The Best One Yet - 🧁 “Frosted Freaks” — Kellogg’s Nutella deal. Netflix’s Anime AI. The Pentagon’s rare earth stock.

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

Kellogg’s cereal brands were just acquired by Italy’s Ferrero (Nutella)… but it’s really about the mascots.Netflix’s most popular content is actually Anime… and Japan’s Anime shows an AI growth hack. The Pentagon just bought a rare earth metal stock… So is that strategy or socialism?Plus, the Fyre Fest brand is being auctioned off on eBay… for $205K. $KLG $K $NFLX $MPWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Frisbee 🥏Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.TBOY Live Show Tickets to Chicago on sale NOW: https://www.axs.com/events/949346/the-best-one-yet-podcast-ticketsAbout Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, TBOY Lite is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Our 2nd show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday, the real Friday. July 11th, 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. Oh, almost got the wrong month there. Happy July 11th day to all those who celebrate.

Sorry, 7-Eleventh day to all those who celebrate. There's probably a 7-Eleven near you that's giving out free slurpees today. Actually, July 11th is also 7-11 at the convenience store's 98th birthday. So we should be. By 7-Eleven, a slurpee. Big Gulp, you never looked younger. Jack, three stories for today's team boy. What do we got on the pod?

For our first story, Netflix's most popular content viewed by more than half of subscribers is anime. But plot twist. Japanese anime shows the first way that AI could be used by Hollywood. For our second story, The Pentagon just opened up its Robin Hood account

to buy $400 million of stock in a rare earth metal. The Beatles Company. Never have said those words before, Jack. So when the government buys a private company, is that strategic or is that socialism? We'll answer it. And our third and final story, Kellogg's sugary cereal brands were just acquired by the Italian candy company that owns Nutella. But this deal ain't about frosted flakes, Yeties. This deal is about tigers, toucans, and frogs.

But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa, what a mix of stories to go into the weekend with. Love the Mix, Jack. We have a great idea for what you should do this weekend. Buy Firefest. By Firefest, because Firefest, the infamous music festival is on sale. On eBay. Fire Fest, the 2017 Caribbean music concert that wasn't.

Founder Billy McFarlane promised Instagram models, yachts and blink 182s. But instead, you got one cheese sandwich on white bread. That's it. And a Red Cross emergency cot to sleep on. Now, because of that, Billy will. went to jail for fraud and Hulu made a couple documentaries. Well, Billy's out of prison now, and he actually flirted with the idea of doing a second Fire Fest.

But instead, maybe because he owes a lot of people money, he's going to sell it. The Firefest brand, the IP, the trademark, and the social media handles, they're all on sale. You can buy it all right now today on eBay. Nick and I are looking at the eBay page right now. I got it up Jack. You can make a bid to acquire the biggest brand flop in history.

Okay, and so far, FireFest has 27,000 views on eBay and 114 bids. And the latest bid is $205,000 and $500. Jack, are you saying $205 grand for the best known concert in history that didn't even happen? Yep. And if you own this IP, you could legally launch and produce another fire festival. Or, Jack, you could sell Firefest merch. Or you could sell Firefest branded cheese sandwiches on white bread. Or maybe a blink one.

182 CD case with no CD inside of it. That would sound just right. And we would sell it. Now, Basties, we should point out that Billy is guilty of defrauding investors for $27 million. So there's a slight chance. Somehow this whole thing doesn't work out. But hey, Jack, Jarl rule says this thing is only going up.

He does? Yeah. Maybe we should place a bit. He said it's impossible to lose money. You place the lid. What are three stories? Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it.

I don't even think they need to practice. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, Netflix has a secret content type that is more popular than any other.

At this, it's anime. Half of the Netflix watching world watches anime. Half. And that holds a lesson for all content creators. You know what, Jack? Let's just kick things off with that hero stat again. Because it was so wild. Why don't you repeat it for us?

Netflix shared last weekend that anime is watched by more than half of all Netflix members. Okay, let's sprinkle some numbers on here. Yeties, that is 150 million households. We're talking 300 million people watching anime. They're watching anime on Netflix. Anime, the Japanese style of cartoons. Basically, if you're not watching anime on Netflix these days, you are in the minority. And yes, Dragon Ball Z counts as anime.

But hey, Pikachu, we're not just talking Pokemon and Yu-Gi-O over here, are we, Jack? I'm not sure if it's Yu-Gi-O or Yu-Gi-O. Interestingly, recent anime hits have spanned genres. There's action shows that are anime. There's sci-fi anime. There's fantasy anime, of course, but there's even romance anime. And animation has become the big trend in broader Asian film in general. China got its first ever $1 billion box office movie this year, and it's animated.

