🥐 “Baguette Bangers” — Le Pain Quiotidien’s disco. China’s disappearing data. DoorDash’s vibe-cession.
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- This is Nick. - This is Jack. - It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, May 7th. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. - The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. - T-boy live tickets on sale,

today, baby. July 23rd at the Vic Theater in Chicago. Buy your tickets now using the link in the episode description. Yetis, go buy your tickets. This live show is the biggest event in Chicago since Oprah got drafted by the Bulls. Remember that? Yeah, I do remember that. It's our fourth live show and each one has been an absolute blast. Oh, a thousand seats. Yetis, grab the tickets now. They're out. Link in the episode description. But Jack, we got three fantastic

stories for today's pod. What do we got, man? For our first story, Instacart just launched a new app and DoorDash just acquired two companies. Besties, are we in a recession? If you want to know the answer, open up your delivery apps. For our second story, there's a strange thing going on in China right now.

All their economic data is disappearing. Jack, the GDP, where did it go? China's PR strategy in this trade war? Good news only. Good vibes only. And our third and final story, Le Pan Co Tien. How did I pronounce that, man? I perfectly stuck the landing. That bakery chain is hosting nightclub dance raves? Yeah.

Yetis, we'll tell you why LPQ is pulling off a discotheque strategy in the bakery. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, what? A mix of stories. Wait, pause the pod. Buy your Chicago tickets, Yetis. We'll wait.

Okay, Jack, we're good to go. If you're walking around San Francisco, you might notice something strange. Because besties on lampposts throughout the city are a bunch of math questions. More specifically, math puzzles that are really hard to crack. Somebody is posting advanced math equations all around the town. And it's actually part of a new trend called nerd sniping. That's right, nerd sniping. The wildest

hiring strategy that Jack and I have ever seen. And yeah, it is straight out of Goodwill hunting. Nerd sniping. Jack, could you please enlighten us onto what the heck this thing really is? One tech company was hiring for engineers, but the market for engineers in San Francisco is crazy tight right now.

So she posted these math problems knowing that math nerds in the city would not be able to resist them. That's the nerd sniping. Basically, if you solve this equation, you get an interview. So like if you look up on a street post, you'll see E equals MC... Square! Boom! You're hired. One sec, Jack. The square root of the parabolic limit is equal to?

Does not exist. The limit does not exist. Get this guy a job. We got to get this guy on the team. Seriously, this was the idea. Solve the puzzle and you'll get a meeting directly with our CEO. And it was working. Basically the plot of Good Will Hunting. So if you ask someone, how'd you get your role at OpenAI? They may answer, I solved the trigonometry problem set on Lombard Street.

That's how competitive the AI hiring market is right now. So, besties, the next time you see advanced calculus at an intersection and you just can't look away... You're being sniped. Yeah. Nerd sniped. Channel your inner genius janitor. Do your best, Matt Damon Math. Hire this man, Jack. Let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song Two boys from the Northeast met in a dorm They had an idea to cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet, but the best is the norm Jack Nick

That's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%, that's a fat tip. T-Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, cause we ready to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

This podcast is sponsored by Northwestern Mutual. Yeah, these lots of financial companies want to talk to you, but Northwestern Mutual wants to listen to you. Some companies say they have all the answers, but Northwestern Mutual has better questions. Yeah, the financial pros, they are going to ask you questions about your financial situation that honestly, you never asked yourself. A big one, what's your ideal retirement?

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monarch money. Yeah, it is. We've told you before about a tradition Jack and I have we call the budget brunch. Once a month, we go through all our family spending with our spouse and we turn it into a fun event. Sometimes it's a fun brunch. Sometimes it's a how much are those pancakes? True. But Nick and I had to create an Excel spreadsheet to track our spending. We're kind of old school, but we just found an app that will do it all for you. That's right. It'd be

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For our first story, DoorDash and Instacart just asked, um, what recession? By announcing record results and making huge delivery announcements. Economic chatter has been all gloom for the past six months. Yes, it has. But the delivery apps say otherwise.

