🎩 “Cheat on Anything” — Cluely’s cheating app. Home Depot’s secret garden. The Fed’s Batman independence.
22:59 Share

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, so be Jay Wednesday. April 23rd, 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. Jack, yesterday's breaking news, news was broken on our podcast. If you haven't listened to our exclusive interview yet with Duolingo's CEO, you got it. Yeah, it dropped yesterday on our feed. They announced Chess,

That's right. A language app is launching chess. But there's so much more in that interview. Did you hear when he said that Duolingo is addictive and he loves it that way? He argued why his addictive app is a good thing. I hope he was happy he said that. He also described that hilarious Super Bowl commercial where the owl's butt kept getting bigger. That was hysterical. It's got quite a crazy butt. So besties, check out that episode. In the meantime, Jack and I have an

infinite streak of the best podcasts yet. So Jack, what are the three stories on today's team boy? For our first story, two Columbia University students got suspended for creating an app to help students cheat. So they launched that app to the public and they call it the

the Cheat on Everything app. For our second story, President Trump wants to fire the Fed for not cutting interest rates. And this is universally considered a terrible idea. So we'll tell you why the Federal Reserve is actually our fourth branch of government. And our third and final story, Home Depot has a little secret. Yeah, actually a big secret. It's huge. A $20 billion a year secret garden. That's right. Home Depot's flowers and shrubs are shockingly eatable.

biggest business. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories to come back to. Love the mix, Jack. Feels weird saying this, but... Yeah, Jack? Stop being polite. I'm sorry, Jack, but can you please be more specific? Stop saying please and thank you to ChatGPT because those words are costing them millions. Thank you, Jack. Get

this yetis sam allman is losing tens of millions of dollars just by processing your politeness we treat chat gpt like it was our sixth grade teacher even though it's a robot your mama still taught you manners so we say things like chat gpt could you please tell me all the emperors of rome thanks or wow chat gpt thank you for listing all those emperors can you give me all of the gladiators of rome

of Rome, please? Now Nick, like 20% of those two sentences from you and me were just pleasantries, but they require the same energy to process as the root question did. What we are saying besties is that your politeness is expensive. And AI actually uses nearly 2% of global electricity.

So every extra word in our query has an impact on the grid. Your politeness is adding to your carbon footprint. Now, we asked ChatGPT, what if all 400 million of your users typed please just once per day? And what did ChatGPT tell us, Jack? It would result in $80,000 of extra processing costs. That means one please per user per day, they lose 30 million bucks a year. It's the most expensive etiquette ever.

So besties, instead of chat GPT, could you please tell me all the emperors of Rome? Thanks. Simply say all emperors of Rome. Those pleases, they ain't profitable. So mom, earmuffs if you're listening. But not saying please and thank you is actually the polite thing to do. Sam Allman made us do it. Jack, let's hit our three stars.

First, a quick word from our sponsor.

We are supported by Vital Proteins. Yetis, have you heard of Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides? It's a supplement that has four benefits all in one, helping support healthy hair, skin, nails, bones, and joints. Full disclosure, potential TMI. I had a mole removed recently. Nick's getting a colonoscopy next month. Okay, we're both in our 30s. We're in the best shape of our lives, but time. It could be a freaky beast on your body, man. Here's the deal. When we hit age 30, our body's natural collagen production starts to dip.

by up to 1% per year. Which can lead to bone and joint issues and on your face, lines, and wrinkly skin. That's why for years I've been putting collagen in every cup of coffee. Yeti's by taking collagen peptides daily, you can help support your hair, skin, nail, bone, and joint health. Get 20% off by going to vitalproteins.com and entering promo code T-boy at checkout. That's vitalproteins.com, promo code T-boy for 20% off. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration,

This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Craving your next action-packed adventure? Audible delivers thrills of every kind on your command, like Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, where a lone astronaut must save humanity from extinction, narrated with stunning intensity by Ray Porter. From electrifying suspense and daring quests to spine-tingling horror and Rome

That's audible.com slash wonderyus.

For our first story, this one's wild. The most viral app right now is designed to help you cheat. Or as they put it, cheat on everything. Because using AI when you're not supposed to is cheating. For now. All right, let's start with some context, Jack.

