🦩 “69% pink” — World Cup’s pink-ness. Netflix’s Season 2 Slump. Fiat’s Pixar Car. +Grocery AI Branding

0:28This is Nick. wearing pink cleats. It's not coincidence, Jack. Those pink shoes, they all go back to one consulting report from two years ago. And our third and final story is Fiat. They just launched the smallest car in America. It's also the cutest. We call it the Pixar car because the biggest opportunity to sell is through a hotel. But yet he's before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Wonderful mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack. Great mix. Banana, avocado, broccoli. Those aren't things I'm trying to feed my toddler Nick that he won't eat. No, besties, those ain't ingredients to your favorite recipe.

1:02Those are the hottest thing in AI. Trend alert. Tech is naming their AI after Whole Foods. Yeah, like the whole AI startup scene. It sounds like a food pyramid right now. Follow us on this one. Kick it off with jalapeno. That's the new chip from OpenAI. And garlic. That's ChatGPT's new large language model. Nano banana. It's Google's AI image generator. And avocado. Ah, that's Meta's cutting-edge AI. But who could forget Broccoli AI, which just raised$25 million. Oh, and Elon's code name for the latest Grok test, what is it, Jack? Chocolate. So we dove in T-boy style, and the foodification of AI, it goes even deeper.

1:39You've got Olive AI, Fig AI, Guava AI, Peanut AI, Pecan AI, Walnut AI, Sesame AI, Cinnamon AI, and there's a Pecan AI for those who are not part of Pecan AI, Jack. These are all AI startups, real thing. And they're all branded like your grocery list. So we had to ask, why is tech doing this? Well, because AI is literally artificial. You're coming for your spice drawing. But there's nothing more natural than food. So with these whole food branded names, maybe you find AI less threatening because it reminds you of your mom's meatloaf. But wait, Jack, pause the pot. I just found another one. You ready for this?

2:13I'm hungry for it. Donut AI. It's a startup in San Francisco. Can you believe it? What are they doing? Personal crypto agentic AI trading. That's exactly, exactly what they're doing, Jack. That's exactly what this company does. Donate AI. Besties, add it to the shopping cart, and 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 ready to go.

2:47We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

2:53Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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4:39For our first story. For the first time ever, we're seeing signs that Netflix is actually losing viewers. The data shows that you stopped watching Netflix after season one. Bessies, let's start with a hot take here. Started watching season two of Beef on Netflix. You know, the drama about the luxury club in Santa Barbara. It was a good time, right, Jack? Did you sign up for the Troco skin treatment at the clinic over in South Korea, Nick? I'll take three of them, please. I want to look 20 years younger. No big deal. They're$45 ,000 per person. But they include business class airfare. Full disclosure, Jack and I prefer season two of the show Beefed compared to season one.

5:14And the reason that's a hot take is that the data shows nobody agrees with us. Yeah, we're total outliers. According to Bloomberg, the data shows that people are only watching season one of Netflix shows, and they're skipping season two. We got the receipts in drama. Beef lost 73 % of their viewers from season one to season two. Again, season two was incredible, season one wasn't. So that's a miss by everyone. Trust us on this one. In comedy, Running Point, and The Four Seasons, both those shows 50 % drop after season one. In action, The Night Agent lost 50 % of their viewers in season two, and another 35 % in season three, which resulted in the show getting canceled.

5:49Worst besties, the result? Netflix has not had a breakout show since February. This is Netflix's driest streak since they were sending DVDs with the Postal Service. Newman! Bridgerton season four was a huge hit. Shonda Rhimes doesn't miss, but that was in February. And to satisfy over 325 million paid subscribers, Jack, what does Netflix need? Constant hits. They can't afford this season two slump. It's a really bad sign. The sophomore slump, not fun for the streamers at Netflix. That's why Netflix stock is down 41 % in the past 12 months. And as a shareholder, Jack insisted we do this story. But besties, Netflix invented the binge.

6:29But here's the big question. Have they finally outgrown their greatest creation? Maybe, Nick, because here's more data that doesn't look good. The amount of time people spent watching Netflix last year grew less than 2%. But Jack, what about the time spent on YouTube and TikTok over that same period? Netflix grew 2%, YouTube and TikTok rose 17 and 18%. Now besties, pause the pod for a sec because streaming video was unquestionably better for customers than cable TV for years. But Netflix isn't competing against TV anymore, they're competing against For You pages. So is Netflix failing to compete against the addictive algorithms of vertical video in all of our phones right now?