Yetis, if you've got friends in investment banking, reach out to them right now. It's been a tough few months. I have a couple friends in investment banking, and you're right, I should text them. You should check in on them. Jack, could you sprinkle on some context as to why? April 2025, the month we just finished.

was the slowest month for M&A deals in 20 years. That's right, Yetis. More deals were happening during the pandemic and the 08 financial crisis than right now. We labeled this phenomenon last week on our podcast, the Great Capitalist Freeze. Because it's basically like a corporate update ice age out there.

Corporate America has been paralyzed by relentless volatility of the trade war and of tariffs. But, Jack, you know what they say. April showers bring May mergers. Good point. The first week of May is off to a much better start. Yeah, in fact, Jack and I noticed

the theme here, and yet he's listened to see if you can tell what that theme, what that flavor is. First, Instacart, the delivery app, just launched a new app called Fizz. Fizz! It's basically a pure play party planning app. It's like Instacart meets Splitwise meets Venmo. Yeah. It's perfect for like a party with a bunch of different people all chipping in together.

Basically, you're going to split the check on your backyard barbecue fiesta using this new party app. The whole group can buy snacks and drinks for a party together and share the costs in one group shopping cart. But Jack paused the pod for a sec, because the same day as Instacart launched that new app, DoorDash, also a delivery app, had their biggest quarter of deliveries ever. That's right. DoorDash announced last week record high burrito demand. Jack is a big Pad Thai fan. Jack, didn't you have like record Pad Thai orders in the last three months?

Probably, yeah. We had a kid, so it made sense that we were ordering delivery. But that's not all. DoorDash also announced two acquisitions. They're expanding to Europe by buying Deliveroo for $4 billion. And they acquired Seven Rooms, which is a hotel and restaurant reservation platform, for another billion dollars. Wait, Jack, get this! A update live from the pod right now. What? Uber! Uber!

The other delivery app just acquired part of a Turkish delivery company over in Turkey. Wow. So after no corporate news except tariffs for all month. Yeah, three completely non-trade war corporate stories from three delivery apps. Jack, what is going on? Maybe these non-trade war stories actually do tell us something about the trade war.

Maybe delivery ramen is recession resistant like you're getting at. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone curious about the economy? It's a vibe session all over again.

So yetis, let's look at the numbers here. Our economy shrank in Q1, the US dollar is down 10%, stocks are still down 10% from their highs, and you just cancelled your hair, botox, nail appointment for the third time. All of those things sound very recession-y, but there's other data out there that shows economic resilience. Here's what we're thinking. What's the first thing you would stop doing if money was tight? What do you think, Jack? You'd stop doing DoorDash and Instacart, and you'd go get your own groceries.

Stop paying all those fees. And yet, we just learned this week that the top delivery companies announced record revenue last quarter and big deals today. Oh, another sign of economic resilience? We added 177,000 jobs last month in America, and the unemployment rate's only 4.2%. So add it all up, and it reminds Jack and I of

bit of the Biden-era vibe session. The vibes are very negative right now, even though the underlying economic data is pretty positive. Now, Yeti's only time will tell. If tariffs stay, we're probably headed for a recession. If the trade war ends tomorrow, which it could, there'd probably be no recession. But in the meantime, the delivery app data is a signal that the economy is doing okay.

For our second story, there's been a ton of attention on how the trade war affects the U.S., but how is it affecting China? China just made all their economic data disappear, actually. Disappear. And we call it the good news only policy.

Yeti's Trade War Almanac Day 35. How tariffs are messing with the economy. Jack and I have been keeping track for you from the tariff trenches. Today, we're focused on how tariffs are affecting China, actually. But to illustrate how hard it is to do that, we will just read this very simple, straightforward headline from the Wall Street Journal. China's official statistics are disappearing. That's right, Yeti's.

