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Resident Evil. Super Mario Brothers. The Last of Us. The Legend of Zelda. Grand Theft Auto.Video games have brought gamers some of the most creative and immersive universes. But what happens if "Joe" or "Jane" Doe is thrust into any one of these.In this episode, Teebs and KidPhoenix explore these video game universes and which ones they would choose to live in.Follow and subscribe to our YouTube page as well as our other social media pages!
We have a new podcast! Our new show is called Only 2 Movies, where we celebrate the death of media literacy by pretending we've never seen a movie before. We're bringing you the first episode of Only 2 Movies direct to your Adapt or Die feed. If you enjoy this episode, be sure to follow the Only 2 Movies feed for more! - tinyurl.com/o2mspotify Website: https://adaptordiepod.wixsite.com/only2movies Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/adaptordiepod Cover art by Jess Rubio. Music by Ben Kieda.
In this week's episode, I take a look at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook versions of my anthologies at my Payhip store: JUNE25 The coupon code is valid through June 17, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this summer, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 252 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is May 23rd, 2025, and today we are looking at the movies and streaming shows I watched in Winter and Spring 2025. We missed doing an episode last week for the simple reason that the day before I wanted to record, we had a bad thunderstorm that knocked down large portions of my fence, so my recording time was instead spent on emergency fence repair. However, the situation is under control, so hopefully we'll be back to weekly episodes for the immediate future. And now before we get to our main topics, let's have Coupon of the Week and then a progress update on my current writing projects. So first up, Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook version of all my short story anthologies at my Payhip store and that is JUNE25. As always, the coupon code and links will be available in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through June the 17th, 2025, so if you need a new ebook for this summer, we have got you covered. And now an update on my current writing projects. Ghost in the Corruption is finished. It is publishing right now. In fact, I paused the publishing process to record this and so by the time this episode goes live, hopefully Ghost in the Corruption should be available at all ebook stores. My next main project now that Ghost in the Corruption is done will be Shield of Power and as of this recording I am 15,000 words into it. My secondary projects will be Stealth and Spells Online: Final Quest and I'm 97,000 words into that, so hopefully that will come out very shortly after Shield of Power and I'll also be starting Ghost in the Siege, the final book in the Ghost Armor series as another secondary project and I'm currently zero words into that. So that is where I'm at with my current writing projects. In audiobook news, Ghost in the Assembly (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is now out and should be available at all the usual audiobook stores so you can listen to that if you are traveling for the summer. Recording of Shield of Battle (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills) is underway soon. I believe he's starting it this week, so hopefully we will have another audiobook in the Shield War series for you before too much longer. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects. 00:02:17 Main Topic: Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup And now let's move on, without any further ado, to our main topic. Summer is almost upon us, which means it's time for my Winter/Spring 2025 Movie Roundup. As usual, the movies and streaming shows are listed in order for my least favorite to my most favorite. The grades are based upon my own thoughts and opinions and are therefore wholly subjective. With all of that said, let's get to the movies and our first entry is MacGruber, which came out in 2010 and in all honesty, this might be objectively the worst movie I have ever seen. The Saturday Night Live MacGruber sketches are a parody of the old MacGyver action show from the ‘80s. And so the movie is essentially the sketch stretched out to make a parody of an ‘80s action movie. It is aggressively dumb and crude. Its only redeeming feature is that the movie knows it's quite stupid and so leans into the stupidity hard. I'll say this in its favor, MacGruber has no pretensions that is a good movie and does not take itself seriously and then runs away hard with that fact. For that he gets a plus, but nothing else. Overall grade: F+ Next up is Down Periscope, which came out in 1996. Now the fundamental question of any movie is the one Russell Crowe shouted at the audience in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?” Sadly, I was not entertained with Down Periscope. This wanted to be a parody of Cold War era submarine thrillers like The Hunt for Red October, I say wanted because it didn't really succeed. Kelsey Grammer plays Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge, an unorthodox US Navy officer who wants command of his own nuclear sub, but he's alienated a few admirals, which is not traditionally a path to career advancement in the military. Dodge gets his chance in a Navy wargame where he has to command a diesel sub against nuclear subs. Sometimes parodies are so good that they become an example of the thing they are parodying (Hot Fuzz and Star Trek: Lower Decks are excellent examples of this phenomenon). The trouble is that the movie takes itself too seriously and just isn't all that funny. A few funny bits, true, but not enough of them. In the end, this was dumb funny but didn't resonate with me the way other dumb funny movies like Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder did. Overall grade: D Next up is Deadpool and Wolverine, which came out in 2024. Unlike Down Periscope, I was entertained with this movie, though both movies reside on the dumb funny spectrum. Deadpool and Wolverine is basically one long meta in-joke/love letter for the last 30 years of superhero movies. If you've seen enough of those movies, you'll find those movies funny, if occasionally rather tasteless. If you haven't seen enough of those movies, Deadpool and Wolverine will just be incomprehensible. The plot is that Wade Wilson AKA Deadpool gets pulled into some Marvel style multiverse nonsense. To save his universe from destruction, he needs to recruit a Wolverine since in his universe, Wolverine died heroically. In the process, Deadpool stumbles across the worst Wolverine in the multiverse. Together they have to overcome their mutual dislike and attempt to save Deadpool's universe from destruction at the hands of a rogue branch of the Time Variance Authority. This means the movie can bring in a lot of cameos from past Marvel films. Hugh Jackman's performance really carries the movie on its back. Like I said, this movie is essentially one very long Marvel in-joke. I thought it was funny. I definitely think it can't stand on its own without having seen a sufficient number of the other Marvel movies. Overall grade: C Our next movie is the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which came out in 2024. This is very loosely (with an emphasis on “very”) based on Operation Postmaster during World War II, when British Special Forces seized some Italian ships that had been supplying parts for German U-boats. It was entertaining to watch but it couldn't