.
Here it is.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, March 12th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three stories at the intersection of business and pop culture. All right, the last two episodes, Jack, you revealed you're a Maxinista. And he told us you only eat Costco Kirkland food. What are you going to reel in this episode?
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
They are going to start charging for checked bags. This is blasphemy for Southwest Airlines. It begins May 28th, and the price is TBD. Basically, we just described the worst rundown of airline news since snakes on a plane. For Southwest, this wasn't just a betrayal. It was a brand betrayal. I mean, Jack, no checked bags? That was core to the entire Southwest brand.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Southwest literally trademarked the term bags fly free, and it was front and center on their website. Arguably, that is their greatest IP, bags fly free. But Southwest stock is down 50% in the last four years, putting pressure on their no-fee position. Jack, remember the great Christmas outage of 2022 when Southwest canceled two out of three flights in one day?
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Over the course of nine days during Christmas time, they canceled two-thirds of their flights. Well, Southwest business and its stock have been limping along ever since then. That's why a hedge fund acquired 10% of Southwest stock, earning themselves five seats on the company's board of directors, and they were able to make some changes to the company that put pros before cos.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
They started putting profits before customers. For example, that hedge fund just canceled the number one ranked airplane perk of all the perks. They killed the thing customers loved to boost short-term profits, turning Southwest into a fee-ocracy. Just like all the other airlines. Now, interestingly, we should point out Southwest stock rose 9% on Tuesday on this new profit-first move.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
But hearts are a little heavier at Dallas Love Field. So Jack and I were looking at the situation. Yeah, that's a short-term win for the stock. But Jack, what about the long-term? We're going to have to speak to the pilot again.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
You like the Renaissance painters? Nah, I really like the Trader Joe's chalkboardists. Why is she so into TJ's? Because Trader Joe's actually fills each location with unique and locally relevant art. Jack, let's just look at the East Village Trader Joe's back in New York City. It's the busiest Trader Joe's in the country. We live two blocks away. We shop there all the time.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
To quote Vito Corleone, loyalty is the thread that holds society together. Without loyalty, there's chaos. Yetis, in business, without loyalty, there is a price war. And that is why airlines focus so much on loyalty. Frequent flyer loyalty is what allows an airline to raise prices by 50 bucks, but you'll still pay for that ticket.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Well, the wildest part about this Southwest story, the airline actually did a survey last year that determined they would lose $300 million every year if they took away free bags. In other words- Making you pay for checked bags would get a loyal Southwest customer to start considering other airlines. But Southwest's hedge fund-dominated board, they didn't believe that survey.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And now Southwest has been changed to look like all the other airlines. They've got bag fees. They've got pay-for-your-seat selection fees. They've got fee fees. Southwest is now even on Expedia for the first time ever. So you don't have to search Expedia and then Southwest to figure out what's the cheapest. Yes, short term, all this may boost revenue for Southwest.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
But long term, being like every other airline, kills loyalty. And without loyalty, it's a price war. Or as Mr. Corleone put it, without loyalty, it's chaos. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday? As the trade war rages, the US stock market is down since we lost to Canada in hockey. It's just like a hockey fight.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Nobody wins with tariffs because both sides get punched in the teeth. For our second story, MrBeast Inc. is worth $5 billion. It might IPO someday, and they make more money on candy than content because transparency with his fans is MrBeast's best asset. And our third and final story is Southwest Airlines. They ended their beloved free checked bags, putting flyer loyalty at risk.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Loyalty, it is the thread that holds society together. Without it, there's chaos. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, there might be a ceasefire in Ukraine. Huge news. The U.S. announced yesterday it would continue funding the military in Ukraine if, in return, Ukraine would agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And all of this is contingent on Russia accepting the terms. And second, we finally have another IPO this year. And that IPO is Hinge. Not the dating app. Hinge, the virtual physical therapy app, is trying to go public. $390 million in revenue in 2024 with a net loss of $11.9 million. Hinge is an app that's going to tell you to squeeze that little inflatable ball between your knees.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
About 10 reps, three sets a day. It should launch a dating version. Like, if you have a knee injury, connect you with someone who doesn't have a knee injury, right? They just issued their IPO paperwork. We'll cover it if they make it to the New York Stock Exchange. And then finally, the Wall Street Journal reports the most annoying part of your car is the door handle.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
New cars have weird door handles. Yeah, according to Strategic Vision's latest survey, positive feelings for car door handles have fallen 50% in the last 10 years. Car companies think they're tech companies and they're making door handles door buttons. It's like roulette. It's like, will this button open my window or will it open the door?
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And when you wander into aisle six of that Trader Joe's, what are you going to see, Jack? Their salad sign is inspired by a 19th century Augustus Caesar sculpture because of Caesar salad. And Trader Joe's coffee section sign was inspired by a Rodin drawing. Vincent Van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Leonardo da Vinci. Each artist's style is subtly referenced on Trader Joe's chalkboards and wall mural.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
We have a Model Y and every time I look at that door handle, I don't want to get in the car. Give me my handle back. Don't need a button. And for that matter, don't need a button. Give me a knob to handle the heat. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jack Leonard from lovely Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Over my paternity leave, it was Dr. Seuss day.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Well, Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel, wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a dare from a publisher about writing a book without using more than 50 different words. He accepted that dare, and he wrote green eggs and ham using exactly 50 different words. And yes, we will read them.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
A, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, boat, box, goat, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, inlet, like, many, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, thee, them, there, they, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you. I will not eat them with a mouse. I will not eat them in a house.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
I thought you were going to say cookie crisp, but I like that too, Jack. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And remember, if you are in line at Trader Joe's, look around. Look around. You're surrounded. Free artwork. Michelangelo.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Apparently, there's a portrait that some artist did of Mona Lisa, and it's got a name tag, like a Trader Joe's name tag, and it says Mona L. And then turn to the person next to you in line and say, hey, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have you had the best one yet? That is how we grow the show. It really is when you tell your buddies about T-Boy. Jack, I'll see you tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Brian Stewart down in lovely Conroe, Texas. And happy birthday to Alex Goh in New York, New York. And Brent Cousinby Behrens turning 46 years old down in Santa Clarita, California. With the whole Brady Bunch and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And the legendary bestie, Tyler Rice, who is at our live show in New York City, just released a book, Tactical Disconnection. Congratulations on the publishing, Tyler. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. Oh, and check out our latest episode of The Best Idea Yet, because it's all about Costco's Kirkland brand. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
I own stock of Amazon and I recently bought stock in Lyft. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
In fact, there are over 150 permanent pieces of art at that one Trader Joe's location. It's insane. And guess what? It's not just that one 14th Street Trader Joe's. No, get this. Each Trader Joe's employs an in-house artist to make that location unique art. That's right. They have a bunch of cashiers, a bunch of stockers, and an artist at every Trader Joe's.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
I mean, the sad part here, Jack, we both shopped at that epic Trader Joe's in New York City about a million times. And we never noticed all the amazing artwork that's apparently all over the place. which leads to our takeaway on the Trader Joe's art collection. Don't just look at the price tags and the nutrition facts when you're shopping at Trader Joe's.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Next time you're in line, look around at the artwork around you. You don't need to go to the Louvre to find beautiful things. Just look over there at that lettuce sign because Trader Joe's art gallery is the new Guggenheim. Your move, Whole Foods. It's magnificent. Jack, let's hit our three stars.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
I'm such a retail diva these days. Jack's a tar-shaped girly. All right, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the project? For our first story, Canada just hit the United States with a new thing, a 25% fee on Canadian electricity. Trade wars, they follow the same pattern as hockey fights. When one side drops the gloves, the other side drops the gloves.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
For our first story, Canada has added a 25% electricity fee and is threatening to cut off juice to New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. Stocks dropped again on Tuesday because trade war two has turned into a hockey fight. Literally. Speaking of literally, we can actually pinpoint the moment that U.S. stocks started falling in the Trump presidency. And that date is February 20th.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And why is that date significant, Nick? Well, Jack, it's because that's the day after the United States lost to Canada in overtime of the NHL All-Star Hockey Tournament. Connor McDavid scored a goal in overtime. America lost the game, and our stock market has fallen every day since then. You've heard of hockey stick growth? This was a hockey stick decline since then. It's wild.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Now, Monday was the worst day on Wall Street since 2022. And on Tuesday, the S&P 500 officially fell into correction territory. It's down 10% from its highs. The reason? We have real economic pain now being felt on both sides of the US and Canada border. And in the meantime, Trump's tariffs have united Canadians like a Maple Leafs Cup win.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
They elected a new prime minister, and suddenly, Canada has Marc Messier mojo. Here's the latest news. The province of Ontario just added a 25% fee to all electricity exports going to America. And Canada exports a lot of electricity to America. 1.5 million people in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota are going to have a 25% more expensive electricity bill at the end of the month.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And then Canada went further. Ontario's premier even said he would shut off all electricity to the United States if Trump escalates the trade war further. Scary stuff. It is. Now, yetis, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. It actually follows the same pattern as a hockey fight. If one guy drops the gloves, the other inevitably drops the gloves too.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Trade war two is straight out of the first scene and happy Gilmore is what we're saying. Here's the story. Trump started this fight by imposing 25% tariffs on all made in Canada goods. And Canada's new prime minister said this about Trump dropping the gloves. After getting elected prime minister, he said, we didn't ask for a fight, but we're ready when someone else drops the gloves.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
He's literally talking about dropping the gloves in this situation. And the latest, latest news? Yesterday, Trump punched back. He retaliated to Canada's retaliation with yet another new tariff. Basically doubling the tax on made in Canada steel up to 50%. And the result of Trump's new steel tax, the price of aluminum and steel in America have doubled in just one month.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Yes, we'll buy more American made steel, but we're going to end up paying nearly double for it. And Canada's probably planning their next retaliation in this trade war. Which would be the equivalent of pulling the jersey over the helmet like this, Jack. Thank you for bringing levity to the situation. But Nick, this is a shocking state of affairs we have right now.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
For our second story, we just got the financials on the business of Mr. Beast. It's actually a $5 billion company. And the world's greatest creator surprisingly makes more money on candy than he does on content. And our third and final story, Southwest Airlines just deleted its most beloved perk. It's gone. No more free checked bags. Besties, can you put a price on love? Yes.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
It really is, Jack, because when you add it all up, our neighbor, our friendly rink rival, and our biggest trading partner is now our enemy. Canada is our enemy? And investors, they don't love that idea either. Trade War II, it's been hitting the markets for three weeks. Since the day the US lost to Canada in the NHL's All-Star Game, Stocks are down by 10%. Oh, breaking news, by the way.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
This is a big one. As we were recording this podcast, the Canadian premier actually paused the 25% electricity fee we just mentioned a second ago. Apparently, he's in talks with the Trump administration to de-escalate the trade war, although tomorrow, he may just bring the electricity fee back. We're relieved by the de-escalation, but tomorrow's going to be another story.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in North America? Nobody wins with tariffs because both sides get punched. Or Jack, I guess we could say both sides lose some teeth. Yeti's funny thing, Jack, and I noticed, everything that's played out with this trade war is taught in Econ 101. This is a textbook trade war. We could have predicted every sequence of events.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
We pretty much did, Jack. Like if one country imposes tariffs on another country, the tariffing country does not benefit because the tariffed country retaliates. It's logic we learned in elementary school. When one side gets hit, the other side hits back. In economics, you call it tit for tat. And that's why we think this looks just like a hockey fight.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
If one drops the gloves, the other inevitably always drops the gloves. And it's why we've been saying for years, nobody wins with tariffs. In a trade war, both sides end up getting less and paying more in taxes. Americans may not get Canadian electricity. Canadians may not get Jack Daniels whiskey. And the prices of everything we trade with each other go up. Yetis, nobody wins with tariffs.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Both sides lose a few teeth. For our second story, we just got the numbers on Mr. Beast's business, and they are not what you'd expect. Because Mr. Beast actually makes more money on candy than he does on content. Yeti's Jimmy Donaldson. Jimmy is the most watched entertainer on earth, but you know him by his stage name, Mr. Beast.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
But Mr. Beast, the way we see it is really like Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, and Vanna White all rolled up into one celebrity. He's an A-lister of Gen Z, the second most followed person on earth. Jack, let's talk some numbers here. Mr. Beast has 350 million YouTube subscribers. That's more than Netflix, twice as many as Disney+, and 10 times as much as Peacock.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And Mr. Beast happens to also be a venture capital-backed business. Mr. Beast has raised $400 million from venture capital, pegging his valuation, his company's valuation, at $5 billion. Which is more than one single lift. And rumors have it, he may IPO that company, which would make Mr. Beast Inc. the first human-based IPO since Martha Stewart.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
The only time the IPO paperwork has health information is when we're IPOing a human, Jack. His ticker symbol would be SMASH, as in smash that subscribe button. But get this, yetis. Mr. Beast actually makes more money on chocolate than he does on YouTube. And that's wild, because you think of him as the YouTube guy. He's actually more of a candy connoisseur.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Jack, let's dive in T-boy style to the numbers here. According to Bloomberg reporting... Feastables, his chocolate bar business, generates $250 million in annual sales, netting a profit of $20 million. Now, this, again, is a chocolate bar business. It's not like a disruptive app technology business, right, Jack? No, Mr. Beast basically took a Hershey's bar and smothered it in Mr. Beast branding.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And he's getting a nice 10% margin on that business for selling chocolate. But Mr. Beast isn't known for candy bars. He's known for videos. And how did those videos perform compared to the candy? His YouTube and Amazon videos produced $250 million in ad sales and licensing, but he lost $80 million. So Mr. Beast's videos got 74 billion total views.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Actually, yes, you can. We calculated it. There is a price. We actually calculated the price on lost love for this story. Which is the worst kind of love. You don't want to lose that love. But yetis, we're going to pivot back to love because the greatest art collection in the country isn't an art gallery at all. No, the greatest art collection in the country is actually at Trader Joe's. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
They are the most watched thing in history since the sky. And yet he lost $80 million on them? Here's the reason. MrBeast spends $4 million to produce each of those YouTube videos that he publishes. Basically, he's doing Hollywood budgets for his social media views. Again, it's MrBeast Inc. He has 200 people on staff down in North Carolina working on each production.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
He's got to feed those people and he gives them health insurance too. They're getting full perks. That's expensive. His most recent video he published on YouTube was a challenge. It let people compete against Ronaldo, the soccer star, in soccer to win their chance at $1 million. $1 million was just the prize money.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
That didn't include paying anyone, getting them to travel there, or the whole set design of the place. For his show on Amazon, which is called Beast Games, he built a thousand towers for the challenge in episode one. And how much did that cost? $15 million. $15 million. a write-off. So he gets crazy views, but his expenses are crazy big for those views.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
So besties, after looking at these numbers, yeah, we think of Mr. Beast as the king of content, but really, he's more like Willy Wonka. Because his video business lost $80 million, but his candy business made a $20 million profit. And overall, Mr. Beast is still in his loss-making era, which is why he needs all that venture capital money. It's actually a lot like Amazon.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
They never made money for like 20 years and then started making a lot of money. As we said before, Mr. Beast should be the next CEO of Amazon. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies following Mr. Beast? Transparency is now an asset on the balance sheet. Yeti's wild story. But on the set of Mr. B's new Amazon show, he actually used up the entire $100 million budget almost instantly.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
So he was out of money. But then in the middle of the production of episode one, without telling anybody, he decided to double the prize. No one at Amazon knew this. He didn't clear this with like, you know, Frank from finance or Carol in accounting. He said, the winner of this challenge isn't going to win $5 million. You're going to win $10 million.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And I'm paying for that extra money out of my own pocket. Now, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about that. Five years ago, Mr. Beast told his audience that he would put every dollar he makes in ad sales back into the production of more YouTube videos. He has pledged not to profit on his YouTube videos. This is why he has the biggest YouTube audience.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
The more you like his videos, the more money he'll make on them, and then the more epic he'll make the new videos. Because he reinvests every dollar back into future videos. Basically, video is Mr. B's loss leader. It allows him to make a profit on his side businesses instead. These $5 million videos lose money on purpose.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
Because that pledge not to make money drives future audiences to be even bigger. Because audiences love that pledge, they are happy to buy Mr. B's chocolate bars when he asks them to. Which he does in every YouTube video. It's a reminder that in business today, transparency is now on the balance sheet. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
According to the New York Times, Trader Joe's grocery stores are America's best art galleries. Jack, you're going to have to sprinkle on more context for us, please. The art critic Julie Averbach just published a book, The Art of Trader Joe's. She also wrote her thesis at Yale on the Trader Joe's art style. That's right. She's an Ivy League-trained Trader Joe's enthusiast.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
For our third and final story, Southwest Airlines is deleting the most important part of its distinctive brand. Free checked bags are gone. Southwest is adding a bag fee, and it reminds us of a lesson from the Godfather. But yet it is Jack and I study industries on your behalf. And we noticed it is tough for airlines out there these days, ain't it, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
On Monday, the stocks of the four biggest US airlines lost a combined $24 billion in value. Let's start with our two go-tos. I got Delta, you got United. What's going on with both of them? Apparently, we're all booking less travel right now due to the economic uncertainty. Yeah, like you'll go to Cabo if you get the bonus.
The Best One Yet
🏒 “Hockey Fight” — Canada’s electric weapon. MrBeast’s chocolate surprise. Southwest’s Godfather fee.
And then American Airlines came out and said that their bookings are down too, partly because of that plane crash that happened in the river in Washington, D.C. Sadly, we are all still kind of thinking about it. Now, Yetis, there's four airlines in America that make up 80% of the industry. And the last one of those four to speak was Southwest. And here's what Southwest basically did.
The Best One Yet
🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, February 12th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, grab me a napkin, because yetis, we just visited Ben & Jerry's flagship store. We jumped in T-boy style. We went to the original scoop shop yesterday to promote our episode of The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Which leads to the big question, Jack. Is the CFPB gone? No. Technically, only Congress can eliminate a government agency because it's Congress's job to create them. In fact, the new head of the agency said he's actually going to announce a new direction for the agency. What kind of direction?
The Best One Yet
🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Well, Mark Zuckerberg and Mark Andreessen, those techies, they've complained that the CFPB harasses tech companies that try to get into finance. So the CFPB actually could reopen with the same mission, but a different approach. A different approach like being friendlier to both finance and tech companies. But in the meantime, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is shut down, but not out yet.
The Best One Yet
🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
So Jack, what's our takeaway for the CFBB? Does the E in DOGE stand for efficiency or elimination? Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency. We think it's a great idea to eliminate wasteful government spending. And with an annual budget of almost a billion dollars, there's definitely money to be saved at the CFPB. So a renewed culture of cost-effectiveness? Yeah, we're all for it.
The Best One Yet
🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
And so are the majority of Americans. But gutting an entire agency to the point that it can't function... That's different than efficiency. Yeah, that's a de facto elimination of it, which requires a bill from Congress, not Doge. Making an agency whose job it is to protect consumers from financial firms more efficient. is very different than eliminating it.
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Honestly, it reminded us of barbershops. There is a difference between a hair trim and a buzz cut when you're talking to your barber. Just like there's a difference between trimming waste and eliminating the agency. Which leads to the fair question. Does the E in Doge stand for efficiency or elimination? Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday?
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Coca-Cola's star product is cow milk. It's a brand called Fairlife, and they're trying to be the Gatorade of dairy. Milk just took a lesson from margaritas. They are now sold ready to drink. For our second story, it's Ferrari. They have a blacklist. If you impugn the brand's purity, you may never buy another Ferrari. Miranda Priestly, she'd approve. Ferrari is a tastemaker.
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And our third and final story is Doge. It's turned its attention this week to the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So does the E in Doge stand for efficiency or elimination? But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, if you were willing, waiting, hoping, begging for interest rates to come down, don't hold your breath.
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The Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, testified yesterday to the Senate. Yeah, Jerry said he's in no rush to lower interest rates given the risk of inflation sparking up again. Second, if you're in New York at the South Street Seaport, look out for the new Leaning Tower of New York. Yeah, this tower leans. It goes three inches to the side compared to the bottom.
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How does that compare, though, to the Leaning Tower of Pisa? It doesn't compare. Now, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy leans at four degrees, not one degree like the tower in New York. So Pisa is four times more linear than the New York leaning. Oh, a couple other things you got to know today. The Gulf of America has officially arrived on Google Maps.
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And the Super Bowl ratings just came in at an all-time high of 128 million viewers. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Alisa Stearman from lovely Austin, Texas. Yesterday we told you that the U.S. Treasury will stop making pennies. Yeah, so we suggested that because of inflation, the U.S. Treasury should bring back the $1,000 bill. And America used to have a $1,000 bill. We did.
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Three different versions, actually, with three different men on them. Okay, so we had President Cleveland on one version, the mayor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, on the other version. And Robert Morris, a founding father from the state of Pennsylvania. And guess what? Robert Morris happens to be Elisa's fiancé's great, great, great, great, great grandfather. I think you put him one too many grades.
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I had five. Did I hit that? Did I hit that? Did I round up on that one? Oh, Elisa, I'm sorry. soon to be Alyssa's great, great, great, great grandfather-in-law. Right? Yeah, it is. You look fantastic today. Jack, I just want to say your iambic pentameter reading that publicly traded poetry was, you stuck the landing on that thing.
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It's IPO-etry. Besties, if you've got a lovely poem about a brand you're in love with, send it our way. We may get it on the pod. You got two more days until Valentine's Day, so get those pencils sharpened. Peloton, you broke our hearts. That's all I got to say.
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And before we go, a happy 27th birthday to Abdul Malik Ford. It's belated in Tacoma, Washington. And happy birthday to Greta Jean Kramer from Brattleboro, Vermont, who is turning five years old. I'm checking the list, Jack, and that is the eldest of the next generation of Kramer children. Am I right? She's got, I think, seven cousins right now. Soon to be nine. No, not true.
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Because two of them are her sisters. Actually, she's the best ballet dancer in the tri-state area. Happy birthday to Abraham Lincoln from LaRue, Kentucky. And Brandon Arvider in Denver, Colorado. Happy birthday, Brandon. And happy birthday to Kara Enos in Franklin, Tennessee. And Jack, Richard Hayes and the whole Zarb School of Business at Hofstra.
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Here we go. Silence, please. My heart beats for you around the clock. Once for the workouts, once for the stock. In a pandemic, you were innovation, selling home gyms across the nation. But Peloton, oh Peloton, we speak now to thee, for you broke our heart financially. We spin your classes every week, but the analyst reports look so bleak.
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Enjoy this pod because Professor Richard puts it on. Thank you, Rich. Go Pride. And Rascal the Dachshund, thank you for living such a good life for your parents. This wonderful dog, Rascal, would listen to this show every day with their owners, and Rascal lived a wonderful life.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
And besties, if you would like to get a shout-out on this show, or you want to get one for your buddy, just fill out the form in our episode description, or go to tboypod.com slash shout-outs. This is Jack. Nick and I still own Stockin' Pallet Top. And we also own Stockin' App.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Legal tender. It could be a meat company.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
If you like The Best One Yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com. We want to get to know you.
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I'm not sure which one you've burned more, calories or investors. Our losses are still so, so sore. Wall Street gave you zero pity after killing big on Sex and the City. In you, we still hold equity to the shock of Cody Rigsby. Is it too much to ask for a turnaround plan? Please sell to Apple if you possibly can. The 90% stock drop, it ain't been fun, but we're still long on Peloton.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Yetis, hit us up with your own IPO-etry, your own publicly traded poems out there. Poet laureates, yeah, you know where to find us.
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Nick, it's our three stars. Let's hear it. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
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We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show. Start the show.
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Yeah, we did a whole episode on Ben & Jerry's. You got the fish food in a cone, right? There you went. Yeah, I got fish food in the car. And we went like a man on the street interview style.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
For our first story, get this. Coca-Cola's biggest acquisition ever is a milk company, Fairlife Milk. Milk is having a moment because Fairlife bottled it. Yetis, come with us over to Chicago. Because if you walk into the Coca-Cola office in the West Loop, you're not going to see a Coca-Cola logo, are you, Jack? You're going to see a cowbell. Yep.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Because according to Bloomberg reporting, Coke employs a team of super tasters who test their most valuable new product line, which is dairy milk. Specifically, Fairlife dairy milk. That's right. That's right. America's biggest soda brand has gone all in on the utter. Coca-Cola acquired Fairlife in 2020 at a final price of $7 billion. Okay. You know what that means?
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
That means Fairlife Milk is Coca-Cola's biggest acquisition in its 103 33-year history. And the numbers will turn you lactose tolerant. What do we got, Jack? What kind of stuff? Fair Life is selling a billion dollars a year now, which is up 10x from 10 years ago. All right, Jack, I'm going to need you to spore on a little context for us over there. What is this, a bowl of cereal for a podcast?
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Everyone we asked trivia questions about Ben & Jerry's, they knew the answers. They did, they did. Vermonters know their company. I was a little surprised you didn't get hot fudge, Jack. Man, we don't do that here. We let the ice cream do the talking.
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It is. Now, Coke just announced their quarterly earnings. It's a $50 billion of revenue last quarter. So Fairlife is a small part, but it's the fastest growing part by far. Fairlife Milk is outperforming Coca-Cola sodas. It is outselling its juices. It is outpacing Coca-Cola's coffee brands. And even after 10Xing in the last 10 years, there's still room to grow. Yeah, there is.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Because only one third of Americans have even tried a bottle of Fairlife Milk. Jack and I heard this story, and this is what we found fascinating. Fair life milk is defying two of the biggest trends in America. Not milk and honey, milk and money. Okay, here, get this. Milk is a commodity. Like, all milk is the same, it all tastes the same, it all looks the same.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
And yet, fair life charges three times more. In this economy? On top of that, cow milk consumption, it is down 30% per capita since 2010. And yet, fair life sales are at an all-time high. How is that possible, Jack? One key is those super tasters in the Chicago's West Loop milk office. Yeah, good point, Jack. They have optimized milk. Fairlife has engineered their milk.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
They have filtered it to have higher protein and less sugar, and that has opened up a whole new audience. I didn't realize milk had sugar, but it naturally does. It does. And they've managed to filter out the sweets that you don't want. which created a new customer base for them, Ozempic users. Ozempic users love Fairlife milk because it's got 50% more protein.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Basically, Fairlife has engineered milk to be nature's protein shake. It's the first milk to brand itself as a sports drink. Fairlife is positioning itself like the Gatorade of dairy. So while alt milk sales like Oatly are dropping, Fairlife's real milk sales are soaring. Yeah, Jack, by the way, did you know what my family used to feed me when we were growing up, my parents? Milk. My soda.
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Yeah, it is. Three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, Coca-Cola's biggest acquisition ever, milk. Coca-Cola bought Fairlife Milk for seven billion dollars. Why is milk their fastest growing product? Because they stole an idea from cocktails. For our second story. If you give your Ferrari a custom paint job, you can never buy one again.
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You know what that is? Milk and soda mixed together? Yeah, it is. And it works. What do you mean it works? I don't know. We loved it when I was eight. Well, Jack. I got nipples. Could you milk us a takeaway over there? What's the takeaway for our buddies over at Fairlife? Milk has taken a lesson from margaritas.
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Yetis, the number one type of alcohol performing well these days, it's ready to drink cocktails. Basically, canned cocktails are the top selling alcohol. And the reason is the convenience. A canned cocktail unshackles you from the bartender and lets you crack open a six pack of Negronis at the beach. Well, we noticed that Fairlife has strategically applied that same formula to milk. Milk?
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
is the most at-home product of all time. It is. People used to deliver milk to your home with milkmen. Even today, Jack, think about this. Milk is literally designed for your fridge. It's sold in gallons in a rectangular shape. And the fridge has a shelf on the door designed for that gallon of milk. Which requires two hands just to pour. And a glass to pour it into.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
But Fairlife recognized a wider opportunity to sell milk on the go, basically a ready-to-drink milk bottle. Fairlife is the only milk sold in an ergonomic bottle that fits in your hand. It also fits in a cup holder, and it's got a cap that twists on securely, not pops on like most gallons of milk. That's how this company's bid a billion dollars. Their core value prop is convenience.
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Fair Life's disruption wasn't just engineering a super milk with more protein and less sugar. The disruption was making milk portable, inspired by the ready-to-drink cocktail. For our second story, Ferrari is considering a wild new policy. If you give your Ferrari a custom paint job, you can never buy another one. The Ferrari Blacklist shows the power of tastemakers.
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All right, so last year, remember when I read that book about the founding of Ferrari when I was in Italy? I'm so glad you did because you brought a lot of lessons out of the show. Okay, so Enzo Ferrari was such a control freak that a royal prince once showed up to pick up his green Ferrari and Enzo said, I'm not doing it. And the guy said, I bought a green one.
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And he said, you're getting a red one. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Ferrari does have a thing about redness, don't they?
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Well, Jack, for most of its existence, 90% of Ferraris sold were red Ferraris. It's part of the brand, basically. It is. But today, just 40% of Ferraris sold are red. Justin Bieber's got a baby blue Ferrari. Black China, she's got a pink Ferrari. The famous DJ, Deadmau5. Great guy. He painted a cat with like a rainbow tail behind him. on his Ferrari. Well, that leads to the news.
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A hundred years after its founding, Ferrari is doubling down on being a control freak. The CEO sounds a lot like Enzo Ferrari. He said, I don't like strange Ferraris on the road. He doesn't like these color customizations. He actually said that twice. He said, I don't like these strange Ferraris on the road. I think it's an English language limitation. Yeah, we were reading the earnings report.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
So he says that he's worried about the secondary market for Ferraris. He wants Ferraris to maintain their value, and he thinks that these crazy color combos hurt the value of all Ferraris. He actually compared this strategy to the fine dining industry. Some restaurants have a fixed menu. You have to go with what the chef says. Others let you choose off the menu.
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Well, Ferrari, they are a very particular Michelin-starred chef. They want to set the menu. But here's the problem. America is a free country. America. If a customer buys a Ferrari and wants to paint a rainbow on that thing, they're allowed to do so. So get this. According to some reports and a tad bit of rumor, Ferrari has created a blacklist.
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And according to Fortune Magazine, if you're on that blacklist, first of all, congratulations.
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It means you bought a Ferrari.
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Good for you. Impressive. But you can never buy one again. Shh. Sure, you can paint the words, my other car is a Lamborghini on your Ferrari, but that's your last Ferrari. You can add a purple paint job, put your initials on the back of it, but that's your last Ferrari. In fact, Justin Bieber is reportedly on the Ferrari black. And why is that, Jack?
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Ferrari has a blacklist and Justin Bieber is on it. And our third and final story, Doge has stopped all work at the CFPB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Well, Jack and I worked at banks back when the CFPB was invented, so we can explain what the heck is going on. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. A hot fudge covered mix of stories, Jack.
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🏎️ “Bieber’s blacklisted” — Ferrari’s rules of ownership. Coca-Cola’s Fairlife milk. DOGE vs. CFPB.
Because of news reports that he had wild partying one night and lost his Ferrari. Oh, also, Deadmau5, the DJ, he's also on the Ferrari blacklist. Because of that cat with the rainbow. It makes sense. When he posted it on Instagram, he called it his Ferrari. Oh, Mr. Ferrari, no like. No, Ferrari doesn't like any of that. No me piace. Now, here's the ironic part, though.
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Every other luxury car brand is doing the opposite when it comes to customizations. And Jack, remember we did the story last year about Rolls-Royce. They built a whole new factory for custom extravagant Rolls-Royce features. And those personalized perks are their profit puppy. Yeah, they are. Rolls' CEO says, we're not the taste police. We'll help you and sell you
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Whatever taste you want onto a roll. On the other hand, Ferrari is the taste police. They're basically like, I don't know, straight out of Mean Girls. On Wednesdays, we drive red. And despite that control freakiness, Ferrari stock is at an all-time high because of our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ferrari? Ferrari's blacklist is straight up Miranda Priestly.
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Yeti's The Devil Wears Prada. Great movie, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, 2006. It's all about fashion. It's kind of a comedy. It's fantastic. I actually had to watch it at Michigan Business School. Had to? Yeah, well, it was part of the curriculum. Oh, you did? Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was part of my marketing class.
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Really?
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It was really cool. Well, in the movie, Miranda Priestly runs an iconic fashion magazine. And she says this about the blue sweater that Anne Hathaway is wearing. Push and play. You're wearing a sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff. She's talking about the role of tastemakers in fashion. Exactly.
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And last year, we said that Rolls-Royce positioned its cars as art. They can price them high because they're customized just for you. On the other hand, Ferrari has repositioned its cars as fashion. Priced so high because their brand is controlled. by them. Going so far to protect its brand that they may blacklist you? That is a tastemaker you'd pay for.
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Ferrari is borrowing from the fashion industry. They're borrowing from Miranda Priestly.
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For our third and final story, our government's youngest agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, was just told to stop work by Doge. And the best way we can explain this is with a barbershop analogy. Now, Yetis, when Jack and I were like fresh out of college, first year jobs, we were working in banking and a brand new government agency was created.
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This was fresh after the financial crisis. Fresh after it. Nick and I had to walk through Zuccotti Park where Occupy Wall Street protests were happening every day to get to work. In our suits. That's the context that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created. The CFPB was meant to ensure that financial products are fair and transparent. Now, we already have a consumer protection agency.
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It's called the FTC. Good point. But finance is a different animal. Yeah, because we can tell you from studying finance and working in finance, banks have a long history of dishonest marketing, taking advantage of the poor, greed, Gordon Gacko, you've seen it. So this new agency, it investigates banks, credit card companies, and credit rating agencies for dishonest practices.
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Now, when the CFPB was created, from the start, banks opposed it. And so did some politicians who were worried about overregulation. But here's what they actually do. Last month, they sued Capital One for advertising high-yield interest rates, but not actually paying those interest payments to customers. They actually got Capital One to pay out $2 billion back to consumers.
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Hold the fudge. But Yetis, warning to all lovers out there. We are 48 hours away from Valentine's Day. Yes, we are. It's probably too late to buy flowers or even make your own chocolate. But instead, we have a solution. Write a poem. A poem to inspire you. Jack and I have actually written a poem about a company that we love. It's a tradition we started last year. We call it publicly traded poetry.
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The CFPB deposited that money back into customers' accounts. Basically, it gave customers what they were promised. So add it all up, and banks say that the CFPB creates more paperwork, more friction, more challenges for them to do business. But the CFPB says its mission is to be a check on the big power of banks. by protecting consumers from having their money unlawfully taken.
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But here's the news. The CFPB's future is in question now that it's been targeted by Elon Musk's Doge. On Monday, Trump's new head of the CFPB told all staff to, and I quote, stand down from performing any work task. The new head of the agency, he told workers to stay home. He even deleted the social media accounts for the whole agency. And then Elon tweeted, CFPB, RIP.
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🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, December 12th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. I don't know, Jack. What do you want to do tonight? Maybe go to the Nick. Nick's Game, not too shabby. Wild story, but Nick and I got invited to the Nick's Game tonight by a Yeti.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Now, funny thing yet, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we discovered it's not just Airbnb's founder who's going anti-one-on-ones. NVIDIA's CEO- Jensen Huang, he did a 180 on the one-on-one as well. And Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, he runs the world's second most valuable company. He's 55 direct reports. And none of them get recurring solo meetings with him.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
In fact, we did the math on this one too. If he did a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with each of those 55 employees- Two and a half days of his week would just be recurring one-on-one meetings. NVIDIA wouldn't be a chip company, it'd be a chatting company. And the more we research, the more we see a trend of erasing the one-on-one in tech.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Instead of recurring weekly meetings, more tech companies are having team meetings. Oh, there we go, right. And if the boss wants to talk about a specific thing with his underling, or vice versa, you can set up time to discuss it. Instead of calling that a one-on-one, you can just call it a conversation. Like the rest of the world. Exactly.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in tech? Having one-on-one meetings. The one-on-one evolution is an example of groupthink. It's follow the leader fever. Now, Yeti's interestingly, we noticed there was plenty of research both for and against the one-on-one meeting. Adam Grant says that one-on-ones are great to retain employees.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Your epidermis is your biggest organ and it's your biggest payday. Yeah. It's a derm boom. Here's the news. Dermatologist residency applications are up 50% in the last four years because medical students have realized that dermatology has the best pay to work ratio in the industry. You ready for this? Hit me. Dermatologists only work four days a week. Okay.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
But on the other hand, Harvard has a study that shows one-on-ones hurt productivity among employees. But what we're more interested in than the merits of a one-on-one meeting is how they got so big in the first place. Because in tech... The hot idea in innovation or HR or branding, it rapidly gets mimicked by the whole rest of the industry.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
It's why every tech company has a rainbow-colored logo, or every tech company does quarterly and yearly OKR goal-setting frameworks. True. And why every tech company does one-on-one manager meetings. Oh, and remote work, Jack? Like, that rose rapidly in popularity across the whole tech industry, and then now it's declining across the whole tech industry.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Apple's slogan is famously to think different. But within Silicon Valley, there's a whole lot of groupthink. And the rise and fall of one-on-one meetings, that is another example. It's follow the leader fever. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? Someone wants to acquire Hershey's again, but only if the Milton Hershey Family Trust agrees to it.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Because Hershey isn't a typical company. Hershey is like a constitution. For our second story, OpenAI just launched Sora. You enter a text prompt and it generates a video. We played around with it and we think AI video is more of a threat to Madison Avenue than it is to Hollywood. And our third and final story is Airbnb's Brian Chesky.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
He's leading a movement to end the recurring one-on-one manager meeting. Ah, the rise and fall of the one-on-one meeting. In tech, it is an example of groupthink. It's follow the leader fever. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, General Motors just announced they are shutting down Cruise, their robo-taxi fleet, for good. Cruise is gone.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
They're going to invest instead in advanced driver assistance for human drivers behind their General Motors cars. You want to hear the numbers yetis? Well, GM invested $10 billion into cruise, but won't put another dollar back into it. They're calling it quits, which means that Waymo and Tesla have one less competitor in the robo-taxi market.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And second, a federal judge just ruled that Kroger cannot merge with Albertsons after all. The grocery aisle, aisle six, is going to remain separate. It's going to be different. It's going to be two different companies. The Biden administration sued earlier this year to block what would have been the biggest grocery merger ever.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Yeah, the FTC said there'd be less competition in groceries, which would result in higher grocery prices. How much are those eggs? And a federal judge just agreed. The merger would have hurt consumers. And finally, DoorDash already delivers food, groceries, and dinner, but now they're delivering your wedding dress.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
DoorDash partnered with David's Bridal so that your special day can't get ruined because you forgot- Your dress. Wait, you know this happened at our wedding, right? What? Oh, you don't even know the veil? It was forgotten on the mainland. They don't know where the veil was and someone had to get it on a ferry an hour before the wedding. Who saved the day?
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
I think it was someone named like Christy over on Cape Cod dropped it on a ferry to go to Nantucket. Guardian angel. Guardian angel. But now DoorDash will do it too. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Andy Roberts down in lovely Covington, Georgia. Couple weeks ago, we did a story on the return of Dippin' Dots, which is the ice cream of the future.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Interestingly, we said that the key challenge for this business was they had to keep Dippin' Dots ice cream at negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is a challenge because regular freezers only go down to zero. But negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit is actually a very important number. Because negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit is also negative 40 degrees Celsius.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
They have like no emails to go through at the end of the day. Zero inbox. And they get doubled the salary of other doctors. Oh, Check out the Instagram account Dermfluencer. Jack, what are you going to see when you go to Dermfluencer? This dermatologist is showing off a glamorous lifestyle as a skin doctor and 3 million followers are watching.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Since the two temperatures are non-parallel linear scales, there's only one point where the two intersect. And that point for Fahrenheit and Celsius is negative 40 degrees. I didn't understand any of that, Nick. No, I know. But I can confirm, negative 40 Fahrenheit is also negative 40 Celsius. And it's the perfect temperature for a Dippin' Dot.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
This is either a coincidence or an ice cream conspiracy. Dippin' Dot. Yetis, you look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday. If you haven't yet, two of the best things you can do to grow the show is one, click to follow us, tap to follow us on Spotify, Apple, or wherever. You'll get the show every day. And then drop down and give us five stars and a review. We love reading them.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
We read every single one of them, and it helps us grow on the podcast platform. True story. Helps us grow in the rankings. By the way, 9,000 of you have left us reviews on Apple. which means a lot of you have yet to leave us reviews on Apple. Yeah, we know the numbers. A lot of you owe us a review. In the meantime, Jack and I can't wait to see you tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Siva Nagalakshmi over in Hyderabad, India, celebrated the best birthday yet. And happy 28th birthday to Antonio Rosales in Chicago, Illinois. And Carlos Guevara down in Mexico is a legendary fan having their favorite birthday. Huge shout out to Martin Thomas, who met Nick on a red-eye flight to New York City. Yeah, I wish I was there.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
I know, it was great, right? Actually, I don't wish I was there because red-eye flights are horrible. I can't believe how well you're performing on this pod after sleeping only three hours on your flight. Jack, the pod just gives unlimited energy. It's powerful. And a happy birthday to our buddy Dan Katz from New York and Riverdale and Brooklyn.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And he lived in Germany for a while too, so he gets all of them. It's raining cats and just cats. Now let's get to that Knicks game. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix and Amazon, and Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb. I literally have a blemish on my cheek. I were removed almost. No, I haven't done the procedure yet.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Funny enough, the procedure is called BBL, which everyone thinks means Brazilian butt lift. You got to double check with that doctor when you get in that room. Is this right, BBL? You're like, do whatever you want, doc. Surprise me. Surprise me. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
In fact, the average dermatologist brings home a pay of $541,000. thousand dollars a year, Jack, could you sprinkle on some context? That's double the average pay of a pediatrician, which is kind of messed up. It is. But medicine is a market. And you know what, besties? People are willing to pay big to have dewy, wrinkle-less skin like Jack's 42-step skincare routine.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
I'm already paying big with my 17 skincare products. And you know what? If you're a derm, you can charge $5,000 for a 20-minute laser treatment. And Botox, it's a profit puppy. Plus, there's way fewer emergencies in dermatology. Good point. So dermatologists enjoy much steadier, more reliable hours. This is Thompson. That pimple, it can wait until tomorrow. Don't worry about it.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Interesting detail from the Wall Street Journal, a record high 71% of new dermatologists are women because many are working mothers who appreciate the flexibility. And because women have way better skincare routines than men. It's true. Dermatology, it's the new brain surgery. So don't forget the sunscreen. Good point. Skin cancer. They're not just removing that blemish on your cheek.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
They're saving people's lives.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Jack, SPFT boy, let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Legendary Yeti by the name of Jordan. He heard we were coming to New York City, and he said, I got a VIP box with a couple of seats with your names on it. We said, we finish the pod at 6.50. We'll be at the garden by 7 p.m. I've never been to a Nick's Game. So excited for tonight. Love Yeti Nation. Jack, three fantastic stories for today's pod. What do we got on the show?
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
For our first story. For the third time, a giant food company is trying to acquire Hershey's chocolate. And for the third time, Hershey's probably won't sell. Because Hershey's isn't a company. It's a constitution. We'll explain. Yes, we will.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Now, Yetis, Jack and I have covered a lot of legendary products, companies, brands, people on this pod, but the Hershey's Kiss, ah, the Hershey's Kiss is a masterclass in PR spin. Because the way that the chocolate hardens, the Hershey's Kiss actually looks like a teardrop. But then Larry over in marketing said, hey, let's call it a kiss. And honestly- Let's just call it a kiss.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Nobody's going to question it. No one questioned it. Hershey's invented the Hershey's Kiss in 1907. And today, the 130-year-old company is more valuable than ever. And Bloomberg reported this week that an even bigger company, Mondelez, wants to acquire the legendary Hershey company.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Mondelez plus Hershey's would be America's biggest snack company and America's biggest chocolate companies in one company. Jack, could one say that Mondelez and Hershey would be like peanut butter and chocolate? Chocolate? Fair point, because Hershey's owns Reese's.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Combining the Chicago and Pennsylvania-based company would put Oreos and Hershey's, Reese's and Twizzlers, Sour Patch and Nabisco, Chips Ahoy and Ritz, all under the same roof. Oh, besties, if you want to buy this new stock, you'll have to ask your mom to take it out of the cookie jar. There's no skim milk in that company. This is a heavy cream kind of business.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
It's a heavy cream kind of business. Now, to sprinkle on a little more context, Jedis, no price has been formally discussed yet. According to Bloomberg, Mondelez has merely made a preliminary approach to Hershey's. Which means instead of hiring investment bankers, they hired Oompa Loompas? I don't know. No, I think they sent an email. Yeah. They said, do you want to talk? from an Oompa Loompa.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
But Bessie's Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we discovered this is not the first time someone's tried to acquire Hershey. In 2002, Wrigley, the gum company, tried to acquire Hershey's for $12.5 billion. But Hershey's said no. In 2016, Mondelez tried to acquire Hershey's for $23 billion. But Hershey's said no. It's 2024 and Mondelez is reportedly trying again.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
For our first story, Hershey stock jumped 20% this week. on reports that America's biggest snack company wants to acquire it. But caught in the crosshairs of this epic deal is the Hershey School for Orphan Children. Wild story. Crazy story. For our second story, it's OpenAI. They just launched the coolest tech of the year. It's called Sora, which turns your text into videos.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
This time, Hershey's stock rose 20% on hopes that they'll accept the deal. Maybe Mondelez tosses in a French kiss, you know, to seal the deal. We'll see what they can do to make it happen. But in the past, Hershey's has refused to sell, even when they've had incredibly good prices offered to them. Chocolate covered prices.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Because unlike every other publicly traded company in America, price is not the most important thing for Hershey. It's something even sweeter that they care about. Something in their gooey chocolatey core. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Hershey? Hershey isn't a company at all. It's actually a constitution.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Yeti's Milton Hershey, he didn't just scale chocolate manufacturing like no other American in the world. Milton Hershey did something we'd never seen before. He established the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town incorporated by his chocolate company. In fact, Milton Hershey and his wife, they love children, but they were never able to have children of their own.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
It's actually a really sad story. So they created the Milton Hershey School for Orphans. It still exists and enrolls 2,000 students today. Oh, and the company Hershey? Well, today they are a publicly traded firm worth $40 billion. That's seven lives. But 80% of the voting control is held by the Hershey's Trust. Interesting. Which was established in the legacy of Milton Hershey and his wife.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And guess what they prioritized, Nick? What's their focus, Jack? What's their focus? Not profits. The charitable endeavors of the Hersheys. That family trust. It also owns the amusement park that Hershey built to make children. It's a wonderful story, what the Hershey's have done. Amazing story.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And get this, Hershey is so important to the state of Pennsylvania, the state attorney general can seek to block any sale of the company. Sit down, stand up, and keystone again. Pennsylvania can block the sale of Hershey because it's that important to the state. So for Mondelez to acquire Hershey, both the charitable trust of the family and the state of Pennsylvania must approve any deal. And
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
That's why the way Jack and I see it, Hershey's isn't a company. Hershey is a constitution. For our second story, OpenAI just made its most highly anticipated move of the entire year. They launched a product called Sora, which is their text-to-video platform. And Jack and I will tell you what industry this wild new technology is going to affect the most. but yet he's brain rot.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
That's the word of the year for 2024. Brain rot. Artificial intelligence might be the word of the century. Yeah, well put. And it actually all began with ChatGPT. OpenAI's text-to-text artificial intelligence was launched back in November 2022, two years ago. One year later, OpenAI launched DALI, which is the same generative AI as ChatGPT, but text-to-image. And one year after that-
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Yesterday, OpenAI launched text-to-video, and it's called Sora. Sora. Sora. But Nick, how does OpenAI describe this new platform? Well, OpenAI describes Sora as our model that can create realistic videos from text. That's the most underrated sentence of the year. Yeah, it is. Because this Sora product is the wildest tech that Nick and I have ever used.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Yeah, what Jack and I are saying here is that this technology will let you type a description and then turn those words into video. It is a one-click movie. For example, imagine a family of grizzly bears eating sushi together. Well, actually, you don't have to imagine it. We typed that into Sora and it created a movie of bears eating sushi. They were all sitting at a picnic table eating sushi.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Jack and I tried it out to make a video of this podcast. And the result? It was pretty good. It was pretty good. It was pretty good.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And we posted it on our Instagram. It's literally like grizzly bears chomping into like a California roll with some chopsticks. And a computer made this video in like 15 seconds of generating. Now, besties, of course, Jack and I are curious about the business model here. We should point out that OpenAI ain't UNICEF. So this is only for paying customers who pay $20 a month for ChatGPT+.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And naturally, because Jack and I are your liaisons in the business world, we signed up and we posted that video of the bears eating sushi that we created via ChatGPT Sora. But since we're paying $20 a month, we decided to have a little fun with the software. We got a little wild yesterday. So we tried to recreate a video of Nick and me hosting the show in our pod studio. Okay.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Why don't you tell the Yetis how we pulled this off? Here's what we typed into Sora. Two American guys in their mid thirties who are having fun co-hosting a podcast together about business news. And you know what Sora did? It created a video without any cameras based on that description. And it looked, it took about 20 seconds to create the video and then it was done. We watched it. Pretty good.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And our third and final story. The entire tech industry does weekly one-on-one meetings between managers and their direct reports. Except for Brian Chesky. Here is why Airbnb's CEO is trying to kill the one-on-one. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, no one else is doing this mix. Love the mix today, Jack. Nick, what did you want to be when you grew up?
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Which one's me? Which one's you? Pretty. This is pretty good. Pretty good. They actually showed one version with like 50 year old dudes.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
The other version with like guys who look not as good looking, but they were guys. They were guys. So besties. We posted that on Instagram as well, but. Guess what happened since everyone was getting curious about this brand new AI video product? Sora crashed. It crashed. Everyone wanted to create a video with one single sentence and a push of an enter button.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Now, our first thought here, wow, this is a huge asset to the video production industry. Game of Thrones season 16, they can cut out their CGI budget altogether. Simply enter dragon fighting other dragons in the air with blonde haired, long haired dudes on top of them, and Sora will generate their special effects. Where am They're in Sora. They're all in Sora now.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Chachi Petit can create essays, Dali can create portraits, and now Sora can create movies. But besties, before you cut the cameras on the industry, you should hear our takeaway first. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at OpenAI? AI video is more of a threat to Madison Avenue than it is to Hollywood. wild.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Yetis, you just watched an AI-created video of a Kraken sea monster pulling a ship into the ocean or bears eating sushi or two guys podcasting. And a computer made those videos in like 15 seconds. But Jack and I don't think this is actually a threat to Hollywood yet. For one, actors and writers guilds, they both wrote protections into their five-year labor contracts against the use of AI.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And so Hollywood is safe right now. But Madison Avenue, on the other hand, the advertising industry? They've already begun using AI to create commercials. Coca-Cola already published their own AI-generated commercial for the holidays. It was a Coca-Cola truck driving through the woods, and as it passed fir trees, those trees lit up with Christmas lights. It was all AI.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
So if Coca-Cola can use computer software to make their commercials, then that makes them less reliant on ad agencies. That's one reason. We also just saw the biggest merger in advertising history this week. We did. The two largest ad firms on earth, Omnicom and Interpublic, they just merged because when the going gets tough, the tough get merging.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
And when companies can use computer software to create their commercials, that's tough for the advertising industry. So in the short term, besties, OpenAI Sora is less of a threat to Hollywood and more of a threat to Madison Avenue. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
For our third and final story, can I grab 20 minutes on the calendar, Jack? Not if it's recurring. Because Airbnb's founder, Brian Chesky, refuses to do one-on-one meetings at Airbnb. The tech industry invented the one-on-one meeting, but now it's turning against them. Yetis, legend has it that the first ever one-on-one meeting was between Steve Jobs and an intern. Is that really a story?
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
You know, Jack, it's a good question. I wanted to be an astronaut, maybe president, maybe a doctor. Probably didn't have a podcaster up there. You know what the most popular answer is today? Talk to me. Dermatologist. Yetis, dermatology. It has become the most in-demand job in the medical field. The skin doctor is now the wind doctor.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
Not really, but no one can confirm or deny that story, Jack. However, since that momentous potential moment, the tech industry has thrived on the one-on-one meeting. The one-on-one. It's when you and your manager or you and your direct report have a one-hour chat while sipping coffee or just grabbing a room or taking a walk around the neighborhood. And you're doing it every Tuesday at 2 p.m. sharp.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
It's a weekly recurring meeting with a manager to discuss progress, your important tasks, your career development, and maybe if you're lucky, one little piece of office gossip. The one-on-one is a... Did you see what she was wearing? Never mind. We'll discuss it after the show. We'll discuss it after the show, Jay. And the one-on-one is at every tech company. Oh, every tech company.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
But it started in the 2010s. Then it basically took over the whole tech industry, didn't it, Jack? Nick and I worked at Robinhood for three years, which means by my math, we had 156 one-on-one meetings with our managers each. Although funny point, Jack, when we were doing one-on-ones with people, they actually put us together. We were the only guys who had a two-on-one meeting.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
We were doing two-on-one meetings.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
You're right. But in the meantime, every tech company is doing one-on-ones. Amazon and Facebook do it. Google does it. Netflix enshrined the one-on-one meeting in their famous culture deck. But here's the news. After 15 years, Airbnb's Brian Chesky is challenging the one-on-one status quo at tech companies. You know how many one-on-ones he wants? Zero.
The Best One Yet
🍿 “1-click movie” — OpenAI’s Hollywood video. Hershey’s orphan school. Brian Chesky’s 1:1 meeting hate.
He told Fortune Magazine that the one-on-one model is flawed. He said it turns the bosses into a therapist, like they're listening on the couch to whatever their employees are saying. More fundamentally, he points out that company challenges usually involve team dynamics. Good point, good point, good point. But the team's not in the room if it's a one-on-one meeting.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, April 9th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Ooh, people are terrified out there. The stock market continued its trade war trauma yesterday. The S&P 500 is almost in a bear market. It was down 19% from its peak as of this recording.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Tell me why a chatbot can't do the job. Ugh. Back to the drawing board. Now, the conclusion at the end of the letter was also surprising. This rule, all six of these new rules for AI apply to everyone. From Ian the intern all the way up to Erica the exec. Now, besties, add it all up. And if you're not using AI on a daily basis, this serves as a wake-up call.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Tariff, tariff, and tariff them, Jack. How about alcohol-free mouthwash? Tariff that. Oh, Jack, what about those ketchup packets that are impossible to open and you gotta do it with your teeth? How about cardboard boxes within cardboard delivery boxes? 100% tariff. How about saying the phrase cool beans? 1,000% tariff. Can we toss a tariff on small talk?
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
We've never seen a company require AI from everyone. but this could become the new standard. Full disclosure, Jack and I use AI every day. We don't use it for the creative process. We use it for the research process to save time. But now, it's part of our daily routines. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Shopify? Shopify just made AI part of the dress code.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
The idea is the way Jack and I see it, companies these days fall into two types. First, you got the AI agnostic. They don't care if you use or don't use AI, just get the work done. Then there's the AI antagonists. You can't use AI if you have a creative position. If you do, you better highlight it. And if you don't highlight it, you could get fired.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
But Shopify, they represent this new emerging third category, AI mandatory. You must use AI each and every day. For Shopify, AI isn't a resource. It's a requirement. It's like the company dress code. You can't show up to work unless you're wearing a suit. Well, you can't show up to Shopify unless you're using chat GPT. After Shopify's memo, AI is now mandatory. AI is now part of the dress code.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Sub-EJ Wednesday? ThredUp is a tariff winner. Yes, it is. Their tariff-proof used clothing is also low-priced, which is good in a recession. As trade war sustains, the winners will be the three Fs, frugal, friendly finance. For our second story, Colossal has done it. They de-extincted their first animal. After 13,000 years, the dire wolf is back.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Colossal is so good at raising money because, like Hollywood, they focus on blockbusters. For our third and final story, Shopify is requiring all workers to use AI every day. Managers can't hire a new person unless they explain why AI can't do the job. It's a wake-up call. AI is now mandatory in corporate America, like the dress code. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Here's what else you need to know today. First, wild day of trading on Tuesday. Stocks rose at first. We thought there was a comeback on Trump's claim that he had deal negotiations with South Korea. But that wasn't enough. The rally failed and stocks ended up down for the day. In fact, the White House just announced 104% tariffs on China that go into effect last night at midnight.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Which for those keeping track is retaliation on retaliation on retaliation's retaliation. Or if you're keeping track with your kids, that's tit for tat for tit for tat for tit for tat. And second, if you live in the Northeast, you are getting a new food delivery option. That's an old option. Seamless. Seamless was the first food delivery app in New York City. Like in 1999, I think.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
It was the first one I used. Well, I guess it wasn't an app if it was 1999. No, it was a URL web worldwide webpage. Eventually Grubhub acquired Seamless, then they shut down Seamless, but now they're bringing the brand back. It's like we said, retro tech making a comeback. And finally, the Jeff Bezos Earth Fund is screening 100,000 cows and sheep to identify the ones that fart the least.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
That's right, some cattle emit 30% less methane than others. You can smell them. And Bezos wants to prioritize those climate-friendlier cows when it comes to breeding. Interestingly, selective breeding has been used for centuries to boost certain traits. Usually the traits they try to boost is maximizing milk production. You're right, yeah, yeah. Now it's minimizing flatulence.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Embargo all conversations about the weather. We don't care what the temperature is. What about clapping when the airplane lands? Oh, that's a retaliatory tariff if I've ever seen one, Jack. And finally, exposed male toenails? 2,000% tariff and a complaint to the WTO for emotional damage. Besties, we're running a list of these tasteful tariffs. A list of import fees on your ix.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Feels like Colossal could have gotten involved in this, Jack. Those Velociraptors, they don't fart too much. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one set in by Nitin Gulati over in New York City. Yesterday, we said that Ford was doing a trade war discount. They were offering employee pricing for all. But get this. Back in 2009, Hyundai launched a more creative discount during the Great Recession.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Hyundai let you return your car if you lost your job. Yeah. If you got laid off 16 years ago, they'd just let you come back to the dealership and give the car back. That was such a well-received promotion that Hyundai sales rose 24% in the following year, which is double the industry pace.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
In fact, it was so, so successful, they revived the campaign during the pandemic in 2020 for just a few months, and it was successful then too. Niton, incredible fact. Thanks for sending in. Apparently, he wrote his entire business school thesis on that promotion. If Hyundai hasn't hired this man, hire this man. We'd like a word with you. Jack, you look, oh, you hear that? What is that?
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
It's the dire wolf howl. Jack, that's the dire wolf howl. It means we've got to wrap up. It means we've got to wrap up the show. Yetis, before we go, remember to drop in the comments on Spotify or YouTube your tasteful tariffs. I think we should tariff this phrase, that's above my pretty grade. Yeah, let's tariff that phrase. Remember to tap to follow the show, and Jack and I will see you tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And before we go, a happy birthday to the legendary Podson Wilder celebrating with the best birthday yet. He's four years old. Can I give you some stats about the Podson? Jack, let's jump into this S1 on the Podson. His favorite color is purple. His favorite animal is a T-Rex. Good move. And his favorite food is chocolate waffles with maple syrup and peanut butter all mixed together.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
It's a bit of a problem, but yeah, he loves it. And a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Savannah Westwood celebrating down in Orlando. She's got a sushi dinner and heading to Tampa for some gambling this weekend. Okay. Not too shabby. And Caleb Randall down in Arlington, Texas is the best dad with the best birthday.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Congratulations to Maureen Papanastio in West Hartford, Connecticut, who won the March Madness pool because she didn't pick me. Duke. The numbers don't lie. And Caroline Curris from the Spotify comments still owns stock of Peloton. Just like us. Which we now need to add to the disclosures. We're with you, Caroline. Someone's getting this comeback soon. Peloton Condolences Club. We should start it.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And if anyone else wants a shout out on this show, wants to get their buddy a shout out, or if you've got the best fact yet, we've got a link in this episode description or go to tboypod.com slash shout outs. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. This is Jack. I own stock in Amazon, Netflix, and Ford. Nick owns stock in The RealReal.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And Nick and I both own stock of Shopify and ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
A list of taxations on Tacky. So besties, for Ceviche Wednesday, drop your ideas for tasteful tariffs in the comments below. The seven-day public comment window opens now. We are accepting tariff proposals on everything cringe. Although I should point out, Jack thinks we should tariff toothbrushes with bristles that are too hard. This is a long-standing debate.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
The only toothbrushes available to purchase should be soft bristled toothbrushes. It may be a Jack issue or it may be a nationwide issue. Either way, let us know your tasteful tariffs.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
For our first story, there is one stock surging in the trade war, and that stock is ThredUp. It's doubled this year because ThredUp's business model thrives on a trade war. Here's why ThredUp's CEO was giving high fives after Trump's tariff announcement. But yetis. Trade War Almanac Day 7. Jack and I have been keeping track from the tariff trenches for you.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Warning for Anne Hathaway, the kingdom of Genovia may get hit with tariffs next. No word on what the princess is going to do, Jack. Three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod, man? For our first story, the surprise big winner of the trade war so far is ThredUp. ThredUp, because when it comes to tariffs, the winners are the triple Fs, frugal, friendly finance.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Here's how tariffs are affecting the economy today. As you know, Yeti, stocks are down 20%. There's a whole lot of red out there. We have told you about the trade war losers. But there's one winner, a big winner, and it's ThredUp. ThredUp? ThredUp, the company that IPO'd in 2021. We should point out they're down 85% since then, right, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
They've never made a profit and investors are growing impatient. But get this, in the last week, ThredUp stock has surged 20%. In fact, ThredUp is up 100% so far in 2025. And besties, if you think Amazon runs impressive logistics, well, ThredUp is that. But with pit stains. Because they're an online secondhand marketplace. It's ThredUp.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
So they examine, inspect, clean, and then sell your pre-loved clothing, footwear, and accessories online. Yeah, like Jack, when your six-year-old anthropology sweater finally sells on ThredUp one of these days, they are going to send you a commission check because it finally sold secondhand. And it turns out ThredUp is a rare trade war winner. Yes, it is.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Because its supply chain isn't overseas, it's in your closet. That is why ThredUp's CEO was giving literal, and this has been fact-checked, high fives to his team on word of Trump's trade policies. ThredUp's core belief, according to the website, is in a sustainable future for fashion. He was handing out champagne. We haven't verified that. Secondhand champagne.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And because this company likes sustainable fashion, it means they hate fast fashion. Well, that's convenient because Trump recently closed the $800 de minimis loophole that Shein and Timu were using to sell cute, cheap tops to the United States. So fast fashion on Shein and Timu will effectively get twice as expensive with Trump's tariffs and the closing of that loophole. But on the other hand...
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
second-hand clothing for those used cute tops on ThredUp is now twice as affordable. Comparatively speaking. So hopefully this trade war is actually an opening for ThredUp to finally find profits in the second-hand clothing game. Same for its peer companies, The RealReal and Depop, which have also struggled to profit.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
What Jack and I are saying is that ironically, this trade war could be the plot twist that saves the second-hand fashion stocks. Because they don't import clothing from Myanmar. No. They import from someone's armoire. Ha ha ha ha! And there's no tariffs in between some dude's armoire and ThredUp's distribution facility. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at ThredUp?
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Biggest winner of the trade war is the Triple F. Frugal, friendly finance. Yeti's tariffs are a tax and taxes result in less consumption. That is just a basic econ 101 fact. And in a world where we consume less, certain businesses will do well. And we call them friends of the frugal. Like Jack, for example, auto parts chains like AutoZone, they're going to do pretty well, right?
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Yeah, because you're going to delay your new car purchase because of the tariffs and keep your used one running as long as it can go. Or repair shops, like you're not going to get a new iPhone that's $300 more. To avoid the tariff. you'll pay a hundred bucks to fix your crack screen. Over in fashion, secondhand thrift and resale shops are immune from tariffs because they are frugal friendly.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Even Netflix can be considered frugal. Yeah, it can. I mean, 20 bucks a month, that's a lot for a subscription. Yeah. But it's cheaper than going out to dinner or paying for a concert ticket. Your next date night may be watching Squid Game season one for the fourth time. In a trade war, we all buy less. That's just the truth.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
For our second story, we've covered the startup Colossal before. They're trying to bring back the woolly mammoth, but they actually just brought back a different extinct animal, and that animal is the dire wolf. For our third and final story, Shopify's CEO just issued an ultimatum. When it comes to AI, it's use it or lose it.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And that is why the trade war winners will be the frugal, friendly finance businesses. For our second story, Colossal, the startup reviving the woolly mammoth, just had its first de-extinction. It brought back the dire wolf. This is a wild story. And to succeed in de-extinction, Colossal has turned to Hollywood. Yetis, two years ago, we told you about the Jurassic Park startup.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Their business plan is the same plot as the movie that Steven Spielberg directed. Instead of Velociraptors, they're starting with a more recently extinct animal, the mammoth, the woolly mammoth. Colossal was worth $1.5 billion when we first covered it two years ago, but now it's worth $10 billion. And they just pulled off an act of God. They brought back the direwolf. That's right.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Yeah, Jon Snow's pet from Game of Thrones, that direwolf. The direwolf was extinct in the last ice age, 13,000 years ago. Jack, I believe that was the late Pleistocene era, and the direwolf back then was 25% bigger than your standard North American gray wolf. The direwolf was believed to hunt horses, hunt bison, and possibly even mammoths. So this is a beast of an animal.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And because life finds a way, Colossal just birthed three of these new direwolves back from extinction after 13,000 years. We repeat, the direwolf is back. The only one not happy about this news is Jeff Goldblum. Ha ha! We saw a bunch of photos. These are big white wolf puppies. They're pure white. They look like the thing of a sci-fi movie. I mean, they look like a polar bear wolf.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Now, one of these new ones is named Khaleesi after, that's right, the Game of Thrones character. And this company even got George R.R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones, to pose holding one of these wolf pups. We repeat, the author of Game of Thrones showed up at their biotech facility, tweeted, winter has come, and posted a picture with a dire wolf now not extinct puppy.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And they were sleeping on an iron throne. And now, in case you're curious to jump in T-boy style, Colossal is keeping all three of these dire wolves on a secret 2,000 acre facility whose location is unknown. TBD, whether they've built a wall around it and put the Night's Watch to defend these wolves. And in case you didn't know, this is a startup that's funded by the CIA.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
So yeah, they're pretty good at secrecy. But we have a treat for you. Colossal released audio of the first dire wolf howl heard in the last 13,000 years. Here it is. So, Yetis, Jack and I were trying to analyze what the strategy here was for Colossal, and we realized this wasn't a minimum viable product. This was a magnificent viable product. Colossal is proving traction with a wild example.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
But here's the surprise detail. Bringing the dire wolf back from extinction was actually the result of three failures. This was actually their third choice. In 2022, plan A for this startup was to resurrect the woolly mammoth. Yeah, they wanted to de-extinct the biggest land mammal in history. So they put a mammoth embryo inside a surrogate elephant mother But the egg wouldn't take.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And by it, he meant your job at Shopify, because he just added AI to the company dress code. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... Whoa, what? A mix of stories. Love that mix of stories today, Jack. Investors are not happy about the trade war tariffs. Economists hate tariffs. They make everything more expensive. But Nick and I were thinking,
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
So instead, Colossal pivoted to plan B, resurrect the Dodo. The Dodo, a random, extinct, crazy-looking, flightless bird. But the problem, Jack? The eggshell. They couldn't get the new Dodo embryo into the hard-shelled surrogate ostrich egg. Third time's a charm. Plan C, they were going to resurrect the direwolf.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Yeah, it's not as big as the elephant, Jack, and there's no hard shell like the old ostrich bird. They found DNA for the dire wolf in a 75,000-year-old skull, and they edited 20 genes of today's modern gray wolf to include the DNA of the dire wolf. And then they gestated that embryo inside a domesticated large dog. This feels like a bingo game. But it worked. It did work.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
And that's how they proved their concept, not with the most minimal version, but with the most magnificent versions. So what are they going to do now with these three animals they brought back to life? I know what you're thinking, Jack. What's the business model here? Are they going to open Dodo World, open Mammoth Land? Are we getting a dire wolf lodge chain coming from these guys?
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
I think this is where the plan deviates from Jurassic Park's plot. Colossal now says their business model is conservation, but one of their key investors said they don't even care how this company makes money. As long as what they're doing is awesome. So, paging Dr. Grant, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Colossal? Colossal's success is a lesson from Hollywood.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
They focus on blockbusters. Yet he's interesting tension here. No business model, no plans to monetize, and yet Colossal has the widest and deepest range of investors we have ever seen. They've received money from Peter Thiel, Paris Hilton, Tom Brady, the CIA, both Winklevite twins, and Peter Jackson, the creator of the Lord of the Rings movies.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
All that funding is why there were 10 billion bucks today. Colossal isn't launching products. They're launching plots. Blockbuster-sized plots. The lead investor in Colossal's latest fundraise is the Hollywood producer behind the movie Inception. And Jack, what was his one condition to put millions into the company? In exchange for my money, you need to bring back a blockbuster.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Now, Yiddish, we know there are a lot of species going extinct. Ones that are easier to de-extinct than a woolly mammoth or a dire wolf. But that wouldn't have satisfied the investors. That's not how you raise $225 million in funding, Jack. You don't become a $10 billion company by bringing back some extinct newt that no one's ever heard of.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Because Colossal, they started with the biggest mammal on Earth and a fictional character from Game of Thrones. Colossal runs their biotech business like a Hollywood studio runs a movie business. They focus on the blockbusters. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to get other people to do it.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
There's some things we wouldn't mind tariffs for. Yeah, like things that are so annoying, maybe they should be tariffed. We call them tasteful tariffs. We do. Things that we would tariff not for economic reasons, but for social reasons. For example, cargo shorts? Tariff them. QR code restaurant menus? Tariff them. Can we tariff pre-meetings before the real meeting?
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
For our third and final story, Shopify's CEO just published a letter that will change how you use AI at work every day. Because using AI is now mandatory. Oh, Jack, I got a long list of job interview questions here. Let me know if you got any of these. Tell me if anyone's ever asked you this. Tell me about a challenge in your life.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
How about tell me about an ambiguous problem you faced at work where you used data to reach a solution. Yeah, it's a wordy one, but I've gotten on to it. How about this? Where do you see yourself in five years, son? Tell me something you're going to stop doing, something you're going to keep doing, and something you're going to start doing.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
I'd probably walk out of the interview if someone asked that at that point. Keep notes. Repeat the beginning of the question five minutes ago. But yet, there is now a new question to add to the interview list that you better prepare for. How do you use AI on a daily basis? You better have an answer for that question if you work at Shopify. Shopify, the $100 billion B2B e-commerce platform.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
That's Shopify. They enable the buying and selling of anything online. But the biggest news from Shopify right now isn't earnings, isn't annual reports, it isn't tariffs. It's a letter from the CEO that leaked online. It was so controversial and widely discussed that the CEO, Tobias Lutke, decided to tweet it, the whole letter.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Now, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we read the letter for you because we guarantee you that your CEO definitely read it too. The letter includes Shopify's perspective when it comes to AI. And here it is. Use it or lose it. And by it, we mean your job at Shopify.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
The CEO's internal memo was conversational, but it finished with a very clear list of six things that you must have when it comes to AI. Very direct points. And here are the highlights. Point number one, using AI is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify. In the 2000s, touch typing was a fundamental skill. In the 2020s, it's now AI.
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🐺 “Dire Wolf of Wall Street” — Colossal’s 1st de-extinction. ThredUp’s tariff win. Shopify’s mandatory AI.
Point number three, your AI usage will be a question in every performance review. Your manager will be asking you how you use AI daily. No prompting, no promotion. Point number five, and this one was a surprise. We really didn't see this one coming. Before asking for more headcount or hiring, you must prove AI can't do the task. Oh, you want a junior content strategist to join the team?
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Poké Wednesday. I'm sorry, Ceviche Wednesday, January 8th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. The stock market just had its first bad day of 2025. The S&P fell 1.3%. The Nasdaq fell 2%. No clear reason why, but apparently it's not going to be a perfect year, Jack.
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By the way, the golfers, they can continue to compete in PGA Tour tournaments while they play TGL on the side. And each of those players happens to be mic'd up for the game. You can hear Tiger talk trash to Rory about his short game. But you don't just hear those players, you also... feel the players. They're tracking the players' heart rates.
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So if Rory misses a gimme putt, you'll see his heart rate hit like 200. Plus, the players own 10% of the league, so incentives are aligned. And that's something Tom Brady never got in the NFL. And finally, TGL owns a strategic night of the week. The competitions are on Tuesdays. No competition with PGA Tour and no competition with the NFL.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
The only thing missing from this league, Shooter McGavin and a one-eyed alligator, Jack. Pour one out for Chubbs. Took him down in his primes. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at TGL Golf? This is the first sports league designed for dopamine. Yetis, every other pro sports league was created pre-TV, a hundred years ago.
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You'd watch one sport or another, probably in person, that was it. But in the attention economy, TGL isn't competing against a baseball game. They're competing against TikTok, Netflix, and Instagram. So TGL is actually the first sport that was designed to compete with social media. The golfers have a 40-second shot clock to keep things going fast. Each competition, it can only last two hours.
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And with all the camera angles, you can see every player for every shot. Oh, and that volcanic lava hole we mentioned, it's made to go viral. And the course, it physically changes, so that goes viral too. And we expect sports betting to be injected into every shot of the game. Did you hear what McElroy said? I don't know, but I put 50 bucks on it. I put 100 bucks on Tiger wearing red.
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So besties, new sports leagues, they're emerging all the time, like pro pickleball. But this is the first league designed for dopamine. Because pickleball is designed for daiquiris. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? Mark Zuckerberg is ending fact-checking on his apps and basically putting a MAGA hat on meta.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
On social media, do your own research is now the only option. For our second story, our Surgeon General says that alcohol causes cancer, so he's recommending a warning label be placed on liquor. What he's recommending is a nudge, but never underestimate the power of the nudge. And our third and final story is TGL. It premiered last night. It's a brand new indoor virtual-ish team golf tournament.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
And this is the first ever sports league designed for dopamine. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, you may not realize it, but stock markets are actually closed tomorrow in honor of former president Jimmy Carter. President Biden declared it a national day of mourning on Thursday, January 9th. So parts of the government are closed too.
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Videos mentioning egg white skincare have surged 1.5 million percent in just the last quarter. What we're saying is that we're wearing egg whites for 15 minutes to look 15 years younger. Jack, you want a 43-step skincare routine? Did you add this to this thing yet? This is 44. Alex and I tried out the egg white omelet. Sorry. The egg white face mask. Dude, you paint it on your face.
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Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100 while we were on break last week. And his funeral is on Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery. We're still going to produce a pod though. So we'll have an episode for you Thursday morning. And second, while we were on vacation, Party City went into bankruptcy and actually shut down all of their stores right before New Year's. It's a huge bummer. It is.
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I'm a big fan of Party City. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's a really good time. But there's actually been a lot of bankruptcies recently because interest rates are still very high. Struggling retail chains are running out of money. Also, they interviewed the CFO of Party City and he said... The helium got really, really costly. So costly. Too soon, dude. Really funny, but too soon.
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He said it, Jack. He said it. And finally, Walter White's house from the TV show Breaking Bad is on the market in Arizona for $4 million. $4 million, which is double the price of any other house in the neighborhood. Honestly, it's a very Walter White thing to do. I think it's $4 million on the off chance that there's like $100 million of cash buried under the bed. Don't ask any questions.
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Just don't ask any questions. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Savannah Westwood from lovely Orlando, Florida. This one's wild. In Finland, when you get your doctorate, You get a sword. Not too shabby. A sword on your graduation day. It's actually meant to symbolize standing up for truth and freedom of research. In America, if you get a PhD, you get a diploma. Yeah.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
In Finland, you get Valyrian steel. It's like a knighting, but you're a doctor, not a sir. I think that's how they're going with it, Jack. Great, great thing that Finland's doing. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And if you've got the best fact yet, or if you just want a birthday, anniversary, bar mitzvah shout out on this show, we've got a link in this episode description.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Or just go to tboypod.com slash shout outs to fill out a simple form. We want to get your voice on the pod. Hit us up and we'll get you here. All right, dude. I think it's time to wrap up the show. I cracked the eggs. The egg whites are ready for you. One second. Do you put the cucumbers on your eyes if you're doing the egg white for Todd a face mask, Jack? Funny enough, you cook the cucumbers.
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You don't cook the eggs. If you know, you know. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Madalina Romana celebrating over in Portugal. And happy birthday to Ruby Chavez in Garden Grove, California. And Jackie Marino's got the best birthday yet over in New York City. Happy birthday to JB Blankfein over in New York City.
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And Cara Fuller from Hobe Sound, Florida is on a trip to Iceland next week to celebrate the best birthday yet. And happy 22nd birthday to Sophia Petrovaz in Newport, Rhode Island. Good luck on those GMATs. You got this, Sophia. And a happy birthday to Jesus Andrade over in Oklahoma City. That's a shout out from his old boss who was introduced to T-Boy by him four years ago. Nah. Not too shabby.
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Enjoy the New York City celebration, Jesus. And a quick shout out to Tony from Brooklyn, who let us know that there's a fake T-Boy account on Instagram trying to pull off some kind of crypto scheme. Yeah, it's not us. We are at T-Boy Pod on Instagram, and that's from us. Jack and I will never ask you for your money or a rando crypto scheme.
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Although we're kind of impressed and feeling flattered that someone tried to impersonate. It was very nice of them. And Jane Smith and Noah Nietzsche are going to have some very tall babies because they just got engaged over in Boston. Just outside Boston. And to anyone else, celebrate something today. Make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. I have to tell you the funny thing.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
It eventually gets crusty and you sort of peel it off. And along with the egg that you're peeling off, you're peeling away imperfection and impurities. So Jack, you got a frittata facial. No, I got a fried egg face mask. Hey waiter, just put the Eggs Benedict on my brow. And that's it. You can walk away. But here's the best part. In this economy, egg whites are both a facial cleanser and a dinner.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Molly texted me that she bought the dip and she bet on NASDAQ in her Robinhood account and bought some. What dip? It was like a slight dip. But then I was also like kind of down like last couple days. And then I was like, also, it's an investment, not a bet, right? Oh, God. She wrote back, he, he.
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If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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Because first you do the facial and then you eat the eggs. Exfoliate. activate scramble so jack it's kind of like dr seuss always taught us isn't it man i like egg whites on my chin i like egg whites on my grin sam i am i feel hotter wherever eggs have been besties let's hit our three stories
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15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
For our first story, Mark Zuckerberg just made Meta go MAGA. Zuck is ending fact-checking on Instagram and Facebook. So we're covering the history and the end of fact-checking. Oh, yeah, it is. Your Uncle Andy's Facebook post, the one about aliens abducting his neighbor's cow, is going to face a big change. It actually just got the blessing of Instagram and Facebook. Yeah, it's about to go viral.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
We're not going to get that win streak we were hoping for. No, the streak is over. But still, we got three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got? For our first story, Zuck just announced the biggest policy change in years. Instagram and Facebook are done fact-checking because Meta has gone MAGA. We'll explain. For our second story, alcohol stocks.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Congrats to your Uncle Andy. Because Mark Zuckerberg just announced there is no more fact-checking at his social media apps. Nada, none, dunzo. Instead, he's replacing human fact-checking with community notes. Community notes. Jack, what exactly are these new community notes that we're all going to start seeing over on Instagram?
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Community notes is something that Elon Musk invented when he acquired Twitter. Here's how this goes down, Yetis. On X, when someone posts lies or misleading content, users can jump in and add context. It's kind of like the way Wikipedia does it. And if a critical mass of people say that this tweet is wrong, then a little note is going to be attached to the bottom of the tweet saying, this is wrong.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Although those community notes, they usually come too late because, you know, people saw the misinformation already. They didn't see the community note. The misinformation goes viral. The community note does not. But this led to the big question Jack and I were curious about. Since 2016, Meta has invested $100 million in fact-checking with real-life human beings. So why the big switcheroo?
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Well, Zuck said yesterday that fact-checkers had been making too many errors and it had become political. Plus, he said meta has got to get back to its roots of free expression. But what is Zuckerberg really saying, Nick? Jack, can we get a little translation on that quote, please? It's pretty clear here that Zuck is trying to warm up to the Trump administration.
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He says that social media has been censoring conservative views for years. And In fact, this fact check switcheroo by Zuck is actually part of his big let's make up hug that he's been trying to pull off with Donald Trump. Get this. Yesterday, Zuck also said that he's moving the company's trust in safety teams from California to Texas.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
And the day before that, Zuck appointed Dana White, Trump's buddy and the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, to join Meta's board of directors. And of course, like every other tech CEO, Zuck bent the knee by donating a million dollars to Trump's inauguration. Jack, Zuck even got a MAGA tattoo on his left calf over New Year's. He didn't do that, did he?
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
You're going to have to fact check me on it, Jack. Oh, wait, I can't. Community note! Zuck said yesterday, it feels like we're in a new era after the election. So he actually is explicitly saying this is because of the election. So after years of Instagram and Facebook pushing puppy content above political content, they're pulling a switcheroo and reversing. This is the last policy update.
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🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Political posts are going to be welcomed on Instagram and Facebook again. Jack, can we get another translation on that? Trump's post will be more visible than ever on Instagram and Facebook. And maybe your uncle really did see an alien take his neighbor's cow. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Meta? Do your own research is now your only option. Yeah, it is.
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For more than two centuries, we relied on journalists and experts to be the arbiters of the truth. But the internet disrupted news and information, and our trust for institutions have gone away. In fact, Elon Musk said last month, you are the media. And honestly, we think he's right on that. What he means is it's up to you to decide what's true and what's false.
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even though the average person isn't qualified to do that when it comes to complex matters. As Axios put it, trustworthy information will now co-mingle with garbage and misinformation. So on X, Instagram, and Facebook, each person is going to have to decide what's fact and what's fiction. And now quick side note from us, you know, we fact check everything we do on our show every single day.
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They're down big after the Surgeon General said that alcohol causes cancer. Besties, your next bottle of Jack Daniels could come with a warning label. Big one. And our third and final story. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's brand new indoor golf league debuted last night on ESPN. But this golf league is not designed for greens. This golf league is designed for screens. Four! Shoot him again.
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If we get a fact wrong, we correct it in the next podcast. It's really important to us. And we hope you continue to trust us because we do fact check. But on social media, we are now in the do your own research era. Do your own research is now the default. Do your own research is now your only option. For our second story, the worst performing stock so far this year, it's alcohol.
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Alcohol stocks are dropping. Because the U.S. Surgeon General says that alcohol causes cancer. And alcohol deserves a warning label. You know, Jack, if we're going to start off this story, we may as well share a few hangover cures. Anything good? What do you got these days? I always did a bacon, egg, and cheese. I don't know if it works, but it makes me feel good. Some people do ginger tea.
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Some people do element. You know, I would like a deep tissue massage if that's possible. I feel like that's extremely effective. Well, unfortunately, the entire alcohol industry... is still suffering a New Year's Eve hangover, and that Advil ain't working. No, it ain't, because the stock in the parent companies of Budweiser, Jack Daniels, and Smirnoff all fell 2-5% since New Year's Day. Why?
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Because a report was published by the U.S. Surgeon General, our top medical scientist. And Vivek Murthy came out swinging. He said that alcohol causes cancer and that there is, get this, no safe level of alcohol to drink. He went on to say that the more alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of cancer.
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In fact, that is why the Surgeon General also just asked Congress for warning labels on alcohol bottles just like they do with cigarettes. A warning label. The next time you buy a bottle of Fireball, there might be a big cancer sticker next to that Dancing Devil logo. If you get smeared off ice by your buddy Timmy, I think you can sue him now, Jack. Honestly though, Nick, I was shocked by this.
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Yeah, because everyone knows asbestos, cigarettes, and radiation, that can lead to cancer. But according to the report, less than half of us knew that alcohol could. Timing for dry January, isn't it, Jack? So we put down the pinot and we jumped into the numbers T-boy style. Hey, bartender, close out our tabs. Now, the current guidelines on healthy amounts of alcohol, what is it, Nick?
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You're not to have more than two drinks a day. In fact, growing up, they told us that a bottle of red wine was actually good for your heart. Either way, the Surgeon General says all those guidelines have been wrong. Yeah. He points out that alcohol causes 100,000 cases of cancer every year among Americans. Oh, and Jack, what was that one particularly wild cancer stat?
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Overall, one-sixth of breast cancer cases in America are caused by alcohol. Now, the reason alcohol is able to do this is because as your body metabolizes alcohol, it damages the DNA, and the damaged cells divide, and that leads to cancer. Plus, alcohol depletes the vitamins we have that help us fight cancer naturally. So alcohol's a double whammy.
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But besties, Jack and I got curious, so we dove further into the numbers. And what did we discover, Jack? Like a bottle of Brunello, it's even more complex than we've said so far. Yeah, so yes, the risk of cancer increases with each drink you drink every week, but how much does that risk of cancer actually increase?
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The Surgeon General says that the average American man has a 10% chance of getting cancer in their lifetimes if they have no alcohol consumption. Okay, but Jack, what if that average American man has seven drinks per week instead of zero drinks per week? Your chance of getting cancer rises to 11%.
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So besties, add it all up, and one drink per day increases your risk of cancer by about 10% for both men and for women. Two drinks per day? They didn't say how much that increases your risk of cancer, but I don't know, 20%? It was more than I expected, honestly. It's not a huge number, but it's not a small number. Meaningful numbers here. It's not going to make me never get a Negroni again.
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Friday nights, I'm still going to do my celebrate the wins routine and pour that Negroni, Jack. But maybe only on Friday nights. And not six of them on Friday nights. Although I wasn't doing six of them before, for the record. I think you've said enough. I think we've made ourselves clear. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the liquor industry? Never underestimate the nudge.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack. We have some great news. If your news resolution was to look hotter this year. Because the first big beauty trend in 2025 is egg whites. Bad news if you're a vegan. Just to be clear. Yeah, spoiler alert. Because egg white face masks are back, baby. Actually.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Yetis, the Surgeon General is not recommending a ban of alcohol. That would infringe on freedom and get some people pretty freaked out. Instead, he's recommending a nudge. That warning label is a nudge to nudge you not to drink. Now, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we discovered that three countries already have alcohol label warnings.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
South Korea already has it, Ireland is about to get it, and the third one... was Canada. Canada tested out warning labels for alcohol in the Yukon territories. And the result? Sales of labeled alcohol fell by 7%. 7% drop, all because they put a cancer warning on the Jack Daniels labels. Now, not all labels are equal.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Larger labels are more effective, and labels with fewer words but more visuals are also more effective. But still, that simple nudge of the label, it is a powerful economic force. Never underestimate... The nudge. The nudge. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
For our third and final story, the world's two best-known golfers launched a brand-new indoor golf league that just debuted last night. It's called TGL, and it's the first sports league not designed for competition, but designed for dopamine. You know, yet he's Jack and I didn't grow up with country clubs.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
So like everything about golf, we learned from Rodney Dangerfield and a whole bunch of gophers and Caddyshack. You know, the hole is the ball's natural habitat. He's got his bags ready. He's got his tickets. Send him to the airport. Bring them home. Bring them home.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
But the two better golfers than Jack, me, Rodney Dangerfield, or those gophers are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, because they're also golf entrepreneurs. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy raised $500 million to create a brand new golf league called TGL, which stands for Tomorrow Golf League.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
And they used that half a billion dollars to build an indoor golf facility because this golf league is entirely indoors. Three on three golf. It premiered last night on ESPN. The golfers drive the ball into a gigantic screen, but then chipping and putting happens on an indoor course in the arena. This is a tech enabled futuristic golf league experience.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
If Andreessen Horowitz wore pleated khakis, that's this. It's like video games, Topgolf, and Happy Gilmore had a beautiful, beautiful baby. The ESPN had the first game last night in their brand new indoor golf arena in Florida. Now, Jack and I got curious. We jumped in T-boy style. And the business model of this new golf league, it's the same as all the other pro sports leagues out there.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
They make revenue through ticket sales, merchandise sales, and media deals. But we did notice that everything else about this new golf league is unprecedented. Yes, it is. Yetis, we said last year that the sports industry overall is being disrupted right now. Well, TGO Golf is the most visual example we've ever seen of exactly that statement. Let's go back to the venue.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Actually, the egg white face mask dates back to the early Italian Renaissance. Women used to paint their faces with egg white liquid in order to achieve a paler look on their face. Well, thanks to TikTok, the egg white facial is back, baby. And it's the fastest growing beauty trend in the market. That's right. Gen Z is trading out CeraVe for chicken eggs. Yetis, here's the news.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
It is purpose-built just for this game. It's in Florida, and 1,500 fans can look down at the golfers as they compete in real life. Players are teeing off into a giant virtual simulator screen and then they're chipping and putting in real life all in front of you. And since it's a virtual screen, the holes, they can use their imagination. Like one hole is a volcano. It's a volcano.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
Like you don't slice the ball into a cute little pond of water. You slice it into a pit of lava. Each event is 15 holes of golf and each hole, they change the green within the arena to so that the slope is different for each hole. Because there are 567 hydraulic jacks under all the grass, so they can literally turn like a par four into a par five with hills and a hurricane.
The Best One Yet
🌹 “META goes MAGA”— Zuck’s fact-check switcheroo. Tiger’s viral golf league. Alcohol’s 1st warning label.
They can turn an easy putt into, you know, a really steep uphill putt. The best is this isn't your typical golf because it's got three PGA players on each team. And there are six teams that represent America's biggest cities. New York City's got a team, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, LA, and Florida. LA, by the way, best logo on the team. Cool jerseys.
The Best One Yet
🥐 “Baguette Bangers” — Le Pain Quiotidien’s disco. China’s disappearing data. DoorDash’s vibe-cession.
The limit does not exist.
The Best One Yet
🥐 “Baguette Bangers” — Le Pain Quiotidien’s disco. China’s disappearing data. DoorDash’s vibe-cession.
It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
📺 “XXXL TV” — The 100-inch TV Boom. Calm’s election night win. Boeing’s return-on-union.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we're ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, March 5th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. One second, Jack. I just got to put a candle in this bratwurst because I believe it is somebody's birthday. over there. It's my full birthday, not my quarter birthday, okay, Nick?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It's a Snow King, which is a snowman who wears a crown, a red cape, and carries ice cream in one hand. Like Frosty married the Michelin Man and had a baby. And most of the locations have a person wearing that mascot as a costume. This mascot has gone viral for getting into physical fights with other store mascots. The Snow King is beloved over there because he's so extreme.
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💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And the third extreme is the Mishu Song. Every Mishu can play only one song inside this door. It's a jingle, and it's set to the tune of America's Oh Susanna. We're just going to mess with your heads and play it right here. It's never going to leave.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
That's all they play in the stores. On repeat, all day, every day. That's extreme. So we know what you're wondering, Yetis. How have you still not heard about the biggest chain in the world? Because it's only in China, Japan, Australia, and South Korea so far. But the most extreme part of Mishu is actually something we haven't even mentioned yet. It's not actually a fast food company.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Done, done, done. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Mishu? You may know the business, but not necessarily the business model. Get this, Yetis. Mishu doesn't own or operate a single store. Because all 45,000 Mishu stores are franchises. All of them. Now, for Starbucks, only about half of them are owned by the company. The other half are run by local business people.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
For McDonald's, 95% of locations are franchises. The company still runs 5% to understand the business. In fact, every fast food chain Jack and I know of runs at least some locations on their own to understand the business. But not Michoud. So Michoud is actually just a supply company when you think about it. Exactly, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Like 100% of Michoud's business is actually licensing the name, licensing the brand, selling supplies, selling ingredients, giving recipes to the 45,000 restaurant owners. So, Michoud is the world's largest buyer of lemons, but they don't make a single glass of lemonade. Michoud simply sells those lemons to the Michoud franchisees.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
So, Michoud is the world's biggest fast food chain, but it's actually not a fast food company. It's a supplier. And that is a reminder that when you know the business, you may not necessarily know the business model. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for your birthday? 36 years old, I'm feeling great. Nick, you can finally watch SportsCenter without cable.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It's called SC+, and it's for Gen Z sports curious. It's a playbook on content catering to youths, a.k.a. the Riz Pivot. For our second story, America is now in a trade war against Mexico, Canada, and China, and each country has already announced retaliatory tariffs. It's trade war two, and the car industry in particular is suffering from policy whiplash. And our third and final story is Mishu.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Jack, they all followed in the footsteps of the DLT. The DLT, the Doritos Locos Taco, is the latest episode of our deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet. The DLT, it's part Dorito seasoning, part taco shell, part crazy. And depending on how big your belly is, it's definitely something you've dreamed about.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It's the world's largest chain, and it just IPO'd in Hong Kong. You may know a business, but not necessarily the business model. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, President Trump just put all military funding for Ukraine on pause. President Trump won't give Ukraine aid until he's convinced that Ukraine's president wants peace.
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💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
He's asking Ukraine to shake hands with the much bigger country that tried to invade it. Then on Tuesday, President Zelensky submitted a peace proposal to the United States. So we'll see what happens. And second, major ports along the Panama Canal were just sold for $23 billion. The old owner was a Chinese company, which the White House hated.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
But the new owner is BlackRock, a massive American money manager based in midtown Manhattan. And finally, if you open your Uber app in Austin, Texas today, you might see robo-taxis as a ride-hell option. That's right, because Waymo just turned on the robo-taxi service in Austin right before the South by Southwest festival begins. You can only access Waymo robo-taxis in Austin using the Uber app.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
You can't use the Waymo app like you can in San Francisco or Los Angeles. Oh, here's the awkward part. Austin is also Tesla's new headquarters, so we're expecting Elon to maybe make a competing announcement about the CyberCat. I think he doesn't want South by Southwest being Waymo'd. Which one is going to become the verb first? Now time for the best fact.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Yeah, this one whipped up by my co-host Jack because it's his birthday and he gets the fact. Now the Oscars just happened, Nick, and you know I love movie trivia. Now one of my favorite categories is name an actor who's been a villain more than once. I'm thinking of people who frown a lot. So Ralph Fiennes has been an actor, a villain in more than one movie. I feel like he's only a villain.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Kevin Spacey has been a villain three times, I think. You're not giving me much time to guess, but keep going. You're on a roll. I just discovered an actor who's been a villain in four different movies. Alan Rickman. Oh, Rickman. He was Severus Snape in Harry Potter. Classic. He was Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Got snubbed. He was the bad guy in Sweeney Todd. Didn't even see it, but I love it.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And in love, actually, he's not a very good guy either, is he, Nick? No, no, no. No, no, no, no. He could have shown a little bit more love. The late, great Alan Rickman is the greatest villain of all time. But a good guy in our hearts.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, you look like you're in your prime. You're in your prime number year, actually, man. 37's a prime number, baby. I thought it was 35, but honestly, who's counting anymore? In the meantime, besties, remember to check out The Best Idea Yet, our weekly show, which just dropped, about the Doritos Locos Taco. Besties, we'll see you there. Jack, have fun tonight.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Besties, if you want to understand the very beginning of influencer marketing and things going viral online, then listen to this episode. Because an idea scribbled on a 10-year-old post-it note actually saved Taco Bell. And that note almost got thrown out. And the result caused the world to go crazy on this new thing called Twitter. I think you mean loco.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
We'll see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy 28th birthday to Alex M, celebrating in Boston, just outside Boston. Happy birthday to Jackie Wong from Memphis. Shout out for bowling their first ever perfect 300. Okay, drinks on Jackie. Is that 10 straight strikes? I've never had two in a row, Jack. And Tom Snyder is celebrating a birthday, maybe in a RoboCab, in Austin, Texas.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And congrats on the promotion. Happy birthday to Alex Crowe in Eureka, California. And Leslie Akin in Menlo Park is celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Shane Kroll in Chicago. And Rick Finlay is turning 33 years old down in Dallas. Happy sixth birthday to Wade Jeffers in Athens, Ohio. Wade, you and me got the best birthdays, don't we?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Margo Zern celebrating a birthday down in Hotlanta, Georgia. Happy birthday to Felicia, who is looking fantastic at the age of 37 today in Galena, Kansas. And Shane McConnell's got a birthday in Boise, baby. Happy birthday. And happy birthday to Ryan Tite from San Francisco, who's a leap year, baby. So we're not going to celebrate on leap day.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
On that note, happy birthday to Steve Harden, who's also a leap day, baby. Yeah, good guy, good guy. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney, Nick owns stock in Shake Shack, and we both own stock in Chipotle and ETFs of the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Yet is this best-selling taco of all time is the next episode of our weekly show, TBIY. The best idea yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. So later today after this T-boy, check out our weekly deep dive show, TBIY. New episodes drop every Tuesday for the best idea yet. Tap the link in the episode description because the Doritos Locos Taco is the best idea yet.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
I'm feeling good, dude. You're in the best shape of your life. You're in the best shape of your life, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Nothing wrong with celebrating quarters, Jack. A candle and a brat is exactly what the doctor ordered. Maybe a yak sweater in the future, but I want to get your hopes up. Yetis, we got three fantastic stories for Jack's big birthday. Jack, what do we got on the TV, boy? For our first story, ESPN just launched a Gen Z sports center that they're calling SC+.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
For our first story, SportsCenter, the most profitable TV show of all time, is finally making what we're calling a Riz Pivot. It's called SC+, a shorter version of SportsCenter designed for the Gen Z sports curious. Yet, Jack and I have noticed that anything today branded with a plus sign, it means you're going to have to pay for it. And that all started with Disney Plus.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
You might not remember, but back when it launched in 2019, Disney Plus was the first time a plus was used as a corporate suffix. Netflix didn't use a plus. Now the pluses are everywhere, and it means you have to pay $9.99 a month for it. And finally, this week, Disney put its most successful show of all time on Disney Plus. We're talking about SportsCenter.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
You know, Jack, I didn't get to grow up with you, but I feel like your Saturday mornings consisted of you and your dad in boxers, maybe with a t-shirt on, maybe not, but watching SportsCenter.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Here's what would happen. The Yankees would be playing way past my bedtime. So in the morning, I'd rush to SportsCenter and I would put up video cassettes on the bottom so that I didn't see the score on the bottom and spoil it. And I'd wait for the highlights. It's the best part of my morning. Is this your 37th birthday today or your 47th?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
But yet, this is what Jack and I find fascinating about SportsCenter. SportsCenter is actually the most profitable TV show of all time. And we've got proof. We got the receipt. Because SportsCenter's first episode was back in 1979. And it's had 60,000 episodes since. And SportsCenter airs multiple new episodes every single day throughout the day.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
SportsCenter was the flagship of ESPN, which was Disney's historic profit puppy. Now, as cable TV started conquering America in the 90s and early 2000s, SportsCenter anchors became the first influencers. They were. I bought Dan Patrick sunglasses. Your uncle shaved his head, Jack, because of Scott Van Pelt.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
In fact, it's thanks to SportsCenter that ESPN demanded the biggest cut of the cable bill by far. Jack, can we just pause the pause for a sec? And can you repeat that for everyone in the stands? I'm going to say it differently. As recently as 2015, ESPN made three times more in affiliate fees than the number two cable channel did, which was TNT.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Like we were saying, SportsCenter, it isn't just a profit puppy. It's the most profitable TV show of all time. But because of cord cutting, SportsCenter's viewership is a fraction of what it used to be. Which leads to the news. Jack, step on up. What's the news, buddy? ESPN just gave SportsCenter their biggest makeover since Babe Ruth. Not sure about that analogy, but let's go with it.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Because they're now letting cord cutters watch SportsCenter. That's right. Even if you've cut the cable TV cord, you can now get a new version of SportsCenter called SC+. Ten years overdue, in our opinion. Classic. But SC Plus is a 15-minute long show that airs daily on Disney+. And the entire format is a top 10 plays that happened yesterday.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Now, funny thing that Jack just said, it's 10 years overdue in our opinion, because the new SC Plus is targeting 10-year-olds. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at SportsCenter? SC Plus shows the playbook of catering to youth. So, Yetis, ESPN basically just created a sports center for Gen Z. A Riz pivot, if you will. They low-key covered sports center in Riz until it slaps.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
So Jack and I will tell you if this business plan slaps or if it's cringe. For our second story, it's official. After a one month delay, the U.S. is now in a trade war against Canada and Mexico. So to understand the pain of these tariffs, we're looking at one product. The Chevy Silverado. For our third and final story, the world's largest fast food chain isn't McDonald's or Starbucks.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And they did it with four specific strategies. The first one is the wardrobes. The anchors are wearing suits because it's ESPN, but they're also wearing sneakers because they're under 30. And now the second key is something Jack and I know well, the content, the format. It's basically bullet points. The top 10 format is a predictable top 10 highlight reel. The third key here is five second ads.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
The commercial for Daredevil, Born Again, was so fast, you don't even have time to change the channel. And that's part of the strategy. And finally, the last... Can Gen Z SportsCenter save SportsCenter? Does this new SportsCenter slap or is it cringe? Let us know in the comments. For our second story, America is officially in a trade war with our neighbors after 25% tariffs hit Canada and Mexico.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
To understand the pain that this means, we're looking at one product. One product. The Chevy Silverado. Now, Yetis, maybe you did or maybe you didn't circle your calendars, but either way, Jack and I got your backs. Remember last month when we told you that Trump delayed the tariffs he was going to hit Mexico and Canada with by one month?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Well, we got a calendar notification and that delay expired yesterday. So, as of yesterday, anything entering the United States from Canada and Mexico is now subject to a 25% tax. As we said, it is trade war two. Oh, and by the way, trade war two has also already escalated with China this week. As of yesterday, tariffs on anything coming from China doubled to 20%.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Remember what we said, besties, nobody wins with tariffs. It's bad for investors, bad for companies, bad for consumers, and we'll explain why right now. Okay, so Jack, let's talk about the response quickly. The companies, the reactions, what happened in the markets? Yesterday, Target and Best Buy both said that they were going to pass on tariffs to us through higher prices.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
So Target and Best Buy stocks both failed. Also yesterday, Chipotle, which imports avocados and tortillas from Mexico, they said they wouldn't raise prices. Instead, they would absorb the cost. But that means that profits at Chipotle are going to be smaller, so Chipotle's stock fell as well. No matter how a business responds to these tariffs, they're going to suffer.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And so stocks overall fell the past two days. Like we said, nobody wins with tariffs. Extra guac is about to get extra. But get this, stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, have now officially fallen below where they were the day after the election. That's right. The Trump bump of the last couple months, it has now officially disappeared.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
But the biggest loser of trade war two might actually be the Chevy Silverado. The old Chevy Silverado. And anyone who may want to buy a Chevy Silverado. Because get this, Yetis, Chevy sold 673,000 of their flagship pickup trucks last year, and half of them were assembled in Mexico or Canada.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
So Jack and I got curious, we dove in T-boy style, and we followed the journey of how you make a Chevy Silverado truck. Well, when those Mexican or Canadian-made Silverados enter the US to be sold at a US car dealership, General Motors will now have to pay a tax of $10,000. $10,000 per car. A 25% tariff times a $70,000 Silverado is a lot of money.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It's Mishu with 45,000 locations. Mishu sells ice cream and boba tea for $1 in China and it just IPO'd. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, on my birthday. Your fantastic four-quarter birthday. What a mix of stories, Jack. Let's do my favorite thing, which is trivia. What product was so viral that it required 15,000 extra workers to serve it?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
And we're not even including this seat heater upgrade on that. But Jack, what about the 50% of Chevy Silverados that are actually made in America? they're actually going to get more expensive too. And why is that, Jack? The power steering and door trim panels of all Silverados are made in Mexico.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Oh, and according to the Financial Times, the taillights of those Silverados made in America are actually made in Canada. So no matter what, the Chevy Silverado is about to get a lot more expensive. And that's going to hurt sales, it's going to hurt General Motors stock, and then it's going to hurt consumers. Silverado, though, is just one example. It's not just the car industry.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Good point, Jack, because actually any big manufactured thing probably had its passport stamped in Canada and Mexico a whole bunch of times before it ended up in your pantry. And why is that? Well, ironically, it's because of a major trade deal that Donald Trump signed in his first term as president. And we'll explain in our takeaway.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are consumers in America? American business is being punished with policy whiplash. Policy whiplash. Yeti's wild detail that everyone forgets from this whole story. The reason American car companies are building in Canada and Mexico, what is it, Jack? It's because of the trade deal that Trump made in his first term. Remember?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It was like the new NAFTA, the U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. It meant that cars could freely be traded between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada as long as they were 75% made in North America. Well, based on that deal, which President Trump called the most important trade deal ever, car companies started making factories in Canada and Mexico. And the United States. True, true, true.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Ford, GM, and Chrysler, they spent billions on the belief that North America was a free trade zone. But here's the policy plot twist. Five years later, today, all those factories are now being punished with these new tariffs, and that... So, is GM going to pack up from Mexico and Canada and move their Silverado plants to the U.S.? That's what Trump wants.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
But probably not, Jack, because that would be really expensive. And President Trump could change his mind again, and that would be even more expensive for them. He probably will change his mind again. I wouldn't be shocked if in a month these tariffs are either doubled or gone.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Well, no matter what he does, this is why America's car stocks have plummeted 20% just since November's election and why car prices are about to spike as well. Because five years ago, Trump dramatically changed the rules of trade in North America, and now he's doing it again. Add it all up, and businesses are now suffering from policy whiplash.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
For our third and final story, the largest fast food chain in the world is a brand you've never heard of, and it's called Mishu. Mishu sells $1 ice cream and boba teas in China, and it just IPO'd out of nowhere. Out of nowhere. But Yetis, remember last year when we covered the story of the bubble tea bubble? Boba tea stocks were dropping like tapioca.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Jack, what product was so viral it was invented in a top-secret research lab? We're not talking about the atomic bomb or the H-bomb. It's the Doritos Locos Taco. The Doritos Locos Tacos. When Doritos and Taco Bell had a baby, we actually got the most influential brand collab of all time. The Popeye's Chicken Sandwich, Dunkin' Donuts' Charlie Drink, and Starbucks' Unicorn Frappuccino.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Well, Yetis, there is one outlier to the bubble tea bubble, and it's a company called Michoud. And it has more locations than McDonald's. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context, please? Michoud's 45,000 locations beats McDonald's 42,000 and Starbucks' 38,000. Yeah, it's twice as much as KFC and like 40 times more than Shake Shack. But what the heck is Michoud?
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
It's actually a drink chain that sells everything for a dollar or less. Ice cream and boba tea. That's all they sell. Honestly, my two favorite things. Jack, this is the dollar store of dessert. And that's why it's worth one-tenth of McDonald's, despite having more locations than McDonald's.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
Because there's only so much profit you can make when you're dedicated to a $1 price tag like a Frappuccino-only discount Starbucks. And here's the news. They just IPO'd at a $10 billion valuation over in Hong Kong. The stock of Mishu popped 40% on its first day of trading like a cheap little sugar high. But here's the question we're all wondering. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
💥 “ESPN Rizzzz” — Gen Z’s SportsCenter. Silverado’s tariff explainer. Boba Ice Cream IPO.
How did Mishu become the biggest chain on earth? Well, yetis, Jack and I have said before, there is no competition at the extremes. And Mishu has positioned itself at the extreme of every customer touchpoint. The first extreme is Mishu's price. Their average mango tapioca milkshake sells for 83 cents. That's extreme. All right, the second extreme is the Mishu mascot.
The Best One Yet
🙈 “1 year without shopping” — The No-Buy-2025 trend. Chick-fil-A’s champagne drive-thru. Spotify’s Spice Girls monopoly.
15 years before this song Two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm They had an idea to cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm Jack Nick, that's it I don't even think they need to practice 50%, that's a fat tip T-Boy City on your at list If you know, you know, cause we ready to go We can't wait no more, so just start the show
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, so each a Wednesday, June 4th. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh my God, Yetis, we're going to make you the most interesting person in the room today. Jack, are these the three best stories we've ever done?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
But Jack and I think that we know the sunniest forecast for the Weather Channel's business of all. So Jack, we've got a low pressure takeaway system coming in with a 73% chance of takeaway. Can you please give us the takeaway advisory for our buddies over at The Weather Channel? The most undervalued element of advertising is the weather. Yetis, think about it.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
More than anything else, it is the weather that determines your spending decisions. My weekend, where I spend money, is completely dependent on whether it's sunny or rainy. That's why every month, 330 million people check the Weather Channel on TV, on the app, or on the website. And those 330 million people are there to check the weather. companies can advertise based on the weather forecast.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
For example, Tyson Foods is actually a big buyer of Weather Channel ads adjacent to sunny weather because they know you're grilling, so they want to pitch you hot dogs. If there's a hurricane in the forecast, Home Depot can buy ads on weather.com because you're buying plywood. Even digital companies are affected by the weather.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Well, yetis, it's because of this, that men on dating apps inflate their height by an average of two inches. Can you believe that? It's match misinformation and it's rampant among men. That's why our buddy Timmy only uploaded pictures with people who he was taller than. I'm tall compared to these other people. Men, they will literally fake their height before going to therapy.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Like if it's pouring this weekend, that's an opportunity to promote an HBO Max binge. Add it all up, Yetis. Americans trust the Weather Channel way more than any other news outlet. And that's why advertisers have a rainy day fund for the Weather Channel. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Netflix stock hit an all-time high as they shocked and awed with a dozen epic trailers. But Netflix's, ta-dum, content fest is the worst thing you're going to watch on Netflix this year. It's kind of anti-Netflix. For our second story, Dr. Squatch is doing $400 million in soap sales by sponsoring stand-up comedians. Dr. Squatch is banking on Jester's privilege. Power and forgiveness.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And our third and final story is the Weather Channel. For the fourth year in a row, they're the number one most trusted news in the country. Here it comes, Jack. And the weather forecast is the most underrated variable in advertising. I don't care about pressure systems. I just want to know the temperature and the chance of precipitation. You're a real feel guy, aren't you, Jack?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
You're a real feel. You better factor in that humidity for Jack, guys. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Meta just signed a 20-year deal to take all the electricity from one nuclear power plant in the state of Illinois. Why? Data centers. Your AI chatbot questions require a ton of juice. And Meta, they want to become carbon neutral someday.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Which nuclear power is? It's also a trend. Microsoft announced last year they would buy all the power from Three Mile Island. the infamous plant in Pennsylvania that is getting reopened. And second, Elon Musk was given a farewell on Friday in the White House from President Trump. And he said recently in a bunch of interviews that he was stepping back from politics, working on his companies again.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
But on Tuesday, Elon jumped right back in, calling the Republican budget passed by the House a disgusting abomination. It puts Elon strongly at odds with President Trump, whom the Big Beautiful Bill was named by. And finally, McKinsey is using artificial intelligence for PowerPoint presentations, which the company confessed to Bloomberg. McKinsey actually built their own generative AI.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
so that they could enter private client information and it would remain private. Yeah, so like AI is doing the first draft of the pitch decks, the stuff junior employees would typically do at a consulting firm. It's a bummer to hear this if you're a company paying top dollar for McKinsey's MBAs.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Chat GP Kinsey costs 19 bucks a month and it will put arrows going in different directions on each and every slide. Does McKinsey do animations from slide to slide? No, that's the big, beautiful Bane arrow, Jack. The big red Bane arrow, that's what that is. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by our buddy Cheddar McFeta because it happens to be National Cheese Day.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
It's National Cheese Day, so we've got a fact about bread, okay? Here we go. Bread bag twist ties. You know what they look like. They're actually color-coded, which you probably didn't know. This is actually great news. The color of the twist tie that's tying your bag of bread at the top, it depends on the day. that the bread was baked. Okay, a blue twist tie, that's a Monday bread.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Now, we should remind everyone listening. Women say that height does not matter to them. Which of course means that height does matter. So, Bestie, since you can't see us, this is an audio pod. We want to be transparent with you. Jack and I are both 6'1", which means we're really 5'11", because we rounded up from 5'10 1⁄2". We're actually both 5'10". Barely.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
A green twist tie, that's a Tuesday bread. And a red twist tie, that's a Thursday bread. Friday's white, Saturday's yellow. What about Wednesday and Sunday? Well, they don't do bread deliveries those days, so they don't get a color of twist tie. There is hope in the world. There's a meaning to the color of your twist tie. Yetis, you look fantastic today, whether you're 6'4 or 4'6.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
We're not judging. When I went to Middlebury College and met with a football coach, I put a pack of index cards in both shoes to be an inch taller. The Brown Lacrosse website literally had me listed at 6'2. That is the most outrageous embellishment of height I've ever heard. That's if I have a helmet on, cleats, and I'm standing on somebody else.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
So besties, remember to tell a buddy today to check out this episode. H-Y-H-T-V-O-Y. Have you heard the best one yet? Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Before we go, a happy 60th birthday to legendary Yeti Danny Herrera down in Panama City, Panama. Nick, have you heard about Tucker Scott, whose birthday it is today? He turns 12 in Henderson, Tennessee. Okay, but tell me about his portfolio, Jack.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
He owns shares of NVIDIA and Tesla. That's right, Tucker Scott. It's boom times in the Scott household. He's outperforming all of us. And Rufio Hooks down in Nashville, Tennessee is writing songs and celebrating a birthday. Happy 52nd birthday to Adam Okorofsky in Toronto, Ontario, listening to T-Boy right now with the family. And Jason Down over in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Wonderful city, wonderful birthday, Jason. Happy birthday to Dawkins the dog, who's turning four in Oceanside, California. Who's a good boy? And a congratulations to legendary Yetis, Kim and Tyler Malik, the co-founders of Salt and Straw. Get this, Nick gets to interview them tonight on their book, which is just publishing. It's an ice cream recipe book tour.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Yetis, if you're in San Francisco, you can come over to Omnivore Books tonight. I get to interview Kim and Tyler. They are just brilliant, creative and business minds. It's amazing what they've created with Salt and Straw. If you're going to the event to see Nick interview the Salt and Straw people at Omnivore Books, you should know this is not a dairy-free event. No. Bringing the lactose.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And Erica and Dairy U in Rancho Palos Verdes is graduating from middle school. Congratulations, Erica. This is Jack Ironstock of Netflix and Disney. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
We're extremely average in the height department. Barely, barely, barely.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
For our first story, Nick, Netflix stock hit an all-time high yesterday. Why? Netflix's annual content fest shows us the paradox of the Netflix. For our second story, Dr. Squatch is the biggest soap startup in the country. Because Dr. Squatch went where no corporate sponsor would dare go. Stand-up comedy. And our third and final story is the most trusted news source in the country.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
For our first story, Netflix's stock hit an all-time high yesterday. The reason? But Netflix's annual Ta-Dum Content Fest is also the antithesis of Netflix. We'll explain. But Jack, let's start by sprinkling on some Silicon Valley context. Steve Jobs broke the internet when he unveiled the iPhone in 2007 at a big product event. Elon Musk did the same thing in 2019 when he unveiled the Cybertruck.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Remember those broken bulletproof windows? Yeah, I do, Jack. That was quite a stunt. Add it all up, yetis, and you are not a big tech business unless your CEO has hosted a massive event with a product unveil like David Blaine. Well, Netflix wants in on the internet breaking. So, starting in 2020, they've hosted an annual content unveil for everything coming to the streaming platform.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Basically, Netflix is treating their content like it's a tech product. And this event they do every year is called... And last weekend it happened at the Forum in Los Angeles. By the way, media companies do something similar, but they do it for advertisers. It's called Upfront. We've actually been to one of them. You pitch your shows to advertisers. It's pretty common.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Netflix is pitching their shows and their movies for the coming year, but they're doing it for us consumers. So, Jack, what is the best way to think about Netflix's annual unique content fest? It's basically a live concert. of just movie trailers. Yeah, you're going to need two thumbs up and a whole bunch of rotten tomatoes to get through this thing.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Now, the blockbuster of the Tadum event was Frankenstein. True, Oscar Isaac plays Dr. Frankenstein. It's coming to theaters this fall. It's Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic book. Yeah. And based on the trailer... You're going to pee your pants. Yeah, you're going to need a new couch.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Speaking of peeing pants, Jack, Adam Sandler and Shooter McGavin were also on stage to promote Happy Gilmore 2. The trailer was hilarious. It includes cameos from Ben Stiller, a bunch of pro golfers, and of course, not of course... Bad Bunny is in this movie. Tap, tap, tap-a-roo. Also, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are going to star in their fifth movie together.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And Daniel Craig is doing his third Knives Out movie. Then Netflix dropped trailers for Wednesday season two, Squid Game season three, and Stranger Things season five. Oh, you want some sweat? They brought the sweat too. They hyped WWE wrestling and NFL football, both live events happening this year on Netflix.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And in case well-written screenplays don't interest you, Netflix put the Love is Blind cast on the kiss cam during the live event. There was some making out. There was some snogging. So add it all up, Jack, and basically this Netflix event would have made a TV guide magazine explode. It was a shock and awe campaign that would impress Donald Rumsfeld. Here's the strategy.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
If you're the competition of Netflix, how do you feel right now, Jack? You feel overwhelmed and demoralized. If you work at Peacock, you're like, oh, crap. Netflix has all that this year. Like our lacrosse coach used to say, Jack, compete at a level the competition is unwilling or unable to sustain.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And for consumers, it makes you feel like you have to subscribe to Netflix if you want to be culturally relevant. But here's what we found fascinating. The biggest fan of this Netflix content fest was actually Wall Street. Netflix stock hit an all-time high yesterday. It's up 92% in the last 12 months. But pause the pod yetis because Jack and I looked at this thing and honestly, we didn't love it.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
I honestly... Hated it. And you know what? What? You did too. We should whip up a takeaway on this, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Netflix? The worst thing that you will watch on Netflix is ironically their to-dumb event. Yetis, the way we see it, Netflix's Content Fest event is antithetical to why people love Netflix in the first place. And it showed.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
For the fourth year in a row, it's the Weather Channel. The Weather Channel, because here's what you do when you own the most important word of the weekend. The weather.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
The live event crowd was lackadaisical, and critics panned the event as exhausting. Here's why. Netflix offers something for everyone, which means Netflix offers everything, and we saw that on display on Saturday. Here's the issue. Nobody wants everything. Nobody wants everything. We each have our own unique, specific niche of interests of things we care about.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
In fact, that's why we each get completely different homepage experiences when you sign on to Netflix and watch Netflix. After all, Netflix is based in Silicon Valley. They're more similar to TikTok than they are to Disney. Like, Jack, can you imagine if you opened TikTok and saw everything on the internet? Like, you'd hate that. The curation is why TikTok is so good.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
So besties, this ta-dum event, it was loved by Wall Street. But ironically, it's anti-Netflix and we give it two thumbs down. That's why the worst thing you'll watch on Netflix is... For our second story, the biggest soap startup in America, it's now Dr. Squatch, the $2 billion soap brand for dudes. Because Dr. Squatch didn't bet on influencers, they bet on comedians. Yes, stand-up comedians.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
All right, but Jack, I got to ask you before we kick off the story. Bath, bathing, being in a tub, yay or nay? Oh, being in a bathtub. Yeah, yeah. How do you feel about that? Well, to quote a stand-up comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, being in a bath is like stewing in a soup of your own filth. Yeah, since my germaphobes took over. I'm a fan of the pre-bath shower, actually.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
It's huge. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic. Fantastic mix of stories for Ceviche Wednesday, Jack. T-Boy has the perfect conversation starter for your next date night. Because it's about your next date night. And how tall you are. The topic, Tinder's height filter. That's right. If you could, would you filter your potential dates by your preferred height?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Otherwise, I need like a scoop of chlorine. Well, I need a post-bath shower, Jack. It turns out, besties, the most viral soap right now is also the most controversial in the history of hygiene. A soap made from used bath water. That's right. Get this. Actress Sidney Sweeney took a bath and then a company used that bath water and turned it into a soap for sale.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
That company is Dr. Squatch, a male-focused bathing products brand. It's basically the successor to Axe Body Wash.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
If you're a teenage boy and you get your first peach fuzz on your cheeks I'm pretty sure you end up buying Dr. Squatch right after that, Jack Here's how they describe themselves Natural handmade soap to men who want to feel like a man and smell like a champion Dr. Squatch's soap basically smells like protein and flannel wrapped in a soap And apparently... It's working.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
This company's doing 400 million bucks a year in revenue. They're seeking a fundraise at $2 billion. We can't find a single private soap brand with more revenue or higher valuation than Dr. Squatch. We repeat, nothing tech about this. They make shampoo and they're valued half as much as a Lyft. So how is Dr. Squatch the largest private soap brand in America?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Well, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we discovered it's stand-up comedy. The top marketing trend for Zillennial brands is to use influencers. That's right. You pay Alex Earl 100K and she does an Instagram post for you. Voila. But instead of chasing influencer dollars, Dr. Squatch chose stand-up comedians. Interestingly, Dr. Squash is the headline sponsor of Don't Tell Comedy Network.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
That's a comedy group that hosts stand-up shows in 250 cities nationwide. That's right. When that semi-pro comedian did a whole bit on airplane seatbelt, you know, you can What's the deal with the airline seatbelts? The Dr. Squatch logo was right next to them. But the numbers are kind of fascinating here because each of those comedy shows does less than 100 people in person in the room.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
But the highlight clips find billions of viewers on YouTube and social media. Jack, those are Dave Chappelle numbers right there, my friend. Dr. Squatch found a way to get Super Bowl-sized exposure at Little League-sized prices. And now we should point out that most brands are too nervous to sponsor comedy, right, Jack?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
If you think this deal sounds too good to be true, it's the potential controversy. That's the catch. Yeah, like if the comedian drops an offensive joke during the bit, you could get canceled by association, my friend. Don't you try to filter what Wanda Sykes says on stage. Oh yeah, and you can't like buy an insurance policy on offensive punchlines. Not a thing. You sure about that?
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Actually, Geico probably does offer that, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Dr. Squatch? Dr. Squatch is benefiting from Jester's privilege. The Jester's privilege. Yetis, in medieval Europe, there was a secret known in the royal courts that the Jester had the most power. Only the Jester could tell the truth to the king's face. and not face punishment.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Because the Jester's role was to entertain, not challenge. Their humor gave them immunity. In Business Today, we've said that humor can transcend all demographics. Besties Dr. Squatch is investing in stand-up comedians because of the power they hold in society. But also the leeway they get from society to not get canceled by association. And that is Jester's privilege.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
It's exactly what Dr. Squatch is banking on.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Here's the context. Match Group, which owns Tinder, just announced some pretty ugly earnings. Yeah, users shrank 5%. They're cutting 13% of their workforce in the stock. It's down 10% this year. So Tinder is making a desperate move to get you back on the app. Height discrimination. That's right. They're testing, letting users filter based on height. Six foot four? Swipe right.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
For our third and final story, America's most trusted news source, believe it or not, it's the Weather Channel. And the Weather Channel may actually have the sunniest forecast in all of media. Here we go, Jack. You ready? Diapers.com. Hotels.com. 1-800-Flowers. Some brands, they put it right out there. They waste no time in telling you what they're doing.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Well, most of all, first of all, maybe the Weather Channel. A channel 100% dedicated to, is it sunny or cloudy? The Weather Channel. They're dealing with the oldest content type on earth. Their only competition is the view from your window. Here's the news. While every old school media business is losing trust right now, the Weather Channel is gaining trust.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
YouGov just did a poll of 2,200 American adults in the month of May. And overall, just 54% of Americans trust the news that's published. Conspiracy TikTok. It's just more entertaining than NPR. But trust in one source, the Weather Channel rose by six percentage points this year. That's right. 75% of Americans find the Weather Channel to be trustworthy.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
The Weather Channel is number one among the 54 news outlets in the survey. And they're number one for the fourth year in a row. I mean, the 25% who don't trust the Weather Channel, Jack, probably just got like rained on during their wedding day and now they're blaming the Weather Channel. No, the Weather Channel is actually two times more trusted than the number two news outlet, which is the BBC.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
And it's nearly three times more trusted than the Wall Street Journal. Honestly, Jack almost named his third child Frosty because of the Weather Channel. Okay. I had to tell the people, Jack. I had to tell the people. I mean, the story's about news trustworthiness. I'm going to have to fact check you on that one, Nick.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
But besties, despite that huge trust asset, the Weather Channel's business has been tossed around more than a used umbrella. But the Weather Channel started in 1982, when John Coleman, a meteorologist at Good Morning America, thought that weather could be the main event. And Jack, what was his pitch about weather being theater? A channel dedicated to 24-7 weather reports.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
So he hired 100 meteorologists and snagged data from the National Weather Service. Before the iPhone, the Weather Channel is the one who innovated with geotargeting. And they did it with local weather on the 8s. That's right. That was personalized media for you before Facebook. Now, eventually, the Weather Channel got bought by Private Equity, NBC, IBM, even a comedian.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Or maybe, Jack, you prefer a short king. Five foot two? Swipe right. Or maybe, Jack, you like to aim for average. Five foot nine and three quarters.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
Even at one point, a comedian owned the Weather Channel for like a six-year period. And that's around the time... that they shifted their content to what we're calling weathertainment. Yeah, weathertainment. Like, you'd get one hour of forecasts, and then one hour of Storm Chaser Season 7. The most dangerous job on Earth, standing outside in a hurricane.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
But the Weather Channel didn't stop innovating, Jack. Like, they were also the first organization to give names to winter storms. Starting in 2012 with Winter Storm Athena. Kind of a scare tactic, but it got me checking into the Weather Channel more in 2012. A profit puppy of a scare attack, a Well, now the Weather Channel is owned by private equity again.
The Best One Yet
☀️“Everything’s Sunny in TWC” — Weather Channel’s #1 trust. Netflix’s tudum trailers. Dr. Squatch’s standup comedy.
So they're making their money with four different jet streams. I mean, revenue streams. First is aviation. They get paid by Delta and United for weather forecasts. Second is media. They got a streaming direct-to-consumer product, and they're still part of every cable package. Third is consulting. Vail Ski Resorts is probably a client.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesdays of VK Wednesday, December 4th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Well, Jack, to quote Karen Smith, on Wednesdays, we do wear pink. Looking good over there. Yeah, you too, man. You too.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
You got contracts, you got documents, you have to email those documents, you got to get signatures from every party three or four different times. It's a bunch of admin work. So the point of the new app is less contracts, less documents, less emailing around for signatures so you can focus on selling.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Simple is building an AI-powered app that you can speak to and it'll do all the admin work for you. Now, the moment for this is key in the industry. And why is that, Jack? The National Association of Realtors had to settle an antitrust lawsuit this year. We covered it on the pod. And the result is more paperwork for real estate agents to handle.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Now, to sprinkle on more context, Zillow has already identified this opportunity. Zillow, the $20 billion real estate tech giant, has something similar already. It's called Dotloop. They handle the back-end real estate agent work. But Ryan's team, they would get on Instagram and tell you that that's old tech. His app is AI enhanced. Which is basically location, location, location.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeah, AI is the ocean view. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in real estate and beyond? The next frontier of tech is serving the un-techie. Yeah, it is home selling. It is an inherently person to person to person to person business. Tech can't replace real estate agents. There's simply too much money on the line. You want a human handling your case.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at an open house, chat GPT can't do that right now. But those human real estate agents can go much further if they've got some tech on their side. Jack, how about another example of a tech company serving the un-techie? ServiceTitan, which is SaaS software for tradespeople. They just filed to IPO at a $5 billion valuation.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeah, interestingly, ServiceTitan is serving HVAC technicians with technology so they can spend more time in that boiler and less time on bureaucracy. Yeti's for years. Highway 101 in Silicon Valley, it's advertised software targeting people who are already working in software. But the way we see it, the next frontier of tech is the un-techie of industries.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? Jaguar is going through a metamorphosis from old school car company to new school EV company. One man's bad press is another man's good press. For our second story, 24 years ago, just one in 20 nurses in America were men. Today, one in seven are men. It's the MERS surge.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Men switching from manufacturing to nursing is the perfect example of the AI work reshuffling. For our third and final story, Ryan Serhant. He just raised venture capital money to launch Simple, a real estate app for agents. Because the next frontier of tech is serving the un-techie. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
First, the courts in Delaware just once again blocked Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package. This summer, 72% of Tesla shareholders voted that Elon should get that gigantic bonus. But the Delaware courts are doubling down. They say the package set up in 2018 was compromised because the board was too close to Elon.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Hear us out. The most expensive day to buy a Christmas tree is the most ironic day for something to be expensive. Turns out the average price on Black Friday last year was 112 bucks a tree. Black Friday is the most expensive day to get a Christmas tree. Black Friday, great for shopping deals, bad for spruce deals. So if you go straight from turkey to tinsel, you're paying the most for your tree.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
So Elon is appealing probably to the Delaware Supreme Court and probably amplifying anti-Delaware tweets on X. He's probably tweeting about this right now. And second, Stoli Vodka officially filed for bankruptcy. Stolichnaya is now Stolichnada. The main problem was the Russian brand. It's gone into the toilet after the Ukraine war began. Yeah, not good for Russian vodka.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But interesting detail here. Stolichnaya Vodka is actually headquartered in Luxembourg, and it's made in Latvia. Pour one out for Stoli. In Soviet Russia, vodka drink you. And finally, it's Spotify Wrapped Week, the moment that the whole world finds out what you listen to. You don't know which day it's going to be, but at some point this week, Thursday, Friday, maybe even tomorrow or today.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Or just come out right now. I'm just fully embracing it. I listen to Sabrina, big fan. Huge. Espresso all day, every day. I'm more than a big fan. I just think she's really creative. You're basically Domingo at this point. Just had to say, direct from Domingo. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Anne Oland from Philadelphia, but now living in Phoenix.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Actually, Jack, you know, Anne told me this one in person. She did? Yeah. When we were on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, we were out at a restaurant. Anne recognized me, came on over. We had a fantastic chat at our table. It was so nice. Yetis, we love seeing you in the wild. Thanks for coming up, Anne. Here's the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
When it comes to letters, where do we get the term lowercase and uppercase? The term lowercase and uppercase are actually very literal, and they go back to the very first printing press. Capital letters were kept in the top drawer in those early printing presses because capital letters were used less often. So they were kept in the uppercase.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And uncapitalized letters were kept in the bottom drawer, close to the printing press, because they were used the most often. So they were kept in the lowercase. There you go. Capital letters... were called uppercase because they were kept in the uppercase. That's all we got to say about that. It's all about drawers, actually. Like most things in life.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yetis, you look fantastic today, but we got to hear what your tree date is. For me, it was five days ago. Which was basically like buying a piece of real estate, Jack. That was by far the most expensive tree.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
I'm sure that's what the salesperson told you, Jack.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
You paid a premium to get the full tree experience is what I'm hearing, Jack. It's not BYO's saw though. Besties, are you maximizing for tree joy or are you minimizing for tree price? Let us know in the comments. We've got a poll going on Spotify right now. And remember to send this episode to your buddy who works in real estate. Ryan, check your DMs. We just hooked you up.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
HYHTBOI and Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to little Teddy Panzer celebrating the big day down in Montclair, New Jersey. Little Teddy? Is that our buddy's son? It's Mike and Mia's son. It's Mike and Mia's son. That's who it is. I love the name Teddy. Oh, great name, great guy.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And a happy retirement to Paula Hauer in Grafton, Wisconsin, who's leaving nursing after many legendary years of helping a whole bunch of people. How are you doing? She's doing great.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And Michael Dravo, thank you for the super thoughtful words in the comments on Spotify. We love seeing what you're thinking. Thanks for dropping in every day. And a big shout out to Howie Wee, who's listening from China and really hopes that we don't get banned in China. And yetis, if you want a shout out in an upcoming pod or you've got the best fact yet, just fill out the form.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But after that, the price of that pine is dropping 2% every single day.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
We've got a link in this episode description. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix. Nick owns stock in Zillow. And Nick and I both own stock in Spotify. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
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Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeah, tree prices have actually fallen 55% by the time 12-24 rolls around. So here's the question. Do you maximize joy by buying early? Or do you minimize price by buying the tree late? Do you buy a $112 natural Black Friday Christmas tree? Or a $50 Christmas Eve tree? Jack, do you optimize for the cost or do you optimize for the caroling? Oh, Tannenbaum. Oh, Tannenbaum. Yes?
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
When are you buying your Tannenbaum? Yetis, hit us up in the comments. We want to know. Do you buy a tree now or do you buy a tree later? And if it's in between, we got to hear a date. When you bought a tree five days ago, like I did. Sorry, two trees. Now you're just showing off.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
For those watching on YouTube right now, Jack wearing slam and salmon, I'm wearing slam and salmon, and we're feeling fantastic.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
For our first story, after a wildly controversial month, Jaguar, I'm sorry, Jaguar has finally unveiled the future of its cars. People hated Jaguar's rebrand. They didn't like it. So we're asking the big question, is any press really good press? Now, Yetis, over the summer, I read a book about the history of Ferrari.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Great point. Great point. Jack, what do we got on today's T-Boys? What's on the pod? For our first story, Jaguar, the 100-year-old British car company, has controversially burned down their brand. But Jack and I are asking the big question. Did Jaguar burn down its brand or did it actually light it up? For our second story, we're looking at male nurses.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And Jack, do you know what the founder of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari, said the most beautiful car he ever saw was? You told me it was Jaguar. Yeah, the Ferrari founder's favorite car he ever saw was a Jaguar. Jaguar, founded 102 years ago in England. true. It's the race car with a pouncing cat coming out of the hood. Besties, this brand, it became the embodiment of Great Britain.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
The Queen had two of them. James Bond has ridden in three of them. And if Harry Potter showed up at the next Hogwarts high school reunion, he'd be driving a green Jaguar. Well, he'd probably be driving a broomstick. I think he'd do a Jag Jack. Fun fact about Jaguars. Most Jaguars you see today are green because that was the original color of the British racing team.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Which is the same reason that most Ferraris are red. Italy's racing team was red. Yetis, you are not a London banker unless you're driving a green Jaguar to your second home up in the Cotswolds. But here's the news. Over the last month, Jaguar shut itself down in the most dramatic move in car history.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
This was one of the most controversial rebrands since King Henry VIII rebranded the Church of England.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Well, Jaguar basically did that for its entire car company. Because besties, Jaguar burned down its own brand to start entirely from scratch. Here's what happened. First, Jaguar got rid of their iconic Jaguar logo. There's no more animal in the brand anymore. A century of brand equity, poof, completely erased.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
They also changed the G in the middle of their name to be an uppercase G surrounded by lowercase letters. And then the CEO clarified that the correct pronunciation of Jaguar is actually now Jaguar, Jaguar. It's like if Porsche came out and said, it's pronounced Porsche. everybody. In fact, this rebrand of Jaguar included a video that had zero cars in the video.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
The video was just flamboyant models with shaven heads wearing pink and colorful dresses. Jaguar burned down their image of the aspiring car racer and middle-aged banker who they always appealed to. And reincarnated as an avant-garde fashionista brand. Yetis, if you're looking at the new Jaguar brand, it's going to look like a lip liner that you bought at Sephora.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But Nick, it wasn't just a Jaguar rebrand. They're changing their entire business. Because Bestie's Jaguar also shut down all production of their cars. They're not making any new cars right now. The factory's closed while they turn themselves into an electric car company. It's more like a metamorphosis than a rebrand. Jaguar doesn't roar anymore. It means...
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And then Monday at an art show in Miami, they finally unveiled their first new car, their concept car of the future. And Jack, what does this new Jaguar actually look like? Looks a lot like Tesla's cyber cab. It's kind of like a big iPad. It's minimalist. It's got a futuristic design. Coolest part, the front seat is separated from the passenger seat with a wall.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
It's like you're flying business class, but you're in a Jaguar. So besties, Jaguar created controversy. It angered Brits. It burned down its heritage in the biggest British drama since the Magna Carta. But there's two other things you need to know. First, this isn't the first time that Jaguar has radically changed their name.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
No, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and discovered that Jaguar's original name was SS. But since the Nazis ruined that abbreviation, they originally changed their name to Jaguar. Also, Jaguar is not British anymore. No, it hasn't. In 2008, it was acquired by Tata, which was symbolically significant because India is a former British colony.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Because the number of male nurses in America has tripled in the past 20 years. And this is actually a double win for the future American workforce. And our third and final story. Bravo and Netflix reality TV show host Ryan Serhant is known for million-dollar real estate listing. But can an influencer launch a real estate app? But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But the bigger question Jack and I got to ask, after one month of anger, confusion, and intensity, was all this press actually worth it? So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Jaguar? That's actually the wrong question, Nick. Because one man's bad press is another man's good press. Yetis, over the last decade, Jaguar's car sales have fallen 80%. The U.S.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
market share of Jaguar is just 0.05%. Less than one out of a thousand new cars sold in America is a Jag. The brand has become irrelevant. Yet over the last month, Google searches for Jaguar hit their highest level since Google's been keeping track. So coverage of Jaguar's rebrand, it was negative. It was bad press, but that bad press was from car buffs and car buffs aren't buying Jaguars anyway.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But for a new potential customer base of future Jaguar buyers, this was actually good press. We don't know if this surge in brand buzz will convert to sales. They got to deliver a good electric car first. But we do know that bad press and good press are relative to which audience you're actually trying to talk to.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And if the old school car press hates this new Jaguar, then new school future EV buyers might actually like it. Because if a brand is trying to pivot to a new customer, one man's bad press is another man's good press. For our second story, the hot new job for men, it's nursing. Male nurses. Yetis, it is a nurse surge. But the biggest surprise isn't the male nurse surge.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
It's which men specifically are becoming nurses. Now, Jack, how about we start this story by sprinkling on some context? Should we turn things over to our buddy Robert De Niro? Let's play this clip from Meet the Parents. Push and play.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Well, 24 years ago, besties, when that movie came out, nearly 95% of all nurses were women. Economists called nursing a pink-collar job. The data just shows that historically, men gravitated toward being a doctor and women toward nursing. In German, the word for nurse is Krankenschwester, which means sister is in the name nurse. But the reality is, nursing, it is a rough and tough job for anyone.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
I mean, the pandemic was brutal. It was terrible. And it's always been a profession that sees both life on the one hand, but death on the other hand. And yet, society considered it feminine until now. Because here's the news. The number of registered male nurses in America has tripled in the last 20 years.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Sit down, stand up, and put on some scrubs because men now make up 15% of registered nurses in America, according to the Wall Street Journal. When we were growing up, 1 in 20 nurses were men. Today, 1 in 7 nurses are men. So add it all up and check. Gaylord Focker, he was kind of ahead of his time, wasn't he? Dudes, they're putting on scrubs. Nurses are multiplying, baby.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
But here's the even bigger shocker. What is it, Jeff? The men who are switching into nursing happen to be the most manly macho men of all. They are manly men, men in tights. Because, besties, increasingly, men are leaving male-dominated blue-collar industries to join women-dominated pink-collar industries.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
The Wall Street Journal interviewed a bunch of male nurses down in Georgia, and they happen to be former metal welders. And other men jumping into nursing are ex-military, ex-firefighters, ex-building and destroying things with their hands. They saw the importance of nursing, which traditionally just wasn't a dude field.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
And double interesting, the men going into nursing tend to enter nursing mid-career. Good point, Jack. These are not male nurses who are getting out of college and jumping in at 21 at the nearby hospital. The average age of a first-year male nurse is in their early 30s. So, Jack, we should point out, what is the main reason why this is happening? As always, it's about money.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Fantastic mix of stories. No one else is doing this mix. The week after Thanksgiving, every family has to face an existential holiday question. It's actually an existential argument. When to buy the Christmas tree. Do you buy immediately and get as many days of merry as possible? Oh. A whole month of mistletoe and ornaments not too shabby. Or do you buy later when it's closer to the festivities?
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeah, the average registered nurse in America has a $95,000 salary, which is 50% higher than the nationwide average salary. But the other reason why 35-year-old dudes are switching their factory gloves for hospital scrubs is... is our takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in every industry? Men switching to nursing is actually an AI bull case.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeti's the bigger reason why blue collar guys are jumping into nursing. It's because nursing is AI robot proof. One steel worker who became a nurse told the Wall Street Journal, I'm looking for something safe from automation. And that welder we mentioned earlier thought his job was at risk of robotics taking over. So he jumped into nursing.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
It'll be a blow to many blue collar workers if automation and artificial intelligence replace their once reliable and consistent careers. But this pivot to male nursing, this MERS surge right now, it is a shining example of a win-win double win. Because we have a nationwide shortage of nurses right now.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
So men switching into nursing, it protects that worker's future employment and fills a critical employment gap that we have. Besties, so much of the discussion of artificial intelligence and automation these days is the fear of jobs lost. But the MERS surge, the surge in male nurses, is a bright spot. Yes, it is, Greg. Maybe it's even a model for the future. Greg Falker, you've been redeemed.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
For our third and final story, Ryan Serhant of Bravo and Netflix fame just launched an app for real estate agents. Because there's a huge underserved workforce that could really benefit from some tech. Besties, you're going to want to send this to your favorite real estate buddy, and then you can charge them a finder's fee after they listen to the episode.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
We'll give you a second to send this pod to them right now. Yeti's owning Manhattan. Million dollar listing. Those are both Bravo and Netflix shows hosted by Ryan Serhant. Ryan Serhant, handsome man, the Martha Stewart of Manhattan real estate, basically. Kim Kardashian of condos. Can we call him the Salt Bay of buildings? You just did, Nick.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
Yeti's Ryan offered $10 million to whichever agent in his TV show could sell a $250 million penthouse in New York City. Ryan Serhant. He's the 40 year old silver Fox who spun his TV fame into his own agency known as Serhant real estate, which is actually the number six firm in New York. But here's the news. Ryan Serhant just closed another deal. And this one does not, doesn't have a good view.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
It was actually a $45 million fundraise from two venture capital firms for his new tech startup. That's right. The reality show real estate influencer is now a tech founder. He launched an app called Simple, which awkwardly has a period in the middle. It's kind of an annoying spelling, but we'll get to that later. In the meantime, this app replaces admin work for salespeople.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
I'm kind of still eating Thanksgiving leftovers. It doesn't feel like Christmas tea drop and shine. It turns out, Yetis, there's another key variable you have to consider when timing your Christmas tree purchase. And what is that, Jack? The price. Price, get this, besties. According to the payments company Square, the price of a Christmas tree declines every single day. until Christmas.
The Best One Yet
😼 “New car, who dis?” — Jaguar’s rebrand controversy. The Manly Nurse Surge. Bravo’s real estate app.
It uses tech and AI to give a real estate agent time back so they can actually sell. never fill out a form again. Never fill out a form again. Those words are music to the ears of real estate agents. Because here's the interesting thing if you do not work in real estate yetis. Real estate salespeople, they have unfortunately become administrative people.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
This is Nick. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, April 2nd, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh, Jack and I are coming at you with an update from the Ambies, the Oscars of podcasting, baby. First of all, go right now to our Instagram because we have some fantastic behind the scenes highlights.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
According to our internal T-Boy podcast listener data. You, yes, you are listening right now on an iPhone. But despite how much you think you know your iPhone, you don't really know your iPhone. True, because besties, the true story of how the iPhone was born is barely even known at Apple. Did you know that at first, Steve Jobs hated the idea of the iPhone? Yeah, that's right.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Okay, so Zuck got his team together a few years ago and said, you know what? We're going to copy that same formula that TikTok uses with a new thing called Reels. He zucked the idea. He told his engineers, do exactly what TikTok is doing, but in this new tab called Reels that we're putting in Facebook and Instagram.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Now to go back to when Jack and I were roommates together in college, you know, back then you would write on someone's Facebook wall after a party, maybe give them a poke and then you tag them in some birthday pics, right? But today you open Instagram and you just scroll videos of some hotel influencer you never met and then swipe to the next video, another influencer you've never met.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And then another video of like some news clip. It's a friendless space. It's actually a very different physical action because today you're just scrolling through and consuming. But 15 years ago, you would make actions and interact. It's a different physical action. But ironically, all the changes that have happened to Facebook, which Zuck was behind, now he wants to undo them all.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Because Zuck has realized that Facebook's original friend focus from 15 years ago is actually a differentiator today. So he's changing the app to be more about friends, less about strangers. The OG Facebook, it's back like 2006 spring break with Carson Daly. Zuck realized there are no social networks anymore. There's only stranger networks.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Now, Zuck likes that social networks are now stranger networks, doesn't he, Jack? But on Facebook, he's bringing back the friends tab. It will be free of promoted posts and free of content from people you're not friends with. you're actually going to see your buddy, Timmy. And Jack, we should untag him in that photo. So man, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in social media?
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Prediction. Gen Z is about to turn Facebook into a verb again. Now, yetis, we've said that retro tech is having a comeback right now. It's the return of Y2K. Remember how Yahoo email address signups are jumping right now? Yeah, and also, we've told you our 20-year rule of nostalgia. Facebook was launched in 2004, basically 20 years ago.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And we know that loneliness levels have hit record highs among young people. In part because of the algorithms which send us down friendless holes of content with strangers. So Jackson, my prediction, it's that Gen Z will embrace Facebook for the first time in their lives. The next time you see a 20-something, they might be poking instead of TikToking.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday? Hooters is bankrupt, but it's getting bought back and re-Hooterized by the OG founders. Hooters changed sports bars by 3% and it worked back then. It's Virgil Abloh's fashion rule in action. For our second story, Canada's new PM is declaring a warlike plan to double the number of new homes built.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
But the key is cutting red tape, which looks like an everything bagel of policies. And our third and final story, Zuckerberg is making changes to Facebook that will prioritize friends. It's going from a stranger network back to a social network. And we think Gen Z is going to make Facebook a verb again. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Okay, the front pages of CNBC, Wall Street Journal, and every other major news source have been the same for four straight days, right, man? Speculation about Trump's tariffs. What will he do? What won't he do? What will he pretend he's going to do? What will he fake us about? Nobody knows, but we will actually find out today when the president announces Liberation Day at the White House.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
We'll digest, we'll analyze, and we'll probably whip up a takeaway about it in tomorrow's pod. And second, OpenAI just snagged the biggest private fundraise in the history of money. Again. I feel like every time they raise money, it's the biggest ever. Hey, Sam, you set your own record again. You beat yourself.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
This time, OpenAI raised $40 billion from venture capitalists at a $300 billion valuation. But there is one interesting caveat, isn't there, Jack? Some of that money is conditioned upon OpenAI successfully converting to become a for-profit company. And awkwardly, Elon Musk sued OpenAI to stop that conversion, and that case is going to trial.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
The iPhone, the most influential invention of the last hundred years. The iPhone, the most profitable product of all time. The iPhone, Steve Jobs' creation that changed the world. But the man credited with creating it actively fought against it. And honestly, we had no idea until we did the research for our weekly show. The real origin of the iPhone begins with a guy named Tony. That's right.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And finally, the NFL is eliminating the first down chains. They're going full electronic to decide if you got a first down or not. You're not going to call out the chain gang anymore. We're not going to look at the chain and the tip of the football and see if it touches it. Okay, just repeat.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
We're talking about the two dudes with the two big things with a chain between them that awkwardly sprint onto the field. Full disclosure, I've been a member of several chain gangs. The worst part is if there's a tackle happening over there, you might get destroyed as a member of the chain gang. It's an awkward position, Jack. I'm glad you shared that with us. Now time for the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
This one whipped up by Jack and me to tell you the best brand April Fool's jokes from 24 hours ago. Yesterday, Subway introduced Subway. It's a line of protein shakes from the Subway chain that isn't happening, but actually should happen, yeah. Then Yahoo launched a touch grass keyboard.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Which is a keyboard with actual grass growing in between the keys, so you get a little outdoor time when you're typing away. Then Ikea launched a new store concept called the linear store layout. It's actually a straight line, not a maze. You're in and out in 20 seconds. It's actually wonderful. And then the Kansas City chief shared a picture of Andy Reid, but with no mustache.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Right, which was only topped by Warren Buffett, who's going to acquire Tesla for $1 trillion. That last one wasn't an April Fool's joke. It was just a lie. Oh, by the way, Skims is not launching a Wall Street lie. That was our April Fool's joke. A lot of people wanted the Skims sweat-wicking shirts. Yeah, we made that one up. I hope that didn't feel like a lie.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
I think that was pretty clearly a joke. But that's a story for another pod. Yetis, you look fantastic today, and we know exactly where you should go after this show, because we've got the best idea yet for you. We got a link in the episode description to hear the untold origin story of the iPhone.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
You are listening to us probably, statistically speaking, mathematically, on an iPhone right now, but you don't know where that iPhone really began. And if you missed the iPod, This story goes in that too. Oh, we're going back into the grand papa of the iPhone. Tap the link in the episode description. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Sofia Rodriguez, turning 14 years old down in Greensboro, North Carolina. And happy birthday to my buddy Dave Fleming from Brattleboro, Vermont, now crushing the slopes in Utah. And Hannah, the Yeti I ran into on the airplane with her luggage. Hannah, fantastic to have you with the show. I'm glad we saw you on the way back from Chicago.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Thanks for enjoying the pod. Congratulations to Will Martin of Cork, Ireland, who won a golden tie at the Starties in New York City. And congratulations to Guy Raz and the How I Built This team who won Best Business Podcast at the Ambys. We were honored to be up there with you. What an amazing group of nominees and what an incredible show and experience, man.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
We were hoping we would win, but if anyone was going to beat us, we're glad it's you. Congratulations, guys. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And a top secret team over at Apple named Project Purple. And while Darth Vader was Luke's father, the iPod was the iPhone's father. So yetis, check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Every week we go deep on the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. This week, it's the iPhone. Hey Siri, do you know how the iPhone became the iPhone?
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
She doesn't even know, Jack. Can you believe? No one knows. Because the iPhone is simply the best idea yet. Oh, but today's show, today's three stories for T-Boy are fantastic.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Spoiler, we didn't wear tuxes. But I got to say, you look glam over there, Jack. That was impressive, man. I mean, you literally did the glam cam. You know, my first time doing the glam cam, I would do another one very soon. I like that. Now, we didn't end up winning Best Business Podcast. That went to Guy Raz and How I Built This. Incredible.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
For our first story, Hooters restaurants just filed for bankruptcy so that the OG founders can buy back the chain. The old Hooters is dead, and Hooters Airlines illustrates why. That's right. They had an airline. But Jack, let's travel back in time for a moment. 42 years ago, six businessmen started a restaurant chain that they couldn't get kicked out of. That wasn't a lead into a joke.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
That was like what was written on their founding documents for this brand new restaurant chain. Cooters Incorporated, a place where guys will never get kicked out. Or if you wanted to shorten that, you would call it Hooters, delightfully tacky yet unrefined. Hooters. They serve tall drinks served by waitresses in short skirts.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
But like the Red Lobster and TGI Fridays, Hooters has become a victim of the macroeconomic environment. And cultural environment. They got sued recently because they wouldn't allow male waiters. And now they're ending their Hooters bikini nights as well. Hooters peaked at 400 restaurants doing $1.2 billion in annual revenue, but now they're a third smaller than they used to be. So here's the news.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Hooters just filed for bankruptcy. The original founders plan to buy back the company from its current ownership and bring some heat back to those wings. Now, yetis, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. While everyone was distracted by the Hooters' staff, we noticed that Hooters was more experimental as a food chain than we realized.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
First, in 1993, Hooters basically pioneered chicken wings as a scalable food at sports bars. Basically, they realized that the wing of the chicken was the most profitable part of the bird. But then, over the next two decades, as the chain grew nationwide, they really tested the limits of the Hooters brand. We jumped in T-boy style.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
In 2006, Hooters opened a Las Vegas casino that actually lasted 13 years until they shut it down. And then in 2007, they launched Hooters Energy Drink, which also shut down eventually. But we're not going to stop there, are we, Jack? Hooters Airlines was launched in 2003. Hooters leased seven airplanes from Boeing to launch an airline.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Then they would put three of their waitresses as the flight crew on each of those airlines. What was Hooters Airlines like? Well, same dress code as the restaurants, same chicken wings and beer, just all served at 30,000 feet. And now the interesting innovation, I guess you'd call it, Jack, is that they basically turned the entire cabin into a bar, a sports bar. NFL games and in-flight trivia.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Yeah. That's what you got on Hooters Airlines. You like yell bingo from row 34B. It was a pretty niche market though. They actually targeted dudes going on golf trips. It's hard to build a world-class nationwide airline when you're dependent upon single dudes who have a little bit of vacation time.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
If you're going to lose to one show, that's exactly the legendary man you want to lose to. But we did win on the red carpet. So check out at T-Boy Pod on Instagram. Yetis, we had a blast. Thank you for helping us almost win that award. And Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got? For our first story, it's Hooters.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
So after just three years, in a tough moment for airlines, we should add, Hooters Airlines shut down in 2006. Well, now the founders seem to have learned their lesson about just experimenting with too many wild things, and their new strategy is back to the Hooters roots. Or as they call it, re-Hooterization.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
They're actually hoping for a more wholesome, family-friendly vibe when they emerge from bankruptcy. Again, bikini night on Thursday, canceled. Ha! Can't believe we even have to say that they're doing that. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are delightfully tacky and self-aware over at Hooters? Virgil Abloh's 3% rule applies to sports bars just as much as it does sneakers.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Yetis, Hooters built something that there was demand for. A sports bar, but man-cavified. Or to quote the founders, a sports bar that no guy would ever get kicked out of. And the dress code of the Hooters waitresses was really the only difference. It was a sports bar with a 3% change to the status quo. The waitresses. That was the difference from a typical sports bar. Just a 3% difference.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
That's all it took. Well, Jack and I put our strategy hats on, and famed fashion designer Virgil Abloh, he was famous for this concept. Give the customer 97% of what they know, but just change up 3% to make it feel novel. Hooters did that, and it worked. But then they went way beyond the 3% change when it came to the airlines and the casinos.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Jack, turning an airplane into a sports bar, that's more than a 3% change. That is a 300% change. Too much. So now Hooters is returning to their original 3% innovation. A regular sports bar, but 3% more unrefined. Because the way we see it, Virgil Abloh's 3% rule of innovation applies to sports bars as much as it does to sneakers.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
For our second story, to solve the housing crisis, Canada whipped out a World War II era plan. Canada's Department of Building Homes may actually be the perfect plan for America. Well, Jack, if we're going to talk World War II plans, let's go back to 1945, back when Canada had a real serious housing crisis, man.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Soldiers returning home from war needed to start their new lives, but they needed a roof over their heads first. Well, fast forward to today and Canada's new prime minister says we are facing the same housing crisis now. But not for soldiers. Right. For everyone. Boom. Here is the new goal for Canada's new PM. Double the number of homes that are built annually in the country to 500,000.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
500,000 homes a year in Canada. That's enough to fit 21,000 Vancouver Canuck hockey teams. Maybe it's the maple syrup talking here, Jack. But you know what? We could use some of that World War II housing planning down here in America as well. I mean, we've been saying on this pod for years, build, baby, build.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
The restaurant chain famous for their company dress code just filed for bankruptcy. So we got to talk about the time Hooters launched Hooters Airline. True story. For our second story, Canada's new prime minister just announced a dramatic plan to solve their housing crisis. And it's based on a World War II playbook, and it involves Long Island.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Because both the United States and Canada have decades of underbuilding that simply hasn't kept up with our growing populations. Check your bank account. Both the US and Canada spend way too much of our paychecks on rent or mortgages. The high price of housing, in our opinion, is the biggest source of anxiety, full stop, in our country. Which is why we saw this story and we had to cover it.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Canada is creating a, and I feel like we need a horn announcement here, Jack. Department of Building Homes. It is a wartime plan to cut time and cost of building a home. Now, the name of the new entity is actually Build Canada Homes, and it's going to act like a housing developer. Now, they're going to do the expected stuff.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
They're going to give incentives to builders, and they're going to give tax breaks to developers to build more homes. Okay, but Jack, what's the key really interesting thing that they're also doing over there? They're pumping 17 billion US dollars into specifically factory-built houses. Factory-built houses. Yetis, that's the plan up in Canada. But Jack, Am I wrong?
