🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.
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This is Nick. This is Jack. It is Thursday, the new Friday, May 22nd. 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. Yetis, I'm flying to France tonight and Jack is somehow squeezing one more day of skiing in in New England. How is that possible? It's gonna snow this weekend, which is absurd.

I'm not planning to ski, but who knows? Maybe I'll stand on skis. As they say in France, Jack. Not possible. But three stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, we're predicting the drink of the summer. We use three trend spotting techniques to forecast the drink everyone's going to be drinking starting today.

tomorrow. For our second story, Warby Parker and Google just hooked up to create AI glasses. Okay, but Jack, OpenAI and the guy who designed the iPhone are also hooking up to create AI glasses. It's like love is blind for smart glasses. Yeah, it is, and we'll explain it all. And our third and final story, there's a new best-selling car in America, and you're definitely going to see it on the roads this weekend. Jack and I will explain the RAV4 revolution, because the RAV4 is going fast.

hybrid baby. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack. Memorial Day isn't just a celebration of veterans or a three-day weekend or the artificial start of summer. No, no, no, no, no. Memorial Day is also the biggest economic moment of the year.

for one industry. The car wash. The car wash. Get this, the Friday of Memorial Day is the biggest day of the year for washing cars. Tomorrow, more Americans will spend more money washing cars than any other day of the year. That carburetor is getting cleaned up. Your chassis is going to look classy, Nick. Hey, exhibit, don't pimp

my ride. Just wash the wheels. It's all I need, man. According to the small business startup Womply, car wash sales jumped 49% on Friday before Memorial Day. We repeat, car washes are 49% more filled starting this time tomorrow than on any typical day. And the reason?

It's that this is the weekend for road trips. You're hitting the road, baby. And if you're going to sit in the Hamptons traffic for five hours, you better look sharp doing it. This Bronco hasn't moved, but baby, do I look good in it, Jack? So if I know you like I think I do, you're going to get the signature elite wash tomorrow with undercarriage glaze and the full wax job. You do know me because this has been the little known secret for years in the car wash industry. Tomorrow is their Super Bowl.

So, yetis, if your Lincoln is getting loofahed, if your Beamer is getting bedazzled, if your Kia is getting cleansed, then you're part of the Memorial Day weekend car wash rush. Hey, exhibit, you missed a spot.

This is the spot, man. Nick, I love the places that do the hand toweling. Yeah. The hand drying at the end. That's a tip-worthy service that you're paying for right there. Jack, that's a Michelin star car wash right there. Let's sit on three stories, baby.

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 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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Airbnb. Nick, can you share that wonderful quote about hospitality we heard recently? Jack, I think I read this in the Danny Meyer book, but he said something like hospitality is anticipating someone's needs beyond expectations. I love that quote.

When I have a guest booked to stay at my place, I try to meet that hospitality standard, and I do so by letting them know ahead of time events happening in the area. Uh, pro tip, your favorite jam band is playing at your favorite burger place Wednesday night? Probably let your guests know about that one. I also completed a full travel guide within my Airbnb listing, sharing my personal favorite recommendations and secret spots.

What kind of stuff's in that travel guide, Jack? That swimming hole is so remote, you can definitely swim in the nude and you won't get any issues. Yeah, I know George Costanza shrinkage that we know of. Yetis, your actual house, your apartment, your condo is just one part of the Airbnb hosting experience.

I've really enjoyed the soft parts of hospitality, anticipating my guests' needs beyond their expectations. If this sounds your style and you enjoy a naked jump into a stream, you can become an Airbnb host too, as long as you got a place. I'm proud of my 4.92 rating, and my wife is proud of the revenue we're generating with that rating. Yetis, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host.

For our first story, it's a T-boy tradition before Memorial Day. What will be the drink of the summer? So we analyzed the data, we tasted the trends, and we got you the one answer.

But Jack, let's start by sprinkling on some context. From Cabo to Lady Bird Lake to Block Island, what were we all drinking a decade ago? 2015 was peak rosé. Yeah, it was peak rosé. Your mother-in-law and my mother-in-law both caused a shortage of Whispering Angel, I'm pretty sure, Jack. White girl wasted. Maria, really, that's what you're cracking open? 2015 was peak rosé.

