The Best One Yet - 🟠 “The Sky is Orange” — NYC’s wildfire insurance. Beauty’s perfume parity. CNN’s reality TV.

Episode Date: June 8, 2023

New York City is experiencing smoky air due to fires, and that’s got us thinking about 1 industry: Insurance. Because wildfires in California have made it uninsurable. Cologne and perfume sales are up 60% from before the pandemic, and the surge is coming from men (#Dudefumes). And CNN’s CEO is out after a really awkward interview, a bad article, and a gym workout. $BBWI $COTY $WBD $ALL Want merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.com Follow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypod And now watch us on Youtube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday. April. Oh, it is no. April. What are you doing? I don't know what I'm doing.

What's wrong with you? Whip out the calendar. Here we go. Three, two. This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday. June 8th.

And today's pod is the best one yet. It is a tea boy. Nick, it's an honor to be your co-host today. It is fantastic to be your co-host. Jack, I love it. I don't need a particular reason to say that I love this job. Do I think we're both comfortable saying this in front of everyone, Jack? Let's roll with it. First story,

what have we got for the show, man? Yesterday, because of the forest fires up in Canada, New York City had the worst air quality on Earth. So there's one industry that's really scared right now. Insurance. For our second story, perfume sales are setting records, and it's all

thanks to one customer base. Yes, it is. Men. Men, dude fragrances are trending right. Your buddy Smitty, he smells really good. What smells, sells. And our third and final story is CNN. CNN just fired their CEO, and the details are dramatic. CNN is a news company, but right now, it's a reality show.

But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, just a beautiful mix, Jack. Fantastic mix of stories. Here's some trivia for your Thursday. Okay, here's the trivia. Here's the trivia, Yiddies. The first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Who was it? When was it?

The first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 5 company didn't occur until 2014. Not until nine years ago. And when it happened, it happened with a bang. It was the CEO of the most valuable company in the world. Yeah, number one company, Apple, nearly $3 trillion today. Their CEO, Tim Cook, came out in 2014. Tim Cook wrote an article published online called I'm Proud to Be Gay. It was only after he had reached the pinnacle of business. Did he even feel comfortable coming out as gay?

And it was only nine years ago that the first Fortune 500 CEO came out as gay. But Jack, can we just pause the pod for a second here? Can we go back to the title of that Tim Cook article that announced he was gay? Gladly, Nick, I'm proud to be gay. And that, Yeties, is what we love about Pride Month. This is the reason it is such a special month. It's because of titles like that. They are just running with it, baby.

It's not just about being lesbian, gay, bi, trans, or queer, or supporting those people. Frankly, it's also about just being whoever you are in any way you want to be. Yeties, Nick and I get to bring 100% of ourselves to this pod every day. Actually, Jack, we kind of bring like 120% of ourselves to this pot every day. Sometimes we have to take it down a couple of notches. But here's the thing. Not everyone feels safe to even bring like 60% of themselves every day. We can't imagine how hard.

and tough it would be to have to lock up part of who we are. And at this very moment, many LGBTQ people, many of them listeners of this podcast, feel exactly that way. But during Pride Month, it should be a little bit easier to be who you really are. It should be a little bit more comfortable to share who you really are. And that is a win worth celebrating. There is no one who celebrates a win like this community, Jack. Nick, as Jennifer Coolidge put it in White Lotus Season 2.

Uh, Porsche, these are some high-end gays. Happy Pride Month, Yetis. Besties, let's know three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best 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. For our first story, New York City, and much of the East Coast is experiencing the worst air quality ever. And the first industry to quantify that is insurance. Okay, Yeti's. Jack and I literally, right before the pot, actually, we can do it right now.

We just whipped out our weather apps. And yeah, Jack, it's still there. The air quality index. You want to share the numbers here? In New York City, right now, the air quality index is $3.92. $3.92. That is the worst air quality since the EPA began measuring air quality in 1999. That is the worst air quality on planet Earth.

That's like two Beijing's and a New Delhi combined into one city. It's not the worst New York City air quality since the EPA has been measuring it. It's the worst in the United States. Jack, just got off the phone with my dad. The sky is orange. People have to wear masks again everywhere. Broadway. In New York City on Manhattan Island, Broadway smells like a campfire.

