Crypto jumps back up, Americans are more illiterate and who is the world's richest man?

Summary

Summary of "Crypto Jumps Back Up, Americans Are More Illiterate and Who Is the World's Richest Man?"

Podcast: Right About Now with Ryan Alford
Episode: Crypto Jumps Back Up, Americans Are More Illiterate and Who Is the World's Richest Man?
Release Date: December 13, 2024
Host: Ryan Alford
Production: The Radcast Network

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Introduction

In this episode of Right About Now with Ryan Alford, hosts Matt Reynolds and Brianna delve into a spectrum of pressing topics spanning the volatile cryptocurrency market, significant developments in the grocery industry, the soaring net worth of Elon Musk, alarming trends in American literacy, and a tragic incident involving the United Healthcare CEO. The conversation is marked by a blend of insightful analysis, personal anecdotes, and a touch of humor, adhering to the show's reputation for making listeners both think and smile.

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Cryptocurrency Market Surge

Discussion Highlights: Matt Reynolds shares his recent foray into cryptocurrency investment, highlighting a substantial increase in the market's performance. Despite a temporary dip of 20% earlier in the week, the market rebounded impressively by the episode's recording day, showing an overall gain of approximately 6%. Matt attributes his success to strategic investments in XRP (Ripple), which he anticipates will multiply in value next year.

Notable Quotes:

• [02:10] Matt Reynolds: "I have almost doubled my investment, putting in about $3,500 and reaching around $5,800 today."
• [08:02] Brianna: "Pretty good."
• [09:49] Matt Reynolds: "There's so much money now in crypto by the bigger banks and institutions that I'm like, okay, if these guys are in it, I need to be."

Insights: The hosts discuss the dynamics of the crypto market, including the impact of large investors manipulating market dips to favor their investments. They emphasize the importance of conducting thorough research and investing only what one can afford to lose. Matt also touches on the challenges of password management in the crypto space, highlighting the need for better security solutions.

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Blocked Merger Between Albertsons and Kroger

Discussion Highlights: Matt and Brianna examine the recent legal setback in the grocery industry, where a federal judge in Oregon blocked the proposed $224.6 billion merger between Albertsons and Kroger. The judge cited concerns over reduced competition and potential monopolization of the grocery market, which could negatively impact consumers.

Notable Quotes:

• [12:08] Brianna: "A federal district court judge in Oregon blocked the deal, saying it would monopolize the grocery industry and reduce competition."
• [14:29] Matt Reynolds: "If it will lower grocery costs, depending on which side it is, I'll support that."

Insights: The conversation explores the implications of such large-scale mergers on local markets and consumer prices. Brianna suggests that while the merger might make sense from a survival standpoint against giants like Walmart and Amazon, it raises valid concerns about market competition and consumer choice. Matt reflects on the complexity of competition laws and the potential benefits or drawbacks for grocery prices.

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Elon Musk Becomes the World's Richest Man

Discussion Highlights: Elon Musk has surpassed the $400 billion net worth milestone, primarily driven by the valuation of his privately held company, SpaceX. The hosts discuss the factors contributing to this astronomical wealth, including SpaceX's advancements in space technology and its critical contracts with the government and NASA.

Notable Quotes:

• [19:35] Brianna: "Elon Musk has surpassed the $400 billion net worth mark, mostly due to SpaceX."
• [20:35] Matt Reynolds: "SpaceX is the most valuable private startup in the world."

Insights: Matt expresses skepticism about the sheer valuation of SpaceX, questioning the tangible revenue streams and the true economic value behind such a high net worth. The discussion touches on the importance of satellite technology, national security implications, and the high costs associated with space ventures. They also briefly mention the mysterious sightings of drones in New Jersey, debating the legality and security concerns surrounding unmanned aerial vehicles.

