We’re Going Back to the Moon & TMZ Exposes Vacationing Politicians

0:00Neal Freyman:There's more to investing than stocks and bonds. With iBit, you can broaden your investment mix and get Bitcoin exposure. Learn more about iBit with iShares by BlackRock. The market is yours. Good morning, Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman. And I'm Toby Howell. Today, why TMZ is putting politicians on blast. Then today, humanity goes back to the moon. soon it's wednesday april 1st let's ride good morning and happy april fools i promise you this is not a prank we were nominated for an award best business podcast by the webbies which recognizes the quote best of the internet they're very democratic minded over there at the webbies so they've handed over the decision making to you the fans which is why we're asking for your help If you have a spare minute today, we'd very much appreciate you tallying a vote for Morning Brew Daily because Toby's fifth grade soccer participation trophy is a little lonely on the show.

1:03Neal Freyman:Right now, I'm not going to lie, folks. Our backs are against the wall, but great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what we have in front of us. If we went up against the Pivot podcast ten times, they might win nine. But not this award. Not this Webby. This is our time, MBD. Now go out there and vote at the link in the show description. Just a quick heads up, the Webby's does make you sign in via email to vote. That's just to prevent one person from voting a million times because they're very democratically minded over there. If you bear with the slight annoyance though, Valhalla awaits on the other side.

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2:27At 6.24 p.m. Eastern, four astronauts are scheduled to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral in a mission around the moon, the first time humans will have visited the moon since 1972 and the furthest humans will have ever traveled from Earth. In terms of hardware, the flight will consist of the giant Space Launch System rocket, built by Boeing, and the Orion capsule where the crew will hang, built by Lockheed Martin. Make sure you tune in because the launch pad will be scenes. Together, the rocket and Orion stand taller than the Statue of Liberty. A successful flight would mark major progress in returning Americans to the moon in over 50 years.

3:00The Artemis 2 mission, as this one's called, is intended to test life support and other key systems on the Orion capsule. Artemis 3, up next, will have the crew dock with a lunar lander to rehearse the meetup in space. And then Artemis 4, slated for 2028, will be the culmination of all the test flights plunking humans on the lunar surface. For NASA, tonight's mission isn't just a technical breakthrough, but also an opportunity to sell its moon vision to a skeptical public. For many Americans, surveys show returning humans to the moon is just not a priority, and they think that the tens of billions spent on spaceflight could be better put to use on earthly issues.

3:35Once those astronauts blast off, NASA hopes, the wonder and spectacle of venturing into the unknown will change hearts and minds.

3:42Neal Freyman:Let's give a shout out to some of those astronauts. We got Reed Wilson, who's the commander. He is a former Navy pilot, and he will be the oldest person to leave low Earth orbit on this mission. That is one of a couple of firsts on this mission. Victor Glover, the pilot, will be the first black astronaut to travel beyond low Earth orbit. Christina Koch will become the first woman to leave low Earth orbit. And then Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist, he's Canadian and will be the first non-U.S. citizen to travel beyond low Earth orbit. So a bunch of firsts. How will the ride be? What's it like going back to the moon for the first time in 50 years?

4:15Neal Freyman:It'll be very cramped, actually. The capsule where they will kind of spend the majority of their time has the interior volume of about two minivans. So it's spacious, but not spacious enough to have your own privacy. So they are going to get to know each other quite well. They are going to see parts of the moon that have never been seen before, never been seen by human eyes, at least. Remember, the Apollo missions were timed, so they were landing on the near side of the moon. This mission will travel around the dark side of the moon. So maybe we'll see some aliens, maybe some cool stuff over there.

4:46Neal Freyman:And then it's going to slingshot home around the moon on what is known as a free trajectory. That is when you just use the moon's gravity to your advantage. You don't even have to fire any thrusters to get back home. But that's generally what's going to be happening up there and who's going to parts unknown. Why are we doing this? Why are they spending all this time in a cramped two minivan space to go to the moon? Well, there are three reasons that NASA has laid out basically that why why we're going back to the moon. Number one is lead to new discoveries. So learning things about science in space.

