Business News: Economic March Madness - NCAA Revenue - NASA astronauts & SpaceX Capsule - Cryptocurrency Trends

Summary

Right About Now with Ryan Alford

Episode: Business News: Economic March Madness - NCAA Revenue - NASA Astronauts & SpaceX Capsule - Cryptocurrency Trends
Release Date: March 21, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Right About Now with Ryan Alford, host Ryan Alford and co-host Chris Hansen dive into a variety of pressing business topics. From the economic implications of March Madness to the latest developments in cryptocurrency, Elon Musk’s Tesla controversies, and a dramatic NASA-SpaceX rescue mission, the duo offers insightful and entertaining commentary tailored for business owners and marketers alike.

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Economic Impact of March Madness

Chris Hansen kicks off the discussion by exploring the substantial economic effects of March Madness on the U.S. economy. He highlights that the event leads to significant productivity losses and generates massive revenues.

• Productivity Losses: Hansen cites an estimated $20 billion lost due to reduced productivity from Thursday to Sunday during the tournament [04:22].

  Chris Hansen: "The US economy loses up to $20 billion to lost productivity over those few days from Thursday to Sunday." [04:22]

• NCAA Revenue: The NCAA reported an annual estimated revenue of $1.3 billion last year, emphasizing the tournament's role as a lucrative business venture [12:12].

  Chris Hansen: "1.3 billion is the annual estimated revenue for the NCAA last year. That's how much money they made. It's big business, man." [12:12]

• Operational Impact on Cities: Specifically, San Antonio is projected to experience a $400 million economic impact from hosting the Final Four in 2025 [26:31].

• Unproductive Workers: Hansen discusses the broader economic consequences, noting that $17 to $20 billion in corporate losses stem from unproductive workers during the tournament [05:26].

Ryan adds a personal touch, pondering the lack of business shutdowns during such events and the need for strategic planning to mitigate financial losses.

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Elon Musk and Tesla Controversies

The conversation shifts to the tumultuous actions against Tesla and Elon Musk. Hansen addresses the recent aggression directed at Tesla dealerships and charging stations, labeling it as domestic terrorism.

• Vandalism and Violence: Alford and Hansen condemn the violent actions against Tesla infrastructure, questioning the motives behind such extreme measures.

  Ryan Alford: "Yeah, people like firebombing Tesla dealerships and lighting charging stations on fire. It's crazy." [13:03]

  Chris Hansen: "It even lists FBI Director Cash Patel's home and uses a symbol of a Molotov Cocktail as its cursor. I mean, isn't this domestic terrorism?" [16:17]

• Motivations and Agitation: They speculate that these acts are fueled by orchestrated agitators aiming to disrupt Elon Musk’s ventures and decrease Tesla’s stock value.

  Ryan Alford: "They're trying to scare people from purchasing more Teslas. Trying to drive his stock price down." [15:55]

• Impact on Owners: The hosts express concern over the irrational targeting of Tesla owners, many of whom are perceived to be left-leaning, highlighting the lack of logic behind such attacks.

  Ryan Alford: "Most Tesla owners are more left-leaning people. The people pissed off at Elon are left." [16:36]

Ryan draws parallels to historical smear campaigns, suggesting that the tactics used against Elon Musk mirror those used against former President Trump.

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NASA Astronauts Rescue and SpaceX Capsule

A major highlight of the episode is the dramatic rescue of NASA astronauts Barry Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams, who returned to Earth after a prolonged nine-month mission due to spacecraft issues.

• Rescue Mission: The successful mission was facilitated by SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which orchestrated a smooth splashdown in the Gulf of America, marking a significant achievement in commercial space exploration.

  Chris Hansen: "NASA astronauts Barry Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams returned to Earth after spending over nine months stranded in space." [20:18]

  Ryan Alford: "They're home safe and it's good news." [22:50]

• Technological Advancements: The hosts commend SpaceX for advancing reusable rocket technology, which was once deemed impossible two decades ago.

  Ryan Alford: "Hey, we thought it was physically impossible 20 years ago, but here we are with reusable rockets." [23:04]

• Personal Anecdotes: Hansen shares a personal story about his father's preparation for emergencies, humorously linking it to the astronauts' predicament.

  Chris Hansen: "What are we seeing on the crypto front? Would I want to go or are we going to go?" [26:13]

The episode underscores SpaceX’s pivotal role in modern space missions and their collaboration with NASA, highlighting the evolving landscape of space exploration.

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Cryptocurrency Trends

Ryan and Chris delve into the fluctuating world of cryptocurrency, discussing market trends, regulatory challenges, and the potential future of decentralized finance.

• Market Performance: Despite overall market downturns, specific cryptocurrencies like XRP saw a 12% increase on a particular day, while Bitcoin experienced a modest 3% rise [32:46].

  Chris Hansen: "XRP's up 12% today, record on Wednesday." [32:46]

  Ryan Alford: "It's a lot of money for... Yeah, I totally agree. Like, I think now is the time to... Definitely a time to buy." [33:26]

• Decentralization and Transparency: Alford advocates for the adoption of blockchain technology to streamline transactions, reduce reliance on traditional banks, and enhance transparency.

  Ryan Alford: "When you and me realize we can do a real estate transaction and not involve a bunch of banks and paperwork and all this stuff and everything's tracked on the blockchain." [34:12]

• Regulatory Concerns: The hosts discuss the challenges posed by lack of regulation, including fraud and money laundering, while emphasizing the need for user education and responsibility.