2018, we had the rise of spiked seltzer. White Claw became a unicorn thanks to the day party at SIGEP. Okay, two years later, we entered the ready-to-drink cocktail era. It started with the first ever canned Jack and Cokes, and then High Noon came along. And then came low-alcohol beers, and then came no-alcohol beers. 2023 was the summer of Aperol Spritz. A record 9 million cases of Aperol were consumed that summer. And last summer, we predicted that Beatbox

Beatbox would be the drink of the summer. That's right, we predicted Beatbox. Beatbox, the boxed punch wine. And how'd we do, Jack? Pretty good. The Wall Street Journal covered Beatbox at the end of the year. Sales rose 75%, hitting $175 million. Beatbox strategically moved from the beach to Bonnaroo. They sold out at basically every single music fest. Smart distribution move. Now for 2025...

It's prediction time. And we take prediction seriously. Yeah, we do, we do, we do. We do because trend forecasting has some tactics. And the one we prefer is trend spotting. First, what's the most viral trend on social? Well, Jack, the most viral drink trend on TikTok right now is jalapeno wine. Instead of ice cubes, people are pouring Sauv Blanc on sliced peppers.

Yeah, the New York Times actually profiled this last week. Bartenders are horrified when influencers come in and order jalapeno wine. Apparently the spiciness is a contrast to the tannins, but we have not jumped into this one T-boy style. All right, so that's what's happening on social. We also look at the sales numbers. And the fastest growing alcohol brand in America right now is Surfside.

which does canned cock. That's right. Surfside serves a vodka iced tea, and they actually just signed a deal with Major League Baseball. Sales rose 360% already last year for Surfside, selling drunken Arnold Palmers. That's another trend variable we got to take into account. But finally, Jack and I want to analyze, well, we actually, we looked at our guts. Let's go with our guts. Literally. We think there's an opportunity in functional soda combining with functional alcohol.

That's right. What we're saying is, replace your Jack and Coke with a Jack and Poppy. Basically, instead of a prebiotic soda, why don't you go with a prebiotic cocktail? Get wasted on something that's good for your gut. I'm pretty sure it cancels out, but I'm not a mathematician, nor am I a nutritionist, Jack. So there you go. We looked at what's viral on social media, what the startup sales data says, and also our own analysis on consumer trends. Which leads us to our predictions.

Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies looking for the drink of the 2025 summer? Trade war summer. We'll drive a margarita moment.

Yetis, let's take a macro perspective here. In moments of instability, consumers crave comfort. Remember during the pandemic? Yeah. Breakfast cereals boomed like they hadn't in decades because we all wanted comfort food. Well, during this trade war economy uncertainty, we expect a similar return to a familiar beverage. And it'll be the margarita.

Why? We already have data proving it's happening. That's right. According to new DoorDash data, tequila is still the fastest growing spirit in America. And in the past month, DoorDash has seen an increase in all the ingredients for margaritas. This is wild. Lime sales up 80%. Jalapeno orders up 90%. Agave syrup up 100%.

100%, Jack. The seasoning. The spicy salt you put on the rim. Yeah, the rim stuff, up 125%. And since the beginning of the trade war, earnings are showing that Americans are stocking up on Jose Cuervo. Now, maybe people are trying to get ahead of Mexico tariffs. Maybe they're just craving a comfort cocktail. But given the trade war economy that we're going to have this summer, we're predicting a margarita moment.

For our second story, it's a doozy. First, Google is investing in Warby Parker for Google Glass 2.0. Second, OpenAI is acquiring the original designer of the iPhone for $6 billion. Third, this was the biggest week ever for smart glasses.

Yes. But first, Jack, you know when you go to a party and then there's like an after party that's more fun than the first party? Yeah. Okay, that was like what happened yesterday. Google stock jumped 4%, gained $80 billion in value after hosting the biggest party of the year. The Google I.O. Conference in Mountain View, California had a

wild number of announcements from Alphabet. Okay, first, the big news, Google is finally disrupting itself. Two and a half years after ChatGPT launched, Google is finally replacing Google Search with an AI chatbot. So, Bessie, starting like today, here's what you could see when you go to Google something. They're starting to roll it out right now. When you're Googling, there's always been a tab to do Google Images, Google News, Google Videos. But now you'll see a new tab called

AI mode, which will answer your query questions like a chatbot. If you search for something in AI mode, instead of a list of links as the result, you'll just get an answer to your question. Okay, another big update going viral. Google announced real-time translation. In Google Meets, if you're speaking in English but the other person only speaks Spanish...

