The Best One Yet - ⛳🩲 “Skims + Netflix + Will Ferrell” — 2026’s wildest collab. Vespa’s 80th party. Comcast’s NBC’s divorce. +Nun rentals

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, Teen Boy, Tuesday, June 30th. 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. Well, happy America's 250th birthday week to all those who celebrate. The stock market is ripping right now, like a young Paul Revere. The profits are coming. The profits are coming. Nick and I whipped up three fantastic stories on this holiday shortened birthday week. And we shall declare them. Jack, three fantastic stories. What a we got in the pod. For our first story, why are Will Ferrell, Kim Kardashian, and Netflix hooking up in the craziest collab of the year? Besties, this is Monage Atou Marketing. For our second story, the Vespa Scooter just had its 80th birthday with a huge takeover of Rome. So, but Italy's hottest export is actually the most innovative business on wheels. And our third and final story, NBCU and Comcast are splitting up. It's a corporate divorce. But you know what that means, Jack, don't you? What is it?

Starting point is 00:00:57 No, one of these brands is getting the rebound, boyfriend. or both the burn. But yet, he's, before we hit that wonderful mix of stores. Single and ready to mingle. Love the mix. Fantastic mix, Jack. The hottest new real estate for young people, what is it, Nick? Well, Jack, it's not Manhattan's West Village,

Starting point is 00:01:12 Brooklyn's Williamsburg, or Boston's Seaport just outside Boston. It's not Austin either. No, it's not. It's none or ease. We repeat, the trendy new rental market is a covenant boarding house. Rent is so high right now. Genzi is asking Sister Maria to be their roommate. So damn high, Jack.

Starting point is 00:01:30 Forget the studio in Tribeca. How about a community of poverty, chastity, and obedience? Holy, I like where you're going. Get great natural life. Sprinkling on some context, the average one-bedroom Manhattan is going to cost you $4,200 right now. But according to Wall Street Journal reporting, St. Mary's residence, a real covenant on the Upper East Side is charging just $1,200 for a room. And Jack, the pancakes, I believe they're free. Yes, Wi-Fi's included, heating's included, even meals are included. Oh, but so are the House rules, right, man? And by house rules, we mean the house rules of God.

Starting point is 00:02:02 Because if you want to live in this nun or you got to deep clean the rugs once a month. You must make your bed before you leave the house. Oh, and curfew, it's strictly 11 p.m. And if you bring home a boy, no joke, the nuns will vet him before allowing his entrance. Well, what's with your buddy Timmy's mustache? We're going to talk about that. One Gen Z interviewed by the Wall Street Journal said the rules are worth it. Nuns are awesome, he said, quote, they be chilling.

Starting point is 00:02:25 Let's just hope private equity doesn't catch wind of this real estate opportunity. Yeah, you don't want. St. Patrick's Cathedral to become the J.P. Morgan Chase, St. Patrick's Cathedral apartment and amenities. Nick, I'm reading $580 for a one-bedroom in Manhattan at this covenant. Are you kidding me? That's such a good win. It's a sin. Oh, the devils of the details, Jack. Let's say hi 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

Starting point is 00:02:54 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, Will Ferrell, Kim Kardashian, and Netflix walk into a bar.

Starting point is 00:03:31 That's not a setup to a joke. That's a real collab, and it captures a milestone moment for marketing. Now, yet he's just to share with you what goes on behind the scenes at T-Boy, Jack and I were prepping a story yesterday about a startup selling $100 blueberry pies in the Hamptons. But put that story on pause, because then something showed up in my Instagram feed and I texted it to Nick. And the video that Jack so kindly shared with me, it was of a half-naked, middle-aged, overweight, white dude with a very particular scar on his stomach. I think it was more of a fold on his skin than a scar. Either way, there was a lot of hair, Jack.

Starting point is 00:04:06 A lot of hair. He was in the middle of a golf course, hitting balls into the woods, wearing just tidy-whitties. Okay, that disturbing-looking man, Jack, can you reveal the character? Will Ferrell. It was Will Ferrell.

Starting point is 00:04:16 But there's also a sultry voiceover narrating this photo shoot from Kim Kardashian. And Kim Kardashian is talking about skims while you're staring at Will Ferrell's body. And then the whole video closes with the logo of Netflix promoting their latest show.

