Morning Brew Daily - End of Year Who Said It: Neal or Toby?

Episode Date: December 28, 2023

Episode 223: Kyle Hagge joins the show and quizzes Neal and Toby on lines they said throughout the first year of Morning Brew Daily. Who said what when covering the biggest headlines in business news? Listen to Morning Brew Daily Here: https://link.chtbl.com/MBD Watch Morning Brew Daily Here: https://www.youtube.com/@MorningBrewDailyShow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marketers, tell us if this sounds familiar. You invest in something that seems incredible like millions of views, but then don't see any revenue. Instead, invest in what looks good to your CFO. LinkedIn Ads generates the highest row ads of all major ad networks. Spend $250 on your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a $250 credit. Just go to LinkedIn.com slash MBD. That's LinkedIn.com slash MBD. Terms and conditions apply.

Good morning, Brew, Daily Show. I'm Neil Fryman. And I'm Toby Howell. Today, we are playing a game show. And gosh, I hope I do better than I did on Squid Games. It's Thursday, December 28th. Let's ride. Toby, we've said some really strange things this year,

many of which I'd rather not be reminded of, but that is exactly what we are doing on today's show, because we're going to play a game called Who Said It, where Toby and I will hear a quote from a previous episode and guess who said it. Of course, you are all invited to play as well. And no game show is complete without a dapper host. So we've brought in our super sub, six man of the year, Kyle Haggy, to ask the questions.

Overall, the episode is a trip down 2023's memory lane and allows us to revisit some of the year's most intriguing business stories. I think you're all going to really enjoy it. But before we begin our match of wits, a quick shout out to our sponsor, Yahoo Finance. If you've got questions, Yahoo Finance has answers. Neil, ask me a question about stocks. All right. What is the ticker for?

Boston Beer Company. Sam, as in Sam Adams. Okay, way too easy. Okay, here's another one. How many points to the S&P 500 have on my birthday, August 21st, 1991? Oh, I remember it well. Three hundred and 94 points. Dang, I really should have bought an index fund then. Neil, it's all going to be too easy for me. I know everything about stocks because I, along with 150 million people around the world, go to Yahoo Finance for all the information I need. And you can too by heading to finance, dot yahoo.com today or by downloading the Yahoo finance app on your phone. Study and play. Come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the Unreal College deal, everything you need to study and play

with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 premium and a year of Xbox GamePass Ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn more at Windows.com slash student offer. While supplies last, ends June 30th, terms at AKA. dot MS slash college PC. Now for the episode.

Okay, we're going to play a new game today. We are joined by Kyle, aka Not Toby, in the studio. I feel like we're living out the Spider-Man pointing theme in real time right now. It's the first time,

all three of us have been in the same room at the same time. Yes. And the world hasn't ended yet. I think it might. It does feel like when planets align every like 17 years,

that we're living that moment right now. Kyle, we just want to thank you for being an incredible sub for both of us this year over the course of this fresh new podcast that we released. So thank you. You've been amazing. The audience loves you. Stay tuned for when I take a month-long break next year. Yeah, I'm ready.

It's been the honor to play Not Toby, the role of a lifetime. Kyle, what do you have in store for us today? Yes, we have a great game that we're going to play called Who Set It? where, breaking news, you're going to guess who said it. So what we've done is we've actually pulled quotes from the past year of Morning Brew Daily that either Neil or Toby has said. I'm going to share the quote with you. You're going to discuss together who you think said it and then what the context of the quote

was. Bonus points, if you can guess the specific episode, but if you can do that, that's just a little weird. So maybe don't even try that. This is going to be easy. If it's insightful, if I said it. If one of us gets the actual episode number correctly, then it's like the golden snitch. You're in too deep. You're in too deep at that point.

Let's go. So we have managed actually to find 10 plus smart things you've said, which was really hard for the team to pull together, but we've done it. And so I'm going to go down the line. Are you ready to play? Who said it? Let's play. Let's do it.