quite make up its mind tonally if it was a war thriller or a heist movie about Western desperados recruited into a crew. It kind of tried to do both at the same time, which killed the momentum. Like, the first parts of the movie where the protagonists take out a Nazi patrol boat and then free a prisoner from a base were good thriller stuff, but then the plot fused with the heist stuff and really slowed down through the middle forty percent or so. It was also oddly stylized with a lot of spaghetti western-style music that seemed out of place and some stuff just didn't make sense, like at the end after pulling off the mission, the protagonists were all arrested. That just seems bizarre since if anything, Winston Churchill and a lot of the British wartime leadership were enthusiastic about special operations and probably had too much confidence in the effectiveness of covert operations. So I did enjoy watching this, but I can see why it didn't make a lot of money at the box office. Overall Grade: C Next up is The Gorge, which came out in 2025. This was a peculiar mix of science fiction, romance, and horror. For the romance part, perhaps shooting zombies together is a good idea for a first date. Before I dig into the movie, a brief rant. In one scene, a character is using a chainsaw with no protective gear whatsoever and she's not fighting zombies or anything in a situation where she has to pick up a chainsaw without preparing first. She's trimming branches to pass time. If you're using a chainsaw, at a minimum you want protective eyewear and headphones. Ideally you'd want chainsaw pants as well to reduce the chance of serious injury if you slip and swing the saw into your leg. Since I became a homeowner, I've used a chainsaw a number of times and believe me, you definitely want good eye and ear protection. This has been your public safety announcement for this movie review. Anyway, loner former sniper Levi is approached by a high ranking intelligence officer giving him a mysterious job. He needs to guard a tower overlooking a mysterious mist-filled gorge for one year. On the other side of the gorge is another tower, guarded by an elite Lithuanian sniper named Drasa. Like Levi, Drasa has a fair bit of emotional damage and they're officially forbidden to communicate. However, they're both lonely and they soon start communicating over the gorge using telescopes and whiteboard messages. Eventually Levi gets emotionally close enough to Drasa to rig a zipline to cross the gorge and speak with her in person. Unfortunately, it turns out the gorge is full of twisted creatures that storm out and attack and the job of the two snipers is to keep them contained. If Levi and Drasa want to save their lives, they'll need to unravel the dark secret within the gorge. This movie was interesting and I enjoyed watching it, but it falls apart if you think about it too much (or at all). Like the chainsaw thing I ranted about above. The entire movie runs on that sort of logic. That said, I appreciate how the filmmakers were trying something new instead of something like Deadpool and Wolverine. Additionally, this was an Apple+ movie and it's interesting how Apple's approach to streaming is to just make a whole bunch of random stuff that's totally distinct, from Ted Lasso to Mythic Quest to Severance to The Gorge. It's like, “we have more money than most countries, so we're going to make Ted Lasso because we feel like it.” Then again, Apple+ is apparently losing a billion dollars every year, so maybe they'll eventually change their minds about that approach. Overall Grade: B- Next up is Click, which came out in 2006. Cross It's a Wonderful Life with A Christmas Carol and the comedic style of Adam Sandler and you end up with Click. Basically Sandler plays Michael Newman, a workaholic architect with a demanding boss and increasingly strained relationship with his wife and children due to his workload. In a fit of exasperation with his situation, he goes to Bed Bath and Beyond, where he encounters an eccentric employee named Morty (played entertainingly by Christopher Walken). Morty gives him a remote control that lets him fast forward through time, which Michael then uses to skip the boring and tedious parts of his life, but he overuses the remote and goes too far into the future and sees the disastrous results of his current life choices. Definitely a story used in A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life but effectively told and I was entertained (rather on the crude side, though). Overall Grade: B- Next up is Mr. Deeds, which came out in 2002. This was actually one of Adam Sandler's better movies, in my opinion. It was a remake of the ‘30s movie Mr. Deeds Goes To Town. In this new version, Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, a popular pizzeria owner in a small New Hampshire town. Unbeknownst to Deeds, his uncle is the owner of a major media mega corporation and when he dies, Deeds is his legal heir. When the company's CEO and chief lawyer arrive at the pizzeria to inform him of this fact, Deeds goes to New York and soon finds himself involved in the CEO's sinister machinations. Yet he happens to rescue an attractive woman from a mugger, but there is more to her than meets the eye. The movie was funny and not as crude, well, not quite as crude as some of Sandler's other stuff. It had good story structure and several great lines, my favorite of which was “he was weak and cowardly and wore far too much cologne.” Sandler's movies, in a strange way, are often very medieval. Like various medieval fables had a savvy peasant outwitting pompous lords, greedy merchants, and corrupt clergymen. The best Adam Sandler protagonist tends to be a good natured everyman who defeats the modern equivalent of medieval authority figures- evil CEOs, arrogant star athletes, sinister bureaucrats and so forth. Overall Grade: B Next up is House of David, which came out in 2025 and this is basically the story of King David from the Bible told in the format of an epic fantasy TV series. Like if someone wanted to do an epic fantasy series about Conan the Barbarian, it could follow the same stylistic format as this show. And of course Conan and David followed a similar path from adventurer to king. Anyway, if one were to pick a part of the Bible from which to make a movie or TV series, the story of David would be an excellent choice because David's life was so dramatic that it would hardly require any embellishments in the adaptation. The story is in the Books of First and Second Samuel. King Saul is ruling over the Israelites around 1000 BC or so, but has grown arrogant. Consequently, God instructs the prophet Samuel to inform Saul that the kingdom will be taken away from him and given to another. God then dispatches Samuel to anoint David as the new king of Israel. David is a humble shepherd but then enters Saul's service and undertakes feats of daring, starting with defeating the giant Goliath and leading Saul's troops to victory and battle against Israel's numerous enemies. (The Iron Age Middle East was even less peaceful than it is now.) Eventually, Saul's paranoia and madness gets the best of him and he turns on David, who flees into exile. After Saul and his sons are killed in battle with the Philistines. David returns and becomes the acknowledged king after a short civil war with Saul's surviving sons and followers. If Saul's fatal flaw was his arrogance of pride, David's seems to have been women. While the story of David and Bathsheba is well known, David nonetheless had eight wives (most of them at the same time) and an unknown but undoubtedly large number of concubines. Naturally David's children from his various