The Best One Yet - 🤠 “YAHOOOO!” — Yahoo’s email revival. Trade War II Begins. Hans Zimmer’s creator hack.

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

Trump’s 2nd trade war begins tonight with tariff’s for Canada, China, & Mexico… but Trump tariffs differ in 1 huge way.Yahoo just turned 30… but @yahoo.com emails are having a midlife revival.Hans Zimmer is worth $200M with movie music composing… we found his creativity hack.Plus, the next fashion trend? Yak hair… because yak is the new cashmere.$DIS $HD $YHOOWant more business storytelling from us? Check out our new deep-dive show…“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers.New episode every week. 45-minutes. Listen here: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks   —-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It’s The Best Idea Yet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. Welcome back. It is Monday, February 3rd. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. Here's the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Someone survived the Datchelor Party.

Yeah, I did, baby. We had a great time. Right on who can't see Jack's beating his chest like he accomplished something. Yeah, I didn't really accomplish that. I accomplished a weekend without my children. Shout out to Alex. Thanks for looking after the boys. In the meantime, Yet he's Jack and I got three.

Fantastic stories for today's show, Jack, what's on the T-boy? For our first story, Yahoo is back, baby. After 30 years, the Y2K Internet Company is having a resurgence. You're going to start seeing at yahoo.com email addresses again, and we'll tell you why. For our second story, Trump's second trade war has officially begun. New tariffs start tonight against Canada, Mexico, and China. But besties, if you think this is just an economic story, you are understanding tariffs, All wrong.

And our third and final story. If you've watched a movie, odds are there was music composed by Hans Zimmer. Han Zimmer's music makes him the greatest creator of all time because Han Zimmer shops at the Home Depot. Three of the top 20 movies on IMDB are only up there because of Han Zimmer's original score. Yeah, and we found out how he does it. But yet he's before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

Fantastic mix of stories, Jack. Love the mix today. Disruption is coming to the SWIFRs. sweater industry. We ain't talking polar fleece, marino wool, or alpaca, are we, Jack? We're talking about the yak. Yes, the yak. Yack hair is the next luxury material. Yeah, that's right. Yack is crushing cotton and yak is chewing up cashmere. According to the Wall Street Journal, yak wool is turning up in $300 shirts and $400 sweaters. Get this, Paris Fashion Week last year, they had their first ever yak cardigan, not too shabby. But honestly, what is a yak? What the heck is a

YAC, we jumped into a pack of yaks to find out why for you. A yak is actually a large horned bovine native to the Himalayan mountains. A yak kind of looks like a cow the size of a cyber truck. They've got huge horns. They've got long hair. They kind of look like a country or emo cattle singer. Their hair is covering their eyes. And because they live 20,000 feet high in the freezing temperature mountains, their fur is optimized.

Yack wool is 30% warmer than sheep wool. And because yak hair is uniquely hollow, It's softer and lighter than cashmere is. And because there is a lack of yaks. It's a rare and indulgent luxury. Besties, in Tibet, owning a yak is a status symbol. In New York City, owning a yak sweater is a status symbol. Get your hands off me.

This is an 100% yak. By the way, it's also a financial trick shop because you can find yak right now. That's a third of the price of cashmere. And why is that jack? No one knows about yak. Yet. Yet. Yeties, let's hit our three yakking stories. fashionable name in tech right now? You're not going to believe this. It's Yahoo. Yahoo just turned a

midlife crisis into midlife momentum. Three letters that kind of defined our lives, Jack. Y2K. The turn of the millennium is having a moment right now. It's not just that there's a literal movie coming to Hollywood studios called Y2K, produced by Jonah Hill. No, it's also Furby, Britney Spears-style low-rise Jagging, Snoop Dog, Martha Stewart, everything Y2K is everywhere right now. It's our 20-year role of nostalgia. After 20 years, old things are cool again. One sec, Jack, pause the pot. I got to feed my tomagacci another vitamin. But the one tech that's on the coolest right now is Yahoo. Yahoo! The first company to put an exclamation point in their name.

