The Best One Yet - 🪩 “Mile High Upgrade” — Pan Am’s comeback. Apple’s Brad Pitt F1 pop. PeaceAI’s war-predictor.

Episode Date: June 26, 2025

Pan Am Airlines is back after 34 years, but with a hotel, theater, & cafe… Because Brands > Logos.Apple’s Formula1 movie premiers today… Brad Pitt proves how Hollywood powers Wall Street.The newest industry to know is PeaceTech… because AI can predict (and prevent) war.Plus, the hottest industry in this economy?... Matchmaking coaches.$DAL $AAPL $PLTRWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… 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 Thursday, the new Friday, June 26th. 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. I mean, Jack, the three stories are so good. Should we just get right into it, man? I'm ready for it. Hey, one of the three stories for today's T-boy, man. For our first story, 34 years after declaring bankruptcy, Pan Am Airways is back with a plane, a hotel, and a restaurant. Pan Am, they are the perfect case study in a logo, brand. For our second story, Apple is releasing its biggest movie yet. Formula One with Brad Pitt premieres today. And it reveals the untold connection between Hollywood and Wall Street. And our third and final story. While every country is increasing their military spending, we found a new concept. Peace tech. One startup is using AI not to wage war, but to wage peace. There's one wage piece. Apparently they do. I bet Andrewsson is interesting. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

Whoa, what a mix of stories. Love the mix of stories today, Jack. In this economy, nearly every industry feels a little wobbly. But one industry thriving right now, matchmakers. According to Bloomberg, demand for personalized dating services just hit an all-time high. Matchmaking consultants are getting their biggest business bump since pride and prejudice. One matchmaker charges $8,000 a year for personal matchmaking services. You really like that pride and prejudice one, didn't you, Jack?

You know, Alex loves Jane Austen. She's a fan. Because 700 bucks a month isn't expensive if your payoff is the love of your life, ROI. It's true. Return on love. But Jack, could you sprinkle on some lovely context for us? Millennials are sick of swiping. Gen Z is Tinder fatigue.

You've gotten sick of Grindr too. But Bumble's pain, it turns out, is matchmaking's gain. Because while Tinder users have fallen for eight straight quarters, matchmaking consultants have been rising for eight straight quarters. If you're off the dating apps, you're more likely to be on something else. The love industry. It's just a zero-sum game. Plus, we haven't even talked about the Hollywood effect.

Oh, yeah. Jack, are you talking about the movie The Materialist that's out right now? Starring Zaddy Pedro Pascal and Dakota Johnson? That's a film about a high-powered matchmaker. Well, it turns out this movie is also driving this matchmaker moment. So yet he's in this economy. You want certainty. And you're willing to pay for a real-life human Cupid rather than an algorithmic era.

I like that, Nick. Jane Austen write that? It's from sense and sensibility. Jack, let's do our three stories. Fifteen 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 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. Our first story, Pan Am, the defunct airline that pioneered a luxury travel is back from the dead. Pan America's $60,000 per ticket aeronautical journey. Oh my God. Highlights the difference between a logo and a brand. Ooh, yeah, it is. Okay, full disclosure, we flew from San Francisco to New York. The landing gear wasn't working.

Jack, we landed at JFK. There were fire trucks there. I know. I was so nervous. Apparently planes have. have a backup landing gear? Yeah, thank God they got a couple of these things. But Max got a big kick out of it because he's in his like fire truck era. It also reminded me, Jack, that a flying experiences have gotten so bad. We are now bringing back a dead airline. Yep, 34 years after

declaring bankruptcy, Pan America is back. Yes, the historic airline with the sexy blue logo has returned. The airline whose pictures look like a spa. And this is big because Pan Am romanticized air travel. I mean, they had fine food served with actual silver silverware and a standing bar where you could walk up and order a gin and tonic and like flirt with people. There was a lot of flirting happening on those planes, at least from what I see in the movies. It was the 60s. They weren't serving peanuts. They were serving greatoupon. If you've seen Catch Me if you can, DiCaprio pretends to be a Pan Am pilot. So Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style and Pan Am was founded 98 years ago. What their innovation was was pioneering international travel.

Because in 1939, the first ever commercial flight across the Atlantic Ocean happened. It took off on Long Island, and it landed in Lisbon. And yes, it was Pan Am. And here was Pan Am's early business insight. In the emerging airline industry, international flights are the real profit puppy. Flying Austin to Albuquerque is cheaper to operate.

