The Best One Yet - 👺 “Nightime beast, daytime beauty” — The Ugly Beauty trend. Hot Debt Summer. Lilo & Stitch’s recipe.

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

TBOY Live Show Tickets to Chicago on sale NOW: https://www.axs.com/events/949346/the-best-one-yet-podcast-ticketsThanks to The Skinny Confidential, to achieve daytime beauty… women look like monsters at night.The House of Reps passed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — this summer we’ll have Big Debt Energy.Lilo & Stitch is expected to have beaten Mission Impossible at the box office… because relatability wins.And if you work at Spotify, they’ve banned the words “offline” and “later” from meetings…$SPOT $DIS $AAPL Want more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… LaCroix 💧”The Cinderella of Water”Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.About 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. Welcome back. It is Tuesday, T-Boy, Tuesday, May 27th. And today's part is the best one yet. And this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. I mean, Jack, what's the opposite of Bon Voyage?

Because I'm back, baby. You're back from France. How's your trip, man? Actually, Jack, I got two other words for you. Merci Buku for the Google Maps you sent me of your Paris recommendations. Thank you, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Everybody knows I went on a Paris trip last year, right?

Yeah, we heard it in multiple episodes. Well, I shared with Nick all the Google Maps pins of the best spots in Patty. You're like a digital rat tattooing. It was so helpful. More for that on another pot. In the meantime, Jack, three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got on the T-Boy? For our first story, the surprise movie winner of the summer, it may be Lilo and Stitch.

Because Stitch, a blue alien surfer-stuffed animal thingy, has stealthily become Disney's top-selling character. For our second story, the House of Representatives passed President Trump's big, beautiful bill last week. So Jack and I are calling it now. This summer is going to have big debt energy. And our third and final story is a wild new trend. Women are turning into monsters at night to look beautiful during the day.

And one podcast is powering the entire monster beauty eye mask trend movement. A lot of nouns there. A lot of ads there. A lot of ads. I was like I always got to throw those in. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories to come back to. No one else is starting the week with this mix jack.

Welcome back to the office. But a quick work update before you sit at that cubicle. There are two words you may not say. Because it's Spotify, they have now banned two words from being said in any meeting. Later and offline. Get this. Every week, Spotify's top team holds a three-hour meeting. Quick side note.

That is way too long a meeting. Oh yeah. A meeting over three hours is legally a corporate retreat. Better have a private chef attending that meeting with like full three catered meals. I'm out of there after 45 minutes, Jack. But back to our story in these meetings. Spotify has banned later and offline from being said. So you may not say, we'll figure that out later.

And you can't say, let's take it offline. Because you're in the meeting now, so why figured out later? And you're already online, so why go offline? They call this real-time resolution. And we call this an idea we love. Because raise your hand if you're overwhelmed with follow-up tasks right now. Y'all got the FUF, the follow-up fatigue. I have like four notes on my iPhone that are just various types of to-do lists.

I actually have a note about your notes, but we'll circle back on that, Jack. So, Yeties, if you do try to circle back today, or if you try to put a pin on that subject. Or if you try to tackle the low-hanging fruit first and then take care of the other action items by EOD. Well, Spotify will spank you. True story. Or Daniel Eck, we'll hit you with a sweet. Weedish fish. Yetis, we are all online now.

So Jack, let's hit our three stories right now. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story. The summer movie season just began this weekend. But one franchise is shockingly winning at all. Not Mission Impossible.

Lilo and Stitch. Yeah. It's stealthily become Disney's surprise profit puppy. Simba, Moana, Elsa. No thank you. We want the blues surfing alien from Hawaii. That would be Stitch for the uninitiated and adorably destitute. an adorably destructive alien pet

who lands on the islands of Hawaii in a Disney movie. Stitch befriends a girl named Lilo. Together they surf, they laugh, they cuddle, they bond. Stitch kind of looks like a mischievous rodent French bulldog, if you will. Yeah, he does. Kind of like a Pokemon sale.

Now, the first Lilo and Stitch movie was way back in 2002, but Lilo and Stitch is making Disney rich today. Get this, Stitch merch sales are up 10x in the last five years to $2.6 billion. It's now Disney's top toy. Stitch.

Jack, could you sprinkle on some context, please? Lilo and Stitch's merch sales for Disney is bigger than Birkenstock, Allbirds, and Glossier sales combined. Are you kidding me? I'm not kidding you, Jack. I mean, we dove in T-boy style. Lilo and Stitch has the highest number of merch collapse of any Disney character right now. PetSmart sells a Lilo and Stitch dog pool with a built-in canopy, and I just bought it.

