🥶 “Extreme Fear”— Bitcoin’s $92k Blizzard. Jeff Bezos un-retires. Meadow Lane’s Grocery Club. +Smell-vertising.

0:00This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-Boy. Tuesday, November 18th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-Boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Jack, markets right now, not looking too T-boy, are they, my friend? No, they've been down for like a week or two now. Oh, we're seeing a whole lot of red and it's not the Santa kind, but we've got three fantastic stories for today's T-boy. Jack, what do we got on the show? For our first story, it's the Bitcoin blizzard. Bitcoin is down 27 % from its high and it's now down for the year. So Jack and I are looking at the fear and greed index, which is not just limited to crypto.

0:39For our second story, a very expensive grocery store in New York City just opened. With demand so high, they had to hire two bouncers. Besties, if Trader Joe's had a cult, then Meadow Lane has a club. And that club will buy$17 smoothies, baby. And our third and final story is Jeff Bezos. He's reportedly unretiring. Welcome back, Jeff. He's now the co-CEO of Project Prometheus. Because Jeff Bezos wants to put your trash into space. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, have we done a better mix? I love this mix, Jack. Yetis, odds are you might be listening to us on your commute through Grand Central Station.

1:18Grand Central, the most beautiful station in America. Love that ceiling. I just, I love staring at it, Jack. They got the Zodiacs up there. But a strange phenomenon is happening at Grand Central Station's subway station right now. And it smells like pine trees. Because Bath & Body Works is turning Grand Central into Grand Central scent station. Get this, they diffused their balsam tree candle scent throughout the entire central building. So now, when you're walking through the subways, you'll get a whiff of, is that pine wood? Or Jack, if you run into your train, you'll get it smacked with a smell of spruce.

1:53This is called a brand centigration. Real thing. And they're doing it across 76 touristy locations across the country. But based on our math, Grant Central is the biggest one of these. And it's actually part of a broader trend. Using smell to sell. Or as Jack and I call it, not storytelling, story smelling. Finally, the scent sense is getting some love. Jack, why don't you whip up some examples for us over there? In Europe, McDonald's put the smell of its french fries in sidewalk billboards that anyone can smell. Or Jack, Rare Beauty launched a scratch-and-sniff perfume poster that you can smell.

2:28Wow. Nick Ricola? Yeah. Just launched a scarf that smells like its famous cough drops. I'm not going to lie. I kind of want to lick that one, Jack. Oh, and who would freaking get the Abercrombie and Fitz purposely spritzing the entire mall when we were younger? There is no scent more tied to memory than smell. Yeah. That's actually why police use dogs to like smell a suspect and then go find the suspect. We've all been to the airport. A dog comes up, start smelling you. And you'll never forget that Christmas tree subway commute. So besties, add it all up and story smelling is the next big marketing move.

3:02We just gave you a... You know, I was hoping you would do it, Jack. Let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show.

3:33Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

3:45Monarch. Uh, yeah, he's one lobster roll. No joke. 50 bucks on Nantucket. And why is that a problem, Jack? Cause we're going to Nantucket this summer on a joint family T-boy trip. It's a write-off. It is expensive, but we will travel with peace of mind because our finances are organized in Monarch, despite the lobster rolls. Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything. Accounts, investments, savings goals, and spending. Get your first year of Monarch Core for half off, just$50 with promo code T-Boy. Monarch shows visually how much you're spending this month compared to the average month, which is really useful.

4:17So like, honestly, this month, been a doozy jack. Booked a lot of travel, but I know the future months won't be as bad after lobster roll season. You know because Monarch showed you. Last year, you had a spike in May for travel bookings, but a dip in the summer because the travel was already paid for. You can even ask Monarch's AI assistant anything about your finances. Like, what are the key changes in my spending so far this year compared to last year? And how much was spent on lobster rolls last summer? Use code TBY at monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core at half off, just$50.

4:47That's 50 % off your first year at monarch.com with code T-Boy. Biro 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. 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 Biro, the premium non-alcoholic beer brand co-founded by Tom Holland. Yeah, I actually first saw it at my grocery store.

5:21Delicious 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. 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.

5:54So, 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. For our first story, Bitcoin is down$34 ,000 in the past six weeks because of a case of extreme fear. But it's not just a Bitcoin blizzard. It's an everything sell-off happening right now. Nick and I will explain why. But besties, before we explain why, let's introduce you to a concept called the fear and greed index, which is a real thing. You'd think with a name like the fear and greed index, it'd be a fake thing on Reddit, but this is a real and calculable number.