  Chris Hansen: "If your grandmother could transfer something in two seconds without the checks and balances and no recourse, is that the right thing?" [35:36]

• Personal Experiences: Both share personal anecdotes about crypto investments and scams, highlighting the volatile and often risky nature of the market.

  Ryan Alford: "However, I got scammed two years ago, the bank didn't refund me." [36:11]

The conversation underscores the complex interplay between innovation, regulation, and user responsibility in the cryptocurrency space.

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Ferrari’s Client Demographics and Brand Strategy

Transitioning to the luxury automotive sector, the hosts examine Ferrari’s evolving client base and brand strategy.

• Younger Clients: Ferrari’s CEO revealed that 40% of new clients are now under 40, a significant increase from 30% eighteen months prior. This shift is attributed to the company's strategic efforts to attract younger demographics while maintaining exclusivity.

  Chris Hansen: "40% of Ferrari's new clients are under 40, up from 30% just 18 months ago." [26:31]

• Exclusivity and Sales: Approximately 75% of Ferrari’s sales go to existing customers, reinforcing the brand’s exclusivity and fostering loyalty among affluent buyers.

  Chris Hansen: "Ferrari maintains strict production, ensuring demand always exceeds supply." [26:59]

• Brand Integrity: The discussion touches on Ferrari’s stringent policies to preserve brand integrity, contrasting it with competitors like Lamborghini, which have faced criticism for compromising quality by using Audi parts.

  Ryan Alford: "Like Lamborghini's quality is crap now." [27:50]

  Chris Hansen: "Yeah. It's crazy." [28:02]

• Market Positioning: The hosts agree that Ferrari is perceived as superior to Lamborghini in the automotive world, both in terms of brand reputation and price exclusivity.

  Ryan Alford: "In the car world, Ferrari is definitely above Lamborghini. I mean, and price-wise..." [28:13]

This segment highlights Ferrari’s successful balancing act between expanding its clientele and maintaining the high standards that define its luxury brand.

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Concluding Remarks

As the episode wraps up, Ryan and Chris reflect on the diverse topics discussed, emphasizing the importance of staying informed and adaptable in the ever-changing business landscape.

• Technology in Business: Ryan introduces a positive note about real-time transcription and note-taking technology from Viamrec, praising its accuracy and utility for business operations.

  Ryan Alford: "It's that real-time action that's happening while you're sitting there." [37:48]

• Final Thoughts on Crypto and Business: The hosts reiterate their commitment to educating listeners about cryptocurrency and its potential to revolutionize financial transactions by reducing intermediaries and increasing efficiency.

  Ryan Alford: "It's really about counter currency and other ways to get people out of these transactions." [37:46]

• Engagement and Interaction: Chris shares his enthusiasm for opening sports card packs and engaging with the audience through interactive content and incentives.

  Chris Hansen: "I sold the most valuable card that was in the box for 150 bucks on eBay this week." [40:05]

• Closing Messages: The episode concludes with reminders for listeners to visit the website, follow on social media, and stay tuned for future episodes.

  Ryan Alford: "Everyone, as always, have a great weekend. Enjoy springtime. Get some sun, drink water." [42:30]

  Chris Hansen: "Check us out ryanisright.com find all the highlight clips, the full episodes..." [43:08]

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Key Takeaways

1. March Madness significantly impacts the U.S. economy, both positively through revenue generation and negatively via productivity losses.
2. Elon Musk and Tesla face increasing hostility and vandalism, raising concerns about corporate influence and social unrest.
3. SpaceX’s successful rescue mission underscores advancements in commercial space travel and collaboration with NASA.
4. Cryptocurrency remains volatile but holds promise for decentralized and transparent financial transactions, despite regulatory challenges.
5. Ferrari successfully attracts younger clients while maintaining its luxury brand ethos, contrasting with competitors' quality compromises.

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Notable Quotes

• Ryan Alford: "We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month." [00:00]
• Chris Hansen: "The US economy loses up to $20 billion to lost productivity over those few days from Thursday to Sunday." [05:26]
• Chris Hansen: "It's domestic terrorism." [16:17]
• Ryan Alford: "They're home safe and it's good news." [22:50]
• Chris Hansen: "40% of Ferrari's new clients are under 40, up from 30% just 18 months ago." [26:31]
• Ryan Alford: "It's really about counter currency and other ways to get people out of these transactions." [37:46]

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For more insights and detailed discussions, visit www.RyanIsRight.com or follow Right About Now and Ryan Alford on Instagram @rightaboutnowshow and @ryanalford.

Transcript

[Ryan Alford]

This is Right about now with Ryan Alford. A Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over 6 years in over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now.

[Chris Hansen]

What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now. It's our weekly business news here on Friday, March 21, 2020, 25. What's up, Chris Hansen.

[Ryan Alford]

What's up, Brian Alford.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh, you know, holding it down here in G Vegas, the lovely Social House, our co work space in downtown Greenville. Also the home of our studio. Come see us anytime. Socialhouse, dot clubs, the website. And it is where everything's happening. Hey, it's spring to Sprung. You got the trail and the river right here, Chris. So excited to be in Greenville. We can't all be in Miami.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey, I'll give you credit. You got, you guys got a good thing going up there. I'd like to see some, some spring flowers myself, but everything is gravy down here. It's beautiful. 75 and sunny.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes. There we go. We appreciate you for listening wherever you are, whenever you're listening. Hey, it's March Madness, baby. We gotta get mad today. I was like first I was like, okay, what are we gonna talk about today? And sometimes, you know, we, I think macro and micro. Then I'm like, okay, wait a second. It's freaking March Madness week. It's about to get crazy to bring the energy and talk about the economic impact of March Madness. Some stats that you won't believe. Maybe a little lack of productivity that goes on with the game watching. We're going to talk some craziness that's happening with Elon Musk and Tesla cars and specific crazy world we live in. And I'm sure if we avoid tariff talk at all, it'll be a miracle. But hey, we are talking business. So going to bring it to you, Chris. Are you, are you going to fill out a bracket? Are you going to fill out a bracket?