Starting point is 00:04:31 So, Bessie's pause the pod. We had to pivot, because this is a new story involving $320 billion of market cap and 350 million followers. Skims was already eating up the Abercrombie, Victoria's Secret, and Lou Lemon. We think it'll IPO next year. We do. We're calling it now, Skim's IPO 2027. But now Skims is hooking up with the world's funniest actor and the world's biggest streamer. I'm sorry, but to promote and sell men's tidy whitties, Jack? This was a menagerie twas of marketing. Ah, the rare menagerie twas of marketing, three different brands doing one deal. together. But it's promoting two different products, something you don't see every day.

Starting point is 00:05:07 No, it's not. Now, Jack and I like to say the goal of marketing these days should be to stop the scroll. Well, this video gave you three reasons to stop. Yeah, the first reason is Will Farrell, who's starring in a new comedy series about a golfer, fictional golfer named Lonnie the Hawk Hawkins. Lonnie's the former number one golfer from the year 2004, and he just refuses to retire. Yeah, think of this new series as Happy Gilmore meets Talladega Nights with a little hint of jazz flute. I'm Ron Burgundy. Okay, but that new show, it happens to be on Netflix. It's Will Ferrell's first scripted comedy series. It debuts July 16th.

Starting point is 00:05:42 Okay, but then Jack, Kim Kardashian, decided to join in on the fun, too. This Will Ferrell Netflix promo also promoted skims. Men's wear by skims. Because Will Ferrell was wearing tube socks, a tank top, and men's tidy whitties, all produced by skims. And Will Ferrell's unique physique in those revealing onto garments, that is the joke that is the tension. So the 32nd Instagram video went Dutch on the marketing. 50% promoted Netflix, 50% promoted skims. Bestie's out of love, you got three brands hooking up for two products. A TV show and underwear. We call it Minajatoa marketing. The rare three-way of a collab.

Starting point is 00:06:21 So Jack, what's the takeaway here for all our buddies wondering what the heck's going on with Kardashian-Farrel and Netflix? In brands we trust. In brands we trust. Yet he's 10 years ago, this partnership of skims, Netflix, and Will Ferrell, it just never would have happened. We would have found it too commercial. We would have found it lame that a TV show sold out to such an extent as to explicitly promote skims with like the wardrobe. We didn't have this word 10 years ago, but it would have given us the it. Right, yeah. But now, the combo of three distinct brands and personalities collabing, we're celebrating it.

Starting point is 00:06:56 Well, to understand that flip, we can look at the data on consumer trust, which also recently flipped. According to the Edelman brand survey, trust in government and institutions is down, but trust in business is up to all-time highs in America. Brands and personalities, they actually have the highest trust rating these days, even beating nonprofits. So Kim Kardashian promoting her men's underwear in an ad for a will-fell show on Netflix? Yeah. It no longer gives us the ick like it would have 10 years ago. Not getting the ick, jack, no it here. And if you don't like that they all promoted, at least you appreciate their upfront about it, knowing that corporate money is behind everything these days.

Starting point is 00:07:33 Besties, this menagerie-tois marketing, it shows a new phenomenon we're all living with. In brands we trust. For our second story, the Vespas scooter, it just turned 80 years old this weekend. Bon compilana. And it's 80 years of success hinges on an Italian saying that Harley Davidson completely disagrees with. Oh, and you're going to love this saying, Vesties. But first, to sprinkle on some context, you have not studied abroad in Italy until you get hit by the side view mirror of a Vespa in Florence and drop your Panini in the Arno.

Starting point is 00:08:08 The Vespa pairs well with linen pants and optional helmet and a handsome driver named Marco. I still can't move my arm like I used to, Jack, that darn scooter. And from our research, Vespa is the first brand in history to become a verb. Sorry, Venmo, Vespa beat you to it. But Vespa's owner, Piaggio, actually goes back to 1884 when they were in the shipmaking industry. That's right, but during World War II, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, strong-armed the company to start making war planes instead. So after the war, Piaggio pivoted again.

Starting point is 00:08:39 From planes to little cute leisure scooters. By inventing the Vespa, Jack, could you sprinkle on some Italian translation for us, please? You know I went to Italy, right? I may have heard it. I think I heard a rumor. Vespa means wasp in Italian, and it's now the most famous two-wheeled scooter in the world. Yeah, wasp because the Vespa scooter both sounds like a wasp, think about it. But it also has a narrow waist and a large rear, much like a wasp that might sting ya.