It is literally orange. Like Tribeca looks like a scene out of Dune. It's basically Blade Runner Part 3. Yeties, let's sprinkle on some context to that air quality index, Nick and I mentioned. Let's talk about the old AQI. Jack, what's going on with the AQI? The AQI is something that Californians have been checking for years. Yeah, we've been getting used to it. It measures the level of pollutants in the air from a range of zero to 500.

Lower is better. And right now, the air quality index in New York City is 392, which is technically hazardous. Under 50 is great. Under 100 is acceptable. It's 392. Hazardous in New York City, America's most populated city. So, yeties, if you're in New York, we hope you're doing okay right now. Here's the craziest part about this story.

There's no fire in New York City. There's no big fire even in the United States. There are 400 active fires, though, north of Montreal, Canada, and the wind has brought it down to the east coast. So forests burning in Quebec prevented you from leaving your apartment in Queens. Now, Yetis, this story in New York City reminds us of a business story we saw last week on the other coast of America. Okay, so Jack and I didn't cover this story last week.

But when we saw the forest fire situation in New York, that's when we saw the business story here. State Farm Insurance Company decided last week they would no longer do home insurance in California. And just this week, Allstate Insurance Company did the same thing. No more all state home insurance policies in California either. Now, if you already have homeowners insurance policies from one of these two companies in California, you can keep it. But if you need a new policy like Molly and I do, Jack, because we just moved apart. in San Francisco, they just told us we literally can't get a policy. The guy called me last week. Who are you going for instead? Like what companies are offering policies? Well, we don't have a policy

right now, Jack, full disclosure. Yet he's let that sink in. My podcast and co-hosts who just moved to a new place in San Francisco is struggling to find homeowners insurance in San Francisco. Best is the number one and number four homeowners insurance companies are getting out of the biggest state in America. Now, one reason they're getting out of California is the expensive construction costs there. But the other reason, which appears to be the main reason, is climate change. According to State Farm, it no longer makes financial sense in California given, and I quote, the rapid growing catastrophe exposure. Just because we've done a whole lot of emphasis in this story, Jack, I'm going to emphasize one more thing for you. Rapid growing catastrophe exposure. Yet is,

in New York City, wildfire smoke is unprecedented. Right. In California, it's almost an annual event. It's a season like spring or the fall. Last year was fine. Two years ago was not. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies in the United States? The insurance industry is the financial canary in the literal coal mine. Yeti's insurance. It is an industry based on risk management.

They price long-term risk into a dollar amount. And the insurance industry has decided the long-term risk of climate change is too high to quantify. Yeah, like now over in Florida, homeowners insurance is expected to jump a whopping 43% because of all the hurricane and flood risk caused by climate change. In California, homeowners insurance is unpriceable. They've declared the state uninsurable. Now, most American industries, they're operating more or less the same right now, despite climate change.

But not the insurance industry. No, because the insurance industry is the financial canary in the literal coal mine. For our second story, the top-growing business in the beauty industry right now, it's fragrance. And the top growing buyer in fragrance right now? It's dudes. It's dudes. But Jack, before we kick this up, I'm going to have to give you a trigger warning over here. You're ready for this?

Okay, you've just warned me. You've just given me the warning that I'm going to be triggered. Are you fully recovered from the skunk experience? How is the skunk experience for you? Yeah, is it bad? I thought I'd recovered. But then I, like, snuggled with river last night and I smelled it. Yeah.

Some Yeties pointed out you could try vinegar because, you know, the tomato juice didn't really work. I actually did vinegar on my clothing, on all my clothing. You have to kind of ensconce yourself in like Italian pasta oils, it seems like, is the theme here. Vinegar, tomato sauce. Yeah, throw in some marinerra. But yet, he's the real story here isn't when Jack got skunked. It's actually Cody, a $10 billion beauty company whose stock is up 60% in the last year. And it's all because you're buying yourself some little luxuries.

But here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Their fastest growing division isn't lipstick, it isn't mascara, and it isn't scarier. and it isn't skin care. It's perfume. It's perfume. We're talking Gucci scents. Jador de York. Oh, DiNatilly Portsman.