We see you, Southwest. But San Francisco to Singapore attracts the deep-pocketed passengers. Now, despite that innovation, Pan Am Airways ended in 1991. They had some bad acquisitions. They had too much debt, and the low-cost competition really squeezed. Again, we see you, Southwest Airlines. But here's the latest news. Pan Am is returning to the air.

But the tickets will cost you $60,000. Last year, an investment group acquired the Pan America brand for an undisclosed sum. Now, they're not an airline yet. They simply chartered one plane and then stuck the... their iconic logo on the wings. But they have opened a business. Their first move, they're offering a luxury cruise in the air. Yeah, we're talking 50 passengers on the plane for a 12-day luxury journey with multiple stops.

It starts in New York, then goes to Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London, and Ireland. So it's $60,000 per person, but breaks down to $10,000 per leg, which is kind of like a business class ticket. Oh, I forgot to mention. At the end, it goes back from Ireland to New York. But basically the way we see it, this is the same revenue model as like a luxury Viking cruise. Oh, and it's luxury. Each seat has a fully reclinable chair.

They're bringing back the high-end food from Pan Am's heyday. And the flight attendants are even going to wear those old-school Pan Am's flight attendant outfits. And like a cruise, each passenger gets the same seat the whole time with a chess table included. But this turnaround goes even deeper than the skies. Yeah, this is what fascinated us, because Pan Am is expanding throughout the hospitality industry. Through partners, this new company, known as Pan Am, is opening a hotel in Los Angeles. They're opening a movie theater and a restaurant, too. You could be doing your next date night at a Pam Am Cafe with a filet mignon at sea level.

Ironically, this airline realized the brand can make more money in other industries. So, Jack, now that we are taking off at this moment, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Pan Am? Pan Am shows us the difference between a logo and a brand. Now Yeti's a logo is simply a symbol in one industry, but a brand is universal to any. And Pan Am's brand is a nostalgic feeling of luxury, adventure, and comfort. Okay, so here's how we can test this thesis. If Delta or United Airlines launched a hotel, like, we don't know what that would look like. Like, what is that? How would that appear? What kind of a hotel is that?

They could have small bathrooms. That's all we're certain enough. But if Pan Am launched a hotel or a restaurant or a theater, we know exactly. exactly what that would look and feel like. That's a brand. Because airlines today are basically just flying logos. They're symbols of getting you from point A to point B. But Pan Am built a brand, a feeling that expands beyond that function. Having a brand, not just a logo, is why Pan Am can return 34 years after it disappeared.

For our second story, Apple's Formula One racing movie with Brad Pitt premieres today. And it's the most expensive sports commercial of, all time. Because there's a direct route from Hollywood to Wall Street. Yeties, starting today, rev your engines, because 4,000 screens are going to bring you into the cockpit of a cargo in 200 miles per an hour. It's the F1 movie, produced by Apple, distributed by Warner Brothers, and it's giving Top Gun Maverick. Yeah, because it's got the same director, Joseph Kaczynski, and the same kind of leading man, an A-list, ageless hunk. Even the same cutting-edge videography. Top Gun put IMAX cameras in real fighter jets, while the F1 movie put IMAX cameras in real F1 cars.

Add it all up, and the goal for Formula One is to get the same box office return. Top Gun Maverick brought in $1.5 billion worldwide. Basically saved Hollywood a few years ago. F1 hopes for a similar financial performance. And since Apple paid $300 million to make this movie, it's basically paid for with 270,000 iPhones. And despite Superman 12 and Jurassic Park 17 coming out later this summer, this F1 movie could be the top box office performer of 2025. But yet it is, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.

