The Best One Yet - 🍞 “Rage Bait Bread — NYC’s $60 Rye. AI’s All-Star Dinner. GM’s 1st weapon. +Dude Pilates

Episode Date: September 22, 2026

One NYC bakery is selling only 1 thing: $60 rye bread… but it’s actually a surprise chain.GM pivoted from cars to weapons… and it’s bringing back Apple Car Play.The Gods of AI are hosting a dinner in DC with 2 presidents… we have 3 regulation ideas.Plus, the number of men taking pilates has doubled in 5 years… and so have the complaints.$GM $NVDA $METAGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14: https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsNEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, Teaboy, Tuesday, September 22nd. And today's part is the best one. Yeah, this is it Tebow. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Live show is tomorrow. Run Club is today, man.

But Nick, leave it to your boy, Kramer. I land in San Francisco and tech stocks have their best day since June. Coincidence? Stocks jumped 2.2% on the NASDAQ to an all-time high-ist. Whenever Jack arrives here, you buy the NASDAQ. Jack, three fantastic stories for today's T-Boy. What do we got on live show? Eve. For our first story, one New York City bakery has one thing they sell.

Rye for 60 bucks a loaf. But this is actually their 43rd bakery location. The first, though, to sell loaves for 60 bucks each. For our second story, General Motors now produces Patriot missile parts faster than the defense industry can. And it all involves Apple car play. We'll explain why. And our third and final story, President Trump welcomes President Xi to a state dinner this week with seven AI executive plus ones. But we'll tell you the specific AI regulations that should be on that dinner menu. But besties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

Oh, what a mix of stories, Jack. How long are you staying because portfolios can use the bull market will last as long as I'm here? As soon as he lands. But yeties, men are invading a women-dominated fitness space and you need to know about it. And men are getting dominated by that fitness space. Because men are going with their wives and girlfriends to Pilates. But those same men can't handle Pilates. But there is one scientific reason why?

We'll tell you in a sec. Yet he's on TikTok. You probably noticed dudes sharing their first Pilates class, and that's probably trending. They're confident. They're cocky. They think they can tame that reformer. According to the journal, the number of men in Pilatea Studios is up 25% this year. He's traded the bench press and the burpees for the tabletops and the articulation.

But like those same men, the first time they tried yoga, they're being humbled by Pilates. These guys are walking out of Pilates in pain, in anguish, and in tears. Jimbros are begging for the class to be over. Boyfriends are quitting solid core. Can I go full disclosure on this one, Jack? Yes. All right, I did one Pilates class at Equinox this past spring. You know what I'm feeling?

A wife who wants you to get out of the Pilates studio. I haven't felt my glutes in six months, Jack, either. It turns out yet. These Pilates isn't just a cute form of stretching after all. But besties, before you beat up on all these broken boys in Pilates classes. Us X, Y chromosomes have a scientific excuse. You see, men's legs are three times heavier than women's legs on average. So the impact of any Pilates position is three times the pain.

We're talking seated super. kind or side lion. Now, not claiming that us men deserve sympathy for physical pain, because obviously the women win in that category. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Plotties dudes are crying more, but we're feeling it more. All right, Nick, let's finish this episode so I can help you with a partner stretch now. Jack, let's do that to me stories.

15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea that caused 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. For the first time since the Kronut, a bakery is going viral. But this time for a $60 loaf of rye. The $60 rye is the perfect case study in storytelling versus story selling.

yet he had his earlier this year Jack and I covered the line economy you know like every street in New York it's got people waiting online we can see them right now from here and absurdly the more expensive the thing being sold at these stores the higher the likelihood there's a line out of it's a business bizarre world it's absurd

you got $15 lot days he got $30 fro you the more absurd the price the more the people want it limited edition Yankees aloe perfume legging clad just dropped $1,000 bucks eat but Vesdi's the latest line It is for the most abundant and oldest food on the planet.

And that's what we find shocking. Bread. Because this one store in New York City sells one thing and one thing only. A $60 loaf of rye bread. Actually, they sell three things. Fair point, yeah. They sell half loaves for $30 and quarter loaves for $15. Or you can go on like a buy-now pay-later plan at this point.