Quote number one, 90% of the smartphone market other than Apple is using USBC. That is not an exact statistic, by the way. I'm just saying that. The majority of the smartphone market uses this charging standard already. That was Toby. That was 100%. That was Toby, for sure. Just making up statistics.

I distinctly remember saying that. I was like, I should definitely clarify right now that that is certainly a figure of speech, not an actual statistic, because obviously we like to cite real statistics on the show. The context was the new iPhone 15 has a USB C port instead of a lightning, one for the first time in a decade. I also just made that up. I should clarify, in many years because of the new EU regulation. So finally, Apple and the iPhone are getting with the rest of the world and the rest of the program.

So I'm all for that. I'm a USBC household. So when Toby comes over, I don't need to go fish in my cabinet for a random lightning table. Neil does have green bubbles. I know. I'm team at USBC now, though. I have the new iPhone. It's really brought people together.

Yeah, Neil has invited me over. All right, you all are one for one, and we've now learned that Morning Brew Daily just makes up statistics. No. Oh, no, no, no. Not true. That also was episode 146 on September 14th. Moving on to quote number two. Social media used to be a place where you check up on your high school friends and stay in touch with people.

Now it is purely an entertainment medium. With verification, you're going to get professional content creators paying for increased visibility and reach. And if you don't pay up, you're going to be buried in the feed with all the rest of us plebs. Probably me. That sounded amazing. That did not sound amazing. It's the last line that's so kind of mean, I would say, that I think puts it over to

Neil. What's that Neil, though? So we're saying that Neil is meaner than Toby. Is that what we're discussing you? Write that quote down. It's definitely me, though, right? It was Neil. Do we know the context of this quote?

It was when they first rolled out, Elon Musk rolled out, paying for Twitter verification, which was very unpopular at the time and still is relatively. unpopular. Yeah, I don't think many users have paid for Twitter. I think it's $8 a month. So, yeah, I think our point stands that the pay-to-play model for social media is not really good. Because also, when a tweet happens, all of the first replies are just the people who pay for it. So it's not really a meritocracy where someone who has the most insightful thing or the most upvoted or like thing gets surfaced, which should happen in a good social media platform. Now it's just the people who pay for Twitter get surfaced and amplified, and I don't think that's a good model.

Neil is mad because he's buried way down there as a reply guy. So the context I have been told it was, it was actually meta-launching a page verification service on FB&IG, but Neil clearly has some feelings about Twitter. So I'm glad we got those out. I'll give you a half point there. You got who said it right. My point stands for any social media platform. It can be Twitter. It can be meta.

I'm not just bagging on Elon now. Yes. All right. Moving on to quote number three. They've got to find a different way to tell the gladiator story. Maybe from the perspective of the concession stand guy at the Coliseum who's just shipping cotton candy. That's me. I have no idea on the context of that, though.

I think it's when there's a new gladiator coming out next year, or they're filming it. I mean, you're spot on. Neil said it. The context is it was a Neil's number piece. It was almost 40 films featuring Gladiators have been released between 1961. In 1964. So in the 60s, we just went all in on gladiators. And you want one from the perspective.

Yeah, well, we just need a fresh storyline is what I was talking about. Yes, I love it. Episode 23 for those listening at her. Wow, we were fresh. We were young. Okay, moving on to number four. Quote, we just had this crazy crisis around a balloon that we had to shoot out of the sky. Now we have TikTok on 100 million Americans' phones.

it seems like they're treating this with the same level of concern as the balloon. Who said it and what's the context? It's certainly Chinese spy balloon, which was a fantastic story. But I think the context was the TikTok CEO hearing. And who said it? Me. I think I would have drawn that connection personally. Neil's like, that was such a great connection that it had to have been me.

And you're right. Neil's a genius over here. The context was that US wants TikTok to be sold and the UK banned TikTok and government devices Episode 18, so still in the early days. I'm so glad that these are Neil quotes because when you read them, I have absolutely no recollection of them. And that would be bad if I was the one saying them. So I'm feeling good.

It is wild that we treated the Chinese spy balloon with the same level of concern, or even a greater level of concern with TikTok. So I stand by my point there. You haven't had a quote yet where you're like, I wish I didn't say that. So that's a good sign. Okay, moving on to, I think we're number five. Quote, I'm going to say over.