The Financials. Because the $300 million budget for this movie was offset by $100 million of in-film advertising. It is wild. But this movie sold actual ads for their fictional F1 racing team. You know how F1 cars. have ads all over the vehicle. I actually only see the ads. I rarely even see the vehicle check. Well, in this movie, the fake race car has real companies that paid real money to advertise. Yeah, like, Expensify is a real company that paid 40 million real dollars to have their logo on Brad Pitt's

fake F1 car. EA Sports, Shark Ninja, Guyco, Tommy Hilfiger. They're all paid advertisers and the fake racing team in this movie. Oh, and that fake racing team is Mercedes, but it's an actual Mercedes, which paid to be the fake Mercedes in the real movie. Although, the car is kind of real. It is true, Jack. Because the studio took an actual Formula One race car and filmed it on actual Formula One race tracks. Yeah, the film crew stalked the F-1 circuit for two years,

even filming celebration scenes from real life with fans at the actual Grand Prix. So when Brad Pitt inevitably wins the race, I haven't seen the movie, that's not a spoiler. I just assume he wins at the end of the movie. He always wins. Those cheering fans in the background, they're not extras. They're real fans who are at a real effort.

one race. But call the pit crew for a second, Jack, because we do have one problem with this P. Apple's promotion of the film Wednesday morning was thirsty. Yeah, on Wednesday morning, they forced a push notification to iPhone users urging you to see the movie. Not a good luck, Apple. Reminds us of when you made us listen to that U-2 album on our iPhone 20 years ago. We get it. Bono loves his iPod. Hello, hello. Goodbye, goodbye. What's the takeaway for our buddies over at Apple? There's a direct line between Hollywood and Wall Street. Yeah, it is, here's the hero stat.

In early test screenings of this Formula One film, just 18% of American viewers had seen a Formula One race. I've never seen a Formula One race. Me neither, Jack. But after watching this movie, literally every American viewer said that they would now watch F1, according to Apple executive, Eddie Q. And that's why Jack and I think,

This is actually the biggest sports commercial of all time. $300 million spent to promote Formula One racing. This could be a huge moment for Americans becoming fans of Formula One. Now, in our weekly show, the best idea yet, I can't tell you how many products Jack and I have found that went viral because of Hollywood. Take, for instance, the Birkenbag. The Birkenbag blew up thanks to an episode of Sex in the City when Samantha gets her hands on one. Or 50 years earlier, Levi's.

Yes, the Levi's 501s blew up when Marlon Brando and Maryland Mono. Roe wore them in two separate movies. Even the skateboard had a big Hollywood moment. Tony Hawk had a record performance at the X games. Everyone saw it. The sales took off. And Marty McFly, yeah, he wrote his skateboard too. So history, it is full of products that boomed thanks to Hollywood.

This time, it could be Formula One. Formula Eh. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, right as NATO countries pledged to more than double their military spending, a new tech startup is using AI for peace. We call it peace AI. They're waging peace.

It predicts the future to avoid war. Now, Yetis, to sprinkle on some unexpected context here, our college lacrosse coach used to say, the best defense is a good offense. To be clear, that's Nick's college lacrosse coach. I played, yeah, played a more mainstream. Not all of us are as athletically skilled, Jack. But right now, the top performing industry isn't football or lacrosse, it's defense.

Weapon and war stocks have been thriving this year. Talentier is the top stock of the year. Dron companies are going public and Dural just hit a $30 billion with a B valuation. If you're selling AI military technology, then it's a buyer's market and you are winning. Plus, we've got this new big news on Wednesday from Europe. NATO countries just announced they're going to double their spending on military defense. That's right. Europe is weaning itself from its dependence on the American military might. So each of the 32 NATO countries are going to target military spending equal to 5% of their GDP, up from 2% today.

5% may sound small, but we're talking trillions of extra dollars going into war products because of this change. So from European war companies to Silicon Valley tech companies, military is how you make money right now. But get this. There is a new startup that is now using AI not to wage war, but to wage peace. It's called Anadir Horizon, but we prefer. to call it peace AI. Yeah, we just rebranded them as piece AI, basically. It is an earlier stage business than we typically cover on the show, but it is such a novel concept that Jack and I just got super curious.

And Adir claims that their AI would have predicted the Ukraine war, and they could have prevented it. That's right. This company was founded by a Harvard University professor. And what was his thesis on this, Jack? Well, we're using AI to predict stock market movements, sports outcomes, even the weather. Why can't we use AI to predict conflict? So the inputs of this company are political and economic data, and the output is the risk of an outbreak of war.

Anadir AI creates simulations based on lots and lots of variables. Like Putin, oil prices, unemployment rates, stuff like that. And you get results like this. Russia is 60% more likely to use a bomb if America declares a no-fly zone. Okay, but here's where things get wild. This AI can go even deeper, like awkwardly deeper. It even considers how Putin is affected. by having a good night's sleep or a bad night's sleep.