wives and concubines did not get along and David was almost deposed due to the conflicts between his children. Unlike Saul and later David's son Solomon, David was willing to repent when a prophet of God informed him of wrongdoing and to be fair to David, monogamy was generally not practiced among Early Iron Age Middle Eastern monarchies and dynastic struggles between brothers from different mothers to seize their father's kingdoms were quite common, but enough historical digression. Back to the show, which covered David's life up to the death of Goliath. I thought it was quite well done. Good performances, good cinematography, excellent battles, good set design and costuming, and a strong soundtrack. All the actors were good, but I really think the standout performances were Stephen Lang as Samuel, Ali Sulaman is King Saul, Ayelet Zurer as Saul's wife Queen Ahinoam, and Davood Ghadami as David's jerkish (but exasperated and well-intentioned) eldest brother Eliab. Martyn Ford just looks extremely formidable as Goliath. You definitely believe no one in their right mind want to fight this guy. Making fiction of any kind based on sacred religious texts is often tricky because no matter what you do, someone's going to get mad at you. The show has an extensive disclaimer at the beginning of each episode saying that it is fiction inspired by the Bible. That said, House of David doesn't really alter or deviate from the Biblical account, though it expands upon some things for the sake of storytelling. Queen Ahinoam is only mentioned once in the Bible as the wife of Saul, but she has an expanded role in the show and is shown as the one who essentially introduces Saul to the Witch of Endor. Goliath also gets backstory as one of the “Anakim,” a race of giants that lived in Canaan in ancient times, which is something that is only mentioned in passing in the Old Testament. Overall, I enjoyed the show and I hope it gets a second season. What's interesting, from a larger perspective, is to see how the wheel of history keeps turning. In the 1950s and the 1960s, Biblical epics were a major film genre. The 10 Commandments and Ben Hur with Charlton Heston are probably the ones best remembered today. Eventually, the genre just sort of ran out of gas, much the way superhero movies were in vogue for about 20 years and began running out of steam around 2023 or so. Like, I enjoyed Thunderbolts (which we're going to talk about in a little bit), but it's not going to make a billion dollars the way Marvel stuff often did in the 2010s. The wheel just keeps turning and perhaps has come back around to the popularity of Biblical epics once more. Overall Grade: A Next up is Chef, which came out in 2014. I actually saw this back in 2021, but I watched it again recently to refresh my memory and here are my thoughts. I quite liked it. It's about a chef named Carl Casper, who's increasingly unhappy with his work after he gets fired over a Twitter war with a writer who criticized his cooking. Carl is out of options and so he starts a food truck and has to both rediscover his love of cooking and reconnect with his ex-wife and 10-year-old son. In Storytelling: How to Write a Novel (my book about writing), I talked about different kinds of conflict. Carl's conflict is an excellent example of an entirely internal conflict. The critic is an external enemy, but he's basically the inciting incident. Carl's real enemy is his own internal conflict about art versus commerce and a strained relationship with his son. I recommend the movie. It was rated R for bad language, but there's no nudity or explicit sexual content and honestly, if you've ever worked in a restaurant kitchen or a warehouse, you've heard much worse in terms of language. The movie also has an extremely valuable lesson: stay off social media when you're angry. Overall Grade: A Next up is Thunderbolts, which came out in 2025 and I thought this was pretty good, both very dark and yet with quite a lot of humor to balance the darkness. Former assassin Yelena Belova has been working as a mercenary for the sinister director of the CIA, Valentina de Fontaine (now there's a villain name if there ever was one). Yelena has grown disillusioned with her life and career and is suffering from increasing depression since she never really dealt with the death of her sister. Valentina promises her one last job, only for Yelena to realize that Valentina decided to dispose of all her freelance contractors at once, which includes US Agent and Ghost (previously seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Antman and the Wasp). In the process of escaping Valentina's trap, Yelena stumbles across a mysterious man who identifies himself as Bob, who has no memory of how he got there, but shows increasingly unusual abilities. Yelena wants to deal with Valentina's betrayal, but it turns out one of Valentina's science projects has gotten out of control and is threatening the world. The movie was well constructed enough that it didn't rely too heavily on previous Marvel continuity. It was there, but you probably wouldn't be lost without it. It almost feels like Marvel looked at the stuff they did the last couple of years and said, okay, a lot of this didn't work, but makes great raw material for new things. It helped that the central conflict was in the end, very human and about the characters, not stopping a generic villain from getting a generic doomsday device. Overall Grade: A Next up is The Hound of the Baskervilles, which came out in 1988. This is a movie length episode of The Return of Sherlock Holmes television series, which had Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson. The plot deals with Sir Henry Baskerville, the American heir to an English manor set in the Windswept moors of Dartmoor. Apparently there's an ancestral curse laid over the Baskerville estate that manifests in the form of a spectral hound. Local rumors hold that the previous holder of the manor, Sir Charles Baskerville, was killed by the ghostly hound and many of the local people fear it. The local physician, Dr. Mortimer, is so worried about the hound that he comes to Sherlock Holmes for help. Holmes, of course, is skeptical of any supernatural explanation and soon becomes worried that an extremely subtle and sinister murderer is stalking Sir Henry. Jeremy Brett's version of Holmes is, in my opinion, the best portrayal of the character and Edward Hardwicke's version of Watson is a calm, reliable man of action who sensibly takes a very large revolver with him when going into danger. Definitely worth watching, Overall grade: A Next up is Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which came out in 2024. The 2020s have been a downer of a decade in many ways, but on the plus side, between Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog, people have finally figured out how to make good video game movies, so we've got that going for us. Sonic 3 was an excellent kids movie, as were the first two in the trilogy. In this one Sonic is living with Knuckles and Tails under the care of their human friends Tom and Maddy, but then a dark secret emerges. The government has been keeping a Superpowered hedgehog named Shadow in stasis and Shadow has broken out. It's up to Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails to save the day. Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik is in a funk after his defeat at Sonic's hands in the last movie, but then his long lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik returns seeking the younger Dr. Robotnik's help in his own sinister plans. Keanu Reeves was great as Shadow (think John Wick if he was a superpowered space hedgehog in a kid's movie). Jim Carrey famously said he would retire from acting unless a golden script came along and apparently that golden script was playing Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his evil grandfather Gerald. To be fair, both the Robotniks were hilarious. It is amusing that Sonic only exists because in the 1990s, Sega wanted a flagship video game character that won't get them sued by either Nintendo or Disney. It is also amusing that the overall message of the Sonic movies seems to be not to trust the government. Overall Grade: A Next up is Paddington in Peru, which came out in 2024. This is also an excellent kids' movie. In this installment, Paddington has settled into London with the Brown family and officially become a UK citizen. However, he receives a letter from Peru that his Aunt Lucy has mysteriously disappeared into the jungle. Distraught, Paddington and the Browns set off for Peru at once. Adventures ensue involving mysterious lost treasure, a crazy boat captain, and an order of singing nuns who might not quite be what they appear. Anyway, it's a good kids' movie. I think Paddington 2 was only slightly better because Hugh Grant as the chief villain, crazy actor Phoenix Buchanan, was one of those lightning in the bottle things like Heath Ledger as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Overall Grade: A Now for the two best things I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. The first of them is Andor Season Two, which came out in 2025. Star Wars kind of has an age range the way Marvel stuff does now. What do I mean by that? In the Marvel comics and some of the TV series like Jessica Jones, they get into some really dark and heavy stuff, very mature themes. The MCU movies can have some darkness to them, but not as much because they're aiming at sort of escapist adventures for the general audience. Then there are kid shows like Spidey and Friends that a relative of mine just loved when he was three. You wouldn't at all feel comfortable showing a 3-year-old Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Spidey and Friends is just fine. Star Wars now kind of has that age range to its stuff and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you want to see a dark meditation upon human nature. Sometimes you need something kid friendly to occupy the kids you're babysitting and sometimes you just want to relax and watch Mando and Baby Yoda mow down some space pirates or something. All that said, Andor Season Two is some of the darkest and the best stuff that Star Wars has ever done. It successfully shifts genres from Escapist Pulp Space Fantasy to a gritty Political/Espionage Thriller. We in the audience know that the emperor is a Sith Lord who can use Evil Space Magic and wants to make himself immortal, but that fact is totally irrelevant to the characters. Even though some of the characters are high ranking in their respective organizations, this is essentially a “ground's eye” view of the Rebellion and life under the Empire. In some ways, this is like Star Wars' version of Wolf Hall (which we're going to talk about shortly), in that we know how it ends already, but the dramatic tension comes from the harrowing emotional journey the characters undertake on the way to their inevitable destinations. Cassian Andor is now working for the nascent Rebellion under the direction of ruthless spymaster Luthen Rael. Mon Mothma is in the Imperial Senate, covertly funneling money to the Rebellion and realizing just how much the Rebellion will require of her before the end. Syril Karn, the ineffective corporate cop from Season One, has fallen in love with the ruthless secret police supervisor Dedra Meero, but he's unaware that Director Krennic has ordered Meero to manufacture a false flag incident on the planet Gorman so the planet can be strip-mined for resources to build the Death Star and Dedra has decided to use Syril to help accomplish it. All the actors do amazing jobs with their roles. Seriously, this series as actors really should get at least one Emmy. Speaking of Director Krennic, Ben Mendelson returns as Orson Krennic, who is one of my favorite least favorite characters, if you get my drift. Krennic is the oily, treacherous middle manager we've all had to deal with or work for at some point in our lives, and Mendelson plays him excellently. He's a great villain, the sort who is ruthless to his underlings and thinks he can manipulate his superiors right up until Darth Vader starts telekinetically choking him. By contrast, the villain Major Partagaz (played by Anton Lesser) is the middle manager we wish we all had - stern but entirely fair, reasonable, and prizes efficiency and good work while despising office drama. Unfortunately, he works for the Empire's secret police, so all those good qualities are in the service of evil and therefore come to naught. Finally, Episode Eight is one of the most astonishing episodes of TV I've ever seen. It successfully captures the horror of an episode of mass violence and simultaneously has several character arcs reach their tumultuous climax and manages to be shockingly graphic without showing in a lot of actual blood. Andor was originally supposed to be five seasons, but then Peak Streaming collapsed, and so the remaining four seasons were compressed down to one. I think that was actually to the show's benefit because it generates some amazing tension and there's not a wasted moment. Overall Grade: A+ Now for the second of my two favorite things I saw, and that would be Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, which came out in 2024, but I actually saw it in 2025. This is a dramatization of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall novels about the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, who is King Henry VIII's chief lieutenant during the key years of the English Reformation. The first series came out in 2015, but the nine year gap between this and between the second series and the first series actually works quite well since Thomas Cromwell looks like he ages nine years in a single year (which may be what actually happened given how stressful working for someone like Henry VIII must have been). Anyway, in The Mirror and the Light, Cromwell has successfully arranged the downfall and execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry's previous queen. Though Cromwell is haunted by his actions, Henry still needs a queen to give him a male heir, so he marries Jane Seymour. Cromwell must navigate the deadly politics of the Tudor Court while trying to push his Protestant views of religion, serve his capricious master Henry, fend off rivals for the King's favor, and keep his own head attached to his shoulders in the process. Since Cromwell's mental state is deteriorating due to guilt over Anne's death and the downfall of his former master Cardinal Wolsey and Henry's a fickle and dangerous master at the best of times, this is an enterprise that is doomed to fail. Of course, if you're at all familiar with the history of Henry's reign and the English reformation, you know that Cromwell's story does not have a happy ending. Rather, Wolf Hall is a tragedy about a talented man who didn't walk away from his power until it was too late and he was trapped. Anyway, in my opinion, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light was just excellent. All the performances were superb. Mark Rylance is great as Cromwell and has some excellent “WTF/I'm SO screwed” expressions as Cromwell's situation grows worse and worse. Bernard Hill played the Duke of Norfolk in the first series, but sadly died before Series Two, so Timothy Spall steps in and he does an excellent job of