Graceland, the estate of Elvis Presley. sells an entire Stitch collection. Because apparently this little blue alien loves Elvis music. In the last Disney earnings call, they mentioned Stitch six different times, Jack. Apparently, Mickey's getting jealous. That's more than Mufasa. Someone's getting sued. But besties, here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story.

Stitch is now Disney's top IP winner, but there's a plot twist. The first Lilo and Stitch movie was a financial disaster. That's right. The original Stitch movie, 23 years ago, got just $273 million worldwide. At the box office, those aren't adorable numbers. No, no, no, no. Hollywood's not liking that at all.

Yeah, we'll sprinkle on a little more context to this movie story as well. Frozen Zootopia, Beauty and the Beast, they all brought in over a billion dollars at the box office. Lilo and Stitch barely covered their budget. This is what's so shocking. Like, we cannot emphasize enough

how wrong Disney was about Stitch. Back to the toys. Disney predicted Lilo and Stitch toy buyers would be seven to 12 years old. And they were totally Wrong. 40% of fans are kiddults. That's right. 30-year-old millennial Millie is living the Stitch lifestyle with a stitch handbag, a stitch pajamas, and probably the six-stitch things that Jack just put in a shopping cart. Which brings us to the news. Over the weekend, the live action remake of

Lilo and Stitch pulled off a Mission Impossible. Because this new movie did an estimated $120 million to $150 million bucks office sales. Which would beat Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible, which just did their last movie. Stitch is more athletic than Tom Cruise. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy is over at Disney? Everyone wants to see themselves in the mirror mirror on the wall. Yeties, another reason this Stitch surge is such a surprise? Stitch is anti-Disney. Disney built its IP archive on blue-blooded characters. We're talking old money, traditional. They got like mansions full of books. It's aspirational. From Snow White to Simba to Yoda, these are elites. But Stitch is a troublemaker who probably will break your washing machine and total your car.

But interestingly, Stitch is also a blank slate, nationless, raceless, ageless. I think he's a boy alien, but they never officially clarify in the movie? No, they don't, Jack. Stitch is not quite a hero, but Stitch is also not quite a villain. In fact, add it all up, and this sounds like the most human Disney character of all. This alien is so human. And that key detail explains why Stitch has become Disney's top-selling merch. It's the relatability of Stitch.

He's a hot mess, not a hot princess. And right now, that relatability over aspiration is winning. For our second story, the U.S. House just passed Trump's big, beautiful bill on Thursday. If the Senate passes this and it becomes law, then prepare for big debt energy. Yet he is in an end. absolute nail-biter. Republicans passed a massive budget bill at 6 a.m. after an all-nighter. The score was 215 to 214. That's the scoreboard. Every Democrat voted against it. All but three Republicans voted for it. And this is called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. And it includes all the policies that Trump campaigned on.

If this 1,000-page bill passes the Senate and becomes law, it will add $4 trillion to America's dead. Now, we should point out yet he's $4 trillion. could buy you every publicly traded company in Germany. I think you could buy every publicly traded company in Germany and France. Also, with $4 trillion, you could make 8 million Avengers movies. That is insane. There are literally not enough plot lines for that. Hey, Yetis, for $4 trillion, we should point out,

you could buy every public company in Germany. Seriously. Yeah. For $4 trillion, you could make 11,000 more Avengers movies. Superman would be exhausted, but you could make $11,000. $11,000 of those movies for this kind of money. So what are we actually going to spend $4 trillion on with this bill? Well, Jack, I got the receipts right here.

First, we were spending more on the military and border security by combined $200 billion with a B dollars. We would also increase the state and local taxes deduction from $10,000 to $40,000, which would be big for people who live in high-tax states. And there's the most viral part about this bill, which is the end of the tax on tips. This bill also would end taxes on overtime income and end taxes on car loan interest payments, although all those will end in 2028. But the big one is that this bill extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts, which were due to expire this

year. Now, the extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts, which benefited corporations and wealthy people the most, costs more than the rest of the bill combined. This is the huge line item. So the total cost of the big, beautiful bill is five, $3,000. trillion dollars, but it's offset by $1 trillion in savings. Which means add it all up, carry the one out of the three, this is a $4 trillion bill. Some of the savings are the repeals of clean energy policies passed during the Biden administration. It's also going to require states to create