Yeti is a little storytelling for you. Last week, the Columbia University student newspaper confirmed that two students had dropped out after facing suspensions. Those two students were Roy Lee and Neil Shanmugam. Not in trouble for protests or anything political, though. No, no, no, no, no, Jack. They were in trouble for cheating. More specifically, they were in trouble for building an AI cheating tool

and urging their classmates to use it. You see, besties, Roy and Neil created this cheating tool to help them ace their internship interviews. They were coding interviews with, like, all of tech. They had interviews with Amazon, Meta, TikTok, Capital One. They were looking for internships. And Jack, how?

did it work when they did those interviews and they used their cheating tool? Oh, it worked. Those two students got offers from all those tech companies we just mentioned. And then they shared their wild stories of getting those job offers on X and LinkedIn, and that kind of went viral. And that's when they got an email from the student disciplinary board about that cheating app. Barely Columbia University, not a fan of cheating, Jack. So after getting suspended, both of these students pulled a Zuckerberg. Yes, they did. They quit school, moved to Silicon Valley, and raised VentureMoney.

In fact, get this, their cheating app isn't just a fun campus hack anymore. It's a for-profit company. And they're making $3 million a year in annualized revenue. Nick, imagine being their parents. They're like, wait, you're not at Columbia anymore? What do you mean? You got suspended? But you're a millionaire?

The most bizarre combination of confusion, disappointment, and excitement. Now, besties, as you can imagine, Jack and I got curious. And here's what we found fascinating about this story. The name of the app is Clue.ly, but the description of the app is way more compelling. On the website, the app store, and all the articles we've read about it,

It says that this app is to help you cheat on anything. Yeah, it's the rare case where the brand cuts to the chase more than any brand we've ever seen, Jack. This AI assistant is not about productivity. It's about helping you cheat. We should explain how exactly does this thing work, Jack?

Well, basically, an invisible window opens up on your computer with an AI assistant who is watching and listening to everything that's happening and giving you the information you need at the right moment. It's basically an AI wingman. Like Gary from Veep. But less creepy. It's like if Socrates had a burner phone and could call you during the SATs. It gives you the information you need in real time to ace that job interview, ace the sales call, or ace your take-home exam.

Now, the key, their kind of AI competitive advantage is the invisibility. It is undetectable to the job interviewer or the company or the school where you're cheating. And here's the business model. 20 bucks a month for unlimited usage of this powerful cheating tool. Who knew cheating could become a subscription, Jack? In fact, they just published a marketing video that was pretty slick and it went viral on Twitter this week.

In the video, Lee uses Clue.ly, the app, to ace a first date. Like, to cheat on romance, basically. It's the CEO of the company, and he's at...

restaurant on a date and the AI is listening to his dates questions and then flashing to him the answers to her questions yeah like what kind of questions Jack what does he think well he knows that she loves tulips because the app tells him that her Instagram is filled with pictures of tulips basically he cheated he can talk about a fake job that he doesn't actually have because the app keeps feeding him with information to make him sound smart yeah he's acing the

date, but he's also cheating the date. Add it all up for 20 bucks a month. This AI app will help you cheat on everything. And that made us think about everything. So Jack, what is the takeaway for our buddies over in AI? AI has blurred the line between cheating and advantage. Yetis, we know what you're thinking. Cheating is lying. So this is wrong.

But if you think about it for a sec, doesn't all innovation actually start as cheating? When calculators were invented, they were considered cheating. So was spellcheck and so was Google, like Googling for information. All once considered cheating. That's right. The final determination of cheating is not the thing itself, but the rules around the thing. The rules change to make the cheating act a perfectly legitimate activity. We think it's probably going to be the same with A.I.,

AI right now feels like cheating, but not necessarily in the future. In the future, it'll be like, yeah, of course you used AI to nail that industry.

that interview. And yet, artificial intelligence also blurs the line of cheating to an even further degree. Like how about this one? Is ChatGPT cheating when it turns your family photograph into a Pixar-style image but without paying Disney for it? Kind of a gray area right now. So the Cluelay app to cheat on everything is this existential question in a nutshell. Do you think using AI is cheating?

Or is it just optimizing? And besties, if you have an ethically questionable case of using AI, we want to hear it. Drop it in the comments on Spotify or YouTube. Because AI has blurred the line between cheating and trying. For our second story, markets have had a wild week and it's not just the trade war. It's because Trump said he wants to fire the Fed. The Fed is actually the fourth independent branch of our government, the way we see it. And we'll tell you why it needs to stay that way.

- Yetis, let's do a little calendar play-by-play here. On Friday and Monday, President Trump targeted the chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell.