Apple is older. Google is younger. But Yahoo and their sister company, AOL, they're in this awkward middle age. Yahoo is like a middle-aged millennial. It actually turns 30 in March. Happy early birthday. But instead of hiding from its oldness, Yahoo is embracing it, according to a piece in Business Insider. Now, besties, Yahoo does not have a public stock anymore. They're actually owned by the private equity firm Apollo in New York. But if we could check Yahoo stock on Yahoo Finance right now, we better be going up into the right. We do. Because instead of a midlife crisis, Yahoo has created midlife momentum. Yahoo's age is actually an advantage. It is. Because Yahoo reminds us of its prime when the internet was more fun.

Back when the internet was not misinformation campaigns and dark web addictive features. When Yahoo reigns supreme, the internet was for geeky curiosity and spontaneous delights. The kind of place you could put an exclamation point on your company name, Jack. Yahoo is betting that the current backlash against Google and meta could translate to an opportunity for them. So here's what they're strategically doing. Yahoo is leaning into that purple Y2K branding elements of its name to be clearly not Google or meta. And Jack, what kind of results are they seeing? There is a 125% surge in at yahoo.com email addresses.

Email addresses at yahoo.com have more than doubled. It's like it's not a red flag stigma anymore when you get an email from a Yahoo account. Yahoo Fantasy Sports is seeing record use. Also Yahoo News, Yahoo! Yahoo! Finance. Even Yahoo! Oh, but Jack, what was the most interesting sign of Yahoo's comeback? That 45% of the traffic to Yahoo websites is from Gen Z. That's right. People who don't remember it at all. It's new to them.

Half the people going to Yahoo weren't born when Yahoo was a thing. So it translates to us as nostalgia, translates to younger people as novelty. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Yahoo? There is now a vintage category in tech. Yeties, when we got our Gmail accounts, it was cool, it was cutting edge. It was college, but now Gmail's basic. If your apps with the most screen time are meta and Google-owned apps, that's basic. And honestly, if you're fully decked out in Apple Tech, you kind of look just like everybody else.

Yeti's tech is old enough at this point that it now has a vintage category. And vintage tech is surging in popularity as a way to stand out. We're talking corded headphones, Polaroid cameras, digital cameras, pixelated retro websites. Those are a thing now. Vintage isn't just about dad shoes and baggy old Levi's. A Yahoo.com email address and AOL Instant Messenger is vintage too. Jack, I think you're saying Yahoo is the new, new balance. We think tech not controlled by Apple, Google, and meta could gain popularity this year.

It's a whole new category, besties. We call it modern vintage. For our second story, over the weekend, a trade war was formally declared against Canada, Mexico, and China. Jack and I call it Trade War II. But if you're looking at these tariffs as purely an economic policy, you're not reading this right. So we'll tell you how to read it. But yeties, set your alarm clocks because starting at midnight tonight, the first shots will be fired in Trump's trade war. America's three biggest trading partners are getting hit with tariffs, 25% for Canada, 25% for Mexico, and 10% for China. Why is this happening? Well, Trump is demonstrated. hard power. These tariffs will hurt the economies of China, Mexico, and Canada. Trump is demanding

that those countries do more to curtail drugs and immigrants from entering the United States. There's no deadline here. The tariffs will remain in effect until, as Trump said, the crisis is alleviated. But there's already been retaliation from the other side. Canada and Mexico are applying 25% tariffs on American-made goods in a tip-for-tat fashion. And China, they've condemned the tariffs. They haven't retaliated yet, but so far, they're not a fan. Also, there's a carve out in these tariffs for oil and gas. Because we actually get 4 billion barrels of oil from Canada, and if those got taxed at 25%, you would notice that, wouldn't you, Jack?