China is not publishing data if it tells a negative story about China. In President Xi's authoritarian government, it is good news only when it comes to data. That's right. China is not publishing data if that data tells a negative story. In President Xi's authoritarian government, it is good news only when it comes to data. So as China limps through the trade war, the data is disappearing like a Snapchat story.

Nick, I'm going to sprinkle on some context. I would love for you to sprinkle on some context, Jack. China represents one-sixth of the world's population, but they manufacture a third of the world's products. That's right. One out of three of everything you touch is made in China. And with 145% tariffs, China's biggest customer, the United States, has pretty much gone cold turkey on made in China. So here's the situation. China is scrambling to find new customers to buy stuff Americans don't.

used to buy like two months ago. But the reality is there's no way they can do that. Their factories must be idle right now. At least millions of workers must be out of work in China just based on what is happening. China already had deflation, a problem since COVID, which is actually worse than inflation, we should point out. But now China is filled with extra products Americans are just not buying because of high prices. They probably have piles and warehouses full of strollers, staplers, and sandals

That used to go to America, but just aren't anymore. But yetis, let's zoom back to America for a second. Our economy shrank in the first quarter. We publish real reliable data, whether it is good or bad. So you must be thinking, after everything that we just said, China's economy probably shrank as well over the last quarter. Nope. Nope.

Or at least not according to official Chinese data. Yeah. Which shows that their economy actually grew 5.4% in the first quarter. Honestly, Jack and I just don't totally believe that. We don't believe that number. We think that's probably China's good news only policy talk. It looks like China gave their numbers a little bit of a Botox, Photoshop, touch-up, makeover, if you know what we mean. Sprinkle a grain of salt on that data. Hopefully President Xi doesn't make our podcast numbers disappear as well now, Jack. It's a legitimate risk. It is, it is.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in China? China's data is man-made in China. Yeah, it is. This Wall Street Journal story, it was wild. Because it turns out, time after time after time, as data turns negative in China, they simply end it. They simply stop publishing it. They disappear it. For example, in 2021, during the pandemic...

China stopped publishing data on soy sauce production. Want to know why they did that? Well, because if you knew the soy sauce consumption numbers, you could probably infer how well China's economy is actually doing. And it wasn't doing well, so they stopped publishing that report. Then in 2022, China stopped publishing data on cremations, and why is that, Jack? Because China had just ended their zero COVID policy, they didn't want the world to see a spike in the number of deaths.

In fact, Yetis, one former Chinese premier, told the U.S. ambassador that their GDP data was, quote-unquote, made up for reference only. Now, in the short term, China's data manipulation is a strength in this trade war. Because the public doesn't know the real story about how their country is actually suffering right now. But long term, China's unreliable data is a major weakness for innovation and for investing. Because China's economic data can just...

disappear. It's man-made in China. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

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The best one yet is sponsored by BetterHelp. Well, Yetis, how's that New Year's resolution looking? Because it's almost time for your mid-year's resolution. It's pre-summer. It's time for a check. And what's going on, Jack? My New Year's res this year was to end my bad moods quickly. Oh, yeah. Get into a bad mood. It happens to us all. And Jack's learning in therapy to figure out what triggers his. For example, if I do something I think deserves praise, but it's met with critique instead, that's going to trigger me.

But Nick, instead of letting it ruin the whole day, possibly the whole weekend, I'm learning to cope quickly. There is so much therapy jargon in that sentence, Jack. I know you've been going to therapy. And I know what Jack's RBF looks like. And I'm happy to report they are melting away quicker this year. There you go. Therapy isn't just something that impacts your personal life. It impacts your work performance too. Well, I happen to be Jack's lawfully wedded work husband after all. So I've seen all of this live. Yeti's therapy can help you live a better life full stop. That's why we recommend...