channeling Hill's portrayal of the Duke as an ambitious, crude-humored thug. Damien Lewis is amazing as Henry VIII and his performance captures Henry's mixture of charisma, extreme vindictiveness, and astonishing self-absorption. The real Henry was known for being extremely charming even to the end of his life, but the charm was mixed with a volcanic temper that worsened as Henry aged and may have been exacerbated by a severe head injury. Lewis's performance can shift from that charm to the deadly fury in a heartbeat. The show rather cleverly portrays Henry's growing obesity and deteriorating health by having Lewis wear a lot of big puffy coats and limp with an impressively regal walking stick. Overall, I would say this and Andor were the best thing I saw in Winter/Spring 2025. I wouldn't say that Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is an accurate historical reputation. In real life, Cromwell was rather more thuggish and grasping (though far more competent than his rivals and his master) and of necessity the plot simplifies historical events, but it's just a superb historical drama. Overall Grade: A+ As a final note, I should say that of all the 2024 and 2025 movies mentioned here, the only one that actually saw in the theater was Thunderbolts, and I hadn't actually planned to see it in theaters, but a family member unexpectedly bought tickets for it, so I went along. Which I suppose is the movie industry's biggest problem right now. The home viewing experience is often vastly superior to going to the theater. The theater has the big screen and snacks, but at home you can have a pretty nice setup and you can pause whatever you want, go to the bathroom, and you can get snacks for much more cheaply. That's just much more comfortable than the movie theater. Additionally, going to the theater has the same serious problem as booking a flight in that you're an enclosed space with complete strangers for several hours, which means you're potentially in a trust fall with idiots. All it takes is one person behaving badly or trying to bring their fake service dog to ruin or even cancel a flight, and the theater experience has much of the same problem, especially since the standards for acceptable public behavior have dropped so much from a combination of widespread smartphone adoption and COVID. The difference between the movie industry and the airline industry is that if you absolutely have to get from New York to Los Angeles in a single day, you have no choice but to book a flight and hope for the best. But if you want to see a movie and are willing to exercise some patience, you just have to wait a few months for it to turn up on streaming. I'm not sure how the movie industry can battle that, but sadly, it is much easier to identify problems than to solve them. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe, stay healthy, and see you all next week.
We discuss the upcoming Super Mario Brothers movie sequel, "Super Mario World," and potential future titles for any sequels. Nintendo's updated EULA, allowing them to render devices unusable for cheating or using ROMs, causes some debate. We question the implications of "bricking" and the risk of false positives. And if Nintendo is even thinking about that. We talk about expensive boats, like the pirate ship in Elder Scrolls Online, and some additional talk about digital ownership and fake scarcity. “The Legend of Zelda” themed Dear Martha. Let's talk about “Doom: The Dark Ages,” comparing it to the last two. And LOADS more!GAMES PLAYEDSHAREDDOOM: The Dark AgesSCOTTThe Elder Scrolls OnlineGhost of TsushimaSkin DeepSpell Rogue is 1.0JON100% clear of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33BEAUKingdom Come: Deliverence 2 Save system taking some getting used to. Drop DuchyClair Obscur: Expedition 33Blue PrinceUntil Then Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We discuss the upcoming Super Mario Brothers movie sequel, "Super Mario World," and potential future titles for any sequels. Nintendo's updated EULA, allowing them to render devices unusable for cheating or using ROMs, causes some debate. We question the implications of "bricking" and the risk of false positives. And if Nintendo is even thinking about that. We talk about expensive boats, like the pirate ship in Elder Scrolls Online, and some additional talk about digital ownership and fake scarcity. “The Legend of Zelda” themed Dear Martha. Let's talk about “Doom: The Dark Ages,” comparing it to the last two. And LOADS more!GAMES PLAYEDSHAREDDOOM: The Dark AgesSCOTTThe Elder Scrolls OnlineGhost of TsushimaSkin DeepSpell Rogue is 1.0JON100% clear of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33BEAUKingdom Come: Deliverence 2 Save system taking some getting used to. Drop DuchyClair Obscur: Expedition 33Blue PrinceUntil Then Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Adam is back from The Barrett Jackson collector car auction. He met Jerome Bettis, he got 2 IV bags and thinks he needs a root canal. Award winning writer for SNL and the Tonight Show Mike Drucker stops by and tells us about being left at bookstores as a kid and wearing a homemade Super Mario Brothers costume to impress his childhood crush, it didn't go well. ADAM”S TOUR DATES May 4th Clinton Forge VA May 9 & 10 Albany Funny Bone May 16 & 17 Grand Comedy Club Escondido CA Ticket Links https://www.adamferrara.com/tourdates
Below The Belt Show (www.belowthebeltshow.com) presents exclusive on-location interviews from Philadelphia Fan Expo fanexpohq.com/fanexpophiladelphia/ with actor and voice actor legend Charles Martinet the voice of the iconic Mario and Luigi from the Super Mario Brothers video game franchise! BTB's own Chachi McFly talks to the voice icon on how he landed the role as Mario, his first Mario project, what inspired his Mario voice, and whether he plays the video games! Don't miss this interview Super Mario fans! (NOTE: Per Charles request, we did not ask questions related to the Super Mario Brothers 2024 film where he voiced Mario's Dad Giuseppe)
Trump paused most tariffs, except for 1: USA vs China… Who will win the isolation game?The Masters golf tourney begins today… but the real strategy is in the $1.50 sandwiches.Harry's Razors filed to IPO as “Mammoth”... because Harry's is really a startup studio.Plus, scammers moved from email, to text, to… job apps? 25% of interviewees will be fake humans.$SPY $PG $EPCWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…Peeps
Colossal brought the Dire Wolf back from extinction… by using a strategy from Hollywood.The #1 winner of the Trade War? ThredUp… The second-hand clothing stock has doubled this year.Shopify is requiring everyone at the company to use AI every day… AI is part of the dress code.Plus, introducing “Tasteful Tariffs” — Things that should be tariffed. Think Cargo pants, small talk, QR code menus…$TDUP $REAL $SHOP $NDAQWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of Peeps
It was T-Day: Tariffs, Tesla, & Trump… We got an update on all of ‘em (and why it'll cost you $3,600/year).Tinder launched a Flirt-bot… Because AI's most powerful use is training pickup lines (seriously).Nintendo's Switch 2 is its biggest launch in 8 years… and Mario Kart is getting social.Plus, we found a Skier's Arbitrage: It's cheaper to fly to Japan for a weekend of shredding than staying here in the states…$NTDOY $TSLA $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
Today: It's one day until COURAGE takes the stage (tomorrow night at 7pm at Misdemeanor Meadows!), don't put nail drops in your eyeballs, Super Mario Brothers and expensive desserts, and Greg wants to show you his new dance moves tomorrow! :) Have a great day all!