Let's be honest. I'm always going to take the over on these things. It's got to be. And I'm trying to. The context, I have no clue. It could be something Barbenheimer related on whether it will exceed a certain box office number. And I ended up, I remember I ended up getting them completely wrong in terms of which movie I would gross more. I think I said Mission Impossible would gross the most, which wasn't even close.

But I think it's me, and I think it's in the context of the movies. I love how you have like a great context, and it's totally wrong. You're like, oh, I know exactly what I was saying. The context was actually the September jobs report. Neil asked you over, under, if the next job report will show 170,000 jobs or more. Nothing to do with Barbiter. Well, I stand by my barbed. I love it. We had to find a way to bring Barbenheimer back into this episode. Okay, number six, this one's a long one.

I guess I'm delicious to eat. I hope it's Neil. I hope I did not say that. I'm saying it's Neil. I really hope I didn't say that. Wait, wait, wait, I'm remembering. I'm remembering now. Maybe it was me.

Neither wants to claim credit for this. No, was it you? I hope. It was not me. Don't throw me into this. Okay, when did I say that? It was Toby. Thank God.

So, Neil, you're off the hook here. Toby, there's some questions we're going to have after. The context was Toblerone chocolate cut its iconic Matterhorn logo due to some Swiss Nislaws. And then Toby, you mentioned that at I think summer camp, your nickname was Toblerone. It's all coming back to me now. Yes. I stand by it too.

I was initially I was thinking the context was we were talking about some fish or parasite that, you know, takes away your dead flesh or something, you know, like they do at spas or stuff. something. I don't remember us ever talking about that. I also don't remember the Tovlarone thing. I remember that happening, but not us talking about that. Yeah, you must have blacked out when Toby started talking about so. I certainly did black out. There are some quotes that I remember saying this year where as soon as I launch into them, I go, ah, there's no getting out of them now. And that is certainly one of them right there. Well, I'm glad we could pull it into this game.

All right, we're moving on to quote number seven. Quote is as follows. Honestly, I think the only reason why people are traveling anywhere within the U.S. is to see Beyonce and Taylor Swift. I said that. And the context. Yeah. The context probably was something around the Taylor Swift and Beyonce concerts. I'm not sure. I mean, yes.

That's like using the answer in the question. Yeah. Yeah. That was a classic like seventh grade strategy that you just rolled out there. The context was story, it was a story on international travel going up and domestic travel going down. Neil did say it, but also everyone has said that exact quote this year. So I'm surprised you knew immediately it was you. Well, between me and Toby, I think I said it.

But yeah, I'm not saying it was particularly insightful or anything, but it was true. Episode 118 for those listening at home. All right. Next quote. The indictments keep coming. He's been indicted in New York, Georgia, D.C. and Florida. He's on his own heirs tour of indictments. My question is, when is the 1989 indictment dropping?

Definitely, I think Toby That's pretty funny I mean, I will claim that But I can totally see you busting that out as well I'm trying to remember who Actually, maybe I did say that I think Toby probably said that It's very creative, very funny

And that obviously has to do with President Trump's Various criminal indictments this year Nailed it, Toby, it was funny And it covered Trump Three for three on that one The indictments I think that was one That I tried to pass off as off the cuff

But I certainly wrote that down It's so crisp and perfect That it's like now you scripted that There's no way I had all those written down I had them written down ahead of time Okay, this next one might be My favorite one Quote, I don't think Mr. Beans

Is going to stop the EV revolution Oh, I know the context there was Mr. Bean wrote an article saying that EVs were Less environmentally friendly than maybe we thought Yep That could have been either of us It could have been either of us Certainly

Should we do Was it you? It wasn't me. I wish. I'm just gonna say it was you. You keep trying to get Kyle in here. He's trying to wait. Okay, let's do like the you know the thing you do when you don't know the answer on a Scantron test. You go back to your previous answers and see which one you've answered more. So I think we're on a on a Toby answer. I think we might be on a toby answer too. So you're locking in Toby as the person who said it. Yes. Incorrect. I'm sorry the Scantron Schenot This is why I failed every. I'm like I guess C four times a row. Neal actually did say that the context was correct. Mr. Beans wrote an op-ed saying he feels duped for buying an EV.