Somebody call Pepe LePew. These days, Yides, if it smells, it sells. The CEO of Cody says their fragrance category is booming. Get this. Fragrance sales are now 60% above their pre-pandemic levels. Funny reason why sales are so high, we noticed. Yeah, this is pretty crazy. This is actually pretty wild.

People are using up their bottles of perfume quicker. Like, they're spraying. More often? Like you're doing more spritzes per day. Like your spritzing is more frequent than it used to be. It's not just on the two wrists and then rubbing the wrist together. Gen Z is spraying themselves all over, including their clothing. It's like a sh, shh, shh, shh, shh, sh.

Gen Z is spraying themselves like the skunk sprayed by dog. Everywhere. Sounds like this one's still sitting with you, Jack. I told you, Nick, the word is linger. Like a bad cologne. But yet he's, here's the fascinating reason that's driving all of this fragrance madness. New sales are not coming from women. They're coming from men. Yeah, apparently Colin is wearing more cologne.

Frank is smelling fragrant right now. And your buddy, Smitty? You smell fantastic over there. Smitty is smelling great. And it's not just Cody. Burberry and other fragrance brands have all highlighted men as the positive sales surprise. And Nick, bath and bodyworks, a chain dominated by women shoppers. Yeah, only 5% of their sales are to men. That is it. But the CEO just said a goal that in a few years.

years, 10% of sales will be to men. Jack, can we talk about the number one top scent for men these days? Fresh cut grass? Yeah, no, no, it's that other one. It's kind of related to that, though, though, isn't it? Yeah. Fresh cut wood? Okay.

You're on a roll. You're pretty much there. You're almost there, man. Fresh cut steak. It's mahogany teakwood. Mahogany teakwood is the top scent for men these days. Guys just want to smell like a forest right now. Jack, isn't your favorite scent?

Like that moss growing on a log? Isn't that what you go with right now? I've asked Calvin Klein to whip up that recipe. Yeah, moss growing on a log in a dewy forest. I don't mind a little vanilla. Like, if I could smell like a cupcake, that's a good day for me, Jack. And it's not just fragrance yeties. Besties, the entire personal care category for men is up 22% in the last five years.

Grooming, cleaning, shaving, cleansing, cologing. All of that smells like a takeaway moment. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies? Over in the beauty industry. We have reached perfume parity. Now, Yeties, a couple years ago, Jack and I told you about the growth of guys on Pinterest. We called it the pin dude. Pinterest, historically dominated by women, but 40% of pins today are pinned by men.

And just last year, Jack and I told you about the rise of brotox. Botox sales are booming because of guys. Well, now, frequent sales are seeing their top growth, and it's coming from men. Pinterest, Botox, and perfume. men are driving the growth in historically female categories. And get this. According to Bloomberg, 57% of men today have a cosmetic routine.

That's the same percentage as women, Nick. Yeah, us included. Beauty. It isn't just a female category anymore. We have reached perfume parody. For our third and final story, the CEO of CNN is stepping down after 13 months of failed change. CNN stands for cable news network. which is by definition, not in the center.

The math doesn't math for CNN. Yet he's 13 months ago. CNN got a new boss. Chris Licht, how did I nail the pronunciation? I know you like a German pronunciation. Chris Lich, which is German for light, but things were pretty dark right from the start. And Chris was paid $6 million a year to lead CNN, not too shabby.

His goal was to defy Moses himself. Defy Moses, because like Moses parting the Cs, the cable news ecosystem has been parted. Fox News on the right, MSNBC on the left. So Chris thought that CNN could fill a huge void in the center between Fox News and MSNBC.

He tried to improve CNN's reputation with more objective reporting and less opinions. Yeah, present the facts, let the audience decide. That was the goal here, part the seas. But on June 2nd, Chris was professionally humiliated because of an article published in Atlantic Magazine.

And the title of that article, inside the meltdown at CNN. Ouch. The article made Chris come off as amateur and highly unpopular with the staff and reporters at CNN. The writer of the article followed him to the gym where he was like bragging about bench pressing

50 pounds or something like that. Like he was really excited about his weights. And then he boasted that his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, never could have lifted as much weight as him. He referred to himself as a machine. Again, that's kind of awkward. They made Chris licked look just like Tom Wamsgams. the head of ATN in succession.