6:37And it's fascinating. It actually measures both numbers and emotion. Jack, why don't you sprinkle on some context, please. The fear and greed index incorporates trading volatility, social media chatter, Google trends, and more to assess the vibe of a market. Yeah, it sticks a number on the vibes, a number between zero and 100. And Jack, what do you see on the zero or 100 side of the spectrum? A low number indicates fear and selling, and a high number indicates greed and buying. Well, besties, for three days in a row now, the fear and greed index for crypto has been below 20, which means extreme fear.

7:12Extreme fear. Basically fear and loathing in Bitcoin land. I mean, Jack, we got to put Ben the Bitcoin and witness protection these days with those numbers. Yeah. Because Bitcoin is at$92 ,000 as of this recording. That's down 27 % from the all-time highs hit just six weeks ago. Even Ethel the Ethereum is down right now. Bitcoin is officially negative for the year of 2025. Who would have thought in President Trump's first year in his term, Bitcoin would be down. But that's where we are right now. So Bitcoin down 27%. Now, that's not as bad as the Bitcoin winters or Bitcoin ice ages we've survived in the past.

7:47But down 27 % is bad. That's why we're calling it a Bitcoin blizzard. It's like a storm that came out of nowhere. Now, the reason Bitcoin is down is that everything is down, actually. Yeah, but the problem is that when everything falls, Bitcoin falls even harder. Yet years ago, Bitcoin bulls would argue that Bitcoin would be different. It'd be uncorrelated from the stock market. Basically, it'd be opposite day between Bitcoin and the stock market. Stocks go up, Bitcoin down, Bitcoin up, stocks go down. But that wasn't true in practice. Stocks and Bitcoin tend to do the same thing. So with the NASDAQ down 6 % and gold down 7%, Bitcoin's down too, but it's down 27%.

8:25Now, in the financial industry, this concept would be called a high beta. And Jack, why don't you sprinkle on even more context to this term high beta for us, please? High beta is when a stock's movements are in the same direction as the rest of the market, but amplified. But the reason Jack and I are so surprised by Bitcoin's fall right now is that it happened during October. Since October 6th, investors have been selling Bitcoin, selling stocks, and selling gold for the relative safety of cash. Even though historically, Bitcoin rises during October more than any other month, and not just because it dresses up for Halloween.

8:59And the reason for all this selling? It's our takeaway. Perfect timing. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in crypto? When it gets foggy out, drivers slow down. And so does our central bank. Now, Yetis, the reason stocks have risen 20 % in the last 12 months, it's on expectations of more interest rate cuts. But with the government shut down for a record 45 days, prediction markets expect no rate cut when the Fed meets this December. And yeah, really interesting analogy here from our Federal Reserve. They said that because they aren't getting government data, the outlook right now is foggy on the economy.

9:34And when you're driving outside and it's foggy, you slow the car down. Slowing the car down is not making interest rate cuts. And if the Fed doesn't cut interest rates, that undoes the easy money expectations that have been baked into the markets. And if interest rates stay high, then that could force the AI bubble to pop. Higher borrowing costs to build out data centers, that could be the straw that breaks chat GPT's back. So besties add it all up and it is not just a Bitcoin blizzard out there, the whole market is pumping the brakes these days because it's foggy out there. And when it gets foggy out, drivers slow down.

10:07So do investors. For our second story, it's New York City's answer to Los Angeles' Erwan. The name is Meadow Lane, and it opened this past weekend. Meadow Lane shows that the secret to building demand actually begins before supply. Now, Yetis, let's start the story by sprinkling on some context. Earlier this month, New York City elected a socialist mayor. And Jack, what was his first campaign promise? City-run affordable grocery stores, especially in the city's food deserts. And just yesterday, Jack, we covered sweet green stock hitting an all-time low because in this economy, fewer of us are eating$21 salads.

10:49So, Besties, it is ironic that the most viable brand in New York City right now is a luxury grocer selling$17 gluten-free chicken nuggets. They really do. There's no better sign of our K-shaped economy than Meadow Lane. Or as we call it, the Erewhon of the East. Meadow Lane opened on Friday in New York City's Tribeca. It's the only grocery store we've ever seen to get covered by Vogue magazine. I mean, like the tote handbag is the new Hermes besties. The design looks like a Gucci flagship. It's decorated like a four-season spa, and they got enough flowers in this grocery store for a royal wedding.

