
TSA agents need pay help & Google Maps gets even more immersive
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
Good morning, Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.
Toby Howell
And I'm Toby Howell.
Neal Freyman
Today, why airports are asking passengers to tip TSA agents.
Toby Howell
Then Google Maps got an AI makeover that lets you get chatty with it. It's Friday, March 13th. Let's ride.
Neal Freyman
Good morning and Happy Friday. The 13 new rankings were just released of the happiest cities in the United States. So if you're waking up in one of the following places, send some positive energy our way. Without Further ado, the 10 happiest cities in the country are Fremont, California, which is a city in the Bay Area. Bismarck, North Dakota, Scottsdale, Arizona, South Burlington, Vermont, Fargo, North Dakota. That's two North Dakotas if you're keeping track. Overland Park, Kansas, Charleston, South Carolina, Irvine, California, Gilbert, Arizona and San Jose, California. You're probably curious about the methodology. WalletHub evaluated cities across 29 indicators of happiness, including depression rates, income growth and average daily leisure time.
Toby Howell
I was so shocked by those lists, as were a lot of people. This went very viral online. The methodology was a little bit more robust than I was prepared for from a Wallet Hub survey. Fremont did very well because they dominated in terms of physical well being and community involvement. Bismarck did well in those categories as well. One thing I notice, not a single city in either Massachusetts or Florida, where we both grew up, or New York, where we currently live. What are we doing wrong, Neil? And now a word from our sponsor, Tax Act. Finally did my taxes.
Neal Freyman
Neal, for you or your business?
Toby Howell
What?
Neal Freyman
You got to do both, Toby. But fortunately for you, there's TaxAct. They help small business owners get their taxes done. TaxAct makes filing easy for small businesses by providing the only online DIY filing software for small businesses. Plus, you can bundle your business and personal tax tax returns with Tax Act.
Toby Howell
You can file your business taxes any way you'd like. You can do them by yourself with Step by step guidance. You can file with the help from a credentialed tax expert when you have questions, or you can upload your documents and an expert will prepare and file for you.
Neal Freyman
Just head to taxact.com/business-returns to get started. That's taxact.com/business-survits I got to do my taxes this weekend. Good reminder okay TSA security lines are getting even more grim than usual Major US Airports have been asking passengers to drop off food or donate gift cards to security employees who are set to miss their first full paycheck today due to the partial government shutdown. On Wednesday, Denver International Airport posted on X in all caps donations needed, encouraging travelers to, quote, support the dedicated TSA employees working without Pay by donating 10 and 20 dollars store and gas gift cards. Also on Wednesday, Seattle Tacoma International Airport notified travelers that it had opened a food pantry to support TSA workers. While most of the government is currently open, the Department of Homeland Security has not been funded for weeks over an impasse on Capitol Hill over ICE tactics. With no agreement in sight, TSA workers have increasingly been not showing up to work without pay, leading to chaotic security lines of up to five hours long at airports in Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans. Last weekend, one viral photo showed the queue in New Orleans stretching into the parking lot. Most US Airports have not been affected like this yet, but experts warn that staffing shortages could ramp up in a big way after the first missed paycheck today. TSA agents start with a salary in the low 40,000 and they simply can't afford to be working without getting paid paid. Not to mention this is the second time they've been asked to forgo paychecks in the last few months, including last year's 43 day shutdown. Toby this could be the calm before the storm.
Toby Howell
And the issue with, you know, trying to support these TSA agents, which a lot of people do want to do. I mean, they are a essential worker. They are not getting paid right now. They've gone through a lot lately. But you can't donate to TSA workers. That comes from federal ethics rules as well as the TSA's Employees and Responsibilities Code of Conduct Handbook. You are not allowed to solicit or accept gifts from travelers, full stop. It doesn't necessarily matter where the donations are accepting because Denver tried to insulate their workers by moving the donation bin a little bit away from where the actual security checkpoint was. So that's problem number one. Problem number two is not just the legal side of things, it just creates some sociological issues when you look at it, because you it could create perverse incentives. Officers might be rewarding people for tips by, you know, giving them expedited security clearances. There's a pay to play perception that is happening. And then, yeah, there is just a security risk too, if you involve money at any point in this screening process. So even though people's hearts are probably in the right place saying, hey, we're trying to help you out in a tough time, legally speaking, it's not kosher.