He had to crack a few breaks to make a tomlid, Jack. And just five days after that brutal article was published, Chris resigned just yesterday on Wednesday. But yet he's Jack and I want to step back here for a second. Because to learn where CNN is, we have to go where CNN started. CNN, cable news network launched in 1980. CNN, it was the first 24-7 news channel. They changed the game. And Fox News and MSNBC, they followed 16 years later in 1996.

Before cable, you consumed news a couple times a day. My dad still does. Morning newspaper, evening news on CBS for NBC. But CNN changed that. It was Twitter before Twitter. It was the OG 24-7 newsfeed, cable news. Here was the problem that CNN faced. There wasn't enough news to suddenly fill 24-7 constant television.

That was a problem. And how do they solve that problem, Jack? Yeties, we do 20 minutes of news a day. Imagine if we did 24 hours. and for our 99th story. I whip up a takeaway, but my wrist is broken, Jack. So cable news, starting with CNN, they decided we can't just present news.

There isn't enough of it. They started doing opinions. They started doing talking heads. They started doing the stuff you see on cable news today. And that's the issue. Chris Licked's goal of eliminating opinion at CNN. It causes a math problem. A math problem.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at CNN? news doesn't work in the middle. All right, yaddies, get this. The average viewership of a cable news viewer, it is 68 years old. That's the average, according to the Atlantic and Washington Post. These 68 year olds, they're probably pretty set in their ways, if you're asked me. The 68 year old is unlikely to switch to Twitter. They're unlikely to switch to podcasts. They're happy with their cable news ways. And they're probably accustomed to the same news format that reinforces how they already feel. Exactly. Cable TV, news, viewers, they want opinions and it's extreme opinions that thrive on cable. Chris Licked at CNN

tried to change that fundamental cable news business model and it didn't work. Because cable news doesn't work in the middle. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? New York City is experiencing smoke from fires. California fires deem the state uninsurable. The insurance industry. It's the financial canary in the literal coal mine. For our second story, Cody, the company is enjoying booming perfume and cologne sales especially to gags and it's a trend we've been tracking that we call perfume parody and our third and final story is cnn's president and ceo chris licked he's out after just 13 months at the helm because the cable news business model doesn't work in the middle now time for the best fact yet this one sent in by gab reed from mountain view

california you know the power button symbol like you'll recognize it if you see it whip up any electrical device. You're going to see that power button. It's the circle with the line. Right. It's actually supposed to be a combination of the number one and the number zero. Yeah. If you've been curious what the power button symbol is, that's what the symbol is. It's a one and a zero. The circle is actually a zero. And the line is the one. The one means off. And the zero means. That's what it means. And we're going to press power on the pod. There's probably some coding thing, because coding's just zeros and ones, right? It's definitely an engineer who's going to us a follow-up fact check on this one, Jack.

Yeties, you look fantastic. And if you haven't yet, you can drop down and give us a five-star review on the pod and a whole rating. We love it. Nick and I read every review. We do it every Thursday. It's the new Friday. It's really fun.

And then we send the reviews to each other. The good ones and the bad ones. Borderline unhealthy. You go Glenn Coco. You go, Glenn Coco. Who's Glenn Coco? Oh, well, now we're going to get a bad review, Jack. Yeties, Jack and I.

We'll see you tomorrow. And before we go, congratulations to Rima Nyack and her husband, who, get this, just ran a 178-mile 33-hour relay race. It's down in Reno, and it's called The Odyssey. Sit down, stand up, and ice those legs again. And congratulations to Justin Fetrell and Ellie Scripps, who just got engaged in Del Mar, California. Let's see the ring picks. And Ziari Leon, congratulations on graduating with a master's and data analytics from U-Doh. And congratulations to Hudson LeBove, who's graduating down in Miami.

And Lee and Michelle in New York City, congratulations on your new baby boy, William Chase Stromberg. He looks fantastic. And congratulations to Sonal Panda, who's celebrating their birthday by taking photographs of polar bears at the North Pole. And Kyle Schmidt is celebrating in the shower right now. We see you in Atlanta. He must be a South Pole. But we don't actually see you. This is Jack Nick and I own stock of Apple.