work requirements for low-income people to receive Medicaid. But overall, this is a wholesale trumpification of the U.S. economy. But Jack, before we go, let's go back to that $4 trillion dollar price tag for a second. How many zeros is that? It's a bunch of Avengers movies worth from zeros, Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the American economy? This summer, we're going to have big debt energy. Yeties, this is the first time in a while. Investors are talking a lot about American debt levels. Not just investors. At a coffee shop, we weren't talking about the weekend concert you just saw. You were talking about the 10-year treasury yield. Yeah, Jack, we were on a date the other night and like one couple at the table next

was getting hot over the bond market. Because global buyers of American debt don't like this bill at all. No, they don't. They sold their U.S. bonds again last week. So the interest rate America pays on its 10-year government bonds is now up one full percentage point since last September. Even though the Fed, our central bank, has cut interest rates by 1%. Yeah, our interest rate on our national debt is still going up. It's going up even though we're lowering the benchmark interest Now, why is this happening exactly, Jack? Year after year, Democrat or Republican, Congress is showing total disregard about our debt levels. Spending more money. With less tax revenue, that just makes the debt worse, which is why we also

got our debt downgraded from AAA last week. Yes, this big, beautiful bill could stimulate the economy, but investors are more than ever worried about debt. So debt, bonds, interest rates, treasuries, suddenly everyone is talking about all of them. That's why we're calling this moment Hot debt summer. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, the wild new trend for women across America for daytime beauty become a beast at night.

Face masks, mouth tape. Here's why women are monstering themselves for their night routine. Women are experiencing it. Men are observing it. And children are freaking out about it. Because when they go to bed, At night, girlfriends are transforming into monsters on purpose.

Get this, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is the monster beauty trend. And what does it mean, Jack? You go to bed looking freaky so you can wake up looking hot. We're talking face masks that make you look like a murderer. Lips covered by mouth tape all night. No heat hair curlers that honestly would give you nightmares. It's like Mrs. Delfire.

Hello! Now the goal here is actually pretty clear. Do your skin, clear breathing to sustain your sleep through the night, and just beautification overall. Basically, high maintenance at night to be low maintenance hot in the morning, and do it all while looking like Jason from the Halloween movies. Yeah, we've got data to back up this trend. Searches for mouth tape have 10xed in the past three years. And honestly, full disclosure, even Jack wears the occasional face mask as part of his 42-step nighttime skin routine.

It is so moist, it's like a blobby blanket for your face. Yeah. I've never bought one, but I've put the one. on that Alex's handed me. I've seen the pictures and we cannot show them publicly, Jack. But Yetis, this is what Jack and I found so fascinating. This nighttime monster beauty trend is so big. The Wall Street Journal did two epic stories on it last week. But we found the one brand dominating this trend, and the business actually starts with a podcast. That's right, the skinny confidential podcast. Lauren Bostic's Wellness Empire pioneered these extreme beauty hacks that

we're talking about. This podcast is now the number one show in the education category on Apple Podcasts. And along with her husband, they own Dear Media, a podcast network with 100 shows predominantly catering to wellness girlies. Now, Lauren Bostic and her hubby affectionately refer to themselves as human guinea pigs with these health hacks that they've pioneered since 2011. Raw milk makeovers. Okay, castor oil body patches. This is a real thing. Salmon sperm facials. If you have to ask, you don't want to know anymore. We're talking scary beauty hacks right now. And once she's tried them out and attested to them, her followers buy them on the Deer Media Shop. Yeah, we got the data on this too. Her face rollers have done 16 million in sales

and her mouth tape just did 7 million in sales. Have you ever rolled your face with a frozen face roller? I did it with an ice cream pint jack and I wasn't against it. I liked it. I appreciate it. It's like that Saratoga face bath that that guy went viral for. Yeah. But you don't even get wet. Well, apparently she's also pioneered this morning shed where your skin peels. feels off your face. And let me tell you, you don't want to see that in the morning either. Are we becoming snakes? Now, with pseudo-scientific credentials, these freaky products are achieving beautiful results. We wouldn't be shocked if L'Oreal or another big beauty company buy skinny confidential and dear media because it's that powerful these days. That's right. But Jack,

I got to go back to our original question. Why is monster beauty the new trend? Why this tension of opposites of beauty and the beast? Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. So Jack, What's the takeaway for our buddies? Monstering over beauty. The job to be done theory explains all of this. Yeti's Harvard Business School professor, Clay Christensen, came up with the concept that every product is for a job to be done. In other words, people don't buy products.