7:07Maybe they are. Maybe. And some say that's why Netflix tried to acquire Warner Brothers this past winter. You know, distract Wall Street from the slow and growth numbers with a nice transformative acquisition. Now we should sprinkle on some context that you shouldn't bet against Netflix, should you think? This is the shareholder in Netflix Jack coming out right here, isn't it Jack? Netflix is still number one in streaming by far. Half of the most watched shows on TV are Netflix shows And whenever Netflix has been counted out They found a way to take the lead again Because of our takeaway Which Nick wrote, not me So this isn't like shareholder bias here Yeah, and of course the Godfather too Whenever they try to pull me out, I am back in So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Netflix?

7:49Excellence is evolution Yetis, the way Jack and I see it All of Netflix's advantages can be copied Except one their excellence in evolution. Some companies have unreplicable advantages, like Apple. Yeah, Apple. You see, iPhone users, you're locked into the ecosystem. No one's cracking Club Apple anytime soon. But Netflix doesn't have uncrackable advantages like Apple. In fact, whatever Netflix does in streaming, within a year, every other streamer has copied it. And that is why Netflix's differentiator has been to evolve to stay ahead of the copycat competition. Their first differentiator was having no late fees for your DVD rentals.

8:26To beat Blockbuster. Then it was on-demand binge streaming. To beat TV. And then it was no ads. To beat other streamers. But what's Netflix's differentiator now? Live sports? Podcasts? I don't know. You can dupe that stuff, Jack. You can dupe it all. It's definitely not movie theaters because they're not doing that. Besties, we are not sure yet. And that is honestly why the stock's down 42%. But always, Netflix has had an eventual answer. Because Netflix's biggest strength is its evolution. And beef, season two. Trust us. Trust us on this one. And don't get the Troco skin package. It's not worth it.

8:59And you might die. For our second story, the biggest drama at the World Cup is not the overturned red card. It's the pink shoes. 69 % of the players wore pink cleats by accident. Oh my god. And it all goes back to one report from two years ago. And flamencos. But besties first, Team USA officially out of the World Cup. And Jack, you know what that means for our business ears. I hope we don't start a trade war with Belgium. Oh yeah, we're predicting it. Chocolate tariffs coming to Belgium very soon. But as you watch the rest of this awesome tournament, you may notice something that Yeti Nicolas Figueroa saw.

9:40He DM'd us, so we dove in T-boy style. And it turns out everyone at the World Cup is wearing pink. Not slammin' salmon, the color of this show. No, no, no, no, no, no. We're talking neon, highlighter, Lisa, Frank, full-on unicorn pink, my friend. Pepto-bismol pink. Totally, Jack. According to Reuters, 365 of the 528 starters in the opening matches wore pink boots. That's 69 % of the pitch fully done in pink below the knees, Jack. Brazil, Colombia, Germany, all 11 starters were in pink boots. You catch the Mexico versus South Africa game, what did we notice, Jack? Only three players weren't wearing pink cleats.

10:16Festies, this is fascinating. Nike, Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Skechers, they all tried to make their own individual statements by making cleats that were pink. They wanted to say pink is the new black, but they ended up with a fashion faux pas. Totally, Jack. I can't believe Ronaldo is wearing what I'm wearing. Messi, if you're going to show up here, you gotta go back and change in the wardrobe. So it's been kind of hilarious. Each of these sneaker brands have been justifying why they went all in on pink for the World Cup. Nike, for example, said studies show bold colors boost player confidence in high-pressure situations.

10:48New Balance said they just want to stand out. And if you look at the color wheel, the psychonomics seem to show it would. Pink is the opposite color of green, according to the color wheel, so it does stand out on the pitch. Grass field, pink, opposite. I like where that goes, Jack. But the biggest reason why every World Cup team wore pink cleats, just look at the national flags. Ah, the flags. Because besties, no team has pink on their national flag, and therefore no team has pink on their jersey. Pink cleats, they stand out because they blend in with nothing. Add it all up and the most popular color shoe at the World Cup is one of the most uncommon colors in the world.

11:21But here's the craziest part. It doesn't appear that these coordinated pink cleats were actually a coordinated effort at all. There's no FIFA rule. There's no breast cancer awareness campaign. It's not a political statement and it's got nothing to do with a slammin' Sam and a T-boy. It was all a coincidence. Or was it? Gonna call Yellowcard on this one. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies noticing the pink cleat issue? This is the flamingo effect. You try to stand out, but you all end up looking the same. Yeah, it's a funny thing Jack and I discovered. There is one other explanation that no one will admit, but everyone listening to this podcast should know.

