👙 “Final Hoot” — Hooters’ Re-hooterization. Facebook’s OG makeover. Canada’s WWII housing solution.
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This is Nick. It's Wednesday, ceviche Wednesday, April 2nd. 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. Oh, Jack and I are coming at you with an update from the Ambies, the Oscars of podcasting, baby. First of all.

Go right now to our Instagram because we have some fantastic behind-the-scenes highlights. Spoiler, we didn't wear tuxes, but I got to say, you look glam over there, Jack. That was impressive, man. I mean, you literally did the glam cam thing. You know, my first time doing the glam cam, I would do another one very soon. I like that. Now, we didn't end up winning Best Business Podcast. That went to Guy Raz and How I Built This.

Credible. If you're going to lose to one show, that's exactly the legendary man you want to lose to. But we did win on the red carpet. So check out at T-Boy Pod on Instagram. Yetis, we had a blast. Thank you for helping us almost win that award. And Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got? For our first story, it's Hooters. The restaurant chain famous for their company dress code just filed for bankruptcy. So we got to talk about the time Hooters launched Hooters AdWords.

True story. For our second story, Canada's new prime minister just announced a dramatic plan to solve their housing crisis. And it's based on a World War II playbook, and it involves Long Island. And our third and final story, Zuck is turning back the clocks on your Facebook feed. Instead of a cacophony of videos from people you don't know, Facebook is bringing back the friend. Isn't it cacophony? That's what I said, Jack. Cacophony.

Yeah, it is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Fantastic mix of stories. What a mix for a Ceviche Wednesday. According to our internal T-Boy podcast listener data, you, yes, you are listening right now on an iPhone. But despite how much you think you know your iPhone, you don't

really know your iPhone. True, because besties, the true story of how the iPhone was born is barely even known at Apple. Did you know that at first, Steve Jobs hated the idea of the iPhone? Yeah, that's right, the iPhone, the most influential invention of the last hundred years. The iPhone, the most profitable product of all time. The iPhone, Steve Jobs' creation that changed the world. But the man credited with creating it actively

And while Darth Vader was Luke's father...

iPod was the iPhone's father. So, Yetis, check out the latest episode of our weekly show, The Best Idea Yet. Every week, we go deep on the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. This week, it's the iPhone. Hey, Siri, do you know how the iPhone became the iPhone? Sorry, I don't understand. She doesn't even know, Jack. Can you believe it? No one knows. Because the iPhone is simply the best idea yet. Oh, but today's show, today's three stories for T-Boy are fantastic. Jack, how about we hit it? Let's

First, a quick word from our sponsor.

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So this year, both of my weddings are in Vermont. Normally, Nick, I'd make them day trips, but I'm going to treat myself and book a hotel for these two weddings. Okay, and why are you doing that, Jack? Because it means I can host people on Airbnb and use some of that money to pay for the hotel. Besties, millions of people host on Airbnb, but millions more have never thought about hosting. Yetis, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.com slash host. We are supported by Vital Proteins.

Yeah, it is. 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. If you're over 30 like us, you know that your body's natural collagen production dips as we age.

by up to 1% per year, actually. It's a key reason why you get fine lines and a little bit of saggy skin. And is it just me, or do my knees keep making a popping sound they didn't used to make? I wake myself up with my knees, Jack. That's why, actually, don't you put vital protein collagen in like every cup of coffee, Jack? Yeah, in every cup of coffee and every smoothie. It's good for the body.

So, Yetis, 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.

For our first story, Hooters restaurants just filed for bankruptcy so that the OG founders can buy back the chain. The old Hooters is dead and Hooters Airlines illustrates why. That's right. They had an airline.

But Jack, let's travel back in time for a moment. 42 years ago, six businessmen started a restaurant chain that they couldn't get kicked out of. That wasn't a lead into a joke. That was like what was written on their founding documents for this brand new restaurant chain. Hooters Incorporated, a place where guys will never get kicked out. Or if you wanted to shorten that, you would call it Hooters, delightfully tacky yet unrefined.

Hooters. They serve tall drinks served by waitresses in short skirts. But like the Red Lobster and TGI Fridays, Hooters has become a victim of the macroeconomic environment. And cultural environment. They got sued recently because they wouldn't allow male waiters. And now they're ending their Hooters bikini nights as well. Hooters peaked at 400 restaurants doing $1.2 billion in annual revenue, but now they're a third smaller than they used to be.

