The Best One Yet - 🚦 “Elmo got a makeover” — Sesame Street’s new pivot. Target’s theft excuse. JetBlue’s vacation mistake.

Episode Date: November 1, 2023

Sesame Street is changing its format for the first time in 56 years — Big Bird, Elmo, and Oscar The Grouch pioneered the “magazine format” of TV (which even influenced our podcast)Target has said all year long that it’s struggling because of 1 thing: Theft (aka “shrinkage”) — But we just got the data from a journalist’s investigation… and Target doesn’t want you to hear it.And JetBlue stock is about to hit an all-time low — Because when all you do is chase trends, you eventually run out of gas.$WBD $TGT $JBLUSubscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Ceviche Wednesday, November 1st, and today's first part of the month is the best one of the month. I'm still wearing my costume from last night's trick-or-treating. I think you got a round-up, Jack. It's a hangover Halloween costume. I think you go with it, man.

Our couple costume was Ken and Barbie. My family costume was Cars and Cars is Pitcared. By the way, Jack, did you see all the DMs we got on the controversial topic of the year? No. What? Some people will never touch a candy corn. other people devour it like a rabid squirrel. Oh yeah, we knew that.

Candy corn's the most divisive content in snacking. We see you and we smell you candy corn. Jack, first story for today's show. What do we got? For our first story, as I eat a Reese's peanut buttercup. Get blue stock just hitting all-time low. The once cool New York City airline is struggling. Yeties, when all you do is chase trends, you're going to run out of gas.

For our second story, for the first time in 54 years, Sesame Street just changed their format. Elmo is doing the opposite of TikTok. And our third and final story is Target. Target has been saying all year that theft and organized crime are a huge problem at their stores. But Yeties, Jack and I just got the data, and it's a very different story. A story that Target doesn't want you to hear. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories in the beginning of holiday season, apparently. What a wonderful mix of stories?

We've got to buy some gifts right now, Jack. Are we allowed to start playing Mariah Carey's all I want for Christmas? Christmas is you? One second, the turkey's in the oven, Jack. I got to go grab it. Yeties, we just want to quickly say, you smell amazing. Bessies, we just want to let you know you'll look good, but you smell fantastic. And we know why. It's because you're using more deodorant. Yeah, we know it. You're using more deodorant, aren't you, right? Get this, yeties. According to Unilever's corporate earnings,

deodorant sales are surging right now. Apparently, deodorant sticks are flying off shelves these days. The odorant sales jumped 15% in the last quarter compared to last year. The biggest thing for deodorant since the armpit, Jack. No, we don't have more armpits all of a sudden, so what's going on here? Well, apparently everything's going up. We're including degree, dove, Athena all day. People are buying secret, suave, lady speed stick.

Even axe body spray hasn't been this popular since your junior prom. So Nick and I got to ask, why is antiperspirant suddenly popping? Why is deodorant surging yet he's the answer? Is actually a very dirty reason. It turns out during the pandemic, deodorant use, drugs. We weren't going out as much, sir, we weren't sliding on the old deodorant. So instead of using deodorant, during the pandemic, we used more soap. You were working from home, so you took a bath on a Tuesday at 2 p.m.

But now that people have returned to the office, deodorant sales, they're back up again. And soap sales are plunging. Yeah, apparently deodorant and soap have an inverse relationship. I didn't realize this. Apparently, the more we use of one, the less we use of the other. When you don't bathe in a week, old spice becomes the new spice. And when you're bathing a lot, you're spraying your armpits a little less. So, Yetis, your secret is safe with us. Don't worry.

Besties, you do smell fantastic. And your boss thanks you for wearing that old spice. But Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies who have a morning routine? Use soap and use deodorant. Yeah, we're not really sure why you wouldn't use either one both at the same time. Yeah, your roommates have to smell you too. Our buddy Timmy, he's still our buddy Timmy for a reason. He gave us the sniff check every morning before we left the apartment.

Jack, lather rinse and repeat. 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 this 50% that's a fat tip T-boy City on your at list If you know you know because we're ready to go

We can't wait no more So just start the show Start the show For our first story JetBlue is collapsing It's JetBlue stock Just hit an all-time low JetBlue tried chasing vacation trends

but it's run out of fuel. Yeties, Jack and I whipped out our laptops yesterday. We started preparing for this pod and we got hit, boom, immediately with some bad news for next year's summer. JetBlue has canceled their flights

between New York and Vermont. They canceled their flights between New York and Cape Cod, and they canceled their flights between New York and the coast of Maine. Jet Blue just eliminated 14 really fun summer routes, including three flights to Florida. Our buddy Timmy may switch airlines

on this news, Jack. But the bigger issue for JetBlue is their third quarter earnings, which they also just reported. Revenues fell, losses grew. JetBlue stock is down 70% this year and it just hit an all-time low. Nick and I just looked it up. JetBlue is a major airline, and yet its valuation, the total value of all of its stock is $1 billion. JetBlue is worth less than a lift. And that's despite having $1.5 billion of cash in their bank accounts. Which means JetBlue has more cash than it's worth and therefore JetBlue is worth. worth negative value.