Mattel is launching their own version of LEGO bricks… What will win, brand or price?Utah will make you show an ID to download Instagram… It's a Social Media Bouncer (aka “The McLovin Rule”).The economics of stuffed crust pizza are wild… so why'd Domino's take 30 years to make one?Plus, we're dropping a Snooze Pod… We read 1 shareholder letter to help you fall asleep for Daylight Savings.$PZZA $DOM $MAT $METAWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Doritos Locos Taco
Four Loko is the #1 malt liquor in America… thanks to the Japanese philosophy of Misogi.European stocks are shockingly beating American stocks this year… because Europe's building a military.Warren Buffett just revealed his favorite CEO ever… It's an RV guy who didn't have a computer.Plus, Monopoly just launched a fintech version of the game (no more cash money)$BRK.B $LMT $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Doritos Locos Taco
ESPN just launched a Gen Z SportsCenter on Disney+… “SC+” is a playbook for youth content.The US is now in a trade war with Canada and Mexico… the Chevy Silverado explains it all.The world's biggest fast food chain just IPO'd… China's Mixue is bigger than McD's.Plus, the untold origin story of Taco Bell's Doritos Locos Taco.$DIS $GM $MIXUEWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Doritos Locos Taco
Akin to a toxic lover, we always find our way back to you all. It doesn't sound as romantic when offered that way, huh? Anyway, welcome back and have a seat because we have an action-pack show! The action pack part is so dramatic but listen to the SHTT we got into during this last episode. First, Donnie leads us through a thoughtful conversation about addictions, where he shares intimate details concerning some recent reflective behavioral work that has produced another Super Mario Brothers level of awareness for him. Then, Corey shares a vulnerable story about his therapeutic process and how we know when we are reaching a stopping point with therapy. In addition, he shares education about people's resistance to reflective, introspective, and retrospective work that brings more clarity and awareness into individuals' lives. As a group, we get into the recent comments made by Dr. Heavenly using the framework of cultural competency. Lastly, we talk about life's true luxuries as we age. We are glad you're here. Please enjoy the show!If you would like to submit questions or comments regarding this episode or be contacted about being a guest on the show, please email us at info@soheresthethangpod.com.Please leave us a rating or review. We would like to hear from you and appreciate your listening. Follow host Corey J on IG @corey_djFollow Jasmine on IG @2jazzyFollow Donnie on IG @akuarian1Follow us on IG @soheresthethang
Energy drink Alani Nu sold to Celsius for $1.8B… so we explain how to pick an acquisition price.Alibaba is the Amazon of China & its stock has doubled… because AI is its new religion.We just found the ROI on the IRS… For every $1 we put into the IRS, we get $12 back.Plus, Birkenstock just argued to a judge that its sandals should legally be art…$CELH $BABA $BIRKWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… the Patagonia Fleece
James Bond's creative control was just acquired by Amazon… so we need to talk about “Infinite Scarcity.”Microsoft just defied physics… it's a quantum creation that's not a solid, liquid, or gas.OpenTable has overtaken Resy for America's coolest restaurants… all thanks to 1 move.Plus, Google searches for “Is it safe to fly” are up 20x… so we ran the numbers.$AXP $GOOG $MSFT $AMZNWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… the Patagonia Fleece
Venmo & Cash App are getting crushed by Zelle… The boringest app disrupted the disruptors.The NBA has a problem: Too many 3-pointers… but there's an economic reason for them.Jamie Dimon just went on an expletive-laced rant about Work From Home… and we got the tapes.Plus, the untold origin story of… The Patagonia Fleece.$XYZ $JPM $BACWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show about the Patagonia Fleece
Poppi & Olipop's rival sodas are the biggest drama in biz… because of $25K vending machines.Texas gets its 2nd new stock exchange in a year… The New York Stock Exchange is goin' South-By-Southwest.Netflix is looking into launching podcasts… because there's nothing hotter than a habit.Plus, Ikea just got into dating… it's “Mattress Matchmaking.”$NFLX $SPOT $NYSEWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream
The 1 alcohol surging right now? Local Light Beer… driven by Millennial dads #Dadlennials.BuzzFeed's launching a new social media app… because it's fighting “S.N.A.R.F.”Elf Beauty says there are “So Many Dicks”... and it's a lesson on customer engagement.Plus, Donut Bouquets? Sushi Bouquets? Lego Bouquets? The big new Valentine's trend is “Faux-quets.”$ELF $BZFD $BUDWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of
If you customize a Ferrari, they won't let you buy another… even if you're Justin Beiber.Coca-Cola's biggest acquisition ever is Fairlife… because milk is having a moment.DOGE is targeting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau… so we're look at trim-cuts vs buzz-cuts.Plus, we wrote a heartbroken love poem ahead of Valentine's Day… to Peloton.$RACE $KO $PTONWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Ben & Jerry's Phish Food
Trump is canceling the US penny… because our cheapest coin is our most expensive.The biggest diss track in the SB wasn't Kendrick Lamar… it was from advertisers.SpaceX and T-Mobile just shockingly teamed up… to kill the cell phone dead-zone.Plus, the untold origin story of Ben & Jerry's… and their most disruptive flavor: Phish Food.$SBUX $TMUS $TWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Ben & Jerry's
TED Talks needs a new CEO… but TED is actually the deepest media biz we've ever seen.Elon's mission to disrupt the government hit a new level, that requires a new term… “Musking.”Costco is now paying workers 2x the average… it's the cost that pays for itself.Plus, a record 22M Americans called in sick today (got a case of the Super Bowl Mondays).$COST $WMT $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Monopoly
Dirty secret of the Super Bowl halftime show… The show costs $50M, but the performer gets paid $0.Wilson makes all of the NFL's football's… and their factory in Ohio is freaky.The Curse of the Super Bowl Commercial is real… and it's coming for AI.Plus, one basketball coach trademarked the term “Three-peat”... and could make millions if the Chiefs win.$AAPL $AS $SPOTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Monopoly