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For our third and final story, Le Pain Quotidien, the bakery chain, has turned into a secret party club for raving? It's all part of LPQs. Yeah, I'm calling it LPQs, Nick. Yeah, I know you need to. It's all part of their stealthy turnaround plan. We'll tell you what the heck is going on over there.

Another way Jack and I find stories, we search for brands on TikTok to see what they're up to. And sometimes they're up to some new weird stuff. This week we noticed 50 people dancing hardcore in a club on the TikTok account of a brand. Yes, and the DJ was spinning beats at the center of that club. David Guetta, Madonna remixes. Was that a Tiesto banger they just played? I think so.

But a strange twist we noticed when the beat dropped. The chairs were wood. The backup dancers were wearing aprons. Is that flour wafting in the room? That's right. Everyone was tossing bread around this nightclub. Because this wasn't a nightclub.

They were dancing rave style at an LPQ bakery. That's right, LPQ, Le Pain Quotidien, turned itself into a sourdough discotheca. They didn't offer bottle service, they offered brioche service. I saw two people grinding up on a croissant. Ha!

I don't know, maybe it was a baguette. I can't be sure. But could you please sprinkle on some context to what the heck is going on? Le Pain Quotidien shouldn't be hosting raves. They're a bakery chain. That's right. They offer coffees and sandwiches. There used to be one in Lower Manhattan where I used to work at the bank. I used to go to the one on 9th Street Jack. I'd go there because they had nice toast. So we dove in T-boy style to figure out what's going on with these raves. There were no articles on LPQ right now, but we did notice that LPQ is going through a corporate turnaround. First of all, the name is French for The Daily Bread.

And it was founded 30 years ago in Belgium, and now they're in 260 locations, including in a bunch of American cities. But they may have spread too thin, because during the pandemic, you weren't meeting up for bread basket brunches with your buddy Timmy. So what happened to LPQ Jack? They went into bankruptcy.

But now, fresh out of bankruptcy, their new strategy is to give each local franchisee more control. We noticed that actually 80% of Le Pan quotidien locations are not owned by the company. They're owned by the franchisees. And corporate is encouraging those franchisees to run a more independent business.

For example, LPQ created an artificial intelligence to help chefs optimize their menus for local tastes. Basically add more cream cheese to the Philadelphia location. Because we know what the Philly fans want. Or another LPQ manager over in France kept the store open late so that run clubs could come and enjoy the bread. No other location does that.

Although those raves we mentioned at the beginning, those appear mostly in Belgium LPQs. But these post-run raves for runners clubs seem to be happening over there and they could come over here as well. Which would turn LPQ into the hottest club outside of the Roxbury. Dropping baguette bangers. So besties, Jack and I got to ask, why is the LPQ bakery running raves with DJs, glow sticks, and pumpernickel?

Well, it's not just the stealthy turnaround strategy. It's our takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Le Pain Quotidien? There's a big business opportunity around the clock, literally.

So, yetis, some LPQs are bakeries by day, party by night. But that's actually part of a broader trend. More retail businesses are optimizing their space for the full 24 hours in a day. Over in Brooklyn, for example, the Journal found three laundromats by day that host concerts by night. One laundromat called Sunshine has a secret door in the back to get you into the party area.

Oh, if you're up in Boston, there's a new concept called boozy bookstores where they stay open late for books and beer. Sounds like it could be a great place to meet a single. I think I know why they're single at 9 p.m. at a bookstore, but hey, Jack, if it works, it works. Make the love happen, baby. Now, financially...

Having this, like, second business during the second part of the day, it's a way to maximize the rent that you have to pay no matter what. And strategically, the contrast of serving croissants by day and parties by night, that does draw and intrigue a crowd. It's cool. It's a conversation starter. So, besties, Jack and I think that Le Pain Quotidien is actually on the cutting edge of something right now as part of their turnaround. The round-the-clock business opportunity.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Salvice Wednesday? Instacart launched a new app. DoorDash and Uber just acquired new companies abroad. Delivery apps! They're showing that we're in a vibe session all over again. For our second story, when one of China's econ figures turns negative, the report just disappears. China's data? It is man-made in China. Good news.