Neal Freyman
But what. So these airports are just trying to get around these legal rules and we'll see what what happens to these particular don bins. What's interesting also is that some airports may be spared some chaos from TSA agents calling out sick because they actually employ private contractors under a federal program that allows airports to outsource security screenings under TSA oversight. So if you fly out of sfo, San Francisco, San Francisco International, Kansas City International, Atlantic City International, I don't know who's flying out of there. Or Orlando International Airport. Those are some of a couple dozen US Airports that have this model going on where they actually, you know, are staffed security lines by private contractors. It's been a long running debate about whether more airports should adopt this, and it's probably growing in interest, or at least airports are looking at this after all of the chaos of the past few months.
Toby Howell
One good thing about this partial government shutdown is that it's not affecting air traffic controllers this time around. Remember during the last sort of shutdowns over the years, that has affected air traffic and that has been a huge strain on airports this time because Congress has already funded their employer, the Department of Transportation. They are still working. So that is just a one hint of relief when it comes to airports. But you're right. You mentioned it could be the calm before the storm, because staffing shortage are only going to accelerate as you start missing paychecks. A lot of these people are not calling in sick per se. They're just going to work second jobs because they need to make a living here. So you got to pay your bills. And that could lead to longer lines at the airport.
Neal Freyman
Right. I mean, there's one quote from a TSA agent who said, last time I checked, Kroger doesn't take an iou, just go to find another comparable job that pays you about the same or even more that doesn't have these shutdowns rolling every few months where you just miss a paycheck and it truly gets dire. During the last shutdown, a TSA's acting administrator told the House committee that certain TSA employees were sleeping in their cars at airports because they didn't want to pay for gas on go traveling to their workplace, or they sold blood plasma just to feed their families. The timing of this couldn't be worse as well. We're coming up on the busiest spring break travel season on record. You hear grumblings on Capitol Hill not just to get this compromise worked out, but also to create funding mechanisms for TSA agents so they and the traveling public doesn't have to go through this every time the government shuts down, which seems to be happening a lot lately.
Toby Howell
All right, moving on. Google Maps got an AI facelift and map heads everywhere are pumped. Gemini is powering a new feature called Ask Maps where you can ask contextual real world questions and get answers back without ever leaving the app. For instance, my phone is dying. Where are some nearby coffee shops that have outlets? Or is there a public pickleball court with lights on that I can play at tonight? Road trippers are going to have a field day with this too. If you were driving from California to the Grand Canyon, you could ask for recommended stops along the way, according to an example given by Google. Whereas before you might have opened TikTok to find those wrecks, Maps will now give you tips from real people on how to find a real hidden trail entrance, for instance, in addition to your standard directions and ETAs, the other exciting update is personalization. Over time, Maps gets to know you based on locations you've searched for, our preferences you've saved. So if you're vegan and are looking for a date night in the West Village, it might highlight plant based spots instead of something like For Charles Neal, there are some other navigation updates built in as well, but being able to chat with Maps feels like one of the better attempts by Google to AI ify all its software, as Wired put it. As a noted Google Maps lover, I am curious to hear your thoughts on this.
Neal Freyman
Yeah, this is super exciting. I know there is a lot more I would ask Google Maps if I had the option with just a lot more granularity and now we're being given it and others seem to agree. The respons has been very enthusiastic, which is kind of atypical of certain AI rollouts by Google. Microsoft and others are trying to infuse Co Pilot or Gemini into their various products that a lot of times that's been met with pushback. You go into your Gmail and you see Gemini or you go into Google Docs, you See Gemini. And you're like, get this, get me out of here. Like, this is not actually helping me. When it comes to Google Maps, it seems like this is a really good use case for AI. We, we haven't seen it in action. I haven't used it because it's rolling out slowly. But I guess the. There is a wave of optimism that this would be really helpful for people who use Google Maps.
Toby Howell
Yeah, just logically it makes sense to have a better ability to figure out the world around you. The coffee shop example is a great example because before it was just kind of like this awkward hybrid of search or, you know, maybe you actually have to go to another app entirely to figure out, does this place have an outlet that I can plug my phone into? Maybe now you can just do it using natural language. This is a big deal too. Google Maps has over 2 billion users with worldwide. Google doesn't actually break out its revenue that it gets from Maps, but it's obviously like a big business line for them that they want to increasingly monetize. One loser I was thinking about when it comes to these is it's not Apple Maps actually. It's actually going to be things like Yelp and TripAdvisor that already have been under siege from Google Maps. But now why would you ever need to go, you know, get reviews from a different part of the Internet when Google bakes all those into you with these very natural language responses? So tough look for them as they're trying to go up against a behemoth.