[Ryan Alford]

Well, if you're telling me that I can use maybe some AI to help me, then yeah, then I may fill out a bracket. But yes, I, I, I don't think I've ever filled out a bracket ever.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh, gosh, Chris, man, cue the music.

[Ryan Alford]

I like to gamble if I know I'm going to win. It ain't my game, bro.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, that shows you're an entrepreneur. Like you haven't been in corporate America like where, you know, everybody does the the bracket fill outs.

[Ryan Alford]

Yes.

[Chris Hansen]

It's.

[Ryan Alford]

That's 99 of my friends. You know that those sports players stats and they know the teams and I'm just in the corner like, you know, where's the chips and dip act, boys?

[Chris Hansen]

Yes. Elon Hint. Musk. There's an article that says, he says Grok AI could beat Warren Buffett's March Madness Bracket Challenge. Because Warren Buffett does. Look, no one has ever in the history of the tournament picked a perfect bracket. Never happened, all the games. It's crazy. I would think that that would have just accidentally happened just by chance. But it just shows you how publicly.

[Ryan Alford]

Has had that happen.

[Chris Hansen]

I guess that's been, you know, maybe.

[Ryan Alford]

Someone, some dude in Auburn got it right one year. Some guy frat houses, you know, are.

[Chris Hansen]

You, he, he has that story. I don't know that somewhere in the.

[Ryan Alford]

Southeast part of this country that has got a bracket. Right?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, exactly. But here's what he said. This is kind of a fun one where Warren Buffett has a billion dollar bet that if you exactly match the entire winning tree of March Madness, you can win a billion dollars. Warren Buffett awards that. So Musk said in a reference to the NCAA basketball tournament bracket. So AI to figure out your pool. This did give me. I think I might reference AI in filling mine out this year. So I need to, you know, we record this earlier than Friday. So by the time you're listening to this, your bracket might already be busted because we'll already have been through all the games on Thursday and probably getting into, you know, hopefully you're listening on the treadmill at 5am right when this release. We know we've got our loyal listeners that do that. But if you're not, then hopefully your brackets not already busted when you're hearing all this news. It can happen quick.

[Ryan Alford]

I don't want to live in a world where AI can predict that.

[Chris Hansen]

You know, you kind of want the randomness. Right.

[Ryan Alford]

Which I hopefully will always have because we've got the human variability. But now that you mentioned, hey, maybe I can make a little money here throw. But just tell Grok give me a winning bracket.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, chatbot Grok3, which is powered by artificial intelligence. On Monday night it got released and during the event, that's when we can also do something more fun. How about make a prediction for March Madness. So we're using AI for everything now. I will say this. We did this exact article I started. You know, we're doing the research, looking at what we're going to talk about. Today, this exact article, I feel like it's almost verbatim. Chris, we're going to go back and the team, you know, hopefully compare what it, what, what it was. But the US economy loses up to $20 billion to lost productivity over those few, those four days from Thursday to Sunday.

[Ryan Alford]

It's a lot of cash, 20 Bs.

[Chris Hansen]

Millions of Americans gear up to watch college basketball this week for the 2025 edition of one of the biggest sporting events of the year. So I don't know, like, I think we joked about this last year, but like, do you just shut it down? Like, if you've got one of those companies where, let's just say, excuse.

[Ryan Alford]

Federal holiday.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. Federal holidays Thursday. Like, especially if, like, you have a, a workforce that skews. I mean, I'm not being sexist, but it probably, probably skews mail. And yeah. And I know everyone does broadcast now, but if you have a workforce that you just know they're going to be hit their head in this, just say, all right, we're shutting down or you get, you can take a vacation day. I bet you a lot of how many vacation days get taken tomorrow.

[Ryan Alford]

I was just wondering that, you know, some dudes, like, live for this.

[Chris Hansen]

Oh, absolutely. It is fun. I mean, no other point do I care who. When Iona and Alabama State are playing, you know, whoever. It's like the drama of the, the one and done, you know, the losing, you go home. I think that's what, you know, it's excitement because you're like, oh, you can feel for the kids the energy and the passion to stick around. They want to get that extra trip in, you know, the next weekend.

[Ryan Alford]

I'm down with it.

[Chris Hansen]

The 10 interesting stats here that I, I don't think anyone wants to miss. Top 10 March Madness stats and facts. These are mainly business things. Go to WalletHub.com you can look at this number 10. We'll start from the 10 and go backwards. Chris. There are 12 plus college basketball games are, are involved in a corruption case involving payments to players. Okay, we start at number 10. I guess that was related to a tournament in the past. Number nine, 64,000 alamodome. That's the Alamo Dome Stadium's capacity for the Final Four. This year. It can be extended to 72,000. So I don't know if you've been, how many basketball games you've been to. That's a. Get your binoculars out, like to try to see the court. Basketball is like, I mean, a third of the size or half at Best of a football field. And so you're trying to see the whole court from. And you're in a 64,000 person stadium. I don't know about that.

[Ryan Alford]

No, thanks.

[Chris Hansen]

I think I'd rather watch it on the tv, Chris.