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Rising Illiteracy Rates in the United States

Discussion Highlights: Brianna brings attention to a concerning report from NBC News indicating that 28% of U.S. adults are performing at the lowest measured literacy levels, a 19% increase since 2017. This rise in illiteracy affects essential daily tasks like reading instructions, filling out forms, and managing simple calculations.

Notable Quotes:

• [29:34] Brianna: "28% of U.S. adults now perform at the lowest measured literacy levels, up 19% since 2017."
• [30:12] Brianna: "Immigration might be a factor, as English may be a second language for many individuals struggling with these tests."

Insights: The hosts discuss potential causes for the decline in literacy, including the increased reliance on digital media and changes in educational approaches. Brianna speculates that immigration and the prevalence of English as a second language could contribute to the statistics. Both agree on the necessity for educational reform to better align teaching methods with the evolving technological landscape, ensuring that future generations are equipped with essential skills.

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Shooting of the United Healthcare CEO

Discussion Highlights: One of the episode’s most somber topics is the recent shooting and killing of the United Healthcare CEO, Luigi Thompson. Matt and Brianna offer their condolences and condemn the act, highlighting its impact on the business community and broader societal implications.

Notable Quotes:

• [34:04] Matt Reynolds: "Taking another person's life and not honoring that in some way is just despicable behavior and unacceptable."
• [36:00] Brianna: "Condolences to his wife and his family. It's reprehensible what happened."

Insights: The hosts discuss the societal and cultural ramifications of such violent acts against business leaders, emphasizing the need for swift and just resolution. They condemn the inappropriate comments made by some individuals in response to the tragedy, underlining the importance of respecting the sanctity of human life irrespective of one's stance on corporate policies or practices.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Matt Reynolds and Brianna navigate through a whirlwind of topics, from the volatile yet potentially lucrative world of cryptocurrency to significant shifts in the grocery industry landscape. They shed light on Elon Musk's monumental net worth, express concern over alarming literacy rates, and address the tragic loss of a prominent business leader. Throughout the discussion, the hosts blend personal experiences with insightful analysis, offering listeners a comprehensive and engaging exploration of current events impacting the business world and society at large.

Remember: For more detailed discussions and updates, visit www.ryanisright.com or follow Right About Now on Instagram at @rightaboutnowshow and @ryanalford.

Transcript

[Matt Reynolds]

Struggling to grow or start your business or drowning in an ocean of urgency. You're not alone. I'm Matt Reynolds and my brother Chris and I have been in the trenches of entrepreneurship for nearly 40 years combined.

[Ryan Alford]

We've built successful companies from the ground up.

[Matt Reynolds]

We're sharing our hard earning lessons and practical strategies on the build you'd business podcast. And I'm excited to say that the build your business podcast is the newest addition to the Radcast network. Learn more at Turnkey Coach Build or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

[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 next and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now.

[Matt Reynolds]

What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now. It's Friday the 13th. Friday, December 13th, 2024. Jason may not be here, but Brianna is. What's up, Brianna? You're much lovelier than and you look lovely there in your studio at home. Then Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, by the way.

[Brianna]

Yeah, hopefully. I hope so. Although I am a little tired. So maybe I'm putting on the Jason.

[Matt Reynolds]

That's what kids do to you, you know, they send you home, you got to pick them up early. Oh, God. I remember the days that still happens. May year old has it every now and then. He's bad.

[Brianna]

Yeah.

[Matt Reynolds]

Oh, he's a. He's the worst kind of sick. He's like me, like men, you know, like one little stuffing. Oh, I'm not feeling good, dad.

[Brianna]

He's a big baby.

[Matt Reynolds]

Suck it up. Suck it up. Then I'm the same way. If I don't get knock on wood. Shouldn't say that. I'm not gonna say that out loud, but when I am sick, which is not that often, it I'm definitely a big baby. I think men are worse.

[Brianna]

Yep. Yeah, I never have time to be sick, so.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, exactly.

[Brianna]

Try not to be.

