🏝️ “Bombshell Biz” — Love Island’s campfire effect. Waymo’s teen-drinking snitch. Instagram’s AI snoop. +Vintage Ikea $$$

0:28This is Nick. And finance, what do we got, Jack? For our first story, Love Island USA has defied every negative trend in TV to become the top show of the year. Love Island, it's all thanks to the campfire effect. For our second story, warning. Your Instagram pics can now be used without your permission to generate Instagram ads. Zucky Zuck, default opted you in, so we'll tell you what it all means. And we'll tell you how to opt out. Yeah, we got that too. And our third and final story, two teens were drinking in the backseat of a Waymo. Oh boy. So Waymo delivered those two teens to the police.

1:01Because snitches get glitches and cars now get cameras. But besties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix to go into the weekend. Love this mix, Jack. The latest investment idea that we can't believe is true. What is it, Nick? It's Ikea. Vintage Ikea. Because prices for old school Ikea pieces are popping off right now. Get this. The journal covered how people are turning vintage Ikea pieces into straight up investment. Ikea's originally$200 Initri bookcase from the year 1980. Jack, that's now$3 ,000 if you buy it online. The Impala lounge chair, which debuted at$354 in 1971.

1:38It's now$12 ,000 on eBay. And the$335 Verner chair from 2012 that I'm pretty sure we had one of in our East Village apartment. We definitely had one and our buddy Timmy definitely spilled some spaghetti on it. Well, I wish we'd hung on to it because it's now north of$2 ,900. Yeah, could you sprinkle on the numerical context for us, please? That's 765 % ROI on a stool. Yeah, ROI, return on interior design, besties. Now, your grilled cheese-stained fluggen sofa from college, that's not the kind of thing they're talking about. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, what are we talking about, Jack? It's the stuff that looks Swedish that's selling, not the stuff that looks sticky.

2:17But besties, if it's not sticky, then that old school IKEA bookcase could be beating the S &P 500 right now. So besties, don't spill anything on your Flugan futon today. Because that$400 lounge chair could be your future 401k. This isn't investment advice. It's design advice. Lucrative design advice. If you're sleeping on an Ikea bed frame from the year 2006, congratulations. Antique Roadshow. That's like buying NVIDIA in 1993. Yes, it is, Jack. What's it on? Re-stores. 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.

2:55Jack 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.

3:11Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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4:57For our first story, Love Island USA. It's pulled off the impossible. It can actually keep Gen Z's attention. Because it harnesses the campfire effect like nothing else on TV. Now, Yetis, if you're walking around Brooklyn over the weekend, you may be hearing some yelling at a bar, but who is it, Jack? It's not fans of the World Cup or fans of Wimbledon. No, no, no, no, no. It is fans of Love Island. There's watch parties. There's tailgates. They're even projecting Love Island into movie theaters. Besties, Love Island has taken over every screen in size, from the iPhone to your living room to the IMAX down the street.

5:33One bar sold 900 tickets at 10 bucks each. That was the cover charge to come in and watch Love Island USA. That's 9 ,000 bucks in revenue before the Kenzie fans order their first margarita. So what is Love Island? Well, 30 singles live together in a luxury villa, probably in the Caribbean. And they get voted off if they don't couple up with someone by the end of the night. Think of this reality show like musical chairs, but with more thong bikinis. It's on six days a week at nine o 'clock every Wednesday. The season finale is this Sunday on Peacock. By Yetis, this show is putting up the sexiest numbers in TV right now.

6:06It was the number one show on streaming last week with 1.3 billion minutes viewed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Okay, but Jack, what's the hero stat we saved for last, my friend? The majority of those viewers are under the age of 30. That's right, Love Island, they've cracked the TikTok generation's attention span. And it ain't just because of Sincere's unbelievable quads. Did I see 18 abs in that guy? I had to pause to count. But here's what Nick and I find fascinating about Love Island USA. It defies every trend happening right now in TV, streaming, media, and society. Every trend. Follow us on this one, besties.

6:39You see, Love Island is resisting the reality TV recession right now. The number of reality TV shows is down 33 % since the golden era of 2022. Shark Tank, The Bachelor, they're down 75 % in viewership. And yet, Love Island's viewers are up. Love Island is also beating Netflix. True Jack. Remember the story we did this week about Netflix's second season slump? Yeah, the second season slump. How 70 % of us quit the show after season one. We ghost it. Well, viewership of Love Island is up 50 % from last season. And finally, Love Island, it is the rare appointment viewing win. It's on at the same time each night, six nights a week.