It will live translate what you're saying with just a couple of seconds of lag. I mean, Jack, when I'm in France tomorrow, I could literally be saying, like, I want the bread, and we'll be saying, je voudrais le pain. I'll be like, I don't know where that came from, but let's go with it. It's all done by AI, and apparently it mimics your tone and your voice. But besties, pause the pod, because the biggest announcement wasn't what Google knows. It's what's on your nose. Ha!

Really nicely done. Here it is. Google is relaunching Google Glass. Yeah, this is Google's big bet on the future. And what was the surprise about the announcement, Jack? They're not doing it alone. They're doing it with Warby Parker. Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer glasses company, is getting a $150 million investment today.

from Google. It was the biggest day ever for Warby Parker stock, which jumped 20% on the news. We're talking about a glasses brand that feels like a library. It actually could become the smart device of the future. Now, the context of this story is Meta Ray-Ban glasses. That's been a stealthy hit for Mark Zuckerberg.

Yeah, good point, Jack. Zuck said that sales of their smart glasses have tripled in the last year, and we've predicted it's going to be the Christmas gift of 2025. But Google's version of smart glasses appears more advanced than Meta's because the lens...

doubles as a screen. Yeah, Jack, why don't you walk us through the demonstration we saw on stage over at Google? In Google's demo, the user asked Google's AI assistant, which is in the glasses, for directions to like the local Starbucks. Okay, and then what happened, Jack? Google Maps turn-by-turn directions was overlaid on the

the lens of the glasses so that the person could see the streets and see the corners, but also know exactly where they're going. This is a major differentiator that the lens for Google and Warby Parker is also a screen for the smart glasses. It means you don't need your phone. You can just ask your glasses to show you your text messages, show you your emails, and dictate the responses to them.

Honestly, Zuck's Meta Ray-Bans can't do that yet. They have an AI assistant, but it's only audio. It's not visual. Now, what Meta does have is a product that's actually in the market already. Right, right. Google didn't give us a release date or say how much these Google glasses with Warby Parker will cost. Yeah, remember, if they don't tell you the price, it means it's going to be expensive. Exactly, exactly.

But these warby Google Glasses do solve the key reason why Google Glass originally failed 10 years ago. People hated Google Glasses. Yeah. First, because of the privacy invasion. Also, because they were ugly. This solves the ugly rule. Like, you're not going to look ugly in a pair of warbies. But one more thing. Breaking news yesterday. Yeah. OpenAI has acquired the design company of Johnny Ive for $6 billion. This is the biggest acquisition.

Aquahire in the history of Silicon Valley, baby. Johnny Ive is quite a hire, though, because he was famously one of the guys who designed the iPhone and the MacBook Pro and the iPod. But now he's going to be building hardware gadgets for OpenAI and Sam Altman. OpenAI's tech hardware.

tech hardware gadget will be unveiled next year. It might be a phone. It might be a watch. It might be smart glasses. Or it could be a bracelet. That's our sleeper pick. But Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching this insane week for smart glasses? Google, Meta, Apple, and OpenAI. It's the great race to replace the iPhone.

Yeti's Iron Man has Jarvis. Someday, you, man, will have something similar. That's right. After 20 years of Android and iPhone dominating, phones are going to be replaced by smart glasses. And the computing device of the future to replace the smartphone? It has four key players right now. Meta has partnered with Ray-Ban.

Google has partnered with Warby Parker, and Apple is still doing it solo at this point. Apparently Tim Cook is reportedly obsessed with launching smart glasses. It's like the only thing he talks about at Apple. And the fourth player is OpenAI and the original iPhone designer, Johnny Ive. So besties, these glasses, they will all have an AI assistant built in to give you full access to the internet, all voice activated.