[Matt Reynolds]

So we hope everyone is doing well. Wherever, whenever, however. You're listening here on right about now, we've got your weekly business news of the week and all kinds of good stuff. I'm going to start with the good news. So I've gotten into the crypto thing and let me just say this, this is not financial advice. Please go to your financial advisor for risk counsel, risk tolerance. And you know how much you can afford to lose. So that's not for Me to determine. I just want you to have a little fun with me testing the market. Brianna had something to say there. I'm not sure what.

[Brianna]

No, just laughing. I thought it was funny that you said like how much you're willing to lose.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, well you never know or when how it's all about hey, you cannot make any shots you don't take. So there you have it. I have been putting in a couple thousand dollars every week or two just taking from other investments, doing it and like taking, you know, moving over to the crypto now that we have a crypto friendly president coming into office. And I am not the expert. Chris who is on Escapade in Houston is the more of the quote expert in house. But you know you can learn a lot. So I'm on the Kraken app. The names of this stuff like doesn't help with some of their legitimate sometimes like I'm on that Kraken, it starts with a K. So I'll give them some free support. Maybe they should be a sponsor. Should be a good. That'd be a good one for Natalie to reach out to get the cracking. Get the cracking in here. Anyway I'm on there. Very easy to buy and sell. They make it super easy to take your money, let me tell you. So one click away, your bank account, you know, whatever you got your wallet going on. And again, much better than college football lately. So I, you know, I quit quit and bidding on college football probably 10 years ago. So this is not a recent thing. But I will say it's riding the wave and it's been an interesting week with crypto because I'm riding it. You know, I bought, I probably have like 20 coins that I'm in now or, or different crypto, whatever. There's, there's a lot of terminology again here. So I've been buying them xrp. That's what you need to get on. Let me go and tell you that that's the one. That one I bought for like 40 cents. It's up to like 250. So that's helping the old cause a lot. While some of these other coins are dragging a little bit, I'm smacking them across the room going get your together the old XRP up. But here's the thing. Monday and Tuesday, this is what happens with crypto. For no real at least no reason that I understand, we took an old dip like 20% like off the top. And they say they do that because the big investors like start they sell something, they kind of create this Swirl. And people like the smaller buyers, like the people that have, you know, 345, you, couple few hundred dollars, but there's a lot of them, so it's a lot of money. They get nervous. They sell out of everything as soon as they see it start dropping. So they say they do that on purpose because then the big investors swoop in on the dip. Buy the dip. Chris has said that a lot. And so I just watched it. I didn't buy or sell. Just watched it because I know there's too many positives in this space happening that I knew the dip was temporary. Oh, we're back, baby. We're back hard here. Today on the record day.

[Brianna]

I just finished reading a book all about, like, financial investing. And yeah, it's very interesting, like how anything that can happen, like probably like when big stuff in the news happens, things dip down or they jump, they skyrocket.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yep. And so the entire market was down. I mean, a lot of the ones I had were down 10 to 20% money. And Tuesday, I'm just going, all right, whatever, again, I have in here what I can afford to lose. I don't want to lose it. I don't like to lose. But I'm not, like, I'm not, you know, jeopardizing my, my, my kids future here on, on the old Kraken. But I will say this. So the entire market here today, we recorded on a Wednesday. So it is Friday the 13th for you when you're listening, hopefully, because you do listen on record day. We know our release day. We know it. Our loyal ones do. The entire market is up 6% today. And let's just say I got 19%, up 20%, up 10%, 12%. Like, I'm averaging like a 10.2% up on every one of the ones that I own just today alone. And I'm just going to tell you that XRP is the one you want to get on. It's $2.43. It's expected to like, double or triple here, like next year. So we're all in on that one. XRP ripple. And don't ask, don't be sitting there. Somebody's listening and judging. Already they're going, this guy's not a crypto expert. I am not a Crispo expert. I'm just telling you, if I was betting on certain coins. And I do like to read a lot. I research everything. My wife, whenever we're going on vacations, I do all the reviews. I read every one of them. There'll be 4,322 reviews on TripAdvisor. I read 4,100 of them. And so knowledge absorption I am good at. So I've been reading a lot, absorbing a lot, trying to learn a lot, because I like to make a lot. And so far, so good. We're up to about six grand. I put in about 3,500 and we're right about 5,800 today. That's over about a month. So I've almost doubled.