These loaves are 10 inches wide. There's circles, and there's only three ingredients. Yeah. Water, flour, and salt. And the store is called naturally, rye, three letters. You should point out, your local church offered. bread for free on Sundays. And they also have a line, I should point out, Jack. Rye offers bread for $60 a loaf. 60 bucks, that is six times more than Wagmans. That is 10 times more than Panera, Jack.

And that's all before you add butter. Now, what Nick and I find fascinating about this story, besides the fact that people are standing in line for a $60 loaf of bread, is that this isn't a one-off store, a marketing style, or a TikTok truck. Actually, it is all of those things, but it's also a global business chain. And no one's talking about that. Jack, why don't you sprinkle on some context like it's flour. This bakery is run by Martin Auer, and it's on Lafayette Street in New York City. 3,000 square feet. It looks, though, like it's a four-season spa. It's a beautiful building with a vast interior space. Are you buying carbs or are you getting the facial? The bread comes out, it's like it looks like it just got a massage. But Martin Auer, the man behind this bread,

he actually is from a family of four generations of bakers in Austria. They got a secret recipe. It's fermented 24 hours. They actually say on their website that there's a fourth ingredient, and that is time. In fact, get this. Each, Each loaf of this $60 rye bread uses the same sourdough starter as the owner's grandpa used 57 years ago. We repeat. First of all, for those of you uninitiated, sourdough starter is a living organism. It's true. It lives in a tub.

It's like bubbling and alive, like flubber. It's got feelings. And the sourdose starter from the loaves that you eat in New York City, it's from a sourdose starter that's been alive for 57 years. They import little bits of that original starter from Austria to New York to bake this bread. puts it in their pocket and brings it on a plane is how we envision it. Hey, U.S. Customs and Border Control. Pay attention. This can't be legal. I have something really cool to declare. But Bessie's here's the surprise. This New York bakery, it's only their first in the United States. There's 42 of these already in Austria. That's true. And they're doing revenue of $55 million in total. Jacks,

bring a lot more content. That's the same revenue level as Magnolia Bakery, the P.E. backed Queen of Cupcakes here in the States. So Besty's added up, and this craft artisan is selling $60 bread in a building that David Bow used to live in in Soho. And it's really a chain. But it works. New Yorkers are lined enough to drop 60 bucks on a statement contribution to that night's dinner party.

To some, this is a purely rage bait business. Right, right. Like you're rooting for this. Look at me. Gimmick to just fail. There's like a thousand TikToks with people just being angry that this business is selling to customize.

My sister took a day off from work to wait online and send me six photos of it. And that's caused a bunch of angry comments. But to others, it's not about the product. What they're selling for $60. is a whole experience that seems worth it. Because you can't buy this on DoorDash. You must go to the store like you're buying a necklace at Tiffany's.

And they see value there. But there is one detail that stood out to us in our research. Martin Hour told Bloomberg that back in Austria, their rice sells for $10. Interesting. Only here in New York is it selling for $60 bucks. 6X. So Jaggle, what's the takeaway for all our buddies? You know what, fine, we'll take two.

No, we're splitting one. Okay, okay. For our buddies at the $60 rye bakery. Their story telling and then there's story selling. Yet he's back in 1899. An economic idea was coined that was later called the Veblen Effect. It defied the laws of supply and demand. It's bizarreo economics.

Yeah, it is. The idea is that as you raise prices, demand will increase, not decrease. It doesn't make any sense. The opposite of what you were tied. Look at the Armeas handbag or the Lamborghini car or the Rolex watch. The high price, it signals a high value. You're basically like it's $60 bread. It must be good.

$60 bread. I want people to know I bought $60 bread. Another way to describe the VEblen effect is conspicuous spending. But with this bread, there's more to the story because the backstory also includes the family recipe, the four generations, the spa-like bakery experience. And the same living sourdough starter that's been bubbling in a tub in Austria for 57 years. Swabbing a $60 price tag was audacious as a marketing move. But Rye didn't conjure it out of nothing. They knew that their $60 price tag was actually backed up by some legendary Levine lore. Just like how an Aramaze bag is backed up by handcrafted stitching by just one single artisan. And how Ferrari is backed up by a hand-assembled chassis, not mass production.

