🫟 “Bro-Doh” — Hasbro’s adults-only. AI’s China lead. Volleyball’s Zendaya moment. +CD surge

0:28This is Nick. to go down to 15 SPF. I thought there was a 60 % chance. Did I say SPF? I think you meant PSI. And even I caught that one, man. I thought there was a good chance we were getting stuck. Okay. Tonight's the Odyssey. More on that tomorrow. But in the meantime, we just made today's the best T-boy yet. What do we got on the show, Jack? For our first story, is the solution to getting you off your screen Play-Doh? Play-Doh. Adults only blossoms of Play-Doh. Hasbro thinks it is. and Hasbro stock just popped 10 % on. For our second story, the shocking new leader in the AI race is Moonshot.

1:01Literally. A Chinese tech company, Moonshot AI. It's inspired by a Pink Floyd song, but now the White House might ban it. And our third and final story is the second biggest sport for women in America. It's not soccer, field hockey, or lacrosse. It's volleyball. It's volleyball. But for any sport to break through, it needs a blockbuster. It needs Emilio Estevez. A Mighty Ducks moment. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Emilio! If you're listening to us right now on an iPhone, cool. Okay, but if you're listening to us on a CD player, cooler. Because CD sales are now the fastest growing form of audio.

1:39Hey, Sugar Ray, grab that CD holder you attached to your car's visor. Because get this, CD sales rose 16 % in the first six months of 2026. We're talking 16 million CDs sold. There's nothing compact about those numbers, Nick. Oh, but we should point out, Jack, that is still behind vinyl records, 21 million records sold. But vinyl sales have plateaued. There rose just 2 % in that period. Basically sounds like nada. But here's the wildest part. Half of the CD buyers can't even play the CD they just bought. Because half of CD buyers don't have a CD player. So why the heck are they collecting all these compact discs?

2:16Well, Jack, it's a piece of plastic memorabilia. Yeah, BTS, Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, they're all selling limited issue. CDs in their merch stores. And you can't collect a Napster MP3, can you, man? Plus, someday your Spotify subscription could shut down. You actually want to own some music, not just subscribe to music. Yeah, sure. We know what you're thinking down in Williamsburg. Vinyl records, they got character. Hey, watch your mouth. You know I'm a record collector these days. Fair point, Jack. But Jack, nothing says nostalgia like that rainbow reflection on the back of a CD. True. Or the satisfaction of peeling off the parental advisory sticker so their parents don't notice it.

2:52Or the satisfying snap of that CD case. Nick, hang on one second. I have to this NSYNC album and then clean it with my T-shirt. Yeah, do you stick that stat in your dad's three-inch thick CD binder? CDs, they're the new vinyl. By the way, leave the first album you ever bought. Nora Jones, come away with me. Classic. You're kidding. Yeah, I am kidding. Okay. Mine was actually on The Offspring Americana and Jay-Z's Black Album in the same day. Double album. Double parental advisory. During 35 bucks. Jack, let's do that three-story. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm.

3:27They 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. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

3:48Start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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4:52That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash tboy. One more time, gusto.com slash tboy. Monarch. Happy wedding season to all those who celebrate. Wedding season. That means you just liquidated your 401k to pay for that bridesmaid dress. Flights, hotel, and a gift. Your presents. It was not the only present. Good timing though, because Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything, your accounts, your investments, your savings goals, and your spending. We use Monarch to keep all our personal finances accounted for and in one place. We're excited that listeners of this show can get your first year of Monarch Core for half off.

5:27That's just 50 bucks with promo code TBOY. The weekly spending recap, it uses AI to categorize everything you spent organizing them into digestible buckets. Weekly emails are perfect, by the way, because checking finances daily, that's too much. Monthly, that's probably not enough. So Monarch helps you make sure you're on track for seven different destination weddings this summer. Because you don't want to go into debt if you don't even know the groom. Who's Henry? Besties, use code TBOI at monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Corps half off at just 50 bucks. Nick, did you see Liquid IV teamed up with Ring Pop?

6:00I did, Jack. And honestly, it's one of those collabs where you immediately think, how has nobody done this before? I mean, Ring Pop Cherry is already iconic. My sons love Ring Pops, by the way. I give it to them at the beach. It occupies them for about an hour. But now it's a sugar-free liquid IV flavor too. Ah, it's not just a fun flavor. It's still the same liquid IV hydration formula that hydrates faster than water alone, has three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drink, plus eight vitamins and nutrients. I've been throwing one of these in my water before the gym and before bed pretty much every night if I sweated that day.