[Ryan Alford]

I'm just thinking of walking in and out of that stadium before and after. That's a lot of rubbing shoulders I don't want to do. Yeah, a lot of this for like 30 minutes.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes, a lot of it. Number eight. Zero. The amount of money the NCAA pays the players participating in the tournament. I think that's a little misleading.

[Ryan Alford]

Zero on the books.

[Chris Hansen]

Zero on the books for the tournament. But we. They're getting deals with their schools.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

It is a little interesting of how much money the NCAA does make on the tournament, that none does go to the players. I mean, we know the players are getting paid now with name, image, likeness, and the deals with the colleges. So I don't. I mean, don't have the sympathy that I would have, you know, five years ago. But still interesting.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

I mean, how many billions of dollars are made on this tournament? 15 million. Number seven, NCAA women's basketball funds. 2025 distribution to D1 schools, first in NCAA histories. So 15 mil. That's. That's what they got paid. Then what they. What they're distributing to the women players is 15 million this year. So the schools are getting paid by the ncaa, and then the schools themselves are distributing. You know what they determine the salaries of the players. Number 6. 251.6 million. The estimated value of the University of Ohio basketball program, highest among all schools, generating revenue of 24 million. Is that Ohio State? It's got to be, right? University of Ohio.

[Ryan Alford]

What I was just thinking was like, who the hell is University of Ohio?

[Chris Hansen]

There's. There's no Ohio University that this has got to mean. They needed to get their, like, vernacular right on this. On this, because immediately, that's Ohio State. We're gonna go on a limb and just say, that's got to be Ohio State.

[Ryan Alford]

Gotta be the Buckeyes.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. It's interesting, though. That's a lot of money. They're not even like. The Buckeyes aren't even normally like a top 10 team in basketball.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey, but they bring the cash flowing, apparently.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, they do.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. They got the alumni.

[Chris Hansen]

A big alumni base. All right. Number five. 400 million. Projected economic impact on San Antonio from March Madness, 2025. Just the city hosting Final Four. Dude, a lot of bread. I mean, that's an impact. 400 million that fill this room with cash, buddy. Got a big studio here that we fill this entire thing with cash from what that impact 17 but billion is the corporate losses due to unproductive workers. Okay, this one has the same. So the other one was estimated 20 billion. What's 3 billion? Or somewhere in that 17 to 20 billion range of unproductive workers lost. Just shut it down, people. Number three, 52x the difference between the average NBA's rookie salary and a D1 men's athletes basketball scholarship for a year. Again, these stats made a lot of sense before the players got paid, but now that they're getting paid, we need to layer that in. Number 2. 9.6 million. The salary for college basketball's highest paid coach, Kansas's bill self. Hmm. 9.6 million. That's not a bad little salary there.

[Ryan Alford]

It's a lot of money for.

[Chris Hansen]

I take 9.6 million a year. You know, let's get these sponsors in, man. Come on, we gotta. I gotta feed some kids and keep my boat with some gas in it. Let's go. Number one. 1.3 billion is the annual estimated revenue for the NCAA last year. That's how much money they made. It's big business, man. That's the bottom line here. You know, we're a business show. We talk business, sports. And college sports is big business. Lots of money being transacted.

[Ryan Alford]

A lot of money in nostalgia.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, a lot of money. Look, when we talked about sports cars, we're gonna open pack in a little. I mean, you know, I, I said earlier it should have been basketball. It's football. But still, those are your top 10 March Madness stats and facts as it relates to business. And look, the bottom line is we've, we've nailed that. The unproductivity impact is, is high. So hopefully, you know, businesses know it's happening. They plan accordingly. And hopefully your bat, your brackets are already busted. We'll see how that goes. You know, this, this article is not to turn to sort of a immediate, you know, kind of a fun thing to a negative thing, Chris. But have you seen all these people like bashing like throwing molotail cocktails at freaking Tesla cars?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, people like firebombing Tesla dealerships and lighting charging stations on fire.

[Chris Hansen]

This is ridiculous.

[Ryan Alford]

It's crazy.

[Chris Hansen]

And I'm gonna let you speak to what you said it. I don't think it's as conspiracy theory as it. As it kind of sort of sounds it if like instigation.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, yeah. I mean if you really look at a lot of these movements, there's someone financing them. And I, you know, I made reference to the BLM movement, and I think it's pretty well known to the public now. There was a lot of money moved through these type of movements, but there's a lot of paid agitators, and it's on both sides. Right. So like we said before the struggle, how many people in their free time are just out, like, you know, building pipe bombs and gonna go risk it all because they want to piss off at Elon, you know, So I think some of its agitation, or did you just piss off your base so much? You know, But I like to think a lot of this is. Is theater and paid agitation to create headlines and drama and controversy.

[Chris Hansen]

It does feel like it's just another way, like, instigation from the other, you know, side. Like, they don't like what Elon's doing with the Doge and trying to save money and like what I mean, and.

[Ryan Alford]

They'Re trying to scare people.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, but what has happened so bad yet that makes someone want to take this kind of action? Like, that's not just pure speculation or, I don't know, waving the fan, you know, of trying to spark fires, you know, like trying to get oxygen to a fire that may or may not even exist with things he might be enacting and trying to save the government. I mean, the guy's trying to help save the government money. I don't even know that he's getting paid.

[Ryan Alford]

Like, he's being smeared in the same way that the media kind of tried to smear Trump, you know, for all those years. 2016, kind of. It's kind of the same playbook. It feels like on Elon, where. All right, yeah, they're auditing the government, but outside of that, besides drama in Twitter talk. Right, because he is kind of an instigator on Twitter. Elon does like to trash talk a.