Starting point is 00:09:04 it all up. You've got 18 million Vespas on the road today in 100 countries selling 200,000 per a year. Which beats Harley's 150,000. Even though you can fit a Vespa inside of a Harley Tail Pipe Jack. But here's the news. Vespa just celebrated their 80th birthday with a four-day festival in Italy's capital, Rome. You may have heard it because there were 67,000 Vespas crawling through the streets going full wasp on our octaves. And sorry for triggering anyone who was recently stung by a bee. Shout out to Alex, who got stung in the neck yesterday. I was actually kind of worried, man. She's a survivor, but Jack, the Ford Model T. It's what taught us what the Vespa really means to the country of Italy, right?

Starting point is 00:09:42 Well, yeah, the Model T and the Vespa, they both unlocked freedom. You see, Bessie's, the Ford Model T car was for the American Open Road, while the Vespa primavera was to weave through Italian traffic, both of those liberating experiences. But the Model T liberated the working man of America. The VESPA liberated Italian women. That's right, because, Jack, women's suffrage came to Italy, the year 1946 and what's important about that year. That's the same year the Vespa was born.

Starting point is 00:10:09 And the first Vespa ad? It wasn't some dude with the Kianti riding home to his wife after working his factory job. No, the first Vespa ad was a smiling single woman sitting on an orange Vespa on her way to work. Seven years later, Audrey Hepburn famously wrote on a Vespa in the movie Roman Holiday, which was a huge hit. In the 1970s, one magazine ad for Vespa showed a woman overtaking a man on a Vespa. And then in the 80s, they went full femme. They expanded their color choices to bold dashing options that only Ferrari would offer. You see, VESPA, they were taking more inspiration from the cosmetics industry than from the car industry. So VESPA didn't just become the vehicle of choice for Italian women. It also

Starting point is 00:10:48 became the vehicle of choice for people tied on cash. Because the VESpa even revolutionized financing. Jack, are you talking BNPL? BNPL before BNPL. Yeah, buy now, pay later. VESPA Piuspa pioneered it. The first year, Piagio sold Vespas. They only sold 2,500. And that's a problem. offering an installment plan quadrupled sales by the next year. Mamma Mia, but besties, this is what Jack and I find fascinating about that cute little Vespa. When American Harleys entered the Italian market in the 1960s, Ves did not adapt by making bigger scooters. And when Japanese crotch rocket bikes arrived in the 1980s, Vespa did not adapt with smaller scooters. For 80 years, Vespa has focused on making pretty much the same VESPA, and we see a strategy there.

Starting point is 00:11:31 You also see that strategy in Disney movies, don't you? Well, anybody with a five-year-old knows that Luca and Disney Plus, yeah, Pixar made the same Vespa as the year 1946. And that made Jack and I sit down, stand up and get back on the Vespa. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Vespa? Vespa's growth strategy? It's Ildolce Farniente. That's a phrase that Jack learned on his vacation last week when he was sitting on a beach in a Malfi.

Starting point is 00:11:58 Because he was sending me picks, and I was just like, okay, well, that's the 43rd pick. I said like a lot of picks. Well, I love the picks. I was like, Jack, you are doing the Dolce Farniente. Now, the translation is the sweetness of doing nothing. It's when you sit on the beach

Starting point is 00:12:10 with a book, sipping an apparel spreads. Okay, but here's the key besties. Italians believe that doing less is an art. It's not being lazy or unmotivated, it's the art of being intentional and savoring.

Starting point is 00:12:21 And that concept can apply to business too. Because over 80 years, VESPA has thrived by doing less. Yeah, they still innovated, but they didn't pivot to fads. They didn't get distracted by the success of big American Harley-David, since in the 60s or of the smaller Japanese Yamaha's of the 80s.

Starting point is 00:12:37 No, Vespa strategy has been to do more of what VESPA distinctively stands for. Practical indulgence. Did you ever drive a Vespa when you're in Italy, by the way? I mean, Jack, there's nothing better than driving around on a Vespa, or frankly, strapping your arms around someone else who's driving that Vespa for you. So while every reason, Yamaha has popped and dropped with the trends, Vespa is looking better than ever at 80 years old. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

Starting point is 00:13:06 Our third and final story, Comcast just broke up with itself, and the stock, it jumped as much as 20%. Because Wall Street loves corporate divorce. It sadly does. But both newly single entities are already being courted. Yes, they are. But besties, just to let you know, when Jack and our roommates in college, what would we throw on when we were done with Family Guy signed Feld and the Daily Show reruns, Jack? 30 Rock. Oh, 30 Rock. Classic. The NBC sitcom founded by Tina Faye and starring Alec Baldwin. Yeah, but Comcast was interestingly a subtle main character in the show 30 Rock.