6:32Way more fun than drinking plain water. Probably for workouts, travel days, hot days. Honestly, anytime you know, you're probably just not drinking enough water. So if you're looking for an excuse to actually stay hydrated, this is a pretty good one. Check out the new Liquid IV sugar-free ring pop cherry at liquidivy.com. For our first story, Hasbro Stocks searched 10 % Tuesday after the most playful earnings ever. Because Hasbro is doubling its customer base from kids to kids and adults by using Wizards and Play-Doh. Adults only, Play-Doh. But besties, if we're gonna tell the story, let's whip out the whiteboard and talk about the greatest product pivots of all time.

7:11Nintendo started as a taxi and hotel company. Ketchup started as a tummy medication. And back in the 1930s in Cincinnati, Cuttall invented a new cleaning product. Cleaning buddy to take soot and fingerprints off your living room wallpaper. Well, Nick, the handwriting was on the wall. Yeah, I love it. Because that product became Play-Doh. Much more fun to roll into a ball and then smash into a pancake than to clean with, Jack. And as home heating switched away from dirty coal, wallpaper wasn't getting dirty. So in 1956, the founder's sister-in-law pivoted, suggested marketing it as a kid's play toy.

7:43She even came up with the name Play-Doh. Oh, by the way, that distinctive Play-Doh smell? The new owner Hasbro trademarked that scent in 2018. It's an almond-based fragrance to signal that it's safe. Actually, the trademark says it's a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance with slight overtones of cherry and the natural smell of a salted wheat biscuit. As you can see, Bessie's the lawyers. Not exactly marketers on this one. Not exactly kids either. But here's the news. Hasbro has officially beaten its rival Mattel game over. In the playroom and on Wall Street.

8:16Because Mattel stock is down 28 % this year to a$4 billion valuation. While Hasbro is up 10%. And now we're three times what Mattel is. Because Hasbro just announced peachy earnings and boosted their profit forecast at the CEO. He's having trouble sharing with the other CEOs. Because the fastest growing business is Dungeons & Dragons in Magic the Gathering, or their Wizards division. And the customer of that division is mostly adults. But besties, here's what Jack and I find fascinating about Hasbro's numbers. Hasbro just relaunched Play-Doh as a grown-up brand. Behold, Blooms by Play-Doh, a$25 kit to craft Play-Doh flowers.

8:52Why spend 50 bucks on fresh zinnias that are going to die in four days? Fake flowers? Yeah, maybe they feel a bit tacky, but real flower art? Made by you? Put that on the mantle, Jack. So, Blooms by Play-Doh, it turns Millennial Millie into an artist who can show off her artwork. And get this, it launched last week on TikTok shops, sold out in 24 hours. And Hasbro CEO humblebragged about that win in the earnings yesterday. Yeah, he said Play-Doh Bloom is their next profit puppy. But get this, Hasbro launched the same concept six years ago and it failed. Yeah, Jack, back then it was Play-Doh flowers.

9:26But this time, they're relaunching without the Play-Doh branding. That's right. This time it's called Blooms with Play-Doh in the fine print. If it's like traditional Play-Doh, it will fail. That's what the CEO said yesterday. So Hasbro sold out in one day because this kid old bet is not a nostalgic play. They sold out because Blooms by Play-Doh, it taps into something deeper than my three-year-old son's Moo Moo cow. He won't go to bed without. By the way, guys, would it kill you to make a Play-Doh cologne? What do you think, Jack? I mean, the product is probably out there. Oh, de dough. Oh, de dough.

9:55Oh, de dough. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies at adults-only Play-Doh? It's not revenge of the nerds. It's revenge of reality. Yetis. Hasbro is a 102-year-old company battling the most addictive substance on the planet. Screens. And algorithms. Toy Story 5 is literally the plot of Hasbro. Yeah, we'll put Jack. But as screen addiction rises, screen addiction antidotes are now at all-time highs. It's creating a whole new market. In fact, Eventbrite saw a 50 % jump in events that said no phones allowed at this event. Phone-free experiences. Now, ironically, Hasbro has sold this adult Play-Doh on TikTok, the ultimate addictive screen.