[Chris Hansen]

Little bit, but said most of this is due, you know, leftists hitting out at Musk for his efforts to slash government spending. Really?

[Ryan Alford]

Like, it seems like trying to blow up a Tesla dealership seems like kind of a. Not an equal reaction to that.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, the website literally let, you know, put out names, addresses, phone numbers and emails. All Tesla owners they. They had pulled.

[Ryan Alford]

Right. And I look at that. That's a way to scare people from purchasing more Teslas. Trying to drive his stock price down. Like, that's the tactic I see behind that.

[Chris Hansen]

It even lists FBI Director Cash Patel's home and uses a symbol of a Molotov Cocktail as its cursor. I mean, isn't this domestic terrorism?

[Ryan Alford]

Right, so what, we have a militia now of pipe bombing, Tesla hunting vigilantes that.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, this is ridiculous.

[Ryan Alford]

And I hate to say this, but most Tesla owners are more left leaning people. The people pissed off at Elon are left.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, people.

[Ryan Alford]

So you're attacking like the people that probably are kind of more in your camp than not, which seems rather foolish.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, 100% foolish.

[Ryan Alford]

Right. Like if you were bombing Ford F150s it would make sense to me. Right. But it's no logic.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, I don't think it's just like we said last year, somebody needs to be unhappy at somebody and they need a reason to protest. And, and then you always have this sort of extremist group and I'll admit, maybe on both sides, like waiting in the background to be activated. Right. All right, what do we need? All right, we need some. We gotta attack all these Teslas, all right? Get them going, get the guys going, get the money in, start circling the wagons.

[Ryan Alford]

To be fair, there was a group called Patriot Front. Yeah, a red group. And basically people started following and found out there were a bunch of FBI agents getting hauled around in U Hauls dressing up to look like civilian protesters. I mean, you're people need to understand that, you know, there's a form of control that goes along with the people in power. And like they say, the world is a stage.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, yeah. And they use news and this stuff to sort of move sentiment overall. Correct the. I will say this, Chris. You know, the good thing that I mean I like to transition, you know, sort of with negative news to like the positive news, which is, hey, I am getting to get every word today recorded in real time and transcoded. I'm getting the notes automatic because my good friends, if I aim rec dot. Look, I got the headphone piece in Chris. Literally real time happening here on my phone. That's our notes. That's our word spoken. It's getting the show notes right as we speak, transcoding it, summarizing it right there on my phone. It's immediate, it's. It's incredibly accurate. I've been testing it this week. So literally go into meetings. You can have both headphones on. I can be. And I'll tell people, hey, we're recording. I'm recording this. So to get shown, to get my notes for later to take bullet points. It summarizes everything. You can run it through a GPT or anything. Taking those notes to get what you need from it. But it's that real time action that's happening while you're sitting there. And so if you go to check out viamrec. On their website you can record calls, any audios and meetings it's got. I'll say this Chris, I couldn't believe I was working out this morning. So everyone to try it to you know, gotta get the full experience here listening to the music. I mean I gotta be honest, there was a couple songs that sounded better than my AirPods so I was expecting, okay, it's got this voice recording and all that. All the good stuff for business. You know the sound quality is probably just going to be so. So no great sound quality. Seamless video and audio transcription we can record on site. Otherwise go check them out. Just do a search, we'll have them in the show notes vic.it will change the game for business. It's already doing it for me. Yes Chris. So in better in good news, NASA finally got these guys out of space. Nine months. It's supposed to be like a two day or one week thing. Imagine that Chris. You go up into space, you think it's going to be two days or a week and you get stuck for nine months.

[Ryan Alford]

Freak out man.

[Chris Hansen]

Lost in space.

[Ryan Alford]

That sounds like an absolute nightmare to me. And I'm sure they'll make a movie about it. I'm looking forward to it.

[Chris Hansen]

So we're gonna, we're gonna bomb Tesla cars and SpaceX, founded and owned or CEO of Elon Musk, he's rescuing astronauts from NASA because NASA can no longer, you know, put their own rockets together. They can hold it, I guess. And so now doing this commercial space exploration, but goes up there and saves them. Splash landing gets them back. But yeah, we're going to go bomb their cars. That makes sense. It's like. But still NASA astronauts Barry Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams returned to Earth after spending over nine months stranded in space. This is going to be a movie, right? Gotta be. Their planned one week mission in June of 2024 on Boeing's Starliner capsule turned into a prolonged stay due to spacecraft issues. SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the relief crew enabled their return landing in the Gulf of America. I'll tell Passy. It says Golf America. Have we officially changed the name?

[Ryan Alford]

I mean I had to do a double take when I saw that for a second too. Also like Tallahassee is not coastal at all.

[Chris Hansen]

Not the Gulf of Mexico anymore. I know I saw that happening. I didn't know if we ever officially moved to there. The Article. All right. No longer the Gulf of Mexico, it's the Gulf of America.

[Ryan Alford]

I mean, obviously, according to Fox Business, it's Gulf of America.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, exactly. I love it. I love it. Yes. Oh, I mean, this is the stuff that, with Trump, that just, you know, God love him. The SpaceX mission control in California to welcome them back. On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home. Hey, what a ride. The astronaut said, grinning ear to ear. SpaceX has now completed 10 operational human space flight missions under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The Dragon capsule went through orbit lowering, maneuvers, jettisoning its trunk, and re entering Earth's atmosphere for a smooth splashdown. I've always wanted to use that combination.

[Ryan Alford]

Of words that, that was very well written. Like they made it sound super suave.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. Orbit lowering. If you'd have told me at any time in my life, I would use orbit lowering and genticing. It's trunk, flash down all in this one sentence, I would not believe you.