Starting point is 00:13:43 True. A key punchline across a bunch of episodes was making fun of a corporate telecom company owning NBC and Universal. In the show, CableTown was the fictional boss of Tracy Morgan and the whole 30 Rock cast. In real life, CableTown was Comcast. Comcast. Well, here's the news, besties. The awkwardness of Comcast owning NBC in real life,

Starting point is 00:14:05 that relationship is coming to an end. They announced a split up on Monday, and the stock rose 22% as Wall Street opened. Yeah, because a theme park married to a telecom station, it's an awkward relationship. But a theme park and a telecom station, separate businesses from each other? And one of them is exciting and growing,

Starting point is 00:14:24 while the other one is boring and dying. NBC owns S&L, Bravo, Sunday night football, and more recently, NBA on NBC. The Real Housewives on Mars, one day that show will happen and it will be on NBC. But there's also the Universal Park. They own Harry Potter. They own Jurassic Park. They own Shrek and a bunch of other IP.

Starting point is 00:14:46 Oh, and the Universal Studios theme parks, vacation destinations. Yet despite all that fun from NBCU, Comcast, its parent company, is worth half as much as Disney's $171 billion. Okay, but Jack, but pause the pot, if NBCU can be released from its awkward relationship cable TV, cage, it could fetch some Disney-like stock prices, right? That's why the stock of Comcast jumped on Monday. This is a good decision. Because the boring, dying business would be Comcast, who they'd be ditching. Now, Comcast actually makes a bulk of the profits right now, but the number of cable TV and internet customers is shrinking every year. Cable TV, it's dying. Broadband internet, it's regulated, and wireless, it's soon going to have to compete with SpaceX. So the controlling CEO of Comcast

Starting point is 00:15:31 thought that content and distribution should be one company. That's why he merged them 15 years ago. Diversity, synergies, jargonies. But Wall Street's been disagreeing this whole time. That's why Comcast stock has been hanging out at 13-year lows. Here's what Wall Street's thinking. Investors, you couldn't pay any attention to the fun, epic, universal theme parks of Harry Potter and Hogwarts. Because when they thought of Comcast, they pictured an 85-year-old couple paying for Comcast cable TV. Now, Jack, now NBCU and Comcast are consciously uncoupling Gwyneth Paltrow style, and we'll venture into single life with their head-up open to adventure. Spoiler, they're both already destined to new corporate marriages.

Starting point is 00:16:13 Toss is one of people mag. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the newly divorced Comcast? Wall Street loves breakups and hookups, not long-term relationships. Yeties, the CEO of Compaast, explained this switcheroo. He said we've simply changed our mind about the benefits of being together. But the real reason he's separating these two companies he merged 15 years ago, it's the possibility that two new companies could buy these newly separate companies for a lot of money. I mean, Jack of Comcast is just a cable company with no entertainment studio.

Starting point is 00:16:47 It can finally scale up. Which is why on Monday, Wall Street was already speculating that newly single Comcast would merge with its rival charter. Both of those stocks rose on Monday. Oh, and Jack, if NBCU is just an entertainment company with no cable business, then they can scale up too. Which is why on Monday, we're speculating that newly single NBCU will merge with Netflix, which just lost out on its bid to acquire Warner Brothers. Besties, this is wild. But the news we're telling you is that Comcast is undoing a relationship that was 15 years old, which led to the immediate news that these two new singles were just going to get together with a couple other people and hook up again. Which is why the real winners here, the investment bankers and the lawyers who advise all four companies that we've talked about.

Starting point is 00:17:31 On the breakup, the merger, and then the future merger to somebody else. The other winners are the executives whose pay packages are incentivized to do big deals like this. Add it all up, you Eddie's and Wall Street ain't incentivized for long-term relationships. It loves breakups and hookups. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Tea Boy Tuesday? Will Farrell's new Netflix comedy promoted skims, while Kim, promoted Will Ferrell's new Netflix comedy. Ten years ago, I would have bothered everybody.

Starting point is 00:17:59 But today, in brands, we trust. For our second story, Vespa is now 80 years old. It's won by sticking to its original innovation. Simple travel in style. The Dolce, Farniente. And our third and final story, Comcast is separating off NBCU, which had originally acquired in 2011.