10:33And they've hired Instagram influencers to pitch you on that new Play-Doh for adults in the For You page. A screen. But Play-Doh's adult flowers, they're an old product, seizing a new opportunity by using different marketing. And like run clubs and dark vacations, adult Play-Doh is the newest chapter of the detox economy. Besties, it's not Revenge of the Nerds. We're about to experience the revenge of reality. For our second story, the newest AI leader is such a moonshot, it's called moonshot. And it's caused the White House to threaten to ban Chinese AI. Yetis, in our weekly F1 racing style, who's actually in the lead for AI right now?

11:16Jack, who is actually in the lead for AI right now? Well, last week we told you that DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab, was prepping to IPO. DeepSeek, it's a dupe AI. It's cheaper, but nearly as nice as America's Anthropic and OpenAI. And that DeepSeek AI dupe, it just passed America's finest in market share. Because DoorDash, Coinbase, Airbnb, and a whole bunch of startups, they're all using Chinese AI that costs one-tenth the price of American AI. Well, update, Yetis, for this week, another Chinese AI just surged ahead of OpenAI and Claude, but in intelligence. If Deep Seek was the Honda of AI, a low-priced, well-made AI model, well, then this new Moonshot Kimi model of AI is China's Ferrari killer.

11:57Because it performs as well as OpenAI and Anthropic, according to the benchmarks. Okay, but Jack, what's the reason this Chinese AI company is named Moonshot in the first place? Well, the founder loves Pink Floyd, apparently. So Moonshot AI launched on the 50th anniversary of the founder's favorite classic rock album, The Dark Side of the Moon. But here's the news, besties. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said that the Treasury would investigate Chinese AI companies like this for theft. He said it yesterday. And if Chinese AI labs are stealing America's models like they've been alleged to be doing, they'll be sanctioned.

12:28Even if they're inspired by the greatest classic rock band of all time. But besties, China stealing U.S. technology and then undercutting American companies on price? That's like the oldest story in the finance book, Jack. But this time, the book is AI, not fashion or furniture. So there's a whole bunch of complicating factors with all this Chinese stealing. Well, a ban on U.S. companies from using Chinese AI, which the White House is considering, that would worsen inflation and hurt competitiveness. Will the U.S. government force our companies to pay for pricier AI in this economy? Those higher AI bills are going to trickle down to the prices that we pay, inflating inflation more.

13:08Oh, and by the way, banning Chinese AI would only apply to American companies. So foreign rivals using cheaper Chinese AI would have a cost advantage over American companies. Jack, what about a third complicating factor here? What about that? It's the fact that these models in China, they're open weight, not closed models like we have here in the US. By the way, besties, open weight AI models, that means they can be downloaded. And therefore, they are more difficult to regulate. Because once somebody downloads the model, the government can't force you to undownload it. The genie is out of the bottle, you can't put her back in.

13:38And OpenAI calls this Chinese way of doing AI, AI communism. Yeah, as you can tell, things are getting heated in Silicon Valley. So the White House is thinking about banning Chinese AI, but the White House hates regulation, generally speaking. However, Jack, this White House does love a trade war. Which leads to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Chinese AI? The trade war has re-erupted, but with a digital battlefront. Yetis, last week, the United States added a 25 % tariff against Brazil. And this week, we added 50 % tariffs against Canada. No joke. As of this week, we're tariffing hockey sticks from Toronto with a new 50 % tax.

14:17U.S. versus Brazil, U.S. versus Canada, U.S. versus China. We thought the World Cup was over. What's going on? Well, when the Supreme Court struck down tariffs in February, Trump added new ones almost immediately, using different laws that had never been used before. But with AI, tariffs aren't working. So now we're considering banning Chinese AI. And the U.S. trade rep said on Tuesday that tariffs on a dozen more countries would be coming soon. Basties with the war in Iran dominating headlines and tariffs getting struck down by the Supreme Court. The trade war, it felt over. But now it's erupting again.

14:47And the new battlefront is digital. Now a quick word from our sponsor. NetSuite. Yeah, it is. NetSuite is the corporate control panel for business. Has been since 1998. They probably used this on Star Wars. This pre.com software suite, though, it remains the market leader. But Nick, what is next? I got no idea, Jack. You tell me what's next. Well, they say every day your business is late for AI. You fall two days behind. I didn't know they said that. Now I'm stressed, Jack. That's an incredibly stressful thing. We're all anxiety maxing. So, Bessie, if you're feeling like your business is behind, there is NetSuite next.