So here's the news. Hooters just filed for bankruptcy. The original founders planned to buy back the company from its current ownership and bring some heat back to those wings. Now, yetis, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. While everyone was distracted by the Hooters staff, we noticed that Hooters was more experimental as a future

chain, then we realized. First, in 1993, Hooters basically pioneered chicken wings as a scalable food at sports bars. Basically, they realized that the wing of the chicken was the most profitable part of the bird. But then, over the next two decades, as the chain grew nationwide, they really test

the limits of the Hooters brand. We jumped in T-boy style. In 2006, Hooters opened a Las Vegas casino that actually lasted 13 years until they shut it down. And then in 2007, they launched Hooters Energy Drink, which also shut down eventually. But we're not going to stop there, are we, Jack? Hooters.

Hooters Airlines was launched in 2003. Hooters leased seven airplanes from Boeing to launch an airline. Then they would put three of their waitresses as the flight crew on each of those airlines. What was Hooters Airlines like? Well, same dress code as the restaurants, same chicken wings and beer, just all served at 30,000 feet.

Now, the interesting innovation, I guess you'd call it, Jack, is that they basically turned the entire cabin into a bar, a sports bar. NFL games and in-flight trivia. Yeah. That's what you got on Hooters Airlines. You like yell bingo from row 34B. It was a pretty niche market, though. They actually targeted dudes going on golf trips. It's hard to build a world-class nationwide airline worldwide.

when you're dependent upon single dudes who have a little bit of vacation time. So after just three years, in a tough moment for airlines, we should add, Hooters Airlines shut down in 2006. Well, now the founders seem to have learned their lesson about just experimenting with too many wild things, and their new strategy is back to the Hooters roots. Or as they call it, re-Hooterization. They're actually hoping for a more wholesome, family-friendly vibe when they emerge from bankruptcy. Again, bikini night on Thursday, canceled. Ha ha!

Can't believe we even have to say that they're doing that. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are delightfully tacky and self-aware over at Hooters? Virgil Abloh's 3% rule applies to sports bars just as much as it does sneakers.

- Yetis, Hooters built something that there was demand for, a sports bar but man-cavified. - Or to quote the founders, a sports bar that no guy would ever get kicked out of. - And the dress code of the Hooters waitresses was really the only difference. It was a sports bar with a 3% change to the status quo. - The waitresses, that was the difference from a typical sports bar.

Just a 3% difference. That's all it took. Well, Jack and I put our strategy hats on and famed fashion designer Virgil Abloh, he was famous for this concept. Give the customer 97% of what they know, but just change up 3% to make it feel novel. Hooters did that and it worked.

But then they went way beyond the 3% change when it came to the airlines and the casinos. Jack, turning an airplane into a sports bar, that's more than a 3% change. That is a 300% change. Too much. So now Hooters is returning to their original 3% innovation. A regular sports bar, but 3% more unrefined. Because the way we see it, Virgil Abloh's 3% rule of innovation applies to sports bars as much as it does to sneakers.

For our second story, to solve the housing crisis, Canada whipped out a World War II era plan. Canada's Department of Building Homes may actually be the perfect plan for America. Well, Jack, if we're going to talk World War II plans, let's go back to 1945, back when Canada had a real serious housing crisis, man. Soldiers returning home from war needed to start their new lives again.

but they needed a roof over their heads first. Well, fast forward to today and Canada's new prime minister says we are facing the same housing crisis now. But not for soldiers. Right. For everyone. Boom. Here is the new goal for Canada's new PM. Double the number of homes that are built annually in the country to 500,000. 500,000 homes a year in Canada. That's enough to fit 21,000 Vancouver Canuck hockey teams. Maybe it's the

It's the maple syrup talking here, Jack. But you know what? We could use some of that World War II housing planning down here in America as well. I mean, we've been standing on this pod for years. Build, baby, build. We have. Because both the United States and Canada have decades of under-

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Department of Building Homes. It is a wartime plan to cut time and cost of building a home. Now, the name of the new entity is actually Build Canada Homes, and it's going to act

Okay, but Jack, what's the key really interesting thing that they're also doing over there? They're pumping $17 billion into specifically factory-built houses.

Factory-built houses. Yetis, that's the plan up in Canada. But Jack, am I wrong? But where have we seen such a similar plan before? We saw a similar plan here in the States, in Levittown, New York. Right down the LIE from where your dad grew up, right, man? My dad was born in Levittown.

It's a little Long Island town, which was America's own post-war housing solution. You read about this stuff in history textbooks. Yeah, let's go back to 1947. Back then, Levittown would let World War II veterans choose from six different housing models. There were only six choices for your house, and fewer options let them mass-produce

6,000 new homes in record time. So Jack, basically your grandparents were looking at these six options and one of them was a model house called the Cape Cod House. Yeah, the Cape Cod was a 1,000 square foot house that they were offering for just $10,000 at the time.