He went with some of his usual insults. He called Powell a major loser, but he also said that he's bad at his job. Honestly, it's shocking Trump hasn't come up with like a nickname for Powell at this point. Ironic side note, Powell was actually appointed by President Trump back in 2018. And Jack, could you please share a legal side note as well? Most legal scholars agree the president cannot fire the chairman of the Fed.

That would be unconstitutional. Jack, why don't you throw in a financial side note while we're at it? Nick and I can tell you that Jerome Powell is one of the most respected financiers across the entire world. And besties, if you want proof of all the above side notes, you simply have to look at the

Trump's threat to fire Jerome Powell sent the Nasdaq back into a bear market on Monday. And it's not just stocks. The whole world sold America on Monday as well. U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, and the U.S. dollar all got pumped.

Humboldt on Monday. Now, we should point out investors did a little BTD buying the dip on Tuesday, but still, Jack and I want to take this moment to clarify some very important things about the Federal Reserve, because the Fed is unlike any other U.S. government agency. Now I'm thinking about Jack, it reminds me of Batman. I'll get to that in a bit. But unlike the Treasury, unlike the Department of Justice, unlike the Department of Education, the Federal Reserve Bank is not

in the executive branch. So it doesn't take orders from the president, who leads the executive branch. And, unlike the House or the Senate, the leaders of the Federal Reserve are not elected officials. So the Fed is most similar in government to the Supreme Court. Yeah, it is. It's intentionally designed to be separate from politics.

And it's because of this truth that every time a central bank has lost independence somewhere on Earth, it has led to financial disaster in whatever country that is. Nick and I jumped into the economic history textbooks for you. Oh, let's hit them, Jack. What do we got? Zimbabwe, Argentina, and Turkey are just a few examples of leaders who forced their central bank to make politically driven moves. And Jack, what were the results in all of those countries, please? Each resulted in hyperinflation.

prices rose like 10 times faster than they've ever risen in the United States. Because investors know if a politician controls the central bank, like we saw the peso in Argentina pop, they like to give the economy a couple cookies, Jack. A short-term sugar high. Basically, it's like politicians get control of the candy jar if they can control their central bank.

bank. It feels good for a minute. Cutting interest rates feels good for a minute, but it's really harmful long-term if it makes inflation even worse. The capitalist cavities are not fun. And that's kind of what Trump wants, it seems. Well, breaking news, as Jack and I are literally recording this story right now. You see this, Jack? Trump just said, and I quote, he has no intention of firing Jerome Powell.

Okay, so that is a huge switch from what was being said on Monday, and that's a great thing. And it's also good news. It's a great thing, Jack, because of our takeaway. Perfect timing. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over there in the Fed? Sometimes the popular thing is the worst thing.

Now, yetis, we covered the Fed last year. And in that story, we said it was the only part of our government willing to do the unpopular thing. Our presidents, our senators, our mayors, our governors, they all pledge to do popular things if they get elected. Tax cuts, stimulus checks, hey, loan forgiveness over there.

It all sounds great, but the result is unbelievable amounts of debt. And another result, inflation. Like eggflation, prices were popping. But the Fed is our one institution that doesn't care about popularity. They care about the long-term health of the economy. And the

only reason why the Fed can do the unpopular thing, Jack? It's because they're independent of politics. Now, the popular thing to do during inflation is to cut interest rates. But that would make the problem of inflation even worse. Which is the reason we need an independent Fed. They're the only ones who can give us tough love. Or, Jack, the more I think about it, the more it is like Batman. Do you know the final lines in The Dark Knight? I think you're about to tell me. He can take it.

Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. He's a watchful protector. The Fed is like Batman. So besties, the Fed should remain independent because like Batman and Gotham, sometimes they're the only one who can do the unpopular thing. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. Prize picks. All right, Jack, favorite player on the Knicks right now. You know who it is?

Josh Hart. You know why I love him right now? Something fashionable. Because he wears his headband upside down. I knew it. So Nick is picking Josh Hart in the PrizePix app for tonight's game based on his headband. PrizePix. It is the fastest and easiest way to play daily fantasy sports for real money. Just pick more or less on a few different player stat lines and your lineup is set in seconds. This app makes daily fantasy sports so smooth

It's very easy to pick a player who you think will outperform tonight. Wildest part, on PrizePix, you can mix and match player projections from different sports. So if you're at Buffalo Wild Wings, you can pick basketball players and baseball players, watch all the TVs...

Yeah.