Starting point is 00:18:16 But this unmerging sets up two new mergers. Long-term relationships. They don't generate fees. Wall Street loves hookups and breakups. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the Supreme Court dropped a bunch of decisions yesterday, including one that actually helped boost the markets.

Starting point is 00:18:35 The Supreme Court decided a president may not fire a Fed governor, a Fed chairman, or Fed president without cause. Basically, the Supreme Court was formally protecting the independence of our central bank, the Fed. It was a sigh of relief to markets who know that a politicized central bank can doom an economy. And second, China just outchatted GPT. reportedly China has an AI model as good as America's best, at least for cybersecurity. Cybersecurity. The Wall Street Journal says China's Z.AI model matches Anthropics best model, Mythos, in cybersecurity. Kind of scary stuff because Mythos was so potentially good at hacking,

Starting point is 00:19:11 this anthropic AI didn't even get released. But the Chinese are releasing theirs, and it's a worry also for the U.S. versus China AI race. So far, haven't been hacked. And finally, remember last week we told you the city of Boston ran out of beer because of all those Scottish fans drinking there? Well, the news is that Boston is reconsidering its ancient drinking laws because of how much fun the Scots seem to be having. I remember we'd go up from New York to visit our buddies in Boston and complain. How come last call is 2 a.m. and not 3 a.m. in Boston. What's going on, guys? Well, they're reconsidering that now. They're also considering allowing public drinking in designated areas,

Starting point is 00:19:47 much like is common in Europe. Oh, and happy hours, which also got banned in Boston, they may bring them back so you can actually enjoy a 5 a.m. So it's possible that the biggest legacy of this World Cup is looser liquor laws in Beantown. The Scots, gotta love them. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one, an answer to our T-Boy trivia. Jack, what do we got?

Starting point is 00:20:09 All right, we got the 250th birthday of America. In those 250 years, there have been 53 faces on our U.S. currency, the dollar. But our question for T-boy trivia yesterday was who was the first face on a U.S. dollar. Whose face first appeared on American currency? And it wasn't Georgie Washington, wasn't Jack? Sammon Chase. Salmon Portland Chase. Ever heard of them? No, you haven't. But in 1861, Mr. Salmon Chase became Abraham Lincoln's first treasury secretary. Oh, and his first big idea? Smack a face on a dollar bill. It's a lot more memorable then. He figured why not my face? Yeah, you got to appreciate the solo move here, Jack. So that's what happened. By the way,

Starting point is 00:20:48 Today, living people can't be on the currency. Back then, I guess it wasn't a thing. Sam and Chase wrote the rules, Jack. Although he earmarked himself into it. Yiddies, you look fantastic over there. Jack, you are still glowing from all that I still smell like olive. Besties, if you haven't yet, the best way to grow the show, drop down, give us five stars in her review. We love reading them.

Starting point is 00:21:15 Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to our buddy Nick Marino from the Upper West Side, now living in the Outer Sunset, and probably fixing something in a garage. Happy birthday to Ryan Husey in Toronto, who's doing his M-B-N. And Brian O'Keekeke, we see your birthday down in lovely Dallas. Happy birthday to Kate Cook from San Francisco, who is sleeping in on that birthday. She's earned those 12 hours of snooze.

Starting point is 00:21:45 Yes, she has. And Jack, we actually saw Kate on the streets of San Francisco. She gave us a shout from the Embarcadero in her car. Remember, we went over and high-fived her. I remember that. Yeah, that was Kate. Congratulations to Samira and Karan, who just got engaged in San Francisco right under the Golden Gate Bridge on a 72 and sunny day. Also got to say, we're running to these guys at the Farmer's Market in Fort Mason all the time, the most fantastic couple yet.

Starting point is 00:22:06 Happy one-year anniversary to proposing to your girlfriend to Devin Craig in Baltie. On Rachel and Marybeth, enjoy that anniversary down in Tennessee. And a big shout out to Carrie Forbes from Mendocino, who thinks we should do an in-and-out episode on the best idea yet. Carrie, we'll have fries with that. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix and Disney. Nick owns stock of Lou Lemon. I own one share of SpaceX. Nick owns more than one share.

The Best One Yet - ⛳🩲 “Skims + Netflix + Will Ferrell” — 2026’s wildest collab. Vespa’s 80th party. Comcast’s NBC’s divorce. +Nun rentals

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