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16:38For our third and final story, the number two women's sport in America has quietly become volleyball. But you wouldn't notice because Hollywood hasn't propagandized us yet. But first, Yetis, we're going to start with the hero stat here. This is good, Jack. Wild stat from 50 miles from where I grew up. T-Boy trivia. Basketball and volleyball were invented nine miles apart. That's right. Springfield, Massachusetts. Holyoke, Massachusetts. Nine miles. Two sports. Interstate 91, baby. Both also invented by phys ed teachers. Give these guys an A for effort. They also look almost identical. But here's what we find fascinating.

17:15Basketball is a global billion dollar sport, while volleyball in America at least. It's just that one funny scene from Meet the Parents in the Pool. What the heck is wrong with you, fucker? But Bessies, if you think volleyball is niche, then that is false and you need to call a timeout. Volleyball is the number two women's sport in the country right now. Uh, Jack, can you set us up with some numbers, please? 493 ,000 high school girls are playing registered volleyball. That's second to one to track and field right now. 493 ,000 high school girls is up 14 % from 10 years ago, and it's nearly 10 times bigger than the number of male volleyball players.

17:49Which happens to be the reason, number one, why volleyball has gotten so popular. It's one of the only sports where female athletes get more attention than the males. The other reason, interestingly, it's a non-contact sport. The only person you're bumping into on the volleyball court is your teammate, and only by accident. Although you are making contact with that ball intensely. In fact, that YMCA gym teacher from Massachusetts who invented the game in 1895, he designed it to be non-contact. As he described it, it would be an indoor sport for those who wish a game not so rough as basketball, but require equal the amount of athleticism.

18:22That's an exact quote from the creator. So volleyball, it's now the number two women's sport in America. So society is starting to bump, set, and notice that this is happening. Have we exhausted your volleyball vocabulary yet? I haven't used Spike yet, but I'm saving that for a special point in this show, Jack. In 2023, Nebraska's women volleyball team sold out the football stadium with 92 ,000 attendees. In 2025, ESPN's college volleyball coverage grew viewership by 36%. And earlier this year, the national championship game got 1.4 million viewers. Oh, look, Rangers fan here, and I'll say it, that is more than twice as much as your average NHL regular season game.

18:58But the industry of pro sports has not noticed. Yeah, even though your average volleyball player is like 6 '12", Jack. And the reason volleyball is being overlooked by pop culture and industry, it's best put in cultural terms, not financial ones. Right, as the CEO of USA Volleyball says, we haven't had our Zendaya moment. He's referencing the 2024 tennis film Challengers, which was starred by Zendaya. Which caused a boost in interest in tennis at the time. Just like how the Mighty Ducks sparked hockey participation in the U.S. 32 years ago. Jack, I laced up my first skates after watching the Ducks fly together.

19:30And Drive to Survive ignited fandom of Formula One in the U.S. seven years ago. You know Red Bull is a racing team now because you binged F1 documentaries on Netflix. But it's not just sports that depend on Hollywood to help popularize them. So Jack, can you please spike the takeaway for us for our buddies playing volleyball? The best public awareness campaigns, they're scripted, not broadcast. The 80s, there's a wild story here that we think relates to the future of volleyball having its cultural breakout moment. Let's go back to the 1980s, when drunk driving in America was at an all-time high.

20:04So Mothers Against Drunk Driving pushed a solution, a new solution, the designated driver. You see, a Harvard study came up with the idea of the designated driver, and they could have launched a bunch of PSA ad campaigns to try to tell you about it. Here's what a designated driver is. You should always have one when you go out at, you know, the bar. But instead, they went to Hollywood and they struck a deal with the movie studios. To start including the term designated driver in movies so that viewers can subtly see it in action. Instead of lecturing this new idea, embed it within the plots that people will understand and absorb.

20:36And that strategy of introducing the new term designated driver in movies, it worked. Drunk driving rates plummeted in the 90s. And the way that volleyball wants its breakthrough Hollywood moment, it reminds us of that. You see, besties, sometimes new concepts need help from culture to really break through. And it's best to script that breakthrough, not broadcast it. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? day. Hasbro stock is close to all-time highs thanks to adults, so they're launching Blooms by Play-Doh DIY bouquet. It's not Revenge of the Nerds. This is Revenge of Reality.