And that was episode 76, an all-timer. That was when EVs were booming sales earlier in the year. And then he kind of turned out to be a little prophetic because as the year went on, EV sales slowed a ton. And now we're talking about maybe a little bit of an EV recession and the Risen hybrids and other things like that. And EVs piling up on lots. So Mr. Beans may have been ahead of his time.

I don't know if his analysis was correct, because I think overall EVs are probably better for the environment, certainly, than internal combustion actions. I think Mr. Beans has been ahead of its time forever. I get all of my life advice from Mr. Beans, and it served me quite well. I think it's Mr. Bean? Yeah, is it Mr. Bean or Bean? Clearly, I got to do more research. Mr. Beast.

Definitely Mr. Bean. It was Mr. Bean. All right. Next quote, if you look across all the cable providers and paid TV providers, only YouTube TV saw a boost in its subscribers. And because there's so many options out there, we might start to see a consolidation of TV providers. Oh, that's a little, that's hard-hitting analysis. Pretty wonky. Very dry.

Do I go back? I almost fell asleep. Do I go back to my A. Scantron test? Because it's got to be a toby now, right? I'm going to just keep, I'm just going to keep camera. We're going to go back to the Scantron. I love the methodology, but it proved to be correct this time.

It is Toby. Do we know what the context was? was probably something around cord cutting and YouTube TV right I was definitely going to use the the question in the answer this time it was it was a specific story on Disney versus charter spectrum and TV blackout I forgot about that yeah it's a great story deal yes and episode 141 what are those called carriage deals or carriage fees carriage fees yeah yeah learn about carriage fees this is fun I like thinking back on the year of like all the the stories that you all Kyle that's covered Kyle that's really the point of this I know it's quite fun it's very I actually

that this was purely a game show. So now I'm getting some educational information out of it, too. Okay, moving on. This one is... You're a giggling, so I think I said it. I'm not a girl, but maybe I've been using girl math all of these years. I don't think... The first part of the quote does not give it away, because neither of you are girls.

I think that was Neil, actually, because maybe talking about... Again, I think I'm just going to hallucinate something right now. I feel like Chachachin'it to you, but you were talking about buying sandwich meats separately to make your own sandwiches. So I think you were saying, I'm not a girl, but I use Girl Math. Is that correct? Let's go with that. So Neil did say it. The context I've been provided is that it was a Toby's trend on Girl Math, but that's maybe where Neil segued into that.

Right. Because I remember your Girl Maths were the worst Girl Math I've ever heard, too. I don't think people know this. You can buy a loaf of bread and you can buy the ham separately and make yourself. Yeah, it was just like, yeah. It's called making a sandwich. We actually do know that. It actually might be less cost efficient than just buying a sandwich.

I did get roasting for that. Yeah, yeah, fair. Okay, well, confirmed you're also not a girl. So we're learning a lot here. Next, quote, chatGBT is becoming full-fledged sensory being at this point because now you can text to it, you can talk to it, and then it can also process images. It's really coming into form. That one's very recent because we just talked about.

Let's go with Toby. Yeah, like getting eyes and ears and whatnot. Spot on. Toby, episode 155 from September. Oh, I guess it's not bad. I think that is when OpenAI released the update for chat, CBT, that you can talk to it and ask it questions. And so now it became something more than just something you type into a chat bot

and became this Alexa Siri-like character just with a lot better capabilities. And we recently just talked about it with Google's new Gemini bot. It is also a multi-sensory bot. So it's definitely one of those things that Chat Chb-T did, and then Google came along and kind of rode the coattails, maybe perfected it. It's also very cool just seeing you all reflect on these stories because it's clear, like, how much thought and actual, like, research and how much, how plugged in to the news you both are, the ability to just, like, recall all of these stories. It's quite cool. Except when it comes to Toblerone bars. That one we completely erased from our memories.