7:16And Love Island's scheduled show is thriving right now, despite our on-demand bingeable world. The only thing bigger than Love Island on TV right now is Love Island on your feeds. The fan vids. There's one dude in Brooklyn who got 300 ,000 followers by posting 10 reaction videos every day after every Love Island episode. Because we need help to digest this drama. Who is Mamacita? I need a video to understand. Why does Kenzie want 10 kids or is it 12? Why does KC eat pears for breakfast? Is that part of a bigger conspiracy? Probably. Who eats pears for breakfast? Traditional media. It can't get people off social media.

7:48It can't get young people to watch. It doesn't get return viewers for the next season. No. Reality shows are down and traditional media doesn't earn a spot on your weekly calendar. And yet Love Island is doing all of that and taking over the bars nearby to boot. Last question, Nick. Will Carl actually kiss Ania before the season's over? Funny you brought that up, Jack, because$43 million has been wagered in prediction markets on just that. That's right. There's now a dedicated tab on Call Sheep for Love Island, just like there's a dedicated tab for elections in the World Cup. Gen Z, are you still with us?

8:21They are. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy is over at Love Island? Love Island is proof of the campfire effect. Yeah, there's one trend Jack and I will never bet against. Group storytelling. It's why we launched a live tour this year and have greenlit it for next year too. Yes! And it's why Love Island is defying all of media's odds. Case in point, the Love Island app. It's number three in America right now behind ChatGPT and ahead of TikTok. talk. Viewers use that app to vote for who should couple up in this episode and who should leave the island. Oh boy. So people get to engage with the show.

8:54And then they head to the bar to watch the finale in real life. So they engage with 50 other friends. Yes, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, the Knicks playoff run did huge TV numbers so far this year. Yeah, but Jack, Love Island USA has done it for 36 straight episodes every single day. Because unlike with live sports, fans can interact with the storytellers for Love Island through the app. And that's what we call the campfire effect. You listen to a story with other people and can interact with the storyteller like they're a cowboy. For our second story, Meta's newest product could turn your Instagram pics into ads using AI, even though you didn't give them permission to.

9:36We'll tell you how to protect yourself and also why there's no money in consumer AI. But besties, in the meantime, it is a Shakespearean mid-summer weekend. Jack, sprinkle on the context. What are you up to in the next 24 hours? We are boating across Lake Champlain to get lunch in New York. Yeah, you know our neighbors are New York State. No, I know. You crossed the border on that one. I'm going to be down in Nantucket. But besties, if you are taking trips and you are posting pics, does this lobster roll make my butt look big? But Nick, pause the pod because that thirst trap you just posted, could end up in a Neutrogena ad.

10:07That's right, because on Tuesday, Meta launched Muse for AI-generated images and videos. They're a little late to the game on this, because OpenAI and Google, they've had AI-generated image and video for years. OpenAI had Shora, and they shut it down, but here's why this is such big news, besties, to let their pictures become AI-generated images and videos by someone else. That's right, right now, any user can change your hairdo, switch your outfit to cargo shorts, even update your background to a port-a-potty without you even knowing it. Now, when Sora launched with OpenAI, Hollywood was worried that their IP would be used without their permission.

10:42But with Zuck's version, regular people could be getting their name, image, and likeness abused without their permission. If your Instagram is public, then your buddy Timmy can give you an unwanted unibrow. And you had no idea what's happened, nothing you can do about it. Well, there actually is something you can do about it. You can opt out. But as of right now, Zuck has opted the entire Meta user base in. Now Yetis, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and we noticed Zuck's up to something very particular with this new project. Well, unlike OpenAI's Sora, Meta is hoping that this gets used by advertisers, not regular people.

11:16That's right. Zuck's dream is to let brands create ads with AI and then find their audience on Instagram with AI. That's Zuck's AI play. And it could be huge for small and medium businesses who don't have a graphic designer and can't afford a video shoot. Yeah, picture this if you're like a mom-and-pop sunscreen brand. Instead of budgeting a beach photo shoot for that sunscreen commercial, Muse, Meta's new AI, could train on your combo vacation pics, like mine or Jack's, and then generate artificial video that that mom-and-pop brand can use. Oh, and by the way, according to the fine print, you will not be notified about it.

11:49And you definitely won't be paid for your accidental, unapproved modeling career. No, you will not, Jack. By the way, opting people in automatically instead of opting people out by default is classic Zuckerberg. Classic. That's like a level five Zuck right there, Jack. But you can opt out if you want to preserve your privacy by going to the reuse settings in Instagram and unchecking that button. Yeah, it's exactly the kind of friction in tech, Jack, that no one actually has time for. That's why Zuck did it. 95 % will remain opted in because they didn't even hear about this story. So Bestie's added all up and Apple is treating privacy like a glass sculpture protected on a shelf.