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
But where have we seen such a similar plan before? We saw a similar plan here in the States, in Levittown, New York. Right down the LIE from where your dad grew up, right, man? My dad was born in Levittown. It's a little Long Island town, which was America's own post-war housing solution. You read about this stuff in history textbooks. Yeah, let's go back to 1947.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Back then, Levittown would let World War II veterans choose from six different housing markets. There were only six choices for your house and fewer options let them mass produce 6,000 new homes in record time. So Jack, basically your grandparents were looking at these six options and one of them was a model house called the Cape Cod house.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Yeah, the Cape Cod was a 1,000 square foot house that they were offering for just $10,000 at the time. Adjust for inflation, that's a $140,000 home in today's money, not too shabby. And since they mass produced it, it was a pretty good house despite that low price. Three bedrooms, one bath, and the kind of kitchen that makes you want to carve up a roast ham for the whole family.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And those are the vibes that Canada is trying to achieve again today. Mass produced houses in factories to keep costs down. Now, there is another way to keep costs down. Yeah, there is. Rip up the red tape. And that other way leads to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the home market? What does red tape look like? It looks like an everything bagel.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Yeah, yetis. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, two economic policy wonks, they just published a book called Abundance. In that book, they describe the housing policy fails that have been happening for decades in blue states. For example, in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Basically all the places I've spent most of my time are live jack.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
You know, they would pass a bill with a billion dollars for affordable housing, but that bill would then get suffocated by other priorities. Other priorities like the house must be built by a minority owned home builder.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
or that the home builder must employ female construction workers at a higher rate, or that the houses must only use green building materials, or that the houses must have extra-inclusive disabilities access. Now, after all of that combined red tape requirements, it actually cost around $800,000 to build each one of those quote-unquote affordable units.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And our third and final story, Zuck is turning back the clocks on your Facebook feed. Instead of a cacophony of videos from people you don't know, Facebook is bringing back the friend. Isn't it cacophony? That's what I said, Jack. Cacophony. Yeah, it is before we had that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. What a mix for a Ceviche Wednesday.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
In other words, all those priorities, which are valid and worthy in their own right, had the effect of killing the affordable housing bill. And that is called the everything bagel problem. And it's why we appreciate Canada's wartime branding of the continence housing crisis. To build affordable housing, you must focus on affordability and nothing else. And what does red tape actually look like?
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Well, it looks like an everything bagel. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
For our third and final story, Zuckerberg, who dismantled Facebook to make it more like TikTok, now wants to bring back the OG Facebook. What's it all mean? One social network is actually getting social again. Now, yetis, Jack and I just flew back from Chicago. I was in the aisle.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
I was seated next to a grandfather, and that grandpa actually spent two-thirds of the flight flipping through Facebook. Honestly, my neighbor, who was a grandma, did the same exact thing. Yeah, it makes sense. Facebook is now basically a digital senior center. That's what it is. It's the Boca Raton of social networks. It is, and we've got the data to back it up.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
55 to 64-year-olds use Facebook the most, and the younger you get, the less you use it. You see, it's actually the opposite with TikTok. 18 to 24-year-olds use TikTok the most, and the older you get, the less you use it.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
Now, honestly, we think Facebook should just embrace the boomer generation, but after 10 years of Facebook basically being a punchline and losing users, Zuck wants to make Facebook cool again. Or, based on his new political identity, he wants to make Facebook great again. Which leads to the news. Zuck is bringing back elements of the OG Facebook, including the Friends tab. Translation?
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
We can stop swiping on strangers, and we can start poking friends again. And if you don't know what we mean by poking friends... It's totally appropriate. It's totally appropriate, and you're not going to get our next Y2K reference either. So Jack, to sprinkle on more context here, could you please tell us about the year 2018? In 2018, TikTok arrived in the US in a real way.
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👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
And that's when social media started to become anti-social. Because TikTok prioritized videos, not images and text. And those videos are of people you don't know. And watching those videos of strangers you do not know, it turns out that was algorithmically addictive. TikTok started stealing time spent on Instagram and Facebook.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, April 29th. And today's show is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeti's Bill Belichick may not know where he met his girlfriend. But Jack and I know that these are the three best business stories you are going to hear anywhere today. Great call. We're not getting into that.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
On the other hand, UNC's fencing team, they're not getting any revenue because their sport doesn't generate it. And that's the key here. That is one reason why UNC is pushing this new influencer course, this new influencer academy. They're trying to help the non-stars make money too.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Now, we should point out the school, UNC, isn't going to get any money from the social media earnings of their athletes. If a wrestler posts a promoted post for Kellogg, the wrestler keeps all the money. Or here's a good example. The UNC star basketball player on the women's team, she has 132,000 followers. And how much does she make when she does promoted posts, Jack? 15,000 per Instagram post.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Now we should point out, Jack and I are both student athletes here. I played the full contact sport of lacrosse and Jack played the partial contact sport of quarterback and football. So we know there are challenges for student athletes already. Well, for us, we had to be students and athletes. Me not getting hit most of the time. But these guys have to be influencers running a business as well.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Plus, you got to spend two hours every day getting taped up in the trainer's room because that's part of the job. I need more stim. More stim. No, not the ice bath. Not again. You know, Jack, we played the UNC men's lacrosse team once in college, and they just had the best calves I've ever seen. You say that about every team. It's a side note. I just thought I'd share it publicly.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Starbucks literally acquired the Frappuccino IP, all of the IP. Even fewer people know that Starbucks' famous CEO, Howard Schultz, hated the idea at first. That's true. Howard actually thought that the Frappuccino was an insult to coffee culture. And yet today, without the Frappuccino, we wouldn't have iced lattes.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are anyone trying to grow something on social media? To win on TikTok, you don't have to dance. Yeah, it is. Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the training materials from the influencer consulting firm that they shared with UNC.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
We learned that the biggest reason athletes don't want to post on social media is what this consulting firm calls the cringe hump. Ah, the cringe hump. Athletes are worried that they'd have to do silly dances or cliche TikTok videos in order to win on social media. But there's actually other ways. The real way to win followers is through consistently posting their special, unique talents.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
For a D1 gymnast, it was simply showing the intensity of her daily training ritual. For a wrestler, It was simply showing us the proper way that he does a bench press. The insight is that what is basic to the athlete is actually hugely sought after by their followers. And that's a lesson to anyone trying to build a following for themselves or for a brand online.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
If you're worried about the cringe hump, just remember you don't have to dance. You simply have to show us the thing you're so good at.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? China's tariffs have inadvertently created a baby tax, as 97% of baby gear and 80% of toys are made in China. If tariffs remain, we need exemptions, and the very first should exempt the baby tax. For our second story, Star Wars Episode III brought in $42 million at the box office this weekend.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Half went to theaters, half went to Disney. So to save theaters on slow weekends, they should turn their clocks back... 20 years. For our third and final story, UNC Chapel Hill is giving all student athletes an orientation class to make money as an influencer. D1 Affluencers. Because to win on TikTok, you don't have to dance. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
I'm sorry, is there a typo here in our notes, Jack? I'm seeing that we have some deflation news. Is that correct? As in the opposite of inflation. Plane tickets are actually getting cheaper. Domestic demand to travel in the air is dropping because of economic uncertainty. Now, the latest data we have is for March, where airfare fares fell 5% from last year.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
But airline CEOs said in earning calls that it was worse in April, so prices are probably going down even more. Second, Washington Commanders, the football team, just announced a $4 billion deal to move back across the river into the city of D.C. They're moving from Virginia back to Washington. Yeah. The Washington football team is redeveloping where RFK Stadium currently is.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
That happens to be where the Then Redskins football team won three Super Bowls in the 80s and 90s. The city of Washington DC, by the way, is forking in $1.1 billion to support the new stadium, which opens in 2030. And finally, we just got the ultimate example of bring your kid to work day we have ever seen.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
A stock analyst at Jefferies brought their kid into the office for earnings season and put the kid on the phone. That's right. This kid then grilled the CEO of Pepsi during the Pepsi earnings call and asked like a pretty tough question of them. The 13-year-old girl, Melina, asked the CEO of Pepsi, what are you doing to stop Ozempic from hurting your snack sales?
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Today, without the Frappuccino, Starbucks would still just be a regional coffee house. And today, without the Frappuccino, Zoolander would still have his three male model buddies.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
I'm just pointing out, Jack, Pepsi stock is down since that earnings call. So she's asking the tough questions over there. Now time for the best fact yet, which is this specific statistic. Every day in the United States, 47 children age zero to 19 years old are diagnosed with cancer.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Now that fact, that shocking fact was sent in by Yeti Daniel Paul, a longtime Bestie listener whose son Jack passed away just this past February. So to honor his son, we both donated personally to a cancer research organization called that Daniel is promoting in his son's memory. And because we think this is really important, we were also just really hit and surprised by this.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And we just appreciate Daniel as such a longtime listener. We wanted to share more information with you. It's called the Morgan Adams Foundation, but the website you can go to is ithasbeenapleasure.com. And Jack, it's such a unique name for a website. Why is it called ithasbeenapleasure.com? It has been a pleasure was Jack's catchphrase.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Daniel, thank you for telling us the story about Jack and for sharing more information so that we can all participate if we want. And honestly, there's few better life sentiments I can think of, Jack, than the concept of it has been a pleasure. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And odds are, statistically speaking, and I know Jack is right now, holding a coffee in your right or left hand.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And if you are, check out our episode of The Best Idea Yet about the Frappuccino. It's a wild one. The Starbucks Frappuccino and the real dude behind it. So Jack and I will see you on The Best Idea Yet. Enjoy the show. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti and Laura Bruskin down in Arlington, Virginia. And happy 18th birthday to Drew Kosmak in Chicago, Illinois.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And we got a birthday for Jay Farrick, who's celebrating at T-Boy University, if you know, you know. And happy birthday to the prolific Andrew Zucker from New York City. No one writes better and deserves a headline better than the man, Andrew Z. Zucker. Happy 43 years together to Henry and Karen down in Texas. And Daniel Prado refused to not be polite to chat GPT. And Daniel, the robots love you.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Netflix. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Yeah, it is. No matter how you take your coffee, this story, the true origin story of the Frappuccino is for you. So check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Because this week, we'll tell you the true beginnings of the Starbucks Frappuccino and how it was in Starbucks. Tap the link in the episode descriptions or search The Best Idea Yet wherever you get your podcasts.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
But Jack, today's show, fantastic. Should we hit our three stories?
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
For our first story, tariffs will hit one particular group more than any other, and it happens to be the cutest group in America. Babies. China tariffs have inadvertently created a baby tax. But yet is, to start by sprinkling on some personal context here, Jack had a baby like six weeks ago. I know.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
We're not getting into that. We're not getting into that. But just trust us on it. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pot? For our first story, the biggest tariff in this trade war is on strollers. Yep. Baby strollers. Goo goo ga ga. It's a family tax, which is why if the tariffs don't end, the exemptions won't. will begin.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And Jack, did you consider one of the most popular strollers in the country, the legendary Uppa Baby? Yeah, we got that with our first baby. Okay. Now it's having its third baby butt sitting inside of it. We actually have one of these too. My dad calls it the Cadillac for kids. Because this thing has four-wheel drive, full suspension, leather interior, but it's pricey.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Yeah, this is a $900 stroller. Oh, but wait, do you see the chassis on this thing? Although, Jack, 900 bucks, that's going to sound cheap compared to the price starting this week. The price of the Uppa Baby Premier Stroller is going up to $1,200, a $300 increase. Because one baby registry site spilled the beans on her price sheet for baby products for the next week.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Maybe you didn't get the UPPAbaby and you're looking at the Thule baby stroller. That's Swedish design, but it's made in China too. So it's going from $650 this week to $900. Now, Thule did buy extra inventory ahead of tariff, so their price hike is effective in June, not May. But still, baby gear is getting a big price pop, isn't it, Jack?
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Yeah, and it's not just the big stuff that comes on wheels. Those scent-containing diaper trash cans, you know, those things that keep the stink inside? 40% higher prices right now. How about baby bottles, Nick? Those are going up 50%, and your baby's got to drink. If you've got a baby in diapers, you're going to notice this price pop in virtually all the baby gear that you buy.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
In fact, add it up, and the CEO of BabyList estimates that these tariffs on China are going to add an extra $1,000 across the board for new parents with babies. But the baby tax doesn't end after you go in for the six-month checkup for little Johnny. It grows up into a kid tax, too. By the way, we should point out, baby gear is like football equipment. You need it to step on the field.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
The only person this is good for, this tariff, is the Facebook marketplace section for baby goods. Yeah, you're not playing the Pittsburgh Steelers unless you got a helmet, shoulder pads, and a jockstrap on, and you're not raising a baby without diapers, a diaper pail, and a solid stroller. Now, like any war, trade wars have various fronts.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And this story reveals that we're particularly vulnerable on our young flank. Get this, yetis. 97% of strollers, made in China. 91% of high chairs, made in China. 87% of car seats, Jack, why don't you take the honors? Made in China. By the way, we've bought six car seats because we have two cars and we have three kids. They add up, Nick. At that point, you could probably buy a yacht, Jack.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Oh, Nick, and it's digital too. Nearly 100% of baby monitors are made in China. But it doesn't just stop at babies when it comes to this family tax, does it, Jack? There's the toy tax, because 80% of toys bought in America are made in China, according to the New York Times. So four out of five teddy bears are stitched up in Beijing, and now their prices are probably going to get near doubled.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Now, you might be thinking, isn't the whole point of this trade war to get stuff to be made in the USA? Well, we were thinking it too. And as the CEO of sippy cup company Munchkin said, they could do that, but the cost would go up by double to manufacture in the United States. Yeah. America decided decades ago that China would make our baby stuff because it's cheaper.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
For our second story, Star Wars Episode III, The Revenge of the Sith, just celebrated its 20-year anniversary by re-releasing in movie theaters, and it made $42 million at the box office. The Star Wars re-release may hold the solution to save movie theaters. Help us re-release. You're our only hope. And our third and final story. UNC Chapel Hill just launched a class for its varsity athletes.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
To undo that, it would also take decades and it would make things more expensive in the end. Now, in Trump's first trade war from like six years ago, farmers were the losers as China stopped buying U.S. grown crops. And during that first trade war, Trump compensated farmers with tariff revenue. So? We expect something similar to happen this time, but for parents.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And the entire baby and children's industries are lobbying hard for it right now. In the meantime, Jack, let us know when you toss that up a baby stroller on Facebook Marketplace. I will. It's got to go to a Yeti first. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone facing the baby tax? If the trade war doesn't end, the family exemption will begin.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Yetis, one trend we expect to see if the trade war continues is this word, exemptions. Specific industries or products will be strategically excluded from tariffs. If a product is important to a politically important demographic, it'll probably get an exemption.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
President Trump already made a carve-out for electronics like iPhones because $2,000 iPhones would have been particularly angry for voters. Well, if these tariffs remain in place, we expect lots of exemptions, many more to come. But there's no more sympathetic demographic than new parents. And Trump, he says his administration's goal is to increase the birth rate.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Well, the entire kid-baby economy is made in China, which currently has the highest tariffs of 145%. So if this trade war continues without a deal, it must continue with exemptions. And the exemption on the baby tariff or the family tax, we expect that will be the first. Don't do it for the babies. Do it for the parents.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
For our second story, the Star Wars 20-year anniversary re-release was such a success this past weekend, it's a lesson to all of modern cinema. We think the re-release can save the movie theater. And we got the numbers to back it up. But Jack, first, allow me to read this long thing. Are you going to do the opening credits thing?
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Jack, this past weekend, in a theater far, far away, the force was strong in 2,800 movie theaters across North America. Yeah, it is 20 years after premiering in the year 2005. The final prequel of Star Wars came back to theaters this past weekend. That's right, Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. And it was the number two film at the box office this past weekend.
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👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And now, Jack, when you say number two film, can you please sprinkle on some numerical context for us what that means? $25 million of tickets sold domestically plus $17 million abroad is a $42 million haul. Ching, ching, ching. Now, Disney takes half of that, but the theater, they get to keep the rest.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Translation, a 20-year-old Star Wars movie just made Disney $21 million of pure profit in just three days. Two and a half million Americans paid 10 bucks each to see Star Wars in theaters. Even though you've been able to watch it for free on Disney Plus for like seven years. That tension made us realize there is something going on here.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
It shows that the demand for in-real-life collective fan experiences is more powerful now. than the greatest force in the galaxy. Basically, you'd rather watch Star Wars with a bunch of dudes dressed up as droids plus one woman dressed up as droids. Yeah, dressing up as Chewbacca is a lot more enjoyable if you're not the only one doing it. That yet is.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
If this weekend's re-release was Luke Skywalker, then 1997's re-release of the first Star Wars was Yoda. That's right. Here's what Jack and I find fascinating. Back in 1997, the 20-year re-release of the original first Star Wars, Episode IV, brought in 50% more revenue in its reopening weekend.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
In fact, Jack and I just dove in even further and discovered that the re-release industry is really, really enormous. Titanic did a 15-year and 25-year re-release, and combined in those two events, they brought in $420 million of box office globally. Jack, how about The Lion King? 2011, it returned to theaters, and that cartoon bought in $186 million. Jurassic Park, Avatar, The Exorcist.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
How to become an influencer. But to win on social media, you don't have to dance. And we will explain it. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa! What a mix of stories for T-Boy Tuesday. There is one coffee that disrupted the beans business model more than any other. And what is that coffee, Jack? The Frappuccino.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
They all put up giant numbers, even though they were old films. Besties, what Jack and I are saying is the business model of the re-release is so smart, it deserves an Oscar. For theaters, the re-release is a reliable seat filler. Exactly. They selectively choose weekends when no other blockbusters are premiering or releasing.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And for studios, the 50% cut of ticket sales, that's pure profit when it's a re-release. The movie budget was already paid for and there's no marketing needed because the movie is already so well known. So it's a double dip for the studios. Yes, it is. Like Darth Maul's double-sided lightsaber. Profitable it is. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies doing the re-release?
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
To save movie theaters, set their clocks back 20 years. Follow us on this one, yetis. If you adjust for inflation, movie theaters are still half as lucrative as they were before the pandemic. That's brutal. It is. Basically, Netflix's gain is movie theaters' pain. But there's one big way that cinemas can adapt to the streaming era. Here's what Jack and I are thinking.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
During slow weekends, fill the blockbuster gap with whatever happened 20 years ago. The success of the Star Wars re-release is more proof of our 20-year rule of nostalgia. A 20-year-old nostalgia. That 20 years after an event is the optimal time when demand is all the way back up. After 20 years, it's novel for young Star Wars fans who get to see it in theaters for the first time.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And for those who did see it in theaters 20 years ago, now reliving the magic, it is nostalgic. And this formula can work for things beyond movies. Like the Red Sox. Let's say they won the World Series 20 years ago. Show Game 7 against the Yankees in its entirety in theaters. Everyone in Boston will go. Because here's the key. Fans like being among other fans for a collective experience.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And the re-release guarantees that. Wild idea to save the movie theater business. Set their clocks back 20 years.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
For our third and final story, the University of North Carolina has added a new course to its athletic student orientation, Influencer Academy. Colleges are training affluencers, and it's actually a business lesson for all of us. Now, yetis, Jack and I have no connection to the University of North Carolina UNC, but we got to say, there is no college better at branding
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
The chilly milkshake of a coffee that turned drinks into a dessert. The Starbucks Frappuccino. 30 years ago, the world's first Frappuccino was blended. Got to correct ourselves, Jack, because did you know the Starbucks Frappuccino wasn't exactly invented by Starbucks? That's right. The Frappuccino name and recipe was actually invented by an independent coffee shop in Boston. That's right.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
than the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC. Piper, no! Didn't she go to UNC? Yeah, this is the only school to own part of the color spectrum. Chapel Hill Blue. 3% of the students at that university are varsity athletes. That means 850 student-athletes across 28 sports. And the newest talk at their orientation, what was it, Jack? Becoming a D1 influencer.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Social media is part of the curriculum. Because UNC partnered with a creator economy consulting firm called Article 41. It's led by a Tar Heel alum, and they're basically talent agents... for Instagram influencers. Their biggest client, Alex Earl. And what they've added to UNC is basically a customized course and orientation on how to make it on social media.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
How to convert your followers into income. We looked at this course and basically this is a form of financial literacy. Treat TikTok like a trade. at least for the fit co-eds who are kind of famous on campus. Now, Yeti's the reason Jack and I were fascinated with this story is that UNC's D1 Influencer Program is a case study to understand the NIL and the ath-fluencer industry.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
Now, before the 2018 Supreme Court decision to let amateur athletes get paid, college athletics was a different transaction. And what was that transaction, Jack? Scholarships. Athletes got a free education, which is like a $200,000 value, in exchange for their skills on the field, which helped market the university.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
But soon, since this Supreme Court decision, colleges will begin paying athletes directly for the first time ever. That's according to an NCAA settlement. There's going to be a revenue share. A revenue share. And here's how it works. UNC makes $95 million every year in media, merch, and ticket sales on all that bright blue athletic material.
The Best One Yet
👶 “End the $1K Baby Tax” — Tariffs crush strollers. Star Wars’ epic re-release. UNC’s D1 ath-fluencer class.
And they're going to share 22% of it starting this year with the athletes playing in those games. That's right. In 2025, $21 million will be paid out to the athletes who play for UNC. But it's only for the revenue-generating sports, we should point out. Good point, Jack. Like football, baseball, basketball, they're going to get big checks.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “AI’s Goodwill Hunting moment” — China’s DeepSeek Drama. Coke vs Pepsi vs Costco. Unlimited PTO Paradox.
Let's hit them, Jack. Cheers. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
👺 “Nightime beast, daytime beauty” — The Ugly Beauty trend. Hot Debt Summer. Lilo & Stitch’s recipe.
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.
The Best One Yet
👺 “Nightime beast, daytime beauty” — The Ugly Beauty trend. Hot Debt Summer. Lilo & Stitch’s recipe.
Yeah.
The Best One Yet
👺 “Nightime beast, daytime beauty” — The Ugly Beauty trend. Hot Debt Summer. Lilo & Stitch’s recipe.
Seriously.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, November 26th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeah, it is. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, stocks are up. But if you celebrate Thanksgiving, then stocks are down. I feel like we need to address this.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So let's say it's something simpler with your older family. Let's talk down payments for homes. Maybe your parents are going to help you with a $30,000 down payment for your first home. Well, then don't ask them on the signing day. You want to ask them a couple years in advance. Because if it's $30,000, that's above the $18,000 limit.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
You want to split that up into two separate annual gifts to avoid the gift tax. But Yetis, that's not the only get-out-of-tax-free card that we've identified. Jack, what if you got babies and kiddos? The 529. Yetis, the government wants parents to plan for their kids' education. So they set up this account that helps you avoid taxes.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So Jack and I got the best money topics for you to share with your family because we know exactly what you should talk about. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories, Jack, and nobody is doing that mix of stories this week. Love this mix. Today, the latest episode of our new show dropped, and it's all about Jacuzzi.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Parents, grandparents, friends, family, anyone can set up a 529 account and then put money in it to pay for any young child's education. And here's a good goal. Put $1,000 a year in this account until the kid is 18. In the stock market, that money is going to grow 10% per year if it stays historical gains.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Boom, that account, it's grown up to $52,000 by the time little Johnny is going off to freshman year and figuring out who his roommate's going to be. And all those gains that accumulated over 18 years, they're tax-free because you set up a 529 account. So you didn't have to pay taxes on $30,000 in capital gains. That is a get out of tax-free card.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies at that Thanksgiving table? The greatest gift that you can give your family is money transparency. Yeah, it is. Last year, one of our most viral stories, it was about a will. A will from Aretha Franklin, the singer. When Aretha Franklin passed away, legal confusion about her will led to extra pain and uncertainty for her family when she passed.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So we did a story and a takeaway about wills and estates. How the greatest gift you can give your family is a will. But an even greater gift is to have money conversations before death. Now, the assumption is that these money convos, that they're awkward, they're dark, they're morbid. But when it comes to having them, we don't think they have to be.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Conversations about gifts, prenups, a final will and testament, this is about legacies, sharing, and helping your family understand. And because uncertainty leads to anxiety, we think clear is kind. For example, asking your grandparents to contribute to your kid's 529, that's a great way to start a bigger, more positive conversation.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
You know, maybe that positive grandkid convo leads to other conversations that were really good. Like, where are your passwords in case anything happens to you? Like, it's good if we all know that just in case of an emergency. Dad, do you have life insurance? I should know that because it's worthless if no one knows about it. Heck, I had these convos with my parents over the summer.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
It led to so much better feelings about a whole bunch of stuff, way more positive than I expected. The greatest gift you can give your family is money transparency. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? 25 years ago, Martha Stewart Living IPO'd, making Martha the first self-made female billionaire.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Martha was also the first ever influencer, but she scaled herself using old media. For our second story, it's Scott Besson. He's going to grow the economy by 3%, cut the deficit to 3%, and add 3 million barrels of oil per day. It's the old triple three threes. The new treasury secretary could be a surprising check on Trump's economic instincts. And our third and final story.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
This Thanksgiving weekend, America's 1% will be discussing get out of tax-free cards, like tax-free gifts and 529 accounts. But no matter what, remember the greatest gift you can give your family is money transparency. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Thanksgiving travel expected to set another US record.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Jacuzzi, because the Jacuzzi hot tub is actually the wildest story we had ever heard. Get this. Jacuzzi was invented by seven brothers. Seven Italian immigrant brothers in California. Oh, and Jack, their name wasn't even Jacuzzi until Ellis Island when it got misspelled. The elder Jacuzzi actually started the company by building airplanes.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Jack, we're looking at 80 million people on the move, baby. Yetis, if you're stuck in traffic right now, check out our new series, The Best Idea Yet. And if someone's honking at you, just blast The Best Idea Yet. And second, Starbucks' new CEO has a plan to revitalize the coffee chain, beginning with airport locations. I love that Starbucks are in just about every major airport. Yeah, it's true.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
I hate that the lines are guaranteed to be very long. So Starbucks' CEO calls fixing those airport Starbucks one of the biggest opportunities. Latte for Kramer! And finally, Macy's is reportedly jacking up the TV rights to their Thanksgiving Day Parade. NBC is going to broadcast the parade like usual, but it's going to be for triple the price. $60 million a year.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
That's the new price to broadcast the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Honestly, it's worth it for Blu-ray. Well, speaking of the parade, Jack, for the best fact yet, Jack and I whipped up a highly inflatable one for you, Yetis. Jack, what do we got? Okay. Macy's is the number two consumer of helium in the world because of all those balloons. But here's the wild fact.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
It turns out that Macy's used to just let the balloons go, like in the first race. They just let them go up in the air and go away. They would tell the people to just let go. And eventually Snoopy would like pop or come down to earth. I think he'd land in Jersey and then someone would have some big Snoopy in their backyard, Jack, over in Morristown.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
They even printed a return address on the balloons so that if one of them landed in your backyard, you knew who to return it to. Macy's. Yetis, you look fantastic for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Just to keep it real for a second, Nick and I have the best jobs in the world. Yes. And it's thanks to you listening to us. We're so thankful for you. Honestly, you're tuning in every day.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
You're sharing stuff with us in DMs. You're sending Jack and me messages every day. There are ratings and reviews. It's a wonderful community we've built together. Love doing it with you, Jack. I'm just going into Thanksgiving feeling very thankful. Or is it Thanksgiving, Jack? Are you going into Thanksgiving? No one says that. There's always one person at the table. Trust us, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Have fun, and Jack and I will see you on tomorrow's special pod. And tell your families, H-Y-H-D-B-O-Y. And before we go, a happy 40th birthday to our buddy Matt Beagle, the Yeti, over in Lafayette, California. He's the best idea yet. The best of Berkeley. And Matthew Caldwell is celebrating a birthday over on the Upper East Side, hopefully with a good burger, and we know from where, Jack. J.G.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Mellon. J.G. Mellon. Happy birthday to Caitlin Carl in Victoria, Minnesota. And Vahithi Kaikaria over in India is celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy 50th birthday to Claire Darby in Phoenix, Arizona. And Allie Draught over in Portland is celebrating the big birthday. Happy birthday to Emily Roseau in Martinique, France. And Vital Badano over in Seattle. Happy birthday, Vital.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Happy 20-year anniversary to Danny and Irida Olivia in Orange, California, who are celebrating over at Disney. And Mikey Pollack and Kira just got engaged. Guys, let's see some ring picks. Congratulations on the huge day. Big shout out to Josh and Katie over in Los Angeles who are opening a very hygienic, very sanitized dental office. Get rid of all the cavities.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And Naomi Willis gave this show not only five stars, but maybe the most fun review I've ever seen of the best idea yet, Jack. She did reviews on both shows. Amazing. Amazing. Our biggest marketing yeti yet. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
But then began a series of business pivots beginning with airplanes. Pivot! They pivoted from propellers to pools to create the first ever hot tub. And they did it to save their two-year-old son's life. No joke, true story. It's an emotional, touching story.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
That Jacuzzi episode drops today on our new show, The Best Idea Yet, where Jack and I found the most viral products of all time and discovered their untold wild origin stories. Oh, and since each episode is 45 minutes, it pairs perfectly with a long road trip. Forget Thanksgiving traffic. Turn on the best idea yet.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving on this podcast tomorrow, we're going to drop a whole episode right here of TBIY. We want to thank you for being a part of our entire show, all of our shows. So we're sharing with you a full episode of our other show. So today's show is the best one yet, but tomorrow's show is the best idea yet. The Eddie's Happy Thanksgiving.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Nick, pumped to pop with you. Let's hit our three stories, man. Let's hit them, dude.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. We
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Everyone has one friend who's mispronouncing Thanksgiving, right? No. What are you talking about? You know the Thanksgiving people? The Thanksgiving people? Not Thanksgiving people. The Thanksgiving people. They're emphasizing the thanks? We have to stop ignoring it. What are you doing for Thanksgiving, by the way? Where are you going to be?
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
For our first story, 25 years ago, Martha Stewart took her company public in a historic IPO. So we whipped up all the takeaways on Martha Stewart, America's first self-made female billionaire. The best business documentary we watched this year, what was it, Jack? Martha. Yeah, it dropped last month on Netflix.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So yetis, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the story of Martha Stewart's business and we wore collar shirts today in order to deliver it. Because under the polished, pampered, pecan pie image of Martha Stewart, her greatest skill is mastering skills. And that is how she became a successful entrepreneur. Yetis, let's bring you back to the 1960s New Jersey.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Because Martha Stewart's family did not come of many means, they needed money. So Martha Stewart became a model. In fact, she mastered modeling and became a top model in New York City. But that was all after she mastered gardening because her family didn't have much money, so she helped them save money at the grocery store.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
But then after college, she went on to Wall Street where she mastered Wall Street. She became a really successful, famous stockbroker. She used her modeling confidence to win clients and earn those pitches. Now, interesting twist. After she got married and moved to Connecticut, she had to give up stock trading. That's when she started her own catering business and became a master of catering.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
I'm headed down to the chalet at the mountains right at Triggerbush. They're opening up the resort, so I'm going to get my first runs in. I hope you get some good snowing, Jack. Nick, we're going to have a fire going the whole time. What about you? In New York City right now, and everyone here looks beautiful.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Because she used her gardening skills that she'd mastered to differentiate her catering business. And she used her Wall Street network from her stockbroker days to win the biggest big corporate catering events. Now, interesting detail we didn't mention, but during her honeymoon at the age of 19, she kept hundreds of pages of notes on European artwork she saw while traveling in Europe.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And then she used those notes to differentiate her catering business. Instead of catering casseroles, she started doing elaborate spreads inspired by the Renaissance artists she saw in Italy. The bigwigs at Credit Suisse were like, oh, this fondue makes me feel like I'm in Switzerland.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And that's how Martha Stewart became Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, because she mastered every single individual skill one at a time. But we know her name today because she combined all those skills into one grand business, Martha Stewart Living. That company, it became Martha Stewart's favorite things. She figured out how to scale her preferences.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
She basically communicated to her audience all of her favorite things, from travel to interior design to cooking to style to fashion. Basically everything from the perfect placemats to the perfect pinot noir with some profiteroles in between. And in 1999, she IPO'd the company. When the stock doubled, she became the first ever self-made female billionaire. That's right, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Gardening, modeling, stock brokering, and IPOing. Bet you didn't know that about Martha Stewart, did ya? But Jack, when it comes to our analysis of Martha Stewart's mastering of skills and taking this company public, What was the key insight here? The business wasn't the sum of its parts. It was her weaving them together into an elegant whole.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Her modeling, the gardening, her stock brokering, her art studies, the catering. It was all her mastered skills, but woven together into one public company. Now, we should point out, Martha Stewart went to jail for lying to the FBI regarding an insider trading investigation. Six months of time spent in prison ruined her company. The stock fell by 90% because Martha couldn't do anything.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
But yet he's... Here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this story. Jack, while she was in prison, she taught her fellow inmates a business class. And what was the first lesson she taught them? That the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To have a successful business, you must master multiple skills, but then you must weave them elegantly together.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Then we're heading to Nantucket, and I heard the president's going to be there, so the aerospace is locked down. TSA might not even let you on the island. Or should I say, Secret Service. In the meantime, Yetis, we are so thankful for you that we whipped up three fantastic stories. What do we got, Jack?
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So Jack,
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
What's the takeaway for our buddy, Martha Stewart? Martha Stewart was the world's first ever influencer, and she scaled herself using old media. Yeti's Martha Stewart didn't need to go viral on TikTok. She didn't need to be shared on Twitter, and she didn't need the Instagram algorithm.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Martha Stewart scaled herself and her tastes using books, magazines, TV shows, and one big partnership with Kmart. basically old school media. In fact, the original business plan that Martha Stewart drew up, Jack, do you remember what was on it? Did you see what was on this thing? It was a solar system, but instead of the sun at the middle, it was Martha Stewart in the middle.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
You had like Martha Stewart Kmart, Martha Stewart Magazine, Martha Stewart Cookbooks. They were all in around her at the center. And the concept of an entire business universe centered around one woman That's the modern blueprint for an influencer. And that's what Martha drew up on the back of a napkin 30 years ago, basically before the internet. Martha Stewart.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
She was actually the very first influencer. No Martha, no goop. And Martha scaled that influencer business without ever needing an algorithm. For our second story, markets are jumping because Donald Trump has picked the most important cabinet member for the economy. Scott Besant will be the next treasury secretary. So we're looking at his 3-3-3 plan for the economy.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
But Jack, let's kick things off with a little bit of history. Who was the first Secretary of State for America? That would be Thomas Jefferson. And Jack, who was the first Secretary of the Treasury for America? That would be Alexander Hamilton. Great musical.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Now, the Secretary of State is the most important person internationally for us, but the Treasury Secretary is the most important person domestically. domestically for us. Because the economy is the thing that every American touches every single day. And on Friday, President-elect Trump appointed Scott Besant to be the nation's Treasury Secretary.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
He's expected to be confirmed easily over in the Senate. Scott Besant is a hedge fund billionaire. He used to work for George Soros, and he helped get both of those two men rich. We jumped in further to his LinkedIn, and Scott Pesant also taught economic history over at Yale University, which happens to be his alma mater. He used to donate to Democrats until 2016, when he became a Trump supporter.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
For our first story, 25 years ago, Martha Stewart took her company public to become the first ever self-made American woman billionaire. And this year, Netflix did a documentary on Martha Stewart, and we watched it all weekend long. And we found the best business advice that she gave in prison. In prison. Second story, what do we got, Jack?
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
He would also be our first openly gay Treasury Secretary, and right now, he and his husband currently preserve historic mansions where they live in Charleston, South Carolina. He also runs a hedge fund, which he's going to have to resign from once he becomes Treasury Secretary.
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👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And he recently said in a letter to his clients that a Trump re-election would bring, and I quote, an economic lollapalooza to our country. Just like the Chicago concert, but for the whole country, baby. Turns out he's going to be the party planner for that lollapalooza if he becomes Trump's treasury secretary. But Jack and I got curious as to Besson's economic policies.
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👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And Jack, how would you put Besson's economic pitch to America? It's simple, it's fiscally responsible, and it's oily. Okay, it sounds like it's got three parts, Jack. Could you explain it to me like I'm five years... Actually, could you explain it to me like I'm three years old? Besson has branded his grand economic plan... as 333. And we've rebranded it the triple threes.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Jack, the first part of the triple three economic plan. What is it, man? Cut the budget deficit to 3% by 2028, which is down from roughly 6% that it is today. Okay. Get our national debt under control. That'd be a great thing. The second three, boost our GDP growth to 3%. Because if the economic pie is grown, it's much easier to argue about who gets what share of that bigger economic pie.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
And the third three is to produce an additional 3 million barrels of oil every day right here in America. Not a climate-friendly move, but this could make America a lot richer. And remember, America is already the biggest producer of oil in the world. Now, Wall Street loves Besant as the Treasury Secretary. Stocks rose on Monday and the interest rate on government debt fell on Monday.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Those are the metaphorical likes and retweets of Wall Street to political news. Like when Wall Street's happy about something, stocks go up and interest rates go down. Not too shabby. But what do we think? We think the goal of 3% economic growth and 3 million barrels of oil a day, those are relatively easy parts of the plan.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Reducing our deficit to 3%, that's going to be the hard part because that's going to require changing Trump's mind big time. And that leads to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy, future Treasury Secretary, Scott Besant? This Treasury Secretary would be a surprising economic check on Donald Trump. Now, Yetis, Trump's policies are populist.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Tariffs and deportations, those are policies that are meant to please the masses. But they don't please economists. And that's why Besson's appointment could be huge. It's huge because Trump is picking someone who loves Trump's tax cutting and deregulation, but he doesn't love that they could balloon America's debt or increase inflation. And that's the interesting part.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
It's why he might challenge Trump on his desires that could hurt the economy. Want to cut taxes? Well, how are we going to pay for them? You want tariffs on a lot of countries? Well, that'll slow the economy. How can we counteract that? You want deportation? How are we going to keep the construction and agriculture industries employed?
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
So Scott Bisson's triple three economic plan, that'd be a big win for the economy. But they'll require changing Trump's mind on the things he campaigned on. And that is why this new treasury secretary would be a surprising economic check on President Trump.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
For our second story, stocks jumped to fresh all-time highs Monday on news that Scott Besant will run Treasury. Wall Street loves this guy, and it's all thanks to his 3-3-3-3-3-3 policy. And our third and final story. Thanksgiving is the day when rich people get together with family and talk about money.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
For our third and final story, Thanksgiving weekend. It's when the 1% talk about money. So we found the best get out a tax free cards that wealthy people discuss over Thanksgiving. Now, yetis, 100 years ago, the author Emily Post wrote a famous book all about etiquette. And Jack, what was her number one etiquette rule? At dinner, you don't talk about religion, politics, or money.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Sorry, Emily Post, but Jack and I, we respectfully disagree. And Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to bring up money. In fact, according to Merrill Lynch, Thanksgiving is when America's richest families talk about their cash. Because wealthy people know about these secret get out of tax free cards.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
But Jack and I know that anyone can use these secret get out of tax free cards, don't we, Jack? And here's the thing. We're on the precipice of a historic generational wealth transfer known as the silver tsunami. The silver tsunami. Retiring baby boomers are historically rich, so their zillennial offspring should know these money secrets. Here's secret number one.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
In 17 states, plus the federal government, there is an inheritance and estate tax that you should know about. Now, if you're lucky enough that your mom, your dad, or your nice nana is leaving you money, then you should know that there is an inheritance and estate tax for anything over a million dollars. Here's the get out of tax-free card. Annual tax-free gifts.
The Best One Yet
👒 “Martha Stewart Inc.” — Martha’s media mastery. The new Treasury Sec. Thanksgiving finance convos.
Wealthy families don't just give their heirs one giant lump sum gift. They tend to give their heirs gifts every single year. Financial gifts every single year. In order to avoid as much inheritance tax as possible, they give a tax-free gift right up to the limit of $18,000 a year. But Jack, it's not like everyone's getting some giant inheritance.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
This is Nick, and this is... Oh, yeah, you got that bell from the New York Stock Exchange. It means one thing and one thing only. IBO, Initial Baby Offering. Yetis, Jack and I were so excited to whip up the best one yet for T-Boy Tuesday for you. We have three fantastic pop biz stories ready. But that's a story for another pod. Literally. Because Jack's wonderful wife, Alex, went into labor.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
parenting. Plus, we also just dropped the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. And guess what the topic is? Sesame Street, the untold origin story of the most influential kids show ever. What are the odds? Our Sesame Street episode is dropping on The Best Idea Yet the same week as Jack's brand new baby. It's perfect. And honestly, we didn't even plan that.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
But two weeks ago, I got to hang out with Jack at his place for a bunch of days. We were just crushing content. We were prepping all those bonus episodes I just told you about. And each morning, as I jet-laggedly wandered up the stairs at 7 a.m., Jack had woken up at 5.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
He'd prepared a list of 28 potential stock market stories for the pot, he'd done a CrossFit workout, and he'd toasted up Eggo waffles for the entire family. And then he would hand me a bowl of oatmeal, the way I like it, extra, extra almond butter. And the reason I share all those details with you is because I think Jack has a superhuman strength to make people happy.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
It's this unending source of energy that would make a lithium-ion battery blush because Jack pours himself into every business story for this pod. But he also manages to pour himself into everything he touches for his two boys, everything he does with his wife, Alex, and everyone he meets each day. Jack gives you, and he gives everyone, 110% of himself. No exceptions.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
So this new baby is lucky to have Alex as a mother and lucky to have Jack as its father. So, Yetis, we got three takeaways for you, and I'll try to whip them all up for you. First, Jack's baby is happy and healthy. Second, we've prepared bonus podcasts for you right here for the next few days. You're going to love them. And finally, we'll be back with our daily show, as usual, next week.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
But in the meantime, you are still looking fantastic. So celebrate these wins, and Jack and I will see you, as always, tomorrow for the best one yet. Trust me, it's DIY. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
Jack and her hit the hospital and already they're now nesting it up with a beautiful new baby. Apparently, we whipped up the takeaway so hard on the last episode, we caused contractions. But besties, to sprinkle on a little more context for you, according to the Wall Street Journal, this was their third IBO, initial baby offering. That's right, they've got three wonderful little babies now.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
And when Jack's back on the mics next week, I'll let him share all the details on the latest. But for now, according to the analyst reports, this new baby is a T-boy. But yetis, we know what you're thinking. We've been hanging out with you every single morning for seven straight years. What happens next? What's going on with the pod? Is Jack potting from a little hospital bed over there? No.
The Best One Yet
👶 “IBO: Initial Baby Offering” — Podcast Update…
Actually, we've been preparing for this event weeks in advance because a Yeti never leaves a bestie hanging about pop business news. So Jack and I whipped up five fantastic bonus episodes for you for the next few days right here. Entire episodes curating our best stories yet on five of your favorite topics. And here they are. Fashion, growth hacks, leadership, the housing market, and of course...
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🍿 “The Entertainment Pod” — Our Best Entertainment stories from 2024
They bet on a bunch of good options, but they depend on 10% to hit it big. Yetis, those are the three best entertainment stories of 2024.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🍿 “The Entertainment Pod” — Our Best Entertainment stories from 2024
Now a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🍿 “The Entertainment Pod” — Our Best Entertainment stories from 2024
I don't.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🍿 “The Entertainment Pod” — Our Best Entertainment stories from 2024
Yetis, let's go back to July 15th, 2024.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, January 21st. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Welcome back from the long weekend. How was Jennifer? How's your mom doing, man? We went down to New Hampshire. We saw my mom.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Taxes, tariffs, and truth posts. Every president has a different scoreboard, but they are all economic. For our second story, it's Bumble. They brought back their founding CEO, Whitney Wolford. She is a boomerang CEO. And when it comes to leadership, there are sugar highs and there are real meals. And our third and final story is Gmail and Microsoft.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
They're now forcing all corporate clients to pay for AI for all of their customers.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Why are you talking like Pinocchio? Because I feel like Pinocchio is the ultimate AI. I'm
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Well, yet is the AI adoption curve. It is hitting a speed bump. But yet is this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, we just got the early data on New York City's new congestion pricing, the biggest traffic tax in America. Travel time over the New York to New Jersey tunnels and bridges are down 30 to 40%.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
During morning rush hour, it takes half as long to get through the Holland Tunnel. So it's definitely improved traffic. Crosstown Manhattan from the river to the river, it takes 20 to 30% less time. Although we should also point out restaurants are reporting 10% less business and parking garages are getting 20% less business. I'm surprised restaurants are reporting 10% less business.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
I think a lot of people would pop in and grab a bagel, Jack. With a car though? Aren't most people taking the subway? So much double parking. Second, the Ethiopia Stock Exchange, a brand new stock market, started trading last week. That's right. 60 years ago, Ethiopia's emperor shut down their young stock exchange. But Ethiopia is Africa's second largest nation with 120 million people.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
If you said Jimi Hendrix playing Wild Thing live, you'd be correct. But that is not the wildest part about this song. Because at the end of it, Jimi lit his guitar on fire. That's right. Jimi Hendrix finished his solo by burning his guitar on stage. And which guitar was it that Jimi Hendrix lit on fire? Well, Jack, that would be the guitar that invented rock and roll. The Fender Stratocaster.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
So they just relaunched the stock exchange. Fun fact, 25% of Ethiopia's economy is the coffee bean. And finally, the NBA could be getting an awkward new rival. Yeah. Because LeBron James has started a basketball league. Yeah, well, get this. LeBron's business manager is part of a startup that is raising $5 billion to start a new league.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It's going to have six men's teams and six women's teams and play the games worldwide. It's basically like an international mini NBA Olympics. And it's the latest disruption of professional sports. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because it is National Hugging Day. I'm a big hugger, man. Big hugger, big huggers. We do it. Look at this.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
The length of the hug matters. A hug lasting at least 20 seconds releases more oxytocin and amplifies the calming effects compared to a short hug. I got to say, 20 seconds, that's a cuddle. I mean, Jack, a 20-second hug is a kidnap. That's what that is. We've hugged a million times. Have we ever held each other for 20 seconds? I don't even know if it all adds up to 20 seconds.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
By the way, teams that hug, studies show, or teammates who hug, tend to show improved performance and trust and just do better. We can attest to that. And finally, we asked ChatGPT who are the best huggers out there. Guess what ChatGPT said. They said The Rock, Oprah, Keanu Reeves, and Winnie the Pooh. I would love to get a hug from Winnie the Pooh.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
We don't know what data they used because this is a chatbot and it's never been hugged, but yetis, those are the best huggers. So yetis, if you got a buddy near you, give him a hug right now.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. H-Y-H-T-B-O-I.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
By the way, yetis, before you go, remember to check out our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet, because we just dropped a brand new episode today. Without the Fender Stratocaster, we wouldn't be able to hear the guitar in Stairway to Heaven. That's right. This guitar led to rock and roll. You're going to love the story, so check out The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Sol Olinstein, turning 30-30 in New York City. And Jack, get this. What? Sol is doing a senior citizen-themed bar crawl across Manhattan because he's turning 30. Senior citizen, huh? I'm joining you tomorrow, Sol. And Max and Kara in San Francisco just welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Kara last week, and she's a tea girl. Congratulations.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And happy birthday to Mira Ashwin. He's turning 14, a proud Swifty in Ridgewood, New Jersey. on the way to school and crushing it in school. And Thomas Tawasterna, the bestie Tawa referred him to this podcast. And we should have a national tell a buddy day about T-boy. Thanks to Thomas. Happy birthday, Tommy. Happy birthday to Lacey Matney in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And we heard you have a profit puppy named Polly Puck. And Lulu Bacon, the best name we've ever said on this podcast, just turned 10 years old in Alameda, California. Happy birthday, Lulu Bacon. And a huge happy first birthday to TJ Agby in Jersey City. The big one. Just one, but still a babe. And congratulations to Kendra Sinclair, who's pregnant with their first child upstate.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
The owner of the reclaimed motel is going to have a baby in the next week or two. Happy early B-Day. And a big shout out to Trevor Yeager, who's been listening to T-Boy all the time on a four mile walk. T-Boy's been their top pod for two straight years. Trevor, love that walk you're doing in Florida every day. Pumped to be there with you.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Bumble and Disney. Nick and I both own stock of Apple, and we both own ETFs of the S&P 500. Is Black Swan event racist? Did you just Google that? No. According to Gemini, for free, it is not.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
From Bruce Springsteen to Blink-182, your favorite guitar solo was probably played on a Fender Stratocaster. But few know about the Strat, as the Beatles called it, and its full true origin story. This guitar was the result of a bitter entrepreneur rivalry. This guitar involved the biggest financial deal in music history at the time.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
This guitar is so important, it's hanging in the Smithsonian Museum in D.C., Because regular guitars couldn't be heard over the loud drums and the vocals out there. We needed the guitar to be electric for rock and roll to be possible. Ipso facto, no strat, no Rolling Stones. Yetis, this guitar is the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Best Idea Yet, the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. So later today after this episode, check out our weekly deep dive show. New episodes drop every single Tuesday. Tap the link in the episode description because the Fender Stratocaster is simply the best idea yet. It's the best. But Jack, today's show, this T-boy, this is a T-boy. Should we enter three stories?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Let's do it.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It's $5 for a Lyft ticket. You'll walk up that thing. And you were with your parents in San Francisco. We saw them in San Francisco. Molly and I went down to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Jack, I saw Pebble Beach. Nice. I didn't play Pebble Beach, but I saw Pebble Beach. Jack, three stories for today's T-Boy. Besties, welcome back. What do we got on the pod?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
For our first story, starting today, Trump kicks off his second term with an agenda of political and economic disruption. But Trump has one number. That's his personal report card. And we'll tell you what it is. But yet, eight years ago, Donald Trump inherited a solid economy from Barack Obama, and then he supercharged it. How? Mainly by cutting taxes. Yes.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It ballooned the national deficit, but it also ballooned the stock market. Now, a few years later, that all ended with a pandemic that damaged Donald Trump's economic scorecard. Trump's second term aims to do the same thing as his first term did. And what is that again, Jack? Supercharge the strong economy that he's inheriting from Joe Biden. But pause the pod for a sec, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Could you please sum up Trump's big economic plans for the next four years? And can you do it in a way that is simple, shareable, and involves a little bit of alliteration? You want me to just use three letters? I would like to use three letters, probably the same one. Here's the three Ts, taxes, tariffs, and truth posts. The three Ts, the first one of them is taxes.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Trump already cut corporate taxes back in 2017, almost in half. Yeah, down from 39% to 21%. Now, he'll definitely convince the Republican-controlled Congress to extend those tax cuts. and probably kill taxes on tips too. Also on taxes, he'll possibly bring back the SALT deductions, which help wealthy homeowners save on tax. All right, the second T is tariffs.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Trump is determined to massively escalate the trade war that he started in the first term. Besties, you know what we're expecting next? Trade war too. We're talking 60% tariffs on everything made in China. And 10% tariffs on every other country in the world. Now, we should point out that we don't think tariffs will bring jobs back from overseas like Trump thinks.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
But the pain they inflict on other countries could be used as leverage to get other things for the USA. All right, Jack, that's two Ts. What's our third and final one? Truth posts. Truths. Because Trump governed the first term through tweets. This time, he'll do it through truth. So yetis, we're expecting executive orders on immigration. That could have a huge impact on the economy.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And they'll be posted on truth first. And more executive orders to deregulate businesses, liberate crypto, punish enemies, a whole bunch of them. There's also so much more to expect, but lots that we can't possibly expect. For example, who knew a pandemic was going to define Trump's first term? Didn't see that in 2016. I think that's called a black swan event, right? That's racist, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Now time for our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over watching the Trump economy? Every president has a different scoreboard, but they're all economic. Yet he's the overwhelming reason why Trump won. People thought he'd be better for the economy. But the metric by which presidents rate their economy is different.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
For example, Obama cared most about job numbers because he took over after the Great Recession. Biden cared most about inflation because he presided during historic price increases. Well, we think Trump cares most about the S&P 500. One single, simple, braggable number. The stock market is Trump in a nutshell. Oh, totally. It represents richness.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
For our first story, yesterday, Donald Trump was inaugurated to his second term as president. So Jack and I will tell you the most important number of the next four years, Trump's scorecard. For our second story, it's Bumble's founder, Whitney Wolfhard. She is back as CEO. She has boomeranged back to Bumble. So we researched the stock performance of boomerang CEOs. And our third and final story.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
I mean, Jack, the S&P 500 is literally the 500 biggest stocks in the stock market in one single number. Now, the most interesting thing to follow in Trump's second term is the conflict between his favorite economic policies and his favorite economic scoreboard. Good point, because Trump's tax and tariff policies could increase inflation and interest rates, and that could hurt his scorecard number.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It could hurt the stock market. Yetis, every president has a different economic scoreboard. For Trump, it's the S&P 500. For our second story, Bumble's founder, Whitney Wolf Hurd, stepped down two years ago. But get this, now she is coming back, baby. So we did the research on boomerang CEOs. Boomerang CEOs. And the numbers are wild. But Jack, let's start off this story with a hero stat.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
This one's wild. What do we got, man? 20% of Americans who left their job during the pandemic have returned to that old job. Boomerang employees, yetis. They are becoming the new normal. Although you probably don't get the same desk you had before. And if your yogurt was left in the fridge, it's probably gone as well.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Well, yetis, boomerang employees even happen at the top with boomerang CEOs. For example, ladies first dating app Bumble is bringing back their CEO, Whitney Wolfe Hurd. That's right. The queen bee is boomeranging back to Bumble. Whitney Wolf Hurd founded Bumble after leaving Tinder in the mid-20-teens. She was actually the youngest woman ever to IPO her business. Amazing story.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
After that, though, the stock of Bumble has fallen by 80%. So she stepped out of the CEO role in 2023. But here's the news. Whitney Wolf Hurd is now returning as CEO of Bumble in March. She's back, baby. Which is kind of ironic for a dating app company. It is kind of ironic. I know what you're thinking. It's like she broke up and now is getting back together with her ex.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Yeah, like it wasn't you, it was me. Maybe it was you actually. It's like a Bennifer situation. It is like a Bennifer, although I hope it turns out better for Bumble than it did for Ben Affleck. Yeah, he's been smoking a lot lately.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Too many times. But yet he's Jack and I got curious about the performance of Boomerang CEOs. So we jumped in T-boy style and the results are fascinating. The three biggest examples of boomerang businesses are Apple, Starbucks, and Disney. Yes, they are. Jack, let's share the data with the Yetis. Disney, they got a boomerang CEO. Tell us the story, man. Bob Iger was an iconic CEO for 15 years.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Then after he left, the stock fell under his successor. So he came back and the stock's up 20% since. Okay, Starbucks, another amazing boomerang CEO story. Howard Schultz founded the company. He's actually been the CEO three different times. Yeah, true story. And in the two boomerang times when he came back, the stock 5X'd and the stock rose 20%.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
But maybe the most iconic boomerang CEO story of all is at Apple. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple but was fired. When Apple brought him back as CEO, the stock jumped 300% in that first year. So, Besties, add it all up, and our research shows that boomerang CEOs significantly increase the stock price. So what does this all mean? What does it mean?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Is a boomerang CEO the secret to fixing a busted business? All you got to do, bring back the CEO of your, and suddenly the stock's going to hit an all-time high? No. Nope. That's not the solution. No, it ain't. Because of our takeaway. Good timing, Jack. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Boomerang CEOdoms? In leadership, there are sugar highs and there are real meals.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Yetis, with some exceptions, the stock jump from a boomerang CEO's return is a short-term sugar high. What companies and investors prefer is something that lasts long-term. They want a real meal. A real meal. So the true test of a leader, it isn't what they do on the job. We think it's how they set up the company for future success. And the best example of that is Apple.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Have you noticed that your Gmail is asking you if you can summarize your inbox with AI?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
with Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Exactly, because after Steve Jobs, Tim Cook took over, and Apple's value has 20x'd in those 14 years. In other words, the best thing Steve Jobs ever did was groom Tim Cook to be his successor. Now, besties, we should point out, from that perspective, a CEO coming back is actually kind of bad news, right, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It's a sign that they didn't find the right successor last time. So Whitney's return to Bumble may bring the stock a short-term sugar high. Much more important, though, is who Bumble picks next to take the reins for the long term. And that would be a real meal. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Yetis, Google is pulling a Costco.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
For our third and final story, if you have a company email, Yetis, then you're getting an AI surprise this week. Google and Microsoft are both adding their AI assistant into everyone's company email. Surprise! Is it for free? Costco would like a word. Yetis, a strange thing happened to our entire T-boy team last week.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
On Friday, we were all going through our morning email and we got pop-ups from Google. They told us that AI was in our inbox.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Did you upgrade our Google email account, dude? And then I said, no, Jack. And that's when I asked Jack, how much are we paying for our Google Gmail accounts and this AI new thing? What's going on, man? The answer is neither. Because Google added AI to our T-boy corporate Google account without us asking. In fact, this is going to happen to all of you.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Everyone with a corporate Gmail account is going to get this AI surprise. By the way, Nick gave it a shot. He let it craft an email to get Jeff Bezos on the show. Fingers crossed, fingers crossed. Honestly, in the meantime, this kind of feels like Clippy. You know what I mean, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
Popped out of nowhere and it's enthusiastically copy pasting things. Now, this felt like some kind of a free sample Costco style. It did. It felt like a Costco free sample. It did, Jack. But guess what? It wasn't. Google raised the price on our corporate Google account. Get this, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
The same day that Google added AI to all the corporate Gmails, they also raised the price of corporate Gmail by $2 per month per person. So it's not a free sample. No, it's not. And wait, there's more. Microsoft announced the same thing on the same day. How is this not collusion? Microsoft now includes Copilot, their AI assistant, in all the Microsoft Office email packages as well.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
But with Microsoft, it's not free. They're increasing the price of all Office subscriptions by $3 per person per month. Now, this might sound like a bargain to you because both Gmail and Microsoft Office were charging $20 a month for AI. Now, everyone gets it for just $2 or $3 a month. But that monthly fee for AI was optional before. This new, upgraded price is required.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
This is a huge revenue boost for both Google and Microsoft because Google and Microsoft control basically the entire country's corporate emails. So like Gmail, Microsoft Office will now eagerly summarize any email for you, whether you like it or not. But they're going to offer to get Sundar Pichai on the show. And both of them look just a little bit desperate for you to use AI. They look thirsty.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
It feels like clippy. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Gmail and Microsoft Office? AI has hit a speed bump on the innovation curve. Ah, the innovation curve. Yetis, that describes the pace of how tech is adopted by five different types of people in that order. The first people who adopt technology are the innovators. The second are called the early adopters.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And then there's three more phases, which represent the majority of consumers. But interesting thing, AI has hit a speed bump. It now needs to get beyond the early adopters because it's kind of stopped there. Look at the data. ChatGPT downloads have slowed and AI usage isn't surging like it was the same time last year.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “47’s Favorite Number” — Trump’s Report Card. Bumble’s Boomerang CEO. Gmail’s AI Clippy.
And that is why Google and Microsoft are now forcing everybody to try AI by bundling it in emails. They need you to try AI because they need to get past the early adopters. Besties, add it all up and AI just hit a speed bump on the innovation curve. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Trump's second term has begun, and his economic policy is three Ts.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
That's incorrect. What? So apparently you can grow plums on the beach.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
That's factually accurate. Well, Daily Harvest just got acquired by Chobani, the yogurt company, for $600 million.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
All right, Nick. Sunshine.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
That is a high-class onomatopoeia right there.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
The most awkward situationship you can imagine.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
Yeah, that's the story.
The Best One Yet
🌈 “N-E-T-F-L-I-X” — Sesame Street’s Savior. The Startup-Burying Startup. America’s AAA Downgrade Situationship.
You might get a letter in the mail that you don't want to open. Honey, put the sushi back in the fridge.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, November 19th. And today's pod, out of all the pods we've ever done, is the best one yet. It's a T-Boy. Here's the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, everybody is staring at me. I know. I know. Because I'm wearing head-to-toe T-Boy merch. The sweatsuit looks amazing. People keep touching me.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Get this, Yetis. The most expensive college stadium in America is only going to be able to fit 35,000 people. That's it. That makes it the smallest in the Big Ten Conference by far.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Now, Jack, to sprinkle on some context here, you went to University of Michigan for graduate school and business school, and I visited you for a football game there and was really cold, so could you sprinkle on more context? Michigan and Penn State are both three times bigger than this new Northwestern Stadium.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So, besties, Jack and I gotta ask, if Northwestern's new stadium is spending the most money ever on the new stadium, why not make it the biggest one ever?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And odds are the jeans you own are Levi's jeans. Because Levi Strauss Incorporated invented the blue jeans. Yetis, we just dropped the sixth episode of our new weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. And this week's episode is all about Levi's jeans. Specifically, the OG 501 version.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Big stadiums have bleachers, but this new stadium has none. Every seat has a comfortable back. And big stadiums are bowl-shaped with seats mathematically far from the field. But this stadium is built like a steep steel dome, with each seat twice as close to the field compared to Michigan.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
In fact, all 35,000 seats offer better-than-TV sight lines because who's their real competition these days, Jack? Staying at home and watching on TV. So they have engineered the most expensive stadium in America for a new kind of business model. This new stadium basically kills the nosebleed section. Every seat is a really good seat. Instead, they focused on comfort and closeness.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So we focused on a takeaway. Now, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the sports industry? Stadiums have stolen a strategy from airlines. Comfort Plus. Yetis, most stadiums make big profit on luxury boxes and then some profit on selling a lot of cheap lecher seats. Airlines are kind of similar.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But an interesting new phenomenon has developed in how airlines make money, specifically how they make more profits. For instance, Delta Airlines. They have a new premium section that's in between. It's Comfort Plus. It's between economy and business. And that Comfort Plus section is getting bigger and bigger and taking up more and more rows of the airplanes these days.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Northwestern is going for the meaty middle, the premium economy seats of sports. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? For the first time, the data shows more podcasts being listened to on YouTube than anywhere else. YouTube, it became number one because media is no longer contained in buckets. Media has spilled into each other. For our second story, it's Dippin' Dots.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
They're back and better than ever. And now in grocery stores for the first time. That could double sales because distribution is destiny. And if Leonardo da Vinci ate ice cream, he'd probably eat Dippin' Dots. I don't know about that. I'm pretty sure I read a book about him, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Yeah. Northwestern is stealing a trick from the airline industry. Every seat is comfort plus. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
First, speaking of airlines, Spirit Airlines officially filed for bankruptcy. And this, although it will continue operating for now as a functioning airline. The best case, Spirit gets acquired by JetBlue out of bankruptcy. Which is ironic because that's the merger that our regulators blocked months ago when Spirit wasn't bankrupt. Looks like they probably should have just allowed that to happen.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And second, Italy just made one of the biggest mafia arrests in history, worth over $500 million of stuff. The Italian police arrested 43 mobsters in what they call their Moby Dick white whale case. The wild part? The mobsters weren't caught for violence or real intense crimes. They were caught for tax fraud.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And finally, Netflix's Christmas Day NFL game. It's a home game for the Houston Texans. It's also a home game for Houston-based Beyonce. That's right. Netflix is going to have Beyonce perform at the halftime show of their Christmas game down in Houston this year. Which means this will be the biggest halftime performance since Beyonce's 2013 Super Bowl halftime performance.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And Jack, why are we focusing specifically on the Levi's 501s? Because they're the most popular jeans ever created. But yetis, these blue jeans, the Levi's 501s, they actually have the most unfashionable history you could ever imagine. Because the 501s were invented during the gold rush in the 1870s for gold miners.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
It all comes together. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Timothy Fisher down in lovely Little Rock, Arkansas. Push and play. Let's hit it, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Oh, wait a minute. A president had an alligator as a pet in the White House? I mean, it's got to be Teddy Roosevelt. This is God. That's got Teddy written all over it if I've ever seen a pet, Jack. Okay, here it is. John Quincy Adams. Wow. Allowed his pet alligator to live in the White House. So many questions, but Jack. Oh, the alligator was a gift from Lafayette.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Lafayette helped us win the Revolutionary War and got us a reptile in the White House. Not too shabby. That's really cool. Yetis, you look fantastic today. But if you want to look more fantastic, Jack and I have the perfect outfit choice for you. Don't we, Jack? Our T-Boy holiday merch. Sales are open through tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And you could get a kit for free if you participate in our giveaway at tboypod on Instagram. Jack, I got the sweatsuit on right now. I'm wearing it all week. I'm not taking it off. I'm not washing it. I'm just wearing it. It's fantastic.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And then after you jump in T-boy style to our T-boy merch, we've got the perfect episode for you, don't we, Jack? The best idea yet. Yeah. Episode six drops today. It's about the Levi's 501 jeans. It's our new weekly show on the products you're obsessed with, and we're going to tell you everything about the Levi's 501s. So follow us on Instagram. Check out our new merch. Grab your pet alligator.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, congratulations to Yeti Pat Meehan down in Bradenton, Florida, who completed the Spartan Ultra Race in South Carolina, reaching his goal with an epic time and celebrating with a huge pizza. Happy 40th birthday, Pat. And speaking of 40, Natalie Camargo just hit 4-0 in New York City, celebrating the birthday with her mom.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Happy birthday to Kristen Cruz in Warren, Michigan, who's killing it at work right now. And Mike Payne in Olympia, Washington, is a small business owner with a graphic design background and being a fantastic birthday dad.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And yet they ended up on the butts of celebrities like Brad Pitt and Marilyn Monroe. Nick and I actually have a plausible argument that the Levi's 501 jeans tore down the Berlin Wall and won us the Cold War. Yeah, Bruce Springsteen, you agree with us or what? Because Levi's jeans are the greatest force of capitalism in the history of capitals. Mr. Gorbachev, tear off these jeans.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So later today, after this episode, check out our new deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet. Jack and I dropped the link in today's episode description because the Levi's 501s is the best idea yet. But today's T-Boy show is fantastic. So, Jack, should we hit our three stories?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
They're not touching you. Yeah, they're touching it because it's puff print. They're touching my chest. It's crazy. Yetis, we're actually giving away a full set of our new holiday merch. You could win an entire kit for free of our T-Boy merch outfit. This thing's wild. Just go to our Instagram at tboypod to learn more. The best merch we've ever done. Jack, three stories for today's pod.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
For our first story, what is the top podcast platform today? Well, a new report says it's not Apple and it's not Spotify. It's YouTube. But if you tell us your age, we can tell you what platform you listen on. Jack, to kick off this story, let's go back memory lane. Our first podcast episode, audio only six years ago. It's like right before my wedding and we were an audio podcast.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But since 2022, we turned on the cameras. We've been a video podcast on YouTube as well. Although we should point out, based on the data, most of you listen to us. You don't watch us on YouTube. 95% of our audience listens only. And here's why that's bizarre. Because according to Edison Research, YouTube just became the number one platform for podcasts this year.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
I'm not crying, Jack, but I feel like we could take this personally. How come no one wants to see us? They only want to hear us. Jack's got great teeth. Jack, your smile's incredible. Have I told you about my skincare routine? All 42 steps of it. If you want to enjoy this pod more, you could watch us. Jack looks fantastic over there. He's going to brighten your day.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But this update about YouTube winning and podcasting is perfect timing because we just finished the podcast election.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we got fascinating data on how you listen to podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Basically, if you tell us your age and your gender, we'll tell you which podcast app you are listening to us on right now.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And check, why is there this divide based on age among the podcast platforms? What podcast platform you use depends on what was big when you began podcasts. Basically, we all have platform loyalty when it comes to podcasts. You started listening one day on this, you ain't going to leave this for that.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And here's why YouTube is winning with Gen Z. YouTube CEO recently said this, when Gen Z turns on the TV, they turn on YouTube. And increasingly, YouTube is using its algorithm to show them podcasts instead of typical YouTube videos. For example, let's say you watched a video about online dating.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
One of the best YouTube visual analogies we ever got was that like YouTube is a store, but when you walk in, they rearrange all the aisles to be personalized to you every time you walk in.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So add it all up and younger people are watching podcasts because it's all they've ever known. YouTube fed them video podcasts as their first pods. Older people listen to podcasts because that's all they've ever known. They started with Apple back in the day. They started with cereal.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And from the data Jack and I have seen of our own audience, men are more likely to get us on YouTube while women are more likely to get us on Spotify. We appreciate all the men out there who are looking at us on YouTube right now. No judgments, women, but we could use some love too. Now Yeti's since marketers crave young people all the time. Now the entire podcast industry is pivoting to video.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
What do we got on the T-Boy?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Spoiler alert, Spotify is doubling down on podcast videos, videos, videos.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And they haven't fixed all the bells and whistles yet.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Apparently you don't want to watch us because you're just listening. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who look fantastic over at YouTube?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Yeah, it is. Jack and I just clarified that YouTube, a video platform, is winning in audio. And Spotify, an audio platform, is investing in video. But pause the pod, Jack, because Twitter, originally a text platform, is investing in both audio and video. Meanwhile, Instagram is no longer just pictures.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Besties, there was a time when the media industry had to pick a medium. You were radio, newspaper, magazine, or TV.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Besties, if you don't get your pods on YouTube, the reason is your age. And we'll explain more. For our second story, it's Dippin' Dots. The self-proclaimed ice cream of the future just had its second scientific breakthrough. Because Dippin' Dots solved the biggest problem, the coldest problem, in the freezer.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But now with digital media, you don't have to choose one. You can pick them all. Actually, maybe you got to do all of them, Jack. You got to do every single one. Maybe you have to be in each medium in order to survive as a media platform. And yetis, that's why Jack and I believe media is no longer contained in buckets.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
For our second story, Dippin' Dots, the self-proclaimed ice cream of the future, went bankrupt back in 2011. But a second scientific breakthrough is giving Dippin' Dots a second life. Uh, Yetis, we all remember our first time, don't we, Jack? It was awkward. It was uncomfortable. I don't know what you're talking about, Jack, but I was thinking about my first bite of Dippin' Dots.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
That's what I was thinking about, which are those chili balls of ice cream that are like frozen beads of flavor. I don't know about you, man. Dippin' Dots, they're shaped in quarter inch spheres of beaded ice cream. They're like Haagen-Dazs for astronauts. And Jack, now that I think of it, there was a Dippin' Dots store. We would like Friday night,
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
movie theater, put on some juicy sweatpants, walking over past the Pinkberry and go to Dippin' Dots on 86th Street. Well, it's apropos because Dippin' Dots was actually invented by accident in 1988, just like you and me were. That's right. Invented by Kurt Jones of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Go Salukis.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But he ended up accidentally mixing cream with the liquid nitrogen in like a very bizarre but delicious twist of fate. So he battened that technology and turned it into a commercial ice cream product. And that product was Dippin' Dots. Dippin' Dots. And Jack, what kind of numbers was Dippin' Dots doing at its height?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
That's right. The reason I saw Dippin' Dots at like six bar mitzvahs, Jack, was because 95% of America recognized the Dippin' Dots brand. But soon thereafter, Dippin' Dots, well, they dipped. The frozen balls hit the walls. Yes, they did. And Dippin' Dots filed for bankruptcy in 2011 for a few reasons. The main reason was logistics. It was. Because get this.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Due to the molecular makeup of Dippin' Dots, they must be kept at negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit or else the balls will melt into each other. Now, Jack, could you sprinkle on some more chemistry context for us over there, please? A typical commercial freezer bottoms out at zero degrees.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
You can't get down to a negative 40, which meant that forever Dippin' Dots could only be served at special Dippin' Dots distributors. Besties, think about it. That is why you've only seen Dippin' Dots available at theme parks and restaurants that were controlled by Dippin' Dots. Those are the only places that had these special freezers that could go down to negative 40.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So that logistical challenge, it limited distribution. Trader Joe's never touched Dippin' Dots. Oh, and since 60% of ice cream sales happen through grocery stores, we repeat, 60% of ice cream sales are at the grocery store in aisle six. And Dippin' Dots got none of that. So they went bankrupt. Basically, ironically, Dippin' Dots got burned.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
But two years ago, Dippin' Dots was acquired by J&J Snack Foods, a publicly traded $3 billion company. This is the company behind Slush Puppies and Luigi's Water Ice.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And Dippin' Dots? It's never looked better, has it, Jack, when it comes to the numbers? Thanks to this new parent, they're at $300 million in sales, which is their highest revenue, and they've never been more profitable. So research and development is the new focus of this new company. They're going to make the ice cream of the future the future again.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
So Jack, even though you've never had a Dippin' Dot and now I've outed you, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Dippin' Dots? We have Ben and Jerry's up here, man. The takeaway, though, is that distribution is destiny. distribution is destiny. Yetis, here's the news headline. Dippin' Dots just solved their grocery store problem. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Dippin' Dots solved that Antarctica temperature issue that we just described.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Get this. This is the most expensive stadium in college sports history. But it's also the smallest stadium in college sports. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Jack, love the mix for T-Boy Tuesday. Nick and I are not in your closet, but we know what's in your closet. Everyone, all of you, each single one of us, except for me, has a pair of jeans.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
And Jack, can you describe this brand new innovative Dippin' Dot, please? The Dippin' Dot sundae comes in an insulated container with Dippin' Dot balls topped with classic ice cream. So there's no melting or clumping of the dots thanks to that topping. Basically, the scientists at Dippin' Dots deserve a Nobel.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
It's a scientific breakthrough nearly as amazing as the first one that happened by accident back in 1988. Oh, and while the scientists deserve a Nobel Prize, the business development team deserves a bonus as well. Because this new product unlocks grocery stores as a distribution channel, which can easily double revenues. Again, ice cream sales, 60% of them are at the grocery stores.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Getting in the grocery stores, that was everything in this industry. Because distribution is destiny. Now a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
For our third and final story, Northwestern University has a new football stadium that will be the most expensive college stadium ever by far. But here's the wild part. It's also going to be one of the smallest college stadiums. And we will explain why. Now, Yetis, over the weekend, I was up in Napa at a winery crushing cabs and pouring pinos.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Jack was with his three brothers watching like 42 football games over there.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Yes, I do. Watching football with all the brothers.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Northwestern University was playing Ohio State in football at Wrigley Field. Jack, I'm sorry, I gotta ask, why did Northwestern University's football team play in a baseball stadium for their football game?
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
That's right, Yetis. Their stadium at Northwestern, Ryan Field, it was demolished to make room for their new stadium, the new Ryan Field. And yesterday, Northwestern unveiled both the price tag and the design of this brand new stadium. And it happens to be the strangest combination of two extremes that we have ever seen.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Because the new Ryan Field is going to be the most expensive collegiate stadium by far at $850 million to construct. Jack, that is two times bigger than any other college stadium in America. And it's going to be privately funded by the Ryan family, whose descendants will always be accepted to Northwestern after this. And no taxpayer money was needed for this expensive stadium.
The Best One Yet
🍨 “Ice Cream of the Future” — Dippin’ Dots’ resurrection. YouTube’s now #1 for podcasts. Northwestern’s stadium disruption.
Which is really nice. So, Yetis, this brand new stadium is two times more expensive than any other stadium in America. That is a wild stat.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, March 18th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three stories at the intersection of business and pop culture. Markets closed up for the second day in a row. No news is good news on Wall Street. Not too shabby, Jack. There's even rumors that egg prices could be coming down soon.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
In fact, we think MTV is the most impactful TV channel in the history of TV. Fact, no TV channel has influenced culture more than MTV has. Without MTV, we wouldn't have music videos. Without MTV, we wouldn't have reality TV. But did you know that MTV initially refused to play music from Michael Jackson? They only did it reluctantly because David Bowie intervened.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
That's why your buddy over at Stanford GSB is still thinking about starting his own thing. There's a political reason for the surge in law school applications too. Yes, there is. Historically, law school applications actually jumped during election years. Which we just finished. Yes. High profile battles on immigration, civil rights.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Basically, law schools get a Trump bump from all the controversial topics. Because for some reason, like every famous politician of all time is a lawyer. Oh, totally. And we actually call this the Atticus Finch effect, don't we, Jack? You think you can impact positive change on the world through politics, especially when politics are in the news.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
So you pull a Harvey Dent and you go full Aaron Brockovich on law school. You mentioned Harvey Dent, Aaron Brockovich, and Elle Woods. What other fictional... Oh, you haven't mentioned my cousin Vinny. I plead the fifth, Jack.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
So Jack, do you pledge to tell the takeaway, the whole takeaway and nothing but the takeaway over there? You can't handle the takeaway. Law school teaches you how to think. And we think that is AI proof. Now, yetis, of course, a third reason for the law school surge is artificial intelligence. Everyone wants to know which career paths are safest from AI.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Now, there is no data fully out there yet, but we think the ones that require critical thinking are the safest from AI. Medical degrees, law degrees, creative degrees. We don't think you can program any of those professions into code. Yeah, to get more detailed, our thought is that no industry is immune from AI. In fact, many basic associate work that's now done at law firms, it's done by AI.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
But the most important way to job proof yourself is a role where you have to think. Power of law school is that it equips you with a new way of thinking. As opposed to a skill that's more functional, like writing code. Because functional means automatable. Besties law school, it teaches you how to think. And we think that thinking is AI proof. We think.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Pepsi is buying Poppy. Five years after Poppy changed its name, its look, its container, and its category. Everything but the drink. Because yeti, sometimes to go to the ball, you need to go full Cinderella. For our second story, Apple's AI-enhanced Siri is delayed indefinitely. She still can't speak AI.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Voice, it is the next revolutionary interface. But Apple, they got their foot in their mouths. And our third and final story. Law school applications jumped 21% this year for political, economic, and technology reasons. AI is still best at doing. Humans are best at thinking.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Or Jack, another way I've heard this the other day is you want to be telling the machine what to do, not the machine telling you what to do. Thinking is more AI proof than doing. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Forever 21, home of the $1 cute top, just filed for bankruptcy again, but this time for good.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
It's planning to close all 350 remaining stores forever. is ending. Now, interestingly, Forever 21 blamed Sheehan and Timu for all their problems, the fast fashion disruptors from China. Specifically, they're complaining about the de minimis loophole, the $800 loophole that lets those Chinese exports come into America for free.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And second, the fate of Ukraine could hinge on a phone call that happens today. Donald Trump has a phone call scheduled with Vladimir Putin to discuss the ceasefire in Ukraine. A lot hangs in the balance of this call between these two strongmen. And finally, Robinhood is letting users buy contracts on prediction markets related to March Madness basketball games.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
It's a wild story, and so is MTV's transformation from music TV to reality TV. From Total Request Live to the Jersey Shore. We did a whole episode on MTV, and you can check it out on The Best Idea Yet. So besties, if you are on a beach, if you're in a bikini, or if you're just stuck on a flight down to Fort Lauderdale, listen to this episode this week. To quote Exhibit, we pimped out this episode.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Translation, you can bet on March Madness basketball games. Oh, they didn't say bet. Okay, okay, okay. They said you could purchase contracts on prediction markets related to the outcomes of the March Madness basketball games. Your move, SEC. Your move. This is a backdoor move by Robnett to effectively let you sports bet, but without the sports betting regulation. Say sports betting.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
We didn't say sports betting. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Scott Schiller over in lovely Vancouver, Canada. Last week, we compared that famous Skype incoming phone call sound effect to the sound effects of Slack. Well, Scott wanted to share a little bit more about the sound of Slack.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Wow. Okay, first of all, great background history on the sound of Slack. Second, one of the greatest voices we've ever heard was that Yeti, Scott. He's got a voice for podcasting, for sure. He's got a voice. We just said earlier in the takeaway, voice is the future. You're AI-proof, Scott. You're AI-proof. By the way, Yeti, send in your best fact yet by tapping the link in the show notes.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
We want your voice on the pod. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, what do you think? Is this tankini going to work for me? Is this good for the beach? Are you talking spring break? I'm talking spring break over here. Spring break! If you want to hear about MTV, the company that invented spring break reality TV and the music video as we know it, we've got the perfect episode for you.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
This episode is dripping with nostalgia. Also, when Michael Jackson dropped Thriller, it almost broke MTV. True story. All of that is on The Best Idea Yet, our weekly show. Go listen right now. We also drop the link in the episode description. And Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Jackson Baker, turning 18 in skinny Atleys, New York, shredding his axe and T-boying while he does. And happy 30th birthday to Zach Steinfeld in lovely Atlanta, Georgia. We're wishing you a perfect 300 bowling game. If you know, you know. And Christina Smoloski down in Centennial, Colorado, is buying a house today. Huge milestone on the birthday. that.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And happy 28th birthday to Meredith Johnson in South Lake, Texas, who cannot wait to celebrate with the besties in Houston. Let's go. And to the USC Annenberg School of Communications, thanks for stopping by. They just jumped into the T-Boy studio while they're visiting San Francisco. Great to see you guys.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And finally, a shout out to some boring business owning yetis who are crushing it with their unsexy businesses. Matt Bowser owns a golf cart rental business called Joyride. Fred bought a 37-year-old asphalt company in Orlando. And Danny Gulls launched in High Bar, a cleaning solutions business over in Oregon. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Robinhood, and we both own ETFs at the S&P 500, and I own stock in Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
For our first story, it's official. Pepsi is acquiring Poppy for $1.95 billion to get into the prebiotic soda craze. It's a really nice exit for Poppy, which actually pulled off the biggest brand pivot in the history of liquid. Trivia. Jack, what do SodaStream, Tropicana, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, and Poppy all have in common? They've all been acquired by PepsiCo. Yeah, Pepsi.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Eggs going down, stocks going up for Todd is Tasting. Fantastic, Jack. Feels like a T-boy. What do we got on the pod today? Poppy, the buzzy prebiotic soda, was once on Shark Tank asking for a $2 million valuation. But Poppy just sold for $2 billion to Pepsi, thanks to Cinderella. For our second story, Apple's big AI upgrade for your iPhone, it just got epically delayed.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
You got some taste buds over there. They're Gatorade bathing themselves right now because Pepsi just confirmed rumors on Monday that they're buying Poppy, the prebiotic soda, for $1.95 billion. Prebiotic soda. Yetis, we got to drop some definitions on you over here. Jack, probiotic soda- What is probiotic soda exactly? Probiotic is something like kombucha, which adds new bacteria into your gut.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Okay. If that's probiotic, what is prebiotic soda? Prebiotic is when the drink includes fiber, which feeds the existing bacteria that's already in your gut. So add it all up and Poppy's prebiotic soda is kind of like a yogurt, but liquidified in your gut. Like if Dr. Pepper and Tums had a soda baby.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
In fact, when we jumped into the numbers T-boy style, Poppy is number two in sales behind Olipop with $100 million in revenue. But Poppy is growing fast. Meanwhile, Big Pepsi, their soda sales have been shrinking or flat for years. And you know what Jack and I say when you talk to a CFO, growth is good for your financial gut. So Pepsi is buying poppy.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
But it's funny timing because just last week, Coca-Cola, they didn't buy a prebiotic soda. They launched one called Simply Pop. But Pepsi knows the age-old rule. If you can't beat them, buy them. So Coca-Cola is trying to beat them. Pepsi's just buying them. Looks like that vending machine drama really paid off.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Now, few know, but Poppy was actually called something else recently until it pulled off a huge rebrand. Poppy pulled off what Jack and I call a Cinderella rebrand. Because they changed every detail about the company except... the underlying product. Yeah, we call it Cinderella because this is a full body makeover that's going to require a whole lot of magic to pull off.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
In 2018, a husband and wife team went on to Shark Tank to pitch their drink and ask for investment. And guess what? They got a deal from Shark Tank. And Jack, what was that drink exactly? It was called Mother, an apple cider vinegar-based sparkling soda. It was great for your gut health. Mother! Mother, it was served in a bottle. The logo looked like script written in the Victorian era.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
It was basically giving co-op farmer vibes, one could say. But in 2020, after just two years in the business, sales were slowing. Right. So they gave Mother a major makeover. They changed four specific details. The name, the logo, the container, and the category. Here's what happened. Mother changed to Poppy. They went from an old-school script to bright, fun colors.
The Best One Yet
👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
They switched the container from a bottle to a can, and they changed the product description from apple cider vinegar beverage to prebiotic soda. Yeah, rolls off the tongue a little bit better. Add it all up, and Mother transformed into Poppy. Completely different look in every way, and yet the same underlying product. And Poppy's dressing itself up like Cinderella paid off big time.
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Like a fairy godmother waved a magic wand. Jack, this was such a magical makeover. Poppy should start delivering the soda in a pumpkin carriage. Not a fairytale guy? So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Poppy? Sometimes to go to the ball, you need to go full Cinderella. Jack, can we talk about the financial results after Poppy pulled off that epic pivot?
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The year after the makeover, sales grew by 100%. And they've doubled every year since that rename and rebrand. And it's changed everything about the company. First, they changed the customers. They went from niche remedy in your mom's medicine cabinet to a teen trendsetter. They also changed the use case from an infrequent health product for your gut to a daily soda alternative.
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Because Apple's foot is in Siri's mouth. And our third and final story. applications to law school surged by 21% this year, and we found three reasons why. One of them, a JD teaches you how to think, and thinking is AI proof. We think. But yet, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories today, Jack. You may still be stretching out on a beach with some banana boat.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
You can literally see Poppy's inflection point tied to that one exact moment when they went through the Cinderella makeover. Many founders are afraid to cut deep into their brand or to change the brand. Oftentimes, if you do change the brand, you just tinker with the name or the logo.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
But Poppy is proof that sometimes the products can be perfect, but it might not succeed because of the wrong marketing. So Poppy just kissed the Pepsi Prince with a $2 billion deal because of that brave Cinderella pivot five years ago. For our second story, Apple just made an embarrassing confession. AI Siri just got delayed indefinitely. Apple stock has fallen by 17% since Christmas.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Because of all of big tech, Apple's doing the least with AI. down to its core. But yetis, let's check the calendar here. Jack, last June, 18 months into the AI frenzy, what did Apple tell us? They finally announced something with AI. It was called Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence, AI. But nearly a year later, Jack, I'm looking at my iPhone over here and I feel like I'm looking at an iPod.
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Here's the only AI I see on my Apple products. Yeah. Nick will send me a five-word text message. Yeah. And then instead of seeing the five-word text message, I'll see Siri's attempt at an AI summary of his five-word text message. Which is also five words long. It's like, Siri, do less, man. Now, we thought that by now, Siri would be fluent in chat GPT because that's what Apple told us would happen.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
We thought that by now the future of Apple would be here. We called it Super Siri. Super Siri, the ultimate personal assistant built into your iPhone, synced with your MacBook, in your AirPods too. So basically a Siri that you'd say, hey Siri, what was the name of that guy I got coffee with last week at Starbucks? Siri would check your calendar and tell you the name into your AirPods.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Or you'd be like, hey, Siri, can you go on Resi and book me a dinner reservation at that place that Alex just texted me about? It would go to iMessage, find the restaurant, and then book you the reservation on Resi. Or like, hey, Siri, what is this thing on my side? And who should I be seeing about this? Siri would figure that out.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Apple said that Siri would be able to move across apps to do tasks for you, which would be the ultimate personal assistant. They said that last June. But two weeks ago, they made a low-key, super disappointing announcement that AI Super Siri is delayed indefinitely. Or as Apple put it, we anticipate rolling out a more personalized Siri in the coming year.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Anticipating launching something in the coming year is as noncommittal as it gets. Siri, she's 14 years old, but she still doesn't speak artificial intelligence. Now, in the headline... We said that Apple's confession was embarrassing. Yes, we did. Because delays is something that Apple just doesn't do. They don't do that.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Like maybe you bought the iPhone 16 because of Apple's AI announcement last year. You thought it was the first AI iPhone, but now you're sitting here with your Apple 16 and it still doesn't do AI. Yeah, those AI features are probably going to come out in the next iPhone, iPhone 17. Sorry, no backsies. Apple's got a great reputation of only launching stuff when it's ready.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
but they jumped the gun with AI. Side note here, Jack, what is Warren Buffett doing about Apple stock these days? Warren Buffett, the 93-year-old investor, is no AI expert, but he sold most of his Apple stock last year. Did you catch that? Didn't notice that, but now we're sharing this. Yeti's Berkshire Hathaway sold two-thirds of their 900 million shares of Apple last year.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And since Christmas, since Warren got done selling, Apple stock has fallen by 17%. Hey Siri, can you tell us what the heck is going on right now?
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So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? Voice is the next revolutionary interface, but Apple has its foot in its mouth. Yetis, here's what Steve Jobs said at the 2007 iPhone unveil.
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You may still be kicking it down in Cabo, besties. But when it comes to spring break, there's one brand most associated to it. In fact, this brand basically invented, scaled, and turned spring break into a business. They turned spring break into- Yeah. Spring That company is MTV Music Television. MTV transformed spring break into a national phenomenon. Into a profit puppy.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
The mouse, the click wheel, and the multi-touch screen made the Mac, the iPod, and the iPhone possible. Those physical innovations, that's what brought Apple the most profit of any company in history. But those revolutionary user interfaces, as Steve Jobs called them, they're all going obsolete.
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Because the way we see it, the future of tech will be controlled by voice, completely hands-free computing. My iPhone's amazing. Yeah. But an iPhone I never have to pull out of my pocket or tap around on, that's even better. Amazinger, amazinger. Apple, they had a 10-year head start with the voice of Siri, but she still can't speak AI.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Which means that ChatGPT, Amazon's Alexa, or Meta or Google's chatbots could win the voice race. Yetis, listen to our epic podcast host voices right now. Whoever wins with voice wins the next era of consumer tech.
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For our third and final story, hold on to your MBAs because applications to law school surged 21% higher this year. We'll tell you why your buddy is getting a JD instead of an MBA. But Yeti's first full disclosure, Jack and I are both the sons of lawyers. My dad's a lawyer. Nick's dad's a lawyer. Yeah, my mom's a lawyer too.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
And actually, the reason we do disclosures in the podcast is because our legal parents told us that they're lawyers and we should do disclosures. Yeah, we're not lawyers. We actually went to business school. We did. But at business school, we were more impressed with our JD classmates. Our law school classmates, they're doing three years of school and they're doing way more reading than we were.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
Law school. It's what smart people do when they don't know what to do. And here's the news. More people want to do that. Applications at America's top 200 law schools rose by 21% this current application season. At the University of Michigan, applications are up 30%, the most in their 166-year history. And the University of Michigan's law library?
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
is one of the great architectural feats of the Midwest, Nick. Over at Georgetown, 14,000 applications to the law school for just 650 spots. That's less than 5% application rate. This is a bar exam boom. It's an Esquire search. May I approach the bench? No, there's too many of you. You may not approach the bench. I heard there are so many law school applications.
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Elle Woods got waitlisted at Harvard. That's not true. It is true. Now, yetis, the waitlists for this application season are so deep, the law schools are doing something they've never done before. Standby lists like airplanes do. They're giving people a sense of where they are on the waitlist.
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
So they can either write off their chances of getting into Michigan or still hold out hope that they'll get in. Now, Jack and I got fascinated with this story, and we discovered there are three interesting reasons that explain the law school boom. One economic, one political, and one tech. All right, Jack, let's start with the economic. What's the economic reason for the bar exam boom?
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👸 “How Poppi got Pepsi’d” — Poppi’s $2B Cinderella deal. Apple’s SuperSiri delay. Law Schools’ app surge.
The hiring pullback, starting with the tech industry, has continued. So white-collar workers are looking for alternatives. Yeah, the tech session. Zuck started it with his year of efficiency, and then Amazon continued it by culling mid-manager white-collar jobs. According to the Wall Street Journal, the percent of MBA students still looking for a job one year after graduating is up to 23%.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, February 18th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. How was Valentine's weekend? You got like a babysitter for three days over the weekend, basically.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Jack, the answer, please. The Patagonia fleece. The Patagonia fleece.
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Now that one is hypocritical. You know, last year, JP Morgan actually had to cap worker hours working at their investment bank because a banker at another bank actually died just from working too hard.
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Yeah. So like six months after he says you can't work more than 80 hours a week, investment bankers, he tells all those ambitious investment bankers, I work seven days a week.
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Yeah. And like implies you're supposed to as well. So Jamie Dimon's basically saying come in seven days a week and his bank saying the opposite. And then Jamie finished with this final point in the leaked audio.
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Pairs well with the New England college quad or like your SAS job you have in San Francisco.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy ripping on work from home, Jamie Dimon? The best professional investment to make in your 20s is a commute. That's actually a quote from us. Jack and I talk about this all the time. It's about the importance of doing in-office work when you're in your early 20s. Here's what Jamie said about that.
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Honestly, we really think this is true. Coming to the office, it teaches professionalism, etiquette, people skills. You get to meet Carol from accounting. You learn something from her. You may otherwise never speak with her, Jack.
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Remote work is great for older workers who have a family and maybe want to buy an affordable house further away from the city.
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He could conquer mountains or he could conquer spreadsheets, but odds are it's done in a Patagonia cinchilla fleece. But before Patagucci went all Fratagonia on us, it was actually founded by one of the most counterintuitive entrepreneurs in history. A man named Yvon Chouinard told people to stop buying Patagonia because of sustainability.
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But when we were 22 and we shared an apartment with three other guys in the East Village, including our buddy Timmy, we commuted to work on the subway every day. And we wouldn't have it any other way. Yeah, we wouldn't.
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Those were formative years that started our careers right.
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Even just the process of going into work, like you put yourself together in a different way. You interact with people in a different way. And honestly, loneliness wise, you just end up doing more things when you're already out going to the office. That's why the best professional investment to make in your 20s is commuting into work. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?
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Zelle now handles a trillion dollars a year of transactions. That's more than Venmo and Cash App combined. And Zelle is winning because Zelle does the job to be done. For our second story, the NBA's TV ratings are down, partly because the game is dominated by three-pointers now. In economics, that's called a market failure. And the NBA has got to step in to fix it.
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And our third and final story is Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase. He ranted about work from home and Audio of that rant leaked. And we think the best professional investment to make in your 20s is a commute into the office. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
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Here's what else you need to know today.
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Get this. Apple is reportedly considering making humanoid robots. It's unconfirmed, but it's a scoop from an Apple analyst that they're looking into autonomous robots to roam your house and maybe the whole world. Apparently, these Apple robots would be shaped like a Pixar lamp, but also kind of look like a human being, like an iHuman, I guess. Oh, so it's like a tabletop robot?
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like a little human robot, I think. Either way, we think you should do something different, Apple. Make a smart toilet. Make the eye toilet. Second, retail sales just had their worst drop in almost a year.
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And the reason is the freezing cold weather we had in January.
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Retail sales fell 1% in January from Denny's Diner to Bloomingdale's Bralettes. Because it was literally snowing, freezing, and sleeting across half the country, including New Orleans. And finally, gold dealers are flying physical gold bars from London to New York City on tariff wars. Here's the situation. Europe might get hit with big tariffs from America.
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So gold in Europe is priced $20 cheaper per ounce than it is in the United States.
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This is wild. But to take advantage, traders are getting on airplanes from Europe to the United States and checking bags of gold bars. It's gold arbitrage, a cool example of arbitrage, and a really heavy checked bag fee. So if you're flying back from London right now, turn to the guy next to you and say, have you had gold bars in your bag? Because they might. Now, time for the best fact yet.
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This one sent in by Brian Cornett from lovely Carpentiera, California. The state of Vermont was actually an independent republic for 14 years. 7077 to 7091. It had its own constitution, it had its own currency, and it had its own postal system. That's right. It was its own economy. Vermont was its own country, literally, for half a dozen years.
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Now, Nick, who's from New York, likes to claim that we were basically New York's property for a little while.
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We owned a jacket. I think legally, technically, we owned the land. I'm just saying. But then Vermont became the 14th state just missing out on the original 13 colonies. You're welcome, Jack. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. And if you are right now wearing a Patagonia fleece, which odds are like more than half of you are, you are going to love our latest episode of The Best Idea Yet.
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He actually made the Forbes billionaire list and called that a failure. And he came up with the company and the fleece while hiking mountains. With the guy who founded the North Face. Can you believe that? It's a wild story. Yeti's the most popular pullover of all time is the next episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with.
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Yvon Chouinard was an incredible innovator.
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He wanted to save the world, but accidentally like was hurting the world with his fleece sales. It's a crazy story.
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I love how he literally discovered the fleece because of a toilet seat. And then Jack, when he told people to stop buying it, like he literally said, don't come in the stores anymore.
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Of course, of course that resulted in the opposite.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
You got to check out this show. So go to The Best Idea Yet. Jack and I will see you there. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yetis Lloyd Brotman and Merrill, who are celebrating in Philadelphia. They are fantastic Eagles, and they are fantastic Philadelphians. Happy birthday to Marielle Sparks-Cardinal in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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And Sydney Barnes has turned a nine-year-old down in Aptos, California. Happy birthday, Sydney. Happy birthday to Bi-Chuan Lo in Nanning, China. And Cindy Lester is turning a 60 years old over in Mesa, Arizona. Happy birthday, Cindy. Happy birthday to Chris Sesney in Renton, Washington, who does a morning walk with Mr. Pickles. I assume listening to our show.
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And Grace is moving down to San Diego for a new job. Grace, enjoy the tacos. And a shout out to Cordell Zelensky, who's a big fan of Jamie. And Amanda Whitman in Boston, just outside Boston, leaves the best comments on all our social media at tboypod. Amanda, we love having you with us. And the comments are the comments.
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And a big shout out to future parents, Cody and Kim Rhodes from Spangdalem, Germany.
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And this is from Uncle Alejandro.
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And Jack, a Fieldston Eagle who I ran into on my flight to SF. Jack, she's fantastic and she loves the show. Great to have you with us. And finally, we did that poll last week on Spotify. If Netflix gets into podcasts, what should we call them? Okay, 22% of you said net pods. And 78% of you said PodFlix. Hear, hear. Yeah. PodFlix and chill.
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And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.
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This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Reddit, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. Wilder asked me, who is that? When I was like telling Siri what song to play. Oh, that's awkward. I was like, but she's not a real person. And he's like, why is she not a real person? I was like, because she doesn't have a body like us.
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You can't touch her. Wow. Jack, in like 30 years, you're going to look back at my convo and it's going to sound racist. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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So later today after this TVOI, check out our weekly deep dive show, TVIY. New episodes drop every Tuesday of The Best Idea Yet. Tap the link in the episode description because the Patagonia fleece is simply the best idea yet. Should we hit these three stories?
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
We had an epic day date Saturday. Yeah. Skiing Monday. It was a great weekend. Skiing Sunday as well. Oh my God.
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First, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
For our first story, as we said before, what the hell is going on with Zelle? Zelle is actually way bigger than Venmo and Cash App, and we just got the data. Zelle just passed $1 trillion in annual transactions because Zelle has become the email of finance. Oh, yetis. Last week, Valentine's Day, big question. Yeah. Did he split the bill? Did he go Dutch? Did he send you a Venmo request?
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Well, statistically speaking, if he did split the check, he didn't Venmo you. Nope. He zelled you. He zelled you because Zelle has just become the first peer-to-peer payment to pass $1 trillion in annual transactions. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context, please?
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Back to back. Jack, you know what I made Molly for Valentine's Day? What'd you make her? Carbonara. You know why? Why? There are eggs in it. You think eggs are the grandest gesture of love? It's bigger than caviar these days. Yeti's three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, it's Zelle.
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Well, we don't need to provide context that a trillion dollars is a lot of money.
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We always say trillion like a couple times a year. Like we rarely use the term.
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Turns out $1 trillion is twice as much volume as Venmo and Cash App did combined.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Zelle now has 151 million Zelle accounts. Jack, could you sprinkle on some more context, please? Venmo has 60 million active accounts. Cash App has 24 million. So Zelle has almost twice as many as those two accounts.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Combined!
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Venmo and Cash App. These are culturally relevant brands. They're companies we all know, talk about, laugh about. Rappers mention Cash App in their lyrics. Venmo has become a verb among millennials. Literally. And yet, the two best-known payment apps are getting crushed by a boring service with a stupid name. Is it short for gazelle? It's actually gazelle, bunchin', yeah.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
That one checks out, Jack. But besties, Jack and I got curious, so we jumped in T-boy style. What the hell is a zelle? We're not going to make that rhyme again, Nick. If you say it three times, you get a zelle bonus, Jack. Well, the way Jack and I like to think about zelle is it's actually a disruption disruptor, and we'll explain.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Zelle is actually run by a company called Early Warning Services, which is an even weirder name than Zelle is. Sounds like a weather company, but it's a finance company. And that finance company happens to be owned by America's seven largest banks. JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank. It's like a co-op.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
But instead of, you know, hippies as members, it's finance institutions as members.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Now, in 2017, those banks created Zelle in response to the disruption coming from the startups Venmo and Cash App.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
The big banks rightfully saw those two digital peer-to-peer payment apps as a threat to their banking business.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Well, eight years later, it appears that they are now disrupting the two disruptors because all the legacy banks basically partnered up and it's working. And because the big banks are interconnected, Zelle lets us move money directly from accounts instantly and for free. That's their advantage because Venmo and Cash App, they can't compete from the outside.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
They make you move money into a separate wallet so they have to charge you if you want an instant money exchange. Meanwhile, Zelle is more than just seven banks. They now have 2,200 legacy banks that have all joined their anti-Venmo network. Basically, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. All the competing banks have teamed up against these two smaller startups.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Add it all up and Zelle, a fully functional brandless utility, is beating the fanciest, coolest fintech apps. Or Jack, what's another way you could put it by using the word disrupt multiple times? Zelle was designed by the disrupted to disrupt the disruptor. Basically, if you think about it, Zelle has become like email, right? It's basically email for finance. It's simple. It's boring.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
You're not going to believe it, but Zelle is bigger than Venmo and Cash App combined. So we got the details on what the hell is going on with Zelle. For our second story, it's the NBA. Their TV ratings are suffering because there's simply too many three-pointers. Well, guess what? There's a solution to the NBA's three-point problem, and we found it in an Econ 101 textbook.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
No single entity owns or controls it, but we're all using it. Or another way that we could think of it, Jack- I don't think we need any more ways. I was just going to say it's like a sidewalk. No, thanks. We're good with email. I use it all the time, but I have no personal feelings for it. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Zelle?
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Zelle is winning because of the jobs to be done framework. Yeti's Harvard Business School professor, Clayton Christensen, coined the term jobs to be done to understand why you actually buy a product. His theory is that customers hire products like they hire people to do a specific job. Here's the example. This professor studied why people bought McDonald's milkshakes.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And surprisingly, the top customer was actually commuters.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Because commuters wanted a long-lasting treat that was holdable in one hand and wouldn't make a mess. Right. And milkshakes do that job the best.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Well, similarly, when you need to send money instantly, not with cash, then it is Zelle that does that job. Venmo and Cash App, they have social features and they try to gamify things by getting you to add a pancake emoji to your Venmo payment. One sec, Jack. Our buddy Timmy just sent us seven pizzas. No clear reason why. But that's not what you're hiring for. No, it's not.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
On the other hand, Zelle does the job to be done. And that is why Zelle is now the largest peer-to-peer payment by far. For our second story, the NBA's viewership is dropping because there are simply too many three-pointers. There's an economic reason why we have too many threes in basketball, and there's an economic solution to it, too. True story, Jack.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
On my flight back from New York City to San Francisco, you know who I sat next to? A basketball player. A bodyguard for a basketball player. He wouldn't tell me who, he wouldn't tell me who, but he was big. He was huge. He was huge. But the reason that bodyguard for an NBA player was on our flight was because the NBA All-Star game was this past weekend in San Francisco.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Did he intimidate you physically? I asked the other person to go let me out to go to the bathroom.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
I didn't ask him.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
But yet he's midway through the NBA season. There is one major problem. Basketball viewership is down. NBA ratings have fallen by 18% this year. And every sports fan has a theory they're posting on Reddit as to why. Some say that today's players are too coddled. Others blame the lack of rivalries. Others say no one plays defensively. defense.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
But we think the reason NBA viewership is down is that there are simply too many three-pointers. Yeah. Because the data shows it. Get this. According to Bloomberg, 25 years ago, the average team shot 14 three-pointers per game. Today, the average team shoots 37 three-pointers per game. In fact, the Boston Celtics attempt 48 three-pointers every single game. That's outrageous.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
That means five players are taking 10 threes each game on average. Honestly, Boston, it's inappropriate. So instead of enjoying a diverse mix of dunks, jump shots, and threes, all we're seeing are threes and putbacks. The two outcomes are the three gets made or the three is missed. But yet, here's what's fascinating about this story.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
There's actually an economic calculation that explains this three-point palooza. It's called expected value. Expected value weighs the benefit of an action with the probability of its success. So here's the math for three-pointers, Jack. 36% of three-pointers taken in the NBA are made on average. And the return, if you make a three, is three points.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And our third and final story is Jamie Dimon. Jamie. He went on an expletive-ridden rant about working from home, and we found audio of it.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Therefore, when you do the math, the expected value of shooting a three-pointer is actually 1.08 points. How about for dunks or for two-point shots, Nick? Yeah, what is that, Jack? There's a 40% chance that a two-pointer is made in the NBA on average. And if it is made, you get two points. So when you do the math, the expected return of a two-point shot is 0.8 points. There it is. Easy math.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
There's a higher expected value of shooting a three than there is for shooting a two. Ipso facto, it makes more sense to shoot threes than to shoot a bunch of twos because they have that higher expected value. And now that the math is so clear, teams are realizing this and coaches are coaching their players to shoot more threes. And Jack, who started this trend to shooting more threes?
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Steph Curry did 10 or 15 years ago. And Jack, who's entrenched shooting threes as the new normal? All 30 NBA teams, because it's how you win games. And here's the paradox. A team wins by shooting more threes, but the fans don't like when you shoot more threes. It makes the game less complex, more predictable, and less fun overall when it's just a game with three pointers being taken.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And most of all, Muggsy Bogues hates it. Great basketball reference for a hockey fan. He told me on the flight. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies watching basketball? The NBA's three-pointer problem has a solution, and you can find it in economics. Yetis, what's happening in the NBA actually has a term in econ. It's called a market failure.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Yeah, we got the tapes, so we are breaking it down line by line with Nick and Jack play-by-play analysis. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a just fantastic mix of stories after a three-day weekend, Jack. Love it. Trivia. Yes. What product got so popular that the owner told us to stop buying it? Besties, what product found its magic material in a toilet bowl cover?
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
A market failure, when the market, left to its own forces, results in a bad outcome. Well, three-pointers are winning games, but they're also losing fans, and that... is a market failure. So in economics, when a market outcome isn't optimal, in other words, when there's a market failure, that's when the government steps in.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Yeah, the government will tax the thing causing a problem or create a rule to ban the problem. They intervene.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And in the case of basketball, the NBA is responsible to step in because it kind of acts like the government here.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Actually, Jack, we've seen this before. Like this happened in baseball when the league banned the defensive shift.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Yes, we did, Nick. And fans love that the shift is banned.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
So the NBA, they need to institute some rule changes. Maybe they move the three-point line back. Or Jack, they change how many points a three-pointer is worth. They should change the math and only give you two and a half points for a made three. Honestly, we don't know. But we do know that basketball faces a market failure. And it will take the NBA to intervene to fix it.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
For our third and final story, an expletive-laden rant from Jamie Dimon about remote work leaked last week. So we're breaking down line by line why he thinks everyone should be in the office every day. We got the tapes. But first, Yetis, our hero stat of the day.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Get this. According to McKinsey, 2024 is the year that workers return to the office.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
They surveyed 800 companies and the number of workers in the office doubled in the last year.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
68% of the employees at those companies said they're now mostly in person working in the office.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Now, a side note about going back to the office. Amazon now requires you to be in the office five days a week, but Amazon doesn't have enough desks. Hey, Alexa, send Amazon some desks on Amazon. True story. Amazon ran out of desks. But another return to office leader in business is JPMorgan Chase, America's biggest and most profitable bank. And the head of that bank is Jamie Dyer.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Jamie. Who's been the CEO of JPMorgan Chase for 19 years. He's also a born and raised New Yorker.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And besties, you're about to hear his New York accent and his New York cussing in a wild, leaked voice. audio tape.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
We're going to play the clip, bleep the bad words, but here's Jamie's rant during a company all hands last week.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
And what product is beloved by both finance bros and granola crunchers alike?
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Now we should point out, Jack, texting does happen in the office as well, to a lesser extent than work from home. But you know, people are still slacking and texting when they're in meetings in the office.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Yeah, if he doesn't want people texting during meetings, he needs to have a no devices policy in meetings.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
That's a good idea. I like that. I like that. But besties, here's the second thing Jamie Dimon said.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
We're fans of summer Friday, full disclosure. But you know, if someone says they're working and they're not actually working, that could be a problem.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
Work from home is a privilege. So don't ruin it for everybody else.
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🏀 “3-Pointer Economics” — NBA’s shot problem. Zelle is beating Venmo. Jamie Dimon’s rant.
If you're supposed to be on the clock, answer your phone when your boss calls. Which leads to our third point from Jamie Dimon.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy Tuesday, December 17th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, we know what you're thinking. Why is Jack podcasting with Tyra Banks? over here. Well, I am not the America's Top Model Tyra Banks. I'm just wearing our T-Boy merch on the podcast.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
You know, it was not a commodity. Very different experiences. Yeah, you told me that cruise like awkwardly kept pulling over, even though everything seemed safe. The cruise one kind of struggled. It like had to make a right turn, and it got too nervous, and it never made the right turn. Right turns are the easiest turns. Oh, totally.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
But the Waymo one, it's much more confident about the right turns. Aggressive, if you will. Got that catwalk swagger like you, TJ. Yeah, Tyra Banks over here. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Waymo? Much of the time, the business with the deepest pockets wins. And in the case of robo-taxis, the shallow pockets have already quit.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Yetis, five years ago, Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Uber, all the serious players in the car industry were also trying to be players in self-driving. Those car companies, they thought self-driving would take five years and $5 billion to figure out, that's it, boom, we're done. The reality is it's been much harder. It's taken like 15 years and $50 billion to figure out self-driving.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
And those car companies, they just can't afford that kind of investment. But who can afford that investment, Jack? Tech companies. Alphabet's Waymo, Elon's Tesla, and Amazon's Zoox are leading the self-driving industry. Besties, before robo-taxis will ever turn a profit, it's going to require billions of dollars of investment every single year.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
The tech companies have enormous profits to fund those investments, but car companies don't. And that's why General Motors, Ford, and VW are dropping out, but Google, Amazon, and Tesla are doubling down. Waymo passing Lyft and Cruise, it's a perfect reminder of this reality. Deep pockets win games. Money is a moat. And Big Tech, they've got cargo pants deep pockets.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Yeah, they've got a whole lot of pockets, Jack. You're going to have to check those pockets. They're so big. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Crumble Cookies is in a thousand locations across 50 states. It's Utah's sugar unicorn, and they have a B to A business model. B to A business to algorithm. They don't serve consumers or other businesses. They serve algorithms.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Well, the answer, Yetis, is the Pez. Pez candy. You pop it out of a tiny tube and it was meant to make you stop smoking. That's right. The candy that comes out of Batman's mouth. Yes, it was inspired by smoking. That wild Pez story is the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
For our second story. It's GTLD. Gym, tanning, laundry, and drones. New Jersey's drone drama has lit up the stocks of drone companies. The hottest sector of the Trump stock market is the military-industrial complex. And our third and final story is Lyft. They've been passed by Waymo in their hometown of San Francisco, according to third-party data. Deep pockets win games.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
And to win in self-driving robo-taxis, you need some really dope. deep pockets. Like the deepest pockets of all time. Like the Abercrombie six-pocket cargo short kind of pockets. That's what you need if you want to win. Only big tech has those pockets. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Apple has a big new plan to save their iPhone sales.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Get this, foldable iPhones. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is changing the shape of their iPhone with two new models that'll come out in a couple years. Now, one is going to be a thinner iPhone, about half as thick as your current phone you got there. Which is really thin, I guess. And the other one will be a foldable phone with a whopping 19-inch screen. Isn't that a monitor?
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Half tablet, half phone, half giant computer. And second, the German government has collapsed. Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in the German government. And that comes just one week after France's government fell apart too. Oh, and then Jack, a little bit further up north. Yesterday, Canada's finance minister resigned, sending the government into chaos over there.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Across the world, voters are punching incumbents for inflation by voting them out of office. And finally, TikTok has formally requested that the Supreme Court intervene to stop the TikTok ban. On the same day, TikTok CEO went to Mar-a-Lago to ask Trump if there's anything he can do. Only one problem, the TikTok banning bill was passed by Congress and it was signed by the president.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
January 19th, the day before the inauguration, is D-Day for TikTok. So follow us on TikTok while you still can, yetis. We got some good videos out there. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Christy March down in Colleyville, Texas. Have you noticed on your iPhone that when you snooze your alarm, it always snoozes for nine minutes?
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
I don't even think you can choose a different number. No, you can't. Like why nine? Why not 10 minutes or a five minute snooze? Why nine? The origin for the nine minute snooze actually goes back to early clocks, which were mechanical clocks, not digital clocks. Yeah, apparently it was physically easier to set a snooze to a single digit number on a mechanical clock.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
So they went with nine because it's the biggest single digit number. And I guess even though Apple's slogan is think different, they're not thinking different when it comes to the length of a snooze. So besties, if you just snooze this morning for nine extra minutes, you can thank the leftover legacy of old time physical clocks.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Yetis, you look fantastic out there, and you look especially fantastic if you're wearing the T-boy pink hat and the T-boy sweatshirt. Stop fishing for compliments, Nick. People are giving them out, Jack. I'm not asking. I'm just receiving, man. You can buy your T-boy merch before the holidays at tboypod.com slash shop. And if you're looking for more T-Boy today, listen to The Best Idea Yet.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Our latest episode just dropped. It's on the Pez dispenser. It is a wild story. The Best Idea Yet. It's a full deep dive 40 minute episode on Pez. You're going to love it. You can check it out right now. The links are in the show notes. Jack and I will see you there. And before we go, a happy birthday to Alex Patry, a new bestie, actually a belated birthday.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
He's turning 44 down in Dublin, California. Dublin? Is that how you pronounce it? You know, I assumed it was different from Dublin, Ireland. I don't know. Sometimes we do different pronunciations. It's Dublin, dude.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
We'll go with Dublin. And a happy special birthday to Sherry Adkins, who's celebrating in the Dash, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. And Silas Strawbridge, a belated 17th birthday celebration in Englewood, Colorado. Happy 35th birthday to Helen Ching in Warminster, Pennsylvania. And Sophia Aguirre is turning 44 years old with the best birthday yet down in Hotlanta. Happy 15th birthday to Avatar.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
But Jack, could you sprinkle on some context for our buddies over at Pez? Pez is 100 years old. It is. But they still sell 75 million Pez containers every single day. And the Pez candies, yeah, they still taste like chalk. And yet few know that Pez actually began as an anti-cigarette device. Get this, instead of reaching for a cigarette, Pez wanted to offer you a sweet instead.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Yeah. It was a wild movie when it came out. It was okay. And Jack Diskin was supposed to come to our live show in Seattle, but couldn't make it. So we got to wish Jack the best 23rd birthday ever. Congratulations to Joshua Thomas, who just got a new job with a double promotion down in Texas. And Olga Corson has joined the family business. Congratulations and welcome to construction, Olga.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
The floors at the new Portland, Oregon airport, I would eat off them, Nick. And their construction company did those floors. And to anyone else celebrating something today, except for Nick on the catwalk. No, just kidding. Including Nick. Make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon. Nick and I both own stock of Apple. And I own stock of Ford.
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🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
They even made a Pez dispenser that looks just like a lighter. Now that I see it, Jack, I can't unsee it. And even fewer know about the Pez Outlaw. The Pez Outlaw, a law-breaking, Pez-loving citizen outlaw who almost took down the entire company. So later today, after this T-Boy episode, check out our weekly deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet. New episodes drop every Tuesday.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
We got a link in the episode description. Because Pez changed candy forever. Even though Pez was never meant to be a candy. So tap the link in our episode description and check out The Best Idea Yet. Because Pez is simply the best idea yet. But today's show, Tyra Banks? Yeah. It looks better than your silhouette. Oh, today's show looks wonderful. Don't do a feline impression.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Let's hit our three stores.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Our holiday merch collection shipped yesterday. So if you order T-Boy holiday merch, it'll arrive at your door in a few days. If you didn't order that merch, we have good news for you. We have this merch available to buy right now. That's right. Our essentials collection is still available at tboypod.com slash shop. How does this look, Jack? How do I look like this? Is this good?
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
For our first story, Crumble Cookies just hit its 1,000th store. It's in all 50 states. They're a billion dollar company. They are a cookie unicorn. Because Crumble realized it actually only has one consumer. And who is that, Jack? Instagram. Yeah. Now, yetis, Jack and I love whipping up some trivia for you. Here is a good one for the holidays.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Ask your family, what state has the highest sugar consumption per capita? Okay, what do we got, Jack? Options, options. What's the answer? It's Utah. Yeah, it's Utah. By far. Yeah, Chicago does logistics. Salt Lake City does sweets. Like the $5, 700 calorie cookies over at Crumble, the fastest growing food chain in America.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Now, Jack and I did cover Crumble two years ago, and back then, Jack, I listened to the story, checked it out. We said they had 500 stores. Today, they've doubled to 1,000 stores, and they just hit $1 billion in annual revenue. And now they're in all 50 states. In fact, Crumble just opened locally in Vermont as their final frontier.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
They opened their location just down the road from the original Ben & Jerry's. Shots fired, Jack. And they had the gall to serve ice cream, too. Mint chocolate chip shots fired. How dare you, Crumble. Now, Jack and I jumped in T-Boys out to the financials, and each Crumble location is bringing in 1.2 million bucks a year with a 15% profit margin, which means... Not too shabby.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
There's some dough to be made in cookie dough. Yes, there is, because crumble is part of the trifecta of girl pop culture these days. The priorities for teens are Starbucks, Sephora, and a crumble sugar cookie. Honestly, the pink one looks so pretty, I want to put it on a pocketbook and give it to Molly for Christmas.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Which is why both Regina George and Janice Ian would consume a Utah-based crumble cookie right now. But what Jack and I find fascinating about this company is that Crumble is the purest example of FOMO marketing. They bake the cookies. They manufacture the FOMO. Yes, they do, because Crumble borrowed a strategy from streetwear brands to go viral. The art of the drop. Get this, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Every Sunday at 6 p.m., every single week, they drop six new flavors that are only available this week. Which means you gotta buy that buttermilk pancake brittle cookie now or it's gone forever. Mom, if I don't get this, I'm gonna die. They have a cinnamon toast eggnog cookie that you have to eat by Christmas or you'll be the Grinch.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
And because your 12-year-old is nagging you to buy 13 dozen of these cookies, teens love it, but parents hate it. These cookies are exceptionally unhealthy, but the kids go rabid for them. Like we said, the FOMO marketing... It's a viral, viral move. Except Mormon moms in Utah. Yeah. They're standing in line too. Good point, Jack. Salt Lake City does Dolce.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our 700 calorie buddy is over at Crumble Cookies. Crumble pioneered a brand new business model. We call it B to A, business to algorithm. Now, Yetis, as you learn in business school, there are two primary business models. One is B2C. That's a business that sells to consumers. And the other is B2B, a business that sells to other businesses.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Is this a good look for me? You're a tiger. You're a tiger. If you order the hat, Nick will never do a feline impression ever again on the show. Go to tboypod.com slash shop. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, Crumble Cookies is now in all 50 states. Wow. They got the fastest growing food chain thanks to a new business model.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
But Crumble is a new third business model that Jack and I have noticed, and we call it B2A, business to algorithm. Because Crumble knows if they can win on social media, the rest of the business will fall into place. So Crumble's entire business plan is just about growing organically on social media. Everything they do is about getting attraction and engagement on the social platforms.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
For example, Crumble drops six new flavors each week, like we told you, but they announce them first on TikTok and Instagram. Crumble partnered with Pantone, the paint and color company, to get perfectly colored cookies optimized for an Instagram feed. In fact, Crumble has 30 people on its social media team, professional photographers, videographers, filmographers, 30 of them.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
We looked it up on LinkedIn. There's more people on their social media team than on their marketing team. We've never seen that before. Jack, what's the result for Crumble? Six million followers on Instagram, 10 million on TikTok, which is five times as many as Starbucks and three times as many as McDonald's. Then all that attention is digital salivating, which translates into real sales.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
They've realized that you can scale really cheap if you just crush it on social media. So crumbles and consumer, it isn't another business or another consumer. It's Instagram. And we call that B2A. Business to algorithm. For our second story, drones. They aren't just the hottest topic on conspiracy blogs right now. Drones are the hottest topic on Wall Street.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Because the military-industrial complex is back. Yes, it is. But this time with AI-piloted drones. Now, yetis, Jack and I should let you know that Snooki didn't teach us much, but Snooki did teach us that New Jersey is known for GTL. Gym, tan, laundry. It's what I do every Saturday. But Jack, it's time to add a fourth level. To the GTL of New Jersey. Drones. Drones.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Starting a month ago, people all over the Garden State had been reporting sightings of drones way up there, all the way up in the sky. You can see pictures online. There's lights in the sky in the darkness. Some of the lights are moving, some of them aren't moving, and it's the top headline on the New York Times.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Now, with the government not saying much, it's left conspiracy TikTok to fill the news void. Now, this could be a group of pranksters standing in a backyard flying a bunch of drones to scare people. Yeah. Or it could be a foreign government. Or it could be some aliens. Or it could be my nephew Vinny whose drone he's playing with out of the Don Bosco prep.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Now, what the government has said about these drones is that they're probably not drones at all. The government says they're probably airplanes, like normal flights with human pilots. It's a bird. It's a plane. Actually, it's my nephew Vinny's drone, Jack. That's what it is. Questions remain. Meanwhile, the uncertainty press is very good press for the drone industry. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
The number six most talked about stock on Reddit this week. It's a drone stock that we didn't even know existed. It's a company called Red Cat. Yeah. This is a pure play drone maker whose stock jumped 20% yesterday. Now, we should point out, Yetis, this is a small speculative company worth under a billion dollars called Red Cat. We rarely cover companies worth less than a billion dollars.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
But the drone industry is popping on Wall Street right now, and it's not just conspiracies. There are very real-life applications of drones that are already happening. For example, recreational drones. They can be seen at every tourist site from the Eiffel Tower to the Tower of Pisa. I'm pretty sure there's a GoPro up there, guys. Oh, police.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
They use drones right now to monitor crowds, record video at events, concerts, sports games. Don't jump the turnstile. There's a camera on that. And the militaries across the world are using drones right now in the air and the sea to spy and attack, like self-flying weapons. And of course, there's an Elon angle here. Yes, there is, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Jack and I call it B to A, business to algorithms. For our second story, there's a drone mystery in the skies above New Jersey that everyone is freaking out. So Jack and I found three drone stocks. That's right, drone stocks. And they're flying too. And our third and final story. For the first time ever, the Waymo RoboTaxi just passed Lyft in the city of San Francisco.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
He's encouraging the White House to invest in drones instead of fighter jets. Which is literally the plot of Top Gun 2. Like, that's why Tom Cruise came out of retirement. Because of the drones. See the movie. And finally, Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's son, recently joined the advisory board of a publicly traded drone company, which sent the stock up 5x in the past 30 days.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Add it all up, and the new meme stocks are drone stocks. And I'm pretty sure Vinny bought one of those stuff. Oh, Vinny definitely did, Jack. So Jack, what's the, oh my God, what is that up there? Oh, that's Jack.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
It's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the drone industry? The hottest sector of the Trump stock market is the military industrial complex. Yetis, Jack and I love to study history, and President Eisenhower warned America as he exited the White House in 1960 of the military-industrial complex.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
His warning was that politicians liked war because they often owned stocks in defense companies, and they often work at those defense companies after they're done in office. Well, we noticed that we're seeing something similar today. And it's not just the president's son who's blown up stocks of drone companies these days.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Palantir, a tech company founded by Trump advisor Peter Thiel, is now a top military contractor. And how is Palantir's stock doing, Jack? It's quadrupled in 2024. It just joined the NASDAQ 100 stock index. And that drone stock we mentioned, Red Cat, they jumped 20% this week because of a software deal. with Palantir.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Palantir is bringing AI superpowers to the US military and Red Cat drones are now going to be piloted by Palantir's AI. Besties, that is the industrial military complex and it's the hottest sector of the stock market. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
For our third and final story, Waymo is now a bigger ride hail company than Lyft in San Francisco. It's a shocking reality check on Waymo's rise and on Lyft's demise. Yeti's funny thing happened to Jack and I over the weekend. We got a tip from a Yeti that became this story. Joe Esposito in Los Angeles replied to us on an ex-post. And we jumped in T-boy style. We got curious.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
According to a third-party data provider called Yipit, Waymo has passed Lyft in San Francisco. Sit down, stand up, and hail a ghost cab, Jack. That is shocking news. Because Lyft has been operating in San Francisco for 12 years. San Francisco was Lyft's first city and remains its headquarters city still today.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
And yet, in just a couple years, Waymo, the robo-taxi, has overtaken Lyft in its hometown. According to this third-party data source, 56% of rides in San Francisco in November were Uber rides. 22% were Lyft, but 22% were Waymo. And in the month of December, Waymo is going to pass Lyft for sure. That's right. Waymo, owned by Alphabet, the owner of Google, is now valued at $45 billion.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Sit down, stand up, and hail a RoboCab again because Waymo is beating Lyft because money is a moat. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... I mean, does it get any better than that? Fantastic mix of stories today, Jack. Yesterday, we asked you our weekly T-Boy trivia question. What candy was invented as an anti-cigarette product? What sweet was started to help you stop smoking?
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Waymo is worth seven times as much as Lyft. That's right. Waymo is now a verb in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta. And it's worth seven Lyfts. If you're going to the Cloud AI Crypto Conference, you're not Ubering there, you're Waymo-ing there. Side note, Nick takes Waymo to work most days. Yeah, I do. Even boomers in San Francisco are taking it, right? Totally.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
The guys in my neighborhood, 80 years old, they're popping in a Waymo, Waymo-ing down to the financial district. So Yeti's Waymo is having its Barbie moment. It is. There's a whole lot of love, attention, and good news for these self-driving cars with nobody behind the wheel. The only question is when Waymo is going to get a Hot Wheels. You think that's happening soon, Jack? That's got to happen.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
It's probably happening. Because last week, Waymo also got another big win. And what was that, Jack? Cruise, the robo-taxi company owned by General Motors, shut down its funding, which means one of Waymo's biggest competitors quit the industry. And now, besties, nearly 10 years ago, General Motors acquired Cruise for a billion dollars to get into the robo-taxi industry.
The Best One Yet
🛸 “$UFO” — Drone stocks’ mystery surge. Crumbl’s $1B cookie. Waymo beat Lyft.
Cruise is based in San Francisco, too. It's a tech company, but it's an expensive tech company. That's right. General Motors lost a billion dollars every year since they acquired Cruise. So after a decade and $10 billion invested in this robo-taxi startup... GM is calling it quits. We're done. Jack, second side note, I've taken both cruise and Waymo robo taxis, and they're not the same.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, April 15th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis don't withhold any longer. Your taxes are due today. Pause the pod. File that W-2 like you're writing off your soul. But today's pod is so good, it should be an exemption.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
If meta loses, the government will ask a judge to force meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
First of all, that'd be kind of cool. Like, imagine a publicly traded Gram, which is a company that competes with Facebook instead of collaborates against it. A publicly traded Instagram stock, not too shabby. And by the way, Zuck would make a bunch of money if he was forced to sell Instagram. He could probably sell it for, like, a trillion dollars.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
But Zuck would lose a bunch of power for all that. And the fact that this trial has not been dismissed is a sign of the limits to lobbying Trump. Basically, Zuck's suck-up strategy failed. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Videos are going viral on TikTok showing where American brands are really made and what they really cost to produce. $5 Lulu leggings to us?
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
It looks like China's weaponizing TikTok in the trade war. For our second story, Moleskine, the 200-year-old notebook, is tripling their US stores in 2025. Their Gen Z board of directors shows the value of age diversity. And our third and final story, Meta is on trial. Their acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were allegedly illegal. And it shows that Zuck's sucking up strategy failed.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. The first all-female space crew in decades successfully returned back from orbit. The six-woman crew included the musical artist Katy Perry, the journalist Gayle King, and of course, Jeff Bezos' fiancee, Lauren Sanchez.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
It was the first all-female space flight since 1963, and Katy Perry's probably working on a song about it now that she's back down from orbit. Second, guess who's ironically loving all the stock market volatility right now? Who's into it, Jack? The big banks. Oh, yeah. Goldman Sachs just announced its best quarter ever.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Stock trading revenue jumped 27% in the first quarter because they're making money on market moves, whether it's up or down. Whether you're buying or selling, banks are taking trading fees, fee fees, and fees on those fees. And finally, trade war almanac, day 15. How tariffs are messing with the economy, Nick and I are keeping track. All right, iPhone, how we looking?
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Are we going to pay five grand for one of these puppies, Jack? You're probably wondering how iPhones are being affected by tariffs. We are too. Yeah, on Friday, Trump announced he's exempting iPhones and electronics from the China tariffs. But on Sunday, he walked that back. saying there were, and I quote, no exceptions announced on Friday. And Wall Street, they have no idea what's going on.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
We're all confused. Apple stock jumped 3% Monday because no one's really sure. Hey, Siri, you know what? I'm not even going to ask her. Now time for the best fact yet, this one sent in by Uncle Sam in D.C. Jack, what do we got for the fact? Last year, Berkshire Hathaway paid more in corporate income taxes than any American company ever, by far.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Even after selling that brand to a big toy company, he had to sue to get paid what he was owed. We actually mentioned him during Black History Month. And we turned that fact into this entire new episode. So yetis, check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Because this week, we'll tell you the true origin story of the super soaker.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Get this, Warren Buffett's company paid $26.8 billion to the feds. We know because we read the Warren Buffett-Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter. And Nick, can you read the final sentence in that letter? So thank you, Uncle Sam. Someday your nieces and nephews at Berkshire hope to send you an even larger payment than we did in 2024. Spend it wisely. Happy Tax Day, everybody.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, have you ever seen a CPTS-2000? Don't know what that is. It's the only super soaker that was banned because it was too powerful. It was shooting people's eyes out. Yeah, apparently someone lost an eye. No one knows who. You're going to poke somebody's eye out with that thing. Mom, she's hitting me first.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Yetis, listen to the untold origin story of the super soaker. At one point, the best-selling toy in America. We got a link in the episode description. It's a wild story. It's also an inspiring story, incredible tale of the founder who just pushed and pushed and pushed and side hustled his way to success. Check it out. And Nick and I will be back with another T-Boy tomorrow. If you know.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
and before we go a happy birthday to a couple legendary two-year-old twins henry and arthur born in san francisco but living it up on the upper east side of manhattan happy birthday to aiden paksoy in san francisco and a happy birthday to matt dwyer from nantucket who played lacrosse at a small unranked college in new hampshire but statistically speaking this fantastic father-in-law is still the top attackman in long island history happy birthday matt and jack
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Patrick from Bedford, New Hampshire. Get this. He's an accountant born on tax day. Celebrating today on his busiest day of the year. Congratulations to Nisha for publishing that new single, Midnight Crisis. And a shout out to Riley Sangbush, Allison Levine, and StoryMaker1316 for guessing right on our TBI trivia yesterday. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
And Kenny Penny, thanks for trying. You were so close. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick owns stock of Lululemon. I own stock in Berkshire Hathaway, and we both own stock in Apple. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Tap the link in the episode description to listen to our other show, TBIY. The best idea yet. Oh, also, we're going to tell you the secret to a successful side hustle. You're going to love it. But today's show is fantastic. Today's show, Jack, you should deserve a deduction. Jack, let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Chinese factories are exposing American brands to influence how you buy. What we're saying is the trade war is now moving to TikTok. Now, yetis, Jack and I use social media for a bunch of research. We like to find trending stuff before it's in the news, before it's even trending. And this one has not been covered by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, or anyone else. And here it is.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
TikTok videos from Chinese factories are exposing the real price of your clothes. They claim to spill the beans that your Made in America brands are actually made in China. that the American brands you love are actually charging you 10 times more than they pay for those clothes. Here's a few examples of the videos we found on TikTok. These are wild. Let's hit them, Trey.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
So Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, there's a brand new front in the trade war that nobody is talking about. True story. Chinese factories are exposing American brands on TikTok. Do your $100 Lululemon leggings actually cost just five bucks to make? We'll tell you in our first story. There's a revolution brewing.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Interesting. One company produces for all of those brands? Oh, and get this, Jack. That video got 1.7 million views.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
So that one you can tell is a voiceover with AI because they mispronounced Xihan.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Still, Jack, I'm looking at the numbers. 2.6 million views on that video.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
All right, our last one. Oh, let's hit it.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Crazy. $100 leggings from Lululemon only cost $5 in China? I'm taking my pants off right now, Jack. I am insulted by those prices. That video got 9.4 million views on TikTok. Okay, pause the pod. Jack, what did we just watch? It looks like Chinese factories are doing a diss track. on American capitalism. I feel like we're in the middle of a capitalism rap battle right now.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
That's what these videos are. So Nick and I tried to dissect these videos and we realized they're making two distinct points. First point is respect made in China. Made in China is where high-end products are actually created, according to these videos. Their second point is really about the price. Lulu, yeah, they're ripping you off. Because Lululemon is charging us 20x markups.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
They're taking a $5 pair of pants and charging us $100 in the stores. If your Align leggings cost $100 at Lulu and $5 in China, like, at that point, you're not going to the Westfield Mall. You would book a flight to China and buy them direct from the factory. But Nick and I heard those 20x markup numbers, and they sounded... off to us. Like Jack and I are studying profit margins all the time.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
We have not seen retail profit margins of physical goods at like 90%. So we fact check those numbers by looking at Lululemon's audited financials. Because Jack, what's the one thing we happen to love in particular about the United States stock market? It's a bastion of truth. Yes, it is. Legally. If Lululemon lies in their earnings report, they can go to jail.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
All right, so Jack, let's whip out the latest copy of Lulu Lemon's quarterly earnings. What kind of numbers are we seeing? They pay 40% of the revenue in COGS, which are their costs of goods sold. So based on those COGS, that cost of goods sold, Lulu is saying the $100 pair of leggings that they sold you cost them $40 to produce. So Lulu says their leggings cost $40 to produce.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
TikTok says they're $5 to produce. Again, Lulu says it cost them 40 bucks to make those Align leggings. TikTok says you can buy them for five bucks straight from the factory in China. That's a huge difference. Which leads us to the even bigger story that's in our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies watching these viral Chinese factory exposure videos?
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
China just weaponized TikTok in the trade war. Yeti's full disclosure, we don't have proof of China's government being behind these factory exposure videos, and we're not saying that China's government is behind them. But TikTok's algorithm did push those three videos to 13.7 million users, even though each of the videos was posted from an anonymous TikTok account.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
For our second story, how is Moleskine, a brand that makes journals, books, and diaries, thriving right now? Moleskine is winning because it's got a board of Gen Zs. That's right. It's got a Gen Z board of directors. And our third and final story, the epic antitrust lawsuit against Meta began on Monday. And here's what's at stake. Zuck could actually lose Instagram.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
And that's a reminder about a reality about TikTok. The algorithm is a black box.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
The concern with TikTok has always been that the Chinese government could demand an algorithm tweak to sow distrust and misinformation on Americans. Well, Jack, that's kind of what's happening here, right? These videos have made people very angry at US brands. We can tell from the comments. And during the trade war, they're right now helping build empathy for Chinese factories.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Even though they're saying numbers, five bucks per leggings, that Nick and I didn't pass our fact check. It is good to know where your clothes actually come from. That was interesting and important to see. But like we said, it's clear to us that much of the numbers and stats from these videos are hugely exaggerated.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
So besties, add it all up.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
And for the first time, we were seeing the trade war reach a new battleground, TikTok. When you've heard politicians call for TikTok bans, something like this was their concern. And that is what is so important about these $5 Lululemon leggings videos. They show how China can weaponize TikTok in the trade war.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
The Italian notebook is 200 years old, but living its best life. Moleskine doesn't have age serum. They do have a Gen Z board of directors. True story. But Jack, let's talk art history here for a second. Pablo Picasso, he sketched in it. Vincent Van Gogh, drew in it. Ernest Hemingway, he took a shot of whiskey, a second shot of whiskey, and then he wrote, for whom the bell tolls, in it.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Since the 1800s, Western artists have written and drawn in a book bound by moleskin. But it wasn't until 1997 that an entrepreneur turned that moleskin concept into a brand. Moleskin with an E at the end because that differentiated it. Now, to clarify, is there the skin of the mole bounding these books? That's a fair question. I'm sure Pete is asking it too.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
But technically, no moles were harmed in the making of these diaries, Jack. It just appears to look like the skin of a mole. So Moleskine IPO'd on the Milan stock market. They were a publicly traded notebook stock, but they're now privately owned, still based in Italy. And you probably got three of them as a graduation gift. It's the default diary.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
The only question is, are you getting lined pages or dotted pages? You've probably seen someone at a Starbucks scribbling their next great American novel on one of these. Or if you're like me, you were gifted one, and now it just sits in your man bag. Because you use your computer. But besties, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Despite the obvious digital threat, in a world where everything is on screens, Moleskine is in growth mode. Moleskine is sold at 29,000 stores globally today. Got them at your Barnes & Noble, your campus bookstore, your airport gift shop. But it's also got its own Moleskine stores, and they're planning to triple the number in the United States to 30. They even own a handful of cafes. Yeah.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Because a majority of Moleskine journaling is done with a macchiato on the table. But the profit puppy of Moleskine, what is it, Jack? Branded notebooks. Whatever corporate event you went to recently, you probably got a Moleskine corporate branded notebook in your gift bag. That's what's driving sales. In fact, 50% of Moleskine's revenues come from these corporate gifting events.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Whatever college you went to, there is a Moleskine version of your college notebook. I mean, Jack, Moleskine has basically become the intellectual equivalent of the Patagonia fleece. But we were still curious. How is an analog notebook thriving in a digital world? Part of it is the backlash against screens that you're seeing in a lot of places these days.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
People want to respite from the blue light. But we noticed it's also something else, something more specific. Moleskine's board of directors. Sorry, their board of Gen Zers. Yeah, that's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Moleskine? Moleskine is a textbook case of age diversity.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Get this, yetis.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories...
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Moleskine has a Gen Z board. That's right, an advisory board of people who never even learned to write cursive. Yes, they do have a regular corporate board, but they have another board, 18 people all under the age of 30. Basically, the chief of cringe control. That's this Gen Z board. They started this Gen Z board three years ago, and they meet periodically with the CEO to suggest trends.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
So with this age-specific board, the CEO is accountable to the customer who they're targeting. The Gen Z board is why Moleskine has doubled down on strategic branded partnerships. Moleskine for Wicked, Moleskine for Saturday Night Live, Moleskine for NASA, all those notebooks, they were driven by ideas from the Gen Z board.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
What a mix of stories. Love the T-Boy Tuesday mix, Jack.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Moleskine is more relevant than ever today, 200 years after the first one was made, because they've made generational perspective a top priority. It's a textbook case of age diversity.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Yesterday, we asked you a trivia question. What famous toy was invented by a NASA rocket scientist? And the answer is... The Super Soaker. The billion-dollar toy that was created by accident in a man's bathroom. The Super Soaker. It's destroyed more sibling relationships than any other toy in the world. Mom! He shot me first! Mom, she shot me in the eye!
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Meta versus the United States. We're about to get the dirt, though, on everyone in tech. Not just Zuckerberg, because of the subpoena. Ooh, the secrets are in the subpoena. But Jack, let's travel back to 2012 and 2014 when the Obama government made two big mistakes. And what were they, Jack? They let Mark Zuckerberg acquire Instagram and they let him acquire WhatsApp.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Or as Jack and I call it, the two original sins of social media. Because a decade later, meta dominates social media thanks to those acquisitions. And the US government is trying to undo both of those deals that it approved. Basically, the government is trying to control Z their approvals of the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions.
The Best One Yet
🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Here's what's at stake. Should Instagram and WhatsApp be split from Meta?
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Well, that trial began on Monday and all of tech is tuning in. But the lawsuit for this trial was actually filed in 2020 during Trump's first term. Nick, why did it take a whole administration for it to go from lawsuit to trial? Well, Jack, because the commerce cops known as the FTC Federal Trade Commission took five years collecting evidence. Here's the news that Nick and I discovered.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
The FTC dropped the S-bomb on just about everybody in Silicon Valley. And by S-bomb, we mean subpoena. Subpoena. to figure out if Meta is a rule-breaking social media monopoly. The court is requiring others to provide testimony or documents in this trial. And in some of these cases, Meta is subpoenaing the competition that hates Zuck and Meta. If we ever got subpoenaed,
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
we must respond truthfully under oath to whatever questions get asked. Basically, if someone did something bad, it is illegal not to tattletale on them if you're subpoenaed, right? It's illegal to not tattletale if you know they did something wrong. Yeah, like Jack, you know in Mean Girls, Regina George has that burn book where she rips on everyone? Yeah. A subpoena is like the opposite.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
It's like instead of one ripping on all, all get to rip on one. I think that holds legal water, Jack. I believe it does. So, Bessie, Jack and I found this fascinating because we jumped into the court filings and saw all the parties who have been subpoenaed. And the list is wild. It's huge. Alphabet, TikTok, Snap, Pinterest, Nextdoor, they've all been subpoenaed in this big meta trial.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Honestly, we're most excited to see what Snapchat says in the subpoena, right? Oh, because Zuck ruthlessly has copied Snapchat's innovation in the past decade. Oh, and it's not just tech companies that got subpoenaed in this deal. Walmart was subpoenaed. Match Group was subpoenaed. The New York Times. They're all parties to this epic trial.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
And they may tell the government that when it comes to online ads, there was only one place they could go. They had to buy ads from Meta. Or who knows, maybe they'll say something that's favorable to Meta in the trial. We won't know until it happens. Okay, but then here's another wrinkle in this whole Zuck drama.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
All those companies that got subpoenaed, they asked the judge to seal the evidence of their testimony so nobody would see it. But the judge said no. I'm going to let it all out in the open. That's why this trial is so exciting for guys like Nick and me. The juice of this trial isn't just going to come from like a cross-examination with Zuckerberg straight out of a movie.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
It's going to come from all those subpoenas. We're going to learn a whole bunch of company secrets about meta and Walmart and Snapchat and Alphabet and TikTok. This is the kind of thing you only learn in a trial. To quote Jack Nicholson, yeah, you can't handle the truth, but we'll grab some popcorn. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Meta?
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
It also became the top-selling toy in America in the 1990s, right after it debuted. Basically, where there was water, there was a Super Soaker. But few know the story of the Super Soaker's legendary founder. A black man who grew up in the segregated South. Lonnie Johnson was a NASA engineer who worked on spaceships, but side-hustled with water guns.
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Zuckerberg's suck-up strategy has failed. Yeah, it is. After Trump was elected, Zuck pivoted hard to MAGA. He started the lobbying equivalent of Facebook stocking. He's probably bought like a dozen Cybertrucks just to try to get into Trump's inner circle. Yeah, and he bought a third house for his fourth yacht in Washington, D.C. And now with this trial, it's clear what his goal was all along.
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🤔 “China’s Factory Revolt” — Trade war moves to TikTok. Moleskine’s Gen Z board. Zuck's FTC lawsuit.
Zuck's goal was to get this lawsuit dismissed. because Trump has dropped cases against white-collar criminals and pardoned other corporate fraudsters before. But he has not dropped his antitrust lawsuit against Zuckerberg's meta. Again, the stakes are huge.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, January 14th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Stocks are up, Bitcoin's down, and Jack's trying to pull off some kind of flannel situation over there. I do look like Bob Vila over here. I like what you're working with.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Brutal. They feel like they're held hostage because they spent so much money on those speakers, right? Exactly. And Sonos' new Ace headset, the reason they did the app update in the first place, it was totally overshadowed by all the rage about the app update. So the news as of Monday is that the CEO is out. He said that we let far too many people down.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Basically, Sonos has seen more drama than a conscious uncoupling. Like the real housewives of Sonos. For real. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who we can hear over at Sonos? If you botch the app, you botch the whole product. Yetis today, no matter how physical the product, chances are it is infused with technology.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
It is Hershey's best selling candy, better known as the best selling flavor combination in history. But did you know that there's a psychological reason why people like the peanut butter and chocolate combo? And did you know that the peanut butter cup was actually invented by mistake? And did you know it all began 100 years ago with a down-on-his-luck frog salesman?
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And we consumers have such high expectations of technology, because of Apple and Google and whatnot, that we get very upset when the app falls short. So consumers are now making product decisions not based on the hardware, but based on the software. For example, cars. Cars were always a hardware product. You looked under the hood and checked out the engine. But electric cars today...
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
They're more about software than hardware. Great example, Jack, because you and I both own electric vehicles and we both just re-upped our leases. And we got another Tesla because the software was so good. But I ditched my Volkswagen because the software was so bad. That is why CEOs are being judged not just by how good the product is, but by how good its accompanying app or software is.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
The espresso machine might make great lattes, but if the touchscreen is glitchy, you hate that espresso machine. Honey, just toss it out. So today, a product is only as good as the software that runs it. Besties, if you botch the app, you'll botch the whole darn product. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Whatnot is rising in the app store as TikTok nears its end in America. Whatnot's live stream shopping is a mastery of psycho-economics. For our second story, it's NVIDIA. Their stock fell on news of new export restrictions for their AI chips. AI chips are officially military arms. AI chips are like digital uranium. And our third and final story is Sonos. Their CEO is out. Gone.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Because he never recovered from the company's botched app update. Besties, if you botch the app, you botch the whole darn product. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, big week in Washington, D.C. Trump's picks for positions like treasury secretary get confirmed by the Senate in the next few days. That's right.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Trump's cabinet appointees must get 50 votes in the Senate in order to lead our government agencies. And second, if you're interested in betting, listen to this, because pretty soon you can bet in the sky. First of all, Kalshi, one of the online prediction markets, just added Donald Trump Jr. as a strategic advisor. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines is partnering with DraftKings for in-air betting.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Betting on airplanes is illegal since the 1960s. But now you can play roulette from your seat back. And finally, Shake Shack is tripling their number of locations. They're going up to 1,500 shacks. Shake Shack has been the top performing burger stock of last year. They've nearly doubled. And yet, Shake Shack is the most expensive fast food burger. What's going on, Jack?
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
It's all about expectations. Totally. Because you compare Shake Shack to a nice restaurant. So compared to a nice restaurant, Shake Shack's actually a discount. you don't compare Shake Shack to a fast food burger, in which case it would have felt expensive. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and I for the lovely city of Los Angeles.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Some of the wildfires in Los Angeles are contained, but others are still raging with more wind coming this week. Okay, right now, this is on pace to already be the costliest fire in American history. We have friends of the pod based in Los Angeles that we've been thinking about for over a week now.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
This guy, he had 14 mouths to feed back at home, so he made one giant chocolate-covered bet. H.B. Reese is the most stubborn, hardworking entrepreneur Nick and I have ever read about. He totally is, Jack. And Milton Hershey was his guardian angel. Yetis, the untold origin story of America's favorite candy involves a real-life Willy Wonka.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
A huge portion of our team, the people we work with, our editor of this episode, Trey, he's down in LA. Our ad sales team at Wondery, they're in LA. Our talent agents at UTA, Rebecca, Oren, they are in Los Angeles. We've been talking to these people. And personally, we know a couple of people who've lost their entire homes. It's devastating.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Yeah, we actually know people also who have just had to pack up their cars with a few things and they're just waiting to evacuate. Which is a traumatic experience in and of itself. So Yetis, if you're in Los Angeles or you know someone in Los Angeles, you can let them know about these businesses that are offering what we think are really good services to help.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Airbnb is offering free emergency housing to 25,000 families in LA at airbnb.org. Planet Fitness opened up gym access to anyone so you could shower, use their locker rooms, get cleaned up at any Planet Fitness. Instacart is waiving all delivery fees in Los Angeles. And if you know someone with babies, Bobby, the baby formula company, will let you gift baby formula through their website.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
You can buy formula for people in LA. There's a bunch of other organizations doing amazing things, and there's a lot of ways that we can donate and help. In the meantime, the city of Los Angeles is lovely. We are thinking of all of our yetis and besties there, and we know you're going to come out of this. Yetis, you look fantastic for T-Boy Tuesday, but we don't want to leave you yet.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Jack, what's the best place you can go right now? To our episode description to click the link to listen to the best idea yet. We've got a wild story on the true origins of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and that crazy frog salesman who made it happen. H.P. Reese was a wild card. Great guy. Milton Hershey was his guardian angel. Even wilder. Jack and I will see you at the best idea yet.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Panther Yeti Lizzie Horvitz from lovely Cleveland, Ohio. What do they call Cleveland, Jack? Paris on the Lake. Paris on the Lake. And happy birthday to Alejandro in Chicago, who's turning 12 and listening to the show right now with his dad. We see you, Alejandro. And Maison Zabet is celebrating his 30th birthday in lovely Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
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Happy birthday to Chris Costello in Brooklyn, New York, who's celebrating, get this, at a Hans Zimmer musical score concert. That's how you do a birthday. The guy's got range. He did the Lion King and he did Interstellar. And Chris has taste. And Justin Fitzgerald got stuck in a window seat with no window seat. 17 seat. Hate the window seat with no window seat. Trigger warning, Jack. I'm sorry.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
I know that hits your heart. Seat 17 seat. Avoid it at all costs. And Amanda Whittem, legendary Yeti, got her T-boy sweatsuit. She felt fantastic. She's been rolling in it all week. And congratulations to Savannah Westwood, a great Yeti in Orlando, Florida, who's walked enough dogs to cross the state of Florida three times.
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📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And Grant Murchison is a Yeti who found the last Chuck E. Cheese with an animatronics down in North Carolina. Send us a pic, Grant. Don't send us a pic because that scares us every time. Kind of freaks us out. Those things get freaky. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Instacart. Nick owns stock of Shake Shack and Delta. And Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Spotify.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And we both own a Bitcoin named Ben. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And that origin story is the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. So besties, later today, after this T-boy, check out our weekly deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet. Because you're obsessed with Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Even if you call them Reese's Pieces. Fine, I had four of them. New episodes of our new show drop every Tuesday. So tap the link in this episode description because the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is simply the best idea yet. But let's hit our three stories because they're the best ones yet. Jack, let's hit the next show.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
You're going to build us a home, build us a podcast studio? What's working with it? I like it. Measure twice, cut once. Ha! Honestly, I think you look fantastic. But Yetis, we've got three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what's on today's T-boy? For our first story, barring a Supreme Court intervention, TikTok will be banned in five days. Five days?
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
For our first story, there is one app hoping to fill the post TikTok void. And that app that you got to know is Whatnot. Real time live shopping. Live shopping will be the next trend in America thanks to psychonomics. So we got to tell you about Whatnot. Now, yetis, Jack and I last year, probably our best performing, most viral video that we put on TikTok got like 2 million views, right, man?