Only. And our third and final story. Several LPQ locations are letting runners clubs rave after hours. Le pain quotidien at night, baby. Because there is a business opportunity around the clock.

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the real ID deadline is here, and it's actually today, May 7th. As of today, you need to make sure your ID is a real ID issued by the state in order to get through TSA and fly on

an airplane. Otherwise, you may face extra security or you may need your passport too if you've got your old ID, which is not a real ID. I guess technically a fake ID? I just checked my driver's license. It has a black star in the top right, and I guess that means it's a real ID. You're real. Yeah, we had 10 years to prepare for this, but we're definitely still not ready yet. Because we're Americans. And second, Skype is officially dead as of yesterday.

Skype has sadly left us. We did a pod on Skype earlier this year, how innovative this tech company was. Yeah, Skype pioneered growth hacks that every other tech startup totally knocked off. But don't try to go to Skype.com. Microsoft has folded it all into teams.

And finally, the conclave to replace the Pope starts today. It is basically like the NFL draft, but for the leader of Catholicism. There are startups placing bets, by the way, on who will win and become the next Pope. The biggest question, will the Cardinal with the biggest social media following be the one selected to Pope? Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York has 300,000 followers on X. That could look in his favor. We'll see what number he goes as.

Now time for the best fact yet. This one is about the Vic Theater in Chicago, Illinois. It's a historic theater that's been around for over 100 years, and guess who has performed there? Why don't you list the names, Jack? Ariana Grande, who's amazing and wicked,

David Bowie, who's amazing in everything. Very impressive. Jim Gaffigan, stand-up comedian, one of my dad's favorites. And Nick and Jack of The Best One Yet are playing the Vic in July. The tickets are on sale right now. So we got a link in the episode description. If you buy a ticket today and tag us with a screenshot on Instagram...

You'll be in the running for some free merch that we're going to send out to some fans. That's right. We're sending free T-Boy merch if you buy the ticket and are selected as the fan who shares it on social media. By the way, Nick and I give hugs to everyone who wants a hug after the show. Yeah, that's true. We'll stay there as long as we have to. Yeah, New York, we were literally on stage until midnight. The staff was furious, actually.

I think we got fined. Yeah, we had to pay for that. But we're here for the Yetis, besties. We can't wait to see you at the live show in Chicago. Buy your tickets right now. Link in today's episode description. And Jack and I, we'll see you tomorrow.

Before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti Kalebi over in Kuwait City, Kuwait. And happy birthday to Rowan Gardner in St. Louis, Missouri. And Albert Jacobison over in California is having the best birthday yet. Happy birthday to Julie McNamara from LaGrange, Illinois. This middle school algebra teacher would definitely ace those nerd snipe opportunities. Oh, yeah. You got to look out for those, Julie. Look out for them.

And Jamie LaMotta and Adam Katzenbach are celebrating their one-year-and-engagement anniversary down in Los Angeles. A big shout-out to the Brooklyn Youth Charitable Investment Group, who's helping the youth with financial literacy. And also a shout-out to Citylax, the nonprofit that spreads lacrosse in public schools in New York. I volunteered for them for years. Incredible organization. They're hosting their fundraiser tonight. If you're curious, if you're a fan of lacrosse, if you're in New York City, shoot us a DM. We'll tell you how to help out.

And to anyone else who's celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the win. This is Jack. I own stock of Instacart. And Timothy Dolan has no relation to the owner of the Rangers and the Knicks, James Dolan. Aren't you 0% to 3% Turkish? 4%, Jack, but yes. Do they send emails to anybody with a trace of Turkish blood in them? Because I didn't see this news. We've got a WhatsApp group going, Jack. We've got a WhatsApp where we discuss this stuff.

If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. We want to get to know you.

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