12:25Well, Met is treating privacy like a football kicking around like Messi. Yeah, but Jack, Zuck's latest Instagram drama, it's bringing up a bigger issue about the future of AI. Yes, it is. And Nick, that lobster roll does make your butt look big. I got a big butt. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Instagram? There is no money in consumer AI. Yeti, the key to this story, it's that Zuck is using name, image, and likeness of regular people to fuel a business product. Muse is designed to help businesses buy more ads on Facebook and Instagram. Businesses, that's the key. That's what's consistent with a trend we've noticed, that the only money being made in AI is in business AI.

13:05Anthropic took the lead in AI because they focused early on for enterprise customers. Open AI, they realized last year all the money is in B2B and they called a Code Red shut down their Sora app. And then this week, Grok launched their latest model that's focused on coding, agentic, and enterprise. So besties, everyone is asking the one big question, is AI a bubble? Maybe the better question is, is AI just enterprise software? Is AI just B2B sales? Is Claude just Microsoft Office, a way to make yourself more productive at work? And nothing more than that? Let us know what you think in the comments and Jack and I will see you after the break.

13:41Now a quick word from our sponsor. Bureau premium non-alcoholic beer. All right, yeah, he'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. True 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 Bureau, 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.

14:16Feels 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. So, Yetis, if you want to celebrate the ruins 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.

14:48So Basties, if there's a win you're celebrating every day, Bureau is the non-alcoholic brew brand you gotta 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 G-P-U. 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?

15:19Carol! 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. 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.

15:52It'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, this one's wild Waymo just caught two teens drinking in the backseat And then delivered them to the cops Waymo be snitching Oh, they're totally snitching But here's what you can and you can't do in a Waymo And what happens if you end up breaking the rules I got a little math for you here Summer break plus teenage inhibitions equals Shenanigans Great word And potentially illegal debauchery Besties, today's Gen Alpha teens, they are no exception to that formula.

16:31But today's Gen Alpha teens, unlike when Nick and I were teens, have a robo-chauffeur to drive them on their debauchery. So get this, on Tuesday, two 15-year-olds were drinking alcohol in the back of a Waymo in the Bay Area of California. Whee! Nothing like Prosecco and Waymo. Or in this case, was it Mojito and Waymo, Jack? I think it was actually Four Loko and Robo, Nick. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. Because they weren't just underage drinking in the backseat. They were also shooting little water beads out the window at people. That's right. A summer afternoon classic. Until the car called the San Mateo Police Department.

17:07We repeat, Waymo called the Popo. And the Waymo pulled over when the cops arrived and let the officers take these kids into custody. Now, we should point out the Waymo did not lock the kids in. It won't ever do that, according to Google. But Waymo snitched on these teens. To quote the rapper Lil Wayne, snitches get stitches, Waymo's get glitches. But Yetis, if you've ever been to Waymo, it's weird because there's nobody in the front seat who can say like, hey, you can't do that. You feel like you can do anything. Right. Like Jack, I had been taking Maxie as like a two-year-old in my lap in Waymo's through the park on a joyride until a little boy stopped it the other day from the Waymo.

17:45Because there are cameras and speakers in the Waymo. The cameras saw that Maxie wasn't in a car seat. And so the speaker said, hey, your son's not in a car seat. It was like five miles per hour through the Presidio Park. But let's get to Waymo's house rules because nobody teaches them to you. No, Jack, you must be 18 to ride a Waymo. So these kids either fake their age or are hailed from their parents app. There's also no weapons of any kind allowed in a Waymo. Yeah, which includes those water bead guns we mentioned earlier. And there's no smoking, no vaping, no drugs or alcohol allowed in a Waymo.

18:15Okay, so add it all up, Jack, and it seems like these two kids broke at least three of the rules we just mentioned? Yes, it's a hat trick. Although it's not clear which of those three broken rules triggered Waymo to contact the police in this case. It's not clear if the police were called by AI or a human, Waymo hasn't said. Now, while we're talking about rules, we know what rules you're really wondering about. Waymo rider rules don't address intimate adult backseat shenanigans, do they, Jack? But they do say that every passenger must, according to the terms and conditions, wear a seatbelt at all times, respect the car, and keep the interior of the car clean.

18:49Oh, and spoiler, Waymo has banned riders for inappropriate behavior, including sex in the backseat. Our thought, well, at least no one was drunk driving on this one, right, Jack? I think this Waymo snitching incident is actually a win for public safety. It sounds like they had a pretty fun ride that could turn out to be the next movie, because without a Waymo, there might have been a third teen in the front seat that was partaking as well. And it sounds like it could be the plot of the next Ferris Bueller sequel, Jack. But as for public privacy, that's a different story. It's actually our takeaway.

19:16So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at Waymo? The car was the one place nobody was watching. Now, it's the one place someone always is. Yetis, the same week that Waymo just snitched on those teens up to no good, something even bigger happened over in Europe. Effective July 7th, Wednesday of this week, every new car produced in Europe must have a camera permanently pointed at the driver's face. A camera to alert the driver if your eyes aren't paying attention to the road for safety reasons. Because phones and car screens can be incredibly distracting. Totally. This EU law could reduce the number of accidents.