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
We calculated how many men in finance there were with math. But that doesn't matter in five days. Because unless the Supreme Court intervenes, TikTok will be banned starting Sunday. That's right, besties. Unless China sells TikTok by this coming Sunday, TikTok will be banned. Oh, by the way, Lemon 8, another ByteDance-owned company, that's probably going to be banned too, according to the law.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
In fact, one random TikTok alternative called Red Note just hit number one in the app store on Monday because everyone just assumes TikTok is going away. But another potential beneficiary of a TikTok ban is a new app called Whatnot. Whatnop, a real-time live shopping app that happens to be the wildest shopping experience you have ever seen.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Because this app is Instagram meets eBay meets reality TV. All in one. And last week, Yetis, Whatnop raised $265 million and hit a $5 billion valuation because TikTok's in its final days. Now, Jack, you and I should pause the pod for a second. We should sprinkle on more context because this is a new frontier, these live shopping apps. Live stream shopping is already huge in China.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
China has 80% of the live stream shopping market. Live shopping is also big on TikTok right now. You can whip out your TikTok and do a little live shop shop. Now, to understand live stream shopping, think about this. TikTok democratized the ability to post things online. Well... Whatnot democratized QVC. I like what you did there, Jack.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Because yetis, collectors will set up accounts on Whatnot, turn on their cameras, have production studios like in their basements that are actually pretty nice, and then sell anything to users of the Whatnot app. And if you're a user of the Whatnot app, you're swiping through videos like you used to swipe through TikTok. You are.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
But each video is a person selling some random interesting collectible. It could be like Disney merch. It could be crystals. Like, Jack, it kind of feels like you're walking through a night market in Bangkok. You get that vibe, man? Yeah. But there's some credibility here because Whatnot, the app, vets each seller.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And if that seller doesn't send you the thing you pushed buy on, Whatnot will reimburse you. In fact, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the numbers and we calculated something wild about Whatnot's size. There's so many sellers selling random stuff on Whatnot. that they have three times as much video content as all of cable television. And there's like wild examples out there.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
But there's already a new replacement called WhatNot. WhatNot. Yetis, WhatNot is the new app you gotta know. It's Instagram meets eBay meets MTV. For our second story, Nvidia stock fell after a new rule from the White House about what countries can buy its chips. Because AI chips are the new uranium. And our third and final story is Sonos.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Like we found a great example in San Francisco. This old San Francisco collectible coin store went on Whatnot just to sell their collection of 19th century currency. And how did this small random coin shop in the middle of the city do, Jack? They're selling way more on Whatnot than they ever sold in their physical store. $4 million worth of coins sold on Whatnot.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
There's another dude who's selling European men's wallets. This guy's dressed like Vanna White. He's selling for six hours a day, and it's only European wallets. You see, this is shopping, but it's also entertainment. Exactly. You can watch videos for hours, not buy anything, but still leave the app feeling satisfied. Like that guy you found selling, what was it, Jack? It was flags.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Vintage American flag. So he had this 48 star American flag behind us. And to get me to buy the flag, he explained, you know, Hawaii and Alaska statehood and where the country was when Congress approved them as being the 49th and 50th states. It feels like you're watching Pawn Stars on the History Channel, but Chumlee is selling the stuff directly to your wallet.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
What I'm saying is unlike TikTok, this is a productive waste of time. Yeti's Whatnot's innovation, the way we see it, was turning e-commerce into reality TV and then putting it on your phone. It sounds pretty cool. It's Survivor meets Amazon. It's Etsy meets Squid Game. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Whatnot? We have to talk about psychonomics. Psychonomics.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Yetis, that is our term for when companies use psychology to boost their economics. And that's exactly what Whatnot's doing. They are a master of psychonomics. For example, every Whatnot video includes a live comment so fans can encourage you to buy. So as a user, you're feeling peer pressure.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Oh, and also there's a countdown clock that keeps the seller on their toes and creates a sense of urgency for the buyer. They also have this thing called sudden death auctions. Right. Which is when the next bid wins. Yeah, it's crazy. So you see a sudden death logo come up on the screen. You grab your phone to type in $50 as quickly as you can.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Could you imagine if Billy Mays was doing this for six hours a day and then you had... Billy Mays here. Two seconds to get 50 bucks off OxyClean. Add those tactics up, and that's why whatnot users can spend hours scrolling through live shopping videos. So besties, Jack and I think live shopping habits will be China's next big export to the United States with or without TikTok.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Because $5 billion whatnot shows how psychonomics can power live stream shopping. For our second story, Nvidia just issued the most angry, upset, bitter, aggressive press release we have ever seen. Because Nvidia's chips are being treated by the White House like they were nuclear weapons. Less than a week left.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
The Biden administration has less than one week left in the White House, so they have been making moves the last few days, Jack. They've been very active with executive orders, but the latest one that came out Monday morning might be the biggest. If you You happen to make, you know, artificial intelligence computer chips. Well, you can now only sell them freely to 18 ally countries. That's right.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Our top European and Asian allies have the green light. They can buy as many NVIDIA AI chips as they want. It's kind of like Mean Girls. You can sit with us, you can't, and you can enjoy the AI chips while you're sitting with us. All the bullies in the lunchroom, in Nick's analogy, are China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. They have been deemed red light countries by this executive order.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Sonos is known for the fancy sound system at your parents' second house. But the CEO of Sonos was just fired for making one huge mistake. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, that was a cliffhanger, but three fantastic stories, Jack. Love the mix today. Yesterday, we asked you our weekly trivia question. And here's what it was.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
They are forbidden from accessing America's top AI technology. So you got green light countries who can buy any of our chips. red light countries who can't buy any of our chips, Jack, I gotta ask, who are the yellow light countries? The rest of the world.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
The 100 plus other countries who can buy NVIDIA or other top AI chips, but only in limited quantities and with serious security strings attached. Malaysia, you're cool. You can buy them, but only this many of them. And Nick, those yellow light rules, they're intended to stop China from accessing US chips through intermediary countries like, I don't know, Saudi Arabia. So besties, add it all up.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
And the goal of this red light, green light, yellow light, who can buy our computer chips point is to prevent China and other adversaries from accessing our most powerful chips that can power AI. Now, yetis, that was the new rule from the president. But Jack, what was the response from NVIDIA, the company that, you know, is famous for making AI computer chips? NVIDIA was furious. Furious.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
We have never seen such an angry and aggressive press release. This is just one quote, but here it is. Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America's global competitiveness, undermining the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead. That is the corporate equivalent of flipping a table on a Bravo reality show.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Now, the rest of the press release, NVIDIA actually praised Trump, name dropping him twice in the same report. Which is honestly, it's a politically calculated move that we're seeing others do at this moment as well. With Trump coming into office next week, every tech company is keen to flatter him.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
It just is a lot easier to bash the lame duck outgoing president and compliment the incoming new president. It's political calculus that just about everyone has made. Basically, NVIDIA is hoping that Trump will cancel the order once he's inaugurated. But still, NVIDIA stock is down 11% in the past week because of this rule. Because this one rule could put a big dent in its business.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Nvidia happens to sell about $17 billion worth of computer chips to China. That's what they did last year. That's 11% of their business. Now, not all those chips are going to be restricted. Only the most cutting edge AI chips are affected. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Nvidia? AI chips are officially military arms. They're like digital uranium. Yeti's wild stat we noticed.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
One expert told the Financial Times that China is only six to 18 months behind the United States in the AI arms race. And honestly, Jack, that sounds like the plot of Oppenheimer, the movie. And that makes sense because we see AI as being like nuclear power. Yes, we do. Nuclear can be used for good or it can be used for bad.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
So the Biden administration is trying to keep AI chips away from our adversaries like it's a bomb technology. NVIDIA's chips, like nuclear power, can be used for peace, say AI chatbots. But on the other hand, NVIDIA's chips can also be used for wars. to build advanced weapons, surveillance, drones. It's possible.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
This new chip export restriction was probably Biden's biggest final move as president, and it makes one thing official. AI chips are military arms. They're basically digital uranium.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
What famous candy was invented by a frog salesman? Well, the answer to that question happens to be the most popular candy in America. What is it, Jack? The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. No, the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It is the number one most demanded candy at every Halloween. And it's also the top selling candy outside of Halloween. The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
For our third and final story, Sonos just fired its CEO because of a single, simple app update. This is the first time we've ever seen that, but it won't be the last. We'll explain why. Okay, Jack, our favorite hero stat about Sonos. You want to tell it to the Yetis? This is really good. Sonos is the only publicly traded company whose name is a full palindrome. Okay, spell this out, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
S-O-N-O-S. It's the same left to right, and it's the same up or down. If you flip the name over either dimension, it still says Sonos. Sonos, it is the Santa Barbara-based sound system. Sonos, a billion and a half dollars in revenue, 50% profit margins. Not too shabby, Jack. This is the Mercedes of speakers. But here's the problem.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Sales fell by 16% last quarter, and the stock, while the rest of the stock market grew 25% last year, Sonos fell by 30%. And then there's the latest news because yesterday the CEO of Sonos stepped down. The CEO was fired because he botched an app update this past May. Here's the deal. The Sonos app was beloved by Sonos speakers owners. A lot of people love it.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Many used the Sonos app instead of Spotify or Apple music. It was that good. But last May, Sonos came up with a new app update that was supposed to improve the app experience for everyone. Instead, downloading the app update brought you bugs, lost features, and one huge mess up. Many Sonos users set alarm clocks and sleep timers so that they wake up to music on their Sonos speakers.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
Okay, but this new app had deleted that feature. It no longer existed. No more alarm clocks. And Sonos didn't apologize. They didn't explain why that feature was gone, so everyone was just kind of pissed. And remember, people had built speakers that were made by Sonos into their bedroom architecture. They depended on the sound system. And the new app update... was a total pain. Okay.
The Best One Yet
📹 “The Next TikTok” — Whatnot’s $5B shop app. Nvidia’s uranium problem. Sonos’ CEO oopsie.
It made all that money they invested in their speakers feel like a waste. Can I read you the latest app update? All right, here's the latest review about the Sonos app. Here it is, here it is. One star, spectacularly bad from Lowell62. This person says, Sonos is one of the worst apps I've ever seen or had the displeasure of using. It is wildly unfortunate and we're held hostage in their product.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy Tuesday, May 13th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, I am looking at a relief rally right here. Stocks are popping to start the week like nobody's business. The S&P 500 jumped 3% yesterday. It was an ocean of green. Toy stocks are popping.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Hey, Darlene, where are we flying? At an iced Coolada 30,000 feet, son. That's pretty good. You clearly married someone from Boston. I stuck the land in on that. But yet, here's what Jack and I find fascinating. As we have told you before, where there are eyeballs, there will be ads. Last year, we told you that United Airlines was pioneering targeted ads on their airplanes. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
United knows that a 42-year-old father from Florida is sitting in seat 34B. So what is United going to do, Jack? Show them ads for a 12-pack of Titleist golf balls. Yeah, they're going to start targeting your screen with ads just like Instagram or Facebook would. So airlines have already dipped their toes in the advertising business.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
But now JetBlue, they're flying an airplane right through the whole industry. JetBlue's going even bigger on this, but also kind of going backwards, right, Jack? A 100-foot-long billboard that flies at 30,000 feet and can fly 500 miles per hour. Technically, this JetBlue Duncan airplane is the biggest flying ad since the Goodyear blimp. Yeah. But Jack and I got to ask, is this a slippery slope?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Is JetBlue opening... Pandora's advertising box. Yes. In 10 years, we bet you JFK's tarmacs are going to look like Times Square. Every plane is going to be painted with a corporate ad. I could see this, Jack. I mean, we were talking about it before the show. Like, does Delta really need every 767 in their fleet to look the exact, exact same? It's nice to have a uniform fleet. It is.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
But Delta's going to cave at some point when Starbucks offers them a hundred grand.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
A quarter million bucks to make this look like a Frappuccino? I think our painters can make that happen. Sports is doing it. Airlines will, too. There's going to be ads everywhere. Yeah, and JetBlue, the next time they give us their earnings report, is probably going to have a new line item in the income statement. Ticket sales, check bag fees, advertising. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at JetBlue and Dunkin'? When it comes to collabs, start with the hometown heroes. Yeti is the top marketing trend right now. It's collabs. Two brands hook up for a mutually beneficial combo product. The risk of a collab is that it looks like a marketing gimmick and that customers roll their eyes.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
So one overlooked strategy we think for avoiding collab blowback is to partner with another hometown hero. Focusing on one region may feel niche, but it actually drives higher enthusiasm from everyone. After all, branding is driven by love beyond reason, and so is a person's passion for their home. Socially, that's called hometown pride. In business, we call that the hometown premium.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
So with Dunkin' and JetBlue, Boston Flyers will love it, people from the Midwest will tolerate it, and us New Yorkers will just ignore it like we do everything out of Boston. Nice. But still, this Bostonian Dunkin' Jet Blue collab unlocks a whole lot of hometown premium. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Yeah, in fact, between her tickets going on sale and Katy Perry's first concert, stocks dropped 30%. Fast forward to today, and Katy Perry just had her biggest month since then. Katy Perry just flew to space. Katy Perry just released a new album. And this month, uh-oh, Katy Perry started a concert tour. That's right. The ticket drop actually lines up exactly with the beginning of the trade war.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
President Trump moved markets with a tariff pause, a plane, pharmaceuticals, and a Middle East party. President Trump and the rich Middle East oil nations, a match made on geopolitical Tinder. For our second story, Vineyard Vines is getting their two co-founding brothers back. Next, they should launch a restaurant. Just look at Tommy Bahama. Lifestyle brands follow a life cycle.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And men stick to the fit, women chase the head. And finally, Dunkin' Donuts has taken over one JetBlue airplane completely. It's a flying billboard because when it comes to collabs, start with the hometown heroes. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, shares in Coinbase jumped after hours on Word. They are joining the S&P 500 index.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
It's a big milestone for the number one crypto exchange. It means the finance disruptor just got validated by the most prestigious club in finance, who they're trying to disrupt. Coinbase is now officially one of the top 500 stocks in America. And second, since Pope Leo chose his pope name, we're expected to see a baby bump in Leos out there.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Nick, Leo actually began trending after the year 2000 because of Leonardo DiCaprio. Yeah, I still haven't seen Titanic, but I trust it. Today, Leo is 20 times more popular than it was in the year 2000, thanks to Leo and Titanic. Although we should point out, Jack, we may have hit peak Leo last week. Not only is the Pope named Leo, yeah, he's the 14th Pope named Leo.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Maybe he'll spell it differently. Maybe throw like a silent H in there or something. He's not spelling it differently, Nick. And finally, the partner of Elizabeth Holmes has launched a new startup in, guess the sector... Blood testing. No joke. His name's Billy Evans. He has two children with the convicted fraud, Elizabeth Holmes, and he's trying to raise money for a blood startup.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
I mean, what blood type is he, Jack? Like B positive? As in be positively sure you're not defrauding investors. Move fast and break laws. It's on slide three. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by our buddy, Rachel, our cycling buddy, Rachel, because it happens to be National Bike to Work Week. I wish so badly I could bike to work today. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry you couldn't.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
But I just don't have a good biking situation. I'd have to drive on a road that's like 40 miles per hour. We can't lose you, Jack. We got to have you for the pod tomorrow. But we should point out, Yeti's for National Bike Week, there are actually more bikes on planet Earth than there are cars. That's right. There's two billion bicycles, one and a half billion cars.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And what's really the capital of biking in the world, Jack? You could guess this one, I bet. Yeah, it's the Dutch. It's the Dutch. It's the Netherlands. That's right. In the Netherlands, they have an average of 1.3 bikes per human being, the highest bike per capita ratio in the world. A typical house of three people in the Netherlands has four bikes. Yeah, I remember.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
You're actually a wonderful biker. I should point, I mean, because I can't bike very well. You basically taught me how to bike and how to throw a football. And I gave you Vindred Vine's ties. Yetis, you look fantastic for T-Boy Tuesday. If you haven't yet, snag tickets to our Chicago live show. We got a link in this episode description. And then, hey, tell your buddies today. H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Have you had the best one yet? Nick and I will see you tomorrow. That's how we grow the show, if you know. A happy birthday to Yeti A.J. Richardson, turning 37 years old in Norfolk, Virginia. Love the Power Rangers, and he thinks we should do one for the best idea yet. I agree. It is confirmed. That is a good idea.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
The day she launched tickets, stock markets plummeted. Katy, are you telling my phone one time? It's like Katy Perry's teenage dream was an economic drop. Baby, you're a firework because you make the stock market blow up. But yet it's not just Katy Perry going on tour that reminds us of 2008. Lady Gaga just played Coachella. And Miley Cyrus just dropped an album too. Remember Usher?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Happy birthday to Jamie Cohen from San Diego, who is either walking the dogs at the gym. probably listening to this pod for either one of them. And a happy 10th birthday to Daniel Ramirez down in San Jose, Costa Rica, who is celebrating the best birthday yet. And a big shout out to Karen Schneider of Weymouth, Massachusetts. Just outside Boston. Karen is officially a professional photographer.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And if you want to get a shout out for yourself or a buddy on this show, we've got a link in the episode description. Fill out the form and we'll make it happen. This is Jack. I own stock in Bumble and Disney, and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
He released Love in This Club back in 2008. And he's back. He did the Super Bowl halftime show last year. So besties, add it all up. And Katy Perry once said, you're going But earmuffs, if there's any stockbrokers listening. Honey, you're going to have to turn down the Katy Perry.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
For our first story, yesterday was Mega Monday. Here, Yetis, is your synopsis about President Trump's last 24 hours that definitely moved your portfolio. Planes, prescriptions, tariff pauses, and Middle East parties. Here's what you need to know about all of them in five minutes. Now, besties, this story really begins yesterday at 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Jack, what happened then?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Toy stocks are surging. Honestly, you could get more than two dolls this Christmas. I know. It's a major reset in the trade war. And the reason... is the first of our three stories. Jack, what are today's three stories for the T-boy? For our first story, it's Mega Monday. Starting at 3 a.m. on Monday, we got a barrage of business headlines from the White House.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
At that time on Monday, very early morning, the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besson, announced a 90-day trade war ceasefire with China. All right, ceasefire. I like those two words. Jack, could you sprinkle on more context, please? Tariffs between the U.S. and China were so high going into it that we had an effective trade embargo for a full month. Like, no joke.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Ships stopped coming across the ocean to the U.S. from China. They were just in port, not going anywhere. But that... because the US is dropping tariffs on China-made goods to 30%, and China is dropping tariffs on US-made goods to 10%. Add it all up, and this is being described as a total reset for these epic trade talks.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
From 145% to 30%, huge de-escalation between the world's two biggest economies. Now, Eddie's Jack and I jumped in T-Boys style, and we believe this tells us two big things. First, it tells us that the U.S. and China are talking again. Both sides are seeking a deal. Both sides are working to come to an agreement.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Second, it tells us that Scott Besson, the Treasury Secretary, not Donald Trump, appears to be leading those trade talks. And Wall Street seems to be thrilled by that development. Now, Yetis, we should point out that the U.S. hasn't won concessions yet from Beijing. But stocks rose 3.3% yesterday on hopes that our Treasury Secretary can lead us to a more fair status quo with the Chinese.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
As you know, Jack is a musical guy. So, Jack, I know what you're thinking about this, right? We've said Treasury Secretary three times already in this story. Not since Alexander Hamilton has the Treasury Secretary of the U.S. been this important. Scott Besson, not gonna give up his one shot. My bestie paused the pod for a moment. That was just the top headline.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Three other stories blew up our phones with notifications. First, Cotter, or Qatar, because we've heard it pronounced both ways for the record. I think it's Cutter. I've been to the region plenty of times. I hear both pronunciations. Well... Cotter is trying to gift President Trump a 747 jumbo jet. As the temporary Air Force One.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Now, when Nick and I worked in finance, we couldn't legally accept any gifts worth over $100. This airplane's worth $400 million. Yeah, we did the math on it. It's actually worth 100 times more than the Statue of Liberty adjusted for inflation. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Either way, this Cutter offer to give President Trump a 747, it makes Boeing look bad, that's for sure.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Yeah, because Boeing, which makes the Air Force One, hasn't updated the plane since 1990, and their new version isn't coming out until 2027. It's just very delayed. Okay, so the second huge announcement we got yesterday was that Trump had an executive order that totally rocks the pharmaceutical industry. He announced a 30-day deadline for pharma companies to lower prices for prescription drugs.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
If they don't lower the price on like Thytastrosol, then Trump threatened to use presidential powers to force prices down as much as 80%. So now RFK Jr. is in talks with the pharma companies trying to get Americans the same price for drugs as the rest of the world gets. Now add all of this up, Yetis, and we've talked planes, we've talked prescriptions, we've talked China, tariff pause.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And Jack and I will explain all of it using planes, prescriptions, and parties. For our second story, your preppy college formal is calling because Vineyard Vines just got its co-founders back. Their first move back at the helm, Vineyard Vines Vacation Resorts, man. I'm interested. And our third and final story, Dunkin' Donuts has its own JetBlue airplane. That's right. Darlene is flying direct.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Jack, I'm pretty sure there's only one topic left that begins with P. Parties? Parties. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching the markets? Trump's first foreign trip has a fundraising goal. One trillion dollars. One trillion dollars. Yetis, President Trump's first foreign trip in his first administration... was to Saudi Arabia.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And that was supposed to be the case for his second administration, too, until the Pope died and he went to the Vatican. Now, Trump arrives today in Saudi Arabia, and he'll visit Qatar and the UAE as well this week. His reported goal is to bring home $1 trillion worth of deals and investment pledges. You know what? We're looking at the situation.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Honestly, President Trump and these rich Middle East oil nations, they are a match made in geopolitical tinder. They go perfect together. Oh, it's lovely. Because Trump wants foreign investment into the United States. And Middle East kingdoms, led by Saudi Arabia, want opportunities to diversify away from oil. Barack Obama pivoted to Asia. Joe Biden embraced NATO.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Well, Donald Trump is making money in the Middle East. Yeti's presidential trips are a signal, and Trump's first foreign trip has a fundraising goal, $1 trillion. For our second story, Vineyard Vines is back, baby. The co-founding brothers are returning to run the business. And that's big, because Vineyard Vines hasn't even started the lifestyle life cycle.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Yetis, there's a little thing Jack and I learned in finance we should share with you. Every time a Vineyard Vines tie is bought... An analyst gets his wins. Yeah, because it's the unofficial dress code of a Morgan Stanley internship. Yeah, although it's the official dress code of formal night over at the La Crosse Sig Sig Ep House. I think that's literally true. Yeah, no Vineyard Vines, no punch.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Because there's no brand that is more prep than Vineyard Vines. Vineyard Vines looks like J. Crew went to an Ivy League boarding school on the coast of Cape Cod. When I arrived at college, I almost drowned in Vineyard Vines silk. Full disclosure, because I had six of them and I insisted on wearing them. I borrowed like three of your ties over the years for formal dances.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
But, Bessies, Jack and I should point out, Vineyard Vines is not just some pastel punchline. We actually think Vineyard Vines was an early disruptor in fashion. And one of the best-run fashion businesses. Because it was founded in 1998 by two brothers, Shep and Ian, who had jobs in New York City in finance that they did not like. They never wanted to wear ties again.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Although, ironically, they launched a tie company. And the first drop they did on Martha's Vineyard, they sold 800 ties in one single day. Yeah, it was like 40 grand of ties in a single day. And Jack, what was the real disruption here exactly?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
These two CE bros, we can actually call them that because they're brothers, they noticed that all the ties in the financing were the same color, same patterns, and same conservative look overall. So Vineyard Vines was the first to introduce pink or hot dogs or flamingo designs on the ties. Basically, any symbol that represents not being at work, that might be on a tie from Vineyard Vines.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
The key was the lack of symmetry. These were asymmetrical designs. And today, they bring in $500 million a year in clothing sales, and they're probably valued over a billion dollars, although we don't know for sure because it's private. I add it all up. Vineyard Vines, they are a unicorn whale. Their logo is a pink whale. But here's the news.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
After stepping down a few years ago, the bros are back, baby. Those two founding brothers are returning as co-CEOs. Shep and Ian are boomerang CEOs at Vineyard Vines. Yeah, boomerang CEOs. Just like Whitney Wolf Hurd at Bumble and Bob Iger at Disney. Boomerang CEOs, they returned back to the company. But here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Vineyard Vines is 27 years old.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Yeah. Which is past middle age when it comes to the fashion industry. And yet, Vineyard Vines' business is wildly stable and consistent. First of all, those two founders still own 100% of the business. They didn't sell a single thread to private equity. Or Jack, how about their store growth? That's been consistent. Five stores a year, and they're now up to 126 of them.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Dunkin's JetBlue airplane is the perfect example of the hometown special. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... What a mix of stories. No one else is doing that mix today, Jack. Love the mix. For the past few months, we've been tracking some recession indicators for you. Yeah, recession indicators like Botox, hair dye, frozen pizza, men's boxers, men's briefs, men's panties.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
$500 million a year in revenue is impressive, by the way. It is, so let's bring on some context. That's twice as much as Allbirds, it's the same as Stitch Fix, and it's half as much as Skims. Now, besties, the reason Jack and I think Vineyard Vines is such a consistent business... is because of males. Men, men, males, dudes, guys. Men literally shop differently than women, according to the CEO.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
You see, men buy and commit to a brand that works for them for years. Women tend to switch it up. Yeah, what we're saying is that men stick to the fit, women chase the hit. And nearly 70% of Vineyard Vine customers are men. So basically, your boyfriend finds Vineyard Vine khakis that fit well, and then he wears them for the next two decades.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Yeah, Jack, Molly's been trying to find like a fleece for San Francisco weather for like six years. It's like her Eldorado. We've got like a fleece graveyard in the closet of every fleece she's tried. Meanwhile, you have your outdoor voices pull over that you've had for like 15 years. Still loyal. Still loyal. But here's our big question. Is Vineyard Vines too stable? Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Has it missed out on growth opportunities by not expanding more? Jack and I think we've got the answer and it's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Vineyard Vines? There's a life cycle of lifestyle brands. Yeti's spoiler. On our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet, Jack and I are going to publish an episode next month on Tommy Bahama.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
And Sir Bahama is the perfect case study in the evolution of a lifestyle brand. Because Tommy Bahama started with clothing, but then expanded to restaurants, and then furniture, and then hotels and resorts. It was able to expand to all those verticals because Tommy Bahama is a lifestyle brand. Right. The lifestyle is vacation by the beach.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Now, Ralph Lauren, they've done this same thing too, the same evolution. Started with clothes, then bars, then coffee, now hotels. So it feels like Vineyard Vines impressively owns one particular lifestyle, preppy New England coastal chic lifestyle. But maybe Vineyard Vines hasn't completely capitalized on that lifestyle like its lifestyle peers have.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
How does Vineyard Vines not have a resort on Nantucket yet? Jack, how does Vineyard Vines not have an oyster shucking bar down in Charleston yet? We think that's the challenge of the new and old co-CEOs. Because ultimately, there is a life cycle to a lifestyle brand. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be... A big flop. From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
For our third and final story, Dunkin' Donuts. Their brand has taken over an entire JetBlue airplane. This is a flying billboard. Because the most overlooked strategy in collaborations is the hometown hookup. Oh, Yetis, pour out your Diet Coke in a plastic cup for JetBlue. It's been hard for JetBlue lately, right, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
Their merger with Spirit Airlines got blocked, they missed out on the post-pandemic international travel craze, and their stock is down 95% from their all-time high. That's right, JetBlue stock is trading at $4 a share, so JetBlue is trying to turn around their life the same way we humans do. Reach for a cup of coffee. Here's the news. JetBlue has turned an entire airplane into a Dunkin' ad.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
No, we're not tracking that. But the wildest alternative indicator of a recession? It's Katy Perry. Baby, you're a firework. Yeah, that Katy Perry. Because when was Katy Perry's first concert tour ever, Nick? Jack, that would be the Hello Katy tour back in 2009. And right after tickets went on sale in the fall of 2008, we got a financial crisis and a great recession began.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
I wish you could see a picture of this, but it's an entire Airbus A320 airplane painted with Dunkin' Donuts branding. 100% Dunkin' branding. Like JetBlue, they're not getting a government bailout right now. Instead- They're getting a Duncan cold brew, apparently. Now, we should point out JetBlue has a tradition of promoting causes by painting one of their airplanes with branding of that cause.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
They've done NYPD branding, Boston Bruins branding, the nation of Puerto Rico. Each of those got a JetBlue airplane at some point. But now JetBlue is going full corporate billboard. It appears Duncan's paying for this. It's even going to name the plane Brewing Altitude, like a Duncan ad. I think the FAA flight control center is calling it brewing altitude, is approaching runway AB. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🐳 “Preppy Billions” — Vineyard Vines’ revival. Trump’s Mega-Monday. Dunkin’s JetBlue airplane.
This is an Airbus A320 airplane with zero blue on it. It is just orange, pink, and brown with a huge donut on the tail. Seriously. Yeah. Now, the key here is that Dunkin' Donuts is based in Boston, and JetBlue is the biggest airline carrier in Boston. So, add it all up, and this is basically an all-New England deal. Ben Affleck's not flying private anymore when he hears about this. One sec.
The Best One Yet
📉 “Worst Drop Since ‘22” — The crazy recession theory. Skype’s audio logo. Touchland’s viral hand sanitizer.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🟠 “Penny RIP” — End of the Penny. Dunkin’s diss track. T-Mobile’s dead-zone killer.
Let's do it. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
🫶🧾 “Eras Tour receipts” — Taylor Swift’s concert payday. Disney’s doubling cruise line. DeBeers’ industrial diamonds.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, May 6th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, in case you missed it yesterday, mark your calendars. We announced our next city for the T-Boy live show. What do we got, Jack? On July 23rd, Nick and I are going to record this podcast live. Oh, yeah.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Now, Yetis, finance professors, they always say, hey, you can't beat the market. You shouldn't even try. And yet, Warren Buffett has beat the market consistently for 60 years. Five and a half million percent return. We've never seen anything like it. The result? Berkshire is now worth a trillion dollars.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
The only non-tech company ever to hit that high besides Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company. So we know what you're thinking, besties. How the heck did Warren Buffett pull it off? And the answer is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our Omaha buddy over at Berkshire Hathaway and everyone investing right now? Where culture leads, money follows.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Yetis, when Jack and I started working at Robinhood, after we sold our first startup to Robinhood, the compliance officer named LaSauvon showed us this cool video. It's Warren Buffett testifying to Congress in 1990. He was saying how he would clean up Salomon Brothers, the Wall Street firm that had recently been in a scandal.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Cartography is a thousand years old, but Google Maps is the only map to go viral. Get this. Two billion humans use Google Maps every month to get from point A to point B. And the numbers are so big, it would make Magellan explode. But if you think Google simply built maps with a team of engineers... Oh, boy, are you wrong. Get this. Google Maps was built by a startup. Nay!
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Yeti's thousands of men and women in finance try to pick stocks just like Warren Buffett, but nobody ever has. That clip shows why. It shows his commitment to a culture of integrity, and it was unmatched. So besties, the secret sauce to Warren Buffett's success, it's not stock picking prowess, it's cultural prowess. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
President Trump asked his Commerce Secretary to create a 100% tariff on all movies filmed abroad. It's Quentin Tarif-tino, baby! The trade war just leaped from the physical. to the digital. For our second story, Skechers just sold for $9 billion, and the stock will get delisted as this private company takes over.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
One man's trash is another man's target customer. And finally, Warren Buffett is retiring as the CEO of Berkshire at the end of the year. His genius wasn't in calculating stocks. It was in creating a culture. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, OpenAI is abandoning their conversion to become a for-profit company. Awkward.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
It will instead transform its for-profit subsidiary that owns ChatGPT into a public benefit corporation that is controlled by the nonprofit parent. Don't worry, besties.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And second, Lady Gaga had a free concert over the weekend in Brazil that was the biggest concert in history for a female artist. Two and a half million people attended. It was on Copacabana Beach in Rio. Madonna drew 1.6 million people at the same venue last year, by the way. But the biggest concert of all time, it was 1994. It was Rod Stewart, and it was at the same venue.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And by the way, this summer is expected to be the biggest concert summer ever. And finally, Brawny just launched the largest innovation we've ever seen in the paper industry, an unprecedented three-ply paper towel. Which makes it 50% stronger than Bounty's two-ply toilet paper. Sorry, not toilet paper. Paper towel. Big distinction. That's the math.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
But we should bring up, this could bring up an escalation. A slippery slope in the paper towel industry we haven't seen since the nuclear crisis of the 1960s. You don't think Bounty's going to launch a four-ply paper towel, do you? Jack, it could end up like Gillette and the Razors. Remember the Mach 18? We need a mutual de-escalation right now. Before things get out of hand.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by the lovely Molly Martell in San Francisco by way of Alan Hall at Middlebury College. And yes, we said lovely because she's my wife. Now, many people think of May 6th as simply the day after Cinco de Mayo. Molly thinks of it as her birthday, but she also pointed this out, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Not only is it Seystein Mali's birthday, it's also the birthday of one of the greatest structures in the history of architecture. On May 6th, 1889, the Eiffel Tower officially opened to the public during the Paris World's Fair. It was supposed to be temporary, but the city of Paris decided, let's keep this thing. They said, you know what?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Happy birthday, Mali. You look fantastic. Great girl. Great girl. Yetis, you also happen to look fantastic today. And right after the show, we know exactly what you should check out. Make a right, make a left, and then go straight to your destination. Our TBIY episode of Google Maps. If you're listening to our Frappuccino episode, you've gone too far.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
You need to do a U-turn and listen to our Google Maps episode. The best idea yet. And Nick and I will be right back here tomorrow for another T-Boy. If you know. And before we go, it's a birthday week in the Brink family. Brookie Brink and Skyman Brink are celebrating birthdays just outside Boston in Ingham, Massachusetts. Brookie and Sky, can't wait to see you next winter at Sugarbush.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Two Danish brothers living on their mom's couch created Google Maps. But then once Google acquired their startup, they used it to make Steve Jobs very, very, very angry. This is the unknown part. Google Maps caused the biggest tech beef in history between Google and Apple. This story is so wild, it even involves the CIA. Oh, and Google Street View?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And down south in Montclair, New Jersey, it is Sophie Panzer's best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Will Power in Chicago, who's killing it at work and is a great partner and a fan. Fantastic father. And Lindsay Paluzzo in Chicago as well is celebrating with the best eighth graders for the fantastic birthday of Lindsay. And finally, tickets to our live show in Chi-Town come out tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
We'll see you there. Check it out. This is Jack. I own stock of Berkshire Hathaway, Netflix, Disney, and Crocs. And Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Robinhood, as well as some ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
The wildest logistical accomplishment since Hands Across America.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
If you want to hear the true origin story, check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Google Maps. It turned a two-dimensional piece of paper into a multi-dimensional economy on everyone's phone. Tap the link in this episode description to listen to our other show, The Best Idea Yet, on Google Maps.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Because this week we tell the true and untold origin story of that wild product.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
For our first story, President Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies not filmed in the United States of America. What does that mean? It means the trade war just leaped from physical goods to digital, too. The industry is dying a very fast death. That's not a quote from The Fast and the Furious. It's a tweet from President Trump on Sunday night about the Hollywood film industry.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
From the Vic Theater in Chicago. Oh. Oh boy, 1,000 seats. There you go, Jack. There you go. Tickets drop tomorrow. Follow us at T-Boy Pod on Instagram for the link.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Because other countries give tax incentives to Hollywood so they will film abroad. And President Trump says that is a national security threat. So our first thought, what is it, Jack? We're going to need domestic dupes for all these foreign filming locations. Yeah, like the Avatar sequels. They can't film those in New Zealand now. It's going to be too expensive.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
What's the New Zealand equivalent of the United States? Oregon? Yeah, let's do an Oregon, Jack. Broad landscapes with the ocean right next door. Or instead of filming in Austria, you could do Vermont. Instead of Paris, do the French Quarter of New Orleans. Oh, you need a location dupe for 18th century England? The back bay of Boston, baby. Just blur out all those Dunkin' Donuts in the background.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Yetis, what we are saying is we are about to face the first ever Tom Hanks tariff. Or do you want to go with Tom Cruise tariff, Jack? Tom Huddleston tariff. Or Jack, what about Quentin Tariftino? Can we go with that? That's pretty good. Now, Yetis, Hollywood is...
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And economists think this is unprecedented. Because tariffing physical goods is pretty straightforward. It's been done for 100 years. But trying to tariff a movie, how would that even work? The fear of the industry is that a new tax might have to be added to movie theaters when you go and buy tickets. There's a whole bunch of other questions.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
What will happen to films that have already been filmed overseas, like the Wicked sequel? Or Jack, what about the Minecraft movie that's in theaters right now? That was filmed abroad. Does that mean prices are going to double at the cinema? And if so, when is that effective? And Jack, this tariff, does it apply to animated films in addition to action films?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
They're not shot abroad, but they are coded abroad. Oh, and Jack, will TV shows be included if we're talking Hollywood? Trump only mentioned movies. So, Basties, like with previous tariff announcements, this one is raising more questions than it is answers. But here are some of the facts about the industry. In the 1970s,
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
You're going to love this live show. But Jack, three stories for today's pod. What do we got on the T-Boy? For our first story, Hollywood was just terrified. Oh boy. All movies must now be made in America or else pay a 100% tax. So we are turning our spotlight on the first ever digital tariff, the Tom Hanks tariff. For our second story, Skechers was just acquired for $9 billion.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
60 to 70% of all movies and TVs were filmed in Hollywood studios right here in Los Angeles, California. But Jack, could you sprinkle on some context to Hollywood today? The percent of movies filmed in Hollywood is down to 18%. Much of film production has moved to Atlanta, New York, or the UK due to tax incentives.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
That's why Ben Affleck recently said California has taken the film industry for granted. Too much red tape when you're trying to tape film. So a new tax on movie tickets filmed entirely or partially overseas, that will make American-made movie productions more competitive.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
It'll make Disney more likely to greenlight a project if it doesn't have to be filmed abroad and be subject to all those new taxes. But as economists would point out, it could also, like all tariffs in general, simply make the entire market smaller. There isn't going to be a Lord of the Rings sequel if filming in New Zealand means a 100% tax.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
But besties, update as we're recording this episode right here. The White House just said no final decisions have been made on movie tariffs And they're still, and I quote, exploring all options.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Hollywood? The trade war just made a leap from the physical to the digital. Yetis, this announcement by Trump is a declaration of war on digital goods. And digital happens to be what America's economy does best. Remember, 70% of America's GDP is non-physical stuff that we make.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
In fact, as Jack and I have told you, our economy's digital power has been our strength during this trade war. Because as countries retaliate against the United States... they were never able to retaliate against the U.S. technology, software, movies, music, or finance that we export abroad.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
But Trump's Hollywood tariff, it would make all our digital services suddenly fair game for trade war retaliations. Don't be shocked if countries announce reciprocal tariffs on U.S. filmed movies. And that is why Netflix's stock and Paramount's stock, they both dropped on news of the Hollywood tariff. And even if governments don't act, we could get boycotts from citizens abroad
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Just like Canadians are boycotting Made in America whiskey. Because the Hollywood tariff, the Quinton Tariftino, it opens up a new front in the trade war. It would be the world's first digital tariff. For our second story, Skechers, the least athletic shoe brand in history, was just sold for $9 billion to private equity.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Skechers became the third biggest shoe company on earth by jumping generations.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
We're doing a little reputational risk right now, but Jack, you want to share with the Yetis our thoughts? Is Skechers one of the great American fashion startups? Of all time? I mean, hear us out here. Founded 33 years ago by Robert and Michael Greenberg, a father-son founding duo, baby. I can't think of another father-son company. It's a lovely story. Also an LA-based company.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
The father is still the CEO, the son is still the president, and the company is still headquartered right by the beach. They IPO'd in 1999, and get this, sales of Skechers have tripled. from $3 billion 10 years ago to $9 billion today. In fact, Skechers is still in growth mode. Their stock, I'm sorry, their sales jumped 13% last quarter.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
In fact, by sales, Skechers is the third biggest footwear brand in America behind Nike and Adidas. That's right. Skechers is walking all over Birkenstock. And when Crocs heard this news... They almost choked on their gibbets. Well, here's the news. Skechers is being acquired for $9 billion by the private equity firm 3G Capital. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
The same PE firm that once acquired Kraft Heinz, Burger King, and Budweiser. The stock jumped 25% on news of the acquisition. In fact, the stock rose so quickly. So fast. Investors pulled a hamstring trying to catch up. Slow down over there. Here's the surprise when Nick and I jumped in T-Boy style. Yes, Jack. Every sneaker brand is defined by top performance. Just do it.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Skechers is the third biggest shoe brand on earth. And why is that, Jack? There are more retired athletes than there are athletes. What are we going to do with cleats? Honestly, what are we going to do with cleats? I haven't bought cleats since I was 21 years old. Skechers is the only shoe company that gets that. Third and final story. What do we got, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Phil Knight came up with this idea initially in the 1960s. Yeah, we read his autobiography, and he talks about how aspiration is how you sell sneakers. Kind of like how if a Jeep is good enough for World War II, it's good enough for your Costco run. Well, if a Nike sneaker is good enough for the New York Marathon, it's good enough for your gym visit.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And yet, Skechers is the opposite of aspiration. That's right. There is no sneaker more associated with walking, not running, than Skechers. It is literally the only shoe that adds treads to slow you down. The unofficial dad shoe of Stroll and Disney World, too, by the way. And it pairs well with a fanny pack. Oh, it looks fantastic with a fanny pack.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And Jack, remember when Skechers did try to do performance shoes? I do. We covered it on our newsletter before we launched this podcast. Skechers shape-ups. They were purported to tone your calves, your butt, even your abs, because the way the shoe was shaped, you had to be on your tippy toes the whole time. But Jack, what happened in 2016 with those Skechers shape-ups to boof up your booty?
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
The FTC charged them with deceiving customers, so Skechers paid $40 million in a settlement. But then, yetis, instead of falling down, Skechers made a pivot. They made a generational jump, actually. Basically, Skechers realized the sneaker industry was just too obsessed with the young, with youthfulness. What about the not young? Every shoe company was ignoring the entire population over 55.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
They added foam insoles to make the shoes comfy. They launched slip-ons so you don't have to bend over to put these things on. They basically said, we're going to make a shoe not for track and field, but for the shuffleboard. Now, Skechers still has basketball shoes and baseball cleats available today. That is a fair point, Jack. But the biggest celebrity athlete endorsement Skechers has? Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
It's your Nana's pickleball team. Yeah, they've switched from kickball to pickleball. From the Dallas Cowboys to Del Boca Vista. No more Justin Bieber. They're all in on Tony Bennett, baby. So Jack, what is the takeaway for our buddies over at Skechers? One man's trash is another man's target customer. Yeti's Skechers CFO said that Skechers does the complete opposite of every other shoe brand.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Mainly, they found who Nike ignored. Nike is for superstars. Hoka is for elite runners. On is for tech bros. And Adidas is for fashionistas. Even in their marketing, Skechers found value in retirees. The same kind of retirees who they're targeting. Because look at Martha Stewart, Joe Montana, and Howie Mandel. They're all past their prime.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
They're all retired, but they're still household names and they're Skechers celebrity endorsers. Yeah, Nike's not sponsoring Wayne Gretzky anymore because he's not on the ice, but Skechers will, and they did. Skechers' strategy was basically to embrace retirees, to fill the hole left by every other shoe brand. Because one man's trash is another man's target customer.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Over the weekend, Warren Buffett announced that he is retiring from Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year. So Jack and I found the secret sauce to the world's greatest investor. Get this. It's not calculations. It's culture. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa, what a mix of stories, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
For our third and final story, Warren Buffett is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. So here is our living eulogy to Warren. Warren Buffett's secret to financial success and a 5 million percent return. True story. It actually has nothing to do with stocks and has everything to do with culture.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
New York City restaurant influencer does the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder conference. Come with me as we review the hottest new shareholder event in the history of finance. That video caused a minor stir on our socials. But then something else caused a major stir in the news industry. Warren Buffett's retirement announcement at that shareholder conference was a huge deal. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
After 60 years, Warren Buffett will retire to become chairman of his investment firm on January 1st, 2026. A man named Greg Abel will take over as CEO. We actually did an episode on him one year ago. We did. So there's a link in the show notes if you want to hear that episode and hear our profile of Greg Abel.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
But Yeti's Berkshire stock, it fell 4% because shareholders are sad that the legendary Warren is leaving. But Nick, imagine if Warren Buffett, who's 94 years old, had died while still being the CEO. I don't even want to picture that, Jack. So this announcement ensures a smooth succession from this wise old man to someone younger. In fact, he got a standing ovation.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
And honestly, Warren's response tells you what kind of a guy he is. Here's how he responded to the standing ovation he got after announcing his retirement.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
In fact, Yeti's people in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, love Warren so much, they don't list their homes in U.S. dollars. They list them in the number of Berkshire Hathaway shares. I know. Now, here's a reminder about what Berkshire Hathaway does. First, they buy entire companies outright, like they've bought Geico and Dairy Queen in the past.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Or they buy stock of companies who they can't buy outright, like shares of Amex, Apple, or Coca-Cola. And under Warren Buffett's leadership, Berkshire has picked the right companies. They've picked the right stocks, and they've done it for 60 years. Get this, Warren Buffett has only lost money in 11 of those 60 years.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
This year, the stock market overall is down, but stock in Berkshire Hathaway is up by 20%. This might be his best year yet. In fact, Berkshire Hathaway stock has risen 5.5 million percent from 1964 to 2024. Mathematically, I don't even know what that means.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Odds are, statistically speaking, there's one app besides the podcast app open on your phone right now. And that app is...
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🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Here's how we got there. The average annual gain of Berkshire Hathaway stock is 19.9% for 60 years. Which happens to be twice the rate of the S&P 500 over that same period. And if you're wondering when to sell the stock that you recently got a nice gain on, well, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway would tell you to hold it forever. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🎬 “Quentin Tariff-tino” — Hollywood’s digital trade war. Warren Buffett’s secret investing sauce. Skechers’ $9B retirement.
Their quote is, our favorite holding period is forever. And what's the reason for that, Jack? They describe long-term compounding of gains as... like a snowball rolling down a hill. It gets bigger and bigger. What that means is, as a stock gives off dividends, you could just take that cash and spend it, or you could reinvest it in that same dividend-driving stock. Berkshire reinvests.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, November 5th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeah, it is. It is election day. I voted, you voted, Jack voted, we all voted. In fact, half of the country has already voted. Oh, curious what we're thinking about voting?
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
You know, last week we covered Hermes, the $200 billion French fashion company. It's the only luxury stock thriving right now. And Jack, last week, what did we say Hermes' secret to success was? It was scarcity. Because you can't buy one of Hermes' $10,000 handbags right now. You have to first join the wait list and wait for quite a while.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Well, Bandit has applied that same Hermes scarcity model, but they've applied it to jogging shorts. At all times, a majority of Bandit's products are sold out, so you have to join a wait list. I've been trying to get the 5-inch shorts for like six months now. Not possible, Jack. I'd try 7-inch shorts if I were you, dude.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
I like to show off the calves, but if you want to get first dibs on one of these shorts when they do come out... you got to join Bandit's $125 run club. Just so you know, seven in shorts, they show all the calves you need, man. Yetis, in fact, last week, the New York Times did an article all about Bandit, a full profile, incredible PR, amazing sales opportunity for Bandit.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But 80% of their products were sold out. That's how like scarce they're playing this. Even at this incredible opportunity, they couldn't sell more stuff. Now, some runners accuse Bandit of being elitist. Bandit says they're just happy to push the envelope. But if you did have bandit shorts on for the marathon, you felt elite. Not because of the scarcity, though. Because of our takeaway.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to our election infrastructure. And honestly, it's so amazing UPS would be impressed. In the most recent nationwide election in 2022, we operated 94,793 different polling places in America. And in those 94,793 polling places, there were 645,219 people, mostly volunteers, who ran the election with patriotism and coffee.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Bandit Running? Never underestimate the cup holder effect. Yeti is the top reason runners choose Bandit. It's not just the logo, the feel, the vibe. It's the pockets. Their pockets are perfect. The New York Times referenced the word pockets five times in their article. In fact, Bandit engineered a sports bra and a short with three pockets each.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Three perfect pockets because one holds your iPhone, one holds a credit card, and one holds your keys. That's exactly the things that a runner needs to hold on the run. And that is the cupholder effect, when one small non-core detail determines the customer experience. In cars, the most important thing customers care about are actually the cupholders.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
With airlines, the most important things customers care about is the Wi-Fi. And with Bandit, the most important things runners care about is the iPhone pocket in the sports bra. So it is wild, Yetis. But the main reason people love Bandit, it's actually for the perfect pockets. So if you want to be the best sports apparel company, believe it or not, you need to be an expert in pockets.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And that is the cup holder effect in action. If you got another great example of the cup holder effect, drop it in the comments. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? The U.S. economy has been climbing back, but on Election Day, it's on pause. Because the biggest wallet in the world is on the ballot. For our second story, it's Wicked Gladius Moana 2.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
I thought we rehearsed this, Jack. We rehearsed this. It's Wicked Gladius Moana 2, and it's less than three weeks away. The biggest moment for movies since Barbenheimer. And the Hollywood lesson for everyone. tell me what it's about in two sentences or less. And our third and final story is Bandit, the hottest running short in your running club. Their differentiator is their pockets.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Bandit is proving the cup holder effect in action. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, NVIDIA is now a member of the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average Stock Market Index. The Dow was created in 1885. And NVIDIA joining means Intel is out. Now, when Intel joined the Dow back in 1999, the Wall Street Journal described it as a new economy stock.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
It seems like Intel is an old economy stock now being replaced by NVIDIA. And second, tech workers over at the New York Times went on strike yesterday. Bad timing or highly strategic timing, Jack, it sounds like. Fortunately, the reporters and journalists at the Times are not involved in the strike. So the reporters and the journalists will cover the election and all the news that is fit to print.
The Best One Yet
🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But if the website suffers some glitches, you now know why. The IT guy is on strike. And finally, TGIF. Thank God it is Fridays. The restaurant chain is filing for bankruptcy. While Chili's is booming, TGI Fridays is not. With fewer people back in the office, there are fewer 5 p.m. happy hours, unlike 1996. But TGI Friday is permanent mark on American culture.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
It's the flare required to be worn by waiters and waitresses. It's not mandatory, but it's encouraged. We'd appreciate if you wore it. You see Jimmy over there? He's got 26 pieces of flare.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Savannah Westwood from lovely Orlando, Florida. The famous I voted sticker. It's an iconic mark to encourage civic pride and voter turnout. But who started that sticker? Well, we had to dive in further T-boy style here, but the Phoenix Realtors Association of Arizona claims to have been the first to produce an I voted sticker.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
However, the Miami Herald references I have voted stickers from a local Florida election even before that in 1950. But the most common sticker today, you know, the oval with the flag on it, it actually goes back to 1988 by a company called Intab. Intab doesn't just make stickers though. They also make voting booths and voting machines.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Although they said their most fun thing to make is the voting sticker. Now, I have voted. Simply, I voted. Cut the have. It's cleaner. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And we'd love for you to do us a favor. Don't drop down and follow the show. Don't drop down and give us a review. And don't drop down and give us a five-star rating. Instead, just make sure you voted today.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
That's according to a report written by Congress every two years. Jack, can you please repeat that for us over there? Our elections are run by 650,000 Americans across nearly 100,000 different polling places. Now, we don't have a central election authority because we divide that power across the states.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And if you know somebody who needs help getting to a polling booth, help them get there. As always, besties, we'll be with you tomorrow. Jack, I'll see you there. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Lily Young, turning 35 years old down in Miami, Florida. And a big shout out to Dia Chakraborty, who drops a comment on Spotify every day. We read it every day.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Dia, we love seeing your comments. Thanks for being a bestie. And Cecil Santana Thevenin is turning 29 years old in Prosper, Texas, and she happens to be the queen of kindness. Congratulations to Jake Contos in Albuquerque, who officially launched a hedge fund. And Taylor Keller in Denver, Colorado, is dropping off their ballot today, blasting T-Boy in the AirPods while they vote.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Happy two years together to Katie and Anthony Prudencio in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. And Eitan Oded over in Cherry Hill, New Jersey is celebrating the best birthday yet, just outside Philadelphia. And happy birthday to Avantika Meera in Mumbai, India. Long time Yeti, fantastic bestie. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Nick owns stock of Nike and Lululemon. I own stock of Intel and Disney. And Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And within those 50 states, we also divide power across hundreds of counties and thousands of municipalities. So besties, you add up all those numbers and the result? The elections, they take longer. And the fact that our elections take longer, that's not something to be suspicious about. It's something to be impressed by. It's impressive, and yet trust in our elections is at an all-time low.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
We think that's due to misinformation. So here's some information to combat that. First, 650,000 of us are running this election. Second, we have almost 100,000 polling places across the country where those volunteers are working hard. But Jack, we should point out, what about the people who voted early? How do they fit in? Glad you asked.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
In some states, workers get to count early votes starting this morning. But in other states, they can't start counting those early votes until polls close this evening. So just like four years ago, it's possible there's no clear winner decided tonight. In fact, we're checking the numbers right now. It is so close, we probably won't have a winner tomorrow morning either.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Well, Jack and I left our political thoughts on our personal handles of Instagram. But it's a big day. Today's show is the best one yet. So Nick, let's jump right into it. Three stories. What do we got for the pod, Jack? For our first story, curious what happens to the stock market on election day? It's actually huge. So Jack and I will tell you how election day affects the whole economy.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Because it takes time to count all those votes. So to all our dearest yetis and besties out there, be patient, follow respected news organizations, and ignore the loudest person in the room. This is our system. It's time to let it work. It's beautiful. It ain't perfect, but it's magnificent. Jack, let's hit our three stories. Nick, this is our second Election Day podcast.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
I'm honored to do it with you.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Jack, I can't wait. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
For our first story, heading into the election, the economy is hot. But on election day, the economy is not. Here's what Americans do with their wallets on the day they open their ballots. Now, Yetis, you've been with us for a while. If you listen to this show every day, you know about the state of the American economy. According to the data, it's the best in the world.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But for many Americans, it doesn't feel that way. Well, the economy is about to switch in a whole bunch of ways. But that switch actually starts today, and we can see it. Social media, the whole industry, is banning political ads after today. They want to avoid the post-2020 misinformation epidemic that happened four years ago.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Another thing that starts today, election betting markets are going dormant. It's going to be another four years until you're active again on one of these election betting apps. And after rising 21% so far this year, stock markets today, they're in wait and see mode. It's the best election year stock market return in the 21st century. But our big question was this.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
How does election day affect the whole economy? To answer that question, Nick and I looked at the third quarter earnings season, which just finished last week. And there was one quote we noticed that kind of said everything, wasn't it, Jack? Political campaigns are bad for business. Elections aren't good for business, besties. The CEOs last week on their earnings call united on that one subject.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Now, the key here is something psychological. CEOs said that the negativity of political ads actually dampens consumer spending. When the last thing you saw on TV was a politician saying the world is going to end, your head is not thinking about spending $3,000 on a new washing machine.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Also, ironically, alcohol companies report dry sales in October before the election. Hey, bartender, where do you stand on NATO? No one's doing that right now. According to Constellation, the liquor company that owns Corona and Modelo, they said the more contentious the U.S. election, the less Americans tend to drink. Nick, I just whipped out my frequent flyer mile card.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Spoiler, less beer, more selfies. For our second story, this month after the election, we're about to experience the biggest movie moment since Barbenheimer. Wicked, Gladiator 2, and Moana 2 all hit theaters the same week. It's WikiGladawana. We got to work on that. What's that called? A portmanteau? It's WikiGladawana. We're rolling with the check. We decided.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Over at airlines, nobody is flying today. And nobody flew last week, and nobody's flying this week either. Delta says that revenue will shrink one percentage point this quarter because of the lack of travel this week and the week before and after the election. United Airlines CEO said fewer people travel that week for obvious reasons.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Pro tip, besties, if you're at JFK right now, ask for an upgrade because you're going to get into first class today. It won't be until tomorrow that consumers may finally spend again. In fact, we might even see pent-up splurging that we've been holding back the past month.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And the only big corporate moves that have been happening right up until election day is in the debt markets. It's kind of a nuanced exception, but companies have been issuing bonds before the election to take advantage of the calm before a potential storm. Maytag actually likes the 6% interest rates right now because who knows what they're going to be next week.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Oh, also, Jack and I can't verify this, but we're pretty sure T-Mobile, AT&T, and every telecom company is enjoying the political text messages. Type stop to unsubscribe. I got 23 of them in the last minute. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the entire American electorate? The biggest wallet in the world is on the ballot today.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Yetis, there's a lot of talk about undecided voters, but the federal government has $6.75 trillion in undecided dollars. The U.S. federal government spends more money than any other entity on Earth. $6.75 trillion in that money. Federal government spending actually makes up a quarter of the United States economy.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
If our federal government spending was its own country, it would be the number three largest world economy. Behind only the United States and China. So who's in charge of where that money goes? Well, it's the president and our U.S. Congress. How that money will be raised through taxes and how that money will be spent, both of those are decided today.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
So will we have a united government with Republicans or Democrats in control of both the White House and the Congress? Or will we have divided government? Those are the enormous unknowns that are causing our economy to be on pause today. Because today, the biggest wallet in the world is on the ballot. For our second story. This month, we're getting the biggest movie release since Barbenheimer.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Gladiator 2, Moana 2, and Wicked 2. But Jack and I found the one Hollywood lesson that applies to everyone. But Jack, before we kick things off, Twizzler or Hot Tamales? Neither. I'm going with my OG. The biggest basket of popcorn they have with butter spread in the bottom and then spread again on top, plus the biggest Diet Coke they sell, refillable. Well, the correct answer was Mike and Ike's.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Yetis, we are less than three weeks away from the film industry's biggest moment of the year. We're calling it Wicked Glada Moana. Two. Wicked Gladiator Moana 2. Yetis, because on Friday, November 22nd, two major films are hitting the theaters. Gladiator 2 and Wicked.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And then, just five days later, the day before Thanksgiving, as Jack is still digesting all that popcorn, Moana 2 debuts in theaters. Actually, I'm not digesting it. It's stuck in my teeth. So it's digesting me. Yetis, this is the biggest movie menage a trois we have ever seen. This is a sequel spectacular, the likes of which we've never seen.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But in this movie story, we found the ultimate rule for creativity. And it applies to everyone. And our third and final story is the fastest growing running brand right now. It's Bandit Running. But Bandit running isn't copying Nike. Bandit is copying Hermes. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack. Perfect mix.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
And the biggest moment for the American cinemas since Barbenheimer. Gladiator 2, Moana 2, and Wicked. Wiki Gladawana 2. And theaters are expecting their best quarter in nearly two years. If you've seen one of those three, tell us which one in the comments. But yetis, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Jack, what is special about these three specific movies?
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Each could be a box office hit because each one has built in existing audiences. They each have biffs built in fans. And that is huge for any product release. Let's kick it off with Moana. Every parent in America is going to take their kids to Moana too. Jack, can you share the wild statistics we discovered about Moana?
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
According to Nielsen, Moana 1 was the number one most streamed movie of 2023 with 775 million full viewings. That's crazy. And Wicked has been on Broadway for 21 years, grossing $1.6 billion, which puts it number two behind The Lion King. Wicked, the story of the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy arrives in Oz. I mean, Gladiator was a commercial and critical success.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Are you not entertained, Jack? It was the number three box office movie in the year 2000, and it won Best Picture. And I quote it every single day ever since. Range is good, Jack. But Besties director Ridley Scott of Gladiator calls Gladiator 2 the best film I've ever made. Which makes me want to put on a helmet and go into the Coliseum right now. Jack, I already got one ready for you.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But yetis, there is another thing that Ridley Scott said that Jack and I think applies beyond the movie industry to all businesses. And that innovative thing he said is our takeaway. You will be entertained. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies doing anything creative? Tell me the film in two sentences.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Yetis, if you want to make a movie, you need to convince someone like Ridley Scott to make it or fund it or do it. And here is Ridley Scott's advice. Tell me the film in two sentences. Tell me the film in two sentences. Besties, if you're working on something creative, it must have at its core a surprising and interesting story that is tellable in one or two sentences.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
You might be working on a product. It might be your pitch at a job interview or your pitch to a venture capitalist to invest in your startup. Honestly, it could be any kind of pitch. And Jack and I, we've actually heard this two-sentence advice before, haven't we, Jack? We used it to describe and market our new series, The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
We said it's the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. Yetis, Nick and I share this advice with entrepreneurs. Hone the thing you're working on into its two-sentence essence. And those two sentences better be compelling. Besties, if you can't fit the two-sentence rule, then your story needs some rethinking. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Tonight, one of the great, albeit complicated, systems of democracy gets to work. The U.S. presidential election. Because there's only one office voted on by all 330 million Americans. President of the United States. And who do we entrust to conduct the most important of our elections? We trust ourselves. It's about you, me, our neighbors. We run elections together.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
For our third and final story, the hottest brand in running right now, it's Brooklyn-based Bandit Running. Bandit is applying the Hermes fashion model to your morning jog. All right, Jack, New York City Marathon, greatest day of the year, first place. Who was it? What do we got, man? It was a Dutch man who finished it in just over two hours.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Okay, but also the last runner to cross the finish line of the marathon. Who we got, man? I love that the New York City Marathon celebrates the last person to finish because that's quite an accomplishment too. Mario Bellini, 74 years old of Italy, finished in 13 hours, better than any other 74-year-old we know. There's actually two runners with injuries who finished at 10 p.m.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
The New York City Marathon lets you finish as long as you need. Brings out the best in people. But yet he's the biggest splash of the New York City Marathon. It didn't come from a person. It came from you. from a brand. It came from Bandit, the running brand that's cooler than you. Like it's streetwear meets athleisure in a single running company. Bandit is like Lululemon and Supreme had a baby.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
Yeah, Jack, it is. It is. But that baby can run a five minute mile at Fashion Week. Jack, honestly, I'm looking at their sweatshirts right now and I don't know if this is inappropriate, but I kind of want to make out with them. The sweatshirts. As long as you don't say lick. Then it's kosher. I kind of want to like them.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
But Yeti, is this company, Bandit, you may have heard about them from the Summer Olympics when they did that unsponsored project thing. That's right. Bandit gave 35 Olympic athletes all black, logo-less gear to show support to these athletes who aren't famous enough to get like a Nike deal. But here's the key to Bandit's branding. Bandits run shorts and their sports bras.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
They aren't inspired by Nike. They're inspired by Prada. For example, Bandit socks, they put the logo on the front of the socks, not the side. So they're more visible in Instagram photos or if you're encountering someone running in the opposite direction as well. Yeah, it's not athleisure, it's fathleisure. It's fashion athleisure is what they've pioneered.
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🇺🇸 “How Elections Affect Stocks” — Election Day Economy. Gladiator II’s creativity secret. Bandit Running’s disruption.
It was founded by two brothers from New Jersey and another guy, and they were all early employees at Jet.com. Besties, Bandit is four years old, but their sales quadrupled last year. They just raised venture capital money, including from the venture arm of DraftKings. Now, Yetis, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, March 4th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.
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And then Delta paid for the plane tickets to go to that Hilton location for that same TikTok star. Nick, the next time a Kardashian sister ghosts some guy, he's probably getting a car deal. Totally. Sponsored breakups. They're happening. This post-breakup Cabo trip is brought to you by tequila. Yetis, if you just got broken up with, here's the game plan, by the way.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Post about your beef with your boyfriend on LinkedIn, tag the CMO of Unilever, and show a photo eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Agreed. Next thing you know, you're getting a Ben and Jerry's flavor named after you. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies watching these branded breakups? Passion points are the key to loyalty points.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
I love those numbers. I love those numbers. I mean, Jack, I've been keeping score here. I'm pretty sure that's your unprecedented third IBO. It is. And it's another baby boy. All right, Jack, let's get into the financials here. Let's talk numbers. The weight of the new baby. Seven pounds, seven ounces. Another lucky number. Love it. Height of the new baby.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Yetis, sponsored breakups, they actually involve huge brand risks. Like, you need to be on the right side of that social history. Yeah, your social media team better go deep and figure out who's the right person. Like, you want to choose the victim, not the bad guy or the cheater.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Yeah, that's the person, by the way, who fans want to celebrate turning the relationship lemons into ad money lemonade. So this whole concept is a huge surprise. I mean, big companies like Procter & Gamble, they hate controversy. They tend to avoid sponsoring anything that might get messy. Yeti's 80% of toilet paper buyers are women. And that hero stat, that explains the surge in dude wipes.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They tend to avoid sponsoring anything that might get messy. And yet those relationships are also highly relatable. They are highly personal. Those breakups are what energize fans. Think about that dinner party where someone started spilling the beans on their breakup story. Everyone at the table was fully engaged.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
So when your friends pick sides in a breakup, it's actually a lot similar to how they pick sides about brand choices. So when Rachel Kirkconnell broke up with Matt James, you had to decide, are you team Rachel or team Matt? Just like, are you team Coke or are you team Pepsi? Brands are doing sponsored breakups because passion points are where you win loyalty points.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Dude Wipes is disrupting toilet paper with their irreverent bathroom marketing. By irreverent bathroom marketing, Jack means potty humor. Dune wives, they saw that 80% of toilet paper is bought by women. So they paused and saw an opportunity.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
For our second story, Donald Trump ordered the creation of a national crypto fund that includes three lesser known crypto. But markets hated it because it's like a crypto account, but linked to our nation's credit card debt. And our third and final story is a new thing in marketing. Sponsored breakups. Sponsored breakups.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Brands are taking the risk to pick sides because passion points win loyalty points. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the tariffs on Mexico and Canada that got delayed a month. Well, they actually go into effect today. Stocks fell on the news that there is no room to negotiate a delay this time. The S&P 500 is now actually down so far this year.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
The president will explain his thinking on tariffing our neighbors in tonight's State of the Union address. Second, the Academy Award winner for Best Picture. Maybe you hadn't heard of the movie when everyone was talking about it at the water cooler yesterday. Because Enora, the Best Picture of this year, had a budget of only $6 million. That is so tiny.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
It actually only brought in $30 million at the global box office, and yet it just won Best Picture. That's actually part of a trend. The Academy has been selecting smaller movies, I mean films, for the Best Picture. Best picture category. Yeah, from 2000 to 2010, six best pictures had $100 million budgets. But since then, only one best picture has cost more than $100 million.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And that, trivia, was Oppenheimer. Yeah. And finally, Six Flags just destroyed its most epic roller coaster, the Kingda Ka. This thing went up almost 500 feet and then dropped directly down. It's like half the height of the Empire State Building. There's video online of it being demolished. Six Flags, get this, they thought it wasn't big and scary enough.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Well, it's actually length and it's 20.25 inches. Okay, valuation of the new baby. This kid is worth at least three lifts. Oh, at least four lifts. And this baby just disrupted his diaper, Jack. I should point out, the mom is healthy. Alex is doing fantastic, and so is the baby. We have a healthy third baby. However, Jack, your baby's siblings have got some competition now.
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💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They're actually building a record-breaking new roller coaster, although the stock fell because investors are like, won't believe it when we see it. Like multi-record-breaking, according to the company. Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me for T-Boy Tuesday. What do we got, Jack? Get this. Today is Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And it's called Fat Tuesday because it takes place before Lent. You basically use up all your indulgence before the 40 days of deprivation and Catholicism. But the biggest indulgence of all when it comes to Mardi Gras, it's the beads. Yeah, the beads down in New Orleans. And we got the numbers on the beads.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
In 2018's Mardi Gras, the city of New Orleans had a major bead problem after the celebration. In fact, 93,000 of those Mardi Gras beads got pulled out of the storm drains of New Orleans. Correction, 93,000 pounds, Nick. That's how many beads swamped the city of New Orleans today. which is give or take 100 billion beats. Yeah, it is.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
If you got the best fact yet, send it in to us and we'll get your voice on the pod.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And especially you, Jack, you are glowing right now and you performed fantastically on today's show. That was amazing. Thank you very much. If I'm glowing, it's because I'm happy to be back. And I'm just happy to be a father of three. It feels really awesome. Yeah, can we pause the pod for a sec and just acknowledge what's going on here? Jack's family is three babies now.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They just delivered one a week ago. They're having a fun time and they're smiling the whole time doing it. And it's just really fun to watch you guys thriving in this moment, Jack. Thank you, Nick. Spoken like a true pot father. If you know, you know. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. Great to be back, besties.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Her birthday was yesterday, actually. And she was magnificent in the delivery room. And I actually meant to say, Jack is Alex's wonderful husband. Keep crushing it, Alex. And a happy birthday, bon anniversaire to Coco Flageolet from France, living in the Presidio. Happy 29th birthday to Derek Liu in San Francisco, California. And Pruthu Patel is turning 30 years old in Cannon, Ohio.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Her husband actually has a special surprise for her. Should we share it here? He's coming to New York this weekend to visit you. He's already packed and he can't wait to see you. And happy birthday to William Slade, who turned 10 in Geneva, Illinois. And a happy belated to Hudson Harris, who turned eight years old up in lovely Kennebunk, Maine.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Happy birthday to Caitlin Reese in Chandler, Arizona, who is crushing it at her new job. Derek Borilski down in Denver is a new dad and just celebrated the best birthday yet. And happy 13th birthday to Safiya Ali in Atlanta, Georgia. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock in Robinhood.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
We both own some Bitcoin and Ethereum, and we both own ETFs of the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
The word on the street is they've been colluding for more snack food. That's true. They're trying to corner the market for goldfish right now. But Jack, I still got to ask the big question from the analysts. What name did you choose for this new publicly cuddled kiddo? Our third son is Oakley East, Kravici Kramer. Oakley East Pravici Kramer. I love it. Thank you. I'm hearing it. I'm absorbing it.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
It is a very, very on-brand name for you guys. I call him Mighty Oak for short. The Big Oak Tree. And can we talk about the nature theme you guys going on? Because that's the marketing here. Well, we have a son named Wilder, another named Brooks, another named Oakley after an oak tree, and a dog named River. I think we call that an investment thesis, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
So, Yetis, thanks to all of you who left comments for Jack, Alex, their whole family, and their new baby, Oakley. And thank you all for giving us the time for me to have a paternity week. I had an awesome time with the boys. Alex has been giving her all to all of it, literally. Alex was with the newborn all week and I was with the older two boys. We actually went skiing six days in a row.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
It was pretty fantastic. Every day of the paternity week, not too shabby. Besties, we missed you and we hope you enjoyed those bonus episodes we dropped over the last few days. And I'm absolutely thrilled to be back. And I can't believe I get to do this with you, Nick, every day for our work. I get to do it with you, Jack. Besties, we're pumped to be on the mics. And we've got a T-boy today.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
I'm back, baby. It's great to be back. I had an awesome week off. We'll get to more details in a second. Sounds like you got three hours of sleep last night, but we're going to work with it, Jack. Yet he's great to be back on the pod. Three fantastic stories. Jack, what do we got on the show? For our first story, Dude Wipes is the fastest growing company in the bathroom.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Jack, what do you say we swaddle these three stories? Double swaddle. We got a bassinet to finish. Jack, let's hit them.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
For our first story, Dude Wipes, the toilet paper alternative for dudes, just passed $200 million in sales. Dude Wipes is beating the bathroom monopoly because of one stinky number we found. Now, Jack, in order for us to tell this business story to the Yetis, let's open up Hoarder's Almanac week number one. What was the first shortage of the pandemic, man?
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
The very first shortage of COVID-19 pandemic was toilet paper. Toilet paper. Toilet paper. That was number one. Did Shank a guy for a roll of Charmin. You were stocking up on toilet paper like your body depended on it. Now, that shortage at the beginning of the pandemic was an opportunity for toilet paper alternatives. Yes. Specifically, wipes. Specifically, specifically, dude wipes. Dude wipes.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
That's the subject of this story. They're basically wet baby wipes, but they're dripping in man brand. Jack, can you get a little more specific with the context, please? What else we got on this? If a dry roll of toilet paper is uncomfortable and a bidet is luxurious, dude wipes are somewhere in between.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Now, Yetis, we should point out that years earlier than the pandemic, the dudes behind dude wipes went on Shark Tank and got a $300,000 angel deal from Mark Cuban. Because, as they told the sharks that day, stop wiping your butt with sandpaper. Your butt hates you. So when the pandemic demand surge came, the dudes were operationally ready over at Dude Wipes.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Sales hit $40 million a year in 2020, but now they've blown way past that. They just hit $200 million in annual sales. In fact, singer John Mayer just said he uses two dude wipes at once when he's in the bathroom. That is so random. I love it. I should point out, it's actually just the finisher. Yeah, good point, Jeff. Whereas the founder says it's for the second to last wipe.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They're doing $200 million in sales. This wet wipe for men is the disruptor of doo-doo, and it's all thanks to one number. For our second story, the president just announced a national crypto fund. Bitcoin surged 15% and then Bitcoin fell 15%. We will explain why. And finally, the next frontier in advertising is breakups. We're talking sponsored breakups. Real thing.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
But either way, ladies, when you open up your man's dop kit, statistically speaking, you have a high chance that you'll find that your dude is wet wiping. Yeti's Jack and I got curious about this story. Why has this been the one pandemic habit that survived? We think it's authenticity. Yeah, we do. Because a majority of toilet paper is actually controlled by three brands in America.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Scott, Cottonelle, and Charmin. And for those three brands, Jack, how would you describe their marketing? Figurative marketing.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Like picture a six pack of Charmin toilet paper. There's a fluffy cartoon bear hugging the toilet paper on the package. And why are they using cartoon bears for toilet paper, man? Because the bathroom is a private, personal, and dirty space. Brands want to stay clean, cute, and cuddly instead. But we noticed that Dude Wipes did the opposite.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They've leaned into the literal and the uncomfortable, and it's all felt quite authentic. Yeah, for example, the founder of Dude Wipes, he loves poop hunts. He posts about them on LinkedIn every day. The social media team, they put a poop emoji on every tweet. The Dude Wipes headquarters has a toilet bowl in every single conference room. It was a huge boost to the plumbing industry locally.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
They even pioneered a concept called ass sponsorships, where they would put a Dude Wipes logo on the butts of boxers when they're in the boxing ring. So Dude Wipes has embraced the dirty booty. Yes, they have, Jack. Yes, they make marketing jokes that sound like my four-year-old son would love them.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
But those jokes, they feel authentic, and that resonates more deeply than a bunch of cuddly teddy bears on a box of Charmin toilet paper. We should point out, though, Dude Wipes has failed in a couple places. Yeah, good point, Jack. There have been limits to the Dude Wipes brand. They tried to expand their brand to deodorant, and that hasn't worked.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Also, Dude Wipes has been sued over their flushability. Are these really plumber approved? The city of Vancouver doesn't think so. But either way, Dude Wipes just blew past $200 million in sales, so we paid attention and we whipped up a takeaway. So, Jag, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Dude Wipes? If a statistic gives you pause, then there might be an opportunity.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Yeti's 80% of toilet paper buyers are women. And that hero stat, that explains the surge in dude wipes. So 80% of toilet paper is purchased by women, which makes sense because they make the majority of household purchasing choices. But 100% of us use toilet paper, right? But dude wipes saw that number 80% and it gave them pause. And they saw an opportunity in that pause.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Toilet paper brands market mainly to women because that's who buys them. But what if you try marketing to men instead? The results? Men started to care about toilet paper because a toilet paper brand started speaking to them. And they started making their own toilet paper purchases as a result.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
What we're saying is that when dudes saw that 80% of toilet paper was purchased by women, they paused and they thought about that number. If a big number like that gives you pause, then it might be hiding an opportunity. For our second story, America is creating its first national crypto fund, and it's wilder than your crypto buddy's Robinhood account.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
But the surprise issue with this crypto reserve, it's linked to our national credit card. We'll explain. But yet he's as promised on the campaign trail. President Trump is setting up a strategic Bitcoin stockpile. Yeah, like a Fort Knox of digital gold. But not exactly. Because on Sunday, President Trump announced something much riskier.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Trump posted on Sunday, he's creating a working group to create a crypto strategic fund. Now, besties, we'll get into the details of that in a second. But the immediate reaction from the markets, what was it, Jack? Very positive. Yeah, it was. Bitcoin rose 15% and gained some serious bromantum heading into the week.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Our buddy Timmy down in Miami said they were popping bottles at the clubs like it was 2021. But on Monday, after a day to digest this post, Bitcoin fell big time. And so did all the other cryptocurrencies. Because of the details. Yetis, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. This new crypto fund, it isn't just Bitcoin.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
In fact, the announcement didn't even mention the word Bitcoin. Instead, Trump's post mentioned three cryptos you may not have even heard of. Those cryptos are XRP, Solana, and ADA. Now, these are not meme coins, we should point out, but they are obscure, highly volatile cryptocurrencies.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
When an influencer breaks up with her boyfriend, big brands are now picking sides. But yetis, before we get that wonderful mix of stories. What? An amazing mix of stories. I love this mix, Jack. The cutest news on Wall Street right now. What is it, Nick? Oh, the cutest news on Wall Street, Jack. I think you should tell us. It ain't Bitcoin. It's babies. Specifically, Jack's IBO.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
These crypto that Trump wants to put in the strategic crypto fund, they're not in the same class as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen as potential global stores of value. Those other three, no. simply no. Now, naturally, getting name dropped by President Trump sent the prices of those three surprise cryptocurrencies soaring yesterday.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And Trump did clarify in another post that the fund would, in fact, have Bitcoin and Ethereum as well. But here's the problem, Yetis. Instead of legitimizing crypto, the botched execution of this new fund once again made crypto look less serious. And we saw that in the markets. By Monday evening, Bitcoin lost all of its post announcement pop, falling all the way back down to $86,000.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Because after getting the details, even Bitcoin enthusiasts were disappointed about what they read. But the bigger issue with this idea has less to do with the current president and has nothing to do with partisan politics at all. The bigger issue actually has everything to do with our country's fundamental financial situation, no matter what party you belong to.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in crypto? This would be like buying crypto with a credit card. Yet is last month, President Trump ordered a plan for a United States sovereign wealth fund. This crypto fund he announced on Sunday faces the same fundamental issue as a sovereign wealth fund would. We simply don't have the money for it.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Yeah, like the countries that have sovereign wealth funds and crypto funds, they're the countries with surpluses. Their governments bring in more revenue than they spent. Norway and Saudi Arabia have the biggest sovereign wealth funds. because they have huge oil wealth in that country.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
On the other hand, if you're in an indebted country like the United States, these ideas are simply not financially responsible. Because you don't have a surplus to buy this stuff with. You'd need to finance it with debt. Now, are there arguments for buying crypto on the idea that it could rise in value in the future? Yeah, totally. That makes sense. But crypto is a risky asset.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And buying crypto with debt is a very risky thing to do. Because you owe people that money in case crypto falls and you got to pay interest on that debt while you're buying the stuff. So this Friday, the White House will host their first ever crypto summit. We hope they take action to legitimize crypto. Because a plan for the U.S.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
government to buy crypto using our national credit card, it doesn't. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
For our third and final story, the next frontier in marketing is romantic breakups. Influencers, actors, and celebs are ending their relationships and then getting their breakups sponsored. Welcome to the era of sponsored breakups. That is the latest season of The Bachelor on ABC. Jack, who we got? Who are the players here? Rachel Kirkconnell. Was one of the players.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
And she ended up dating a guy named Matt James. It was an influencer relationship. You could follow the whole thing on Instagram. It was lovely. It was delightful to watch. But after a trip to Japan, Rachel got broken up with him. It had something to do with her picking a bad restaurant on their big vacation, apparently. But here's the shocking part, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Rachel didn't get mad and Rachel didn't get even. Instead, Rachel got a brand deal. True story. Yes. There is currently a commercial going around for brawny paper towels because brawny paper towels cleans up the mess like a messy dinner you selected in Japan. And that brawny ad, it probably went over your dad's head because he doesn't watch reality TV. But it lands with her fans. Yes, it does.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
It's an inside joke they were happy to be a part of. After that commercial, team Rachel is now team brawny and brawny has seen a bump in their business. Especially from millennial women. Now, yetis, Jack and I dove in T-boy style to this story because it reveals an emerging trend in marketing. The Wall Street Journal did a whole article on it. Sponsored breakups. Or as we call it, brand breakups.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
Like, there is actually big corporate money betting on big drama of celebrity breakups. Do you remember Bravo's Summer House, Nick? Classic, instant classic. When the engaged co-stars ended up splitting up. Well, Carl from that show got a deal with Goldfish Crackers because he ate Goldfish Crackers on the show.
The Best One Yet
💩 “TP’s wet disruptor” — Dude Wipes’ rise. America’s 1st Crypto Fund. The Biz of Breakups.
But then his ex, Lindsay, she got an ad deal with Cheez-Its, which made fun of Carl's Goldfish ad. And it's not just your basic food and beverage brands getting involved. Hyundai is doing breakup branding. True. They gave a car to an Instagram star right after a divorce. And Hilton gave a TikTok star a free vacation after her breakup.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, February 4th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Not a T-Boy for stocks, was it, Jack? Not a T-Boy. Stocks fell yesterday because of our first story. Oh, yes, they did. Jack, three stories for the pod. What do we got on the T-Boy?
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? The trade war that was about to start with Mexico and Canada is on pause for one month. The benefits so far are a more secure border. The costs, they're going to take a little longer to measure. For our second story, Levi's became the leader of the baggy jeans trend, thanks to data from Google.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Go with your gut for innovation, but go with data for revelation. And our third and final story is Robinhood. It's a top stock since the election and just launched Super Bowl betting. Robinhood shows the value of making something that was private, public. Which Nick and I have to do in our disclosures every episode. I still own shares of Beyond Meat.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
I'm just going to throw that one out there too, Jack. I haven't told you, but I actually sold my Peloton. The machine, not the stock. I still have the stock, but I sold the machine on Facebook Marketplace. You buy and hold that one, baby. But yet is this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
First, although tariffs with our allies were called off, tariffs with China actually begin today. A new 10% tax on everything made in China entering the US starts today. That is going to raise some government tax revenue, but also increase prices and hurt company profits that make in China. Don't be surprised, though, if a new deal with China delays those tariffs by a month or two. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And second, Roku is launching a Women's Sports Now program on the Roku channel. This women's sports show is a partnership with Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company. What is the Roku channel, by the way? It's their channel for free TV content daily. But with that... They've got the great American baking show. Interesting. And yes, Paul Hollywood is in it. Classic. And finally...
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Grab the makeup remover because Blue Man Group, the musical of guys painted in blue hitting pipes, just had its last show ever. After 34 years and 17,000 shows and 82,000 gallons of paint, the Blue Man Group are done.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And that private equity firm decided that the blue paint was too expensive.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Eduardo S. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On February 4th, 2004. Yes, Jack. 21 years ago today, Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates launched the Facebook from their Harvard dorm room. Get this though, yetis. Facebook's early code included a feature called Face Mash.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
who ended up getting a monopoly on Monopoly's riches. So besties, you played Monopoly, but you don't know Monopoly. And that best-selling board game ever is the next episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. TBIY, the untold origin stories of the most viral products of all time. So later today, after this T-boy, go check out our weekly deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Which was a hot or not style swiping game with the Harvard student body being judged by classmates. Which got Mark Z in a lot of trouble with Harvard. And that controversy is what led him to create the Facebook instead. So it's Facebook's 21st birthday. It is. Send us a pic from your 21st birthday because you probably posted that pic on Facebook.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And you're probably going to look at it now and be like, man, I got to take that pic off of Facebook.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Yetis, you look fantastic today. But before you go, we know exactly where you should go, and it's to the board game Monopoly. We got a link in the episode description for our 45-minute deep dive on the wild origin story of Monopoly. It's crazy. Monopoly began as a game that was anti-capitalism, and then it got totally embraced by capitalism.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Yeah, greed is apparently good, at least if you have Broadway Junction. So check out the best idea yet right now, and Jack and I will see you there. And before we go, a happy birthday to Katie Martell, my sister down in New York City who's celebrating either at a Rangers game or at a club that I could not get into, Jack, down in Tribeca. Trick question. Both.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And a happy 25th anniversary to the Sims video game. Turning 25 today. Happy birthday to Paul Miraglia from Port Washington, New York, where my dad grew up, and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University's MBA program. And Marshall is turning 32 years old over in Chicago doing logistics. Happy birthday to Calvin Chang in Sugar Land, Texas.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And congratulations to Stella in Philadelphia, who sold her first Girl Scout cookies box. Congratulations, Stella. Jack, let's ring that sales bell. And if you want to get a shout out or submit the best fact yet, check out the links in the episode description. Jack and I will get you on the pod. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Chipotle and Robinhood, and I own stock in Roku.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
New episodes drop every Tuesday. Tap the link in this episode description because Monopoly is simply the best idea yet. Dibs on the thimble. Dibs on the railroad.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
For our first story, we've got a trade war two update. Wild day. Painful import tariffs on Mexico. They're getting delayed a month. And guess what? So are the tariffs with Canada. Crisis averted, but here are the deals that were reached yesterday. Yesterday, yetis, we covered the opening shots of Trump's second trade war, Trade War II.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Then, President Trump and President Scheinbaum of Mexico had a phone call Monday morning, and they both decided to delay their tariffs on each other by one month. All right, Jack, results of the phone call. What do we see, man? Mexico agreed to protect their border with the United States with 10,000 troops to stop illegal drug and immigration crossings.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
For our first story, the trade war that was about to start with Mexico and Canada is on pause for one month. The benefits so far are a more secured border. The costs, they take a little longer to measure. For our second story, how did Levi's identify the baggy daddy jeans trend before any other apparel company? Get this, five years ago, Levi's struck a secret deal with Goo.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
So it seems like for Mexico, Trump's trade threat worked. This deal could limit illegal immigration and illegal drugs like fentanyl from entering the United States. And we saw some stocks in the stock market issue a huge sigh of relief. Yeah, Chipotle, Ford, America's number one beer, Modelo.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
They all rely on Mexican-made stuff, which would have gotten more expensive with the new 25% made in Mexico tax. Again, next weekend, your Super Bowl guac was about to be extra, extra. So for Mexico and the United States, they're still on good trading terms for now. How about Canada? Well, Jack, funny you should ask.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Bessies, just as Jack and I were recording this podcast, and I had three buckets of maple syrup about to hoard in my pantry. We got an update. Donald Trump reached a deal with Justin Trudeau of Canada yesterday. Pretty much the same outcome for pretty much the same deal. Canada is investing $1.3 billion to secure their border with the United States along with 10,000 frontline personnel.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
As a result, both the USA and Canada are delaying their tariffs on each other from coming into effect by one month. Just like with Mexico. Basically, the benefits of both of these trade deals appear to be both. border-related. So Jack, can we sprinkle on a little more context to both of our northern and southern borders, please? Yeah. When it comes to the borders, they're not equal.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
For example, less than 1% of the fentanyl that the U.S. Border and Customs Patrol seized last year, only 1% was from Canada. 99% came from Mexico. So with Mexico, the border concerns were very real, and there was a clear benefit there. With Canada, not as much. Still, Trump's going to call the Canada announcement a win, that he used the threat of tariffs to extract policy concessions.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Now, interestingly, besties, earlier in the day, Trump implied there was only one way for Canada to escape all of these tariffs. He said this from the Oval Office yesterday, I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state. And since the tariffs have been merely delayed a month, they haven't been solved yet, he's keeping the world on the edge of its seat.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies trying to add up what happened in the last 24 hours of global trade? The costs of what happened are going to take time to measure. Yetis, we just discussed the benefits of this trade war. The United States gets reinforced borders, a clear policy win. The costs are more obscure.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Since we haven't actually had tariffs yet, the two main costs of this trade war have been reputation and uncertainty. Right. First, the U.S. reputation, as in whether allies can rely on us because we just almost started a trade war with two of them. And policy uncertainty, whether businesses can plan for their investments when the rules are so chaotic.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
But the very fact that allies and foes could be threatened with massive tariffs at any moment, that has a cost. CEOs hate that kind of uncertainty and that kind of policy whiplash. So besties, add it all up, and it's going to take months, maybe years, before you can properly compare the costs and the benefits of trade war to. We'll see what happens. We'll cover it on the show.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
For our second story, Levi's has become the big winner of the baggy daddy jeans trend. This story is about how Levi's used Google to predict a fashion trend, and it worked. But Jack, if we're going to tell this story, then get in the car, loser. We're going shopping for loose and oversized jeans. Wide jeans, boyfriend jeans, relaxed jeans, slouchy jeans. Is that a fit? It is.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And our third and final story is the top stock in America since election day. What is it, Jack? Robinhood. Robinhood. And now Robinhood is putting all its chips on the Super Bowl. But before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix for a T-Boy Tuesday, Jack. Trivia. What board game was once banned by both Cuba and the Soviet Union? It wasn't Twister. Feels like it's not Twister.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
All I know is the best sellers are the jeans with enough material to sew a parachute out of. Slim fit has died a slow death. I'm keeping mine though, Jack. They're going to come back. In Levi's latest earnings call, the CEO mentioned the word baggy six times, which was kind of hilarious. Baggy daddy jeans. Their sales are up 15% at Levi. That is three times the pace of overall jean sales.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Here's the wilder stat. Baggy jeans are a basket booster for Levi's. True. You need to buy a whole wardrobe to match those big baggy jeans. The average customer buying baggy jeans also bought one additional item to pair with those jeans. So not just $100 jeans. You're suddenly spending $500 on matching shoes and a top as well. Sorry, mom, I'm going to need more Stella McCartney pumps, new jeans.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Now, we covered Levi's' baggy bump two years ago on this podcast. We did. But we just found out how Levi's knew about it. This is what we found fascinating about the story, yetis. Levi actually predicted the baggy daddy jean trend five years ago, thanks to Google. In 2020, Levi signed a deal with Google Cloud to collect denim sales data worldwide.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Then the engineering nerds over at Google ran a daily machine algorithm to identify purchase trends. That's a direct quote, their words, according to the Wall Street Journal. They pulled receipts from 50,000 stores, 49,000 of which were not Levi's stores. That's key.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
So they gave Levi's data from other stores that were selling Levi's, like Macy's, Bloomingdale's, or like, I don't know, the tri-state county mall that you shop at. That sounds lovely for a visit on a Saturday, Jack. And what was Google's discovery that they shared with the denim dudes over Levi? That massive trove of data showed Levi's that it's not just Gen Z Jenny buying looser fit jeans.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Mom wants them. Grandma wants them. Uncles and dads want looser jeans too. Millennial Millie and Boomer Bob, they're all getting looser fit jeans, it appeared, without anyone picking up on this. Google's data showed that the baggy jeans trend was multi-generational. And they gave Levi that information early.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
On the other hand, if Levi's only had their own customer data, like they would have found out too late. They don't even know the age you are when you're buying this stuff. Instead, Levi's moved fast to offer baggy jeans to all bodies, to men and to women. And that's wild. This 172-year-old company that began by selling 501s to gold miners from a horse and buggy, they just went full Silicon Valley.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Sheehan and Teemu, they identify real-time fashion trends with their app. Well, Levi's managed to upstream them with the help of Google. Where were you on the yak sweater trend, though, Levi? I can't wait for that birthday present, man. I'm working on it, Jack. I'm working on it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Levi's? Guts are good for innovation. Data is best for revelation.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Yetis, one of our most popular stories last year was one that we did about going with your gut instead of following the data. But how do you know which to go with? Well, here's a guiding tool. Here's the way Jack and I think of it. Go with your gut on challenges of the imagination, like creating something new. For example, the iPhone.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Steve Jobs went with his gut and innovated something completely new. new. On the other hand, data is a powerful tool for identifying trends. Netflix uses data from existing shows to decide what next show to produce. And we just saw that Google's denim data is how Levi recognized the baggy daddy jean trend before anyone else.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
It's not limited to this, but in general, your gut is best for innovation. Data is best for revelation.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
No, it wasn't. It's the game that was invented to criticize America, but instead glorified it. Cards Against Humanity? No. This game is actually played in two out of three American homes today, and it's the best-selling board game of all time. Oh, I think I know what it is, Jack. It's a game you buy with real money, but you play it. Fake money. Monopoly. Monopoly. Here it is, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
For our third and final story, the best performing stock since the election, it's Robinhood. Because Robinhood has turned privacy into publicity. We'll explain. But Jack, first, let's go back in time a little bit. Remember the GameStop drama? Oh, do I remember. January of 2021, Robinhood was the story, and Nick and I were working there. Yeah, that was back when we were at Robinhood.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
We were doing the podcast, and man, that was intense. AMC, cat memes, GameStop to the moon, and then GameStop to the floor. Well, after that, Robinhood spent a couple years in the penalty box with regulators, but Jack... Robinhood is back, baby. The viral stock trading app emerged from Sherwood Forest in brand new brand colors. Just last year, Robinhood turned from green to neon yellow and black.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And they also launched a new version of Robinhood, like a Bloomberg tournament for active stock traders. And right before the election, they launched prediction markets. You could bet on Trump or Harris in the stock trading app. you could bet on the presidential election. But here's the news. Grab your helmets and your jockstraps because Robinhood is now in sports betting.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Just like with the election, Robinhood is partnering with Kalshi, but this time to let you bet on the Chiefs or the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Now, we dove in T-boy style to this, and technically they say this isn't sports betting, but Jack, this is betting on sports. Anyone on the Robinhood app can bet on the Chiefs. Sounds like sports betting to me.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
But here was the bigger observation from Jack and I. Robinhood stock is actually the top performing stock of the Trump presidency. It has nearly doubled since election day. You got a crypto comeback, a deregulation push, bullish vibes across the market. They're all good for the Robinhood app. And that's why Robinhood stock is actually up 400% in just the last year.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
It's at $50, which is about 25% higher than its 2021 IPO. Now, yetis, Jack and I worked at Robinhood. We sold our first company to Robinhood. And the way we've always seen Robinhood is as a finance company that really wants to be a social media company. Right. When we got there... They were doing their first growth hack, which was to share the app with a friend.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
And if your friend signed up for Robinhood, you both got a free stock. Oh, you want new features on Robinhood? Then you have to sign up for a Robinhood waitlist and then share that waitlist with friends to move up on the waitlist. The meme stock trend we mentioned earlier, that powered Robinhood's rise and it was really all about social media. Now, these growth hacks were incredibly successful.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
But just last week, Robinhood got two new competitors in the social investing space. First, Elon's X announced Venmo-like payments are coming to the X app in a partnership through Visa. And then Trump's Truth Social partnered with Charles Schwab for crypto ETF and stock trading. So actual social media platforms are entering the investing space now. And that's new.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
So Robinhood stock is up, but Robinhood's got two brand new competitors starting last week. So we got a brand new takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Robinhood? It's the private to public pivot. We're seeing it everywhere. Yetis, Robinhood recognized early on the opportunity in turning a private action into a public activity. We'll explain.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
What do you think? Do you hear that? I guess you're the banker for this episode. Yetis, Monopoly's origin story is actually the opposite of what you expect. Because this game rewards greed, but was invented to stop greed. Yetis, Monopoly is a tribute to capitalism. But it was created by a woman who was basically a communist. And on top of all that, the whole idea was actually stolen by another guy.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
We're talking about investing because money and investment decisions were historically taboo to share, but now they're not really taboo anymore. We're okay telling you that we've lost a lot of money owning Peloton stock. And we still own it. Are we ever going to sell? Never, Jack. But besties, we have seen other companies also capture that value too.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
They take a private act and they make it a public act. Think about LinkedIn. Yes. They turn job promotions and unemployment announcements into assets that you share with everyone. Or Jack, what about Twitch? They took gaming from a solo gamer activity to a spectator sport. And TikTok, they turned journaling and confessions from something very private into a public act for your followers to see.
The Best One Yet
🥞 “Maple Syrup Mayhem” — Trade War’s wild 24 hours. Robinhood’s Super Bowl bet. Levi’s Baggy Secret.
Yeah, you want to share with the besties what our guess is that Robinhood does next? They're going to make a feature so that you can really easily share your portfolio and your trades on Instagram, TikTok, and X. Next thing you know, that Peloton investment, it's going to be on your Tinder profile. Robinhood's revival shows the hidden opportunity in turning the private public.
The Best One Yet
👠 “Dude of Wall Street” — Steve Madden’s podcast pop. Costco’s gas biz. Ukraine’s Spider Web attack.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be... A big flop. From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
👠 “Dude of Wall Street” — Steve Madden’s podcast pop. Costco’s gas biz. Ukraine’s Spider Web attack.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.
The Best One Yet
👠 “Dude of Wall Street” — Steve Madden’s podcast pop. Costco’s gas biz. Ukraine’s Spider Web attack.
Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, December 3rd. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But first, a happy National Rocky Balboa Day to all those who celebrated. Rocky Fest is happening in Philadelphia right now, where all the city of brotherly love is giving thanks to their fictional native son.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Because old music ringtones were a really efficient way to get the majority of people in your office to dislike you. Oh, it's Fireworks by Katy Perry again. Thanks, Ron, for the audience. So, besties, if you're on the subway right now and you hear this... That's the sound of an industry rebound. So, Jack... I think I'm getting a call and the call is our takeaway.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Yetis, we just dropped the seventh episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. And this week's episode is the Polaroid camera. Because Polaroid packed an entire darkroom into a single handheld camera. We'll tell you in this wild episode how Edwin Land got the idea for the Polaroid camera after a conversation with his daughter.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And that's interesting because that's the same group that had the music ringtone back when it peaked in 2007. In 2007, millennials were 17. It was probably the age they got their first phone, like when Nick and I did. That means ringtones today are being driven by the same demographic that bought them 20 years ago. Same customer, just older. Same millennial customer, just 20 years later.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
So it's not teenagers buying it for some Y2K aesthetic. It's the exact same millennials buying them a second time. The resurgence of music ringtones is a reminder that people don't buy products. They buy memories. Besties, if you want to sell the future, wrap it in the past. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday?
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Moana 2 brought in nearly $400 million worldwide over Thanksgiving weekend. A record number. Moana's voyage is a media lesson. Musicals, not-in-love princesses, and marketing. For our second story, it's Aldi. Aldi is America's fastest-growing grocery chain with 2,400 locations and 800 more coming. It's all thanks to Deutsche Spatzenkeit. which is aligned with the old IKEA principle.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
To be clear, it's Deutsche Sparsamkeit. We have German listeners, Nick. Gesundheit, Jack. Gesundheit. And finally, music ringtones for your phone are having a major resurgence. Music ringtones are back, because if you want to sell the future, wrap it in the past. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
First, the Australian government has officially banned social media for kids under 16. This happened over Thanksgiving break. You might have missed it, but it's a big deal. Australia is now the first country in the world with legislation banning Instagram, Reddit, TikTok for a specific age group.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
It's unclear how this ban will be enforced, but it was passed by an overwhelming majority in Australia's Congress. And second, Intel CEO Pat Gesslinger is shockingly resigning from the head of America's biggest chipmaker. Gesslinger joined Intel at the age of 18 with just an associate's degree. That's it, and he rose all the way up to CEO, but his five-year turnaround plan is failing.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
So he's out at Intel after just three years and two co-CEOs. are taking over in the interim. And finally, on Sunday, December 1st, we had the busiest travel day in American airport history. 3.09 million people passed through a TSA checkpoint on Sunday, which is the most ever. Now, Jack, why is that stat wild? Just three days earlier was the least busy day of the year for U.S. airports.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
That's right. On Thanksgiving Day, just 1.55 million people passed through TSA, which was the lowest number of the entire year. Although I gotta say, one and a half million people flying on Thanksgiving. Sounds like a lot. That's a lot of people. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because it is officially Giving Tuesday.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Giving Tuesday, the one shopping day, not about spending on things, about spending on causes. Now, what you didn't know is that this concept actually began only in 2012 with an idea hatched at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. In the first year, $10 million was donated. But last year, $3 billion was donated. So Giving Tuesday has grown 3%. 300X in the 12 years since it's been around.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
So Jack and I were talking about it before the show. We both do give on Giving Tuesday. We were like, we should just share things we give to because everyone could be given. My favorite cause is the Covenant House, which provides shelter to homeless youth. When I was a kid, I actually did my first donation to an organization called the Children's Aid Society up in Harlem.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And I did the same one again this year. Love that. Covenant House, by the way, takes care of kids who pass through the foster system, but don't have anywhere to go. It's a great cause, both of them. So, Yetis, after a week of shoppy, shoppy till you droppy, droppy, it's Giving Tuesday to Gibby Gibby to Gibby Gibby. We drop links to Covenant House and Children's Aid Society in the show notes.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Who was three years old. And how Edwin Land took the first selfie ever, like 100 years ago. With a Polaroid camera. And how no matter what OutKast says, you should never, ever, ever, ever, ever... Shake it like a Polaroid picture. So later today, after this episode, check out our new deep dive show, The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, you are looking fantastic for T-Boy Tuesday. Oh, wait. One second. One second. I'm getting a call. I'm getting a call. Is that Soulja Boy again? It's Soulja Boy. And Soulja Boy is saying that everyone should go and listen to The Best Idea Yet, our other weekly show. You got to listen right now. If you know, you know.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
We dropped a link in the episode description. Listen to the Polaroid story. The latest episode is on the Polaroid. Jack and I will see you there. And before we go, a happy belated birthday to Kate Brink, the queen of carrot cake, who's from straight out of Boston. Just outside Boston. Happy birthday to Abby Mayer, the hostess with, and I can attest, the mostess.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
She's living in the Presidio of San Francisco. And Lee McKenna Hollingsworth, the panther of the outer sunset in San Francisco, celebrating a birthday. Happy anniversary to Harian Anju in San Mateo, California. Congratulations, guys. And Devin McLaughlin, El Dev Meister, is celebrating a birthday up on the Upper East Side. Happy birthday to Anthony Whitlow in Albany, New York.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And Apoorva Adepali over in Bangalore, India, may have, statistically speaking, a music ringtone on which they're celebrating the birthday. And happy 50th birthday to Punitha Aurora in Shakopee, Minnesota. An OG bestie, if you know, you know. And a shout out to Jessica Sanchez, Arnav Sharma, and Nick Goodner for correctly guessing our TBIY trivia in the Spotify comments and on Instagram.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And the answer to that trivia, Steve Jobs' big business role model, the answer was Polaroid. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a team. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock in Intel, Disney, and Amazon. And Nick and I both own stock in Spotify.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Jack and I dropped the link in this episode description because the Polaroid camera is the best idea yet. But Jack, today's T-boy is a fantastic show. We got three wonderful stories. How about we hit the pod, man? Adrian! Let's do it. Yeah, we got it.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
For our first story, Moana 2 just broke every Thanksgiving box office record and she did it by a mile with a smile. Crazy thing though, Moana 1 is having a better year than Moana 2. That is crazy. We'll explain why. Yes, we will. Yetis, this one goes out to all the dads out there whose Spotify raft is about to be topped by a Moana soundtrack.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
A lot of Disney show tunes on that top five list, plus Baby Beluga. If you know, you know. But Moana 2, it just set a movie theater record. Jack, what kind of a prize are we talking about here? Best five-day Thanksgiving weekend ever was set by Moana 2 this past weekend. Get this, yetis. From Wednesday to Sunday, this Disney sequel brought in $225 million at the U.S. box office. Maui, wowee.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Apparently all the schools in Rittenhouse Square have the day off, Jack. Not too shabby. If I could change, and you could change, everyone could change.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
The previous number one Thanksgiving weekend was Frozen 2 back in 2019. And overseas, Moana 2, it was the top movie in every country except for China. If you add in Wicked and Gladiator 2, then Moana Gladi-Wiki weekend was officially bigger than Barbenheimer weekend. You're welcome. You're welcome. The ocean chose me, too. I think I know why it was banned in China, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
But if I say it on the pod, I think we'll get banned in China. Now, yetis, here's what Jack and I found wild about this story. While Moana 2 is winning at the box office, Moana 1 is still winning on streaming. Get this, yetis. Moana 1, which is eight years old at this point, was the top stream movie in all of streaming. For both 2023 and 2024.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
We repeat, Moana 1, eight years old, number one in streaming. New releases? No thanks. Mommy, I want to watch Moana again. Besties, according to the Wall Street Journal, Moana 1, since it began on Disney+, has been streamed for one billion hours. That's the equivalent of one person watching the entire movie 775 million times.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Or more realistically, it is the equivalent of every child in America under the age of 12 watching Moana 15 times. I think that's the reality of the situation. Although, Jack, I heard a rumor there's one girl in Fairfield County who has watched Moana 430 times in one day. But only 3% was watching. The other 97% was messing with her sister and taking the Legos.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Yeti's the reason this is so shocking is that Moana 1 kind of didn't really work in theaters, did it, Jack? It unperformed at theaters when it debuted in 2016. It had a bad box office year. So it turns out Moana is kind of like a fine Merlot. Moana has improved with age. So Jack and I wafted that movie's aroma up into our noses to whip up a takeaway.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
For our first story, Moana 2 just had the biggest Thanksgiving weekend in movie history by a nautical mile. So we'll tell you how Moana strategically beat Frozen. For our second story, it's the fastest growing grocery chain in the country. It's not Trader Joe's, Costco, or Erewhon. It's Aldi. It's Aldi. Aldi became number one by using a German philosophy. And our third and final story.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Disney? The Moana voyage is a full-on media lesson. And here are four reasons why. First, Yeti's musicals are in. Both Moana and Wicked are booming right now at the box office, while Gladiator 2 is kind of busting. Second, typical princesses, they are out. Moana is a story of a Disney princess who doesn't fall in love.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
It's refreshing to see Moana sailing, not swooning. So Disney, they broke the expected plot and it worked. Another lesson here, people will pay a premium for escapism. Turns out a tropical climate beats a frozen tundra seven out of seven days. Would you rather vacation in frozen, icy Arendelle or Moana's 72 in sunny Polynesia? I'll take two of those, please.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Finally, this story proves that marketing matters. Because back in 2016, Moana underwhelmed at the box office because it got no Disney marketing. Disney focused their spend that year on Jungle Book, Zootopia, and Finding Dory instead. But now, Moana's 2024 reboot, it thrived because Moana was treated like a star. I'm not a princess. I'm the daughter of the chief.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And those four reasons are why the Moana voyage is a full-on media lesson. For our second story, Aldi is a grocery chain beloved by frugal Germans. But now it's the fastest growing grocery chain in America because they're using an idea from Sweden. But yet he's in order for us to tell the story of Aldi grocery stores. Jack, let's start with the Dark Knight Rises.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
In that Batman movie, Bane explains something to Batman. What does he explain? You think darkness is your ally? I was born in the dark. Yes, that is the wonderfully delivered great quote from Batman's Dark Knight Rises. And it's the same thing with Aldi. Same kind of thing, except the grocery store wasn't born in the dark. They were born in inflation.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
That's right, because Aldi was founded by the Albrecht brothers back in 1946, post-war Germany. And Jack, what was the economic situation back then in Germany? In 1946, inflation in Germany was 19,000% per month. Oh yeah, you bought an avocado for like a dollar, it was gonna be $19,000 or Deutschmarks the next month. It was hyperinflation.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
It was out of control. So the Albrecht brothers started a discount grocery chain that now has 4,000 locations in Germany and 13,000 across the world. You probably have a roommate who's an Aldi addict. You definitely have a roommate who's trying to serve you like Aldi's Wink and Owl wine. You know who you are. We know who you are. Fun fact, by the way, Aldi is actually cousins with Trader Joe's.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Are they really? I didn't see that, Jack. One of the Albrecht brothers bought Trader Joe's in 1979. But today, Aldi is the fastest growing grocery chain in America with 2,400 stores and 800 coming. This year, foot traffic at Aldi's in the U.S. grow by 10 to 18% nationwide, according to Business Insider.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
No matter how much you resist, that Aldi addict roommate is going to drag you into one of their stores this year. And the reason for Aldi's success in America, it's a German philosophy, isn't it, Jack? Or is it a German stereotype? You speak German. It's Deutsche Sparsamkeit, which translates roughly to German frugality. Yet is in this economy, grocery prices are up 25% since the pandemic.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
But not at Aldi because of Deutsche Sparsamkeit. That's right, because Aldi has strategically engineered its stores and its whole strategy around das Frugality. You're not passing German, dude. For example, Aldi stores are typically 10,000 square feet, about a quarter of the footprint of your typical grocery store. So Aldi saves money on overhead.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And Aldi stores carry a much smaller selection, like one or two options tops for any given product. You can have a Hellmann's mayonnaise or the off-label mayonnaise. That's it. Also, Aldi uses a wholesale style in their retail stores. You want that Hellmann's mayonnaise? Well, you're going to have to rip one out of the box that came with 20 because we didn't unpack it for you. Add it all up, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Remember when people used to set their phone's ringtone to their favorite music? Well, that's having a major comeback right now. Ringtones, they are back because people don't buy products, people buy memories. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories and try to get Nick to do another language accent thing. I don't know, I just do the rocky one. I like the rocky one.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And what is the financial result when it comes to Aldi's Deutsche Sparzenkeit? According to The Motley Fool, a basket of 20 products that cost $65 at Aldi are $54 more at Whole Foods. sit down, stand up, and ring us up again. That's a serious price differential. And it begs the question, how does Aldi keep their prices nearly half as low as Amazon-owned Whole Foods?
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Well, Deutsche Sparxengeit might go further than real estate and packaging. It goes into our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Aldi? Aldi's success is thanks to the IKEA principle. Yeti's IKEA, the Swedish furniture company, became a huge success thanks to its one profitable innovation. Don't assemble the furniture.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
The founder of IKEA realized that he could save costs if he shipped the furniture to customers in parts that the customers themselves could assemble. Well, it's the same philosophy when it comes to Aldi. They pass the savings on to you in exchange for you basically assembling the groceries. For example, they will never bag your groceries at Aldi. In fact, you have to bring your own bags.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And like we mentioned, you have full crates exposed at Aldi. You have to unbox the soap. Their staff doesn't do it. And if you want to use a shopping cart at Aldi's, you must put a quarter to unlock the shopping cart and you only get your quarter back if you return the shopping cart to the stall. In fact, Jack, did you see the aisle of shame at Aldi? You see what this is? I didn't.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
The middle of the Aldi stores is a special aisle that is just random and unorganized, but it's full of deals. It's probably stuff that got returned. Right. That they didn't want to use human labor to put back on the shelves. They didn't want to spend the money on the labor to put back. So you do the labor, you get the savings. It's the IKEA principle. It is. It's an exchange of labor for deals.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Your labor to get the deals. And in this economy, that's a deal that you're taking. And that's why Aldi is now the fastest growing grocery in America. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
For our third and final story, music ringtones for your phone are having a resurgence. This throwback phone trend from the 2000s is driven by a shocking and unshocking age group. Oh, yetis, let's set the scene. The Sopranos had just had their controversial series finale. Rihanna's uncontroversial umbrella had hit number one on the charts.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
You did the German one too. Yeah, I tried to do both, Jack. Yetis, yesterday we asked you our weekly trivia question. Who is the number one inventor that Steve Jobs looked up to? Who was Steve Jobs' role model? What product did Steve Jobs idolize? The answer is the Polaroid camera. The Polaroid and Edwin Land, the inventor of that Polaroid camera.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And everyone and you yourself were devouring cupcakes at an unhealthy but healthy pace. And then your pocket vibrates and you hear this noise. Yetis, it's the year 2007, the year that ringtones peaked. Literally, the year that ringtone revenues peaked. We were in college, and just about everyone picks music for their ringtone. That was the thing.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Some ripped the music illegally on Kazaa, LimeWater, or BitTorrents. Others paid for their ringtones through a streaming company. And that was 2007. So Jack, what kind of numbers was the ringtone industry putting up? At its peak, paid musical ringtones brought in $1.6 billion in revenue, according to the Record Industry Association of America. In fact, ringtones were bigger than digital albums.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Because you were paying $3.99 a month for access to custom Jessica Simpson ringtones. My sister's sidekick was always going off with a new Spice Girls song. We all kind of loved it. Ringtones were a major part of the music industry back then. Soldier Boy says that he made $20 million on ringtone sales. Oh, and you just mentioned Jessica Simpson.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
She had millions of dollars made by doing ringtones with different people's names for when different people called you. Her record label loved it. Nick Lachey didn't. But despite all that success, the music ringtone, it died for one key reason. Smartphone notifications. Eh, killed it. And robocalls. They mean that we all silence our phones.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
And if you're unmuted, you could use the standardized iPhone ring, which happened to come out in the year 2007 when ringtones peaked. That's why ringtone music revenue has fallen by 99% since 2007. But here's the news. You hear that? The ringtone industry is having a resurgence. And it sounds like a lot of money. Get this, besties. The ringtone app for Android, it has 50 million downloads.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
Jack, just sprinkle on some context, please. That's more downloads than SiriusXM or Tidal. And the top four ringtone apps, they together bring in $21 million a year in revenue. Wow. which has quadrupled since 2018, according to Sherwood. Side note, the country where ringtones are the most popular, it's actually India.
The Best One Yet
💔 “Princess *not* falling in love” — How Moana beat Frozen. The Ringtone’s resurgence. Aldi’s genius grocery.
India is 93% of the paid music ringtone market, but the United States is number two. Now, if you think about it, Jack, it makes a lot of sense. Like custom ringtones, that is a cool way to audially express yourself. And you can set your phone to be silent for everything except calls. New feature. Which solves the notification pinging issue. you could turn volume on for your ringtone again.
The Best One Yet
⚾ “Torpedo Bat” — NY Yankees’ innovation. Q2’s Stagflation risk. Drone Delivery’s burrito vs blood.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
⚾ “Torpedo Bat” — NY Yankees’ innovation. Q2’s Stagflation risk. Drone Delivery’s burrito vs blood.
Yeah, we did.
The Best One Yet
⚾ “Torpedo Bat” — NY Yankees’ innovation. Q2’s Stagflation risk. Drone Delivery’s burrito vs blood.
35.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, January 30th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Docs, they are dipping right now. Yesterday, it was because of the Fed. Our nation's central bank is worried about inflation again. So yesterday, they announced they're keeping interest rates high.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
I get pings all the time. Your credit score has changed. I go and check. There's no explanation for the change. Well, Jack, for a whole year, Steve was stuck at one specific score, 848, two points away from a perfect score. He learned that having a $0 balance on all his credit accounts was hurting him from getting 850. Okay, so here's what he did.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Steve started tinkering and discovered that actually having a small balance of 1% of his credit limit on his card, that actually helped his credit score. So finally, after five years, he hit 850. Congratulations, Steve. Why it took so long, it remains a mystery. Nobody really knows.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Now, add it all up, and only 1.5% of Americans have hit a perfect credit score of 850, according to the Wall Street Journal. But Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we discovered there are four specific traits shared by people with perfect credit scores. First, you should have multiple credit accounts. Second, you should use a small portion of your credit card limits.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And third, you need to pay your bills on time. It's kind of messed up, but the less you need credit, the more credit worthy you actually are to the credit card companies. The fourth thing you need is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway? Debit or credit for our buddies with credit cards. The best way to boost your credit score is to simply know what it is.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Yeti's great quote from director Woody Allen, 90% of success in life is simply showing up. Well, 90% of getting a good credit score is simply knowing it. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, studies show that just being aware of your credit score is the best trick to boost your credit score. Knowing your score means you're more likely to be making responsible financial decisions.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Now, this is probably more correlation than causation. But when it comes to your credit card, like ignorance of what you owe, that is not bliss, is it, Jack? Ignorance is not bliss. In fact, when we worked at Robinhood, we learned that people who don't open their mail, that's correlated with having a lower credit score.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Because people are leaving the city, visiting family, visiting other family, and then visiting more family. Apparently, every single person in China takes an average of two trips during the Chinese New Year. Last year was the year of the dragon. This year is the year of the snake. And this weekend, again, dim sum at Dragon Boat. Remember Dragon Boat, Jack? No. It's like China Live.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Yeah, like if you don't know how much you're spending on Qtops, you're not going to know if you got to pay down that Qtop balance. I mean, I get it. If you have money problems, bills can be stressful. So besties, knowing why you got a specific credit score, that is still a mystery. But just knowing your credit score is critical to boosting it.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Tesla just announced an 8% drop in automotive revenue last quarter, but the stock remains close to record highs. A Tesla car is now a $45,000 MAGA hat. For our second story, Chili's is simply the best restaurant stock right now. It's risen 6x in 18 months by eating TGI Friday's lunch.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
When there's blood in the water, invest in the shark. And our third and final story. The perfect credit score does exist. Yeah. One guy got 850 after randomly tinkering with his credit situation. But the best secret to boosting your credit score? Simply knowing your credit score. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
First, on Tuesday, President Trump announced a freeze to anything receiving federal grant money. On Wednesday, he rescinded it. It was his most impactful executive order, but it caused chaos. So he reversed it. In other President Trump news, he's offered 1.5 million federal workers a choice.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
They can retire and take eight months of severance or... Or prepare for a very different kind of work situation under the new administration. And second, Boom Aeronautics, great name, achieved its first ever supersonic flight for a passenger airplane. Remember those Concorde jets that could fly from New York to London in three hours? Or New York to Boston in 12 seconds?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Well, Boom is trying to make the next generation... So they want to basically bring back the Concorde. These planes could hold 60 to 80 passengers. This thing flew Mach 1.1. That's 750 miles per hour. And finally, something unprecedented happened. A baby was born at a Krispy Kreme donut shop. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
During last week's winter storms, a woman in Alabama was stuck because of the snow, gave birth to a healthy baby boy over at a Krispy Kreme. It's an incredible story. It was an emergency, obviously. And the staff must have helped out. And guess what? Everyone is healthy. It's history because it's the first time ever that a Krispy Kreme was listed as a place of birth on a birth certificate.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
So Krispy Kreme is reportedly giving the family free donuts for the whole family. first year. Although Jack's a shareholder. And Jack, how do you feel about all those free donuts given away by Crispy? I think that's money well spent. Well played. Well played, Crispy. They better be glazed. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me. On Sunday, it rained in Los Angeles.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Finally. All but putting out the very last of the wildfires. Now, this has sadly fallen away from the front page news, but now Angelenos can actually start rebuilding. Well, the tech and venture capital community they lost a lot of homes in the high-end areas of the Palisades that burned down. And it's going to take them months or years to find a new place or rebuild.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
But Jack and I got curious. How do stocks perform during the year of the snake? Because the Chinese snake is a symbol of calculation, strategy, and thought. thought. So Jack, let's enlighten the besties. How do markets do during snake years? Really, really freaky. Let's kick it back to 2013. It was one of the best years in Wall Street history, and it was the year of the snake.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
But that same community also set up a fund to help those most in need. It's called the LA Tech Community Cares Fund, and it's raised nearly a million dollars so far to help those Angelenos most in financial need. So a lot of organizations out there, we dropped a link to this one in our episode description for you. Yetis, you look fantastic out there.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And if you happen to be enjoying a burger with a steak knife, which is never necessary, send us a picture of that steak knife. I always cut my burger now. I do too. Controversial in some places. Well, more controversial. Jack, do you put the ketchup on the burger or do you dip the burger in the ketchup? I do both. It was a trick question. You passed. Yeah, it is.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
After this, remember to check out our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet, because we just dropped a new episode on Red Bull. We got a link in the episode description. And Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, congratulations to Yeti Tina Lee, who's got a new baby boy on the Upper West Side, and you better be feeding him some Lenny's sandwiches.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Congratulations to Kelsey Black, who just got nominated for Best Small Business in Pflugerville, Texas. Congrats, Kelsey. And Ken Say in Lake Worth, Florida, is having the best time. birthday yet. Happy birthday to Bob Hastings in New Bern, North Carolina, and who's got a new baby due tomorrow. Very exciting.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And Nicholas Cicero, legendary Yeti of Queens, New York, is celebrating down in Philadelphia, we assume, with a Geno's cheesesteak. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Krispy Kreme and Victoria's Secret. And Nick and I both own stock of Apple, Peloton. And I think that's it, right?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Did you buy Krispy Kreme and Victoria's Secret on the same day? Something makes me feel like that was the same day purchase. Check the stock records. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
The S&P 500 jumped over 30% that year. But the year 2001 was also a year of the snake, and it was one of the worst years on the stock market. The dot-com bubble burst, 9-11 happened, and stocks dropped 13%. 1977, the year Apple was founded.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
It's become the most valuable company in the world. But Jack, 1929, the Great Depression began. The stock market crashed. One of the worst years in history. So, Yadiz, we don't typically base our investments on the Zodiac calendar. Yeah, otherwise we'd be all in on Peloton stock during the year of the bull. But the year of the snake. Yeah. Which my third child's going to be born in, Nick. He is.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
It'll either bite you or it'll kiss you. If you know, you know. This isn't investment advice. No, it's not. But we're bullish on the snake. We're going to go all in. Jack, let's hit our three stars.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Investors would prefer if interest rates fell. We'd prefer if interest rates fell. The president would prefer if interest rates fell. But the Fed's job isn't politics or popularity. It's killing inflation. So they gave us tough love and are keeping interest rates high. But in the meantime, Jack and I whipped up three fantastic anti-inflation stories for you. Jack, what do we got on today's pot?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
For our first story, Elon Musk, the most political CEO ever, just announced a disappointing earnings over at Tesla. But the God honest reality is that Tesla isn't a car company anymore. Tesla sells $45,000 MAGA hats.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Yetis, Jack and I have been talking about this for a while, but we think one of the dumbest things that Joe Biden ever did was host an electric vehicle summit at the White House and not invite Elon Musk. Tesla was not there, even though Tesla was like the entire electric car industry at the time.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
That Biden snub back in 2021, that was the moment we think when the world's best entrepreneur, the world's richest person changed from a Democrat to a MAGA supporter. In 2021, Elon moved Tesla's headquarters out of California to Texas. Then he bought Twitter and now he tweets literally over a hundred times a day. And last year he invested $250 million to get Donald Trump elected as president.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Add it all up and Elon has become the most political CEO ever, and it's not just in the United States. He's embraced Germany's far right and is now active on Twitter every day, getting involved in their election. Last week, he spoke at Trump's inauguration parade, and then he did what looked just like a Nazi salute.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Elon's passion for sustainable cars has been replaced by an obsession with right-wing politics. In the last 48 hours, he's even started tweeting jokes about Nazis. So as we're recording, Tesla just announced their fourth quarter earnings, and the analysts, they're definitely going to ask him about that salute he did. Yes, they are. But here's the strange business irony here.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
The guy he got elected as president is doing the opposite of Tesla's mission statement. Jack, could you sprinkle on more context for us over there? Governments across the developed world have moved to support electric cars in order to combat climate change, including the United States and Tesla.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
For the last 12 years, Tesla sales have benefited from a $7,500 off coupon that's a subsidy from the US government. Tesla also got direct government support in the form of a $450 million loan. At a critical time from Tesla, From the Department of Energy. And yet, and this is why it's ironic, in just Trump's very first week, he's cut all of that electric vehicle support for companies like Tesla.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
We covered it last week on The Pot. Instead of leasing federal land and waters for wind and solar projects, he is diverting them to oil and gas projects. Now, besties, Jack and I have been covering Tesla earnings for over a decade now. Like, we've covered over 40 of these earnings, haven't we, man? Yeah. This is Jack. I applied to multiple jobs at Tesla.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And back then, what was Tesla's mission statement? I got it for you, Jack. Here it is. To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. That's still their mission statement today. But Trump is doing everything he can to stop the transition to sustainable energy. even though Elon is currently his best buddy. So Jack, what is the takeaway for all our buddies over at Tesla?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
A Tesla car is now a $45,000 MAGA hat. Now, also full disclosure, Yetis, I've been driving a Tesla Model Y for the last few years. And Jack, have I told you about these stickers we've noticed in San Francisco? I've heard about them. Okay. You see these across the city now. These are bumper stickers that say, I bought this Tesla before Elon went crazy.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
For our first story, Tesla just announced earnings. But the bigger story is Tesla's new brand. Because Tesla has become a $45,000 MAGA hat. For our second story, Chili's is the hottest restaurant in the country. It's up 300% in the past year. Because Chili's is known for its baby back ribs, but its strategy is great white shark.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Yeti's yesterday, Tesla announced 8% shrinkage in car revenue, their first car shrinkage since 2010. So we're seeing the brand affect the sales. Tesla's brand is being defined less as a cool, clean energy company, but more as a MAGA company. And the Cybertruck, the brand of that is Dark MAGA, to use Elon's language. And the numbers show it too.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Reuters says that among EV buyers, half as many are now considering Teslas compared to a year before. Now, Tesla's car business is going to be fine. With tech in Silicon Valley shifting to the right politically, there's going to be plenty of people wanting to buy a Tesla. Also, Tesla has huge sales outside the United States, where Elon's politics won't dominate the headlines.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Plus, Tesla is a mature company at this point. They honestly don't need electric car incentives from the government anymore. And honestly, from our experience, Tesla is simply the best made and most reliable electric car. Tesla is kind of the iPhone of EVs. Volkswagen, Ford, and GM are still figuring it out. Tesla has figured it out.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
So besties, electric vehicle buyers are disproportionately motivated by the environment. And right now, Tesla equals Elon, which equals MAGA. A Tesla car is now a $45,000 MAGA hat. For our second story, the top restaurant stock of the last year and a half, get this, it's Chili's. Chili's baby back ribs are actually shark ribs because we have a new investing strategy to share.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
It's called shark investing. Shark vesting. Can we go all shark-festing? Sure. Yeah, let's do that. Oh, by the way, Jack, I got to share with you, the greatest marketing hack of all time, it's from Chili's. You know what it is? That commercial? No, no. No, Jack, it's when they stuck a steak knife in the hamburgers. Oh, yeah. It basically implied that it was a huge burger.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
It's not actually that big a burger. Oh, it's like an optical illusion? Yeah, basically, they start serving burgers with chainsaws next. Yeti's Chili's just announced fourth quarter earnings, and Jack... I kind of want to lick them. Revenues rose by 31% compared to the year before. That's wild. The stock of Chili's is now up 15% to an all-time high. How's it in the last year and a half, man?
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
The stock has 6x'd. Hold the queso, yetis. We covered Chili's in September on this pod. Back then, the stock was up 150%. But now it's up another 150% since we last covered it. If you're a Yeti and you bought stock of Chili's because of our coverage in September, Nick and I want some kind of a fee. You're welcome. We're sending a Venmo request.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
This 50-year-old fajita chain is growing faster than an AI cloud SaaS startup. Now, we should point out, the hero dish at Chili's isn't baby back ribs anymore. No. It's the triple dipper. In fact, they mentioned the triple dipper 21 times on their last earnings call. Is that a CEO or is that a waiter? I don't know, back. The triple dipper is any three apps for just 17 bucks.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Now I sound like a waiter. Mozzarella sticks, a fried egg roll, chicken wings, all that for 17 bucks. And what's the strategy? That deal is a Big Mac killer. Yeah. If you compare that deal to fast food, it's the same price, but much better value. More calories and you get a waiter who's serving you. And the platter is sizzling. That's a good point.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
But Jack, before you get on too much flair over there, what is the fascinating part about this story? While Chili's is living its best life, another throwback restaurant chain is choking. That's right. TGI Fridays is having a case of the Mondays. TGI Fridays is a very similar brand. It's basically Chili's, but with a floater of tequila in that margarita.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And they hit their all-time sales high back in 2008. Tom Cruise once filmed a movie at a TGI Fridays. Cocktail was filmed there. According to the Wall Street Journal, TGI Fridays was once so cool, they had a velvet rope and a bouncer because they were too full. If you wanted to get into TGIF, you had to know a guy.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And finally, for our third story, we all want a credit score over 750. Nice. Maybe even 800. Nice, sir. Who knows? Is an 850 possible? Not too shabby. But Jack, does a perfect credit score even exist? Yes, it does. One man got it, and we'll tell you how he did. Oh, we got the secret sauce. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Spin. Fantastic mix of stories.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
But the 80s vibes of TGIF never grew up, and Friday happy hour, it's not as big as it used to be. Yeah, we covered it on the pod. You're not going out at 5 p.m. on Fridays. So just two months ago, after already shutting 55% of the restaurants, TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy. Oh, their recent mistake, by the way, they started serving sushi, Jack. Too soon, man.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Don't order nigiri from a place that has tires on the wall. Don't kick a guy who's down, dude. Come on. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Chili's? When there's blood in the water, invest in the sharks. Yetis, when one company declares bankruptcy, those customers, they find one alternative. As TGI Fridays declined, their downers didn't go to the Hall of Garden. No.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
They went to Chili's. Yeah. It's a zero plum game. It's like a shark smelling blood in the water. One business was wounded and the shark just ate it all up. Did you say a zero plum game? Maybe. I like that a lot, actually. And we've seen this effect before. When Sports Authority declared bankruptcy, Dick's Sporting Goods got a whole bunch of new business.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Or Jack, when Victoria's Secret's brand just went out of style, Kim Kardashian's skims surged. How about right now? Yeah. There's blood in the water at Walgreens. That pharmacy chain is struggling mightily. Yeah, they've got the worst performing stock in the market. Like whose shark is going to come and eat that chump? I don't know. That's an investment opportunity if you can figure out who it is.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Besties, let us know in the comments. In the meantime, when there is blood in the water, we know what to do. Invest in the sharks. Shark vesting. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
For our third and final story, one man finally achieved the perfect credit score of 850. We'll tell you the secret on how to get an 850 credit score, and it involves your mail. It's actually shockingly simple, but yet he's... Today, you can apply for and get approved for a credit card almost instantly, man. Actually, Jack, here. Boom. Here's one. Take two. Here's three.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
I've called and gotten a credit card. They're like, hold on a second. Yep, you're approved. Yeah, yeah. I'll send them four of them. But in the 1960s, getting a credit card was a lot like getting into an exclusive club. In fact, my dad had a credit card called Diner's Club, Jack. This is so old school.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
So, Yeti, 60 years ago, two guys developed a math formula to get membership into that credit card club. Their names were William Fair and Earl Isaac, the two original men of finance. And they started a company called Fair Isaac Company, the acronym of which was F-I-C-O. Fair. FICO. That's how we got the FICO number.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
It's your primary credit score that pretty much all financial institutions look at. And the FICO credit score has a secret recipe to evaluate your credit. Of course it's secret, because if it wasn't secret, we wouldn't need this company. Yeah, they look at your credit history, your payment record, the types of credit you have, and then they rate you on a scale of 300 to 850.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
Love the way things are kicking off, man. Did you hear those fireworks? Because the Chinese New Year began last night. The Lunar New Year, yes. Heard those fireworks. Largest celebration on planet Earth. Here's a wild stat. Get this. The two weeks before and after Chinese New Year, three billion trips are taken just in China. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And your credit score is important. It can determine whether or not you can afford a house, afford a car, or get an American Express credit card. Basically, your blood pressure gives you your physical health score. Your credit score gives you your financial health score. And there's even now a dating app that will match you based on your FICO credit score.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
You know how I knew I wanted to marry Molly? I saw she was a 765 and I was like, I got to get down on one knee. Really spicy. I'll show you mine if you show me yours situation. But besties, get this. If the credit score is so critical, how do you actually get a perfect credit score? Well, one man just found out. Steve Mitchell, 52 years old, born and raised in Texas.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
He's bald, usually wears black t-shirts based on the Wall Street Journal profile we saw. Big fan of Iron Maiden. And Steve always paid his bills on time. In fact, Steve had a great credit score, Jack. He was at like 840, not too shabby. Wow. I've never even been close to that. But five years ago, Steve started on a quest, a noble quest, to get the perfect credit score of 850.
The Best One Yet
🏆 “Perfect Credit Score” — How to get one. Tesla’s new MAGA brand. Chili’s ate TGI Fridays.
And along that quest, he discovered a whole lot of nonsense about how FICO works. For example, Steve discovered that closing old credit card accounts actually hurt your credit score. And opening more credit cards, something associated with having a shopping problem, actually helped his score. So it is strange, but financially responsible moves actually made his credit score go down.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, May 29th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, as professional podcasters here, wow, Jack and I got to tell you, huge Apple podcast glitch yesterday.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Gen Z loves a good dip, which is why Cholula, Siete Salsa, both recently sold for billion-dollar exits. And the third reason is a broader trend toward Japanese flavors in America related to health. Matcha, yuzu, miso. To stay fit, we're swapping out Taco Bell for teriyaki beef. Jack, I know you like a good hojicha latte, don't you, my friend? Um, sure.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But the real reason this sauce went viral, it was one decision related to location, location, location. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Bachan's Barbecue Sauce? Category can be destiny. Now, yetis, when bachans first launched, they were only carried in the international aisle at the grocery store. Bachan was placed among Latin, African, Indian, and Asian flavors.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
The taco trade is popular among both top hedge funds and retail Robinhood traders. But the taco trade has nothing to do with carnitas, guacamole, or anything you sprinkle on with that queso. Taco actually stands for taco. Trump always chickens out. T-A-C-O. Taco. It's actually a new investing strategy to make money every time Trump escalates the trade war.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But here's the key. Strategically, Justin pushed for them to be moved to the barbecue aisle. And why is that, Jack? The market for barbecue sauce in America is way bigger than the market for international sauces. And then during the pandemic, as millions of people were reaching for Heinz ketchup, they also saw a bottle of Bichons decided to mix things up.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
That's how they were discovered, because they were placed in the aisle where everyone shopped every trip to the grocery store. As Bloomberg put it, getting placed among the domestic barbecue sauces was the tailwind to becoming a mainstream brand. Location isn't just critical in neighborhoods and real estates. It matters all the way down to the aisle in the grocery store.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
The store shelf is critical real estate. Because category can be destiny. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Urban Outfitter stock is at an all-time high, driven by their subscription, Newly. Move over, Chucky Darwin. Urban has found a new species, the profitable loss leader, the centaur. business.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
For our second story, Anthropic CEO warned us that half of white-collar roles will be taken by AI agents within five years. We call them chrome-collar. And tech leaders tend to be right about the future, but wrong about the timing. And our third and final story is Bashan. It's the buzzy barbecue sauce of the moment. They're due for $100 million of sales this year. Because category is destiny.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, NVIDIA earnings. Sales of the world's trendiest chip business soared despite getting shut out of China. Sales of AI chips jumped 73% last quarter to $40 billion for NVIDIA. And that was just the last three months. Here's what investors love about it. Those profit margins on those chips are crunchy.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
61% of each chip they sell is bad. Pure profit. And second, President Trump has approved Japan's Nippon Steel to acquire U.S. Steel, but only with something called a golden share. A golden share is unprecedented. It gives the U.S. government veto power on corporate decisions of this company.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
For a free market economy, our government would be getting shockingly involved in the private business sector. And finally, Elf Beauty is buying Hailey Bieber's road cosmetics for nearly $1 billion. In three years, Hailey's brand has gone from zero to over $200 million in revenues. Wow. Time for Hailey to take Justin on a celebratory vacation.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And before they check out from whatever hotel they stay in, they should just buy that hotel. With a billion dollars, I'm sure they can. Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jax and my kids, basically. Well, today is May 29th, 529. So it's National 529 Day. 529, as in the education savings plan that we just think is fantastic. Because when a kid turns 18...
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
They need money for school. Yeah, college, trade school, community college, each one of those is going to cost money. If you save now, put the money in the stock market, the gains on those stocks are tax-free in a 529. Exactly.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
So like if you put 200 bucks each year into a 529 plan, assuming the market grows 8% a year, which it could or could not, but it could, that account would be worth $6,000 when the kid turns 18. Not too shabby. In fact, Jack and I wrote a rap song about 529 plans that we posted on Instagram at T-Boy Pod. It was lovely. It was after Oakley was born. Yeah, it was.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And so far, it's worked every single time. And here's how. Whenever Trump announces a new tariff, stocks fall. But then Trump inevitably rolls back the tariffs and stocks stall. surge. And Jack and I are checking the numbers here. We've seen that same pattern repeat itself three times this year. Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Nick did a rap explaining like Lin-Manuel Miranda style how a 529 works. 529s don't pay federal or state taxes as long as the proceeds go to qualified school expenses. Nicely done. We'll leave the rest for the gram. Follow us at T-Boy Pod. In the meantime, you look fantastic, Eddies, and Jack and I will see you later.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
A happy birthday to legendary Yeti Jamuna Cola in Flower Mound, Texas, Adichie's original portfolio manager. A.K.A. Adichie's mom. And Ethan Smith over in Chicago doing logistics is doing a trip with the besties to see our live show. Ethan, we can't wait to see you there. And happy 28th birthday to Molly Rubin in West Hollywood. And Scent Langerick is turning 16 years old in Nara, Japan.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Congratulations, Scent. A big shout out to at Arielle Sott on TikTok for making an epic video about why she loves T-Boy. You are the goat. Arielle, it's fantastic to have had you as a Yeti with us for so long. And Jack, didn't you meet Arielle like in Madison Square Park or something? Dude, I still remember. She says Washington Square Park. I'm pretty sure it was Madison Square Park.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Well, Arielle. We love having you as a bestie. Thanks so much for supporting the show. And a shout out to Greg Cusack in Venice, California for being a Strava influencer. And to anyone else who celebrated something today, make it a teammate. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Robinhood and Apple, and I own stock of Abercrombie & Fitch and Lyft.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
So hopefully when your kid graduates, this thing is worth a milli. If your kid don't get a 529, I'd probably just feel silly. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Jack, take us back to February, my friend. Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Stocks dropped. But a couple days later, tariffs were paused and stocks popped. Jack, what happened in April this year? Trump announced tariffs for the whole world and stocks dropped big. But he cut tariffs on everyone except for China and stocks surged. Then, Jack, what happened last week?
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Trump put 50% tariffs on the European Union and stocks dropped.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Besties, taco isn't a political statement. It's a financial one. T-A-C-O, Trump always chickens out. And Wall Street is making big money on the taco trade. Now we should point out, Trump actually was asked about the taco trade yesterday. And what did he say, Jack? He said he's not chickening out. It's called negotiation. But honestly, Yetis, this acronym is just too good to deny.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Yetis, this isn't financial advice. There's no guarantee the taco trade pans out a fourth time. But in the meantime, the taco trade has been pretty tasty. How's your portfolio, Greg? Spicy.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
To all our Apple listeners, if you ever can't listen to our daily show, check out Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your pods. Honestly, huge bummer that some of you couldn't listen yesterday. Each episode Jack and I produce, we think of as like our Mona Lisa. Each one's a masterpiece.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
You're quite spicy. Jack, let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
For our first story, Urban Outfitters, their stock surged 25% to an all-time high after announcing record earnings. Because with Newly, the subscription clothing service, Urban created a new thing, a mythical thing, a profitable loss leader. All right, Jack, throwback here. The last time we covered Urban Outfitters, November, 2023. Do you remember what the story was? Do you remember?
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Oh my God, I'm testing you.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
I have an encyclopedic memory. I know, I know. Jack, it was the episode we did on Urban Outfitters selling iPods at their store. Oh, the 20 year old, like original iPod. Yeah, that was at Urban Outfitters. Well, Yeti's Urban Outfitters is back on the pod. Urban is like Abercrombie, but instead of cologne. They sell candles. They're Philadelphia-based. They own anthropology and free people.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
In fact, Urban Outfitters is their smallest brand by sales. And yet, across all the urban stores, you can buy vinyl records, incense, and an $120 pair of jeans with holes in it. And here's the surprise news, Jack. Urban just announced record sales. That's right. Urban announced $1.3 billion in revenue last quarter, which is up 11% from last year.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Management thinks that tariffs will shave just 0.2 percentage points from profits this year. That was shocking. So the edgy apparel company stocks soared 25%. They're now at an all-time high. Their $7 billion valuation is nearly as high as The Gap and nearly twice as valuable as Abercrombie & Fitch. And the newest thing at Urban is pretty interesting. It's a concept called on rotation.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And we sat there for like six hours yesterday knowing that Apple podcast listeners couldn't listen to the show. So yesterday's pod was a T-boy. Listen today. But today's pod is also a T-boy. It's actually even better. So Jack, three stars for today's show. What do we got? For our first story, Urban Outfitters is defying the trade war.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
It's basically a new store within a store concept at Urban Outfitters. Okay, so what would that look like, Jack? At some Urban Outfitters, there's going to be a little section dedicated to a different brand. And the inaugural different brand is actually Nike. Yeah, Nike is renting space inside urban stores to get Gen Z to finally care about Air Jordans.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But the standout performer for Urban Outfitters wasn't candle, vinyl, or pre-ripped $120 jeans. No, no, no, no, no. It wasn't even a physical product. No, the standout item at Urban Outfitters was subscription revenue? We're not talking about Urban Plus. No. We're talking about Nuuly, which Urban Outfitters launched in 2019. It's a clothing rental business.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Basically, you get six new items from Urban Outfitters every month for 98 bucks. You send the six items back at the end of the month and then pick six new items for the month ahead. Newly is Urban's clothing rental service, and Newly has doubled its user base in three straight years. They now have 380,000 active subscribers.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But the wild part for Jack and I, Newly is now running away from the competition, literally. Rent the Runway has only one-third as many users as Newly does. I'm sorry, Jack. Pause the pod. We got to repeat this. Rent the Runway. invented the entire clothing rental concept 16 years ago. But now Newly is the unquestioned leader after just six years. And besties, here's the drama.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Unlike Rent the Runway, Newly is solidly profitable. Wow. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Urban Outfitters? Urban invented a new rare species, the profitable loss leader. Yetis, unlike Rent the Runway, which must rent out clothing profitably because that's its only business, Nuuly could lose money and that's okay for Urban.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Like a free sample at Costco, Nuuly is a $98 a month sample of Urban's brands. So as long as Nuuly got people to buy more Urban outfit or clothing, it didn't matter if Nuuly itself lost money on the subscriptions. But that's not what happened. Newly was able to raise prices by $12 a month last year, and yet demand only grew.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
In fact, in 2024, Newly achieved a full year of profits while also boosting sales of the other Urban Outfitters divisions. So Newly is like a lost llama in the sense that it drives the sales of the other divisions. Right, right, right, right. But it doesn't lose money. It's profitable. What you're saying, Jack, is that Urban Outfitters has invented a new species. The profitable lost llama.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Like a centaur, it's half man, half horse. It's half profits, half losses. For our second story, the CEO of Anthropic just said AI will take half of all white-collar jobs within five years. If true, unemployment would spike to as high as 20%. So we're unpacking the truth and the timing. And we're introducing a new concept we call chrome-collar jobs.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Urban stock just hit an all-time high on record profits because Urban turned a lost llama into a profit puppy. For our second story, the CEO of Anthropic just dropped a scare bomb. Wild. He said that AI agents will take half of white collar jobs within five years. So Jack and I will tell you how to prepare with a new term. Not blue collar. Not white collar. It's chrome color.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Yetis, everyone talks about ChatGPT, which must be really annoying if you're Anthropic. So true. So true. Anthropic is a huge and valuable AI company also. They have Claude, which is the number two AI chatbot. Basically, Claude is the Luigi to OpenAI's Mario. The Garfunkel to its Simon. Jack the Goose to its Maverick, if you will.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And this San Francisco-based company, Anthropic, is led by Dario Amadei. And he said something scary this week. That's right. He said Dario was blunt in his interview with Axios, saying AI will take half of all white-collar jobs. He said that the unemployment rate will rise from 4.5% today... to 10 to 20% within one to five years.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Yeah, Jack and I heard those words, and it is dark, it is freaky, it is dire, but Amadei says it's the truth, and society needs to face it so it can plan for a transition. How would all that happen? How would this mass replacement of human workers happen, Nick? Well, it would happen, Jack, with AI agents, which are basically computer windows that do work.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
An AI agent is a white-collar worker minus the human form. It's just software. These AI agents take assignments and use various computer applications to get the work done, and they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And as CEOs discover AI agents, they're going to stop hiring human workers. and eventually lay human workers off.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Because as Dario said, an agent is AI that can do the work of humans instantly, indefinitely, and exponentially cheaper. That was the scary proclamation this week from Anthropic CEO Dario Amadei. So the way Jack and I see it, agents are like a new form of worker, right Jack? They're not blue collar. They're not white collar. We call it chrome collar. Chrome collar. White collar work done by bots.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Now, as Nick mentioned earlier, Sam Altman and OpenAI is better known than Dario Amadei and Anthropic is. Sam Altman, he's a little bit more optimistic in his public statements, isn't he, man? Although I get a sense that he's just pushing his agenda because it's best for his company.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Yeah, Sam points to past tech breakthroughs, and in each case, he does point out that human beings found other forms of work. He gave an example of lamplighters, men who used to walk from lamppost to lamppost lighting the fire so people could see in the dark. And what happened to those lamplighters, Jack? They got replaced by electricity. But you know what?
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
They ended up finding better jobs, and society had better lighting on the streets. Now, AI could be a slightly different analogy here. After all, computers pretty much run the world already. And until now, humans have run computers, but that could change soon. And when it does, blue-collar workers will do physical work with their hands. White-collar workers will do managerial work.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But chrome-collar workers, which are AI agents, will do the work on computers. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for everybody who just peed their pants a tiny bit? Tech leaders tend to be right about what happens, but wrong about when. Yetis, when the internet started booming in the 1990s, tech leaders predicted it would change the world. And the internet did eventually change the world. It did.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Tech leaders were just off by like 10 or 15 years. So we got the dot-com bubble in the meantime. Another recent example of this, Elon Musk is famously right with his predictions, but he's infamously wrong with the timing of them. So when an anthropic CEO says that AI will replace half of white-collar workers within one to five years, we take that seriously.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But we take the timing with a huge grain of salt. And if we have more time, then maybe both Dario and Sam could both be right. Right, good point, Jack. AI could replace half of white-collar jobs, but we'd have enough time that humans would find better jobs. So besties, the way Jack and I see it, tech leaders tend to be right about what happens, but wrong about when it happens.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And our third and final store is the top-selling barbecue sauce in America right now.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
It's Japanese. It's called Bachan's Barbecue Sauce, and I have some in my pantry. Bachan's founder lost his house making this sauce, but he found his fortune. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. Love the mix of stories, Jack. The hot new financial concept you need to know. What is it, Nick? Jack, it is the taco trade.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
For our third and final story, the biggest barbecue sauce in America is a Japanese barbecue sauce, and it's called Bichon's. Bichon's barbecue secret sauce to success? It was not getting labeled as an international food. Now, Jack, we should point out, full disclosure, you and I have explored a fair variety of barbecue spots together, have we not, my friend?
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Because you take birthdays very seriously.
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
You had a theme for like a dozen years. I don't think it's still ongoing. It's still ongoing. But every year, every year, we would go to a different barbecue joint for Nick's birthday party. Okay, we had Feta Sal in Brooklyn. We had Dinosaur Barbecue up in Harlem. I think that was your favorite. And Mighty Quinn's in the East Village. Great ones, great ones, great ones.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
But the viral barbecue sauce right now that is outselling every sauce is Bichon's. You recognize it because it's got a red flip top, a squeeze bottle, and a smiling octopus logo who's wearing a karate headband. Sriracha was the new ketchup, but Bachan's is the new sriracha. And the founding story of this sauce is heroic. Okay, we'd never heard anything like this.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
Bachan actually means granny in Japanese, and it's based on the founder's grandma's homemade barbecue recipe. That founder is Justin Gill, and he started with $250,000 that he raised from friends and family. That wasn't enough money. So he maxed out his credit cards, he turned his home into a fulfillment center to ship packages, and he took crazy high-interest loans to make the business work.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
He put all that money into Facebook ads to drive early sales of his sauce, but it wasn't enough to repay his loans. So the bank seized his house. It looked like his entrepreneurship was going to be a huge failure for everyone involved. But then, out of nowhere, sales of Bichon's barbecue sauce started rocketing. They jumped 4,000% in 2020 to $1.5 million.
The Best One Yet
👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
And get this, this year, sales of Bichon's will reach $100 million, according to Bloomberg. Today, one out of 20 American households now has this $10 Japanese sauce in the pantry, the same $10 sauce that almost put Justin Gill and his whole family out of business. Jack, to quote Ted Lasso, barbecue sauce. But Jack, let's get back to the business kitchen here. What are we cooking with?
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👔 “Chrome Collar Jobs” — AI Agent workforce. Bachan’s viral BBQ. Urban Outfitters’ all-time-high.
We're cooking with the secret ingredient that made Bachan go viral. Okay, so it turns out there were actually a few bigger megatrends out of Justin's control, but in a good way, they helped the business. The first was the pandemic. More people were cooking at home, and they wanted to spice up quarantine with a new flavor. Okay, the second reason is that sauce is boss right now.
The Best One Yet
🐸 “Find Your Muppet” — Sesame Street’s Cocomelon threat. Saratoga’s viral facial water. Signal’s user error.
Jack, let's hit our first stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🐸 “Find Your Muppet” — Sesame Street’s Cocomelon threat. Saratoga’s viral facial water. Signal’s user error.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But yet here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. There is one shocking exception to everything that Jack and I just said. Shake Shack. Shake Shack. That's the exception. The fast food chain that began the Better Burger movement. By the way, Jack, we should point out that you and I, like, used to celebrate the wins at the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
That's where we would go. And I know that that's where you had your first date with Molly. It really is. I mean, you feel like the center of the world when you're in that Shake Shack, although you're always fighting for a chair. The Edison light bulbs are a wonderful upgrade. Well, yeah, it is.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Whether or not you have been to the original Shake Shack, Shake Shack's earnings just dominated in a way no other food chain is doing. Revenues rose by 16%, profits doubled, and they had their highest profit margin in four years. Stick that in your shroom burger. Oh, and the top sellers last quarter, what were they, Jack?
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Seasonal burgers, like the Carolina barbecue burger with fried pickles, which is on the menu right now. But besties, this was the shocking thing. The Shake Shack CEO said something on the earnings call that made investors drool. He said they're not dropping prices. we repeat not dropping prices. Despite peer pressure from Ronald and Wendy, Shake Shack will not put its burgers on sale.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
The CEO said that pricing is not a way to drive sales. It's the kind of thing that would make Grimace Grimace. No other food chain is doing that. It's a bold and confident thing to say right now. So Shake Shack stock surged by 20% last week. Shake Shack was up 20% like there was caffeine in the custard.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
So Nick and I got to ask, how is Shake Shack attracting more customers when every other burger chain is attracting less customers right now? And on top of that, Shake Shack has the most expensive burgers in the industry. You'd think that they're suffering the worst with people being fed up with high prices. So Jack and I came up with this takeaway. Jack.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Value doesn't mean cheaper. Value means it's worth it. Interesting thing, Yetis. Shake Shack stock is up 30% this year. Chipotle is up 20% this year. And Sweetgreen is up 140% this year. And yet McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King stock are all down this year. Well, the reason we think why is perception. Because value doesn't mean cheaper. Value means worth it.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
A sweet green salad, a Chipotle burrito, and a Shake Shack burger are more expensive, but they're perceived as better value. Chipotle burrito feels like a high-end cuisine, but it's lower priced than a high-end restaurant, so that is value. On the other hand, Wendy's $5 value meal is cheaper, but it's perceived as less value right now.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Because a Wendy's burger feels low-end, it's compared to a frozen pizza. And it's actually more expensive than a frozen pizza. So it's less value. See, someone thinking about a nice dinner, they consider Shake Shack a better value than the sit-down restaurant. But someone thinking about a cheap dinner considers McDonald's a worse value than a frozen pizza.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Yeah, Jack. And then one bank analyst ordered 75 burrito bowls in order to test their size. And this was the year that Red Lobster sadly went belly up bank. Yeah, blame the all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet or their private equity owner. On the bright side, Sweetgreen opened up a robo-restaurant. And Sweetgreen's stock tripled. While McDonald's finally started selling their sauces separately.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Add it all up, yetis, and value and price are just two different things, even though we often conflate the two. And perception overpowers price. Hey, Yetis, if you're a bestie, take a sec and hit that subscribe button. And like this video while you're at it. If you leave a comment, by the way, we'll read it.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
For our third and final story, across the world, stock markets just finished their worst week in years. And the reason investors are freaking out is the Titanic. You know, Yetis, we'll just cut right to it because it ain't pretty. Awkward update for your portfolio. Jack, can you wake up the numbers, please?