Yes, you would. Trump doesn't want people to notice these price increases at the pump, so Canadian oil is only getting a 10% tariff. But that's the background, Yeti. Starting tonight at midnight when the tariffs go into effect, we consumers in all four countries are going to notice it on our credit cards. Because tariffs are taxes. And those taxes trickled down to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Canada, you're about to pay more for Tennessee bourbon. We are about to pay more for maple syrup on our pancakes. And Jack, what might they say to us next time we go to Chipotle? Avocados, guac, it's even more extra. Because those avos come from Mexico. Guac, it's going to be extra, extra. Now, yeties, these Trump tariffs are historic. But we want to sprinkle on some context.

Because 100 years ago, these were actually more common. The first ever tariffs actually were introduced in 3,000 BC. The Mesopotamians, the early stars of geopolitics. They actually forced foreign traders to pay a tax on their goods before they could enter their walled cities. That was a few thousand years ago. But the most famous use of tariffs was actually in the United States with President William McKinley. President William McKinley, over 100 years ago, taxed foreign goods at a record high of 50% before they could come. into the U.S. But here's the interesting thing. Jack, why did an American president put such high

tariffs on so many countries? This was before the income tax. Yeah. So the government needed revenue. That's right. Tariffs were actually the biggest source of tax revenue back then to like fund our military. A hundred years ago, part of your paycheck wasn't going to the government like it is today. So we needed to figure out ways to get more money. But then the Great Depression rolled around. And tariffs that were imposed during the Great Depression made the Great Depression even more depressing. So after our worst economic experience ever, tariffs were broadly understood to be economically counterproductive and they kind of fell out of fashion. Because there's inevitably retaliation with tariffs, so both countries' economies suffer. But fast forward over a century,

and Trump is now leveraging America's size for these new tariffs. He believes other countries will suffer more than we can, and that we can outlast the economic pain of tariffs, so eventually these smaller countries will bend to America's will. And, actually, we kind of already saw this kind of happen the other week, didn't we, Jack? With Columbia. Once Trump tariffed Colombian coffee, Columbia immediately caved. They bent to the president's demands to accept immigrant deportees coming from the United States. So besties, in the meantime, one of the biggest Google searches of this past weekend is,

can I freeze guacamole? So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone getting tariffed? It's not just Trade War II that's happening. This is a great trade experiment. Yeti, what's happening right now isn't like the past trade wars we've discussed. This is unprecedented for one particular reason. Trump is not using tariffs to protect U.S. manufacturing or to raise tax revenues like tariffs have been used in the past.

In this case, President Trump is using tariffs as a bargaining chip for foreign policy, not economic policy. With Mexico, he wants a crackdown on gangs, drugs, and immigrants. With China, he'll likely leverage. tariffs in a deal for them to sell us TikTok. If you eventually tariffs Denmark, it'll be to demand Greenland. And if he tariffs Panama, it will be in demand for the canal. So besties, that's why we think Trump's tariffs are actually unique. Because they're big, because they're modern, and because they're on allies. They also punish our allies more than our foes. Canada's getting 25% while China

only gets 10%. But most of all, Trump's demands are an economic. They're a grab bag for foreign policy aims. So what's starting this week isn't just trade war too. This is a great trade experiment. And honestly, no one really knows what will happen. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Han Zimmer has brought in hundreds of millions of dollars just for composing music for movies.

We'll tell you Han Zimmer's epic growth hack to become the ultimate creator. But Yeties, one of the reasons we wanted to do this story was because, Jack, didn't you just watch the Lion King with the Podson? Yeah, you did. The scene with the stampede, with Mufasa getting... It's big. It's intense.

High drama. It is Greek-level drama. And the musical score makes that scene. That's the key, besties, because the highlight of the Lion King isn't necessarily the movie. It is the music. And the music was composed by a then 37-year-old man named Hans Zimmer, who won an Oscar for the emotional and sweeping original score. But it wasn't just Disney cartoons he's composed, right, Jack? The catchy tune from Pirates of the Caribbean?