5:19That's pretty self-explanatory. The other is countering geopolitical ambitions of China. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman put it pretty plainly. We find ourselves with a real geopolitical rival challenging American leadership in the high ground of space. China is planning to go to the moon in 2030, and America wants to get there first. You could say this is why we went to the moon in the first place, to beat the Soviets. This is just the space race 2.0. And then finally, it's to spark a lunar economy. There are potentially riches to be had on the moon, like rare earth minerals. And one particular element that people are foaming at them out to get is helium-3.

5:57It's an isotope of helium that is used to operate small, compact nuclear fusion reactors. and here on Earth, it trades for$20 ,000 per kilogram. So NASA thinks that by going to the moon, it could lock billions and trillions of dollars worth of value.

6:12Neal Freyman:Which it kind of has to because it's been very expensive to get back to the moon over the last two decades. NASA has spent more than$50 billion developing and building the space launch system, the Orion capsule, and just all the systems that you need to send a rocket back to space. Each launch of the space launch system costs about$4.1 billion. So we kind of got to get this one correct. And you did mention that. Does the public actually want to do this? And survey says not really. Pew did a survey of more than 10 ,000 Americans about space in 2023. The top priority, the top thing that people had on their list of why we should go to space was monitor asteroids and other objects that could hit Earth.

6:53Neal Freyman:People just don't want to be hit by asteroids. Near the bottom was send human astronauts to explore the moon. That was next to last in terms of importance. So really, people just want to survive a potential apocalyptic asteroid. They don't really care about helium-3 that much. And this has been consistent throughout the decades, even when there was the fervor around the first moon missions, the Apollo missions, in the 60s and 70s. In poll after poll, a majority of Americans said that the program was not worth the cost. There was only one exception when they did the survey. in July 1969. That was the precise month that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were actually landing on the moon.

7:31And only then, 53 % said that Apollo had been worth the money.

7:36Neal Freyman:I'm a romantic about it. I mean, I just saw a hype video of the rockets firing and like the old Apollo mission. And it got me pretty fired up because it does feel very integral to humanity to always strive and always explore. That being said, it does cost a lot of money. It looks like 80 % chance of the weather being favorable. So eight out of 10 chances they go up this afternoon. All right. He who controls the spice controls the universe, or at least Unilever's food business. Spicemaker McCormick just made a blockbuster deal for Unilever Foods' portfolio, valuing the unit at nearly$45 billion.

8:10Neal Freyman:For Unilever, the move lets it shed some calories to focus on its faster-growing personal care segment, a pattern from the company after it also spun off its ice cream business back in December. McCormick, on the other hand, is after spicy mayo. 70 % of Unilever's food sales comes from just two brands, Knorr, which makes soups and stocks, and Hellman's, which makes mayo. McCormick, in addition to spices, also owns Frank's Red Hot, Cholula, and French's Mustard, which means they've pretty much got all the condiments sorted at the cookout now. It's a big bet for a company that, until this point, has mostly shunned the mega merger side quests their peers have gone on.

8:46Neal Freyman:Kraft and Heinz tied up in what looks to have been a mistake. J.B. Smucker overpaid for Hostess right as healthier snack foods became all the rage. And clearly Unilever wants out of the food business altogether. But McCormick has global aspirations and decided to take the swing. But Neil, that is a lot of money for mayonnaise. Well, I cannot wait for Old Bay mayo. Can you imagine dipping your fries into anything else? Also, please put certain respect on Hellman's name, please. It was doing$2.4 billion in global sales as of 2022. It's being sold in more than 65 countries. And as for Knorr, the other big product in this portfolio that McCormick is buying, it's basically a household name in more than 90 countries, has more than 5 billion customers.

9:31So that's really what McCormick is going after.

9:32Neal Freyman:It's out of character for McCormick, though, because until this point, they have excelled by focusing on what is called bolt-on deals, which are they're buying smaller brands and just gradually amassing a food empire. That was the story. With Frank's Red Hot, with French's Mustard, with Cholula. These are some of the stars of their portfolio. But now they're going for the opposite approach and taking this very big swing. I mean, this is a massive food merger. Shares at McCormick have been down 35 % over the past year. So maybe this is a time where they think that, hey, we have slower growth ahead of us.