You see, Rye realized that how you are described matters as much as what you sell. In a family bakery that only sells $60 rice that are descendants of a 57-year salary. I'm sorry, Jack, I'm getting too. Because that's not storytelling. That's story selling. Nick, we're only getting one. It's a write-off, guys. Just throw it in the bag. For our second story, General Motors stock is near an all-time high as they pursue a brand new side hustle, Patriot missiles. Arsenal Democracy 2.0 shows that a successful pivot requires proximity.

Yet he's back in May. We covered Detroit's surprise pivot to defense. From Ford Taurus to Ford Tank. Yeah, we're not talking about the pistons here. General Motors, Ford V-dub. They've all signed defense contracts this year because war, it's everywhere. World War III happening, but like with World War II, the United States is asking the car industry to help out. And for General Motors, that meant a pivot focused on the Patriot missile. The Patriot, the $4 million missile that we used to intercept incoming drones, ballistic, and cruise missiles. Yeah, but spoiler, we're in short supply of Patriot missiles because of the war in Ukraine and the war in Iran. Which is why the Pentagon has asked the industry to triple production.

Well, Jack, you happen to go to graduate school, the University of Michigan. Who's going to be supplying that brand-new weapon demand? Partially, Detroit. Interesting. General Motors is doing the outer shell of the Patriot missile. That's right. The Journal has reported that General Motors delivered their first Patriot missile components just 22 days after the order. 22 days. That's it. After signing the order, they're delivering products to Lockheed mine. I order an Uber cab and it takes 22 days to our object. It is wild. GM was able to retool a factory that was making cars to become a factory making missiles in 22 days. As context, the same journal article says that the existing supplier of these Patriot missiles takes months to actually deliver those parts.

General Dynamics takes months to do it. GM did it in weeks. That's impressive. And according to their CEO, Mary Barra, GM is doing $700 million in defense revenue this year. And they're doing it with double-digit margins. Wow. Something their car business can't say. That's a profit puppy. So to answer the 1970 song, Jack War, what is it good for?

The stock. Investors love this new and profitable, albeit it's a little. small business side hustle line of GM. General Motors stock is up 41% in last 12 months to get this, an all-time high. Okay, so Jack, that's good news, General Motors. The second good news is for General Motors owners. Yeah, because Apple CarPlay is coming back. It's back, baby. GM was as popular as a flat tire in 2023 when they said they were breaking up with Apple CarPlay. General Motors wanted to own the entire experience. So for all their EVs, they said you can only use General Software on that little screen.

Not just only experience. Probably they want to charge a subscription one day for it, subscriptioneration. So like Tesla and Rivian, General Motors started to build their own smart screen software with their own apps and their own buttons. Sign our series, we'll see you never. But now, instead of canceling Apple CarPlay

across all their cars, which was the next logical step, GM is doing what appears to be an about phase. GM just announced a new Apple CarPlay and Android Auto option for their Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks. Now, GM hasn't said if they're bringing Apple CarPlay back to the electric cars, but we bet they will, because that would make sense based on this news. Because besties get this. Forget the horsepower of the cup holders. It is Apple CarPlay that sells cars. 55% of potential car buyers, according to a recent survey, say that Apple CarPlay is a must

have. It's a deal breaker without General Motors. They thought they could do tech, but all they could do was Tech Lash. I'll be honest, Nick, I have a Rivian. I can't text people with my voice. It's really frustrating. If I had Apple car play, I'd be able to. Jack, have you tried saying please? I actually always say please. Yeah, if the robots take over, they'll remember who said please and thank you. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at GM? When pondering where to pivot, the preference should be proximity. Yeties, GM's gone for three big pivots in the past 10 years, electric, tech, and now defense. The electric pivot went okay so far. They've lost a lot of money, but GM does have some great EVs. The tech pivot,

It's gone badly. Like they shut down crews, their robotaxie. They dropped $10 billion on. And now they're going back to Apple CarPlay. The defense pivot, that's the one that's working. It's young. It's just started. It's going swimmingly so far.

And the reason, Jack and I think, is because of proximity. The defense initiative, it requires core competencies that are in manufacturing. Which is what GM's been doing for 100 years. While electric and tech pivots, those were like learning a completely new language. So when pondering where to pivot, the preference. should be proximity. And remember to say, please. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, two presidents and the all-star leaders of AI are having dinner Thursday night at the White House. So we curated an AI dinner menu with specific AI regulations for Trump, she, and seven Texan. Feece. Feast on it, boys. But first, I mean, I'm checking the calendar here, Jack.