11:57It's a marketing study from two years ago, the Coloron WGSN color forecast. You see, this consulting report predicted that in two years, this year, 2026, electric fuchsia would stand out as the top color. To quote the report, this shade of pink is a vivid neon with kinetic and digital qualities for exhilarating rebellious effects. Well, Jack, it appears multiple apparel shoe brands may have paid for that report or were indirectly influenced by it. So ironically, the color intended to express individual rebellion became the color of conformity. And that reminds us of flamingos. They're born gray, but flamingos turn pink as they eat all that baby shrimp under their legs.

12:39How wild is that? Flamingos, individually, they stand out, but once they all eat the same thing, the whole flock ends up looking the same. And these World Cup teams, they all ate the same report from the same consultant. Oh, it's collusion by consultant, Jack. One niche report influenced everyone. Remember the flamingo effect. You try to stand out. But if you all eat the same thing, you end up looking the same. Let us know what you think. We'll see you after the break. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. Bureau Premium Non-Alcoholic Beer. All right, Yeti, it's a little behind the scenes here. Before our New York City live show back in April, Jack and I went sober for two weeks.

13:18True story. Couldn't risk getting sick. I didn't want to be groggy. I couldn't afford a hangover. It was New York, baby. Okay, but Jack, celebrating the wins is what we do. And so, for our live shows, we crack open something special. So we drank Biro, the premium non-alcoholic beer brand co-founded by Tom Holland. Yeah, I actually first saw it at my grocery store. Delicious tastes like a celebration, feels fantastic, and looks legit. More on the looks in a sec. And if it's good enough for the actor who played Spider-Man, it's good enough for us. You see, it pairs well with a pickleball game, a profitable earnings report, or with the best podcast.

13:53So Yetis, if you want to celebrate the wins with all the taste of a premium lager or IPA, but none of the alcohol. There's no better choice than Bureau. Okay, pause the pod. Did we mention the can is straight up gold? This thing will stand out at every one of your next parties. Trust us, we've done it. Only beer we know that actually upgrades the scene like a promotion. So, Basties, if there's a win you're celebrating every day, Bureau is the non-alcoholic brew brand you got to bring. So, use code T-Boy for 20 % off your first order at bureaubrewing.com. Walmart business. Yetis, we cover business trends on our show and they move faster than you can spell GPU.

14:29One minute it's vibe coding, the next it's agentic. Tomorrow it's probably gonna be in-person old school again. Yeah, well, while you're managing this to stay ahead, the last thing you need to worry about is supplies for your company. Carol, do we have the cogs needed to meet our Q1 sales commitments? Carol! Outsource that mental load instead to Walmart business. Walmart business lets you buy the bulk supplies your business needs. AI tools are there for your digital work. Walmart business is there for your physical work. Like restock your office inventory with low prices, reliable shipping, and fulfillment.

14:59Walmart business helps simplify your operations so you can focus on building and selling your product. You see Carol in accounting? She'll be relieved that Walmart business is all over it. Eligible organizations can take advantage of tax-free shopping, both in-store and online with Walmart business, saving you more while getting you everything you need. It's Walmart built for your business. Sign up for a free Walmart business account today at business.walmart.com. For our third and final story, Fiat just launched the smallest car in all of America, the Topolino. It is unbearably cute. It is adorable because this is a golf cart with an Italian passport.

15:38Now, Yetis, you are with us every day. We see you on that run right there. So last week, you know, we covered the 80th birthday of the Vespa scooter. The Vespa is the Italian icon of tininess. That's right. While Mercedes is showing off eight cylinders, Vespa is showing off eight centimeters. Well, Fiat has been made in Italy long before Vespa even became a verb. Fiat, they're not just older than Ferrari. They used to own Ferrari. And on Tuesday, this 127-year-old company unveiled the Fiat Topolino. Ah, the Topolino. Jack, you just spent four days vacationing on the Amalfi Coast. Can you whip up a translation for us over there, please?

16:14You know, I learned so few Italian words. It's like kind of embarrassing. Basically just food words. Yeah, but Jack's gone all in on those food words. Like he doesn't just get spaghetti. He gets a good little spaghetti. Well, Topolino actually means little mouse in Italian. Which is advanced Italian 301. Besties, this two-seater, it's going to be the smallest street legal car in America. That's why it's the little mouse. It's so small, it's probably going to end up in the next Macklemore music video. It is so small, it's actually legally barely even considered a car. In the EU, it's not considered a car.