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
The NASDAQ stock index fell into correction territory on Friday, which means it's down 10% from its recent high. Jack and I told you last week that investors are worried about the huge investments in AI that they may not pay off. It didn't help that on Friday, one famous hedge fund called AI a bubble, saying it was overhyped.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But then Jack and I were talking over the weekend and we're like, but wait, markets worldwide plummeted on Friday. So there's got to be something else going on here. Right, Jack? We found three things that help explain the stock market dive of last week, which are unrelated to AI. And here they are. First, Japan's stock market fell 9% on Thursday and Friday.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
It's the biggest two-day drop for Japan since that huge tsunami happened in 2011. What's going on in Japan? Well, their central bank is increasing rates, which will likely slow down their economy. The second thing that happened last week was Intel stock fell 28% on Friday. That's the worst day for Intel in 50 years.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And the reason for that is that the once iconic chip company, Intel, is cutting 15,000 jobs because their business ain't doing well. But the biggest issue over all yetis was in the United States because recession alarms just went off. The worst recession alarms yet here in the United States.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Because on Friday, we got the big monthly jobs report that showed a serious jump in America's unemployment rate. So far this year, the unemployment rate has increased from 3.7% back in January to 4.3% today. I know you're you're thinking, Bessie, is a 0.6% increase in the unemployment rate? That doesn't sound like a lot exactly.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But if you apply it to a whole economy, that means a million additional people are unemployed. Now, you know that we've said that 4.3% unemployment, that is still historically low. But an increase that fast in that little bit of time, that's an increase that doesn't usually stop. That ends up being momentum. And it doesn't stop because our economy is kind of like the Titanic.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
If unemployment's rising fast, you can't just tap the brakes. Like the Titanic, it takes a while to slow down. It's a giant ship, not a go-kart. Just ask Kate and Leo. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the U.S. economy? The Fed drives this ship, but the ship takes forever to turn.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Now, yetis, for three years, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, has steered our economy with high interest rates. That has been the direction. The goal was to steer us away from hot inflation, to slow the economy down, to get prices down. And you know what? That worked. Inflation has been slayed, but now our economic ship has turned to a new issue. Unemployment. And it worked.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Inflation has been slayed. It was great that the Fed turned the ship in that direction. But now our economic ship is headed towards a new issue, unemployment and a potential recession. So now the Fed has to try to avoid that and turn the ship in a new direction by cutting interest rates at their next policy meeting. So here's the underlying problem. our economy is like a huge ship.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Although McDonald's stock fell. We discovered in this pod this year that Capri Sun invented the juice box. And we discovered that Disney World got a Michelin star. We also invented a new financial food metric. Yeah, we did. ROI, return on ingestment. And we calculated that the avocado, while delicious, is actually the least efficient fruit.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
It takes months or years to turn it into a different direction. It's like trying to boost the economy at the next policy meeting in September. That could just be too late. It would be too long. The new iceberg facing the American economy isn't inflation like the last few years. It's a recession and high unemployment.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
So hopefully the Fed, the captain of our economic ship, can turn this ship on time. Yetis, those are the three best food stories of 2024. But grab another napkin because now we got the best fact yet on food for 2024. Here it is. Nutella was created because of a shortage of chocolate. That's right. Nutella, the legendary hazelnutty Italian spread, also a good skin cream, was invented-
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
because of a shortage. That's true, Jack.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Post-World War II, the region of Piedmont, Italy, had shortages of just about everything, including cocoa. But the one thing they were not short on was hazelnuts, which are grown locally, and they also had a whole bunch of ingenuity. So they mixed ground hazelnuts into their chocolate to make the little cocoa that they had go further. It's like the first example of shrinkflation.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
They didn't have the cocoa, so they used more of the hazelnuts. I think it's swapflation. It is swapflation. Good point, Jack. And the result... was Nutella. They didn't turn lemons into lemonade. They turned not enough cocoa into Nutella. It's like we always say, necessity is the mother of invention. And Nutella. And skin cream, apparently. And skin cream, trust us.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But that's a story for another pod. Yetis, you've looked fantastic for our third bonus episode of the holidays. Share this with your buddy who likes to eat or likes to buy food. Or anyone who can get you that reservation you really need this Friday night. Jack and I got another bonus pod for you coming tomorrow. H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have you had the best one yet? If you know, you know.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Because the avocado has the lowest fruit to pit ratio in produce. You're tossing most of that avocado. Oh, side note, Jack had his very first Dr. Pepper. You still okay? You enjoying it? How you feeling about that? Oh, side note, Nick ate a bunch of strawberries, leaves and all. He just popped the entire thing into his mouth. It was controversial. Berry game. Never forget, berry game.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And every food business launched a value meal this year. It was hot value summer. So besties, you're about to give a five-star Yelp review with a terribly taken photo from your iPhone of this episode. Because these are the three best food stories of 2024. We're going to need some more napkins. More napkins, please. Excuse me, sir. More napkins.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Yetis, for our first story, we're going back to January 22nd, 2024. Happens to be my birthday, but also happens to be a great story. Happy birthday, dude. Thank you. I appreciate that, man. Let's jump right into the story. Okay, this one is on our favorite gummy bear. The biggest confectionery company on earth just gave us a rare inside look at the business. Haribo gummies. It's Haribo gummies.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Or just send it to your hungriest buddy. You know what? Send it to your buddy who can get you a 7 p.m. at Carbone on a Friday night. Send it to that sommelier. That's what you got to do. It'll be a quid pro quo. You send them a great podcast, they send you a great reservation. And they're going to get promoted. Jack, three stories for today's food pod. What do we got?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Haribo's success may be from never, ever changing. But yetis, before Jack and I jump into this story, if you're a dentist or a dental hygienist,
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
earmuffs you're gonna hate this story here it is and let's start with a trivia question jack who invented the gummy bear well the answer is mr hans regal from the german city of bonn hans regal from bonn haribo oh my god jack we put it together we solved the case yeti 102 years ago haribo named after hans regal from bonn literally invented the gummy bear
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And today they sell a thousand different varieties of gummy bear across 120 countries. And now this is a private, not a public company, but according to Bloomberg Research, Haribo is the biggest confectionary brand on earth. Hershey's and Mars makes more candy in the United States, but nobody sells more candy in the world than Haribo. Yeti's Haribo is the sultan of sugar.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
It is the chancellor of chew. Jack, can we say it's the king of the cavity? Haribo brags that their annual production of gummy bears could wrap the world 10 times. Yeah, it's the king of the cavity. And 102 years after birthing the very first gummy bear, Haribo is still owned and run by that same family, the Regals. But yet, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Haribo is the only company we have ever covered on this podcast that has said this. We will never change. We will never change. Literally, the COO of Haribo told Bloomberg last week that the company's German principles come down to this. We don't like to change. If it ain't broke after 102 years, over at Haribo, they don't fix it.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
For example, in the last century, they've only made one major change to their core product, the gummy bear. They changed its pose. Yeah, for the first 40 years, the Haribo classic gummy bear was like a dancing bear. It had its legs out. It was dancing. It was having fun. Now it's a chubby bear. It's not dancing anymore.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
They basically just made the bear's tummy bigger and they made its legs not dancing. Only change they've made in a century. Another example, their latest factory is the one they built in the United States, in Wisconsin. But that factory has the same exact layout as all 15 other Haribo factories across the world. Now, Haribo does add new gummy flavors to cater to local tastes.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Because every country has a different taste for their gummy indulgence. Sweden likes licorice, Spain likes peach-flavored gummies, and the U.S. likes sour gummies. Otherwise, Haribo does not do change. Will you make us a gummy vodka, Haribo? Nein, danke. CBD gummies? Nicht, nicht. An AI chatbot gummy? Gesundheit! Yeah! It's not happening.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Our first story is from January 22nd. My birthday. We got an inside look at one of the world's oldest businesses, Haribo Gummy Bears. Haribo, they became the biggest candy company on earth by staying the same. For our second story, we're going back to May 6th. That's when the new hot IPO of the year was Bubble Tea. Bubble Tea. Boba Tea Chains were IPOing for billions.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who will never change over at Haribo? When you chase fads, you run out of gas. Yetis, Jack and I have told you on this show how hard but how critical it is to innovate, to adapt, to evolve, to change. Netflix is Netflix because they disrupted themselves. They pivoted from DVDs to streaming.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But Blockbuster went bankrupt because they didn't evolve to streaming. They did not change. So when Haribo says they don't change, what they really mean is they don't change who they are. Haribo doesn't chase fads. They don't change just because the outside world is telling them to change. For example, they didn't change their company resources to partner with the Barbie movie.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
They stayed focused on global expansion instead. Haribo, they don't alter products for trends, for publicity, or for short-term viral hits. They stay focused on doing their thing. That's why Harbo still has the energy to sell more gummies than ever after 102 years. Because besties, when you only chase fads, you're running. Yetis, for our second story, we're going back to May 6th, 2024.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Happens to be Molly's birthday too, but also a great story. But shortly after the publication of this episode, I actually tried my first bubble tea with you. Oh yeah, it was fantastic. Those little rubbery tapioca balls are delicious.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
They're highly satisfying, especially when you suck them through the tube. It's like... They are satisfying. I feel like a vacuum sucking up tennis balls. And it is fascinating to learn about the whole bubble tea industry. For our second story, bubble tea isn't just taking over your block. Bubble tea is pouring all over Wall Street right now.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Boba tea brands are IPOing, but now Starbucks is joining that bubble. Jack, are we saying it's a Boba tea bubble? Yes, we are. And I don't even know what a Boba tea is. Oh, and then we got to start this story like this. Educate me, Nick. Educate me. If I go on Google Maps right now in San Francisco and search for boba tea, you know what I see, Jack? A lot of boba teas?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
That is boba saturation. Yeah. Bubble tea, aka boba, is a tea with some bubbly balls. That's what it is. You've seen it before you've tasted it. And it's the fastest growing refreshment in the United States right now. Get this. In the last five years, there's been a 60% surge in the number of boba shops bubbling up across American cities.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Kung Fu Tea is the name of the largest boba chain here in the United States. They're making $250 million a year in revenue. Now, like me, Yetis, you might have seen one of these. It looks like a glass of milk with a bunch of marbles at the bottom of the glass. It's like drinking a juice with tadpoles. Tadpoles that are trying to jump up and surprise you through the straw.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
I'm very intimidated by what those balls are. Nick, are they squishy? Do they pop when you bite them? Jack, when I dive in T-boy style to my mango jasmine boba tea with extra bubbles, by the way, always get the extra bubbles. What are those balls, dude? The balls are tapioca balls, my friend. And what is tapioca? Tapioca is a rice-like starch from the cassava plant.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
This is Nick. This is Jack. And today's food pod is the best one yet. The top three food stories you need to know today. Now, besties, this is episode number three of our holiday bonus week. It's the best of food. Our best stories of the year on food, beverages, and restaurants. And Nutella. Send this episode to your buddy who works as a chef or in a kitchen.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And yes, it is filled with carbs, but delicious carbs. So when you chew it, is there a liquid inside the balls? Or is it just like a solid ball? No, it just kind of hits your throat. It makes you a little uncomfortable. But Yeti's boba was invented back in 1980 on the island of Taiwan. And it took off from there.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And since it took off so much, tapioca for the boba balls is now Taiwan's number one food export. Yeti's boba tea has become so popular that boba has its own emoji. That's when you know you've made it. And boba tea has gotten so popular that Starbucks is adding bubble tea to its summer drink menu. Starting today, you can order a boba tea at Starbucks.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
And in fact, and I'm running out of octaves here, Jack. Boba tea has gotten so, so popular that six Chinese boba tea companies are going public. I'll repeat it so that Nick doesn't have to because he might injure himself. I'm going to take a breath and drink some tea. Six different boba teas have IPO'd on the stock market this year. Boba tea brands, they're going public right now.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
But bubble tea may actually be facing a bubble tea bubble. And our third and final story is from August 5th. While all the other food chains were struggling, one was rising. Yes. Shake Shack. Shake Shack. The $10 Shack Burger is proof that perception overpowers prices. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories, Jack.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Don't pop your champagne, pop some pearls. Boba tea is pouring onto Wall Street and investors are just discovering what the heck this is. All right, Jack, let's jump in tea boy style. Last quarter, two of the biggest Boba brands on earth IPO'd. One's named Miksu and one is named Gu Ming, both in China. Both of those companies are worth over a billion dollars based on their stock price.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Could you pour on some context for us over there, please? There are nearly as many Mixu stores just in China as there are McDonald's and Starbucks stores globally. So Jack, I got to ask, how did all these Boba Tea IPOs do over the last few months? They've done Boba brutal. They're down big. Yetis, the new boba stocks, they have plummeted and it has not been delicious out there. One fell by 40%.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Another is down 88%. This is a tapioca travesty. So Jack, we got to ask, you got to ask, everyone who's in line for boba tea over here has got to ask, what is going down in that thick straw? I don't know because I still haven't tried one. But I know the business behind it now. I got to get you some mango jasmine. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies sipping on boba tea?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Boba is the perfect example of a bubble. This is a bubble tea bubble. But yet, Jack and I should make something clear. There is huge demand for boba. There has been for years. And this is not a fad. Boba is not going away. So the problem for boba isn't lack of demand. The problem over in Asia, where the majority of boba sales are, is too much supply. It's not demand, it's supply.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Because usually we see bubbles in the stock market. The price of a stock outgrows the underlying value. That's a bubble. But this is an economic bubble. The number of physical boba shops simply outgrew the underlying demand for boba tea. Here's the cycle that happened. First, to chase demand, there was a surge in new boba stores that just got out of control. 36,000 mixu stores?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
That is so many stores. And it's just in China. And then there was so much competition among those boba stores that the prices started One chain sells everything on the menu for $1. Just $1. And the result of too many boba chains selling drinks for way too cheap? What was it, man? The result was a price war and none of the Chinese boba chains are profitable right now.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
That cycle is why we're seeing so much thirst for boba, but none for boba stocks. It doesn't matter how much you love boba. We're in a bubble tea bubble. And I promise I'll try my first one soon. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
For our third story, we're jumping back to August 5th, 2024. Okay. The first story was Nick's birthday. The second story was Molly's birthday. The third story is where Nick and Molly had their first date. It was honestly a total, total coincidence. I think it's conspiracy. It's a total coincidence. This one's on Shake Shack. Are you trying to replace me with Molly this episode?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
When 2024 was beginning, Starbucks was launching their first olive oil coffee. But as 2024 ends, Starbucks is canceling their olive oil coffee. Olietta. Olietta. That pretty much sums up the year, doesn't it? It does, because 2024 saw more wild food stories in business to make Gordon Ramsay bite a pan. First, remember Chipotle was accused of shrinkage with their burrito balls on TikTok?
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Also a Shake Shack shareholder. I should point that out, Jack. Okay, definitely conspiracy. Besties are going to love this one. Let's jump into the Shake Shack story. For our second story, the surprise top stock of last week, get this, it's Shake Shack. Shake Shack shows that value doesn't mean low price. Value means it's worth it. Jack, I feel like we got to check ourselves on this.
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BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
We've been calling this hot deal summer. And we've been saying that this summer had big deal energy, haven't we, Dan? Why are we saying that? Because in the last two months, every fast food chain has launched the same value meal. Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's, all of them specifically launched $5 value meals, $5 each. McDonald's ordered a burger, fries, and a soda for $5. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
Wendy's and Burger King were like, me too. Yeah. Even Kenan and Kel over at Good Burger launched a $5 value. I love a Good Burger reference. Home of the Good Burger. Can I take your order? Everything's 20% off. So why is every fast food chain launching a value meal this summer? Well, Americans have turned against fast food because of the higher prices.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤤 “The Food Pod” — Our Best Food stories from 2024
The burgers, that doesn't feel like your classic quarter pounder these days, does it, Jack? No, it feels like a quarter of my paycheck. So despite all the value meals, McDonald's just announced last week their first quarterly sales shrinkage since 2020. We repeat, McDonald's sales are down. You're not buying a Big Mac unless it's on the sale rack. Fast food is looking like TJ Maxx right now.
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💪 “Peak Protein” — Kardashians’ protein popcorn. Trump’s empty-shelf warning. Trailer Parks’ Millennial moment.
I'll roll with it. I love it.
The Best One Yet
💪 “Peak Protein” — Kardashians’ protein popcorn. Trump’s empty-shelf warning. Trailer Parks’ Millennial moment.
Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie.
The Best One Yet
🥯 “Shmear Me” — PopUp Bagel’s boom. Zuck’s Smart Oakleys. Stargate’s $500B Hollywood name.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Thursday, the new Friday, May 22nd. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, I'm flying to France tonight, and Jack is somehow squeezing one more day of skiing in in New England. How is that possible? It's gonna snow this weekend, which is absurd.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Unlike a pure electric car, with a hybrid, you don't even need to switch your fueling situation. Like, you still just charge up at gas stations. A hybrid simply extends your range from 31 miles per gallon to 38 miles per gallon. And with the RAV4, the hybrid actually has more horsepower than the regular.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
The only catch we should point out here is that when it comes to hybrids, you get a higher price. The RAV4 hybrid is two or three grand more than the regular. because that battery is expensive. They got some junk in the trunk, and the junk is a battery. Also, most RAV4s in America are imported from Canada or Japan, so they're going to have a 25% tariff to deal with now, too.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
But still, the RAV4 is starting a revolution with itself. The top-selling car in the U.S. is going full hybrid. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Toyota? Toyota is the tortoise, and it's winning the electric race. Yet is in 2021, Volvo said all cars would be electric or hybrid by 2025. And that same year, General Motors said it would sell a million electric cars by 2025.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
But last year, Volvo extended that deadline by 10 years and GM just said they're not even close to a million electric cars a year. And it's not just GM or Volvo, Jack. Like every car company made some really splashy announcements that they just couldn't deliver on. It created like a full year's worth of content on our podcast.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
With just wildly bold and ambitious electrification plans from car companies. Except for Toyota. Toyota did not make those announcements. Instead, they just made hybrids. They bet that hybrids were the electric training wheels that Americans wanted, and Toyota was right.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Today, eight of Toyota's cars are only available as hybrids, and they've sold a million hybrids in the United States just last year. Toyota is the tortoise, and it's beating the electric hares in the car race. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? After chronicling previous drinks of the summer, Nick and I looked at different trends. And you heard it from us.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
The trade war summer will be a margarita moment. For our second story, Google has partnered with Warby Parker to develop smart glasses with screen lenses. It's love is blind for smart glasses right now. Google, Meta, Apple, and OpenAI, it is the great race to replace the iPhone. And our third and final story is the Toyota RAV4.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
It's the number one selling car in America, and now it's going hybrid only. Toyota is the tortoise, but it's winning the electric race. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Bitcoin is officially trading at an all-time high. It is hot crypto summer, baby. Ben, the Bitcoin hit $109,000 yesterday for the first time ever.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
We repeat, car washes are 49% more filled starting this time tomorrow than on any typical day. And the reason? It's that this is the weekend for road trips. You're hitting the road, baby. And if you're going to sit in the Hamptons traffic for five hours, you better look sharp doing it. This Bronco hasn't moved, but baby, do I look good in it, Jack?
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Could be because US debt got downgraded, or it could be because the dollar value dropped, or it could be... Like always with Crypto, no reason at all. And second, Canada Goose just had its best day in years. Stock in the fancy jacket brand soared 25% yesterday. Because of climate change, they're making fewer snow jackets, pivoting a little bit more to rain jackets.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Canada Goose's new goal is to be a year-round relevant brand, not just for the winners. After all, geese fly south in the summer. Yes, like we could be seeing some Canada Goose tank tops and bikinis in summer 2026, Jack. And finally, NFL owners voted not to ban the Tush Push. Jack, can you please enlighten us on the push of the Tush? What is the Tush Push?
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
The tush bush is a special play pioneered by the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, yes, yes. It's when the quarterback takes the ball from the center, does a QB sneak. But instead of being on their own, the running back pushes the quarterback from behind, trying to nudge him across the goal line. Many thought it should be illegal, but it will now stay legal in Philly. They call it the brotherly shove.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Big Ted Kramer from Port Washington, Long Island. This one's for my dad because when I was a kid, he took me twice to the Indy 500. We drove all the way from Vermont to Indianapolis. And they're fast, right? Like those cars for the Indy 500 go faster than the F1 racers. Indy cars are faster than F1. They have a top speed of 240 miles per hour.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
No cars go faster than that. And one reason they can go so fast is because the oval they race around is so huge. You don't have to make that many turns. But yeah, Nick, the track is two and a half miles. You can fit so much inside of that. Why don't you sprinkle on some context, Jack? You can fit the Vatican City, the Rose Bowl, Yankee Stadium, the White House, and Liberty Island.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Yes, including the Statue of Liberty. All of it can fit inside the racetrack at Indianapolis, and you still have room to spare. I think what you mean to say, Jack, is combined. Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack and I are actually whipping up a couple surprise episodes for you this weekend, aren't we, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Yeah, Nick's going to be in France, but we're going to be right here in your ears because we have a special episode tomorrow and another special episode on Monday. That's right. While you're stuck in traffic, we will keep you entertained with a couple of fantastic shows. Jack, enjoy the skiing. I don't know how you're going to do it, but I like that you're going to try.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
I prefer to be swimming, and I probably will swim regardless of how cold it is. Besties, wash that car, and Jack and I will see you right here tomorrow. And before we go, a shout out to the legendary Yetis, Corporate Natalie and Corporate Bro Ross, who hosted us on The Demoted Show. And we just had a blast. What an amazing episode with those guys.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
So if I know you like I think I do, you're going to get the signature elite wash tomorrow with undercarriage glaze and the full wax job. You do know me because this has been the little known secret for years in the car wash industry. Tomorrow is their Super Bowl.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
A couple of the cleverest, wittiest people in business. You gotta listen to their show, Demoted. You're gonna love it. We just did an episode with them this week. Congratulations to Nil Nil, who just had a baby, Maya Rose, in Cupertino, California. And a shout out to Yetter Tyler Rice on his first book launch in Minneapolis for Tactical Disconnection. Tyler, congrats on being an author.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
And a big shout out to Joe Benz from Chicago, newly divorced, but based on the fact that he's requesting a shout out for his divorce, we're guessing this is something to celebrate. Joe, enjoy the divorce cake. You're single and ready to mingle, baby. Joe, the best days are ahead of you. And John Hill just set a personal record for a half marathon in Cleveland.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Listen in to the Google Maps episode of the best idea yet during the race. Great to be with you for it, John. And a big shout out to Lieutenant Colonel Hightower. In Alderaan, the battalion is so sad to see you go. Your leadership. We'll be missed. Thank you for your service. And Akansha just got into B-School over in Seattle, Washington. Congrats, Akansha. You'll have a blast.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
And finally, happy birthday to Jake Sparkman in Dallas, Texas, who is a goalie in lacrosse, which is one of the most brave positions in all of sports. Yeah. This guy is going to win a award. Enjoy the final four this weekend, Jake. They give you a cup, right? I think they give you two cups if you're a goalie. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
I own stock in Ford, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple, as well as a Bitcoin. A Bitcoin named Ben. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
We want to get to know you.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
So, yetis, if your Lincoln is getting loofahed, if your Beamer is getting bedazzled, if your Kia is getting cleansed, then you're part of the Memorial Day weekend car wash rush. Hey, exhibit, you missed a spot, man. Nick, I love the places that do the hand toweling, the hand drying at the end. That's a tip-worthy service that you're paying for right there.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Jack, that's a Michelin star car wash right there.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
For our first story, it's a T-boy tradition before Memorial Day. What will be the drink of the summer? So we analyzed the data, we tasted the trends, and we got you the one answer. But Jack, let's start by sprinkling on some context. From Cabo to Lady Bird Lake to Block Island, what were we all drinking a decade ago? 2015 was peak rosé. Yeah, it was peak rosé.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
I'm not planning to ski, but who knows? Maybe I'll stand on skis. As they say in France, Jack. Not possible. But three stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, we're predicting the drink of the summer. We use three trend spotting techniques to forecast the drink everyone's going to be drinking starting tomorrow.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Your mother-in-law and my mother-in-law both caused a shortage of Whispering Angel, I'm pretty sure, Jack. White girl wasted, for real. Really, that's what you're cracking open? 2018, we had the rise of spiked seltzer. White Claw became a unicorn thanks to the day party at SIGAP. Okay, two years later, we entered the ready-to-drink cocktail era.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
It started with the first ever canned Jack and Cokes, and then High Noon came along. And then came low-alcohol beers, and then came no-alcohol beers. 2023 was the summer of Aperol Spritz. A record 9 million cases of Aperol were consumed that summer. And last summer, we predicted that Beatbox... would be the drink of the summer. That's right. We predicted Beatbox. Beatbox, the boxed punch wine.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
And how'd we do, Jack? Pretty good. The Wall Street Journal covered Beatbox at the end of the year. Sales rose 75%, hitting $175 million. Beatbox, strategically moved from the beach to Bonnaroo. They sold out at basically every single music fest. Smart distribution move. Now for 2025, it's prediction time. And we take prediction seriously. Yeah, we do, we do, we do.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
We do because trend forecasting has some tactics and the one we prefer is trend spotting. First, what's the most viral trend on social? Well, Jack, the most viral drink trend on TikTok right now is jalapeno wine. Instead of ice cubes, people are pouring Sauv Blanc on sliced peppers. Yeah, the New York Times actually profiled this last week.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Bartenders are horrified when influencers come in and order jalapeno wine. Apparently, the spiciness is a contrast to the tannins, but we have not jumped into this one T-boy style. All right, so that's what's happening on social. We also look at the sales numbers. The fastest growing alcohol brand in America right now is Surfside, which does canned cocktail. That's right.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Surfside serves a vodka iced tea, and they actually just signed a deal with Major League Baseball. Sales rose 360% already last year for Surfside, selling drunken Arnold Palmers. That's another trend variable we got to take into account. But finally, Jack and I want to analyze, well, we actually, we looked at our guts. Let's go with our guts.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
We think there's an opportunity in functional soda combining with functional alcohol. That's right. What we're saying is replace your Jack and Coke with a Jack and Poppy. Exactly. Basically, instead of a prebiotic soda, why don't you go with a prebiotic cocktail? Get wasted on something that's good for your gut.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
I'm pretty sure it cancels out, but I'm not a mathematician, nor am I a nutritionist, Jack. So there you go. We looked at what's viral on social media, what the startup sales data says, and also our own analysis on consumer trends. Which leads us to our prediction. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies looking for the drink of the 2025 summer? Trade war summer will drive a margarita moment.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Yetis, let's take a macro perspective here. In moments of instability, consumers crave comfort. Remember during the pandemic? Yeah. Breakfast cereals boomed like they hadn't in decades because we all wanted comfort food. Well, during this trade war economy uncertainty, we expect a similar return to a familiar beverage. And it'll be the margarita. Why? We already have data proving it's happening.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
That's right. According to new DoorDash data, tequila is still the fastest growing spirit in America. And in the past month, DoorDash has seen an increase in all the ingredients for margaritas. This is wild. Lime sales up 80%. Jalapeno orders up 90%. Agave syrup up 100%. Jack, the seasoning. The spicy salt you put on the rim. Yeah, the rim stuff up 125%. And since the beginning of the trade war-
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
For our second story, Warby Parker and Google just hooked up to create AI glasses. Okay, but Jack, OpenAI and the guy who designed the iPhone are also hooking up to create AI glasses. It's like love is blind for smart glasses. Yeah, it is, and we'll explain it all. And our third and final story.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Earnings are showing that Americans are stocking up on Jose Cuervo. Now, maybe people are trying to get ahead of Mexico tariffs. Maybe they're just craving a comfort cocktail. But given the trade war economy that we're going to have this summer, we're predicting a margarita moment. For our second story, it's a doozy. First, Google is investing in Warby Parker for Google Glass 2.0.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Second, OpenAI is acquiring the original designer of the iPhone for $6 billion. Third, this was the biggest week ever for smart glasses. Wow. Yes. But first, Jack, you know when you go to a party and then there's like an after party that's more fun than the first party? Yeah. Okay, that was like what happened yesterday.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Google stock jumped 4%, gained $80 billion in value after hosting the biggest party of the year. The Google I.O. Conference in Mountain View, California had a wild number of announcements from Alphabet. Okay, first, the big news. Google is finally disrupting itself. Two and a half years after ChatGPT launched, Google is finally replacing Google Search with an AI chatbot.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
So, Bessie, starting like today, here's what you could see when you go to Google something. They're starting to roll it out right now. When you're Googling, there's always been a tab to do Google Images, Google News, Google Videos. But now you'll see a new tab called AI Mode, which will answer your query questions like a chatbot. If you search for something in AI Mode,
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Instead of a list of links as the result, you'll just get an answer to your question. Okay, another big update going viral. Google announced real-time translation. In Google Meets, if you're speaking in English but the other person only speaks Spanish, it will live translate what you're saying with just a couple of seconds of lag.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
I mean, Jack, when I'm in France tomorrow, I could literally be saying, like, I want the bread. And we'll be saying, je voudrais le pain. And I'll be like, I don't know where that came from, but let's go with it. It's all done by AI. And apparently, it mimics your tone and your voice. But besties, pause the pod. Because the biggest announcement wasn't what Google knows. It's what's on your nose.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Really nicely done. Here it is. Google is relaunching Google Glass. Yeah, this is Google's big bet on the future. And what was the surprise about the announcement, Jack? They're not doing it alone. They're doing it with Warby Parker. Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer glasses company, is getting a $150 million investment from Google.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
It was the biggest day ever for Warby Parker stock, which jumped 20% on the news. Yeah, we're talking about a glasses brand that feels like a library. It actually could become the smart device of the future. Now, the context of this story... is Meta Ray-Ban glasses. That's been a stealthy hit for Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah, good point, Jack.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
There's a new best-selling car in America, and you're definitely going to see it on the roads this weekend. Jack and I will explain the RAV4 revolution because the RAV4 is going full hybrid, baby. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Zuck said that sales of their smart glasses have tripled in the last year, and we've predicted it's going to be the Christmas gift of 2025. But Google's version of smart glasses appears more advanced than Meta's because the lens doubles as a screen. Yeah, Jack, why don't you walk us through the demonstration we saw on stage over at Google?
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
In Google's demo, the user asked Google's AI assistant, which is in the glasses... for directions to like the local Starbucks. Okay, and then what happened, Jack? Google Maps turn-by-turn directions was overlaid on the lens of the glasses so that the person could see the streets and see the corners, but also know exactly where they're going.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
This is a major differentiator that the lens for Google and Warby Parker is also a screen for the smart glasses. It means you don't need your phone. You can just ask your glasses to show you your text messages, show you your emails, and dictate the responses to them. Honestly, Zuck's Meta Ray-Bans can't do that yet. They have an AI assistant, but it's only audio. It's not visual.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Now, what Meta does have is a product that's actually in the market already. Right, right. Google didn't give us a release date or say how much these Google glasses with Warby Parker will cost. Yeah, remember, if they don't tell you the price, it means it's going to be expensive. Exactly. But these warby Google Glasses do solve the key reason why Google Glass originally failed 10 years ago.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
People hated Google Glasses. Yeah. First, because of the privacy invasion. Also, because they were ugly. This solves the ugly rule. Like, you're not going to look ugly in a pair of warbies. But one more thing. Breaking news yesterday. Yeah. OpenAI has acquired the design company of Johnny Ive for $6 billion. Yeah. This is the biggest aqua hire in the history of Silicon Valley, baby.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Johnny Ive is quite a hire, though, because he was famously one of the guys who designed the iPhone and the MacBook Pro and the iPod. But now he's going to be building hardware gadgets for OpenAI and Sam Altman. OpenAI's tech hardware gadget will be unveiled next year. It might be a phone. It might be a watch. it might be smart glasses. Or it could be a bracelet. That's our sleeper pick.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
But Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching this insane week for smart glasses? Google, Meta, Apple, and OpenAI. It's the great race to replace the iPhone. Yeti's Iron Man has Jarvis. Someday, you, man, will have something similar. That's right. After 20 years of Android and iPhone dominating, phones are going to be replaced by smart glasses.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Memorial Day isn't just a celebration of veterans or a three-day weekend or the artificial start of summer. No, no, no, no, no. Memorial Day is also the biggest economic moment. For one industry. The car wash. The car wash. Get this. The Friday of Memorial Day is the biggest day of the year for washing cars.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
And the computing device of the future to replace the smartphone, it has four key players right now. Meta has partnered with Ray-Ban, Google has partnered with Warby Parker, and Apple is still doing it solo at this point. Apparently, Tim Cook is reportedly obsessed with launching smart glasses. It's like the only thing he talks about at Apple.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
And the fourth player is OpenAI and the original iPhone designer, Johnny Ive. So besties, these glasses, they will all have an AI assistant built in to give you full access to the internet, all voice activated. Iron Man has Jarvis. Hugh Man will have something similar. Add it all up and we just started the great race to replace the iPhone. And the winner gets the future.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Yetis, for our third and final story, the top-selling car in America is now, shockingly, the Toyota RAV4. But even though the RAV4 is officially on top, Toyota is making the biggest change to it ever. It's a RAV4 revolution. But Jack, let's talk about our buddies over at Toyota because we've been keeping track and Toyota holds a whole bunch of superlatives.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
They're the biggest and most profitable carmaker in the world. Related, they're believed to be the most reliable car company in the world. Yeah, your buddy's 2012 Tacoma still has 212,000 miles on it. And your buddy is never going to sell that Tacoma. Jack, my grandma drove a Camry in three different decades. Really? I hope that was safe of her to do, but she did it.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Plus, the car brand starts with the word toy. which got a nice cameo in Toy Story 1. And Jack, let's add one more superlative. Toyota now produces the top-selling car in America. Now, Ford has bragged for years that the F-Series pickup truck is the top-selling car in America. For 45 years, Ford's been saying that.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
But we dove into the numbers T-Boy style, and the Ford F-Series includes three different models. Now, Toyota says that their RAV4, which is one model, sold 475,000 cars last year, which is more than the F-150. The Toyota RAV4. Basically the Subaru for your dink era. It's actually become a pretty big SUV. I know, I know. It's like the MVP of the REI parking lot, Jack. The RAV4.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
Tomorrow, more Americans will spend more money washing cars than any other day of the year. That carburetor is getting cleaned up. Your chassis is going to look classy, Nick. Hey, exhibit, don't pimp my ride. Just wash the wheels. It's all I need, man. According to the small business startup Womply, car wash sales jumped 49% on Friday before Memorial Day.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
It fits a surfboard, it fits a camping backpack, and three boxes of cliff bars that you tossed in the trunk. But besties, here's the news. Just as the RAV4 got on top, Toyota is giving it its biggest change yet. Toyota just announced the RAV4 is going hybrid only starting right now. This is wild, but the 2026 model, which arrives in dealerships like this year, has a hybrid engine only standard.
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🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
That's what you get. If you want a purely gas powered RAV4, you can't buy that. Sorry. The only option to upgrade is the plug-in hybrid. We repeat, America's top selling car is switching to hybrid only. Half electric, half gas, the biggest change to something in number one place we've ever seen. Now, from our perspective, hybrid is a no brainer.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, November 21st, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, I hate to say this, so I'm going to have to ask you to say it, man. It's the final day that you can pre-order your T-Boy holiday merch. That's right. The store for this fantastic merch closes at 12 p.m.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
But yetis, before we talk about why Warren Buffett is holding so much cash, we should talk about what he's actually doing with it. Because that $325 billion, it's not doing nothing in a bank account. It's actually generating interest, a lot of interest. Because Berkshire Hathaway bought $300 billion of US government bonds this year. That's his version of a high-yield savings account.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
We've covered a lot of wild companies, brands, and products on this show. Yeah, we've covered olive oil coffee, and we've covered meatballs made out of extinct woolly mammoths. But we just found the most wild business, because one company is selling canned Lake Como air. We repeat, they are selling fresh air from Lake Como, Italy, bottled in a can. It's not water from Lake Como. It's air.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
And assuming Warren is getting 4.5% interest rates on those bonds, then Berkshire Hathaway made $13 billion on interest on those accounts. Just on interest on his cash, he's brought in $13 billion this year. Now, we should point out the stock market, it's returned a lot more than 4.5% this year, right, man? The stock market's up four times as much.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So it would seem like Berkshire has been missing out all year. It would seem like Warren would be part of the FOMO party these days. $300 billion has not been taken part in the stock market party of 2024. But this is actually a tried and true Berkshire strategy, isn't it, Jack? It's all part of the plan. As Tom Cruise says in every Mission Impossible movie, it's all part of the plan.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Warren Buffett? Warren Buffett does what a typical investor shouldn't. He waits for a dip. He's a dip diva. Yet he's Warren Buffett. He's an uber mensch of investing. He's got a track record of timing the market and timing it up well. For example, in 2008, no one had money except Warren Buffett.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So he bought the financial crisis dip, investing in Goldman, Bank of America, and GE when it was cheaper than ever to do so. And after Warren bought that financial crisis dip, he came away with $10 billion in profit. In 2020, during the pandemic, he pulled a similar move. He had cash when stocks fell, and then he bought those stocks.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So besties, if a downturn happens now, Warren would be prepared to again buy the dip like a dip diva. But here's the thing. Warren, he could be wrong. The dip might not come. He might simply be missing out. And that's why Jack and I don't do what Warren's doing. And that's why financial advisors also tell you to not do what Warren's doing, buying the dip, timing the market.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
It's better to just stay invested because it's really hard to time markets. It's so hard to predict a dip. But no matter what, Warren Buffett's cash pile is good perspective during this moment of stock market euphoria. Markets are at record highs, but Warren is holding record cash. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Blue Sky is adding a million users per day.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
X is conservative. Threads is apolitical. Blue Sky is liberal. But only Blue Sky is billionaire-proof. It can never be owned by a billionaire. For our second story, Tropicana sales are down since killing their famous carafe. They're using a regular bottle now. Here was Tropicana's mistake. In customer research, actions are louder than answers. And our third and final story.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
As stock markets are at record highs, Berkshire Hathaway is holding more cash than it ever has. They own enough cash to buy every fast food company in America. Because Warren Buffett does what a typical investor shouldn't. He waits for a dip. He's a dip diva. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, NVIDIA earnings.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
The number one most valuable company on earth owns 80% of the AI chip market, and they just gave us their earnings report. And for the first time in six quarters, NVIDIA did not double their revenues. They grew merely 94% from last year. Which is insane. Like these companies grow at an insanely high rate, but like Wall Street investors, they're tough to impress sometimes with expectations.
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💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So the stock dipped a tad because they actually wanted even more growth than that. Apparently 94% wasn't good enough. Second, Target stock fell 20% yesterday. It's a bad start to their holiday season. Target sales were like flat last quarter, which is interesting compared to Walmart sales, which were up 5% last quarter. It looks like Walmart's gains came at Target's expense.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
It's not Perrier. It is Perrier, if you know, you know. Now, to sprinkle on some context, Lake Como is a gorgeous place in northern Italy. Full disclosure, this is Nick, and we did our honeymoon there. It was lovely. Stunning cypress trees, magnificent mountains, plenty of pastel all over the place. Jack, I noticed the whole region of Lake Como, it smells like George Clooney, fact.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Bleep. Interesting. It's a beep or a bleep. I'm uncertain on the exacts, Jack. Basically, if you scan your boarding pass, but it's not your group yet, there's going to be a loud beep and everyone is going to know that you're cutting the line. They're using public shaming at American Airlines in order to keep people in line. But seriously, group eight... Why do you have that many groups?
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Darsh Thakkar and George Melukaran over in New York City and Chicago. We're just about one week from Black Friday, the annual day that you don't spend time with your family and scroll shopping websites instead.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
All right, Jack, another thing for you to bring up in therapy, but it's also when you end up wrapping things because you're buying gifts for people on Black Friday. Get this. America buys enough wrapping paper to cover 45,000 football fields. In fact, America buys enough wrapping paper to wrap the island of Manhattan four times over the holidays. That's like 50 lifts, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Fun wrapping paper alternative, by the way. My mom, we always get gifts. You know, it's like page six of the times, page three of the journal. And those are our gifts. It's the newspapers. Is that her tradition? It's what she does. Yeah. That's amazing. So you get a gift and you get the sports section, Jack. Does she use rubber bands from the produce aisle instead of ribbons?
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Is that a yo mama joke, Jack? Is that what you're throwing out on the pod these days? Yetis, you look fantastic for the new Friday. Jack, you look fantastic because you and I have been wearing four days of our T-boy sweatsuit merch. We haven't taken this off, besties. I actually bought a pair for your mama. And you can buy a pair for your mama yetis at www.tboypod.com slash shop.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
We dropped a link in the episode description. Sales end tomorrow at noon Pacific time. You're going to love this under the Christmas tree. No joke. Go to YouTube right now. You can see what we're wearing. It looks and feels great. And before we go, congratulations to Yeti Eduardo Yedid celebrating a bar mitzvah party this weekend in Coronado, California. Eduardo is a fan of both of our shows.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Eduardo, we're a fan of you. And Andin and Caroline down in Austin, Texas are celebrating their fantastic three-year date-a-versary. Happy 31st birthday to a die-hard Yeti, Sheikah Thomas, in San Francisco, California. She's celebrating with pizza. Hope it's an A16 pizza, Sheikah.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
And congratulations to Sarah and David of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who just had a beautiful baby, Mason P. We hope your parents are teaching you about index matches and pitch decks. If you know, you know. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack, Island Stock at Berkshire Hathaway, and Nick and I both own ETFs at the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Isn't that where 007 has his villa in Casino Royale? Yeah, because it smells like George Clooney. But apparently the air there is so nice and so fresh that people will pay for it. In fact, you will pay $11 for that canned Lake Como air. Here's the story. A souvenir shop around Lake Como is selling cans of their famous air for $11 a can.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So you can buy a six-pack of air and bring it back to your six jealous friends in the States. And then you can all pop open the air and pound Lake Como air. That's what you do. You and your buddies can pound a six-pack of Lake Como air. So, yeah, these Jack and I saw this story, and we got to ask, what other air would you can? What other O2 would you bottle? Would you get a whiff of Chicago?
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Would you pay for the aroma of Austin? How about the essence of East Hampton, Jack? Or the taste of Trenton? I'd pay for that. Yeah. I don't know how much I would pay for it, but yeah, I guess I'd pay a little bit. Yeah, it is. Drop a comment on the air. You would can.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Pacific today. After that, the orders get sent to the elves up at the North Pole who will deliver it to you before Christmas. So besties, go to tboypod.com slash shop to snag your T-Boy merch. It looks wonderful. We put a link in the episode description to make it easy for you. And Jack and I have been wearing the same merch sweatsuits for four days straight. So you got to buy the stuff.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
For our first story, the top downloaded social media app this week, it's Blue Sky. So we dove deep into the new Twitter rival and discovered that it's billionaire proof. It is billionaire proof. But in order to explain that, Jack, let's go back in time. Let's go back a year and a half to when Elon made an offer to acquire Twitter.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
In April of 2022, Elon said this, for Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral. Well, what's happened in the year and a half since then, Jack? The opposite. X changed the algorithm to promote Elon's posts and to promote conservative voices.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So Yadiz, if X is more conservative social media and Threads is a political social media, then Blue Sky is your liberal-leaning social media. And since the election, Blue Sky has been gaining 1 million users per day who've been fleeing X to find a new social media app. In fact, Blue Sky is now the fastest-growing social media app, and we got the receipts and the numbers.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Blue Sky just announced this week they have 20 million users now. And as of this recording, they're the number one app in the App Store. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context to that 20 million number for Blue Sky, though? X enjoys 10 times the number of daily users as Blue Sky. And Threads is still twice as big as Blue Sky. But still, they're bigger than you might think.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Now, we've been following Blue Sky for a while. But now that so many people are asking, have you snagged a handle for Blue Sky yet? We decided to jump in T-boy style. Now, the first thing you're going to see if you check out Blue Sky is its logo. Right. And that is a funny observation because the Blue Sky logo is a butterfly that's the same color as the Twitter logo, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Twitter had a light blue bird. Blue Sky has a light blue butterfly. And why are we noticing that brand similarity, Jack? Because Blue Sky was created by the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. That's right, Jack Dorsey. He always seemed frustrated that Twitter had to make money. He just wanted to run a social media company. He didn't want to make money.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
He hated quarterly earnings reports, and he hated the pressure that Wall Street put on him to change the platform. All Jack Dorsey wanted to do was hang out at his house in San Francisco, write code, grow a beard, and not eat breakfast. So he created a Twitter clone That would be more free-spirited like you just described, Nick.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So in 2019, the creator of Twitter created Blue Sky to be less subject to market forces. He actually created it to be owned by no one, and they only have 20 employees to this day. Blue Sky looks and feels a lot like the old Twitter did, but it's actually got the wildest business model we've ever seen in tech. first thing we noticed is that this company has no ads, no ads on blue sky.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Blue sky is totally unmonetized right now. Eventually they're going to have to make money to pay the bills, but right now they're not. Second thing we noticed, no artificial intelligence in this tech company. X and meta use all the user content to train their generative AI, but blue sky is not doing that. Maybe wildest of all for a social media app, blue sky doesn't have an algorithm.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
A lot of people have been saying that we smell. They smell. But you know what? We do it for the pod. We do it for the show, Yetis. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod, man? For our first story, the number one most downloaded social media app right now is Blue Sky. Because Blue Sky figured out how to make an app that is billionaire proof.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
That's a bit of an exaggeration. Rounding up, but it's pretty close, Jack. But instead of a For You page that's determined by Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg or TikTok, Blue Sky lets you pick one of 50,000 feeds that have been created by the users themselves. So it's like arts, sports, fashion, The Bachelor. Like you choose your own adventure, not the algorithms.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
It's a highly decentralized platform that no one person at the top is in charge of. So when you look at Blue Sky, it kind of looks like the opposite of every other social media app we have ever covered. Except if you log in, it feels like the old Twitter, just with no ads. So it's also the exact same as a social media app we have covered.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Jack, what is the takeaway for our buddies over at Blue Sky? Blue Sky's biggest differentiator is that it's billionaire proof. Yeti's wild thing, but when Jack Dorsey set up Blue Sky, it's almost like he knew Elon Musk was eventually going to buy Twitter. Because he set up Blue Sky so that buying the technology was impossible. Okay, and how did he pull that off, Jack?
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Blue Sky's underlying technology is open sourced and owned by nobody. In fact, according to the CEO of Blue Sky, Jay Graber, even if Elon bought Blue Sky, people could still run their own version of the site. Like, you could not control what the people see.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
So as the world is fracturing into news and information sites that suit their personal preferences, like X, Threads, or Blue Sky, Blue Sky has managed to find its biggest differentiator in the subtlest way possible. Blue Sky was engineered to be billionaire-proof. For our second story, the biggest drama in business right now, it's Tropicana orange juice.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Tropicana just messed up its rebrand for the second time in a row because Tropicana asked the wrong question. Now, Jack and I should point out, when we were in middle school, that's actually, statistically speaking, when orange juice consumption peaked in America. The year 2000 was peak orange juice.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Your well-balanced complete breakfast was milk, cereal, a glass of orange juice, and a piece of toast. And that orange juice better be calcium fortified so it tastes like chalk. Well, Yetis, odds are you drank Tropicana because Tropicana was the number one orange juice in the category since forever. Tropicana is basically the NVIDIA of Florida.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Yeah, it was founded by Sicilian immigrants in Florida in the 1950s. Tropicana actually IPO'd in 1969. They should have used the ticker symbol pulp. Yetis, this was the first ever pure play pulp-free orange juice stock. In 1998, Pepsi acquired Tropicana for $3 billion, which was the biggest deal in fruits since Eve ate that apple.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
But yet, is Tropicana's real competitive advantage to get to number one? It wasn't what was on the inside. It was what was on the outside. Because orange juice is orange juice. It's a commodity. The package is what differentiated Tropicana. Ah, the package. And Tropicana sold their orange juice in a carafe, not a bottle, a clear carafe that stood out in the shelves. The Tropicana carafe.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
For our second story, it's Tropicana Orange Juice. Sales of Tropicana OJ plummeted 20% last month. Because Tropicana made the same mistake they made 15 years ago. We'll tell you what it is. And our third and final story, the stock market is near record highs as everyone keeps buying everything. except for one person. And who is that, Jack? Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
You can probably picture it right now. It's tall. It's curved. It's got a big, hefty green top that looked like a crown or something. Yeah, it is the carafe. It looked like a Corinthian column. It was a work of art by Tropicana. But here's the news. Tropicana switched to a more conventional bottle. Yeah, Tropicana just pivoted. The carafe is gone. The bigger news?
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Customers are furious about that pivot. No, they're not just furious, they're having an existential crisis. Sales at Tropicana are down 19% in October. That's according to CNN. And the reason is the change in packaging. Plus, some shrinkflation. And there are some nice things about this new bottle, I guess. The cap uses less plastic, which is good. The bottle fits easier in the fridge, apparently.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
And there's no second peel you need to peel off after opening the top. Yeah, the bottle kind of looks like it's on Ozempic. It's a lot slimmer, but it's a lot more boring. It is slimmer, actually. The size of the bottle shrank from 52 ounces to 46 ounces, but the price has not shrank.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Now, Yeti's shrinkflation aside, what's so fascinating about this story is that Tropicana's bottle crisis sounds eerily familiar. Actually, the same exact thing happened to Tropicana 15 years ago. Forget this. Tropicana's logo, you know, the one with the red striped straw that's stuck in the orange. Remember that one, Jack? I love that logo. That logo was famous, but they got rid of it in 2009.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
And the same thing happened. Sales fell by 20% because customers were furious their beloved logo was gone. Like literally, orange drinkers were going to their therapist and complaining that their favorite logo was gone. It was an existential crisis again. So 15 years ago, Tropicana canceled the rebrand and brought back that straw-impelled orange that we all love as its logo.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Today, Tropicana is going through the same thing. Tropicana is pulling a Britney. Oops, I did it again. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tropicana? When it comes to customer research, actions speak louder than answers. Yetis, do you want to know the real reason consumers loved the old Tropicana carafe? What was it, Jack? They liked leaving it out on the table.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
It looked that good. It looked that good. Like Jack said, it was like a Michelangelo sculpture, so they wanted to leave it out. Other orange juices come in normal plastic bottles or paper cardboard cartons. In that case, you'd have to pour the orange juice into a glass carafe if you wanted to display it on the table.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
But the Tropicana bottle, it was the shape that you felt comfortable showing off, a lovely carafe. That's the insight that Tropicana missed in their focus group testing. It wasn't just the look, it was the use. Tropicana asked questions to the focus group about the bottle's look. But you need to see how people actually use it in its natural habitat, the breakfast nook.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Where it happened to be a decorative ornament for that said breakfast nook. So the focus group said that the new bottle looked fine, but that's not what was important. What's important is that actions speak louder than answers.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Besties, Jack and I will tell you why the world's best investor is sitting on a record pile of cash. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. I love it. I don't think you smell. I don't think either of us smell for the record. I think we both smell great. Actually, I'm pretty sure this product is sweat wicking. Right? It smells good. Yeah, it is.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
For our third and final story in our T-boy holiday hoodies, Warren Buffett is not buying stocks right now. Warren Buffett is selling. At a moment of stock market euphoria, we're looking at the one investor who is waiting for a dip. Warren Buffett, the dip diva.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
But yeties, Jack and I jumped into the numbers, T-boy style, and we can quantitatively say that Warren Buffett is the best investor of all time. Yes, we can, because for 58 years, he has been managing money at Berkshire Hathaway. And Jack, what is Warren's return every year on average over those 58 years? 20% per year. That's how much he grows the money he controls. Not too shabby.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
That is twice as good as the S&P 500, the basket of the 500 biggest stocks on the stock market. We repeat, over 58 years, Warren Buffett has done twice as well as the rest of the stock market. And that is why Warren's fund, Berkshire Hathaway, is now the largest non-tech company in America. So when he speaks, we listen. We'll have what he's having. And all year, he's been having... Selling. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Yeah, he's been selling. He's been selling. That's what we're trying to say. He's been selling. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold $133 billion worth of stock this year. On the other hand, he's bought almost no stock this year. He's basically bought zero stocks. Right now, everyone is buying stocks, right, Jack? Stocks and crypto are both at record highs, but Warren Buffett is selling.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
He's not buying. In fact, Warren Buffett right now is sitting on a pile of cash that is bigger than any pile in his life history. He's got $325 billion of cash that's not in the stock market. Jack, I'm going to have to ask you to sprinkle on some fantastic context to $325 billion in cash. That's enough money to buy Disney easily, to buy two McDonald's actually.
The Best One Yet
💰 “Warren’s Biggest Trade” — Buffett’s cash crush. Tropicana’s carafe controversy. Bluesky’s alt-Twitter.
Berkshire Hathaway could purchase Nike three times with that cash. Okay, Jack, I wanted to surprise you, so get these numbers. Berkshire Hathaway has enough cash to buy all the fast food stocks in America, each and every one of them. And I actually think he loves fast food, so he might actually do that. At this point, Warren Buffett has enough cash to buy Denmark, no joke.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Diet Bros” – Diet Coke’s political rebrand. Tennis’ collusion case. BYD’s 5-minute EV.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nicholson.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Diet Bros” – Diet Coke’s political rebrand. Tennis’ collusion case. BYD’s 5-minute EV.
that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show first a quick word from our sponsor
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Diet Bros” – Diet Coke’s political rebrand. Tennis’ collusion case. BYD’s 5-minute EV.
We should.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Diet Bros” – Diet Coke’s political rebrand. Tennis’ collusion case. BYD’s 5-minute EV.
They do.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, December 19th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. Here's the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh, well, this isn't a top thing.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
They also applied this to the off-field game financials. Databricks analyzes the weather, the hunger level of the fans, and the spending data based to optimize $1 hot dog night. That's right. For $1 hot dog night, they determined that because it was going to be cloudy and this many people would show up when the weather's like this, that's how many hot dogs they should actually order.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Databricks also says stuff like this. They'll predict that in six days, there's going to be a rain delay because of the weather. So the pitcher won't have five days rest. They'll have six days rest.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
What's the deal with all these birds? Let's blame the avian bird flu. I think it's the avian bird flu. Overall, buying all the things included in the song, The 12 Days of Christmas, will cost you $49,000 this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Now, Yetis, this is correlation, not causation, but the same year they signed up with Databricks, the Texas Rangers won the World Series. We're not saying it. The CEO said it. He said they played a small part in the Rangers championship. Stay humble. Stay humble. Now, Databricks is the world's number two most valuable private AI company, and we've got a big takeaway.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in artificial intelligence? AI is like electricity. Yetis, AI, it can be hard to wrap your head around.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But we think AI will be part of every business, every person, and every home someday. And honestly, the best analogy we've heard so far, it's Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt, who said that AI is like electricity. Electricity was an innovation that is now part of every industry, whether that industry is digital or physical.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
I mean, Jack, like a product can't arrive to you without electricity being involved in some part of the process. Another example, the internet. It touches every product and every service somewhere along the line.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
And an early proof point, AI played a role in the Texas Rangers winning the World Series. So, Yadis, if you're trying to understand who will use AI, it's everyone and everything. AI is like electricity. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Americans are tipping 15% less this year than last year, but holiday tipping is an exception.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Holiday tipping, paying cash, putting in a card, and say thanks to the people who took care of you. For our second story, it's Honda and Nissan. They're reportedly in talks to merge, and together, they'd be the third biggest carmaker in the world. Why are they merging? Well, the world's biggest car buyer has stopped buying Western cars. And our third and final story is Databricks.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
They just raised $10 billion in the biggest fundraise ever because venture capital wants in early on the AI boom. AI is like electricity. Someday, it's going to touch every part of business. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, yesterday, the Fed cut interest rates across the whole economy by 0.25%, courtesy of Jerry Powell.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But the central bank forecast just two more rate cuts next year instead of four rate cuts, which Wall Street wanted. And why are they doing that, Jack? Why fewer rate cuts? The Fed didn't say why, but it's probably uncertainty about Trump's economic policies. tariffs and deportations that could reignite inflation. So the Fed is showing caution before they lower rates further.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
And it resulted in one of the worst days on Wall Street in the whole year. And second, in one of the best days of the whole year, Taco Bell just made a poultry pivot. They're adding nuggets to the Taco Bell menu. Fun fact, the founder of Taco Bell was actually a buddy with the McDonald's founders. Oh, it's a great story. We've been studying it.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
This is us right here. We got your back. So we just created a dupe list of the 12 days of Christmas. It's our first ever annual 12 dupes of Christmas. What do we got, Jack? On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... 12 Timu towels. 11 Red Lobster shrimp deals. 10 Waymo's wandering. 9 McRibs reviving. 8 Techies trumping. 7 Layoffs looming. 6 Nikes tripping. 4... Five Goldman fees.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
And now 60 years later, they're adding nuggets just like McDonald's. Nuggets marinated in a jalapeno buttermilk flavor and coated in a mixture of breadcrumbs, tortilla chips, and calories. That sounds kind of amazing. Actually, right now, one quarter of Taco Bell dishes sold involve chicken. Is that so? Such is so, Jack. And finally, the Supreme Court has accepted TikTok's appeal.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
The Supreme Court will decide whether TikTok gets banned. On January 10th, the nine esteemed judges of the Supreme Court will start dancing on TikTok. I mean, they will hear TikTok's plea to not be banned. They're going to decide whether the law that Congress passed is lawful or not. So the fate of TikTok is in the hands of nine people who are too old to know what demure is.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Now time for the best fact yet, and this one is the wildest one we've ever done. Because yesterday, we noticed that ChatGPT got a phone number, 1-800-CHATGPT. It basically takes the chatbot and takes it from a computer screen to a phone. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to be the first ever podcast to call in to 1-800-CHATGPT and talk to the chatbot. You ready, Jack? Go ahead.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Okay, here we go, here we go, here we go.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Hey, ChatGPT. It's Nick and Jack. How are you doing over there?
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
You know, we were just talking about holiday tipping on our podcast. Do you have any good rules or suggestions for tipping over the holidays?
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Interesting. So ChatGPT doesn't like cash tips, Nick. Oh, apparently you don't like cash tips, ChatGPT.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It'd be a federal crime. No, chat GPT, that's so helpful. You know, you should listen to our podcast tomorrow. It's called The Best One Yet. We're going to talk about this topic.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
We won't hold it against you, ChatGPT. All right, all right. Tips included. Tips included. I guess they took that chat bot and put it on a phone line. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, you're looking fantastic in those 12 days of dupe Christmas too. The 12 dupes of Christmas. Are we going to get those Timu towels? Five Goldman fees was my favorite part. Never gets old.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Yetis, tomorrow is actually our last regular pod before the holidays, but Jack and I have been busy. We've been whipping up six bonus episodes for you to keep you company over the holidays. They're going to be wonderful. By the way, I'm going to the Bahamas on Christmas Day. Very nice. And Nick's traveling to Hawaii on Christmas Day. I am traveling to Hawaii. Both spending $12.25 in the airport.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Oh, we got to catch up on Hamilton, by the way. And I got your gift coming in the mail. Can't wait to see it. In the meantime, Yetis, tell your buddies today. H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. That's how we grow the show. Have you had the best one yet? Nick and I will see you tomorrow. If you know, you know. This is Jack. I own stock of Ford. Nick owns stock in Nike.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
And we both own stock of Apple and ETFs of the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Four AI chatbots. Three dollar lipstick. Two O's at big doses. And one cute top bot on Shein. The 12 dupes of Christmas. You fantastic, filthy animal. Ho, ho, ho. Merry dupeness. Merry dupeness, besties. Jack, let's hit our three stories. You can't forget about the cute top, can you?
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
The reason was the big Fed meeting. Classic. Our central bank cut interest rates yesterday, as expected, but signaled that next year there would be fewer cuts than we hoped for.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So if you're thinking of tipping the people who've been good to you this year, here's how you should do it. We got a tipping algorithm. Yetis, over the last couple of years, we've all kind of reached a tipping point when it comes to tipping. The pandemic accelerated adoption of digital payment screens, which accelerated tipping.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Yeah, because your iPhone is paying for everything these days, the result was tip creep. Every barista, every store clerk, every cashier, asks you for a tip at the end of the transaction. Just one final question before you go. 15% 20% or 45% for the pack of gum. I'm just going to turn the screen around here. It's going to ask you one simple question.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But that tip creep led to tip fatigue, which led to a tip revolt.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So Americans have actually reduced the amount they tip this year by 15% according to the data. And now a majority of Americans have a negative view of the tip in general. It's the tip revolt. The tip backlash. But there's one exception to all this anti-tipping sentiment. Get this. It's the holiday tip. People love the holiday tip.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
While day-to-day tipping is dipping, holiday tipping is increasing. According to a bank rate study, a higher percentage of people are tipping housekeepers, childcare providers, dog walkers, and garbage guys this year than ever before. Now, why has holiday tipping bucked the anti-tipping overall trend? Well, part of it is just the timing. It's the simple math of the matter.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's only once a year that you have to give someone a holiday tip, so it feels less like a financial burden you face every day. Jack has six coffees a day. That's six potential tips. 40% a tip. It can add up over there. There's also a special connection to a holiday tip. Right, because with a holiday tip, you tend to give to people who help you throughout the year.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
The kind of people who, to quote Cheers- People you know. You got to know their name. You know you're a cleaner. You don't know that random barista. Jerry, how you doing? You look fantastic, by the way. Finally, there's psychology.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It turns out with all the Christmas movies, decorations, holiday cheer, and Hallmark specials these days, people are demonstrably and quantifiably more generous over the holidays. In fact, regular tipping rises during the holidays. Like in restaurants, coffee shops, Ubers, taxi cabs, the tips rise 4% in December compared to the rest of the year.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
What's on today's show, man? For our first story, everyone is sick of tipping. Except for one kind of tip. Holiday tips. So Jack and I will tell you who we're tipping this holiday season and how much we're tipping them. Three tipping rules. For our second story, it's Nissan and Honda. The two Japanese car rivals are reportedly in talks to merge.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So yes, holiday tips are rising, but that still leaves two big questions. Who do you tip? And how much do you tip?
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Hope you enjoyed your service today. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone tipping? Here's what we're tipping this holiday. Now, yetis, first of all, let's sprinkle on some context. Holiday tipping is optional. If money's tight, don't stress yourself out. We should point that out.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But if you are giving holiday tips, give to the people who've been supporting you and your family all year. Okay, so Jack, I basically have had three rules for holiday tipping going back to my 20s. You ready for these? What is that? Okay, first of all, cash is king, but checks work too. I love giving gifts. I'm a total gift guy, but when it comes to holiday tips, I'm always doing cash on
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's a little awkward asking your UPS guy for your Venmo handle. Yeah. Historically, I've actually done 1% of my income as the amount I give, which is in New York and San Francisco, though, you got a lot of doormen. That's highly generous. It is. It is. It is. All right. Second rule, I put the cash in an envelope because physical money feels better.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
That's a psychological study that shows physical money feels better. Do you write a card too? Yeah, we do write a little card. And then we have a spreadsheet that we track all year. So we don't forget anyone the next year. Nerd alert. Okay. All right. Can I share mine? What do you got? What do you got? What do you got? So I am not nearly as systematic as you and Molly.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But I like where you're going with this, Jack. All right. I'm giving my house cleaner one extra cleaning as a bonus. I give my babysitters one extra babysitting payment as a bonus. I give my hairstylist one extra haircut fee as a bonus. Good way to do it. Teachers, this is a tricky one because we don't pay Wilder's teachers directly, but I appreciate them so much.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So I get him a $100 gift card to the best restaurant in town. Well put, Jack. Now, I almost tipped my therapist. Ha ha. But I thought that might cross some kind of line. No, he's going to start messing with you after that. She charges me enough anyway, as it is. That's manipulation right there. And you bring up a good point, Jack.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Our nanny, we're giving two weeks of pay to because she works with us on a daily basis. But Garris, our awesome trash guy, he's amazing, but we're giving him a single flat amount, just like we're giving our UPS guy, Carlo, a flat amount. So I don't have a nanny and I don't know my trash guy. Full disclosure, I'm not doing nearly 1%, but I'm impressed by your generosity.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But either way, Yetis, we got some rules when it comes to tipping. So this holiday season, come up with your rules. This holiday season, do what feels right for you. For our second story, Honda is reportedly in talks to merge with Nissan, which would be the biggest car merger in history. Why? Because the world's biggest buyer has stopped buying.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Now, Jack, before we were college roommates, I believe your first car was a, was it an Accord? Was it a Honda? A white 1991 Honda Accord, manual transmission.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
windows because I was a dumb teenager and aftermarket rims. It was a vibe. Can you unlock the car? Oh wait, the handle's broken. I got pulled over so many times because of those tinted windows. License and registration, who is in there? I got suspended before I met you. Jack. Because of the tinted windows. It sounds like a story for another pod. Yetis, Honda, they make a great car, but not
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Because the biggest car buyer in the world has stopped buying cars from the world. And our third and final story is Databricks. Databricks just announced the biggest startup fundraise ever. $10 billion. $10 billion because Databricks used AI to win a World Series in baseball. True story. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Jack, fantastic mix of stories.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
great enough, according to a new report from Reuters. Honda is in talks to merge with Nissan, a company based just 19 miles away from Honda over in Japan.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
If this merger goes through, Honda plus Nissan would trail just Toyota and Volkswagen in terms of numbers of car produced. It would be the biggest car deal in history. And that is something Nissan really needs. Nissan is struggling right now. If this went through, it'd be basically a bailout of Nissan. Because Nissan's profits fell 85% last quarter.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Nissan is a company in crisis with their chassis. The Nissan Murano has rental car written.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Yeah, it does. They haven't changed that thing in like 12 years. So as you can expect, Nissan stock surged 24% on the merger news, hoping this will save the company. Even though it's just a rumor. But also, Honda's been struggling too. It's true. Honda's not going through the best times. Honda stock price is lower today than it was 20 years ago when I had a Honda.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's like Jack and I have always told you, when the going gets tough, the tough get merging. And honestly, it looks like a desperate situation for Honda and Nissan right now. It does look desperate. And we have three facts about China that explain that desperation, and they are completely wild.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
When you hear these facts about China, you're going to sit down, stand up, and buckle up three more times again. What's fact number one, Nick? Fact number one, Jack, is that more than half of the new cars sold in China are electric. Electric is the future. We know because China is halfway there already. All right, Jack, fact number two.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Buyers in Beijing aren't buying American Fords or German Beamers like they used to. And they're not buying Japanese Hondas either. And fact number three. Last year, China exported five times more cars than they did just three years ago. China exported four million cars last year.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But now China makes the cars and they're a car exporter. A huge car exporter. Add it all up and Shanghai is the new Detroit, Jack. Add it all up and that's a scary situation if you're a Japanese car company. Or frankly, any car company. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the entire car industry? The world's biggest buyer has stopped buying from the West.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's such a hit on Germany's national pride that the chancellor just got ousted. All right, what about in the United States? Well, Biden and Trump actually agreed to put tariffs on Chinese-made cars. They agreed. And in Japan, Nissan and Honda, historic rivals, might actually merge because competition from China is that stiff.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
From car importer to car exporter. And fascinating thing we noticed, it's not just about cars. Chinese consumers are also buying less other American brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Apple. Their sales in China are all down.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
The world's biggest buyer. has stopped buying stuff from the West. Now a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Love the pre-holiday mix. We just talked to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And we did, we did, we did. And what did we learn, Jack? The cost of the 12 days of Christmas just hit an all-time high. The price of a partridge in your pear tree? That's up 16% from last year. Geese prices are up 15% compared to last year.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
For our third and final story, Databricks, the AI startup, just announced the biggest venture capital fundraise of all time. Because Databricks won a World Series Baseball Championship using AI. True story. We discovered it. Yetis, it is a tough time right now. If you're trying to raise money and you're a plant-based meal kit direct-to-consumer brand delivery startup.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
But it's an easy time right now to raise money if you're an AI anything. If you're an AI chatbot, not even a human, you can get Mark Andreessen to write you a check. Mark, I would like $15 million. Even though business cards kind of make you look old school, if you write AI on it, someone's going to hand you a check. 100% of the time.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Well, Databricks is the San Francisco-based company you've never heard of that just pulled off the biggest fundraise in history. We repeat, a company you've never heard of just raised more money than any private company before, thanks to AI. $10 billion. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context, please? That value is Databricks at $64 billion. That's right.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's one of the five most valuable startups in the world. It's worth more than DoorDash. It's like 10 lifts. And what does Databricks actually do? They do AI. But what do you actually do, Databricks? Their website says, your data, your AI, your future. Yeah, it is. That is intriguingly ambiguous enough that Venture Capitals wrote Databricks a $10 billion check. But it's not enough for this podcast.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
So we're going to explain more of what Databricks does with an awesome example. Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we found the best example in the history of humanity. Because Databricks used AI to help the Texas Rangers win the 2023 World Series. That's right. Databricks basically deserves a World Series ring. We're just going to put that out there.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
They're actually bragging about it in a controversial billboard looming over San Francisco right now. Yeah, on this billboard, I can see this thing. They got a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, a rival to the San Francisco Giants, and he's holding a trophy. Because last year, the Texas Rangers won the World Series, and they used Databricks Insights for every element of the game.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
Yeah, as their CEO said, this was basically Moneyball 2.0 in real life. Because his company tracks the bats of every Texas Ranger to measure the launch angle, the velocity speed, and the distance. They actually determined with Databricks the sweet spot on the Texas Ranger's bats where they should make contact with the ball. Now, you know where the sweet spot is.
The Best One Yet
✉️ “How much should I tip?” — N&J’s Holiday Tip rules. Nissan’s Honda hug. Databricks’ AI baseball championship. (And 1-800-CHAT-GPT).
It's the big part of the barrel, but they got it down to like the millimeter, which makes a difference- It's inch six away from the tip, 25% down the bat. And then they told the players, and the players actually practiced standing closer to the plate or choking up a little so that the sweet spot would have contact with the ball. Now, interestingly, it's not just the on-field player performance.
The Best One Yet
👪 “Nepo-preneurs” — Family biz boom. Twinkies’ 4/20 munchies trade. China’s rare earth embargo.
Well, that's it. Our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
👪 “Nepo-preneurs” — Family biz boom. Twinkies’ 4/20 munchies trade. China’s rare earth embargo.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, January 16th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh, yeah, and he's full disclosure, but Jack is podcasting today without a key asset, his teeth. I got my last wisdom tooth pulled this morning. Can you believe it? Taking like two decades.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Three wild stories. Love the mix today, Jack. I taste a tiny bit of blood in my mouth. I think I need some more gas. No, that's iron. I think it's good for you, Jack. You should keep rowing. Keep the tapes rolling. We're going to pivot to the most controversial question in business right now. Here it is.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So they will pair you with an employee who will, in this case, enthusiastically refer you because you're paying a fee. Add it all up. Right now, you can buy a referral to apply to a job at Goldman, Microsoft, Nvidia, Spotify, and they're just like 25 bucks each.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And the reason this entire referral market exists, it's because Google pays out a $4,000 referral bonus and Meta will pay a $5,000 referral bonus. There's big money in referrals, so a marketplace is building around them. Well, besties, before anyone gets fired, we should point out that these banks and tech companies say that false referrals are against their policy.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And even if you don't break policy, you could get a bad reputation at work if people think you're handing out referrals willy-nilly. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in the job market? You don't need a fake friend for a referral. You just need a loose tie. A loose tie. Yetis, last year, we told you that job referrals are the greatest asset in your application arsenal.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
According to Bloomberg, the odds of getting a job are eight times better if someone at the company refers you. But you don't need a best friend and you don't need to pay for a referral in order to get a good one. What you really need is a loose tie, like a friend of a friend. A great piece by Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton. He said that we underestimate our networks.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Loose ties, we got a lot of them and they can provide big value in this kind of thing. Loose ties are huge value. You just don't think of them and they're valuable for job referrals, biz development, sales, like the people you met once or occasionally or like just a friend of a buddy. Those are loose ties. That guy you spent a couple hours with during that airport delay. That's a loose tie.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
You guys exchanged numbers. You remember he works at ESPN? You can ask him for a referral at ESPN. Jack, my first two jobs were from weak ties, loose ties. Like a friend of my wife's friend helped me get the first job in finance. You have authentic, supportive referrers out there waiting for you. They're closer than you realize. Besties, remember the power of loose ties.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Red 3, a petroleum-based artificial color that causes cancer in rats, is finally banned in the U.S. Red 3, it shows there's a big difference between deregulating and fixing regulation. For our second story, JPMorgan Chase is now worth $700 billion after scoring record earnings last quarter.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And that's why it's time for Jamie Dimon to eliminate the overdraft fee. The most hated fee in banking. And finally, one guy made $30,000 last year because he referred 1,000 people to jobs at his company. Job referrals, they're now a side hustle. But instead, we think you should ask one of your loose ties. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Are women Instacart shoppers better than men Instacart shoppers? Bigger question. Should you be able to choose the Instacart shopper by their gender? Yetis, this is the most viral debate raging on TikTok right now. It is. It's about Instacart shoppers. Yeah. Like, why are the male shoppers so bad at buying groceries? It's a thing.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
First, on the eve of a U.S. presidential transition, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal. Both President Biden and President-elect Trump are sure to claim credit for this. Actually, after all, they both had representatives working together to negotiate this deal. The ceasefire begins Sunday and it includes prisoner exchanges as well as more aid getting into Gaza.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And second, TikTok update because it gets banned in like three days. Competing platforms are welcoming TikTok users ahead of the Sunday ban. YouTube is expanding the time limit for YouTube shorts from 60 seconds to a more TikTok-y three minutes. And Substack is offering a $25,000 prize to whatever TikToker moves their whole audience over to Substack.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
But the big winner, it's probably going to be Meta. Because Instagram and Facebook are expected to capture 40% of all the users and ad dollars that TikTok loses. And finally, Hershey's Chocolate is about to make the biggest chocolate deal in the history of cocoa. Get this, Hershey just placed a chocolate order so big, they had to get government approval for it.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Yeah, there is a global shortage of cocoa. So it looks like Hershey found a good deal out there and is buying as much as they possibly can. By the way, speaking of Hershey, if you haven't heard the best idea yet, our weekly show, we just did a whole episode on the Reese's peanut butter cup. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Christy March from lovely Coryville, Texas.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
We've told you about the invention of the snooze button by General Electric. But did you know that another company invented a second clock with two snooze options? A snooze option for five minutes and a snooze option for nine minutes. That clock failed. People didn't want to wake up and then have to decide how long do I want to snooze for. When you snooze, you're pressing one button.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
You do not want to have to math the math on that stuff. And that's why those old school alarm clocks had the biggest button on the clock was the snooze button. Snooze! You could whack it. You punch that button. Yetis, you look fantastic today.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And if you haven't yet, because it's a new year, remember to tap to follow us on whatever app you're listening to, because that way you can get T-Boy every single day. And if you got a buddy who needs a New Year's resolution, tell him to HYH T-B-O-Y every single day this year. Have you heard the best one yet? That's how you do it.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And finally, we got to know, male or female Instacart shoppers, is this a thing? I'm just going to hire myself, man. I'm going to hire you as well, Jack. Can I just point out amazing performance considering you lost your final wisdom tooth like two hours ago? Wisdom teeth in the appendix. I don't need any of them. Yetis, forgive the blood on today's episode. Jack and I will see you tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It's just a slight taste of blood. It tastes kind of good. And before we go, a happy birthday to the internet, which was born on January 16th, 1986 with the first domain, symbolics.com, which still exists today. And happy 40th birthday to Steven Brody in Nashville, Tennessee, who's going cave diving in Mexico to celebrate. Take a big breath.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And Con Lou in San Francisco, California has got the first birthday of their life in San Francisco. Celebrate fantastically. Some great restaurants for you. And a special goo-goo-ga-ga to Annie Pham of Irvine, California, who's celebrating one week on this beautiful planet. And Lisa Smith's got a 46th birthday in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
One female Instacart customer ordered herb butter on the Instacart app. But her male shopper delivered canola oil butter instead. Another female Instacart customer wanted to make hamburgers tonight. But her male shopper delivered beef chuck instead of ground beef. Yetis, there is a cultural stereotype that men struggle with grocery shopping. Honey, is that a white scallion or a white onion?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Happy birthday to Tammy Linares in Canton, Michigan, who just got promoted to engineer who's making vehicles safer. And Isabella Woods just got back from Thailand, but is celebrating a belated sweet 16. Congratulations to Mia LaRucci-Flores in TanaFly, New Jersey, who's joining the College Honor Society as a high schooler.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And a huge thank you to Terry Lee in Miami, whose son is a firefighter who is in Los Angeles right now taking on the Blazes. We don't know this firefighter's name. But man, do we appreciate his service. Thank you, Terry Anderson. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Instacart. And Nick and I both own stock of Spotify.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Honey, is that a shiitake mushroom or a maitake mushroom? Honey, you asked for parsley, but I got you spinach. They smell the same. Full disclosure, this is Nick, this is Jack. We don't make those kinds of mistakes. No, because Jack and I love food, we love ingredients, and thanks to running a news show, we have strong attention to detail.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Not only do I check the labels, I check the price per ounce so that I can compare differently sized products on the shelves. Jack checks other people's labels. They don't even ask him, but he like grabs them at the grocery store when they're in line. I am this close to bringing coupons into the store.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
But besties, we were thinking about it and it brings up a comically controversial question for the gig apps. From Uber Eats to DoorDash to Instacart. Should you be able to choose the gender of your grocery shopper? Because odds are that dude doesn't know a cauliflower from a cabbage. Honey, what's a kohlrabi? If it's a male Instacart shopper, you might want to keep the ingredients list simple.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Now, besties, we know what you're thinking. We're toeing a line on controversy right here, but we want to know what you think in the comments, so leave us one on YouTube or Spotify. We got a poll on Spotify, actually. In the meantime, three fantastic stories. Jack, let's hear it.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It's like you get a wisdom teeth pulled every four years that I've known you. It's like they're harvesting them. What's going on over there? I know, but it was just five hours ago. I'm actually recording under the influence of Novocaine. Besties, Jack has been applying gauze all day like he's on Grey's Anatomy. It's wild to watch. It was my last wisdom tooth.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
For our first story, the FDA just banned Red 3, the most controversial food coloring in America. This is 40 years overdue. It is. So we're looking at what really caused this huge delay. But yeties, first, before we tell you this story, you should know that you eat bugs. It's true. Because we all eat red dye number four at some point. And guess what red dye number four is made out of?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It's made out of an ant-like insect called a cochineal bug that is typically found in South America. And we have it in most of our foods. Now, red number four is safe to eat. It is. Because the bugs that they're made from are natural. Yeah, bugs. They're all part of this balanced breakfast. But there's big news Wednesday about a different type of red dye, red dye number three.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Because red dye number three just got banned in all American foods by the Food and Drug Administration. Lots of foods in America used red dye until last year when the state of California banned them. But still today, across America, Pez, candy corn, Betty Crocker's mashed potatoes. What's in them, Jack? They've all got red three.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Quick warning to our buddy, Timmy, who enjoys double bubble, double twist bubble gum every day. But now the artificial coloring red three is banned in foods and drinks across America because red three is known to cause cancer in rats. Pause the pod. Yetis, when we read that Red 3, a simple food dye, causes cancer in rats, like, we assumed, yeah, that's a new finding, right?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
We'd be wrong, though, because we've actually known that Red 3 causes cancer in rats for 40 years now. Which led to our big question we were researching all yesterday. Why did it take someone so long to ban something we've known for 40 years? Well, to answer that question, we're going to go back to 1907. That's when big oil invented Red 3. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Red 3, also known as erythrocyne, was a byproduct of petroleum. It is an oil-based product. So when the FDA was established by Congress 20 years later, Red 3 was approved for use in foods. Yeah, it was approved for use in foods, you know, because food companies have a magically delicious history of prioritizing profits over pediatrics.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
But Nick, those maraschino cherries, they make my Shirley Temple look so delicious. Honestly, if I don't have a neon red cherry in my drink, I'm not even going to finish that thing, Jack. But then in the 1980s, scientists discovered an inconvenient truth. Yeah. That red dye that makes our Shirley Temple's look so Instagrammable. So beautiful. It gave rats thyroid cancers.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It was already impacted, so it was a pretty easy pull. I'm not going to get you a push present because you didn't have a baby, Jack. I'm going to get you a pull present, a teeth pull present.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So Red 3 was banned in Australia, Europe, and over in Japan. But it wasn't banned in America, which leads to one of the wildest business paradoxes we'd ever seen. In the 1990s, we did ban Red 3 in the United States for cosmetics, but we did not ban it in food. So it's not okay to put Red 3 on your body, but it is okay to put it in our body?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
You can't put Red 3 on lipstick, but you could put it in a strawberry-flavored Peeps marshmallow? Here's an even wilder part of the story. We have to talk about the Delaney cause. Because it's little known, but it has huge implications. Jack, the Delaney Clause, that's part of the FDA Act where if something is known to cause cancer in animals, it cannot be served to humans.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
But didn't we just say that studies showed 40 years ago that Red 3 causes cancer in rats? We did, Jack. So yetis, we were even more curious. Why did the world ban red three? And the US banned it in makeup as well. But 40 years later, we finally banned it in food? Well, the answer's in our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the food industry?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
This story shows the difference between deregulation and fixing regulation. So besties, why did it take so long to ban Red 3? Well, experts give two reasons, and the first is lobbying. Get this, there's a lobbying group called the International Association of Color Manufacturers. Highly paid lawyers advocating for artificial food colorings.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
That's an entire lobby, and they helped delay this entire ban. The second reason, though, is the FDA just blew it, because the FDA didn't have the resources that lobbyists have. Yeah, the FDA just doesn't have a clear process to reassess foods that have already been approved, like food dye Red 3. So right now in America, the political climate is all about deregulation.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
To cut rules and regulations. But Red 3 is an example that shows it's not that simple. It shows the need to improve rules and regulations. This story shows that deregulation and fixing regulation are very different things. For our second story, JPMorgan Chase is now a $700 billion company after setting another quarterly profit record.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Jack and I, we did some voice warm-ups. He sounded normal, so today's pod is the best one yet. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got, man? Four are first stories. From Pop-Tarts to Peeps, the most controversial artificial food coloring was just banned by the FDA. Red 3's been banned in food, so we're looking at the Great American Business Paradox.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So we think now is the perfect time to eliminate the most hated fee in banking. Yeti, fun fact for you, but Chase Bank actually started as a water company back in the 1700s. Wow, I didn't know that. Well, Jamie Dimon has been the CEO of that bank, America's biggest bank since the year 2006. And Jamie Dimon just presided over JPMorgan Chase's best quarter in its 200-year history.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Get this, in just three months, $14 billion in profit. That's up 50% from last year. Get this, we jumped in T-boy style. We did. JP Morgan Chase holds $2 trillion of cash deposits. Not too shabby. And a trillion of those deposits are out in the economy right now as loans. Jack, when you're holding and lending that much money, you can get a whole lot of revenue on that stuff.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Not to mention the fees. Investment banking fees nearly doubled last quarter from the year before to $2.5 billion. $2.5 billion. And it's not just JP Morgan, right, Jack? All of Wall Street's looking good. Yesterday, we got the earnings from BlackRock. The country's biggest asset manager. And we got Goldman's earnings. The country's biggest pure play investment bank.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And both announced record profits, and both are enjoying record high stock prices. But it is JP Morgan who is more valuable than both of those banks. Combine. JPMorgan Chase is worth $700 billion according to its market cap. And that's 100 lifts. Wow. But besties, here's what we found fascinating about this story. It's got a lot of people wondering about the S word. Succession. Succession.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Like who is going to succeed and replace Jamie Dimon? You know what? We don't think anyone's going to succeed him. Yeah. We don't think anyone's gonna. Kendall Roy, he doesn't even want the job. Yesterday, highlighting the bank's outlook, Jamie Dimon mentioned two significant risks facing our economy. First, he said inflation may persist for some time. Have you seen the price of eggs lately?
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It's a frittata fiasco. And second, Jamie Dimon said that geopolitical conditions remain the most dangerous and complicated since World War II. Well, all that sounds a little bit scary from our Uncle Jamie, Jack. Given that, we think he's going to stick around as CEO for five years or more. After all, he's only 68.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Yeah, it's going to be at least a few more years before he leaves that banking job to become governor of the state of Greenland. Entering this wildly uncertain period we have ahead, we think this elder statesman wants to stick around to be a force of stability. So Jamie, since you're going to be sticking around for a while and we know you're listening today, we have got an idea for you.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
And it's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Jamie over at JPMorgan Chase? JPMorgan Chase should eliminate the most hated fee in banking, the overdraft fee. Ah, the overdraft fee. Yetis, that's when banks charge about $30 each time your account dips below zero, even if it's just for an instant. Opponents of the overdraft fee call it a tax on the poor.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It's taking excessive fees from those least able to pay them. Congress has been grilling the banks on the overdraft fee. Although we should point out that the overdraft fee is less than 1% of JP Morgan's revenue. So in this economy? Yeah. JP Morgan could turn that fraction of its revenue into a positive PR opportunity. Here's what we're thinking, Jamie. Eliminate it. Cut it.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
For our second story, JPMorgan Chase just had its best quarter in over 200 years. With record profits and a record stock price, we think it's time to kill the most hated fee in banking. And our third and final story, there's a hot new side hustle that's earning some people $30,000 a year. job referrals. Get this, referring strangers to your company is a brand new moneymaker.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
Just give customers a grace period or some other option. Basically say, we hear you. The money's tight. Don't worry about it. We're going to get rid of the overdraft fee because we care about you. We think a move like that could attract huge numbers to JP Morgan's 5,000 bank branches, the most in the country.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It'd be a do-gooder move that pays for itself with the marketing boost they'd get from that pure PR. Pure PR. With record revenue, profits, and a record stock price, JP Morgan, they can afford to put the overdraft fee out of its misery. It's time to eliminate the most hated fee in banking. The overdraft fee.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
For our third and final story, there's a hot new side hustle for people with corporate jobs. And that side hustle is job referrals. The job referral money-making side hustle shows the power of loose ties. Yeti's over 18 months, one single tech worker recommended 1,000 job candidates to his employer. And eight of those 1,000 referrals ended up getting hired.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So he pulled in $30,000 in referral bonuses. But Jack, what is the wildest part of this surprise story we are telling right now? Every one of those 1,000 people he referred was a complete stranger. He didn't know any of them. Now, that's all according to Bloomberg reporting. But yetis, job referrals are supposed to be a win-win-win deal.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
The candidate gets a better chance of getting a job, the referrer gets a bonus, and the company saves time and recruiting money. And the relationship you have with someone you refer, it can span a range of relationships. Yeah, it could be your best friend, or it could be your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
As long as you've spoken to the person and met at least once, HR tends to be cool with anyone referring to anyone. Yeah, like as long as you can vouch for them or like your friend who's a friend of theirs can vouch for them, that's all that they want to know. And in this economy, applying without a referral can feel like tossing your resume into a digital black hole.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
It massively increases the chances that your application actually gets read. But here's the funny thing, Yetis. Referrals are now so in demand that a marketplace for referrals has emerged, according to Bloomberg. Blind is a free app with 12 million tech workers who anonymously share their thoughts on their employer.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So job seekers go on Blind to connect with random people at the company they're applying to in order to get a referral. Glassdoor has something similar, but they're even more explicit. There's an entire forum for referrals. Right. Yes, you can find a stranger at your dream job and ask them to refer you. It'd be a nice favor.
The Best One Yet
🍒 “Pop-Tart Problem” — Red dye’s food ban. JPMorgan’s overdraft idea. Job Referrals as-a-Service.
So in the finance and tech industry, workers are finding referrers online despite having no previous relationship. But besties, wait, because this story gets even wilder. What do we got, Jack? A new company has formed just for referrals. It's called ReferMe, and they'll connect you with a high-quality referrer at any company you want to apply to.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, May 15th. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Uh, yetis, we got a little surprise for you at the end of the show. Is someone gonna call in, Jack? We're gonna get our first ever live call-in. Hmm. Pretty exciting. 1-800-T-BOY-POD.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
But few realize that executives must publicly share their trades, and that makes them the ultimate influencers. Fun fact, I follow insider trades on finviz.com. There you go. So trading legally like the insiders is one of the best kept secrets in finance. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Airbnb is adding hotel-like services to the app, but there's no limit to the services that could be offered. Which means Airbnb has gone from travel app to the everything app, like we called three years ago. For our second story, Boeing just got its biggest order ever from Qatar Airways. 210 planes for $96 billion. Trump's deal-making with Middle East countries?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
It's kind of like the signing of geopolitical free agents. And our third and final story. eToro went public on Wednesday. The $5 billion company has an option to copy trades of influencers. But the real influencer investing? Follow CEO's insider trading because it's publicly available information. And it's legal. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
First, Boston and Philadelphia better get their reservations ready because you are getting Michelin guides. Dallas and Houston are too. Why? Because each of those cities paid millions for it. When the famous restaurant review Michelin guide arrives in a city, the data shows more tourists also arrive in that city.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
So Texas, Boston, and Philly paid Michelin to bring all their critics over and review the restaurants and give us some stars already. And second, streaming news of the day, Max is getting renamed to HBO Max. It's actually getting re-renamed because HBO Max is what it was called before it was called Max. Let me follow this, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
They've gone from HBO Go to HBO Now to HBO Max to Max to now back to HBO Max? Because dropping the HBO was the dumbest move ever. And finally, egg prices just fell for their biggest monthly drop since 1984. That's a 13% fall. Consumer prices for a dozen eggs fell from six bucks on average in March to five bucks on average in April.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
That's more than one out of every 100 U.S. households. has a reptile inside. According to Bloomberg Yeti's, food and supplies only for reptiles and amphibians are up 60% since 2019. That's faster growth than for cats, and your cat hates you. But what's the wildest part about this trend, Jack? The biggest reptile trend is luxury reptiles. That's right.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Although we should point out egg prices are still up 79% from the same month last year. If you take someone out on a date and you buy them an omelet, you're sending them a message. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in from, wait, wait, one second. Jack, we're getting a phone call. Yeah, we're getting a phone call here. All right, Jack, who we got? Nick, I'm checking caller ID.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
It's Jeff Rader, co-CEO of Mammoth Brands, formerly known as Harry's Inc. Jeff, Jeff, the Baron of Blades, the Razor Royalty. How you doing, man? It's been like a year since we interviewed you. Wait, here you got some big news for us and the best fact yet. What's going on, man? What's up?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Hey, guys. What's up? Great to see you. A fact that blows me away today, I never would have believed it, is that at Harry's we sell 25% of all men's razors in the U.S.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
One out of four razors. And when did the company get founded? Like 10 years ago?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
12 years ago.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Wow. Zero to 25 in 12 years. That's insane. Fantastic fact, by the way. Congratulations, Jeff. Also, big news from you guys this week.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Totally. We just launched this new product. It's called Harry's Plus. I love it. It's the best razor I've ever shaved with. When we started Harry's 10 years ago, more than 12 years ago, we had this vision that we could make a truly world-class razor. and then went to work on this new razor that's taken us a decade to make. Wow. And to start, we had to make the best blades we could.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We had to change the steel of the blades, figure out how to grind the right angles. We shoot the edges with ion beams and we put all of those into our original razor, which is this guy. And then we had to sort of deconstruct the entire razor. The first time I shaved with this was like five or six years ago. It was being held together by a little wire on the back. And I was like,
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
This is a revelation. Can we sell these? Let's go.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
One thing Jack and I were curious about, we were looking at this product launch and we noticed it times up with a patent expiration. We get really curious about patent expirations because you see a lot of innovation happen around that. How did that work exactly?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
One of the dynamics in this category is that they're big razor companies and they take out countless patents and they stifle innovation, keep costs high. What happens is that patents expire. And when they do, we were then free to innovate in ways that would enable us to deliver a world-class experience. It wasn't just that.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We had to spend years honing in these blades and the pivot and all these things to make a product that was unique and exciting. But it's nice not to be stifled. Buy Big Razor and be able to make a product that we really love.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Yeah, we've seen this in the pharmaceutical industry. Now we're seeing this in the razor industry. Cough, cough, Gillette. Cough. But Jeff, thank you for joining us today. You know, once a Yeti, always a Yeti. It was so fun interviewing you last year, and we were really pumped for your launch. So congratulations. Great fact. One more question, Jeff. When's the Mammoth IPO coming?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We'll see. You know, we are just doing our thing here, building brands of people's love. You know, we make money. We're no gun to our head.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Nick, that's the answer a CEO says when they're planning their IPO, baby. Jeff, blink twice if Q3 is the date, baby. Jeff, thanks a lot, man. We'll catch you later. Congratulations. Great to see you.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, you are glowing over there, my friend. Thank you, Nicholas. Besties, if you haven't yet, drop down to give us five stars, especially if you own a lizard or an amphibian. And Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. Rip it. And before we go, a congratulations and whoa, let's go to our buddy Nick Marino, who is on Jeopardy tonight. You got to watch it.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
One man in Colorado breeds geckos for special looking features like stripes and bright colors. People are paying 50 grand for a designer gecko from this guy. That toad cost more than a Birkin bag. So yetis, remember this takeaway. Jack, what's our takeaway about reptiles? Nothing scales.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Correction. What is congratulations? I already lost the game. He will not, though. Our money's on Marino. And second, Liam and Olivia are celebrating a double birthday. Congratulations, guys. Wait, aren't Liam and Olivia the two most popular names for boys and girls for the last six years? Wow. What a family. And Nira Ibarra is turning 17 years old down in Burbank, California. Congratulations.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
And happy birthday to Roxanna Medina in Miami, Florida. And Emi Derzayic in Eagle, Idaho is a day one listener, legendary Yeti, and celebrating the best birthday yeti. Happy birthday to Don Courtney in Buffalo, New York, a dinkwad with pride. And Grace McFadden is graduating from Notre Dame in accounting. Congratulations, Grace.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Happy anniversary to Jay Shang and Cassie Zhao, who are celebrating in Hawaii. And Mabuba actor in New Milford, Connecticut, was accepted into a master's in AI management and policy. Wow, didn't even know that degree. Okay, I want a master's in AI management and policy. Good luck, Mavs. Oh, and Claire and Emma. Jack, there are a couple of Yetis who work at Google.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
I just ran into them outside the studio by the Ferry Building. They wanted me to tell you, hey, Jack. Hey, Claire. What's up, Emma? Thanks for listening to the show. Sketchers and Adidas, these are the best account managers yet. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb, Peloton, Robinhood, and we both own some Bitcoin named Ben. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Airbnb launched a complete app redesign. Get ready for massages, hairstylists, and hibachi chefs. But here's the big question. Is Airbnb becoming the everything app or is it having a midlife crisis? Yeti is Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb. He got more press on Tuesday than any non-scandal CEO in history.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
But Jack, three stories for today's T-Boy Fantastic Show. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, Airbnb has finally become an everything app. Because you can now Airbnb not just a house, you can Airbnb your hairstylist, a HIIT workout, or even a hibachi shift. For our second story, Boeing just received its biggest order ever. Qatar Airways is buying 210 Boeing jets.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
He did a product unveil in Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal Magazine did an article on him. Wired Magazine did a deep dive on him. And he went to CNBC for a live interview. One sec, Jack. I think Brian Chesky just became the new permanent co-host of The View with Whoopi Goldberg. And why is he so active this week? Well...
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Airbnb is tripling its ambitions, so the CEO is out there telling everybody about it. Here's the news, yetis. From booking a place to stay, Airbnb is now a platform to book everything. And the stock is up 10% this week on that ambitious news. Now, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. The new challenge facing Airbnb... is actually the old challenge facing Airbnb. Hotels.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Yeah, it's hotels. Because in this economy, hotels have been on the upswing. In fact, in the latest earnings report from Airbnb, we noticed they mentioned hotels a record 35 times. For every one booking of an Airbnb, nine hotels get booked. And why is there all this new tension with hotels, Jack? With high travel prices, travelers want to feel pampered while they're on their vacation.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
They want the services that a hotel offers. So Airbnb's goal with this total app makeover, neutralize hotels advantage by pampering you with services. Starting right now in 260 different cities, you can book from 10 different categories of services that are commonly only offered by hotels. Yeah, like we're talking room service, massage, spa treatments, private workouts.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
They come to your Airbnb or you go to their studio. You can book Pilates now through Airbnb. You could have a hibachi chef set up his cooking station in your Airbnb's backyard and flip shrimp to all your guests right into their mouths. But we should point out yet is to be a Benihana chef on Airbnb, you actually have to apply now to be one of their service providers.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Airbnb is going to vet all these service providers to make sure they're legit. And here's what we think is the interesting key to this whole situation. You don't have to be traveling to book these services on Airbnb. You could book that Benihana chef to come to your own apartment to cook while you're not traveling.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
So what we are saying here, Jack, if you add all this up, is that by offering these services, Airbnb is no longer just a travel app, right? They're kind of an app for everything. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Airbnb? Our 2021 business wish is finally coming true. Now, Yetis, you've been with us for a while.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
So, you know, every new year, we do a predictions pod where we wish for three big business stories to happen. On January 4th, 2021, we wished that Airbnb would expand from houses to everything. Well, Brian Chesky literally just said that you can now Airbnb every service, whether you're traveling or not. They're not a travel company.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We're surprised it took them so long to expand beyond travel and apply the Airbnb app to other stuff. I mean, Jack, now they are in a race with Uber to be the one everything app. And like how many everything apps are you really going to have on your phone? It's Airbnb versus Uber and their headquarters are right next to each other in San Francisco. So here's the value unlock.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Airbnb built the tech to legally and safely let someone use your home. Now they're letting someone legally and safely use your services. Officially, Airbnb added services to compete with hotels. Unofficially, it just became an everything app. Our 2021 wish has come true. For our second story, Boeing just got its biggest order ever. Cotter Airways is buying $96 billion worth of Boeing's big jets.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
But what this Boeing Middle East deal really reminds us of is the NBA draft. Yetis, earlier this week, we told you about Trump's Middle East grand tour. His goal was to announce $1 trillion worth of deals during this trip. One day, Wes Anderson is going to turn this whole thing into a movie. Because on Wednesday, President Trump said that Qatar was buying $200 billion worth of Boeing airplanes.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
One way to think about the current Middle East dealapalooza, this is like the NBA draft. And our third and final story is eToro. It's the first big IPO of the year, and the stock surged 40% yesterday. Because Kim Kardashian could be a stock trading influencer. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa, what a kickoff to the show. Love the mix today, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
That number wasn't correct, actually. The White House clarified later that Qatar Airways is buying $96 billion. for 210 Boeing jets. And you know what? Boeing CEO just confirmed it on the ground in the Middle East. He said that this is the biggest order the U.S.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
jet maker has ever done, which is a massive breath of life into a struggling Boeing brand who is, you know, still trying to move past the whole door flying off the airplane thing. Side note. Cutter's widely reported plans to gift President Trump a 747 as Air Force One, that still has not finalized. But in the meantime, if it ain't Boeing, Cutter Airways ain't going.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Now, Nick, to describe Boeing's last two months as turbulent would be a bit of an understatement. Because Boeing started off as the biggest trade war loser, but is now the biggest trade war winner. This is one of the wildest stock turnarounds we've ever seen. Yetis, the biggest buyer of Boeing airplanes in the last 20 years. Jack, who was it? China. China.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
And as the trade war was heating up, China punished Boeing. Yeah, China actually banned their local national airlines from buying Boeing planes. But now, as countries are trying to make deals with the president... Their top gift is to buy Boeings. Yeah, it's not watches. Like, it's not a Rolex. It's buying Boeing airplanes.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
In consecutive weeks, the United Kingdom and Qatar have announced flashy and political giant orders of Boeing jets. And you know why? Well, because the biggest way to buy American is literally buying a Boeing. A Boeing aircraft is the most expensive product the United States sells. If you want to swing the trade deficit one way or the other, buy a Boeing aircraft from America.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Forget Twinkies, Harley Davidson motorcycles, Ford F-150s. No, the Boeing 747, that is the ultimate made in America product. And Boeing is also highly politically connected. Boeing strategically chose suppliers from all 50 states. It's like a supply spiderweb. to make sure that every American has a stake in their success. The result? Well, Boeing is now shockingly the trade war winner.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
To win points with Donald Trump, all you got to do is order Boeing aircraft. And now Boeing stock is up 50% in just the past six weeks. Boeing got the business class upgrade. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Boeing? Saudi Arabia is the number one pick in the economic draft. So yet, is Donald Trump's handshaking with Middle East leaders this week? It is, shocker, controversial.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Saudi Arabia's leader approved the murder of a Washington Post journalist in 2018. Syria's new leader that Trump just met with is a former jihadi. But nonetheless, all of them are becoming buyers of U.S. products right now and getting U.S. support in return. One way to think of this, Trump is signing free agents like it was the NBA draft. Here's the interesting strategy.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Russia, and to a lesser extent China, have huge influence on the Middle East. But these deals move these Middle Eastern free agent countries closer to us and further from Russia. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, in particular, they have huge economic power thanks to their oil riches. So these are economic deals, but they're also geopolitical free agent signings.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
And that's why this biggest deal in Boeing history reminds us of the NBA draft. Now a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
When it comes to pets, puppies get all the attention in this economy. Puppy. P-U-P-P-Y. People ultimately prioritize puppies. Yeah. Yeah, they do. But there's one pandemic pet whose sales are still surging. Here's a hint. It's green, it's cold, and it will take care of the fruit flies in your kitchen. Lizards. Yeah, lizards.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
For our third and final story, eToro just IPO'd and the stock popped 40% on social media influencer investing. But we know the secret way to invest like the top CEOs. And we'll tell you in The Takeaway. Boyettis, grab your coat, because we've been stuck in a corporate ice age. Businesses have been frozen as the trade war was hot. But funny thing, is it just us or this week?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Are things warming up a little bit? Stocks have risen as tariffs have thawed and the IPO market suddenly got super hot. Get this, Hinge Health is going public, Chime just filed for an IPO, and StubHub, ooh, they could soon be publicly traded. eToro already hit the stock market. The Israel-based stock trading app IPO'd on Wednesday and the stock jumped 40% on the first day. That's the news.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
eToro is now public. Basically, this is like a Robin Hood company plus a social media feed. Yep. They offer stocks, crypto options, and like buttons because there's social media posts in there. More on that in a minute. In the meantime, the stock began trading yesterday and hit a $5 billion valuation. That's about one lift.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
And it makes sense because they have one-tenth the number of users as Robinhood, and their valuation is one-tenth as big as Robinhood. Just like Robinhood, they are riding the retail investor renaissance going on right now. Now, Yadiz, even though eToro was actually founded eight years before Robinhood, it kind of looks like a foreign Robinhood knockoff, right?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Yeah, it's almost like if Robinhood is a pair of Nike sneakers, then eToro is a pair of Dockers khakis made in Europe. I'm just working with what I can on the top of my head. But there's one feature that eToro has that's wildly different than Robinhood. They have social media. and they have influencers in the app. Get this.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
eToro has this wild feature called their Popular Investor Program that they mentioned 35 times in their IPO paperwork. This program lets regular retail investors copy the trades of their financial influencers. Basically, you follow Selena Gomez on Instagram for her makeup recommendations so you could follow an eToro influencer in their app for stock recommendations.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
And automatically buy and sell when that influencer buys and sells. And from our research, it looks like 55% of eToro users are using these social media stock trading features. Some of them to copy the trades of an influencer. And what's the wildest part about this, Jack? The influencers whose trades get copied by customers on the platform earn a percentage of funds from those who are copying him.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
It's like a commission. So like if Jack and I could share our portfolios on eToro, we would get paid if you bought stock like Peloton, like we did, even though you'll lose money on it. Because you copied our Peloton trade. Now, the interesting opportunity here Jack and I mentioned is that these aren't famous investors who are the stock trading influencers.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
But yet it is during the pandemic, Americans began to appreciate the exotic power of these little dinosaurs. And since COVID-19. Sales have accelerated for reptiles like a gecko's tongue. Why? Basically TikTok and Instagram. Geckos owned the algorithm for some reason. The result today, 4 million American households own a reptile or an amphibian. That is an all-time high.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
We looked at the top followed influencer on the eToro app. We'd never heard of him. but they do have one and a half million followers on the app. So what Jack and I think the real opportunity here is like, what if Kim Kardashian shared her portfolio on eToro? You could get in on the ETFs that Kim is obsessed with. Or Mr. Beast. He runs a billion dollar media business right now, right?
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
Does he own shares of McDonald's in his 401k? Because if he does, I want shares of McDonald's in my 401k. We'd follow that. Jack, what is the takeaway for our buddies over at eToro? Insider trading is actually legal if you know where to look. Now, Yetis, there's actually a way to find out how the insider's leading top companies invest their money. In fact, it's legally required that CEOs disclose
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
when they invest in their own companies. For example, when JP Morgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon, sells stock in JP Morgan, he must disclose it publicly in advance, Jamie. When Mary Barra buys stock in GM, she must disclose that in advance publicly. Jack and I follow this because insider's actions can reveal the direction of the entire company.
The Best One Yet
💆 “Massage-bnb” — Airbnb’s everything app. eToro’s Kardashian trade. Boeing’s Trade War Win. + Surprise Guest Jeff Raider.
If all the executives at a company are selling, that's not a good sign about the company. No, no, no, no. If all the executives are buying, that's a good sign about the company. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. And reminder, by the way, insider trading with your friend who works at the company and has material non-public information. That's illegal. Totally unfair. We're not supporters of it.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, March 13th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Stocks rebounding like a young Steph Curry over there. I said Steph Curry, Jack, because it wasn't a big rebound. It was kind of a small rebound.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Let's bring it back to the summer of 2020. After George Floyd's murder, A&E canceled their live police department show that was all about cops. But this January, A&E brought back the cops with a new cop show. They just replaced it. A&E also is bringing back Duck Dynasty, which was huge in the early 20-teens. Even though New Yorkers aren't shooting ducks over in Central Park.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And Netflix just announced yesterday And it's not just Netflix, because Amazon Prime also just added The Apprentice. And Nick, what's Disney's top show right now? It actually stars Tim Allen, who plays a loving dad who causes his daughter to cringe by dropping politically incorrect one-liners about her school.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
That kind of comedy is getting 10 million viewers per episode on ABC and Hulu. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context to 10 million viewers, please? Not only is that more than the season finale of Succession, that's as much as Game of Thrones, HBO's best show of all time.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Hollywood's wake-up call isn't just that they've been ignoring a big chunk of the country when it comes to programming. It's that that chunk of the country they've been ignoring is huge. Huge. They've been missing out on 150 million TV-watching Americans. And that's why they're now programming red meat for the red states. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies?
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Ron Swansifying over in Hollywood. Rule number one of business. Don't tell potential customers that they're wrong. There's actually an interesting lesson here about how to interact with customers that we've learned from Google Maps. Google Maps. If you ignore Google Maps directions, they don't tell you you're wrong and to turn around. Yeah, you're going to notice this now.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Apple and others turned off a feature for auto downloads of podcasts. The result is that download numbers, which determine how much we get paid, dropped for every player in podcasts. But here's the key, besties. you can help us. And it only takes five seconds. All you got to do, make sure you follow the show and turn on auto downloads. That's it.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Google Maps just reroutes you. Instead of taking a U-turn, they just tell you to take the next turn. Google Maps does not correct its customers when they've made a mistake. And that's a broader business lesson. It's a lesson that Hollywood is taking right now. They're not going to tell their viewers to adapt to Hollywood's very own favorite content.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
They're not telling viewers this is how the White House should be by showing them West Wing. Instead, Hollywood is now adapting to its viewers' preferences. And that's a top rule in business. Don't tell potential customers that they're wrong. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Guinness sales are at all-time highs as splitting the G is the latest viral drinktivity.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
One's company, two's a crowd, and three's a profit party. For our second story, Bybit lost $1.5 billion in crypto after it was hacked by North Korea's Lazarus Group. Crypto, it won't reach its full potential until it tames the Wild West. And our third and final story, the election was a wake-up call for Hollywood, who is now serving red meat to red states.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Rule number one of business, don't tell potential customers that they're wrong. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, we got an update on the celebrity of economic reports. Inflation slowed last month for the first time since September. Prices in February across the country were up 2.8% from the year before.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Now, food prices were flat despite the eggflation situation. Egg prices are up 59% from last year. The real test will be March and onward as Trump's tariffs begin showing up in the numbers. Speaking of which, second, we have WTF, which stands for Whiplash Tariff Forecast of the Day, our daily update on what's happening with tariffs.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Yesterday, Europe and Canada both retaliated to the Trump steel tariffs that were imposed also on Wednesday. Yeah, Europe's now targeting American whiskey and motorcycles with 50% tariffs. And Canada is targeting Made in USA stuff with a 25% tariff of their own. And finally, TikTok just introduced a new feature to annoy teens off the app after 10 p.m.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
After 10 p.m., if you're a teen using TikTok, your screen is going to be taken over with calming meditation music, and they're going to urge you to put your phone. And if you stay on TikTok, another musical takeover happens, which is like a lot harder to ignore. And then if you stay on TikTok again, I think the app's just going to slap you and say, go to bed. New feature, new feature.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Maria Kravici from Massapequa, Long Island. Until this year, the largest wine cellar in the world was Costco. And the most successful label of wines was Kirkland. That's right. Kirkland Cabernet was outselling the rest of the world's finest wines.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Now we should point out this year, Total Wine & More has displaced Costco as the number one world wine cellar. Total Wine & More, which is apparently the Costco of just alcohol. But still, Kirkland-branded Costco wine is the top seller in the vast majority of wine categories. Jack, Wine Salesman of the Month over here, what would you say about this Kirkland Cabernet? Hold on.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
I need to keep wafting. I'd say it's the best idea yet. Yetis, we actually just dropped an entire episode on the untold origin story of Costco's Kirkland brand. It's all on our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. You gotta listen to it. If you're going to Costco this weekend, you're doing a Costco run, put on this episode in your car. We got a link in the episode description.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
The show is called The Best Idea Yet. Yetis, you look fantastic today, Jack. Oh, oh, Jack, check your ankle. What am I looking at? Smearing off iced tea over there. Oh, you got to finish it now. Oh, you got to finish it before we do the credits. You got to get down on one knee, right? You do, you do. Besties, we love potting with you.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Like these two small five second fixes, they're going to bring us back to where we were in the numbers before that tech tweak. And that would be huge. So Yetis, here's the deal. If you're on Apple, go to our show page, tap the follow button on the top right, and then tap the down arrow to auto-download. Five seconds.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And remember, the five seconds we would love you to pull off right now. Follow the show and click auto download. It would mean the world to us. And it's the best thing you can do for our business. Nick and I. We'll be back tomorrow as usual with the best one yet. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Sophie West over in Boston, just outside Boston, a marathoner and a commercial real estate agent of the stars. Happy birthday to James from San Jose, California, a first-time dad with a four-month-old baby girl. And Becky Crystal down in Cleveland, the Paris on the lake, is a puzzle queen and a J.Crew deal finder with a birthday to celebrate.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And a big shout out to all the Detroit Yetis out there. It's 3-1-3 day. You know, you know. You know, you know. You know. And Sherry Morris is a legendary power engager on Instagram. Sherry, we just want to say thanks for being a legendary Yeti. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Disney, and Netflix.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Spotify. And we both own some Bitcoin. Name better. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
If you're on Spotify, go to our show page, tap the plus sign to follow, and then tap the gear button for settings and click auto-download. Five seconds. And if you're on any other platform, just tap where it says follow or subscribe. And then auto-download. And if you watch on YouTube, open up a podcast app on your phone, follow, and auto-subscribe. H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Besties, we aren't just podcast hosts. We run this entire podcast business, and there is so much more we have planned for T-Boy and you. Decades more T-Boy. It's our life's work, whipping up the takeaways for you every day. So this is all we got to ask of you. Take these five seconds right now to follow and auto-download the show. It's the best way you can support the podcast.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And it ensures you'll never miss an episode of The Best One Yet. Again, you can do this faster than Jack can say cookie crisp. You got one in you, Jack? Cookie crisp. In fact, you can do it right now while we're playing the jingle. True. Now is the perfect time. This is the perfect time. We're going to pause the pod, Jack. Follow, auto-download. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
I think stocks rose on encouraging inflation data from the month of February. Inflation. That's all I got to say about that. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the tea, boy? For our first story, Guinness. The 266-year-old Irish beer is glowing as we enter St. Paddy's Day weekend. The reason Guinness sales are an all-time high?
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
For our first story, on the eve of St. Paddy's Day, Guinness sales are on their hottest streak in a century. Sorry, make that two centuries. And it's all because of a viral drinktivity known as splitting the G. But Jack, before we tell the story to the Yetis, what do we think is the greatest real estate deal ever?
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Well, for everyone who's never been to the original Guinness factory in Dublin, when Alfred Guinness opened that brewery in Ireland, he signed a 9,000-year lease. Not nine months, 9,000 years. Yeah, Guinness, they're sitting on a 9,000-year lease. That's right, Guinness goes back to 1759. It's actually one of the three oldest beer brands on planet Earth.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
It's a dark, creamy, nitrogen-infused beer that looks like a confused coffee. Yeah, yetis, you don't drink Guinness. Guinness drinks you. Now, alcohol sales overall in this economy are dropping, and Guinness hasn't updated their logo or their branding since Queen Victoria. And yet, despite those macro chins I just mentioned, Guinness sales, they're not just at an all-time high.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
They're accelerating. Yeah, Guinness, they just had their fourth year of double-digit sales growth. Not too shabby. Last year, Guinness sales rose by 17%. And since the pandemic, they're up 85%. Demand for Guinness is so unquenchable, they're building a new $200 million brewery in Ireland, which I believe is a Guinness record, Jack.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
I don't think they're going to get a 9,000-year lease on that one, though. No, they're not. However, Guinness' surge has gotten so crazy that there were rumors on Wall Street last month that they're going to sell the business for $10 billion. Diageo, the British alcohol company that owns Guinness, denies it, though. They say they're keeping Guinness in home.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
But still, you can't deny those numbers. So we got curious. What is driving this latest Guinness surge after 200 years? It's actually a drinking game, or as we call it, a drinktivity. Ah, a drinktivity known as splitting the G. Jack, can you tell us exactly how you split the G over there? You go up to the bartender and you ask for a full pint of Guinness.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Then in your first sip, you try to drink just the right amount of Guinness so that when you're done, the beer line under the foam perfectly strikes the middle of the G. Yeah, basically Guinness glasses say the word Guinness down the center and your goal is to drink uninterruptedly until the foam is right in the center of the G. You try to split the G.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
The most fun drinktivity since he got Smirnoff iced. For our second story, we need to talk about North Korea's elite hacking team known as the Lazarus Group. The Lazarus Group. Because that team of professional hackers just pulled off the biggest money heist in history. And our third and final story, Hollywood is making a major pivot. They forgot to make TV for Trump's America.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
So we have traced this term, in fact, back to Urban Dictionary in 2018. That's where it was first used. But it went viral on TikTok and on Instagram starting in 2022. Now, the technical term for those who have mastered splitting the G is Ginfluencers. Ginfluencers can split the G like a pro athlete. And over the holidays, they split a lot of Gs.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Guinness actually suffered a shortage because everyone was doing this drinktivity together. They had to ration kegs across British pubs to make sure everybody got a little. But Jack, what was the biggest surprise for our buddies over at Guinness? Women are driving this trend. Yeah, they are. Sales of Guinness to women in the United Kingdom are up 24% in the last year.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
So it's not just Patrick McFinnegan and Mickey O'Sullivan splitting the Gs with the lads over there. Although there's going to be a lot of McFinnigans and O'Sullivans this weekend doing just that. Kim Kardashian, Olivia Rodrigo, the Princess of Wales. All of them have been spotted recently splitting the G with the ladies. It's Ginsanity. It is. After 266 years, Guinness, which has never changed.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Never. Is enjoying all-time highs. So Jack, what's the lucky takeaway for our buddies over at Guinness? One's company, two is a crowd, and three is a profit party. Yetis, there's actually a long history of viral drinktivities, including before social media. Jager bombs and Smirnoff icing. Classics. Both of those drinking activities catapulted the brands and boomed sales.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
But the underlying theme shared by all these drinktivities is actually that they created a group act. You're not splitting the G on your own in your apartment. No. And you're not smearing off icing yourself. Hopefully not. And this is a reminder how groups who share a product or an experience amplify its impact. If your product simply becomes popular, that's good.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
But if the product becomes popular, especially with groups, that's great. Besties, sometimes a brand can create that. Sometimes it just happens organically. But either way, one's a company, two's a crowd, and three's a profit party. For our second story, we just saw the biggest money heist in history, and this was a Bitcoin heist.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
This story shines light on North Korea's one successful industry, professional cybercrime. Yetis, Jack and I have been looking at the numbers and also our portfolios. And like all other risky investments, Bitcoin has lost its Trump bump. The price of Bitcoin is down to $83,000 as of this recording, which is down 25% from its all-time high. Yeah, it's now in a Trump slump.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Ben, the Bitcoin, he got pretty bruised this week. And one reason for Bitcoin's decline in particular is the biggest theft of all time. $1.5 billion of crypto was stolen last month. We're talking about the world's number two largest crypto exchange, Bybit, which was, what were they doing exactly when the whole theft went down, Jack?
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Bybit, which is huge in the rest of the world, but actually isn't active in the United States, they were just moving money from one of their accounts to another account. Okay, but then the hackers did something pretty sneaky. They secretly changed the address that the money was being sent to. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Minutes later, the CFO called the CEO, said they'd been hacked, and that that $1.5 billion he just wired is gone. Jack, I believe Butch Cassidy called this the old switcheroo. Yes, that's exactly what it was. And the result was the biggest theft in the history of money. We repeat, there's never been a bank robbery or the theft of goods as big as this. $1.5 billion was stolen.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
You know, you're thinking Batman, The Dark Knight. Nope. The Joker didn't even steal this much fictional money in that movie. Exactly. Now, Bybit did manage to borrow money from banks and from peer companies to remain solvent. So they have survived this blow. And this company has put a bounty out on the thieves who stole their crypto like they were Bonnie and Clyde. But good luck finding them.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Besties, the TV you watch is about to go through Ron Swansification. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories, Jack. Pause the pod. We're asking for a five-second favor. A five-second favor that benefits us and you. We'll explain. Can you make sure you're following the show and auto-downloading episodes? We repeat, following and auto-downloading.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Because according to the FBI, all of the hackers who stole Bybit's money, they're in North Korea. North Korean hackers who are protected and probably hailed as national heroes because they are part of a secret North Korean group. First, I want to sprinkle on some context. North Korea is one of the last command economies in the world.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
And Jack, how exactly would we describe a command economy over there? China used to be one, but they're not anymore. A command economy is when the government decides all industry, not market forces. As a result of being a command economy, North Korea produces nothing the rest of the world wants. And as a result of that, North Korea is living sadly in terrible poverty.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Without funding from China, North Korea would collapse. But North Korea does excel at one thing. And that thing... is cybercrime. In fact, cybercrime is arguably, and we're going to argue it here, North Korea's greatest industry. Here's the deal. If Canada scouts its young people for hockey talent, North Korea scouts their young people for hacking talent.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
In fact, for the last 15 years, North Korea has put its top hackers into one secret organized criminal group called... Lazarus. Lazarus is best in the world at stealing money from foreign organizations by hacking and then giving that money to the government. And the government then uses that money to fund North Korea's nuclear missile program.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
So Lazarus and their crypto that they just hacked last month That became North Korea's government revenue. Yeah, what we're saying here is that Lazarus is kind of like the external IRS for the country of North Korea. Now, China and Russia are both very good at hacking and hack the United States all the time. But North Korea, especially pound for pound, is the number one hacker in the world.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Yeah, as a percentage of GDP, North Korea, they're beating the rest of the world at the hacking. They're already a global pariah. They don't care about the reputational hit of being a cybercrime state. They're the best of the worst. North Korea denies it, but we're going to trust the FBI's evidence on this one. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies watching the biggest heist in history?
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Crypto cannot reach its full potential until it tames the Wild West. Yet it is telling that the biggest bank theft of all time didn't happen in a bank. It happened in crypto. Real banks have security measures in place to prevent or limit this kind of thing. Today, the crypto community is glad that the new administration is regulation light.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
But Sam Bankman freed fraud and Bybit's hacking show that regulation can be too light. Yeah, get this. On word of Bybit's record-setting hack, half of their customers withdrew all of their money. That is a awful sign for the industry and they need to fix it. On the other hand, banks have incredibly strict rules that you must follow to protect customer money. Crypto simply doesn't.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Some rules and regulation could actually help crypto, not just hold it back. Take it from a couple guys who do own crypto. The industry needs to tame the wild west. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Both of those are actually huge for our business. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context, please? The podcast industry made a technical change. Basically, the industry messed with our download numbers, which is how podcast performance is actually measured. So, we're asking you to help us. Actually, we'll share some insider info because Jack and I are deep in the podcasting industry.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
For our third and final story, the election was a wake-up call for Hollywood. They've been underserving 150 million people. So instead of programming for Emmy Awards, executives are now programming for conservatives. Yetis, in recent years, the top shows on TV, they cater to... Honestly, Coastal Elites. Because that's who makes TV shows, Coastal Elites.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
We can tell you what was on the pitch decks for each of these shows. You ready? Succession, it was for MBAs. The Crown, it was for Blue Bloods. Shogun, Jack, who was Shogun for? Shogun was for foreign language film buffs who go to Dunkin' Donuts and ask for a croissant. Yeah, not our buddy Timmy, by the way. Ted Lasso has so many inclusive plot points.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
Great show, might have a case of too many men on the field. Now, each of those shows was popular, but... with the Hollywood producers themselves. And people like the Hollywood producers. But the problem here was that there was a bigger audience out there.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
The series finale of Succession, one of the greatest shows in Emmy Awards history, got 4 million viewers from those coastal elite types we just told you about. Looks like a pretty big success right there. But Yellowstone, a show popular with middle America, got 10 million viewers per episode. More people have seen Kevin Costner pee off a horse than have watched a single episode of Severance.
The Best One Yet
☘️ “Split The G” — Guinness’ viral surge. North Korea’s Bitcoin heist. Hollywood’s conserva-pivot.
So Hollywood, by and large, is left-leaning. The election was a wake-up call for their content. Art needs to imitate life. That's what Hollywood's now thinking. According to the Wall Street Journal, Hollywood is making a Trump pivot. They're tailoring television programming for the rest of America. Or as Jack and I would describe this phenomenon, Ron Swansification.
The Best One Yet
🍺 “Local Lite”— Kelce Bros’ light beer bet. Elf Beauty’s “Dicks”. BuzzFeed’s 1st social media app.
jack let's hit our three stories 15 years before this song two boys from the northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet but the best is the norm jack nick that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Everything.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Yeah, it was.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
My dad would love this.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
We got it.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Whoa.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
No yogurt yurt. If you're lactose intolerant, you may want to skip a story.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Oh, that is a lead. I like where this is going, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
The
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Seven?
The Best One Yet
🤤 “Everything’s $3” — Matto’s crazy coffee. The CEO killer controversy. Louis Vuitton’s train bet.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, January 9th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, it's a strange day. First, markets are closed today to honor former President Jimmy Carter, who has a funeral in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Starface sells these pimple patches for about 50 cents per sticker, but they're bringing in $90 million in annual sales. 90 million bucks in sales. More on that in a second. But in the meantime, let's talk about the whole pimple patch industry, Jack, because pimple patches, they are new. No, they're not. But cute pimple patches are new.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Because Hero Cosmetics brought pimple patches into the mainstream back in 2017 after their founder noticed them in Korea. Their Hero product is called the Mighty Patch. You can still buy them today at Ulta, Walgreens, and Target. Okay, but here's the distinction. Those pimple patches try to hide your acne issue with tiny skin colored band-aids.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
There was a market for that product, but it meant that you were hoping nobody noticed the patches you were putting on your face. But on the other hand, Starface is doing the opposite. They're using colorful stars that are meant to be seen so that people hope you notice their pimple patches. Starface completely turned around the narrative on pimples. They did a 180 on the acne.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And you can tell by looking at Starface's Instagram account. Because the number of people tagging Starface is insane. Starface has nearly a million followers right now. People are posting pictures of themselves on Instagram, and they're so proud of the star on their forehead that they're tagging Starface to give them credits.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Northwest, Justin Bieber, Anne Hathaway, they're all showing off their Starface pimple patches. So Starface is now selling about $90 million a year of these pimple patches, and yet they've only raised $6 million in venture capital funding. That is beautiful ROI. And this whole rise reminds us of Stanley Mugs.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
The reason they've gone viral was simply adding nice colors to something that already existed. They added the color, they changed the shape. It was a minivation. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Starface? Starface turned a bug into a feature. Yeti, Starface has helped flip the narrative on pimples from shame to shine. They changed a habit.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And guess what? They're gifts from China. They're basically the Olsen twins of panda bears. Now, I'm going to sprinkle on some context here. I would love for you to do so, Jack. Pandas, it's wild. If you look at the map of where panda bears are native to, it's just a tiny strip of forest over in China. So these pandas are actually on loan to us all the way over from China.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
No more covering up your pimple with makeup. You're wearing that pimple patch loud and proud into algebra class. Gen Z's like walking into the trading desk over a Goldman wearing star-shaped pimple patches. They're proud of it. What Starface has achieved is like that scene in Billy Madison. Oh, totally. If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis. Starface's achievement...
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
is taking the shame out of pimples. And that is why the pimple patch market is expected to double to a billion bucks by 2033. The only thing we hate about Starface is that they didn't exist when I had that volcano on my face. I promise no one noticed, Jack. Yetis! That's a false promise and you know it. I wasn't even there. Because Starface turned a bug into a feature.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Of Trump's crazy land ideas, acquiring Greenland is the one that actually makes economic sense. We're in a new world order, yetis. The old rules are becoming the new rules again. For our second story, it's John Deere. They showed off self-driving tractors, dump trucks, and lawnmowers at the CES event.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Because the internet of things has been replaced by the AI of everything. And our third and final story is Starface. They took pimple patches, made them star-shaped, and added colors. And that was enough to change a bug into a feature. Actually, Jack, I saw a couple people wearing these on my flight back from Hawaii. It was like, we got to do a story on this. This was our time. This was our time.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And that's why you got to expense that flight. It's a write-off. It's a write-off. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, JP Morgan has an update for all the analysts out there. They'll be seeing you in person at 270 Park Avenue. America's biggest bank is reportedly about to announce a five-day-a-week in-office policy for all employees.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
JP Morgan already made this the case for client-facing roles and managers, but it's about to be a thing for everyone. First it was Amazon, now it's JP Morgan. Two huge companies kiboshing work from home. And second, medical debt will soon be banned on your credit reports. Because the top cause of bankruptcy in America is medical debt.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
But experts say that having medical debt is not really an indicator of your credit worthiness. You know, because a hospital visit costs $10,000. So the Biden administration, in one of their final days, is helping people with medical debt get credit. And finally, pour one out for the scouts. The Girl Scouts are retiring two top cookie flavors this year.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
S'mores and Toast Yays have sold their final flavors. Man, no more s'mores. You're now going to see them join Raspberry Rally in the cookie retirement flavor community. Remember, Girl Scout Cookies, it's a huge business. It's decentralized and the labor's free, but they're selling a billion dollars a year in those cookies. Just please keep the s'mores coming.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
But the pandemonium is now an economic force in our nation's capital. Because there's a new panda-themed cocktail bar down in DC. There are panda-themed hotel packages for visitors. Get this, one restaurant redesigned the entire interior with bamboo to honor Bao Li and King Bao, the pandas. Have you ever seen a panda bear? The closest I ever came was that scene in Anchorman.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And when your boss drops by your desk, buy six of them. Buy seven. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one is actually a correction, a fact check, a community note to our story from yesterday about community notes. Sent in by Anonymous. Yesterday, Jack and I covered Meta's new policies, and we said that Elon Musk invented the community note. But that's not actually correct.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
The community note was developed by Twitter's team before Elon acquired the company, and it was originally called Birdwatch. Now, this fact-checking concept of the community note, it's based on crowdsourced moderation ideas from academic research. Elon expanded it, but it did predate his involvement in the original Twitter. The community note, invented by the OG Twitter.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Thanks for the old school fact check. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And by the way, Jack, did you know what GDP really stands for? Yeah, gross domestic product. Gross domestic panda. You didn't know that, man?
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Yetis, you all look fantastic today. And if you haven't yet, you got to check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. We dropped a link in the episode description. This week's episode, it's on the Oregon Trail. The video game that changed all video games. Trigger alert. A lot of nostalgia in that episode.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And a whole lot of dysentery. Jack and I will see you there, and we'll see you right here tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Jan Quilar over in Carretero, Mexico. And a happy 11th birthday to Kai Curley in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This Lego-loving young chef is one year older. Love those international listeners.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And Jeff Gregory is turning 30 years old down in lovely San Diego, California. Happy birthday to OG snacker and bestie Tammy Conquerat in Alpine, Utah. Legendary Yeti. And a shout out to Selvia, who Jack, I just met at the Ferry Building. She launched a startup last March. Probably going to be the next unicorn.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And finally, shout out to us because our podcast was featured on Lifehacker's Top 10 Money Pods. Not a bad listicle to be a part of. Thanks for the heads up, Michael Molino. Actually, Jack, my mom forwarded me a Google alert this morning saying that we got involved. Yeah. I know. Your mom has a Google alert. I love that she's got a Google alert out on us. All our PR updates, they come from my mom.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock in Apple. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Honestly, they're so cute, I don't even believe they exist, Jack. But for businesses located near the zoo, revenues actually triple during panda unveil. We repeat, sales triple when the Panda exhibit is open in a zoo. One bakery in Washington, D.C. described their two most profitable weeks in the bakery's history. One was when the pandas first came, and the other was right before the pandas left.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
If you want to boost the economy, we don't need a stimulus package. No, we need more pandas. Supply and demand and pandas. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And the city of Los Angeles is experiencing horrible wildfires. A thousand structures have been destroyed. 23,000 acres have been burned. And as of this recording, the fires are 0% contained. Honestly, we cannot imagine what our Angelenos are going through right now. So Jack and I are going to make this the best possible tea point. Jack, three stories for today's pod. What do we got on the show?
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
For our first story, Donald Trump wants Greenland to become part of the United States. And we actually think there's a potential win-win-win outcome for the United States, Denmark, and Greenland. Now yet, Donald Trump doesn't become president for two more weeks. But already, he's whipped out a pencil, a compass, and an eraser, and he's trying to redraw America's map.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Donald Trump said he wants to grow the American empire by force if necessary. Or as the Wall Street Journal put it in poli-sci terms, Donald Trump imagines a new sphere of American influence from South America to the Arctic. Here are some of the ideas that he floated in a press conference on Tuesday like a rambling Carmen Sandiego.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Okay, first, the idea was to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Side note, that would require a bill from Congress to make official. Okay, second, he wants to take back the Panama Canal for national security reasons. And he didn't rule out using economic or military force to do so. And then he threw this one out there. Canada should become the 51st state right up north.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Look, Trump's not afraid to insult or offend people and to use America's strength to try to get what he wants, even if it's from allies. Although that made for an extremely stressful week for cartologists out there who are just trying to figure out where to draw the lines, man. All right. So those three ideas was a bunch of brouhaha, bunch of headlines, bunch of tweets, bunch of reactions.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
But pause the pod for a second because Jack and I actually think one of these geographic ideas could actually be a good idea. And by a good idea, we mean a consensual deal where both sides walk away happy. And we're not talking about violating a foreign country's sovereignty, a military invasion, or, you know, any other moves that could start a war.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
We're talking about the idea that the United States could acquire Greenland. Buying Greenland, the world's biggest island. Sounds kind of wild. but actually makes economic sense. All right, yetis, Nick and I jumped into the CIA world fact book so we could sprinkle on some context for you. Greenland is an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark. Yes, it is.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
But Greenland is physically closer to North America than it is to Denmark. Also, let's talk emotionally closer because 50,000 Greenlanders are already moving toward independence, which they could vote to make happen. And when it comes to the United States doing a deal with Denmark, we've actually done a land deal with Denmark before.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Get this, back in 1917, Denmark sold us a few Virgin Islands, which became the U.S. Virgin Islands. A lot of the United States came from... purchasing land. Yeah, those Virgin Islands, they were 25 million bucks. Oh, and the Louisiana purchase, which basically got us everything in the Western United States, that was a purchase from France, which was nearly as big as Greenland.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
But the best analogy to think of when you think about the United States potentially acquiring Greenland is Alaska. Yeah, it's Alaska because 158 years ago, we acquired Alaska from Russia for the equivalent of 150 million bucks today. What a deal. And back then, it was actually considered a mistake. Today though, it's considered one of the best bargains of all time.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Also, funny detail we also discovered, the United States almost acquired Greenland back then too. That was also on the negotiating block. Now, economically, Greenland is also kind of like Alaska. Because Greenland is 80% ice, but there's potentially serious untapped natural resources under the ice, which would be huge if climate change melts that ice.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Basically, Greenland is the Arctic's version of Wakanda. It's filled with rare earth metals, there's oil and gas, there is melting ice that's also opening up new sea routes, also an economic opportunity. And finally, geopolitically. Yep. Land on this earth is a zero-sum game. So basically, if the United States doesn't own Greenland, then Russia or China could potentially own Greenland.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
For our first story, it's Donald Trump's latest idea. He wants America to buy Greenland. So Jack and I got the economic case on how Greenland could become the 51st state. For our second story, it's the biggest tech update at the Consumer Electronics Show. And guess what? It's from John Deere. Yeah, that John Deere. John Deere is solving food prices with a self-driving Robo Tractor.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Now, Denmark concedes that Greenlanders are likely to vote to become independent soon. So this strategically important huge island in the North Atlantic, it could soon become a free agent geopolitically. Which has led to this new idea. And here's how the deal could work out. Denmark could get a boatload of money for the United States in exchange for Greenland. Okay.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Greenlanders could get the security, trade, and immigration advantages of being part of the United States. Check. And the United States would get the geopolitically strategic island of... of Greenland. Add it all up, and Jack, that's a potential win, win, win. Not necessarily a 51st state, but Greenland could become Alaska 2.0.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Worst case, you could compromise and just buy part of Greenland, and then that also kind of works. Unless Thor throws his hammer and blocks a potential deal, then the whole thing could be off. Don't mess with the Vikings. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Greenland? We're entering a new world order. The old rules are becoming the new rules.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Yetis, before World War II, countries buying land from other countries, that was actually somewhat common. It was called the sovereign territory market. Real thing. Nations exchanged real estate whether the people living on that land consented or not.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Well, post-World War II, and actually especially post-Cold War, a new world order crystallized with maps and alliances that have pretty much stayed the same over the last century. The U.S. was the world superpower, and most countries respected borders and international law.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Well, in just the last few years, that's already fallen apart with Russia invading Ukraine, disruption in the Middle East, and now Trump intending to challenge the status quo as well. You thought the map was done. Thought it was done. You thought the borders were set. Thought they were set. But the world is going back in some respects to the pre-United Nations era.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And that era is if a big country wants something from a small country, they may ask for it, they may take it, or they may even offer to buy it. Or entering a new world order. The old rules are the new rules. For our second story, John Deere, a tractor company, says they're now a tech company. Introducing self-driving robotractors and the AI of everything trend. Oh, Yetis, we all know that buddy.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Your buddy who bought the first ever Palm Pilot and still thinks the Apple Vision Pro is going to happen. If you're in San Francisco, you know that buddy. If you're in Vermont, you're like, what is Apple Vision Pro? Well, that buddy, she is at the CES Consumer Electronics Show over in Las Vegas happening right now this week.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Since 1967, this conference has showed off the cutting edge consumer electronics. Okay, Jack, take us back to 2005. What was the theme of CES that year? 20 years ago at CES, we got the Xbox 360, DVD recorders, and a whole bunch of iPod knockoffs. Okay, 2015, what was the theme 10 years ago? Smart TVs, smart watches, and 3D printers.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Okay, but 2025, this year, theme of the epic electronics technology show, what was it, man? Artificial intelligence. Classic AI. Nothing surprising there. However, the one shocking highlight that we thought was the biggest of all was John Deere. John Deere at the Consumer Electronics Show. Is that a tractor or is that a giant computer?
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Well, Jack, actually, it's both because John Deere introduced their second-generation autonomous vehicles this week at the tech show. John Deere, the 188-year-old agriculture equipment company... John Deere is born in Vermont, by the way. Good guy. It's worth $100 billion, but the stock's been pretty much flat for the last four years.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And yet, at the world's biggest tech event, John Deere just unveiled self-driving robo-tractors. Now, here's the key. It's easier to deploy self-driving vehicles in hayfields than it is on highways. Yeah, no one's going to freak out if you hit a corn stalk. A corn stalk, that's a perfectly acceptable casualty. And since they're fully autonomous...
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And our third and final story I wish I had in middle school. It's so good. Starface has become a $100 million skincare startup because Starface is putting stars on pimples. Pimple patches. They're pimple patches. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... What a mix today. Love the mix, Jack. Nick, what are the three most powerful forces in economics?
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
self-driving tractors could solve the labor shortage that's coming to farming, landscaping, and construction. And why is that big, Jack? Because Trump's deportation plans are going to impact those immigrant-dependent industries the most. And on top of that, if used at scale, these self-driving robo-tractors would actually help lower food prices long-term.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Plus, the tractors, lawnmowers, and dump trucks that John Deere is making self-driving, they don't just drive themselves, they're also intelligent. Like intelligent as in they plant crops, they fertilize lawns, they apply pesticides, and they even ID weeds. Is that crabgrass? The machine knows. I know you hate crabgrass. There's a special place in hell for every crabgrass seed.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Trigger warning on the crabgrass. Well, apparently the tractors at John Deere can tell you if it's crabgrass. But all of those smart decisions that these self-driving vehicles can make They all require onboard artificial intelligence chips. And guess who's providing those chips, Nick? Can I buy a vowel? It's not Tostitos. I don't think it's Tostitos, Jack. Who is it, man? It's NVIDIA.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And it's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in tech? The internet of things has been replaced by the AI of everything. Now yet is this year's keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show. It was made by Jensen Wang, the CEO of NVIDIA. We all know that NVIDIA chips are crucial to powering AI chatbots and generative AI.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
So Jensen only mentioned the word chatbot once in the whole 90-minute speech. Because we didn't all know that NVIDIA chips are crucial for robots too. Robots, physical machines that can operate without human supervision. And that is why Jensen said the word robot or robotics 61 times in that 90-minute speech. He name-dropped Uber and robotics. He name-dropped Toyota and robotics.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
And he name-dropped John Deere. They all need NVIDIA chips for their robotics projects. And that is why just this week, NVIDIA's valuation passed Apple, hitting $3.7 trillion to be the biggest company on earth. Because NVIDIA's chips will be everywhere, digital and physical, for virtual agents and for robots. The Internet of Things. It's been replaced by the AI of everything.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Ah, the three most powerful forces in economics, that would be supply, demand, and pandas. That's right. Few factors can move the markets like a black and white panda bear. Besties, here's the news. Starting this week, two new pandas are being unveiled at our National Zoo down in D.C. Their names are Bao Li and King Bao. Great names. And they're the biggest celebrities in America right now.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
For our third and final story, Starface is making a hundred million bucks a year putting stickers on pimples. Starface pimple patches have turned a bug into a feature. Now, yetis, Jack and I would like to relive a little, little T trauma from middle school. Jack, this is a safe space. The floor is yours. I'm here for you. What do you want to say, man? What do you want to say?
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
I had a gigantic zit right between my eyebrows where my unibrow is supposed to be. I didn't know you had a unibrow. I tried to pop the zit right before school. Not good. It went horribly wrong. Oh, no. And I had to go to school with this volcano in the middle of my forehead. Jennifer wouldn't let you take a sick day? Well, I should have asked for one. I bet you she would have let me.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
Your mom was a teacher. I feel like she wouldn't be down with that, Jack. It was so big, it looked like I was trying to make a fashion statement. A misguided fashion statement. It was right down the center. But yet, there's nothing Jack and I could do back then. We were just using Proactiv and Neutrogena. It didn't work. But the Gen Alphas in seventh grade today, there is something they can do.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
They have a solution. It's Starface, a beauty accessory startup that has gone viral right now with cute pimple patches. They're not decorative. They're dermatology. Good point, Jack, because these are star-shaped. They're colorful, but they're medicated. They're basically like a Lisa Frank Band-Aid. Before you head to school, you stick one of these medicated sticker shapes. It's like a rainbow.
The Best One Yet
⛰️ “51st State” — USA’s Greenland deal. Starface’s pimple patch. John Deere’s robo-tractor.
It's a star, and you stick it on your cheek. It looks really cute. It might be covering a pimple. Or you might just be looking fabulous today. So you can strut confidently into that cafeteria and you're basically looking like Ziggy Stardust because you're wearing a Starface pimple pink.
The Best One Yet
🏰 “Donald Duck Diplomacy” — DisneyLand Abu Dhabi. Elon’s Texas city. Russell Westbrook's AI funeral app.
True. Jack, three stories. Let's hit it, baby. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🏰 “Donald Duck Diplomacy” — DisneyLand Abu Dhabi. Elon’s Texas city. Russell Westbrook's AI funeral app.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🏰 “Donald Duck Diplomacy” — DisneyLand Abu Dhabi. Elon’s Texas city. Russell Westbrook's AI funeral app.
It's a true story.
The Best One Yet
🧃 “Hold the caffeine” — Four Loko’s return. Europe’s military stocks. Warren Buffett’s fave biz.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday. February 6th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. If enough Yetis leave a comment today that they want a Super Bowl podcast, Jack and I will make an entire business-themed Super Bowl podcast. I got a few stories in mind already.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
The Super Bowl ad resurrected the career of the late, great Betty White. She went on Oprah. She went on Jay Leno. She went on Ellen. She even hosted Saturday Night Live at the age of 88. All because of a 30-second commercial on TV for a candy bar. Now, why was this such a powerful commercial, Nick? Well, the first thing we noticed is that it repositioned the job of Snickers in your daily life.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Get this, Yetis. CEOs are hiring TikTok coaches to help them sell on social media. Or to figure out how to handle a selfie at that perfect 37-degree angle. According to NBC News, one water bottle entrepreneur hired a TikTok coach. At the time, she had zero followers. But that coach trained her on how to strategically post at the optimal time three points during the day.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Before this commercial, people thought of Snickers as a candy bar. It was a nice-to-eat treat for yourself. But after this commercial, Snickers was seen more like a protein bar. you need to eat it for critical energy. So after laughing about 88-year-old Betty White getting gang-tackled into a mud puddle, you changed your mind about that Snickers bar.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But besties, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we discovered that it wasn't just Snickers' strategic repositioning that made it such an effective ad. It was actually something deeper. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Snickers? Great advertising acts like your therapist. Lie down on our couch, yetis, because there is a Freudian depth to an effective ad.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
According to the team that did that Betty White Snickers commercial, the target for the ad was young men. So they touched on a common psychological insecurity among young men. being left off the team, like not getting to be one of the guys. So the deeper meaning of this Betty White commercial, if you're hungry, you'll be seen by the guys as weak.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
So eat a Snickers and the guys will then hug you again and you can get right back into the game. That's a psychological level of depth that would make a Carl Jung cry, wouldn't it, Nick? Yeah, would you? In fact, that insecurity was so universal among young men, they redid that ad in 80 countries for Snickers. They actually made 10 versions of this commercial.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
touching on other common psychological insecurities of both men and women. Like Snickers said, the ones targeting women touched on the insecurity of looking like a diva. This campaign ended up being Adweek's campaign of the decade and won awards at the cons line advertising festivals.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But most importantly, it saved Snickers because Snickers thought like a therapist and capitalized on the insecurities of men. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Waffle House is reacting to the egg-flation situation with a 50 cent per egg surcharge. But who's at fault? It's Bird Flu's fault. Presidents don't control prices.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
For our second story, Xi'an and Timu prices are set to rise and shipping is going to take longer because of the new made-in-China tax. Remember what Barbie taught us. Nobody wins with tariffs. In practice, everyone wins. loses a little. And our third and final story. Snickers had the best Super Bowl commercial ever 15 years ago, and it starred Betty White. The Betty White bump.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
It was so effective because the commercial strategy was therapy. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the deep seek scare isn't affecting AI companies in America with big spending plans. The big tech companies all announced earnings in the last week or two. Microsoft is spending $80 billion on CapEx this year.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Google is spending $75 billion on AI splurges. And Meta is spending $65 billion. They're all still craving NVIDIA's expensive chips. And second, fewer Americans are quitting their jobs. It's the highest level of loyalty at work since pre-pandemic. In 2022, the peak year of the great resignation, 50 million workers quit their jobs in America. But what about this last year, Jack?
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Only 39 million people quit their jobs. It's the lowest level since 2020. It's the great gonna stay at my job. And finally, Uber announced earnings, but the big surprise was actually Waymo robo taxis. If you're in Austin, Texas right now, open up your Uber app. You're going to see an option to join a wait list for robo cab rides. It's now part of a partnership with Waymo and Uber.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
And the results were insane. Now she has 80,000 followers, a deal with Target to sell her product, and an appearance on the CNBC TV show Shark Tank. Her TikTok coach turned her into a TikTok pro. Now, Coach TikTok won't make you run sprints. No, they make you record hook lines. Coach TikTok doesn't make you do push-ups. No, they make you do CTAs.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
In Tesla's last earnings call, Elon pledged that this summer, self-driving Teslas would be on the streets of Austin with no driver behind the wheel. So it's basically a self-driving race in the Lone Star State's capital. Uber... And Waymo versus Tesla. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Catherine Y in lovely North Carolina.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Yesterday, we did a story on Spotify and we compared their earnings to the boy band Hanson. We said that Hanson was a one-hit wonder. But Catherine pointed out that Hanson is far from a one-hit wonder.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
They're a 30 year multi-hit wonder. I think Catherine is one of the girls I went to elementary school with.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Hanson also has their own record label, their own beer company, and they go on tour almost every year. Mbop. Those are the only lyrics I know from the song, Mbop. That's actually the only lyrics in the song, yeah. Yetis, you look fantastic today, whether you got your TikTok coach coaching you or not. The best way you can help grow the show is a couple of things.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
First, tell a buddy, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have you had the best one yet? Second, tell yourself there's no I in team, but there is an I in viral. And then drop us five stars because that TikTok coach would like you to do it. Make an I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy 42nd birthday to Sarah and sixth birthday to Camille in Ellicott City, Maryland.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Jack, a mother and daughter of Yetis with back-to-back birthdays, baby. Nick, you know we're expecting our third kid. I know, you could be like that. The due date is February 28th. Alex's birthday is March 3rd. They could have the same birthday. And Chelsea McKnight is celebrating a birthday in Harrison, New Jersey, and a happy National School Counseling Week to all the school counselors out there.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Congratulations to Stephen and Corey Hoffman in Chicago who just had a new baby. Nothing like logistics when it comes to a baby. And Claire Ross and the entire Mixed Eat Up team in Detroit, Michigan launched a personalized restaurant recommendations app. They're fans of Gramercy Tavern. And it is fantastic. They bootstrapped their first fundraise and got a huge congratulations from us right now.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Can't wait to check it out. And Carl Durking in St. Louis is the MVP of his soccer team. OG Yeti turned the whole team into besties, Jack. Thank you, Carl. And our buddy Santi, whose Latin American shopping app, SamSam, is surging right now. Jack, I ran into Santi in the Ferry Building. You show me the app, it looks fantastic. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both on stock in Apple and Spotify. Quiche? No capiche!
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
And Coach TikTok doesn't yell at you from the sidelines. No, Coach TikTok will yell at you from behind a ring light. The only coach we didn't expect is the most viral one. The TikTok coach. Whistle not included. Unless the algorithm wants that jacket.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
For our first story, Waffle House is taking a stand on the crazy high price of eggs by adding an egg fee with egg prices close to a record high. We'll tell you who's really to blame. Now, yetis, every morning, Jack and I wake up. We find dozens of potential stories for this podcast. We call it our headline hammer. And Jack, what was the wildest headline we discovered yesterday?
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Oh, I got a surprise for you too. What do you got? Oh, well, yesterday we did the story about the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line. Yeah. They weigh one metric ton, those five linemen together. You know their specialty, the brotherly shove. The city of brotherly love does the brotherly shove with those five guys. It's a work in progress, Yetis. We're going to get on this.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
100,000 eggs were stolen in Pennsylvania. The thief is still at large. Who steals 100,000 eggs? First of all... Jack, I'd spill 90,000 of them on me. I'm breaking all that yolk. Also, eggs are perishable. Not a good thing to steal. I mean, is there a black market for eggs? Because egg prices are out of control again. Again.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Two years ago, Yetis, we covered this similar story, the egg-flation situation. We called it the frittata fiasco. Oh, my omelet. Because in January of 2023, egg prices topped out at a record high $4.80 per dozen after tripling in just the last year and a half. Couple reasons for this. The main one, supply. The last two years, we've experienced the worst bird flu outbreak in American history.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Farmers are having to kill one out of seven egg-laying hens in America. Well, that bird flu that spiked in 2022, it's spiking again right now. Supply issue. Yeah, it's tragic, Nick. Farmers are slaughtering their entire flock to limit the spread of bird flu. But it's not just supply. Meanwhile, demand for eggs just set a record high for the 23rd straight month. Americans love eggs.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
And side note, the Ozempic effect is resulting in even more egg demand. People on Ozempic love eggs. It's like a light, lean protein. Well, you add it all up and egg prices are about to tie an all-time high set in 2022 at $4.80 a dozen. But the USDA expects the price of eggs to increase another 45% this year because of bird flu. At this point, you don't put caviar on your eggs.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
You put eggs on your caviar. But Nick, all the prices we've been discussing so far, $4.80 per dozen, that's the wholesale price of eggs. Right. Like the average restaurant is paying $7.79 for a carton of eggs. Which is up from $3 last year. And at Whole Foods, they're selling eggs for 11 bucks a dozen. The farmer's market in San Francisco, they take your children if you want eggs.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
That's the trade they make. For Valentine's Day, Jack, I'm just making Molly an egg. Oh, that's your fancy display of love? Yeah. It's a candle and an egg. Yeah. and shakshuka. But yetis, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. The latest news is causing cultural chaos for eggflation. We have a Waffle House warning. Here it is.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
America's most iconic all-day breakfast chain is putting a 50-cent surcharge on every egg that you order. The Waffle House is adding a frittata fee. That's what they're doing. For example, if you add an extra scrambled egg on your triple play value meal, it's another 50 cents. If you you order a two-egg omelet. Another dollar more. If you order a steak and eight eggs because you're that hungry.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Jack, that is $4 and you're going to have to pay in cash on that thing. A $4 surcharge on top of the existing menu price that you see. If you bring a whole high school football team to a Waffle House in Alabama, they would bankrupt the place if they didn't have this egg fee. Now, we ran the numbers, Yetis. The typical Waffle House sells 143,000 eggs every year.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
And it cost them 65 cents an egg, so... Each Waffle House spends $100,000 per year just buying eggs. A hundred grand just on eggs. So with the price spikes, they had to do something. But it didn't make sense to raise all menu prices. The problem is just these eggs. What we're saying, basically, is that eggs are the new guac. eggs cost extra.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
In the meantime, three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, Waffle House is now charging a 50 cent surcharge for each egg that you order. Oh, my omelet. So Jack and I are going to tell you who to blame for America's current eggflation situation.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Waffle House, probably not the only place that's going to start doing this. Looking at you, Wendy. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the eggflation situation? Eggs are the perfect bipartisan reminder that presidents can't control prices. Yetis, this isn't a political story. It's actually a fantastic economic reminder for all American citizens across the political spectrum.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Because under every president, there's one price that we freak out about and we blame the whole administration for it. One price that reflects inflation. Like with President Biden, he got blamed for high gas prices, but the president doesn't control gas prices. No, they don't. The OPEC oil cartel controls the supply of oil and the world economy controls the demand for oil.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Well, now we've got high egg prices, so many are going to smirk and blame President Trump. But just like with oil, the president can't control egg prices. It's totally beyond his control. In fact, no executive order can fix a devastating bird flu epidemic, or change our appetite for eggs, or force Waffle House to kill the frittata fee.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
There's some prices, we should say, that government policy can influence. Prescription drugs, for example. But when it comes to commodities and food, eggflation serves as a fantastic economic reminder. Presidents don't control prices. For our second story, it's the Timu tariff. Stuff you buy on Shein and Timu will arrive slower and cost more thanks to brand new tariffs.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But the best way to explain the made-in-China tax is with Barbie. With Barbie dolls. But yetis, if you're feeling tariff fatigue these days, well, sorry, you haven't felt anything yet. You saw a lot of headlines about Colombia, Mexico, and Canada, but those were tariff threats. Tariffs didn't actually ever happen.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Exactly, because each of those countries offered concessions, so Trump canceled those tariffs this week. But with China, China is not an ally. And they're a much bigger and stronger economy that's less likely to cave to President Trump's demands. So on Tuesday, real actual tariffs went into effect against China, and they're happening right now.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Now, the very next day, China retaliated with tariffs of their own on made-in-America goods. In fact, Beijing even threatened to investigate Apple because they use Chinese factories for iPhone production. And what president Xi wants, Xi gets. So trade war two has begun between the US and China.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But yetis, if you're procrastinating on your phone doing a little online shopping right now, you may already experience the China tariffs that came into effect on Tuesday. Because those tariffs already hit Shein's cute tops and Timu's coffee mugs. Shein and Timu. The real-time, super cheap shopping apps that have taken over America.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
For our second story, Chinese tariffs began Tuesday, and they're hitting Timu and Qian with a double whammy. But the best person to explain the China tariffs is actually Barbie. And our third and final story, how did Snickers become the number one candy bar in America? It's because of Betty White, a Super Bowl commercial, and Sigmund Freud, the therapist.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
One sec, Jack, while I buy this $3 tankini and $2 pineapple pool float over on Shein. If you're buying something on Shein, shoppers are actually going to experience a double whammy thanks to this tariff news. And now full disclosure, Jack buys his toilet paper on Teemu. So this has already hit him hard. It's a personal story. I really don't take good care of my butt.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But Trump's China tariffs also happened to close a loophole related to these two startups. It's the de minimis loophole. And here's what it is. Teemu and Tian send stuff directly from Chinese factories to American doorsteps, which allows them to ship shirts and shoe racks duty-free. It's a loophole. That's the loophole. That's why Shein and Timu are so cheap.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But now that that loophole is getting closed, in the short term, your Timu haul is going to arrive later than it usually does. Because for the first time, Timu products will have to go through American Customs. And in the long term, your Timu haul is going to get more expensive. Right. Because for the first time, you're going to have to pay duties and a new 10% tariff fee on those Timu products.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
So if you're shoppy, shoppy till you dropy, dropy, you're in for some bad news at Shein and Timu. But Jack, I gotta ask, for the sake of your Timu toilet paper, who actually pays these China tariffs? We buy a lot of stuff from China. It's not Shimu and Tian. But who actually pays the tariffs isn't always clear cut.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
So the best way Jack and I can explain who ends up paying the tariffs is through Mattel and Barbie dolls. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in America? Nobody wins with tariffs. Everyone loses a little. Nobody wins with tariffs. Yeah, it is a funny thing, but Jack and I actually first said that back in 2019 during the first trade war.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
And one of our legendary listeners actually put it on a pillow for us. Amazing. We still have the pillow. No, I'm sure we don't. We left it at Robnett. Stupid mistake by us. But now that tariffs are a thing again with trade war two, it reminds us who loses with tariffs. And the answer is Barbie. And we'll explain with Barbie.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Mattel announced yesterday that higher prices are coming since almost half of their toys are made in China, including the Barbie doll. So Mattel's profits could shrink if they pay the 10% tax as Barbie arrives in America from China. Or more likely, the consumer is going to lose because Mattel is going to pass on that tax to us with 10% higher prices for the Barbie dolls.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Or the owner of the factory in China could lose if they lower the price of their manufacturing of Barbie dolls to offset the tariff. In practice, it's a mix. It is. The factory lowers the price a little bit, Mattel's profits shrink a little bit, and us consumers pay a little higher price. The only winner, you could argue, is the United States, who collects that tariff tax.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But that tax revenue gets erased because China is retaliating on our tariffs with their own tariffs. That's the end result. Less Barbies get made and less Barbies get bought. And that's how tariffs affect the economy. Because nobody wins with tariffs, everybody loses a little. Put that on a pillow. Again. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love today's mix, Jack. The newest job in America didn't exist two years ago. TikTok coach. TikTok coach. Not tennis coach, not executive coach, not even life coach or coach coach. A coach for TikTok. That's it. There is no I in team, but there is an I in going viral, Jack. That's what a TikTok coach tells you.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
For our third and final story, as the Super Bowl approaches, Jack and I found the most successful Super Bowl commercial ever. Here's how 15 years ago, Snickers used Betty White to sell candy bars to insecure men. We call it the therapy strategy. But Jack, back in 2010, what was going on? Can you lay the economic context first, please?
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
The Great Recession was still happening in the wake of the financial crisis. Apple had just launched the iPad after the success of the iPhone. Yeah. And you and I were close to graduating college. We were still in our roommate era. It was an economic feat. Well, for Snickers, 2010 was a bad year. What is a nougat? Nobody knows. Nobody knows. But Sales of Snickers.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
They'd hit an all-time low back in 2010. This is a weird stat we found. Back then, half of Snickers buyers wouldn't buy a Snickers the following year. So basically, the candy bar was getting crushed. Well, to fix that problem, for the 2010 Super Bowl, Mars decided to throw a Hail Mary. Mars, the parent company of Snickers, spent $2.5 million on a 30-second Snickers Super Bowl commercial.
The Best One Yet
👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Now, you may have heard this yet. You've definitely seen it. We'll play a little clip for you. Mike, what is your deal, man? Oh, come on, man. You've been riding me all day. Mike, you're playing like Betty White out there. That's not what your girlfriend said.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
So what happened is after eating the Snickers bar, the guy transformed back into himself. He was no longer Betty White. He was no longer Betty White, the 88-year-old golden girl comically playing a tackle football in a muddy field. And what was the tagline in that commercial, Jack? You're not you when you're hungry. And what was the result of that commercial, Jack?
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Snickers sales surged after that commercial. Get this, after falling double digits for a decade, Snickers sales surged 16% after that ad. Suddenly, after the Saints won the Super Bowl, Snickers was selling out in aisle six. Within two years, Snickers had become the number one chocolate bar on planet Earth. So this was the year 2010, the early days of social media. Yeah, good point, Jack.
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👵🏻 “Betty White Bump” — The Best Super Bowl ad ever. Waffle House’s egg fee. Shein’s tariff trauma.
Snickers commercial was so good. It got 400 million unpaid impressions. People love talking about it on Twitter and Facebook. And that unpaid media value was worth 11 times Snickers' initial investment in the commercial. Here's a wild bit about this story. It wasn't just Snickers that got a bump. Betty White's career got a bump too. Yeah, Betty White got her own Betty White bump out of this.
The Best One Yet
👻 “Halloween Canceled” — Spirit’s trade war-ning. Fortune 500’s founder fun. Pizza Hut’s reading app.
Good talking.
The Best One Yet
👻 “Halloween Canceled” — Spirit’s trade war-ning. Fortune 500’s founder fun. Pizza Hut’s reading app.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick.
The Best One Yet
👻 “Halloween Canceled” — Spirit’s trade war-ning. Fortune 500’s founder fun. Pizza Hut’s reading app.
that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show first a quick word from our sponsor
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
nick you don't shake a bottle before popping it do you you're gonna need an extra towel if you do this is nick this is jack it's thursday the new friday december 5th and today's pod is the best one yet this is a t-boy the top three pop business news stories you need to know today you got it ready is it chilled is the prosecco ready oh wait i'm doing it now you got it now yeah we got a show to do
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Basically, the checks and balances of Korea's democracy worked, and the president's overreach was corrected by South Korea's parliament. But we wanted to remind you how surprisingly huge the country's economy is that we're talking about. After we saw this story, we jumped in T-boy style. And little South Korea, its economy punches above its weight like a bimmy bop Rocky Balboa Jack.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
South Korea is home to Samsung, the biggest smartphone and chip maker in the world. Not just Samsung. they're also home to LG, the largest TV maker and battery maker in the world. Hyundai and Kia, they're crushing it across the world. Two Korean car companies. Two of the 10 largest car companies in the world. Oh, K-pop, it's become a top music genre globally, from BTS to Blackpink.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Korean cosmetics are trending globally, from Missha to Laneige. Even Netflix has called Korea its best international success story. Squid Game? Yeah. Korean television show. We even did a story last year on Korean gastro diplomacy. The government would pay restaurants overseas to make Korean food to spread Korean culture.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
So the Korean stock market fell 4% on Tuesday with this wild martial law announcement. And the central bank had to jump in to pledge financial support to all the banks during that moment of crisis. And now things have calmed down as the president's takeover has been stopped. And global markets are relieved. Yes, they are. Because of our takeaway.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
So Jack, could you pass the kimchi and tell us what's the takeaway for our buddies over in South Korea? South Korea has become the Yoda of global economies. Now, Yeti, statistically speaking, despite its small size, South Korea's economy is demonstrably huge. America has the number one economy in the world.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
But if we look at GDP per square mile, South Korea is actually eight times larger than the United States. Oh, we repeat, South Korea's economy on a GDP per square mile basis is eight times America. Not too shabby. As Yoda said, size matters not. Look at me.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Judge me by my size, do you?