Also, Hans Zimmer. The Dark Night, Inception, Gladiator. What John Williams is to Stephen Spielberg, Han Zimmer is for Christopher Nolan and more. He's got range. He did Kung Fu Panda. He did the lovely Christmas rom-com, The Holiday. Oh, and he also won another Oscar for Dune.

But Han Zimmer doesn't just do music for movies. He did the music for video games, including Dragon Age. And he even made a sound for BMW's electric cars. Yeah. Like some kind of engine-ish purr. It was composed by Hans. So what's the news when it comes to the best composer of all time, Jack? He is actually in talks with the nation of Saudi Arabia to create a new national anthem for them.

I didn't know you could do new national anthems. But yet it is that got Jack and I fascinated with Hans Zimmer. So we jumped in T-boy style and we found some fascinating things. He's composed a musical range from Beethoven to Beyonce. But the surprise for us wasn't just the range. it was really the financial numbers. He's done 500 projects in 40 years, which is one movie composed per month on average.

In fact, add it all up, and Hans Zimmer is now worth an estimated $200 million. He's now getting paid more than the actors on the movies. The only person paid more than him for Top Gun Maverick was Tom Cruise. That's right, because Hans is getting paid $2 million just to work on a film. So today, his business is similar to the business of an architecture firm. He owns a studio and he has a staff. to help him scale. But what's really interesting is that Hans has managed to scale his creativity

by treating his content like clay. He molds it. For example, right now, he has a concert of his top songs from his best movies, music from the range of Rain Man to the Rock. But he's also turned that concert into a tour so he can make even more money on that music of the movies. In Taylor Swift style, he's making a documentary film about the tour, which is also going to make money. he's treating his creativity like clay. He's molding it for different mediums, but it's all from the same core clay. Given the quantity, the range, and the revenue of Ham Zimmer's works of art, I think I know where you're going. Is he a bigger creator than Mr. Beast? Boom, pause the pod. We're saying it, Jack. Han Zimmer, bigger creator than Mr. Beast. His YouTube thumbnails are

way more chill, though. Less YouTube face. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are anyone seeking creative inspiration. Hans Zimmer proves that play isn't just for fun. Play can be legendary. Play can be power. Yet he's, like most entrepreneurs, Hans Zimmer's career started the opposite of where he actually ended up.

Born in West Germany, he quit piano lessons after two weeks. Yeah, he was actually six years old, but he didn't want to play other people's music, he said. He just wanted to jam out and make his own music. And his parents were fine with that. They told him to treat music like playtime. Just explore and create whatever comes into your head. In fact, Hans Zimmer's big break, it wasn't the classical music that he learned as a kid.

It was for a rock band called The Buggles. Video killed the radio star. MTV's first music video ever. Hans Zimmer's in it. You can see him on MTV, the first ever episode of MTV. But Hans continued to mess around. He taught himself how to code so that he could create music electronically, which let him create way more music without needing an orchestra.

In fact, he loves original creation so much. He turned an ostrich egg into a flute, which is what you heard in the Lion King with your son, Jack. He actually goes to Home Depot every week. True story. To buy hardware and create his own unique instruments. Yeah, like, you know that freaky melody in the movie Dune that we all have heard? Really deep. That was music that Hans Zimmer composed on a 21-foot pipe that he built from Home Depot materials.

It's like arts and crafts class. Yes, and it's. working. So besties, how did Hans Zimmer become the world's biggest musical creator? It's the power of play. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us to kick off the week? Yahoo is leaning into its Y2K vibes to offer consumers something that's not Google or meta. There is now a vintage category in tech. A yahoo.com email address is the new dad shoe. For our second story, tonight at midnight, the U.S. and its neighbors will tax each other's goods. This is Trade War II. But this ain't. Like other trade wars, Yetis, this is a great foreign policy experiment.

And our third and final story, Han Zimmer is worth an estimated $200 million with musical scores from Dune to the Dark Night. We'd play them, but we'd get sued. The lesson for creators is that play is power. His work is the product of fun. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, update on TikTok.