But it is Japan's anime that has some very unique economics. Hollywood actors are pricey, but animation is just as popular for viewers, but at a much lower cost. And that anime viewing on Netflix has tripled in the last five years. But Jack, what is the reason for this tripling? It's dubbing. That's the reason for the triple. Yet he's the magic of anime, is that it is originally made in Japanese, but it is now being dubbed into every other language. The most popular anime show on Netflix right now is called Sakamoto Days, about a hitman turned family man.

Now get this. The first season of that show hit Netflix's top 10 chart in 54 different countries. Again, it was originally done in Japanese, but then dubbed into 33 other languages. I mean, Jack, sure, of course, it was a top 10 in Japan. but it was a top 10 in Korea, in France, all the way over in Argentina. And 51 other countries, Nick. Yeah. Now, one reason for this is creative. The themes in this show are universal.

Love, hate, friendship, family. Those are themes that the whole world enjoys. They cross borders. But the other reason is practical. Anime is cartoons. And cartoon mouths can have any language coming out. And it doesn't affect, like, the visual audio experience. Call up Carmen San Diego and she'll write different languages into all

those mouths. So currently, we should point out, Netflix is dubbing these anime shows into English using English-speaking human voice actors. Of a Jack, pause the pod, you know that Netflix wants to replace those human voice actors with artificial intelligence. Netflix is a tech company. Well, what did we notice on the Netflix job board the other day, Jack? Right now. Netflix has job postings for AI researchers focused on language and voice technology. And the Pay up to $700,000 a year for these AI dubbing jobs. You can get paid up to $700 grand a year to help Netflix make the Ninja Naruto speak Croatian. Look, AI translation is a threat to voice actors, but an opportunity for others.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Netflix? AI is fluent in every language, and that is a huge scale hack. Yetis, last year, we covered Reddit's best day ever on the stock market. What happened, Jack? The stock jumped 40% on one day on news that Reddit is using AI to translate all of their written content to all of the languages on Earth. Almost instantly, Reddit's opus of online content multiplied its market exponentially with AI. Now, we should point out, in Nix of My 2022 predictions pod, we said that Netflix would multiply all their local country content to all languages using technology. It looks like our prediction was just a couple of years short, but it was right.

There we go. But it's not just Reddit and Netflix. Every content creator is eventually going to use this AI translation, especially for content that has universal themes. Yeah, so I don't know if, like, translation of this T-boy podcast is going to working every language. You know, like, I'm not sure how Japan's going to feel about this. Yeah, how is Ka'u Kauki-Kriks going to translate into Dutch? But no matter what, Yeti's AI's language fluency is what multiplies content.

at no cost. And that is a huge scale hack. For our second story, the Pentagon just bought $400 million of America's only rare earth metals company? It's a wild story. It is. We've never seen the military make a stock market purchased before. But is this strategic or is this socialism? Yiddies, there is no rock more valuable than the rare earth metal. If you're getting engaged, don't get her a diamond ring. Put some scandium on that finger, baby. We've described this using a Marvel superhero's reference. These are the infinity stones of the real world.

Turbium, lanthium, deprosium. Those are the key ingredients in your electric vehicle, your laptop, your iPhone, your air conditioner, and even your PlayStation. But also our fighter jets. Good point, Jack. Which makes this next sentence a huge problem. China controls 90% of the market for rare earth minerals and rare earth magnets. Wow.

a 90% monopoly. Yeah, during the trade war, China's lock on rare earth matters is their literal Trump card. That's why in April, Jack and I said that the U.S. must reach a deal with China in the short term because our economy is screwed without these rare earth metals. But we also said that in the long term, we need to invest in our own rare earth metals. We have them. They're just underground and they take years to extract. Well, Jack, perfect timing. Here's the news. The U.S. Department of Defense just bought $400 million of stock in an American rare earth mining business. I'm sorry, the only American rare earth mining business. The Pentagon is now the biggest shareholder in this company. And you know what, Besties? Wall Street notice too. Shares of MP materials searched 47%

on their surprise new investor, the Pentagon. Nick and I have never seen a deal like this in our lifetimes, except maybe the bailouts during the 08 financial crisis. So besties, here's the dirt on the deal. Literally, it's a dirt deal. MP Materials owns America's only active rare earth mine, like we said. It's located in Mountain Pass, California, which is just outside Las Vegas. And they produce metals and magnets for electric cars and fridges, but also for drones, military submarines, and F-35s. Now, here's the interesting part of the deal. The Pentagon is also giving this company a $150 million loan to develop a second rare earth metal mine.