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
All right, well, Jack, the more interesting data, we got to share this. Korea actually puts 5% of its GDP into R&D, research and development. That's the second highest percentage on earth. Jack, can you sprinkle on some context to that particular number? That's two times bigger than our share of spending on R&D in the United States.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
So not only is South Korea's economy powerful, it's investing to make it even more powerful in the future. And their investments in R&D is a key reason they're on top of multiple industries worldwide. So like Yoda, the tiny Jedi, South Korea's economy is mighty beyond its size. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday?
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Spotify just launched AI Podcast Wrapped, which is an AI-generated commentary on your wrapped for 2024. But real-life Nick and Jack think that big tech has doubled in value thanks to AI. And this Spotify-Google partnership, it shows us why. For our second story, sales of the Bible are up 22% in America this year. We're buying 17 million Bibles in 2024.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And it's all because a media diet is like your food diet. Ultimately, we all crave some balance. A little bit of Tocqueville. And finally, South Korea's flirtation with martial law is over, and global markets are relieved. Because the Yoda of global economy, South Korea is. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
But yeah, it is before you hit that wonderful mix of stars. I mean, what a fantastic mix of stories, Jack. I ordered my Prosecco slightly chilled, by the way, just pointing that out. Yetis, you may have heard that the Oxford Dictionary recently announced the word of the year. And that word of the year is... brain rot. Brain rot.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
First, the CEO of United Health Insurance was shot dead in a targeted attack in New York City. Brian Thompson was there for the insurance company's investor day, which was canceled after the shooting. Even though the shooting happened in a busy midtown Manhattan street right next to Rockefeller Center, police are searching for the suspect who is still at large.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Second, Donald Trump has named his nominee to lead the SEC. And that man is Paul Atkins. Paul Atkins. And the price of Bitcoin and Ben the Bitcoin rose 3% because Atkins is a crypto-friendly kind of guy. He's a former SEC commissioner, so he does have experience. not just laser eyes. And finally, 7-Eleven may have a US IPO. Slushies, let's make them happen for everyone.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Did you know that 7-Eleven is Japanese? Isn't that wild? Well, the convenience store may be pulling a Shohei Otani and coming to America. In fact, 7-Eleven generated $70 billion in sales last year, mostly on Long Island from the data we've seen and mostly selling Red Bulls. Now, time for the best fact yet.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
This one sent in by Eric Hahn and Kat Hahn, who listen to this show together, husband and wife, over in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Trivia. What's the steepest road, paved road, in the United States? Now, first thought was San Francisco because we actually have a leash for our sun stroller. That's how risky the hills are. There are a lot of hills in San Francisco.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
It's a good thing San Francisco never freezes because if there was ice on those streets- Wouldn't work. It'd be chaos. The whole city would self-destruct. But the answer is not San Francisco. The steepest road in the United States is Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That tiny street has a 37 degree pitch. Oh, and by the way, it does freeze in Pittsburgh. It does freeze.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
So you're not driving on that road if it's below 32. The Guinness records have confirmed that Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh is officially the steepest street in America. Yetis, you look fantastic today. And to Zendaya, we are so sorry we've been saying Zendaya for like six years now. That is on us. And to Pete B, sorry we've been mispronouncing your name too.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And if you drive a Porsche or Porsche, we all know it's really Porsche. Porsche. Yetis, if you haven't yet, check out our latest episode of The Best Idea Yet, the new episode. It's on the untold origin story of the Polaroid camera. We dropped a link in the episode description. In the meantime, Jack and I will see you tomorrow.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Faria Rashid over in Atlanta, Georgia. Happy 27th birthday to Alec Pham in Minnesota. And Maria Gracio is celebrating a birthday in Santo Amadar, Portugal. Happy 7th birthday to Axel Perani in San Mateo, California. Jack, he's been a snacker since he was two years old. He's been listening before he could talk. Axel is the best one yet.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
As in, I was scrolling TikTok for so long, I'm suffering brain rot right now. Hey, Oxford, that's actually two words, but we will accept brain rot as the word of the year for 2024. But more interesting to us wasn't the word of the year. It was the mispronounced words of the year. Get this. I mean this. The language company Babbel studied 100,000 hours of live TV footage.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And Ivana Laura is turning 40 years old down in lovely Washington, D.C. And thank you so much to everyone who shared that T-Boy was their top podcast on Spotify wrapped. Everyone who shared their wrapped, it was so exciting for Jack and I to wake up and see all that love, all that appreciation, all your posts. Thank you so much for sharing all of it.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
If you haven't shared it yet, go ahead and do it. Tag us. It'll make Nick and me very happy. Oh, and by the way, we'll share our own wrapped in our newsletter, which comes out Saturday. So sign up for the newsletter. We got a link in the episode description. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Spotify, and we both own one Bitcoin, whose name is Ben. And this is Jack.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
I own stock of Netflix. Oh, really treating yourself to that Prosecco over there. We bought it. We're on camera, you know? I'm not an AI host, Nick. I'm a human being. Yeah, one of the advantages they have is sobriety. Prosecco. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And they discovered the most mispronounced words by the newscasters, the politicians, and the game show hosts. The most mispronounced words. words. I mean, mispronounced. Jack, why don't you kick us off? What are the five most mispronounced words this year? What do we got? The most mispronounced word of this year was the Chinese shopping app, Sheen. Oh, you mean She-in. It's actually She-in.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
That's what they said. Yeah. The second most mispronounced word was the actress, Zendaya. It's actually Zendaya. It's mispronounced. It should be Zendaya. Third was the politician, Pete Buttigieg. You mean Buttigieg. I think I'm still mispronouncing it, but that's actually the right pronunciation. You're definitely mispronouncing it. But I'm close enough. I'm close enough. All right.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
The next one was the crucial Ozempic ingredient, semaglutide. Jack, you mean semaglutide.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
All right. Thank you.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Semaglutide. And finally, who could forget the singer, Chappelle Rhone. Ah, you mean Chappelle Rhone. She's not going to be happy about that one. I think we just fell off her Spotify rap. Yeah, yeah. She was a Yeti. She was a Yeti. So besties, you're welcome. Those are the five most mispronounced words of the year 2024. Let us know in the comments if we pronounced Pete Buttigieg correctly or not.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
In the meantime, Jack, we've got three fantastic stories. Let's hit the poodcast. I mean podcast. Let's hit the podcast. Let's hit the show.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
we are pouring one out because it is spotify wrap today thank you i just spilled all over myself thank you thank you to all the yetis who made us number one in 2024 get this 19 000 of you had t-boy as their top podcast on spotify this year Many, many more listen to us. But for 19,000 of you, we were the number one show just on Spotify. We were your go-to boom. Okay, another wild stat.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
For our first stories, Spotify is celebrating the 10th year of Spotify Wrapped, its annual corporate holiday. But this year, Spotify's show was stolen by AI podcast hosts. We got some opinions on this. But yeah, it is. We know that your Instagram just got lit up and we know what it looks like.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Your buddy Timmy just shared his five top musical indulgences and you swiped past it as quickly as possible. Yeah. Timmy's a Sabrina Carpenter guy too. Spotify. They just unwrapped their 10th year of Spotify wrapped. Your most listened to music and podcast from 2024. And honestly, we jumped in T-boy style to the numbers. No surprises at all were there, Jack.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Taylor Swift was the number one streamed music. Joe Rogan was the number one streamed podcast. But on this really fun day when Spotify has all the attention in the world, they used the opportunity to announce something big, a new big product. Last year, they announced on this day, AI DJs. Yeah, AI DJs, like a generic commentary and safe for work jokes about your musical taste.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
This year, they unveiled AI podcast hosts to wrap up your Spotify wrapped for you. We're talking one male and one female artificially intelligent podcast host to do the same thing as the AI DJ did last year. You can check it out right now. Nick and I did. It's called the AI Wrapped Podcast. It's like four minutes long, and it describes your Spotify wrapped.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
I don't want to be judgy here, Jack, as a full-time podcaster. It sounds a little corporate. It's like, Nick, you listened to 3,789 minutes of Sabrina Carpenter. Whoa, that puts Nick in the top 0.03% of her listeners.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Get this guy an espresso.
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📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
That's the Spotify-wrapped AI podcast. Yeah, but without the laughing and without the fun. Yet, it's actually kind of awkward for us to talk about this story because it's a story about potentially replacing us. But we're going to try to do it in as unbiased a fashion as possible. This isn't AI Nick and AI Jack. This is real human with a pulse Nick and real human with a pulse Jack.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Here's the deal with the AI-wrapped podcast. It was actually done in a partnership with Google AI, and it's just the beginning for Spotify, it turns out. Because by using AI with Google, the cost of creating a podcast goes to zero. AI podcast hosts don't need to get paid. There's no researchers, there's no script writers, and there's no fact checkers on AI podcasts.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Basically, all the expenses of our show, the critical things we pay for to produce the best one yet, are not paid for if it's all AI. That's why Spotify is going all in on AI podcasts. They can make as many as they want, basically for free. Infinitely scale the podcast host. But Jack, we should explain how the AI podcast host really works.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Google's AI allows one to input a series of information sources, basically a bunch of links, and it will transform the information from those links into a two-person dialogue using artificial intelligence, AKA a podcast. For example, let's say you just watch Gladiator 2 like I did. And you want to learn more about the Roman Colosseum that was central to that movie. Here's what you'd do.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
You'd paste in three links, like one New York Times article about the gladiators, one History Channel article about the gladiators, and like a book summary all about the Colosseum and Rome and all the good stuff. Boom. Degenerative AI would get to work. A bunch of servers, probably in like Idaho, would start humming.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And it would produce a 45-minute podcast episode with two AI hosts talking about the Colosseum.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Are you not entertained?
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Now, will the AI host correctly interpret the information and tell a compelling story arc? We don't know. Will the hosts add unique insights from their life experiences? Probably not, because they're bots. Will the AI hosts have the sprinkle and dinkle and razzle dazzle of Nick and Jack's?
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
I sure hope they don't, Jack.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
I really hope they don't because then we're in trouble. Jack, can you give me a cookie crisp just to keep us on top, man? Oh, no, because AI is probably training on this episode right now. They're going to steal our cookie crisp. We see you, AI. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Spotify? AI has made big tech twice as valuable. AI podcasts show us why.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
You ready, Jack? 31% of our audience is new as of this year. Welcome, besties. Apparently, a lot of you have been saying H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Welcome, yetis. So, besties, tag us in your raft, and we'll send you a video personally of us celebrating with a glass of Prosecco right here. Those are some of the top stats we just mentioned, but we posted them all on Instagram. All right, now, Jack.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Yetis, tech companies have become utilities. Must have services that every single company needs. Every company needs electricity, internet access, and cloud computing from Amazon. And it looks like every company will now need a generative AI provider as well. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple. Those are the five big tech dragons that know how to do generative AI the best.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
So every other company that wants to be on the cutting edge is going to end up partnering with one of those big five tech companies on AI. Like how Spotify's AI podcasts completely depend on Google's AI programming. And besties that, that's why those five big tech dragons have each gained $1 trillion in value since generative AI began. AI, it's made big tech twice as valuable.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
And AI podcasts are the perfect example showing why. For our second story, there's one book driving the entire publishing industry right now, and that book is the Bible. After 2,000 years, the Bible is selling at all-time highs, and there's a lesson for the media industry. And on the eighth day, God said, can I buy this book with Apple Pay?
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Yetis, despite digital media, the book publishing industry is still huge and it is growing right now. Americans buy 1 billion books per year, which is three books per American. And Barnes & Noble, they're adding 60 new bookstores this year because the book industry has got some momentum. For like my entire life, Barnes & Noble was reducing in size. It was. Now they're growing in size again.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Yeah, earlier this year, we did a whole story on Romantasy novels, how Romantasy is driving the book industry these days. But the surprise best-selling book of the year is the Bible. It's the Bible, the Bible. It's on pace to sell 17 million copies this year. That's up 22% from 2023. And that's just in America. The Old Testament, it's new again. The apostles, they're profit puppies.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
22% sales growth for the Bible compares to 1% overall sales growth for books. the Bible. It's been resurrected. Plus the average price of those Bibles, that's also up. They're selling premium Bibles. They're selling bedazzled Bibles. The Wall Street Journal found an $800 version of the Bible that was goat skin covered. Yeah, because you can find anything on Etsy these days, Jack.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
But the best part about this Bible bump is that the trademark for the Bible actually expired 2000 years ago. So any publisher could sell the Bible. Doesn't have to ask anyone for permission. Don't worry. It's not plagiarism. But besties, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. There's a bizarre contrast when it comes to the Bible bump.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
The Bible is booming, even as Americans are less religious than ever. So we got curious. How is this phenomenon happening? Well, the answer lies in one book publisher's quarterly earnings report. Or as we call it, financial scripture. Yeah, that's what we call it. HarperCollins, which is part of News Corp, announced that our Bible sales again are robust today.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Pour that Prosecco. Let's hit our three stories. For our first story, it's Spotify wrapped. This is the biggest, most powerful PR campaign of all corporations of all year. But here's this year's key innovation. Artificial intelligence podcast hosts. I don't feel comfortable. For our second story, it's the best-selling book right now. It's the Bible. The Bible.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
during this time of acute political uncertainty and intense global conflict. So the 22% Bible sales bump is from rising anxiety. Artificial intelligence, the election, the war in Middle East, the war in Ukraine, all of these are sources of stress and anxiety for people. But yetis, you know Jack and me, and you know we didn't stop there.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
We got curious, we jumped in T-boy style, and we discovered that this phenomenon is not just about the Bible. During the pandemic, which was also a time of high anxiety, philosophy book sales skyrocketed. Yeah, you spent the lockdown curling up with Plato, Confucius, a little bit of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, if you will, Jack. Socrates, whose trademark has also expired.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Was on the New York Times bestseller list for all of 2021. Deep. So it's less about religion. It's more about lessons. Consumers see philosophy as a warm blanket of comfort during times of uncertainty. You see an AI podcast host launched by Spotify. So maybe you spend the weekend curled up with some Carl Jung. Carl Young. I know you prefer Tocqueville, Jack, but that's a story for another pod.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
In the meantime, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the book industry? A media diet is like a food diet. Ultimately, we need balance. Yetis, the wildest stat about this 22% jump in Bible sales this year, it's who's buying all those Bibles. According to the Wall Street Journal, it's young people under the age of 30.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
In fact, the main driver of book sales overall in general, it's Gen Z young people under the age of 30. As one publisher put it, Gen Z wants something more solid. They want something to consume that is the opposite of their TikTok feeds. So the way Jack and I see it in this age of short form, algo driven, quick hit, dopa content on your screen.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
We're seeing the pendulum swim back to physical long form books, not just the Bible. And honestly, that's a reminder that consuming content, it's a lot like consuming food. Social media is the sugary sweets and desserts that taste really good. But ultimately your mind, like your stomach, craves something wholesome. Like Tocqueville. Like Tocqueville. Like Tocqueville.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
For our third and final story, South Korea just declared martial law and then undeclared martial law. It was crazy. This confusing and chaotic political moment is a reminder of how powerful Korea's economy really is. And we got the numbers to back it up. It's wild. But besties, for six hours on Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon declared martial law.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Americans bought 17 million Bibles this year, up 22%. So Jack and I are asking the holiest of questions. How are Bible sales up if religion is down? And our third and final story. South Korea just experienced political confusion and chaos, but things are now calm. So we are looking at South Korea's economy because it kind of reminds us of Yoda. GDP we have.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Basically, the army was ruling the country for six hours. It was a wild moment. A democratically elected president in a functioning democracy ordered a military takeover of law enforcement nationwide. Now, Jack, the question everyone's asking, and we can explain it here pretty quickly, why exactly did he do this?
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Since President Yoon took office two years ago, he's had a standoff with the opposition party on the other side. He hasn't been able to get much done. He's even accused that democratically elected opposition party of being aligned with North Korea. Harsh words. So it looks like he tried to declare martial law, to force through what he wanted to get done.
The Best One Yet
📖 “Holy Profit” — The Bible’s sales surge. Spotify Wrapped’s AI stunt. South Korea’s econ underdog.
Yeah, that's basically why he wanted to do it. But protesters, they immediately hit the streets of Seoul and both political parties, even his own, called for the president to resign. So Yoon's move backfired. And in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, parliament ended the martial law and moved to impeach the president.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, April 3rd, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But first, yetis, we got some wild new data from Spotify that we got to share with you. It turns out only 82% of you who listen to this show actually follow this show. So 18% of you owe us a follow right now.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Yeah, this was the biggest day for Nintendo since the gorilla discovered a barrel. But here's the price tag. $450. And the games, they're even more expensive. Which led to, Jackson, my big question. Why would you upgrade if the first console was already good? First, it's social gaming. That's why.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Switch 2 basically added a microphone and a camera so that you can chat with friends while playing the games. They turned it into a social network. Yeah, they did. The Switch 2 is going to replace the meetup that previous generations did at the mall. And when you meet up in Nintendo's social network, the game you will be playing is Mario Kart World.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Mario Kart World is the latest edition of Mario Kart. I think it's like the 25th version of Mario Kart. Yeah. But this one is only playable on the Nintendo Switch 2. And it's basically Mario Kart meets Grand Theft Auto. Yeah, it's not really Mario Kart World. It's more like Mario Kart Metaverse. Because if you play this thing in free roam mode, Jack, what does that look like?
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
That's a national record. We did the math. That's two inches every single hour, man. Oh, my God. This year, Japan's ski resorts have two and a half times more snow than they had last year. And we should sprinkle on some context that Japan's light, deep snow is legendarily known as Japow. It's a champagne snow. It's every dude's dream to ski Japow someday.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
It means you can drive off course. Instead of racing, you can just roam across this vast digital universe. Yeah, yeah. You can just like spend three hours out of your day touring Peach's Castle with your buddy Timmy who lives 30 miles away. And that's what you're doing in this game. It reminds me of Grand Theft Auto. You can just roam and mess around.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Take a scenic drive with a bunch of friends riding other go-karts. And take photos together in Nintendo's metaverse. It's even got its own atmosphere. So if you do a race on the Koopa Troopa beach, the time of the day and the weather conditions will change depending on what the actual time of day and weather conditions are.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
If it's raining down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where you're playing, it's going to be raining on the Koopa Troopas and the shells and the bananas you're tossing along the course. All right, so social gaming and Mario Kart World, which is basically Metaverse. Still, highest price tag ever, 80 bucks for games, 450 bucks for new hardware.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
We're talking a hardware device that competes with the phone in your pocket. It's half the price of an iPhone. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Nintendo? Nintendo prioritizes feelings over function, and that's how it's winning. Yetis, here's the reality. We don't need video game consoles anymore.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Sales of PlayStation 5s and Xboxes, they're actually lower than their predecessors were. Because video games are increasingly played off console for free on a basic computer or a basic smartphone. Roblox and Fortnite, they are some of the most popular games of all time with no expensive console necessary. But Nintendo is the exception to this trend. It is.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Because the Switch 1 sold 150 million units, which is more than the Wii and the N64 combined. Oh, Jack, bigger surprise. People have bought 1.4 billion Switch games in an era that other games are free. Now, Nintendo doesn't even have the most powerful processors or the highest budget games to offer. But their characters are the most creative, the most fun, and the most outside the box, literally.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
An example of outside the box? Nintendo Wii. That was a risk other game companies were not willing to take. No way they'd do it. So Nintendo, they prioritize feelings over function, and that is why Nintendo is winning the game. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? Trump announced tariffs much bigger than expected yesterday.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
34% for China, 20% for the EU, 46% for Vietnam. The list goes on and on. It was tea day. And these tariffs, they could bring some manufacturing back to America, but they'll also cost the average family $3,600 a year. For our second story, Tinder launched The Game Game, a chatbot to practice flirting. The flirtbot, because AI can create a judgment-free zone.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And our third and final story, after eight years, we finally got the Nintendo Switch 2. Yeah, the Switch. It's not as functional as an Xbox, but it's got more feelings. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know, Dak. Okay, we're jumping in further T-boy style on the tariff news. Those tariffs, they created some major stock losers yesterday.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Now, while all that snow is actually a huge challenge for any resort, you know, that's a lot of snow to shovel. It's a huge opportunity for any skier stateside not satisfied with our snow. Because get this, it's actually cheaper to fly 6,000 miles over to Japan than to ski most mountains here in America.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Apple, Nike, and the Gap were all winners in the 1990s as they outsourced their factories overseas. But all those stocks sank 6% to 12% after hours yesterday as their outsourcing is coming back to bite them. Overall, by the way, the S&P 500 is down 1.6% after hours as of this recording. And second, we got an update on the who's going to buy TikTok game, which ends on April 5th.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Who's going to buy them, Jack? Amazon put in a last minute bid according to reports, although Bezos hasn't confirmed. Oh, and Andreessen Horowitz, the venture capital firm, they want to add TikTok to their portfolio. They're putting in a bid as well. Now, the deadline is this Sunday, but honestly, that's probably not a real deadline. We can't get fooled again by this.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Which is why Jack and I are formally announcing. Our quiet bid for TikTok. And finally, more football news. NFL players will play in the 2028 LA Olympics. Yeah, new sport coming to the 2028 games. Flag football. Tag, you're it, Jack. And ever since that was the announcement, the big question has been, will NFL players be allowed to play?
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Well, NFL Commissioner Goodell said yesterday, yeah, it's likely to happen. Will Tom Brady come out of retirement? If there's Dogecoin on the line, Jack, yeah, he will probably come out of retirement. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Philip Buster down in lovely Washington, D.C.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Starting on March 31st, Cory Booker spoke on the Senate floor for a record 25 hours and 5 minutes, smashing the record for the longest Phil Buster ever. Okay, whether you're Republican or Democrat, it doesn't matter. It's just like a physical feat no matter who did that. So we looked into what he did. Did he eat during those 25 hours, Nick? Yeah, he actually did.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
He had protein bars and a banana mid-speech. We should point that out. Everyone's wondering, did he go to the bathroom? He actually didn't because Senate rules say you cannot physically leave. No breaks, no sitting, no leaning if you're going to hold the podium. I assume he didn't drink much water then either because- No, he stopped drinking the day before.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And in terms of prep, he wore compression socks, marathon hydration prior, and a binder full of quotes and stories and snacks to keep him through it. Basically, a filibuster is the political equivalent of an Ironman. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. Jack, I'm looking right now and it looks like flights to Montreal to Tokyo. That's like 900 bucks, man. I think we can pull this off.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
It's a write-off. It's a write-off. If we discuss business on the chairlift. Yetis, remember to tap to follow the show and Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Diego Aparicio over in Miami, Florida, a finance bro who loves impressing the clients with the T-boy takeaway.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And happy 25th birthday to Zivan Patel in Atlanta, Georgia, who's spending it over at the BAPS Temple. Congratulations, Julie Rich, down in D.C., celebrating the birthday with crab legs that are taller than her, and that is how you celebrate a birthday. Congratulations to Rob from Durango, Colorado, who's retiring. Kick it back, Rob.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
We repeat, it's cheaper to go and ski Japan's Japow right now than it is to fly to one of the American resorts and ski here. It turns out Japan is now an arbitrage opportunity for skiing and snowboarding. Nick and I crunched the ski math. Yeah. Let's look at Vail, Colorado as our example. Okay, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And Paul and Joni in Hermosa Beach, California, are celebrating the best anniversary yet. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock in Roblox and Amazon, and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Over in Vail, that's $700 for the flights from San Francisco, $300 for the lift tickets every day, and a four-star hotel is going to cost you $1,000 a night. So a ski weekend to Vail is $3,300 a night. Now, Jack, let's do the ski math for Hokkaido, Japan. Round trip flights from San Francisco are $1,000. Lift tickets are just $50 a day. And a four-star hotel is just $500 a night.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
So a ski weekend in Japan is $2,100. What we're saying is you could spend $2,000 to ski Japan's record snow right now. Or $3,000 to be stuck in a lift line over here in Colorado. It's cheaper to hit up Mount Fuji than it is to hit Mount Hood. Jack, it is cheaper to buy a week of sushi in Hokkaido than a bowl of soup over in Aspen. Now, I'm actually skiing this weekend in Vermont.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Not as much snow as Japan, but happy spring skiing to all who celebrate. Jack, get on a flight. Just get on a flight right now. What are you doing? I know. Japan is deep, but people are buying the dip, baby. Japan's Japal is now an arbitrage opportunity. You heard it here first. Jack, let's hit our three stores. I don't think the arbitrage works as well if you're schlepping three kids.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
I actually think it does, Jack.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
So pause the pod right now if you're listening on Spotify and tap follow. Yeah, that way you won't miss any episodes, which, by the way, today's episode happens to be the best one we've ever done. So, Jack, three stories for today's show. For everyone following T-Boy, what's on today's pod? For our first story, yesterday was tariff day.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
For our first story, yesterday was Triple T Day. Trump, tariffs, and Tesla. Politics dominated business and economic news. Just the biggest day we've seen that ever happen. So we'll tell you what Trump's tariff, Liberation Day, means for your money. All right, yetis, let's talk about the first T, Tesla, because Tesla has just been accelerating in reverse lately.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
While SpaceX and X are both benefiting from Elon's conservative politics, his biggest company, Tesla, is not. Which leads to the news. Tesla announced that deliveries of their electric cars fell 13% in the first quarter. That's the worst quarter in Tesla history. But here was the shocking part about the Tesla news. Tesla stock actually rose despite those bad numbers.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
That's because of a report from Politico that says that Trump is telling his inner circle that Elon is going to be quitting his government doge role in the coming weeks. Investors just want Elon back at the CEO desk of Tesla, not wearing a suit and tie walking around Washington, D.C. But speaking of Donald Trump, he was the second T. Yes, he was. And he announced the third T yesterday.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Yeah, tariffs. Trump announced at the White House a huge economic announcement that he labeled Liberation Day. Liberation Day. And here's what Liberation Day brought. Frankly, some huge tariffs. Trump announced reciprocal tariffs with a 50% discount. Jack, could you do some mathematical translation for us over there?
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Whatever other countries are tariffing the United States, we will apply half as big a tariff on them. When it comes to tariffs, a half tit for tat. Now, we should point out that Trump's calculation of what other countries are tariffing us They included alleged currency manipulation and other trade unfairness that he didn't get specific on.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
But an example of this would be with China, where Trump says they tariff us at 67% based on his calculations. So what kind of tariff will we levy on them, Jack? Half as big. A 34% new tariff on all things made in China. Or Jack, what about the EU? Over in Europe, Trump says they tariff us at 39%. So we're going to charge them a new 20% tariff on all stuff made in the European Union.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
In fact, every country in the world is getting at least a 10% tariff. And Trump basically whipped out a map to show us how it's all going down. The image yesterday was Trump holding a chart with dozens and dozens of countries and the new tariff percentage that the United States is going to start charging. Where in the world is Carmen San Diego getting tariffed? 10% at least everywhere.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Now, all of these tariffs are effective immediately, by the way, which means, Nick and I were thinking about it, Chinese-made iPhones are going to be more expensive starting really, really soon. Unless, like all of Trump's policies, everything is subject to change at a moment's notice. In fact, as you're listening to this, it may have already changed.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Now, in theory, Trump's reciprocal tariffs mean that countries could drop their tariffs on the United States, and then we would drop our tariffs on them as well. Trump also said, hey, if you make your products here in America, your tariffs will go to zero. Now, there is so much to unpack from this story. This is like a jumbo jet worth of economic announcements.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
It's basically going to be the economic story of the year, of the decade, maybe even of the century. And now every country is going to have to decide, do we retaliate or do we try to make a deal? But the big question we were curious about is, what does the tariff news mean for your wallet? So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in America? The numbers are in.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
This trade war will cost each American household $3,600 per year. Yeah, it is. The potential benefits to America for Trump's trade war is more U.S. manufacturing. But Yale University's Budget Lab calculated the overall impacts, and overall, it's quite negative for the average American. Yale calculated how 20% tariffs across the board would affect the average American consumer.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And we'll explain how we got that number. For our second story, Tinder just launched an AI chatbot to let you practice spitting game to a potential date. We call this hottie the flirt bot. And it actually highlights a key use case of AI. For our third and final story, after eight years, Nintendo finally launched a new video game console yesterday. It's called the Switch 2.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
So based on 20% tariffs, which I actually think the announcement yesterday was more than that, But 20% tariffs across the board would cost Americans $3,600 each year in more expensive stuff. Because those tariffs will get passed down to the consumer, and those extra costs would then hurt low-income households the worst, based on the estimates.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Now, Donald Trump has said for years he doesn't believe what experts like Yale University say about tariffs. And he said he's okay with prices going up because he thinks it'll lead to more factories in America, which it might. But we do believe the economists at Yale University because we understand the economics of it.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And Trump's new taxes, they will cost the average American household nearly $4,000 a year. For our second story, Tinder just launched an AI chatbot to test your pickup lines on, and we call it the Flirtbot. The Flirtbot actually highlights one of the biggest opportunities for AI. AI is a judgment-free zone. But yeah, it is. Let's start with some industry context right now.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
The biggest drama with dating apps these days, what is it, Jack? They're stocks. Match and Bumble are both down over 80% from their all-time highs. Everywhere we look, we are seeing stories about Tinder fatigue, and that is hitting the companies. You found love on LinkedIn instead. How'd you two meet? You both ran the same route on Strava. Adorable.
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💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Well, Tinder thinks they found the solution to your Tinder fatigue, and that solution is improving your game. This week, they launched a product called The Game Game, as in a game to practice your game. Now, what is this thing? Well, Tinder's launching an AI persona to test your pickup lines on. So in the Tinder app, you can practice out like, is it hot in here or is it just me? Are you a stock?
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💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Because I'd invest all my time with you. I think you're a long-term hold. Now, Jack and I saw this story. We dove in T-boy style, and we decided to call this a flirt bot. Because it's designed to help you practice your flirting. Yeah, you talk to it in the phone. Like, are you compound interest? Because my feelings are growing exponentially. But here's the key to the flirt bot.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
It's not just for practicing pickup lines. It's actually gamified. Are you Wi-Fi? Because I'm starting to feel a strong connection. That's solid, dude. Yeah, now here's what Jack and I mean when we say that this is gamified. You win points as you spit game to this chatbot. And the goal is for the flirtbot to agree to meet you for a first date.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Yeah, because flirtbot grades you on a three-point scale, and they measure your success with flame emoji. And how does it go down? Basically, the AI will reenact a meet-cute scenario. It's going to test you out in a scene from a rom-com movie, like straight out of a Hallmark film. So this chatbot will set the scene like this.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
You're at the airport and your luggage gets mixed up at the baggage claim and you and a beautiful woman reach for the same suitcase. Do you ask her where she's from? Do you make a joke about Delta? Do you offer her a ride to the hotel? What do you do? Now, if you make the flirt bot laugh, yeah, you're going to get three flames. That's a win.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
But if you make the flirt bot cringe, you're going to get some feedback. Like next time, don't mention your mother in the first interaction. Seriously, Tinder is going to coach you on how to say and not say the right thing. Now, the risk here is that you flirt too much with the flirt bot. The risk is that you spend all day chatting with a flirt bot and no time chatting with actual human beings.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Yeah, so Tinder actually set limits on this thing. They've capped your usage at five game flirts per day. Although the cap is probably just to keep their AI costs under control, if we're being honest. Because this isn't actually Tinder's technology, is it, Jack? No. The whole thing is powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT 4.0 platform. Tinder bought a whole lot of enterprise licenses. Yeah, they did.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
So, Jack, I got to ask you, are you a Chick-fil-A sandwich? Because I'd wait in line for you even on a Sunday. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I messed up. I messed up. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tinder? That's what I meant to ask. The most overlooked AI use case, it creates a judgment-free zone. Yetis, Jack and I have been tracking how companies are successfully using AI.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
But here's the wild part. It is not as powerful and it's not as well funded, but it just might be more fun. fun but yetis before we hit that wonderful mix of stories fantastic mix of stories today love the mix over in japan they have a bizarre and wild problem that i wish i had here in vermont right now too much snow because get this in one single day last month japan got 50 inches of snow
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
And most of the time it's insights, cost-saving, time-saving, research, all that. But one key use case that's little discussed is that AI can assuage human anxiety. We've noticed that companies that offer AI to solve human awkwardness are finding success. Here's the opportunity. If a person worries that they'll be judged by another person, replace that other person with AI instead.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Okay, one example we've seen of this, when you're learning a new language. Duolingo found that people learning Spanish prefer practicing their Spanish with an AI chatbot instead of a real tutor who might judge them. Or Jack, we've also seen this with therapy, right? We've seen a big jump in AI therapy startups that let you talk to an AI therapist because the person feels more comfortable.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
We even think this could work with doctors. If you're like a teenager who may be uncomfortable discussing real things with a real human. Like an STD, who knows? Like maybe you'd be more comfortable sharing your actual symptoms with an AI doctor. Hey, AI doc, what is this thing on my thigh? You're not nervous about that.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Well, Tinder is now launching an AI for you to test pickup lines without social rejection. It's an overlooked opportunity in AI, creating a judgment-free zone.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
For our third and final story, after eight long years, Nintendo finally unveiled a new console, the Switch 2, which we're calling the Super Nintendo Switch. But the bigger highlight, Mario Kart just basically merged with Grand Theft Auto. Oh, Nintendo. Honestly, one of the most fascinating tech companies in the entire world. Their innovation has been insane.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
From the OG Game Boy to the Nintendo Wii to Pokemon Go. We're talking decades here, maybe even centuries. Nintendo, they just do things differently from Xbox or PlayStation. Every 10 years, they do something that is just wild. Yeah, remember we did a whole story last year on Nintendo's Infinite Game. What is that, Jack?
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
They don't do mass layoffs because they know if you're nervous about losing your job, you can't work creatively and create the next Mario Brother. Nintendo just does things differently, which leads to the news. They just launched their flagship new gaming console, which will make or break the company's next 10 years.
The Best One Yet
💸 “$3,600 per Fam” — Tariff Day’s price tag. Tinder’s AI flirt-bot. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Metaverse.
Eight years after launching the original Switch console, Nintendo just unveiled the Switch 2. Like the Switch 1, this new device can be played on a television or on the go Game Boy style, but this new device also has a microphone and a camera. More on that in a second. Nintendo stock is up 20% this year, just in anticipation for the Switch 2.
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🎟️ TBOY Live Show Chicago… Tickets On Sale NOW
Yetis, Nick and Jack here coming at you from the T-Boy studio. Our next live show is coming to the Windy City. We are coming to Chicago. Chicago, home of da bears, da bulls, and now da profit puppies. The best one yet live is going to be at the Vic Theater in Chicago on Wednesday, July 23rd. We're talking a thousand seats. Hottest event in Chi-town since Oprah dunked on Jordan.
The Best One Yet
🎟️ TBOY Live Show Chicago… Tickets On Sale NOW
Tickets are available now, so grab them while you can. So besties, if you are in Chi-town, then share them with your whole office. Bring your whole family, bring your kids too. It's going to be amazing. I mean, honestly, there's nothing hotter on a date night than talking to each other about growth hacks. This is going to be our fourth live show. We did San Francisco, New York, Seattle.
The Best One Yet
🎟️ TBOY Live Show Chicago… Tickets On Sale NOW
Each one was special for different reasons. Yeah, here's what you're going to see, besties. First, we're going to perform our three pop business stories live for you. And yes, it is a performance. Then we're going to tell stories that we've never told on the podcast before just to our intimate live audience. Plus, we're going to bring Yetis up on stage to help us whip up the takeaways together.
The Best One Yet
🎟️ TBOY Live Show Chicago… Tickets On Sale NOW
Finally, a surprise legendary CEO and founder guest who is more disrupting than deep dish pizza is. Don't tell him yet. Don't tell him yet, Jack. And we always stay after the show to say hi to anybody who wants to say hi. Honestly, that was my favorite part last time, Jack. I'm a bear hug guy. Warning, I'm a bear hug guy. So besties, we'll have an after party too, but grab your tickets now.
The Best One Yet
🎟️ TBOY Live Show Chicago… Tickets On Sale NOW
We got a link in this episode description. Snag them while you can. We'll share details on the guest as the date approaches. In the meantime, celebrate the wins. Buy your tickets. Jack and I will see you then.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
One way or another, the sensible, better yet imaginative deployment of savings by citizens is required to prevail an ever-growing societal output of desired goods and services. This system is called capitalism. It has its faults and its abuses, in certain respects more egregious now than ever, but it also can work wonders unmatched by any other economic system. America is Exhibit A.
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💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Our country's progress over its mere 235 years of existence could not have been imagined by even the most optimistic colonists in 1789, when the Constitution was adopted and the country's energies were unleashed. True, our country in its infancy sometimes borrowed abroad to supplement our own savings.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
But concurrently, we needed many Americans to consistently save and then needed those savers or other Americans to wisely deploy the capital thus made available. If America had consumed all that it produced, the country would have been spinning its wheels.
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💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
In a very minor way, Berkshire shareholders have participated in the American miracle by foregoing dividends, thereby electing to reinvest rather than consume. Originally, this reinvestment was tiny, almost meaningless, but over time, it mushroomed. reflecting the mixture of a sustained culture of savings combined with the magic of long-term compounding.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Berkshire's activities now impact all corners of our country, and we are not finished. Companies die for many reasons, but unlike the fate of humans, old age itself is not lethal. Berkshire today is far more youthful than it was in 1965.
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💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
The annual gathering in Omaha, I hope you will join us for, is on May 3rd. We are following a somewhat changed schedule this year, but the basics remain the same. Our goal is that you get many of your questions answered, that you connect with friends, and that you leave with a good impression of Omaha. The city looks forward to your visits.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
we will have much of the same group of volunteers to offer you a wide variety of Berkshire products that will lighten your wallet and brighten your day. As usual, we will be open on Friday from noon until five o'clock with lovable squish mallows, underwear from Fruit of the Loom, Brooks running shoes, and a host of other Berkshire items to tempt you. Again, we will have only one book for sale.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Last year, we featured Poor Charlie's Almanac and we sold out. 5,000 copies disappeared before the close of business on Saturday. This year, we will offer 60 years of Berkshire Hathaway.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
The Berkshire directors and I immensely enjoy having you come to Omaha, and I predict that you will have a good time and likely make some new friends. February 22nd, 2025, Warren E. Buffett, Chairman of the Board. That's it, Nick.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
To pop a melatonin?
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Yetis, have a good 23-hour day tomorrow. Nick and I, we'll see you Monday. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
So besties, we're going to help drift you off to bed, get some great sleep with the boringest business story that we could find. Because Jack and I are about to read.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
A decent batting average in personnel decisions is all that can be hoped for. The cardinal sin is delaying the correction of mistakes or what Charlie Munger called thumb sucking. Problems, he would tell me, cannot be wished away. They require action, however uncomfortable that may be. During the 2019 to 2023 period, I've used the words mistake or error 16 times in my letters to you.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
This is Nick.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Many other huge companies have never used either word over that span. Amazon, I should acknowledge, made some brutally candid observations in its 2021 letter. Elsewhere though, it has generally been happy talk and pictures. I have also been a director of large companies at which mistake or wrong were forbidden words at board meetings or analyst calls.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
That taboo, implying managerial perfection, always made me nervous.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Then we arrived at the other point that needed clarity. I asked Pete what his compensation should be, adding that whatever he said, I would accept. This, I should add, is not an approach I recommend for general use. Pete paused as his wife, daughter, and I leaned forward.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Then he surprised us by saying, well, I look at Berkshire's proxy statement and I wouldn't want to make more than my boss, so pay me $100,000 a year. After I picked myself up off the floor, Pete added, but we will earn X, he named a number, this year, and I would like an annual bonus of 10% of any earnings above what the company is now delivering.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
I replied, okay, Pete, but if Forest River makes any significant acquisitions, we will make an appropriate adjustment for the additional capital thus employed. I didn't define appropriate or significant, but those vague terms never caused a problem. The four of us then went to dinner at Omaha's Happy Hollow Club and lived happily ever after. During the next 19 years, Pete shot the lights out.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
We're about to read the latest shareholder letter written by Warren Buffett. The letter written by the greatest investor in the world. He published it last week, but we'll put you to sleep with it tonight.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
No competitor came close to his performance.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
I never looked at where a candidate has gone to school. Never. Of course, there are managers who attended the most famous schools. But there are plenty, such as Pete Legal, who may have benefited by attending a less prestigious institution or even by not bothering to finish school.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Look at my friend Bill Gates, who decided that it was far more important to get underway in an exploding industry that would change the world than it was to stick around for a parchment that he could hang on the wall. Read his new book, Source Code. Not long ago, I met, by phone, Jessica Tunkel, whose step-grandfather, Ben Rosner, long ago ran a business for Charlie and me.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Ben was a retailing genius, and, in preparing for this report, I checked with Jessica to confirm Ben's schooling, which I remembered as limited. Jessica's reply? Ben never went past sixth grade. I was lucky enough to get an education at three fine universities, and I avidly believe in lifelong learning. I've observed, however...
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
that a very large portion of business talent is innate, with nature swamping nurture. Pete Legal was a natural.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Or you could listen to us read 2,436 words from Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder letter.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
And today's pod is the sleepiest one yet. We're here for our second annual Stock Market Snooze Pod.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
We're turning Wall Street into Wall Sleep. So shut your eyes and open your ears, besties. Close your spreadsheets and open your bedsheets. Let's travel back to Omaha, Nebraska. As a 94-year-old Warren Buffett describes how he makes every single investment of his life.
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💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
All told, we recorded operating incomes of $47 billion in 2024. We regularly, endlessly, some readers may groan, emphasize this measure rather than the gap-mandated earnings that are reported on page K68. Our measure excludes capital gains or losses on the stocks and bonds that we own, whether realized or unrealized. Over time, we think it highly likely that gains will prevail.
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💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Why else would we buy those securities? Though the year-by-year numbers will swing wildly and unpredictably. Our horizon for such commitments is almost always far longer than a single year. In many, our thinking involves decades. These long termers are the purchases that sometimes make the cash register ring like church bells.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Huge numbers can be hard to visualize. Let me recast that $26.8 billion that we paid last year in taxes. If Berkshire had sent the Treasury a $1 million check every 20 minutes throughout all of 2024, visualize 366 days and nights because 2024 was a leap year, we would still have owed the federal government a significant sum at year end.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Indeed, it would be well into January before the Treasury would tell us that we could take a short breather, get some sleep, and prepare for our 2025 tax payments. Where your money is. Is Berkshire's equity activity ambidextrous? In one hand, we own control of many businesses holding at least 80% of the investee's shares. Generally, we own 100%.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
These 189 subsidiaries have similarities to marketable common stocks, but are far from identical. The collection is worth many hundreds of billions of dollars and includes a few rare gems, many good but far from fabulous businesses, and some laggards that have been disappointments. We own nothing that is a major drag. but we have a number that I should not have purchased.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
One story. You're either going to be really fascinated by this letter or it'll put you right to sleep.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities. That preference won't change.
The Best One Yet
💤 “Snooze Pod” — We read Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letter (to put you to sleep) 😴
While our ownership in marketable equities moved downward last year from $354 billion to $272 billion, the value of our non-quoted controllable equities increased somewhat and remains far greater than the value of the marketable portfolio. Berkshire shareholders can rest assured that We'll see you next time.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
yetis nick and jack here coming at you from the t-boy studio on our weekly show the best idea yet we go deep on the most popular products of all time and this week we took on the most viral drink of all time the starbucks frappuccino because odds are statistically speaking you're caffeinated up right now by a latte you sip this morning never get this starbucks didn't actually invent the frappuccino starbucks
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🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
A stark contrast to the dark, more bitter roasts that were very popular at the time. George is also pioneering single origin sourcing, meaning he buys beans from specific farms rather than from entire countries. By highlighting unique flavor profiles shaped by soil, altitude, and climate, or terroir, he's mirroring the wine industry.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
The beans may look and taste alike to most, and economists may call it a commodity, but George is building in layers, tiers, and levels to justify higher prices. And the response from Boston consumers, I'd say strong to quite strong, especially from the students. They're loving this. They become top customers of George's premium differentiated coffee.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
That painfully long road trip and the decision to uproot the entire family, it looks like it's paying off for George. By the mid-1980s, George is doing so well, he opens a few more branches across the whole area. For George, Boston really is Beantown. But there's one cash flow problem that threatens his entire mini empire.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
College students make up a huge part of George's business, and these co-eds are skipping town for summer break. That's almost three months, a quarter of the year, where George's primary customers are just leaving him hanging. And the rest of George's patrons, they're not exactly lining up for a steaming hot coffee when the weather's sweltering.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
No one's ordering 12 ounces of dark roast at the Sox game. Surviving those long summer months is tough. To keep his caffeine dreams alive, George needs to find a way to keep his customers coming in, no matter what the calendar says. Chicago is America's hot dog capital. New York is its Pizza HQ. Sorry, New Haven. Kansas City is the city of ribs. But in 1989, Seattle is wearing the coffee crown.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Thanks to the Starbucks effect, an entire industry of specialist coffee roasters and makers has sprung up in the Emerald City. In coffee shops across town, young people take a load off their Birkenstocks, roll up their flannel sleeves, and kick back with steaming mugs of dark roast. maybe while listening to the debut album of a local band, Nirvana.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
acquired the Frappuccino. And it was an acquisition that Howard Schultz hated at first. Turns out the Frappuccino was actually invented by a small coffee shop over in Boston run by the biggest bean guru we'd ever heard of. So we're about to give you a taste of that episode. After you're done with that sample, go chug the whole thing at the Best Idea Yet, our separate show page.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
But our guy, George Howell, he isn't here right now for the music or the fashion scene. He's on the West Coast for a working holiday. He's trading stories with fellow coffee connoisseurs, researching the latest roasts and seeking inspiration.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Because even though his coffee connection has become a chain of 10 cafes in and around Boston, he is still stumped by this summer drop-off in the coffee business. George steps into one of Seattle's preeminent coffee shops, Torfalzione Italia, and something grabs his attention. A barista is making a frozen cappuccino in a granita machine. Technical term there for slushy maker, by the way.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
George asks the barista to mix up one for him, and he takes a sip. Wow. Yeah, this gelato-y coffee, this is unlike any brew he's ever tasted, in a good way, like even better. It's cold, it's refreshing, it still has a rich coffee taste that shows off the quality of the beans. Jack, could this be the solution to his summertime sales slump?
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
George inquires about the recipe, but it's so basic, he doesn't even need to write it down. It's just strong coffee, sugar, milk, and ice. As soon as he's back in Boston, he rushes to his kitchen and tries to mix up one for himself, but it comes out a slushy mess. He soon realizes the art's not so much in the ingredients, but in how to combine them.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
So George calls up his right-hand man, Andrew Frank, to get him on the case. Andrew's official title is marketing director, but he's actually a lot more to George. Jack, would you call this guy a fixer? A trusted fixer. And just as nuts about coffee as George happens to be.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
So George hands Andrew the challenge of transforming this recipe he discovered in Seattle into something transcendent, something memorable, something scalable. Even though the ingredients are simple, Andrew thinks the texture just isn't right. The ice isn't blended enough. The drink is more like a coffee snow cone than a smooth, refreshing beverage.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
And honestly, Jack, it reminds me of something we've talked about that Steve Jobs has mentioned before, which is the simpler something is, the harder it is to do. In fact, Andrew spends years tinkering with ingredients, trying different methods of making the ice, and brewing a whole lot of coffee until it hits him. The problem is the granita machine. It just doesn't chop up the ice finely enough.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
So he reaches instead for a frozen yogurt maker, and the results are immediate. The new drink has a smoother, velvety texture. Andrew gives George a taste, and that's it. Love at first sip. But Jack, we are not out of the woods yet because this new creation, it needs a name. So Andrew draws upon his skills as a marketing guru and finds inspiration in his New England roots.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Because in New England, a milkshake is actually called... You know what, Jack? You're from New England. Why don't you take this one? What's it actually called? It's called a frappe. An important note, it's not frappe. It's frappe. Just like when you go to Dunkin' Donuts, you don't order a croissant-wich. You order a croissant-wich.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
A frap is just like a milkshake, but with coffee instead of ice cream. So Andrew blends frap and cappuccino to come up with frappuccino. Ah, rule number seven of marketing, portmanteau. Because two words together are just stronger than two words apart. So they've got the drink, they've got the name, now they just have to sell it. Now, pause the pod here a second, Jack, because a quick problem.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
We dropped the link in this episode description to make it easy for you. So enjoy the whipped cream on top and the double shots of caramel. because a Frappuccino is an experience. One Frappuccino episode coming up. You hear those bells? Those are the historic Lowell House bells at Harvard.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
They've kind of gone backwards in the entrepreneurial textbook, haven't they? They built the product before knowing if anyone actually wants it. They're just going with their guts, or more specifically, they're going with their taste buds. Yeah, they are. That's right. We are one degree of separation from Taylor Swift. That's right. Jason Kelsey loves the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup episode.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Which is another one we did, which is also fantastic. So after you hear the Frappuccino episode, go check out our Reese's Peanut Butter Cup episode. Again, we got a link in the episode description. It's a separate show. The best idea yet. You should follow it right now. After that, we'll see you Monday with our usual Daily T-Boy right
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
That means we're back in Cambridge, just outside Boston, back at the Coffee Connection, George Howell's very own slice of coffee heaven, which he opens in Harvard Square in 1975. Look at the distressed wood paneling, the carefully crafted art on the walls, the cushioned benches that are just begging you to sit down and stay a while.
The Best One Yet
🥤 Frappuccino: The Billion-Dollar Brainfreeze Starbucks Nearly Killed
Jack, look, there's someone in the corner wearing a turtleneck, reading the leaves of grass, sipping a mocha, probably writing the next great American novel. George has done it! He has brought bohemian artisanal coffee culture to Boston. Wicked! George's revolutionary approach is to import high-quality beans and roast them lightly, letting their delicate, nuanced flavors shine.
The Best One Yet
🙂 “South Park me” — ChatGPT’s animation studio. CoreWeave’s Snow White IPO. SoulCycle’ Fashion Stores
let's hit our three stories 15 years before this song two boys from the northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet but the best is the norm jack nick that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know cause we ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, April 28th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. If you want to be the most interesting person in the room today, Jack and I have the three best stories for you. Don't we, Jack? Yes, we do. Oh, yes, we do. What's on today's T-Boy, man?
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Like the restaurants, they're using these ice cubes to justify inflated cocktails. Like what do we see on the menu, Jack? There's a $218 glass of scotch on ice. Not just any ice. Yeah. Glacial ice. And there's a vodka company whose liquid content in the vodka is the melted glacial ice. The only one not happy about this. is Bobby Boucher, the water boy.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Well, we should point out, Jack, there is a huge carbon footprint when it comes to shipping glacial ice from Greenland. Yeah, there probably were polar bears harmed in the making of this ice. Yeah, this is more emissions emitted than your family over the course of an entire year. Shipping ice from the Arctic Circle made sense in the movie Frozen, doesn't make sense in 2025 modern economy.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And yet, despite the ethical issues and the abundance of water to turn into ice everywhere, the global ice market is expected to hit 7 billion bucks this year. Ice, it's hotter than ever. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies? Sipping on global ice. Adam Smith wrote about this 249 years ago.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Yeti's philosopher Adam Smith is the father of capitalism, and his work is the basis of modern economics. In his famous 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote about the diamond-water paradox. Also known as the paradox of value. The thought is this. Water is more useful to us than a diamond is, and yet we value diamonds more than we value water. We need water now.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Every day, literally to survive. Literally. But we're willing to pay 10,000 times more for a diamond than we are for water. His conclusion? Value has two different meanings. The first is the value of utility. Which is the value we find from water. And the other is the value in what something conveys. Like a diamond. which conveys status and wealth.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
So not only is that detail from Adam Smith an interesting observation, it also ironically relates to this story. Because $17 per cube glacial ice is a rare example of both of those types of values. Yeah, it's the diamond of water we're talking about. It is both a utility and a signal. $17 ice spheres from a glacier reminds us of Adam Smith.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Less Lenny's bagels, more leftover lasagna. Ceviche Wednesdays? Maybe every other Wednesday? Because the lunch math, it really adds up. Yes, it does, Jack. Your average sweet green salad plus a drink, that's 21 bucks, my friend. And over the course of the month, if you do it every day, that's $441 for your eating lunch out budget. Well, since making a meal at home saves about 75% of the cost.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Slate's new electric car comes in at $17,500 after tax credits, but it's BYO screen and speakers. Amish style, baby. This car, it is Spirit Airlines in the business model, but the branding is JetBlue. For our second story, California just passed Japan to become the world's fourth biggest economy.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Cali represents American economic exceptionalism. both for good and for bad. And our third and final story. Startups are harvesting ice from Arctic glaciers and selling them for 17 bucks a cube in New York City nightclubs. Ah, it tastes like polar bear. Adam Smith foretold of this back in his 1776 economic classic, So Yetis, Tell Your Buddies, about the diamond water paradox.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, stocks actually rose consistently last week. In the five days, the S&P 500 jumped by over 6%, which leaves the S&P 500 down just 10% from its all-time highs. Now remember, stocks fell as far as 20% on Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcement. It got bad.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
So the driver of the rebound, it's that Trump said he wouldn't fire the Fed, and he said he might ease tariffs, but he hasn't yet. Yeah, the situationship improved. And second, the city of Green Bay, which is the NFL's smallest city, hosted the NFL draft this past weekend. And on the first night, 205,000 fans came, according to the NFL. Jack, can you sprinkle on some cheesy context for us, please?
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
205,000 people is more than double the population of the entire city of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The airport terminal in Green Bay has only 10 gates. We don't know how they handled all these people. There are 10 gates within one gate at JFK. just to point that out as more context.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Sure, there's like 13 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J. And finally, Adam Neumann, the father of WeWork, just saw his new startup's valuation double to two and a half billion bucks. It's called Flow, and it's basically his concept he used to have of WeLive. It's like a subscription that gives you housing, food, camaraderie. I don't know, benefits, other stuff. Kombucha.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And Adam said he even wants to IPO this new company, probably because WeWorks was canceled under his reign. Andreessen Horowitz isn't turned off by the debacle that was WeWork. Yeah. They're impressed by his dedication. And they now own 25% of the company. And time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Dylan Steinfeld, legendary Yeti from lovely Atlanta, Georgia.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Okay, so to start your week, yes, aliens exist and they are gases. But hold on, 124 light years away? Yeah, yeah, it's pretty far. That's how far light travels in 124 years. Yeah, so when we see the aliens, they're just going to be so old. It's going to be hard to talk to the aliens. Where was that? Yetis, you look fantastic today.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
No matter what ice cube you are enjoying, remember to tap to follow us so you get T-Boy every single morning. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Nicholas Katuki, the king of KPMG from the island of Malta, who's celebrating a birthday on the way to work. Happy birthday to Kala Luna from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Great name.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And for Tima Nayak, also a great name, 37 years old, is a legendary Yeti with the best birthday yet in Columbus, Ohio. Congratulations to Zach Mesher, who's a dinkwad moving to Wilmington, North Carolina for a new job. Get this. he hit his goal of making over a hundred grand a year before the age of 30. Congratulations, Zach. Celebrate the wins.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And Anthony and Lisa Scorsese have got a two-year anniversary, a beautiful anniversary down in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And a big shout out to Kelsey Black from Pflugerville, Texas, who testified as an advocate at her state house in Austin, Texas. This bookstore owner is also a civic champion. Congratulations. Thanks, Kelsey. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
300 bucks a month you could save if you bring your lunch to work. So besties, you're swapping out the sweet green for your homemade Cobb salad. The only drama is whether there's space in the office fridge. Jack, you better write your name on those noodles, man. It's the brown bag indicator. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Celebrate the wins. And if you want to get a shout out or you have an audio fact for the pod, just click on one of the links in the description of today's episode. This is Jack. Nick and I both own ETFs at the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
For our first story, a new electric car stealthily launched last week. It's backed by Jeff Bezos, and this is the most extreme concept in all of automotive. It's under $20,000. True story. It's anti-Tesla, and it's inspired by the Amish. Yeti is few actually know this, but there is a billionaire bingo card with all the billionaires competing against each other.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
For our first story, a Jeff Bezos-backed electric car company just launched. And get this, it's priced under $20,000. But here's the twist. This electric car brand was inspired by the Amish. For our second story, California just passed Japan to become the fourth biggest economy in the world. Cali is about to pass Germany for number three.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
You must own an artificial intelligence company. You must own a space company and a media company and an electric car company. Well, ding, ding, ding, because Jeff Bezos, the billionaire now has all four on that billionaire bingo card. And the electric car company that he invested in just finally launched last week. It's called Slate. It's an electric truck and SUV that emerged out of stealth.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
mode just on Friday. This super secretive company has been based in Michigan, and they're going to start producing soon in Indiana. I'm looking at this thing, Jack, and I got to say, it kind of looks like a toy. I feel like I'm looking at a Hot Wheels for Adults right now. Now, Nick and I think this car was designed specifically for syncs. Ah, the SYNC. Single income, no kids.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
That's who we think the target market is. Because this little pickup truck has only two doors and only 150 mile range. Yeah, so basically it's small enough to fit in your New York City garage. Basically Rivian's little brother, right? And it's priced at $25,000. That's almost half the price of the lowest priced Tesla.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And after the $7,500 federal tax credit, this electric truck from Jeff Bezos would cost you just $17,500. EVs are known for being pricey. But $17,500, you can't find any other car that's that low-priced. But yet, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. We were curious, how did they create the cheapest electric truck in the world? By taking inspiration from the Amish.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Yes, the Amish. That Amish. Because the brand Slate, it stands for Clean Slate, because they stripped away every bell and whistle you could possibly imagine. So just like the Amish culture rejects technology and electricity, this electric car is ironically the first analog electric car. It's basically an analog car. There's not a single digital screen anywhere in the sphere.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Yeah, the first thing you're going to notice is that this car is BYO screen, no screens. Where the infotainment screen usually is in a car, there's just a big holder for either your tablet or your smartphone. In fact, we love this. At the launch event for this car, they announced that the air conditioning knobs are going to be old school plastic knobs, not like icons on a digital screen.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And when the audience heard that, they applauded.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Because Nick and I both drive EVs, and we'll be honest, we miss the trusty old reliable knobs. Sometimes I'm like, why am I spending five hours moving my hands around an iPad right now just to turn the temperature up? I'm driving 72 miles per hour and I need to like tap the screen to go to the home screen to find the HVAC button to turn the heat up. Come on, just give me my knob.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Yeah, give Jack his knob. So besties, here was the interesting insight from Slate. The main reason electric vehicles are 20% pricier than your typical car is the technology. Yeah, an electric car is an iPhone on wheels. There's screens everywhere, it's self-driving capable, and it's got voice activation for all the controls. Most Americans don't need those things.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
You'd gladly save 20 grand if you could go without the voice-activated butt heater, if you could. And that's the real innovation of this car. Stripping the car of all those techie features got the price all the way down to 25 grand. Yeah, it's a horse and buggy with a battery, like we said, inspired by the Amish. And we think a bare-bones EV like that actually has a lot of market appeal.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Okay, but then here's the shocker. I got to pause the pod, Jack. Then Slate took this radical simplicity concept even further. The car has no stereo. Get this. It has no speakers. Get this, Jack. It has no paint. Like Henry Ford's original Ford Model T. It only comes in one color. Oh, you want a different color? You're a yellow kind of gal? Well, they'll ship you something called a wrap.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And what is wrap, Jack? It's a perfectly fitted colored sticker that you get to put very carefully on every panel of the car. So you can make it a yellow car. You just need to very carefully apply a giant sticker. You have to DIY it yourself. Now we should point out, it does have cup holders. It comes with cup holders.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
But our story itself explains why California is so polarizing. And our third and final story. The newest startup trend is the oldest thing on earth. Glacial ice. 100,000-year-old ice cubes from glaciers are now a venture-backed business, baby. But yeah, it is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I can only afford one cube. Great mix of stories. Great mix of stories.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And it comes with a speaker holder because they encourage you to bring your own like JBL portable speaker to connect to the phone that you also BYO'd. Mom, you forgot the jawbone. Now, Yetis, we've said there is always opportunity in the extremes. Well, Slate is the most extreme electric vehicle yet. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies with the $20,000 Slate electric car?
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
This car is Spirit Airlines, but with JetBlue branding. Yetis, Spirit Airlines is bankrupt now. But its no-frills business model disrupted the entire airline industry. Like Slate, they sold you the most basic service. Just a seat on the airplane for the lowest possible cost. Anything else beyond that? Well, you gotta pay extra just like this car. The Slate car is modular.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
It comes as a base pickup truck model, but you can convert it to an SUV, but that costs more. Yeah, it's like a transformer. So the base model is $25,000, but then you have to choose from 100 optional add-ons if you want another feature. So while Slate's business model is Spirit Airlines... Its branding is JetBlue.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Because the branding is young, sharp, counter-cultural, it's basically targeting your surfer dudes over in Venice Beach. Slate's $25,000 Bezos-backed, Amish-inspired, anti-tech EV is the most extreme car yet. Because it borrowed the business model from Spirit Airlines, but the branding from JetBlue.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
For our second story, Governor Newsom just announced that California is now the fourth largest economy in the world. We're going deep on California's economy because it explains why the Golden State is so polarizing. And in order for us to explain it, we're going to have to turn to the artist and poet known as Tupac. Because California Love was published 30 years ago by Mr. Tupac himself.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
But California's not getting much love these days. No, Jack, I'm looking at the corporate scorecard here. Toyota, Chevron, Schwab, and all three of Elon's companies, where have they gone? They all left California for Texas since the year 2020. But man, looking at the numbers, is the California economy strong right now, Jack? Here's the news.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
California just passed Japan to become the number four biggest economy in the world. That's right. Ten years ago, California was the number seven economy in the world. Ten years ago, California trailed the United States, China, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, and France.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
But in the last decade, Cali has jumped from number seven to number four, to quote the Beach Boys, Jack, who also inspired Tupac, California picking up good vibrations. Now, if the growth rates of the past decade continue, then the state of California will pass the country of Germany to become the number third biggest economy in the world by 2028.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Not only is California right now bigger than Japan, it is twice as big as Russia and Canada. And it's four times as big as Saudi Arabia as measured by its GDP. Now we know what you're thinking, besties. Nick, Jack, stop making these international comparisons. What about within the United States? Well, we did those numbers too, and it turns out California is America's biggest sugar daddy. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
California makes up 14% of America's GDP, which is larger than its 11% population share. Okay, Jack, could you sprinkle on some more context to the Golden State with those numbers, please? California contributes $83 billion a year more in federal taxes than it receives from federal benefits.
The Best One Yet
🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
It's an interesting, nuanced data point, but therefore California is the biggest donor state in the country by far, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government. That's why we call California a sugar daddy. California taxpayers pay more in federal taxes than they receive in federal benefits. by $83 billion a year.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And although Texas does have a strong economy, it is the opposite situation down in Texas. Texas receives more in federal money than it pays in federal taxes. By the way, in case you're curious, the third biggest state economy is New York, and they break even on their federal tax situation. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in California?
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Couple weeks ago, we told you about recession brunette. Oh, the recession brunette when your usually blonde buddy starts looking more brunette. It's a bad sign for the economy. But there's another recession indicator that's already red flashing. And it's flashing in your salad. Introducing the bring your lunch to work index, aka the brown bag indicator.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
California represents American exceptionalism, for better and for worse. Yetis, every major macroeconomic issue that America faces, good and bad, is amplified in California. California has both the most wealth and the most homelessness. California is both the biggest innovator and it's the most powered by immigrants. California is the biggest producer of agriculture of the 50 states.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
but it's also most susceptible to drought and climate change. Okay, Jack, California is the creative capital with Hollywood and the music industries, but it's also arguably the creative crusher because it's the home of all the artificial intelligence companies.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
And besties, we just told you, Cali's economy is up to number four in the world, and yet what if it didn't have all that red tape it's known for? The red tape it's known for is why Toyota, Schwab, and Elon's companies left the state. It could be even bigger. Could be number three. The only thing California is not number one in is energy, finance, academia, and maple syrup.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Which go to Texas, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. I mean Quebec. I mean Vermont. Sorry, respectfully. Vermont has maple syrup per capita, okay? Besties, California is polarizing for all of these economic reasons. It represents American exceptionalism, for better and for worse. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to get other people to do it.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.
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Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
For our third and final story to kick off the week, startups are now harvesting ice from glaciers and selling it as luxury ice cubes for a hundred bucks a tray. Glacial ice reminds us of a little known passage from the philosopher Adam Smith. Yetis, no country's getting more attention this year than Greenland.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
President Trump wants to take Greenland for its natural resources and its strategic location. 90% of Greenland's exports are seafood, but there are untapped oil and rare earth minerals underneath this giant island. But Greenland's most untouched resource may be its most abundant resource. Ice. Because they call Greenland green, but they should call it Iceland.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Great quote from Mighty Ducks, by the way. Just want to throw that out there. Oh, by the way, I said land is the most valuable resource in the world because it's scarce. How about glacial ice? Ice, yetis. 8% of all the Earth's fresh water is locked up in Greenland's glaciers of ice. And that ice is gold. Because here's the news. Startups are exporting Greenland's glacial ice
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
as a luxury product at 17 and selling it in American nightclubs for 17 bucks a cube. But yetis, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. We have told you before about the power of story selling. Glacial ice is the ultimate example.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
The BYO lunch instead of buying at the office? Yeah, that's an early sign of an economic problem. We call it the brown bag recession indicator. And right now, it's flashing red like a half-eaten burrito. Here's the data. More people are working from the office, but fewer people are eating lunch out. Get this. Sales at fast, casual restaurants across America fell 7% nationwide in Q1.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Because according to the Wall Street Journal, in the last year, Greenland's government has approved 13 licenses to six companies to harvest their glacial ice. And one of those companies is called Arctic Ice. Here's what they do, Nick. They capture car-sized icebergs that separate from glaciers each spring and then cut them up into tiny pieces with a chainsaw.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Okay, but then what do they do with them? Because I still got to drink this stuff, man. Then they ship those ice containers 10,000 miles over the course of five weeks to sell them in restaurants and nightclubs in the Middle East to the United States.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
Now, your most basic marketer is going to market these as cleaner and denser because they've been compressed in a glacial fjord, and that would be effective. But here's the story selling. That glacier is 100,000 years old. Yes. So that ice cube, it's made of virgin ice. This is why they're charging so much for the ice cubes. This is untouched ice.
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🧊 “$17 per cube” — Glacial Ice startups. Bezos’ $20k electric car. California = 4th Biggest Economy.
It's never passed through a human before in the state of water. It's older than mankind. Plus, they carve the cubes, not into cubes, into spheres. So they're ice spheres. And that story selling of these virgin ice cubes is how they sell six cubes for 100 bucks a tray. That's $17 a cube. They turned a commodity into a luxury. Basically.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, January 27th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This one, it's a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But Jack, how was the hot tub? I can tell you've been... Spent a lot of time there over the last 48 hours. Sure. I told you we had a mad day on Saturday, a mortgage appreciation day.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
But as CNN tries to launch CNN Plus again, we're looking at Ted Turner again. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the new CNN? Markets are not the Marines. They will leave a man behind. Oh yeah, they will. Yetis, when Ted Turner launched CNN 45 years ago, he had this really good quote about the industry. He said, give people news when and where they want it.
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In 1980, TV is where people wanted news, and they wanted it 24-7. So that's what CNN did. But in 2025, people want their news at a different time and in a different place. New York Times realized this two decades ago. They did. So they made the shift from print to digital and from just news to lifestyle too. And honestly, you can see it in the New York Times stock price.
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Now CNN is finally making the change. They're finally remembering their founder's quote. Give people the news when and where they want it. Because the Marines, yeah, they leave no man behind. But if you don't adapt, the markets, they will gladly leave you behind. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week?
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Novo Nordisk just released early trial results of what we're calling Ozempic 2.0. But the bigger deal, what is it, Jack? It looks like their weight loss drugs don't just make you eat less, they make you sin less too. If your credit card bill is too big, your doctor may prescribe Ozempic. Yeah, your financial advisor might, actually.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
For our second story, Kidz Bop has been selling hit albums for 25 years of child-friendly pop covers. Never underestimate the re-creator economy. And our third and final story, CNN is performing surgery on itself. And it'll have what New York Times is having. Because the Marines, yeah, they leave no man behind. But markets, they'll gladly leave you behind. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
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Here's what else you need to know today. First, Puma, the sports apparel brand, has a profit problem. Stock of Puma, it dropped 20% last week like a pulled a hammy. Blame it on the new CEO. He tried to take Puma up market and make it fancy, but Puma's customers are kind of pissed about it. Good point of comparison, Puma's rival Adidas, their stock is up 50% in the last year.
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Fun fact, Puma and Adidas were founded by brothers who became rivals, and their headquarters are in the same city, on opposite sides of the river. But that's a story for another time. Second, home sales just fell to the lowest level in nearly 30 years. Get this, only 4 million homes were sold last year. Back in 2021, 6 million were sold. It's the lowest level since 1996.
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A villa in Italia owned by a single lady. The mansion in Mallorca, unmarried woman. Jack's ski chalet just outside of Chamonix. It's owned by Charlotte. Yeah. And yeah, she's single. But here's the fascinating twist, yetis. It is single ladies on both sides of the age spectrum that are snapping up all this real estate. That's right. It's both boomers and millennials.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Blame it on stubbornly high interest rates and stubbornly high record home prices. If you're a millennial trying to buy your first home, this sucks. And finally, would you pay $3,000 for a used iPhone just because it has TikTok? I might. Yeah. Because here's the situation. Google and Apple have both banned TikTok from their app stores.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
But if you have it on your phone already, you can still keep using it. Yeah, so Yeti's Jack deleted the app to see what would happen. And now I can't get it back because it's not available on the app store. Apparently a bunch of people did this and now they will spend 3,000 bucks for a used iPhone just because it has TikTok already. Without TikTok on my phone, my productivity has soared. Soared.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by rocket entrepreneur Ricardo Dina over in San Francisco. We recently did a story on the size of the U.S. retail return industry. Basically, how many Christmas and Hanukkah gifts did you send back? Well, get this. The total value of returned goods in America is larger than the GDP of all but 19 countries.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
America returned $890 billion worth of goods last year. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little more context on that? So we returned more dollar amount of stuff than the entire economic output of all but 19 countries. Wrap it up. Yetis, you look fantastic to kick off the week. And if you know a single lady who just bought a penthouse, tell her HYHTBOI.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Because we just did an intro about her whole situation. She's probably doing pretty well right now. So HYHTBOI, have you heard the best one yet? That's how we grow this show every day. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. If you know, you know that. And before we go, a happy birthday to Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky up in Canada who are celebrating with some Stanley mugs.
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An happy birthday to Casey Haley in Knoxville, Tennessee. And Austin Jacobs turning 31 in San Jose, California, but partying in Tahoe, not too shabby. Well played, Austin. That's where I had my honeymoon, Austin. Good choice. The water's clearer than ever. And David C. in Fremont, California just achieved their goal of 150 words per minute.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Reading, writing, speaking, we don't know, but we like it. And congratulations to Blaine Davis Johnson, who's got a new job in Kansas City, Missouri. Oh yeah, over at Crew, new wine bar, and he's got PTO and a 401k, not too shabby. Benefits, jobs with benefits. Not too shabby. And besties, if you want a shout out on this show, or you got a buddy who deserves a shout out, fill out the form.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
We got a link in our episode description. This is Jack. I own stock in Amazon and Disney, and Nick and I both own stock in Spotify.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Because on the one hand, older women are living longer than their husbands, so they're buying a new home. the other hand, young working women are putting off marriage and treating themselves to a brand new home instead. And this combination has driven an unprecedented pop in the housing market. We call it the single lady home surge.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
It's all proof that you don't need a man, you just need a mortgage. And again, Jack, just to quote Beyonce, I got a gloss on my lips and a man on my hips. Sorry, I don't have another Diana Ross quote. But I got a condo in Cabo. You
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Let's hit our three stories, baby.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
For our first story, the maker of Ozempic and Wagovi just revealed a new drug that is better than both. But there's also a game-changing side effect to this drug. You ready for this? You won't just eat less, you will sin less too. Take Ozempic, scroll less TikTok will explain. Ha! Seriously. Yeah, it is Europe's most valuable company. It's not LVMH Luxury anymore. It's now Novo Nordisk.
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You're not allowed to do any house chores or any work on your house. Just enjoy the house like it's a vacation house. Well, your hands are still pruney. I can see them from here, Jack. In the meantime, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod, man? For our first story, the maker of Ozempic just unveiled an even more powerful weight loss drug.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Because Novo Nordisk created the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which are beloved by celebrities and taken by millions and millions of Americans. Yes, they are. But the trial results for their new drug, amicretin, um, Jack, what were the numbers? Novo Nordisk just published the results on Friday, and they got near-perfect scores in their early randomized trials.
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Novo Nordisk paid 125 overweight, obese people to take one shot per week for 36 weeks. Those that took this experimental new weight loss drug lost 22% of their body weight in the 36-week trial. That's more than a fifth of your body weight, 22%. Jack, that's like a leg. And those who didn't take the drug, those who took the placebo, they actually gained a little bit of weight.
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In fact, the average person who took this new trial drug weighed 204 pounds. Which means the average person who took this new drug lost 45 pounds in just 36 weeks. Again, it's like cutting off your leg just by taking a drug. What a wildly successful weight loss trial this was. Jack and I got more curious about this.
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And basically, if Ozempic was a breakthrough analogous to the nuclear bomb, then this amicretin result we just saw might be the hydrogen bomb. Now, larger, later-stage trials are needed before amicretin can get approval and eventually come to the market. But if it does, it could accelerate the adoption of these weight-loss drugs. It could make these weight-loss drugs like the new Tylenol.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Basically, your buddies could be popping these things. Everyone at the brunch table's taking them. Although we should point out, they're going to be way more expensive than Tylenol. Because Yeti, this new drug results potentially in more weight loss, faster weight loss, fewer side effects, and some wild side effects we'll get to in a moment. So it's potentially Ozempic 2.0.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
I kind of want to say it's Ozempic 3.0. Okay. Now, it was such a big breakthrough that Novo Nordisk stock jumped 10% on Friday, adding $35 billion of value to the company. Not too shabby. That's like seven lifts. But there's an even bigger impact from these GLP-1 drugs that's emerging that we have been waiting to share. And it's going to affect your online shopping.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ozempic? With these weight loss drugs, you don't just eat less, you sin less too. Now, we all know that these GLP-1 drugs, they suppress the chemical in your body that makes you crave food. Everyone talks about them related to food. But it turns out they suppress more than just your appetite for food. Yeah.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
New anecdotal evidence shows that these weight loss drugs actually reduce a lot of compulsive behaviors. Like drinking and smoking cigarettes and using opioids. Not just food and drugs. These weight loss drugs may also suppress your urge to gamble or even your urge to shop online for those cute tops. There's even some signs that these GLP-1 drugs reduce your impulse to scroll social media.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
If you shop online too much or scroll Instagram too much, the new cure may be Ozempic. For our second story, it's Kidz Bop. They've been making kids' versions of adult music for 25 years. Cardi B for babies. Kidz Bop. Their real innovation? It's the re-creator economy. And our third and final story. One week into the Trump presidency, CNN is overhauling its entire business.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Now more trials are needed to measure the impact on these other compulsive behaviors. But if it turns out that these weight loss drugs reduce all of your uncontrollable and often unwanted desires, I mean, Jack, there could be enormous economic impacts on our economy way beyond the food industry. Ozempic could affect Amazon because people might online shop less.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Ozempic could affect Instagram because you have less of a scrolling feeling. This is a huge topic to watch in 2025. Oh, you're buying too many Qtops on Timu? Maybe you start taking Ozempic. We want to see the results. Do these weight loss drugs also make you sin less? For our second story. After 25 years, Kidz Bop is still the power business in kids' music. Maybe even more powerful.
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🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Because Kidz Bop is the music industry's favorite training wheels. All right, Jack. Childhood CDs. Why don't you whip out the CD tower over there? I think we're listening to the same music from New York City with you and Rule of Vermont for me. Jock Jams, volume one. I had volume one, two, three, and six. Disney show tunes, greatest hits. Four, five, and 12. Now that's what I call music.
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Volume 27. Oh, so close, so close. But yet, despite all of those CDs, Yetis, the most successful kids music business of all is Kidz Bop. Kids with a Z. Even though CDs are gone, Kidz Bop has never been bigger today. We got fascinated about that, so we jumped in T-boy style. Yetis, Kidz Bop, they've been around since 2001. Jack, how would you describe this exactly?
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They publish sanitized, child-friendly covers of popular pop songs. They basically child-proof the Kidz songs, is what we're saying. Yeah. Yeah. Parental advisory sticker. They basically just peel it off for you. It's off. They target anyone at four to 12 years old. Basically too old for Barney, but not quite ready for Beyonce.
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They'll take Blink-182's All the Small Things and turn it into a G-rated sing-along song for the minivan. Training wheels for T-Pain. They edit away the references to sex, drugs, rock and roll, and they replace Cardi B with the nine-year-old ensemble. Hang on, they don't edit out references to rock and roll. Did you mean like violence or something like that? I'm going with violence.
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I was thinking violence. Volume one came out in 2001. Who's featured in that CD, Jack? Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and my favorite, Smash Mouth. But sung by kids. And Jack, who's in volume 50 coming out right now? Songs by Sabrina Carpenter, Chapel Roan, and Taylor Swift. But again, sung by kids. Jack, can I read you an example of this? Because like, did you listen to Kidz Bop growing up?
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Like, did you hear any of this? I did not. I actually, this is totally new to me. Let me give you a great example I found of this. Okay. Lyric changes go like this. Lady Gaga sang in a song, out in the club, sipping on the bub. All right. You want to hear the Kidz Bop volume 10 version? Yeah. Out in the club, eating all that grub. That is dad approved. But here's the news, yetis.
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Kidz Bop just released their 50th album. Yeah, it's called Kidz Bop Volume 50. So we're jumping into the business. In 25 years, Kidz Bop has sold 25 million albums. How consistent is that? Very consistent, Jack. And according to Forbes, Kidz Bop is now 23% of the entire kid's music category. They have 24 Billboard Top 10 albums.
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which is more than Taylor Swift, almost as many as the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Again, if you're playing a kid's song to your child, one out of four of those songs is probably a kid's bop song. Basically, what Miss Rachel is on YouTube and Bluey is on TV. I like where you're going. Kid's bop has become for music. Nailed it.
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Oh, and they've expanded their revenue streams because they now do a live tour every year and collabs with Chuck E. Cheese and Lego. The funniest part that Nick and I found is that the founders are not typical entrepreneurs and they don't even do music. How did they even figure this out exactly, Jack?
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Two dads with law degrees basically had expertise in structuring licensing deals that wouldn't violate copyright law, but still be pop songs that everybody knows. And the business insight here is kind of that both the kids and the parents are the customers. Because if you're a parent, you're probably listening with your kids and you control the dials. You don't want something you don't like.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
We're going to tell you why CNN is having plastic problems. media surgery. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, fantastic mix of stories. There's no better mix. I love the mix check. To quote Beyonce, all the single ladies, all the single ladies. Because guess who's driving the housing market right now, Yetis? That's kind of a leading question.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Baby shark. No, you don't. So the music is stuff that parents recognize, but kids also can enjoy. No offense to Rafi, but... So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Kidz Bop? Never underestimate the re-creator economy. Yetis, that's actually a takeaway Jack and I crafted four years ago, back in 2021, when Mr. Beast published a viral video.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Here's the video's title, $456,000 Squid Game in Real Life. That video has almost a billion views right now. It got a billion views because there's huge business in recreating something that already exists. Mr. Beast recreated the game in Squid Game in real life. And that's what Kidz Bop is doing too. And it works.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
The artists they're covering, they're not just on board, they're enthusiastically on board to be covered. Because Chapel Roan gets licensing revenue every time an album is sold, plus future fans who listen to the Kidz Bop version of her tracks as they were kids. It's a gateway product. So creating something based off an original idea, yeah, that is one way you can do things.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
It's tough, but you can definitely do that. The other way is to recreate something. Never underestimate the recreator economy.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
For our third and final story, CNN is making the biggest business makeover in its 45-year history. There's been no Trump news bump for CNN, so they're going back to their roots. But yet is, if you think that there is just way too much news noise in the world right now, we know who you can blame. Ted Turner. He's the billionaire who launched CNN in 1980. Cable News Network.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
This was the beginning of the cable industry, and this CNN was the first ever 24-hour news channel. Which is kind of strange, because at 2 a.m., What is the news to report? Well, Jack, one second. Breaking news. Man who is reported missing has been found. He was fishing. He was just fishing. Thank you, CNN, for that breaking news. Yeti, CNN, they had a good run.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
For 45 years, cable news on TV, it was a great business. It was a profit puppy. Over 100 million American households were paying $100 a month for cable, and about five bucks of that cable bill went to CNN's pockets. But you know the story about cord cutting. Cable, it's been dying. However, there is one new twist that you should know about.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
Unlike in Trump's first term, Trump's second term has not resulted in a ratings bump for the cable news channels. That's right. Despite a thousand, I think, executive orders last week, CNN is not getting more coverage as they expected they would. In fact, CNN just had its worst ratings week in two years. It's well behind MSNBC and Fox News right now.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
According to Sotheby's International, the biggest new buyers of luxury real estate are single women. Jack, to quote Diana Ross, it's my house and I live here. According to the data, women were the sole owners of 20% of American homes in 2024. That is twice the percentage from just 30 years ago. And those solo ladies that are owning homes are also the fastest growing segment of luxury real estate.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
So the new CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson, isn't doing a makeover of the channel. He's doing a full-on surgery of the channel. He just announced last week 200 layoffs to the CNN TV division, but at the same time, he's hiring 200 new people for the digital team. That's right, Yetis. He's not just putting cosmetics on CNN. He's full-on rearranging the company.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
And CNN is actually inspired by a business model we've covered many times before. Where have we seen this, Jack? The New York Times. That's right. They fund their news journalism with other stuff. Because yeti's, the New York Times has defied the rest of the newspaper industry by developing a thriving games app, a thriving cooking app.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
They even have a shopping review business, Wirecutter, that is doing its best in years. That's why me and all my friends have the same spatula. Because we all just got what Wirecutter told us to get. Well, it's working for the New York Times business. Basically, everything we just described, the lifestyle things from the New York Times, subsidize their news division.
The Best One Yet
🎶 “Baby Cardi B” — Kidz Bop’s record music. Ozempic’s secret side-effect. CNN’s plastic surgery. Single-Lady Home Surge.
And now CNN is going to launch something similar. There's a new CNN health and lifestyle business coming soon. And funny thing, Yetis, it's actually perfect that Mark Thompson, the new CEO of CNN, is borrowing a strategy from the New York Times. Because he used to be the CEO of the New York Times. Yeah, he literally is using the same spreadsheets.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Yetis, Nick and Jack here from the T-Boy Studio. Right now, you're probably stuck in traffic or on a tarmac just trying to get home. Memorial Day, fun three-day weekend with two days of travel. So to keep you company as you're trying to get home, we're dropping an entire episode of our other show, The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Jens whips open his laptop and shows off their software's smooth panning, thanks to those tiles. And then Lars shows Larry something that really grabs his attention. Lars types in the word theaters, and then a bunch of dots appear on the map. Lars then clicks on one of those dots, and boom, up pops a list of movie showtimes. There's Shrek 2, The Incredibles, Garfield, the movie.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Hell of a triple feature. To Larry, this is the answer he's been looking for. If Google had a map just like this, people looking for directions wouldn't click away to a competitor. They could stay in the Google ecosystem. Plus, to top it off, they could charge businesses to get featured placement on the map.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Yeah, like, you know, meet me by that tall hill by the oak tree across from the sunset pond kind of a thing. Meanwhile, I, like, grew up in a city, so, like, if I had to meet someone on 5th Avenue and 14th Street, as long as I could count numbers, I was going to be fine. Right.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But one thing, Larry thinks for this to work, the map can't be a separate program that people download. It needs to be a web page so that people can click straight through from Google search results. So just as Jens and Lars think they've got the deal in the bag, Larry asks them a question they haven't prepared for. Can you make this run in a web browser?
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Jens musters all his Danish matter-of-factness and replies, Yeah, no problem. Jack, I gotta ask, is this actually no problem? Actually, Nick, he has no idea whether this is even possible. Oh, boy. But honestly, that's not important right now. What is important is that Jens and Lars have the deal of a lifetime right before their eyes.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
If they can make Expedition work on a web browser, Google will buy their startup. However, if they can't, they're both going to be fighting over who has top bunk when they move back in with their mom.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But yet is, whether you are geographically literate or not, especially, though, if you are not, you're going to need a good map. And today we are talking about the single most popular map of all time. Nick, you're talking about a product that ushered in a new era for humanity, one where you will never get lost again, unless your phone dies.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
After three weeks of all-nighters and cranking code, Jens and Lars and their small team finally have a version of Expedition that works on the web. Time to give Google a call. And Jack, what is Larry Page's reaction? Elation. Yes. This is exactly what Google needs. And the moment could not be better. Because Google happens to be in the middle of a huge media frenzy.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Since their last meeting, Google has raised $2 billion by going public in August 2004. Silicon Valley, it's recovered from the crash. So just two months after the IPO, Google buys Expedition. Yens and Lars, they hit their payday, baby. They can finally pay off their credit cards, which they maxed out during those 18 months of development.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
To this day, Google has never said how much it paid for Expedition, this little prototype of a digital map. But we've seen estimates that it was just under $50 million. And since Google knows it needs their brains just as much as they need their software, Jens and Lars get jobs and salaries at Google, too, as part of a new team called Google Maps.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But there is no time to celebrate yetis because Larry and his Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, they want to move fast, insanely fast. Every day, they're thinking about the 25% of users they're losing, the one out of four Google searchers who have to click away to other websites when all they want is simple directions. So Sergey and Larry set an ambitious deadline.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Google Maps needs to launch publicly by February 2005. That's just four months after the acquisition. Four months to go from mapping one square mile of Berkeley to mapping the whole of North America. Okay, so there's a couple of problems here with that deadline. Yeah, I'm stressed just talking about this right now, Jack. The first is actually an easy problem to solve, and that's the cost.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Because Google is flush with cash. They have no problem shelling out $100,000 for map data from one of those companies for California. Even the millions it needs to map out the rest of the United States and Canada. Okay, but Jack, the second problem is the prototype that Jens and Lars managed to build. This thing is just a proof of concept. It is slow, and it crashes a lot.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So when tech companies have a product problem just like this, they know who to call. They need a product manager. Yeah, they need a PM, baby. The Liam Neeson of the tech industry. So Google brings in a guy named Brett Taylor. Brett has a baritone voice as deep as his confidence. He is firing off ideas for this new map like he's a young James Cook. Oh, and one more thing.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Brett is just 24 years old. Barely has six bullets on his resume. Now, this is actually pretty typical over at Google, giving huge amounts of responsibility to relatively inexperienced people just out of college and then fueling them with free catered lunches. You get tossed in the deep end. We're talking big projects, big responsibility, sink or swim.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And our guy Brett, the new product manager for Google Maps, is a swimmer. He single-handedly rewrites the Google Maps code in one weekend. He makes it 10 times faster with much more streamlined code. This Brett Taylor guy went into the zone. He probably had a huge headset on, was pounding Red Bulls, taking breaks only to use the bathroom. Honestly, what this guy pulls off is so impressive.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Simply put, without this product, Google wouldn't be nearly the company it is today. And so many of the apps we rely on, like Uber, Airbnb, Strava, and others, they wouldn't even exist. This invention, it lets you zoom out and view Earth from orbit, or
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But it is nothing compared to what he goes on to do after Google Maps. Brett Taylor eventually becomes chief technology officer of Facebook. And he's the last Twitter board chairman before it gets sold to Elon Musk. And he's the co-CEO of Salesforce. And he's the chairman of the board at OpenAI right now. That's basically the EGOT of tech.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
As for Jens and Lars, they stay with Google Maps for a while as the digital landmass expands. But eventually, both move on. Lars leaves Google in 2010 to join Facebook, while Jens later joins Apple. But Jack, let's get back to the Google Maps launch. Thanks to PM Brett, they make their February 2005 deadline just in time.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And when Google Maps launches to the public, it is the greatest step forward in cartography since the compass rose.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
legendary. First, Google Maps is an expandable map. You can scroll and zoom effortlessly across entire cities and beyond. Second, Jack, it's a navigator. You enter an address and you get directions in seconds. You're never getting lost again. And finally, and this is where the real money is made, you can engage with businesses.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Click on that movie theater, tap on that landmark, or finally find that one particular coffee shop just outside of Copenhagen. without having to cross-reference multiple websites or dig through clunky search results. And this all happens in the web browser, just like Google wanted. No need for clunky software or extra downloads.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
MapQuest, Yahoo Maps, and all the others, they immediately start looking and feeling like 15th century Spanish treasure maps, but without the charm of Captain Jack Sparrow. So, Jack, how do people actually react to this? And, like, how revolutionary is this new thing? I think one cultural data point captures the public's response, Nick. Okay, what are you thinking?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Within just a year of its launch, Google Maps gets a shout-out in an SNL sketch. Lazy Sunday.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Now, there's no better entrepreneurial validation than a name check in an Andy Samberg song. I mean, Jack, I think getting referenced in an SNL skit is the definition of product market fit, is it not? It's better than getting a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor named after you.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But as powerful as the Google Maps launch is, what really pushes it into the stratosphere is a feature that Google adds a few months after launch. It's a feature that gives people a dizzying new way of looking at their world. We're sitting in a cubicle in an office supply company. Let's call it Munder Difflin. A customer service rep named Kelly is looking up the address of a supplier.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
zoom in and find your nearest coffee shop, and then gives you step-by-step directions on how to get there, see the menu, read the customer reviews, show you the vibe with a virtual tour, and even tell you how long you're going to have to wait for that mocha cookie crumb frappuccino. We're talking about Google Maps. More than 2 billion people use Google Maps every month.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So she opens up her browser, clicks over to the Google Maps, and spots a new icon. Satellite view? What? What is that? So she clicks on it, the map flickers, and then, oh my God. The map is replaced by a photo of the whole area from above. Kelly lands in. She starts scrolling and she starts zooming, and boom, there it is. That's her neighborhood. Wait, wait one sec. That's her street.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
That's her house. That's her yard. That's her treat. No way. Within minutes, everyone in the office is gathered around Kelly's screen. Try the Grand Canyon. Wait, can you see Area 51? Soon, everyone has Google Maps pulled up on their computer. This is the most focused the entire office has been in living memory. Productivity? Dead for the day.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
The unanswered orders for printer paper and legal pads? They're going to just have to wait. Because Munder Difflin is lost in Google Maps' new satellite view. It's just two months after Google Maps launched, and it's already got an upgrade. And it's a big one. Satellite View. But the tech that makes it possible wasn't built by Jens, Lars, or the team.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Now, ironically, this one is about Google Maps, the very thing that says your ETA is still two and a half hours. Two and a half hours in this episode, we'll go deep on how Google Maps was created and scaled into something used by billions of people every day. And how two Danish brothers wildly changed a map from a two-dimensional piece of paper to an entire economy.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
In fact, it comes from another recent Google acquisition, a company called Keyhole. Keyhole. It becomes the secret ingredient to Google Maps virality. But if we tell you any more, we'll have to kill you. Because Keyhole was actually funded by the CIA. Yeah, that CIA. Keyhole, they actually specialize in 3D flyover maps that let you zoom over landscapes like you're piloting a drone.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Leveraging satellite imagery from NASA with images refreshing every 30 minutes. Keyhole software. was mostly being used by real estate firms to show off properties, but they were actually an early investment from the CIA's venture capital arm. That's right, CIA VC. Our nation's spy agency has been running a venture firm since the early 2000s called In-Q-Tel.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
The CIA venture capital arm has dropped $1.2 billion into 750 startups so far. And this VC firm has a win percentage that gives even Sequoia FOMO. But again, keep it on the hush-hush. Well, once Google integrates the keyhole tech with Google Maps, they buy up all the satellite imagery they can get their hands on.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
This is massive amounts of data that, until now, has been locked away behind paywalls and inside high-priced corporate databases. And now anyone can zoom out into space and then dive down and see their own house, their street, their town, their yard. It feels like you're operating your very own CIA spy satellite. It does, yeah.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And don't forget, Nick, for millions of people, this was the first time they'd ever seen their corner of the world from above. So they're coming to Google now for the novelty of Google Maps. But then they stay when they see just how useful Google Maps can be in their everyday lives. This is what happens when a product delivers a feature so compelling that it pulls people in, literally.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Before Satellite View, Google Maps was a solo tool. You used it to find directions on your own. But Satellite View made Google Maps go viral because it gave people a reason to gather in groups and stare at a map. That keyhole tech also powered Google Earth, which launched a few months later. But there is one heavy, heavy catch. Keeping all this mapping data updated is costing Google millions.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
800 people use Google Maps every second. And helping all those people also helps Google. Because it's estimated that Google Maps sneakily generates $11 billion a year of additional ad sales for that tech giant. But Google Maps' impact goes beyond navigation.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They're stitching together different sources and trying to keep up with a world that never stops changing. New roads get built. The bodega around the corner closes down. Relying on third party data just isn't sustainable. even though it's what put Google Maps on the map. Google needs a way to map the world on its own terms. And its solution, it's not just going to save Google money.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It'll give Google Maps another feature as mind-blowing as satellite view from outer space, but from the totally opposite perspective, the view from the street. Deep into the Mojave Desert, a motley lineup of all-terrain vehicles, rally cars, and family SUVs rev up their engines at a starting line.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They look like rigs from Mad Max built for battle, ready to take on 132 miles of brutal sun-scorched terrain. But there is one thing that each of these cars happens to be missing, a driver. That's because this is the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, Grand Challenge.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It's actually a Pentagon-sponsored competition where the world's brightest engineers push the limits of self-driving technology. Up for grabs today, $2 million as the prize for the first self-driving car winner.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Each vehicle is packed with sensors, cameras, and AI-powered navigation systems to help them dodge the rocks and navigate the ditches and somehow stay the course without any help from a human. The car looks like a Fiat designed by Frankenstein. Well, the starting flag drops and they're off. But instead of racing off into the distance, these vehicles slowly inch forward.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Yeah, the tech is exciting, but this isn't racing Formula One style. It's 2005. Self-driving cars are in their very infancy. So these babies are literally crawling as their LIDAR, radar, and camera systems scan the route ahead for obstacles. And after a six-hour and 53-minute wait, Jack, we got a winner, a blue Volkswagen named Stanley, created by a team straight out of Stanford University.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
On the sidelines, there's a familiar face. It's Larry Page. He's trying to get inside the minds of the people building the future of autonomous navigation. After the celebrations die down, he gets talking with the leader of the Stanford team, a German robotics expert named Sebastian Thrun. Sebastian's broad grin, bald head, and love of loud shirts definitely make him stand out.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It helped transform maps and the internet itself from something you read into something you interact with, turning the map from a single-dimensional tool into a multi-dimensional economy. But few people know the true story of how Google Maps began. Its origin takes us from the quiet coffee houses of Copenhagen to a Mad Max-style road race between self-driving cars.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But what really pulls Larry in is Sebastian's early conviction that autonomous driving is the future. Sebastian pulls Larry aside and says, hey, I'm starting a company to build a massive database of streets to train autonomous drivers. And to do this, Sebastian happens to have an absolutely, I'm trying to think how to put this, Jack, stupid, crazy idea.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Sebastian wants to send cars across America to map every single mile of road. each equipped with special 360-degree cameras capturing pictures of everything as they drive. The cars will also have GPS trackers to accurately record the routes, allowing each picture's location to be precisely pinpointed.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They'll also eventually have laser scanners so that they can build 3D models of the car's surroundings. Larry immediately thinks how Sebastian's image database could be extremely valuable to Google Maps. In fact, if Google had enough of these special cars taking enough pictures and data, it wouldn't need to buy so much third-party map data.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
In fact, Google could go from a buyer of map data to a seller. So Larry does what Larry does. He makes Sebastian an offer. Google will buy Sebastian's photo-taking drive-the-world company and make Sebastian the head of a new secret project division called... Google X. His first project? Street View. Its aim? To record and photograph every single street on planet Earth.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
That's more than 13 million miles of asphalt, and we're not even counting dirt roads. At a constant 60 miles per hour with no fuel, sleep, or bathroom breaks, it would take you 25 years to record those 13 million miles of road. Sounds like an SAT question. But Street View does eventually happen. And soon, it expands to parks, to pedestrian routes, and even to the inside of buildings like museums.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Like Satellite View, it becomes a fun feature that draws more people into Google Maps. But there also is another upside here. All of those photos we just mentioned and all the other data captured by the cars, it means that Google now has its very own up-to-date map data. And since they had 200 cars to do it, it didn't take 25 years.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And they also uploaded Street View gradually, not all at once when it was completed. But project launches, they're like Bravo shows. You always gotta prepare for a little bit of drama. Someone's gonna flip a table. And when it comes to Street View, not everyone's happy about it. Some argue that because something is visible from the street, doesn't mean it should be searchable online.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Okay, so then Google's got to deal with that. So they roll out automatic blurring for faces and license plates. And they even allow homeowners to request their houses be blurred. Barbra Streisand, you can breathe a sigh of relief. But while Google is busy mapping every lane, driveway, and cul-de-sac in the world, another revolution is brewing. One that will create Google Maps' biggest rival.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
When the iPhone launches in 2007, it's Google Maps that's one of the biggest selling points. Apple doesn't have its own map product yet, so they strike a deal with their rival Google. And Steve Jobs actually uses Google Maps to wow the audience at the iPhone unveiling. I remember that. Steve Jobs prank called a Starbucks that he found using Google Maps in front of everyone.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Yeah, it was kind of a beautiful moment. You had Apple and Google just hugging it out. And within 18 months, iPhones account for more Google Maps usage than all other phones and computers combined. The ability to access Google Maps when you're out and about on a phone is the true magic of this Maps technology.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But there's another upgrade to Google Maps that was made possible by having all these new iPhone users. Before Google Maps, live traffic reports came from helicopters and radio stations. But tuning into your local AM station to catch the traffic between songs just wasn't super efficient. Google Maps changed all that with crowdsourced traffic data.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
On the way, we'll discover how Google co-founder Larry Page found inspiration for Google Street View in the middle of the desert. No, we're not talking about Burning Man. And even the CIA is going to get involved. So besties, let's hit the road. Jack, I'm calling shotgun. The destination is on your left. Here's why Google Maps is the best idea yet. From Wondery and T-Boy, I'm Nick Martell.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Every phone was a data point that lets Google Maps track congestion in real time and then overlay it on the map and even alter your route if it sees that there's a traffic jam ahead. So add all this up and this seems like a huge win-win for Apple and for Google. But Google is about to mess with Apple's compass and turn this whole partnership from friendly to frenemy. Here's the tech tea.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
When Google announces Android, its own mobile operating system, for a rival to the iPhone, Steve Jobs calls it grand theft, and he declares thermonuclear war against Google. Those are actual quotes. You do not want to mess with Steve Jobs. And then in 2009, Google escalates things even further with a huge new feature, turn-by-turn navigation.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
This means you didn't have to memorize routes or check your phone at red lights. Now, your phone would speak to you, guiding you with real-time voice directions. And crucially, it never corrected you if you made a wrong turn. It just updated the route, recalculating. More on that feature in a minute. Okay, but Jack, that's where Apple lost it, right? Yeah.
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🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Because Google makes turn-by-turn navigation available only on Android. Oh, boy. They gate this awesome new feature. iPhone users, you still got to memorize the directions. It made the iPhone in some ways inferior to Android phones. Steve Jobs, not a fan of looking inferior. So that was a breaking point for Steve Jobs. And that's when he orders Apple Maps into development.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
He was determined to cut out Google entirely. He never again wants to be dependent on someone else's software. No, he does not. Now, sadly, Steve passes away in 2011. And when Apple Maps actually launches in 2012, oh, this was a disaster. Do you remember this? Misplaced towns, misplaced landmarks. Like, I think at one point they wrote interstate 280 instead of interstate.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Now, Apple fixes the issues pretty quickly. But to this day, Google Maps is still on top. Now, neither Google nor Apple give exact user numbers, but the best estimate we could find is that Google Maps has 2 billion monthly users. On the other hand, Apple Maps has somewhere between 200 and 600 million users. Oh, and remember how Google wanted a map to support its search engine?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Well, the map actually became just as important as search. For many local businesses, coming out on top in Google Maps searches is essential to their profitability. And so they are willing to pay Google for the placement on the map. And by 2018, business listings on Google Maps were more than an address and a phone number.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They were more like mini websites with reviews, photos, opening hours, and even a button to book a table or to order food. That Danish pastry-fueled vision that Jens Rasmussen had back in 2003? It actually came true. And it's not just brick-and-mortar stores, because Google Maps ends up powering a huge part of the entire app economy.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
From Uber to DoorDash to Tinder, anytime you need to find something, it's probably using Google Maps technology. No Google Maps, no Tinder weddings. All right, Magellan. So we've gone from Copenhagen with Danish Brothers to Google's IPO to the Mojave Desert to driving across every road on the planet. Jack, we are almost at the finish, baby. This has been a journey, man.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Oh, it's been a journey with no bathroom breaks. Jack, could you please pull over this podcast for a moment, though, and tell us what's your takeaway from the Google Maps story? If you build a platform, others may do the work for you. Google Maps became way more than just directions. It became an essential discovery platform, matching customers with businesses.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Nick, a couple summers when I was in high school, I had to intern for my dad and he wanted to make sure that he would show up if someone Googled lawyer in Vermont. Obviously, he made me set up this business account on Google Maps. That checks out. But Nick, it wasn't just my dad.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And I'm Jack Kravici-Kramer. And this is the best idea yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. And the bold risk takers who made them go viral.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Thousands of businesses quickly realized how critical Google Maps was, so they set up their own listings on the platform. Because if you don't appear on Google Maps, then you may as well not exist for thousands of customers. So this basically incentivized businesses to keep their information on Google Maps up to date.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Combined with the customer reviews, it made for like a rich new type of content that kept people coming back to Google Maps, even if they weren't getting directions to go anywhere. And you saw how expensive it can be to update the data on your map. They had to pay those external providers. Well, if you have a platform, people will update the map for you. Yes. What's your takeaway, Nick?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
jack my takeaway is simple don't correct the customer look one of the most surprising innovations in google maps wasn't that technical it was actually behavioral early turn by turn navigation systems remember they would insist that you turn around or backtrack if you missed a turn well The researchers at Google Maps realized people hate being told they're wrong.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So instead of forcing users to follow a rigid route, Google Maps recalculated on the fly, seamlessly adjusting to whatever direction you wanted to go. By removing the frustration of a must-do-it-our-way approach, Google Maps made navigation smarter and more likable. So remember, whenever possible, don't correct the customer. Redirect them instead.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
All right, it's time for my absolute favorite part of the show, the best facts yet. The best facts yet, the hero stats, facts, and surprises we discovered in our research, but we just couldn't fit into the story. Jack, let them rip. What do you got for Google Maps? Google Maps once accidentally deleted an entire country. They caused a war in the year 2010.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Google Maps accidentally erased Costa Rica's border, causing a military conflict between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Nicaragua invaded a section of land citing Google Maps as proof that it was theirs. Google's war room got to work and they had to fix the border as soon as possible, but they had to do it manually.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Now, Jack, remember when I was telling you about how rural folk are better at the directions than us urban folk over here? I remember that. Well, if you rely on Google Maps too much, that could create a cranial problem. Really?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Research has shown that reliance on GPS directions like Google Maps could reduce the functioning of your hippocampus, the part of your brain that is critical for forming memories and learning. I do feel very accomplished every time I actually read the signs on the highway instead of just using my Google Maps. Sometimes I'm like, I'm trying to prove it to myself that I can still do this.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
In the meantime, Jack's the one who could actually tell us where the oak tree is next to the small hill across from that sunrise pond.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Well, we did make it to the end of the episode, Jack. And you know what? I feel smarter for doing so. And that, my friends, is why Google Maps is the best idea yet. Coming up on the next episode of The Best Idea Yet, quite possibly the most refreshing episode we've ever done. Because we're popping open a can. Of LaCroix Sparkling Water. Pamplemousse, please. Yetis, you look fantastic over there.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
That is a sample of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. We've covered over 30 other viral products already.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
From Goldfish Crackers to the Ninja Turtles to MTV. If you like tech, you would also like the story we did on the Apple iPhone. You got to hear that one. That one's great. And our most popular episode so far is Costco's Kirkland brand. Although Jack and I had a lot of fun with the Juicy Couture episode. That one's also legendary. If you love T-Boy, you're going to love the best idea yet too.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So tap the link we put in this episode description to follow that show and listen every single week. We'll see you tomorrow. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Jens Rasmussen frowns at his computer screen in Denmark as he drums his figures against the desk as he waits. He's searching for directions to a tiny cafe on the outskirts of Copenhagen, one that he remembers from his childhood, tucked away on a side street whose name escapes him.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Finally, the website he's using, MapQuest, starts slowly loading a featureless maze of streets, their names crammed along them in squashed font. Jens squints a bit, and he thinks he recognizes the area, if only he could zoom out a little to get some context, but he hesitates.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
If he clicks the zoom button, he'll have to endure another frustrating wait as MapQuest redraws and then reloads the entire map. Jens exhales sharply, then he curses in Danish. It's 2003. There has to be a better way, he thinks. Now, a lot of people would get up from their computer in frustration and just pick out a different, closer coffee shop.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But Jens, he's the type of guy who gets fixated on things. And right now, the wheels in his mind are cranking. What if digital maps could be better? What if they weren't just static pictures? What if you could freely pan, scroll and explore them and then get more than just direction, but information like movie listings, restaurant menus, opening hours.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So after this, make a U-turn and go subscribe to The Best Idea Yet. We put a link in the episode description. You're going to love it. But in the meantime, Jack, let's hit the show. Jack, would you say that the world breaks down into two types of people? Those who have a sense of direction and those who simply do not. Yeah, I think that's pretty accurate.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Maps could be more than just a way to help you find your way. They could help you live your life. So Jens, he's got some momentum now, and he gets on the phone with his big brother Lars. Both these guys, they are talented coders. They actually both worked in Silicon Valley, and they both recently lost their jobs in the dot-com crash.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Once again, nothing kicks off an entrepreneurial innovation quite like an economic downturn. the recurring supporting character of our podcast. Jens recently returned to Denmark and money is tight, so he's moved back in with his mom. But Lars stayed in California's Bay Area. He's sharing a house in Berkeley and trying to land a new tech job.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Jens and Lars, what great Danish names for a couple of brothers, right, Jack? They sound like a couple of contestants in the world's strongest man competition. They probably grew up engineering Legos together. They look really similar. I mean, they could both fit into a police lineup of Nordic lumberjacks. but they have very different vibes. Lars is more by the book.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
He's got a PhD in computer science. While Jens, he's more of a tear up the book kind of thinker. Creative, brilliant programmer. He's a pessimist who dropped out of college, but he also channels his pessimism into finding solutions to problems.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So when Lars in California gets a collect call from Jens, he's happy to accept the charges because he knows if Jens is making an effort to call, he's probably found a massive problem and more importantly, a brilliant idea for how to fix it. Jens just goes off on how crappy MapQuest is. I mean, he's just shredding this software. Do you remember MapQuest, by the way?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
I just remember printing MapQuest from my printer. Yeah, we would like have a youth hockey game on Long Island and my dad would have 12 sheets of paper printed out just to get us off the LIE. But back to our two brothers here. Jens hits Lars with the solution. It's a solution that actually comes in two parts. The first part is tiles. Not the kind you have in your bathroom.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
We're talking digital tiles, each containing the image of part of a map. Jens thinks tiles are the solution to making an online map service that's way faster than MapQuest. Now, yetis, you may not remember MapQuest, even though technically it is still around. But back in the early 2000s, this was by far the biggest online map service.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But it did share the same problem as its competitors at the time. You type in your starting point and your destination, and that request was then sent to a server, which then drew a new static map image. And then they would send this back to your computer browser, along with a long list of text-based directions. Pretty basic, but also pretty complicated. Also pretty slow. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It's like the Flintstones version of a Polaroid camera. Yeah, I don't see this scaling, Jack. I don't see it scaling. Drawing the map each and every time like this is slow. And when it loads onto your computer screen, you can't scroll around. If you want to see one block east, you need to wait for the entire map to get redrawn and then sent to your computer again.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But remember, our guy Jens, he's a solutions dude, and he's got an idea. He wants to pre-draw the maps in small, manageable pieces called tiles. Think of it like a giant digital jigsaw puzzle, but only the pieces you need get sent to you. Now, you don't have to wait for the server to painstakingly draw a new one. Instead, the different pieces are sent to you in the background
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
and snap together instantly when you start scrolling. It means creating a seamless, scrollable map in real time. That's part one of the idea. And you know what? This idea, it sounds promising, but Jens isn't finished yet because now he's on to part two of his new idea for a better digital map. The Tiles idea is a leap in the technology of how to deliver digital maps.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But Jens also has a conceptual leap that even us liberal arts majors can appreciate, an entirely new way of thinking about digital maps. In fact, his idea is an entirely new way to think about how people can use the internet to go about their daily lives. He asked Lars to imagine planning a trip to the movies.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Although anyone who comes out of the subway in the Lower East Side of Manhattan doesn't have a sense of direction. There's no grid. There's no numbers. It's just chaos down there. It's a vortex. But in general, we all have that buddy Timmy who knows exactly where their car is parked and then the other buddy who thinks Southwest is just an airline. Yeah. Geographic literacy, if you will. Right.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But instead of searching just for the theater's address, you search the map for the movie you want to see. And then the map would show you where you can see it, the show times you can watch it, and even let you buy the tickets with a few clicks, again, directly in the map.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
He basically wants to take the two-dimensional static map from something you just read into a multi-dimensional canvas that you can truly interact with. Like it's a digital concierge that helps you plan your business trips, plan your night out, plan the coffee shop you're going to stop at on the way to the train station. Basically plan out your entire life through the map.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And what does Lars think, Jack? He's sold. Oh, yeah. Partly because this is a truly special idea. And partly because he's picturing a day when his idea of fine dining isn't mixing together two flavors of instant ramen. As for Jens, well, he's ready to move out of his mom's place, despite the hearty Danish home cooking.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So Jens and Lars decide to go all in and bet their future on a whole new way of thinking about maps. They call their new project Expedition. Yens and Lars are both ace coders, but pretty quickly they hit a hurdle, a four-letter hurdle, HTML. What a buzzkill. The key reason why existing map websites are so painfully slow is what they're made out of. They run on HTML.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
The thing is, HTML wasn't designed for interactive experiences. HTML was originally built for a super simple function, text. Like a blog post. It is not what you would use to build a map of planet Earth. So using HTML to build a seamless, scrollable, dynamic map is kind of like trying to build a life-size Chrysler building out of Jenga blocks.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It's technically possible, but the foundations will be so shaky, even Tom Cruise wouldn't dare climb it. Oh, he wouldn't go near it, Jack. And that's why the digital maps of the 2000s era feel so stiff and slow. They're really web pages first and maps second.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So Jens and Lars, and their other buddies from this ragtag team, Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma, decide the way around the limitations of HTML and the web is ditch them all together. Instead of running Expedition in a web browser, they decide to make it a standalone program that users download and install. They've got their concept, an interactive map that's much more than just a map.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Now, it's time to build a prototype. And they immediately hit another wall. This time, it's not a tech problem. It's a money problem. Yeah, so it turns out map data costs a fortune. Like the kind of fine detailed street level mapping data that Jens and Lars need. It's owned by just a handful of companies with names like Navtech and Tela Atlas.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And these companies, they want a whopping 100 grand a month just for the data on California. Jens and Lars obviously don't have that kind of cash. They barely have enough kroner for meatballs and the occasional Friday night Carlsberg. But they don't give up.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They managed to sweet-talk a contact at one of these mapping companies into giving them the data of just a few blocks of Berkeley, California. Look, it's not much, but it is just enough to build a prototype. So they spend the next 18 months working around the clock on this single square-shaped map of downtown Berkeley. Yens cashes in on his pension, they max out their credit cards, the meatballs.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But Jack, I discovered that there is also a behavioral element here on your sense of direction based on where you grew up. Is that so? It is so, Jack. If you grew up in a urban situation versus a rural one. So if you grew up in like a farm environment, you have a better sense of direction. Kind of like your upbringing, man. Okay. Because we grabbed onto landmarks as a way to orient ourselves. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
These things are on pause till Christmas. Eventually, they land a pitch meeting with Sequoia, which, in our opinion, is the most prolific and certainly one of the biggest venture capital firms on Earth. If venture capital were a world map, then these guys are Pangea. They were early investors in most of the big tech successes since Apple. So this is a huge opportunity. And the pitch?
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
It goes smoothly. Our Danish bros, they are vibing. But sadly, Sequoia passes on the deal. Sequoia only invests if all of its partners are in agreement together. And in this case, there is one single holdout who just doesn't see a future in Expedition. But after the meeting, something unexpected Yens and Lars are handing in their lanyards at the Sequoia front desk.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But as they turn to leave, one of the Sequoia investors dashes out and grabs Yens by the arm. And he says, hey, I see something in your expedition idea. Now, he can't fund them individually, but this guy knows someone who just might be able to. A guy by the name of Larry. A guy who co-founded one of the fund's portfolio companies. A company that goes by the name Google. Google.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
Today, Google is a $2 trillion conglomerate, known by its corporate name, Alphabet. But let's sprinkle on some context about where Google was when it was just six years old. You're talking about the year 2004. Yes, I am, Jack. Google has gone from two guys in a garage in Menlo Park, California, to the most popular search engine on the planet.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But at this point, Google is mainly just that, a search engine. There's no Gmail, no Google Docs, no Android. But Google has figured out what no one else has figured out before, how to make internet search into a profit puppy.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
They're actually pulling in $1.6 billion in revenue at this time thanks to Google AdWords, their innovative pay-per-click advertising system that Google launched back in 2000. It's the early 2000s, so if you search for shoes, you might see ads for Ugg boots, and every time you do, it means more advertising dollars going to Google.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
But Jack, we should point out there is one type of search that isn't making Google any money at all. This one search makes up 25% of all searches. Directions. People are Googling, how long will it take me to get from Paris to Chicago because I left my kid home alone? Well, Google doesn't have a map, and that's the fundamental problem here.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
So when someone searches, show me the way from San Jose to Santa Barbara, Google search results give them links to MapQuest or Yahoo Maps. Oh, I forgot about that one. Now, this is bad for Google because in their eyes, it turns you from a user into a loser. Once someone clicks that link away from Google's search engine, they are taking their valuable eyeballs away from Google over to a competitor.
The Best One Yet
🌎 Google Maps: The *Actual* ‘Everything App’
And on the internet, where the eyeballs go, the ad revenue flows. So Larry Page welcomes Jens and Lars to the Googleplex. Larry has been wanting to make his own map to keep that 25% of direction-seeking users in the Google ecosystem. Because 25% of his users, that's a gigantic proportion. And the pitch? It doesn't disappoint.
The Best One Yet
🧙 “Wicked’s Green” — Wicked’s color strategy. Froot Loops’ dye drama. Europe’s startup bruise.
Let's hit on three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 24th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This, this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Is your tux ready? I'm sorry, is your tux fitting over there? I think I forgot to send it to the dry cleaner. Yeah, it is. Jack and I are whipping out our tuxes in one week in Chicago.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Fendi Cafe, Gucci Cafe, Prada, they're doing pastries right now. Each of those luxury houses has six or more coffee shops. Coach, they're even opening a whole coffee shop in Texas. Oh, it's their fifth coffee shop. That's a chain. You can order a Mugatu macchiato at these places. Yeah, Burberry's the new barista. Stella McCartney, she's the new Starbucks.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
You know that hot foamy latte makes me gassy. Cappuccino's so hot right now. But it's not just high fashion either. Nick and I discovered that Zara also opened some coffee shops over in Spain. Pretty sure their espressos cost more than the cute tops over at Zara. So why is fashion across the price spectrum side hustling with subtle coffee chains?
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Well, basically, we think the strategy here is the introduction to the brand. These coffee chains are the corporate equivalent of a handshake or an embrace. You can't afford a $10,000 Gucci bag, but you can afford the $10 Gucci lattes. And that way, you kind of get to know Gucci. Because Gucci chooses the tiles, the tables, the napkins, the cups.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
The coffee shop is your introduction to how Gucci thinks. So now you've met Gucci. You understand Gucci's style without actually owning Gucci. It's quite a long-term marketing bet. It is, yeah. These are seeds the brands are planting, hoping that someday it blossoms into a splurge at their store. It's me. I'm Gucci. Nice to meet you. Let's talk in a few years.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Oh yeah, it's a financial poem, all right? I can't wait. All right, here we go. Here we go. Jack, your son has arrived. He's a shining little beauty, but can we talk financial planning for this charming little cutie? Because in this economy, the price of school hit all time high is going to have to sell that Bitcoin when the college bills fly.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in fashion with coffee chains? Never be selling. Can you say that one more time to be clear, Jack? Never be selling. Yeah, it is. The number one rule in sales is ABC, always be closing. As in, always be closing a sale. And we know how important sales is. Yeah. It's part of our role as a co-founder.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
But what fashion coffee houses prove is that maybe it's better to never be selling. That's why Gucci coffee doesn't sell Gucci bags. You experience what the Gucci brand stands for, but not what the Gucci brand literally sells. At no point are they pitching you on Gucci bags or Gucci shoes. They're just selling you Gucci coffee.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
The very fact that there is no selling involved, ironically, could sell you on the brand. It's an overlooked way to sell something. Never be selling. Never be selling. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Elon's telling Tesla employees that everything's okay, but the data, the headlines, and the stock say it's not.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
The only way to fix Tesla's brand crisis, Elon sells his stock. For our second story, the Boston Celtics sold for a record price, even though it doesn't include the arena. Because sports teams aren't businesses. Sports teams are collector's items. And our third and final story, we spotted a trend. Yeah, we did. Fashion houses are opening coffee shops. They're intros to the brands.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
It's a sales strategy that we call never be selling. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the IPO market is IPO. It is heating up. StubHub just filed to go public. The tickets company is profitable and they want to be publicly traded. Klarna filed the week before, the Buy Now Pay Later firm.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And Hinge Health, the virtual physical therapy firm, they filed to go public too. New stocks are coming to the market and we're excited to cover them. And second, JPMorgan Chase is renaming its DEI programs as DOI. Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion. Yeah, interesting. So they subbed out a vowel here, Jack. JPMorgan said the E always meant equal opportunity for us, not equal outcomes.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And finally, Finland is once again the happiest country in the world while the United States' happiness fell. Despite it being 12 degrees up there right now. And them having no sunlight. Somehow Finland is the number one happiest country for the eighth year in a row. Can we get a recount on those Finns, please? I think it must be the Saanas. It must be the Saanas.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
The World Happiness Survey also found that the United States fell to its lowest level ever, 24th happiness place. Politics, election year, inflation. Yeah, Americans are still figuring it out. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and I because this is trivia. Trivia. What billion-dollar snack brand began as a gift from a man to his wife?
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
So I came up with the plan during your paternity vacation, a financial strategy. That's the ultimate solution. I spoke to three accountants and they say my plan's super fine. I'm hooking up your son with a 529. What? A 529 plan. It's an education strategy. It lets your money grow tax-free. Completely. As long as you spend it on a university or K-12 programs where tuition isn't free.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And as an extra hint, that gift he gave her was specifically based on her horoscope. Double hint, her astrological sign was Pisces. All right, let me add it all up for you here. So which billion dollar snack food company began as a romantic gesture for a Pisces? The answer, we'll reveal it in tomorrow's pod. Because that answer is also the subject of our next episode of The Best Idea Yet.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Which we got nominated for an Emmy Award for. Sorry, not Emmy, Ambie Award. Let's just run with Emmy. Let the fact checkers deal with that one, Jack. Yeah, it is. You look fantastic to start the week. Jack, you are glowing over there. And let me just say to you, so hopefully when he graduates, this thing is worth a milli. If your kid don't get a 529, I'd probably just feel silly.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Are you Lin-Manuel Miranda or you're Nick Martel? Well, I spoke to three accountants. They say the plan is fine. So I'm hooking up your son with a 529. You are Hamilton. He was a treasury secretary. He got finance. It all comes full circle, Jack. Besties, the best thing you can do to help and support the show, drop down to give us five stars and a review.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And remember to follow us so you get T-Boy every day. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Camille Gibson down in Denver who's been listening to T-Boy for five years and is on a fantastic walk right now. Happy birthday to Heather Kayward from Auburn, New York. She's a clinical IT specialist who is crushing it.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And Liliana Cervantes is turning 32 years old over in the little big town of Reno, Nevada. Happy birthday to George Goodfriend who's obsessed with his last name, but it also means a lot of pressure to be a good friend. And a Happy birthday to Matt Allen in Carson Valley, Nevada. 20 years retired Blackhawk helicopter pilot still flying. A fixed win.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Happy birthday to Jeremy Kugel in Silver Spring, Maryland, who's hosting a clementine eating contest for his birthday. I can't even open those things, Jack. And Caitlin Schmidt in St. Pete, Florida has got a new fiance and is celebrating the birthday. And a big shout out to Khaled in Kuwait. Legendary Yeti who's launching a luxury assets exchange platform. Congratulations on the launch, Khaled.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And Kinsio down in Seattle has got a boring business to share. They acquired a marketing agency, and they are scaling that thing. I think our goal is to make it not boring. Well put, Jack. And Jacqueline Pittinger down in Nashville has got a new job, so we are celebrating your win, Jacqueline. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
I apparently own stock of Crocs now because the 529 doesn't switch to Oakley's name until he turns 18.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
So you put your money in this fund, invest it in some stocks. For your son, I bought 10 shares of Crocs. So I won't pay capital gains if Kroc's stock price grows. That's the advantage of 529 portfolios. Wow. 529s, they don't pay federal or state taxes, as long as the proceeds go to qualified school expenses. So hopefully when he graduates, this thing is worth a milli.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
If your kid don't get a 529, I'd probably just feel silly. Oh. Mic drop. Mic drop. That was insane, dude. Channeling some Kendrick on that. This boy's future is going to be built on a foundation of financial responsibility. Congratulations on the one month birthday. You and Alex are doing amazing, Jack. Thank you, Nick. I can't wait to play this for Oakley. That was frigging awesome.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
I just dropped 10 shares of Crocs in that 529. This is Jack, my son Oakley, now owns Stock and Crocs.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
What are we going to be doing there, Jack? We're going to an award ceremony. We are. The Best Idea Yet got nominated for Best Business Podcast. It's very exciting. There's stiff competition. We don't know if we're going to win or not. No idea. We've prepared speeches either way. The speeches, by the way, I think they're like 30 seconds. That's how much time we get. More on that soon.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
For our first story, Tesla is officially the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 so far this year. So we listened to Elon's all-hands event last week, and we have one idea to save the company. Sell the company. Now, yetis, last week, Elon Musk took the stage in Austin, Texas, to address the company's employees of Tesla in a surprise all-hands meeting.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
We listened to the whole thing, and it was all rosy. Yeah, it sounded pretty good, pretty positive, pretty fun, actually. And it is true. Tesla has a lot to boast about. Nick, did you know that the Model Y is the number one selling car model on earth for the last two years? Full disclosure, we've leased a Model Y and understand it's a great car.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Elon told the Tesla employees that they're entering an age of abundance for all. He said that AI and humanoid robots are going to be the key to that abundance. Tesla AI and Tesla humanoid robots. He then went on to say that the future is autonomous. And he said that in five years, autonomous Teslas will be everywhere.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
As Elon pointed out, there is an entire fleet of 7 million Tesla cars across the world capable of full self-driving. And he said last week, someday he's going to flick on the light switch and make them all self-driving. Elon is so bullish right now on Tesla, he even asked employees to not sell their shares. He literally said, hang on to your stock.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
It was quite a pep rally to boost the morale of employees. Here's a quick clip to give you a sense of this big Tesla event. We work together in a way that allows us to ask the hard questions. This is the product that will retire fossil fuels. Now, Yetis, Jack and I, on your behalf, listened to the entire Q&A of this meeting, and they didn't really ask many hard questions. Would you say that, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Here's a hard question they could have asked. Elon, if we're trying to retire fossil fuels, why is your boss in the White House doing the opposite? Well, they didn't ask tough questions because it was all rosy. It was all positive. It was, frankly, the most pep rally Tesla all hands we've ever heard. On the other hand, in the news headlines, Tesla's getting totaled right now.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Tesla is going through the worst period in the history of the car. The stock is down 50% from its December all-time high. It's the worst performing stock in the S&P 500. Tesla sales in Europe and China are down 50% so far this year. Meanwhile, BYD, its Chinese rival, watched a superior technology last week. Yeah, their charger can charge four times faster than Tesla's chargers.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And Cybertruck, it's become a cluster truck. Yeah, they just recalled nearly all 46,000 Cybertrucks because a panel apparently falls off if you're driving on the highway. And here's the worst part, the Tesla trade-in news. Progressives who tend to buy Teslas don't want them anymore. That's right. Tesla owners are trading in their Teslas if they own them at record rates.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
In the meantime, we're celebrating the wins. Thanks for helping us get nominated. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got in the tea, boy? For our first story. Tesla is officially the worst stock in the S&P 500 this year and a record number of Tesla owners are trading in their cars. But we think we found the Tesla solution and it's not changing the CEO.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
We're talking three times higher rates than before the election. And yes, they've become targets of vandalism too. Yeah. My aunt just bought a Tesla in Austin, Texas. Yeah, Jack? She's afraid it's going to get keyed or worse. Well, perfect timing because next week, Tesla is actually going to reveal its Q1 sales. And Wall Street expects the biggest shrinkage in Tesla history.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
And that's why we just had this cheerleader-style pep rally with Elon Musk. at the Tesla all hands to change the narrative. He's trying to convince his employees that the number of cars they sell don't matter anymore because the future is robotics and AI. But honestly, the much bigger narrative change that we're noticing is that Tesla bulls are going reverse on Elon Musk.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
They're getting frustrated that Tesla stock is down And the sales numbers are too. So we came up with a solution. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tesla? The only way to fix Tesla's brand crisis is if Elon sells all his Tesla stock. Yeti's big question right now, should Elon make someone else the CEO of Tesla?
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Well, honestly, we don't think that would make a difference, and we got the proof. Elon made someone else the CEO of X and SpaceX, but both of those companies are still perceived by the public as Elon companies. Exactly. Yeah. Another human being runs those businesses day to day and, you know, make sure they're still kicking over at SpaceX.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
But since Elon is the biggest shareholder of both X and SpaceX, he's the boss. They're still his companies. So when you add it up, whether Elon is CEO or not doesn't really matter. matter. If Elon owns the stock, then he is part of the brand. Now, you might think to yourself, Elon would never sell his Tesla shares. Right. A lot of people would point that out, Jack. But guess what?
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
He sold his PayPal shares, another company he co-founded. True. And he used that money to start Tesla. So we think Elon could sell his Tesla shares and then use that money to do something he's more excited about, like go to Mars. That would let Tesla, a fantastic electric car company, go forward without the incredible political baggage it has today.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Besties, the only way Tesla's brand crisis can be fixed is if Elon sells his Tesla shares. For our second story, last week, the biggest sale in North American sports history went down. The Boston Celtics sold for $7 billion. We read the fine print of the deal over the weekend. We did. And this deal defies logic. Totally. There's one giant thing missing. In the purchase.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
But that's exactly the point. All right, Jack, let's look at the roster here. Starting lineup, I got Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, and some pot-bellied Irishman who's scaring kids at the games. Oh, you forgot to mention Antoine Walker. Ah, yes, I did. That is the Boston Celtics. They're one of the top franchises in all of sports.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
They've retired so many jerseys, they're running out of numbers. Yeah, now, even though that parquet court is a visual crime. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I kind of like the parquet floor. It kind of gives me vertigo. The Boston Celtics have won more championships than any other team in basketball. The Celtics have 18. The Lakers have 17. But here's the news.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
For $7.3 billion, once the sale is complete, the Boston Celtics are changing hands. And this sets a record. It beats the 2023 sale of the Washington Commanders, which sold for $6.1 billion. Yeah, at the time, that was the biggest sale paid for any North American sports team. Now, first, let's look at the seller.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
For our second story, the Boston Celtics sold for a record price for any North American sports franchise. We found one huge problem in the fine print. A flagrant problem. And our third and final story. Gucci, H&M, and Ralph Lauren. Every fashion brand is launching a coffee chain. Jack, why are clothing companies getting into coffee these days? Because of our favorite rule about sales.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
The seller bought the Celtics in 2002 for just $360 million, which looks like pennies today. I think we could put together that money tonight. Selling for $7.3 billion means he notched a 16,000% return on 23 years owning the Celtics. But Jack, who's the buyer in this situation of the new Boston Celtics? Classic, a private equity guy. He went to Dartmouth and Wharton. His MBA came with an MBA.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Celtics superfan Bill Simmons doesn't even know how to pronounce this new owner's name. He's kind of a private equity guy who came out of nowhere after assembling a team of financial dudes from just outside Boston. But yet, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about the story. We think this private equity guy forgot to have the analysts look at the term sheet.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Because the deal does not include one of the most important parts of this sports business. The real estate. This deal to buy the Celtics doesn't include the arena. Right, the arena. And the arena is the profit puppy. Exactly, Jack. The Boston Celtics do not, in fact, own the TD Garden where they play their games. The Boston Bruins do. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Yeah, so this happens to be the rare case where the ice hockey team is calling the shots on the basketball team. The Celtics have to ask the Bruins permission to use the arena. Yeah, it's like they got to call up the goalie if they want to practice. Hey, do you guys mind if we get on? You guys still playing? You still skating out there? And not owning the arena is a huge deal economically.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Real estate is how pro sports teams make the most money. Home teams, they only play 41 of their games at home in a given regular season. So for a basketball arena, It's got 324 days a year to rent out for other events. Yeah, concerts, circuses, professional bullfighting leagues. They all come into town. They all got to pay to use that arena. The TV deal is where they make the most money.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
But after that, events is where you turn a profit. Funny thing there, Jack. Speaking of not making money, the Celtics organization is pretty good at turning pots of gold into pots of nothing. I think what you're trying to say is, They're expected to lose money this season. Get this, Yetis. The Celtics spent $250 million on their payroll and $150 million on the luxury tax to the league.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
It's the highest costs in those two departments in the whole league, and they're probably not going to profit this year. So in many respects, the Celtics are one of the least profitable teams in the entire NBA. They're winning games, but they're not winning income statements. Yeah, they're beating the Knicks, but they're losing in the spreadsheets, man.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Oh, and to boot, this deal to buy the Celtics doesn't give the new owner front office control until 2028. So Jack, add it all up, and the Boston Celtics are not profitable, they're not gaining front office control for three more years, and they're getting no lucky charms as part of this acquisition deal. And yet... It sold for a record price. How could that be? How you like Dem apples? We don't.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
We don't like Dem apples. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Boston Celtics? Sports teams aren't businesses. They're collector's items. Yeah, it is. Jack and I have said before that pro sports teams are the most scarce asset in our economy. Like land, pro sports franchises are a finite resource. There are only 32 in each league.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Plus, sports teams provide a unique form of influence, a cultural influence, and that's valuable. So most people buy things looking for a profit or a return. but sometimes people buy things just for the power it gives them. So you know what? Next time a good team in a big city comes up for sale, we bet they'll set a record price too for these exact same reasons.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Whether the team makes money or loses money, that's irrelevant to the billionaire that's going to buy them. Because the buyers don't look at teams as businesses, they look at them as collector's items. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
Never be selling. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories for a Monday, Jack. Wait, one sec, I'm checking the calendars here. Happy one month birthday to your new baby boy, man. Thank you. Oakley was born one month and one day ago. Now, Jack, in honor of your baby's one month birthday, I happen to have prepared a poem for him. You haven't.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
For our third and final story, the hottest new trend in fashion isn't fashion at all. It's actually coffee shops. From Gucci to Zara, fashion houses are launching coffee chains because the best salesmen don't sell. No, they don't.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
But Jack, you know I'm not a coffee guy, but last time I was in the city, met up with a few friends at a classic coffee shop, 72nd and Madison, beautiful limestone building, really, really good stuff. The lattes cost you double digits. The place looks like it's been around for 50 years. But here's the thing, Jack. It actually has only been around for nine years.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
It's not classic, and it's owned by Ralph Lauren, the apparel company. That's right. Nick's boots on the ground reporting discovered Ralph's Coffee. a coffee chain with two dozen locations. Yeah, they're in New York, Hong Kong, Paris. They got the next one opening up in Bangkok soon. They've been going for years, and they roast a pretty good bean coming from a guy who doesn't drink coffee.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
It's called Ralph's because it's owned by Ralph Lauren, the clothing company. Clothing company's doing coffee. The teddy bear is basically roasting the beans. Two surprising things about Ralph's Coffee. First, most of them are not located inside bigger Ralph Lauren clothing stores. And their second strategic move the branding.
The Best One Yet
🚗 “Why Elon should sell” — The Tesla solution. Boston Celtics’ fine print. Fashion coffee chains
All the colors are green and white inside, not typical Ralph Lauren, blue and red. So Jack, if you were to walk into a Ralph's and order a Ralphicino, you might not realize that it's actually the same company as the polo shirt. But it's not just Ralph's. No. We noticed every fashion house seems to be launching a low-key coffee chain. Get this, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
👛 “The ROI on the IRS” — America’s 12x tax return. Alani Nu’s $2B hot girl drink. Alibaba’s new religion.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
This is Nick. This is Jack. And today's artificially intelligent pod is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. The top three AI stories you need to know today. Jack, you are glowing over there because yetis, we're on vacation right now, but we still whipped up a week of bonus episodes for you. And today, it's the best of AI. Yes, it is. Our best stories of the year on artificial intelligence.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
And we're looking at these comments and they're by people with pictures and names that look real commenting on your post. It's a wild experience.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
But it's not just all cheerleading posts. Like some of the comments will be like, interesting thought, Jack. I have a critique for you though. And if you're looking to like have a little spicy time, you can choose to have trolls and haters in your follow mix who will throw a little shade at you. They're like classic Jack posts, all cookie, no crisp.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
So you, the human being, get the experience of being a big influencer personality with all these followers, getting all these engagements and comments. But all those engagements and comments are the bots. Interesting use case for this app. If you have an idea for a tweet, but you're not sure about it, you could tweet it on this app. see how the AI bots respond.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
And if you like the response, tweet it in real life. So Social AI has created a social media app for human beings that's 99.9% bots. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Social AI? This is the ultimate social experiment. So Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and fooled around with this product a bit, and frankly, we got a pretty satisfying feeling.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Getting a thousand comments and a million likes on a tweet, it feels powerful. Yeah, it is more viral than any of our posts have ever gone ever in history. But was that powerful, satisfied feeling kind of hollow, given that all the comments were not real human beings? Or was the satisfaction real? Because on social media, it's about the numbers. It doesn't matter about the authenticity.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
The long-term success of social AI will answer that question. Do we use social networks to connect with followers or to count followers? In answering that question, social AI may be the ultimate social experiment. Yetis, those are the best AI stories of 2024. But now it's time for the best fact yet on AI for 2024. This is an important one.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Because the way we see it, AI can be an adversary or AI can be an asset. Although ultimately, we think AI will be like electricity. Because AI will be in everything. Like how earlier this year, Spotify launched AI Podcast to summarize your Spotify rap. We won't take it personally, even though we're podcast hosts. And McDonald's launched an AI drive-thru. AI.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
AI actually requires 10 times more electricity than regular internet use. All right, Jackety, sprinkle on some context. What's another way we could translate that? Asking an AI chatbot a question requires 10 times more computing than asking Google a question. 10 times more. Besties, that is why the AI boom is also an energy boom. It's because ChatGPT is an electricity hog.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
It's an electricity hoarder. OpenAI has a gigantic electricity bill. So a surprising side effect of AI is that it's actually made nuclear energy hot again. Because these tech companies want at least carbon-free energy if they're going to do AI. They are literally reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant for AI. Microsoft is doing that, or as they call it, ThreeMileIsland.ai.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Because Besties AI, it requires 10 times more electricity than regular internet use. Yeah, it is. You look fantastic over there for our first bonus pod of the 2024 holidays. Jack, you're looking great too. Thank you, dude. I wore my Santa hat for the occasion. So besties, here's what we'd love you to do. Send this episode to your buddy who works in AI.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Or send it to your buddy who works in tech, but they're not that techie. Or send it to your buddy who doesn't work in tech, doesn't work in AI, and so they should hear all these stories too. It applies to everyone. Or take the link to this episode and send it to ChatGPT and see what they do. And see what does. See what happens. Tell ChatGPT, H-Y-H-T-B-L-Y. It means, have you had the best one yet?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
In the meantime, Jack and I will see you for tomorrow's bonus pod. Oh, wait, Jack, I'm getting a call. Sam! Yeah. Jack, it's Sam. Sam Altman loved the episode. He said this was the best one he's heard. Did he? He did. It's great. One sec. He wants to do dinner. I'll tell him we're on vacation. We're back in a couple weeks. All right, we'll see you in tomorrow's bonus spot.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
We're back in a couple weeks. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
It put extra pickles onto my patty, Jack. This summer, we even watched the first ever AI Olympics. That Al Michaels water polo commentary? Yeah, that was an AI Al. And then finally, Apple showed up to AI. Finally. The latest iOS includes what we're calling Super Siri. And the phone of the future, it isn't a smartphone. It'll be an IntelliPhone. But here's the key.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
All that AI required massive compute. Which is why in San Francisco, they turned compute from a verb into a noun. Yes, they did. And compute is why NVIDIA became the most valuable company on earth. NVIDIA. It's basically the sixth Kardashian. And it all led to the first ever ROI on AI. An R-O-A-I. Because ultimately... 2024 proved that AI can be like corporate ozempic. Corporate ozempic.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Because AI cuts costs while boosting productivity like the ultimate weight loss drug for business. So, Yetis, this is Human Nick. And this is Human Jack. And these are our three best AI stories from 2024. Let's hit them. One sec, Jack.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
We told you we'll do the AI pod. Sam again.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
So Yetis, send this episode to your techiest of buddies. Or better yet, send it to your buddy who isn't techie. Yeah. But wants to understand what's going on with AI.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Yetis, our first story is from July 1st, 2024. It's a positive story about Grindr. And guess what? Grindr's stock is up 42% since the day this story was published. This story still looks fantastic. So Jack, let's jump right on into it. Scarlett Johansson just lawyered up after OpenAI tried to rip off her voice for their new chatbot.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
But it turns out there was way more to the story than Scarlett Johansson, ChatGPT, and the drama that you already know. All right, Jack, is this another headline that wasn't on our 2024 bingo card or what, man? Yesterday, we mentioned an awkward situation at the end of our pod. Yeah, ScarJo versus ChatGPT. OpenAI's chatbot sounds just like her.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Her, as in her, the 2013 movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, a physical human who falls in love with an AI girlfriend. That AI girlfriend is voiced by Scarlett Johansson. You never see her because she's an artificial intelligence bot in the movie. Well, 11 years after Jack and I scarily saw that movie in theaters, just last week, OpenAI announced a new version of their chatbot.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
And it included a new voice for their chatbot that sounded more human-like than any of the previous ones. Now, the name of this new chatbot is Sky, but it happens to sound a lot like a voice that we've heard before, right, Jack? It sounds like Scarlett Johansson's AI from the movie Her. Let's go to the videotape so you can compare yourself.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Before they send it to us.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Jack, we're not judging jury, but what are you thinking over there? They're eerily similar. Now, yetis, we should point out Sam Altman of OpenAI says this about their new chatbot's voice. The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson's, and it was never intended to resemble her voice. But again, Scarlett Johansson says otherwise.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
In fact, on Monday, Scarlett Johansson revealed new details about ChatGPT that are worthy of the front page of TMZ Magazine. And they go back a full year. Apparently, back in September of last year, Sam Altman asked Scarlett Johansson if they could use her voice for their chatbots in the future. Allegedly, he said to ScarJo, your voice would be comforting to people just like in your movie.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
All right. He's a listener of the show. But Jack, three stories for today's bonus pod. What do we got? For our first story, we're going back to July 1st, when every dating app stock was down except for one, Grindr. Grindr. Grindr was up because Wall Street was already falling in love with Grindr's AI wingman. For our second story, we're going to May 22nd.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
But Scarlett Johansson declined. She didn't want her voice to be the voice of the chatbot that we all use in the future. Yeah, she didn't want to Siri herself, is what we're saying. But then last year, Sam Altman gave a speech, and he referenced the movie Her. He couldn't stop thinking about the voice from the movie Her.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
He said that voice from the movie Her was the inspiration for chat GPT products. And then last week, Sam Altman tweeted one word during the OpenAI demonstration that we all saw. And what was that word, Jack? Her. And now we just met Sky, the new voice of ChatGPT, who sounds just like Scarlett Johansson. Exhibit A, the defense rests their case, Jack.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
It seems like Sam Altman is obsessed with the movie Her, obsessed with the voice of the AI in the movie Her, and just launched a chatbot that sounds just like the voice in the movie Her, which belongs to Scarlett Johansson. So besties, let's just put aside the problem with always selecting female voices for voice assistants for a moment. Alexa and Siri, you know what we're talking about.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Now ScarJo is considering suing OpenAI for an attempt to impersonate her voice without her permission. As if Hollywood needed another reason not to trust AI. Colin Joust, Weekend Update. Your turn. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at OpenAI? The AI industry is making tech's biggest mistake again. Moving fast and breaking things.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Quick reminder here, but one year ago, Jack and I did a pod on how thousands of scientists asked AI leaders to pause AI. They asked to pause the development of AI because AI could inadvertently take over human beings. They wrote that it was an existential threat to mankind in the future.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Well, Sam Altman is the leader of AI, and he's done the opposite of pausing. Yeah, it is. Instead of pausing AI, it appears Sam Altman has moved really fast and seems to be breaking a bunch of things along the way. One example, OpenAI was sued by the New York Times and other publishers for digesting and regurgitating their paywall journalism without their consent.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Well, just like Zuck, Sam Altman is breaking rules and norms to stay ahead of the market. And just like Zuck a decade ago, He doesn't mind if he breaks things along the way.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
And the new details on Scarlett Johansson's voice chatbot, this just adds to the perception of OpenAI moving fast and breaking things. So besties, when it comes to AI, tech is moving fast and breaking things. The same mistake again. Yetis, our second story is from May 22nd, 2024. Remember they tried to kick Sam Altman out of OpenAI, Nick? That was wild, insane.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
The reason was not consistently candid in his communications. Well, Jack and I think this story about Scarlett Johansson, it reminds us why. Let's get into it. There's only one dating app surging right now, and that dating app is Grindr. Grindr, the gay and bisexual dating app, is the perfect case study on how we're all going to use AI. And how's that, Jack? We'll have an artificial wingman.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
You're going to have a wingman. But yeah, it is. Let's be real for a second. It's just us, Nick and Jack. I want to chat with you. 2024, it was the end of a relationship. You probably broke up with your dating app this year. It's gotten so rough out there. You've been finding love on LinkedIn. We hear you. It's happening. It's the rise of the alt dating apps.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Scarlett Johansson was lawyering up after OpenAI tried to rip off her voice for their latest chatbot. Because in AI, it's move fast and break things all over again. And our third and final story is from September 20th. We found a social network with zero humans, but billions of bots. Billions. On social AI, you have 1 million followers. None of them are real people.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
People are finding love in the DMs of LinkedIn, Strava, even Yelp. And that's why Jack and I said this a few months ago. Dating apps, they need a long-term relationship with a new business model. The stock of Match and Bumble, they are both at all-time lows. Financially, they're giving the ick. It's not pretty. But this is why Jack and I wanted to cover this story.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
There is one dating app that is doing the opposite of every other dating app. Grindr. Grindr. They dropped the E. It's just D-R at the end there. Grindr, the hookup dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. Grindr stock is up 42% this year because they just raised their revenue projections.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Yes, it has. How is Grindr so bullish? That's the question Nick and I were asking at the beginning of this story. So we jumped in T-boy style and this is what we discovered. Grindr has found a use case for AI that's actually pretty practical. They think AI can be your wingman within their dating app. We're going full Tom Cruise on this thing.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Yeti's the top challenge in the dating app experience isn't the swiping, it's the flirting. So Grindr is launching an AI wingman this year to support you in your DMing in the app. Not in the discovery of who to date, but really like how you engage with who to date. Here's how you're going to use it. Let's say you need a good conversation starting message.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Grindr's wingman is going to drop a fun kickoff line. Okay, let's say you need a witty response to his response. Grindr's wingman is going to drop a non-offensive lawyer joke to really get the conversation going, Jack. Now, let's say things are going well in the DMs and you need an impressive first date location to propose.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Then Grindr's wingman is going to suggest a trendy spot in the West Village where you can get a reservation for two this Friday. to get that relationship IRL. Grindr's AI wingman will review that cute guy's profile. They'll review the interests and the pics of that cute guy and offer thoughtful message advice throughout the whole interaction.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
And now Jack and I should point out Grindr's AI wingman hasn't launched yet. They're testing it through the end of this year. Clearly, Wall Street's already into it. Oh, they're so into it. In fact, it's not just Wall Street and it's not just Grindr. Tinder and Bumble are both working on their own wingman and wingwomen too. Artificial wingman, natural chemistry. They're real and they're fantastic.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in dating apps? Actually, for all of us. Today, AI is talking to humans. In a year, AI will be talking to AI. Yetis, the future of AI isn't humans engaging with AI. It's AI engaging with each other. First, Nick and I want to point out an issue we see with this Grindr AI wingman. It is good. This is true.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
It could result in just a bunch of fake conversations. All right, here's what we're thinking. If both sides are using their AI wingman, when they finally meet the person, It's kind of going to be disappointing, right, Jack? You're going to be like, oh, wow. Oh, yeah. This dinner conversation was super lame. Are neither of us witty? Where are the fun lawyer jokes you used to DM me?
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Oh, it was all just the AI we were both using. But besties, in other instances, AI talking to other AI will actually be hugely efficient. Airlines are already using AI to handle their customer support phone calls. So wouldn't it be nice if your AI assistant could talk to Delta instead of you? Your AI and Delta's AI could work out the problem together. Together.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
So your personal AI will be having a conversation with United's AI. AI to AI, boom, problem solved, and no human being was involved. That's a pretty near future that we expect, and we think it'll scale across industries. Because the future of AI is AI to AI.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of AI stories, Jack. Love. It's easy to say, but hard to describe. AI. Also easy to say. Also hard to describe. That's why all year long, our goal has been to find headlines, stories, examples, and analogies, plus some fantastic takeaways to help us all understand AI.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
For our third and final AI story, we're going back to September 20th, 2024. This one's a bit more philosophical. It's deep. What's more important to us, being liked by people or simply getting our posts liked? I like where you're going with this, Jack. Let's jump on into it. We just discovered the wildest social media app we have ever seen.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
Because on social AI, bots are not banned, but humans are. Yetis, let's start with some context here. Facebook has 3 billion users. Almost half of the humans on this planet use Facebook every day. TikTok has 1.5 billion users, and LinkedIn has 1 billion users. But maybe a tenth of those users that the companies report are actually bots.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
So basically, 10% of the users who like your post aren't a Robert, they're a robot. So we got curious. When a new social media app raised $3 million... but 99.9% of their users are bots. Social AI has banned human beings from using their social media app, and yet it's for humans. Because on this social media network, all the accounts are real humans, but all the followers are bots.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
It's like when you sign up for social AI, you instantly have an audience of 10 million followers, but 0% of them are people. We went through the customer experience. When you sign up, you choose what type of bot followers you want following your account. Yeah, drama queens, debaters, dreamers, doomers. You can choose nerdy followers, skeptical, funny, sarcastic cheerleaders.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 🤖 “The AI Pod” — Our Best Artificial Intelligence stories from 2024
You pick like a mix of personalities that you want replying to your posts. And then you start posting your thoughts on social AI about anything, just like you would tweet about anything. But unlike in reality, your post is racking up likes and comments in the hundreds and the thousands immediately.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, November 18th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, can we tell you why you look especially fantastic today? Because you're wearing T-boy merch. That's right, our T-Boy holiday merch store.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
But interestingly, Netflix is now doing live sports, and they've chosen a new way to do it, which disrupts the leagues. Instead of paying the leagues billions of dollars for traditional broadcast rights... Netflix is just creating their own games. That's exactly what they did for this giant record-setting boxing match, right Jack? This match wasn't sanctioned by the big boxing leagues.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Netflix just did it and invited the two fighters to come fight each other. And Netflix didn't pay the World Boxing Association anything. They just paid the two fighters directly 60 million bucks and boom, like got them together to punch each other. And guess what? The best known name in boxing, Mike Tyson, plus one of the best known YouTubers, Jake Paul,
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
That was an entertaining match that millions of people wanted to see. So the way Jack and I see it, this is Netflix's new sports strategy. They're basically creating all-star games, like unlimited all-star games only on Netflix. Cross-industry all-star games. They're just exhibitions, but they're entertaining. Yeah, lacrosse is coming next.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Netflix? Netflix has pioneered a new business model, direct-to-athlete. Yet is this year, Netflix launched the Netflix Open in Las Vegas with Rafael Nadal, but this was not an official tennis match. Last year, Netflix created a golf tournament with F1 racers and pro golfers, but it wasn't sanctioned by either the PGA Tour or Formula One.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Oh, and this summer, Netflix even created their own hot dog eating contest by going direct to athlete and signing Joey Chestnut to do it. Nathan's Hot Dogs was pissed about it. So Netflix, they've been launching live sports their own way over the last couple of years. Netflix is going to top athletes directly without the league's blessings.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Admit it. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of parents partying on student campuses is way up. It's an all-time hijack. Fall weekend is the new parent party weekend. Every October or November, college students invite their folks to visit for parents weekend.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
I mean, Jack, imagine future exhibitions, future all-star games hosted by Netflix. A father and son two-on-two basketball game live on Netflix. Okay, who'd you have on that? LeBron James and his son versus Dennis Rodman and his son. Or Jack, how about this on Netflix? A pickleball championship between Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
How about a home run derby from the deck of the Intrepid in New York City? And a home run's only a home run if you clear the Hudson River. Or Jack, what about full field, one-on-one lacrosse, Ivy League versus the ACC, Brown versus Duke? We got it. Yetis, the pro leagues, they're doing just fine. In fact, Netflix already paid the NFL to do a couple Christmas football games.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
But live sports are such a big category that Netflix invented a whole new sports business model. DTA, direct to athlete. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Millennial parents are having only children at double the rate of previous generations. And that generation of only children will have some fascinating economic vibes.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
For our second story, after soaring in the days post-election, the stock market came down last week with Trump's cabinet picks. As the Trump administration forms, we're going to see less government, more markets. And our third and final story, Netflix streamed the most watched live boxing match in 50 years because it wasn't a $50 pay-per-view.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Yeah, Netflix also has a new sports business model, DTA, direct to athletes. They're basically just doing all-star games all the time. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Disney stock jumped 15% last week after investors gave their movies two thumbs up. Not too shabby.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Deadpool and Wolverine and Inside Out were both $1 billion box office wins this summer. Oh, and Jack, this current quarter, Disney's got two more movies coming down the pipeline, don't they, man? Moana 2 drops over Thanksgiving, and Lion King sequel Mufasa drops over the holidays. Those could both be billion-dollar films, too. Run out of sequels over there, though.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And second, General Mills just acquired its fifth pet food company. That's right, G. Mills just bought another one for $1.4 billion. Whitebridge Pet Food is now part of the G. Mills family. In fact, General Mills is its parent. General Mills. They're still making Cheerios and Lucky Charms and cookie crisps, but they're kind of making them for your cockapoo these days.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Can I get a cookie crisp, Jack? In the outtakes, Nick. And finally, Dolce & Gabbana just created its newest collaboration, and this one is with Skims. Kim Kardashian. She's everywhere. The apparel brand that she launched, Skims, it is now partnering with one of the ultimate luxury companies out there. And the products in this collab are made of, and I quote, leopard-drenched silk. Into it.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
They watch a football game, you got a sorority brunch, and then one of the parents pulls you out of the dining hall and into a very expensive restaurant. Fire and ice at Middlebury. If you know, you know. But lately, parents aren't checking out the classes, the campus, or the quad, are they, Jack? Parents are pounding the punch in the frat house like it's 1982. Mom's doing jello shots.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So that you can flaunt your, and I quote, curves beyond compare with, and I quote, lust-worthy details. Kim, we know you're listening. We're both mediums. Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because we had a little more trivia for you. What do San Francisco 49ers, Marilyn Monroe, and the Berlin Wall all have in common?