16:45It's technically a quadricycle, true, which is like a motorcycle, but four. And the price,$14 ,000, which is also small. But the car is even smaller. It's eight feet long. Jack, can you sprinkle on some context, please? Barely longer than Wembe Miana over in France. Topolino, it's four feet shorter than the Fiat 500, the smallest car currently for a sale in America. We repeat, this new smallest car in America is 50 % smaller than the number two smallest car in America. There is so little space in this car, and this sounds like a Yo Mama diss, but it is not, that the promo pictures of the car show the luggage draft on the outside of the vehicle.

17:26And it's not even big luggage. It's like a carry-on size suitcase. But there's no room for it in the car. The Topolino's battery, it's one-eighth the size of the Fiat E500. So it can still fit two humans inside as long as they're not professional basketball players. Oh, and you want to know the horsepower of this thing? Eight. My lawnmower has more horsepower. Add it all up and it's like a Pixar lamp at a baby with a toaster oven and got cast in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. This thing has racing stripes, true story. But they're the shortest racing stripes in the world. The convertible version of the Topolino is called the Dolce Vita.

17:58What does that mean, Nick? What do you tell us, Jack? The sweet life. But it doesn't have doors. It comes with ropes instead of doors. So if you go too fast and turn a corner, you could fly through the twine by accident and hope you buckled your seatbelt. But Jack, you won't go too fast because the top speed of this little car is less than America's slowest speed. Which brings up a great important note, Nick. They're not competing in the mobility space. This is explicitly micro-mobility. Because this new Fiat tiniest car tops out at 19 miles per hour and gets only 46 miles of range. For an upgrade, it goes 26 miles per hour.

18:32But either way, it's a glorified golf cart. And the pricing strategy is messing with our minds. Because at$13 ,995, the Topolino is either the world's most expensive golf cart or the world's cheapest car. And for that reason, we think it could strategically target two totally different audiences. First is retirees. Boomers down in Del Boca Vista with their giant 401ks, they might want the nice expensive golf cart to simply ride over to the clubhouse. But also, it could reach the city dinks. Gen Z can't afford a car right now, but they do want to drive downtown on their own wheels. But a contrarian opinion from Nick and me, we think the top buyer won't be a person.

19:12At least at first, it'll be a place. Yeah, and that place is luxury hotels. Hello, Mr. Martell. You're checking in? Well, we have three nights booked for you at the villa, which comes with a complimentary Fiat Topolino to move around the grounds. Yeah, we think the Ritz-Carlton's going to be all over these things. Because if people try these out at luxury hotels, they might buy one for their own neighborhood when they get home. And who just did that? Uh, the Pope. True story. He ordered 20 Topolinos to get around Vatican City carbon-free. Mama mia. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies going zero to 19?

19:45Over Fiat. Don't try to be better. Try to be first-er. Yeah, be first-er. Yeti's, the United States actually has no legal category for what the Topolino actually is, so it's going to get treated legally as a golf cart. In the eyes of the law, yes, like a golf cart. And there's a surprisingly huge market in America for golf carts that will never once touch the fairway. Just look at the villages, that huge residential community down in Florida where they have 80 ,000 privately owned golf carts rolling around, not just for golf. Sophia is jumping at the opportunity to be the first automaker building a golf cart in the image of a car.

20:21Now, Basties, we should point out there is a risk here, right, Jack? Like the fast follower can sometimes win. Look at Roomba. It invented the robot vacuum, but it's now bankrupt because of Chinese knockoffs. It's the dupes. But when it comes to electric vehicles, Fiat, they can't compete with Tesla on quality and they can't compete with BYD on price. So Fiat's not even trying to be better than those two. They're trying to be first-er. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Ceviche Wednesday? Netflix is on its coldest streak ever and people aren't watching season two. It's the season two slump, But we think Netflix will figure it out because their excellence is their evolution.

20:58For our second story, 69 % of World Cup players wore pink cleats trying to stand out. But none of them stood out. Ah, it was accidental collusion by consulting. We call it the Flamengo Effect. And our third and final story, Fiat launched the Topolino. It's a$14 ,000 golf cart with an Italian passport. Fiat's not trying to be better. Fiat is trying to be firster. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Meta's newest product, it can read your mind. It's Zuck's newest invention. It decodes brain activity to text, or as he calls it, brain to QWERTY. Yeah, they're trying to compete with Neuralink.