And for 10 years, the DOD. gets first claim on 100% of the magnets and minerals that come from that second mine. So if the Pentagon needs some scandium, they will call up this mine and they get it first. And there's one more kicker. The Pentagon is going to guarantee a minimum price of $50 per pound of minerals, which makes the investment less risky for this mining company. So Jack, I'm just going to add all this up for a sec. Our Pentagon is now the biggest shareholder and lender and customer and price guarantor of this rare earth. metal company. That's how serious this issue is. Yeah. But it also leads to a question. So Jack,

what's the takeaway? That's a question for our buddies over at the Pentagon. Is this strategic, or is this socialism? Now, yeah, it is, the U.S. government taking partial control of and dictating the terms of what a private company can do? That sounds like the definition of socialism. Literally. And of course, the U.S. has many socialist elements. Our schools, our fire and police departments, our post office, it's all socialism. But on the other hand, this is also the kind of thing that America does, and we've done before in war for national security. So we'd probably call this strategic socialism.

Yeah, to answer our own question, it is neither socialism nor strategic. It is both strategic socialism. And we're all for it. Because the status quo situation with rare earth metals, it's a market failure. The government must intervene. It's just too important. So besties, the Pentagon is buying stock in a mining business.

That is wild news. We call this strategic socialism. in the name of national defense. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Kellogg is getting acquired by the owner of Nutella for $3 billion. But the Italians aren't buying American cereal for the cereal. No.

They're buying it for the mascots. Jack, 1894, breakfast changed forever. That's the year that Dr. John Harvey Kellogg left some dough out overnight by accident up in Michigan. And the next morning, he and his brother William Kellogg tasted those dried up flakes, and you know what? Yeah, this is pretty good. That's how corn flakes were born, by accident.

It's an accidental invention. Then they sprinkled some sugar on them and turned it into a $1 billion business. Kellogg would go on to create Rice Krispies, Fruit Loops, and Frosted Miniweeds. Ah, the greatest hits. The Kellogg's cereal company is the best thing to happen to the American dental industry. By the way, my latest appointment?

Talk to me, Jack? They told me I had something that was looking like a cavity. I've never had one, so I don't even know, Jack. It's completely unfair. I'm sorry. You're almost at the dozen mark. Congratulations. I floss like every other night.

You're blaming the toothbrush over here, Jack. I'm not sure you're supposed to do that. But besties in 2023, Kellogg split off at cereal division. Because snack sales were surgeoned, but cereal sales were slumpin. And one benefit of splitting up your company, it makes the smaller pieces more acquirable. Well, here's the news. Ferreiro, the Italian candy company is now buying Kellogg's cereal for $3.1 billion. The stock surged on rumors of the news on Wednesday, which was made official on Thursday. That's right. The owner of Nutella is adding Tony the Tiger and snap and crackle

and pop to their cabinet. Are those things elves? It isn't clear, Jack, but either way, hey, Italy, enjoy the Carbonara la Raisin brand. But besties, this is what Jack and I got fascinated with. Like, what does this Italian candy company want in an American cereal business that's been shrinking? Ferreiro is the third largest confectionary company on Earth, which just means everything they make has sugar in it. They own TikTok, Kinder, Nutella. They're a pure play cavity company. And Ferreiro is most famous for creating Nutella, Italy's greatest invention back in the 1940s. It's greatest invention since the Renaissance check. In fact, Ferreira buys 25% of all hazelnuts on Earth to put into Nutella. That wasn't enough. Last year, Ferreiro bought all of Nestle's candies, Baby Ruth Butterfinger,

Crunch Bar, Keebler elves. Now here's the interesting part, besties. Millennial moms hate sugar. And yet Ferreiro is doubling down on sugar right now. They now have 35 separate candy brands. But you know what? It's working. Sales rose for Ferreiro by 9% last year to $22 billion. Their valuation is at a sugar high. Now, yet these other food giants out there, they've been diversified. into health. Like Hershey's just acquired that healthy popcorn brand that you love, Jack. Lesser evil. Right, right, right. And Pepsi bought Siette Foods and Poppy, healthier versions of their

unhealthy options. But this Ferreiro deal of Kellogg is the opposite. And it kind of confirms once and for all that frosted flakes and frosted mini weeks have been candy this whole time. I don't know how we missed it with the frosted adjective. Gentists have been saying this for years. And now Wall Street confirmed it. So Ferreiro isn't diversifying like everyone else. They're going back. for seconds a sugar. Which I can't do, because my damn cavities. They say I have

groovy teeth. Like funky teeth? No, like, there's like holes that just like are impossible to properly brush. I think those are called cavities. Never mind. We may need to see a second opinion on this one, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Kellogg? This deal

isn't really about cereal. It's about mascots. Yeties, for over a century, Kellogg has created some of the greatest IP. intellectual property in food history. Knowing that kids were the target all along, the cereal company got into the cartoon business, with Tony the Tiger, smacks the frog,

Tucan Sam, and I think a bunch of others. But we think Ferreiro's real goal with this deal is to take those characters and explode them beyond cereal. The tiger mascot, Tony, is so well-known, why not make Frosted Flakes protein bars? Or Jack, we all grew up with Rice-Crispy Treats as millennials. Why not a Rice-Christby bottled milkshake? The growth potential isn't in the serials, it's in the mascots.