10:06Neal Freyman:We got to do something. This is the swing that we're taking. The strategic case for the deal is that it would give you bigger scale. Whenever you have bigger scale in the food industry, that means you have more leverage. With retailers, you get more space on the shelves. Hopefully, too, it draws people back to the kind of inner aisles of the grocery store instead of the outer aisles. There's cost-saving measures. There's cross-selling opportunities. These are all the things that you say when you strike a merger of this size. But it is a little bit out of the blue for McCormick, who has never taken a swing quite this large.

10:36It's also instructive to see what Unilever is doing because this is emblematic of the broader food consumer goods industry. Well, at one point recently, they sold everything from Dove soap to Vaseline and then also mayonnaise and ice cream. The idea was just to be everything everywhere all at once for people entering a supermarket or a retail store. Well, that strategy is gone by the wayside. Every single big conglomerate that sells all this stuff is shedding that particular strategy of just scale for scale's sake. Sold off its ice cream business. It got rid of the mayo. And now it's really focusing on what it thinks it has a comparative advantage in, which is this health and wellness space.

11:14Diving into soap, Vaseline, things that stock your bathroom rather than your kitchen.

11:18Neal Freyman:I'm just a little bit nervous for McCormick. They've never integrated a business with this level of global size, and they really have avoided the huge bets that seem to have not paid off for Smuckers and Hostess. This actually does feel a lot like J.B. Smuckers overpaying for Hostess brands based off of very large expectation for one brand, which is Twinkies. What if Hellman's Mayo just goes out of the zeitgeist? What if people don't want an Old Bay Mayo like you are so excited about? Oh, they do. I think they do, too. But when you have a Unilever food unit so dominated by one or two brands, if those brands fall by the wayside, then you're looking at a pretty bad bet.

11:57If you went to a desert island and you could only bring one spice with you, what would it be?

12:02Neal Freyman:Oh, man. I mean, I just think cumin. That was the first thing that came to mind. It's versatile. It's versatile. I'm going with salt. Hey, everyone. It's Neil coming to you in a prerecorded secret message. Toby has no idea about this. As you know, it's April Fool's, and I want to play a prank on Toby, but I need your help. Basically, I want to make it seem like he said something super weird, unusual, or awkward on this episode, so I'd love if you could fill the comments section on YouTube or on Spotify with vague things like, Toby, can't believe you'd say something like that, or, Toby, that was the most insane take I've ever heard.

12:36Get creative, but nothing truly mean-spirited. He checks the comments religiously, so he'll be very confused and try desperately to figure out what he said that sparked all the comments. It's going to be amazing. Thanks so much. Now back to the podcast. OK, moving on. TMZ has begun to torment politicians the way it does celebrities, and people are loving every second of it. Last week, the celebrity tabloid put out an unusual call. It asked Americans to send in pictures of politicians vacationing while the government is partially shut down, which it still is. In its request, TMZ wrote, as TSA officers are selling their blood to keep a roof over their heads, members of Congress are packing their bags for a two-week vacation, and we want the pics.

13:15Well, the pics are flooding in and have already spread widely. The most shared online was South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham pictured at Disney World with a bubble wand, which TMZ tossed up under the headline, living in fantasy land as government shutdown drags on. Though TMZ has been criticized for its morally questionable approach to celebrity reporting, it's being showered with praise for unleashing its paparazzi army on politicians. One user wrote online, sometimes TMZ clocks in and decides to go after the government rather than Britney Spears, and in those moments, we know peace. Another added, TMZ can be so powerful when it chooses its targets correctly.

13:50Toby, I think on one hand, people find it amusing to see pictures of Lindsey Graham on TMZ's feed alongside the mugshot of Tiger Woods, but it doesn't seem like TMZ is doing this for laughs. It actually wants to be a force in DC media.

14:01Neal Freyman:Yeah, TMZ put a statement out on their website, since compromise isn't working, maybe some shame will. So that was the direct approach of this, and everyone's like, did this just end kind of the partial government shutdown? Did TMZ actually do this? And it was a little tongue in cheek, but many senators were kind of put on blast for, you know, going on vacation during this very critical moment. TMZ was bought by Fox in 2021 for$50 million. That was the other subtext beneath all of this is that this is a Murdoch owned operation challenging the administration right now, almost punching above its weight for a relatively smaller news outlet.