Neal Freyman
I mean, Google's been squeezing for years. There was. That wasn't the only update coming to Google Maps, the AI infusion. They also released something called immersive navigation, which will just make your navigation map look a lot more real life. It's a, it's a 3D view. It'll have overpasses, crosswalk, crosswalks, landmarks, signage. And what I think is really important for a lot of people is it will tell you what to do after the turn. So oftentimes when you're navigating using Google Maps, they'll say, turn right. And then 200, 200ft later, you actually have to turn left. So this immersive navigation will kind of zoom out a little bit and show you that once you turn right, you might want to get in the left lane because you have to make a quick left turn.
Toby Howell
Which, by the way, is something Apple Maps has had for a little bit. They've had a much more robust, an immersive navigation environment. I'm an Apple Maps head over here. Neil's a Google Maps head, so we'll see how these go toe to toe now. All right, it's stock of the week Dog of the week time, where we pick one stock that shows up to the podcast every day and one stock that has mysterious weddings every single week. I won the pre show game of who can take more pto, so I'm up first. And my stock of the week is Nintendo, because it struck gold with its new Pokemon game. Pickopia is not your typical Pokemon game. There's no sending your pocket monsters into battle. But it's selling like hotcakes precisely because it's so different. Described as an Animal Crossing Minecraft hybrid, it sits squarely in the category known as cozy gaming. Your main task in the game is to construct habitats that increase the comfort level of your Pokemon. Onyx is stuck in a cave. It's your job to make it rain, to soften the rock so it can break out. Oh, but now Charmander doesn't like the rain. Build him a little hut to cover his flaming tail. One TechCrunch reviewer recounts her experience playing. In the midst of explaining to her boyfriend how it works, she realized that A, it had been well over two hours, and B, he had fallen asleep without her noticing. That's how engrossed she was. The hype has pushed up Nintendo stock 17% this week as the surprise hit sparked hope that it will drive sales of its new Switch to console. Now, this game wasn't supposed to be the juggernaut that it turned out to be.
Neal Freyman
It may not be a coincidence that this game is popping off now, too. It's been compared to Animal Crossing, and it's. It's been almost exactly six years that Animal Crossing was released on the OG Nintendo Switch March 20, 2020. Do you remember what happened during those times? Yes, we were in the middle of a pandemic. Geopolitical things are getting hairy again now. People perhaps are looking for an escape. And once again, Nintendo releases a soothing game that people can kind of escape the world a little bit. So the ties between Copia and Animal Crossing are quite strong.
Toby Howell
One reviewer, again, this is actually the same TechCrunch reviewer said that Animal Crossing represents pure escapism. Like, you weren't really doing much. You were selling your turnips and your beets and whatnot, but it was really just a way to get away from the world. But Procopio gives you the sensation of rehabilitating the world, so she really liked that aspect as well. You are building you are like contributing to your Pokemon community. Again, it's a video game so like this isn't, you know, world peace that we're talking about here, but it absolutely does represent another moment in time right now, which is why it's resonating so heavily for Nintendo. It couldn't have come at a better time because this stock has not done well throughout the year. It's down 28% over the last six months despite its recent rally. A lot of it is tied to just normal business things like the surge of memory prices because AI is gobbling up all the memory that hurts Nintendo's business. So their Switch 2 is off to a good start. But this is really the first game that is exclusively on the Switch 2 that is getting investors pumped because it should juice sales for that console. So good, good win for Nintendo. Not one that they necessarily saw coming.
Neal Freyman
And I think a non insignificant contributor to the stock rise as well was they released the final trailer for the Super Mario Galaxy movie which is coming out in just a few April 1st. The first one, remember, made so much money, $1.4 billion globally at the box office. So they're expecting another huge hit here.
Toby Howell
All right, we're going to take a quick break and come back with Neil's dog of the week.
Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
Try Whoop on for size at join.whoop.com brew daily. That's join.whoop.com brew Daily. Neil, have you ever had to deal with 10 of something all at once?
Neal Freyman
Yeah. Live these and let me tell you, big ouchies.
Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
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Toby Howell
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Neal Freyman
the week is safe haven stocks, because during the war in Iran, they've been neither safe nor a haven. A long standing rule of Wall street is when geopolitics becomes unstable, investors seek shelter in the comfort foods of literal comfort food, consumer staples and health care. That has not been the case since the war began in late February. Since then, according to the Wall Street Journal, the health care sector is down about 4% and the consumer staples sector down 5%. Companies that line grocery store shelves like Coca Cola, Campbell's, Hershey and Mondelez are all down bad. Meanwhile, tech stocks, which investors have been freaking out about for months over AI disruption, are doing fine. Technology has been the best performing S&P 500 sector since the war started, rising 1.5% from February 27, while every other sector is in the red. So what is going on? The Journal posits two theories. One, the safe haven trade was really popular before the war, so by the time it came around these expensive stocks longer no longer looked as shiny. Number two is that these sectors are having all kinds of problems of their own that are overshadowing their traditional safe haven status. Campbell's, for instance, is getting crushed after lowering its profit outlook to its lowest level in 17 years. No amount of geopolitical uncertainty is going to make that business look attractive.
Toby Howell
There are safe havens though, within these safe haven stocks that are not doing so well right now and that are companies that have a lot more concentration inside the US itself. In the top 20 performers in the health care and consumer staples industries, average North American revenue exposure was about 72%. If you go down to the bottom performers, that drops to 59%. And basically what that is saying is that when geopolitical shocks happen, geography matters. You don't necessarily want a global footprint that you know is exposed to ripples from the Middle east conflict. You want supply chain and you Want things like your customers located in a more stable place like the United States. So if you were to go down the list of these safe haven stocks and say, what do I want to invest in? Look at companies that sell a lot of their products in the U.S. i
Neal Freyman
mean, it was just a few weeks ago where our stock of the week was the halo trade, which meant heavy assets, low obsolescence because of the AI freak out of software being disrupted by artificial intelligence. And now we're seeing some of the risks of these kind of companies. It's because there's been a huge energy shock in the market. And a lot of these companies, when you have heavy assets, well, what is needed to power heavy assets is a lot of energy. So when prices go haywire, then these stocks look a lot less attractive. So we're seeing some of the pitfalls of the halo trade. Meanwhile, some of the AI stocks or the tech stocks that have been beaten down look a lot shinier now because they a lot of software development and tech company like Meta or Amazon, I guess Amazon's not a good example. But more software businesses don't rely on a lot of energy, so they are looking a little bit better.
Toby Howell
Yeah, and it really was just a crowded trade because a lot of people were getting nervy about the AI trade and so rotated into these stocks before the conflict broke out at all. So there was a rotation within the rotation, which is why maybe they're not looking as attractive now as they were even two weeks ago when we had Halo as our stock of the week.
Neal Freyman
What's another interesting safe haven that hasn't been benefiting from the war is gold. Gold has seen record high after record high over the past few years. But and especially during the 12 Day War with Iran last year it went, it skyrocketed. But now if you look at the gold price chart, it's completely flat for over the latest conflict. So it has not been benefiting from the war at all. It's the OG safe haven for thousands of years. And that's because analysts suggest that rising oil prices could lead to higher inflation, higher interest rates. Central banks don't cut, maybe they hike rates and that makes gold less attractive to yielding assets like government bonds. Let's print to the finish with some final headlines. Here are some updates on the war in Iran, now entering its 14th day. Oil prices rose 9% to close above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, after Iran's new Supreme Leader and President Trump indicated the conflict would not end soon. In his first public statement, Mojtaba Khamenei said he intends to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as, quote, a tool to pressure the enemy. Meanwhile, President Trump downplayed rising oil prices and said defeating Iran was of far greater interest. And at the same time, his administration does seem to be making efforts to stave off an energy crisis. The White House is reportedly considering waiving the Jones Act, a much criticized century old maritime rule that requires American ships exclusively to transport goods between US Ports. An exemption would allow cheaper foreign tankers to move goods like oil, gas and fertilizer around the country.