[Ryan Alford]

Hey, we thought it was physically impossible 20 years ago, but here we are with reusable rockets.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes, exactly. But again, they're home safe and it's good news. Appreciate SpaceX for getting them back after that one week. I mean, nine months. I mean, yeah. Space exhibition. I mean, think about what they're, what's the first thing they want to eat? Like, because I don't tell me they, they've got the space food up there. They've had all the dry eggs, you know, they must have been at least getting them food, obviously. So they. One week in nine months, they were either rationing really good or, you know, I think they had to, I think they were sending them supplies. It's like, can we please get that steak sandwich? Like, how, you know, how long does it take to get there? Like, you know, I need a grilled steak or hamburger or something not that dried, you know, what is it? Eggs in a box?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, yeah. Dehydrated.

[Chris Hansen]

Dehydrated. It's so funny. My dad, Steve Alford, I love him, but he's got like these prep kids and my dad's not, he's kind of that guy, but not really that guy. He's got these just in case things go wrong. And I, I helped him move a couple weekends ago and we're moving and in his, his pod, moving the pod. I'm emptying this pod. He's got like 50 of these containers that are probably like 25 pounds each and like a foot, you know, two feet tall, one feet wide. I got some of those and I'm moving Them. And one of them is significantly lighter than the others. His buddy Bob, who's this. My dad's 73 is over there. They're both kind of like, sort of pretending to move. I'm actually doing all the moving. Look, I'm a young buck. I can do it. But the. They go. He goes, oh, yeah, that was probably pretty light. He's like, Bob and I got into that. We decided to cook dinner. Let's see what we would be in for if we ever needed to use it. We wanted to know. He said, it's pretty good. You got to take one home.

[Ryan Alford]

Eggs.

[Chris Hansen]

It was. Oh, no, I'm losing my YouTube button. The. It was everything that you would imagine dried up, like, in packets.

[Ryan Alford]

I have some of this.

[Chris Hansen]

It has, like, roast beef even. It said roast beef.

[Ryan Alford]

But I got those during hurricane season, so I got them in my closet here. So I've never.

[Chris Hansen]

You and my dad.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, brother. Hey. I'm 30 floors up. If the power goes out during a hurricane, I'm just gonna be up here with my little heating pot and some dehydrated eggs and. Yeah, oatmeal.

[Chris Hansen]

But I. I just gotta kick out, you know, thinking about those poor astronauts, what they're eating up there, and Dried stuff maybe. I'm sure it's come a long way. They're probably getting better things than we're even eating, but I just need some food. My dad, like, and my. His buddy deciding they're gonna have dried food one night. You know, they do drink tequila on Tuesday. They must have been a tequila Tuesday.

[Ryan Alford]

That's a total guy thing to do, you know. Hey, you want to go try that survival food?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. Yeah. Ferrari car buyers are getting younger. CEO says 40% of new clients are now under 40. You've been a Ferrari buyer yourself there, Chris.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

You were under 40.

[Ryan Alford]

I definitely was still 6.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes. 40% of Ferrari's new clients are under 40, up from 30% just 18 months ago. Their CEO credited the shift to the company's team efforts. The brand maintains exclusivity, with nearly 75% of sales going to existing customers. I mean, which sort of makes sense. You know, a lot of rich people that own them, buy another one, get in line.

[Ryan Alford]

They're very strict on it. You can't buy a brand new one unless you've owned one previously.

[Chris Hansen]

Yep. Ferrari maintains strict production, ensuring demand always exceeds supply. Enzo Ferrari's philosophy. We always deliver one less car than the market demands.

[Ryan Alford]

Smart.

[Chris Hansen]

I mean, it's smart. And I mean, I don't. I don't just didn't have their financials, but I assume they're making money. But I get it. Hey, that's the brand. It's luxury, but it's. You're always sort of capped some level. But you know what I mean? That's not a bad thing. It's like, you know, you're. If you're always profitable and you'd rather make steady income than chasing because you're then roads. Yeah. Quality goes down, you sacrifice.

[Ryan Alford]

Like Lamborghini's quality is crap now.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

If you disassemble a Lamborghini, it's Audi parts. Like, if you open the center console of like a Lamborghini truck, the Urus, it's got the Audi logos in it.

[Chris Hansen]

Yep. That's crazy.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. It's all the same, man. That's why I. They're one of the few that still kind of isn't, you know, mass produced.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. Do you think Ferrari's looked at as a better car?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, for sure. Like, in the car world, Ferrari is definitely above like Lamborghini. I mean, and price wise, I mean, you can get a Lamborghini much less expensive, for sure. And it's not as strict on the. I mean, Ferrari, literally, if I wanted to put a wrap on the car.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Corporate could literally have sent me a letter saying like, hey, you need to remove that or they'll blacklist you. Which happened to. It's happened to celebrities like Justin Bieber. They put like a pink color on it and Ferrari will literally blacklist them, which. So you have to have, you know, a string buyer going and get it. Guys like that obviously have people doing that for them. But yeah, they're very big on maintaining the brand integrity in the image.

[Chris Hansen]

Yep.

[Ryan Alford]

They don't want to look. I think, like, look at all the YouTube guys. It's all Lamborghinis and purple cars and stuff. And I think they're really not trying to get into that. That world.

[Chris Hansen]

Jason, are you a Ferrari or Lamborghini guy? You like Ferraris? We have a special guest in the studio today and Jason, we. We're not recording live, so you can. Are you. Do you like Ferraris? Yeah. I think you take one, right? If Chris wanted to buy you one. The. Yeah, I like your Ferrari. So.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. Good ride.