21:37Meta says their AI can read your brain waves without surgery and then convert it into writing. If you're thinking, man, that's crazy right now, the computer will type, man, that's crazy, because it's reading your mind. And second, as we always say, oil spills onto everything. Oil prices spiked and stocks fell yesterday. Kind of feels like spring again, Jack. Because the war in Iran flared up yesterday. A tanker was shot by the Iranians in the Strait of Hormuz. So oil prices pop 5%, but it's still way below the wartime levels. And stocks fell 1%, but they're still very close to all-time highs. ATH will monitor the situation, as they say on Twitter.

22:12And finally, Nestle is changing their food recipes because, well, people on Ozempic have dull taste buds. Corn Flakes, Tropicana, Popsicles, all those brands may get salt and spices added to the recipe. The world's biggest food maker realized that GLP wants, they don't just change your appetite, they change your whole taste profile. Your tongue literally tastes Cheetos less if you're on Ozempic. So they're tossing more orange powder on there. What do I got to do to get some cool ranch on this Popsicle? Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by legendary Eddie Howie Furtig from lovely Durham, North Carolina.

22:47Push and play. Hey, Nick and Jack. It's Howie Fertig from Durham, North Carolina. I'm your oldest getty. Last week, while at a conference, my team of seven hailed an Uber XL. As soon as we got in, Enrique handed us microphones, started a T-Swift song on his karaoke machine, and turned on some disco lights. In about five seconds, everyone was in full voice. We came to a stoplight. I was riding shotgun. And I pointed to a Waymo across the street and said, what do you think? Enrique motioned to the back of the SUV and said, that's why I got the karaoke machine. It's a fact. We're living in the experience economy.

23:25Dude, Howie's our oldest listener and he knows all the lyrics to Fate of Ophelia. Not too shabby. By the way, Enrique, that Uber driver, Jack, I think he wasn't trying to be better. He was trying to be firster. He was trying to be firster. Although as a result, he was better than AI. Yetis, you look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday. If you haven't yet, grab your tickets to our live shows. The next one, September, San Francisco. September 23rd at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. We can't wait to see you there. Oh, and by the way, when we're in San Francisco, if you can think of a food that does not have an AI startup that's taken that name, drop it in the comments.

24:04We couldn't find one. Deep Fried Oreos AI. I just snagged the domain name, Nick. Don't worry. Scallop AI. We'll see you in the sea. Jack and I will see you tomorrow.

24:18And before we go, a happy birthday to Esther B. Marino, OC-born Spanish-raised Yeti, celebrating the best birthday yet. Happy 28th birthday to Natalie Hudson, who's celebrating with barbecue sauce and big music down in Austin. And Peter Satiwa turning 50 years old in Chicago, snacker-turned-Yeti-doing-logistics. Happy birthday to David Naughton in Oxnard, California. And Kadar Shaker is turning 14 years old down in Duval, Washington. Great to get you another shout out, Kadar. Happy 32nd birthday to Kelsey Dennison in Vancouver, Canada. The Canuck. And James and Courtney Manning, congrats on the three-year anniversary in New York City.

24:54Even more pickleback shots than last year. We wouldn't forget, guys. Congratulations to Dr. Jason Litt on four years of successful entrepreneurship. Elite Spine and Pain is crushing it in the MD. And a quick correction from Sarah Pettipese in Charleston. Last week, we did a story on moving in with nuns to save on rent. We said covenant. We meant to say convent. Which is why I just did eight Hail Marys as penance. And a special goodbye from Jess, Jenna, Flor, and Annalise to Mr. Sears, the legendary teacher and fan of T-Boy, is moving on, and we can't wait to see him again soon. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy.

25:31Celebrate the wins.

25:35This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple. Walmart business. Yeah, it is. We cover business trends on our show, and they move faster than you can spell GPU. One minute it's vibe coding, the next it's agentic. Tomorrow it's probably going to be in-person old school again. Yeah, well, while you're managing this to stay ahead, the last thing you need to worry about is supplies for your company. Carol, do we have the cogs needed to meet our Q1 sales commitments? Carol! Outsource that mental load instead to Walmart business. Walmart Business lets you buy the bulk supplies your business needs.

26:06AI tools are there for your digital work. Walmart Business is there for your physical work. Like restock your office inventory with low prices, reliable shipping, and fulfillment. Walmart Business helps simplify your operations so you can focus on building and selling your product. You see Carol in accounting? She'll be relieved that Walmart Business is all over it. Eligible organizations can take advantage of tax-free shopping, both in-store and online with Walmart Business, saving you more while getting you everything you need. It's Walmart built for your business. Sign up for a free Walmart business account today at business.walmart.com.