Toby Howell
Yeah, the goal is to get rid of this bottlenecks because the Gulf coast has a lot more of the refineries, the Northeast has a lot more of the people, and there's only one pipeline that connects them. So. So anything you can do to make it cheaper to bring oil from where it's refined to where the people are is something that you're going to want to do right now, even though people are saying it's not going to have a huge impact. But we're talking like cents, not even dimes or nickels when it comes to reducing gas prices. And I also want to talk about how the Iran war has spilled into the housing market a little bit. It started obviously as a geopolitical crisis, but now war pushes oil prices up. Oil prices stoke inflation fears, Inflation fears, Treasury yields up. It's very similar to what you were talking about at the end of our last story. And treasury yields guide mortgage rates. The mortgage rate right now is an average of 6.11%. That is the biggest jump in 11 months. So it's becoming very real to a lot of homeowners as well right now, or potential homeowners. Moving on. If you've ever lost 20 bucks on a parlay, multiply that feeling by about 500 and you'll understand the emotional rollercoaster Atlantic reporter McKay Coppins went on for his new piece on the sports betting industry. Coppins voluntarily became a lab rat to see how he'd fare in the digital trenches. Armed with $10,000 by the magazine to gamble his way through an entire NFL season. What started as a fun journalistic exercise involving a Mormon dad downloading DraftKings for the first time turned into a cautionary tale about how quickly the apps can rewire your brain. At one point, Coppins was hiding in his kitchen pantry placing bets while his kids looked for snacks. Despite his naivete, or maybe because of it, by week 13 he was actually up money. He'd wagered about $10,000 and had made a grand total of $156.16. But then things went downhill. A bad beat around Thanksgiving sent him spiraling, and the discipline he had built up went out the window. His experiment ended with him putting $4,735 on the Patriots to win the super bowl outright. And we all know how that went. Neal, if Morning brew gave you $10,000, I think you do better, right?
Neal Freyman
No, I'm on a cold streak. I also bet on the Patriots and the super bowl, and then I've been dabbling in some college basketball with all the games and that's been going poorly. But hey, I'd sure love the opportunity to try. So, Devin, if you're listening, maybe throw Toby and I a couple of bones so we could go on this go on journey for for reporting pur. Okay, the weekend is just hours away and there's a lot to look forward to besides just, you know, it being a weekend. Tomorrow is PI Day 31 4, which means you're legally obligated to eat pie or recite as many digits of the number as you can muster. Also, tomorrow, expect bars to be thronged with people celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Yes, it's not until Monday, but the Saturday two days before is effectively the holiday.
Toby Howell
I'm putting forth a new holiday idea for you. Saint Pie Tricks Day. P. You get what I'm picking up. You get pinched if you don't wear green, but you can get out of it if you can recite 50 digits to pie. Why 50? That's all I can remember.
Neal Freyman
Well, I the Irish are known for their pies as well, so I think there'd be true there is some good crossover. Moving on to Sunday, make sure you go for a run in the morning because your couch is the place to be. Come the evening, it's election Sunday, so the brackets for the men's and women's college basketball tournaments will be revealed. Then the Oscars get going at 7pm eastern time. Conan O' Brien will host the award show for the second consecutive year.
Toby Howell
Let's do some predictions. First of all, in the men's tournament, Duke is not winning. They got a little too injured. Give me Arizona and I already went on record. Give me Texas. In the women's. As for the Oscars, Best Picture, one battle after another. Best actor, give me Timmy. Screw all the Noise from the Opera. Best Actress, Jessie Buckley. Best Director, Ryan Coogler. Because I saw this take, I'm not going to take credit for it. If Sinners was nominated in every major category, the most nominated Oscars film ever. A director is responsible for making sure every part of a movie comes together. Then by definition Coogler is the best director. Every single category Sinners appears in. How could he not win? What are your thoughts on that?
Neal Freyman
Well, I disagree. I mean, I haven't seen the movie so I can't say whether he should win or not. But I think it's a best director Oscar is not for compiling talent or, you know, seeing talent by definition people, it's how you direct and execute the movie itself. So that's my pushback to that particular take, which wasn't even yours in the first place. But you seem to want to defend it. I got some food ideas for your Oscar party as well. This comes from a post on X, which are some themed dishes to make to align with the movies that are being nominated. You got Cake Pop, Demon Hunters, a Grain Dreams, Bread basket, the Weapons, hot dog tray, Honey Baked Hamnet sandwiches, and then for drinks you can make a Martini supreme or a few small beers for one battle after the other.
Toby Howell
Martini Supreme. That's pretty good. Wish I came up with that.
Neal Freyman
That is all the time we have. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us and have a wonderful Friday and an even better weekend. If you'd like to reach us, send an email to Morning Brew Daily at Morning Broadcom or DM us on Instagram @MB Daily show let's roll the credits. Emily Milian is our supervising producer. Raymond Liu is our senior producer. Our producer is Olivia Graham and our associate producer is Olivia Lake. Hair makeup Got lost using Apple Maps? Devin Emery is our president and our show is a production of Morning Brew.
Toby Howell
Great show today, Neil. I wish you all well.