11:24It's the kind of grocery store you literally can't leave without having paid$100. It's like, what did I just buy? No, they don't accept cash. Besties, the Post roasted them for$12 grapes, $65 olive oil, and an unpriced priceless matcha because if you have to ask, no, you can't afford it. They don't have the price on the menu. Oh, an academia milk? For sure. And despite those crazy prices, there was a line so long to get in on opening day that they actually had to hire bouncers. Two of them. And those bouncers actually were also male models. Oh, really? Were they? I'm kind of making a guess on that one, Jack.

11:59Well, that's why everybody came to the grocery store. So besties, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about the story. Meadow Lane is part of a broader trend, right, Jack? Grocery stores have had cults for years, but now they have clubs too. You see, on the one hand, the grocery store business model is extremely basic. Sell groceries to people. The only question is paper or plastic. Yeah, that's it. And yet, the grocery store has some of the most cult-followed brands of any industry. Trader Joe's, Aldi, and of course Costco. Not to mention your local co-op. People love these places. All built cult followings for bringing consistently low price and high quality to your weekly routine.

12:36But recently, premium grocery stores have entered the checkout. And we noticed they're getting cult followings for the opposite reason. High prices. Happier Grocer, Butterfield Lane The most famous example of luxury grocery stores is Erewhon in Los Angeles Again, let's get back to the K-shaped economy here, right Jack? A status symbol for low and middle income people is saving money by buying Kirkland branded peanut butter But a status symbol for higher income people is an anti-dupe$21 Haley Baber smoothie with an unknown number of calories At the same time the mayor of New York is trying to run city-run grocery stores another grocery store selling$17 smoothies.

13:16And yes, those gluten-free chicken nuggies were from chickens who live upstate and have second homes as well. But the real reason why Meadow Lane got a line out the door in the first place on their opening day, what is the hype hack here, Jack? It's our takeaway, Nick. It's our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Meadow Lane? It's a lesson from Walt Disney. If you build it on their For You page, They will come. Yetis, the real question any entrepreneur is asking here is, how did Meadow Lane get a line out of the door on day one of opening? The answer actually goes back to 17 months ago, when the founder posted his first video when he hatched the idea for this grocery store.

13:57Yeah, it is really cool. Over the next one and a half years, Sammy Nussdorf, the founder of Meadow Lane, meticulously documented his entire founding process. It was a founding journey, and he put it out there for all to see. the blueprints, the business permits, the delays, and finally the preparation for opening day. Now, you know what? That strategy built the brand 100 ,000 followers and 6 million likes before day number one. And this strategy actually goes back to Walt Disney when he built Disneyland with his brother, Roy Disney. We did a whole story on this. We did a whole episode on this.

14:26They financed the whole theme park of Disney with a TV deal from ABC to show the behind the scenes of the park getting built. So for both Disneyland and Metal Lane, demand had been peaked before the place even opened. Basties, sometimes you can create the demand before there ever was supply. Kevin Costner was almost right. If you show them, they will come. Now a quick word from our sponsor. Top hats, baseball hats, Von Dutch hats. We wear so many hats on this podcast. Honestly, we're not great at all of them. No, we've been avoiding hiring someone to wear those hats instead of us, especially the Von Dutch one, because hiring and training can take forever.

15:05Well, I'm proud to say that we are hiring right now at T-Boy, and this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Because sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed are 95 % more likely to report a hire than non-sponsored jobs. So besties spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes, less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of the show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast.

15:36So just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed-sponsored jobs. Upwork. Yeah, it is. Before we had a podcast, we had a newsletter. And the moment that newsletter began growing, it's not when we came up with the clever subject lines with the emojis. It's when we found the right freelancer. Freelancer built a referral program that grew our newsletter, which helped launch this podcast, which helped us sell our company, which we eventually spun out, and which eventually got us to where we are today.

16:11Yeah, that's the story. Having the right expertise at the right time, that can make or break your business. So Upwork is a one-stop platform to find, hire, and pay expert freelancers across web and software development, data and analytics, marketing, business operations, and more. If you need a freelancer, Upwork is where you get it. Thousands of growing businesses already trust Upwork to hire flexible, high-quality freelance talent for everything from one-off projects to ongoing support. With Business Plus, you can access the top 1 % of talent on Upwork. And with AI-powered shortlisting, you'll get matched with the right freelancer in under six hours.