And why is Wall Street so bearish on JetBlue? It's because of the airplanes. Wall Street Journal just rated JetBlue dead last in their airline rankings. For the second year in a row. JetBlue has been trying to merge with Spirit Airlines all year long, and it looks like they may need to do it just to survive. So Nick and I have to ask. We have to ask.

What caused JetBlue's downfall? It used to be a cool, trendy kid in the airline industry. JetBlue used to do. to have cool flight attendant outfits and would give you unlimited blue potato chips. What happened to JetBlue? Well, JetBlue's CEO blamed air traffic control and weather delays. Classic airline moves, Jack. But Nick and I found another reason for JetBlue's downfall.

Yeties, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style, and here's what we found fascinating about this story. Two years ago, JetBlue repositioned itself. JetBlue was going to become the domestic vacation destination airline. They went after snowbirds. tried to own the New York to Florida corridor. They wanted to own, you know, your winter, your summer, your spring break vacations. In a recent earnings report, they said Florida and vacation eight times. Yeah.

They were doubling down on flights to Orlando for Lauderdale, Las Vegas. If the sun was up, they were flying there. The flight attendants might as well hand out sunscreen as you're boarding the plane because they only went to like beachy destinations. Check, the last time I flew jet blue, half of the plane was wearing board shorts. The captain was in a tankini. On the other hand, flights between Boston and Chicago or JFK to SFO? JetBlue said let the competition take those business routes.

What about flights to Milan, to Minsk, to Rio, to Tokyo? JetBlue said let the major global airlines take the international routes. So JetBlue had a focused plan. They were going to be proudly the airline of domestic sunny vacations. But yet there's one problem with that. As we told you a few times over the course of the year, international and business travel. That's the travel that's dominated the past year.

You weren't going to the Magic Kingdom. You were flying to the Amalfi Coast last year. So JetBlue's huge bet they made two years ago on domestic vacation destinations, it was the wrong bet. JetBlue has not returned to the upright position. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at JetBlue? JetBlue put on someone else's face mask before. putting on its own.

JetBlue did leave its items in the overhead compartment. When all you're doing is chasing trends, you're eventually going to run out of fuel. Yeties, guess what JetBlue just announced? You're not going to believe it. JetBlue is now adding international flights. JetBlue just announced new routes to Europe, to Scotland, Ireland, Paris, and answer today. Yeties, here's what we're saying. When the domestic traffic, travel boom peaked, JetBlue pivoted to it. Pivoted to it too late. And just as the international travel boom is peaking, JetBlue is pivoting to it.

It's probably too late to that, too. JetBlue has spent the last five years playing catch-up to two different travel trends. The new flight they just announced from New York to Amsterdam, you already did that trip this past summer. The Euro trip, it already happened. So whether you're chasing airline routes or following TikTok memes, sometimes you're just too late and you gotta let it pass. When all you're doing is chasing trends,

you're eventually going to run out of fuel. For our second story, Sesame Street just made its biggest content change in 54 years. So we want to talk about the format that Sesame Street pioneered because it actually influenced our show too. Jack, before we begin, we should point out that

today's episode is brought to you by the letter T for Takeaway. Yeah, T for Takeaway. Burt and Ernie, they were the original co-hosts of the show. We're just following in their footsteps. Yet he's Sesame Street. It isn't just a show, honestly. It is an institution, Jack. Sesame Street is the fourth longest running TV show of all time. Let's go back to 1966. Joan Gans Cooney and Lloyd Morissette wrote the potential use of television in preschool education. They took that thesis to Jim Hanson, who drew Big Bird, and they co-founded Sesame Street, which premiered in 1969. Boom, a bunch of Muppets got together, and preschool education

was served up in a completely new style. Oh, by the way, Elmo, fun fact, he's the only non-human to testify before the United States Congress. In 2010, Elmo testified in front of Congress and asked them for more funding, not too shabby. The last thing he told Congress, I love you, Congress.

And that is frankly why Cookie Monster deserves a spin-off on the food network. Sesame Street has won 11 Grammy Awards, 193 Emmy Awards. Sesame Street has more awards than any kid show out there. including telotubbies. How do you like them, Apple's SpongeBob?