14:39Neal Freyman:It did give a little bit of a peek into maybe a future where it starts becoming a much larger player because it can amass a lot of, you know, citizen journalists. It can amass people at Disneyland to tag TMZ in the photos of Lindsey Graham going on. It's a small world. It is a powerful force. And they got people in airports. They got people in hospitals. Like, they are everywhere. And for many years, they've set their sights on celebrities. And now if they're turning to politicians, who knows what they could dig up in Washington, D.C.? Because it invited a very interesting debate about whether if TMZ really leaned in to this congressional reporting, could they be an actual force on Capitol Hill and put some of the more DC-focused publications like Punchbowl and Politico on notice and start to make them actually sweat?

15:24It's not going to be particularly easy. They're already making some mistakes and showing the challenges. They showed a photo of lawmakers in Scotland while they were on vacation, and they pointed out three, but there were actually a lot more representatives in that picture that more veteran DC reporters at TMZ should probably know this. And at the same time, they've been doing, they've been, they've been dabbling in more congressional reporting, not just this over this week, but in the previous months. And they're, they've done lawmaker interviews and those have just been doing okay. Neither of any, none of these videos that they posted online had, had registered more than 5 ,000 likes.

16:00But then when they put up Lindsey Graham picture, it was viewed more than four million times. They're still still finding their sea legs here.

16:06Neal Freyman:In general, though, I think lawmakers are weirdly for it because a lot of people that other outlets reach out to about TMZ's foray into politics said you have to meet people where they are. That's from Lauren Underwood, a rep from Illinois. Representative Sarah McBride from Delaware said if we aren't talking to people where they are outside of exclusively political news spaces, we're going to miss a lot of voters. And TMZ is one part of that equation. So essentially, they're welcoming in a more populist approach to political reporting. All right, we're going to take a quick break and come back with a story about Apple right after this.

16:40Neal Freyman:Neil, you can start calling me Mr. Worldwide because I know how to manage a global team. So that name is definitely taken, but also how? Because I know about Deal. They help you hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. They keep HR, payroll, and IT aligned in one platform so growth doesn't turn into tool sprawl. It can even make the hard parts of global work disappear, so scaling worldwide feels easier than it should. Head to D-E-E-L dot com slash morningbrew to book a demo. That's D-E-L dot com slash morningbrew. Neil, it's dangerous to do your taxes alone. You're exactly right. Well, except the danger part.

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18:07Neal Freyman:So whether you're prepping for a SOC 2 or running an enterprise GRC program, Vanta keeps you secure and keeps your deals moving. Get$1 ,000 of Vanta today by going to vanta.com slash morningbrew. That's vanta.com slash morningbrew. What do Tiger Woods, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Apple have in common? They all turned 50 this year. Founded 50 years ago today by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Ron Wayne, the company ushered in the personal computer revolution from humble beginnings in Jobs' family garage. Today, Apple is a$3.5 trillion company with revenue of$416 billion and more than$2.5 billion active devices worldwide.

18:49Neal Freyman:Along the way, it's brought us AirPods, iPods, HomePods, iPads, MacBook Pros, Minis, and Airs, and of course, 17 different versions of the iPhone, with the first one, unsurprisingly, snagging the top spot in the Verge's rankings of their favorite Apple products ever. It has left an indelible mark on Culture 2, its 1984 commercial chain Super Bowl ads forever. Who can forget the Mac vs. PC series, and I still have that godforsaken U2 album on my phone. A run of transformational products under Steve Jobs eventually gave way to the more steady-handed guidance of Tim Cook, whose supply chain foresight and pivot into services turned the business into a financial juggernaut.

19:29Neal Freyman:Investing in its own chip fabrication turned out to be especially prescient and has led to once unthinkable products being released like the$599 MacBook Neo, the cheapest laptop Apple's ever produced. There's been missteps along the way too. Most recently, the Vision Pro, whose pricey AR overlays never quite caught on with consumers and no one needs to talk about the$700 Mac Pro wheels that Apple sold. The latest threat it faces is the AI revolution, a revolution that it has mostly sat on the sidelines for. Siri still stinks. Apple intelligence seems rather dumb. And while Apple is rarely the first to enter a new market, the road it chooses to travel at this technological crossroads could decide how influential it is over the next five decades.