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
There's one product that unites all three of them. And that viral product is the subject of our next episode on The Best Idea Yet, our new weekly show. If you know what that product is or want to guess, drop a comment on YouTube, Instagram, or Spotify. But if you have no idea what unites all three of them, we will tell you on tomorrow's pod right here on T-Boy.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Yetis, you are looking fantastic to kick off the week. And we say fantastic because you probably just ordered our new T-Boy merch for the holidays. The T-Boy holiday collection. It's real and it's fantastic. I'm wearing the hat right now. Jack, I never felt better. So Yetis, go to tboypod.com slash shop and load up because the store is only open for three more days.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And Nick and I will see you tomorrow. If you know yet. And before we go, a happy birthday to one Alice Martel, the legendary literary agent of Midtown Manhattan and my fantastic mom. Most wonderful New Yorker I've ever met. And second, a happy birthday to Dave Franzel on the Upper West Side. Get this, he can wrap you a burrito and fight cyber criminals. One with each hand.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And Sal Inzarello over in New York City is celebrating a birthday while making pizzas and technology at Slythe. Happy birthday to the soon-to-be lawyer Susan Caitlin Seavey in Saco, Maine. And Saloni Palawa over in New York is celebrating the best birthday yet. Megan Stanley, happy birthday as you celebrate down in Ecuador with your boyfriend's family.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And Amy Zwicky is turning 27 years old in Novi, Michigan. And happy birthday to Ty Dinger in Cambridge, Mass. Just outside Boston. And Kelsey Black, the legendary Yeti, is officially an elected official and young entrepreneur of the year all at once. Kelsey Black is unstoppable. Can't stop her. Plus, she's one of the first orders of our T-Boy holiday merch. We see you, Kelsey.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And you're looking fantastic. And a congratulations to our good buddies, Chris and Nii, celebrating a one-year anniversary in California. They had a stunning ceremony in Idlewild, California last year, and we give them a shout out for it. And it was the best wedding yet. To anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
I own stock of Disney and Netflix, and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. Yeah, baby! If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Dad's hitting the beer pong at 10 a.m. Nick, who's next up on the flip cup table? Mrs. Thompson, you called dibs. You're off. Actually, Nick, Baker's dad bought the keg, so he has dibs all night. Okay, Baker's dad's on it. Yetis, the trendy new college drink this fall? No joke. What is it called, Jack? Strawberry dad-caritas and mamaritas. Pass the parental Palomas. I'm going to need six of them.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
But Yetis, if a parent says to put the drink on their tab, are they referring to tuition? Jack, I don't think that's a write-off, is it, man? No, it's not. So Yetis, fall weekend college festivities, they've never looked older. And you don't have to worry about checking IDs this weekend either. Let us know if your parents partook in the festivities. We got a poll going on Spotify.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Now, Jack, let's hit our three things.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
It just opened, the merch just dropped, and we're in the hat right now, Jack. We got a new T-Boy hoodie, a new sweatsuit, a new hat, a new tote bag, and all our best catchphrases in a sticker pack. The store is only open for a few more days before we cut off the pre-order. It's all on tboypod.com slash shop. You can buy it right now. The link to the store is in the episode description.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
For our first story, the hot new parenting trend in America is only children. Millennials are having only child families more than previous generations. And there's actually an entire only child economy that we want to talk about. We'll tell you all the details. But first, to sprinkle on some familial context, Jack, let me make sure I got the numbers right here.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
You are the third of four boys, correct? Correct. And you're the oldest of two children. I got one sister. There we go. There we go. Molly is the third of three kids. And Alex, my wife, is a one and only child. Well, Jack, out of all of us, Alex is the only, only child. And actually, that is very, very trendy right now. Let's look to the data. In the 1970s, 11% of American families had one child.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Today, that percentage has doubled to 22% of American families with one kid. And now, yetis, sometimes having an only child is a choice, but oftentimes it is not a choice. Fertility can be a major challenge. But more millennials who can choose are choosing to have one child right now. And the only child, it's a phenomenon that has a lot of economics that we want to unpack.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Well, Jack, we should explain first, what is the stereotype of your typical only child out there? An only child is spoiled and entitled like Dennis the Menace. Fun fact, America has never had an only child president. But America has had many only child superheroes. We should point that out. James Bond, Harry Potter, Hermione, Wayne, Bruce Wayne of Batman. Frodo Baggins was an only child.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Anakin Skywalker, only child president. In the fictional world, only children save the world is what we're saying. However, only children have a very particular set of unique skills. Only children are independent. They learn how to entertain themselves. They learn how to solve problems better on their own.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So even though we haven't had an only child president yet, we have had some epic only child inventors. Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Leonardo da Vinci, all only children. But yeti, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. In general, the reason most families choose to have an only child is the economy.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Historically, only child families happened more during economic recessions than during economic boom times. Jack, let's whip out the history books here. Great Depression, eight years long, worst economic period in American history. The percent of only children family more than doubled during the Great Depression.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Now, on the flip side of the Great Depression, the post-war economic boom, that's what led to the baby boom. The number of only children families fell in half during the baby boom years. And despite today's economic growth, most American families are actually living paycheck to paycheck. They're thinking about the prices out there.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So besties, pause the pod, order some merch, and in the meantime, Jack... We've got three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got, man? For our first story, did you know that no U.S. president has ever been an only child? We did not know that, so we jumped in T-boy style. Well, millennials are forming more only child families than ever.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So in this economy, more millennials are choosing to have one kid, a solo kid, a singleton. Yeah. Jack, what's the wild stats on raising a family right now and how much it costs per kid? The cost to raise a child and the cost of childcare are massively outpacing inflation. On average, it costs $310,000 just to raise a single child at a time.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
I mean, you could have a kid or you could have a Lamborghini, Jack. So the reason millennials are having only children at double the rates of previous generations, it's economics. You could have 62,000 lattes, I just did the math, or one child. Is that assuming a $6 latte? Well, Jack, side note here, only children do get more spoiled by their grandparents, so that's a nice boost to GDP.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
I'm not sure that's economically sound. but I like the sentiment of it. Pretty sure Nana buys an only grandchild like 48 Christmas gifts. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are anyone who doesn't have to deal with a brother or sister? There is an only child economy.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Yetis, we're not talking about the demographic challenges of a shrinking population when we talk about the only child economy. We've covered that in other stories, and we'll cover that again in the future. What we are talking about is the unique purchase and labor decisions made by only children. And we have the perfect case study to prove what those labor and purchasing decisions are.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
That case study is China. Because yeti's China had a one-child policy for 30 years. Therefore, there's an entire generation in China of just only children. And the results of what those only children did in China are fascinating. For example, only children have lower risk tolerance than kids with siblings. So in only child economies, there are fewer entrepreneurs and more traditional jobs.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Another data point, only children are great individual performers, but they're a little less great at collaboration. We see this in China as well, which dominates individual Olympic sports, but struggles more with team sports. Oh, another point, solo children become solo caretakers for their parents when they get old. So they tend to be better savers and long-term investors.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So in the only child generation that's being raised right now by millennials, we'll have fewer founders, but more CEOs. We'll have less splurging, but more saving. We'll have a little less purchasing, but a little more prudence. And that is the only child economy. For our second story, Trump's election immediately made a huge positive splash on the stock market.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
But his cabinet appointments last week made serious ripples in the other direction. So we're looking at the Trump trade and the Trump dump because both are happening. Now, yetis, in Trump's victory speech last week, he promised a new golden era for America and Wall Street, Wall Street agreed and jumped on board. The day after the election, stocks had their biggest bump in two years.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
The S&P 500 touched a brand new all-time high. Jack, what was that wild quote from Jamie Dimon over the weekend? He said that bankers are dancing in the streets. Figuratively and literally, we've seen some of those UBS bankers. They were jumping around on Fifth Avenue.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So Jack and I got the wild data on the only child economy. For our second story, last week, Donald Trump announced his first cabinet picks, and each appointment moved the stock market. So we're breaking down Trump's cabinet ripple effects on the economy. And our third and final story is Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul. Netflix just streamed their first live boxing match ever.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
The CEO of America's biggest bank thinks that every industry will benefit, not just bankers, if Trump can erase overzealous regulations that stymie business. Plus, with Trump's Republican Party now in control of Congress, they're expected to extend and possibly expand his corporate tax cuts. But last week, some specific stocks reversed the stock market boom. We jumped in T-boy style.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And interestingly, the stocks that reversed were based on Trump's early cabinet choices, the people who he's going to surround himself with. And the companies that suffered the biggest losses last week are the ones that actually benefit from regulation. So Jack and I got curious about what was going on here. And Jack, let's look at who moved and what stocks changed.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
First, it was pharmaceutical companies. Trump appointed famed vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. to lead health and human services. Now, Moderna and Pfizer, they are drug makers who benefit from public health efforts to vaccinate people. So what happened to those stocks, Jack? Their stocks fell 20% and 7% on news that RFK is going to influence vaccine policies. Now, it wasn't just pharmaceutical companies.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
The second stocks to move were electric vehicle companies. On Thursday, we read reports that Trump is planning to pay for some of those tax cuts we mentioned by cutting incentives for clean energy. More specifically, the $7,500 coupon that the government gives buyers of new electric cars to get you to buy a new electric car.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So Rivian stock fell 20% on Friday because now Rivians are going to have to compete with gas cars and they're not going to get any credit for being a clean energy vehicle. But interestingly, Tesla stock fell less than Rivian because Tesla is an older electric car maker, so they're less dependent on these incentives. But overall, the first week post-election was all about stock market gains.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And yet the second week post-election was all about stock market losses. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are investing out there? Markets are taking over everything. Get ready for a wild ride. Now, Yetis, why do government incentives exist? Well, in your classic econ class, you'll learn it's because the market, it doesn't always work.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
For example, if the market was the only thing happening, factories would dump their chemicals into the river because that's the cheapest option for them. So the government steps in, it regulates the factories or incentivizes them to dump that waste somewhere else. But with the exception of tariffs, Donald Trump is a pro-market president through and through.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
And as a pro-market president, unbridled market forces are taking over right now. And in some cases, that's a really good thing. Government involvement can fail. It can lead to wasted tax dollar spending. In the economy, it can grow faster with less rules and less regulations. But unbridled market forces can also be a bad thing.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
As we mentioned, that factory, it could return to dumping chemicals in the river. So now, two weeks after the election, we know Trump's early cabinet choices. And there is one defining theme. The Trump administration is letting the markets take over everything.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Netflix is pioneering a new sports business model, and we call it DTA, direct to athlete. If you know, you know. Whoa! But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I am so happy with this mix. Nobody's doing this mix. I love the mix, Jack. Yetis, if you're over 60, we know what you did yesterday. Because besties, you're probably hungover from a weekend of drinking at your kid's college.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
For our third and final story, this weekend, Netflix hosted the most watched boxing match in 50 years. What's Netflix's wild new sports strategy? Go direct to athlete. D-T-A, direct to athlete. We'll explain. But first, Jack, I know, I know, you wanted to do some trivia. You told me before the pod. Okay, you got trivia, trivia. What do we got, Jack?
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
What's the most watched boxing match of all time? I'm going to say Thrilla in Manila because I like the way that rhymes. Really good guess. It was Muhammad Ali, but it was not the Thrilla in Manila. Muhammad Ali versus George Foreman, 1974, in a soccer arena in Africa. It happened in the middle of the night so that New York City could watch it during primetime.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Do you know how many people watched that match? How many people watched the match? One billion people. A quarter of the world's population in 1974. I'm not a boxing guy. I'm not a boxing guy. I believe you should drink punches, not throw punches. But last Friday night, Netflix hosted its first ever boxing match, Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Mike Tyson, a 58-year-old man who's way past his boxing prime. Versus a 27-year-old man in his peak influencer Instagram prime. There was a 31-year age gap between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. That's the biggest age gap in boxing history. It was basically Gen Z versus Baby Boomer with no earlobes harmed during the boxing match.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Now, interestingly, they did change the rules of boxing just to make this match happen. The rounds were two minutes each instead of three minutes each. And they gave the boxers heavier gloves to make the punches a little less dangerous, I think. But here was the key. Netflix offered this boxing match at no extra cost.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
So on Friday night, all 282 million Netflix households could watch that Friday fight live. And that is why this was likely the most watched fight in a century. You didn't have to pay 50 bucks for pay-per-view. You just needed a Netflix account. Funny thing Jack and I remembered, Yetis. Netflix once said that they would never get into live sports, didn't they, Jack? And we've got the receipts.
The Best One Yet
👼 “The Only Child Economy” — Millennials’ parenting impact. Netflix’s All-Star sports strategy. Trump’s cabinet stocks.
Let's go back to 2022, when then co-CEO Ted Sarandos said this. He said, we're not anti-sports. We're just pro-profit over at Netflix. His point? Sports media rights. Those are so expensive to win. Yeah, if you're ESPN, you gotta drop a billion dollars a year just to play a couple NFL games every single week. You gotta pay the NFL. Netflix wanted to be profitable, not to have pigskins.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 17th. And today's pod is the best one yet. And this is a T-boy. The three top stories at the intersection of business and pop culture. Oh, stocks are shrinking. Our portfolios are shrinking. Jack's shirt over there appears to be shrinking. What is that, a small medium? It's called athletic fit, actually.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Hi, I'm not Bob Vance, but I'm the new owner of Vance Refrigeration. That's perfect because I'm with Vandelay Industries and we can work together, Jack. So Jack, one sec. All right, I'm using our T-boy cash to acquire a laundromat. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the boring business boom? Entrepreneurship isn't about ideas. It's really about taking a risk.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Yetis, some people feel that to be an entrepreneur, you have to have an amazing idea for a new product. That's not the case though. No. Old businesses that have been around for decades, they need an entrepreneur to be at the top of the company. You might be an MBA, see the AI future, but think to yourself, I don't know if I can compete in AI.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
I don't have the skills to face artificial intelligence. You might think, I don't have an idea either that's going to get a VC excited. Well, honestly, the way Jack and I see it, that sucks. doesn't matter. You can still be an entrepreneur as long as you're willing to take a risk. You do understand how finance works.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
You know how taking a loan is a risk, but you've analyzed the numbers, you've forecasted the financials, and you're willing to bet on yourself. The way we see it, entrepreneurship is exciting no matter how sexy or unsexy the business model. Because you're taking a risk and you're motivated by the upside. And this boring business boom, it's a reminder of exactly that.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
entrepreneurship isn't about having an idea. It's about taking a risk. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Five-hour energy is being sued for how it came to control 90% of the energy shop market. When you build your own playground, you get to make your own rules.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Paddy's Day is actually the eighth best performing day of the year in the stock market. It's the eighth best out of 252 annual trading days. In fact, over the last two decades, stocks have risen 80% of the time for St. Patrick. And seven of the last eight St. Patrick's Days have been green on Wall Street.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
For our second story, the company behind Pokemon Go is now owned by Saudi Arabia after a $3.8 billion acquisition. It's a reminder that tech is simply more valuable than content. And our third and final story is the big trend in entrepreneurship. established, mature industries. It's the boring business boom. It's the boring business boom. Because entrepreneurship isn't about ideas.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
It's really about taking risks. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Bill Simmons just got a new deal with Spotify after 2020's $250 million deal. With this promotion, he will become Spotify's head of talk shows. And he'll continue co-hosting about like seven or eight different shows on the Ringer Podcast Network.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Honestly, odds are he's on a microphone right now. Second, the head of the EPA just announced a new purpose that includes making it more affordable to purchase a car. That's right. Their argument is that clean air policies from past administrations have made cars more expensive, so the EPA isn't doing many of them. But EPA is more focused on economic stimulus than environmental protection.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
And finally, Manhattan apartment rents just jumped to another record high. Get this, median rent in Manhattan, $4,500. Brooklyn is about $1,000 a month cheaper, by the way. But here's the wild stat. One out of three new leases in Manhattan is signed after a bidding war. Which means if you're going to view an apartment, you got to go with all your paperwork ready,
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
You got to have your guarantor set up. You probably need like a cashier's check to show that you have the money. Oh, and you got to be willing to fight. Like you got to bring two spotters with you and someone's got to like hold back other people, maybe try to steal some pens. It's a jungle out there. Good luck yetis in the West Village. Good luck. Now time for the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
This one sent in by Patrick O'Leary. The most popular beer being drank today is Guinness. Guinness is brewed in Ireland. But Ireland is not the most popular country for consuming Guinness. Guess who drinks more Guinness than Ireland? Nigeria. Yeah, Nigeria.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
The African country of Nigeria is actually the number two consumer of Guinness in the world after the United Kingdom with Ireland in third place. There was actually a Guinness ad campaign in the 1960s based on this slogan in Nigeria, black is beautiful. And you know what? Totally worked. It's delicious too.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Yetis, you look fantastic out there, especially if you're running a boring business over there. If you are, drop that business in the comments. We want to know what it is. Yeah, we want to see it. By the way, nothing boring about running a business, even if that business happens to be in a boring industry. I know Bob Vance listens to this show. Oh, yeah.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
So I expect to see Vance refrigeration in these comments. Oh, absolutely, Jack. It has to be there. Yetis, remember to drop down and give us five stars, a rating and review. That helps grow the show. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Ignacio Zaragoza down in Rockland, California. Happy second birthday to Harrison Beery in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Oh, we're so certain of this, we even submitted our research to the Guinness Book of World Records. Which was invented by the same Irishman that invented Guinness the beer. Yeah, you know what Jamie Dimon says about Lucky the Leprechaun, Jack. He's not after your lucky charms. No, he just bought 50 shares of a Shamrock ETF. This isn't financial advice, by the way.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
No Guinness, just chocolate milk. But honestly, I'd go with the chocolate milk too. Brown is beautiful too. And a shout out to Lisette, a legendary bestie who I just ran into in the Ferry Building, Jack. She listens with her husband. They're a couple of besties together. And if you want a shout out on the show, click the links in the episode description.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
We got a simple Google form and you can make the show. Or go to tboypod.com slash shoutouts and Jack and I will get your celebration on the pod. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Netflix and Nick and I both own stock of Airbnb. And Jack also owns stock of Amazon. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
No, no, no, no, it is not financial advice. We just heard it at the pub. Can't blame us.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
For our first story, five-hour energy. The smallest energy drink on the market just got sued for being a huge monopoly. We'll tell you how five-hour energy got so big by staying so small. But yeties, Jack and I have been tracking the trends, and the energy drink market is the most exciting in the beverage industry, full stop. Alani New was recently acquired. Ghost Energy got acquired.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
I'm sure that's what they told you. Three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, five-hour energy. The tiny $3 bottle of energy just got accused of being a monopoly. So Jack and I found out how the world's smallest drink got so big. For our second story, it's Niantic. The company behind Pokemon Go just got bought by Saudi Arabia for $3.5 billion.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Celsius is rocket shipping. Red Bull is still number one. We did a whole show on it on the best idea yet, despite that insane competition coming at them from every single angle. But then there's 5-Hour Energy. Which isn't an energy drink. This two-ounce bottle is an energy shot. The way Jack and I like to think of it is five-hour energy is like the short king of the energy industry.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
They're like Kevin Hart. There's a lot of energy in that small package. Yeah, they're tiny, but they're tossing up big numbers like Muggsy Bogues. Now, the founder of five-hour energy actually spent 12 years in a monastery living as a monk. Yeah, his name's Manoj Bhargavi, and then he had a revelation as a monk that somehow led him to pure capitalism.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
His monkhood ended, and he reinvented himself as a businessman, according to the Wall Street Journal. Yeah, with a differentiated energy drink. No sugar, smaller size, same price. That was his bet. 5-Hour Energy is one of those products that has no ingredients and no calories, but somehow has a lot of taste and has a lot of effects on your body. Apparently, that sells.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Because what kind of numbers did 5-Hour Energy do in their first eight years, Jack? They hit a billion dollars of annual sales, selling $3 bottles at 90% margins. The rare product that is used by both truck drivers and stock traders. This is not medical advice, but if you take two of them, You got 10 hours of power. Yes, you do.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
And 5-Hour Energy is still privately held, made in Indiana, and owned by that same former monk. Jack, I make a full disclosure here. On Molly's and my first date, we were having so much fun, we took a 5-Hour Energy at like 10 p.m. to keep the date going. Wild. Did you really? I don't think I could pull that off right now. That's so out of character for you. It was a good first date story.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Good first date story. But yetis, here's the news. 5-Hour Energy was just sued for anti-competitive moves. Basically, they've been acting like a monopoly. Jack, can you whip out the paperwork for us, please, and read the details of this legal complaint? Here's the complaint. 5-Hour Energy coordinated with convenience stores to basically control the cash register.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Yes, 5-Hour Energy apparently got exclusive placement deals with chains like Casey's to be the only energy shot at the front of the store. The lawsuit continues to allege that 5-Hour Energy got even more aggressive. They told the gas stations to put the competition way in the back.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Like vitamin energy, one of their rival energy shots, they got buried at like the end of aisle six in the health and beauty section. The health and beauty section at a gas station is the opposite place a construction worker looks for his morning wake-up shot. If you're a forklift operator, you're not looking in the beauty section for your five-hour hit.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Now, the lawsuit cites some numbers to back up their complaint. The lawsuit says that 5-Hour Energy controls 90% of the market. Pause the pod. Didn't we just say that Red Bull was the number one energy drink with 40% of the market? Yeah, Chuck, we did just say and we've seen that Red Bull is the number one player in the energy drink market. What's going on here, man?
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Well, how does 5-Hour Energy have 90% if Red Bull has 40%? Well, therein lies our takeaway, yetis, because technically five-hour energy isn't in the energy drink market. It's in a different market. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Five Hour Energy? When you build your own playground, you can make your own rules. Yetis, look at that five-hour energy label.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
It actually doesn't say energy drink on it, does it? It actually says dietary supplement. Even though the name says energy and consumers think of it as an energy drink, it's actually a different category. And that reflects a strategy we've talked about before with you on this pod. Category design, creating, designing your own category. Don't play in someone else's playground.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Build your own playground where you can make the rules. 5-Hour Energy could be fighting for fridge space in the back with Red Bull, Celsius, and Monster Energy drinks. Instead, it created a new space to sell their product. Literally. At the front, right next to the cash register. Now look, maybe 5-Hour Energy went too far recently, and maybe they should get sued for what they were doing.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Pikachu is cute, but he's way more powerful than you realized. And our third and final story. It's the most exciting new trend in entrepreneurship. It's boring. It's boring. Boring businesses are so hot right now. So Jack and I will make the case why you should consider running, launching, or buying a brutally boring business. But yetis, before you hit that wonderful mix of stories. What?
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
But still, their initial success after all those years, it still proves this point. When you build your own playground, you get to make your own rules. Just try to make the rules legal. You want to keep it legal. For our second story, Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, just got bought by Saudi Arabia for $3.8 billion.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Pokemon Go is way past its prime, but the underlying tech is just getting started. You know what, Yetis? We're just going to put it out there. Pokemon Go, greatest success of augmented reality. And we're including Apple Vision Pros in that assessment. Yes, we are. And Pokemon Go's origin story, we actually just discovered it during our research. It is wild. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Back in 2014, Google Maps did an April Fool's joke partnering with Pokemon. It was called the Pokemon Challenge. And here's a clip from the wild trailer that they launched with on April Fool's Day.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
I think one second. Yeah, that is a jigglypuff on 14th Street, Jack. Now, that April Fool's joke was such a huge hit that Google decided to spin out the group that did it into a separate company. And that company became Niantic, a real company based in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Two years later, Niantic shot for the moon with an even bigger version known as Pokemon Go.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Because everyone wants to catch them all. Pokemon Go launched nine years in a partnership between Pokemon, Niantic, and Nintendo. And it's still the most successful use of augmented reality we've ever seen. The key is the augmented reality, not virtual reality. Because augmented reality is a combo of the real world and virtual reality. It's the real world with digital layers layered on top of it.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
To find, to capture, to slay digital Pokemon on your street, you have to use real world GPS. So augmented reality involved real people walking around the real world using their phones as the digital part. And guess what, Nick? People traveled 30 billion miles tracking down Pokemon on Pokemon Go. We did the back of the envelope math on that.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
That's about 4 million physical trips around the earth playing an augmented reality game on your phone. It had a huge, huge impact. 500 million people played in the very first year, bringing in $8 billion in total revenue since then. Jack, could we Pikachu into more numbers, please? $8 billion in revenue for Pokemon Go is about one-third as much as Snapchat has brought in in the same period.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
And Snapchat's considered the AR leader. But since then, we should point out, Niantic hasn't found as much success, even though 100 million humans still play this game every year. Pokemon Go is kind of their one-hit wonder. Which leads to the news. Scopely, a video game company owned by Saudi Arabia's wealth fund, known as PIF, bought Niantic last week for $3.8 billion.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
They were basically like, I choose you, Blastoise. I choose you. Now, we all know the Saudi Arabian kingdom is interested in diversifying away from just oil. But Jack, did not know the Saudi royal family was really into Pokemon collection. I didn't know there were Pokemon fans either. But the story is this. They're not buying Snorlax. They're buying the software.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Pokemon? It's a reminder that tech is more valuable than content. Yetis, by buying Niantic, Scopely and its Saudi owners are getting an impressive tech platform. They're using this Pokemon underlying tech to develop spatial computing.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
A mix of stories? Love the mix, Jack. Whip out that green top that's been buried in your top drawer of your dresser. And toss the potatoes on your Guinness oatmeal. Because it smells like St. Patrick's Day today, Yetis. Frank from finance is handing out homemade cabbage all morning. Carol from accounting is definitely wearing that green lip gloss today. We see you, Carol.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Which is a term Apple actually created with Apple Vision Pro. Basically, they're seeing Niantic's value not as the game, but in the underlying technology that makes the Pokemon game possible. They're basically going to create some kind of a headset probably in the future with this Niantic technology. This is the same reason why Netflix is worth twice as much as Disney.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
And why Spotify is worth more than any of the three major record labels. And why Airbnb is worth more than Marriott. The tech is more valuable than the content. Saudi Arabia, they're not playing with a Snorlax over there. They're buying Pokemon Go's tech.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
For our third and final story, the most exciting new trend in entrepreneurship is the least exciting. It's the business of boring. The business of boring. When owning and running a boring business is actually a thrill. Yet is the 2010s, a golden, beautiful age of startups. There was girl bosses, boy bosses. Thank God it's Monday. Hustle culture. But first, coffee, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Interest rates were low, venture capital money was high, and the rise of social media was fueling it all. Every day as Nick and I were coming of age post-college, there was a new direct-to-consumer mattress brand advertised in the subway. Mattress, mattress, mattress. Hey, you're starting a meat-based plant e-commerce disruptor? Here's $50 million in funding so you can take on Heinz and Amazon.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
In 2017, if you showed a VC a pitch deck for an e-scooter company, you'd have a billion-dollar check before you left the building. Jack, they'd give your mom a billion dollars because why not? It's a rounding error. It was an exciting time. Everything was cutting edge. The gig economy, Web3, exciting startups were a thrill. This was the sexy startup era. But here's an update on all of that.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
The hot new entrepreneurial trend is boring industries. Boring industries. Yeti's young people are still launching startups, but not SaaS tech companies. They're launching glass companies. Yeah, like old school window glass. You can cut yourself on it. Be careful. Because the business of boring is booming right now. The boring business boom. That's what we're experiencing.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
But it is not just a lucky day for the Irish, is it, Jack? St. Patrick's Day is also lucky for investors. Statistically speaking, March 17th is actually one of the best performing days on all of Wall Street. We've tracked it for every year we've been running this pod. We have. Green is for the portfolio. Get this. St.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
According to the New York Times, young entrepreneurs are starting plumbing businesses, garage door opener businesses, custom glass businesses. Basic but profitable businesses. Over at business schools, the most popular class we're hearing right now is entrepreneurship through acquisition. How to buy a boring business.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Meanwhile, over on YouTube, there's a surge in influencers with viral videos promoting what theme, Jack? How to launch and run a boring business. Now, Yetis, Jack and I got fascinated with what's going on here, and we noticed there are a few macro reasons behind this trend. First is the silver tsunami.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
Baby boomers still own 25% of America's companies, but every day, more and more of them are retiring. So, millennials and Gen Z entrepreneurs are buying up those boomers booming boring businesses. Millennial Millie is buying Boomer Bob's regional pool installation company. So that Bob can spend more time by his actual pool in Boca del Vista. Now, interestingly, it's not just the age social trend.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
It's also a financial funding trend. It's easier right now to get a small business loan to buy like a plumbing company than it is to raise venture capital. The Small Business Administration, they have loans, some of which only require 5% cash down. That's pretty low. Just put together a well-thought-through business plan and you could be approved.
The Best One Yet
🥱 “Boring Biz” — The Boring Entrepreneurship Trend. 5HourEnergy’s Monopoly. Pokemon’s $3.8B Acquisition.
In fact, we discovered there is an entire website right now, a platform for selling or buying boring businesses, like a Craigslist for laundromats, basically. It's called bizbuysell.com. Pretty straightforward. It's a boring business platform. So add it all up and young entrepreneurs are pulling a Bob Vance, buying and running random refrigeration companies.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, December 16th. Today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. You know, Jack, the Dow is down again.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
I had a bad experience once, but it turned out the heater was working. On your electric down comforter. Yeah, I just didn't know how to turn it on. Story for another pod. He asked the park ranger to save him because his electric down comforter wasn't warm enough. We're not welcome down in that part of California now, Jack. I just want to point that out.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
But yet, before you had that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories to kick off the week, man. Nick and I are paging it open to Hoarder's Almanac Week 249.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Either way, Yetis, Marriott, they noticed this glamping trend that started with the pandemic, and they just referenced it as being a continuing trend. Here's what they said related to the acquisition of postcard cabins. Guests are increasingly interested in nature-immersive travel. Now, it's not just postcard that they're investing in.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Marriott also announced on Friday a new partnership with Trailborn, which is kind of similar to postcard. It's actually complementary to postcard. Good point, Jack. Because Trailborn offers glamping, but not close to cities, close to national parks. So now Marriott is offering glamping near cities and near Yosemite at the same time. Marriott stock, it's up 30% this year.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So they're basically treating themselves to a couple of new country homes. Marriott, they're going full Grizzly Adams if Grizzly Adams wore a Montclair vest. Grizzly Adams did have a beard. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Marriott? The mountains are calling and I must invest. Yetis, over the last few years, we've seen massive increased consumer interest in the outdoors.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
It started with the pandemic. Spending on hiking, camping, glamping, it all boomed. Yeti coolers, Canada Goose jackets, stand-up paddle boards, we've covered them all on this pod at all-time highs. Funny enough, Marriott is actually behind when it comes to this trend. Yeah, as Jack and I were researching, we noticed that Hyatt and Hilton hotels already have glamping investments.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And two years before Marriott acquired it, Walmart had already partnered with postcard cabins for an outdoorsy retail situation. So actually, Marriott's not a leading indicator on glamping. It's a late lagger on glamping. Because nature-forward urbanites like Nick is a market willing to pay and figure out how that heater works after the fact. The mountains are calling, and I must invest.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Ralph Lauren is leaning into its Americana style and showcasing their teddy bear. The stock is up and the Ralph Lauren teddy bear has got untapped IP potential. It's giving Paddington. For our second story, it's Hot Ones. The YouTube show just sold for $82 million to a group of creator-driven media companies.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And the deal, it represents a changing of the guard in media. And our third and final story is Marriott. They just made their big bet on glamping. You can book cabins near the cities or near the national parks. The mountains are calling and I must invest. As long as it's got a 1,000 thread count. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
This week, we are running out of the corporate office holiday party. The office party. The corporate party. The end of year comp celebration. All of it. is disappearing. The one where Carol from accounting over shares inside info, she definitely shouldn't have shared. Yeah, and Frank from finance is over serving the jungle juice. Here's the news.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
First, Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Sam Altman have all now donated $1 million each to Trump's presidential inauguration. It's not just that. Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai have both visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort this past week.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
It's also a financial bending of the knee by these CEOs to the president-elect. And second, watch your face because Samsung and Google are partnering for smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. This is the same partnership that offered the first alternative to the iPhone 15 years ago. Well, now instead of smartphones, they're going to be offering cheaper alternatives to the Apple Vision Pro.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And finally, the government of the city of Tokyo in Japan is testing four-day work weeks, get this, to increase the birth rate. This city's 160,000 government employees may choose one day off a week to have a little fun out there. Their hope is that the added flexibility and better work-life balance will result in more baby-making.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Japan's had 16 straight years of a shrinking birth rate, so they're hoping one more date night may change the course. Or one more day with the baby in the future. Yeah. Like one more day a week they can spend at home. Wednesday. It's the new Friday. Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because Mondays mean trivia. Here's the question.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
What candy actually began as an alternative to smoking cigarettes? Or Jack, ask differently. What candy was started to help you quit smoking cigarettes? It's a wild question. And the answer is our next episode of The Best Idea Yet, which drops tomorrow. That's right. This candy, it tried to take your smoking habit and pivot it to sweets. What candy was it?
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Guess in the comments and we'll tell you the answer tomorrow because we're going to go deep on it on our show, The Best Idea Yet. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. And if you're getting ready for the company holiday party, go easy on the jingle juice this year. That's a mouse pad, not mistletoe. And if you're looking to start a convo with Frank from finance, just tell him to HYHTBY.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Haven't had the best one yet. And sure, I'll look at pictures of your kid. This pod, it's how you get a promotion. So Jack and I, we'll see you tomorrow. And before we go, a congratulations to our legendary Yeti co-worker, Rachel Hauer, who just completed an Ironman in New Zealand. She's literally on the other side of the planet right now and ripping 70 miles like nobody's business.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Congrats from the T-Boy team, Rachel. And Aranda Smith is turning 51 years old. Happy birthday down in Spotsylvania, Virginia. I want to go to Spotsylvania, by the way. It sounds pretty cool. Coolest town name I've ever heard of. And little Moss Faye Hurwitz just turned one year old over in Brooklyn. Congratulations to the parents. Moss, it always grows on the right side of the tree.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
The recruiting firm Challenger Gray and Christmas surveys companies on whether or not they're having an office party. Wait, their name is Christmas? The name of the company is Christmas? Yeah, that's a coincidence, I think. Well, what did they discover, Jack? The number of companies that are having holiday parties is at the lowest level since they've been keeping track. Get this, yetis.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
north of Williamsburg, and Shrey Nilesh Rao. This guy is a fact factory. He's listening every day. Great to have you with us, Shrey. And a huge shout-out to Jordan Gutierrez, a Canes, Knicks, and Steelers fan on the east side who hosted Nick and me as VIP guests to the Knicks game. We loved hanging with you, Jordan. Thanks for the invite.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Hey, and congratulations, Ashley, too, on having the best wedding yet. Coming up next year, you guys are the earls of ESPN. And reminder, if you're wondering who to blame for Nick and me having no voice Friday... It's kind of Jordan style. Yeah, it's kind of Jordan. We did a lot of talking, a lot of podcast recording.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And last week, we asked the Yetis for alternatives to gingerbread houses, and they sent us some great options like charcuterie chalets. Also, the candy cane condo. I could bite into that. And the peppermint penthouse. We're into that too. Thank you, Add One Nike. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
I own stock of Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. One time I ordered burgers with jalapeno. Sorry, with habanero. I was humiliated. I had to go to the bathroom several times for my face. Do you need a napkin? I need the fire department. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
In the last 15 years, the number of firms hosting holiday galas is down 30%. In 2007, 90% of companies said they were having a company holiday party. But this year, just 64% are serving Millennial Millie a little holiday cheer. So why are companies putting the kibosh on the corporate Christmas shindig? Well, Jack, one reason is COVID. Another reason is costs. In this economy, yeah.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
You'd rather prefer a bonus check to an open bar. But the biggest reason that the holiday office party is going away is apparently Gen Z. Yeah, Gen Z, because people under 30, they aren't into drinking with Frank from Finance. They hate alcohol. Call us old-fashioned. I used to love the holiday office parties I had.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
I mean, Jack, back when we worked at banks, we could expense taxis anywhere after the office holiday party. And taking a taxi to home, that was a luxury. I'm pretty sure the whole night was a write-off. And then after a couple drinks, quiet Kathy from Compliance told us that she's actually a semi-pro surfer. I mean, Jack, I never busted a move on the dance floor, but Kathy did.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Although we should point out the stock market index is still up 3.8% since the election. Funny you should say that. You know what else is up? Yeah. Our voices, baby. We're healthy again, Yetis. We're feeling good. We're recovering our voices for you. Thanks for your patience on Friday. Our vocal cords limped through the podcast, didn't they?
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And honestly, impressed with Kathy. Kathy!
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So besties, the holiday office party, it's on the decline. Pour one out for the overpaid DJ your company paid way too much money for. We got a poll going on Spotify. Are you guys having a holiday party or not this year? And if you did have a holiday party, tell us the highlights in the comments. In the meantime, Jack, three fantastic stories. Let's hit the T-Boy.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
No, Frank, there's no mistletoe in this space.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
But the reason Ralph Lauren is up is their cute, cuddly teddy bear. Yeah, goody, goody, goody, cute. Now, yeah, it is last week, Jack and I told you about the luxury lull, the fancy fallout, the Christian Dior dip. A big reason is China. For years, millions of newly minted millionaires in China have been the driver behind luxury industry sales.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Hey, that Hermes handbag? Take it off. Not cool, man. Not cool. Used to be cool, but not cool. So luxury brands are struggling right now, but we noticed that there is one big American exception. And who is that, Jack? Ralph Lauren. Not Ralph Lauren. Okay. I don't know why I called it Ralph Lauren as a kid. I didn't want to call you out. It's just Ralph Lauren.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
But yet is we noticed that shares of Ralph Lauren are popping like a polo shirt collar these days. The stock is up 55% this year to an all-time high. And the earnings last week were hotter than Hansel. Even in China, sales of Ralph Lauren were up 10% last quarter. It looks like Ralph Lauren's red, white, and blue Americana is thriving over there.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And the growth driver, according to the CEO, is their teddy bear. It's their iconic, cuddly, cute little Ralph Lauren teddy bear selling at all time highs. Now, we need to sprinkle on some context to the teddy bear itself. Jack, can you whip out the history books from the whiteboard over there for us, please? My little brother's name is Teddy. Great name.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Although, Jack, I should point out, a lot of people said we sounded sultry. And one person said we were like leather chocolate and Cuban cigars in a podcast. Another said it was refreshing to hear a Friday hangover podcast. Someone thought you were Batman. And I want to point out, you and Batman have never been in the room at the same time. I've noticed that. Well, it's good to be happy again.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So I'm highly familiar with the teddy bear origin story. And he's a great guy. So what do we got, Jack? The teddy bear is actually named after President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt, and the first teddy bear was created 124 years ago. And it's kind of an interesting reason how they came up with the teddy bear, right, man?
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So Teddy Roosevelt was an outdoorsman and a conservationist, and he liked to hunt bears, actually. He did. There's a couple of bears that he shot at the Natural History Museum in New York City. Yeah, it's like 30 bears. Yeah, not too shabby. But one time he failed to catch a bear. And so some of his cronies like caught a bear and set it up for President Roosevelt to shoot.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Would have been an easy shot. But Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot the tied up bear. He's a principled guy. If he was going to shoot it, he'd shoot it in the wild. And apparently some guy took that story and said, I'm going to create a teddy bear stuffed animal and name it after Theodore Roosevelt.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Well, decades later, a man named Jerry Loren collected dozens of those original collectible teddy bears. Jerry Loren is Ralph Lauren's brother. True story. And in 1991, he convinced his brother, Ralph, to put a teddy bear on Ralph Lauren apparel. Well, that started an annual holiday tradition. Every year, there was a line of teddy bear Ralph Lauren clothing that you could buy for holidays.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Except this year, Ralph Lauren's teddy bear has its own permanent collection. It's a vibe. It is. And it reflects Ralph Lauren's casual luxury brand.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
It's pretty cool and cash. It looks like a guy whose holiday party you want to get invited to. That's exactly who that teddy bear looks like. Well, last week in New York, Nick and I noticed a bunch of people with Ralph Lauren teddy bear merch. On our way to lunch one day, we saw three people in Ralph Lauren teddy bear merch. A hat, a shirt, and a sweater.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So the CEO says the teddy bear is the growth driver, and Nick and I saw it with our own two eyes in New York City last week. We did. They've even launched a polo bear shop with 500 Ralph Lauren teddy bear products. The teddy bear is replacing that iconic polo horse from the polo shirt as the theme of Ralph Lauren. Teddy bear, so hot right now.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ralph Lauren? Don't call it Ralph Lauren. I'm just trying to make you feel comfortable. I want you to feel accepted, Jack. The Ralph Lauren teddy bear has all the ingredients for star IP potential. Yetis, in this moment of nostalgia, brands are realizing that they're actually sitting on piles of valuable IP like it's oil.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
It started with Mattel, who realized that the Barbie doll is way more than a toy. The Barbie doll turned into a movie, fashion lines, and so much more. And J.Crew, they just brought back their famous catalog because that was buried IP. And now Coca-Cola is using their polar bears for way more than just December... TV commercials.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Well, Jack and I think that Ralph Lauren's teddy bear is the next buried IP to be drilled up and scaled out. Our prediction, the Ralph Lauren teddy bear is going to get a YouTube series, maybe his own Instagram account, a children's book, perhaps. I mean, Jack, in three years, we're probably going to see a live action teddy bear film streaming on Netflix. And we'll be saying we did a podcast on it.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Jack, you are sounding fantastic. Pumped to pod with you, P2P. Let's hit our three stories. What do we got? For our first story, the only American luxury brand winning right now is Ralph Lauren. Because Ralph Lauren has replaced their polo logo with the teddy bear. For our second story, it's Hot Ones. The show where celebrities drown in hot sauce drenched chicken wings while trying to interview.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
All the ingredients are there. It's time to tap that teddy bear IP. Tap that IP, baby. For our second story, Hot Ones, the interview show done over spicy chicken wings, just sold for $82 million. Hot Ones' huge financial payout shows the changing of the guard in media. All right, Jack, let's open up the cupboards over there. Go to hot sauce right now. What are you putting on everything? Boon.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Honestly, we've been experiencing and experimenting with a lot of hot sauces, but we're into Boon right now. Boon Chili Crunch really nails the spicy oil to crushed red pepper ratio. I like what you did there, Jack. But Nick, the hot sauces we like don't even register compared to those used by the show, Hot Ones.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
By the end, they're at 10,000 on the Scoville scale. Tell me how you got your first Hollywood break while chewing this jalapeno wing. Tom Holland, Shaquille O'Neal, Sidney Sweeney, each has recently been tortured with habaneros while being interviewed on Hot Ones.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
But BuzzFeed is struggling. The stock is down 90% and the company is buried in $120 million of debt. So last week, BuzzFeed sold off Hot Wings for a whopping $82 million. BuzzFeed is using that money to pay down debt. This is not a glamorous transaction for BuzzFeed. Now, interestingly, Hot Ones is being acquired by a bunch of creators, actually.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
The Soros Fund is providing the big money for this deal. But other money is coming from the host of the show, Sean Evans, as well as Rhett and Link, fellow YouTubers.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Hot Ones, never been hotter. Yetis, ironically, to make a great media product, Hot Ones borrowed from the restaurant industry. Here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Chefs in kitchens use contrast to make a dish more flavorful. Right, Jack? Like hot and cold contrast, or sweet and sour contrast, or crunchy and not crunchy contrast.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
But Jack and I have studied Hot Ones for years now, and we noticed that Hot Ones uses contrast to enhance your attention of the show. They use a pretty classic interview format for this show. Same kinds of questions you'd see on any other interview show. It's pretty basic questions. But the host asked those questions while feeding the guest increasingly spicy food.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So by the end, it is painfully unpleasant. It's the only show we've watched with interviews where you have to take a bathroom break in the middle for the guest. Jennifer Lawrence is giving acting advice. Nice. With buffalo sauce tears coming down her face. That is nice. And that...
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
is content contrast because nothing makes you more vulnerable than when your mouth is destroyed and you've got spice tears coming out. The hot ones. They didn't reinvent the interview. They just added one new variable, heat, and it works. By the way, not pro tip. Yes. Don't order habanero if you've never had habanero. It's the most aggressive of all the peppers and it will destroy your meal.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
You know, between this and the Ralph Lauren pronunciation, you're giving great pro tips today, Jax. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Hot Ones? Hot Ones represents a changing of the guard in media. Now, Yetis, Jack and I see three groups of media in the industry. There's legacy media, new media, and creator media. Cable TV is legacy media. They're in long-term decline.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
They're profitable, but their business shrinks every year. New media is also kind of in trouble. Fox, Vice, BuzzFeed, all the digital new media is shrinking right now. But creator media is represented by Hot Ones, and creator media is eating the rest of the industry. Get this, Yetis. Hot Ones averages 12 million viewers per 30-minute episode.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
That show just sold for $82 million. Hot Ones, it proves that YouTube shows are as big as cable shows. And our third and final story is Marriott Hotels. They just made a huge bet on glamping. Marriott, they just bought a glamping chain because the mountains are calling and I must invest. Glamping. Nick's favorite. There was an incident. There was an incident. Story for another pod.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Jack, could you sprinkle on some context to that viewer number, please? Late-night talk TV shows on cable, they get about 2 million viewers per episode. Reality TV, like The Bachelorette, it gets just about 3 million viewers per an episode. And scripted shows on CBS, like Law & Order, they get 5 million viewers per episode. Again, Hot Ones is getting 12 million viewers for a 30-minute episode.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
More than double those on the shows we just mentioned. Nick, Hot Ones is a YouTube show, a medium that has never gotten the cachet of television. Doesn't get the respect. But Hot Ones mops up the floor with legacy media in terms of viewership. That's why this Hot Ones deal represents a true changing of the guard in media.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
For our third and final story, Marriott just made a big bet on glamping by acquiring postcard cabins. Here's what Marriott's thinking. What are they thinking? The mountains are calling, and I must invest. All right, well, Jack, let's start with an origin story. Ten years ago, two guys dreamed of having a place in the woods where they could escape the city.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
And those two guys, they built six little cabins and plopped them in the woods north of Boston. Just north of Boston. Ha ha ha! It was glamping. It was glamping. Basically, these cabins offered the same experience as camping, but with a roof, a toilet, hot water, a shower, and probably an electric down comforter. I could get used to this.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
They called their company Postcard, and they now got 29 locations with 1,200 cabins. All 1,200 of those cabins are surrounded by trees in the forest. Ideally with a view, ideally with some nearby water you can swim in. Now, interestingly, they have a specific growth strategy for this company, Postcard Cabin. Each cabin must be within a two-hour drive of a major metropolitan area.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
So these cabins are like in the Hudson Valley outside New York. They're not in central Montana, seven hours away from another city. And now the world's largest hotel chain is heading into the great outdoors. Yes. Almost. Here's the news. Marriott just acquired postcard cabins. It's their biggest bet yet on glamping. And here's the key.
The Best One Yet
🧸 “Teddy Bear, so hot right now” — Ralph Lauren’s new logo. Hot Ones’ $82M deal. Marriott’s glamping bet.
Marriott sees glampers as having more in common with a typical hotel guest than with a camper. Yeah, because glampers are not a BYO toilet paper crowd, are they, Jack? People who book a hotel with postcard cabins are paying basically the same price as for a hotel room. The dress code is Patagonia Puffer Jacket. Full disclosure, this is Nick. And glamping's more my style on this, Jack.
The Best One Yet
👜 “Louis VuiTexas” — LVMH’s Made in America fail. Dubai Chocolate’s virality. iExports > iPhones.
Oh, let's hit our three-story jack. 15 years before this song Two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm They had an idea to cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm Jack Nick
The Best One Yet
👜 “Louis VuiTexas” — LVMH’s Made in America fail. Dubai Chocolate’s virality. iExports > iPhones.
that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show first a quick word from our sponsor
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, March 10th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Stocks just had their worst week in months, but Jack and I are wearing the same outfit today. Unplanned. I wish it was planned. You look fantastic. I think I look fantastic too. Yeti's three toys for today's show.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
The more you win, the more money your team brings in, the more valued you actually are. And as Wrexham keeps getting promoted to higher and higher leagues, its revenues are growing too. Those revenues doubled last year. They're almost in the Premier League, and now they need a bigger stadium. But you might be asking, is Ryan Reynolds king Midas?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
How has his arrival in Wales improved everything about the team so quickly? Again, a 5,000% return in four years? To that, we would say it wasn't his celebrity. It was his documentary. Which leads... to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Ryan and team Rexham? There is no better promotion tool than a video memoir. Yetis. The newest genre in film, we call it the video memoir.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
A firsthand account of something all recorded on video. Because when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhaney were talking about buying Wrexham, they started recording everything on video. They got like all the footage. They got the Zoom calls, their visit to Wales, first time meeting the team. They pressed record and they had video of all of it. It was a massive Google Drive folder probably.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
They want to resurrect it using DNA found in fossils because life finds a way. Well, their first animal is the woolly mammoth. Good choice. But Jack, to get to the first step to reach that woolly mammoth, what do they do? They have to see if the woolly mammoth gene can survive in a mouse. Well, spoiler, it can. The woolly mouse is alive and it is well and it is woolly right now.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
It was a gigantic video diary, which eventually got professionally edited into a multi-episode documentary that they sold to Hulu. And that documentary, that is the real reason for Wrexham's rise. That documentary has been watched by millions. Wrexham AFC now has fans across the world. They have new sponsors who want to be on the jersey, and they have players who want to play on the team.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
That's what drove that 5,000% return, the documentary. Because in life, you can always cut material, but you can't get back what you didn't record in the first place. Exactly. So if you're doing something epic, document it with a video. That was the genius move by Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, recording everything.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Besties, there is no better way to promote yourself and boost the valuation of what you're doing than with a video memoir. For our second story, South by Southwest is now a film, music, and tech festival, probably a half a billion dollar a year business. Because conventions are surging right now. They're the third place for the workplace. And our third and final story is Wrexham AFC.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
They're now a 100 million pound company. Its valuation is up 50x in four years. But it's not because of their celeb owners. It's because of that documentary. Remember to press record. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Wait, Nick, did we remember to push record? Oh boy, that's a podcast nightmare. Here's what else you need to know today. You scared me, man.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
First, the S&P 500 rose on Friday, but still notched its worst week since September. On the economic front, the economy added 151,000 jobs in February. Kind of surprisingly high growth given the firing of federal workers last month. But the stock market is still feeling whiplashed by all that tariff flip-flopping. And second, reports have come in that Apple is planning to build a foldable phone.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
The iPhone 17 might be a little bit thicker when it's folded close, but then it opens up into a tiny iPad for you to watch some videos. It's got to be crease-free, though. That's the key. When you open it, the screen has got to be as flat as still water. Apple's not going to launch this thing until it's crease-free. which is why it won't arrive until 2026 at the earliest. Where is the eye toilet?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Just make us an apple toilet. And finally, Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former crypto king, is in jail right now, but also just got interviewed on a podcast. Sam Bankman-Fried did a podcast interview with Tucker Carlson from a prison. We didn't know that was possible. Neither did Sam's PR rep, who had no idea this was happening.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
He's actually seeking a pardon from President Trump, so SBF says he switched from Democrat to Republican. Good luck, SBF. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Alex Hughes down in lovely Denver. It's about the business of stuffed crust pizza because last week we told you that Pizza Hut pioneered the concept 30 years ago. But here's the interesting detail.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
It actually began back in 1987 when Anthony Mongiello patented a stuffed pizza shell for putting cheese inside the crust pizza. of the pizza. And he came up with that idea years before Pizza Hut eventually launched it in 1995. So when Pizza Hut's version came out and became a $300 million success, Mangiello sued for stealing his idea. Although unfortunately, he lost in court.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
You got to see a picture of this. It looks like a regular mouse, except with a lot more hair and a lot more weight. Did we mention it's woolly? Yeah, we mentioned the hair. Now, ironically, adding DNA of an extinct animal to a non-extinct animal, that's the plot of Jurassic Park 2. Paging Dr. Grant.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Pizza Hut got the last laugh, but Mangiello, in our book, is the true inventor. Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, you are looking like a pretty woolly mouth in that sweater there. A woolly mouse? Yeah, a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. I wonder if that's giving me the Christmas gift of 2025. Hopefully, hopefully.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And Yetis, if you're down in Austin, Texas for South By hanging with your buddies over at Franklin's Barbecue, share the show with them. And then tell them HYHTBY. Have you had the best one yet? If you know, you know. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. Before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Alex Dressler over in lovely Oceanside, California. And happy birthday to Mustafa Hassani in Dallas, Texas.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And Sushan Basak over in New Brunswick is celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy fourth quarter birthday to Kristen Cruz in Farmington Hills. Yeah. That's a whole birthday, right? Looking at the earnings report and it says whole birthday, Jack. Full fiscal year 2024 birthday. And Marie Greggs turning 87 years old, enjoying the show and crushing life in Winfield, Kansas.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Happy 40th birthday to Joy Neumann in Whitehaven, Pennsylvania. Who's also got a new job in Wawa country. If you know, you know. Oh, and if you need a shout out on the show, we got links in the episode description. Fill out our easy form. We'll give you a shout out. We can't wait to get you on the pod. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
But instead of a vicious genetically modified dinosaur, they made a precious genetically modified mouse. It feels like the woolly mouse should get their own Disney movie, by the way. I mean, Jack, I'm looking at this thing. It's cuter than Baby Yoda. I want one. Let's just leave it at that, Jack. Hey, Klausel, we found your new business model, Wooly Mice Pets.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
For our first story, TJ Maxx. Their stock just hit a fresh new all-time high because TJ Maxx is tariff-proof. This discount retailer is more valuable than Nike. And it's almost as big as Hermes. True story. And we'll tell you why. But before we tell you why, I got to share something. I just got to let the Yetis know about this, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, get this. The number three clothing company in the world is actually TJ Maxx. TJ Maxx. TJ is at an all-time high because their business model is tariff... For our second story, the South by Southwest Festival is this week. So we looked at the business of South by.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
You know, when we walked into our freshman year dorm room, I opened the door and I almost choked on my Fanta. Why? Because I saw you wearing a $20 bright red TJ Maxx polo shirt, Jack. Well, it was a polo polo shirt that I bought at TJ Maxx. Fair point. For only 20 bucks. But Jack, if you had bought stock in TJ Maxx instead of buying that $20 cute top, what kind of money would you have right now?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
It'd be up 25x. True story. That's right. 20 bucks of TJ Maxx stock from 2009 is worth $500 today. Yetis, TJ Maxx, the apparel retailer is a $130 billion company. That's like 20 lifts. It's more valuable than Nike, which I find wild. In fact, TJ Maxx has only two clothing companies in the world that are worth more. And who is it, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Hermes and LVMH, which means Framingham, Massachusetts looks like Paris, France. Not possible. Forget Birkin bags. Get me a dirty TJ Maxx tote bag. Make it two because yet he's unlike luxury goods. Bargain clothing is not a cyclical industry. There is always a demand for cheap clothing. Case in point, after the 08 financial crisis, consumers flocked to TJ Maxx. During the pandemic, same.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And during the recent inflation situation, TJ Maxx added more Maxxinistas than ever. That's why TJ Maxx's sales today are nearly triple what they were in 2010. You know what? Their best days could be right now. Sit down, stand up, and put us on the sale rack. Because TJ Maxx is about to become America's back-to-back trade war champion. And we will explain.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Jack, let's open up your closet and whip out that $20 red polo shirt. Nick, the shirt sleeves, they're so tight. They make you look huge. No, you're just talking about your biceps. But yeti's, that $20 cute top that Jack bought, it was actually made in China. But unlike with Ralph Lauren or Nike or The Gap, TJ Maxx is not vulnerable to made-in-China tariffs right now.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
That's the key, and here's why. Because TJ Maxx fills its stores with extra inventory that other retailers were not able to sell. If a Ralph Lauren polo shirt is made in China, Ralph Lauren has to pay a tariff when it arrives in the United States. And then TJ Maxx buys that polo shirt from Ralph Lauren if Ralph can't sell it as his own stores.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
But they don't pay a tariff because they just bought it directly from Ralph Lauren. Ipso facto, TJ Maxx's business model is tariff-proofed. It's one of the rare companies with trade war immunity, and yet they still benefit from the low prices of made-in-China stuff. It's like they got trade war white blood cells over there, too. It is.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And during the first trade war back in 2018, TJ Maxx was a safe haven for low-priced made-in-China clothing. Well, during trade war too right now, it's looking the same for TJ Maxx. In this economy, its discount deals look even more like deals. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in aisle six at TJ Maxx? TJ Maxx's competitive advantage isn't low prices.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
It's their army of 1,300 buyers. Yetis, even though they priced their t-shirts for five bucks, TJ Maxx made $5 billion in profit last year. You'd think someone would come in, offer t-shirts for four bucks, and make a $4 billion profit. You'd think that, but it's not that easy. Like, TJ Maxx can only offer such low prices because of their huge buyer network.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And that business involves Johnny Cash, the Hanson Brothers, and the first ever tweet. And our third and final story, Ryan Reynolds invested in one underdog Welsh football club, and that investment has paid off. Oh, Rexham AFC just got a 4,900% return. And they're almost in the Premier League. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
TJ Maxx's parent company, TJX, has 1,300 people across four continents in 12 countries who find the discount clothing that eventually gets into the stores. Basically, TJ employs 1,300 treasure hunters who are its secret sauce for deal discovery. These 1,300 people have decades-old relationships with apparel companies who trust them.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
They trust them to handle overstock inventory without damaging their brands. Like if Ralph Lauren bought a thousand too many polo shirts, Ralphie's first call is to his representative at TJ Maxx. That's TJ's advantage. Another chain can't just say, we'll offer a lower price than TJ Maxx, because how are you going to offer a lower price?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
That's the real secret to TJ Maxx's discount advantage, an army of 1,300 bargain buyers. For our second story, South by Southwest, the biggest tech media entertainment event of the year is this week in Austin, Texas. We dove into the business of South by. We did. Because there's an economic explosion happening in Austin right now. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
But first, Jack, a billionaire makes an indie film about his blockchain startup at a burrito restaurant. And he's wearing cowboy boots, right? Where did that happen, Jack? South by Southwest. Yeah, it happened at South by Southwest, the tech music entertainment event. It's basically Coachella for people who don't do Coachella. Come for the hot takes from thought leaders.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Stay for the LinkedIn connections. Rumor has it that Satya Nadella still wears his lanyard from 2015 every day in the shower. And we just call it South By because the whole name is too long, right? If you say the whole name, Jack, you can't sit at the cool table, man. The drama at South By this year isn't self-driving cars. It is.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Because Waymo just launched their robo-taxi business in Austin, while Rivian is sponsoring the conference, all in Tesla's new home city. But few attendees know the real history of South By Southwest or the business of South By Southwest. Because South By actually existed pre-millennial, and it used to have nothing to do with tech. Back in 1987, before Jack and I were born, it was a music festival.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Johnny Cash actually rebooted his career with a concert at South by Southwest in Austin. And it wasn't just Johnny Cash. The three Hanson brothers, they did Mbop and debuted at South By. John Mayer signed his first record deal at South By. And all in all, there was no technology involved in the first decade of South by Southwest.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
By 2014, South By was the largest music festival in the world, with 2,000 performances happening across this music-crazed city. That's about 20 times more than Lollapalooza. But the business of South By Southwest, which is a for-profit company, by the way. Good point, Jack. Blew up in the 2000s because they embraced technology. Get this. Back in 2007, Twitter actually launched at South by.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Pretty wild. But the Twitter origin happened at a booth in the Austin South by Southwest conference. And it wasn't just Twitter. Airbnb, where did they get their first big surge in demand, Jack? They marketed their short-term rentals in Austin because all the hotels were sold out.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Now today, South by Southwest has become, by our estimates, a half a billion dollar business, even though they don't share that publicly. 300,000 people are expected to attend South by this year. And with an average ticket price of $1,000, that's 300 million just in ticket sales. That's just the easy money math on it. But that's not the only way that they make money, is it, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Last month, we covered TED Talks. And remember that half of their revenue from events was sponsorship of those events. So South by is probably doing another $200, $300 million in revenue because Porsche is sponsoring the Scott Galloway interview on stage. Or more likely Land Rover, because I'm seeing their ads all over podcasts right now. And Scott seems like a Land Rover guy, Jack.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
So South By makes about a half a billion dollars in revenue in just one week of music, tech product launches, film festivals, and barbecue. But Jack and I have a suggestion because we've noticed something interesting about the South By Southwest brand. It's a rare brand of technology that's positive. Most tech brands these days are experiencing negative sentiment, right, Jack? But not South By.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Love the mix today, Jack. A new animal has been invented by mankind. And it's the biggest breakthrough in genetic engineering since the seedless watermelon. The new animal that is now alive and well is a woolly mouse. A woolly mouse. It is one part little mouse, one part wild. Wooly Mammoth. It's like Minnie Mouse and Dumbo the Elephant at a baby.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Which is why we wonder, should they scale the brand to South by Copenhagen? Or a South by Breckenridge ski retreat? Or a South by cruise? If you're going to do seven days in Austin, why not do seven days in the Pacific? But South by is actually hubbed in Austin's convention center, which leads to our takeaway.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
So Jack, could you toss on some fleecy Allbirds and tell us the takeaway for our buddies over at South by? The convention is the third place of the workplace. I love how you said that. Yetis, the convention industry, it's actually living its best life these days. Attendance jumped 20% from last year. Comic-Con had another record year. Gaming-Con had a record year. South By is having a record year.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Wherever conferences are happening, those cities are having more visitors than ever. Exactly. That's why Cincinnati is spending $300 million for a new convention center to give their city the economic boost that Austin enjoys for South By. Austin enjoys $400 million of estimated spending. on hotels and tacos from all the visitors this week.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And we think the key reason for the surge in convention attendance is that it's the rare place of overlap between work from home and work from office. Remote workers come to conferences to attend and make connections face-to-face, while office workers attend to meet those remote workers.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
That's fascinating, because we hear so much about the divide between remote work and in-office work these days, but not at conventions. Conventions aren't work from home. They're not work from office. They're a third place we're both convened. They're a third place of the workplace. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
For our third and final story, Wrexham AFC over in Wales. The soccer team bought by Ryan Reynolds has grown in valuation by, get this, 5,000%. But it's not because of a celebrity. That valuation jump is because of a documentary. Yetis, you know BTD buying the dip? Like when your buddy Timmy started day trading during the pandemic when stocks fell? Buy the dip.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Well, Ryan Reynolds actually did the same thing in 2021. He did. But he bought the dip of a soccer team. True. He bought the football dip. Yes, he did. Seats were empty. Sports valuations were falling. So Ryan and his chiseled chin brought out the checkbook to buy a team.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
He and fellow actor buddy Rob McElhaney bought Wrexham AFC, one of the most historic teams in the United Kingdom, for just two million pounds. Well, here's the news, yetis. According to Bloomberg reporting, only four years later, that club is now worth a hundred million pounds. Because Reynolds sold 15% of the club to a wealthy American family for 15 million pounds.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Jack, could you please sprinkle on some contacts to that fantastic visual? We've told you about Colossal, which is a genetic engineering startup. We've covered it a couple times on the pod. Colossal, they're trying to bring back the Wooly Mammoth naturally. Their business model is basically the plot of Jurassic Park. Yeah, like an animal's extinct.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And now let's look at the math here. That implied valuation of 100 million pounds, it means that orexum is worth 50 times more than when Ryan first bought it. Jack, the extra math? A 4,900% return. Not too shabby. By the way, that valuation, that's equal to five times the club's annual revenue of 20 million pounds.
The Best One Yet
🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
Which happens to be the same as the five times multiple that Chelsea FC got when they were sold in 2022. Remember what we shared with you last week, besties. Multiples are how Wall Street calculates what something is worth. And for European soccer clubs... They're worth five times their revenue. But Jack and I got curious about the story.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And I got to ask Jack, what is Ryan Reynolds going to do with all the new money from his equity sale? Like, is he going to make, you know, Blake Lively the coach man? Like, what's going on over there? No, he's actually going to add 5,000 seats to that historic stadium. Because in 2023, Wrexham actually rose from the UK's fifth-tier league up to its fourth-tier league.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
And last year, they got promoted again because they keep on winning. They're actually on the cusp of being promoted to the second-tier league in England, which is known as the Championship League. Yeah, that's what happens in European sports. You actually go to a new league the better you do. Yeah, like the winner of Division III football would get promoted to Division II the following year.
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🌵 “South By, Inc.” — The Biz of SXSW. TJMaxx vs Hermès. Ryan Reynolds’ $100M Wrexham.
By the way, if you watched Ted Lasso season two, like that's literally the plot, right, Jack? Yeah, the championship league that Wrexham's about to join maybe is the league from Ted Lasso season two. It's one tier below the Premier League. It's kind of a funny part of the sports industry that's straightforward, but no one talks about.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, December 9th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. How was the restaurant? Did you guys eat something new on the menu again? Oh, at Electra's? Yeah. Did you get the whole menu? Dude, we're only like halfway through. I told you the babysitters have fallen through.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
In an era of climate change, better predictions on hurricanes, blizzards, and tornadoes could save us billions of dollars. If we had better sun and wind conditions, then we could know how much we can depend on renewables versus fossil fuels. And in an era of food scarcity, better weather predictions help farmers, which then helps grocery stores and also helps fast food.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Like, basically every industry is somehow tied to the weather. The weather. It affects the stock market way more than you realize. And if that unknown variable becomes knowable, it could boost our entire economy. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Lululemon's focus on newness has kept its oldest product feeling young.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Without the newness, even the best things, they can just feel old. For our second story, it's Shaboosie. He's been number one on the charts for a record-tying 19 straight weeks. A bar song! but it's actually an economic song. Just like in politics, products can build a big tent too.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
And our third and final story, Google's Gencast predicts weather 15 days out, 97% more accurately than the status quo. We call it the super roker. Because knowing that one big unknown could change the entire economy. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Pantone released the color of the year, and that color is mocha mousse, and I like it.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
It looks just like it tastes. It does, it does. It's like soft, creamy, brownish tan. It looks luxurious, like a nice dessert. I feel like Kendall Roy's wearing this right now. It looks like mousse, the dessert. It does. It's very Brunello Cucinelli. Now, interestingly, Pantone's color of the year is... sees a 700% sales surge. And this color of the year isn't the color of the year for 2024.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Mocha Moose is the color of the year for 2025. Yeah, it's a trend prediction. It's a pre-trend. Basically, this is a pre-trending color. It's pre-trending is what we're saying. Second, David Sachs was named the AI and crypto czar of the new administration of Donald Trump. Sachs is the co-founder of PayPal along with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, and now he co-hosts the All In podcast.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Trump continues to turn to billionaire business people to reform and steer the government. And finally, Dolly Parton is getting a Broadway musical in New York City, but with one big surprise. Open casting. Yeah. Anyone can try out to win a part in the Dollywood musical. Actually, Jack, specifically the starring role of Dolly. Anyone could get that role, apparently.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Yeah, it happens. These things happen. On January 19th, the day before the presidential inauguration, there will be no more TikTok in America. We repeat, hashtag the country's most popular app will be blocked. Pour one out for Addison Rae. The only way you're going to be going viral, besties, is in a hospital. But we actually have a big theory about the impact of the TikTok ban.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
So Timothy Chalamet does a lookalike contest. Dolly Parton does a who's going to act as me on Broadway contest. You got Jolene down my memory. Head over to dollymusical.com. Good luck, yetis. Good luck. Now time for the best fact yet. And this one, as always, a new Monday tradition is a trivia question. What is the biggest shoe sponsorship deal of all time?
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
What is the biggest shoe sponsorship deal of all time? Got a quick hint. Can we give a little hint, Jack? Go ahead. Someone's mom was involved in this deal. Give us your guess in the comments. And the answer is tomorrow's episode of The Best Idea Yet. We'll let you know tomorrow, and then you can hear a whole episode on what this product is. The biggest shoe sponsorship in history.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Give us your guess in the comments. Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, the newness is looking very good on you, my friend. I can't believe writing down interesting things to talk to my wife was the best newness example I could think of. I love that you got a list going here, and I kind of am now curious how long this list is. It's only a couple bullet points every day.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
And that's why she loves you. Yetis, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have you heard the best one yet? That is how we grow the show. Tell all your buddies at work, and Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Kane and Silverstein over in New York City celebrating with a big, big fiesta. Happy birthday to Selvin Dubois, who's turning 47 in Guatemala City. Feliz cumpleaños.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
And Princess and Garber have an eight-year anniversary. They are celebrating a fantastic time together down in Houston. Huge shout out to Beckham Hurd in Milwaukee, who's listening right now on the way to school and is going to get a great hat on the way. And Tariq Laskar, listen to our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet over the weekend, the new episode on Polaroid. Loved it.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Thank you so much, Tariq. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. And if you want to get a shout out on any T-boy podcast, we've got a form in this episode description or go to tboypod.com slash shout outs. This is Jack. Nick owns stock of Lululemon. I own stock of Netflix. And we both own stock of Spotify.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Jack and I were talking over the weekend and we have got a big, bold, beautiful, bullish theory about the TikTok ban. Here it is. Banning TikTok may actually be the most powerful boost for our economy ever. Let us think about how much time we're all going to get back if TikTok is banned. This could be a huge productivity unlock.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
I mean, Jack, you can't drive, you can't work, you can't hammer, you can't sew. You can't even whip up a takeaway while you're scrolling on TikTok. If there's no TikTok, that's good for Netflix's business. And if there's no TikTok, that's good for your boss's business. Because you'll probably finish more TPS reports if TikTok isn't tempting you.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
So banning TikTok would be like an economic stimulus program. Hey, Jerry Powell, forget lower interest rates. This TikTok ban, it's an economic boost. So Yetis, unless the Supreme Court intervenes, TikTok will be banned on January 19th. And if stocks hit all-time highs next month, it'll be because of Nick and Jack's TikTok ban boom theory. Let us know what you think in the comments.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
But this weekend I got steak frites. It was good. Medium rare. Take it any day. Jack, three stories for today's team boy. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, Lululemon stock jumped 19% on Friday, all because of one single word. Newness. Lululemon is obsessed with newness. And so are we now. For our second story, it's Shaboosie's A Bar Song.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
We're still working on the name, so you can let us know about that too.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Jack, let's hit our three stars. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
For our first story, Lululemon stock soared 19% on Friday thanks to one single word. So we're sharing Lululemon's recipe for staying young even when you're old. Now, Yetis, earlier this fall in September, Lululemon published a report that, honestly, we kind of just had to mention this, didn't we, Jack? Here's the headline.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Lululemon's global well-being report shows the pressure to keep up with well-being is making people feel unwell. That That was the headline of their press release. I'm unwell having heard that headline, Jack. Well, Lululemon stock is doing quite well. Good point, Jack, because Lulu shares have jumped 19% on Friday on really some fantastically in-shape earnings.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Because those leggings are stretching across the grove as we speak. Get this. Lulu was driven by international sales, which jumped 33% last quarter. Not too shabby. Also, Lululemon is now an equal gender business. That's right. Yeah. Revenue was up 8% for women's wear and it was up 9% for men's wear.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Although, interesting thing we noticed in their earnings, Lululemon refers to all their customers using the female pronouns. You know, Jack and I are here. Jack and I are here. I just want to point that out. We're here as well, guys. I'm actually wearing Lulu socks right now. I knew you were. I knew you would be doing that. But another funny thing Nick and I noticed about the earnings.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
On the earnings call, we noticed there was one word that they said more than any other word. And we like had never really heard this word. The word was newness. newness. We'd never seen that word. So we counted the number of times the executive used the word newness in their earnings call. Okay. So we jumped in T-boy style.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
We even went back in history to see when Lulu executives started saying the word newness. And Jack, why don't you whip up the numbers from the whiteboard for us? It'd It appears they started saying newness four quarters ago. In that earnings call, they used the word one time. Okay. The next earnings call, they used the word newness 12 times. Interesting. Then they used it 32 times.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
And last week, Lululemon executives said the word newness 44 times. It's like the CEO said newness, and then he's like, I like this word. I'm going to make it our whole corporate strategy. I haven't said the word newness four times in my entire life. So we're all asking, what is newness?
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Lululemon explained, it's when they bring innovation into their core categories where they already have significant strength. Translation, they add a new pattern every couple quarters. Pretty much. Lululemon's core category is leggings, or the bottom business as they call it. Great name.
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🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
So this holiday season, if you stroll into a Lulu store, yetis, you're going to notice updated colors, prints, and patterns, aka the newness. Even though you've been to a Lululemon store a dozen times, you're going to notice newness. The newness. Let's say the newness. Are you down with the newness? It sounds more like a cult if we say it that way. The newness is a floral print here.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Urban camo print there. And she has responded well to the newness. Yes, she has. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Lulu Lemon? Without newness, even the best thing will feel old. So like now that I've heard newness so many times, Jack, the word sounds weird to me. You know what I mean? The newness. Oh yeah, the newness.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
That song is tied for the longest streak ever at number one on the music charts. But Chibuzi's greatest hit is really a business lesson on breaking genres. And our third and final story. Google just unveiled its most powerful AI product yet, a weather forecaster. Google just became the world's most powerful weather fortune teller. Hey, Roker, you're up.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Yeti's Lululemon tracks newness actually as their most important metric. They measure new items to existing items as a ratio. And it's working. It is because the stock is up 75% since August. Besties, despite the trend toward nostalgia, newness is a factor that established brands shouldn't forget. Car companies, fashion brands, tech companies, even podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Even you, as a friend or romantic partner, how are you bringing newness into your game right now? We're looking at you, buddy, Timmy. Well, actually, Jack, all right, so here's one. I have basically peanut butter and almond butter every single day. I have my go-to Skippies, but I like to weave in a new almond butter flavor every two weeks. So I've got the maple flavor. That's my standard.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
But then I'll bring in a coconut every now and then. Is that impressing? Everyone. Do you have a newness? I jot down the most interesting things I come across in the day. Okay. And then I save it for my after work conversation with my wife. I bring something new into the house from outside every day. You're literally bringing newness from your day into your conversations at home at night.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Because without newness, even the best thing will feel old. I think you mean without the newness, even the best thing will feel old. For our second story, the number one song of 2024, it's Shaboosie's A Bar Song. Because Shaboosie's country rap hit isn't about drinking. It's really about the economy. Now, Jack, before we begin this story, we should apologize to a few of our loyal listeners.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Taylor, Sabrina, Kendrick. Unfortunately, the biggest song of the year was not yours. It was Shaboosie's A Bar Song. I love that we're on a first-name basis with all of those artists. It's a good group. A Bar Song, the three-minute hip-hop and country mashup about downing whiskey at 10 a.m. over and over again.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Now, it is not just Jax in my audio opinion here, because there is a bunch of data that supports this being the number one song of the year. A Bar Song has a billion streams on Spotify and three million video covers on TikTok. A Bar Song got five Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist and Best Song of the Year.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
19.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Yes, this song has been on the Billboard top charts as number one for 19 straight weeks. Who's that? That's tied with Lil Nas X, Old Town Road. Someone pour me another shot of whiskey. Only if he gets to 20 weeks in a row. Then we're all getting another shot of whiskey. But yet, within those lyrics, Jack and I noticed something fascinating.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
This isn't really a song about everyone at a bar getting tipsy, is it, Jack? This song is about finances. Gen Z? Sorry, Jack Daniels. They don't even drink whiskey anymore. So the bar song, it's really about the economy. And we dove in T-boy style to the lyrics, and you can see this basically beginning with the first stanza, right, man? Here's one lyric. Gasoline and groceries.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
The list goes on and on. Well, inflation sucks. We're all feeling it, and we've been feeling it for a few years. Here's another lyric. This nine to five, it ain't working. Yeah, workers are feeling stuck. Wages haven't risen like inflation has. It's frustrating for workers. And one more lyric, my girlfriend just bought a Birkin.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
That's the interesting twist because the wealthiest Americans have seen their portfolios popping off. Stocks are at all-time highs while the nine to five ain't working. In this economy, Shaboosie's song resonates because it empathizes across the spectrum. It's really an economic song. Also, it's catchy and clean enough that parents listen with their kids in the backseat. That's true.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Maxie loves listening to this. One, two, and the three, and the three, and the four. It's like a nursery rhyme. Basically, Shaboosie's a bar song is the new Baby Shark. Not sure what he thinks about that, but yeah, I'll take it. We'll have to ask Grandpa Shark Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Shaboosie? Just like in politics, products can build a big tent.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories to kick off the week. Love the mix, Jack. For four years now, we've heard rumors that TikTok might be getting banned someday. Warning, yetis, that day is January 19th. Because here's the news. On Friday, the U.S. Federal Appeals Court ruled that Congress can ban TikTok. Witches!
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Yetis, there's also a strategic reason why a bar song is number one right now. This song transcends genres. Every musical artist is put in a genre box. It's true. You're either rap, pop, rock, country, or classic, or emo. That's what the industry does to you. It puts you in a box. But the sound of Shaboosie as a bar song transcends that. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
It reached the Billboard Top 10 charts in four different categories. Four categories. No other song has ever done that. And on top of it, no other song has been number one overall for so many weeks in a row. In politics, we sometimes get a leader who builds a big tent. They win across many different voting groups. Well, in business, there can be big tents too.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
And Shaboosie is the perfect example of it. Don't let him stick you in one genre box. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
For our third and final story, Google has built an AI-powered weather predictor that is the best in the world and the history of humanity. By far. By far. We can now know the weather 15 days ahead. That's not just a joy booster. It's a GDP booster. But yet he's 1996. That's the year that Al Roker became America's weatherman. That's what's going on around the country.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. Well, Google just unveiled a new weather forecasting model that they call GenCast. But we're calling it the SuperRoker. SuperRoker. Because Google's SuperRoker outperformed the world's best weather forecasting models 97.2% of the time. Sit down, stand up, and bring in a low-pressure situation over here, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
That's according to a paper published last week in the journal Nature. The European Weather Agency even called this new Google super-roker significant as a milestone in the evolution of weather forecasting. It is so good, it will expand our weather forecast that we have available from 10 days ahead to 15 days ahead. That's a 50% jump.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Besties, if you want to know if it's going to rain on your wedding day next year, Google already knows. All right, not next year. If it's in two weeks, they can tell you. Apple, the weather app can't give you three days. And here's the fascinating thing about this Google weather predictor. The model is brand new, but it also has 39 years of weather experience. We'll explain.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
We should explain that one, Jack. Google has fed this AI model all the data that we have on the weather across the world from 1979 to 2018. Uh, April 14th, 6 p.m. It's got the weather, the humidity, and like some third variable that we don't even know about. In Wichita, Kansas, and in Bangkok, Thailand. everywhere across the world.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
huge because Congress already voted to ban TikTok and President Biden, he already signed the ban of TikTok. It's a law that was passed last year. TikTok must sell away from its Chinese ownership by January 19th or the app is banned nationwide. So now that TikTok has lost the appeal, it is final. It is official. TikTok will be banned. So unless something crazy happens, which is possible.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
On the other hand, conventional physics-based models of the weather, they only look at the present atmospheric conditions. They don't have any information on the past. So when this super roger is trying to predict the weather for two weeks from now, they might say, well, on December 3rd, 1992, we had identical atmospheric conditions as we have today.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Oh, and here's what happened on that day back on December 3rd, 1992. So something similar will probably happen today. That's how this Google weather forecaster is 97.2% more accurate than conventional weather forecasters. The super roker. It remembers all the weather that has ever happened in the last 39 years. That's the key. And you can only do that with AI.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
Now, Jack and I should point out, from a business perspective, this is a huge win for Google, isn't it, man? Internet users across the world have been leaving Google search and instead searching for things with TikTok and ChatGPT. But Google weather, if it is this powerful and this accurate, which it is, it might become the new reason to keep Google.com as your homepage.
The Best One Yet
🥃 “A Bar Song Biz” — Shaboozy’s economic ballad. Lululemon’s “newness”. Google’s weather channel.
So Jack, there's a 75% chance you've got a takeaway right now. What is the takeaway for our buddies over at Google? Knowing one unknown could change the entire economy. Yeah, it is. The weather is about so much more than just whether you can ski or go to the beach on any given day. It has profound impacts across the entire economy without us realizing it. Okay, a few examples here.
The Best One Yet
🌎 “Pan-cession” — Global recession risk. Chipotle’s tariff-free avocado. Clocking out at 4:39pm.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🌎 “Pan-cession” — Global recession risk. Chipotle’s tariff-free avocado. Clocking out at 4:39pm.
40%.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, May 5th, and today's pod, out of all the pods, is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Announcing our live show in 60 seconds. But first, our three stories. Which are fantastic. What do we got, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
They announced employee pricing on cars, and their deal also lasts through July 4th. Now, Bessies, tariffs are coming. Not raising these underwear prices is going to hurt their underwear profit margins. But maybe it'll boost their sales. In fact, it already has. Mack Weldon's underwear sales actually jumped 90% in the month ending... April 15th.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
So Mack Weldon is sacrificing some profit margin to gain loyalty at a painful economic moment. And it looks like it's selling. Men are buying up their male panties over Mack Weldon. Male panties. I'm sorry. You know what?
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Yeah, but I hate the female version of the term, too. Well, I'm not saying it's going to work, but let's just, you know, you just put stuff out there sometimes. So, Bessie's every company in this economy is weakened by tariffs, but Mack Weldon has turned that into a strength. And you probably tossed a tank top and some trousers into your cart, too, not just the underwear.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone affected by tariffs? Sometimes you need to go opposite day on everybody. Yet it is last week we told you the number one theme in the economy right now. Uncertainty. Uncertainty was mentioned a record number of times in economic surveys and in corporate earnings reports.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
But the success of Mack Weldon's underwear price lock is that it did the opposite. Instead of uncertainty around prices... They gave a very certain price. Yeah. And you know what? It's a reminder that if you notice everyone around you just doing the same thing. It's easy to do that thing too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's safety in the herd.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Nobody's going to isolate you and say, what the heck are you doing? But it is in those moments that opportunity lies in doing the opposite. Call opposite day. Call it opposite day. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Formula One just finished a race in Miami. It's the fastest growing sport in the United States. Because Formula One mainstreamified the VIP section.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
VIP, very important public. That was pretty good. For our second story, Microsoft announced last week that new accounts don't need passwords. Use a passkey instead. Password is dead, but Sam Altman thinks the future of ID in an AI world is I-D. Like eyeballs. And our third and final story, Mack Weldon announced no price hikes on underwear through July 4th.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Because we're going to have three fantastic stories, plus a surprise guest on stage at the Vic. And we'll be whipping up takeaways like a young Ferris Bueller. T-Boy Live does Chicago. Because Chicago does logistics. Tickets are on sale this Wednesday. Follow us to get those tickets first. Hey, Midwest, you look fantastic. Da Bears. Da Bulls. Da podcast. Da three stories. Let's eat them, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
When everyone else is doing the same, raising prices because of tariffs, there's opportunity in doing the opposite. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, on a good jobs report and trade war resolution hopes, the S&P 500 rose for a ninth straight day on Friday. 177,000 jobs were added to our economy in April despite the trade war volatility.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
China also acknowledged for the first time potential talks with America on trade. Add it all up, nine straight days of gains for the S&P 500 is the longest streak since 2004. All those losses from Liberation Day have now been erased. Second, last week Apple got eviscerated by a federal judge for failing to comply with a court order.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Epic Games and Spotify had been on a crusade to end Apple's 30% app tax, what they charge these apps in the App Store. And it looks like it finally happened. You can now subscribe to Spotify directly from an iPhone and not pay an app tax. After Apple got ripped by a judge, Spotify now has a link in their app so you can avoid the App Store toll booth.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And finally, ConAgra, the big food company, just sold Chef Boyardee last week for $600 million to a PE firm. The founder of the soup brand, Chef Boyardee, was a renowned chef who worked at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. He was a real Italian chef. Then he Americanized the spelling of his name to become a mass-market canned soup and pasta company.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Now that it's owned by private equity, they're probably going to, you know, water down some of the ingredients in the soups. Yeah, they're going to cut costs. So the can of mini raviolis, it's probably going to be even minier raviolis now. Spaghetti and meatballs is going to be spaghetti and meatball.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Molly G from lovely Philadelphia. Speaking of Formula One racing, we told you about that race in Monaco with all the yachts. Well, Monaco in Europe is actually a country, one of the smallest countries on earth. Yeah, I said it was in the south of France. It's actually its own little thing. Like there's checkpoints.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
But Monaco is actually smaller than Central Park in New York City. Here's the breakdown. Monaco is less than one square mile of land. Central Park. And it's a country. A little more than one square miles of land. Monaco. It's basically the Vatican City of the non-Catholic world. Because Vatican City is like its own country. Jack, I think you stuck the landing on it.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Yetis, you look fantastic today. Especially if you're over in the Midwest in Chicago, you look extra fantastic. We are so freaking pumped for July 23rd. It's going to be incredible. Amazing. We're going to a Cubs game the day after our performance, by the way. And maybe before as well. Yetis, we are dropping the tickets right here on Wednesday.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And before we go, a happy birthday to the legendary Yeti, Annie Z, over in Toronto, Maple Leaf, Toronto. And happy birthday to Uramin Josel in Henderson, Nevada. This married dink is celebrating in Napa this weekend. Popping that pinot. And Matt, way charatana, is turning 36 years old over in Seattle, spent the birthday rock climbing on belay. Belay on that birthday, Matt.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Happy birthday to Sterling Salzberg in San Francisco. His birthday was yesterday. He's on his way to Maui with a family of four right now. And Chase in Virginia just got married in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Now they are honeymooning, guys. Let's see some pics. Congratulations on the celebration. Congratulations to Lindsay Ardiff and Ainsley Fo, who had a wedding reception last weekend.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Congratulations, guys. You look fantastic. And Anna Wintour, just as a heads up, no pressure at all. Jack and I got our tuxes ready. So just wink twice if we're good to go. Big night on the red carpet. If there's room for two T-boys, hit us up. We've been traveling. We haven't seen our mail. So yeah, thanks for the invite. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Spotify.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Oh boy, oh boy.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
I own stock of Netflix and we both own ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
For our first story, Formula One just held its hottest race event of the year down in Miami. But Formula One's stock is near an all-time high, and it's all thanks to your 28-year-old little sister.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
For our first story, Formula One is the fastest growing sport in America, and it just had its hottest race of the year down in Miami. Formula One sales are surging because of 28-year-old American women. For our second story, get this. Microsoft just declared that it's killing the password once and for all. Gone. You can log in sans password. Ding dong, the password is dead, baby.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Now, yetis, if your buddy Timmy called in sick today, it's because the Kentucky Derby, Cinco de Mayo, Star Wars Day, May the 4th, NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, and Berkshire Hathaway's shareholder conference all happened over the weekend. And the Met Gala's today. Yeah, but the...
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
biggest event last weekend physically was actually the newest event formula one racing formula down in miami florida as they pronounce it in daytona formula and formula one the most technical cars the most expensive tickets and a whole lot of drama this weekend down in miami jack
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
The Dutch racer Max Verstappen drives for Team Red Bull, but almost missed the Miami race because his baby was born just a couple days before. Like literally right before. Oh, and then Ferrari unveiled a blue Ferrari car? What? Ferraris are red. That's the rule. It's like an insult to Italy worse than pineapple on pizza, man. Still, 2024 was a record year for Formula One.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
They generated nearly $4 billion in revenue. Now, historically, Formula One racing has been ignored in America. This is NASCAR country. This is an indie world, baby. But today, F1 is actually the fastest growing professional sport in the United States. Depends on the timeframe, but along with pickleball and the WNBA, F1 is booming in America. And here's what Jack and I find fascinating.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Formula One is also a publicly traded business. It was acquired eight years ago by Liberty Media, and now the stock is near an all-time high. But Jack, could you press on the pistons a bit and sprinkle on a little context to their $4 billion in Formula One revenue? That's four times the revenue of NASCAR. It's almost as much as the NHL, and it's half as much As the NBA.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
But honestly, it's even more impressive when you consider that Formula One only has 24 races a year. They're called Grand Prixs, not races. Oui, oui, oui, oui, Jack. Still, 24 Grand Prixs. Compare that to 1,230 basketball games played in the NBA every season. So what we're saying is that each Formula One racing event is really a profit puppy. It's like a mini Olympics.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
It takes over the entire city for a whole weekend. Get this, the Miami Grand Prix yesterday got 25% more in ticket revenue for Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, where they do the race around, than all the Miami Dolphin football home games combined. You better call an audible, Dan Marino, because racing is taking over Miami. One race was equal to eight football games in revenue.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And it's the third race in the United States. There's also one in Austin, and there's also one in Las Vegas. Now, besties, it is Netflix who we can thank for growing the F1 fan base. Their reality show during the pandemic brought more fans and more sponsors to the sport. Especially in the United States. But F1 just struck a $1 billion sponsorship deal with Louis Vuitton. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
The handbag company is now sponsoring the sports cars. F1 also just got a $450 million check from America's Cadillac. Because Cadillac wants to be the 11th Formula One racing team, so they had to pay a fee in order to enter. And they join the circuit next year. But the most valuable part of the Formula One business model is TV. Yeah, it's broadcasting. Like with every sport.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Our bet, Netflix is going to buy the rights, which expire next year. Interesting. And turn F1 into a globally streamable, like glitzy kind of show with a halftime event. Rihanna's going to be there. Yeah. And Lady Gaga singing half. There's no halftime in racing, but I'm picking up what you're putting down. I'm sure they will change the sport for that money, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
But the wildest part about F1's business model is actually who's behind it. Nick and I jumped in T-boy style to the earnings report from F1 last quarter. Female fans and fans under 30 are both up 50% for F1 in the past five years. That's right. Your 28-year-old little sister is who's driving growth at Formula One. But I'll be honest, even I'm attracted to the racers in Formula One.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Have you seen how chiseled those chins are? Max, don't Verstappen at all. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Formula One? F1 has mainstreamified the VIP section. Yetis, here's the irony. Formula One is the only mainstream luxury sport, yeah, that's a contradiction, that we can find. Polo, sailing, those aren't mainstream.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And our third and final story. One company has found a creative way to turn tariff problems into a strength. Mack Weldon just unveiled price-locked underwear through the 4th of July. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a fantastic mix of stories to kick off the week, Jack. Our first live show was in San Francisco. It was amazing. Then we did New York, which was huge.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
But F1 is mainstream, even though it's the glitziest of all the sports in the whole world. Nick, most Grand Prixs have their circuits viewable by yacht. Yeah, that's a real thing. Monaco, on the south coast of France, that's the most famous F1 racetrack. And yet, luxurious F1 is watched by a billion fans. It is also the fastest growing pro sport in America.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And most of those billion fans do not own yachts. So Formula One, it is sponsored by David Yerman Jewelry and Brunello Cuccinelli's fancy clothing. And yet it's also sponsored by Puma and Adidas. How does F1 pull it off? Such a wide, diverse spectrum of both fans and sponsors. It's strategic about what it keeps exclusive.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
So Formula One limits itself to only 24 races, only 10 teams, and only 20 drivers. But it scales the media part. 100 million followers on social media, and it's broadcast globally on TV. So besties, Formula One is at an all-time high because it pulled off a contradiction Arameas never could. It's mainstreamified the VIP section.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
For our second story, Sam Altman, Microsoft, and Tinder basically just killed the password. The future is passwordless. Yes, it is. Because we are so incredibly bad at keeping secure passwords. If I know Jack, there are a few things he loves more than a good game of trivia all the time.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
So Jack, what was the trivia question I know you asked 50 people, including your family and the waiter at a restaurant? This is such a good hero stat. What percent of login attempts in America are successful?
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🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
That's it. Only 32% of the time are you successful logging in. Like only one out of three times are you getting your own password right. The other two thirds of the time you push login and it says wrong username or password. Please try again. Yetis, using logged in accounts online faces amazing friction and so much wasted time from all of those failed logins.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Plus, Jack, we haven't even discussed the insecure passwords. It's true that the number one password in America is password. Yeah, that's also a good trivia fact. So it's not a matter of if your password were good stolen, it's a question of when. Even if you included three exclamation points, two hashtags, a number sign, and six capital letters.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Because get this, due to all the hacks that have happened to like every company ever... Right now, according to a digital risk protection company, there are 24 billion usernames and passwords available on the dark web for like 10 cents each. So criminals, they know your parents' passwords, even if your parents still don't know their own passwords.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
When your parents text you, what's my own password? It's like- I'm getting a call. It's my mom. She wants to know the password to her Wi-Fi jack. So besties, all of us, internet-using humankind, should come to welcome this shocking news that just came out. Microsoft announced on Friday they are phasing out the password altogether.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And we repeat, anyone who sets up a new Microsoft account will not be asked to create a password. Just give us your phone number or your email instead, and then select your passkey. Yeah, Microsoft stock was up 9% last week. It wasn't because of this, but like- It was not because of this. What the heck is a passkey though, Nick? Yeah, what is a passkey? I was going to ask you.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Then we did Seattle, which was very Pacific Northwest. But our biggest live show yet is actually our deepest live show yet. Yetis, prepare to hit the lake, feel the wind, and dig into some deep dish. Because the best one yet is coming to Chicago. We are doing a T-Boy live show in Chicago on July 23rd. It's the biggest event to hit Chi-town since Oprah. The location is the Vic Theater.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
A passkey is proof that you are you because you're already logged into something else. Here's the example we came up with. If you're already using your iPhone, then you had to use a passcode or Face ID to unlock that iPhone. So with a Microsoft account, you can say Face ID is my passkey. And as long as you're using your phone, you can log into any Microsoft account. They know that you are you.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Other passcode options are Android's fingerprint sensor, Gmail, or using a password manager. Basically, if you're logged into your phone, your computer, or your Gmail, that's enough. You can log into anything else as well. And if all else fails in this password purged era, you can always request a login link to your phone or your email. That's the future. And it's not just Microsoft. No, no.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Apple, Google, they're both moving in this direction too. Every big tech player wants to kill the password. They're going full Napoleon on the password, guillotining the passwords out there. There's no chance to live. Second French reference in two stories, I think. Not possible. Make it threes.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Because yetis, virtually every person in America has an account with at least one of those three companies. So all of us are going to be able to start going password-free. The password. It's going to go the ranks of other retired tech products, Jack. Floppy disks, screen names, Clippy. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone with a password?
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
The future of ID is I-D, as in E-Y-E, as in eyeballs. So yetis, there was one other big password piece of news last week we noticed. Sam Altman's eye scanning startup. It's called World. And World set up six retail locations last week to scan people's eyeballs for their registry.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Now, Sam Altman's world also partnered with Tinder and Visa, so your eye scan will verify that you are, in fact, a human. Tinder will soon validate that that guy, who's too good to be true, is a real person, and they'll do it by checking his eyeballs. Well, why is there this surge in eye scans? It's because in an AI world, robots can solve those security checks that test if you're a robot.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
They can beat them. So instead of a CAPTCHA test to verify you're a human, What we really need is proof of human. So besties, add it all up, and right now we are entering the password-free era. But five years from now, when humanoid robots are trying to log into your Tinder account, well, then the future of ID is I-D. Eventually, it's all coming to the eyeballs.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
For our third and final story, Mack Weldon's men's underwear just put a price lock on their undies until July 4th. They've turned tariffs into a marketing opportunity, and we will explain how. Now, Yetis, you know Jack and I have been keeping track of recession indicators for you. Recession brunette, skipping Botox treatments, bringing bagged lunches to work more often.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
None of those are good indicators for the economy. No, no, no, no, no, no. But the oldest alternative economic indicator is the men's underwear index. If men are so pinched that they're not buying new briefs, That's a bad sign. Yeah, guess what? Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, he actually coined this whole underwear observation.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
He observed that nobody sees your underwear selection except the man who's wearing them and maybe their locker room neighbors. So if men aren't buying new underwear and they're wearing underwear with a bunch of holes in them, it means they're not feeling pretty good about their money right now.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
Capacity, a thousand seats. The vibe, rock concert. but with fully audited financials. Jack, we're putting up Michael Jordan numbers on this thing, baby. Tickets go on sale this Wednesday. So follow us at tboypod on Instagram so you see the ticket drop first. Bring your buddy, bring your office, loop in the whole loop while you're at it.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
So it's an interesting case study when we look at the direct-to-consumer men's brand, Mack Weldon, who sells underwear. Mack Weldon? Mack Weldon, a underwear brand that's between MeUndies and Calvin Klein on the coolness scale. It's pretty cool. Yeah, I guess I'd agree with you on that. Yeah, it's like the Lulu for dude dudes.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And like most of your wardrobe, Mack Weldon is facing 145% tariffs on the stuff they source from China. and 10% tariffs on everywhere else. So besties, everyone right now is worried about prices. Price hikes because of tariffs. When will they happen? When will they stop? Who knows how much? Not at Mack Weldon though. Prices aren't hiking at Mack Weldon.
The Best One Yet
🤫 “End of Passwords” — Microsoft’s post-password-era. Formula 1’s sister surge. Mack Weldon’s anti-tariff undies.
And the timing of their no price change is very clear. Get this, Mack Weldon announced a price lock on all their underwear. Not a single pair will have a price increase until at least July 4th. We have not seen any other apparel company do this. Boxers or briefs. It's like a call option in finance applied to the top drawer of your dresser. We have seen Ford do something similar.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, November 4th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, looking fantastic over there. Big week. Should we hit the three stories? For our first story, we got Sharpie.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
talking about their men so the gospel of sugar-free soda it is so big that dr pepper even launched their very own dirty soda it's like a canned alcoholic cocktail minus the alcohol plus the dirty soda it's dr pepper and coconut cream but bottled and sold by dr pepper So you can follow the trend from Mormon social media into Coca-Cola's earnings.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Coke Zero, its sales are up 11% and Coke Zero got called out six times on that Coke earnings. Because regular, original Coke, sales are flat. But Coke Zero is up 11%. And that leads us to a takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in marketing? Sometimes the winner is blatant branding. Yetis, sometimes a product gains success because it literally spells out what it is.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
We call this blatant branding. Blatant branding. Like 1-800-Flowers. The name of the company is the phone number of the company. And that helps them stand out in a world of distractions. Or Dollar Shave Club. Five-hour energy. I can't believe it's not butter. It's not butter. And they can't believe it either, Justin.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
like you it's the same with coke zero sugar yeah actually coke zero was invented in 2005 as coke zero but in 2017 they added the word sugar to make it coke zero sugar now we should point out it's not clear that artificial sweetener which is what's in coke zero sugar is any healthier than natural sweetener which is in coke but rebranding this product to coke zero sugar led to a sales jump
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Coke Zero Sugar stood out in the soft drink aisle. And we think that's a prime example of the rare but successful blatant branding. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Starbucks is ordering 200,000 Sharpie markers because they are handwriting names on cups again. We call it the Sharpie Doctrine, when one small change symbolizes a company's entire priorities.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
For our second story, it's ExxonMobil. They're winning even though gas prices are low. The reason? America. It's become the world's largest gas station. And our third and final story. Soda sales are rising in America again because millennials are drinking like the Mormons do. Coke Zero Sugar. It's blatant branding and it's working. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Here's what else you need to know today. First, jobs growth stopped in October. Just 12,000 jobs were added due to the worker strike at Boeing and the two hurricanes that hit the Southeast. In fact, because of the hurricanes, the government survey was responded to by the fewest number of companies than any monthly survey since 1991.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
But the unemployment rate actually stayed steady at a super low 4.1%. It's the lowest unemployment rate heading into a presidential election since 2000. And second, OpenAI has officially launched SearchGPT, a search engine tied to their AI chatbot. It's a direct shot at Google, which brings in $200 billion a year in online search ad revenue.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And the Jeep surprise story is the fourth episode of our new series, The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. So Yetis, tomorrow on election day, after you listen to this show, go make sure you voted. But then after that, if you're looking for a break from political coverage, listen to our new episode on the Jeep.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And finally, last week, the Dodgers beat the Yankees to win the World Series, but we heard one of the wildest stats we've ever heard over the weekend. All five of the last five World Series winning baseball teams had a Will Smith on the roster. Okay, besties, follow us on this one. But in 2020, the Dodgers catcher was named Will Smith, won a World Series. And then he won again this year.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And in between, in 2021, 2022, and 2023, a different Will Smith won the World Series. First with the Braves, then with the Astros, then with the Rangers. So correlation, causation, wherever the baseball trophy goes, a Will Smith goes with it. Because he's in Miami. Bienvenidos a Miami. Now time for the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
This one sent in by a bunch of Yetis who ran the New York Marathon and are icing, icing up today. I hope they put those tinfoil ponchos on after the race. I love those things. I want one of those for my five mile runs, Jack. Yetis, the New York City Marathon, it is the largest marathon in history, over 50,000 runners. It happened yesterday. It goes through all five boroughs, by the way.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
It starts on Staten Island and ends in Manhattan. It's Speaking of which, it turns out that the Verrazano Bridge, where the race starts, has 1,700 toilets on it at the beginning of the New York Marathon. Because there's 50,000 very hydrated people who want to empty themselves out before they start this 26-mile run.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
There are more toilets per square mile at the beginning of the New York Marathon than anywhere on Earth. No way. Way. When you gotta go... You better go now because they're starting. That's a lot of potties. Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack, you're glowing. Maybe it's the Fanta. I don't know, man. It's doing wonders for you.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
In the meantime, Yetis, one way you can help grow the show, the best way you can help grow the show, is to drop down and give us five stars as a rating and review. We love reading your reviews. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. See you tomorrow. And before we go, congratulations to Yeti's Andy and Denise Cho from Silver Spring, Maryland, who are celebrating two fantastic years together.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And happy anniversary to Eric and Mary Kate Prado in Chicago, who are also celebrating a two-year anniversary. And Joy Walker is turning 36 years old down in St. Louis, Missouri with a fantastic year. Congratulations to Sarah Thornburg in Houston, Texas, who's commuting to that new job as we speak.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And Sarah Fox in Indetta, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, just finished the New York City Marathon and probably went to bathrooms on the Verrazano Bridge. Congratulations on the epic accomplishment, Sarah. Send us a pic of that tinfoil poncho. And yetis, if you want to get a shout out for yourself or a buddy on this pod, just go to tboypod.com slash shout outs.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Or click the link in the episode description. In the meantime, celebrate the woods. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix. And Nick has a sweet tooth. You know, one more blatant branding. There was a store down the road from me called Just Linens. That's all they sold, linens. That was Just Linens. Can I get it? No. Wool?
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
We dropped a link in the episode description. It's the Jeep, a creation of many Americans from competing companies that saved the world, literally. It's a wild story. We got three fantastic stories in this episode. First, let's hit our three stars. Jack, what's in it?
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Sharpie sells 200 million permanent markers every year, and they just got an order for 200,000 of them from Starbucks. So we're going to look at the world's first permanent marker and why Starbucks is obsessed with it. For our second story, America just produced more oil in one month than we have in any other month in our history. The USA is the new OPEC. And our third and final story, soda sales.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
For our first story, Sharpie, the famous black marker, is about to get its biggest order ever. So we dove into the business of the Sharpie marker because it's a work of art. Can we get a little Sharpie sound? Yetis, you may have heard our story last week that Starbucks is switching back to handwritten names on their coffee cups. No more computer printed stickers they stick on the side there.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Does it say John or Juan? I don't know, whatever. Well, that means that Sharpie is about to get an insane order from Starbucks. 200,000 Sharpie markers are about to be ordered by our buddies at Starbucks. All 15,000 Starbucks locations are about to order Sharpie markers from one company. So yeah, it is Jack and I got curious and we dove in T-boy style.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Turns out Sharpie was actually the first ever permanent marker. In 1964, they differentiated from pens by giving it a felt tip. And now before the Sharpie, you only had pens with like ballpoint or fountain tips. Huge ink risk, Jack. Huge pocket risks right there. That stain's not coming out. But Sharpie was fast dry and fade resistant as a marker, so you could write on any surface.
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🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
It actually became popular with blue-collar and white-collar workers alike. You could make a mark on a piece of wood, or you could make a mark on that earnings report. Oh, and a timeless use case for the Sharpie marker? It's autographs. Yeah, markers blew up. The Sharpie blew up because of celebrities. Picture Happy Gilmore signing that fan's chest in Happy Gilmore.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Jack, legend has it that Marlon Brando would walk around with six Sharpies in his pocket. I don't know if he needed six. If you sign with a Bic, that autograph's going to disappear, man. Yeti's Sharpie. It's become synonymous with any premium marker. When you say Sharpie, people think you mean a heavy, expensive pen.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Sure, Amazon Basics makes a knockoff version of the Sharpie marker, but you still go with the Sharpie. And Jack, what kind of sales are we talking about when it comes to the Sharpie brand? They sold 200 million markers last year at an average of $2 per marker. Ipso facto, Sharpie is doing 400 million bucks a year. It's a half a billion dollar a year marker company.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
So we got curious and we jumped in T-boy style. Further T-boy style. Sharpie is actually owned by a publicly traded company called Newell Brand. which means that Sharpie is part of a product powerhouse. Newell Brands was founded by a man named Newell 120 years ago. Guess what business he started with? He was a curtain rod guy working in upstate New York.
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🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
No more curtain rods for these guys, because today, after a dozen acquisitions, Newell owns 60 different household brand names. And the stock is worth a combined $4 billion, making it equal to one Lyft. Now, this company, Newell, they actually own a bunch of category-leading brands. They own Elmer's Glue, they own Sharpie Markers, and they own the Crock-Pot.
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🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
But most of the brands they own are pretty mid. Would you say they're pretty mid, Jack? I would say that. Coleman Cooler. You're not showing off your Coleman cooler. And a Mr. Coffee, Graco car seats. Now that I think about it, they're all pretty mid. Nothing negative. No judgments here. It's just, you know. Full disclosure, I have four Graco car seats in my two cars, man.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Full, full disclosure, the name Mr. Coffee always makes me laugh. Full, full, full disclosure, I don't know if it's Graco or Graco. That's just being honest. Yeti's Sharpie, it's not the biggest division of Newell by sales, but it is the most profitable division of Newell by sales. Because a premium permanent marker is a Sharpie by definition. It's a profit puppy.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Sharpie? What Starbucks is doing, call it the Sharpie Doctrine. Clear, understandable change. Yetis, let's bring things back full circle to Starbucks. Why is Starbucks spending half a million dollars on these markers? Because switching to Sharpie markers is an efficient way for the new CEO to make a big statement.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Now, Yetis, switching all the Starbucks locations to Sharpie markers is arguably bad business policy. Markers are inferior to computerized labels, right? Markers require more work from the barista. They're more prone to error. Who knows if you're going to be able to read their handwriting. But the message of switching to Sharpies is actually golden.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Soda sales are surging for the first time in a decade. And it's all thanks to Coke Zero, Diet Coke, and Mormon moms. That's right. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Hey, Julie, one more round of dirty soda for the kids. Election day is tomorrow. America is anxious, eager, and divided. And that's why Jack and I wanted to talk about an episode we just did that united us.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
It symbolizes the kind of change that's coming to Starbucks with this new CEO. It symbolizes that Starbucks is going back to its old ways. That the Starbucks you used to love but feel it got lost is coming back. And going back to Sharpies communicates that in a way that a press release never could. That's why Jack and I call this move the Sharpie Doctrine.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And going back to Sharpie Markers communicates that to baristas and customers in a way a press release never could. And yetis, that's why Jack and I call this the Sharpie Doctrine. One small product communicates an entire company's priorities. Full disclosure, Jack isn't sure how to pronounce Graco, even though he owns five of their car seats. For our second story, gas prices are down.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
So why is ExxonMobil stock near a record high? The reason is a surprise. It's a shocker. It's that the United States has quietly become the world's largest gas station. Yetis, wait until you hear these numbers. But in the meantime, we should tell you that the entire industry Jack and I exist in, the media industry, it suffers from negative news bias. Here's why.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Us consumers who read news, we click on negative headlines more than we click on positive headlines. Exactly. That is why high gas prices always make the news, but low gas prices don't really make the news. Well, right now, gas prices are low. Oh, they're really low. $3.12 a gallon on average. But the reason for low gas prices right now, it's going to shock you.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
The Department of Energy just announced that the United States has never produced more oil in our entire national history. Drill, baby, drill. In August, last month, we have data for we drilled more than we ever have in these United States. 13 million barrels per day. Yeti, to sprinkle on some context, that's the most oil America has seen since the dinosaurs roamed the Great Plains.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Did you know that the Tyrannosaurus Rex is native to the United States? I didn't, but now I feel like there should be a pro sports team named the T-Rexes, Jack. I read about it in Wilder's dinosaur book this morning. I couldn't believe it. The thing he's learned from kids, Jack. But yetis, when Jack and I heard this news, we found a good spot. We started digging. We hit pay dirt.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And we got two really interesting angles for you, don't we, Jack? Here's the two reasons for America's epic oil production today. Jack and I found two oil terms that we're going to teach you about. And by the end of this episode, you're going to be an honorary Rockefeller. You're going to be drinking somebody's milkshake. Yeah. Okay, the first oil term you gotta know, Yetis, is lateral drilling.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Jack, what is lateral drilling? ExxonMobil announced on Friday that they just drilled their longest lateral ever. It was three and a half miles long. Now, Yetis, here's how this works. In the oil business, first you drill down under the ground, and you suck up all the oil that's in that spot.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Then, instead of drilling another expensive hole downward, you can actually just go sideways from the existing hole you already drilled. That's lateral drilling. Exxon just went 18,000 feet laterally, which was more cost effective and helped them reach oil that they previously couldn't reach. And it's a big reason that even though gas prices are low, ExxonMobil stock is 7% off its record high.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Now, you should also know about a second term called fracking. Fracking is about natural gas, which is another fossil fuel, like oil, that's just underground waiting to get sucked up from some energy company. Now, fracking is pretty funky, because what you do is you shoot a little missile of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground, which opens up those gas pockets deep underground.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Now, American production of natural gas was flat from the 1970s all the way through the 2000s. But back in 2010, fracking took off, and it actually gave Pennsylvania an energy industry to rival Texas's. So when you hear drill, baby, drill, and we need to drill more, you'd think that our country is short on oil. It feels like we're low on the black stuff, Jack. But the reality...
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
It's an episode about the Jeep. The Jeep, because the Jeep is an American creation that saved the world. Yetis, our latest episode of The Best Idea Yet drops tomorrow, and it's on the Jeep. It's on the Jeep because during World War II, the U.S. military asked the U.S. car industry for a favor. Create a vehicle for the allies that can help us win the war. But here's what we found fascinating.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
In fact, the reality is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in America? America has become the world's largest gas station. Yetis, what do we produce and export to the rest of the world from America? It's movies, music, technology, Pop-Tarts, all those good things. And gas. Gas. In 2019, the United States actually became energy independent thanks to all of our oil booms.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And that's allowed us to export our energy leftovers. In a big way. No country exports more natural gas than the United States right now. Before the war in Ukraine, we used to say that Russia was Europe's gas station. But Jack, is that the situation today? The United States has become Europe's gas station. Okay, in fact, right now, German homes are getting heated by American liquefied natural gas.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Which we shipped overseas in a giant tanker. In fact, this is a wild one, but the United States produces 50% more oil and gas than the number two country. And who's that, Jack? Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia. 50% more than the Saudis. We're like the Shohei Otani of fossil fuels. We got natural gas and oil. We're the T-Rex of fossil fuels, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
It might be a big surprise to you, but America is already the world's biggest gas station.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
For our third and final story, in a shocking reversal, millennials are driving soda sales. Why are we drinking Coke Zero? Because one group of women in Utah told us to. Besties, honestly, Jack and I never thought we'd see the day, but Jack, we're seeing the day. Millennials want Mountain Dew again. I say again because when I was a kid, I chugged the stuff. I've seen some pictures, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
But besties, when millennials like us had graduated college and we were buying groceries, we were rejecting soda over an aisle six. In 2015, per capita soda consumption in America hit a 30-year low. We called it the Great Pop Purge. Syrupy soda water wasn't healthy. You weren't buying the stuff. I mean, there is so much sugar in there.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
But during the pandemic, you bought soda as a home comfort food to make you feel a little bit better. And even though the pandemic's over, this year, soda sales have continued to surge. Get this, Yetis. Dr. Pepper's earnings last week, they said soda has outperformed every expectation. Coca-Cola said soda is resilient. I hope soda's resilient. That's your only product.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
The other day, I caught Jack chugging a Fanta underneath our podcast recording desk. Don't deny it, Jack. Don't deny it. Don't you want a Fanta Fanta? But the wildest part about this is that the soda surge has been caused by one particular soda, the Coke Zero soda. Sales of Coke Zero rose last quarter by 11% for Coca-Cola. Now, one reason why soda sales are surging, soda's cheap.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Few know that the Jeep was actually a wild group project. That's right. To create the Jeep, three rival American car companies came together. They put aside their differences and built something unprecedented, baby. The Jeep wasn't just the first SUV ever, which it was. It's also been ranked the most patriotic brand in America the past 20 years. And probably the next 20 years.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
Oh, it's cheap, Jack. A two liter of Pepsi costs two bucks. That's cheaper than water. In this economy, that's a good deal. But the other big thing going for soda... It's Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons are having a pop culture moment, pun intended. And that is bringing soda sales back, baby. Can we open up Religion 101? Sprinkle on some context. What do we got, man?
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
The Mormon faith prohibits coffee or alcohol consumption. So sugar is an acceptable Mormon vice. And that cultural sweet tooth of Mormons is a topic we've discussed on this podcast. Crumble Cookies, the largest cookie chain in America, its headquarters are in Utah. Chicago does logistics. Salt Lake City does dessert.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
And there's this popular Mormon pastime known as dirty soda that's been trending on TikTok recently. The dirty soda is when you take a Diet Coke and you mix in syrup, like two pumps, Darlene, right in the Diet Coke. Two pumps of cream along with the syrup and the Diet Coke. But the timing is perfect because Utah moms have now gone viral on TikTok for exactly this.
The Best One Yet
🥤“The Secret Lives of Coke Zero” — America’s oil record. Coke Zero’s Mormon surge. Starbucks’ Sharpie Marker.
They're filling up their Stanley Tumblr with Coke Zero dirty soda. And on Netflix, a new show called The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is also focused on this. It's all anyone's watching. Mormons on Netflix drinking dirty Coke.
The Best One Yet
🤠 “YAHOOOO!” — Yahoo’s email revival. Trade War II Begins. Hans Zimmer’s creator hack.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🏡 “She’s Zexting Me” — Zillow’s gossip pop. David’s $725M protein bar. Circle’s stablecoin IPO.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🥜 “PB & Profits” — Uncrustables’ $1B sandwich. The Mullet Stock Market. Klarna’s AI Ozempic.
15 years before this song two boys from the northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet but the best is the norm jack nick that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show
The Best One Yet
🥜 “PB & Profits” — Uncrustables’ $1B sandwich. The Mullet Stock Market. Klarna’s AI Ozempic.
Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, May 30th. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Oh, besties, Jack and I are about to make you the most interesting person at Sunday brunch, baby. Because this episode's a T-boy? It's a T-boy. It's the best one we've ever done.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
So that iPhone case with a customized lipstick holder is a $100 million product? Yes, it is, Jack. So besties, for all of Hailey Bieber's Instagram posts shimmering like a watermelon... It appears that she actually borrowed a strategy from the music industry. And it has nothing to do with Justin Bieber. No, it doesn't. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Rode Beauty?
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Rode just sold for a billion dollars because of Elvis Presley. Yeti's some fun business history here. Elvis Presley is the first musical artist to publish a greatest hits album. It was 1958 and he published Elvis golden records. It was only his best songs. The ones that sold a million units. Well, Elvis's greatest hits album went platinum for similar reasons.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
We believe that this skincare company just sold for a billion bucks because in a world that offers more too much, frankly, There are major benefits to resisting and doing less. For consumers, offering less limits the stress of choice. And seeing so few choices on Rhodes' website implies that each product is premium.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
And for the business, offering less streamlines operations, simplifies marketing, and saves money overall. Like Elvis' greatest hits album, Hailey Bieber only offers her greatest hits. And that's how she just sold for a billion bucks in three years. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday?
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
The New York Times stock jumped on a multi-year licensing deal with Amazon to feed their AI. Alexa Plus, she's being positioned as the first premium AI chatbot. For our second story, the Court of International Trade said Trump's tariffs are illegal, but an appeals court has already paused that ruling. So the Supreme Court will decide whether Trump gets his biggest bargaining chip.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
I didn't even know that was a word. I thought it was a name, but that could be in the spelling bee. There are actually six more S's in Mississippi that they just dropped a few years ago. Which means you can't win the spelling bee unless you're Carmen Sandiego. So Jack and I jumped in T-boy style and we whipped up the top place questions from the spelling bee. You ready for this one, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
And our third and final story is Elf Beauty. They just bought Hailey Bieber's Road Beauty for $1 billion. Elvis pioneered the greatest hits album. Hailey Bieber made it her business model. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Zuck is going to open up more Meta stores to sell AI glasses and VR headsets.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
According to people familiar with the matter, Meta wants to do what Apple did with Apple stores. Yeah, it started last year in Los Angeles, and now they're planning more of them so you can try on some Meta Ray-Bans before you buy them. And yes, this does mean that once again, Zuck is zucking another tech company. Yeah, Zuck is zucking Apple.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
And second, United Airlines and JetBlue are subletting each other's runways in a kind of airline roommate deal situation. Yeah. United wants access to JFK Airport because of the whole mess going on at Newark, which happens to be its East Coast hub. And JetBlue has got plenty of JFK gates, so they're swapping a few of them with United. Yeah. It's a very highbrow, lowbrow hookup, by the way.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Premium and discount airline. Yeah, it's like kind of a Kim Kardashian, Pete Davidson situation going on. And finally, the new Harry Potter series coming to HBO has finally cast the three main characters. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine will be played. I'm just kidding. I thought it was that as I was reading the books. For years, I always said Hermoine. For years, I said Hermoine.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Will be played by three child actors who you've never heard of. But each of those three children... are set for life. Yeah, because there are going to be seven seasons of this Harry Potter series, so the kids are going to be employed for a decade. They're going to need a bigger bank account. We hope puberty treats all of them well. Now time for the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
This one's sent in by legendary Yeti Tiffany Schmidt from Ann Arbor, Michigan. In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're talking about the Bing cherry. Yeah, the famous Bing cherry was named after Ah Bing, a 19th century horticulturalist who emigrated from China to the U.S. And this immigrant's precise, selective breeding of only the sweetest cherries
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
set the modern standard for what we enjoy as cherries today. And are currently the most expensive cherries on the market. And the sweetest. And also, before we go, a thanks to Emmy Seals for pointing out a correction we got to make to the pod. We said this week that Nespresso has more revenue than American Airlines. That was flat out wrong. Yeah, that's right.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Nespresso's $7 billion in annual sales is a fraction of American Airlines' $54 billion in annual sales. Our mistake on the fact check. Yetis, you looked fantastic this week. Jack, you look fantastic too. You want to celebrate some wins? Absolutely. Okay, here's a win. I'm going to spell out that word that you missed at the end of the beginning of the pod. Okay, go ahead, go ahead.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
C-H-A-R-G-O-G-G-A-G-O-G-G-M-A-N-C-H-A-U-G-G-A-G-O-G-G-C-H-A-U-B-A-N-E-G-U-N-G-A-M-A-U-G-G. You're sure this is real? Also, you need an oxygen bag right now.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Am I the contestant? Yes, you are. And here we go. Jack, the first word is a B2B, which is a body of water in Canada. A B2B? Yes. A-B-I-T-B. A-B-I. Okay. It is A-B-I-T-I-B-E. Second question is Hoofdorp, which is a town in the Netherlands. H-O-O-F-D-O-R-P. Sorry, Jack. That's H-O-O-F-D-D-O-R-P. Two Ds? That's ridiculous.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Enjoy our weekly show this weekend on Heinz Ketchup, The Best Idea Yet. Remember to rate and review today's pod, and Jack and I will see you Monday. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Will Beef Chung, turning 40 years old down in Las Vegas. This girl dad is spending it with a girl's dad. Happy birthday to Kevin Wolf in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
This man has a fly-fishing news show that I want to subscribe to. We're tuning in. And Joseph Semple, happy 36th birthday down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, celebrating with a life reset. There you go. He's unplugging himself, and he's plugging himself back in. And Amaya Alvarez has got a fantastic birthday in Jacksonville, Florida, just finishing the first grade. Congrats, Amaya.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Happy birthday to Brian Rosa, turning 40 in Gardena, California, crushing volleyballs, pounding brews. And a shout out to Anna and Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who are having a baby in 24 hours. Anna, we're so pumped for you and the whole Hauer family. Congratulations to Ben and Lexi Einstein, who have a new baby boy over in San Francisco, Archie.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
And congratulations to Legendary Yetis, Amanda and Doug Whittem, a couple of T-boy twins celebrating at Topgolf and opening an HSA outside of Boston. Dibs on being Amanda's caddy. Dibs. And Wynn is celebrating a 20th anniversary for being at Starbucks in Seattle. That It's got to be a corporate record win. Congratulations to Emily and Dan Chambers moving from Boston to Chicago.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
See you at the live show. Bring all your siblings. And Kyle Radzak from Warner Robins, Georgia is celebrating a promotion in the Air Force. Kyle, thanks for flying for your service. Congrats to Miranda Day in Detroit, Michigan, who landed a job at Simple Closure. the day after hearing our episode on it. That's right. We did a story on that company, and then Miranda shared it with the hiring team.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Congrats on the job, Miranda. Well-earned. And finally, shout out to the New York City influencer on our Instagram, at tboypod. Check it out. They just dropped a review of NVIDIA's earnings. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Krispy Kreme, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
That's right.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
In the Dutch, they get you every time. And finally, the longest word ever used for a geographic name in the spelling bee. Are you ready for this, Jack? Yes. Can you repeat that word, please? Yes, Jack. That would be... This is fake, right? Not fake. Real word. Okay, what's the language of origin? It is a native name for a lake in the state of Massachusetts just outside Boston.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Can you use it in sentence? Yes, Jack, I can. After the Sox lost to the Yankees in the series, we cried all the way back to Lake... C-H-A-R... G-O-G-O-G-O-G-O-G. Sorry, Jack Yetis. Hit us up with your favorite geographical word. Drop it in the comments.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, Amazon and the New York Times just hooked up for an unexpected AI deal. That's right. We're about to get the first ever premium chatbot, Alexa Plus. For our second story, after a couple shocking developments, Trump's trade war is about to go to the Supreme Court.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
For our first story, the New York Times and Amazon just hooked up in what we're calling the high school dance of AI. Because the New York Times lets Amazon create the first premium AI chatbot. Funny thing, Yetis. Jack and I have noticed there's a bit of a love triangle going on in the artificial intelligence industry, right? It started two years ago when ChatGPT got its first punch in the face.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Slap in the face. An epic lawsuit from the New York Times. That's right. The New York Times and a group of media companies sued OpenAI for stealing their content without compensation. The New York Times paywalls its news. Then OpenAI reads that news and regurgitates it for free to anyone using OpenAI. That was the law. So the New York Times is a legal plaintiff suing OpenAI.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Those two, not in a relationship. But now, two years later, New York Times is getting in bed with Amazon and their AI department. That's right, they're P-A-R-T-N-E-R-I-N-G. Partnering. It's a multi-year licensing deal. Amazon is going to get access to all New York Times content. The New York Times stock is up 2% on the news because it's dipping into Bezos' deep pockets.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Yep, the Times gets a big payday, and Amazon gets access to the sports, cooking, and original reporting of the New York Times. Jack, you remember the movie She's All That? Classic. Freddie Prinze Jr.? Legendary. The jock and the nerd go to prom together? Well, that's basically what just happened on Wall Street. Now, step back for a second.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
AI and media, those two industries are like boys and girls at a middle school dance. Everyone's on the sidelines, but a few have started to go into the middle and find a dance partner. Cue the Barry Whitejack. It looks like the Wall Street Journal partnered with OpenAI, Reuters partnered with Meta, and the New York Times has now partnered with Amazon.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
For Amazon, the key reason they want the New York Times is to feed Alexa content. Specifically... Alexa Plus. Because Alexa Plus is Amazon's way delayed attempt at turning Alexa into an AI conversation partner. Because remember, 10 years ago, Alexa became the leader in voice assistants, but in the 10 years since, it's become the lagger in AI chatbots.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
We got checks and balances on the pod today and what this huge ruling means for stocks, the economy, and Barbie doll. For our third and final story, Hailey Bieber's skincare brand, R.O.A.D., was just bought by Elf Beauty for $1 billion. Because Hailey Bieber used the same strategy as Elvis Presley, a greatest hits album.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
However, with this New York Times hookup, Alexa could actually become your number one source of information. You could discuss the front page of the with your voice box assistant. Like, hey, Alexa, it's Valentine's Day. I need to cook a romantic dinner. Can you walk me through a fun idea? What do you got? It's going to find the perfect solution in the New York Times cooking section.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Or, hey, Alexa, why are the Giants so bad this season? What's going on? It'll read reporting from The Athletic, the New York Times' new sports section. Or, hey, Alexa, what's the takeaway from the T-Boy podcast on this story? And Alexa Plus is going to know. Not because of this New York Times deal, but just because she listens to the pod. Yeah, yeah, she does. She does.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Now, Jack, I don't want to take your job. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the New York Times and Amazon? Alexa Plus is positioning itself as the first premium AI chatbot. Yeti is one problem no one talks about in AI. AI is basically a commodity product. JetGPT, Claude, Meta's Llama, they're all pretty similar because they all read the same internet.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Yeah, Grok has an edgy style and an edgy voice, but frankly, they're all delivering pretty much the same information to you. But by partnering with The Times... Amazon is making a different move. That's right. Amazon is signaling that Alexa Plus is more premium, a more sophisticated product, because it's the only AI chatbot that is trained on the premium content of New York Times reporting.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Yeah, basically, if the rest of AI are functional Volkswagens, then Amazon is building the Audi. Alexa Plus is the only one with a degree. From the New York Times. So besties, add it up. And this is the biggest step we've seen yet to create a premium brand of AI. For our second story. In a shocking ruling, an unknown, mysterious 135-year-old court just canceled the trade war.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
This is the wildest development yet because the trade war is now going to the Supreme Court. Jack, are you a fan of UNO? Yeah. Yes, you know I am. You know the reverse card? Yeah. It feels like every week we get a new reverse card in the trade war. Well, Nick, I think we just got a reverse, a skip, and a wild draw four card, and it was thrown on the table by a court you've never even heard of.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Get this, yetis. The Court of International Trade was set up by Congress back in 1890. Like doctors, judges specialize in one particular field. And the judges on this particular court that you never heard of specialize in trade and tariff law. And those judges ruled late Wednesday that Trump's country-specific tariffs are illegal.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Because to single-handedly impose tariffs, President Trump has relied on emergency powers law. But the court said on Wednesday, the current situation doesn't qualify as an emergency. There's no emergency that like, we got to stick a 10% tariff on Barbie dolls made in China. So without a valid economic emergency, the president cannot single-handedly tariff countries. Only Congress can do that.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Basically, if President Trump wants baseline 10% tariffs, 145% tariffs on China, or 25% tariffs on Mexico, he must pass a law through Congress. We can tariff China, but we need Congress to do it. Now, we should point out the court said tariffs on specific products are okay. Like imported steel or imported cars. So those remain in place.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... Oh, what an M-I-X of stories, Jack. Love the mix. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. Ding, ding, ding. That spells victory for the Spelling Bee. Because last night was the 100th Spelling Bee tournament. The finale was last night. We were watching 243 spellers, 4,072 words, six or five vowels, and one big winner.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
But the court gave Trump 10 days to cancel all tariffs targeting entire countries. Penguins on the South Pole. are going to be okay now. You're going to make it, guys. Now, stock markets loved that news. Oh, I mean, every time tariffs go away, Jack, stocks pop. We talked about that taco trade the other day. But even wilder, Nick. Yeah, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Some experts say that the government may have to reimburse any company that has paid tariffs already in the trade war. since those tariffs have been deemed illegal. So I think what you're saying, Jack, is that the government may have to send Mattel a check for millions of dollars because of all those tariffed little Barbie dolls? Yeah, the Barbies were tariffed unlawfully so they can get a refund.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Congratulations, Barbie. Remember to split some of that with Ken. Now, Bessies, just to sprinkle on a little don't get angry at us context right now. Remember, everything these days is viewed through a lens of political suspicion, so there is something we want to clarify. The three judges on this court were appointed by Ronald Reagan first, Barack Obama second, and Donald Trump third.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
And those three judges ruled unanimously against these tariffs. But this ruling has also already been appealed by the Trump administration. And this thing is definitely going to end up at the Supreme Court. court. In fact, last night, an appeals court paused everything we just said until the Supreme Court decides on the trade war. So the trade war is actually still on.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
The ruling from less than 24 hours ago has already been paused. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are in the trade war? Trump could lose his biggest bargaining chip. Yetis, the president has called tariffs the most beautiful word in the English language, and he uses them as a negotiating tool. He uses the threat of tariffs to force economically weaker countries into submission.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
But now, as President Trump is trying to get wins in trade deals, that threat, that leverage, that bargaining chip, it is gone. Trump's not going to give up this power easily. prepare for an epic legal battle starting with the Supreme Court very soon. But the way we see it, all the deal negotiations Trump has with other countries are on pause.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
If you're little Vietnam and you're about to give Trump a big trade gift to prevent tariffs from happening, why would you do it now if he doesn't have the power to tariff? Add it all up and the Supreme Court is about to decide whether to take away Trump's biggest bargaining chip.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
For our third and final story before the weekend, Hailey Bieber just pulled off one of the biggest and fastest exits in startup history, $1 billion in just three years. Because her beauty brand, Rode, borrowed a strategy from Elvis Presley. That's right, that Elvis. But Jack, let's start with Elf Beauty, who's had a rough year. The stock looks like it was out all night. Yeah, it does.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
It got some bags under your eyes, Elf Beauty. In April, Elf Beauty stock was down 60% on the year because of the trade war. That's right, because three quarters of Elf Beauty cosmetics are made in China. And they just had to announce that everything is going up in price by $1. Yeah, on Instagram, they actually posted, not going to lie, inflations and tariffs have hit us hard at Elf Beauty.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
We appreciate the honesty from Elf Beauty. But the stock surged 25% this week. On news, they're spending a billion dollars to acquire Hailey Bieber's skin brand, Rode. Apparently, they do have some money. And Justin Bieber was so proud that his wife sold her company for a billion bucks, he cut off his bangs. What? Did he? Or maybe he already had. I'm not sure, but they're not there anymore, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
But here's the wild twist that we noticed as we watched this year's Spelling Bee. Geography. That's right. In order to win the spelling bee, you gotta know geography. Because a little known secret about spelling bees, the hardest words to spell are the places. Yeah, the places. There's no root word, no language of origin. You just gotta memorize the map, baby. Like Mississippi. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Now, if you're not familiar with road beauty, basically they have the same value proposition as Krispy Kremes. To glaze your skin with goodness. That's their actual tagline. They want to make your skin so dewy, and I know you hate when I say this word, Jack, but you'd lick your own face. We've almost been the second half of the pod because you're on a roll. Well, let's talk financials, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
Because this company, Rode, has done $212 million in revenue in the last year. And it's all direct-to-consumer and it's all online. Rode Beauty is not in any physical stores yet. But the key reason why Elf Beauty has fallen in love with Rode, what is it, Jack? A majority of Rode's cosmetics are made in Italy and South Korea. So the business protects Elf against both wrinkles... And tariffs.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
But here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Hailey Bieber's road has accomplished all of this with just 10 products. They've got a cream, a balm, a serum. And an iPhone case that actually is customized to hold your lipstick. That's a really funny product. But seriously, there's only 10 things you can buy on the website. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
You can count all of the products that Hailey Bieber's company makes on two hands. Or as they put it, They make one of everything really good. Now, Jack, in order to really understand the story, could you please sprinkle on some context to the cosmetics industry? It's the opposite. Elf Beauty has 400 products. L'Oreal has 1,000 products.
The Best One Yet
🧴 “Rhode to Riches” — Hailey Bieber’s $1B deal. The NYT’s Alexa+. Supreme Tariff Court.
From all the ads we've seen on TV our whole lives, Maybelline has maybe a million products. But Hailey resisted the temptation to go beyond 10. It's like an invisible dewy ceiling she refuses to crack. And you know what this means, Jack? At her $1 billion valuation, each of her products is technically worth $100 million.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Friday, the real Friday, March 28th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Apparently, the only thing we got to do to get five-star reviews as a business news show is Jack to do a cookie crisp in the Cookie Monster voice. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Like, you know the big Chevy Suburbans are worse for the environment and they're worse for safety. You feel safer driving in that tank, but everyone around you feels less safe. Which leads to the fascinating news. These bloated cars are actually making traffic 10% worse. That's according to Bloomberg. Now, there's a lot of reasons that today's traffic on the roads is worse than 30 years ago.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
But 10% of the blame is that our cars are now taking up 10% more of the road because of this car bloat. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the car industry? It's the Panamax principle. Americans want the biggest thing as long as it still fits. Yeti's Steve Jobs was wrong. Steve Jobs always thought people would not want a bigger phone, but that was wrong.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The iPhone 16 is 76% larger in square inches than the original iPhone was. And the only reason we don't want a bigger iPhone is simply the limiting size of our hands and our pockets. And that reveals a truth about consumer and business preferences overall in America. The reality is we always prefer the bigger product. The only limit to size is the infrastructure.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The perfect way to explain this is cargo ships. Yeah, it is. Cargo ships will never be longer than 1,200 feet because 1,200 feet is the maximum size you can still fit in the Panama Canal. That phenomenon is called Panamax. No cargo ships can be bigger than the width of the Panama Canal, so that's the limit. Now, some products have no limiting size factor, like houses.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
That's why you see records being set all the time. People buy as big a house as they can afford. But other products, like cars, do have limits. The Chevy Suburban, it can't have four seats across because it literally won't fit in the lanes. It's the Panamax principle, and it applies to more than just ships. Americans want the biggest thing as long as it still fits.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Which goes for up to $32,000 per night, per suite. So how are the guests going to be getting around those Venetian canals next? Well, Jack, actually, Jeff's $500 million super yacht, the largest yacht in the world, is reportedly the Wedding Water Taxi. I think that's too big for the canals, isn't it? I think the yacht just squeezes in really tight, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Frida Baby just announced breast milk ice cream. It's not an April Fool's joke. It'll be here in nine months. Because her advertisements got rejected, this is a product-tisement. For our second story, Robinhood just launched banking, wealth management, credit card perks, and cash delivery by mail.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The way we see it, the best way to think about Robinhood, it's the Airbnb of banking. And our third and final story is car bloat. Car bloat. It's got us buying more big cars, and those bigger cars are getting bigger. It's the perfect example of the Panamax effect. The bigger, the better, as long as it still fits. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Okay, first, get this. OpenAI expects their revenue to triple to $12.7 billion this year. Jack, that is more revenue than Snapchat and X combined. Now, you probably use ChatGPT for free, but every person in consulting, finance, or tech, they're paying for the premium version. Because ChatGPT Plus... That's a write-off, baby.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And second, your buddy in finance better pay for dinner tonight because Wall Street bonuses just hit a record high. The city of New York tracks financial bonus payouts, and this year it hit $47.5 billion, which is $244,000 per banker, and that's just the bonus, not the salary.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
By the way, the financial industry employs 200,000 people in New York City, so odds are you are or you are going to have dinner with someone tonight Also, fun fact, the banker bonus payouts in New York is bigger than the entire economy in Vermont. And finally, the Sundance Film Festival is moving to Boulder, Colorado.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
After 40 years in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Fest has outgrown that venue. Boulder offers some nice charm, legalized marijuana, and more space to smoke that legalized marijuana after you see a Sundance movie. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by our Turkish buddies, Anisa and Joanna Benedret from lovely New York City.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
When Nick announced publicly that he was 0% to 4% Turkish, according to his 23andMe, Anisa and Joanna reached out. Okay, well, Anisa and Joanna first. They said my pronunciation of Gutarmak was perfect, Jack. I just thought I should mention that. And then they said that a famous variety of baklava comes from southern Turkey, and it's made with their famous locally grown pistachios.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Yeah, that town is actually UNESCO recognized for those pistachios, and that baklava has received UN status of protection. And the largest baklava ever baked? weighed 1,131 pounds, and it was baked by some Turks. A great Turkish accomplishment. I got to say, Jack, to Anis and Joanna, teşekkür ederim. Yedis, you look fantastic today. So many wins to celebrate this week.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
No, we haven't confirmed it, but we assume guests get free one-day luggage shipping. And if your suitcase is lost, there will, of course, be 24-7 customer wedding support. By the way, the bride is going to be wearing her $2 million engagement ring. Although Jack and I did the math on that, and what have we discovered, Jack? That's only 0.00093% of Jeff's net worth. It's like 12 bucks for him.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Jack, I'm seeing you in Chicago in just a few days. We got the awards ceremony.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The envies, baby. Can't wait. We're going to get the tuxes. But Yedis, before you go, Jack and I have the perfect thing for you to listen to this weekend. In the latest episode of The Best Idea Yet, I tell the wild story how I snuck into a Mets game not just to watch baseball. No, how did you sneak in and why'd you sneak in, Jack? I snuck in to find my future wife.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And that story of how Jack found his wife is connected to Goldfish Crackers, the wild untold origin story of the Goldfish Crackers. So when you have a second, click the link in the episode description and check out the best idea yet. It's our weekly show. You're going to love it. This one's on goldfish crackers. Jack and I will see you Monday.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Middlebury Manther, Mike Panzer Esquire, from down in lovely Washington, D.C. Mike, our 15-year anniversary is this summer. I'll see you there. And Larry Nsuka, the brown bear baller, is celebrating a birthday down also in Washington, D.C. And happy birthday to Sharon Yu, a.k.a. Sharondo, from Los Angeles.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
This birthday request is one year late because her husband forgot to request one last year. But that also means it's right on time. And Nate Mesa is celebrating a birthday down in Nashville, Tennessee. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to Justin Chapman in Marblehead, Ohio. And Nick Goodner, legendary Yeti, celebrating a birthday down in Orlando.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Happy 42nd birthday to Michael Contini in Brooklyn, New York. And Lizette Ortiz, also turning 42 with a big birthday in El Paso, Texas. Happy birthday to Jessica Carpio in Colorado Springs, Colorado. And Tomas Ramirez, happy eighth birthday. Celebrating the big one down in Costa Rica. Happy birthday to Lola Leike in Greenwich, London.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And Sharon Yu from Rancho Palos Verdes, California is a dog hater, but we love her because she's celebrating a birthday. Wow. Wow, she's a dog hater? Yeah, it's a story for another podcast. That's an unpopular position in today's world. Well, she may be a cat person. You know, we didn't consider that. And happy ninth anniversary to Ben and Kara Enos in Franklin, Tennessee.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And Liz DeHorn is honeymoon-ing with her hubby in Charleston, South Carolina. Have a blast, guys. And a big good luck and congratulations to Jackson Durham, who's doing bagpipes at the talent show this weekend. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
You could have gotten bigger on those carrots, Jeff. And she'll be wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress. That's de la Renta, not rental dress. Oh, and Lauren's engagement gift? She's actually flying into outer space on Jeff Bezos' own Blue Origin rocket. The wedding will be so big, it's going to need its own fulfillment center. But here's the best part, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
If Lauren doesn't like Jeff, she can just return him in 30 days for free. Free returns if she drops him off at a UPS store or $7.99 for a front porch pickup. Here's the QR code. I don't want him anymore. One quick shopping, one knee dropping.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
I did a nice little crossover between Cookie Monster and Cookie Crest. The people like it, Jack. The people like it. We get a lot of love. But Jack, today's stories, we got three fantastic ones. What is on today's T-Boy? For our first stories, mark your calendars. Breast milk ice cream is due in nine months. Real thing, Frida Baby is launching that wild product, and it's not an April Fool's joke.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
For our first story, would you eat breast milk ice cream? Because the mother and baby brand Frida is launching exactly that. Breast milk flavored ice cream, and it represents a new thing we call a productizement. All right, Jack, no free samples here, but let's talk controversial ice cream flavors, because this is a long list, man. What do we got? What do we got?
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Avocado ice cream, soy sauce ice cream, corn on the cob ice cream. Look, I still put extra virgin olive oil in my ice cream, and I think it's a great, it's a great, great win. Salt and straw did bone marrow ice cream. But the most attention-grabbing flavor we've ever seen is breast milk ice cream, which just got launched by Frida Baby. We're talking lactation gelato.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
No extra scoop of colostrum necessary. Now, if your family recently had a new baby, then you know the Frida brand, which like you guys had a baby like three weeks ago, Jack. So this is exactly you, man. Frida makes products to help the baby and the mom go through bodily transitions and recover postpartum. Now we know what you're thinking, besties. April Fool's joke? No.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The Frida company confirmed this is not an early April Fool's joke. But they also confirmed it's breast milk flavored, not actually made of breast milk instead of dairy. Although the key here is that according to surveys, people might secretly be into this. Studies show that 70% of women have sampled breast milk and 29% of men are curious how it tastes themselves. Full disclosure.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Oh, wait a second. Are you sure you want to go there right now? Let's just say it's 100% of people are curious. Yeah, maybe it's 29% who've actually acted on that curiosity. A little bit gets on the bottle and then it gets on your hands. You take a little bite. Everyone's done it, Jack. Everyone's done it. Happy.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
By the way, Yetis, this company announced the news today, but the breast milk ice cream arrives in nine months. This baby is due in late December. No. Besties, the reason we were fascinated with this story is we actually did a recent story about boring businesses that a lot of you liked. Entrepreneurial opportunities that have reliable cash flows, but are overlooked because they're not sexy.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Like the plumbing industry. Well, similarly, we think there's entrepreneurial opportunity in gross businesses as well. Businesses that are too icky for others, which ironically is kind of plumbing actually. Well, Chelsea Hirshhorn launched the Frida company back in 2014. And in her words, here's how she describes her brand. I focus on gross. And this is her insight.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
In an Instagram world, founders often ignore what's not aesthetic, what's not beautiful to the eyes. What won't get likes on Instagram. So if you think about it, there is upside in what's gross because the competition is honestly afraid to go there. For example, Frida sells a product called the Snot Sucker. As someone with a four-week-old baby, you should explain what a snot sucker is, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
It's basically like a four-foot-long plastic tube, and this is why it's key. When my son Oakley had a stuffy nose, which he's had like three nights in a row, he can barely breathe. So we remove the snot from his nose by sucking one end of the tube and getting the snot out of there. Now, don't suck too far. You don't want it coming out the other end.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Well, Frida has sold 4.7 million of these snot suckers in the last year, so they now control 54% of the gross nasal straw market. There's no love like sucking the snot out of a newborn's nose. This company's got a gross monopoly. Basically, they're targeting customers, new families who don't think it's gross, and so they're thrilled that this is being offered.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
For our second story, Robinhood just launched Robinhood Banking, Wealth Management, Overnight Cash Delivery, and Formula One Tickets. But we'll explain how Robinhood is actually the Airbnb of banking. And our third and final story is Car Bloat. Car Bloat. This is the trend of trucks and SUVs getting bigger, taller, and heavier than ever. And it is all part of the Panamax effect.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
But when Frida plans advertising campaigns, they're often rejected because they say the copy is too graphic. For example, Frida filmed a TV commercial for the Oscars about moms' bodies after they've had a baby. But ABC refused to air it. Or how about the time Frida designed a billboard in Times Square? But it got blocked because a postpartum body was deemed too graphic.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Add it all up, and how does all of this lead to breast milk ice cream? Breast milk flavored ice cream. The answer is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Frida? It's a new form of marketing, a productizement. Yetis, the reality of advertising is that you can't fully control it. You're always going to deal with a middleman.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Either the TV network, which must approve it, or the FCC, which can reject it. But you know what you can control? For the most part, you can control what you sell. You can control your product. So after multiple rejections... because their ads were considered not safe for TV. Well, Frida created a product that is kind of wild, but can't be blocked by others. Breast milk flavored ice cream.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
There you go. That's not a product. It's an ad for the entire brand. An ad without the risk of rejection. That, my friends, is a product-tisement. For our second story, on its 10th birthday, Robinhood, as a gift to other people, launched its biggest suite of financial products yet. The wildest part about Robinhood banking, Robinhood is still not a bank.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Besties, 10 years ago, Robinhood was the first company to let you trade stocks with no commission fee. That free stock trading innovation was both a strength and a weakness for Robinhood. Yeah, because Jack, here's the weakness part. How do you make money if the main thing you offer, stock trading, is free? Well, this week...
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Ten years after being created, Robinhood answered that question more robustly than ever. Ironically, with a product they're calling Checking and Savings. Now, we say ironic because Nick and I sold our first company, MarketSnacks, to Robinhood in 2018. And the first month we started at Robinhood after the acquisition, Jack, do you remember what they launched?
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
They launched Checking and Savings, a product of the same name they're launching today. But then here's the wild part. The day after they launched it, years ago, they had to cancel it immediately because that product, Checking and Savings, broke so many rules. So seven years after initially botching Checking and Savings, Robinhood has now relaunched it. Robinhood is now basically a bank.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And here's Robinhood's new strategy by launching Checking and Savings. They're embracing midlife millennial adulthood. Robinhood Banking will give you a checking account, a high-yield savings account, just like JPMorgan Chase. But they'll also deliver cash to your mailbox on demand if you ask for it. Because Robinhood has no physical branches, they will send cash to your mailbox.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Like, they will literally drop off five Ben Franklins in your mailbox before you go on vacation. Robinhood also launched Wealth Management this week. You can access portfolios or ETFs managed by pros and pay a 0.25% management fee. They're also giving away premium tickets like American Express perks.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
You can go to the Oscars, Coachella, the Met Gala, Formula One races with these Robinhood benefits. So why is Robinhood launching all of these big bank style products? Well, because Robinhood accounts are not banked. Big products, Jack. Robinhood is still a baby compared to all the other financial companies. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
We want things as huge as possible. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories to end the week... It's a mix of stories. Elmo liked this mix of stories, Jack. Check your mailbox, Yetis. Because the biggest wedding invitation of the year just got sent. You may have been invited to the Jeff Bezos wedding. The Jeff Bezos wedding!
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The average account at Fidelity is 50 times bigger than the average account at Robinhood. Because Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, they all got those boomer lifetime savings in their accounts. So they got a lot more money per account. Because that's how the finance industry makes the real money. Yes, it is. They take a small percentage of a really big dollar amount.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Small percentage on a huge dollar amount. So Robinhood's hope is to make their accounts bigger by being a little mature, like a big bank. Well, over the last 10 years, Robinhood got 40 million people to sign up with free stock and crypto trading. Now, with a bank, they can start making some real money off those customers. And interestingly, we just got data that show that it's working.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The median age of a Robinhood customer has risen from 31 years old to 35 in just the last four years. So for Robinhood, with free stock trading, they made memes with 20-somethings. But with a bank, Robinhood can make money on 30-somethings. things. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Robinhood embracing midlife millennials?
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The best analogy to describe Robinhood, it's the Airbnb of banking. Yetis, for years, Robinhood liked to compare itself to Amazon. They would say, we're the Amazon of finance. Their pitch is that the $5 a month gold subscription is the financial equivalent of Amazon Prime.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Now, some prefer to compare Robinhood to Costco because Robinhood finds a way to offer everything financial at the lowest possible price. But we think the most important part is that Robinhood is asset light. Like Airbnb. Like Airbnb. Airbnb is the biggest hotel company in the world, even though they don't own a single hotel. And that lets Airbnb enjoy profit margins twice as thick as Marriott.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
It's a profit puppy. Guess what? Robinhood's offering all those banking services, even though it's not a bank. They're partnering with FDIC insured banks instead to do all the bank stuff. So Robinhood gets bank-like products without the costs and regulations of being an actual bank. It's asset life.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
And that is why Jack and I think the best analogy to describe Robinhood and its rise is that it's the Airbnb of banking. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
For our third and final story before the weekend. SUVs and trucks are suffering from car bloat. Their size is now literally causing traffic. That's part of a bigger trend called the Panamax effect. Americans want the biggest thing as long as it still fits.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
You know, Yetis, Jack and I were talking before the pod, and the way we see it, the car industry is in many ways the most chaotic, uncertain, and wild industry in business right now. Will electric cars take off, or will they go away? Will automation kill driving as we know it? Automotive is also the top victim of the trade war. 25% tariffs just hit the whole industry this week.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
The world's second richest person is hosting his second ever wedding. And the fiance, Lauren Sanchez, is the Emmy-winning journalist. Yeah, invites were just sent out this week. We're very excited. We haven't RSVP'd yet. No, we haven't. But we got the details, and these nuptials are unprecedented. Okay, first, the location, Venice, Italy. At the Amman Hotel, the most expensive hotel in the city.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
But there is one thing that car companies do know, and what is that, Jack? The bigger... the better. Welcome to the concept of car bloat. Every single year for the last three decades, the length, the width, the height, the cubic feet of cars that we buy gets larger and larger and larger. I think you just said height, but let's roll with it, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Here's a macro stat to back up the car bloat observation. 80% of new cars bought today are trucks or SUVs. That's up from just 25% in the 1970s. We also found a micro stat to explain car bloat. Today's Ford F-150, the most selling car in America, is 800 pounds heavier than the F-150 of 1999. it's gained 32% more weight, a single car.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
So not only are we buying more big cars, but the bigger cars that we're buying are bigger. Another way you could describe car blow, Jack, there is junk in the trunk. So much so that the Detroit big three car makers have stopped producing coupes, sedans, and station wagons because Americans don't want them. If you're single, you want an SUV. If you're a dink, you also want an SUV.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
If you have kids, you want a huge SUV with a third row of seats and 14 cup holders. Now, besties, car bloat has been great for car company profits, but interestingly, it's been really bad for traffic in a surprising way. If you buy a Honda Civic, you are signaling that you are cost-conscious. But if you buy a huge Denali SUV, you are signaling that you have high willingness to pay.
The Best One Yet
🍼 “Breast Milk Ice Cream” — Frida’s lactation gelato. Robinhood’s mail-order-cash. America’s “Car Bloat.”
Car companies know that and prices for SUVs are simply higher. than prices for sedans. That's why virtually all profits for Ford, General Motors, and Jeep are from their trucks and SUVs, not from the small little civics. But these huge cars have societal costs we should tell you about as well. Yeah, they do.
The Best One Yet
🏠 “The Housing Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on the Housing Market
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
BONUS 💰 “The Money Pod” — Our Best Money stories from 2024
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🕯️ “Everyone’s watching it” — Conclave’s Pope pop. Uber’s robo-VW-hippie-van taxi. The Great Capitalist Pause.
I had three stars. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
Yeah, it was way more popular. Oh, and Conan O'Brien, he's going to host the Oscars on March 2nd in LA.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
The ones on the dock, they're doing the yoga, running across the street now.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
The only one missing was some of the dorm room ones. We could throw some of those up there and the East Village ones.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
Those photos, they're like in a dark room somewhere.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
Here's what I'm talking about, Jack. Let's hear our three stories.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
And determine your risk of melanoma or cancer or having to get that thing on your thigh checked out a little more.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
Yeah, it's like going to catch that obscure mole on your little toe that your doctor might have missed during that cursory overlook we all have to do every couple of years.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
You got to put on a little show for the doctor's office in fully naked, Jack. Everybody knows that.
The Best One Yet
💨 “Fart-coin” — Crypto’s Silk Road pardon. Neko’s $2B body-scanner. Video Games’ Spiderman mistake.
EA Sports.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
This is Nick. This is Jack. And today's leaders pod is the best one yet. Our top three business leader stories of the past year. Yetis, if you're listening to this pod, I am on a flight to France and Jack is swimming down in the Mad River freezing his butt off. For Memorial Day weekend, we curated three stories from last year.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Thanks to him, at tech companies, engineers and designers are the people with power. But... In 2019, this iPhone designer left Apple at the top of his game to work on a secret project. And he hasn't talked to anybody about it in five years. No joke, that's a quote he said.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Well, five years later, we finally found out in a New York Times interview last weekend what exactly Johnny Ive has been up to. He's been working on a company called LoveFrom. LoveFrom, a company whose name was inspired by a Steve Jobs quote in a meeting with Johnny Ive. Steve Jobs told him to create from what you love. And apparently, Johnny Ive loves one neighborhood in San Francisco, Jack.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
But you also come to us, this pod, for stories no one else is whipping up. So there are three other names in business that we think you should know. Three business icons who don't get front page news treatment. Honestly, if we could grab brunch with three people in business right now, this, Jack, this is the group. We'd order eggs Benedict. We'd get sauce on the side.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
For the last five years, he's bought up $90 million worth of real estate in one block of downtown San Francisco. It's actually a flu box from our recording studio. It's called Jackson Square. It's the one neighborhood in San Francisco that was not destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. And it's gorgeous. A lot of barrier techies left San Francisco during the pandemic for low tax, low regulation states.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Johnny doubled down on his home city of San Francisco. And now he's got 70,000 square feet of office space in lovely Jackson Square, San Francisco. And he's not just testing out new toilets in that 70,000 square feet office space. Over the last five years, he has built up a wildly awesome list of clients.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Get this, secretly, Johnny Ive designed the windows on the new space shuttle for his new company. He helped J.J. Ambrose design the new lightsaber for the new Star Wars films. Oh, and Jack, what about the first ever electric Ferrari that's about to come out? The interior and the screen were designed by Johnny Ive's love for him.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And his next move might be the biggest tech move in the history of hardware. He is designing a physical hardware product for OpenAI. a virtual assistant that will physically be with you. Add it all up, Yetis, and Johnny Ive's secret company has been generating $200 million in revenue a year already on those clients.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
If you hire Love From to design your next product, you have the best designer in the world.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
It all comes down to the buttons. The buttons. Yeah, it is. Our favorite part about this Johnny Ives story was when we discovered his obsession with buttons. Johnny Ives' favorite book is a five-volume series on the history of buttons on clothing and in fashion. And Jack, why is Johnny Ives obsessed with buttons? It's the part of the clothing that you touch the most.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And buttons are the visual highlight. He's obsessed with buttons because it's the perfect blend of fashion and function. Do you remember the first iPod you ever had? It only had one button and it had that wheel around it. Remember? That was Johnny Ive. And then the first iPhone, only one button. Like you said, in an era that the BlackBerry had a hundred buttons, the iPhone had one.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Johnny Ive did that one button. Both of those were revolutionary for tech designs. So our big takeaway about Johnny Ive is really about his fascination with buttons. One small, seemingly insignificant detail can influence the outlook of the whole product. Now time for the best fact. Yeah, this one whipped up by Jack and me. It's a wild story about one of the great business leaders, Steve Jobs.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Okay, Steve Jobs' most famous presentation ever. What was it, Jack? The iPhone unveil in 2007. But the iPhone that Steve unveiled on stage? Funny thing about that iPhone. It barely worked. Yeah. Steve Jobs forced the team to unveil the product before it was ready. It actually had so many bugs in that first iPhone, the engineering team had to create a golden path.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
A golden path is a tech term for creating a specific sequence that won't make the product crash. So while Steve was on stage- Pushing buttons on the iPhone- If he had done anything off script or pressed the wrong button, everything would have fallen apart on stage in front of the entire world. But Steve didn't go off script. He followed the golden path and the iPhone didn't crash.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And that unveil goes down as the best product unveil of all time. That was a leadership move. He caused his teams to lose sleep and their hair probably to meet that deadline. Yeah. But it got us the iPhone and now Apple's worth $3 trillion. A complicated leader, but still a leadership move. Yetis, you look fantastic for the Friday before Memorial Day.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And we would take notes the end. entire meal. So grab a pen, grab a paper, and take a seat at the table. Besties, these are our three top business leader stories from last year.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And if you've got a friend who'd be inspired by one of these business legends, send it to them. We'll be inspired if you do. Our buddy Timmy, he's definitely getting this episode, Jack. So enjoy this long weekend. Happy Memorial Day. And Nick and I will see you Monday. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And before we go, congratulations to legendary Yeti Ryan Morrow, who's got a new job and is moving to New York City from Naperville, Illinois. Congratulations to Tack and Kate Yamamoto, who are getting married in San Francisco. These are Nick's neighbors. I think I can see them from here. You look fantastic, guys. Have fun at the wedding. Can't wait to see some pics.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Congratulations to Lucas from Madrid, who is a fantastic boyfriend. And Zachary Schaefer and Gigi Kinney are getting married in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Congratulations. Enjoy some cheese. Congrats to Grace Billingsley. for getting a PR in the half marathon from Grace Valley, California. Haley Rock, happy third birthday over there in Boston. Just outside Boston. Haley, this is your big day.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And John Osborne is retiring in Grass Valley, California. Congratulations, John. And happy birthday to Ria Chandra in South Brunswick, New Jersey. And Z-Hung Yu is celebrating the best birthday yet over in lovely Los Angeles. Happy birthday to Travis A in the great state of Maine. And Emmalou Stein-Beldring has got a wonderful birthday up in Viesten, Norway. And happy Memorial Day, everybody.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And thank you to all the servicemen and women and to their families for keeping Nick and me safe. We got so many besties and yetis in the service out there. Thank you to all. Celebrate the wins. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
For our first story, we're going back to January 26th, 2024. Dolly Parton actually has turned one year older, so she's 79 now, but still, this story is fantastic. Dolly Parton dropped a brand new album, launched a new food brand, and celebrated her 78th birthday with a concert. So we jumped into the business of Dolly Parton's Dollywood. Yeti's Dolly Parton.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
on epic business leader profiles because these people changed how we think. Yeah, they really did. So after you finish this episode, send it to a buddy who'd be inspired by one of these business legends and then go enjoy a margarita moment by the grill. You earned it. Friday's the real Friday. Jack, what's on today's show? For our first story, we're going back to January 26th, 2024.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
She's got the biggest hair east of the Mississippi. Actually, and the biggest hair west of the Mississippi, now that I think about it. You've heard her songs, 9 to 5, Jolene, Here You Come Again. There's literally thousands of others. Born in a logwood cabin on the Little Pigeon River in lovely Tennessee. She's like Will Hunting. Dolly Parton has 11 siblings.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Her first public performance was actually at a church where she was singing by age six. But by 13, she was belting out notes at the famous Grand Old Opry. Now, Yetis, Jack and I told you we jumped in T-boy style to Dolly Parton, the legendary country singer, and we found some legendary numbers. She's written 3,000 songs. She's sold 100 million albums. Those are country music records.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
And that song catalog from Dolly Parton is worth $150 million. Because all of our listening on Spotify and Apple Music and on the radio, it generates $8 million in annual royalties. Those $8 million are like one big, loud, symphonic dividend check to Dolly Parton. Now, remember that famous song by Whitney Houston from the movie The Bodyguard, I Will Always Love You?