21:09For our second story, the U.S. is considering banning Chinese AI like Moonshot if it was stolen from U.S. AI labs. And the trade war has re-erupted, but now with a digital battlefront. And our third and final story was volleyball. It's quietly taken over high school women's sports, number two only to track and field. But it needs its Mighty Ducks moment, just like the designated driver term from the 1980s. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, remember that Jurassic Park startup that was bringing back extinct animals like the Dota? We covered it on the pod.

21:39That is Colossal Biosciences, and they're raising new venture capital money at a$30 billion valuation. They also announced the next animal they'll bring back from extinction. It's the blue buck antelope. Guys, skip all these animals and go straight to T-Rex. I don't care about a blue buck antelope. By the way, they're already generating revenue, this company. They got a new government contract to save the Tasmanian devil species from a contagious disease. Second, it's the stock market corner. Tesla and Google announced earnings later today. AMC, they already announced earnings. Record second quarter for the box office.

22:11That's before the Odyssey hit theaters, by the way. But Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, he says he would not buy stocks right now. There's too many risks being underestimated by the market. And finally, the newest strategy among countries to boost their birth rate? flirting baskets in the grocery store. A grocery store chain in Finland is stocking pink carts and pink baskets that you can grab if you want to let the shoppers know that you're single. I mean, Chad, guess it's like a physical equivalent of a Facebook status update? I'm single. And if you bump into a cutie in aisle six who also has a pink basket, it'd be really awkward if they don't strike up a conversation with you.

22:45Wow, we both enjoy paying$19 for organic almond butter. We should probably merge our finances and move in together. Now, time for the best fact. Yeah, this one whipped up by Jack and I because we came across it in some interesting research we were doing on yesterday's show. We did a story on the oldest shirt company in the world, Charvet. Yeah, they go back to 1838. They just got acquired by Chanel. Guess what? Charvet goes back to before the tuxedo was invented. So we dove in T-boy style. The tuxedo formal wear for men is less than 188 years old. Guess where the tuxedo was invented? Upstate New York.

23:18That's right. Mid-1800s, the tuxedo jacket was first designed for the Prince of Wales in England. One American family was visiting England, liked that style, and brought it back to their small town one hour north of New York City. And that family started wearing these formal English jackets to parties at their local club in that town. And the name of that town? Tuxedo Park, New York. Hence the tuxedo jacket. Denny's, you look fantastic. Jack, you are glowing over there. Are you ready for Midnight Movie Club tonight? This is going to be awesome. We're seeing the Odyssey right after this recording.

23:49You ready to go? Pretty sure it'll go into midnight because it's an 8.30 viewing. It's as long as the actual Odyssey, from what I understand. We may not make it home, is from what I understand. Is Tom Holland really going to have a boss? It was bizarre that he chose to drink a Dunkin' on the boat with the Trojan horse. I didn't get that choice. Interesting design decision. I assume you've got my half birthday gift you'll give me at the theater. Happy half birthday! Is that all I took? Dude, I made a note yesterday to tell you what I forgot. Wow. And now here's your verbal note, Jack. Yetis, you look fantastic.

24:18Give us five stars. It helps us grow the show, and Jack and I will see you if we make it back from the movie tomorrow.

24:29And before we go, happy birthday to legendary Eddie Hudson Kim in Parambus, New Jersey, celebrating with the two puppies, June and Bonnie. Happy birthday to Tara T, tearing it up in lovely Los Angeles. And for South K in Sunnyvale, California, happy birthday. Happy birthday to Bovani down in Washington, D.C. And Tim Geppard, happy birthday over in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And a huge shout out to Sarah and Carter and their legendary little son, Zeke, from just outside Boston. And their two daughters. We didn't get to meet you, but we loved running into you on Nantucket yesterday. We were grabbing coffee.

24:57They recognized Nick's hat. We did a whole this is Nick, this is Jack thing. It freaked them out. It was awesome. So great to see you guys. Thanks so much for being part of the show. Can't wait to see you live and behind. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Bart. Celebrate the wins.

25:13This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix and Lyft. Nick own stock of Airbnb. and B and we both unstuck a Spotify. Monday.com AI agents took over my work and I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday.com.