[Chris Hansen]

Time to like. I'll let you keep getting them. I'll live vicariously through years.

[Ryan Alford]

It's better to have friends with them than own one. Like a boat. Right.

[Chris Hansen]

Well, you come stay on my houseboat. I'll. You let me drive your Ferrari.

[Ryan Alford]

That's fair trade.

[Chris Hansen]

And, you know, I knew we'd get to Terrace at some point.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah, I can't avoid it because it's still there. The elephant in the room.

[Chris Hansen]

Splurge or save Americans struggle as tariffs hit economy. I think it's maybe the first part of that I agree with. I don't know if the terrorists have definitively hit the economy. I think the perception, the sentiment has hit rising uncertainty. Households are saving more and spending less amid concerns over tariffs and a possible economic shutdown. Retail sales declined last month, and companies like Walmart and Delta are reporting weakened demand. The Fed is set to hold interest rates steady, but the path forward is uncertain as terrorists could raise prices and slow growth. I mean, we talked about this last week, and I. It holds true for me. I think the administration needs to paint the picture of where we're headed with the tariff stuff. The tariff wars are not good for us. And I do. I don't. Look, we share articles and opinion on articles here. You know, we can't go fact check every single thing. I go. We go kind of by our own opinion and sentiment of what we feel in our circles. And I. I think that this feels accurate to what I see in sense, as far as the overall sentiment. That's why I think the interest rates got to go down. It's like, lower the rates. We got to get, you know, people refinance and get some more money, get the sentiment higher. And this is where I think the administration really needs to paint the picture of, okay, what next?

[Ryan Alford]

You know, yeah, we need a roadmap because we need cash. Moving cash is not moving. That's a problem for everybody.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. The people that have it are keeping it in savings, pushing it into gold or whatever.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

I mean.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

So, I mean, as it relates to this, Chris, what are we seeing on the crypto front?

[Ryan Alford]

Crypto still, I mean, it's fallen suit with everything else. It's down. It's sticking down. Even with the announcement of the strategic reserve, which then. Actually, I then saw the imf, you know, International Monetary Fund was essentially telling the administration they needed to get rid of that, to get rid of the strategic Bitcoin reserve. So that. Yeah, man. I mean, kind of like you said, the general sentiment is just very low right now. And. And that's. The market tells us that. But also in my circles of my. My big crypto buddies, everything is real quiet. And even I can say that on the job market front, you know, I have a lot of friends, actually, that are switching careers, changing careers. It's pretty quiet on that front too.

[Chris Hansen]

XRP's up 12% today, record on Wednesday.

[Ryan Alford]

So there you go.

[Chris Hansen]

But It's Bitcoin's up 3% today. Having a little pump today, but down. But I'm down 7 Honda on the month.

[Ryan Alford]

701.

[Chris Hansen]

No, 700. In this one account I got multiple accounts with crypto. This one account where I keep the XRP, it's down 700, which as a percentage is not really that much. It's like 3% or something.

[Ryan Alford]

No, I mean, honestly, I'm not even looking at my stuff because I just know the market's down. So I'm, I'm just.

[Chris Hansen]

I still want to buy. I think XRP is going to go to like $5.

[Ryan Alford]

Oh, I totally agree. Like, I think now is the time to. Definitely a time to buy. Yeah, if you got capital, I would put it in.

[Chris Hansen]

Exactly. I mean, where do you, where do you think we're headed with all the decentralization overall? You think we're, I mean, that it's a great question.

[Ryan Alford]

Would I want to go or are we going to go? I mean that's, that's really, let's be real. I mean that's what runs the world.

[Chris Hansen]

Money.

[Ryan Alford]

Right. The Federal Reserve and the control of money. So when you're introducing, you know, this decentralized cryptocurrency that doesn't appeal to the people that want to control. So I hope it continues and I hope people can. What we really need as a society is to adopt and educate people.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes.

[Ryan Alford]

You know, when you and me realize we can do a real estate transaction and not involve a bunch of banks and paperwork and all this stuff and everything's tracked on the blockchain. Right. It's like, it's actually much more transparency for everybody.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, yeah. Because the, the so called transparency that happens now only helps one person. Right. Or you know, one side, the banks or the realtors or you know, title company. I mean like the system. Right, right. It's not transparency for you and I.

[Ryan Alford]

It's put a bunch of hands in the middle of you and I doing a negotiating or barter if you want to really get down to it. Right. And, and just as far as ease of use, you know, it when it comes to sending money, especially international money, you know, you can do it in two minutes just. And obviously that's not something everyone deals with. But I know you with the business, even wiring money, paying vendors, stuff like that, you know, you don't have to wait three to five days for something to clear. Clear in three minutes.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes.

[Ryan Alford]

You don't need to worry about the bank and the wire fees and they're holding this and that. It's just which. I mean, we all pretty much are using digital money as it is right now, right? You're using Apple Pay and stuff. And that's where I think when people realize that sending crypto is as simple as using Apple Pay, that's where we get some real movement.

[Chris Hansen]

And look, this is what they fall on. And there's probably some truth. When it's as easy and is sort of unregulated to a degree, the concern is, you know, fraud or hey, if, if your grandmother could transfer something in two seconds without the checks and balances and no recourse, is that the right thing? I think that's where the, that's where the sort of old guard stands.

[Ryan Alford]

However I got scammed two years ago, the bank didn't refund me.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

You know, like they don't. Even if you have your cash in there, they'll. They'll insure it up to 250k, right?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

So it's like even that when they talk about, oh, money laundering, that's what they usually go to with crypto, right? The cartels and money laundering. And it's like, you are the cartels. Like you're not doing me any favors.