A lot of world-changing events on the calendar this week? The UN General Assembly in New York City. Okay. Meta Connect on Wednesday in Silicon Valley. We got the invite. T-Boy Live in San Francisco. Which is why we're not going, Zuck. We got our own live show that night.

But according to both TMZ and the New York Post, the hottest ticket in town is the state dinner at the White House. President Trump hosts in President Xi of China. Trump's collection of tech billionaires will attend as well. The same ones as his inauguration. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sunder Pichai, Sam Altman, Timi, Cook, all done in Texas at 1600 Pennsylvania. Zuck wasn't invited, maybe because of MetaConnect, I'm not sure.

Also, Jensen Wong will be there. The president's new height man on not regulating artificial intelligence. Now, this isn't their first rodeo. And it's not even their second rodeo. Not a third really. Because Elon Musk, Jensen, Tim Cook, they did the same state dinner in May, in China. Like, the same thing, but on the other side of the planet. There's going to be more market cap in the White House tomorrow night than any time in recorded human history.

Now, President Trump is meeting President Xi at the airport tarmac. on Wednesday, which is unusual. The airport pickup very rare these days. Now, policy talks happen all day Thursday, and then the state dinner is Thursday night. But Jack, what does Wall Street want from this epic dinner? They want pageantry, politeness, and nothing else. Investors want the status quo. That would be a win. It's like a wedding where you just hope there's no drama. Yeah, the trade war truce continues. We keep tariffs suspended. China keeps the critical minerals and rare earth metals flowing to us. That's called the Busan truce, and it expires November 10th, a similar, simple extension of that trade war truce would be considered a win.

But besties, this is what Jack and I want to focus on. Beyond the status quo, there is a main course and a random rogue dessert course on this AI dinner menu. And since I'm pretty sure President Trump eats dessert first, let's kick it off with the random crazy dessert that could make or break this entire summit in a total surprise chaotic fashion. It's Iran. Because if there's one thing President Trump wishes would go away right now, it's the war in Iran. But a big reason the war on Iran is continuing is challenging. is China. China. China buys lots of Iranian oil, and that money is keeping the regime alive. Awkward because the U.S. threatened to punish anyone who buys Iranian oil, including China.

So Iran is the wildcar. Will the U.S. talk tough? Will China try to call Trump's bluff on this? Okay, but Jack, I got a bigger dish for you here. The new main course, with the most room on the fancy menu printout on the tables, it's clearly AI. And you know the pre-meeting is just as important as the meeting. Right. So on Sunday, Treasury Secretary, met his Chinese counterparts in New York City to talk about the meeting. And AI, he told reporters that he pitched a system to notify each country about major AI incidents. If those incidents rise to the level of a national security threat. Picture those red telephones from the Cold War.

So, Jack, what else is in this AI main course? A whole lot, Nick. Oh, enough for a takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies going to the All-Star AI dinner? We curated a specific list of AI regulation, and we hope one of one of us. them gets ordered at Thursday night's dinner. Because Yetis, we've covered the topic of AI regulation several times in the last couple months. And some of you has asked us in comments for specific AI regulatory ideas. Here are several.

For example, Elon says we should let Chinese and American AI labs grade each other's work before releasing their models. Like a peer review system. Right. Allow third parties to spot security vulnerabilities that the labs can't spot themselves because you're just too close to the work. The AI companies, they all want third. party auditors. Why not each other? Another specific regulatory idea comes from Ezra Klein. He thinks we should ban RSI recursive self-improvement. What Jack's talking about there is when AI develops future models

itself, and we simply can't trust that. Like, it would happen too fast for humans to even control. Chat Chitvety version 9 is developed by Chat Chitvety version 8. That seems like we have lost control of Chapo-DupT. By the way, Dario seems to agree with this idea as well. The next idea comes for Senators to Thune, Cruz, and Klobuchar. They're working on a bipartisan bill focused solely on catastrophic risks involving biological or nuclear threats. Like we say AI could kill us all, but how? Well, if AI creates and controls a bio or nuclear weapon, that's how. Because everything is run by computers these days. Something to protect us from AI doing that makes sense whether China agrees or not. And they're also domestic AI issues, too, like give taxpayers a stake in AI.