19:52You see, besties, for a hundred years, cars have been the private space for whatever. As a teen, you wanted one for independence. But Waymo just called the police because of cameras watching in the back seat. Yes. And in Europe, they're now requiring cameras in the front seat. So we hope that this remains a safety thing, not a surveillance thing. But the car is transforming from your private space into a witness. Sometimes you want a witness. Sometimes you want an alibi. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Love Island USA Season 8 finishes this weekend, and it's defying a bunch of media and societal trends.

20:30All because of the campfire effect, listening to a story with a group and interacting with the storyteller. For our second story, Meta's newest AI product lets brands use your posts without your permission to create ads. Why? Well, because there's no money in consumer AI, so Zuck's giving your Instapix to businesses. And our third and final story, Waymo called the police on two rule-breaking teens, while the EU is now requiring cameras on drivers. The car, it's transformed from your one private space to your definitely recorded space. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

21:04First, Levi's sales jumped 8 % last quarter because of the most expensive jeans they've ever made. Late last year, Levi's announced their blue tab collection of denim imported from Japan. So like if the tag's blue instead of red, that means those jeans are going to cost at least 300 bucks. And despite inflation, apparently consumers are willing to pay premium for one pair of definitely not torn jeans. And definitely not soft, by the way. And second, we're about to have the second biggest IPO of all time, and you didn't even know their name. The company is SK Hynix. They're already public in South Korea, but now they're listing in New York as well in the NASDAQ exchange.

21:41That's right. 28 billion bucks a share. This is the second biggest IPO ever behind only SpaceX. But it's not even an IPO. They're just doing their second IPO in a different country. So much excitement. They are seven times oversubscribed, seven times more buyers of this stock already than there are shares available. Because what do they make? Memory chips. Yep, yep, yep. Never forget about all that demand for memory. And finally, we got two wild World Cup numbers that have nothing to do with soccer. Okay, first, Google broke a record for the most searches ever in the moments after the Argentina-Egypt game.

22:11And then Erling Haaland, the star of the Norway team, added more Instagram followers in one day than the population of Norway. That's right. In 24 hours, he gained 5 million followers. That's more than the number of Norwegians. Now time for the best fact yet This one sent in from Brian and Stephanie Who are getting married this weekend up in lovely Detroit That's right, tomorrow, the day of their wedding is July 11th 7-11, aka Slurpee Day And the famous Slurpee drink was actually invented 60 years ago Accidentally invented 60 years ago Exactly, Jack, because Omar Nedlik was working at Dairy Queen at the time in Kansas But his soda fountain broke and he couldn't get the soda out So he started sticking his sodas in the freezer to keep them cold.

22:56And when customers liked the slushy drinks, he built a new soda machine to replicate that effect with his car's air conditioner. He named these mostly frozen sodas Icy's, but then he licensed the soda machine he invented to 7-Eleven, who renamed the drink the Slurpee. And which should probably be the best idea yet. Yetis, you look fantastic to end the week. Jack, you are glowing over there before that boat ride. I see you, man. Get the SPF on. Dude, ever since Italy, I haven't needed SPF. It's incredible, Jack. I'm going to milk this Italy experience as long as I possibly can. Jack told me the other day he's been bathing in olive oil.

23:35I don't know where he got the idea, but he said he got it on the vacation. Yetis, remember, if you want to see us live, we've got ticket links in the episode notes of this episode. Or go to tboypod.com, grab them now so we can see you at San Francisco in September. Have a great weekend. Nick and I will see you Monday. Celebrate the wins.

23:54And before we go, a happy 29th birthday to Erin Thomas in her new girl era over in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Happy birthday to Elena Lee, the behavioral therapist helping kids over in Taiwan. And Michael Torbert celebrating the best birthday yet down in Mexico. Happy birthday to Lance in New York City celebrating from the Lower East Side to the Upper East Side. And David Krause, happy 41st birthday over in Chicago doing logistics. And happy 47th birthday to Kim Carroll in Quantico. And Zach Herman in San Francisco, who can audit a chicken parm like it's nobody's business, is celebrating the best birthday yet.

24:25Hang on a second. What does it mean to audit a chicken parm? Well, Zach's going to audit you on that one, Jack. And Patrick French, enjoy the 28th down in Encinitas, California. And happy birthday to Gemma from California, who came to her live show in L.A. and is now celebrating her 30th with a big, roasted, suckling pig dinner. And finally, Cole and Leah, enjoy that anniversary down the street in San Francisco. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. Oh, and Brian and Stephanie, have a blast.

24:54This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix. Nick and I both own stock of Apple. And we both own ETFs of the S &P 500. Walmart business. Yetis, 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 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.

25:28AI 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.