16:39No endless searching required. It's free to sign up and posting a job is easy. So visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That is Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com, Upwork.com. For our third and final story, Jeff Bezos has reportedly unretired. Bezos is getting back to work for a startup he calls Project Prometheus. So Nick and I went full detective to figure out the business plan. Yeah, we did. Here it is. Treat outer space like Earth's garage. Now, yetis, four years ago, we all remember where we were. Jeff Bezos stepped away from his baby Amazon.

17:22on. I don't think we remember where we were, Nick. I'm glad you fact-checked me on that one, Jack. Either way, his e-commerce baby was all grown up and he wanted to spend those billions. Well, today, Jeff Bezos is the third richest human being on earth worth$256 billion. Jack, can you whip up the whiteboard math for us, please? With that money, he could acquire Goldman Sachs. He could buy Lyft 27 times. Or he could finance New York City's entire municipal budget for two full years. Yeah, it's basically like Portugal's GDP. Well, since stepping down, Jeff has gotten jacked. He got remarried. Then he got more jacked.

17:58And then, what did he do after he got jacked? He bought his wife a ride on his rocket from his space company, Blue Origin. Yeah, because he's jacked. But for the last four years, Jeff Bezos has had no operational day job. He's been retired on a yacht, which we thought was his dream, but apparently it's not. Get this. According to the New York Times, Jeff Bezos is now unretired. He has an operational role. He's the co-CEO of a new AI startup called Project Prometheus. Jack, we got to add Jeff Bezos to our list of famous retirees who came back for one more shot at the game. Michael Jordan, Barbra Streisand, Daniel Day-Lewis, and a whole bunch of NFL coaches.

18:36Another farewell tour? Are you kidding me, man? Oh my God. But Nick, Project Project Prometheus? Sounds like a sci-fi horror movie. Well, because it is that, Jack. There was a 2012 movie that we saw in theaters called Prometheus. It also sounds like a NASA program. Because it is that too, Jack. NASA had the same name for a program in the early 2000s. They shut it down in 2005. But the New York Times spoke with three people familiar with the matter, DFWTMs, who say that this is also a startup, Project Prometheus, but that's all that they have in terms of detail so far. I mean, Jack, it's kind of a secret, a little bit of a mystery.

19:12What's the business here exactly? We got one sentence from the Times. It's AI that will help in engineering and manufacturing related to space. Although the New York Times did get the financial numbers for this mystery program. This startup already has$6.2 billion in funding, thanks in large part to Jeff Bezos's Amazon money. Okay, so Jeff Bezos's new AI startup has raised more money than Mattel the toy company is completely worth. Instead of funding this startup, he could have bought Mattel. That's what we're saying. It would have been a lot more fun. Well, Jeff's co-CEO is a guy named Vic Bajaj, and he may give us a little more details on what's going on.

19:49Because Vic Bajaj led Google's moonshot factory, Project X, the same division that created Waymo. Okay, so Jack, I'm adding it all up here, and we do have a few clues as to Jeff Bezos' new startup. But it still feels like a made-for-movies mystery. But Nick and I have one more huge clue on this new business. Funny thing, though, Jack and I found that clue about Jeff Bezos' startup seven years ago. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Prometheus? If Earth is a garden, space can be its garage. Yet he's—in 2018, Jeff Bezos did an interview that we just never forgot. It was all about why he's so obsessed with space.

20:31He loves planet Earth, and Jeff said that Earth is a garden. Our goal should be to move the polluting industries of Earth into outer space. Basically, imagine if your trash could be sent into outer space. Kind of like how you stick your trash over in the garage. On Earth, we have finite space. In space, we have infinite space. Yeah, we do. In fact, I think Einstein said space is still growing. Yeah, infinitely, Jack. And all we'd have to do is just give it the slightest push, and it would just go away forever. More specifically, what Bezos is thinking, we can protect Earth by moving our dirty manufacturing and energy activities into outer space.

21:07And if you're not buying his idea, think about SpaceX. They've already proven that we don't need cell towers coming out of planet Earth. We can beam internet down from satellites instead. Jack, how about this one? The Wall Street Journal just did a whole article today on putting ugly data centers up in space. Those data centers would be powered by solar panels. they would go around planet Earth in orbit and send data down to us wirelessly. Besties, we could be treating uninhabitable outer space like unlimited storage units so that Earth can stay clean and healthy like a garden. We don't know exactly what Jeff Bezos is up to with his new startup, but we think he's trying to turn space into Earth's garage.