Thank you, Winky. But yet he's Jack and I should point out, Sesame Street, it has evolved over the generations, hasn't it? It's not just some old fogy show. It's evolved to the modern digital age. Sesame Street's YouTube channel, it has 5 million subscribers. Its TikTok account has nearly a million followers. Sesame Street even has a five-year streaming deal with HBO. That's right.

Sesame Street comes out on Max, the streaming app, first, and then, to PBS nine months later. And this happens to be the final year of that HBO deal. But here's the bigger news. For season 56 of Sesame Street, they're going to completely change the format. Sesame Street is pulling off the biggest pivot it has ever done. Holy Snuffle off, I guess. Sesame Street is going from a series of short segments in each episode to two long segments. Yeah, like Jack, how would you describe the breakdown of a Sesame Street episode for the last 55 years? Well, it opens up on the street in front of apartment one, two, three. Classic.

Then you move to the letter of the day. Good vibes. Then the number of the day. As we don't know what it's back. Then a segment with Elmo's world where he teaches you like how to brush your teeth and appreciate music. Oscar the Grouch makes a cameo appearance. Big Bird pops in for a couple minutes. Boom, you got yourself a full show there, Jack.

In the future, though, for season 56, there's just going to be two chunks of stories that come together at the end with some animation in between. All those little segments we just mentioned, you're just going to get two big segments. That's what you're going to get. Sesame Street says they want to do more sophisticated stories and need a little bit more time to develop those stories. So yeties, Jack and I were thinking about the situation here. And frankly, Sesame Street is actually doing something pretty bold. It's the opposite of the trend we see in social media. Instead of short-form content for kids, Sesame Street is going to be doing longer form.

It's a contrarian move. We respect it. Yes, we do. So, Jack, can you tell me how to get to our takeaway over there for our buddies over at Sesame Street? Sesame Street pioneered the magazine format. And you know what? Nick and I use it today for this show. We do. Yet he's 54 years ago,

Sesame Street pulled off one of the most innovative moves in all the media. They created a TV show based on the format of a print magazine. Here was the idea. Instead of one long narrative for the episode, Sesame Street compiled individual features into one single show. Because TV was a new form of media. So they took inspiration for magazines, an older form of media.

And honestly, as Jack, Jack and I were researching this story, we realized we had a similar approach to building this podcast. T-boy has a magazine format, doesn't it? We have an intro. We do three stories, then three other headlines, then a fact of the day, then we do the shoutouts. Each one is a mini-segment. Now, most podcasts are a long-form narrative or a long-form interview, much like a book. But ours is a short-form storytelling, like a magazine. And it was Sesame Street that pioneered that magazine format for new forms of media.

So with the way Jack and I see it, it is. sad to hear the news that Sesame Street is changing its format. But frankly, we're eternally grateful for it. Thank you, Big Bird. Thank you. For our third and final story all year long, Target has blamed its poor performance on one thing, and that thing is theft. But it turns out that wasn't the case, because one journalist figured out the truth. Jack, let's jump right into the evidence. Exhibit A, let's go back to May 18th of this year and this podcast. We covered a story called Target's shrinkage is growing. Target's shrinkage is growing.

Not like George Costanza shrinkage. Jack, can you whip up a definition of the term shrinkage for us, please? Shrinkage is a retail and accounting term that means theft. Thief. Like Target was losing money from organized crime, raiding aisle 6 every day. In fact, the theft problem was so bad that Target announced in September they were shutting down nine of their target stores. Here's what Target said. They said, we cannot continue operating these stores because of theft.

and organized retail crime. And that news headline checked with the media narrative of more crime happening in cities, especially after the pandemic. But it looks like the news didn't check with the facts. Get this. According to the data, the nine stores that Target is closing

actually have lower crime than nearby targets which are remaining open. If so, a factor, what we're saying, Eddies, is that Target didn't close those stores because of criminals, they must have been closed because of something else. And a Wall Street analyst at William Blair just published a report that agrees with that. They say that Target used crime as an excuse to close those nine stores.

Let's move on to Exhibit B, whip out the whiteboard. What are the facts of the situation actually? Retail theft sank during the pandemic. Fewer people were in stores, so there was less stealing in the stores. And as the pandemic ended in 2022, people resumed their shopping and theft went up to. Makes sense. More people in the stores? Thieves came back to the stores.

But here's the key. theft at retail stores rose back up to the same level as they were before the pandemic. That's the context for sprinkling on, Yetis. Theft went down during the pandemic and then it came back, but it's just back to where it was before. So the real problem that caused the closure of these Target stores is that Target opened to the wrong stores in the wrong places. Yeties, it just so happens that the stores that Target closed are mostly experimental stores, these small concept stores that they were testing out.