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Classic Whitney Houston song, Jack. Originally, that was Dolly Parton, and she's made $10 million by letting Whitney Houston cover it. In fact, Yetis, Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton sang a duet, and Elvis asked Dolly if he could have her rights, her half of the song, and what did she say, Jack? No, thank you, Mr. King. Dolly Parton, love is like a butterfly, but in business, she's like a hornet.
The Best One Yet
✊ “The Leaders Pod” — Our 3 Best Stories on Legendary Business Leaders
Yeah, she is. But what separates Dolly from the rest of the musical moguls out there is her business range. This is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Dolly Parton has built a more diversified entertainment conglomerate than Disney. Dolly co-founded a TV production company called Sand Dollar Productions, which brought us Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Father of the Bride.
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If you like those movies, yeah. You can thank Dolly Parton for those two movies. She also built a famous theme park called Dollywood, which gets visited by 3 million people every year. It turns out Dollywood is the most visited attraction in the entire state of Tennessee. Like the GDP of Tennessee. Dolly Parton. And Dollywood's worth $400 million.
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If you're a cracker barrel, you can eat a Dolly Parton meal because she partnered with that food chain. Or you can eat on Dolly Parton plates made by William Sonoma. And just this week, Dolly Parton expanded her partnership with the $15 billion food giant, ConAgra. She already had Dolly Parton buttermilk pancake mix. Soon, you can have Dolly Parton frozen fried chicken.
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Do I have to wear a bolo if I do a check? A bolo? Sorry. Somebody hasn't been to the Grand Ole Opry. No, I haven't. It's on my list. Oh, Dolly Parton didn't just write a memoir. She also has a line of fiction books. This is amazing. She wrote a thriller series along with James Patterson based on the stories from one of her albums. Dolly Parton even runs a dog apparel company called Doggy Parton.
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Because every beagle needs a blonde wig. But yet he's add all this up and this business empire is worth over half a billion dollars. And we're not even talking about the charity part, Jack. Dolly Parton is like the Princess Diana of our time. She is philanthropic and loved by everyone for it. Her charity just got $100 million in funding from Jeff Bezos of Amazon.
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Country singer Dolly Parton just celebrated a new birthday, a new food brand, and a new album. Not too shabby. So we're looking at the billion-dollar business of Dolly Parton's Dollywood. For our second story, we're going back to July 8th. Bill Gates, for a long time, was the richest person in the world. But his former assistant at Microsoft is now richer than Bill Gates.
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In November of 2020, early pandemic, when we invented the mRNA COVID vaccine, the New England Journal of Medicine thanked Dolly Parton's COVID-19 research fund, which she established at Vanderbilt University. Oh, and by the way, she's also the godmother of Miley Cyrus. Party that in the USA. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Dolly Parton, Inc.? Humor transcends all.
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Yeti's the biggest business takeaway that Jack and I have gotten from Dolly Parton. It's how she reaches such a wide audience. Dolly Parton manages to reach a range of fans who are culturally quite opposites. Because Dolly Parton, she's a red state, patriotic, deep south, working class icon. But she's also a top ally of the LGBTQ community.
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And a key reason why she's so relatable to everyone, it's because she's funny. She uses humor. Oftentimes, Dolly sounds more like a comedian than a singer or a businesswoman. Yeah, like she makes fun of her own plastic surgery. Like she once told Oprah, it takes a lot of money to look this cheap. She once said, I'm the first woman to burn my bra.
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It took the fire department four days to put it out.
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One thing we've learned in life is that humor can transcend cultural lines like politics, race, and income. And Dolly Parton's billion dollar Dollywood empire proves it. For our second story, we're going back to July 8th, 2024. Wild story about Bill Gates and his assistant. Bill Gates is no longer the richest person at Microsoft. His former assistant is.
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The way that Steve Ballmer surpassed Bill Gates is a lesson on risk and reward. Yes, it is. But in order for us to tell this story, Jack, can we travel back to 1980, please? A startup of techie nerds in Seattle put out a job posting. Assistant founder. Assistant to the founder. Ah, good point, Jack. Getty's Bill Gates, the future richest man on earth. He needed a personal assistant ASAP.
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And one man answered the call. His name was Steve Ballmer. Steve Ballmer, bald man, big personality. This was actually a Harvard classmate who lived down the hall from Bill Gates back in the day. He didn't have much hair, but he had a whole lot of energy back then. Steve was at Stanford Business School a few years after Harvard when Bill convinced him to drop out of grad school.
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Bill was like, come join my software startup. I can't code without my coffee. That software startup was called Microsoft, by the way. Yes, it was. And he needed a personal assistant. So Jack, what was the first contract like for Steve when he joined Microsoft? He got $50,000 as a salary and 10% of the profit growth that he could generate. They basically treated Steve like a sales guy.
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He was Microsoft's first non-technical employee. So he was paid a salary plus a commission. Sounds simple, straightforward, a nice standard job. But Steve moved on from a nice, standard job because of this news. Here's the news! 44 years later, Steve Ballmer is now worth more than Bill Gates. As of last week, Steve Ballmer is now worth $157 billion. The assistant has become the master.
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And it's a lesson for all of us in risk, reward, and money. And our third and final story is from September 24th. Johnny Ive is the greatest industrial designer of our time. He designed the iPhone. And after five years in secrecy, Johnny Ive just unveiled his next. Next big thing. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories, Jack.
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Steve Ballmer is now the sixth richest person in the world. He's even wealthier than Clippy. Nick, I'm actually looking at the Forbes list of the 10 richest people in the world. I like it. What are you seeing, Jack? Steve Ballmer's on that list. Okay. And he's the only one who did not found his company. Whoa.
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So like all 10 of the 10 richest people on earth, they founded a company except for this one guy. How did Steve Ballmer go from assistant CEO, assistant to the CEO, good point, to richer than anyone at Microsoft with one strategic salary decision? And here it is. When Microsoft turned six years old, the company decided to restructure and Steve Ballmer spoke up.
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Microsoft revenue had recently doubled, so Steve led the company in a reorganization and a restructuring. And Jack, what was Steve's one request as part of this? That he get equity. Equity. Specifically, Steve asked for 8% of the stock in the company. In exchange, he was willing to give up that nice 10% commission.
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What Jack and I are saying is that Steve gave up the cold, hard, nearly certain cash in exchange for uncertain stock in Microsoft. In fact, six years later, Steve made another huge bet, wanting to get even more deep with Microsoft stock. In 1987, Microsoft stock dips, employees get worried, investors get worried, manage. gets worried. But Steve didn't.
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He took the little cash he had on the side to buy even more stock in Microsoft. Fast forward and Steve Ballmer eventually becomes the CEO of Microsoft for 14 years, retiring in 2014. And today, with Microsoft worth $3 trillion, the value of that stock that he bought back in 1987 has gained... by $1,500x. So each $1 of stock he bought in 1987 is worth $1,500 today. Not too shabby.
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Yet he's Bill Gates, sold most of his Microsoft stock, and he's given a lot of it away to charity. So Steve Ballmer is now the biggest shareholder at Microsoft, owning 4% of the company. That's a lot of equity. And as of last week, it's richer. than his old boss, Bill. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies in the U.S. economy?
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Taking equity instead of cash is risky, but it's how people get rich. Now, Yetis, Jack and I know not everyone is in a position to get equity in a company or in a startup. But Steve Ballmer's money story is a valuable lesson on wealth generation. And here's why. Because each step of his career is a reminder that reward comes with risk. And equity was his risk.
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His ownership in Microsoft could have tanked like so many tech companies during the dot-com bubble. His wealth could have gone to zero. But... It didn't tank. In fact, his risk paid off and he ended up as the sixth richest man on earth. Major leaps in wealth typically don't come through a salary. They come through equity.
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Could be huge amounts of stock that you accept as pay, like Steve Ballmer did. Or it could be a little bit put in the stock market year over year, compounded over 30 years. Stocks are risky, cash isn't. Savings can grow, but stock can grow faster. Owning things like stocks and equity, that's how people get wealthy.
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Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Sam Altman. Okay, we looked at the data. Those are the three most common business names in news. Last year, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about Elon every single day. We covered Warren Buffett six different times. And Sam Altman is in so many places, he's probably sitting next to you right now.
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This story is from September 24th, 2024. Wow, Yeti's breaking news happened this week. Johnny Ive's new company, which you're about to learn about in this story, is now part of OpenAI. Sam Altman and Johnny Ive are building the AI hardware product that could replace the iPhone.
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Now, before we share our profile on Johnny, here's what he said, his words this week about his design firm's merger with OpenAI. Push and play.
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Okay, now to quote Jack Nicholson, here's Johnny. Johnny Ive is the most important designer of our lives. He's the guy behind the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad, just to name a few. And Johnny Ive finally just unveiled his secret project of the last five years. It's called Love From. Now, Jack, you and I don't have full access to the Apple org chart.
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But if there was one person at Apple who's the most like Steve Jobs, who would you say it was? It was Johnny Ive, hands down. Johnny Ive, he was British. He was knighted by the Queen of England. And odds are he designed something that you are holding or touching or using right now. Apple is known for its revolutionary tech design. We're talking about the iPhone, the iPad, the Apple Watch.
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And Johnny Ive, this man, he did all of them. He even architected Apple's spaceship-like headquarters building in Cupertino, California. Like Steve Jobs, Johnny Ive believed in simplicity, in minimalism, in doing less to do more. This was during a time that people were doing more to do more. Like picture a 2005 German luxury car. It was a hundred buttons around you. So many buttons.
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Yeah, you remember the Blackberries. That was a whole lot of tapping. Johnny Ive did the opposite at Apple. He had no tolerance for an extra button. And if he saw one, he was not going to be happy about it. Fun side note, though. When he was a student in university, do you know what Johnny Ive's senior dissertation was about? The first thing Johnny Ive designed before the iPhone?
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What was it, Jack? He reimagined the loo. Yeah, it was a toilet. He actually redesigned the toilet. Ironically, toilets only have one button, the flush. Did he eliminate that one button? That's a story for another pod. But yet, there are celebrity chefs. There are star architects, star architects. But Johnny is the first ever celebrity industrial designer.
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This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, November 22nd, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. At this point, I do smell Jack. It's been five days in the same T-Boy sweatsuit. I can't believe you're still wearing that. Thanks to everyone who bought our T-Boy holiday merch. The sales closed yesterday.
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In fact, President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act created the first free online portal to file your taxes. And you know what? 100,000 Americans use that in its first year. But that filing system, developed by the Biden administration, was developed by the IRS and a tech nonprofit.
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On the other hand, Doge's app, if it happens, it could feasibly have the best private tech workers in the entire world working on it. Elon is running this department. Not just Elon. Silicon Valley elites like Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and Elon could build a wonderful tax filing app and gift it to the IRS. That could plausibly happen.
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So besties, last week we told you how, since there are so many mandatory spending programs in the government, it would be hard for this new Doge commission to figure out how to save money. But it just might have the political will and the tech skills to do what other administrations couldn't. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday?
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McDonald's brings back the McRib when pork prices are low and when sales are struggling. The McRib, it's not just strategic, it's McDonald's superhero. It's a superhero product. For our second story, it's Black Friday. It's not Black Friday anymore. It's spread across the whole month. Yeah, Black Friday is now Blackvember because companies want to smooth out your orders like clay.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And our third and final story is the tax filing companies. They sank this week on news that Doge might create a free tax filing app. Doge could succeed where other administrations have failed. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. Ben, the Bitcoin is having another bit mitzvah. Bitcoin is approaching $100,000. More people are buying than selling.
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No, Yeti, some of you feel like, you know what, Instagram, you don't know me. And others of you don't want people seeing your homepage. Instagram, you know me a little too well. Well, here's the news. Instagram is testing a reset button for your homepage. We repeat one button that resets the recommendations that you see on Instagram. Meta is calling this a recommendation reset.
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It's always tough to explain why Bitcoin is up or down, but it's at $99,000 as of this recording. Since Trump's election, Bitcoin is now up 43%. Second, Gladiator 2 hits theaters this weekend, and I'm going on a date with Alex. My first movie theater date with her in five years. If I know you and I know you, Jack, you're going to bring your own popcorn to this thing?
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I feel like you got your own tub. I'm getting the biggest tub with all the butter and a gigantic Diet Pepsi. Well, when it comes to the numbers, Gladiator 2 spent $250 million on the movie and another $100 million on the marketing. And since the studio splits ticket revenues with the movie theaters, they need to make $700 million at the box office just to break even.
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Yeah, so the Maximus question that really matters, are you entertained? Are you not entertained? Wow, I can't believe you butchered that. My Latin is off, Jack. My Latin is rusty. And finally, banana duct tape, the art we told you about earlier this week, sold for $6 million. It's duct tape, a banana, instructions, and that's it. You got to bring your own wall.
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And the majority of you in our Spotify poll said it would go for less than $1.5 million. Oh. Well, it turns out the majority of us were wrong. Banana duct taped to a wall. The piece of art sold for six million bucks. And honestly, as we predicted, it went to a Bitcoin bro. It really did go to a Bitcoin bro. No joke. It sold for six million to some crypto guy who says he's going to eat the banana.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Six million dollar banana. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Yeti Tiffany Schmidt over in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Does Thanksgiving feel late this year? I mean, I'm already freezing. It's like dark at 1 p.m., Jack. Yeah, it feels pretty late this year. Thanksgiving is actually falling the latest it ever does. The fourth Thursday of this month is the 28th of the month.
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Which is the last possible Thursday that Thanksgiving could ever fall on. The reason? The first of the month was Friday. In fact, Thanksgiving will not be this late in November until the year 2030. That's all I got to say about that. That's all we got to say about that. Yetis, you looked fantastic all week. And for this weekend, Jack and I have arranged the perfect plan for you.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Listen to the best idea yet. Our latest episode is on the untold and wild origin story of Levi's jeans. That's right. Levi's jeans was the first jeans ever, and it's become the best-selling jeans in history. So lean back and listen to our 45-minute deep dive on the wild story of Levi's. Check out The Best Idea Yet. That's our new show. And we've even got a link in the episode description.
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That's how excited we are for you to check this thing out. Now enjoy this nine-day weekend. And Nick and I will see you Monday. Jack, enjoy the movie. See you then. And before we go, a happy 10-month anniversary to everyone else born on January 22nd who didn't get acknowledged at the top of the podcast. Wait, did you say half birthday? No, it's my Q4 birthday, Jack. It's my Q4 birthday.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And Emily Tiernan is celebrating a birthday. Congratulations, Emily. Thanks for being a Yeti. Big shout out to Isaiah Alvarez in Hopthorne, California, who listened to T-Boy with his auntie. And Mika Park down the street in San Francisco is competing in her first High Rocks competition this weekend in Dallas with a birthday.
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Happy birthday to Georgia Chang in Beijing, China, who introduced T-Boy to her hubby. Celebrate that win. And Alejandro Lopez is turning 39 years old in Bergen, Norway, balancing the budget and the family with a big birthday brunch. Happy birthday to Esther Soojin Kim in Hawaii, who's using her freedom days over in Hawaii. If you know, you know.
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But Jack and I, we've got our own branding department. We call it an algorithm amnesty. Because that tapestry of taps that you see on your homepage, you might be sick of it. Because you've once tapped a TikTok about tennis, and now all you're seeing on Instagram are topless pics of Rafael Nadal. You poked a post about poker once, and now you're drowning in Texas Hold'em content.
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And Devin McLaughlin's turning 29 years old over in New York City, El Dev Meister. Happy birthday, man. Happy birthday to Katie Borilski in Denver, Colorado, who's getting fondue with baby Nolan and her husband, Derek. I freaking love fondue. Oh, drop a McRib in there. And Hannah A. is celebrating a birthday in Charlotte, North Carolina, with some cats and some rock climbing.
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And happy birthday to Danny Oliva in Orange, California, who's celebrating with his wife and three kids going to see Wicked to each their own. Apparently, he's not entertained. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, and Nick and I both own one Bitcoin, whose name is Ben. Sorry, I really threw you under the bus there.
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If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Jack, I skimmed a carousel from skims, and now my For You page, it is not safe for work, man. So Instagram may let you push the reset button. That's right. It's like you never tapped anything at all. It's a coding cleanse. It's a data detox. It's a For You page forgiveness. That's what it is. But yet, then Instagram's going to start personalizing again based on the next thing that you tap.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
So be careful with those topless Raphael Nadal pictures out there. Tap wisely. Mattress, mattress, mattress. Jack, let's hit our three stars.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
We got a ton of orders. A record-setting merch drop. Jack, you're looking fantastic over there, although you changed so you didn't smell, but... In the meantime, three stories for today's pod. Jack, what do we got on the show? For our first story, McDonald's is bringing back the McRib. Again, because Ronald needs some help. We'll tell you why the McRib isn't just strategic.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
For our first story, McDonald's is bringing back the McRib, and it's even selling a new McRib sauce in a jug to go along with it. But the McRib is way more strategic than you ever realized. It's the most strategic thing we have ever seen. But first, Yetis, last year we told you about the McRib effect. Ah, the McRib effect. Best thing for your mouth, worst thing for pigs. Here's the McRib effect.
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When the McRib is on McDonald's menu, stocks in the market rise. It's wild and it's fantastic. The data analyst, Nick Magooly, ran the numbers on this thing. And Jack, what did he discover about the McRib effect? On days that the McRib is available on McDonald's menu, the S&P 500 rises three times more on average than days the McRib is not available. Sit down, stand up, and please more McRibs.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
I mean, compound that 3X performance. Yeah. That's night and day difference. Jerry Powell, we know how to boost the economy. It's actually a great example that correlation does not mean causation. Still, Goldman Sachs is probably ordering a million McRibs right now. McRibs for the whole trading floor, baby.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
But yet he's, whether you eat the McRib or not, you might notice it's randomly available and it's randomly not available. It's basically been on and off the menu at McDonald's since 1981. It's done farewell tours and it's done dramatic returns. Well, they're doing another dramatic return. Spoiler. As of next week, the McRib is back on the menu at McDonald's.
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But this time, the McRib has some company. And that company is McRib's Giant Barbecue Sauce. McDonald's is selling a jug of McRib sauce. For $19.99, you get a half gallon of this special sauce. That's right. You can now wash down your pork patty with a whole pint of sauce. Jack, if you drown in this thing, you drown happy. That's the nice positive. I don't know about that.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
But this is the first time that McDonald's has ever sold their secret sauces separately. Yeah. McDonald's, pro tip, sell your special sauce. The Big Mac special sauce. Thank us in the morning. And I would die happy in that case. But Yetis, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. It feels like McDonald's has once again chosen a random time to bring back the McRib.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
But when you dive into the data, you discover that the dates that McRib comes back is actually highly strategic. So let's jump in T-boy style. Yetis, according to Sherwood's research, they looked at the last three times McDonald's introduced the McRib. They brought it back in 2017, in 2020, and in 2022. And Jack, what was McDonald's business situation during each of those three McRib moments?
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Sales were slowing or sales were falling. So McDonald's seemed to bring back the McRib when it was struggling. And Jack, what is McDonald's situation right now this year? It's struggling. Sales fell this summer. And now since then, they've had the $19 Big Mac inflation drama. They've had the E. coli outbreak even more recently. And the stock is actually down in 2024. Not a good situation, Ronnie.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
The McRib is a superhero. For our second story, Black Friday is one week from today. But Black Friday sales began November 1st. Why is Black Friday now Black-vember? Well, it all makes sense after our story. Trust us. And our third and final story. The first big move from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency might be a tax app.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
So the plan? Once again, they're bringing back the McRib. McRib is coming back next week. If revenues are dropping, McRibs are popping. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the McDonald's McRib? The McRib is more than strategic. It's McDonald's' superhero. So yetis, the data shows that if McDonald's is in distress, they call up the McRib.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
It's like they shine a bat signal and they get the McRib to return like Batman. But if we dive deeper into the data, it turns out McRib is even more strategic than that. Get this. McDonald's also happens to reintroduce the McRib when pork prices are down. The last four times the McRib was reintroduced, hog prices had just fallen by 20% or more.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
So what we're saying, besties, is that Ronnie McDonald is one savvy dude. He's buying the mother pork and dip. What we're saying is that the McRib is McDonald's' strategic double dipper. I like what you did there, Jack, because it is a double dip. McDonald's brings back the McRib when they want to restart sales growth, and they also bring back the McRib when it costs less to make the McRib.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
That means the McRib is more than a profit puppy. It's a superhero. It's a superhero product. For our second story, Black Friday is dead. Long live Blackvember. There are two strategic reasons why Black Friday has become an entire month. And we will tell you both of them. But Jack, I'm looking at the calendar now, and it is two months until my birthday. You didn't say anything, but that's fine.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And it is one week until Black Friday. Not too shabby. Black Friday. The one day it's socially acceptable to ignore phone calls and trample small children in pursuit of that Sony television. Honey, I lost a finger, but I got the air fryer. Black Friday. It remains, despite everyone's attempt, to be the top shopping day of the entire year. Lululemon's biggest sales day ever.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
was Black Friday last year, driven by sales of the belt bag. Fanny pack, it was a profit puppy. But yetis, have you noticed that Black Friday deals are already here? Yesterday I looked at Amazon.com and it said Black Friday week is here. Jack, I can one-up you on that one. Two weeks ago, Best Buy announced Black Friday is already here. Even though it wasn't here.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Get this, even before that, November 11th, that is technically Singles Day. And what is Singles Day? It's a Chinese shopping holiday that has been adopted by U.S. brands. Oh, and a couple weeks before that, Amazon did a two-day Prime Day in the month of October, one month before Black Friday.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Yetis, you already knew that Black Friday had merged with the days after and Cyber Monday to become one post-Thanksgiving splurge. Yeah, you're not even in Turkey these days. You're already halfway through a line at your local Williams-Sonoma. But now, pre-Thanksgiving, Black Friday has stretched into an entire month. The way Jack and I see it, Black Friday is now Blackvember.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And to find out why, we checked out this newsletter called Curious Commerce. And yetis, you're going to have to pop your collar because this example is all about J.Crew. That's right. J.Crew is actually the perfect case study on the Black Vember phenomenon. And why is that, Jack? On November 9th, almost three weeks ago, J.Crew launched their Black Friday preview sale.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Three weeks before Black Friday, they had a preview sale. And the reason they did it is because they wanted to see what you would click on during the pre-Black Friday preview sale. Because what you click on helps them prepare for the actual Black Friday. Like, follow us on this one. If J.Crew sees big clicks for the coastal blue sweater, then that is valuable data for J.Crew to analyze.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
J.Crew is going to send word to Fulfillment and Logistics that coastal blue is going to be the top color of this holiday season. So make extra. They all want Coastal Blue. Load up the yarn, boys. Thanks to their Black Friday preview, J.Crew knows three weeks in advance what they need to stock up on. J.Crew knows Coastal Blue is going to be hot in three weeks and they can be prepared.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Which leads to the second reason that Black Friday has been stretched into Blackvember. And that second reason is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over... shopping right now while they're listening to this podcast. Demand, it's like clay. It can be sculpted and it needs to be smoothed.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
An app that files your taxes for free just shocked Wall Street. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. A fantastic mix of stories. And thank you again to all the besties who bought the merch. You guys were absolutely fantastic. Amazing support. Yetis, some say that your Instagram homepage is a reflection of your soul. Ah, yes, Jack, the For You page on Instagram.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Now, yetis, imagine if you didn't do any work all week long, and then suddenly you just crammed a whole week's of working. Are you saying we'd have to do five podcasts in one day, Nick? If we had to do five podcasts in one day, we couldn't do it. I'd be so stressed, extremely anxious. I'd probably break in half.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Well, that, that feeling Jack's describing, that is what retail is like on Black Friday. You got logistics, staffing, customer service. It all surges on one single day. And since 70% of Black Friday purchases are gifts... then the pressure is on. They need to arrive well before Christmas so they can be gifted properly.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And that is why the second reason brands are spreading out Black Friday is to smooth out the orders. If retailers can spread out orders across the month, then they avoid the logistical nightmares on Black Friday. So, besties, you may not realize it, but stores are strategically smoothing out your demand. That's why the biggest shopping day is now a shopping month. Black Friday is now Blackvember.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
For our third and final story before the weekend. TurboTax and H&R Block tanked this week after an update from Elon Musk's Doge. This story highlights how incredibly ripe our government is for some efficiency upgrades. Now, Jack, let's talk about the most talked about article in the Wall Street Journal this week. It was actually the most shared article this week.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. Yeah, these two Trump-appointed men are leaders of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or as it's known in short... Doge. Their goal is to cut rules and regulations to save money and improve efficiency.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Now, in this article, they actually talked about one of their plans, which is to make it mandatory to return to the office for all 3 million federal government workers. Now, they don't expect all 3 million workers to comply, and they're okay with that because that would give them grounds to terminate federal workers, which is one of their goals.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Which is one of the ways they want to save the government money. But a different newspaper, The Washington Post, reported something else about Doge this week. And this we found fascinating. Doge's next idea is to create a mobile app for Americans to file their taxes with the IRS for free. And honestly, that's a fantastic idea. It's a fantastic idea.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
And we're saying that because you know you don't want to deal with the 1040w2 Form 23b with a Schedule K1. Everyone hates how hard it is to file taxes, and it's a reason that people dislike the government. And Jack, you know who hated this idea the most? The tax filing companies? Yeah, the tax filing duopoly that controls how you file your taxes.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
It is a tapestry of topics upon which you have tapped. My homepage? Right now it's half 1990s New York Yankees Dynasty videos. Yeah. And half Tyrion Lannister lecturing Joffrey in the King's Hall. I knew there were going to be some classic Jeters in there, Jack. Right now I'm looking at cupcakes. I'm looking at pizza. But here's the issue. Some people don't like what they see on their homepage.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Yeti's stock in H&R Block fell 9% the day of this news. Intuit, which owns TurboTax, they fell 5% after this new free app news. Because we've said on previous episodes of this show that these two tax filing rivals actually share the same goal. They want to keep taxes hard.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
If you're H&R Block or TurboTax, you love that your adjusted gross income with a depreciated capture excluding the cost basis on your W-2 is the jargon that nobody understands. They love that it's hard because it makes you have to pay them because you can't do it yourself. Jack and I have said it before, filing taxes, it's the white whale of bureaucratic frustrations.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
So a Doge-developed free tax filing app would be awesome for most people, but bad for these two businesses. If you happen to have a simpler income situation, you may just enter your social security number, and then this app would tell you how much you owe or how much of a refund you get. It should be that easy. It should be, yeah. Instead, right now, we kind of play games with the IRS. Like, man,
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They know what we owe. We know what you owe. But they won't tell us what we owe. We have to tell them what we think we owe. And Yetis, for at least 60 million people, their income is so simple, it's just like a W-2 income, that they should be able to simply submit their social security number and know how much taxes they owe.
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Like we said, a new free tax filing app from the government, that would be awesome for us taxpayers, but it would be bad for TurboTax and H&R Block's business. Both of those companies lost a billion dollars in market cap this week on that news. Like we said, filing taxes. It's the white whale of bureaucratic frustrations. So Jack, what's the takeaway for everyone in the American economy?
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🛍️ “Black-vember” — Why Black Friday’s all month. McRib’s strategic impact. H&R Block(ed) by DOGE.
Doge could succeed where others have failed. Yetis, the Department of Government Efficiency, Doge, it's new. But the idea of making the government more efficient? That concept is not new. Here's the truth. Just about every president since Ronald Reagan has campaigned on simplifying government, reducing waste, and improving efficiency.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. February 21st, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three stories at the intersection of pop culture and business that you need to know today. Jack, I'm checking the calendars. It is almost IBO day. We are one week from the initial baby offering, aren't we? I know. February 28th is the due date.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Oh, you want a dinner reservation at Dorsia after they got their second Michelin star? You're going to have to go to Rezzy for that. And that's why Rezzy's valuation surged and they sold to Amex in 2019. So for the last 10 years, Rezzy has been eating up market share from OpenTable. In fact, just last year, Eater published a whole article called How Rezzy Won. But here's the news.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
After 20 years, top restaurants are now switching back to OpenTable. According to New York Mag, all the cool tables are now on OpenTable again. Chez Fifi, the coolest hotspot in New York right now, you book through OpenTable. I didn't even tell you this, but Jack, I got a dinner tonight with some business school guys over at a place called Angler in San Francisco. I called them.
The Best One Yet
🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
They used to be with Rezzy, and now they're with OpenTable. Exhibit A. Actually, Exhibit Angler. So besties, OpenTable. They ended their diner fee, and they now make revenue through ads, but that doesn't explain how they are winning back tables from Rezzy. No, it doesn't, but our takeaway does. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in the restaurant reservation wars?
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Open tables stop treating tables like a commodity. They started treating them like real estate. Yetis, after Resi was acquired by Amex, their innovation slowed. Some say it got too corporate, but OpenTable also made some strategic moves. Instead of treating restaurant tables all the same, OpenTable started differentiating them.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Yeah, OpenTable just created the Icons program, where they put their trendy restaurants in a separate section, a featured section to find them. And for diners, your restaurant app is overflowing with choices. There's value in that curation of the Icons section. Yes, there is. And restaurants can actually pay to get into that section, which became a different revenue source for OpenTable.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
OpenTable also created a program with Visa. They pre-bought tables that were reserved for Visa's premium credit card holders. And restaurants get paid a quote-unquote substantial amount to set aside those tables for OpenTable's VIPs. Yes, Resi does a similar thing for Amex card holders. But OpenTable apparently is paying a lot more for the best tables.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
So how did OpenTable reclaim the restaurant or reservation throne? They realized that restaurant reservations are like real estate. They stopped treating them like a commodity. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? James Bond is now an Amazon employee. Bezos is in charge of who will be the next Bond.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
The secret strategy to Bond's 60 years of movie success is infinite scarcity. For our second story, Microsoft achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing while Apple launched a budget iPhone. Microsoft is shooting for the moon while Apple is shooting for the shelf. And our third and final story is OpenTable. They're winning back turf that they had ceded to Rezzy.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
The cool spots are listing on OpenTable. Because OpenTable stopped treating tables like commodities and started treating them like real estate. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, President Trump called Ukraine's president a dictator this week, something that he's never called Russia's president.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
While over that same period, 48 million people were hurt in cars. So you are way more likely to be injured in the taxi on the ground than you are in the airplane. Now, Jack and I got more curious, so we dove in further T-boy style. You're 68 times more likely to die on a roller coaster. You are 20 times more likely to be killed by your own furniture.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
The Trump administration is negotiating an end of the war in Ukraine with Russia directly and without Ukraine. As Secretary of State Rubio says, there is huge potential for the United States businesses to reenter Russia. It would be a shocking policy change to embrace Russia while punishing allies with tariffs.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And second, that Delta flight that just turned upside down in Toronto, we got some wild new details on it. Well, it's a miracle that none of the 80 passengers on that flight were killed. But they're also emotionally scarred, so Delta is offering them $30,000 each having been on the flight. We assume that includes a deal to not sue them.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And finally, Coca-Cola just launched its own prebiotic soda, and they're calling it Simply Pop. Remember this week we told you about the prebiotic soda wars between Poppy and Olipop? Well, their mutual enemy is Big Soda, and Coke just jumped into the category to take both of them on. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Shobik Don down the street in San Francisco.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
There we go. Yeah. Who knew that Da Vinci, Leonardo Da Vinci, was proficient in Microsoft Word? I had no idea. The only problem with Da Vinci's resume is under personal interest, he probably put like dissecting 40 different types of animals. Probably not the right tone to set with your future boss, Jack. It's a beige flag. It's a beige flag. Yetis, you look fantastic out there.
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Jack, you look so calm, collected, and incredible one week before the IBO. Or the baby could come before the end of the credits on this show today. I know. Now you don't sound so sound. Now you sound a little nervous. I have my go bag right next to me. Okay. I know. I'm ready for it. You know what I packed in the go bag? What's in there? What's in there? A deck of Uno cards.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Because we're going to be in the hospital for a couple days after the baby's born.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
I'd love to play some Unos with Alex too. I'm sure that's going to be Alex's priority. I think that's a nice idea. She loves Zuno. I did it for her. Yetis, you looked fantastic all week. If you haven't yet, three things we'd love for you to do. First, drop down, rate, and review the show. Five stars. Second, tell a buddy, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. And Jack, third, have a fantastic weekend.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Enjoy our Best Idea Yet episode on the Patagonia Fleece. You're going to love it. And Jack and I will celebrate the wins. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti George Zellifro doing logistics with Chicago Trucks and Donuts, baby. And happy seventh birthday to Daisy in Galena, Kansas, who's a good girl. Yeah, she's a dog, by the way. And John Rich, happy birthday down in beautiful D.C.
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Happy 43rd birthday to James Roddy in Long Beach. And Jen Wynn's got a birthday in Lancaster, California. Happy birthday, Jen. Happy birthday to Waverly Bell in Kalamazoo, Michigan. And Digna Pinal over in Roseville, California had the best birthday yet. Congratulations to Caleb J and Jesse Calzo who are getting married in Fort Worth. Let's see some pics. Enjoy, guys. Have a blast.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And Steve Hamilton is running a burgeoning distillery in Saratoga County, New York, looking for a business partner. We got some T-boy matchmaking to do, Jack. Let's get this guy hooked up. Anybody in upstate, actually, Steve should let us know if he's accepting remote work. We'll update it on the next pod. And Danny Goal saw a fire truck with a surfboard on it, sent us a picture.
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In fact, you're more likely to be cast in a superhero movie and then die in a fake plane in CGI on set. than die on a real airplane. Oh, you want more? You're more likely to be crushed by a vending machine. Four times more likely. You're more likely to be eaten by an alligator. Three times more likely. You're more likely to be struck by lightning. Twice!
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Danny, thanks for enjoying the show. And a big shout out to James Holodnik from New York City who sent us some legendary IPO-etry. Publicly traded poetry. And Kelsey Black speaking at a conference in Denver. We assume on books because no one knows books better than Kelsey. And happy anniversary to Evie and Walter in Juneau, Alaska.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock in Apple. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And of course, our favorite statistical comparison here. I love this one, Jack. You're more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker on the subway. then die on an airplane. We've seen that happen twice. So yetis, even if things in the sky are twice as unsafe as they were before, you're still incredibly safe up there. Compared to down here.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
So wherever you're walking right now is way more dangerous than seat 17A is. Whether you're flying or driving right now, stay safe and Jack will tell you.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
It could come before. Jack, if you hit a takeaway too hard, I may go into labor. Jack's baby isn't here yet, but we got three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got, Jack? For our first story, Amazon has acquired the creative rights to James Bond. Bond. 007 is an Amazon employee now. So we've got advice for Bezos on how to not ruin the James Bond franchise.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
For our first story, James Bond just sold creative control of the entire franchise to Amazon? Amazon can now literally write the James Bond scripts. They can. But there's one magic formula they shouldn't touch. Yetis, Jack and I were preparing for the pod yesterday when we saw a surprising tweet from Amazon's founder, Jeffrey Bezos.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
It was a picture of Daniel Craig and a caption that said, who should be the next Bond? Big question. I mean, a lot of options of who could be the next James Bond, Jack. Who we got? Tom Hardy, Idris Elba. Speculation runs rampant. If Timothée Chalamet puts on 60 pounds on that torso, it could be a Bond. By the way, all the comments on his post said it should be Henry Cavill.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Like, all of the comments. But that's besides the point, because the bigger question here for the entire business community was, why is Jeff Bezos asking about James Bond? Because he's going to decide who the next Bond is. Here's the news, yetis. Amazon and James Bond's owner have announced a new joint venture for the franchise.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And in this new James Bond company, Amazon has final creative control. The name's Bezos, Jeff Bezos. Yes, Amazon already had distribution rights to James Bond because Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2022. But the children of the James Bond movie mogul retained the rights to the IP until yesterday. Now, if Andy Jassy wants James Bond's suit to arrive in a prime cardboard box, he can do it.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
If Amazon wants Q to use Amazon Web Services to design the weapons, they can do it. Nick, they could change Q's name to Alexa now. And then James could ask Alexa where he could find a good local martini in Monaco. It'd be dumb if it happened, but legally, Amazon could do all that.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Now, to sprinkle on a little more context here, I've read most of the James Bond books, and actually, I collect first editions of the books, Jack. That's a pretty awesome collection, though. Honestly, they're beautiful. It's like artwork. But what few people know is that the business of James Bond is actually as private as the spy himself.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
James Bond is a character created by Ian Fleming, who was a British stockbroker turned journalist who also was a spy during World War II. And during World War II, this spy in Fleming went on a secret mission to Jamaica called Goldeneye and ended up retiring in Jamaica after the war.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
He named his Jamaica estate Goldeneye and ended up writing one James Bond book pretty much every year, pretty much until he died. And now these James Bond books, as they came out, they were a minor success. They sold about 500,000 copies each, which is not bad, not great. It's okay. But here's the key moment. that made it so that everyone knows James Bond, not just Nick with his book collection.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, sold the exclusive film rights for a one-time fee of $2,500. He gave away all the film rights to James Bond for just $2,500 to a Hollywood producer named Cubby Broccoli.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Now, in the year since, the Broccoli family handed down the James Bond ownership to the kids, who then signed with MGM for distribution, and then Amazon acquired MGM for $8 billion a couple years ago. So James Bond movies have generated $8 billion in revenue at the box office, but the Ian Fleming estate saw zero of that.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Honestly, it's a shame that Ian Fleming just didn't realize how hot and how perfect for the big screen 007 would be. But the bigger question now is, will Amazon be a good caretaker of Hollywood's longest running franchise? And the answer is shaken, not stirred. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Amazon? James Bond's secret sauce is actually an oxymoron.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
We call it infinite scarcity. Yetis, let's look at the numbers here. James Bond movies have grossed $8 billion. So that's like less than Harry Potter, less than Batman, less than Star Wars, and less than Marvel. But Bond wins in longevity. At 60 years, it's the longest running major film franchise ever.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
So we've got to ask, how has James Bond lasted so long that its 25th movie still made a billion dollars? It's something that we call infinite scarcity. Infinite scarcity. Here's the scarcity part. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was 22 movies over 11 years, but James Bond only did four movies in that span. Way less frequent than the other movie franchises.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
For our second story, Microsoft just defied physics.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
The average Bond comes out every three years. That's scarce. But on the other hand, James Bond is also pretty infinite because with 25 films, James Bond has the most of any major franchise. The series starts fresh with the new actor playing James Bond. Like Daniel Craig is done, but we're just going to move on to a new younger James Bond and do like five more movies.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
They created something that's not a solid, liquid, or gas. They found a fourth form of matter. And Microsoft's quantum leap is awkward for Apple. And our third and final story, OpenTable has overtaken Resi as the home to America's coolest restaurants. Because OpenTable ordered up one bold move. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories... Fantastic mix of stories.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Chalamet is going to get jacked and he's going to get six movies in the next 15 years, Jack. Yes, exactly. Amazon, as the new owner, is going to start feeling franchise FOMO. Pressure to do spinoffs, pressure to do a prequel about one of the villains. But the risk is franchise fatigue, overdoing it, stretching the brand too far, too fast, like Disney did with Marvel superheroes.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Instead of that, we think Amazon should respect what has made James Bond the longest-lasting franchise in Hollywood. And that strategy is infinite scarcity. Which also... Kind of sounds like the name of a James Bond movie. For our second story, Microsoft says it just created an entirely new form of matter.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
The biggest thing though about Microsoft's quantum technology breakthrough is what it says about Apple. Shots fired. Well, yetis, after 17 years of blood, sweat, and chips, Microsoft has officially done it. They've achieved a breakthrough in quantum computing. Here's the news. On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled the Majorana One processor.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
If you're a Marvel fan, think of this Majorana One processor as like the Infinity Stone. It holds power beyond your imagination. In fact, this Microsoft invention is so powerful that it created a fourth state of matter. This is not embellishment. No, it's not. Not exaggeration. It's true. Here's the deal. We have solids, liquids, and gas. Then we have this. A Majorana particle.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Microsoft has defied physics, essentially, with a fourth form of matter. This isn't even on the periodic table, man. Actually, Nick, Majorana is a physicist from the 1930s who originally theorized that this fourth type of matter was possible, and now Microsoft has done it.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Microsoft's new processor will make a functioning quantum computer possible by the end of the decade, way faster than anyone expected. Microsoft can potentially fit a million quibbets onto this single chip. We know what you're thinking. What's a quibbet? Doesn't even matter. Like, it's just a huge number. Just huge. Just sit with that.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Seriously, Nick, I do want to know, what can quantum computing actually do? It's a fair question, Jack. So let's whip up our buddies over at Microsoft and play the clip.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Okay, solve unsolvable challenges? Like, absolute zero? Like, is that what they're going for? I think they're going to determine the final digit of pi, Nick. Jack, can this quantum computer, like, tell us what really happened in the final scene of The Sopranos? Oh. Maybe. Yeah, the practical use cases of quantum computing are really hard to describe, but apparently really powerful.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
But there is no question that Microsoft's news represents something really ambitious. Google, IBM, Microsoft, they've each worked on this for decades, and now Microsoft says they have the lead. So if true, huge. This gives the United States technological advantage in the next era of computing, quantum computing. So that's what Microsoft's working on. Okay. What is Apple working on?
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Oh, time to hand in the homework. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple and Microsoft? Microsoft is shooting for the moon. Apple is shooting for the shelf. Yet he's the same day as Microsoft's quantum breakthrough. Apple announced the iPhone 16E. Apple is using its own chip in this iPhone for the first time, so it's cheaper.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And they're hoping it works, but they're not sure it will. Okay, but pause the pod. There's just like a bigger issue here we have to talk about. The difference in ambition between the number one and number two tech companies. It was so palpable this week. I mean, look, Zuckerberg recently dissed Apple saying they haven't invented anything great in a while. Okay.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Apple tried and failed to make a car. They tried and failed to do a headset. And they haven't even done our smart toilet, which we proposed like six weeks ago. The one thing Apple has, which is incredibly valuable. is the iPhone, which makes half the company's revenue, but it was invented 18 years ago. In the meantime, Microsoft is leading in AI, in quantum computing.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Love podding with you, Jack. Great mix today. The number one thing being searched on Google right now is, is it safe to fly? That's right. The number of people Googling, is it safe to fly, has soared to an all-time high. Because there've been four flying incidents in just the last four weeks. But Jack and I got curious, and so we dove into the data on how safe really is flying.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
They just invented a new form of matter. What is Apple working on? Microsoft's like the nerd doing lab work at 8 p.m., and Apple is like in the lunchroom slapping butts before lacrosse practice. Wednesday's competing announcements were a microcosm of the diverging ambition between Microsoft and Apple. One's shooting for the moon, the other's shooting for the shelf.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Now a quick word from our sponsor.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
For our third and final story, the battle for restaurant reservations just flipped. Open Table is now beating Resi. Because Open Table is treating their tables like real estate. Yetis, it is Friday night, and odds are, statistically speaking, numerically thinking, if you are going out tonight... Your reservation is with one of two apps. OpenTable and Resi.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Those are quite the pros there, by the way, Nick. Yeti's OpenTable and Resi. They got a duopoly on restaurant reservations. Together, they control nearly 90% of the online reservation market. If a restaurant's not using OpenTable or Resi, they're probably writing down reservations with a pen and paper. Well, actually, OpenTable is kind of ancient in tech years, isn't it, Jack?
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
They were founded in 1998. The first generation of websites, pre-Y2K. This is early internet company. Now, when OpenTable first launched 27 years ago, their only competition was like the yellow pages in the phone book. You read Zagat and then you went to OpenTable.com on your gateway computer to book a reservation.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
In fact, OpenTable is so old, they actually IPO'd in the early 2000s and became the first publicly traded reservation stock. Until they were acquired by Booking Holdings in 2015 for two and a half billion dollars. But the key here is how OpenTable made money. And Jack, what was the OpenTable business model? They charged $1 per diner.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
So if someone booked a reservation on OpenTable for a party of four, the restaurant paid OpenTable $4 for that reservation. We did the math on that. Assume your typical restaurant has 200 diners a night. That's $200 the restaurant pays to OpenTable. Extrapolate that to a full year, that's $60,000 a typical restaurant was paying OpenTable for their reservation.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
It's good to remind yourself every once in a while, how safe is it actually to fly? Well, we have got the numbers and we've got the context. According to the USAFacts.org, you are 7,000 times more likely to be injured driving in a car compared to flying. That's right. Because from 2002 to 2022, a total of 689 people were seriously injured flying in airplanes.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
Diners, they didn't mind because they're not paying it. But restaurants got sick of that $1 diner fee costing them tens of thousands of bucks a year. Now, yetis, every platform has two sides. And in 2014, entrepreneur Gary Vee and the founder of Eater noticed that restaurants hated the OpenTable monopoly. So this duo founded Resi, a platform focused on restaurant needs.
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🍸“The Spy Who Primed Me” — James Bond’s Amazon deal. Microsoft’s quantum leap. OpenTable vs Resy.
And what was their key differentiator, Jack? They didn't charge the diner fee that restaurants hated so much. And the result, what did we see? Trendy spots moved away from OpenTable to do their bookings on Resi. And New York, ABC, Terezi, Carbone, they all went to Resi and then the diners followed them to the Resi app.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, December 20th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, it's our last regular pod of 2024. It happens to be our best pod of 2024.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
For our third and final story, with the holidays coming up, Jack and I are looking at the business of Santa Claus, or as he calls it, Claus Industries. When your competitive advantage is magic, you have a monopoly. Yeti's was two weeks before Christmas and all through the condo. All the T-Boys were stirring, even the Ford Bronco.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Santa, he bought a lot of NVIDIA early on, Jack.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
So Jack and I are jumping in T-Boy style to the big man in red's business model. We're jumping in T-Boy style to Santa Inc., Or as it's registered legally in Wilmington, Delaware, Claus Industries. Right, Jack? What did we learn about Claus Industries? It's a highly seasonal business. All their sales happen on one day every year. Santa's business is like Spirit Halloween or the turkey industry.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Right, Jack? But its sales are even more concentrated. on December 25th only. That's the only day they're open for business. Now, Yetis, Jack and I, by complete chance, fortunately got the annual report from Claws Industries. Sticker symbol NICE. It's traded on the North Pole Stock Exchange. And here is the key competitive advantage to Santa Claus's very own international business.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
It's the supply chain. Santa's supply chain is more important than any other company we've ever covered. And this supply chain happens to also be highly concentrated. It's based exactly at the North Pole. Yeah, they have a massive workforce of elves who build toys in one giant, wonderful factory.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Now, we should point out that Father Christmas has never shared sales figures publicly, but Jack and I whipped out the whiteboard for this one. Yeah, we calculated the sales, the annual revenues of Claus Industries. It turns out yet is that 36 countries do not observe Christmas as a public holiday. But Santa doesn't check passports. So we're going to assume he delivers to all children worldwide.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
I mean, what a fantastic mix for today's show. No better show out there. Best mix we ever done. Today is the final day of our fiscal Q4 2024. You know what that means, Nick. Yes, I do, Jack. Our annual T-Boy shareholder meeting. Yetis, we filed our 10K annual report with the SEC. It's official. So for all our audio investors out there, which means you, we want to share our T-Boy annual report.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
So Jack, if that's the case, then what's the market size for Santa's business? Well, 25% of the world's population is under 14 years old. That would be 2 billion customers. And we'll assume that Santa delivers one gift to each child worldwide. But Jack, we do have to adjust for the naughty factor, don't we? But the data shows that those numbers are negligible.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Yeah, it turns out the naughty factor is actually very negligible. So, Yetis, if each gift costs $10 for 2 billion children worldwide, then that would be $20 billion in sales for Claus Industries all in one day. Now, we should point out, Santa waves the price with a 100% discount, bringing down revenue substantially for Claus Industries. It's basically a buy one, get that same one free policy.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
See, Jack? Yeah, and there's also a labor risk this company faces. Right, like, Jack, what if the elves go on strike? Like, that's kind of a problem, right? I think they're relatively content, though. Besties, Jack and I checked with the elf union spokesperson, and apparently they're paid a living wage of gumdrops and candy canes. And all the syrup they want. And they get 360 days of vacation.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Oh, by the way, this year, don't leave cookies for Santa. Yeah, Santa's on Ozempic, so he's only drinking skim milk this year. Maybe some mule milk. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who own stock in Claus Industries? If Santa could scale his magic, he'd be 11 times bigger than Walmart. All right, yetis, follow us on the numbers here. $20 billion of sales in one day.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Jack, can we extrapolate Santa's revenues for the entire year? If Christmas were every day, which was my dream every night as a child... it was my dream. I'll take it. Let's run with it, Jack. Then Claws Industries would generate $7 trillion of revenue each year. $7 trillion in revenue, Jack. Could you sprinkle on some context for us, please, over there? That's 11 times Walmart's annual revenue.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Yet he's assuming Claws, the toy company, makes the same profit margins as Hasbro, the toy company. Then they'd make $511 billion in profits every year. Sit down, stand up, and sit on our lap again, yetis. That is five times as much profit as Apple. There you have it. If Santa could scale magic, Claus Industries would be 11 Walmarts in size. And Santa would be five times as profitable as Apple.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Now, at the very least, Santa, can you launch a second Christmas in July? I mean, if Amazon Prime can do it, so can Claus Industries. Not even good King Wenceslas could complain about that. And that is the annual report. on Claws Industries. St. Nick LLC, a registered certified B Corporation. Gifts limited to nice children.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Gift policy does not apply to children naughty for more than 183 days a year. No reindeer were harmed in the making of this podcast. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for the real Friday? 2024 has been a mullet market. Stock and crypto have been up all year, but they're both falling leading into the holidays. Because Trump can have either tariffs or a record stock market. He can't have both.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
For our second story, it's Bud Light. They've fallen to number three in the beer category. Ironically, though, boycotters are buying Michelob Ultra instead. It's Budweiser's sibling strategy, but not even the biggest merger in the world can save beer. And our third and final story, Santa Claus has a monopoly on Christmas gifting, and he sets his prices to zero. Jack and I crunched the numbers.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
If Santa charged normal toy prices, that'd be an $11 trillion business, or actually $12 trillion this year if we include inflation. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the federal government may shut down tonight. Shocking news, a lot of drama. What do we got, Jack?
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
On Wednesday, Congress was poised to pass a bipartisan spending bill, but get this, Elon Musk killed the bill. Yeah, Elon actually tweeted that the bill was a crime, and then Trump agreed with it, and that actually killed the bill. So Republicans scrambled, put together another bill, but that got voted down yesterday evening. So what does all this drama mean?
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Because, yeah, I'm looking at the numbers right now, and this was the best year yet. Jack, I got the whiteboard up right here. And that is all thanks to you, the besties and the yetis out there. So, Jack, why don't we whip open this PowerPoint? All right. This year, we had our first ever live show in New York City. We did. It made business news feel like a concert, the live shows.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Well, the House has until midnight Friday night tonight to figure something out, or else the government shuts down. Second, KFC is launching a new store concept that looks nothing like KFC. Nothing like it. The whole restaurant is about sauce. In fact, they called it sauce. The name of the place is Saucy. New store opens on Monday in Orlando and their specialty, it's sauces.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
There's only one entree, chicken tenders. Tendies. But there's 11 sauces you can choose and 11 drinks you can choose. They also got like their first ever desserts. Actually, besties, this is the third fast food chain we've seen this year launch a spinoff concept. McDonald's had Cosmic. Taco Bell had Live Moss Cafe, which we called a bar. And now KFC has saucy.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And finally, it is streaming's biggest quarter of the year. We got a whole bunch of streaming updates for you. Mr. Beast's Beast Games premiered on Amazon Prime Video yesterday. Yeah, it's crazy competitions for contestants to win money inspired by Squid Game. Oh, speaking of Squid Game, season two premieres the day after Christmas on Netflix.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Oh, speaking of Christmas, Jack, Hallmark is launching their first ever reality dating show on the Hallmark channel.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Big city girl meets small city boy on a medium-sized streaming channel. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and I, because we got some numbers for you. All right, so Christmas is always on December 25th. Hanukkah, the date varies a little bit. It does. This year, Hanukkah and Christmas are actually on the same day, the 25th, for the first time in 20 years.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Now, Mariah Carey is the queen of Christmas, thanks to All I Want for Christmas is You. But we think Adam Sandler is the hunk of Hanukkah. Because Mariah's song is barely number one in Christmas. But to quote Adam Sandler, there's not too many Hanukkah songs out there. Yeah, and the numbers back that up. He's pretty much got a monopoly on the menorah playlist.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Since 1995, when Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song dropped, it's been viewed 40 million times on YouTube, making it the biggest Hanukkah song in history. Yeah, the next closest Hanukkah song we found was not in the millions. Yeah.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Jack, could you sprinkle on some Hanukkah context for us over there? That's one Hanukkah song single for every Jewish person in Florida. In the whole state of Florida. So have a happy, happy, happy, happy Hanukkah. Yetis, you look fantastic right now. Jack, can I just reemphasize how amazing that Hamilton Christmas gift was right now? Oh, man. It was amazing.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
I mean, it was all my favorite things in one night. Nick gave me a full half hour rundown of the Christmas gift I got him. What a show.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Thousands of people. history, New York City, founding fathers, everything I love, business, politics, rap, song, dance. I feel very satisfied being the gift giver of this Hamilton ticket to you. Jack, your gift for me arrives on Christmas Eve and I'll give you a hint. You ready? It's a riddle. Okay. It's something you need to go skiing, but only if you're a time traveler.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
hot tub time machine that's the gift i got you you'll find out in a few days it's framed it's framed oh my god very excited to see this yetis we've got five things we got to share with you before you go first if you have not yet the best way you can grow the show follow us by clicking follow so you get us as soon as we're back with our bonus episodes what are the four other things okay four other ones rate the show five stars that helps us grow the show too well
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
This year, we won our first major award, the Webby Award for Best Business Podcast. Because you voted for us with a record turnout. And this year we launched a second show. Oh, yes. The best idea yet. The best idea yet. This new weekly show, it already hit number two in the business podcast charts. And don't forget, we pulled off the first ever podcast recorded from the backseat of a robo taxi.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
What else? Okay, leave a review because we love reading your reviews over the holidays. That's a lot of fun for us.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Okay, last one. You got to listen to our new show, The Best Idea Yet. It's weekly. It drops two of them. We got one on Lego coming out in a few days. Okay, what's the last wish? Celebrate the wins.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Thank you, Yetis. If you know, you know. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Eddie Armis celebrating 34 years down in Boca Raton, Florida. Happy 34th birthday to Bobby Bullock, the top pilot in the entire Air Force. Wow, this guy goes Mach 6. And he's turning 34. And Grace Montgomery, enjoy that birthday of 29 down in Kingston, Jamaica.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Happy birthday to Monica Chi from Guayaquil, Ecuador, who's living in Shanghai. And John Luke Moraldes turning 30 years old down in lovely Los Angeles. Happy birthday to Benjamin Quek in Sydney, Australia. And Layla Senor is stopping at Texas Roadhouse on her way to Texas, the real Texas, for her birthday.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Congratulations to Caleb Peterson, who has a new baby boy stone, and congrats on the new job down in Nashville. And Madeline Torres from Oregon. Jack, we gave her a birthday shout out this year. She's amazing. She just got into her dream college, Middlebury. What? Yes. She's a panther. We're fellow alums. There we go, Madeline. Amazing.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And Alex Nikoloff and his brother KTG are on their way to rowing practice in Oakland, and Alex just got into Columbia University. Is it admissions season? Congratulations to everybody. And Ben, Annie, and their puppy Rocky the puppy are road tripping from Nashville to Knoxville in a T-boy hoodie. Happy anniversary to legendary Yetis who've been listening since the snack days, Avner and Katie.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
One year Annie in Tel Aviv, Israel. And a big shout out to Kelvin and Anna Wimbera, who are traveling to Finland for a white Christmas up in the Arctic. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon, Disney, and Netflix. Nick owns stock of Nike, and we both own stock of Apple, ETFs with the S&P 500, and a Bitcoin. Bitcoin named Ben.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
We did that this year, Jack. And then Waymo became like the innovation of the year after that episode. That's not just correlation. That's causation, babe. Confirmed. But Nick, our investors want to know the numbers. Yes, they do. Besties, our revenue grew 20%. Our ads were sold out in every quarter. And this show, the best one yet, was consistently in the top 200 charts on Spotify.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Besties, do not worry. We would not leave you solo for the holidays. Don't worry about that. So we whipped up six bonus shows that we're going to sprinkle onto our feed over the next two weeks. It means you're going to still get our razzle dazzle and our sprinkle dinkle over all that eggnog and dreidels over the holidays. They're awesome episodes. We got four next week and two the week after that.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And we passed 300,000 followers just on Spotify. But the biggest thing that we're most proud of... What is it, Jack? Kind of a secret, not really. really, sort of. Are you thinking about our corporate structure over there? This is a Nick and Jack best friend 50-50 company. How cool is that? Nick and Jack, that's it. 50-50 shareholders, Jack and me, equal co-CEOs.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
We each printed out an ornamental stock certificate to show that we have one share each in this company. I got one framed in my home studio, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Besties, thank you to everyone who wrote us a comment, a DM, or a review this year. If you listened to even one episode, thank you. If you sent our show to somebody. Oh, amazing. Thank you. We get to be on these mics every day because of you. So this is our last regular pod for two weeks. Nick and I are both taking some time off to relax with the families.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And we hope you get to celebrate the wins as well. Anything else, Nick? Should we check with the operator? I think that's everything we got in the report, Jack. Hear ye, hear ye. Annual shareholder meeting hath been adjourned. Knock, knock, knock. I second that motion.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Closure. Jack, let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
For our first story, stocks just had their worst day of the year. The Dow fell for 10 straight days. But we'll explain why the Dow is actually dumb. Don't worry about the Dow. And we'll explain what you should worry about instead. The sexy S&P 500. But yet is, Jack and I have been looking at the numbers and stocks are not enjoying a Santa rally before the holidays like they usually do.
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
There is no holiday cheer on Wall Street. No, no. It is a Santa slump. It's a Hanukkah hiccup. Wall Street is getting Kwanzaa crushed right now, Jack. Because the Dow is down 4% in just the last week. Yesterday, the Dow barely broke a 10-day losing streak. It's the longest losing streak since back in 1974, Carter. But here's what you need to know about the Dow, okay?
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
The Dow is dumb. Ever since Jack and I worked at banks, we've always said this. We've never said it publicly. But we kind of think the Dow is dumb. I'm so sick and tired of our obsession with the Dow because it is dumb. Yeah, it's dumb. The DJIA, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a mathematical index of 30 stocks that the Dow committee chooses and updates regularly. But why 30 stocks?
The Best One Yet
🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And then we're back after the new year. But in the meantime, Jack, like we said, this is the best show we've ever done. So three stories for today's pod. What do we got on the T-Boy, man? For our first story, stocks just had their worst week since the election. And guess what? It was because of the election. So as we enter 2025, we're going to tell you why the Dow is dumb.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Because there's 8,000 stocks on the US stock market. So 30 stocks in the Dow, that's not enough to represent the whole stock market in the first place. The Dow has Nike, but Nike doesn't represent all of apparel. Jack, the Dow has McDonald's, but McDonald's doesn't reflect the entire food industry. But poor representation isn't even the main reason the Dow is dumb.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
The main reason the 139-year-old Dow Jones Industrial Average is dumb is math. Math. Yeah, it's dumb math. Because the Dow isn't weighted based on how big the companies are. The Dow is weighted based on the company's stock price. And Jack, why is that mathematically a problem? Because stock prices are totally arbitrary.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Stock prices just reflect how many times the company has split their stocks in their history. So instead of Apple, the number one biggest company on earth having the most weight in the Dow, UnitedHealthcare randomly has the most weight in the Dow. We repeat, the stock that has the most influence on the Dow is randomly UnitedHealthcare because their stock is randomly $500, which is randomly high.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Oh, and by the way, UnitedHealthcare has fallen 20% in the last couple weeks because its CEO was murdered. So why has the Dow had a 10-day losing streak? Because UnitedHealthcare stock has taken a slide. The Dow's not down because stocks are down. The Dow is down because the math it uses is dumb. It's inexplicable that the Dow has not changed their formula. It's honestly stubbornness.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Have we made our point yet, Yannis? So the way, Jack, and I see it, if you want to understand how the stock market actually did this year, you should check out the S&P 500. The S&P 500. It's got better representation and it uses better math. The S&P 500 has been enjoying what we call a mullet market. A mullet market. Business on the front, party in the back.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Business on the front, party in the back. Jack, why is the stock market in the front business looking good? Because profits are at record highs and a Trump tax cut would boost profits even further. In the back, the party is looking pretty good too. Crypto is at all-time high prices with a crypto-friendly administration coming to the White House. But here's another situation, yetis.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
On Wednesday, even the 500 companies in the S&P 500 index sank for their worst day since August. The S&P 500 fell 3% on Wednesday. They're now barely up just 1.5% since Trump won the election on November 5th. Even the party side of the stock market mullet, it got buzz killed this week. Get this, Bitcoin fell 10% in a 24-hour period. Ben, the Bitcoin, not having fun. Fell from $108,000 to $96,000.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
So it's not just the dumb Dow that tanked last week. Stocks overall had a bad day too. And the reason why is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the stock market? Does Trump want tariffs or record stock market? Because he can't have both. Yeti's on Wednesday.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
The Federal Reserve, our nation's central bank, changed their interest rate plans and spooked the markets. Before Trump was elected, the Fed expected four interest rate cuts for next year. But now, they expect just two interest rate cuts. The reason for this big change, Jack, what is it? It's Donald Trump's election.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
The Fed is now waiting to see if Trump's economic policies undo progress on inflation. Their main focus is on tariffs. Tariffs, by their definition, raise prices so tariffs could restart inflation. So Trump has a big decision to make next year. On the one hand, he could do the tariffs and suffer the potential consequences of higher interest rates, higher inflation, and lower stock markets.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
For our second story, it's Bud Light. Bud Light was the number one beer. Then it fell to number two. Now it's number three. Wow. Michelob Ultra is now bigger than Bud. But Bud Light's pain is its sister's gain. And our third and final story, we're covering Santa and his elves. Yes, we are. They're working mightily hard right now up on the North Pole. Jack and I dove in T-boy style to Santa Inc.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Or he could not do the tariffs and abandon his favorite economic policy. Besties, that is the big economic question that we're going to see in 2025. Does Trump want tariffs or record stock markets? Because investors, they think you can't have both. For our second story, Bud Light has fallen shockingly to number three in beer. Bud Light now trails Modelo and Michelob Ultra.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Bud has a solution for Bud Light. Yes, they do. But it doesn't have a solution for beer. No, they don't. Jack, I got three words for you and they're basically syllables. You ready? Bud-wise-er.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
It's an amphibian. We'll discuss it later. Growing up, Bud Light was synonymous with the word beer.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
You can actually enjoy all three of those at the same time, Jack. Oh, Kleenex, Band-Aid, Jacuzzi, and Bud Light? It's a fun kind of an evening. But after the Bud Light boycott of last year, Modelo Especial became the shocking number one beer in the American grocery aisles. You hit up aisle six, you leave with a six pack of Modelo. But here's the news.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Bud Light has lost its number one status in bar taps as well. If you want a beer on draft, chances are you're ordering a Michelob Ultra. We got the data on this stuff. Get this. So in cans and bottles, Modelo is winning. In pint glasses, Michelob Ultra is winning. Add it all up, and you got to pour one out for our buddies over at Bud Light.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Overall, Modelo takes 10% of America's beer dollars, Michelob Ultra takes 7%, and Bud Light takes just 6.5%. Budweiser isn't the king of beers anymore. It's like the intern of beers. It's the jester of beers. It's the jester. But besties, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. There's something highly ironic going on with this fall in Bud Light to number three.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
According to the data, a lot of the people boycotting Bud Light are buying Bud Light's sister brands instead. We'll explain. AB InBev is the biggest beer company in the world by far. $100 billion, they own Bud Light. They just announced their earnings. And get this, two of the three fastest growing beers in the world are Michelob Ultra and Bush Light. And why do we find that so interesting, Jack?
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Those two beers are Bud Light's sister brands. Yes, they are. So Bush Light, Michelob Ultra, and Bud Light are all owned by the same company, AB InBev. Michelob Ultra is the same as Bud Light, it's just with aspirational branding. And Bush Light is also the same as Bud Light, just with low brow banding. Yeah, we've noticed this is all part of Budweiser's sibling strategy, isn't it, Jack?
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
A range of beers that pretty much taste the same. But very different in how they're branded. Just like how you and your sister are related, but you dress differently. The inside's pretty much similar, but the outside could be totally different, guys.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Especially if you're in a hot tub. So to add it all up, it appears that to protest Bud Light, some drinkers are simply putting their money in AB InBev's other pockets instead.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
And we're seeing AB InBev respond to this. AB InBev has actually elevated Michelob Ultra to flagship status. They're giving Michelob more marketing budget. The beer sponsor of the Team USA Olympics and the beer sponsor of the World Cup. It's not Bud Light anymore. It's Michelob Ultra. But yeties, something much bigger than Bud Light boycotts and sister squabblings is happening to beer right now.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Budweiser? Not even the biggest merger in beer could stop beer's decline. Yetis, nine years ago, we covered the biggest merger we'd ever seen. The number one in the world merging with the number two in the world. AB InBev acquired SAB Miller for $107 billion. It's crazy.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Klaus Industries. St. Nick LLC, a registered B corporation. Because get this, Santa is an $11 trillion a year business. Actually, Jack, adjusted for inflation, it's a $12 trillion a year business.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Regulators allowed the world's number one to merge with the world's number two. It was a beeropoly. AB InBev, SAB Miller together have 400 different beer brands. 400! At the time, they were worth more than Starbucks, Nike, or Disney. But here's the shocker. Stock of that mega brewery has fallen every single year since the merger. And the two big reasons we've noticed why?
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
First, Americans have shifted to spirits. Beer is losing to liquor, so Bud Light's never been sick. And second, Gen Z, they're not switching away from beer. They never drank in the first place. Now, some are predicting a return to alcohol in the Trump second era. Yeah, part of a backlash against wokeism. But we think the two anti-beer megatrends we just mentioned, we think they'll continue.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
Millennials want whiskey and Gen Z wants sobriety. So in 2025, beer brands will have to fight for their sips of a shrinking pint. Not even the biggest merger in beer could stop beer's decline.
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🎅 “Claus Industries'' — Santa’s $12 Trillion biz. The Dow is dumb. Budweiser’s sister strategy.
All right, yetis, for our third and final story today, we're actually going to do something special, a little tradition, if you will. Last year, we did a deep dive on Santa's business, and you guys loved it so much, we were like, we got to do this again.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, January 17th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a tea boy. By the way, my mouth feels so roomy. I was going to say. Like the wisdom tooth's out. I got all this room for my tongue and my teeth. You didn't need that tooth. I feel fantastic. By the way, Jack, celebrate the wins.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
That's a utility vehicle, not that different than the Jeep, but it looks like it's a transformer. Jack, what about this thing they make called the Fury? Fury is a fighter jet, like an F-35, but without a pilot. And it's designed to terrify the enemies of the United States. It sounds terrifying. Even think about like the name of this new factory. It's called The Arsenal.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
The Arsenal, a 5 million square foot factory in Ohio that's going to build the Barracuda, the Menace, and the Fury. Besties, pause the pod for a second. These are products meant to kill people, but their names sound like they're straight out of a video game. Enderil's product names make Lockheed Martin's fighter jets sound cute. Yes, they do. Also, side note we should mention about the company.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And you couldn't leave your shift until you do that 50 times. Sounds like a torturous Jenga. But over at Chick-fil-A, Jack, what is the most hated part of the job? Squeezing lemons. That's right. Lemonade. Yetis, at Chick-fil-A, the thing employees hate the most is the lemonade. Because squeezing lemons gets citrus all over you.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
The founder's brother-in-law is Matt Gates, and he's full-on MAGA. Which leads, actually, to our takeaway. Yes, it does. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in American business? Over the next four years, the language of business will change. Yetis, last week, Jack and I told you how Zuckerberg ended fact-checking because Trump won the election.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And then he said on Joe Rogan's podcast that there's space for more masculinity in corporate America. Now, all of this is a sign that the business world is adapting to a more Trumpy style of speaking. We're starting to see it already. CEOs are going to be more unapologetic, more macho, and more wrapped in USA flags with the way they talk.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
We think you're actually going to start noticing this in how companies write, speak, communicate. Like, tell it to you straight, as Zuck said. Some CEOs are going to start telling it to you straight because that's how they genuinely feel. Other CEOs will do it to signal to the Trump administration that they're on their side.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
But get ready for a different kind of business speak, a new kind of business lingo, and a fresh style from CEOs. You're going to start feeling and sensing and hearing a lot more macho lingo. Because over the next four years, the language of American business will change. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us heading into the weekend?
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
TikTok is scheduled to shut down on Sunday morning, but there are still three potential outcomes. Zuck wants outcome number one, TikTok wants outcome number two, and Elon wants outcome number three. For our second story, for a bunch of reasons, whiskey sales have fallen for two straight years in America. To end the bourbon bust, they got to do what Ferrari did. open whiskey world.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And our third and final story, Anduril is building a 5 million square foot factory in Ohio to build next generation weapons of war. Yetis, keep your ears open because for the next four years, the language of business is going to change. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
First, Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched a giant rocket into space. It's a big deal. Blue Origin's New Glenn is a huge rocket. It's the height of the Statue of Liberty. It puts a lot of pressure on other billionaires to get more rockets up into space. But unlike Elon's SpaceX rockets, they failed to land it back on Earth safely.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And second, State Farm just canceled their Super Bowl ad one month before the big game. Why'd they do it? Because State Farm is an insurance company, and the commercial they took was filmed in Los Angeles. So given the Los Angeles wildfires and the existential challenge of home insurance there, not the best look to pull off a Super Bowl ad.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And finally, Severance, which just launched season two on Apple TV, just pulled off a wild stunt in Grand Central Terminal. Okay, the TV show is directed by Ben Stiller. And Ben Stiller and like the whole cast took over Grand Central Station. They built a fake office. In the middle of the terminal. Yeah. And had the actors in the show, one of whom is Adam Scott, a really famous actor.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
You burn your hands, you sting your eyes, you smell like lemon pledge. And if there's a crack in your finger or if you have a cut, if lemon gets in there, Don't even start, but get this, Yetis. Chick-fil-A has an elegant new solution. Robots that will squeeze the lemons for you. That's right.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
They had them act like they were working in an office. Bessie, before you jumped on the six train, if you saw this while you were commuting and took a picture of it, we'd love to see it. Wild scene. Every passerby must have been like, what's going on? Oh my God, those are famous actors. And I'm already watching the show. Now, time for the best fact yet.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
This one whipped up by Jack and me for our Yetis in lovely Los Angeles. The Hollywood sign is still standing strong in the Hollywood Hills. And it's fantastic because it's actually turning 102 years old this year. Now, the sign originally said Hollywood Land. Yes, it did. And it was a sign to promote a brand new real estate development. It was a real estate ad, basically.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Each letter is also larger than you realize. That L, that W, 50 feet long. Now, it fell into disrepair in the 1970s, but it got saved by, get this, Hugh Hefner. Well, now the Hollywood sign is maintained by a trust, and it's safe from the fire and hopefully becomes a wonderful sign of the city's great resilience. Yetis, you look fantastic for the three-day MLK Junior weekend.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Whether you're making lemons out of lemonade or lemonade over a Chick-fil-A. And remember to drop a comment. Tell us the worst part of your job that you wish AI or bots could do for you. By the way, Yetis, Jack and I are whipping up a special surprise for you tomorrow morning on Saturday. We're dropping a teaser to our new series. You've got to check it out. All right.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Now, Jack, it feels like it's celebrate the wins time. Should I pour a little whiskey for you? Apparently we're the only ones still doing it, man. That's true. Yeti, celebrate the wins, and Jack and I will see you tomorrow morning. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti, Amy Klein, and Sputendevil, the greatest neighborhood in the Boogie Down Bronx.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
It's actually just outside Manhattan, Jack, and it used to be part of Manhattan. Wild story there. Just outside Manhattan. And Kubri Yaradilmis in Istanbul, Turkey, is celebrating the best birthday. Happy 36th birthday. Great year, by the way. To Devin Young, an 88er living down in Atlanta, Georgia.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And Andrew Blazer in Woodinville, Washington is celebrating a birthday on two poles, two skis, and three black diamonds. And Cassie Parco down in Phoenix is growing veggies and eating a Romanesco for the birthday. And good luck to Ivy Ayers in Minneapolis, who's got a skating competition in Duluth. And get this, Ivy says that T-Boy is her Taylor Swift.
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🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
We've never been compared to Taylor, and we are so proud and thankful for that comparison. Honestly, Ivy, thank you so much for enjoying the show with your whole family. Fantastic to have all the Ayers with us. And finally, a big shout out to Ryan Eberhardt, who wants us to do a live T-Boy show outside of Dallas. An outdoor show.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Good walkthrough. Pretty good. Pretty interesting. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, pour yourself whiskey. I mean, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and we both own a Bitcoin. Say hello to my little friend.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Chick-fil-A just built a 200,000 square foot factory that is full of one thing and one thing only, lemon squeezing robots. That's four football fields full of lemon squeezers. None of them are humans. This Chick-fil-A robo-lemonade factory, it's actually processing 50,000 lemons a day. That's 13,000 glasses of lemonade squeezed by these robots.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Which is apparently enough juice to supply every Chick-fil-A in the continental United States. The reason this factory is so productive, the robots smash citrus 24-7. Robots don't need pee break. No, they do not. And honestly, Jack and I were looking at this epic Chick-fil-A factory. We're all for it.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Or are we seeing all these headlines about AI that will do poetry or AI that will make a movie for us? Hey, yetis, we don't need robots hosting podcasts. We need robots making lemonade. That's the best use. Let's stop creating robots and AI that will do the things that are essentially human things. So Chick-fil-A, they turned laborious lemons into lemonade. Literally.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
But Yetis, we want to hear from you. What's the worst part of your job that you wish bots or AI could do for you? Drop an answer in the comments and we'll pass your request on to Big Tech. In the meantime, Jack, let's squeeze our three stars.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Our new show was just named New and Noteworthy on Apple. There you go.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
For our first story, TikTok will shut down this Sunday. So Jack and I are going to tell you exactly what to expect. We'll also tell you the two most likely ways that TikTok could be rescued in the final hours. But before we do tell you all that, a strange thing happened this week in the language learning app called Duolingo. And what was that, Jack? Out of nowhere.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
If you go to Apple Podcasts, right on the front page, you're going to see the best idea yet. Oh, so cool to see that promotion. Celebrate the wins. Jack, three stories for today's T-boy, though. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, TikTok is scheduled to shut down on Sunday. Yeah. We repeat, TikTok is going dark in two days.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Americans learning Chinese on the Duolingo app tripled. Why did Mandarin suddenly surge in America? What's going on exactly? Because we're about to lose TikTok. So people are trying to find a TikTok replacement app, such as Red Note. Red Note happens to be a Chinese app, so Americans are learning Chinese. They're calling themselves TikTok refugees, and they're downloading Chinese apps.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
This is all part of the dramatic final 48 hours of TikTok. Yes, it is. Because a law passed by Congress requires that Apple and Google remove TikTok from their app stores this Sunday, January 19th. So we know what you're wondering because everyone's wondering it. What is going to happen? Well... ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, said it plans to just shut the thing down.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
On Sunday, ByteDance plans to show Americans what life is like without TikTok. And that's the most likely outcome. That is outcome number one. On Sunday morning, TikTok will not open on your phone. Yeah, very, very demure. It will be a no bones day in America, Jack. Nick, two other things could still happen between now and Sunday morning. And that's a good point, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
You must be talking about outcome number two and outcome number three. Outcome number two is that the Supreme Court intervenes at the last second. Yetis, the Supreme Court actually heard arguments from TikTok just last week, but they still haven't ruled on whether the law will be canceled and TikTok could be saved.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Yeah, the justice has probably just downloaded it for the first time and they're like trying to figure out what to do. I don't know who this corn kid is, but he's pretty funny. It's a good video. So the justices could rule last second, like Saturday night, they could rule that the TikTok bill is unconstitutional. So TikTok would live on. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Chief Justice John Roberts just found out who Addison Rae is. And apparently he's a big fan now. But Nick, there's also a third potential outcome. Yes, there is. Yeti's ByteDance could sell TikTok in the next 48 hours as the bill demanded in the first place. That would allow TikTok to live on under non-Chinese ownership.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And that option, that's getting pretty interesting because of the latest news. Well, TikTok CEO, a man named Xu Zhi, is attending Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday. Yeah. In fact, he even got VIP tickets from Donald Trump. Which suggests that some kind of deal between TikTok, the Trump administration, and some buyer in America could be in the works. And that would prevent a TikTok ban.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
We could get a TikTok ban blocked. Nicely done. Also very demure, Jack. So Jack, we got to get these while we can. What's the takeaway for our buddies over at TikTok? Zuckerberg wants outcome number one. TikTok wants outcome number two. And Elon Musk wants outcome number three. Yetis, follow us on this one. If outcome number one happens, then TikTok will shut down on Sunday.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
So Jack and I will tell you what to expect on Sunday morning when you instinctively try to open that app. For our second story, for the first time in a generation, whiskey sales are falling in America. The great bourbon booms become the great bourbon bubble bust. But Nick and I have a solution for Jack Daniels. We do, we do, we do. We call it Whiskey World.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
As expected, the app will just go dark. That would be fantastic news for Mark Zuckerberg. Yeah, it would. Because Instagram and Facebook are expected to take 40% of TikTok's spoils. Yeah, Meta's stock's already up on this. But TikTok's parent company prefers outcome number two, that the Supreme Court saves TikTok. Because ByteDance and TikTok... They want to just not be banned.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Yeah, because TikTok is China's tech gold medal. It's beloved in the West, even though it is banned in China. And they love that. TikTok is China's middle finger to Western democracies in the entire tech industry. But Jack, those are the first two outcomes. Who would love option number three, a sale? Elon Musk would love that option.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Yeah, in fact, besties, there are reports that ByteDance would only sell TikTok to one American and one American only, Elon Musk. And Elon would love outcome number three. Oh, totally. Because if he could acquire TikTok, then he could merge it with X and become the supreme overlord of American media. And here's the interesting twist.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
China might be okay with it because Tesla's huge business in China makes Elon surprisingly pro-Chinese. So Yetis. We are 48 hours away from January 19th, TikTok's D-Day. We still don't know what will happen with TikTok. But we know that Zuck wants outcome number one, a ban. TikTok wants outcome number two, a save. And Elon Musk wants outcome number three, a sale.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
For our second story, the great bourbon bubble has officially burst. Whiskey sales are falling for the first time in a generation because of five fiascos. All right, well, Jack, it is Friday. We got to share a Friday tradition. Can I share this with the Yetis? You cool with it? Okay, we celebrate the wins on Fridays.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
I pour a glass of Hill Rock whiskey every Friday afternoon after the show, straight up, and then I send a picture to Jack, a little toast. The picture implies he's about to drink the whole glass. I know you're just having like one sip and then putting the glass down. You know how I roll. For the last decade, there has been a bourbon boom. It's been a lot of fun, honestly.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Sipping whiskey is a luxury flex. Every time I order a bourbon or a whiskey at the bar, I feel way more sophisticated. You grow more hair too. Bourbon. Right, Scotch. Revenues for the whole sector were growing 10% a year. They hit an all-time high in 2022. Old-fashioned. Felt young. In fact, whiskey got so big and so expensive, it became an investment vehicle. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
A rare bottle of Macallan Scotch sold for $4 million at an auction in 2023. Yeah. Forget the 401k. Bourbon was the new Bitcoin, baby. But here's the news. Whiskey sales have fallen in America for two straight years. Yes, they have. It's the first declines for this alcohol category in a generation. Yeah, we've been charting it. The bourbon boom has become a bourbon bubble bust.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And here's the latest news. Brown Foreman, the owner of Jack Daniels, cut 700 jobs this week. Oh, and Jack, what was the quote from his CEO when he made the news? He said, to be honest, it's not really getting a lot better. Maker's mark? Gonna need to make some more marks. So, Yetis, why is the bourbon bust happening right now? It's not just dry January. No, it is not.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
For our third and final story, language is changing across America, and you can see it in business. In fact, you can see it specifically in Andoril, a drone startup that just made a huge announcement. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. No one else is doing that mix. Love the mix of stories, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
In fact, there are so many reasons for the bourbon bust. You're going to want to fix yourself a drink when you hear this story. The first reason, Gen Z is simply the soberest generation in American history. Gen Z drinks 20% less than millennials did, and we drink like 20% less than our parents do. The second reason is Ozempic.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Yeah, Ozempic's got you craving fewer caloric beverages, and that includes that Kraft rye cocktail with a whole bunch of maple syrup. The third reason we're experiencing a bourbon bust is cannabis competition. With the legalization of weed, people are trading drinks for doobies. And finally... Cancer. Yeah. Last week, we told you exactly about this.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
The Surgeon General said that alcohol causes cancer and he wants to add warning labels to that bottle of Jack. But the final challenge for the bourbon category is the biggest surprise of all. It's actually Donald Trump. Because American whiskey is going to be a victim of his trade war. And we've seen this before back in 2018. What happened then, Jack?
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Donald Trump put tariffs on European goods and the EU retaliated by tariffing American whiskey. Which wasn't good for the entire whiskey industry. Jim Beam just can't catch a break. No, he cannot. But Jack and I, we've got a solution to save the whiskey industry. We're going to help Johnny Walker start running again. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Bourbon?
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Whiskey should borrow an idea from Ferrari. Whiskey world. Yetis, there is an interesting arbitrage opportunity that we see here. Sales of bourbon are down, but the bourbon brand is at its highest recognition ever. People are drinking less whiskey, yes, but whiskey recognizably stands for something. Yes, it does. That's the brand.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
So whiskey companies should expand that brand into the products that you do actually buy that are an alcohol. We're expecting a Jack Daniels branded leather chair that you can handsomely sit on next to your fireplace. Whether you drink whiskey or not, you'd probably enjoy that. Or a Jeep Wrangler with Jack Daniel branded interior.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Whether you drink whiskey or not, you understand what that version of the car stands for. Nick, when I was studying abroad in Berlin, Germans loved wearing Jack Daniel's t-shirts, Jack Daniel's hats. It was wild. It represented something Americana that people just wanted to be a part of. That's it, Jack. And we've seen this before with Ferrari.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Ferrari expanded their brand to clothing, furniture, and even a theme park to reach an audience that didn't buy their cars. Because Ferrari stands for made in Italian excellence and precision. So one way to pivot from the bourbon bust is to double down on the brand, which stands for rugged, made in America, historic. Borrow an idea from Ferrari and open up Whiskey World. Even Gen Z would go. Maybe.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Nick, as a former Olive Garden waiter, can I share the worst part of working at a restaurant? Jack, you were the wine salesman of the month. I would love to hear the worst part of your olive garden job. Rolling silverware. Oh, that doesn't sound fun. You needed to stack up a knife, a spoon, and a fork, and then wrap it up in a napkin so it looks elegant.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
For our third and final story, a $14 billion drone startup just announced a huge factory for the U.S. military. But what the startup Anduril really shows us right now is how American business language is about to change. The lingo changes. is about to change, and we'll tell you how. But yet, in 2014, Mark Zuckerberg started his journey into the metaverse by acquiring a startup called Oculus.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And by acquiring Oculus, it made Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, a billionaire at the age of 22. Palmer Luckey happens to look like Tony Stark with a goatee, doesn't he, Jack? Well, Tony Stark has a goatee. I think it looks like half Tony Stark, half Hank Hill from King of the Hill. Either way, he's got a good barber.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And after selling his virtual reality headset company to Zuck, Palmer Lucky, he started a US defense company. It's called Anduril. And yesterday, they announced a new factory they were going to build in Ohio to build next generation military weapons. Besties, this is a private company valued at $14 billion. They already have factories in Rhode Island. Focused on submarines. In Mississippi.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
Focused on rocket motors. And already in Texas. To test their autonomous drones. But none of those existing facilities compare to what Anduril is building next. And that is... Arsenal One. Arsenal One. It's going to create 4,000 new jobs and hyperscale America's weapons manufacturing. Arsenal One. It sounds like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie.
The Best One Yet
🫡 “TikTok Refugee” — TikTok’s final countdown. Jack Daniels’ bourbon bust. Anduril’s new language of business.
And that's the striking detail that we noticed about Andrew Earl's products. Yeah, that's what we found fascinating here. All of this company's products are named after violence. For example, the Barracuda. It's a cruise missile that can shoot 100 pounds of explosive payload, 500 miles. Or Jack, what about the Menace?
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
this is nick this is jack it's friday the real friday november 15th and today's pod is the best one yet this is a t-boy the top three pop business news stories you need to know today yeti stocks they've slowed down jack and i we don't slow down
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Sit down, stand up, and write the checks. Because if you're moving into a new apartment in New York City, you got to pay one month's rent, one month's security deposit, and two more months of rent just to pay the broker. Four months rent in a city where rent is $5,000? You see how that adds up. But not anymore. Here's the news.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
The New York City Council just voted 42 to 8 to shift the broker fee from the renters to the landlords. Hallelujah. That's right. Our first reaction... We were shocked. We were actually shocked it was that easy. We thought this was never going to change. Why hasn't the city council done this before? Well, apparently there are two reasons why the city has not changed this painful rule before.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
The first is lack of urgency. The city council said they passed this bill in the wake of the 2024 election to show New Yorkers that Democrats care about housing affordability. And the second reason is the huge, powerful New York City real estate lobby. The big landlord lobby of New York argued strenuously against the passage of this bill. Yeah, the landlords, they did not want to pay a broker fee.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And they said, if we do have to pay a broker fee... we're just going to pass it on to the renters in the form of higher rent. So no matter what, you're going to pay more money, renters. But if renters are going to bear the cost no matter what, then what does the lobby care? Why did they fight the bill so much if they're not paying it either way?
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Well, we think that this bill will reduce the cost to renters, shifting those costs to the landlords. And why do we think that, Jack? We think this is a huge victory for renters. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who are renting? Who bears the burden, bears the cost.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Yet he's switching the burden from one side of a financial transaction to the other that actually has huge economic consequences. There's big money in the burden. But who bears the burden is often simply a relic of tradition. True. Or a relic of lobbying. That is why switching the burden, in this case, of paying the broker fee, often requires a big policy change.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
It's like the story we did last month. about automatic refunds, a new rule from the FAA? It's the same burden, Jack. Same type of burden. Shifting the burden of who has to request a refund had $5 billion of benefits come to passengers. So, Basties, it is an overlooked area of public policy with huge economic consequences because the burden is a barrier. Who bears the burden bears the cost.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Mark Zuckerberg's personal makeover is complete after dropping a cover of Get Low with T-Pain. Zuck's fashion reflects Meta's corporate makeover. More vibes, less involvement. For our second story, Amazon Haul is live. Just like Timu, you can buy things for two bucks, but shipping takes two weeks. Yeah, it's a Timu dupe.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Amazon, they didn't want to launch this, but they had to launch this. This is a plug your nose product. And our third and final story. The New York City Council passed a new law shifting the broker fee from renters to landlords. And who bears the burden bears the cost. Which is finally landlords, like the rest of the country. I think we still owe them, Jack. But yetis, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And Jack, that hoodie pairs well with our new best sweatpants yet. Also super soft with the T-boy logo right on the butt. Just kidding. The T-boy logo's on the front. It was a joke. I like what you did there, too. Plus, we've got a brand new white hat, which, I mean, we're both wearing it, right? Yeah. If you're watching on YouTube, you can check this hat right now. It's fantastic.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Here's what else you need to know today. First, Disney stock jumped 10% after investors gave their movie finances two thumbs up. This summer, Disney had two $1 billion box office wins with Deadpool and Wolverine and Inside Out 2. And for the current quarter, Disney's on pace for a couple more epic box office wins. Moana 2 and Lion King sequel Mufasa are both coming out this holiday season.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Not too shabby. And second, stocks of vaccine companies fell on news of Trump's latest appointment. RFK Jr., the vaccine skeptic, will be in charge of health and human services. So Pfizer, Moderna, and GlaxoSmithKline, all makers of vaccines, fell after the latest news. And finally, General Mills just acquired its fifth pet food brand. This one for $1.4 billion.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
I mean, Jack, at this point, General Mills isn't a cereal company. It's a pet chow company. They also own Blue Buffalo. Don't you use that stuff? I don't. Oh. but they now own White Bridge Pet Foods. General Mills. They're making Cheerios, they're making Lucky Charms, and they're making Cookie Crisp for your cockapoo. Can I get a Cookie Crisp, Jack? Maybe for the outtakes.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jack and me because we have got an update for you. Earlier this week, we did a story on work wives. Work wives, work spouses, work husbands, someone at work who you share everything with like a life partner. Because Nick and I are the most monogamous work husbands of all time. Exactly.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
So we asked you, the Yetis, do you have a work wife or a work husband? And we put a poll on Spotify. 38% of you said, yes, I have a work spouse. 34% of you said, no, I don't have a work spouse. And 28% of you hate this whole millennial concept of work spouses. It was pretty close. It was pretty close. Most of you have a work spouse. Some of you don't.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And a lot of you apparently don't even like this concept, but we're into it. The plurality are locked up. Yeah, they're locked down at work. Jack, you look fantastic over there. Yetis, you do too. But Jack, you do look fantastic because you are wearing our new T-Boy merch drop hat. I like it. We're pretty pumped about this holiday merch drop. It's only open for about six or seven days.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
So check out the link in the episode description to buy your collection now. That's www.tboypod.com slash shop. Oh, and when you have some time over this weekend, check out our latest episode of The Best Idea Yet, our untold origin story on Sriracha. And if you don't do either of those things, celebrate the wins either way. Celebrate the wins. If you know, you know.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti and our creative director, Rachel Hauer, celebrating with a 5,000 mile run. How are you doing? She's doing fantastic. And Joshua Bentley is turning 34 years old in Groton, Connecticut. Celebrate that win. Happy 26th birthday to James Robenheimer in Westchester, Pennsylvania.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And Hala Alismail is turning 18 years old in Katy, Texas, learning French, but believes nothing is not possible. Happy 14 years together to Alma Madrigal and Jonathan Campos in Montclair, California. And Jack Mara Anstett is getting married after a legendary meet-cute at the University of Michigan, celebrating in Nashville, Tennessee. And congratulations to John Evans, a.k.a.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
It looks fantastic. And we've got our first ever T-boy sticker pack. Our five favorite T-boy catchphrases to razzle dazzle your laptop. We haven't trademarked these yet. And you can toss it all into our brand new T-boy tote bag. Because to hold all that merch, you're going to need a bigger bag. Oh yeah. But besties, quick disclaimer, Jack, could you sprinkle on some context?
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Smevins, in Potsdown, Pennsylvania, who just got a fantastic promotion. And a happy 27th birthday to Daniel Modin down in lovely Davenport, Florida. Happy birthday to the best boyfriend, Colin Fagan, who's turning 28 in Westbrook, Maine. And Jack, get this. Alex Darcy, Tilly Banks, and Vasco Santos are meeting up over in Liverpool.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
They haven't seen each other since they were seven, but this weekend, they're bringing the band back together. Alex, Tilly, and Vasco celebrate that incredible win. This is Jack Islandstock of Amazon, Moderna, and Disney.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
This special T-Boy holiday fashion collection is only available to purchase for one week. That's right. This is literally a drop. The shop, it closes this coming Wednesday at midnight. And once the window is closed, we're not dropping these items or styles again. It's a pre-order model, so shipping will have your swag arrive at your house about a month from now, just before Christmas.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
So don't buy another double-digit latte. Instead, treat yourself to a T-Boy sweatsuit. Get yourself the best gift yet this holiday season. Oh, and if you got a buddy that refuses to wear pink, don't worry. The sweatsuit is Gen Z approved bone color. That is going to be the talk of the season. Everyone's talking about it. So go right now to tboypod.com slash shop and order your collection.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
three stories for today's show what do we got on the pod jack for our first story mark zuckerberg just dropped his first rap song true story a cover of get low with t-pain but besties this isn't zuck's midlife makeover this is meta's entire corporate strategy for our second story amazon just launched the cheapest thing they've ever launched amazon haul
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
That's tboypod.com slash shop. We put the link in the episode description. The pre-order window is open until Wednesday night, but make your moves right now. And then check out our Instagram over the weekend because we're doing some modeling shots. Aren't you doing a photo shoot tonight? Jack, we can't start a trade war unless we do this photo shoot. Blue steel. Yeah, blue steel.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
If you know, you know. Happy shopping, Yetis. Jack, let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
For our first story, Mark Zuckerberg just released a rap song with T-Pain. It's the culmination of Zuck's personal makeover, but it's actually Meta's corporate strategy, too. Now, yetis, sometimes Jack and I lead a story with a hero stat. Or sometimes we lead with a big number. Or sometimes we put on a math key and just dive into the data.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Instead, we're going to play you today a clip from a new song that just dropped.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And Mark Zuckerberg. That's right, Yeti. Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, CEO of Meta, just dropped Get Low as a cover with the Grammy winner T-Pain. It's a track by T-Pain and Z-Pain, which is Zuck's rapper name, apparently. And Zuck says that he actually met his wife grinding to that song at Harvard 20 years ago. So he produced the song as a gift to his wife.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
We repeat, the artist behind Buy You a Drink, Shawty Get Loose, and who could forget Bootywork, just dropped a duet with Mark Zuckerberg, the multi-billionaire. That's exactly correct, Nick. But before you judge whether this is cool or cringe. Yeah, Jack. Zuck's first rap song is actually a part of something much bigger. Yeti, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Mark Zuckerberg turned 40 years old this year. Happy birthday. But instead of a midlife crisis, he got a midlife PR makeover. Think about it. Last year, Mark Zuckerberg was the dweeby villain of Social Network. He had short hair, mild acne, and that cliche hoodie and slip-on slippers. It pictured Marky Mark Zuckerberg.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
He was schvitzing through a bad suit while robotically answering questions from an angry congressman. But this year, Zuck went viral for good reasons. He went viral like all the D'Amelio sisters. First, it was his mixed martial arts like black belt. Then it was that video of him wakeboarding while chugging a beer and holding an American flag. And then Jack, it wasn't just his activities.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
That's right, Amazon just zucked Timu with a Shein dupe. And our third and final story, get this. New York City renters spend $13,000 on an apartment before they even move into it. Wild numbers. But the country's most hated renter rule is getting reversed. The broker fee. We're talking about the broker fee. The fee fee on Amazon. I love this mix, Jack. Nick, I'm looking at the calendar.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
It was also his personal style too. Now he rocks a gold chain and he's got that curly hair fro situation. And he also bought a stretch limousine minivan for his family, which looked awesome. It's like Zuck's living the sequel to Clueless. He Heidi clumed himself, Jack. He Heidi clumed himself. For his 40th birthday, he also rocked a mob chic aesthetic, or as we call it, Zuckcore.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
So add it all up and Zuck is going through the world's most expensive glow up. Now, Mark claims that there's a theme to all this. He says that he loves ancient Rome, so he's channeling the Roman Stoics in this new makeover.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
The other things he's done, he just had a Roman statue designed and built for his wife, he named his kids after Roman emperors, and he's been wearing t-shirts with Marcus Aurelius quotes. So he says this is all just who he is. It is. But from covering Zuck for 10 years, we know that everything he does is strategic. And this is what we found fascinating about this story.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
We think Zuck's fashion isn't just a distraction. We think it reflects his entire company's new philosophy. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Meta? Zuck's new fashion is Meta's new strategy. More vibes, less involvement. Follow us on this one, yetis. After the 2016 election, Meta became public enemy number one.
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👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Liberals accused Zuck's news feeds of actually being fake news feeds. And then after the 2020 election, Meta became an enemy of conservatives. The right accused Zuck of censorship of conservative ideas on his platforms. And throughout all of this, Meta has faced antitrust legal threats from the whole U.S. government. And almost a year ago, Zuck even publicly apologized.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
to the victims of online child abuse during a congressional testimony. So last year, Meta's stock, after all of that, fell to its lowest level in six years. But that's when something changed. Something changed. That's when Zuck stopped trying to fix Meta's image. Yeah, Zuck stopped focusing on politics, policy, or apologies, and instead just focused on good vibes.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Zuck's basically like, I'm done with this policy stuff. I don't care anymore. But interesting, we noticed that Meta did the same thing. Meta changed Facebook and Instagram's algorithm to have less political content and more personal content. And Meta launched threads, which Meta says isn't for news or politics. It's supposed to be a happy place. And what's happened to Meta stock in the meantime?
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
What happened, Jack? It's rocketed to new all-time highs. So besties, Meta traded involvement for vibes, responsibility for reverie, and we can see all of it in Zuck's fashion. Zuck's midlife rapper glow up isn't just a personal makeover, it's a corporate makeover. For our second story, Amazon just launched its cheapest thing ever, Amazon Haul.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Amazon just zucked Timu and Shien, and they know it, and they're embarrassed about it. Shame, shame, shame. Yeah, it is. Funny thing Jack and I have noticed over the years. Price is not a competitive advantage. And why is that, Jack? There will always be someone who can go lower than you on price. And that's why Amazon just launched its newest feature, Haul. Amazon H-A-U-L Haul.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Open up the Amazon app on your phone. Doing it right now. Got it, Jack. You're going to see the word Haul on top. And if you click that button, everything in that section is under $20. Everything. We repeat, everything is under $20. Oh, you thought Amazon was low priced? Apparently they could have gotten lower. This is basically the digital dollar store and it's called Amazon Haul.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Now, interesting detail here. This is a mobile only experience. You can only do it on your phone. You can't do it on your computer. More on why in a minute. But the majority of the products in Amazon Haul are under $10. It's wild. Could you read off some of the legends we're seeing on Amazon haul right now? They have an iPhone 16 case for $1.79. Okay. I'm seeing a tablecloth for $4.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
They have a two pack of memory foam slippers for $9. I was going to get you those for Christmas. Now you know the price. Oh my God. I got to return them. I got to return them. And what's this all about? This is Amazon's version of Timu and Shien. The super fast shopping apps of China. What we're saying here is that Amazon just zucked Timu with a Xi'an dupe. Exactly. But yet he's...
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Guac is always extra. Jack and I always say it. Guac is always extra. If you're going to get a perk, that perk is going to come at a price. So even though the prices are lower on Amazon haul, the shipping is not. Because besties, we should warn you on Amazon haul, it is only free shipping if you spend more than $25. And you can't get a return on anything that's under $3.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Oh, and you only have 15 days to return that item, not 30 days to return it. And shipping, it takes one to two weeks, not one to two days. So add it all up. And for all the benefits we described at the beginning, there are a lot of asterisks at the end. The price of Amazon haul is better, but everything else is worse compared to the Amazon that you know. Even in this economy? Yeah. Yeah.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Black Friday is in two weeks. Well, you know what, besties? Jack and I got a better idea. Pink Friday. Because today we are dropping our T-Boy holiday merch line. It ain't Black Friday. It is Pink Friday, baby. It's Slammin' Salmon Friday, Nick. I like what you did there, Jack. Yet is this year, Jack and I whipped up a fashion lineup that is so sweet it would make Jerry Powell blush.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Even in this economy. But in this economy, we're all suffering from inflation. So a lot of people would be happy to wait two weeks if it could save them two bucks. You're willing to put your patience ahead of the prices. And that's why they launched Amazon Haul. So Jack, do you like memory foam slippers, by the way? Not these ones. You're going to love them. Never mind.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
In the meantime, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Amazon Haul? Amazon Haul is the perfect example of a plug-your-nose product. A plug-your-nose product. Yetis, Amazon... They're not excited about this. Like trust us about this. Amazon, they just launched something and like they wish they did not have to do this.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Amazon haul is going to cannibalize Amazon's own sales and it's probably not going to be profitable. That's a problem. But Amazon would rather keep you buying anything from Amazon than shopping at one of their new upstart app rivals. So they hate it, but they got to do it. This is a plug your nose product and we've seen it before. We've seen it before.
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👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
For example, when financial firms like Charles Schwab and Fidelity had to eliminate trading fees because Robinhood eliminated trading fees. Zero commission trading was a plug your nose product. Or Jack, when Polaroid had to launch a cheaper new camera because Kodak undercut them on price with their new camera. That was a plug your nose product too.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
And now Amazon is launching a cheap feeling shopping app called Haul because Shein and Timu, their competition made them do it. That. is a plug your nose product. They didn't want to do it, but they got to plug their nose and do it. They just have to do it. You got to do it.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
For our third and final story before the weekend, New York City just delivered a gift to renters. New York just eliminated the broker fee. Actually, they didn't eliminate it. They just changed who has to pay it. From renters to landlords.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
But Jack, if we're going to talk about New York City rent, I would be remiss if I did not discuss our four-bedroom palatially small loft on 14th Street off 2nd Avenue, man. We lived there for three years. Three of the bedrooms had windows. Yeah. The fourth one didn't. And I lived in that fourth one to save a couple hundred bucks. It was brutal.
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👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
I'll never forget the coil-top kitchen stove, which made sure everything was lukewarm at its hottest. But Yeti's Central Park, it is lovely this time of year. Renting is not. For several reasons Nick and I can attest to, renting in New York City is brutal. Yeah, reason number one, two, and three is the rent is too damn high.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
The median asking price for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City is $3,400. In Manhattan, Jack, it's $5,000 for your average apartment. Oh, a cozy converted two-bedroom apartment? Yeah. It's a studio with temporary walls every six feet, slicing and dicing this tiny space into a bunch of rooms. Hey, where's the bathroom? Where is it, the bathroom? East Greenwich Village? Yeah.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Our merch is so fantastic, it's going to start a trade war. Yeah. It's our T-boy holiday collection, and it features our first ever sweatsuit. But hey, Anna Wintour, can you describe the whole collection for us, please? I would love to, Heidi Klum. First, we've got the first ever best hoodie yet. This super soft hoodie has puff print lettering that looks fantastic.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
This is Alphabet City. No, no, they're doing a little rounding on the map, Jared. But yet he's the worst part about renting in New York. It isn't the railroad floor plan. It's the broker fee. In New York City, the renter has to pay a two-month broker fee to the agent that showed you the apartment before you can move into the place.
The Best One Yet
👯♂️ “T-Pain & Mark Zuckerberg” — Zuck’s rap strategy. Amazon’s Temu dupe. NYC’s rent fee revolution.
Even if you never meet the agent and just do this all online, you still got to pay two months rent to the broker. Some context. New York is the only major U.S. city where the renter pays this fee, not the landlord. The But the result in New York City, it's pretty financially intense, isn't it, Jack? Moving into a new place requires at least $10,000 of upfront cash.
The Best One Yet
💦 “The Fitness Pod” — Our 3 Best Fitness & Apparel Stories
Jack, let's hit it. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. February 14th, Valentine's Day. And today's pod is the best one yet.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Nothing says love on Valentine's Day like a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, and spending three hours assembling a pinewood sofa together. Because the newest dating platform is actually being launched by Ikea. Ikea is the new Cupid. Get this. In England, Ikea stores are offering first date services this Valentine's Day.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
That's a financial trick shot. And why has Netflix done 350 stand-up comedy specials on their channel? It's just one person at one location with no writers. It's a financial trick shot. And it's the same with podcasting. A one-hour episode costs thousands of dollars to produce, not millions of dollars. Now, Jack and I put huge mental work to prepare this podcast every day, beginning at 5 a.m.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
But each episode of Squid Game cost $2.5 million, and that's a deal. Yeah. You know, Squid Game, they used 3,000 gallons of paint on that tug-of-war set. Jack and I, we have one backdrop. We have a simple backdrop, just like every other podcast. We have a microphone that's never broken. And that's our only equipment.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So with higher production costs since the writer's strike, Hollywood is looking for content deals and podcasts are the financial trick shot. Plus, podcasts have one other major advantage on other types of media. They develop habits. Habits. The podcast is a daily habit like brushing your teeth. And Netflix doesn't have that. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Netflix?
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Netflix versus YouTube is Ollie versus Frazier. The media fight of the century. Yetis, the TV used to be dominated by Disney, CBS, NBC, Fox, and now it's dominated by YouTube and Netflix. Did you hear the wild stat this week? The most popular way that people watch YouTube isn't on a phone or on a computer. It's on a television. It's on a television.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
YouTube put out a whole PR release that Netflix must have freaking hated. YouTube is the new television. So just as YouTube has encroached on Netflix's territory, viewing on TVs, now Netflix is encroaching on YouTube's territory with video podcasts. Who's winning? It's neck and neck. YouTube does $32 billion a year in revenue. Netflix, they do $34 billion a year in revenue.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Netflix is worth more than all the legacy media networks combined. And YouTube is the fastest growing piece of $2 trillion alphabet. Netflix versus YouTube. It's the media fight of the century. Ding, ding, ding. Smash that subscribe button to learn more. No, that's not necessary. No, that's good.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Poppy's free vending machine for influencers came off as tone deaf to some. But the controversy drove the campaign success because the comments are the content. For our second story, the New York Stock Exchange is opening a second shop in Dallas, Texas. Because the two poles of corporate America have lost their magnetism.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And our third and final story. Netflix is reportedly looking for video podcasts because it's low-cost content and forms a habit. Netflix versus YouTube is Ali versus Frasier. The media fight, bing, ding, ding of the century. Actually, the media fight of the century is Podflix versus Netbods. Vote today on Spotify, ironically. But yet is, this pod's not over yet.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Here's what else you need to know today. First, RFK Jr. was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Health and Human Services. That means he's in charge of the FDA, the CDC, Medicare, Medicaid, the NIH, and a bunch of other organizations. And this also could have huge impacts on vaccine policy, food, and public health.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Second, White Lotus season three debuts this Sunday on HBO and also launches a dozen collabs this Sunday. In case you missed it, check out our episode from two weeks ago on the White Lotus effect. It's amazing. Basically, whatever location the HBO show is filmed at enjoys a 20% jump in tourism the following year. Hawaii got a 20% jump. Sicily got a 20% jump.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
That's right, IKEA partnered with a dating company to pair up singles at IKEA stores. Now, why would IKEA do dating? Here's the reason. People buy mattresses at IKEA. And the person you date is also your bedmate. So IKEA dating isn't matching you based on your personality, your occupation, or your horoscope. No, no, no, no, no. IKEA is matching you based on your mattress preferences.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And already in Thailand, they're seeing a tourist surge. And finally, the Duolingo mascot, a cute app-shaped cartoon owl is dead. It's gone after 14 years. Why would the company kill its very own mascot? Well, their caption went viral too. Here's their caption. Authorities are currently investigating this cause of death and we are cooperating fully. Yes.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
To be honest, he probably died waiting for you to do your lesson. But what do we know?
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Coincidence? There are no coincidences. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Jack's middle school math teacher, Mr. Becker. So President's Day is this Monday. Yes, it is. It's all about George Washington and Abe Lincoln, isn't it? Their birthdays are 10 days apart in February, so President's Day splits the difference. You get a day off.
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🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So Mr. George Washington's birth year is the square root of the number three. 1.732 is the square root of three, and 1732 is George Washington's birth year. I've known that ever since middle school, thanks to Mr. Becker. Mr. Becker, you're getting an A. Yetis, you look fantastic over there for Valentine's Day. Seriously, you look your best.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And remember, if you really want to impress her tonight, make her some scrambled eggs. Yeah, that's like a $30 investment. I mean, Jack, eggs are the new oysters. I actually think they're more expensive than oysters these days. Yetis, have a fantastic long weekend. We're dropping a special episode on Monday, and then Nick and I will see you back here Tuesday.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So enjoy Monday's special show, and Jack and I will see you after. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Naila Mohammadi, turning one year old down in Tracy, California. Get this, on June 2nd, 2023, Naila's mother surprised her husband that she was pregnant via a T-Boy podcast shout out.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And now, not only has that pregnancy resulted in a child, but that child, Naila, is one year old. Congrats, Nyla. And Carmen S., happy 30th birthday over in Tysons, Virginia. Happy birthday to David Wong in North Augusta, South Carolina. And Jolene Pucci's turning four years old, celebrating in Canton, Ohio. And Vlad, happy birthday down in Menlo Park.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Celebrate the wins. What a week. But can we talk about that meal last night, man?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Happy birthday to Bichuan Lo in Nanning, China, who's an entrepreneur with a sleep device called Lumos.tech. And Max John down in Crowley, Louisiana, is celebrating with some crawfish. Happy birthday to Carrie Patterson in Chicago, who's got a new small business. And Don Gugliano in Billings, Montana is celebrating best birthday yet. Happy four-year anniversary to Joy Lewis in Bethlehem, Georgia.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And Rick Ramirez was named Realtor to Watch of 2025. He doesn't miss a single one of his daughter's activities and he's selling houses. And happy five-year anniversary of their first date to Shannon Cosgrove in San Rafael, California. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock of Spotify and Airbnb.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Is a hard mattress gal compatible with a soft mattress guy? Jack and a cool bed dude love a warm bed, babe. If you sleep with your socks on, your mate better sleep with their socks on too. It's a red flag, Jack. That's a red flag. Honestly, this does make economic sense, doesn't it, man? Every couple spends a third of their lives in bed together.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So perhaps the key to a long-lasting relationship is actually mattress compatibility. But we haven't even told you the wildest part yet about IKEA dating. Get this. One lucky couple who matches through IKEA mattresses gets a romantic meatball meal in bed. No joke. Yeah, true.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
If you walk into a British IKEA tonight, you may find your future husband or future wife on a mattress dining over meatballs. And then the store makes you a Swedish meatball with gravy that they serve you on the bed in an IKEA showroom. It's a wild first date experience. So yetis, this Valentine's Day, remember the number one rule of love. Round up to king size. Because everyone needs their space.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
At Hand of the Wood? Oh, that was so good. I want two. I wanted three of everything. I got the Tagliatelle, which you should have ordered. I had huge regrets after that. Huge regrets. Anytime the restaurant says we have homemade pasta, order the pasta. Honestly, we should have worked on our menu strategy. In all seriousness, Nick, thank you for coming to Vermont. I feel incredibly loved.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Even if you're a love. And if you're a cuddler, but your partner's not a cuddler. I prefer a full jack. I like to be close. I need the love. Let's hit our three stories.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
For our first story, the biggest drama in business right now, it's between two soda startups, Poppy and Olipop. And this wild soda beef that's happening right now, it reveals the top rule of social media marketing. Ah, Jack, we have been covering the functional beverage trend for a while, but what's going on with prebiotic sodas? Like, what are they exactly?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
I still find it hard to believe that some bacteria is good for your gut. Yeah, they're very positive bacteria. But this is soda filled with gut health bacteria. It's basically a Dr. Pepper inspired by yogurt. And like Uber and Lyft, Airbnb and Vrbo, and Hinge and Tinder, startups that are disrupting industries launch in pairs.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So the soda industry is being disrupted by Olipop and Poppy, two prebiotic sodas. The smaller of the two is Poppy. They sell colorful pink cans looking like Skittles and have $100 million of annual sales. Yeah, maybe you noticed that Poppy had a Super Bowl ad this year starring three top influencers. But they did more than just a Super Bowl ad.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
As part of their Super Bowl promotion, they sent 32 influencers a vending machine. Yeah. A custom poppy soda vending machine.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
It's common for brands to send influencers gifts. They basically hope that the influencer likes the brand sweatshirt, puts it on, posts it on social, and drives the likes. And we call it the Alex Earl effect. Basically, anything she uses becomes so popular that you shoppy, shoppy till you droppy, droppy, and then it sells out.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So Alex Earl receives everything for free at her doorstep, including a poppy seven foot, 900 pound custom vending machine in her apartment. So if Alex Earl craves soda in the middle of the night, she'll go downstairs to her private poppy vending machine, pound a can of poppy, and post to her 4 million Instagram followers. Not too shabby. Nick, that's what happened. Oh, yeah. Like it worked.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
She did it. She was thirsty. Yeah. And we got the numerical results. Poppy vending machine videos got 100 million views across social media last week. Poppy was popping off pretty good. But that's when the controversy began. Because Yeti's those videos got a lot of angry comments about the extravagance of those Poppy vending machines. 20% of the comments were negative.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
You were my three-day doula. You gave me a great dose of friendship before my third baby's coming. I'm your doula dude, Jack. I got your back. I'm there. I was ready in case I had to cut an umbilical cord. Nick woke up at 3 a.m. Eastern time to catch a 5 a.m. flight to fly to San Francisco, and now he's recording the podcast. Anything... For the show, Jack. Anything for you, man.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
People said that these vending machines were obnoxious. It's out of touch that they sent them in the first place. In this economy, free vending machines? Why do rich people get free stuff? There was pushback of people peeved at Poppy, which led to the Poppy plot twist. Poppy's rival, Olipop, they opened a can of schadenfreude watching all these negative comments.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Honestly, we've never seen something like this before. But some of the meanest comments about Poppy were posted by their rival, Olipop. It's another diss track situation in corporate advertising. Basically, they would comment and say things like, did you know these vending machines cost $25,000, which got people even angrier. They were fanning the anger.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
One Olipop executive even ripped on Poppy in the comments from their personal handle. Which is awkward too because Olipop just hit a $1.8 billion valuation and no one's even talking about that. Everyone's just talking about Poppy. This is the kind of drama you usually see on Bravo. Real housewives of functional beverages. But in the meantime, apparently all is fair in love, war, and Instagram.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
And we were trying to figure out what's the issue with both these brands. Well, Poppy probably chose the wrong moment. Like everyone's crushed by inflation. Don't flaunt these free vending machines for these famous influencers. It's possible the culture has shifted and this was the peak. But Olipop also looks insecure, like ripping on Poppy in the middle of their PR crisis in a kind of petty way.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
They looked a little thirsty. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Poppy? The comments are the content. So besties, was it worth it for Poppy to do this campaign? Well, we looked at the numbers, and 100 million views had overwhelming positive comments, and they only spent a million dollars. A million dollars spent to get 100 million views? That is a good return.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
A Super Bowl ad costs eight times as much for the same number of views. Great comparison, Jack. But this campaign also got hundreds of million more views because of the drama in the comments. Successful politicians know that attention is all that matters. Oh, they know it right now. And prebiotic soda had all our attention last week because of the controversy. Because of the comments.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
It's a reminder about a great rule for social media strategy. The comments are the content. The impact of the post is, sure, what you post matters. What people comment on it arguably matters more. In fact, we bet the first place most followers are going right now, it's not to see what you posted, it's to read the comment section.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
For our second story, the New York Stock Exchange is opening a second shop down in Texas. The bigger story here is the Southeast Quadrant of the United States, which is taking both population and corporations from the two big blue states. Now, Yeti, America's financial capital, it's always been New York City. But did you know the New York Stock Exchange has a little offshoot over in Chicago?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Not anymore, they don't. No, they don't. The company that owns the New York Stock Exchange is taking their talent south, moving their Chicago outpost down to Texas. Yeah, they're still going to have the classic New York one. That's not going anywhere. But the offshoot in Chicago, that's down in Dallas now. I mean, if you're going to have two stock exchanges...
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, the biggest drama in business right now is Olipop versus Poppy. It's a prebiotic soda scuffle and it all comes down to a $25,000 vending machine. For our second story, guess who's about to get their second new stock exchange in the last year? Who is it? Texas is.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
It makes sense to have one in a blue state, one in a red state. Yeah, that's the way things are these days. Now, the New York Stock Exchange says they're doing this because Texas is home to more publicly listed companies than any other state in America. And the NYSE also shouted out Texas's pro-business atmosphere. But Jack, funny timing considering a story we did last year.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
What do you think the real reason is for the new New York Stock Exchange South by Southwest? Last year, a startup called the Texas Stock Exchange raised $120 million to open a stock exchange in Dallas. That's right. It's not based on Wall Street. It's based on y'all street. And if stock trading is going to happen in Texas, the New York Stock Exchange wants in on it.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
So besties, add it all up and the two new Lone Star Stock Exchanges in less than one year, that's big. They're going to be less Brooks Brothers, more Bolo Ties. Less Sweetgreen, more Sweet Brisket. Less Gordon Gekko, more Matthew McConaughey.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
You did?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
I didn't. I didn't, so I'm glad you did. Now, Yetis, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ are our two big stock exchanges. They basically control the markets with a duopoly. It's a duopoly. We've been to both of those exchanges dozens of times. And the only big difference between the two, besides one being in Midtown and one being downtown, is one has a stock exchange floor. Like a literal floor.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
The New York Stock Exchange's famous ceremonial floor. Back in the day, guys who used to play football in college would take jobs as stock traders because it was a physical sport where they would like box out the other guys to get their order in first. It's pretty cool to watch in person, but it is also a relic in an age of digital trading.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
It's completely not necessary that they have this giant floor today. And that's why NASDAQ launched in 1971 with a fully electronic exchange, stock trading as a non-contact sport. But down in Texas, both of the new exchanges, both in Dallas, are going to be fully electronic. The only physical section of these stock exchanges... What do you think it's going to be?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Is like the party room, basically. Yeah, the party room. What goes down in the party room, Jack? It's a ceremonial room used by CEOs and employees of companies that are having their big IPO day. Yeah, like instead of ringing the bell at the Texas Stock Exchange, maybe the CEO will ride like a mechanical bull, Jack. That'd actually be pretty awesome.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
But yet he's the real driving reason why a company might choose Texas instead of New York to list their stock. It ain't the salt lick pulled pork, is it, Jack? It's the Texas trio. Lower taxes, business-friendly courts, and less rules and regulations. So Jack, what's our takeaway for our buddies down in Texas with the Texas Stock Exchanges?
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
The two poles of corporate America have lost their magnetism. Yetis, if America were a geological map, then New York City is the financial pole and California is the innovation pole, our East and West poles. But since the pandemic, those two poles have both started showing cracks in their respective dominance. And where is that polarity moving? Well, it's moving to the Southeast.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
The Southeast of the United States grew by 3.5 million people during the pandemic. Virtually all net US population growth happened in the Southeast. And that is why the new Texas Stock Exchange brags it's in the Southeast Quadrant of America, Texas to Florida to North Carolina. It's a big triangle, and it's where all the business magnetism is going.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Texas, the New York Stock Exchange is about to go south by southwest. And our third and final story. The next big podcast platform is reportedly going to be Netflix. Netflix is looking into podcasts because there is nothing hotter than a hat. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. Love the mix, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
But either way, finance firms moved from New York City to Miami, and tech oil and car companies have moved from California to Texas. Why is this happening? Well, a big reason is New York and California's high housing costs and high taxes. Yeah. California's more expensive than New York, and I thought New York was expensive, man. But Nick, this isn't just a culture war or political thing.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
True, true, true. This is a serious business reshuffling of the United States. Yeti's the two poles of corporate America are shifting. And if the big blue states want to attract businesses again, they gotta make some changes.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
For our third and final story, Netflix's next big thing, get this, it's podcasts. Video podcasts are a financial trick shot for Netflix, which wants to punch YouTube in the screen. Now, Yetis, you have been hanging out with us for a while. And you may remember that back in 2023, we said this about Netflix. This was the year that Netflix stopped being Netflix.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Yeah, 2023, Netflix's co-founder had said they would never do advertising or live sports. But now, Netflix has both. They also cracked down on password sharing. They launched video games and they broadcast Love is Blind live. Yes. With a bunch of technical issues. Yeah. So Netflix, they've been experimenting like a young Wes Anderson, and the stock is up 400% in the last two years.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
Now, Netflix is reportedly courting podcasters to bring podcasts onto Netflix. Podcasts on Netflix. I call it Podflix. Yeah. Nick calls it NetPod. I think Podflix is a better description. We'll throw a poll on Spotify right now.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
According to people familiar with the matter, PFWTMs, last year, Netflix chatted with Alex Cooper of Call Her Daddy, although she ended up doing a deal with SiriusXM instead. Still, it's signed. They want to get into podcasting. So first, it was Spotify. Then it was Amazon. But the next big tech company to get in on podcasts could be Netflix. But
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
This is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Jack, why would Netflix, a completely visual-focused TV long-form company, want in on a version of radio? First of all, they're video podcasts. Second of all, video podcasts represent a financial trick shot. Because they're more content, but at a cheaper cost than other forms of video.
The Best One Yet
🥤 “Vending Machine-Gate” — Poppi vs Olipop. NY’s Texas Stock Exchange. Netflix’s podcast move.
What we're saying is that podcasts are high-yield media. Every form of content, Yetis, has a different business model with different associated costs and a different payoff. And we've calculated them and we've studied them. Like, why did MTV go all in on reality TV today? 30 years ago? Because reality TV requires one set, no script writers, and a cheap cast of non-actors.
The Best One Yet
♟️ “Pawn Stars — Chess’ “random” disruption. Netflix’s unlimited parental leave. Time’s CEO of the Year.
Let's get our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick.
The Best One Yet
♟️ “Pawn Stars — Chess’ “random” disruption. Netflix’s unlimited parental leave. Time’s CEO of the Year.
that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show first a quick word from our sponsor
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, April 11th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yetis, remember when stocks rebounded and the S&P surged 10% on Wednesday? Well, scratch all that, because stocks reversed course yesterday. The S&P 500 fell 4%.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
But I had a family history of polyps in their colon, so I begged my insurance company. I actually called them multiple times and demanded it. And they finally approved it? Yeah, they did. Which leads to these numbers. You're supposed to get a screening in your 40s, but only one out of seven Americans actually get a colonoscopy in their 40s.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
We repeat, only one out of seven people in their 40s right now have done a colonoscopy. Maybe one of them is you, and you should probably get one. Because tens of thousands of new cancer cases could have been caught so early if more people had gotten colonoscopies. And Jack and I were talking, and we think there's actually an economic principle we know and we love. that can fix that problem.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And to be clear, this isn't an ad for the colonoscopy industry. No. I'm just grateful that Nick told this story on the pod. Yeah, I've actually got a picture. You want to see it? No. Okay, okay. I drew a picture. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies curious about economics? You don't have to make people do something. You just have to nudge them. It's the nudge rule.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Yeti's Chicago economics professors, Richard Taller and Cass Sunstein, wrote an econ theory on how to get people to make better decisions without restricting their freedom of choice. Their economic secret was the nudge. The nudge. The nudge is when you give people the same options, but tweak the context so they reach a different decision.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Google will pay talented AI engineers their $300,000 salary just to not work for the competition. Basically, they will pay you handsomely to do nothing for Google, as long as you do nothing for OpenAI. Basically, this is a non-compete clause that lasts a whole year in a big way. But here's the problem. One year in AI, that's like a lifetime. Totally.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
We actually mentioned the nudge last year in a story on 401ks, the retirement savings account. If you make opting into a retirement program the default for employees, more employees end up doing it. That's an economic nudge. Instead of giving people two choices and being indifferent, use the default choice to nudge people to the better option. And the same could be applied to a colonoscopy.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Totally. Which the vast majority of Americans don't get. And now, besties, we are not saying everyone should default to having a colonoscopy, but we're saying there should be a discussion with your doctor that definitely happens at 40. That should be the default.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Instead of waiting for symptoms for you to opt in and get a colonoscopy, a call from your doctor on your 40th birthday should be the default. And that is why the colonoscopy reminds us of our favorite economic principle, the nudge. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? It wasn't the populists or the techies who got Trump to pause his trade war.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
It was the Wall Street guys. Because the stock market represents America's wealth, but the bond market represents America's power. For our second story, Prada is acquiring Versace for $1.4 billion, probably a disappointing price for the Versace family. Because time kills deals. And our third and final story. Nick's colonoscopy went well. Nothing to be concerned about. We're happy and proud of him.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
It reminds us of an economic trick. The nudge. Give people a choice, but nudge them to the best choice. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, trade war almanac day nine. Jack and I've been keeping track for you. Here's an update from the tariff trenches. On Thursday, Trump escalated his tariffs on China to 145%.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Every other country in the world, they're getting a 10% tariff during this 90-day pause. But the higher 25% tariffs remain in place. for cars and steel. And the EU paused their retaliatory tariffs on the United States for 90 days as well. Second, yesterday we got the inflation report for the month of March. The inflation report, the celebrity of econ reports.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Prices actually fell across the economy in March compared to February. And core inflation was the lowest in four years. Even egg prices have come way down. Now, economists don't expect tariffs to show up in prices until June because companies bought in bulk to beat the tariffs. And finally, Universal Studios is building its first European theme park in England.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Two years ago, rumors were swirling around the kingdom of Universal buying 600 acres 60 minutes north of London. It was pretty obvious why a theme park company wanted 600 acres. Yeah. But now it's official. Yeah, England's newest theme park, I think its biggest theme park, will open in 2031 and expects 9 million visitors a year. The Hogwarts rides are going to have natural British accents.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by my gastroenterologist this morning, Dr. Chetty. I love the colon takeover of today's episode. Yeah, right before they knocked me out, I asked them for the best fact yet, and here's what they told me. They told me about the Katie Couric effect. Katie Couric, the famous TV journalist, her husband sadly died of colon cancer in 1999.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Well, what did Katie Couric do? She did a colonoscopy live streamed on TV of her colon. On the Today Show, you could watch the camera colonoscopying Katie Couric. And what was the Katie Couric effect of all that, Jack? That year, there was a 20% increase in elective colonoscopies nationwide. The Katie Couric effect. Yetis, you look fantastic over there.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
That is how fast the pace of AI is accelerating. And that's how scared Google is that some other company is going to get the advantage. Yeah, I could just sprinkle on some context. What's a good analogy here? This would be like if Aaron Judge went into Hal Steinbrenner's office and said... I'm thinking about playing for the Mets. Okay, so Jack, what would the Yankees do?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Jack, I'm sure you feel fantastic over there. I got to get four liters of water right now. I feel... You know, I'll show you some pictures. Just hold on a second. I'll show you some pictures. Yetis, drop down, give us five stars, rate and review the show, and check out The Best Idea Yet, our weekly show. This one is all about peeps. Nick, congrats. Let's celebrate the wins.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And Yetis, we'll see you Monday. All right, throwing the pics up on YouTube. Here we go, Jack. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Ben Einstein, born in Los Angeles but celebrating in San Francisco, pumped for dinner. And happy birthday to William Guillermo Warren. In San Francisco, this little boy is turning two.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And Ruchika Shah in New York City has been listening for three years and celebrating the best birthday yet. And Ruchita, we know we owe you two more birthday shout-outs, and we got your back. Happy birthday to Amy Betros in Buffalo, New York, who's the best grandma yet. And Gwen Ryan in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, studying poli-sci at West Chester University.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And there she's celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Kate Hartnett in Brooklyn, New York, who's celebrating with a pint of Haagen-Dazs. And a congratu-gagement anniversary Eve to Jack and Alex, my co-hosts. No, no, not Eve. Seven years ago, I dropped down on one knee in Ann Arbor's Arboretum. propose to Alex. I was very nervous.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
The ring was basically the most expensive thing I'd ever purchased. And so far, happily ever after. And Jack is recreating it all tonight in the same outfit. Unreal. Amazing. Alex, so pumped for you. Congratulations. Strike my so far. Let's just go with happily ever after.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And congratulations to Eddie's Drew and Vanessa Glapa down in Austin getting married and Evan is officiating the best wedding yet. Happy birthday to Elizabeth Carlson in Plymouth, Minnesota, who's celebrating with some sushi grade sushi. Nagiri for Elizabeth. And Miranda Fairbanks is running a half marathon this weekend. You got this, Miranda. fueled by goldfish.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And congratulations to Adam Katzenbeck, who's getting married in Chicago. Adam, we're pumped for both you guys. Celebrate the wins. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
They'd say, yeah, don't play for the Mets. We'll actually give you your full salary just to not play for the Mets. We'll pay you $40 million to do nothing for the Yankees. Just don't pay for the Mets. So Nick, can we add it all up? Yes, we can, Jack. Google is paying these employees something to do nothing. or anything with a competitor's thing.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And if you violate that, Google will sue you for everything. And we've never seen anything like this thing.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Happy Friday, Yetis. Let's get to the three stars.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
I mean, Jack, we haven't seen back and forth swings like that since we, like, first got into finance after the Great Recession, right? What? Whiplash, Nick. Not since Hands Across America. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got on the pod? For our first story, yesterday we told you all about the 90-day trade war pause. It was a huge policy reversal.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
For our first story today, we'll share with you the behind the scenes details of who got Trump to stand down on the trade war. Spoiler, he listened to the Wall Streeters, not the populace. Because the stock market represents America's wealth, but the bond market represents America's power. Yetis, we'll let that sink in for a minute.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
But first, President Trump is the final decider on what executive orders get his huge Sharpie-penned signature. But he's influenced by his cabinet, by media personalities, and by CEOs. So, Jack and I are now looking at the different factions within Trump's orbit that got him to stand down this week. We're looking at the people who got him to blink on the trade war. So Jack, let's kick it off.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Can you begin by sprinkling on some context, please? Trump's gut has been telling him for 10 years that America is getting screwed when it comes to trade. And he loves tariffs because they give him the ultimate unilateral power to change things in the economy without congressional approval. Those instincts were backed up intellectually by two populist advisors. Yes, they were.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon. Navarro and Bannon, two guys who are both so loyal to Trump, they actually served prison time rather than cooperate with congressional investigations. And both of those men believe that trade is inherently a zero-sum game. A zero-sum game. Jack, can you explain that one for a second?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
They believe, for example, if a Chinese person is making an iPhone, then that Chinese person took an American's job. That is zero-sum. As one gets something, the other loses something. Economists, on the other hand, think trade is a positive-sum game. We all win. So Trump's Liberation Day tariffs that hit earlier this week, they had these two guys' fingerprints all over them.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
But on the other side of the Oval Office was the techies. Specifically, Elon Musk, vocally opposed to everything those two guys were saying about the trade war. Now, there's a couple of reasons why Elon is pro-trade. First, China holds huge sway on his business, as China could shut down Tesla's biggest, most productive factory...
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Also, Jack, I thought this was an interesting point we were discussing. Elon's a workaholic, and he kind of admires that Chinese factory workers are workaholics, too. I don't think he kind of admires it. He loves the work ethic of his Chinese factory workers. So, add it all up, and Elon opposed all those tariffs that Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were pushing.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
He even publicly insulted Peter Navarro in a back-and-forth Twitter spat all week. We jumped in T-boy style. The insults were flying like the real housewives of the White House. We thought someone was going to flip the resolute desk. But it wasn't Elon's opposition who got Trump to stand down and pause most of his tariffs. And no, no, no, no, no. This is what we found fascinating.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
It was actually two fellow New York-born financial billionaires, Bill Ackman and Jamie Dimon. It was the two six-foot men in finance who got Trump to stand down. Who also have blue eyes and also have trust funds. Of all of those who spoke out against the trade war, Ackman and Diamond caused Trump to blink.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Because Ackman and Diamond, these two New York financiers, they gave Trump some critical Wall Street perspective. And Jack, what did they tell him specifically? They told him what was happening in the bond market. The bond market. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies following the trade war drama?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
The stock market represents America's wealth, but the bond market represents America's power. Yetis, for 80 years, the United States dollar has been the world's reserve currency. Everyone wants it. It's in high demand. And our U.S. government debt has been the world's financial safe haven. Everyone wants to invest in it across the world.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
So today, we'll reveal all the drama that went down behind the scenes over at the White House. For our second story, it's Versace. Or is it pronounced Versace? Either way, Versace just sold their dramatic Italian fashion brand to their cousin, Prada. But Versace, not Versace, sold at half the price because time kills deals. And our third and final story. This very morning, Nick got a colonoscopy.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
So those two things, Jack and I call that our financial soft power. But here's the key. Last week, investors sold more U.S. bonds than any week in 24 years. In other words, last week was the worst week for our financial soft power in 24 years. Yeah, listen to these examples. First, financial firms sold bonds to cover their stock losses happening all week.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Even worse, though, international investors across the world sold bonds to divest from the United States. Deutsche Bank saw all of that and said this wild line. The market has lost faith in U.S. assets. Bill Ackman and Jamie Dimon pointed to the falling bond market, and they told Trump, that's what you should fear.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Because the stock market represents America's wealth, but the bond market represents America's power. For our second story. Yesterday, we saw the biggest deal in Italian fashion since Zoolander. Prada is buying Versace for $1.4 billion. But inside this deal is the most important rule for negotiation.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Now, Yetis, in order for us to tell the tale of this deal, we're going to go back in history 165 years, when Giuseppe Garibaldi united Sicily, Naples, Milan, Rome, Venice, and all those Italian kingdoms into one country. He's basically the founding father of Italia. Yes, he is. Italy was unified and a nation was born. Oh, 165 years later, Italy's greatest assets are unified once again.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Prada is acquiring Versace for $1.4 billion. They thought they were ridiculously, ridiculously good looking. Now, stock in America's Michael Kors fell 10% on the news.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Because they're selling Versace, and they're selling Versace at half the price they bought it seven years ago. But this news shocked even Mugatu. And why is that, Jack? Prada and Versace are aesthetically opposite of each other. Versace, you know, their style is more bold, loud, energetic, Jack. Ornate, Baroque designs.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
The kind of thing that gets you in the New York Times after you flash it on the red carpet. Prada, on the other hand, they're more of like a simple, quiet style. Stealth wealth. Like a logo-free suit that Kendall Roy might wear in succession. If you know, you know. But there was some drama here, wasn't there, Jack? And the drama came directly from Versace's family. Yeah, literally.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Donatella Versace, she quit her very own namesake company just last month. She said she was sick of working for American Michael Kors. But also, there was a strategic mistake here made by the whole Versace company. They stopped caring about one overlooked customer. Versace basically shut down their entry-level products. they ignored their entry-level customers.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Luxury companies let aspirational customers reach the first rung of the luxury ladder with some lower-priced goods. Zach, let's walk into a Versace store. Metaphorically here, what would this look like, an entry-level customer? One of those red carpet sculpture dresses I was telling you about. They sounded lovely. They start at like 2,000 bucks. But Versace keeps one dress available everywhere.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
at a $500 price point. Maybe has a few fewer features on it. It's a dress, it's not a gown situation. Here's the idea. If you can get a piece of Versace at the age of 25 with that $500 dress, you'll start splurging on Versace by the time you have more money when you're 35. But here's the problem. Three years ago, Versace got rid of its entry-level lines.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
And they lost more than they realized with that decision. Because the result? Without a new generation of young customers buying entry-level Versace, Versace sales have been falling. That's why Prada was able to scoop up Versace for half of its price tag from just seven years ago. Like it was on the sale rack and made well. So Jack, what is this? A takeaway for ants?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
What is the takeaway for our buddies over at Versace? Time kills deals. Time kills deals. Yeah, it is the greatest risk to a deal's price or a deal not getting done. It's one word, time. Talks for this deal probably started a year ago, and we've watched the prospects for the deal getting done go worse and worse and worse as time went on.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
True story. It's a 36-hour butt procedure, and he passed it with flying colors. So Jack and I did what we do best. We found an economic lesson in that colonoscopy. Yes, we did. We kept digging, and we found it, baby. But that is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa! Whoa, what a mix of stories to go into the weekend with.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
First, we had the luxury slowdown last year, and then we got the trade war this year, and the value of Versace, it's been falling ever since. Five years ago, Versace was worth $2.2 billion, but now it's worth just $1.4 billion. Just this week, Prada reportedly negotiated a $200 million discount on the deal because of the trade war flare-up.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
We bet Versace would have sold for a much higher price if they could have got the deal closed one year ago. Yeah, and Jack and I know that because we've actually had a huge deal almost canceled for the same kind of reason. One week after we signed the acquisition papers to sell our first company to Robinhood, Robinhood had a big PR crisis.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Yeah, and like if our deal had closed one month later, it wouldn't have closed. Like this would have prevented the deal from happening because too much time would have passed. Robinhood would not have closed the deal with us in the middle of that PR crisis. It's the first thing we thought of with this Versace stories.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
Sebastian Versace, yeah, they weren't killed by the delay, but they were definitely injured by it. Because the biggest risk to a deal getting done, not just a corporate acquisition deal, but any deal you find yourself in, the biggest risk is time. Time kills deals.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
For our third and final story to send you into the weekend. Earlier this morning, I actually had my first ever colonoscopy. And we realized this colon cancer detecting procedure is actually connected to our favorite economic principle. That's right. We're going to connect the colonoscopy to our favorite rule of economics.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
But Bessies, earlier this morning, I was actually one of the most unique days of my life. And why is that, Jack? You got what you keep calling your first colonoscopy. Well, it was my best colonoscopy, Jack. It was my best one. Yeah, this is the procedure where a doctor goes up in there to check the signs to make sure you don't have colon cancer. It's awkward. It's uncomfortable.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
It is comically like the concept in a South Park script. You kind of just got to roll with it and laugh with it because it's really wild. Nick, it happened like eight hours ago. So why don't you walk us through how it went down? So Jack, I could not consume any solid food for an entire day, just clear liquid yesterday. And then I had to drink a special prescribed concoction at 5 p.m.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
We just saw a headline on Business Insider, and it was so wild, we promoted the story to the top of the pod. This is how competitive the battle for tech talent is over in Silicon Valley these days. Here was the headline. Google is allegedly paying AI staffers to do nothing for a year. rather than join their rivals. Let me repeat that.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
to flush me out. They want your colon to be clean, right?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
So I actually also had to wake up at two in the morning to drink more of that secret liquid, which flushed me out again for the next few hours. So you didn't get great sleep. Oh no, no. And then at 5am I walked to the hospital. It was a couple of blocks away. 6.30am I was out cold on the table. Yep. By 8am I was finished. Molly picked me up.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
By 9am I was on the phone with you preparing for this podcast. I can't believe the hospital was open so early. I know, it was really wild. Well, like, despite the 36-hour fast, the whole night in the bathroom, camera in my butt, I honestly, I could not be happier right now, Jack. To be clear, it wasn't a painful procedure, right?
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
No, no, you know, I was put under for the 30-minute procedure, and the scope that they put in you is soft, slippery, you know what I mean? Basically glides right in. Yeah, actually, the doctor asked me right before she put me out what food I was going to celebrate with after, and I was like, the burger at Spruce, and then boom, I woke up and the procedure was over. That was it.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
It's like you woke up from a dream. Yeah, that was it. And the doctor said they didn't see any growths or polyps to be worried about, right? Yeah, clean bill of colorectal health. But we will tie this back to economics, we promise. Because the first thought I had on the table was a moment of clarity. I was like, oh my God, the stock market basically had a colonoscopy this week too.
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
I had tension, fear, and a lot of buildup prior to the procedure. So did investors on Monday. Wall Street was nervous. And then I got flushed out. So did stocks. They fell 20% from their all-time highs. I liquidated my intestines, literally. Investors liquidated their portfolios. And then markets bounced back a bit, felt better. And so did
The Best One Yet
🍑 “Colonoscopy Stock Market” — BTS trade war drama. Versace’s Prada acquisition. A Colon econ lesson.
lie, after the 20-minute procedure, I'm recording the podcast. Okay, great work. Again, we do have to tie this even further to economics, and Jack and I have an idea. Basically, Eddies, I was actually really young to get a colonoscopy. Nixon is 30s, but doctors pretty much make you wait until you're in your 40s to get one. Yeah. Especially if you want it to be insured by health insurance.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, March 7th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. Three stories at the intersection of business and pop culture. But yeah, remember those tariffs we mentioned to you about Canada and Mexico? What happened, Jack? Well, Trump paused some more of them yesterday. He delayed them until April 2nd.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Yeah, the last three years, Domino's pulled off the Manhattan project, the Parmesan. They trained 7,000 stores over the last 12 weeks and just launched off crust. Despite the choking hazard. I'm going to try it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the pizza industry? Brand beefs are now mutually beneficial.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
So yeah, these Jack and I were curious, how did Pizza Hut respond now that Domino's finally copied their stuffed crust? Well, they called him out. Pizza Hut just launched a 30% off their stuffed crust pizza because Domino's was 30 years late to the game. But interestingly, that actually fits with a theme we've been seeing in every industry.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Brands are calling out their rivals in public for the first time. Last month, it was Poppy versus Olipop. That was the big brand beef for that big vending machine drama. Last year, Chili's saw a surge in traffic after calling out McDonald's expensive Big Macs. And the wild part? Oftentimes, both brands in a beef enjoy a sales surge based on the publicity.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
We have a dream to help you dream this weekend. And it's the exact opposite of a typical T-boy episode. It's not going to wake you up like our daily show. It's going to make you... It's a T-Boy bonus episode this Saturday, specifically designed to help you fall asleep. This is a financial lullaby, if you will. It's our second ever snooze pod. And it will be the sleepiest one yet.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Brands are basically pulling a Kendrick and they're dropping diss deals on each other. But there's no Drake in this analogy. Both sides have been winning out when it comes to sales. Honestly, it almost makes you wonder if it's staged because a good brand beef benefits both. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday?
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Mattel is launching a lower-priced Lego dupe that hits shelves this May. We call them Megos. It's a stage five zucking, and the biggest test for a brand is a dupe. For our second story, Utah is the first state that requires age verifications in the App Store. It's a digital bouncer, and it means the bouncer is jumping from the physical world to the digital.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And our third and final story is Domino's. They finally launched stuffed crust pizza after 30 years, and now Pizza Hut is trolling them for it. But today, both sides benefit from a brand beef. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, South by Southwest begins tonight in Austin, and there is some serious drama over at Tesla.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Because Rivian is sponsoring the entire festival. Rivian being Tesla's top electric car rival. Oh, and Waymo, Tesla's top autonomy rival, just launched electric robo-taxis in Austin with Uber. So the two most innovative autonomous and electric car brands are partying on Tesla's turf this week. On the front doorstep. We'll see if Elon launches anything to try to compete with them.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And second, illegal border crossings hit a 25-year low in February, Trump's first full month in office. In February, the U.S. border control caught 8,300 migrants who were crossing illegally into the United States. That's the lowest monthly total since we've been keeping track 25 years ago. That's actually down almost 95% compared to the last two Februaries.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
The president's loudly publicized crackdown on immigration has had the deterrence effect that he was hoping for. And finally, Taco Bell sales surged 8% because tacos are the second best value meal in America after pizza. Perfect timing because we just did an entire episode on the Doritos Locos taco. The DLT, it's the best selling taco in history.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And it was invented in this crazy Taco Bell lab that we talk about in the entire episode. You got to hear about this thing. It's the first branded product to go viral on Twitter. Yeah, it was the first collab too, really. So, besties, check out The Best Idea Yet. That's our weekly show. Listen this weekend. You're going to love it. It is all about the wild DLT.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
The link is in the episode description. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Mikey Welch up in Glens Falls, New York, upstate. Push and play.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
So basically, home security systems, security systems invented by a black woman in the 60s. Marie Van Britten Brown. What an inventor. Yetis, Mikey actually sent that one in for Black History Month, but tomorrow is International Women's Day, and it kind of works perfectly with both. Yes, it does. Yetis, you looked fantastic this week. And Jack, can I please celebrate the wins for you over there?
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Okay. Pause your pod. Pause your pod. Okay, Yetis. Jack is celebrating his birthday, his wife's birthday, his second son's birthday, the birth of a new son. He actually got spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, which he's been wanting for 364 days. Remember, I got to go to confession on Sunday because I ate it during Ash Wednesday. And I still have my gift for you arriving in 24 hours, Jack. Really?
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Yes. Do I have to sign? It's not pizza. It's not stuffed crust, but you may have to sign for this thing. Besties, share the pod this weekend. Tap to follow us so you get us every day. Enjoy the best idea yet as well. And Jack and I will see you Monday. Okay, that was the most perfect run through of Jack celebratory things and pod CTAs I've ever heard. Practice in front of a mirror for 12 hours.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Nick and I will see you Monday. Can't wait.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Now, Brooks is basically a meatball, which is funny because I had spaghetti meatballs on my birthday. Congratulations, Brooks. And Axel and Axel turning seven and eight years old, two buddies in San Mateo, California, listening on the way to school. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to Graham Goose Lewis in North Vancouver, British Columbia. This is a smooth skating defenseman, Nick.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
We're talking melatonin for your mind. We're talking Ambien for your ears. We're turning Wall Street into Wall Sleep. So Yetis, tune in this Saturday where we will read the entire shareholder letter of one surprise company. Word by word. Line by line. by line. Number by number. Your bed sheets are going to sound like spreadsheets. But in the meantime, don't drift off quite yet.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
You guys better face off. Sure. Watch out for those hip checks. And Robert Prager is turning 61 years old down in Richmond, Virginia. Happy 25th birthday to Zellen Heath in Mountain View, California. And Marion Trey is turning 39 down in lovely San Diego, California. And happy birthday to Ken Whalen in Manhattan Beach, California, who's headed to South by Southwest this weekend.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Call us from a robo-taxi, Ken. Let's hear some good facts from South by. And a big shout out to Curb Ball in Adena, Minnesota, who's actually... Edina. Jackie pointed out to us that I mispronounced Edina. It's Edina, not Edina. So now we both mispronounced it. Now we've both done so. Thank you, Curb.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And a special shout out to Mike and Kayvon over at the Half Day Beverage Company for their fantastic brand refresh. Congrats on the huge wins of getting into Erewhon and getting into Whole Foods. Two incredible distribution milestones. I've seen Half Day in so many places, the can already looked incredible. I can't wait to see what they whipped up.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple, and I own stock of Roblox. Were you sealed? That's a great line. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
No, stick with us right now. We still got a show for you yetis because we got three fantastic stories. Let's hit them, Nick. Jack, let's wake them up.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Despite the move intended to appease markets, stock sank another two full percentage points. More tariff whiplash, more market negativity all week long. My neck, Jack. My left neck. It's starting to hurt me. But Jack, three stories for today's tea boy. What do we got on the pot? For our first story, Mattel is brazenly knocking off Legos.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
For our first story, Mattel is brazenly knocking off Legos with a brand new plastic brick. It's a Lego dupe. This is Toy Wars. Will the winner be the best brand or the lowest price? But yet he is to sprinkle on a little context, the Lego. It was patented back in 1958 by the Danish Christensen family. Great-grandpapa Christensen invented the Lego. Grandpapa.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Now, we covered that entire Lego story on our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Fantastic episode, right, Jack? We got a link in the episode description if you want to listen to that whole thing. One key detail of that history is that Lego was an early pioneer of plastic. So they patented their Lego brick design. And the world honors patents because we want to reward the inventor of a creation.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
But funny side note here, Lego's patent expired 20 years later, back in 1978. And despite all the work of Lego's lawyers... Their brick is now in the public domain. That's why there are so many stupid Lego knockoffs. There's a brand called Best Lock. There's a brand called Dimple. There's another on Amazon simply called Plastic Building Bricks Compatible with All Brands.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Like we said, despite that stupid competition, Lego has thrived as a brand. It's the biggest toy company in the world, even though their one core product is no longer patent-protected. Okay, Jack, pause the pod and don't step on that brick because Lego is about to face its most formidable competition ever. We're talking about Mattel. Yeah, Mattel.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
The number two toy company in the world and the $7 billion toy glomerate. Mattel, the company behind Barbie and Hot Wheels, they just announced a brand new, our words here, Lego dupe. Their words are the Mattel Brick Shop, which is an entirely new brand that launches its first product in May, but Mattel already teased a picture of this thing. What are we seeing in the picture? It's a Lego.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Yeah, it's a Lego. It's a clone. They showed a two by four Lego brick and a two by two Lego brick. But instead of the word Lego on it, like most Legos, the word Mattel is there. Basically, Mattel is throwing bricks at Lego on this thing. Mattel calls this new product bricks. We call them Megos. Yeah, we call them Megos or Fegos. They're fake Legos, but we're going to roll with Megos on this one.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
This is the most blatant stage five zucking we've seen of any physical product. I mean, Jack, this is the biggest zucking in the toy industry since Fomagachi. Remember Fomagachi? No, I don't. You didn't have a sister. You didn't have a sister. But here's the surprise. Nick and I, we actually approve of this copy. Yeah, this is the rare time we've approved of a copycat.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Because Nick and I are parents now, Legos are shockingly expensive, considering the plastic bricks that they are. So from a business perspective, we think it is healthy for Lego to face some serious competition, especially 67 years after their invention down in Copenhagen. After all, those Danes have been making expensive Legos and profiting off them for literally three generations.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Like we said, great grandpapa. Yeah. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Lego? The ultimate test of a brand is facing a dupe. Yetis, what is a brand? Well, a brand is a feeling that you will pay extra for. And right now, Lego has a great brand. They charge over four times more per brick than those knockoffs we just mentioned on Amazon. And people still buy them.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And Jack, why do we pay four times more for a Lego-branded brick? Because of nostalgia. Our parents used to play with them, and that's kind of cool. And because of built-up trust, and also maybe because it's not some cheap, unknown material like Best Lock dimples. My kid's putting Legos in his mouth. I trust Lego plastic more than that random Amazon plastic.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Mattel's Legos look exactly like Legos Legos. Mattel just dropped a Lego dupe. We call it Megos, and we know who's going to win. For our second story, Utah is the first state in the nation to require age verification with an ID before you can download an app. Utah is the first ever social media bouncer. And our third and final story.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
But we got to point out, Mattel, consumers trust and know Mattel's brand just as much as they know and trust Lego. Mattel said that their Megos are designed to disrupt the status quo, and they signaled that they will be priced at something lower than Legos. And in this economy, you're going to be tempted by Mattel's lower-priced Legos. Megos.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Mattel's Legos is the truest test yet of the Lego brand. For our second story, Utah just became the first state in the country to require users show ID before downloading apps. This is a digital bouncer. It's a win for parents, a loss for the tech lobby, and there's a bunch of details we're excited to tell you. But yeah, it is. Okay, wait, Jack, it's like you had a kid 10 days ago.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
I keep forgetting it was less than two weeks ago. You had a new baby. Dude, I have three under four. Oh, wow. But here's the big question, Jack. Have you gotten Oakley a Gmail address yet? Did you get him a Gmail yet? I got Wilder and Brooke's Gmail accounts, but I haven't gotten Oakley one yet. Okay, that's the first, you know, pro tip everyone shares with you.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
But Jack, what is the other parenting advice that we found really useful related to business? We protect our kids way too much in the real world these days, but not nearly enough online. Like, let's stop worrying about recess. Start worrying about Roblox. Let the kid go out and play in the woods. But let's be careful when they're on like the World Wide Web.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Well, the state of Utah seems to agree because they just passed the App Store Accountability Act. It requires users verify their ID before being able to download apps like Instagram. Now, besties, if you are 18 years or older, you're good. You're going to see this once, but just once. It's a one-time age verification to prove you're an adult, and then you can download whatever you want.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
On the other hand, if you're a minor... Then for every app you try to download, you're going to need your parents' consent. That's why Jack and I call this the McLovin rule. How old are you? Old enough to party. I'm going to need to see that ID. And then you can download Instagram.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Now, yetis, what Jack and I found fascinating about this story is that Meta, X, Snapchat, all the social media companies, they're actually celebrating this news. Because this news in Utah means they don't have to do anything. Yeah. You know, there's actually huge pressure on Zuckerberg to protect minors who use his social media apps. There's a lot of creeps DMing minors on Instagram.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
It's a huge problem. And the other problem is that kids love it. Why? Teens love to say that they're older than they really are so that they get the adult version of the app. So this new law in Utah shifts the burden of age verification from those apps to the app stores. And it makes sense, actually. Yeah, it does.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
It makes sense that Apple would verify a driver's license once rather than every app on the app store having to do it themselves. Yeah, it's like basically they're giving you a digital wristband that says you're 18 plus, you can now get into the party and you can order whatever you like. Apple gives you the digital wristband and then you can use the whole web however you please.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Still the one lobby representing all of the tech industry. vehemently opposes this. They say that requiring everybody to provide an ID is a privacy invasion. But we think the potential benefits of protecting kids from online predators, it outweighs the cost.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
With age gating like this, Roblox, Instagram, dating apps, and porn sites, it's easy to control who gets in and who can't get in, at least in the state of Utah. And Apple and Google, the platforms, they are the ones perfectly equipped to figure this out while minimizing friction for consumers.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
After 30 years, Domino's finally made their first stuffed crust pizza. And the way that Pizza Hut responded to that pizza is priceless. Literally. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, no one else is doing that mix. Love the mix of stories, Jack. This weekend is the twice annual Daylight Savings Time. We are springing forward, so you are losing an hour of sleep.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
They're probably going to make you scan your ID once, and then the app store knows your age for the rest of your life. Honestly, to everyone skiing down the slopes of Park City right now, well done, Utah. Nicely done. We think this is a great precedent for the rest of the 50 states. But we also think there's an interesting next step.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone using the internet? The bouncer is about to jump universes from the physical world to the digital. Yetis, in the physical world, alcohol, cigarettes, R-rated movies, they all require your physical ID. But in our opinion, the digital world has far more dangerous threats these days.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Get this, 19 American states have actually passed laws requiring age verification to watch pornography websites. Rather than comply, adult websites went black in those 19 states. because they don't want to handle the responsibility of checking IDs. And that's why internet browsers like Chrome and Firefox could become the next digital bouncers.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Because the most effective way to agegate is through the platforms that provide the broad access, rather than the apps and the websites. Exactly. So, besties, this new law, it isn't just going to be in Utah. We think it's going everywhere. And it's not just going to be on your phone. We think it's going to be on every online device.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Just like there's a bouncer at the bar, digital bouncers will be at the door of the adult-only web checking IDs. If anyone can pull off McLovin, it's Vogel. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
For our third and final story to send you into the weekend. After 30 years of stubborn resistance, Domino's finally launched stuffed crust pizza. But how Pizza Hut responded is a lesson for all businesses. Yetis! Just two years ago, we told you about the pizza pullback, the pepperoni pause. You're ordering so much pizza during the pandemic. You had something we called pizza fatigue.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
But in this economy, pizza is back. It is. Because pizza is the ultimate family value meal. Financially speaking, we did the math. And the most efficient way to feed a family of four is two pies for 28 bucks. Hold the pineapple. You simply cannot feed a mass amount of people more efficiently. than with humongous pizzas. Just ask Carol from accounting.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
But the 20-year king of pizza in America, Domino's, they're actually down the last four years. Domino's ain't dominating anymore. They're still number one by revenue in America, but they've lost market share and their sales have been slowing down. So here's the news. Domino's is launching stuffed crust pizza for the first time in their history. That's right.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
They're taking a pound of mozzarella and spreading it around that circle. Spoken like a true German over there, Jack. If you are lactose intolerant, besties, do not touch that crust. But here's the surprise. Stuffed crust pizza is actually a phenomenon in the pizza industry. Yeah. It is a super sticky product. And you know what Jack and I always tell you, besties?