They hire products to do a specific job. Think about it like this. I need to get A to B, so I hire Uber. I need to feel confident in the gym, so I hire Lulu Lemon. I need to stop my skin from aging. I'm hiring this crazy face. mask I'll wear every night. Basically, we don't care how they look when we're sleeping in bed. Nobody's watching. We just need this job to be done. The job to be done is a reminder that

customers focus on the outcomes. They hire a product for their function. So besties, it's the job to be done theory that explains why you'll look like a monster for beauty. The job to be done is look beautiful. Doesn't matter if you look like a monster at night. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the four-day work week? Stitch from Lilo and Stitch is the top merchandised character of all of Disney right now, because everyone wants to see themselves in the mirror, mirror on the wall. For our second story, the House passed Trump's big, beautiful bill, which would add an additional $4 trillion to our debt. This summer, it's got big debt energy. We're calling it hot debt summer. And our third and final story, monstering at night to look beautiful

during the day. It's the trend pioneered by Skinny Confidential. And the jobs to be done framework explains how you don't buy products. You hire products. But Yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, wild update from Clarna. Remember last week we did that story on Clarna, the Buy Now Pay Later company? Yes. We'll get this. Clarna just revealed its earnings were not delivered by its human CEO. They tricked us. The video of their CEO reporting their earnings was an AI avatar. Not the real CEO human being. Carolina, they're not just replacing their customer service with AI bots. They're replacing their CEO too.

We told you. They're trying to rebrand from Buy Now Pay Later to an AI company. And second, the hottest ticket in town this week is next to Timothy Shalameh over at MSG, baby. Because the Knicks are in the Eastern Conference Finals. And if you want to sit next to Timothy Sharmulay Courtside, 60 grand is the ticket. The Knicks haven't gone this far in the playoffs since I was in first grade in the late 90s, go New York, New York. And for the third time in a row, the Knicks are in the Eastern Conference. conference playoffs against the Pacers. And finally, we have more details on the Open AI, Johnny

Ive AI gadget coming next year. All right. It's reportedly going to be pocket-sized, contextually aware, screen-free, and not eyewear. Yeah, it's according to a leak to the Wall Street Journal. Now, what does contextually aware mean, Jack? I think it's going to mean that it's listening to everything you're doing. So when you ask it a question, you don't have to provide context. It's already on the same page. It's right there with also no screen. Do you think this means hologram? Are we like it in a Star Wars hologram? It's either going to be voice only, like a really, really good Siri, or maybe it has a projector on your hand, or it could be a hologram. Our money's on Princess Leia hologram.

Now, time for the best fact yet, and because it is T-Boy Tuesday, it is T-B-I-Y trivia on Heinz ketchup. It's officially summer, so you probably poured some ketchup onto a burger last weekend. Actually, 100% sure that ketchup was Heinz ketchup. But do you know why Heinz has the number 57 on the bottle. Hint, it's not the 57th variety of ketchup or of any Hines product. So why do they call it number 57 on every Hines product? Wow, we just did a whole deep dive episode in the best idea yet on Heinz, and we'll tell you the answer on this show tomorrow. Yiddies, you look fantastic over there. Jack, I'm so glad we circled back to the takeaways at the very end, you know? Are we going offline? No, we kept things online. Butterfly's not going to spank us.

No, they're not going to spank us. That's good. That's good. Yetis, you look fantastic. Remember to drop down and give us five stars in a review. That helps us grow the show. Do it right now, so you don't have any follow-ups. Yeah, perfect. And then later, you can H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a shout-out to Sarov Bunea from Chicago doing logistics, who's joining McKinsey in San Francisco after graduating. Congrats, Zorov.

And happy birthday to Adam Ross. In Seattle, a brand-new T-boy fan. Also, additional shout-out. Sorov used a T-Boy story as a case prep for their interviews for McKinsey. Pretty awesome. And finally, a big shout-out to Saver Travels. My travel agent actually hooked me up with that epic Paris Google Maps pinning situation. Oh, that Google Maps Paris Map was incredible. Savor Travels, thanks for whipping that up for Jack.

And now for me. And if you want a shout-out on this show, we got a link in the episode description, fill it out, and we'll get you on the pod. This is Jack. I own stock in Birkenstock and Disney, and Nick and I both own stock in Spotify and Apple.