Yeah, it is. I'm always surprised by the range of potential topics that just pop up out of nowhere in the middle of therapy. Last session, Nick talked about how choices in his 20s and 30s can help prevent a midlife crisis. Yeah, like Jack, like the level of autonomy you have at work is crazy.

key for preventing a midlife crisis. Makes sense. If you're feeling micromanaged, that can lead to macro problems years down the road. I like what you did there. Besties, that is all to say that therapy isn't just about talking about your relationship with your mom. You cover your work too. And speaking of work, let's talk numbers.

Regular in-person therapy costs between $100 and $250 per session. BetterHelp uses the internet to lower the cost of therapy by up to 50% per session. BetterHelp has over 30,000 therapists, and it's the world's largest online therapy platform serving 5 million people. Therapy should feel accessible, not like a luxury, which is exactly what BetterHelp was built to do. Your well-being is worth it.

So visit betterhelp.com slash tboy today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash tboy. For our third and final story, Home Depot has a secret garden. Literally. Home Depot's biggest division is, shockingly, its flowers. Because every rose needs an Amazon thorn.

Now, Yeti, before we start this story, Jack, I feel like I should point out that this is a little bit of your own little secret side hustle, right? Like when I visited you a few weeks ago, I noticed you were growing carnations like a young Claude Monet in that little garden here. We have three big garden boxes and we're getting ready to plant a whole bunch of veggies. I better get some tomatoes. No way. I'm keeping them, dude.

All right, this is a story for another pot. In the meantime, yet, is the way to Jack's heart is apparently a good rhododendron. But the Home Depot garden section is the back of the store that's like a Coachella for suburban moms and dads. There's a redonkulous number of redonkulous. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Home Depot's most important business isn't hammers and nails.

periwinkles are the real profit puppy. Get this, garden is Home Depot's biggest division by sales. That's right. $20 billion a year in revenue. FYI, garden includes flowers, shrubs, hoses, outdoor furniture, and those adorable creepy little gnomes. Which makes Home Depot's garden section not just huge, 20%.

twice as big as their paint section, three times bigger than kitchen, and four times bigger than the bath section. Jack, let's sprinkle on more context. Home Depot's garden section is even bigger than entire companies you know and love. H&M, BlackRock,

Home Depot's garden section is bigger. That's right. They're selling more garden stuff at Home Depot than Hermes is selling of luxury goods. It is possible. So gardening is Home Depot's secret financial garden, literally. And it's also resilient to recessions. That's right. If 40% tariffs tank your 401k, you don't do the new addition, but you will buy seeds for your home garden. But Home Depot faces an interesting problem.

Garden shoppers are ironically like flowers themselves. Because some garden shoppers at Home Depot are perennials. They come back every year. But most garden shoppers at Home Depot are annuals. They're one and done. They don't come back next year. That's right. You typically don't return for flowers because one of two things happens. First, you buy flowers at Home Depot, but you can't maintain them. They all die.

The other outcome is that you're so successful as a plant daddy that you move on to a local plant specialist. Jack got his latest fig tree from some exporter over in like Holland, I believe. So here's the challenge for Home Depot. How do you keep customers confidently coming back to purchase more peonies? Well, the Wall Street Journal dove into Home Depot's sourcing and the answer seems to be that they look for plants that won't die. Their stores belong in nine different climate zones and they supply specially bred plants

that will survive your overwatering or the lack of sun that you're exposing them to. The idea is that you cannot possibly kill that wisteria. It's kind of like gardens for dummies. Like, you can't go wrong. Yeah, just give it sun and a whole lot of water. Now, if they can turn your annual customer into a perennial customer, then that Home Depot investment in flower breeding is worth it. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Home Depot? Every business needs an anti-Amazon thorn.

Now yetis, the real reason why Home Depot's garden center is its biggest division? It's not just your passion for poppies. It's that Amazon can't do it. Apparently horticulture is Amazon proof. It just doesn't happen through e-commerce. Buying flowers, plants, or seedlings

It's a purchase we prefer to make in person. Oh, and logistically, the six 50 pound bags of mulch can't be shipped on Amazon. Have you seen that shipping price? You also want an experienced human who's local so you can come back to them to give you advice on the overseeding and the overwatering. You're not trusting Reddit on anything like, you know, an orchid. Now the best part for Home Depot, you come in for the pansies, you leave with

with the pressure washer too. And that is why, like Home Depot, every business rose needs an anti-Amazon thorn. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for ceviche Wednesday? Two Columbia students created an app to help you secretly cheat. And now they're venture-backed because AI has blurred the line between cheating and advantage. For our second story, President Trump's threat to fire the Fed caused markets to tank.