21:47Jack, could you all whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? For our first story is the Bitcoin blizzard. Bitcoin's down to 92 ,000. It was at 126 ,000 just six weeks ago, but stocks are down too. When it gets foggy out, the drivers slow down. And so do investors and our central bank. For our second story, Meadow Lane is the Erewhon luxury grocery store of the East. And it just opened to huge fanfare because if you show them, they will come. Thank you, Costner. And our third and final story, Jeff Bezos is unretiring, according to the New York Times, to become the co-CEO of Project Prometheus.

22:24Jeff's not sending people to outer space. He wants to send our dirty stuff up there instead. Earth's a garden, space a garage. But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Ford is moving into their first new headquarter in 69 years, but this one looks more like a Michelin-starred food court check. Like JP Morgan's new headquarters building in New York, Ford focused their perks to keep you in the office longer. The highlight, the lunch. Ford's got eight different kitchen concepts in this one building to offer the Fordies anything they want. One Ford executive described it as having decadent desserts, a juice bar, complete with their own Ford herb garden.

23:04Oh yeah, that is a V8 cilantro, Jack. And second, the trade war update for day 229. The economies of the whole world are starting to show some tariff bruises. Japan's economy shrank almost 2 % in the third quarter compared to last year. Switzerland's GDP shrank as well last quarter, and China has slowed down big time. What about the U.S.? Our economy is still growing, but probably slower than it would have without the tariffs. And finally, remember when we said we heard Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You over the weekend? Well, apparently it just hit the top charts earlier than ever.

23:37This is the 25th year that All I Want for Christmas is You has hit the Billboard Top 100, but it hit it this year on the week of November 15th. Now, that's important what Jack just said, because that usually doesn't happen until after Thanksgiving. But we're starting to hear some Christmas creep with the songs, Jack. The only other Christmas song that's already in the top 100. Oh, you're not supposed to tell me. I'm not supposed to hear it, Jack. Last Christmas. Ah, wham. Once you hear wham, basically time to give someone a present. Now time for the best fact yet, which because it's T-Boy Tuesday means an answer to our trivia question.

24:10Jack, what do we got? Here's our question. What idea did 14-year-old Suvir Merchadandi have that could save the government$400 million a year? What was this kid's wild idea that saved our government hundreds of millions of bucks? In middle school, he proposed that our government change the font. That's right. This 14-year-old noticed that the federal government was using Times New Roman on everything they printed, a rather ink-heavy font. Right, Jack? The Times New Roman letter G, it uses a ton of ink. Have you seen that letter? It's obnoxious. It's a huge G. Instead, if all of our governments switched to a lighter, more narrow font like Garamond, we would save$400 million a year just in the ink.

24:52Garamond is a svelte font, Jack. Yes, it is. Here's the paper. A simple printing solution to aid in deficit reduction. That's the middle school paper he co-authored with Peter Pinko to save our government hundreds of millions of bucks. Yetis, you look fantastic out there. especially those looking at us right now on YouTube. If you're watching us on YouTube, like and subscribe to get us every single day. Oh, also leave a comment. We love reading your comments. Jack and I respond to all of them as soon as we can. And Nick and I will be back with you tomorrow. And to everyone enjoying$17 gluten-free nuggies right now, see you there.

25:33And before we go, congratulations to Yeti's Gemma and Brian in Montclair, California, got engaged in the rain at the Huntington Beach Library over the weekend. The water came down, but the ring was shining, baby. Congrats. And congratulations to Kelsey Albertson and Charles from Ridgewood, New York, who got engaged and their goldfish Wanda is pumped. And Jack, there's something beautiful in the water because I got a third one for you here. Alyssa Cervolino and Kennedy Tornay just got engaged as well down in Tampa, Florida. Roll Tide. And congratulations to Dominique and Brian Quinn in Chicago, who just had their first child, Brian Quinn III.

26:09All them, Tripp, and Chris and Nee down in Long Beach, California, are celebrating their best anniversary yet. Number two, baby. Happy birthday to Jerry Post in Spokane, Washington, who is a diehard Michigan Wolverine fan, class of 93. He's got the claws to prove it, Jack. Yes, he does. Go blue. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Ford. Nick owns some Ethereum, and we both own some Bitcoin. Bitcoin named Ben, Ethereum named Apple. Parles-tu français? Hablas espanol? Parle italiano? If you've used Babbel, you would. Babbel's conversation-based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world.

26:57With lessons handcrafted by over 200 language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babbel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babbel today. Get up to 55 % off your Babbel subscription right now at babbel.com slash ACAST. Spelled B-A-B-B-E-L dot com slash ACAST. Rules and restrictions may apply.