Just for inflation, that's a $140,000 home in today's money, not too shabby. And since they mass produced it, it was a pretty good house despite that low price. Three bedrooms, one bath, and the kind of kitchen that makes you want to carve up a roast ham for the whole family. And those are the vibes that Canada is trying to achieve again today. Mass-produced houses in factories to keep costs down. Now, there is another way to keep costs down. Yeah, there is.

rip up the red tape. And that other way leads to our takeaway. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in the home market? What does red tape look like? It looks like an everything bagel.

Yeah, yetis. Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, two economic policy wonks, they just published a book called Abundance. In that book, they describe the housing policy fails that have been happening for decades in blue states. For example, in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Basically all the places I've spent most of my time are live jacked. You know, they would pass a bill with a billion dollars for affordable housing, but that bill would then get suffocated by other priorities. Other priorities like the house must be built by a minority-owned home builder or that the home builder must employ female construction workers at a higher rate.

or that the houses must only use green building materials, or that the houses must have extra inclusive disabilities access. Now, after all of that combined red tape requirements, it actually cost around $800,000 to build each one of those quote unquote affordable units. In other words, all those priorities, which are valid and worthy in their own right, had the effect of killing the affordable housing bill. And that is called the everything bagel problem. And

And it's why we appreciate Canada's wartime branding of the continent's housing crisis. To build affordable housing, you must focus on affordability and nothing else. And what does red tape actually look like? Well, it looks like an everything bagel. Now, a quick word from our sponsor. Prize picks. All right, Jack, favorite player on the Knicks right now. You know who it is?

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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 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.com slash tboy. For our third and final story, Zuckerberg, who dismantled Facebook to make it more like TikTok, now wants to bring back the OG Facebook. What's it all mean? One social network is actually getting social again. Now, yetis, Jack and I just flew back from Chicago. I was

I was in the aisle. I was seated next to a grandfather, and that grandpa actually spent two-thirds of the flight flipping through Facebook. Honestly, my neighbor, who was a grandma, did the same exact thing. Yeah, it makes sense. Facebook is now basically a digital senior center. That's what it is. It's the Boca Raton of social networks. It is, and we've got the data to back it up. 55 to 64-year-olds use Facebook the most, and the younger you get, the less you use it. You see, it's actually the opposite with TikTok.

18 to 24-year-olds use TikTok the most, and the older you get, the less you use it. Now, honestly, we think Facebook should just embrace the boomer generation, but after 10 years of Facebook basically being a punchline and losing users, Zuck wants to make Facebook cool again. Or, based on his new political identity, he wants to make Facebook great again. Which leads to the news. Zuck is bringing back elements of the OG Facebook, including the Friends tab.

Translation, we can stop swiping on strangers and we can start poking friends again. And if you don't know what we mean by poking friends... It's totally appropriate. It's totally appropriate and you're not going to get our next Y2K reference either. So Jack, to sprinkle on more context here, could you please tell us about the year 2018? In 2018, TikTok arrived in the US in a real way.

And that's when social media started to become anti-social. Because TikTok prioritized videos, not images and text. And those videos are of people you don't know. And watching those videos of strangers you do not know, it turns out that was algorithmically addictive. TikTok started stealing time spent on Instagram and Facebook.

Okay, so Zuck got his team together a few years ago and said, you know what? We're going to copy that same formula that TikTok uses with a new thing called Reels. He zucked the idea. He told his engineers, do exactly what TikTok is doing, but in this new tab called Reels that we're putting in Facebook and Instagram. Now to go back to when Jack and I were roommates together in college...

Back then, you would write on someone's Facebook wall after a party, maybe give them a poke, and then you'd tag them in some birthday pics, right? But today, you open Instagram, and you just scroll videos of some hotel influencer you never met, and then swipe to the next video, another influencer you've never met.

And then another video of like some news clip. It's a friendless space. It's actually a very different physical action because today you're just scrolling through and consuming, but 15 years ago you would make actions and interact. It's a different physical action. But ironically, all the changes that have happened to Facebook, which Zuck was behind, now...

Now he wants to undo them all. Because Zuck has realized that Facebook's original friend focus from 15 years ago is actually a differentiator today. So he's changing the app to be more about friends, less about strangers. The OG Facebook, it's back like 2006 spring break with Carson Daly. Zuck realized there are no social networks anymore. There's only stranger networks.

Now, Zuck likes that social networks are now stranger networks, doesn't he, Jack? But on Facebook, he's bringing back the friends tab. It will be free of promoted posts and free of content from people you're not friends with. You're actually going to see your buddy, Timmy. And Jack, we should untag him in that photo. So man, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone in social media? Prediction. Gen Z is about to turn Facebook into a verb again.

Now, yetis, we've said that retro tech is having a comeback right now. It's the return of Y2K. Remember how Yahoo email address signups are jumping right now? Yeah, and also, we've told you our 20-year rule of nostalgia. Facebook was launched in 2004, basically 20 years ago.