That's what this $3 billion serial deal is all about. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Netflix's secret most popular content type is anime, viewed by more than half of subscribers. Soon dubbing will happen with AI, and that is a huge scale hack. For our second story, the U.S. military bought $400 million of stock and MP materials, and they get first dibs on their rare earth metals. This is strategic socialism in the name of national defense.

And our third and final story, Michigan's Kellogg cereal business, is getting bought by Italy's Ferreiro. This deal ain't about this cereal. This deal is about the mascots because they are great. By the way, hot take, those crispy cream elves, or I'm sorry, the Rice Krispy Elves, they're getting a TV show. What do you think? I'd watch that. I'd watch that. Dubbed.

Dubbed. But yet is this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Andresen Horwitz, the most famous VC in the world, has moved their legal dominion from Delaware to Nevada. It's another blow to Delaware, which used to enjoy the quote-unquote Delaware default for incorporations. Delaware's reputation for corporate friendliness has waned, especially after a Delaware judge blocked Elon's huge pay package.

And now, Andrews and Horowitz is probably going to recommend to all their startups to move out of Delaware. And second, yesterday McDonald's added a spicy and... egg McMuffin to the menu, but there's a strategy here. Well, I think the strategy is prevent me from having to ask for hot sauce on an order McDonald's. It's already built in now. Yeah, McDonald's is also trying to show America that it's not too expensive by bringing more value items without calling them value items. Like the popular snack wrap, but at $3, the new snack wrap is more than double what it

used to cost. Yeah, we're going to be in Chicago soon. McDonald's, we should talk. And finally, starting next week, Grock, X's very unwoke AI chatbot, is going to be riding shotgun in your Tesla. That's right. Elon announced it on Thursday on Twitter. You can ask Grock questions while driving your Tesla. Now, this comes in the wake of Grock's algorithm tweaks that did result in it praising Hitler. One other note from Elon, Robotaxy Service could be coming to the Bay Area in the next month or two. They're just waiting for a regulatory approval.

Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Lichen Mangosta from Puerto Rico and Jeremy Daniel from the Dominican Republic. This is a correction fact. Because besties, earlier this week, we said that Samuel L. Jackson was the only actor to be in both a Marvel superhero movie and a Star Wars movie. Turns out, there's a few others

that have appeared in both franchises, although not nearly as much as Samuel L. Jackson did. Natalie Portman was Queen Amadala in Star Wars. Of course, she was also Thor's girlfriend in Marvel. Full disclosure, I've never seen any of the Thor movies. There also were three other actors who appeared in both, including Paul Bedney, Mads, Mickelson, and Lapita Nyunk.

Although those last three were basically just cameos. So congratulations to them and their agents on a couple of really big paydays. And sorry for sounding defensive. I just... You have a cavity, Jack. So you're upset. You got a cavity. Dude, I don't even believe my dentist.

I'm like, there's no way I have a cabal. Honestly, he may be testing your willingness to pay right now, Jack. Yeties, you looked fantastic this week. Celebrate some wins this weekend. like checking out our latest, the best idea yet episode on the Frisbee. We got that link in the episode of description. Have a phenomenal weekend. Nick and I will see you Monday. And remember, if you are in the Midwest, grab some tickets to our live show in Chicago. We'd love to see you there in just two weeks. Kids are allowed. And before we go, a happy 20th birthday

to Yeti Kai Anasay from lovely Lake Worth, Florida. And happy birthday to Karen Silver's Brady in Orlando, Florida. And a happy birthday to Zach Herman from San Francisco. Who's So many fun facts, you got to send us one a week, Zach. And Felipe, your manager, says H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. And Elaine to Alkin from West Palm Beach, Florida, is learning to finally swim this summer. Fantastic goal for a birthday. Happy birthday to Rebecca Reed from San Jose, a loyal Gonzaga alum and Metallica fan. And Henry Parko, happy fifth birthday down in Phoenix.

Enjoy that pool party, buddy. Henry, don't drink the water. I know the water looks clean, but it's not. And a shout out to Andrew Zucker, who interviewed us for his awesome newsletter called Zucker. Check it out. It's got business, media, and tech perspective, baby. Congratulations to Jeff Hogan in Chicago, Illinois for getting a new job with a 55% pay raise. Get this, Nick. He's feeling so good right now. He's opening up a bar tab after our live show. He says drinks are on him. In that case, make it a Johnny Walker, Blue Label. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock

of Netflix and Reddit, and Nick and I both on stock of Robin Hood.