[Chris Hansen]

Exactly.

[Ryan Alford]

The bank helped me out. You know what I mean? Like, so that whole argument when people start defending the banks, it's like people defending their insurance companies. Like.

[Chris Hansen]

That's right.

[Ryan Alford]

They just make money off you. They're not fulfilling their part of the agreement for the most part.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, I'm posting a lot about that. I'm actually getting back on the old X. I. It's hard not to say Twitter, Chris. I don't even know, but digital innovation for America and partnering with them, the voice for Americans who seek to harness the promise of blockchain and digital assets for a more empowered future. I do embry posting a lot of their articles. Go check them out. It's interesting. It's. It's education and I mean, that's at the end of the day, Chris, you know, we. Chris and I do a couple shows together. We do this and vibe science. We're trying to educate. We've got opinions you can like, love, hate, dismiss our opinion. But we're trying to educate and bring all sides here. You know, we take the BS out of business and like, we call it, like we see it and regulation and having a. Someone's hand and supposed protection on Every transaction you do and every app, it's just. It's about as un American as it gets. The irony.

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah. At what point do we do we take responsibility as individuals, you know?

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Alford]

Because when it comes down, they're not protecting you.

[Chris Hansen]

No, they're not protecting you.

[Ryan Alford]

They want your money.

[Chris Hansen]

Digital innovation for America. Check them out. DEFA D I F A USA on. On X But interesting articles, a lot of insight. I mean, I. I've kind of. You and I've been in this camp and we talk about crypto and we do this, but I don't. I want to make sure we're doing a good job explaining why we talk about it and why we think there's power in it. And yeah, it's about the speculation of stock, slash, you know, crypto coins and memes and all that sort of stuff. But at the end of the day, it's really about counter currency and other ways to get people out of these transactions. And the time and the money involved, that's the. That's just got me fired up. I just. Because I do transfer. Like if something I've got to pay somebody and it's just anything remotely like where they're trying not to get. Deal with a bank or something, it's just a pain in the rear, you know?

[Ryan Alford]

Yeah.

[Chris Hansen]

Anyway, I think that's all we've got today, Chris, other than, you know, our. Our normal. My good friends at Panini, they're gonna start sending me some cards because, I mean, the sports cards business, that's where. Hey. The index on sports cards trading, Jason, you wouldn't believe how popular they are. And our audience is getting to learn firsthand. I should have brought my March Madness cards, but I didn't. All I've got today is the football cards. So gonna be opening our football card pack here. Hey, this is that hanger box. So here's. Here's some good insight, guys. I opened one of these boxes on the show. I think it was the first one that I actually opened. And it was that pack that I was like, dude, there's like 300 cards in here. I sold the most valuable card that was in the box for 150 bucks on eBay this week. So that's real money. So real money, Chris. 150 from a card on this show. That's. I mean, you can get down with that, right?

[Ryan Alford]

You splitting profits with your boys, maybe? Or you're like, oh, daddy, you find. You find it. Here's your little commission. Daddy keeps the split.

[Chris Hansen]

Yeah. And then we're doing. I'm paying them by the hour while they're training, learning. That's why you got to go. Hey, look, we got to pay for the college fund here, so go check it [e-mail] breaking. Rad. You like that play on words, Chris, don't you?

[Ryan Alford]

You're good at that.

[Chris Hansen]

I'm a good words. Here we go. Holding it down. This is the hanger box from prism football. It's a big retail. It's one of the most popular retail packages and cards. You got the pink prisms and whatever. You can see the color coming outside. Chris already feeling the excitement. Up, up. Okay, these are what. These are your base cards. Old Debo, who just got traded. Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Eric Dickerson. Hey. Travis etn. Clemson player. My boys love him. Always pull out the Clemson guys. Justin Jefferson, one best. Andy Reid. Okay, this would be the. There's always these cards that you think are one thing and they're not. You're hoping for a Brock Bowers who plays for the. The Raiders. This is the other receiver. Rookie. That's not Brock Bowers. This would be what they call a full. Like, you think that's what you are because you're. You're sliding it. You see the rookie card and you see the Raiders. You're thinking it's Brock Bowers, and it's not. But we still. We don't hate you, Dylan. These are those special pink cards. Anthony Richardson. He needs to get it together. Leslie Welker, Ray Davis. Good running back play to Kentucky. Marshawn Lloyd. Hey. Marvin Harrison Jr. That's a way. That's a good card there. One of the best receivers to come out of the draft. Another rookie card. There you have it, Chris. You know, lots of excitement. You'd be watching the YouTube channel to see the players that we're getting from our prism. NFL. Don't. That's. That's the best card in the back. See, look at. Look at the hollow. Look at the foil. You know, like the shiny. Oh, yes. All right. Might have to send these home with Jason today as another part of his birthday gift. We'll see. All right. Oh, Chris, Any final words, my friend?

[Ryan Alford]

Everyone, as always, have a great weekend. Enjoy springtime. Get some sun, drink water.

[Chris Hansen]

Yes. Get your brackets. Enjoy it. Add to that unproductive hydrate between your beers. Yeah, exactly. All those things. We appreciate everyone for listening. Check us out ryanisright.com find all the highlight clips, the full episodes, link to our sponsors, and where to find us on social media. Chris Burby Hansen on Instagram. I'm Ryan Alford. We'll see you next time on right about now.

[Ryan Alford]

This has been Right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast network production. Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video.

[Chris Hansen]

Versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.