The #1 Super Bowl ad? Snickers in 2010… because Snickers acted like a Freudian therapist.Waffle House is charging a 50-cent-per-egg fee… but we tell ya who to blame for Egg-flation is.New tariffs just hit Shein and Temu… hand it can all be explained with Barbie dolls.Plus, the newest job in America is “TikTok Coach”... because there is an “i” in “viral.”$CALM $MAT $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet” — The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
“No Buy 2025” is like “Dry January”… But instead of no alcohol, it's no shopping.Spotify hit all-time high after its 1st full-year profit… because it found musical monopoly.Chick-fil-A's drive-thru is #1 thanks to military-like precision... Drones, game-tape, & champagne.Plus, the Philadelphia Eagles linemen are the largest in history… and the most profitable.$SPOT $AAPLWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Monopoly
The first 24 hours of Trade War II were wild… We're breaking down the surprise tariff deals with Mexico and Canada.Robinhood is the top stock since Election Day... and now you can bet on the Super Bowl.How did Levi identify the baggy daddy jeans trend before anyone?... A secret deal with Google.$LEVI $GOOG $SPY $HOODMonopoly
Trump's 2nd trade war begins tonight with tariff's for Canada, China, & Mexico… but Trump tariffs differ in 1 huge way.Yahoo just turned 30… but @yahoo.com emails are having a midlife revival.Hans Zimmer is worth $200M with movie music composing… we found his creativity hack.Plus, the next fashion trend? Yak hair… because yak is the new cashmere.$DIS $HD $YHOOWant more business storytelling from us? Check out our new deep-dive show…“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers.New episode every week. 45-minutes. Listen here: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks —-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Description: “White Lotus Season 3” is about to debut… and it'll boost Thailand's economy by 20%.The biggest IPO of 2025 is a bacon biz… so we devoured the first pureplay pork stock.We now know how DeepSeek caught up to ChatGPT… the ol' “copy/paste.”Plus, the Utah Hockey Club is choosing a new name… but the fans at the rink decide tonight.$WBD $SFD $MSFTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Red Bull ⚡Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Does the perfect 850 credit score exist?... It does, one man just got it, and we'll tell ya how.Tesla has become a $45K MAGA hat… so we'll explain the biggest pivot in branding.Chili's restaurant stock surged 300% in the last year… thanks to its Great White Shark strategy.Plus, it's the Lunar New Year… so we found wild data on stocks during the Year of the Snake (spoiler: It's bad).$TSLA $EAT $AMEXLA Tech Community Cares Fund: https://www.pledge.to/the-la-tech-community-cares-fund?tpcc=NL_MarketingWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Red Bull ⚡Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Space stocks surged as Trump pledged to reach Mars… so we're introducing the 4 Final Frontiers.X announced a Venmo-like deal with Visa… but it all comes down to the Beyonce of Banking.Royal Caribbean is up 8x since 2022… because cruises are the value meals of vacation.Plus, if you're sick, Progressive Soup just invented the first chicken noodle cough drop…$RCL $V $RDWWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Red Bull ⚡Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
One Chinese AI app, DeepSeek, just shocked the world… and the entire US tech market.Costco is swapping Pepsi for Coke in the food court… here's how Coke's beating Pepsi.7% of workers have Unlimited Paid Time Off… but people only take 16 days in practice.$KO $PEP $COSTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Red Bull ⚡Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Kidz Bop is making $50M on cover music… not by creating, by re-creating.If you shop online too much or scroll Instagram too much, the new cure may be… Ozempic.CNN is overhauling its entire business for the Trump presidency… A media plastic surgery.Plus, guess who's driving luxury home sales these days?... Single ladies (it's a Beyonce Bump)$NVO $WBD $SPOTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
Trump pardoned the crypto founder of Silk Road… after launching his own Fartcoin. We'll explain.Spotify's CEO co-founded a body-scanning startup to save your life… and it just hit $2B.EA's video game stock had its worst day in 17 years… because of 1 huge graphics mistake.Plus, the hot new Dry January trend is Cannabis Cocktails (replace ABV with THC).$EA $SPOT $BTCWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
Zuck's reportedly launching smart Oakleys this year… and a smart watch and airpods next year.PopUp Bagels is the fastest-growing bagel chain in America… and they prioritize inconvenience.“Stargate” is Sam Altman's new $500B AI project… it would be the most expensive thing we'd ever build.Plus, the medals handed out at the Paris Olympics? They're losing their gold. $DNUT $META $MSFTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
The theme of Trump's cabinet? Venture Capital guys… so we put together a LinkedIn on it.Netflix's biggest pivot in a decade is to live sports… and we just got the results.The White House issued a record number of executive orders… Energy stocks explain ‘em all.Plus, the “5-Second Rule” of food was just proven wrong (no fallen sandwich is safe).$AMZN $AAPL $META $NFLX $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of…
On Trump's 1st day back in the White House… We'll tell you his most important economic number.Bumble's founder is returning as CEO… So we found the stock performance of Boomerang CEOs.Gmail and Microsoft are forcing everyone to buy their AI… because AI has an innovator problem.Plus, Jimi Hendrix once lit a guitar on fire… and it became the best-selling guitar of all-time: The Fender Stratocaster.$BMBL $GOOG $MSFTCheck out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Fender Stratocaster: The Guitar that Created Rock ‘N' Roll
TikTok is scheduled to shut down Sunday morning… but there are still 3 possible outcomes.The Bourbon Bubble just burst, so we have a solution for Jack Daniels… Whiskey World.For the next 4 years, business leaders will speak different… and we see it in Anduril, a drone startup.Plus, Chick-fil-A just built an entire factory of robots with one purpose… Lemonade.$BF $STZ $METAWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
From Pop-Tarts to Peeps, Red #3 artificial food coloring is now banned… 40 years too late.JPMorgan just had its best quarter in 200 years… so it's time to kill the most hated fee in banking.There's a hot new side-hustle that can make you $30k/year… Job Referrals as a service.Plus, male and female Instacart shoppers pick out food differently… so should you be able to choose the gender?$KO $GIS $K $JPM $CARTWant more? Check out the latest episode of our weekly deep dive show, The Best One Yet. This week's episode is on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: “From Frog Salesman to Candy Mogul”