But now he says he won't. The Fed's independence, it lets it do the unpopular thing we actually need. And our third and final story. The Home Depot's biggest division, it's shockingly the garden section, which brings in $20 billion a year. Because every rose needs an anti-Amazon thorn.

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. Ding, ding, ding, the most anticipated name of earnings season just dropped. That's right, we got Tesla earnings hot off the rack. Tesla's car revenues fell by 20% compared to last year, their worst drop ever. But big update that made the stock actually rise despite the bad result? Elon announced he's winding down his work at Doge

starting next month. So less politics, more CEOing the company. And second, Chipotle is expanding for the first time to Mexico. Now we should point out Taco Bell failed in Mexico and Domino's failed in Italy. Yes, we should point that out, Jack. So Chipotle is hoping to break the curse of American brands failing in the country they're supposed to be from. Or as one Mexican politician put it years ago,

American fast food bringing Mexican food to Mexico is like trying to sell ice in the Arctic. And finally, an update on anyone snacking on Flamin' Hot Cheetos right now with a side of Skittles. The FDA is phasing out the use of dyes in snacks and candies by the end of next year. Now we should point out, this is purely cosmetic. The food is still gonna taste the same.

It'll still have the same nutrition ingredients too. Okay, but you're going to handle those Skittles like you always did, Jack? I think I'm going to have to close my eyes if I'm eating brown Skittles. Yeah, it's a little different, Jack. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Sergey and Larry from California.

20 years ago on this day, April 23rd, 2005, the first YouTube video ever was uploaded. That's right. The first YouTube video just turned 20 years old. And Jack, what was in that original tape? The video was called Me at the Zoo. It's simply 19 seconds of a guy named AtJodd

chilling at the San Diego Zoo in front of some elephants. That's right. In the 20 years we've had digital videos online, they've evolved zero. Well, that 19-second video of Guy standing in front of elephants has 355 million views today. And he probably has a podcast.

Yetis, you look fantastic for Ceviche Wednesday. And if you haven't yet, drop down to please give us five stars. We would thank you for leaving a review. And we deeply appreciate all of your support of the show, sharing it with buddies. But all those pleasantries Nick just flooded us with, don't do them when you're talking to AI. Because that's going to cost AI. In the meantime, it costs you nothing to HYHTBIY. Have you had the best one yet? If you know.

And before we go, a happy birthday to the legendary Eddie. Brian Katz in New York City, who has never missed a day of this episode. That's right. He's on a 2,000-episode streak, baby. Happy birthday to Margarita Romana in Moura, Portugal. Muito obrigado.

and Emily Harrison in White Plains, New York. Happy birthday in Westchester. Happy birthday to Gwen Ryan in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. And Jake Dwyer down in Charlottesville, Virginia is set in records at the Face Off X and the best birthday yet, baby. Happy birthday to Judy Slavins in Best Teen, Texas.

Tatooine? Yeah. She eats Chef Boyardee fresh out of the can. Double check that passport. But Eva Perez is turning 20 years old and celebrating in lovely Madison, Wisconsin. Happy birthday to Alina from Milpitas, California, who's listening with her 10 and 7-year-old. And Daniel Lahavi in Denver, Colorado, is a hiking pro, five-year loyal bestie, and a legendary listener celebrating a fantastic birthday. Happy 10th birthday to Aria Vasquez from Irvine, California. This...

is their fifth year of T-boy birthday shout-outs. Jack, I remember Aria's fifth birthday shout-out like it was yesterday. Happy birthday, Aria. And congratulations to Nikita Rajput and Eric Burkhart, who are getting engaged in Europe. Congratulations. Send us some ring picks, guys. And Diane and Robert Binns have got their third anniversary, which is their best anniversary yet, in Perlin, Texas. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. ♪

This is Jack. I own stock of Disney and Amazon, and Nick and I both own stock of Chipotle. 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.

Shopify's point of sale system helps you sell at every stage of your business. Need a fast and secure way to take payments in person? We've got you covered. How about card readers you can rely on anywhere you sell? Thanks. Have a good one. Yep, that too.

Want one place to manage all your online and in-person sales? That's kind of our thing. Wherever you sell, businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at shopify.com slash listen. shopify.com slash listen.