And it seemed like those small concept stores for cities was a failed concept. So instead of admitting failure, Target blamed crime. Instead of admitting a mistake by management, they tapped into public anxiety about theft. Look, if Target wants to raise awareness about crime, that's fine. Crime has been a problem. But it can't disingenuously claim that crime is the reason their stores are closing. That's a different thing. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tarje?

Even in the stock market, journalism is the first. line of defense. Yet he is. Target, it created a narrative. Crime is the problem. And everyone, they ate up that narrative. But one journalist, a guy named Jud Legham at popular information, he asked Target some questions. And that journalist questions are what led to this. It frankly reminds us of Theranos. The whole world thought Elizabeth Holmes with the next Steve Jobs, a great innovator. But she was actually a fraud. And we only found that out after an investigation from a Wall Street Journal journalist. So Basties, we have regulators like the SEC to stop financial fraud. And we've investors who ask questions to detect financial fraud.

But journalism and journalists don't get the credit they deserve for helping keep our markets healthy. Cowless Times, we've seen the public learn the truth about a corporate misdeed. But we only learned it thanks to journalism. Because journalism is the first line of defense. Jack, can you whip up the... Actually, wait, sorry, so sorry, let me change it. Jack, can you whip up the one, two, three, bankaways for us? Was that a vampire on Sesame Street?

That's one, two, three, takeaways. JetBlue is looking worse than ever. After being late to two travel trends. Ladies, when you're chasing trends, you eventually run out of gas. For our second story, Sesame Street is changing up its format for its 56th year. Sesame Street, it pioneered the magazine format, the same format that Jack and I love using today. And Target.

They blamed crime as the reason for closing nine stores, but the data suggests otherwise. And we know that thanks to journalists, because journalism is the first line of defense. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the stock market just closed October, down 2% for the S&P 500.

That's the third straight month of losses for the stock market, which is down 9% in the past quarter. And second, Magic Johnson, the basketball legend, just became the fourth athlete to become a billionaire. And it's all thanks to owning an estate. insurance company. Dribbling gets you rings. Deductibles gets you rich. Yeah, you want that equity money, yetis. You want the equity money. And finally, Krispy Kreme, the iconic king of the donut, just got its stock downgraded because of Ozempic. The Ozempic effect strikes again,

because the more Ozempic you take, the less snacks you crave. Speaking of which, time for the best fact yet, this one whipped up by Jack and me because we're both still wearing our costumes and Jack. You look fantastic. in that family car's costume, I should point out by the I've eaten a Reese's peanut butter cup during the recording of the show. Story two, your mouth sounded a little. We could have hydrated. We could have hydrated. Well, Yadis, yesterday we told you about the number one Halloween candy

in a bunch of different states. Yeah, the number one Halloween candy overall? It's the Reese's Peanut Buttercup. But there's one state that has a particular taste for candy corn. Utah, because Utah eats more candy per capita than any other U.S. state. And it's number one Halloween candy, He's candy corn. Those Utes, they just can't get enough of that candy corn.

Yeties, you look fantastic. You smell fantastic today. Jack, I can tell you did extra deodorant under that costume over there. Yeah, I'm sweating during the show. But Yeties, you are in the upright position. Yes, you are. And if you think this show is ready for liftoff, scroll down on Apple and write us a review.

Write this podcast, a five-star review. That's one, two, three, three, four, five stars for you. this review. The number of the day is five. Yeti's Nick and I. We'll see you tomorrow. If you know, you know. Before we go, a shout out and thank you to legendary longtime Yeti, Tony Nash, who's serving our country while listening to Tea Boy.

And he's deployed in Europe until next summer. Tony, we can't wait to see when you get back. And a happy birthday to legendary bestie Mia Lee Blapin' Panser, a fantastic Feb from Cohasset by the sea. A proud Middlebury Panther. Happy birthday to Michael Daly, the King of Finance, turning 27 down in Westchester, Pennsylvania. Happy birthday to Roger Lua, who's turning 40 in Mountain View, California. And Isha Prakash, happy birthday over in San Carlos, California.

Happy 51st birthday to Ronica G. Graces in Chandler, Arizona. And a congratulations to Yeti, Sabrina Renke, who just got a new job up in Oregon. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Boor. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Krispy Cream and Unilever, and Nick and I both own ETFs of the S&P 500. Really, really fun. Nick, you're just like your family-friendly content today.

It's just really good stuff. Dude, I've been trying to just improvise the takeaway thing. As we're doing this story, like, there's a little bit of pause, and I'm just trying to, like, frankly, throw something in there. You do incredible work. That's why it's, like, also, like, not very polished. It's where you perform at your finest. I'm not going to.