TikTok is gone from the app stores. but it is still on most people's phones. And usage is about 90% of what it was pre-January 19th deadline. Now, Trump delayed the ban by 75 days trying to convince China to sell the company, the brand of the algorithm to America. And it's just rumors still.

Mr. Beast might buy it, Mr. Wonderful might buy it, Oracle and Microsoft, they're all officially in the market to buy TikTok. And second, Open AI's valuation could hit $300 billion this week with a new fundraise. SoftBank is trying to get involved, and they're thinking about a $25 billion investment. Is Open AI the new WeWork?

Massa! That would make OpenAI worth $340 billion is the largest startup on Earth. It would also be the largest fundraise for any company ever. And finally, should you wear a coat? Should you not wear a coat? Well, Puxetani Phil saw his shadow on Sunday, according to Groundhog Handlers. The extremely unscientific predictor of weather has completed its forecast. Besties, we're getting six more weeks of wintry winter weather ahead of us. It's great news if you're a skier. It's bad news if you're a golfer. And it's not news at all if you're not superstitious. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Dario

Dorella from the lovely city of stars, Brisbane, California. Last week, we mentioned in our space story making rocket ships out of wood. We mentioned it as a joke. But Dario points out that this wooden rocket ship innovation is actually real and it's happening right now. There's a Japanese startup called LingoSat that made a satellite out of wood and it's already in space. Why did they make a satellite out of treewood jack? They wanted to see how wood would perform in space or beyond earth conditions. How's that maple looking up in orbit, man? It's looking good. The test confirmed that this satellite has not shown any decomposition, any cracking or any peeling, which means wood is resilient in outer space. The ultimate goal of this startup, to one day grow wood on Mars.

We don't know if they're trying to plant trees on Mars. Yeah. Or just build wooden houses on Mars. Either way, this is the first ever hipster satellite. That is you look fantastic to start the week. Jack, we're like one month from your birthday, by the way, man. It's catching up. Dude, because the baby is due February 28th, I'm not even thinking about my birthday. Well, I already know what I'm going to get you. I already got something in mind. You're going to give me a hint or a tease? I'll just tell you. I'm getting me a hint. I'm getting you a yak sweater. I don't know where, but I'm tracking one down. Dude, I would love that.

Size Marge, I got a bad chance. Yes, if someone tells things in size Marge, I feel so seen. Jack's all over it. Besties, the best way you can help us grow the show is tap to follow us, so you get T-Boy every day and then tell a buddy, hey, H-Y-H-T-B-O-I. And if you know of a yak sweater that you think I'd like, drop a link in the comments. Nick seriously might buy it for me. Have you heard the best one yet?

Ask him to know. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti and Eagle Merry Weintrout from the Upper West Side. Happy birthday to Chris Ugarte, who's turning 34 in Frisco, Texas. And now, R down in lovely Las Vegas, has a daughter who loves her, and they're celebrating a birthday. Happy birthday to Yuna Lee Cruz in Houston, Texas. Sean Chu from San Francisco is celebrating his birthday jack with a chicken party in San Diego. Live chickens, food chickens. He's dressed as a chicken, and everyone chases him around.

to me, I couldn't make it, but I actually like the idea a lot. What is the idea? I don't know, but I still like it. And Cigar has got a birthday over in Chicago, doing logistics. Happy birthday to Paxton Sewell in San Diego, who's turning five years old. Happy birthday, Paxton, and Ashley down in Queens' legendary Yetty has got the best birthday yet. And Jack, she loves our weekly show, too. Thanks for listening to Ashley.

And congratulations to Peter Strong for achieving an 850 perfect credit score. Fantastic. Anthony Bousa's on the job hunting San Diego, hire this man. If you're looking to hire an MBA, drop a comment, and Anthony's going to reach out. And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Disney, and Nick and I both on stock of Apple and Spotify.