Starbucks' is trying to save “the 3rd place”... by ending their open doors bathroom policy.Greedy LA landlords are jacking up rents 100%... but there could be a housing market silver lining.Planet Fitness stock hit an all-time high… but its greatest risk is “a run on the gym”.Plus, Philadelphia Eagles WR AJ Brown read a book during a playoff game… now it's #1 on Amazon.$SBUX $PLNTWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
TikTok will be banned in 5 days… but its replacement is Whatnot: It's Instagram + eBay + MTV.Sonos is known for its fancy sounds systems… but the CEO just quit because of 1 big mistake.Nvidia chips have export restrictions… because in the AI arms race, chips are the new uranium.Plus, the #1 candy in America was invented by a frog salesman… It's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and it's the next episode of our weekly deepdive show The Best Idea Yet
Chuck E. Cheese is back from bankruptcy… with a brand new babysitter strategy.Pools, massages, bars… Offices are getting “hotelified” for the 2025 Return-to-Office push.Disney, Fox, and Warner's joint sports app, Venu, just shut down… and the NBA tells us why.Plus, it's Planuary… Our New Year's resolution is to plan the whole year this month (we'll tell ya how). $FUN $DIS $WBDSubscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The #1 in the whole App Store is Watch Duty… a hero saving lives in LA's wildfires.Rolls-Royce now sells 100% top-to-bottom custom cars… it's commissioned art, like Picasso.17% of Christmas gifts get returned… so we invented a solution: “Reverse Logistics”This Sunday is the biggest day of the year for dating apps… Swiping is about to surge 70%.$BMWKY $AAPL $LULUWant more? Check out the latest episode of our weekly deep dive show, The Best One Yet. This week's episode is on The Oregon Trail: “Tricking Kids Into Liking School Since 1971”
Trump proposed buying Greenland… so we looked into how/if/when it's possible.John Deere's big tech update at CES?... a robo-self-driving tractor to cut your grocery bill.Starface has become a $100M startup… by putting star stickers on pimples.Plus, we're living in the Panda-conomy… because when Pandas are out, sales surge.$DEER $NVDA $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with — From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly. Subscribe here Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The biggest strike in ski history hit during the busiest ski week of the year… and Vail lost $400M.A brand new generation is being born in 2025: Gen Beta… And we found its 1 defining trait.NYC launched America's largest traffic experiment: Congestion Pricing… And every city is watching.$MTN $SPY $BTCWant more? Check out the latest episode of our weekly deep dive show, The Best One Yet. This week's episode is on The Oregon Trail: “Tricking Kids Into Liking School Since 1971”
#1. Wells Fargo launched a credit card you can pay rent with… but they underestimated how Savvy Millennials would use it. (6/24/2024)#2. An Olympic gold medal winner has a day job — as an investment banker… so we'll tell you the secret to a successful side hustle. (8/7/2024)#3. Legendary Wall Street investor Larry Fink wrote a whole letter about DINKs… so we need to talk about your retirement plan already. (3/27/2024)Share this episode with your financially savviest buddy… actually, send it to the one who still owes you $50 for brunch.We'll be back on Monday, January 6th, with our regular TBOY podcasts. But look out for more bonus pods from us dropping over the holidays.And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
(Warning: You're gonna need 8 napkins for this episode):#1. Haribo Gummy Bears is now the biggest candy business on earth… because it's done the same thing for 100 years. (1/22/2024)#2. The hot new IPO this year? It's Bubble Tea… Boba tea chains are IPO'ing for billions, but Bubble Tea may face a Bubble Tea Bubble. (5/6/2024)#3. While all the other food chains struggled this year, one didn't: Shake Shack… The $10 Shackburger proves perception overpowers prices. (8/5/2024)Share this episode with the next person you're eating dinner with… or your hungriest buddy.We'll be back on Monday, January 6th, with our regular TBOY podcasts. But look out for more bonus pods from us dropping over the holidays.And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
(Tom Cruise jumped on a chair when he heard this episode):#1. Netflix just gave itself the biggest Christmas gift of all… NFL football on Christmas Day. (5/17/2024)#2. Sabrina Carpenter dropped 7 versions of the same song… because the music industry took a strategy from the ice cream industry. (7/22/2024)#3. The fastest-growing genre in books is “Romantasy”... Romantic Fantasies are driving book sales with pixie dust. (7/15/2024)Share this episode with your buddy in LA… or DM it to Oprah.We'll be back on Monday, January 6th, with our regular TBOY podcasts. But look out for more bonus pods from us dropping over the holidays.And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
(ChatGPT says these are the best AI stories in the whole business news industry):#1. Every dating app stock is down this year except for 1: Grindr… because Wall Street fell in love with Grindr's AI wingman. (7/1/2024)#2. Scarlett Johansson lawyered up after OpenAI tried to rip-off her voice… it's move fast and break things all over again. (5/22/2024)#3. We found a social network with zero humans — but billions of bots… Because on SocialAI, you have 1M followers, but none are real. (9/20/2024)Share this episode with your techiest buddy… or send it to a robot.We'll be back on Monday, January 6th, with our regular TBOY podcasts. But look out for more bonus pods from us dropping over the holidays.And if you crave more business storytelling from us? Check out our weekly deepdive show: “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly. Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The stock market just had its worst week of 2024… we explain what determines stocks in 2025.Bud Light just fell to #3 in beer sales… but it's all part of Budweiser's sibling strategy.“Klaus Industries” (yeah, Santa's company) just became a $12T business… so we visited the North Pole HQ.Plus, our Annual Shareholder Report for TBOY… from Co-CEOs Nick & Jack.$SNTA $SLED $COAL$BUD $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show, “The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. From the McDonald's Happy Meal to Birkenstock's sandal to Nintendo's Super Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.—-----------------------------------------------------Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Subscribe to our new (2nd) show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. It's The Best Idea Yet.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.