Iron Man has Jarvis. Q-Man will have something similar. Add it all up and we just started the great race to replace the iPhone. And the winner gets the future. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

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The best one yet is sponsored by BetterHelp. All right, Jack, let me set the scene for you. My birthday dinner, we did a pizza party. I rented out a whole spot called the Dough Room in San Francisco. You mess with the pizza dough while you make it. I know. And then what comes next is the most San Francisco thing ever. Basically, group therapy over dinner. So all three people on my side of the table were in therapy, and all of us were talking about each other's therapy. You know, like one person was saying how their therapist helped them through a coworker battle. Another was talking about like the future of

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Yetis, for our third and final story, the top-selling car in America is now, shockingly, the Toyota RAV4. But even though the RAV4 is officially on top, Toyota is making the biggest change to it ever. It's a RAV4 revolution. But Jack, let's talk about our buddies over at Toyota, because we've been keeping track, and Toyota holds a whole bunch of superlatives. They're the biggest and most profitable carmaker in the world,

Related, they're believed to be the most reliable car company in the world. Yeah, your buddy's 2012 Tacoma still has 212,000 miles on it. And your buddy is never going to sell that Tacoma. Jack, my grandma drove a Camry in three different decades. Really? I hope that was safe of her to do, but she did it. Plus, the car brand starts with the word toy.

which got a nice cameo in Toy Story 1. And Jack, let's add one more superlative. Toyota now produces the top-selling car in America. Now, Ford has bragged for years that the F-Series pickup truck is the top-selling car in America. For 45 years, Ford's been saying that.

But we dove into the numbers T-boy style, and the Ford F-Series includes three different models. Now, Toyota says that their RAV4, which is one model, sold 475,000 cars last year, which is more than the F-150. The Toyota RAV4, basically the Subaru for your dink era. It's actually become a pretty big SUV. I know, I know. It's like the MVP of the REI parking lot, Jack. Yeah.

The RAV4. It fits a surfboard, it fits a camping backpack, and three boxes of cliff bars that you tossed in the trunk. But, Bestie,

Besties, here's the news. Just as the RAV4 got on top, Toyota is giving it its biggest change yet. Toyota just announced the RAV4 is going hybrid only starting right now. This is wild, but the 2026 model, which arrives in dealerships like this year, has a hybrid engine only standard. That's what you get. If you want a purely gas powered RAV4, you can't buy that.

Sorry. The only option to upgrade is the plug-in hybrid. We repeat, America's top-selling car is switching to hybrid only. Half electric, half gas, the biggest change to something in number one place we've ever seen. Now, from our perspective, hybrid is a no-brainer.

Unlike a pure electric car, with a hybrid you don't even need to switch your fueling situation. Like you still just charge up at gas stations. A hybrid simply extends your range from 31 miles per gallon to 38 miles per gallon. And with the RAV4, the hybrid actually has more horsepower.

than the regular. The only catch we should point out here is that when it comes to hybrids, you get a higher price. The RAV4 hybrid is two or three grand more than the regular because that battery is expensive. They got some junk in the trunk and the junk is a battery. Also, most RAV4s in America are imported from Canada or Japan, so they're going to have a 25% tariff to deal with now too. But still, the RAV4 is starting a revolution with itself. The top selling car in the US is going full hybrid.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Toyota? Toyota is the tortoise, and it's winning the electric race. Yet is, in 2021, Volvo said all cars would be electric or hybrid by 2025. And that same year, General Motors said it would sell a million electric cars by 2025. But last year, Volvo extended that deadline by 10 years, and GM just said they're not even close to a million electric cars a year.

And it's not just GM or Volvo, Jack. Like every car company made some really splashy announcements that they just couldn't deliver on. It created like a full year's worth of content on our podcast with just wildly bold and ambitious electrification plans from car companies. Except for Toyota. Toyota did not make those announcements. Instead, they just made hybrids. They bet that hybrids were the electric training wheels that Americans wanted.

And Toyota was right. Today, eight of Toyota's cars are only available as hybrids, and they've sold a million hybrids in the United States just last year. Toyota is the tortoise, and it's beating the electric hares in the car race.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? After chronicling previous drinks of the summer, Nick and I looked at different trends. And you heard it from us. The trade war summer will be a margarita moment. For our second story, Google has partnered with Warby Parker to develop smart glasses with screen lenses. It's love is blind for smart glasses right now.

Google, Metal, Apple, and OpenAI, it is the great race to replace the iPhone. And our third and final story is the Toyota RAV4. It's the number one selling car in America, and now it's going hybrid only. Toyota is the tortoise, but it's winning the electric race.