Yeah, that one we should have erased. But all the rest are still in there, and it's really cool. Okay, we have three left. You guys are doing quite well. Before we move on to the next quote, let's take a quick break. Next quote, imagine all the different interest groups that wanted the design to go this way or that way. And he just ended with something so simple. That's the beautiful thing.

It strips everything down. Everything has its place. There's no punctuation. There's no commas. No periods. It just gives you the information you need. Whoa. For a minute, I thought it was Tesla cyber truck.

I was going to say the cyber truck too. Then it totally, wait, it strips away everything. No commas, no periods. Were we talking about a writer of some sort? Can you give us a little hint, possibly? He just complimented us for remembering everything. I know. I am retracting that compliment.

Did we talk about something design-wise, X logo? I don't know. Oh, interesting. I mean, I- Definitely not that. I immediately thought about the cyber truck, but then the last half of that quote completely threw me off. So.

Do you all want a hint? Yes, we do. I'm going to give you maybe a tough hint, calories. I know what it is. The guy who invented the nutrition facts label died. Incredible. Yes. It was a story on Berkey Belser, who was the designer of the nutrition label.

And y'all broke that down very succinctly, complimenting his grammar. Yeah. Whenever I look at a nutrition facts label, I think of him still. All right. Two left. Oh, well, just. Bittersweet. Yeah, reflecting on his work and his body of work.

It was a cool story. All right. Next quote. I will say when Grimmis debuted, he had four arms, and when he came back, he had two. So I'm not sure what McDonald's did on that front, but I would like to see an investigation. Toby.

It's just more into the grimace lore than I am. But I think the context of that, and you're looking at me weird, so maybe it's not Toby. But the context was, was the Grimmis shake that went viral for McDonald's this summer. It caught on like wildfire.

No one had any expectation that it would do anything. And then all of a sudden there were these TikToks about grimace, and it turned out to be a huge sales driver for the company this summer. So you think it's a great quote. I mean, it's really smart, like a really good breakdown. It's funny. It's so insightful, I would say. We feel like it might be Toby.

Well, okay. Let's go with Toby. Here's what I'm saying, though, is that I certainly remember covering the grimace shake trend as a Toby's trend, but I have no recollection of talking about the arms. So I'm going to put it back on Neil, actually. I mean, it's just a really great quote. Oh, it's Kyle. It is me.

Oh, my. I was going to say, I have no memory of that. Honestly, the best quote of this whole game. Oh, incredible investigative research here. What happened to his other two arms? I cannot believe that Neil has guessed Kyle for half the quotes here. And then finally, when it comes down to it, he misses the cow. Trust the Scantron, Neil.

Yes. Trust the Scantron. That's our takeaway here. You're right about the context of it. Okay. Our last quote, which might sum up the Morning Brew Daily ethos. The quote is, don't believe the headlines all the time. Oh, boy.

Seems very. Actually, I think this was Neil talking about something with the media. Is that the ethos? I also, when you were saying that quote up, I thought you were going to say, let's ride. That's your joke, Toby. I know, that is my joke. Okay, I'm saying Neil, and it was something about talking about the media, I guess. I have no recollection.

It sounds like wise advice. It is wise advice. Neil did say it, and the specific context was a story about remote work still thriving. Neil was commenting on how stories on meta, J.P. Morgan, Amazon, forcing the employees back to the office. But those are the outliers if you actually look at the data. So don't trust the headlines, but go into the actual data. Trust the headlines and trust Murray-Rood daily. Kyle, thank you for hosting this game and for that amazing,

quote of how grimace. It was my pleasure. Neil, Toby, thanks for playing our first ever game of who said it. You both did tremendously well. Here's to a year of another, of other amazing quotes. Yes. I know that we didn't keep score, but could you please count a winner just for us, Kyle? I think the winner was probably myself.

Because I had the best quote. Absolutely. Yes. All right, Kyle. Until next year, I guess, or until the next time, Neil and I, go out. vacation yeah see you later see yeah