And we know that loneliness levels have hit record highs among young people. In part because of the algorithms which send us down friendless holes of content with strangers. So, Jax, in my prediction, it's that Gen Z will embrace Facebook for the first time in their lives. The next time you see a 20-something, they might be poking instead of TikToking. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for Savice Wednesday?

Hooters is bankrupt, but it's getting bought back and re-Hooterized by the OG founders. Hooters changed sports bars by 3% and it worked back then. It's Virgil Abloh's fashion rule in action. For our second story, Canada's new PM is declaring a warlike plan to double the number of new homes built.

But the key is cutting red tape, which looks like an everything bagel of policies. And our third and final story. Zuckerberg is making changes to Facebook that will prioritize friends. It's going from a stranger network back to a social network. And we think Gen Z is going to make Facebook a verb again.

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. Okay, the front pages of CNBC, Wall Street Journal, and every other major news source have been the same for four straight days, right, man? Speculation about Trump's tariffs.

What will he do? What won't he do? What will he pretend he's going to do? What will he fake us about? Nobody knows, but we will actually find out today when the president announces Liberation Day at the White House. We'll digest, we'll analyze, and we'll probably whip up a takeaway about it in tomorrow's pod. And second, OpenAI just snagged the best

biggest private fundraise in the history of money. Again. I feel like every time they raise money, it's the biggest ever. Hey, Sam, you set your own record again. You beat yourself. This time, OpenAI raised $40 billion from venture capitalists at a $300 billion valuation. But there

is one interesting caveat, isn't there, Jack? Some of that money is conditioned upon OpenAI successfully converting to become a for-profit company. And awkwardly, Elon Musk sued OpenAI to stop that conversion, and that case is going to trial. Drama. And finally, the NFL is eliminating the first down chains. They're going full electronic to decide if you got a first down or not. Third and one, quarterback sneak. Ah, not sure if you got the first down. You're not going to call out the chain gang anymore.

We're not going to look at the chain and the tip of the football and see if it touches it or not. Okay, just repeat. We're talking about the two dudes with the two big things with a chain between them that awkwardly sprint onto the field. Full disclosure, I've been a member of several chain gangs. The worst part is if there's a tackle happening over there, you might get destroyed as a member of the chain gang. It's an awkward position, Jack. I'm glad you shared that with us.

Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me to tell you the best brand April Fool's jokes from 24 hours ago. Yesterday, Subway introduced Subway. It's a line of protein shakes from the Subway chain that isn't happening, but actually should happen, yeah. Then Yahoo launched a touch grass keyboard. Which is a keyboard with actual grass growing in between the keys, so you get a little outdoor time when you're typing away. Then Ikea launched a new store concept.

called the linear store layout. It's actually a straight line, not a maze. You're in and out in 20 seconds. It's actually wonderful. And then the Kansas City chief shared a picture of Andy Reid, but with no mustache. Right, which was only topped by Warren Buffett, who's going to acquire Tesla for $1 trillion. That last one wasn't an April Fool's joke. It was just

Oh, by the way, Skims is not launching a Wall Street line. We should clarify. That was our April Fool's joke. A lot of people wanted the Skims sweat-wicking shirts. Yeah, we made that one up. I hope that didn't feel like a lie. I think that was pretty clearly a joke. But that's a story for another pod.

Yetis, you look fantastic today and we know exactly where you should go after this show because we've got the best idea yet for you. We've got a link in the episode description to hear the untold origin story of the iPhone. You are listening to us probably, statistically speaking, mathematically on an iPhone right now, but you don't know where that iPhone really began. And if you missed the iPod,

This story goes in that too. Oh, we're going back into the grand papa of the iPhone. Tap the link in the episode description. Nick and I will see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Sofia Rodriguez, turning 14 years old down in Greensboro, North Carolina. And happy birthday to my buddy Dave Fleming from Brattleboro, Vermont, now crushing the slopes in Utah. And Hannah, the Yeti I ran into on the airplane with her luggage.

Hannah, fantastic to have you with the show. I'm glad we saw you on the way back from Chicago. Thanks for joining the pod. Congratulations to Will Martin of Cork, Ireland, who won a golden tie at the Starties in New York City. And congratulations to Guy Raz and the How I Built This team who won Best Business Podcast at the Ambi's

We were honored to be up there with you. What an amazing group of nominees and what an incredible show and experience, man. We were hoping we would win, but if anyone was going to beat us, we're glad it's you. Congratulations, guys. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.

Every big moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop?

From Wondery and At Will Media, I'm Misha Brown, and this is The Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time, like Quibi. It's kind of like when you give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it. And the 2019 movie adaptation of...

Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.