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Bitcoin is officially trading at an all-time high. It is hot crypto summer, baby. Ben, the Bitcoin hit $109,000 yesterday for the first time ever. Could be because US debt got downgraded, or it could be because the dollar value dropped, or it could be...

Like always with Crypto, no reason at all. And second, Canada Goose just had its best day in years. Stock in the fancy jacket brand soared 25% yesterday. Because of climate change, they're making fewer snow jackets, pivoting a little bit more to rain jackets. Canada Goose's new goal is to be a year-round relevant brand, not just for the winners. After all...

Geese fly south in the summer. Yes, like we could be seeing some Canada Goose tank tops and bikinis in summer 2026, Jack. And finally, NFL owners voted not to ban the Tush Push. Jack, can you please enlighten us on the push of the Tush? What is the Tush Push? The Tush Push is a special play pioneered by the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, yes, yes. It's when the quarterback takes the ball from the center, does a QB sneak. But instead of being on their own, the running back pushes the quarterback from behind and

trying to nudge him across the goal line. Many thought it should be illegal, but it will now stay legal in Philly. They call it the brotherly shove.

Now time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Big Ted Kramer from Port Washington, Long Island. This one's for my dad because when I was a kid, he took me twice to the Indy 500. We drove all the way from Vermont to Indianapolis. And they're fast, right? Like those cars for the Indy 500 go faster than the F1 racers. Indy cars are faster than F1. They have a top speed of 240 miles per hour. No cars go faster than that. And one reason they can go so fast is because the oval

they race around is so huge. You don't have to make that many turns. But yeah, Nick, the track is two and a half miles. You can fit so much inside of that. Why don't you sprinkle on some context, Jack? You can fit the Vatican City, the Rose Bowl, Yankee Stadium, the White House, and Liberty Island. Yes, including the Statue of Liberty. All of it can fit inside the racetrack at Indianapolis, and you still have room to spare.

I think what you mean to say, Jack, is combined. Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack and I are actually whipping up a couple surprise episodes for you this weekend, aren't we, Jack? Yeah, Nick's going to be in France, but we're going to be right here in your ears because we have a special episode tomorrow and another special episode on Monday. That's right. While you're stuck in traffic, we will keep you entertained with a couple of...

fantastic shows. Jack, enjoy the skiing. I don't know how you're going to do it, but I like that you're going to try. I prefer to be swimming and I probably will swim regardless of how cold it is. Besties, wash that car and Jack and I will see you right here tomorrow.

And before we go, a shout out to the legendary Yetis, Corporate Natalie and Corporate Bro Ross, who hosted us on The Demoted Show. And we just had a blast. What an amazing episode with those guys. A couple of the cleverest, wittiest people in business. You gotta listen to their show, Demoted. You're gonna love it. We just did an episode with them this week.

Congratulations to Nil Nil, who just had a baby, Maya Rose, in Cupertino, California. And a shout out to Yeder Tyler Rice on his first book launch in Minneapolis for Tactical Disconnection. Tyler, congrats on being an author. And a big shout out to Joe Benz from Chicago, newly divorced.

But based on the fact that he's requesting a shout out for his divorce, we're guessing this is something to celebrate. Joe, enjoy the divorce cake. You're single and ready to mingle, baby. Joe, the best days are ahead of you.

And John Hill just set a personal record for a half marathon in Cleveland. Listening to the Google Maps episode of The Best Idea Yet during the race. Great to be with you for it, John. And a big shout out to Lieutenant Colonel Hightower. In Alderaan, the battalion is so sad to see you go. Your leadership will

be missed. Thank you for your service. And Akansha just got into B-School over in Seattle, Washington. Congrats, Akansha. You'll have a blast. And finally, happy birthday to Jake Sparkman in Dallas, Texas, who is a goalie in lacrosse, which is one of the most brave positions in all of sports. Yeah. This guy is going to win a Toward an Award. Enjoy the final four this weekend, Jake. They give you a cup, right? I think they give you two cups if you're a goalie.

This is Jack. I own stock in Ford and Nick and I both own stock of Apple as well as a Bitcoin. A Bitcoin named Ben. 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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