Morning Brew Daily – March 13, 2026 Episode: Airports Ask for Donations for TSA Agents & Google Maps Gets AI Makeover
Hosts Neal Freyman and Toby Howell unpack some of the most pressing and quirky developments in business and tech news. The episode’s two central stories cover the highly unusual situation where major US airports are urging travelers to donate to unpaid TSA agents during a government shutdown, and Google Maps’ much-hyped Gemini AI integration. Plus, the duo dish on Nintendo’s unexpected smash hit in the cozy gaming genre, dig into why old-school ‘safe haven’ stocks aren’t living up to their myth, and offer quick takes on oil prices, the housing market, and March Madness predictions.
Federal rules prohibit TSA workers from accepting gifts or tips from travelers.
Quote: Toby: “You can’t donate to TSA workers. That comes from federal ethics rules as well as the TSA’s code of conduct. You are not allowed to solicit or accept gifts from travelers, full stop.” [04:15]
Staffing Shortages & Outsourcing:
Spring Break Worry:
Quote: Neal: “Last time I checked, Kroger doesn’t take an IOU.” [07:02]
Ask Maps: Users can now query Maps in natural language for hyper-contextual answers (“where are coffee shops with outlets?” or “is there a pickleball court with lights?”)
Personalization: AI tailors suggestions to preferences and search history (e.g., vegans seeking date spots).
Quote: Toby: “Road trippers are going to have a field day… Whereas before you might have opened TikTok… Maps will now give you tips from real people on how to find a real hidden trail entrance.” [08:02]
Reception:
Quote: Neal: “The response has been very enthusiastic, which is kind of atypical of certain AI rollouts by Google.” [09:09]
Impact: Threatens business models of review/recommendation sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor, more so than Apple Maps. [09:55]
Immersive Navigation:
Nintendo stock rose 17% this week on the back of “Pokémon Pickopia,” a non-battle, “cozy gaming” title akin to Animal Crossing or Minecraft.
The game’s focus is on constructing habitats and community-building rather than competition.
Resonates during times of geopolitical stress, echoing Animal Crossing’s pandemic popularity.
Quote: Neal: “It’s been almost exactly six years that Animal Crossing was released... Geopolitical things are getting hairy again now. People perhaps are looking for an escape.” [13:00]
The Switch 2 gets investor optimism thanks to Pickopia’s exclusive release.
Upcoming Super Mario Galaxy movie is predicted to add fuel to Nintendo’s performance. [14:44]
“Safe haven” sectors—consumer staples and healthcare—haven’t performed despite rising geopolitical risk (Iran war).
Tech stocks, by contrast, have risen.
Reasons: “Safe haven” was already a crowded trade pre-war, and sector-specific problems also weigh.
Companies mostly exposed to US sales fared better than those with global footprints.
Quote: Toby: “When geopolitical shocks happen, geography matters. You don’t necessarily want a global footprint that you know is exposed to ripples from the Middle East conflict.” [18:26]
Heavy asset companies (previously “halo trade” faves) now look vulnerable as energy prices spike. Tech looks comparatively attractive as software isn’t energy-reliant.
Oil above $100/barrel for first time since 2022; US may waive the Jones Act to address energy supply bottlenecks. [20:23–21:50]
War stokes inflation fears; mortgage rates have jumped to 6.11%—biggest rise in 11 months.
Quote: Toby: “It started obviously as a geopolitical crisis, but now—war pushes oil prices up, oil prices stoke inflation fears, inflation fears, Treasury yields up.” [21:50]
McKay Coppins bet $10,000 (provided by his employer) across the NFL season, ending with a near-total loss after a spiral of bad bets.
Dramatic visualization of sports gambling’s psychological hooks.
Quote: Toby: “At one point, Coppins was hiding in his kitchen pantry placing bets while his kids looked for snacks.” [21:50]
Pi Day (March 14) and St. Patrick’s Day revelry coinciding; proposal for “Saint Pi-Tricks Day.”
Preview of NCAA March Madness bracket announcements and Oscar predictions.
Quote: Toby: “If Sinners was nominated in every major category…then by definition Coogler is the best director.” [25:21]
Oscar party food puns: Cake Pop Demon Hunters, Grain Dreams, Honey Baked Hamnet, Marti-ni Supreme.
Friendly, fast-paced, and laced with the hosts’ signature blend of business savvy and sharp wit. Toby and Neal balance serious economic analysis with punchy, relatable commentary to keep listeners informed—and entertained.
For listeners who missed the episode: You’ll come away with a deep understanding of the TSA donation controversy, the real-life impacts of government shutdowns, why Google Maps’ AI upgrade might actually stick, and how shifting global politics are reshaping both the stock market and your next flight. Plus: Nintendo nostalgia, betting woes, and March Madness party tips.