Yeah, that's right. This peace AI can account for variables on whether world leaders are in a good or bad mood depending on their mattress situation. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at peace AI? We may be witnessing the birth of a new industry. Peace tech. Yeties, a decade ago, the term climate tech, it didn't even exist. Two decades ago, education tech didn't exist, and neither did FinTech. But today, climate tech is a fairer. $50 billion sector that we all know with major long-term investments. Similarly, this story is the first time we've seen the term peace tech. But given the costs of war on humanity, on economies, and on trade, why can't this new concept hit $50 billion like climate tech? Because imagine if instead

of spending trillions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we had invested in public education. And that, that is the potential ROI of this new industry. Yeties, we may be witnessing the birth of a new industry. Peace Tech with Peace AI. Jack, and you'll whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday. Pan Am Airways is back. They're back. With a $60,000 12-day cruise through the air. Pan Am is expanding beyond airlines to hospitality because Pan Am's not a logo. It's a brand. For our second story, it was the Formula One movie. It premieres today and it generated $100 million in in-film race car. There's a direct line between Hollywood and Wall Street.

And our third and final story is Anadir. They're using AI to wage peace. They think LLMs can predict and avoid war. And we hope it's the start of a brand new industry. Peace tech. Peace tech. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, the biggest local election with economic consequences is the New York City mayor. Democrats just held their primary using rank choice voting. And the winner wasn't upset. It was the self-described democratic socialist Zoran Mamdani who beat the former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, who himself resigned a few years ago in scandal. The most capitalist city in America could get a socialist mayor. And second, Starbucks's latest attempt at turn around. We've been keeping track, one fee for all the pumps. Historically, they've charged different prices for different upgrades.

Caramel drizzle was one price, foamy whipped cream on top was another. But now all your indulgences are getting one flat fee. of 80 cents for all those additions. Oh, and alt milks? They're free. Because it's lactose discrimination to charge extra for oat milk. You know what we're talking about, Dahlene? And finally, OpenAI's next product could be

a car. Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, was on his brother Jack Altman's podcast and he talked about the chat GP car. Yeah, that's what we're calling it. He said this, quote, we have technology now that could just do self-driving for standard cars. Looks like Sam and Elon are driving straight into each other. in another industry.

One second, Jack, I'm grabbing the popcorn. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Rachel Hauer over in Arizona. Happy National Barcode Day to anyone who's bought anything at a gas station. Yeah, to all those who celebrate. The first barcode was scanned 51 years ago today back in 1974. And the first item ever to be scanned,

my guess was a banana, but I was wrong. It was wrong. The actual first item to ever be barcode scanned was Riggly's juicy fruit gum. Juicy fruit. And it happened in the great state of Ohio. Sorry QR codes. No one cares about you.

But barcodes are still killing it. Yeties, you'll look fantastic over there. And if you have got a buddy who would fly on Pan Am Airways, send them today's episode. That's how we grow the show. Tell them that starting every morning with pop biz is the way to have the best day yet. H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y, if you know, you know. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait.

And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Easton Andrews, turning nine years old in lovely Westfield, Indiana. Happy birthday to Ross Thompson, Brooklyn, New York, the king of golf and the king of vinyl. It kind of sounds like our buddy Timmy, and Chrysler, the company. Congratulations on 100 years, born in 1925 today. And happy birthday to Vanova Denise in New York City.

Who's celebrating with oysters? A little bit of wine. And our buddy Emma Taddinger Brisco just launched a new company, Brisco Brands. Congratulations, Emma. And happy birthday to Bob from Chicago, not doing logistics. But just passed his CIC class. This man is celebrating like he's just outside Boston. A little Brooks Kravici Kramer just had his first day of summer cramp.

Brooks, you're doing fantastic over there. Keep it up. Those blocks are beautiful. And you look amazing in that SPF 50 I put on you every morning. This is Jack Sun. by the way. And the results of our Spotify poll on who will win the Robotaxy Wars. Jack, what are the numbers? 43% of you say Tesla, 54% of you say Waymo, and 3% of you say Uber. Uber was the spoiler candidate, Jack. That's the dark horse candidate right there. This is Jack. I own stock in Bumble,

Formula One, and Netflix, and Nick and I both own stock in Apple.