Like with an AI sovereign wealth fund. Or you can make tech pay for the power, AI. So data centers don't drive up local energy costs. Another fundamental one, the kill switch. Frontier technology must have a single accessible way for a human to stop it if it's out of control. All of those are specific policy ideas. None of them are in place right now. So we're hoping for President Trump and President Xi and the AI all-stars around them to seize this dinner moment. Find an item on that AI menu that tastes good to everyone. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Team Boy Tuesday? Rye sells $60 loaves of rye.

Call Guinness, that is the most expensive bread ever. Oh, that interesting international origin story. The price tag is story selling. Make it three. I'm surprised they didn't misspell rye. Be like, we do things a little different around here. Second, General Motor Stock is close to all-time highs, as it shows it delivered its first Patriot missile orders ahead of schedule.

GM's most profitable pivots are the ones proximate to its core competencies. And our third and final story, President Trump is hosting President Xi on Thursday, and a gaggle of tech CEOs will be there too. For the long list of ways to regulate AI. If one of them is agreed to, that's a win. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, team TV made a bold First Amendment stand

across the political spectrum. If CNN is banned, then we're all banned. ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, Fox News, and CNN. All five major TV networks united to protest Trump's banning of three news networks from the White House briefing room. On Trump's briefing to the press, those five networks will now turn their cameras off and not broadcast it on TV. On the same day, CNN, MS Now, and Politico all sued the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment.

And second, Paramount's Warner Brothers deal. It's moving ahead after a major legal sentiment. Paramount was sued by a bunch of states led by California on fears that buying Warner Brothers would give them too much monopoly media power. But Paramount just agreed to a whole bunch of concessions to get approval so they could go ahead with the deal. Paramount's committing to 30 theatrical movies per year. They're committing to keep their movie studios in California for at least five years and to create an independent board to oversee CNN. It's a win for Paramount.

And finally, New York City is getting 17 new public toilets, actually a robo toilets because they're fully automated. I wouldn't say fully automated. They're not going to wipe you. You got to work yourself off. They're developed by a company called Throne Labs, who we actually covered their smart toilet business a couple years ago. Okay, but, Jack, there is one catchier.

These public toilets, they run on a 10-minute timer. So after 10 minutes, no matter where you are in your process, those doors are opening. Yeah. I assume they give you a couple of warnings. They get a couple warnings, but then, Jack, you're exposed to the public. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Savannah Westwood from lovely Orlando, Florida. Did you know that Walt Disney World is the home to the largest working wardrobe in the world?

Because Disney World has two and a half million costume pieces ready at the theme park for everyone to put on. From dazzling princess gowns and character costumes to cast member uniforms to the Indiana Jones cackies. Just bring on some context, Disney World has three times more clothes than rent the runway does. Besties are live show in San Francisco as when tonight. If you've got the best fact yet about the Bay Area, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, you name it, send it to Nick and me at T-BoyPod on Instagram. Or fill out the form in this episode description, Jack and I will bring you up on stage. By the way, we still got tickets. Last chance, take it or leave it.

Each ticket entitles you to one hug. Oh, happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Daniel Paul from Denver, the biggest fan of T-Boy in the Rockies. He's been to three live shows, Dan. We'd love to see. I think his fourth will be Wednesday in a lot. This is the fourth, Grand Slam. Happy birthday to a Nunia Singh, celebrating her birthday, the third shout-out on the pod with her husband Mayak in New York City. And Peter Freshie, he's turned 32 years old celebrating in Seattle.

Happy birthday to Summer Pain. The best is yet to come for her 32nd. And Agnes Lamb celebrated with a pizza up in Toronto, Canada. Happy birthday to Abraham Aziz, celebrating the last of his 20s in Toronto. And Ali Kranzler and lovely Los Angeles, enjoy the best birthday yet. And happy 37th to Holly Chan. Her birthday and her child's birthday, same week, big celebration. And Landon and Liz Glover, enjoy the anniversary over in Denver.

And I hope everyone had an easy fast for Yom Kippoor. And to anyone else, celebrating something today. Make it a team. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock at Ford and Disney. and I both on stock of Apple.