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
The good news is that sunset's going to happen an hour later. The bad news is you're not going to have an hour of sleep on Saturday night. Yeah, we're losing an hour. It's gone. And you're going to need a deep slumber Saturday night to compensate for that. But besties Jack and I, we got your back. We have a plan to help your circadian slumber this Saturday night.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Nothing feels better in business than sticky. Stuffed crust pizza was actually invented 30 years ago by the carbohydrate engineers over at Pizza Hut. Pro tip, you order the dish of marinara on the side to dip the stuffed crust into. Actually, the only time I've ever choked, by the way, pizza had stuffed crust pizza. The cheese was so stretchy, it was stretching down my throat.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And then like I was in some kind of a comedy show, I was like pulling it out of my mouth, but it was just stretching and stretching. Like we said, nothing stickier than stuffed crust, Jack. But besties, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style. It turns out Pizza Hut did 300 million bucks in sales during their first stuffed crust year 30 years ago.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
So Pizza Hut naturally tried to patent their stuffed crust pizza. But no dice. They couldn't patent it, which is why Papa John's and Little Caesars followed suit with their own stuffed crust. But Domino's always refused to stuff their crust. And why is that, Jack? The CEO called it a gimmick. He thought it was tacky. He thought stuffed crust pizza was a cheap party trick.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
Also, understandably, Domino's was worried about stuffed crust logistics. True. Because you stuff that crust by hand. And pizza, it's in the shape of a circle. There's like no efficient way to do that. I didn't know where you were going with that geometrically, Jack, but I like it. So three years ago, Yetis, Domino's did some research for some stuffed crust data.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
And they determined that stuffed crust sticks on customers like yeast. According to Domino's research, stuffed crust pizza buyers order more pizza, they order more often, and they spend more on every single pizza order. They're the best customers there are. They actually found that 13 million Americans will only order stuffed crust pizza.
The Best One Yet
🧱 “MEGOs” — Mattel’s LEGO dupe. Utah’s online bouncer. Pizza’s stuffed crust strategy.
So for 30 years, Domino's has been pushing away 13 million of the best pizza customers in the country. Because Domino's arrogantly thought their pizza was too high-end to stuff that crust. It's so obvious after looking at the data that Domino's has been missing out. So they finally swallowed their pride and have reversed their position. on stuffing the crust.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday, June 6th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. All right, we're celebrating the wins over here. Are you keeping track over there, Jack? I have a list of accomplishments for this week. Can I read some off? Yeah, you got a list. What do you got?
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Yeah, the new trend is the disruption of the traffic light. Get this. Avio just raised $22 million for solar-powered AI traffic cameras. Their goal is to catch the nonstoppers. Yeah, also, if you're making an illegal turn, a rolling stop, AI will identify all the types of traffic violations. And then send an email with a photo of the evidence to the police. Interesting business model here.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
They actually give this technology to the city for free, but then they take a portion of the citation as their revenue. A more interesting startup is one called No Traffic, which raised $50 million last year to make there be no traffic. Basically, it's hardware and software to sync up traffic lights with the reality of the traffic on the ground.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Because right now, the lights are just programmed to be red for however long and then green for however long, regardless of the actual traffic on the road. Yeah, you look for those, you know, synchronized light avenues that speed you along. But otherwise, you're stopping every eight blocks in Manhattan.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Although, Jack, we should point out there is an existential risk to the traffic light disrupting startups out there, right? Ah, self-driving cars. That's right. If 100% of cars are robot cars, then do we even need traffic lights at all? A robot car is going to tell another robot car, you go ahead. I'll wait for you. You don't need traffic lights. Think about that one, besties.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the traffic light disruption industry? Traffic lights may be the dumbest tech with the biggest impact on our lives. Yeah, just pause the pod for a sec. Let's just take a moment to realize how years without innovation in traffic lights has affected us. Look, we appreciate the order and safety that traffic lights bring. We respect you.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
But the inefficiency of modern traffic lights have a major cost on society and the economy. Okay, Jack, one is environmental. Idling actually contributes 5% to 10% of carbon emissions of cars. plus the unnecessary wearing down of brake pads and the unnecessary fuel from stopping and going. But the biggest issue may be time, because the average American wastes 43 hours a year sitting in traffic.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Better traffic lights could reduce that. So Bastille's added up, and the traffic light is a funny example of a lack of innovation in an obscure product with some major upside. It's the dumbest tech with the biggest impact. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Nintendo launched the Switch 2. It totally sold out yesterday, and the stock is at an all-time high.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Because the typical video gamer in America looks like the typical American. For our second story, Americans are contributing a record 14.3% of their paycheck to 401ks. Forget your password. Oh. When you finally do log in, you are going to be thrilled with the number you see. And our third and final story. We found two companies that raised VC money to use AI to disrupt the traffic light.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Because traffic lights are the dumbest technology with the hugest impact on our lives. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, stock in Circle, the stablecoin company we covered on Monday, jumped 168% on its first day of trading. The stock priced at $31 on its IPO day, but finished the day at $83 per share. Now, what do they actually do?
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Buy low, sell high. It's a stock market play call on the basketball court. Here's the context. Oklahoma City, it's a small market team. And by our calculations, Oklahoma City has the most wins per local citizen of any team in the league. But even OKC gets draft picks, and the draft is the cheapest place to find talent. And Jack, in three consecutive years, Sam Presti drafted future MVPs.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
Well, they digitized the United States dollar with the blockchain. But Wall Street thinks Coinbase might acquire Circle someday. Second, Tesla shares fell 14% yesterday as Elon's divorce with President Trump got really dirty and nasty. Elon pivoted from trolling the big beautiful bill to trolling the president on X yesterday.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
So then the president went public and began insulting Elon and threatened to end government contracts with Elon's companies. Tesla's brand has already soured with progressives. Now it could lose MAGA too. And finally, the original cast of Hamilton is reuniting to perform one song at the Tony Awards this Sunday. Lin-Manuel Miranda will be there. Leslie Odom Jr. will be there.
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🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
And that baritone who played George Washington, that big guy, he'll be there too. There's the whole OG cast. Hamilton, by the way, just surpassed $1 billion in revenue from the show tickets, the merch, and the Disney Plus streaming deal. And they're celebrating 10 years since the first show. at the Tony's this Sunday. Now time for the best fact yet.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
This one sent in by legendary Yeti Khaled from Kuwait. This week, Muslims around the world are observing Eid al-Adha, which also marks the time of the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia that's known as Hajj. And the numbers are huge. 1.8 million Muslims made the pilgrimage last year, which you only have to do once in your life, ending at the Great Mosque.
The Best One Yet
🎮 “Mario Hits Puberty” — Nintendo’s Switch 2 sellout. Our 401K password trick. AI Traffic Lights.
And the Great Mosque goes back to 638 A.D., It's huge. It has a capacity to hold 2 million observers at once. All the numbers we're talking about here are just huge numbers. So to all the Yetis making the pilgrimage right now, Haj Mubarak. And to those observing Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Adha Mubarak. Yetis, you look fantastic over there. You look fantastic all week.
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Jack, I can't wait to see you in just a few days. Thank you for coming out. We're going to have a blast. Yeah, I'm going to give Maxie his early birthday present. Oh, very excited about that. Very excited about it. So, Yetis, if you haven't yet, drop down to give us five stars and a five-star review. We love reading them every week. If you do, we'll add it to our wins list for the week.
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And after that, check out our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet, because we did a whole episode on Tommy Bahama. Specifically, their beach chair. And Nick and I will see you Monday. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday and happy middle school graduation to Yeti Alessandro Montoya down in Charlotte, North Carolina. Happy 36th birthday to Andrew Zamsky in Waltham, Mass. Just outside Boston.
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And Maddie King in Phoenix, Arizona is a Gonzaga grad with the best birthday yet. Happy year and a half birthday to Amelia in Orlando. She's 18 months old and she's beauty. And a congratulations to Seth and Felicia on the birth of their daughter, Sloane Giada, down in DeBerry, Florida. Happy 40th birthday to Ryan Suet in Las Vegas. who's doing a gender reveal of baby number one over in Maui.
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And Mugo Jaguna, the little league baseball coach is celebrating the best birthday yet in Brookline, Mass, getting dunked at the games. Just that side post. And a big shout out to Manish, Apoorva, Alana, Genevieve, Constance, Zelda, and Atticus, who all attended the Salt and Straw event that Nick, Was the host for? Is host right there? I got the hostage. I mean, amazing to meet all these yetis.
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And Atticus, you've got fantastic parents. Big shout out to Christine Buccino from Florusa, who's got a promotion and is a run club junkie. And congratulations to Andrea and Tom Klausen in Gulfport, Florida, for celebrating 10 years together with another fantastic wristband. A big shout out to Andrew Castro in San Mateo, California, graduating eighth grade, headed to high school.
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And Anthony Tran in Henderson, Nevada, congrats on the new job at Clark County Aviation and closing on that home, baby. And congrats to Anglis for getting a Berkeley Executive MBA. That's a huge accomplishment. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and we both own some Bitcoin.
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He drafted Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in consecutive years. Each became an MVP. All drafted by this man. Besties, that's the buy low part. The NBA draft. But Sam Presti also sold high. Get this. He traded each of those players when they were all-stars. When they were at the peak of their game. Fans were so shocked, they spat out their barbecue.
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A Bitcoin named Ben. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
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But the way he sees it, he sells talents when they're at the top. Like Warren Buffett sold Apple stock last year. So that he could buy low. Like snagging Bitcoin at $100, which none of us did. Case in point, his best trade ever. In 2017, OKC traded their first team All-Pro, Paul George. And got seven young no-namers in return. One of those randos, though, was Shea Gilgis Alexander.
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Our social media channels at T-Boy Pod are buzzing. Our show hit top 50 overall podcasts on Apple. I like it. We're interviewing two CEOs in the next two weeks. Check, check, check. We soft launched something this week that's going very well. It's in stealth mode. And every show we've dropped on the feed has been a T-boy.
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SGA, also known as this year's MVP. He sold Paul George high so he could buy SGA low. And now he and Oklahoma City are back. in the NBA Finals. That is some basketball arbitrage. Oklahoma City? That would make Blackstone blush.
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For our first story, Nintendo Switch went on sale yesterday, and it's already sold out worldwide. Who are the people who waited in line for hours at Best Buy to buy the Nintendo Switch 2? They're not kids, that's for sure. They're actually you. We'll explain. We got the data. But first, Yeti's Apple. They launch a new iPhone every single year on the dot like clockwork.
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On the other hand, Nintendo launches a new product every eight years. Apple's like the Super Bowl. Nintendo's like the Olympics back when Greece ran it in ancient Greece. So yesterday was the biggest deal for Nintendo since like Donkey Kong. Now, remember the first Nintendo Switch portable gaming device sold 150 million consoles over the last eight years.
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And finally yesterday, you could buy the Switch 2, Nintendo's first gaming device since 2017. Or if you're like me, you couldn't buy it. Yeah, Jack, I tried and someone threw a banana at me. It was sold out on all four websites it was supposed to be available. We're talking Best Buy, Walmart, GameStop, Target, all of them sold out within a day.
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Now, Nintendo actually knew demand was going to be insane. So they actually limited pre-orders to just super fans in a really clever way. Okay, like Luigi couldn't even get one. Only people who owned a Switch 1 and had logged 50 hours playing on that device could pre-order the new Switch 2. And guess what? 2.2 million people did that.
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It's like if Hermes said, you can't buy anything from us unless you already owned the Birkin bag. Isn't that actually kind of what Hermes does? Actually, that is what it is like, Jack. Now, a reminder economically why this is so crazy, Nintendo didn't reveal a launch date or a final price because of Trump's trade war.
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They actually unveiled the Switch 2 on Trump's Liberation Day, which is a big problem because the Switch 2 was made in Japan. But ultimately, they launched the device at the same price as originally advertised, $499 with Nintendo. No tariff tax. And it comes with Mario Kart included. Nintendo stock is up 31% this year so far, like Koopa Troopa. They're at an all-time high on the Switch 2 hype.
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Plus, you're coming to San Francisco next week and your flight just got upgraded.
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Now, unfortunately, Jack has been crying in my arms about not having a chance of getting a Switch on launch day. Only the people who shopped in person did, and I was too busy prepping this podcast, okay? So Jack and I were curious, like, who exactly are these people who are able to get these devices? Who are video game players in general? Perfect timing.
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The New York Times just did a deep dive on the history of Nintendo's customers. And the journey here isn't what you'd expect. It begins in the early 1980s, when the original Nintendo focused only on targeting young boys. Picture the kids from Stranger Things. That was who was buying a Nintendo. Youths, they adopted video games first with the spare quarters from the arcade.
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By the 1990s, teens were the target. And then in the 2000s, Nintendo introduced Wii, which entire families could play together. So it's been interesting tracking Nintendo's strategy here. Like Nintendo grew its advertising as you grew up. The marketing matured with us. But this latest Nintendo device, who does this one target, Jack? Everyone. That's right. Everyone with the internet.
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I don't know about that last part.
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Because the whole idea is that you can play together alone. In the commercial for the new Nintendo Switch 2, Paul Rudd, the oldest young man ever, by the way, is playing the device with a whole bunch of friends and his little niece. They're all playing together, even though they're all alone in their own separate living rooms. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Nintendo?
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The typical video gamer in America looks like the typical American. And that's not what you'd expect. Yetis, the median video gamer is actually 36 years old, and the ratio is 53% male to 47% female. That's very close to the general population, whose median age is 39 and a 50-50 gender split. And that median video gamer, they're playing an hour and a half per day.
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In the meantime, besties, hope you're celebrating some wins. Jack, three stories for today's team. Boy, what do we got in the pot? For our first story, Nintendo's Switch 2 went on sale yesterday. It's Nintendo's first new console in eight years. But Jack and I are jumping into the video game industry because gamers ain't who you think they are.
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Now, you might have had an outdated picture of a stereotype in your head when you thought of a video gamer. Yeah, like a 25-year-old dude who still lives in his parents' basement. He's the one who's playing video games. That's not right. It's actually everyone who's playing video games. And Nintendo's evolution in marketing over the last 30, 40 years? shows it.
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The original Nintendo was for kids, Super Nintendo was for teens, and Wii was for entire families. But the new Switch, it's for everyone. Because when you look at the data, everyone plays video games. And they play those games a lot. For our second story, the hottest new trend on TikTok, it's retirement accounts. 401ks have gone viral. So we have to share with you our favorite savings advice.
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Here it is. Forget your account password. Just forget your password. On purpose. But yeah, it is. Nick and Jack here with you. Go ahead. This weekend, order another avocado toast and double-digit latte. You've earned it. Yep. Because your retirement account is living its best life right now. Here's the wild update.
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More Americans than ever are saving what they're supposed to be saving for retirement. According to Fidelity Wealth Management experts, 401k savings rates should be 15% of your income. And right now, boomers are saving 17% of their income and millennials are impressively saving 13.5% of their income. In fact, Americans are saving a record high percent for their IRAs and their HSA accounts too.
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Basically, when it comes to retirement accounts, you are saving like Nana down in Sarasota. All right. Now, Nick, I just noticed we've done like five highly jargony things. Like we said 401k, HSA, IRA. Oh, yeah. Can we sprinkle on some context, please? FYI, I was going to say we should sprinkle on some context, Jack.
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A 401k lets you save up to $23,000 of your paycheck pre-tax and invest it in the stock market for your retirement. And then you can withdraw that money from the stock market when you're 59 and only pay taxes on the gains. A lot of times the company matches 401k contributions, which is like free money. Now, if a company doesn't offer a 401k, you could set up an IRA account.
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With an IRA, you can save up to $7,000 a year and withdraw it when you turn 59. Now, there's also a Roth IRA in which you pay the taxes first as the income from your paycheck, but then you don't pay taxes when you withdraw that money from the stock market. Unlike a regular IRA where you don't pay taxes at the beginning, but you do pay taxes when you withdraw.
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So add up all those acronyms, besties, and the reason we like retirement accounts is they let you skip a tax payment. And that's huge. If you just take your paycheck and invest it in a regular brokerage account, you pay taxes twice. First, you pay taxes with your paycheck, and then you pay taxes on any gains when you withdraw.
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For our second story, Americans are prudent poly when it comes to retirement plans.
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And that's like one of the reasons why retirement accounts are suddenly going viral like frappuccinos out there. Everyone's figuring out on TikTok that they can pay less taxes if they use a retirement account. Hashtag Roth IRA has 800 million views on TikTok. Yeah, but it's not TikTok that has Americans putting a record 14.3% of their paycheck into a 401k.
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It's the default that made them do it, Jack. We'll explain. Yetis, in 2006, Congress passed a bill encouraging companies to auto-enroll their employees in 401ks. Basically, instead of requiring workers to opt in to a retirement account, they required them to opt out of a retirement account. And that change in the default boosted enrollment just as millennials were entering the job market.
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Yes, we are.
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We're putting a record percentage of our income into our 401ks. So our savings advice, forget your account password on purpose. And our third and final story, each and every one of us spends 43 hours a year on average not moving, just stuck in traffic. But now AI is reinventing the traffic light. And we are thrilled about it. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.
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Another interesting change, the default contribution. The percentage of your paycheck that was defaulted into a retirement account was 3%, but now it's 5%. So basically, they nudged you to save a little bit more money. And those nudges resulted in more millennials on pace to become 401k millionaires.
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When I had a 401k, I started with just 3% because I felt like I needed every dollar. Eventually I got to 5%. I finished with 10%. I never contributed 15% of my income to savings. No, but these psychological tweaks have changed the game, Jack. I mean, now if you start saving 15% of your income, your future shuffleboard court is going to be paved in gold. Boca del Vista, baby.
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So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies saving for retirement? The best saving strategy? is to forget your password. Yeah, yeah, it's a funny thing, but I had an IRA account that began when I worked at a bank. I carried it through three different jobs. But confession, I haven't signed into that account in three years. Because you purposely forgot your password. Yeah, I really did, Jack.
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You didn't want to think about your retirement account because you're still decades from retiring. Yeah, I mean, I should point out, Jack, I check my other money daily. You know, I check my checking, my savings, my brokerage, my crypto, my A&M. We do the monthly brunch with Molly. But retirement account, I don't want to touch it, so I don't want to look at it, so I forgot the password.
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Now, I check my retirement accounts monthly like all my other accounts, but I respect this forget your password pause. Jack, ahead of this episode, I did check the account for the first time in three years. It's got $200,000 of it after a decade of contributions. I haven't been paying attention. Congrats. And the power of compounding gains after a long period of time is wild.
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Okay, so Jack, if the stock market continues to gain on average 8% a year like it has, and I don't touch that 200,000 bucks, it'll be worth $2 million in 30 years when I retire. That's right. Gaining 8% per year, your money will 10X in 30 years. So yes, besties, check your finances frequently. But your retirement account, maybe you forget that password.
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When you finally do check it, might have an extra zero at the end of it.
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Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.
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and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.
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Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.
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The number one thing we hope AI replaces, it's the traffic light. Totally. And it's happening right now. But yetis, in order to tell this story, let's travel back in time to New York City, 1914. Union Square is a mix of cars, pedestrians, horses, bikes, trolleys, and one sec, Jack, I think I see a cow. A police officer had to stand on a podium trying to maintain some semblance of order.
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besties, with the rise of the car, intersections in cities became chaos. So police had to manually conduct traffic like maestros in an orchestra. Until 1914, when a police officer in Cleveland got tired of all the chaos, quit his job and invented the first electric traffic signal. Pretty simple. Just green. Green for go.
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Disrupting the traffic light. Never thought we'd do that story. Wonderful mix, Jack. The NBA finals tipped off last night. We got the Oklahoma City Thunder versus the Indiana Pacers. The besties. Jack and I ran the numbers and we already have a winner. Ding, ding, ding. Oklahoma City Thunder. Because OKC's general manager, Sam Presti, uses a strategy from investing for his basketball team.
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In 1920, a police officer in Detroit invented the three-color system that we know today. Red, green, and yellow for slow. And then in the 1950s, traffic signs became automated. They were controlled by the Municipal Circuit Board. But honestly, we've done the research and that's it. No change in traffic light technology for the last 70 years.
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Which is why odds are you're listening to this podcast while waiting at a red light right now. Yeah, and a trucker just blasted his horn at you at the 18th time. I know, I'm trying to get out of the way. You're worried about gridlock. It's stressful. And that's why we're excited for the rise in startups who are reinventing the traffic signal.
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This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Friday, the real Friday, December 6th, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. All right, so I'm recording from home today because we got a tsunami warning in San Francisco. I know. Nick called me yesterday and he said, Jack, a 7.0 earthquake happened off the coast of California.
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But just as painful is financial infidelity. Not being honest with your partner about your money situation. Misleading, hiding, creating false expectations, all that, it's a form of monetary cheating. That's why we find the Chick-fil-A data so powerful. It is powerful, Jack, you're right. Because it's not about what you can afford, it's about honesty on what you can afford.
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The budget number wasn't the issue. It was honesty about the budget. Sebasties, it's not the size of the budget that matters. It's how honest we are about it. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time. And as Bitcoin booms, MicroStrategy booms even more. And our Fed chairman said for the first time that Bitcoin is like digital gold.
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Our second story was Uber. They just launched a bunch of holiday-specific services to differentiate from robo-taxis. Because the antidote to automation is human touch. And our third and final story. According to a survey, Chick-fil-A is the top fast food restaurant for first dates. And women? They're totally fine with it. It's not the size of our budgets that matters.
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It's how honest we are about them. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, yesterday we told you about the cold-blooded murder of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Well, here's an update. He didn't have a bodyguard, and police have shared two pictures of the likely killer who is still at large as of this recording.
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Also, interestingly, they found three words written on the bullet cases that the killer used. Deny, defend, and depose. Those could be a reference to the health insurance industry's habits of denying coverage to bolster their profits. Either way, this could lead to a lot of conversation on America's healthcare system, which is the most expensive in the world.
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It's half the calories of my life. Well, here's the news. Guinness is cutting off pubs in the United Kingdom. Apparently, they have reached their Guinness limit. Because too many Brits are drinking too much Guinness right now. Bestie's Guinness is limiting its supply on their home island during the holidays in order to make sure there's enough Guinness for the rest of us. So here's the question.
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Second, Kim Kardashian's Skims is expanding from the sun to the snow. Yes, they are. Skims partnered with the North Face to launch a line of women's ski gear. They're getting into ski wear. Skims, they started with shapewear onesies. Now they're doing downhill onesies. Valued at over $4 billion, Skims is considered a candidate for an IPO in 2025.
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And finally, Taylor Swift's Errors Tour book was, unshockingly, a chart topper, but we just got the numbers. It dropped on Black Friday, and it was only available at Target. Only sold at Target, interestingly. And over 800,000 copies of that concert tour book were sold in the first two days. Second most ever for nonfiction, right behind Barack Obama's most recent memoir.
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Although many are pointing out typos and grammatical mistakes in that book. Yeah, the Errors Tour, this is the Errors Tour. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Tyler Marwood down in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Push and play. Here we go.
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We see what you did there, Tyler, by the way. I feel like I'm back in kindergarten.
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Mixing my three primary colors. Well, you know, we should share our hexagonal colors for Slammin' Salmon because we have our own special hexagonal. You don't remember what it is off the top of your head, do you? It's hashtag FB4C8E. That is the special Slammin' Salmon color pink we use. We'll drop it in the episode description. Yetis, you've looked fantastic all week.
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Jack, so many wins to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who dropped a rap. That was unreal. We actually got a special gift for you at the end of the pod if you gave us a rap. We were in the top five of 50,000 Spotify users. Not bad.
The Best One Yet
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And besties, before you go, we have the perfect thing for you to listen to to take you into the weekend, and that's our new weekly show. The best idea yet. This week, it's the Polaroid camera. This was a tech company before the tech industry even existed. Oh, the Polaroid camera was such an innovative product that Steve Jobs said it was his inspiration.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
It is a wild story, and we cover that on The Best Idea Yet. So head over there right now. You're going to love this weekly show. We dropped a link in the show notes. In the meantime, celebrate the wins, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y, and Jack and I will see you Monday. And before we go, a happy birthday to Bowen Way eating chocolate for his birthday in California. Happy birthday to Ms.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Kat Stringham, who's turning 30 in Scottsdale with some tiramisu. And Jack, you'll love this. Sarah is celebrating a New York birthday in Chicago doing logistics with an Eli Manning-themed party. Eli Manning. He really was elite. And Ariyash is turning nine years old in Andover, Massachusetts.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Get this, Ariyash, the legendary birthday boy, has listened to every episode of The Best Idea Yet every week. This kid is the best one yet. Thank you, Ariyash. And Ashley and Jordan just got engaged on Black Friday in New York City. Let's see some ring picks, guys. What a holiday. And a quick shout out to a handful of the 19,000 of you who had us as number one podcast of the year on Spotify.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Why is Guinness suddenly so popular in the UK? Well, get this, Jack. The latest trend among Gen Z is taking pics with a pint of Guinness. They're called Ginfluencers. Ginfluencers, real term. And the goal when you drink as a Ginfluencer is to split the G, which is to drink just enough Guinness, like two gulps or so from your pint. So that the beer line splits the G when you put the pint down.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Oh, you ready for this, Jack? Thank you. Chris Shaw, Mary Montiel, Marley Moreno, Rachel Ralph, Ralph Gustav, Pilly Kushner, Ember Leib, Danica, Dak Shepard, allegedly, Daniel Cohen, Caitlin Crowsdale, Gillian Henderson.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Victoria Chang, Daniel Stokes, Lost in Travel, Lindsay McMahon, Mike Gillard, Ali Uraib, Ralph Gustav, Billy Kushner, Emberley, Leo, Sherry Morris, Amanda Whitten, Barron Tuiz, and Brendan Hall. Wow, you are way better than me at whipping off names quickly. I mean, you whip up the takeaways, I whip up the shadows. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
This is Jack. Nick and I both own a Bitcoin and we both own stock in Robinhood. Come on! I made my family disappear. No, you're supposed to arrive three minutes ago in an Acura. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Because it's not just Liam and leprechauns who are drinking Guinness these days. No, this is wild, but sales to women of Guinness are up 24% this year. Kim Kardashian, Olivia Rodrigo, the Princess of Wales, they've all recently posted pics sipping the brown stuff. So Diageo, the go-owner of Guinness, is reportedly limiting sales in the United Kingdom, where ginsanity is particularly strong.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Nick, we may have to add Guinness to the hoarder's almanac. Jack, we may have to add ginfluencers to our word of the year. How about ginsanity? That's the guinning choice.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
influencers now you know and if you know you know jack let's have three stories 15 years before this song two boys from the northeast met in the dorm they had an idea to cause a cultural storm it's the best one yet but the best is the norm jack nick that's it i don't even think they need to practice 50 that's a fat tip t-boy city on your at list if you know you know because we're ready to go we can't wait no more so just start the show
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Start the show.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
First, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
For our first story. For the first time, Bitcoin just reached $100,000. So we have to tell you about Bitcoin's biggest lover by far, MicroStrategy. But first, Jack, mazel tov to Ben the Bitcoin. Ben just had another bit mitzvah, not too shabby. We're going to get him a gift. After 15 years, Bitcoin has reached the six-digit price of $100,000. It's a nice round number.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
I had to head to higher ground. I'm recording from a podcast studio at like 900 feet above sea level right now. I'll be honest, I was very worried. I really appreciated how worried you were, Jack. Thanks so much. I texted Nick right away when I saw that the tsunami warning got canceled. But in the meantime, Yetis, the pod must go on, and we have got three fantastic stories before the weekend.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
The rally for Bitcoin is so far up 45% since election day. And it's up 136% since the beginning of the year. But Jack, the key reason that tipped the cryptocurrency into the six digit club yesterday, what was it, man? It was probably Trump's pick earlier in the week of a crypto friendly dude to lead the SEC.
The Best One Yet
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And for that reason, stock and crypto trading apps like Coinbase and Robinhood, they have now doubled and tripled so far this year. But the one stock that's most married to crypto prices. Who is it, Jack? MicroStrategy. MicroStrategy. And yet he's the way Jack and I see it. MicroStrategy is Bitcoin's biggest lover. First of all, MicroStrategy is way older than Bitcoin. It was founded in 1989.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
It's a publicly traded company. And for most of its history, it was a software company. But then in 2020, MicroStrategy, you know, it kind of became a cougar. It decided to convert all the company's cash into Bitcoin. The reason? Their cash was generating zero interest. And the CEO was worried that the US dollar that they were holding their cash in could lose value if inflation came.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
So he converted it to Bitcoin. And since then, MicroStrategy has gone from crypto curious to like a full on crypto kisser. MicroStrategy has completely transformed from a software company that they were for 30 years to a company that simply buys and holds tons and tons of Bitcoin. Oh, yeah. MicroStrategy is deep in bed with Bitcoin. Get this, Yetis.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
MicroStrategy has bought and now holds around $38 billion of Bitcoin. Jack, could you sprinkle on a little context to that number, please? This random publicly traded software company actually holds 2% of all the Bitcoin in the world. We repeat, one out of every 50 Bitcoin on planet Earth is owned by MicroStrategy. But that's not even the wildest part. No, it's not.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
This company plans to sell $11 billion worth of stock in itself and then take out $21 billion in debt in order to buy more Bitcoin. They're raising more money to buy more of the Bitcoin in the world. Now, the CEO of this 35-year-old tech company says that MicroStrategy is becoming a Bitcoin treasury.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But it's also the same strategy as your Bitcoin buddy who mortgaged his house in order to buy more Bitcoin. So MicroStrategy's MicroStrategy is to sell software to their clients. But Jack, MicroStrategy's MacroStrategy is to be a publicly traded proxy for Bitcoin. But back to Bitcoin's rise to $100,000. Good point, Jack. It just hit 100K. That is a nice round number right there.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
We can explain that rise from one quote from earlier in the week. And that quote is our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in crypto? Bitcoin doesn't compete with the US dollar. It competes with gold. Yetis, those are the words of Jerome Jerry Powell, who spoke at the deal book conference on Wednesday of this week.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Jack, what's on today's T-Boy? For our first story, Ben the Bitcoin just hit $100,000 for the first time ever. So Jack and I are looking at the one company that owns more Bitcoin than any other. MicroStrategy. For our second story, it's Uber's newest product. What is it, Jack? Uber caroling. Caroling. Uber will now deliver a Christmas tree and Christmas carolers to your door.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Our Federal Reserve Chairman clarified that Bitcoin is not really a currency, even though it's called a cryptocurrency. It's really more like a commodity. Here's how he's thinking about it. Just like gold, Bitcoin is a popular alternative asset for investors to park their money in. And also just like gold, Bitcoin is scarce.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
There's only so much gold in the world and there's only so many Bitcoin in the world. And also just like gold, investors have decided that Bitcoin is valuable. Very valuable, it turns out. $100,000 valuable. Now we should point out, he is biased. Our Fed chairman's job is to protect the strength of the US dollar.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But it was validating for Bitcoin to be put on the same pedestal as gold in the words of our top central banker. Bitcoin, it doesn't compete with the US dollar. It competes with gold. And that's why it just hit 100K. For our second story, Uber just launched an entire suite of holiday services. This year, you can Uber Christmas carolers to someone's door. But this isn't about Christmas cheer.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
This is about Uber's greatest threat. Yes, it is. Now, yet it is. Jack and I have been covering Uber in the markets for a while. And over the years, Uber has tested out a lot of new Uber options you weren't aware of, Jack. How would you describe them? Uber, Uber. Yeah, they're Uber, Uber, these options. In Bangkok, for example, you can book an Uber Moto.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
You can jump on the back of a motorcycle because the city is so crowded. Uber Moto. Your Uber driver is the guy whose arms you're wrapping around right now. You're going to get to know each other. You're going to give them five stars. In Ibiza, you can book an Uber yacht. Yeah, you and seven other people can sail around the island for 1,600 euros a minute. I mean hour.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
I think it's the day, actually. It may be a minute over in Ibiza. In Australia, you can hail a scuba. Scuba, like a scuba Uber. This is a submarine experience, so you can sail through the Great Barrier Reef. in an Uber sub, a self-contained underwater Uber apparatus. Now, Yeti's Uber stock, it has tripled in the last two years. Probably not because of the scuba. No, no.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But still, it's now worth $140 billion, which is 20 lifts. So the way we see it, Uber, it's got some mojo right now. So Uber, they can A-B-L-E, able. They can always be launching new things. And Jack, what is the latest launch from Uber? Christmas carols. Christmas carols, besties. Uber just launched a suite of holiday services that they even got Macaulay Culkin on board to promote.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
It's like, you're a driver. Kevin! Kevin is arriving in four minutes in a Honda Civic. Kevin! Would you like to give Kevin five stars? Here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Uber basically realized that they weren't getting a piece of all of the holiday shopping season. All the money you're spending right now, that's going to retailers. It isn't going to Uber.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
So they just launched nationwide Christmas tree delivery to get in on that Christmas cheer. Yeah, they want in on that holiday spending. So now you can get a Douglas fir on top of a Prius arriving on your door because you ordered it via Uber. Seriously, from Boston to Santa Barbara, you can now get your tree delivered.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
So you don't herniate a disc cutting it down and putting it onto your Rivian yourself. Sounds like your back hurts, Jack. I told you I got two trees, Nick. Lift with your legs, now with your back. Uber is also expanding Uber Courier, which is for last-minute tasks that you just really don't want to do, so the driver will do them for you.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
You can tell Uber to pick up the eggnog that you left by accident at Edna's house. You already had a convo with Ann Edna and you can't have more conversation with her. It's a long convo. The wildest launch, though, is Uber Christmas Carol through Uber Eats. That's right. Uber Christmas Carols. Like, yetis, let's say you couldn't get a physical gift for your buddy Timmy in time.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
What are you going to do, Jack? You can send him the sweet sound of Silent Night. Through four carolers who arrive in an Uber. It's a partnership with Diageo, so you actually have to order alcohol, too. Like, you have to have a bottle of peppermint schnapps show up with the carolers. Along with the four carolers. But either way, Eddie, this holiday season, it means holy spending.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But why is Uber really spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear? It's because of Waymo. And our third and final story. A new survey says that the top restaurant men will take their first date to is Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A! But the wildest part? Women love Chick-fil-A as a first date, but on one big financial condition. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories...
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
And Uber has finally found a way for a logistics company to get in on that retail spending. But there's actually... An existential reason that Uber's doing this. And that reason. Kind of represents the Grinch. Is our takeaway for all to hear. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Uber? The antidote to automation is a human touch. Human touch.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Yet is, for the last decade, the greatest threat to Uber was Lyft. But for the next decade, the greatest threat to Uber is robo-taxis. Waymo, Cruise, Tesla CyberCab, all of those are new Uber competitors who just didn't even exist five years ago. In fact, Waymo announced yesterday that they're expanding their robo-cab service to Miami. Good point, it was a new update yesterday.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Which caused Uber stock to fall by 8%. It's a serious threat. But here's how we see it, besties. Uber has always seen the human drivers as the expensive part of their business model. But now Uber's realizing that those human drivers are their advantage against the real competition. And here's why.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Only with a human driver can Uber deliver carolers and Christmas trees and Aunt Edna's eggnog right off her porch. Those human-powered perks are advantages that Waymo can't offer right now. And that is the power of this Uber Christmas caroling. Uber. They just realized that the antidote to AI is human touch. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
For our third and final story to send you into the weekend, Chick-fil-A. It is now the top destination for men to take a first date to. And that reveals one of the top thing women look for in a relationship.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But Jack, in order to properly set the scene for this story, you know, Friday night, it's date night, we're all going out, but you have a tradition for date night that you got to share with the Yetis. It's more a challenge, actually. Alex and I, we go to Electra's on Friday night, and our goal was to eat everything on the menu by the end of the year.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Even if they changed that, you're like, you got to bring that, bring back the squash. We got to have more of that. We didn't try it yet. We're not on pace to do it. Because a lot of babysitters fell through. It gives you a goal for every date, which is kind of the goal of the date. But in 31 American states, the first date night happens at Chick-fil-A. Here's the news, yetis.
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👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Dating News surveyed 3,000 singles across the country and asked the men, what is the top restaurant that you like to take women to on a first date? Now, in Maine and Vermont, the top answer was Subway. But overwhelmingly, in 31 American states, the answer for the number one first date destination was Chick-fil-A. What do you do for work? Yeah. Where'd you grow up? Interesting.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Do you want waffle fries or regular fries? Tell me more about your ketchup preferences. I feel like we're on the same vibe right now. Now, there is more data here. Overall, 54% of men said that a fast food restaurant was just fine for a first date. Okay, but even more interesting... The rate was 66% for women. 66% of women think a fast food restaurant is fine for a first date.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
No one is doing this mix. I mean, this is an unprecedented. I love this mix, Jack. Great mix. Guinness. Guinness. The dark, creamy beer that tastes like a confused cold coffee. Guinness. You don't drink the Guinness. The Guinness drinks you. We've all got one buddy who's like training for a marathon and the only thing he'll drink is half a Guinness. I can only drink Guinness.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
He didn't go to Jared's. He went to Wendy's. And that was a turn on. It's hot, baby. Romeo would have taken Juliet to a fine sit down French or Italian restaurant. But right now, Pookie is cool with hanging out at the Waffle House as she gets to know her guy on the first time. Because in this economy, Chick-fil-A can be a sign of financial responsibility. That's right, Jack.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
Besties, the reason two out of three women in this survey were fine with fast food for a first date? It was the money. It was the money, yeah. Women are much more likely to say yay to Chick-fil-A if the man asking them is honest that they're going there because of their budget. Now, I'm sure she would prefer a nice filet mignon or maybe a sushi dinner out instead of the Chick-fil-A sandwich.
The Best One Yet
👨❤️💋👨 “He took me to Chick” — Chick-fil-A’s dating lesson. Bitcoin’s $100K moment. Uber’s Christmas carols.
But more important than the cuisine is the guy's financial character. Yes, it is. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone going out on date night? It's not the size of the budget that matters. It's how honest you are about it. Yetis, the number one issue in American breakups, it's money. The number one cause of divorce in America, it's money.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Friday, the real Friday, May the 2nd. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Mark your calendars for Monday, baby. And why is that, Jack? We are announcing our next T-boy live show on Monday. The city, the state, the location, we'll reveal it all on Monday, the next T-boy live.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Plus, we should point out, $160 billion in savings doesn't tell the full picture here of costs. Because Doge's firings were actually expensive. That's right. According to the Partnership for Public Service, they estimate that rehiring of workers who were fired by mistake, plus lost productivity, plus paid leave, it actually cost the government $135 billion.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
So add it all up, net-net, Doge saved about $25 billion this year. which is a drop in the pail considering the expectations and the size of the federal spending. Also still, 200,000 people were fired and some entire agencies were all but eliminated. So Yetis, we've said the spirit of Doge's mission, efficiency, made sense. But in practice, the small savings and the huge chaos outweighed it.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And to explain everything we just said, we whipped up this takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Doge? The U.S. government is basically an insurance company with a military. Now, Yetis, close your eyes for a sec. When you picture public services, you're probably imagining teachers, police, the DMV, the court system.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
No, it is the longest running sports event in America, the Kentucky Horse Race Derby. Since 1875... The Kentucky Derby has happened each and every single year. Including during World Wars and the Great Depression. So we were curious, after 151 years, is there a trend in terms of what horse rins the waste? I think you mean what horse wins the race, but I love what you said, Jack. We were curious.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
For the most part, though, everything Nick just said happens at the state and local level. Right. The U.S. government at a federal level is one whose debt is $36 trillion. A lot of money. That's the one that Doge was targeting, reining in the spending that resulted in $36 trillion of debt. Now, 61% of what the U.S. federal government spends money on, it's Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
In other words, 61% of the federal government is retirement insurance? and health insurance. Okay, the next biggest, the military. 26% of our government spending at a federal level is the military. Now, those huge chunks of spending, both of them could be reduced. There are efficiencies to be found. But they can't be reduced by Doge. They would require an act of Congress.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And besties, that's why we told you in December there was no chance Doge could make serious dents in spending. Only Congress can. Because the US government is basically an insurance company. with the military. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for the real Friday? Apple just said that half of US-bound iPhones are already made in India. The Mission Impossible moment.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
That was the first quarter, but the second quarter is the hoarder's quarter. For our second story, the latest in luxury cars is in-car health and wellness, turning the front seat into a spa. Will people use their rejuvenate button? Maybe not, but that doesn't mean it's not valuable. And our third and final story is that Elon's Doge era is over.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
So far, it's saved $25 billion net, which is 1.5% of the $2 trillion goal. Doge just couldn't really touch spending because the U.S. government is actually an insurance company with a military. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, ba-da-ba-ba-boa. McDonald's just announced its worst quarter since COVID. Sales at U.S.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
McDonald's fell by 3.6%, the third shrinkage in the last four quarters. The reason? Economic worries. Guy, you're freaking out about that McFreak. The CEO said that consumer sentiment is down, and that's translating to fewer visits. to McD's. And second, Sam Altman apparently heavily considered a presidential run back in 2016.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And by heavily considered, he probably asked the chatbot, should I run for president? And it was so sycophantic. It's like, yeah, you should definitely run for president. It's actually a detail from a new book called The Optimist about Sam Altman, which full disclosure, my mom was the literary agent on and she's amazing at her job.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And I guess when it was Trump versus Hillary, Sam thought he could run and win. And finally, if you're down in Texas right now, look out for millions of dimes that are all over the road. Because a huge truck left the Federal Reserve mint and was hit by a car and a whole bunch of dimes spilled out. Texas actually shut down the highway and used a sewer-grade vacuum to suck up all the coins.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
The latest report is that the rain has wiped many of them away, but, you know, if you still got a dime, hit us up. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Yeti Savannah Westwood from down in Orlando. Did you know that the Snickers bar was named after a horse? Didn't know it, Jack. Tell me more, buddy.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Well, the Mars family, who created the Snickers bar in 1930, named it after one of their favorite horses. Yeah, the horse was named Snickers, and after it passed away, the family chose to honor it in the best way possible. With a chocolate-covered, nougaty, caramel candy bar. And Jack, what's the first letter? Of that horse? S. Yes. Wow.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
We're not saying you should bet on S. We're not even saying you should bet. But we have said it like six times in the show.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Yetis, you looked fantastic all week. Remember, stay tuned on Monday. Live show reveal coming then. Also, tomorrow's Friday, so we're going to answer some of your questions at tboypod on Instagram. So follow us on Instagram there. And finally, Jack and I didn't want to leave you empty hanging, so we whipped up the special surprise for Saturday morning.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Tune in here for an episode on the Frappuccino. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Christian Licktee down in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, celebrating with some fantastic dairy. And happy birthday to a mormor of 11 grandbabies, Andrea Hansen from Harriman, Utah. And Stephen Kearney is turning 34 years old down in Austin, Texas, the sabbatical to Japan and Bali.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Can we predict the Derby victor just based on the horse's name? The answer? Yes. Because get this, 13% of Kentucky Derby winners were horses whose names began with S. That's right. Secretariat, Smarty Jones, Sea Hero, SSS. And we're not double counting for the four horses who had double S names. Seattle Slew, Super Saver, Street Sense. How about Sunday Silence?
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Oh, that's going to be fantastic. Enjoy, Stephen. Can I be the plus one? Plus two. Let's make it happen, Stephen. And happy birthday to Monica and Shiva Taramani, who are both turning 30, twin birthdays in Atlanta, Georgia. And Neil Desai over in Chicago. Logistics wants a cookie crisp for that birthday, Jack.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And Dan and Han Tillman down in San Diego are moving to Virginia, and we wish you luck on the beautiful move. Shout out to Michael and Adam in Des Moines, Iowa, besties who are headed to the Berkshire Hathaway meeting. Woodstock for capitalists. You got to paint your faces, guys. That's how you celebrate there. And Adam Katzenbach's got a new dream job in Venice, California. Congratulations, Adam.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Fantastic to have that win. And a big shout out to Emily and Rebecca Esquino, two twins graduating from the University of Central Florida. And Christina Cuevas and Harrison Pollock are getting married tomorrow in Oceanside, California. Congratulations, guys. Send us some pics. We can't wait to see them. And finally, congratulations to Anthony and Danielle.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Plus, they're groomsmen, Evan, Dan, and Sam. There is no better way to wake these guys up in the morning with a little old T-Boy Daily. Congrats to Anthony and Danielle for getting married. Congrats to Evan, Dan, and Sam for being groomsmen. Up next, by the way, 10-10 wins. Celebrate the wins, and after party for the wedding, we're getting drinks of the loopy-doopy.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the T-Boy. If you know. This is Jack. I own stock in Berkshire Hathaway and Amazon, and Nick and I both own stock in Apple. If you like The Best One Yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
All of them are Kentucky Derby winners. And statistically speaking, S names win four times more than their share of the alphabet. And this year, Nick, the two horses with the best odds to win? Well, that would be Sandman and Sovereignty.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Therefore, the secret to who's going to win the Kentucky Derby may simply begin with the letter S. But besties, to borrow a line from Warren Buffett, this is not financial advice. the letter S may just be correlation, not causation. So yetis, if you're watching the Kentucky Derby, first of all, it's a six hour event, but it only is the last two minutes of the six hours.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
But second of all, it looks like the alphabet is going to be the leading indicator.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Wait, did you say it's May 2nd? I said it was May 2nd. Happy birthday, mom. Top of the show shout out. Why not? Jennifer, congratulations over there. Always remember to call your mother. Jack, three stories for today's team boy. What do we got in the pot? For our first story, Apple just pulled off what we're calling the Tom Cruise quarter.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
For our first story, every big tech company reported earnings this week, but all eyes were on Apple. So we want to tell you about the hoarder's quarters and Apple's mission impossible. But first, yetis, Jack and I would like to talk about Tom Cruise. Because Tommy Cruise is 62 years old, but he looks like he's 26. I just grew a 12th ab on his stomach, too.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
I think you drew a 13th ab on his fourth bicep, Jack. And Tom Cruise just filmed his seventh Mission Impossible movie, Not Too Shabby. And apparently, it was inspired by Apple. Because one month ago, Apple Computer pulled off a move that would make a secret agent blush. They airlifted 600 tons of iPhones out of India overnight. We're talking $2 billion of devices evacuated out of India.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Six cargo jets left Chennai, India, headed for six different U.S. cities. It was Operation Airdrop. Literally. In fact, Apple even sent a representative to the Indian government to change the customs approval process from a 30-hour wait to a six-hour wait just for this night. And then, in the darkness of the night, when the airports were least busy...
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
They evacuated those iPhones as the clock was counting down.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Apple ended up rescuing 2 million phones before Trump's initial 26% tariffs hit India. This was Apple's Mission Impossible moment. That drama deserves an Academy Award. Yes, it does, Jack. Best pivot in a leading role. Yeah, like how often do you see a logistics team at a tech company act like actors in an action movie, man?
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And that performance is also what set the stage for Apple's earnings report, which dropped yesterday. Perfect timing, because this week, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon all reported earnings, and they all beat the earnings expectations. But Apple is the one big tech company whose profit puppy is the sale of physical products.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Now, no one has slapped a digital tariff on cloud computing yet, so Microsoft, they're not that worried about the trade war. But 90% of iPhones are made in China. And the rare earth metals in those iPhone batteries, 100% of those are mined in China. Which is why, amid the trade war insanity of the past two months, Apple's been working on a plan. Get this.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
According to the Financial Times, all US-bound iPhones will be made in India by 2026. To avoid Trump's China tariffs, they're going to make all US iPhones in India and keep making in China the iPhones for the rest of the world. And now, besties, Jack and I have been fascinating by this epic logistic shift. And Jack, what did we just learn in Apple's learnings yesterday?
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Actually, we're calling it the hoarder's quarter, but it does involve Tom Cruise. For our second story, the hot new trend in luxury cars is mindfulness. Meditations, massages, scented hibiscus smells. Yeti's every car brand now thinks it's a spa. And our third and final story, it's unofficially the end of Doge. Elon Musk just left his Doge task force.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Apple confirmed that they're actually halfway done with that massive operation. We repeat, half of US-bound iPhones are now made in India. Most others made in Vietnam to avoid those China tariffs. Yetis, if you recently bought an iPhone, show us what country it's made in on the back. Flip it on the back. Because I've never seen one that's not made in China. Nope. It is now an Indian-made iPhone.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Overall, Apple beat earnings with a surprising surge in iPhone sales. Because of our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the Mission Impossible takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? Prepare for the hoarder's quarters. The hoarder's quarters. Yet is this round of earnings going on right now. Covers Q1, the first three months of the year, right before the trade war got really hot.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Because remember, Trump's liberation day was on April 2nd. So the first quarter earnings results were mostly irrelevant. Investors, they're looking for hints about what's happening in the second quarter. The second quarter, which is April, May, and June, is what we're calling the hoarder's quarter. The hoarder's quarter.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Consumers are loading up on cars, electronics, and big-ticket made-in-China items before those tariffs hit. Like an early splurge on an iPhone 16 or a Dodge Durango before the price pops because of tariffs. Because China? They've shown no sign of backing down to Trump's trade war. It's probably going to keep on going.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And as of right now, tariffs between the United States and China sit at 145% and 120%. So, interestingly, Apple mentioned yesterday they're already seeing early signs of hoarding. Because the theme of Q2, it's the hoarder's quarter. The hoarder's quarter. For our second story, breathe in, breathe out. The hottest new trend in the car industry is wellness. Yeah, the health and wellness industry.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Health and wellness has come for the car industry. But is anyone willing to pay for a car that's also a spa? That's the big question, and we'll answer it here. Yetis, let's look at the new Lincoln Nautilus. Jack, what am I staring at right now? The same grille, wheels, and taillights as Lincoln's other SUVs. But Jack, pause the pod for a second.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
There is one difference on the inside, and what is it? On the screen, there's a button called Rejuvenate. And if you push it... Panoramic ambient light displays will start to soothe your entire soul. Air filtration turns on, the seat reclines, and relaxing nature sounds from the mystic Amazonian forest waft into your ears.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Rejuvenate is Lincoln's new quote-unquote multi-sensory stress reduction initiative. And we're not talking like two or three or four senses here. All five human senses, including smell, will now be triggered by this new Lincoln car. Because there's an in-car diffuser spraying relaxing hibiscus in the whole front seat area. If you're stressed out after your workday, you need more than ASMR.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
You can experience 10 minutes of shavasana before entering your house in your car. I think when you push the button, it lays the front seat flat, so you're laying down. I think it even goes further than flat, Jack. Lincoln even partnered with a sleep app, Calm, so that the car will narrate a 10-minute meditation to you. I thought my adaptive high beams were luxurious.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
You know, the ones that automatically dim when there's a car coming in the opposite direction. Lincoln is turning their car into the White Lotus. One sec, what's that on the chassis, Jack? One of your 42 skin creams. They don't have skin creams built in, do they? Not yet. Yeah, this is what we found fascinating. It's not just Lincoln. This is a new trend.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
The car industry is turning the car cabin into the wellness retreat. Now, you might be thinking to yourself, my dad's Mercedes 20 years ago had massages in the chairs. And it did. That was a nice independent feature in your dad's car. But what we're talking about is a coordinated symphony of multiple features into one spa-like experience. Exactly.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Bloomberg reported that this trend is actually happening across all the luxury car brands. And we mean all of them. Lincoln calls it rejuvenate. Mercedes calls it energizing comfort. BMW, they call it caring car and they're all promoting it right now. And Genesis calls it the mood curator. Okay. We dove in T-boy style. There is one Mercedes that actually offers four different perfume mists.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
He talked about Buddha, and so we ran the numbers for you. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What? A mix of stories to go into the weekend with. Love it, Jack. Happy Cinco de Burke Derby playoffs to all those who celebrate. That's right, because Yetis, this weekend we got Cinco de Mayo parties. We got the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
That's right. They have four reservoirs somewhere in that car to hold four different perfumes. Yeah. You can get mystic, violet, cashmere, or you're ready for the fourth one, Jack? Azure. I don't know what that is. Azure. So yeah, if you're waiting for your kids at the pickup, you can take a five-minute treat yourself with Azure in your own little mojo dojo casa house sanctuary.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Now, the strategy here is actually pretty simple. Auto brands are chasing growth, and they know where they think they can find it. In the health and wellness industry, which is growing 10% per year, according to McKinsey. Now, from a profit perspective, these bells and whistles, they justify the $8,000 higher price on that trim model car.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
And those upgrades, those are how the car companies make their profits. They're hoping it's a profit puppy, which leads to the big question, though. Are consumers actually buying it? In this economy? Who's paying eight grand for four different perfumes in your Mercedes? Breathe out. Breathe in. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the meditation mindfulness car industry?
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Just because it's not used doesn't mean it's not useful. Now, Yadiz, one car analyst called this a mistake, a delusion, said there is no evidence that any person in America actually wants this. Nobody's going to use this. But using it isn't the only source of its value.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Because you may never turn on the scented massage meditation light show in your car, but you may value knowing that it's there or telling people that it's there. Jimmy, you got to take a spin in my Lincoln. Yeah. The whole front seat, it's like a spa. Yeah, Jack, it reminds me of something my mom says about living in a city with a ballet.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Like, she doesn't go to the ballet a lot, but she just appreciates that the ballet is available to her. When her friends visit New York, she can say, maybe you can pop into the ballet. Right, exactly. Well, you know, sometimes consumers buy things simply to know it's there, and that makes them feel good that they have it.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
So yeah, data may show that no one asked for it or that no one's going to use it. But besties not being used doesn't mean it's not useful.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Plus NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs. And the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby. It is by far the biggest weekend of the year for social sports shareholder actions. If you chose this weekend for your wedding, which our buddy Emmy did, you may get some no-shows. But Nick and I want to focus on one of those events in particular, and it's not Emmy's wedding.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
For our third and final story before the weekend, Elon Musk's Doge era is over. He just had his exit interview over at the White House. But Elon says Doge is like Buddhism. And he's Buddha. So we ran the numbers on Doge to see if it was all worth it. Yetis, on Wednesday night, the two biggest stories of the day were Elon Musk and Elon Musk.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
The first story was a report from the Wall Street Journal that Tesla's board had reached out to executive search firms. And Jack, what would be the goal of them doing that? To set up a process to replace Elon as the CEO. This is straight out of succession, a total Kendall Roy move right there. Now, the board denies the Wall Street Journal's report, but we believe it.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Because the board has a legal responsibility to look after the company, and Elon's been focused on politics. Which leads to the second Elon in the news, which was Elon at the White House holding a press conference. He said on Wednesday night that he will be spending less time at Doge and a lot more time at Tesla. Axios says that this had the feel of like a de facto exit interview.
The Best One Yet
🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
It basically ends the Doge era. Although Donald Trump is letting Elon keep his West Wing office, and said that he can sleep over in the White House anytime. But yet, here's what we found fascinating about this story. Elon said that Doge will continue without him by comparing it to Buddhism. Buddhism continues, even without the leader of the religion, right?
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
Buddha's not here anymore, but Buddhism's still around, and he's saying the same thing will happen to Doge, so we decided to jump in T-boy style to the numbers. Elon set the expectations for Doge back in October at a rally at Madison Square Garden. Exactly. That's when he said he could save, as a quote, at least $2 trillion a year through Doge.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
So we looked at the receipts that are posted on Doge's website. And Jack, the financial tally, what kind of numbers have we seen? $160 billion. That's how much Doge has saved. Although we should point out those are Doge's calculations, and experts contest how accurate they are. Now, $160 billion is a lot of money. That is 32 lifts right there.
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🚁 “Mission: iMpossible” — Apple’s Hoarder’s Quarter. The Cars-becoming-Spas trend. Elon’s DOGE exit.
But it's 8% of the goal, Elon stated, and just 2% of all federal spending. So that is shocking. But if you've been listening to this show for a while like a good yeti or bestie, that's also not shocking. Yeah, we said in December that 88% of the federal budget is off-limits. without congressional legislation.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Are we not wearing costumes today? No, we're not, Nick. I thought it was like hollow week. I thought it was like the whole week. We close out the week in this stuff. Nope. This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. November 1st. And today's pod is the best one yet. This.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in economics? Who bears the burden, bears the cost. Yetis, this new airline rule, it actually does just one thing. One very simple thing. It shifts the burden from the consumer to the airline. The status quo is that you're entitled to a refund for all those things we said. But the consumer has had the burden of requesting the refund.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And airlines, they are incentivized to make it super hard to request that refund. You need a confirmation number. You need the ticket number. And you need those like three previous street addresses just to get through. I know they have all the information they need with just the confirmation number. Why do I also have to give the ticket number? Yetis, not everyone can bear that burden.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
You don't have time for 60 minutes to make a phone call, and that's why the airlines win. But with this rule change, the burden is on the airlines, not on you requesting the refund anymore. A great example of the burden in economics would be rebates. Right, Jack? How about rebates? Oh, $50 rebate if you buy a new TV. Guess what? 90% of people don't send that rebate back in the mail.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
They forget about it or they lose it. But now that refunds will come automatically, airlines will pay $5 billion a year in refunds we were already entitled to, but failed to request because we're all too busy. Pete Buttigieg, the head of the transportation department, said this. Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them without headaches and without haggling.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
In economics, who bears the burden bears the cost. And now airlines bear the burden. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Starbucks is getting their butts kicked in China because of Luckin, which is coming to the United States next. So we think Starbucks should quit its China business. And Uber is the perfect precedent. For our second story, it's Hermes.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Their stock is up 18% this year despite the long luxury and the lawsuit that calls them corrupt. The Birkin bag is back, baby. Hermes is getting attention by not seeking attention. Unlike Nick, who's wearing a Halloween costume the day after Halloween. And our third and final story. A new rule requires automatic refunds from airlines. Customers don't need to request them anymore.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And that's big because of one core economic principle. Who bears the burden bears the cost. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, both Apple and Amazon announced earnings that beat expectations. Their stocks both jumped on Thursday. Funny, because the day before, Meta and Microsoft announced earnings that disappointed. So both of their stocks fell.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Half of big tech giants, they outperformed. Half of big tech underperformed. More analysis coming at you next week. Second, this was a big week for economic reports. On Wednesday, we learned that GDP growth in the third quarter was strong once again at 2.8%. And yesterday, we learned that inflation slowed again in the month of September.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And today, Friday morning, we get the final jobs report before the election. No big deal. They just dropped every major economic report within five days of a presidential election. No big deal. You're not going conspiratorial on us, are you, Nick? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. And finally, daylight savings is this weekend. Clocks go back and you get an extra hour of sleep starting very, very soon.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Because the Handshake Speakeasy has a menu that's molecular. There is one drink that features a cloud that they light on fire Or Jack, did you see they have another drink that's a peanut butter sandwich chemically turned into a cocktail? How about the drink that is liquid somehow solidified into the shape of a Lego? I don't know if I should play with it or if I should sip it. It's not a bar.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Starting Saturday night. Yes, you do. Actually, Sunday, really, really early. It'll get lighter earlier in the morning and it'll get darker earlier in the afternoon. Except in Arizona. And that's all you need to know. Arizona is now either three or four hours behind the East Coast. Arizona is like living on moon time. No one knows what time it is in Arizona. Not even the Arizonans, Jack.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Now time for the best fact yet. This one is actually the winner of our T-Boy Halloween business contest. We got four fantastic finalists for business themed Halloween costumes. This was a close one, Jack, because, you know, the kid old starter pack that was, you know, the inflation fighter. These were these were very, very, very, very close.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
But the winner was Chris, who dressed up as a Google Doc. Chris was a Google Doc. He wore a Google T-shirt and then wore a doctor's scrubs and a doctor's stethoscope so he could be a Google Doc. I was accepting his suggested changes all throughout trick-or-treating. Loading, loading, loading. The Google Docs app works really poorly on the iPhone. What's up, Chris? Why don't you fix that, Chris?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Chris, congratulations. The Google Doc is the best costume yet. Yetis, you looked fantastic for Hollow Week. Jack, on a scale of Reese's to Snickers, how Kit Kat hungover are you right now? I did have my first nerd clusters. They were really good. Everyone took our nerd clusters. They were gone. Did the pod sun get any nerd clusters? Correction.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
We actually got a nerd's rope and we just snipped it, which basically turns it into nerd clusters. It sounds inappropriate, but I like what you did there, Jack. What did the pod sun wear, by the way? Was he a dinosaur? Yeah, he was a T-Rex. The whole family was T-Rexes, yeah. Yetis, hope you had a fantastic week as well.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And this weekend, when you got some time, check out our new show, The Best Idea Yet. Jack, what's the episode? We just dropped the episode about Birkenstock, which has a 250-year history, but we zoom in on 1960, when they came to America during the hippie movement. The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. Our newest episode, it's on the Birkenstock.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Jack and I will still be in our costumes and see you on Monday. And before we go, a shout out to all the New York City marathon runners who are already carbo-loading. Jack, a couple of yetis in the crowd. Who we got? Adeline Figueroa is running her first marathon. Good luck. And Amy Gruen, who is running her marathon after being in a coma in 2022 with a rare brain infection.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
She has now run six marathons since recovering. Incredible. Incredible Amy. Real Amy. And congratulations to Luis and Sable Yuha, who are getting married in Hollister, California, before they head to Japan for the honeymoon. Not too shabby. And our buddy Mia Panzer, the hottest mom in Montclair, is celebrating a birthday, baby. From Syosset to Chicago to Montclair, the best one yet all the way.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Is it Syosset? Is that correct? I don't think it is, actually.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
It isn't, but it's something like that. It's enough.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Just outside Boston. And Michael Moho is celebrating a birthday in Nashville, New Hampshire. The same birthday as his dog, Bud. And happy 31st birthday to Shelby C. in Seattle, who went to our live show. Amazing meeting you. And Jasleen Randhawa is celebrating a birthday in West Bloomfield, Michigan with the Wolverines. Marines, baby. Go blue.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Happy five-year anniversary to Stephen and Janice Geissens in Arlington, Virginia. Celebrate the wins. And Eliza Stowe in Virginia is working as a farmer in Oregon, but is going to Vietnam for a month and is just going to have a fantastic time. Happy 65th birthday to Greg Goodwin in Birmingham, Alabama, who's the CFO for a wonderful nonprofit.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
It's a lab. The handshake speakeasy is like Gatsby and Einstein got into business together and then got wasted. And then got a Michelin star for it. While they were wasted. Yeti's... The exchange rate between the U.S. and Mexican pesos is actually really good right now. For Americans, the world's best cocktail converts to just $10 per drink. That's right.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And congratulations to Talia Damoline, who is completing her master's and moving to Norway to conduct research on our minds. Happy anniversary to Cody and Cindy Robinson in Arlington, Virginia. One year, baby. And Natalie Herrera in Paris, France is celebrating her last of her 20s with a birthday in Istanbul. And shout out to Katie Clark Gray, a wonderful writer who whipped up this costume idea.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
The bubble tea bubble. I feel so seen. Was a fantastic costume. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon. Nick and I both own stock of Apple. And Nick owns stock of Luckin' Coffee. Honestly, I forgot to sell it. I feel like the whole airplane should applaud that we just landed this thing.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Half price of a Red Bull and vodka in New York, you get the best cocktail in the world. If you buy enough drinks, you break even on the airplane ticket. So besties, this Saturday, don't go out to your usual typical local bar. That's not girl math. That's go to Mexico City math. to Mexico City, one of the greatest cities in the world, for the number one cocktail.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
is a t-boy the top three pop business news stories you need to know today all right so i'm still in costume and jack has let all of us down because he's not still in the costume day after halloween why would i be in a costume it's called the post halloween jack and apparently i got the memo and you didn't in the meantime yetis we got a kit kat hangover but we got three fantastic stories for you jack what's on the pod
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
For our first story, China's Luckin Coffee is disrupting the world's coffee cup. And now Luckin is entering the United States. So we've got a plan to save Starbucks. But first... coffee. I'm sorry, but first, Starbucks. Jack, let's talk about Starbucks because Starbucks is a company in crisis right now. They just announced their worst earnings in the history of the company.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Yeti, Starbucks, they got 40,000 stores and the average Starbucks location suffered a 9% sales drop from last year. They need to change badly. So they are bringing back Sharpies to label the names on the coffee cups. Charming. Very personal. And they're going to stop charging you if you request a non-dairy creamer. They're ending the almond milk tax once and for all. It's about time. We needed it.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
But Starbucks' bigger issue isn't creamer. It's China. Because Luckin' Coffee is eating Starbucks latte. Luckin' Coffee. It launched in 2017. And initially, they were a ghost kitchen. Very innovative at the time. They only delivered hot coffee to people's desks. Jack, I was in China in 2017 and we tried this out. They used QR codes. It seemed like the future. In 2019, they IPO'd.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Nick and I bought the stock, actually. And the company was moving crazy fast. Too fast, it turns out. Yeah, Jack says too fast because a year later, they suffered an accounting scandal. They lied about their numbers and they got delisted from the stock exchange. That's when I sold my stock, but Nick actually hung on to it.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
He just held on to it. What are you going to do?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And that was a good move because Luckin is back. They have fixed their finances, and now they are dominating the Chinese market. Now, Yetis, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style to the latest Luckin Coffee numbers, and they were so wild, we had to get a second calculator. Get this. Luckin Coffee opened 8,000 locations in China in the past 12 months.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Jack, could you calculate some context for us, please, over there? 8,000 locations in one year is 22 brand new stores every single day for the whole year. To sprinkle on some more context, Starbucks opened their first China location in 1999, and today they have 7,600 locations in China.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
So besties, what Jack and I are saying is that Luckin opened more locations in one year in China than Starbucks did in 25 years. Not just that. Luckin's got these low-cost lattes, two bucks per latte, at 22,000 locations they've opened. Meanwhile, I dropped $12 over at Blue Bottle so they could put some cardamom in my latte. So Starbucks is getting beat by Luckin in China.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
But here's the worst news for Starbucks. Crazy news. Luckin is now coming to the United States. Yetis, if you've been watching NBA basketball games lately, have you noticed a couple Luckin coffee commercials? They're introducing themselves to their next market, the USA. And according to the Financial Times, Luckin is strategically entering the United States. Jack, how are they doing it?
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
For our first story, Starbucks is about to face its greatest threat yet, China's Luckin Coffee. Luckin Coffee is built in 22 stores every single day, and now Luckin is coming to America. For our second story, it's the number one fashion stock in the world right now, Hermes, and sales of their Birkin bag are thriving. But Hermes just got sued for being a handbag mob boss. We'll tell you why.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Their first locations will be in places that have lots of Chinese expats. For example, New York City, it's got a lot of Chinese students and a lot of Chinese tourists. So Luckin is starting there first. Now, they're not going to be opening 22 locations per day to start in the U.S., but eventually they could. I don't think we have enough workers.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
So Jack, when it comes to Luckin Coffee, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Starbucks? Starbucks should quit their China business, and Uber is the perfect precedent. Yetis, back in 2016, Uber had a whole bunch of problems, so they decided to cut and run from their China business. Uber sold their Chinese ride-hailing business to their Chinese rival, Didi. And the results?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
What were they, Jack? It worked out great for Uber. Today, Uber is three times as valuable as they were back then. It looked like a loss at the time, but it actually was a win because it let Uber cut its losses and reinvest that money into the United States. Starbucks finds itself in the exact same situation today. They are struggling mightily in China against new Chinese competition.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Starbucks, they're never going to be lucking on price. And Chinese consumers, they're increasingly preferring Chinese brands. That's why we think Starbucks' new CEO should throw in the towel and sell all 7,600 Chinese locations to Luckin. And honestly, Brian Nichols, we're talking to you, the new CEO, we don't think that's a failure. We think that's a strategic move to win somewhere else.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
To win in your more important markets, which are the United States, Europe, and the rest of the world. And that's why we think Starbucks should pull an Uber and quit their China business. For our second story, Hermes, the French fashion house, was just accused of acting like a mob boss. We're going to share the secret formula to Hermes' business success.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Now, Yeti, last week, Jack and I told you about the great luxury lull. Louis Vuitton announced their sales are down 5%. Gucci sales are down 25%. But Hermes, Hermes of France, it is the outlier in the entire luxury industry. What's going on, Jack? They're the only luxury brand. living in luxury right now. Jack, let's talk about Hermes' latest earnings report. What was in the numbers, man?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Sales rose 14% and the stock is up 18% so far this year. According to one analyst named Mugatu, Hermes is so hot right now. Here's the surprise. Their most expensive handbag, the Birkin bag, is booming in this economy. Birkin bag is now 25% of Hermes sales. The Birkin bag is named after the singer Jane Birkin. It was invented in 1981. Nick, what happened? Okay, it's actually a great story.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
She was on a flight, this actress, with the CEO of Hermes and her bag spilled on top of him when she was taking it out of the overhead. So she suggested she design a bag for Hermes and Hermes complied and they made a bag together. And the bag is known to stand up straight. Like it balances upright, right? It doesn't fall out of an airplane overhead jack.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
But did you know that today it takes 20 hours to make one single bag? And it's said to be completed by one single craftsperson. That's why the Birkin bag is priced at $10,000 on the low end to $100,000 on the high end. It's one of the most statement of statement pieces you can buy, man. But Hermes and the Birkin bag just got hit with the freakiest lawsuit in all of fashion.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Because Hermes just got accused of being the mafia. Because yetis, here's the story. You can't just buy a Birkin bag. You have to first be on a list. And to get on the list, you have to go to a store and give your name and then wait for what could be years. Years. And that is why three Americans who are not patient at all are now suing the Hermes company because they say the list is rigged.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Here's their claim. They say you can only move up on the list and eventually get access to a bag if you first shop a whole bunch on other Hermes products. Eh. Maybe you buy a $1,000 Hermes scarf. Boom. You move up three spots on the Birkenbag list. Buy a $10,000 watch. You move up 10 spots on the list. Yeah. Yeti's the legal case against Hermes. It's a little bit more technical. What is it, Jack?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
And our third and final story. Finally, a new law requires airlines to automatically refund you if you're entitled to a refund.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
It's that they violate antitrust law by tying two product purchases together, which you're not supposed to do. In more plain spoken English, how would you put that, Jack? This quid pro quo feels a little scammy. Basically, it's saying that Hermes' boss acts like a mob boss. Now, Hermes denies this. They said it's not possible. Lawsuit aside, Nick, we'll let the jury decide.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Why is Hermes so hot right now? So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Hermes? Hermes is getting attention by not seeking attention. Yetis, every luxury brand faces this one key challenge. They have to balance exclusivity with availability. That's why Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada all sell entry-level products at lower prices too.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Yeah, they got to remain elite, but they also got to sell stuff to make money. So they do some cheaper stuff. But Hermes doesn't do that. They focused on one thing, becoming synonymous with scarcity. Hermes, they don't do collabs like Louis Vuitton. They don't do gimmicks like Gucci. Hermes only does weightless, limits, and scarcity. Their scarcity extends to their stores too. It's true.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Gucci and Louis Vuitton, they have over 500 stores. Hermes has half that many. And yet Hermes is now a $250 billion company. It actually has the highest valuation per store of any business we could find in fashion. Of any business, period. In fact, Hermes is the fifth most valuable retailer on earth with just 300 stores.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Representative!
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
So we have to tell you the economics of burdens. Representative. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories for post-Halloween, Jack. Love the mix today. Nick and I found the greatest bar in the entire world. And the greatest bar in the world is hidden under a trap door over... in Mexico City.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Hermes is winning because it's the only luxury brand absolutely committed to scarcity.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
For our third and final story before the weekend, the Department of Transportation just announced a new move that airlines hate. Automatic refunds. The only thing changing is who has the burden. But that change is everything. Because the burden is a barrier. Now, Yetis, you know Jack and me.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
We don't like to dabble in conspiracy theories, but there is one conspiracy theory we're willing to dabble in, right, Jack? I believe airlines drop customer support calls on purpose. Yetis, you just finished spelling your email, your phone number, your frequent flyer number, your date of birth. You explained the situation. They asked for your street address. You gave them three street addresses.
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And then, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. They dropped the call.
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Are you kidding?
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
goodbye. And then you have to decide, am I going to call them back and re-explain all of that to a new customer support person? And Jack, why do we have this airline conspiracy theory, our only conspiracy theory? Because the airlines know that your call is probably about a refund. Your dropped call saved airlines money.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
In fact, that customer support agent probably gets a bonus because you didn't call back and you didn't get the refund you were probably going to ask about. We can't verify that, but it feels good to say.
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It's just good to get off the chest.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Yeah, and this news feels good too. That's why the Department of Transportation just announced new rules for automatic refunds to passengers who endure significant flight disruptions. As of this week, there's finally justice at 30,000 feet. Now, there's big numbers associated with this story. There are huge numbers associated with this story.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
This new rule represents a $5 billion transfer annually from airline profits to our pockets, according to the travel site Upgraded Points. And here are the new rules. Yetis of an airline cancels delays or significantly changes your flight, you are entitled to a refund.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
You could accept the delay and stick with the flight and not get a refund, but you're entitled to cancel the flight and get a refund if you want. If you do cancel, you don't get airline credit. You would now get cash. Automatically. The airline must refund you automatically within 20 days to the original payment method. And the new rule also defines significant delay for the first time ever.
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⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
So if your domestic flight is delayed by three hours or more, you're entitled to cancel and get an automatic refund. That is technically a delay. And it's six hours for an international significant delay. Oh, also, if you pay for services like Wi-Fi or seat selection and you don't get those things, Jack? Automatic refund. It's on the airline to pay you back. You don't have to even request it.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
According to the world's best list, Handshake Speakeasy is the number one bar in the world. We'd tell you the address, but honestly, you still wouldn't be able to find it. But why is this the best bar? It's not because of its hard to find location. This is the best bar because it isn't really a bar. Handshake Speakeasy is actually a scientific experience that your chemistry teacher would approve.
The Best One Yet
⚔️ “The Great Coffee Takeover” — Luckin’s Starbucks-killer. Airlines’ new auto-refunds. Hermes’ Birkin Bag mafia.
Now, naturally, airlines hate this new rule. Yeah, they say, don't tell us how to run our business, government. We know what we're doing over here on the tarmac. But the reason they hate the rule, it's going to cost each of the big U.S. airlines a billion dollars of profits each. We can guarantee you it's going to cost them a billion dollars each, and we can guarantee it because of our takeaway.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
All right, so this is from Nick in Indianapolis, and he writes, Am I the problem? My wife and I seem to disagree sometimes when it comes to the subject of laundry. I am very much type A and like to do my laundry every weekend, and as soon as it's done, I put it away. I feel this guy.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
No, no, then it gets wrinkled. Anyway.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
And I will do her laundry every other weekend if she will put her clothes in a laundry basket, but it went nowhere. I understand that I am very type A, but am I the problem for wanting a clean bedroom slash house?
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
This is what we've talked about where God says, I'm going to put these two people together.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
Because this is exactly what happens in our house.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
We had a very similar conversation where I had to say it causes massive anxiety for me when there's clutter everywhere. But I also don't expect... Robert to be as type A as I am either. So it's just like, can you just put them all in that basket?
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
Type triple A? Yes. What is, no, I'm. Quadruple A. No, but he'll, you know, it's like, I don't care. True or false.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
There we go. One of us lies a lot. One of us doesn't.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
Well, exactly. You're right. And I'll let America decide who's who on that. No, but yeah, I mean I – we both had to come to an agreement that, hey, I don't care – if you put your clothes away or not, but if I just put this basket here, will you just toss them in there instead?
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
And then if you want to live out of the basket, have at it and I'll put mine away, but can you just not have them on the floor? And it's a middle of, instead of me going, no, they all have to be neatly hung and put here and him saying, Hey, I'll put them in. I'll just make sure they land here instead.
The Dr. John Delony Show
Should We Stop Coddling Our 33-Year-Old Son?
So compromise people compromise.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Um, that's not really an issue right now, I wouldn't say.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
I feel like I can go an hour or two. I would say it's more of like the longer hours without it.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Um, like, I just want to sit there and just, like, watch a video. I don't necessarily, like, I want something to entertain me.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Yeah. They've banned it by law, but it's really like a school-to-school basis. Every school is different. So for the majority of the schools, I believe, it's our electronics that we get, ThinkPad services. Some schools even get MacBooks. They just start to break down because they're so old and they're so overused.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
I can read a book. I wouldn't say I can read the whole book, but I can read a majority of it.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
I wouldn't say it's impossible. I feel like it would take a lot out of me. It would take everything out of me to do it.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Yeah, no, they don't want that.
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Like, when he's saying, like, everything is on our phones. Like, our whole lives. Like, my job is on my phone. How I see when I work. How I communicate with my coaches. How I communicate with, like, other students. It's all on our phones. How we, like, how we hang out with each other is online. That's right. Because...
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
Yeah, it's turned into, like, an issue whenever, like, I go to take a shower, I end up with the phone in the shower, so...
The Oprah Podcast
Oprah and Jonathan Haidt on How Social Media Is Changing Childhood
I guess I can. I just like the attention span. Not my, I like to watch the videos. They're interesting to me.
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
How do those numbers compare to the credit card worth of plastic that was all over the news? I think you couldn't go anywhere without seeing that we're eating or consuming a credit card worth of plastic a week. So the numbers that we're seeing in those studies compared to what that would be, how do those compare?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
Peter, thanks for coming back for another AMA. How are you doing? Good. Thank you for having me. Before we get started today, quick question. Do you have a beverage in front of you? I do. What type of glass is that in? Is it a plastic? Is it glass? It is plastic. Huh. Okay. Interesting then.
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
Based on what we consume, what do we know about how they're eliminated from our body?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
That will be interesting for this AMA, which is going to cover one topic, which is something that seems to be growing in interest. We've been getting a ton of questions on, ton of conversation online. That's microplastics and other chemicals such as BPAs, PFAS, and phthalates.
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
For the things that are not eliminated, where do they end up and why are there growing concerns about that?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
So what we did, gathered all these questions that have come through, pulled them together, and are ultimately going to try and help people understand, should they be worried? What should they be worried about? What's dangerous? Based on all that, what can they do about it? Before we get started, anything you want to add?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
Definitely. And it kind of reminds me of what Bob Kaplan always used to say, right, which is further from the shore, the deeper the water. So as we've kind of like gone deeper and deeper on this, it seems more complicated, more complicated.
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
The last question I'll ask before we get started, that coffee you drank this morning, was that in a glass mug or like a Starbucks paper mug with the plastic lid on top?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
All right. So you redeemed yourself a little bit there, which is good. Starting off, I think it'd be helpful as we kind of typically do definitions. What are microplastics? What's BPA? What are these chemicals we're talking about? Let's just define them now. So as we say them going forward, people understand what we're talking about.
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
Do we have any idea why it seems like we're now hearing about microplastics being everywhere? It doesn't seem like that was always the case. So do we know why there's been this huge uptick in this?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
You touched on it a teeny bit when you were kind of going over the definitions, but I think it'd be helpful to just dive into it a little deeper, which is how are humans being exposed to microplastics currently?
The Peter Attia Drive
#332 - AMA #67: Microplastics, PFAS, and phthalates: understanding health risks and a framework for minimizing exposure and mitigating risk
Do we know how much plastic humans actually consume? And is it even knowable? You often hear numbers thrown around a lot. Curious what we know on that.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
Peter, welcome to another Ask Me Anything episode with Dr. Peter Attia, Stanford educated physician. How are you doing? Hi.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
I just wanted to make sure you knew it was your show, so I thought more of an introduction would make it feel more like home. Before we start today's topic, how's your day going? Learn anything new today? Have you been educated in any way?
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
I do love it, especially because you've openly talked about how when you go to parties and events where there are adults there, you usually don't explain what you do because you don't want to have those conversations. And I love the fact you went to the local elementary school and they roped you into that. Yeah.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
We were talking briefly before this, and I think Jessica on our team had a good idea, and people in the audience can let us know if they think this is good, which is maybe we do get a panel of these seven-year-olds together and do a roundtable on what elementary kids think about health, nutrition, exercise, protein, microplastics, seed oils, you name it.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
Sounds like your local elementary school has a lot of insights on these topics.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
Yeah, it is. Let us know if we should do it, and we will make it happen. But for today's AMA, we are not talking about that. We're actually going to talk about one topic, and that is all things related to muscle mass and muscle strength. So it's something that we've talked about on a lot of different podcasts. You openly talk about the importance of it.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
And we've gathered a lot of questions that have come in. And these questions are going to deal with why is muscle mass and strength important? The difference between muscle mass and strength, which one matters more? How can you start to increase your muscle mass and strength, whether you're old, young, male, female, the role of nutrition and protein, one of your favorite topics in this?
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
And then we'll end with some different programming options for different types of people if they want to start applying this to their life or if they want to start going further than their current exercise programming. So with all that said, some people may say you have a lot of information on this already in episodes with Lane Norton, Andy Galpin, Mike Isratel, and many more.
The Peter Attia Drive
#349 - AMA #71: Building strength and muscle mass: how to optimize training, nutrition, and more for longevity
So what would you say to someone who asks, why are we now dedicating an AMA to this?
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
Peter, welcome to another AMA. How are you doing? Good. Thanks for having me back. Anytime. Anytime. So today's AMA, we are going to focus on a single topic, which is red light therapy. This is something we get asked about a lot, not only questions from the website and subscribers, but I know through your patients as well.
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
And so we compiled all these questions and through this conversation, hopefully going to cover what red light therapy is. how it can work, deep dive into some various claims out there around red light therapy.
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
This can include potential effect on skin health, wound healing, hair loss, eyesight, exercise performance and recovery, metabolic health, fat loss, inflammation, chronic pain, and a lot more. So with all that said, anything you want to add before we get rolling into it?
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
I respect that when your wife asks you medical questions, you say, let me send you a podcast episode instead of telling her the answer like everyone else. So it's good to know you practice what you preach even through your direct family. Okay. First question. I think it's going to be helpful to just explain when we say red light therapy, what does that even mean?
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
Double-clicking on red light therapy, can we explain a little bit more about what is special about it and why there's so much emphasis on it as talked about for the various claims that we'll speak about today?
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
Last foundational question before we get to the various claims and where this could be beneficial and not is, in general, what happens when the tissue is exposed to red light?
The Peter Attia Drive
#326 - AMA #65: Red light therapy: promising applications, mixed evidence, and impact on health and aging
Now kind of getting into various claims of where red light therapy can be beneficial or not, I think it'd help to maybe start with what do we know about the idea that red light therapy can combat aging as a whole?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
Rounding out everything we talked about with creatine, what is the balance of risk reward to how you see it? Seems like a lot of stuff we talked about was a lot of reward. But how do you think about this to summarize it?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
Peter, welcome to another AMA. How are you doing? Great. Thank you for having me again. Always, always welcome. I know sometimes it's tough to get you to clear your schedule, but we're always happy you show up. Haven't missed one yet, so that's always a good thing. So today we're hitting a topic, which is one we get asked about a lot, which is supplements.
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
Anything else you want to say on creatine before we move to the next one, which is fish oil? Nope. Perfect. Fish oil. Another supplement that we get asked about a ton. We've done some podcasts on it. A lot of questions on it. Seems like a lot of people take it.
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
And so going through the questions with fish oil, first one is, are you correcting for deficiency or are you trying to achieve super maximal levels when it comes to fish oil?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
And this can vary greatly depending on the person, depending on the supplements. And the hard part with supplements is that while everyone is interested in it, it's so variable person to person. And not even all your patients are taking the same supplements or the same amount and all of that.
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
And so it's really hard to talk about it in a way that makes it applicable to everyone without being like, take this, don't take this, which is something that you've never really done because of how you look at this topic. What we decided to do today was instead look at a framework for how you think about supplements and then go through case studies to
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
of a variety of supplements to talk through it to hopefully allow the person listening or watching to then be able to apply it in their own life so they can just get a better understanding, be smarter when it comes to this topic. So we tried to pick ones that we get asked about a lot for the case studies, which is creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, B vitamins, and ashwagandha.
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
So the hope is after this, not only will people understand those specific supplements better that we're going to do the case studies on, but also how they can apply this framework. to their own life. With all that said, when patients come into the practice, what percent of the supplements are they taking that you recommend they continue to take?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
I think with that said, do you just want to run over real quick the questions you asked to determine whether or not a supplement is worthwhile? And I think just giving this overview will be helpful because as we said in the beginning, when we go through the case studies, we'll stick to these questions and answer them along the way.
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
And so to kick it off, do you just want to run through what those questions are?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
Perfect. So I think let's get started with the first one, creatine. Going through the questions in the framework, are you using creatine to correct for deficiency or trying to achieve super maximal levels?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
As far as taking it for lifespan, healthspan, which one are people usually taking it for?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
And you kind of talked about this earlier on, but is there a specific biomarker that people can use to track to see if the supplements quote unquote working or not?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
On the mechanism of action, do we have any understanding of the mechanism of action for creatine, whether it relates to the physical or the cognitive side?
The Peter Attia Drive
#340 - AMA #69: Scrutinizing supplements: creatine, fish oil, vitamin D, and more—a framework for understanding effectiveness, quality, and individual need
You mentioned earlier that we'll put a lot of more detailed information on the data in the show notes, but looking at a high level, what does the data around creatine say about efficacy of it?
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
Peter, welcome to another AMA. How are you doing? Good. Thanks for having me. Always welcome on your own show. So today, what we're going to do is we actually have gathered all the questions over the past three or so years that people have submitted on the AMA portal. For people who don't know, we have an AMA portal on our website where you can submit a question.
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
So if anyone hasn't done it, we'll link to it in the show notes. And that way there's questions you have that you want follow up on, whether it's something related to something that happened to you, questions on podcasts, newsletters, whatever it may be. And so that's kind of what today's AMA is going to be. And we'll hit different diseases. We'll hit nutrition. We'll hit exercise.
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
How would you respond to a patient who says something in the following, which is what you kind of see a lot, which is, I understand that alcohol may not be good for me, but I do get a lot of enjoyment having a drink with some friends every other week or once in a while.
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
Do you think that the danger of having a little bit of alcohol outweighs the potential enjoyment of being with friends in that environment?
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
Moving on to the next set of questions, kind of nutrition related. The first one is, what do you think are the key principles for a quote unquote, well-balanced, healthy diet?
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
We'll kind of hit a little bit of everything because as people can imagine, questions came through, included a little bit of everything. So I think we'll just jump into it. But with that being said, anything you want to add before we start with the first question?
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
Yeah, perfect. First question, how does someone assess their cardiovascular health? It's obviously a topic that we've covered in such a variety of podcasts, very important. You've often talked about number one cause of death, not only in the US, but in the world.
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
And so kind of in general terms of someone sitting there thinking, okay, I'm curious about where I'm at cardiovascular and as it relates to cardiovascular disease, how would you talk to them about how they can assess where they're at?
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
If anyone wants to go deeper on any of that, as we said, we have tons of different materials, podcasts, newsletters. We'll link them in the show notes for people who want to dive deeper on any specific piece of that. But next question that gets asked a lot is, how can I use fasting or intermittent fasting to improve my overall metabolic health? And I think
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
A lot of times people use those two terms, fasting, intermittent fasting, interchangeably. And I know to you, you kind of think of them a little separately. So it might be helpful to start with how you define those two terms before then getting into how each of them can impact metabolic health.
The Peter Attia Drive
#336 - AMA #68: Fasting, well-balanced diets, alcohol, exercise for busy people, wearables, emotional health, assessing cardiovascular health, and more
Next question on the list relates to alcohol. And it seems like anytime we've done anything around alcohol, it seems very polarizing, let's say. There's a lot of opinions, strong opinions on each side. And so I think the general question is, how does alcohol affect someone's health or longevity? And how do you think about it?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
100%.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Another question that comes through often is sex specific. So if you have female patients who prefer cardio compared to weightlifting, why do you think women should pay special attention to strength training?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Last exercise question is kind of a conversation that you had internally with a few people that we thought was interesting on how you think about exercise as a strategy for weight loss. Do you kind of want to talk a little bit about that?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Peter, welcome to a special bonus AMA. How are you doing? I'm doing well. Thank you for having me back. Anything new going on in your life?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
I say that with not knowing anything, but just anything that jumps out to you.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Awesome. Any other things on exercise at top of mind that you want to share with the people before we move on? I like exercise.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
You could have saved a lot of time and a lot of words by just having that have been outlive. It probably would have come out a lot earlier if it was just one page, one sentence. Okay, moving on to labs. So this question I know is a tough one for you to answer. The reason I know that is it's been on other AMAs and it always gets scrapped because you're like, I can't answer this.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
It's too simple, too hard to do it. But we keep sneaking it on and now you kind of have to answer it.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Which is, if you had to pick, gun to your head, the quote-unquote top five most important biomarkers that everyone should know for themselves, and or if you were going to meet with a new patient and you could kind of only see five biomarkers to figure out their risks, to figure out where they're at, what would those be?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
That's amazing. Back in the day, the younger days, did you ever put one of those big subwoofers in your car ever? No, I did not.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Well, that's fair. Maybe we'll get to it. You told the story, I think in the book too, and I think it's come up on another podcast, but whenever I think of you, med school and driving, I think of you falling asleep in the park in Baltimore.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Oh, residency.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Med school is not that exhausting. I love it. So for today's AMA, it's going to be kind of a little different style, just more conversational, a little bit covering questions that come through that we haven't covered before. Some of it will be conversations that we've had internally that we were like, ah, it'd be great to record this and kind of put it out there.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
So it's going to be a mix of specific questions, more framework, organizing principle questions. We'll cover things like labs. prioritization as it relates to actions, what you're excited about in the field of longevity, books you've maybe read recently, and a bunch of other random stuff. So with all that said, we'll get going. First topic, your favorite exercise.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
And within it, we're going to cover grip strength. So It's something you've talked about before, the importance of, but I don't think we've ever really covered a little bit in depth on like how you train for it and how you think about it in the weight room. So before we get to that, do you just kind of want to remind people why you think grip strength is important?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
And maybe let's isolate two of the things you mentioned that I think are easiest for people to potentially test on themselves at a gym, you know, with the least amount of equipment. Like you said, if you haven't deadlifted before, you probably shouldn't just start deadlifting without understanding the form. So I think looking at farmer's carry and dead hang, let's say farmer's carry.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
What do you think is like the ideal goal for someone to be able to do a farmer's carry with in terms of time and weight?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
And do you have a preference on like hands the same way, hands that are switched? Do you even think about that? Or is it just a matter of
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Yeah, she's a machine. Yeah. And she probably trains it a little less than you were training for your record.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Yeah. Just to show you, it's not that hard. You're spending too much time on it.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
You mentioned wall sits. So I got to ask what's ideal for wall sits. Again, it's another one anyone can kind of do and test a little bit. Do you think about like, what is an ideal time that you should be able to do that for?
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
Anything else on grip strength before we move on? No, I think that's good. Perfect. Another question that comes through a lot is on exercises, people who are traveling. So whether it's for work, whether it's family, you're not at your traditional location, gym, whatever it may be.
The Peter Attia Drive
#329 ‒ Special AMA: Peter on exercise, important labs, building good habits, promising longevity research, and more
So if you're traveling, any advice you would give patients on easy exercises they can do, ways they can continue to stay active even when they're not in an ideal setting?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
What do we know about potential side effects of nicotine?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Peter, welcome to another AMA. How are you doing? I'm doing really well. Thank you for having me back. I mean, we're always happy to have you whenever you would like. And again, it'd be very awkward if you weren't here. I think we do need to follow up based on one of our recent AMAs is, do you still have a liquid of some form in front of you? I do. What kind of cup is that in?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Did you listen to our micro plastics AMA? And that's why you made that change?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
That's great to hear. Two things. First is, by the time this comes out, we'll most likely have a short video on what those changes were, so we'll link to that. If we don't have that video, something terribly went wrong, so we should have it. The second is, are you just so happy that you continue to join us for these AMAs? Otherwise, you would still be living so foolishly in your microplastic life.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Maybe an avatar. That would be awesome. We could just have AI Peter and it's just an ongoing AMA that never ends. Well, today's AMA is not going to be that. It will be you live. And it is on a single topic. We get asked a lot about, there's so much more use of it. We initially did an AMA on it, I think like four years ago. And at the time, you didn't see as much use as you do now.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
And that's nicotine. So we are going to talk all things nicotine today. This is going to look at benefits, short-term, long-term, around everything from cognition, exercise, whatever it may be, risks of nicotine and things that people need to be aware of. We're going to look at different ways and vehicles that people can use nicotine and what are the pros and cons.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
And then we're also going to end this with something that we get asked a lot about every now and then when it comes to smoking cessation. And I think we often say a lot of people in our audience most likely are not smoking because if you are, you're probably not opting into this deep content, but some people are.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
But also we hear from people where it's, hey, my parents, significant other, children, friends, whatever it may be, are still doing this. How can I talk to them about quitting? So we'll cover that as well. So all that said, anything you want to say, before we get rolling. Nope. This is a great insight that you added right there. So thank you for that. All right, start out.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Can you explain just where the field of nicotine research currently stands and what's new and distinct from when we talked about this four years ago?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
It'd be really helpful for people double-clicking on kind of one thing you hinted at there, which is for a lot of people when they hear nicotine, there's just a negative connotation. And usually it's because they associate it with tobacco, cigarettes, and so their mind initially goes to nicotine as maybe a negative, harmful thing.
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
So do you want to maybe quickly disentangle for people the health risks of tobacco from the effects of nicotine specifically?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Before we move on, we should just address something, because I forget sometimes people get confused by it. And even earlier this week, we got an email to the website, which is, Peter, for someone who cares so much about their health, Why did I see an Instagram or YouTube video of you where on your hat or your t-shirt there was the Marlboro logo? Do you support cigarette smoking?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
So while we have people, do you just want to explain why sometimes your clothing has that and how you're not sponsored by Big Tobacco and that is not a, you should be going and smoking Marlboro Reds on the regular?
The Peter Attia Drive
#344 - AMA #70: Nicotine: impact on cognitive function, performance, and mood, health risks, delivery modalities, and smoking cessation strategies
Back to the regularly scheduled program. Nicotine. Are there any harms associated with nicotine itself based on what we just talked about then?
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
Peter, welcome to another AMA. How are you doing? Doing very well. Thank you for having me back. I haven't talked to you yet today. So what kind of mood would you say you're in today?
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
That's good. I was curious if we were going to get diplomatic Peter or spicy Peter on this episode. I don't know, actually. To be determined. Yes, TBD. Perfect. So for today, we are covering a topic that as you hinted at is not one of your favorite, but we probably get asked the most amount of questions on in some form or another. It's a massive topic. It's nutrition.
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
And we've done a ton of podcasts on this, ton of newsletters on this. And so we're not going to be able to cover everything as it relates to nutrition. But what we did
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
is we pulled the most common questions themes that we get asked and we pulled them together for this episode so we are going to talk about nutrition its relationship and weight loss and weight management how you think about it compared to exercise the complexities of nutrition research which is why often when we send emails tearing apart studies, they are typically on nutrition.
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
What you think of as quote-unquote the best diet, if we can even answer that, how that's different from a healthy person to someone who's trying to manage chronic disease, how people can think about choosing the best diet for themselves. Obviously, we can't do nutrition without protein, which is one thing you do.
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
genuinely like to talk about, and we'll also hit some other hot button issues such as processed food. So with all that said, anything you want to add before we get rolling? No, let's jump into it. Perfect. Starting off, nutrition. Why do you hate talking about it?
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
What do you think caused you to make a switch on nutrition? So you cut your teeth on this subject. When we met 12 or so years ago, you were deep in this subject. Was it a slow progression or do you think it was like more of a quick switch?
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
And so I think the next follow-up question would be what measures of health, if any, that relate to nutrition can an individual monitor on their own to kind of understand where they're at health-wise?
The Peter Attia Drive
#328 - AMA #66: Optimizing nutrition for health and longevity: myth of a “best” diet, complexities of nutrition science, and practical steps for building a sustainable diet
One of the questions we see come through a lot is kind of the relationship or the difference between nutrition and exercise as it relates to weight loss, weight maintenance, or gaining weight. What do we know about kind of those two things, nutrition and exercise, as it relates to weight?
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
Hey, how you doing? Doing good. Thanks for having me on your show.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
My wife is a longtime listener and I just became a, started to listen to you guys. And I wanted to ask a couple of questions in regards to I co-signed on a loan for my friend seven years ago now with a verbal agreement that in a few years he's going to refinance and get me off.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
And, you know, COVID hit and he had a COVID assist program where they stopped paying on the loan, but obviously the interest rates were continuing to add up. And then life happened. So he had surgery. So he went through a couple of rough times. I mean, the good thing is he's still paying on the loan. The only bad thing was the original loan was for 367.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
And now because of the COVID program, it went up to 376. So after I just got married with my wife and we want to start our life and buy our first home. And I reached out to him in regards to options of getting off the loan. Excuse me. And we tried to do a loan assumption, but his debt ratio was not where it needed to be because of the surgeries and everything.
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
And then I approached him in regards to, hey, let's refinance. Even though it's going to be at a higher rate, it's going to be on you only. It's not on me anymore. I did my part as a friend of helping you get this house. And what did he say?
The Ramsey Show
Don’t Let Toxic Money Situations Keep You Trapped
um no obviously he said no because of the rates not being low enough and um he so my question for you would be uh obviously we've been going back and forth with him about it um and i want to know what would should be my next step i mean the relationship can't be too good after all this is it So no, so the relationship has definitely suffered.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
What's up? So I just recently purchased an engagement ring for my long-term girlfriend. Hey! Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Yeah, very excited and just looking forward to this next chapter. Yeah, so basically how I did it was... I had an introductory credit card offer from the good people of Bank of America. Boo! Exactly. Yeah, there's some good people, I guess.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
But anyway, I received a promotional offer from Bank of America where qualifying purchase through this new credit card would warrant a 0%. interest on any debt that's paid within the first 60 days of purchasing and opening the credit card.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
I have no intentions of putting anything else on the credit card and essentially it's been purchased through the card and it's just a cash outflow question as far as managing my monthly payment. How much is on the card? So I currently owe $11,000 for the rate.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
So I have about $25,000 in a high-yield savings account.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
Yeah. I think the point I was thinking about it was if you get below the $25,000 deposit, it goes down to I'm making about 4% yield on that savings account. It goes down to less than 1%.
The Ramsey Show
Wealth Magnifies Who You Already Are
Well, I'm salaried, but I make probably about $3,500 paycheck. Yeah, okay.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
So here's my situation and my question. I want to know if I should buy a house in Williamson County, Tennessee. The background is I currently own a home that's worth about $500,000. I owe $90,000 still on it. I have $60,000 in the bank that I could put towards that if I wanted to. My salary is $292,000 a year, and that's all the debt that I have. So I'm currently on baby step number six.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
However, I'm wanting to get out of Illinois and move to a better state, and I'm considering Williamson County, where I've had a job offer as a physician. But in my wife and I's research, we found that these houses are extremely expensive, many of them $950,000 to $1.1 million, and I don't know what to do.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
Would that be a silly idea to take out a mortgage for $450,000 or $500,000 to move to a better location?
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
After taxes right now, I bring home $14,000 a month.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
It would stay about the same. I would make less. But with you guys having a better tax situation, it would be about a break even.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
That is after all of that. After 401k, after insurance, everything, I get $14,000 a month.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
Well, it has to be done pretty soon. I've got four kids, which we're funding their college. And I want them to, if we move, I want to do it by school year. So August-ish.
The Ramsey Show
Focused People Build Wealth—Distracted People Stay Broke
Just to clarify, guys, if my mortgage was around $4,000 or so, you guys think that that's financially responsible still?
The Ramsey Show
Learn the Power of the Magical Word, “NO”
Um, me and my wife, uh, just started, uh, the second baby step a couple months ago. And, um, I guess I'll just, uh, paint a picture of what I'm looking at. Um, so after we started the second baby step, we started to, uh, kind of just put the ducks in a, in a line and, um, see what needs to be paid off first. So we, we had a bunch of credit card debt and those credit cards were high in interest.
The Ramsey Show
Learn the Power of the Magical Word, “NO”
Um, so we pulled out a personal loan and combine those with a small, a lower interest. So we would have an extra a hundred dollars going to the debt instead of interest. Um, so we're working on paying that off right now. And then we have a bigger credit card, um, that, We're still paying normal minimum payments to... How much is the personal loan, Nick? It is just under $4,000.
The Ramsey Show
Learn the Power of the Magical Word, “NO”
Other than mortgage, we just have those three.
The Ramsey Show
Learn the Power of the Magical Word, “NO”
Correct. So the question was, I was just kind of looking for a little more money to pay down that personal loan. Cut your lifestyle up quicker.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
Hey Dave, I'm doing good. How are you guys doing?
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
So I'm in a little predicament here. Uh, I've been running my business. I started about eight years ago. Um, it's a party and event rental company. We're located in South Florida. And I have just recently, probably within the last six months, kind of been listening to a lot of your videos and watching you guys consistently starting the baby steps.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
I've had about a little over $70,000 in debt between a vehicle or two, as well as just mainly credit card debt. Within the last six months, I've paid off over half of that. I have about $30,000 in debt remaining with $22,000 of that being one of my vehicles and then about $8,000 left in credit cards.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
And now with it being December, I've got Christmas bonuses that need to be going out that I'm normally paying every year and that I've got about 10 employees total and Uh, I'd say four or five of them have been with me for a few years now and are used to, you know, that Christmas bonus.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
Um, this year I've just been, you know, I've been tightening everything up and I'm just in a predicament right now and wondering, you know, if, if I should pay those Christmas bonuses or if I should have a, you know, a conversation with my employees about, you know, I've got the money. Yeah. I, you know, I've, I definitely have the money to pay them for sure right now.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
Not a lot. I would say over the 10 employees, they're all going to be small bonuses, maybe totaling up to $3,000. Okay.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
I mean, right now, just liquid in the bank between my personal accounts and my business accounts, I'd say approximately maybe $35,000.
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
Right. That's my why. How do you think they're going to react to that?
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
Definitely some disappointment for sure. I'm sure they're kind of counting on it. It's later in the month than I would have normally paid it to them because I'm just, you know what I mean?
The Ramsey Show
Delayed Gratification Is a Key Ingredient to Building Wealth
I haven't, unfortunately, no.
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
Yeah. So you would just instead of investing it because I'm able to, you'd say just save it in a high yield and then just put it to the next.
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
I only have one more. So three more semesters total next semester and then senior year.
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
The way to go. And then would you also recommend me taking that out of that investment and then putting it back or just leave it there and from here on out just save the money?
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
Okay. Thank you so much. That provides a lot of clarity.
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
My question is, I'm 21. I'm in college. I paid for my education with my dad and I've got baby steps one done and I have no debt. I need to pay $3,000 per semester so that I don't go out of college with student loan debt. And would it be more beneficial for me to any additional money that I don't make? So putting into step three, I don't feel like I can be gazelle intense with that.
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
Or would it be more beneficial to take 15% of my income and put it into mutual funds for something further down the line?
The Ramsey Show
Your Debt Should Make You Uncomfortable
Mainly to, I won't, me and my dad have got it covered. I just need $3,000. Should I put it towards the three to six month emergency fund, which is baby step three? Or should I just put it to a mutual fund and be able to
The Russell Brunson Show
Introducing The Side Hustle Show
Whether you're looking for ways to make extra money in your spare time or build a side hustle to replace your income, The Side Hustle Show is helping thousands of listeners just like you reach their goals. Make about $1,000 a day. We have a net profit of three grand.
The Russell Brunson Show
Introducing The Side Hustle Show
It was doubling my income from my nine to five job. And I said, I got to quit. Since 2013, I've been studying the best legit side hustle ideas and learning what works and what doesn't from real side hustle entrepreneurs, not the high ticket gurus. Success leaves clues. At some point, they all made the decision to start something, something that changed their lives for the better.
The Russell Brunson Show
Introducing The Side Hustle Show
Even if you have no idea what side hustle you should start, The Side Hustle Show shares tons of different options so you can find the ones that work for you. Here are three recommendations. A great episode to start with is number 603 that shares 17 side hustles you can start even if you have, quote unquote, no skills. Would an extra $100 a day change your life?
The Russell Brunson Show
Introducing The Side Hustle Show
Check out the $100 a day challenge in episode 594. And if you can't be bothered with low paying side hustles, check out our top 10 most profitable side hustles in episode 624. We've collected more than 1200 five star reviews and would love to earn one from you as well. So follow the side hustle show and your favorite podcast app today, or get your own free personalized playlist at hustle.show.
The Telepathy Tapes
Ep 10: In Their Words: Messages from the Non-Speakers
People don't understand that they can do this. They don't even have to be in the same room, the same zip code.
The Telepathy Tapes
Ep 10: In Their Words: Messages from the Non-Speakers
When asked about what he wants for the future, this is what Nick said.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
E561 Ari Shaffir
Yeah, wake up in the morning and just piss myself off by reading all the comments.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
E561 Ari Shaffir
But even this headline is like, oh, they decided to boost their contribution to the lawsuit even though they killed hundreds of thousands of people.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
E561 Ari Shaffir
We had a female long-haul trucker, a mortician, lunch lady.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
#586 - Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
A disturbing reason for the plane's disappearance. On and off search efforts have failed to locate the plane which disappeared with 239 people on board more than four years ago. 60 Minutes Australia brought together an international group of aviation experts who say that the plane's pilot crashed the flight intentionally.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
#586 - Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
Joining me now to discuss the report is CBS News contributor and former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board,
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
#586 - Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
First, the flight path that was reconstructed using military radar. What was suspicious about that?
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
#586 - Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger)
Well, one of the experts. Well, it's kind of boring.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
They didn't know. But we could hear him. So we walked up.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Probably five to seven minutes of Trump speaking. I'm estimating here. I have no idea.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
We noticed the guy crawling around. bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us. So we're standing there and we're pointing at the guy crawling up the roof.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
You can look at a jewelry box, a jewelry box of this nature, maybe a simple jewelry box, but if you look through it closely, you don't know what your child may be hiding. For instance, a gun. That's from the state of New York. The fucking government was like, make it scary as fuck. Hold on, hold on, hold on.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Well, I almost had something happen yesterday. No. Yep. It was during the Super Bowl. A friend of mine invited me.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And he was like trying to get off work to just come down and just say hi.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And we were hanging out and everything was great. And this other guy shows up.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
No, yeah, we were just at a bar. Okay, you're at a bar. And a dude showed up? Yeah.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And he, he was like, what is it? What is it?
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And what was he wearing? Was he dressed pretty well? He just had slacks on and a nice jacket. Fuck him.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Wow. A mixed guy? Yeah, more darker. Okay.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
you're asking me what I've been up to. I, I've been visiting schools. I mean, I, now I have to like look at real schools. Cause my, my, you know, my, my oldest daughter's like going to turn five. So that's like kindergarten. So yes, she has to get to like the real school system. And we were looking at this one place and they have plain clothes, just like guards now with guns.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
So it's kind of sick. I was like, dude, I really want to retire and become plainclothes. Just walk around a school, just grow like a ponytail and become a teacher. That's all you do all day. You carry a gun. You just wait for like some nerd to pop off and you just blast him. That would be honorable, man.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Like I'm like the true detective. I'm Russ Cole of school, school security. I'd have to wait until they'd have to pull out first.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
you think you would set a kid up is that no i'm sorry you're saying like get like all tripped out like damn is this kid paranoid like i know these motherfuckers damien's up to some i know he's packing no i would just wait i would chill i'd do my thing in the moment one of those motherfuckers pulled out the steel i would just be there ready to die and just walk them down oh That's your job.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
So Beast Games, that's the show.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Sometimes you talk to a black guy. He's like, I got hit when I was 10. You're like, what? Like, for real? Sorry, dude. It's okay. This place just went out of business. We're good.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
What happened? Well, back in March, I had a little incident with a girl. You had an incident? I met her at a bar and then went home with her that night.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
You can look at a jewelry box, a jewelry box of this nature.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Look through his knapsack.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Now they're trying to figure out who killed Kennedy right here. And some guy's like, I don't know the difference between a cucumber and a pickle. And you want me to decide on this jury? This is a Fuddruckers manager.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
In addition to a book. Something simple as a crack pipe. Something simple as a baby doll. What grade is a kid? But also it could be a place where you could secrete or hide drugs. Secrete. You could secrete. Bro, this is the mayor. Like a pillow like this with a button is a perfect invitation to hide something. I felt something bumpy. I would reach in, see what it is.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
I think it does. I think when you smoke meth, just everything dries up. Yeah.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Oh, fuck yeah. No way, dude.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
Dude, you know, my buddy figured I was tweaking, and they showed me how to... They're like, you got a light bulb? And I'm like, yeah. And so they showed me how to... take the little silver thing off the bulb, and you can take it out, and then you put some warm salt water in there and swish it around. You get all that white shit off the bulb. Then you got a nice clear bulb.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
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So then you kind of just tap some shit down in there, and you can burn it and smoke it. So whatever. I hit the shit. Woo! All of a sudden, where's my guitar? I want to play guitar so bad. So for two days, I sat there playing. Two fucking days. I didn't eat. I don't even think I pissed. It was insane. And then... Two days later, somebody finally snaps me out of it by knocking on my door.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
It was my friend Brendan, Brendan Lauer. And I hear the knock on the slider door, and I'm like, oh, fuck, and I put my guitar down on that. I'll be right back. I hate to leave you. I wanted that guitar so bad still after two days straight of playing it. And I go open the door, and my friend Brendan's there. He's like, what the fuck's all over your face? And I'm like, what?
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And I go in the bathroom and I look in the mirror and my face is all green. And I'm like, oh, fuck. Like, I thought it was like from the meth or something. It was like, oh, no, my skin's turning green. And it was from like, I was playing my guitar for so long that the bronze on my strings had like gone to my fingers and I had touched my face.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
BEST OF: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von 2024
And so I had green shit on my face from my guitar strings. And I was so twacked out, you know, I didn't know what the fuck was going on.
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
Run like a girl. That's the nerve?
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
We have to frame that and put it on the wall.
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
This was earned. Yeah. This was an earned CIB. And he has CABs, CIBs. In years, we're going to be like, guys, when do we stop this joke?
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
We'll get there.
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
Frijoles what? Fiends.
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
In the article, Cody...
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
What are you talking about?
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
I was just trying to poke your belly button.
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205 - We Almost Got Arrested & Demo's Retirement ft. Junkyard Digs & PewView | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 205
I'm trying to explain our alcoholism real quick because there's 40 bush lights. This is socialism.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
And it ended up being like... He likes the sound a man makes when he takes his last breath.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
I'll take one to test out.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
I'm sorry, man. I'm so sorry.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Oh, my God, dude. F***ed up.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Oh, I love the Polish.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Oh, I love the Polish.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
We get guilt-free iPhones? Oh, shit.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Oh my god.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
The quacks of justice? Oh, I love it. It's so good.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Rhythm with the tism.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Oh, God. Oh, God.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Which is terrifying. That's gnarly, dude.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
I asked you this question. Go ahead, continue, I'm sorry.
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186 - Squirrel Murder, Veterans Day & World War 3 ft. HLC & Chris Cappy | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 186
Shoulder fire grenade launcher. Oh, I know what we're talking about.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Over at True Classic, you can mix up any kind of clothing you want, whether that's shirts, shorts, long sleeve, and customize the wardrobe to fit you.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Whether you're bundling up for the cold or getting ready for the spring, level up your style with clothes that actually fit right.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
For a surprise discount, use code unsub over at trueclassic.com. You know, birds don't taste spicy things.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Wait, how does spice work with humans?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It's not actually spicy or hot. It is our receptors. and our brain react to it, and that's what creates the warming in the body. I need to double check.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
What else? Oh, there's more. Nick's communism shoes. That's right. His I love communism fat electrician shoes. This is a one of one and they are size 11, but we're going to list it on eBay. However much this gets up to 100% of that is also going towards these amazing nonprofits. Also, you get a one of one unsubbed shoe. Come on. For every purchase you make towards this amazing cause.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
The hot sensation from spicy food isn't a true temperature change, but rather the activation of pain receptors in the mouth. Triggered by components like capsaicin. Good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
One more time. Hold on. I got you. There you go. Now you look good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You look like Albert Einstein like three seconds ago.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Ever. We didn't even tell that. And like any of that, we were like, because it was, you didn't know about this. No, Sean. Yeah. Phone number. And then, uh, Ryan Trahan. What's that little blonde kid's name? Ryan Trahan? Trahan? We went to... Yeah, weird YouTube thing.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Same, same, but different.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It was... Also that. It was getting an invite to one of those random YouTubers. It's like, do you want to show up? And for the most part, shows the one that put it together. She's like, hey, do you guys want to go to this? I was like, what? What is it? And it's like, whoa, it's a YouTube thing. I was like, but what is it?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
And it's just like, oh, show up. And random. But this was...
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
like we were in line and then ryan trahan was like two ahead of us like yo there's some big and then rhett link behind us oh this is like big boy youtubers right now we walk in they're serving free drinks we get all that shit it was food drinks and then uh they made that weird ass milk drink but filtered it a whole bunch skittles milk something and it was yes yeah skittles milk sounds fantastic
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
you might have a chance to win some dope stuff. We had some amazing companies step up this year to offer some amazing giveaways. Steelhead Outdoors, Maximus Knives, Hardheaded Veterans, and Bunker Branding. Let's crush 250,000 this month and let's keep kicking ass and change some lives. I love you all. You're amazing humans. Kisses. Jamie, pull that shit up right now.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
disgusting say i dude i thought that too i was like fuck off i'm not drinking uh mythical kitchen well wait a minute did it taste like the milk after you eat a bowl of fruity pebbles
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Fucking wild. WME, thank you for having that network there. I didn't realize they also manage... Sean Evans and a lot of other of the big guys. So that put that network together. And then me and Cody grabbing a drink. I was like, oh, Sean Evans is behind you. He's like, what? He turns, he's like, oh, fuck. Oh, that is actually Sean Evans. I was like, yeah, what the fuck?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
young that's actually how we started the combo with sean was hey like we're uh the agent like oh shit the old people are here whose dad are you yeah exactly well it was the agent i was like oh old people what's up everyone's young they start laughing and he's like oh what do you do he's like content creator for you oh w and me I was like, oh, shit. Who do you work with? Grayson or them?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
He's like, you know Grayson? Like, yeah, there are guys. Like, oh, fuck. And then Sean was like, oh, Cody. Like, I know you. I fucking know you from somewhere. Oh, you do the murder on YouTube.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I want to come shoot guns.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
So my son's autistic. Yeah. Ask him about destinations.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Ancient. Also, Rhett is fucking monstrous. Just tall? He was tall. He was two steps down.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah. He's 6'6", 6'7", or something like that. He's a monster on height. God damn, bro.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
This is how the podcast starts. Like, huh? Yep. Can't do that. This is starting strong today. I am. This is a hard one.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
They put on a good event.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I will give them a shout out for that. They put on that event and they went and walked to every group of people and talked to each and every group. That was really cool to see.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I didn't know. Like, Sav's the only person that introduced me to this.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I never watched or heard of them before that. And then Sav's like, oh, this is my thing. And then it's like, oh, hey. I told her like three days before. I was like, oh, yeah, we're going to a little party thing. She's like, okay.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Okay. All have.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Delicious with the sucrose.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Oh, that got some... Got some spunk. Yeah. I always forget. I haven't drank it. I'll take a sip at Cody's house and then completely forget.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
What'd they go on? That's one that could be hilarious.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Helps my PTSD. This is what? Oh, I did have a question. Have you guys watched the BBC? Not Big Black Hawks. Then in that case, no.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
The British channel.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Their SAS show. About the world.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Come here, Brandon. No. 75 minutes of power with the Lawn Mower 5.0 Ultra.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Your butthole. Manscaped offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. So you can try that beard and ball bundle risk-free.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Shave your balls. Also, new reels. I don't know if you've... One dude does these shorts, and it's a girl running. It's like a different girl each time, and it's him sprinting at them. It's always nighttime. He's like, helping girls get home, part four. Oh, my God.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
As your dad cracks a beer.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
He like set that portion in. He's like, so I'm just chucking. Patty Main. Have you ever heard of him? Yeah. That's it. So it's a show about him.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
They did an entire series about it. It's on season two. Who did? BBC. For military, from the clips I've seen, I actually want to watch. I was going to ask you guys if any of you have seen it. I've never heard of it. We'll just chase you. We're going to have to cut this one.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
A fate worse than death. Three, two, one.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Oh yeah. It's under control the entire time.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
When you have good directors, you're... I mean... Fucking Tarantino's really into this.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah. I will say, it's now on my algorithm, of course. Watching medieval fights, this one dude, he just recreates what medieval fights would actually be. Like against peasants.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Bro, they are violent.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Level two Doug is here. God, now I need to find that medieval fights because that was... It'd be the peasants versus one medieval knight. And it's not scripted. So it is. You guys just go... And take each other down. The only time you're dead is if they pin you down and stab you with a dull knife in the fucking neck.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
and on what that's what's crazy that is the different narrations of it and that's what actually happened one was oh he uh graped me the other was like no it was okay no this and so all three stories and they tell it really well adam driver was like no she wanted it and she's like no she didn't and that so there's ambiguity of what happened kind of thing yeah but matt damon is like matt damon basically goes to his wife and is like
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
gauntlets teeth are falling out and then i stab you in the leg yeah and i'm stabbing you in the fucking crotch so basically like both both of them die well no one of them does i'll let you watch the movie oh one of them definitely dies i'm just i'm just thinking like in in what what year is this roughly
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dude, the wife, they just lock her up and put her on a pedestal. It's like, hey, if your husband dies, we're hanging you and burning you.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
dies like you're getting burned for lying about it so it was like yeah pregnant at the time too yeah oh yeah it's a gnarly straight up like bowser princess peach shit yeah she lost no matter what like that was the crazy thing it was like the wife and they're like what a whore and then the other side's like well well either way she has to stand up here and stand in front of the court and watch this battle her husband's gonna die but if the husband wins
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
But it tells... That's what's crazy. It's all three perspectives. So her perspective is like, oh, I'm getting graped. And then Matt Damon's perspective, he doesn't like his wife. He hit her. It's back in the day when it was like, she's property. So he slaps her. It's like, why'd you let the grape happen? Wild sentence. Dude. Dude.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
How much have you guys drank?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Your arms are standing there still. You just freeze forever. Your head's gone. Jesus.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I know. Well, no, Christopher Lee got to witness one. The actor who passed and also did like Lord of the Rings, like Sith Lord.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah, special operations executive. When Gray Tongue stabs Sauron, that's when, hey, that's what about Peter Jackson? You're going like, ah, oh. And he's like, you don't make sounds. They don't make that sound when you get stabbed in the back. He's like, what? What are you talking about? How would you know? He's like, because I stabbed you in the back.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I wasn't going to fight him.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dang, that was rare.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That wouldn't be too bad.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Come watch on Switch TV where you push a button for Dono's on how they die. It's just Dono.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
We'll see where this rabbit hole goes. Real quick. Real quick. Did you watch The King? Timothee Chalamet?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
When it's invading France, the king of England.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It's terribly unspecific. Dude, that is, again, a really good... If you want to see actual combat, it is at the same level of the movie you were talking about earlier, where it's just violent. And Timothee Chalamet, the guy's like full night, and it's muddy because they chose that... Yeah, you told me about this. Bro. Violent. Because he's, like, slipping. He doesn't have traction.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
So he's like, okay. Walks up. Fucking disarms him. And then...
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah. I know that voice. I forgot he was Vision. Holy shit. Yeah.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Also, classic movie. You've never watched Night Stealth. Just go.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
They knew about Queen in the medieval times because they're playing He Will Rock You.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
10% of all the rights to Lord of the Rings. Oh, my God.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I slept with Meryl Streep.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Whoever played Star Wars, the original... God dang it. Luke's teacher. Why am I drawing a space? Blink.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Who's the actor for it, though? Alec Guinness. Alec Guinness got 3% of all Star Wars royalty because he took a pay cut and he was like, this is going to be a shit movie. And he hated that role. Hated that role, but made him... $200, $300, $400 million.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It's like, see, he did. Wait. Confuse everyone with that on the day it releases. I like that. You told me your last video idea and it's fucking incredible.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah, Christopher Lee... I mean, Lord of the Rings, just... You've seen it, right? Yes, you've seen it. One of our friends hasn't seen it. No, it was... Lord of the Rings.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
And you've just managed to miss all three of them? Have you seen The Hobbit?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
eight, twelve hours for the director's cuts.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I mean, fuck it, why not? These are experiences, Brandon. The Battle of Helm's Deep. Dude, number three won the most awards. The Return of the King is fantastic, but Battle of Helm's Deep, number two, The Two Towers, fuck. fucking gangster.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Many, many teams. Sheila. God, dude. I'm. This part can't make... Oh, that would be actually great. Dude, Gary's going to be so mad you haven't watched this.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I bet Gary will flip shit. He would come hang out during that. We have to do that. I'm texting Gary right now about this. I don't think it'd be that much to rent out the theater for the day.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Like, the entirety of the impression. That's it. Jason Statham's, like, one of the worst actors, but most awesome actors. Because he's only himself. He's not acting. Oh, no.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It's like, you did zero accent training. Period. It's like, no. Every time. Beekeeper. Also, if you've seen Beekeeper, it's good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You ever watch Beekeeper yet? Cody, have you seen it?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You didn't like it? That's just a fun movie.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That is some of the most over-the-top gay shit you will ever watch, and I love every second of it.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
This is going to be Cody's last.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dude, you can buy, what's his name, Sylvester Stallone's revolver. Even it has the raised...
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Wait, what is it? I don't know what this weapon is.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Longstock, Two Smoking Barrels. Oh, dude, Guy Ritchie goes into extreme detail.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
There's so many. You've seen Driver, right, Brandon?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Drive. Yeah, drive.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Okay, good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
He's literally me. He's that guy. You killed a guy in an elephant? Vital?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I'm sorry, B-Li. I'm glad you all are having a good time.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Just smashing a dude's face in with your foot?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dude, he's a real human being.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
So we're going to rent out a movie theater for the Lord of the Rings. Yeah. Hell yeah.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I remember watching that. I watched Jurassic Park in theaters. I watched. What the fuck? Jurassic Park was 97. Yeah, 97.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I was still watching good movies.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dude. No, that was 1993. That was negative one. I remember 4th of July watching Independence Day in the theater. The first one?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Oh, I have no idea. Driving out to not getting pulled over. That was, I didn't get a ticket. I'm happy with that. I just hanging out with everyone. It seemed like literally everyone at demos having a good time shooting tanks, shooting guns, blowing shit up, everyone getting along. And then that you missed it. The prime rib. That was really good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Snatch. You've never seen Snatch? I haven't. Have you seen any Guy Ritchie movies?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
The Gentleman? Gentleman? Nope. Longstock? Nope. Wait, you haven't seen Gentleman? Uh-uh. Oh, okay. Gentleman's fucking good.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You like that? Yeah, it was all right. That's Guy Ritchie's edit. He's the one that directed it. That's what that directing style is.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah, but now put Jason Statham and Brad Pitt playing the gypsy. I forgot Jason Statham was in that. It's been so long since I've watched that movie. We just watched that last year because she never watched it either. She was like, how have I missed this? You like dags? You know if I can dag?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yes, it is. My God. Son of a bitch. Are you either going to be racist or right?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
We used to watch pride and beat the shit out of each other.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That is the one thing I was like, oh, he's going to be pissed he missed the prime rib.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
but it was just some guy with a cell phone recording yes recording the film on the tv in the movie theater no shit is that viral clip it's from never back down i that's hilarious never back down is such a 2008 title that's like a what were the step up yeah step up to step up to the streets or something like that what was the one with the drums drumline The line with the drum line?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Fucking all those movies from that time frame are all the same.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I think he's a writer. Oh, I did not know that.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
He just spoils.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That's my hall pass. Your hall pass is Meryl Streep?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Your hall pass is going to expire in like four years. Cool, you slept with Megan Fox? Dope. I slept with Meryl Streep.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Sorry, babe. They didn't mean it. Meryl Streep comes on and I'm like, what the fuck? The gang negs Meryl Streep. That's the episode's name.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
She's a fantastic actress.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
She's dope.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Wait, is he the one that was, like, redneck science?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
He's awesome. His camera dude? Don't know your name, but holy shit, your autistic level of camera detail.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Bro, he knew cameras. He knew cameras. I was like, oh, man.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yes. That's how he transitions. He's known for how he transitions from one moment to the next or going from one place to the next.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Edgar Wright does. I mean, if you look at him or also why you guys like Guy Ritchie, both have a very stylistically, they are the same on how they. make something boring fun. So if you're going from Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead. No, Hot Fuzz. He's going from England to that shit town. He makes it so much fun. Same for Shaun of the Dead.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Time. Reception. Even on the phone. The phone goes down in reception to show he started at full bars and when he lands at his final destination one bar.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That's why Scorsese did so well in his earlier days.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
that guy knew everything he's like oh the c70 oh but that's the the dgi not the dgi the uh the d what is it the dg whatever sensor it is yeah he knew the specific sensor i had that retard didn't even know about the hidden f-stop the secret konami code you can do on this camera this
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You can show that bug to everybody. Everybody's seen the bug.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It was like we landed and then everyone was like, wait for a moment. And then everyone was just so beat and tired at that point. Everyone's like, yeah, we didn't. Everyone went home. They didn't wait for each other or anything. It was like, nope, a single text. And then it was like, no, we're not waiting for each other. Everyone's tired and ready to go home. And then we text each other.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I woke up and I texted you at one time. I was like, hey, did you make your flight? Because I went to bed at a decent human hour.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Oh, God. Godspeed. You guys are...
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I'm like, I'm going to go home. We had the best job I've ever had. Best job we ever had. Dude, my liver, I just can't keep up with you guys at all anymore. I'm like, I don't even try. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to go home and just hydrate.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
For reference, the first night we all had an Airbnb and the walls were like made of this, just paper. I heard when you all came home and I was like, oh, it's so loud. Oh, it's so hot.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Well, I think it was just a miserable experience. The fucking stairs.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You could hear somebody, like, Cody, didn't you say, it's like, I heard somebody talking on their phone from, like, four rooms away. Whisper. And then Connor took a shower for an hour. I, we, literally, there was some singing and dancing. He took a shower.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
For an hour. Meditating.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Dude, Cody had one bathroom and then there was one fruit.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
One bathroom. And then we showed up that day, and then y'all are just fighting over the bathroom because Connor's meditating. And everyone needed to piss.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Finn went to bed because he took Sabbath and I's room after we left. And he's like, yeah, I had the window open because it was hot. And then I woke up at like 2 in the morning because Brandon and Connor were having a bro moment together outside my window. Who was it? Finn. You guys were drunk outside on the balcony just doing a bro moment.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
And then me and Sav didn't try to make macaroni either because, again, paper thin walls. And hearing your guys' voices make me flaccid really fast. It would be awkward if it made you bricked up. Wait, wait, wait. No.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
load size large walk out high five Nick for no reason drink some gator and go back to bed I didn't realize I was playing co-op that fucking hype god dang it yeah Boston or wherever we were can we say New Hampshire we're not gonna say the city I can't wait for that body cam to come out where I'm just totally shit talking a cop
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
On today's episode, I'm going to pretend to be hammered. Can you break down that video you recorded?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
And, dude, I like my perspective because, again, I went home early.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I would wake up and then hear the story, and I thought it was a joke at first. Then the next day, I come back, and they're like, yeah, we tried to go back to the same bar. I'm like, why? You still thought it was a joke? No, the first night, I figured at breakfast, everyone's hungover. I'm like, oh, you guys went hard last night. I'm like, we almost got arrested. I'm like, ha!
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
On that note, we can close. We'll do an after show for like eight minutes. Do an after show.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It's fine. That fire blast. What are the comments on that?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Again, put up the fucking video of just you all getting blasted by fire. It's just, well, it's like, Brandon, it looks like you're standing, like, adjacent to the barrel.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah, that was rough. You got punched in the liver.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It is April. Y'all know what that means. Why, Eli, what does it mean? Oh, you mean the sweet new autism merch? Yes. Autism on the spectrum. The Unsub Callers, though? Nick, you killed it. And this we literally came up with on the podcast last week.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
You got punched in the liver.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Oh, yeah.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Also, your reactions in slow-mo.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
The first rule of autism is never make eye contact. And like always, 100% of the profits are going towards four amazing charities for autism and special needs. We did $110,000 last year. This year, I want to crush that number. I want $250,000 raised for these amazing causes.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
I'll try some of the vodka.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
That's why I was like, you know what? Let's mix it back.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Okay, with the vodka, it's not. Oh, there's a spice. Not spice, capsian. Capsaicin. Capsaicin? Cody, what's in pepper spray?
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
It seems they have something for everyone, Cody.
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207 - Nic's New Show & Brandon Makes A Confession | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 207
Yeah, you can basically build an entire wardrobe in five minutes from their website. Yo, true classic. Not gonna lie, we put in a lot of effort in the materials we use. If y'all want to work together, make some unsubbed True Classic stuff happen, we would love this level of material going out to the community. These are super, super nice.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Mmm.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'll be honest I'd be mad if I got shot the 70th one is the worst you could have stopped at 69 hilarious thank God several pass-throughs
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
51. All right, we can do it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
so if you if you don't know uh the first time Ethan came on this is like his fifth appearance at least uh yeah the first time he came on he was gonna finish out his 20 years and on on the podcast I openly said I'm gonna get you to quit your job and six weeks later he we went through numbers we did some analytics he's four years out from retiring yeah are you retiring still no
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
My point is, I reverse recruited him. We're going to recruit you and get you to join the military again. That sold me on it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They'll make an exception.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I think we've got a general coming on soon that might be able to wave that bitch in.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Oh, both of them right there. Do you know how much money I would pay if we could secretly film him going to just a regular Army basic training at like Fort Jackson?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
At 51? You know how funny that would be?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
What are these tridents? Control sergeants don't even have deployment patches.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It's like Undercover Boss. That would be fun. It would be so funny. I love this idea.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It's your first time through basic training. I just made the age cut off. You're a line cook at Waffle House. You just had a divorce. You're looking for a new start. The judge gave me two options.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That was the look of pirates.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That's why I said it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
A six-chamber, blackout, trifold hat.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It was average at being 0.00% of the top. Yeah.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
How long have you been with your wife?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You got kids?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So, I mean, you were... Cut out, I think. I got you.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So, I mean, you were top of the line everything by the time the internet was...
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Oh, I just like, I mean, was there ever like, so your wife knew, but I mean, when you started having kids, like, was there a day where one of your kids was like, oh shit, my dad's way cooler than I thought. Chuck Norris.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I've heard of the CQB AT4. If you're not familiar with it. Yeah, I was on that podcast too.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
What's the new one? Our new merch for the podcast is going to be a cartoon drawing of the AT4 and it's going to say, I have the talking stick. The talking tube. Boom.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
What year is this?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm going to be honest. Knowing this random shit's my job, I've never heard of it. To give you an idea, I did a video on the... Now you got me questioning.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
oh no that was a cruel did they make a carl gustav maybe it was that i don't know do you remember uh have you seen the hellfire missile that's just kinetic with the katanas in it huh they make a hellfire missile with no ordnance and it just has eight katanas that flail out and it's just direct impact for when you want to hit one dude like literally like front seat of a car one car with no casualties or whatever it was uh
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I don't know if it existed. It wasn't a fucking thing yet.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
We killed some Ben Caliban leader. Yeah, he was out on his balcony. He would go out on his balcony every morning to drink coffee and just...
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Razor. Katanas. And I did a video on it and it was never on Wikipedia or anything. And like four days later it was on Wikipedia. Thermal Barrel Grenade coming soon to Wikipedia. Thermal Barrel ATF. Get it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I was one. I was negative three.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You said you were shooting an ASVAB? ASVAB.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Does it look any different than a normal AT4, or is it just the round inside that's different?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I had a lot of drinks and stuff.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Because I know that like the CQB one had like a water charge on the back that would take care of most of the back blast.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You did tunnel time. Tunnel time. Tunnel time. It's fine.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
but i mean so what was it like uh because i mean everybody always forgets because like everybody knows navy seals and tier one and military is so much popular now but like when you were a kid and you were like gonna join the military nobody knew what the navy seal was or what an army ranger was or any of that so like how did you get to the point where you're like yeah i'll do that did you even know what you were signing up no because i went in i was telling uh i think mitch last night i was like i went in to learn how scuba dive i grew up swimming i wanted to be the water
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I was like, Clint, you...
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So, I mean, we got thermal barrack grenades, thermal barrack AT-4s. What other exciting shit did you get exposed to? Oh, man.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I mean, you were there for the period you were in. You saw a pretty rapid advancement.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
This is not as fun. Were there any new, like, weapon systems or equipment that you guys had to test out that you just absolutely hated and they were trying to make?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
We're going to be hosting Unsub Live at the Venetian Theater on January 20th in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm going to be fucking hammered. It's going to be great. If you want to join me, there's going to be links down below where you can go buy tickets right now. God, he's beautiful.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
the funny part to me that I'm still hung up on is like, I can't fathom the level of bad-ass you have to be for the United States government to trust you to change the uppers and calibers and different bullets. They're in a different military. The average, the average infantryman would never be allowed.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Get me your fastest Toyota.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I had the chocolate with 300 black guys.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
What's that? This is free. This is 1,000, 2,000 pulling.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I was born in California, and I moved out to Iowa when I was like 11, 12. Why'd you do that? Huh?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Like the last thing you want to have to worry about is trying to help some dude get married.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
No, it's way better. Iowa is so much better than California. But like the thing, you move out to the Midwest coming from California and you run into these farm kids that just go out there and wrestle. It's like, you guys aren't geared like everybody else in this fucking country. Jesus Christ. Those farm boys are terrifying. 12-year-old kids that are tougher than most of the men in California.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm not that kind of Navy. I don't know.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm going to come right now. I'm sorry. You're going to be a meme on Reddit. Oh, I'm sure. Reddit's going to love this.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That's the name of the podcast episode, though.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It's insane.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
on our side of it internally to us like the squadron shows up never wants to admit that we were there before though so like all the all the different stuff is no mention of us or anything else but i i love how you're so good at your job that you just kind of like casually glossed over the whole three shots on three different people on a moving boat to another moving boat and the problem was solved
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Oh, dude, yesterday. That's a lot of variables for one shot.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Hold on. We're going to have it animated like a nightmare. The night before Christmas with Uncle Scrooge. He's grabbing a candle, but it's Terry with his knobs.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So like how halfway through you realized it sucked at which point did you realize like, cause I'm assuming you got shipped off to basic and you didn't even realize that you were doing something that was like elite or above average hardness.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Life is like a fruit company. You don't have to worry about money anymore.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
The most horrifying psychologist I've ever met, Terry. Holy shit.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm super pumped to hear what you have to say after Terry's story. Yeah, of course. It's going to match it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I really love this. Dentist in World War II. Ted Depp, start again. Today we're talking about the bat bomb for like the fifth time. I didn't know I was like one of the foremost leading experts on this on accident. So in World War II, they had this really unique problem. They had all these different programs trying to develop essentially a weapon of mass destruction at the time.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You had the Manhattan Project over here, and then you had this other extracurricular project where we were going to strap napalm bombs to bats.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Because the Japanese lived in houses made out of paper and wood. Fucking genius. There was a dentist from Kentucky who was also a part-time inventor. He had previously invented a fried chicken vending machine. Clearly a fucking genius.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It's 25 cents a year. It is falling back.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
we have so digressed so he gets this idea of like i've this is going to be brilliant we're going to strap incendiary grenades to bats and then we're going to drop them off over japan right before dawn and the bats are going to go and they're going to roost in attics in any nook and crevice that they can possibly find and then two hours later the incendiary grenades are going to light up and it's going to light the whole city on fire and burn that bitch to the ground i'm in yeah i like it
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So he writes this down in a letter and sends it to the government. Never would have made it anywhere. But this dude just happened to know FDR's wife. Sends it directly to the first lady. She gives it to her husband and her husband forwards the letter to military intelligence. I can't remember the exact quote, but it's something along the lines of him telling his generals, this is not a madman.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I think he's got a perfectly good idea. We should look into it. So they start developing bat bombs. They end up harvesting thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats from a cave right outside of San Antonio. There's just thousands of these motherfuckers because they were the best bats that we could find, apparently. They make up a bomb that essentially looks like a large colander.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
that when you drop it, it just kind of like opens up and all the bats fly all over the fucking place. And they go to test it. I'm so intrigued right now. This is awesome. This is how we felt when you were talking. So they go to test it on this airfield out in the middle of the Nevada desert. And the Army is running the program at this point in time. And they drop all these bats off.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And they're like, bad news. We forgot to take the fuses out of the incendiary bombs. So they almost burned the entire airfield to the ground. They blew up the general's fucking car. So the army is like, I'm out. I want nothing to do with this. It works.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Right. There was one Marine general that heard about it and just fucking showed up uninvited. And he's like, this is dope. So he assumes control of the program.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I did a whole video on it, but like literally if we, if the Manhattan project wasn't done in time and we resorted to bat bombs, it would have been like 12 times deadlier than the atomic bomb was just because it would have like, we killed more people in incendiary bombings in Japan than the atomic bombs did.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
to think of like the psychological factor on that like bats flying with bombs like the drone stuff now here's the thing they wouldn't even know it was bats because it was literally just like they'd their house would just be the whole city or town would burst into flames at dawn that is awesome horrifying a hurry shit there's a fire everywhere
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
This is a real thing America did. The three pigeons were averaged out amongst the three, so they would average out where the pecking was to calculate the best out of the three. It was literally pigeon democracy on who we were going to fuck with the bomb.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm resurrected. This sounds awesome. Off the podcast, and I can get it to Chase or whoever's editing this, you can see the video footage. They recorded this of the pigeons pecking at targets. It was actually highly effective.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I did a video. I forget why they canceled that project. They brought it back after World War II for something else. And then they just microchips caught up and we went to guidance that way. Yeah. It's really hard to make money off pigeons. Yeah. And Mike Tyson was going to be pissed.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Yeah, Great Britain made chicken-powered nuclear landmines.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Cold War. There's a line in the sand.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Watch out. It makes a really big boom.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Well, just so happens I'm an expert on aviation ordinance apparently. Avian. Yeah, Great Britain was like, I mean, we got to stop the Soviets if they come rolling in with fucking tanks. We made a nuclear landmine. The problem is that the tech is kind of faulty. We don't just want to have it short out being cold and wet underground if we bury it and randomly having a nuclear explosion go off.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So what the fuck are we going to do? So they basically came up with a plan. We're just going to dig the holes. We're going to have the landmines there ready. We're going to keep them nice and dry, safe, out of the ground. And then if the Soviets come rolling up, we're going to throw them in the ground, and then they're just going to be on a delay. But it wasn't close enough. There was a...
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
an air possibility that was it was too great so like we got to figure out a way to keep this warm and when we can't have like a generator running to have power down there batteries weren't good enough at the time so they're like i mean what if we just put chickens inside that motherfucker and kept them warm with body heat and then when the chickens died the bomb goes off
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So they just figured out how long a chicken could survive inside before it suffocated to death and the body went cold. And that was the timer.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
For a nuclear f***ing landmine.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They decided not to do it. It's a museum now.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You draw the line at nuclear chickens.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Are you familiar with the atomic artillery? Atomic Annie? I think so. Spin me up. David Crockett's the handheld.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I got one of the best trick shot guys in the country 30 minutes from my house. We got a little gun show for Pepperbox. You can come out and you can show us how to shoot. We'll do all kinds of trick shit. Kevin, you can come. Bring all your cool guns. It'll be a great time. No, whenever you want. The Davy Crockett is a recoilless rifle that shot a 55 pound atomic warhead.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And it was mounted to a Jeep. So the strategy was literally roll up in a Jeep, plant that bitch, fire it and drive as fast as you can. But the operators realized that they weren't in the safe radius. So they were just like, we're just going to fire it while moving and keep going. Yeah. Yeah. So that's one.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So was there any, like, was there a particular moment where you're like, maybe the recruiter fucked me up? He didn't really give me all the information I should have. He might have lied.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
But then you have atomic artillery, nuclear artillery, atomic Annie, and there's videos of it. I mean, it's from 29 miles away and it hits and you're like, oh, that wasn't that big. And then the fucking screen just goes white for four seconds. It's the biggest explosion you've seen.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So that was the right one now. My favorite part of that story is they made three of them. They fucking lost one for like 30 years and forgot or like didn't know where the fuck it was. Somebody left it off the checklist. We'll find it later.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
We're just going to say it's good. They thought the one that was on display was the actual Atomic Annie, which was the only one that was ever actually fired. At some point, somebody got sent out to check the serial numbers and they didn't match. In like the 80s.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Like 30 years after the... Could you imagine being the E4 just on profile for being a shit... Go check the serial numbers on all the shit in the museum and then they didn't match.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Bro, he had to sit there all fucking, like there's, come over here. There's no way that's not the number, right?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Can we bring the Department of Defense back to like the 60s? Make awesome shit again? You ever heard about like, do you know about Operation Chromedome?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Yes. It was like 15 years free. Cause it's constant flight. Yeah. Constant flight. Because the theory was like, if they launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and they theoretically, they have the capability to take out every American airfield. So we're not going to be able to retaliate. So the only logical thing to do is to have multiple B-52s with nuclear ordinance doing high
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
hot laps around the entire continental united states and canada 24 7 for 15 years straight holy shit and if they ended up launching nukes they're like cool beeline straight to russia return the favor yeah that was the plan the entire time and that's where it sounds american there was multiple times where like a b-52 went down causing a nuclear incident uh like we dropped him in greenland we dropped him all over the way there was one where uh
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
God, it was the one that I did with Brandon over, I think it was Greenland or Denmark. We've had a couple in the United States. South Carolina, North Carolina, but like this, the one that like really fucked up and like people got radiated is really bad was. One of the B-52 pilots was like, it's f***ing cold in here.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I'm just going to open the exhaust vent directly from the engine bay and caught the upholstery of the cockpit on fire and burned the f***ing plane down from the inside. And they had to bail out and ditch nukes in the ocean. And they weren't supposed to be in that area at the time. And Denmark is like, what the f***? You're not supposed to be here. And we're like, I mean... Yeah, we're America.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Yeah, but whatever. What are you going to do about it? Do something about it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
He did the calculation. If it was entering the earth's atmosphere and not leaving it, which drastically changes it because atmosphere gets weaker as you leave, not stronger. So it like completely inverted the equation.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Yeah.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Today we're talking about the nuclear manhole cover. So basically there's these scientists, they're doing experiments and they're doing, they're basically dropping nukes in the desert in Nevada and they're exploding them in the atmosphere. And the people near that area understandably were like, Hey, What if we didn't detonate nukes 60 miles from my fucking house?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You know, I'm kind of concerned for the health reasons. And the government's like, don't worry, we've done the research. You're fine. And they weren't. They're called downwinders. They got paid a lot of money by the government. A lot of them fucking died.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
but regardless the government's like no you're fine and they're like i still don't trust you and the government's like fine we'll quit detonating nukes in the atmosphere and they're like and and in the desert they're like fine and in the desert and in the ocean fine we'll quit detonating nukes in the ocean too so the government's like okay here's the plan we're not gonna lie we're gonna dig a big hole and detonate them underground what could possibly go wrong
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You know, what's better than having a firecracker go off in your hand, having it go off in your closed fist and what, you know, nothing could possibly happen. Um, so they go, they dig a five, I believe it was 500 feet deep hole and they took a nuclear warhead and they were, they wanted to test the safety mechanisms to make sure that they were going to function properly. Allegedly.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Not in this time frame.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That's what I was going to say. Cause like I grew up my whole life. Like I remember when I was in like middle school watching, like making the cut on buds and shit. So like, I've known what this is my whole life of like known of it. So I can't imagine walking into that situation, like not having seen a YouTube video about it or just like,
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Not with the budget we got, homie. Privates walk towards the blast.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
good so they uh they bury this nuke and then they stick a 2 000 pound slab of concrete on top of it with a hole and they detonate it and fucking straight blue flames launch 800 feet into the sky and they're like huh neat so tomorrow they're like we should try it again this time we'll put a manhole let's do it again this time we're drinking
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
we left our hand open a little bit too much we gotta make sure it's closed really tight next time so they go back the next day same size nuke and uh they put a 2,000 pound slab of concrete on top of it again then they get a 2,000 pound manhole cover that they bolt to the fucking bedrock and to try to contain this blast to get the readings from it.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And then, you know, for some reason, for science, they also got a high-speed camera, the best one they could get at the time, pointed it at it. And the nuke went off again. The safety mechanism did not work.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And what had happened was with a nuclear explosion, it gets so hot so fast that it vaporized the concrete instantly and created super hot gas, which rapidly expands, essentially turn the planet into a fucking potato gun. and proceeded to yeet that manhole cover about 155,000 miles an hour. That's the minimum speed because they only captured the manhole cover in one frame of the high-speed camera.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So they were able to do the math on like, to not be in two frames, it had to have been traveling. I believe it was 155,000 miles an hour. Let's recreate it. A mock thousand miles an hour.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That was gone. There's a debate in science as to whether or not America put the first man-made object into outer space being this manhole cover before the USSR did Sputnik. And they argue over whether or not it burnt up in the atmosphere or not. You did the math. It was
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You know, I mean like You know, I mean, it's like
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Like, here, here's some fireworks. Yeah. What is, what's the Greek Sisyphus with fire? Oh yeah. You know what I mean? It's aliens. Give, do it. Give those monkeys nukes. Just see what happens. See what they do. Holy shit. Get out of the way. Yeah. 2000 pound manhole cover traveling.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I think the only thing faster is one of the shuttles we sent out finally reached its max cruising speed, and it is faster now, but that was fairly recent.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Anyways, nuclear-powered anti-air-to-air missiles, I think you were trying to talk about.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Yeah. Are you thinking of that one? The slam missiles, the one that's a nuclear propelled and it basically goes up into the atmosphere and just does hot laps around the planet in perpetuity for like 50 fucking years. And then if we ever needed to call it down, it would go down and just smoke whatever we needed.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Sitting congressman. Sitting congressman. Was it Clyburn?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
There's like a military four-star general like... Is that real? Where's Aspen Kutcher at? Am I getting fucking pumped right now?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
This is a retarded question. No, Congressman, there is no possibility that the U.S. will suspend the island open.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So they took one. Go ahead. I was going to say I'd pay money to give them a vampire system. Vampire. That I'd be all about.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I feel like we could probably cure cancer if we just went to the DOD and asked them to, okay, here's the deal. I need you to make really tiny cruise missiles that'll attack cells that we can inject into people.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Oh, man. I'm sorry. Your favorite vertical launch system.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
The scary part with that is in theory, if you were actually going to do drone warfare like that on an industrial scale, like if America launched that program, You could literally or anybody. Yeah. You could literally just like to eliminate that entirely. It's um, you remember when they did a death by firing squad in Ohio, like a couple of years back, it was like the last death by firing squad.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
The dude requested it. But the way they did it was they had five shooters with high powered rifles. They were all going to shoot center mass. One of them had a blank and they didn't know who it was that way. All five shooters could tell themselves they shot the blank.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
You could literally have one drone pilot out of the 50 playing Arma three and everybody gets to tell themselves I'm playing the video game. These aren't real people.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
good book if you haven't like it's a good and it is like a high school book it hits fucking but it's brutal like don't watch the movie the movie's ass yeah movies are oh yeah most of them yeah about guam oh can we tip it over yes guam is the funniest way america's ever taken over a country ever So I did a video on it. I know you haven't seen it. I'll recap it if you've already seen the video.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Sorry. You know how this is going to be worse because I'm drunk this time and I haven't read it in six months. So basically, Japan took over Guam from America during World War II. And America goes, or sorry, no, way before that. Sorry, Spanish-American War. Spain is in control of Guam. America enters the Spanish-American War.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They send out a bunch of ships to go capture Guam from the Spanish because we're at war with them and we want to capture all the territory, like the Philippines. And they send out this massive fleet. They're supposed to go back to the Philippines. Yeah, put a kite on that bitch. We're going to sail across the Seventh Sea to go fuck people up. Right? So this group gets a special mission.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They're only supposed to open this letter after they get out to sea. They're like, hey, you're making a detour. You got to go take out, capture Guam and then head to the Philippines and capture it. So they go out, they get to Guam. There's this massive fort. There's supposed to be this entire Spanish armada there. These guys got to go fight. Everybody's pumped. And they get there. It's foggy.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They can't see shit. And they see a ship off in the distance in this fog. And they're getting closer. They're getting closer. It's a Japanese ship. And we're totally friendly with them at the time. We're like, what the fuck? So they get closer. And there's this massive fort that's supposed to have all these cannons. So they just start opening fire on this fort. The fort's not returning fire.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
The fuck? So they just kind of sail right into the harbor. And the captain's like... Drop anchor, I guess? So they drop anchor, and they're just chilling. They're getting boarding parties ready for their whaling boats to sail out. And they see what they assume are troops forming up on the beach. They're like, okay, we're going to fight them on land. Get ready, boys.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And then these guys hop in canoes and start paddling their ass out to the boat. And they're like, what the fuck is going on? And they get out, and it's a whaling boat that comes out to the ship that has... all of their government on it, except for the governor. And they're like, hey, what are you guys doing? And they're like, uh, we're at war?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And they're like, what? Apparently Spain just fucking didn't tell them that we were at war. And they had no fucking clue. And they're like, they originally came out there to apologize because they thought when they opened up fire on that fort, they thought that they were doing, like, the fire of the cannons as a salute for entering their port. And they're like, so... Oops, sorry for that.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They're like, sorry, we couldn't return your salute. We don't have any cannons or gunpowder functioning right now. And they're like, oh, but you're like the whole government? And they're like, yeah, pretty much, except for the governor. Cool.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They held the prisoners. They sent like one guy back with a letter to the governor like, hey. We're running this bitch now. This bitch is mine. Yeah. And the governor's like forced to surrender. So then the captain's sitting there like, what the fuck do I do? I captured this in minutes. A country. Yeah. A country. And there's like a couple of Spanish soldiers. There's like 20 Spanish soldiers.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
So he bounces, he goes home. There's this one, another boat comes up and it's like the local merchant tycoon that runs like all the business on the island. And he speaks perfect English. They're like, all right, you're white. What the fuck's the deal? Explain yourself. He's like, oh, I'm an elevator operator from Chicago. And they're like, what?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
He's like, yeah, I married some Guam chick and we moved out here. And now I just kind of like run the business side of the island. And the captain's like, well, what the do we do? And he's like, you know what? And like shit's getting rowdy. Like the sailors were expecting a fight. They didn't get a fight. Now they're like. they're buying monkeys from the locals.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
They got monkeys on boats and shit, buying bananas and all kinds of crazy shit going on. The cab is like, I got sailors. I got to get to the Philippines to go capture that. And he's like, fuck it. American dude. Congratulations. You're the president. Now I got to go. And he just dips and leaves. And just like the one English dude is apparently running the country now.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And we just don't show back up for like six months. Yeah. We show up. They're like, we just showed up to get coal because they were coal burning ships at this point in time. And the captain that's just there to get coal and refuel shows up.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
And there's like a civil war about to break out between the faction that's now being run by this one ex-American dude who thinks he's in charge and the rest of the people from Guam. And they're like about to have this huge fight. So he comes in like, no, no. The Americans in charge. Take all their guns. All right, we're going to leave again. And just dipped again for another six months.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
It was like a year and a half before they sent out and had like a military commander in charge of this island. So yeah, that's how we got Guam. That explains a lot about Guam. But it's still not going to tip over, right? We're safe now. Yeah, we took all the monkeys for the counterweight. We're fine. The monkeys are going to do the counterweight. All the soldiers on the other side.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
We have monkey ballast.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
That has been two hours.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Dude, Nick, close this out. You beautiful zone bitch. I'm Cody. Today. You're Cody? You want to say you're a donut operator? I'm super ugly Cody. Thank you so much for watching the Unsubscribe podcast.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
I have been joined here today by my co-host, Mr. Eli Doubletap, our new friend, Terry, who is, in fact, the captain, my dear friend, Ethan, Mr. Abitual Linecrosser, and I am Nick, the Fat Electrician. Thank you for watching Unsubscribe. Quack bang out.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Like how many were in the class?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
But I mean, for that, there's a whole lot of other shit. That joke still went over your head.
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Going, sorry, going from like a pre, I'll say pre-internet seal to being a instructor post-internet. and being popular was, do you think that, uh, access to information is like hurting or helping the new recruits coming through? Like, do you think you, you had it better off not knowing anything about what you were getting into?
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194 - I Am The Captain Now ft. DEVGRU Seal Terry Houin & Habitual Linecrosser | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 194
Or do you think they have a better off kind of knowing what they're getting into?