[Brianna]

Pretty good.

[Matt Reynolds]

You know, that's not, hey, not typical. These results are not typical. But when you're the crypto heavy guy like me, you know, you get lucky. No idea. I'm just, I sometimes choose the names because I like the name of it. It's a brand marketing guy. I'm like, that's pretty good branding decision.

[Brianna]

Oh my gosh. You're just picking crypto because you're like, oh, that was.

[Matt Reynolds]

Chris will tell me a few. But then I picked the one of the three that he gives me based on if I like the name. Yeah, you know, then I'll go read some of the data. And hey, here's the trick. Don't go to the first page of the search results on something good like page five. Because the first page I here's my strategy is the first page has been, let's just call it bought, which means they may not be give. They might be giving you certain tips because they want you to take it as the sort of amateur hour investor. So I go to page 5 of the search results and see what they say about certain coins. Hey, just an odd tactic. Don't know, but so far so good. Up like 80%. So suck it.

[Brianna]

Crypto is so interesting to me because, like, there's a whole demographic of people that like won't accept it as real currency.

[Matt Reynolds]

I don't know if I accept it or not. I just accept that people smarter than me are standing behind it and holding it up to be a good investment. And there's. There's so much money now in it by the bigger, like bank and like institutions that I'm like, okay, if these guys could be in it, I can, you know, I need to be in this. It's not gonna go to zero.

[Brianna]

Yeah.

[Matt Reynolds]

And again, gotta only bet or, or invest, whatever you want to call it. Gamble, invest, whatever makes you feel warm and fuzzy. What you can afford to lose.

[Brianna]

Yep. 100.

[Matt Reynolds]

When are you getting in? Brianna, you gotta get in on this game.

[Brianna]

Guys, I have gotten my account on Coinbase, which was one that Chris recommended all the way to, like, the point where you have to like, log into your bank account. But I don't know if I should say this on the podcast. I just don't know my passwords to anything. So I'm like, well, I can't log in because I don't know my password. It's just auto saved.

[Matt Reynolds]

Mason on our team and I had this discussion. Discussion yesterday. We were doing something. The amount of time that I spend, like, looking up passwords and like, dealing with, like, password management and yeah, I know there's apps for that now, but they don't all solve all the issues. It's like, it's a pain in the ass. And this two factor stuff, I get it, it's security, it's protecting us. I don't want all my shit taken. But like, damn, how could, in 2024, how can we solve the password stuff? Can we use retina? Like something that's only identified by us? You know, I'd probably give a blood sample to like, like in the morning. Like a finger prick. Most people are babies about that. I don't care about that. Give me that finger prick. If I could, if that would give me clear unlimited passwords for the week, I'll prick the finger.

[Brianna]

Oh, my gosh. I would not. I would not. And also, I need all of your passwords too, so I can't be pricking your finger every time I need you to sign into something.

[Matt Reynolds]

Oh, damn it. All right. Figure that out.

[Brianna]

But yeah, no, I mean, that's honestly my only hang up. And it's just like, I just need to sit down for 10 minutes and do it. But, you know, I have other things going on.

[Matt Reynolds]

You got to do it. Like when you wake up in the night, you need to, like, you know, and you can't go back to sleep. At least you do something productive. You want to get in on.

[Brianna]

Exactly.

[Matt Reynolds]

Get in on that money.

[Brianna]

Well, what I've been working on every time I wake up and pick up my phone is I have a client right now that I'm like, honed in on. Growing their social media. So every time I log into anything, I'm just like, trying to grow their social media.

[Matt Reynolds]

We'll allow that. We'll allow that. Keeps the bills paid. What's happening in the news?

[Brianna]

So a few different things. Looks like the big grocery store companies are suing each other. Albertsons and Kroger, they were going to do a merger. And it sounds like, according to this article from npr, on Tuesday, a federal district court court judge in Oregon blocked the $224.6 billion deal just basically saying it would monopolize the grocery industry and reduce competition, which would harm shoppers. As soon as. So that was on Tuesday. As soon as that merger was blocked by the judge, Albertsons abandoned the merger and filed a lawsuit against Kroger.

[Matt Reynolds]

So interesting. You know, we don't even really have Kroger's or Everson's around here. Like Kroger's in other parts of South Carolina, Albertsons might be, but I don't think so. So this, like, I'm speaking, like, from pure, like local, like impact very little. I do understand those are two of the largest chains. I. You know who. What's your reaction to this? Like, do you think they should block it?

[Brianna]

I mean, we had an Albertsons where I lived in California, and it was fine. It says Albertsons owns Safeway and Vons. Kroger owns Ralph's, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer and King Shopper. So you might recognize some of those names. So I think that's where it's more impactful.

[Matt Reynolds]

That's right. Kroger does own a bunch of the other names. That's right. I've heard about that.

[Brianna]

I don't know.

[Matt Reynolds]

Albertson's messing up. My hair is teeter. Now I know jam. So. All right. This does impact me. Damn it. Well, I don't know. I. The whole competition argument is a hard one to wrap your head around. And I do think choice is a good thing. I would need to see the list of like, all grocery stores across the country, all the brand names that fall under each one of these. If there's. Obviously Kroger has multiple. And think about what that would mean. Yeah, well, I don't really like. I just don't like the government getting involved in business in the most. For the most part. So.

[Brianna]

And here's what their. Their argument for the merger was that they could own only together, only as a merged conglomerate, Kroger and Albertsons, only then would they be able to survive competing against Walmart, Costco, Amazon and all of those.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, and that's. That's a good point. That's. I mean, Amazon and Walmart between dot com and brick and mortar for Walmart is they have such scale. So to say that this, you know, puts them at some competitive advantage over them is hard to believe. I mean, who has more scale than Amazon or Walmart? So, yeah, I don't think it. This is where I'd have to get into the data a little bit more. And. But now that they're like throwing mud at each other so fast. It's like that. I don't know that most people have a lot of tolerance for it. And it's like, it just seems so petty. Like.

[Brianna]

Well, it is interesting here at the end of this article, it says the FTC's case prevailed in U.S. district Court, delivering a big win to. To the outgoing Biden administration who made tougher scrutiny of mergers a central plank of their administration.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, let's see. I would be curious what, like, Trump's position on this is. Something tells me he wouldn't have fought it being more pro business and probably more thoughtful of that, that Walmart, Amazon, everything else reality. So we'll see where it goes. I think we can all agree that groceries cost too much for the most part. So anything that can get it cheaper, if I. Here's how I would. Pragmatically, I am for this or against this. If it will lower grocery costs, depending you tell me which side it is, I'll support that. Because, hey, we can't do what the independent center is trying to do. And that's further the American dream if our grocery costs keep going up. We talk about the American dream a lot and all I know, and I consider we're more well off than most Americans, but we feel it. I mean, it's expensive. I bought, I go to the grocery store. I feel like I walk in and it's like I got a 75 pill, like, just to grab the shopping cart.

[Brianna]

Oh, yeah, I went out of there.

[Matt Reynolds]

I have four things in the cart and it's like 43.79. What?

[Brianna]

Yeah, I went into the grocery store last week and the brand of mayonnaise that I like to buy is almost $9 for a container. And so I sat there and I was like, hey, I have a coupon for this. Let me find it. And I was like, oh my gosh. Like, this is crazy. Like, I'm having to like, coupon, get my groceries cheaper. And I feel like we are definitely living the American dream. And even then, it's like, it's still tight.

[Matt Reynolds]

I ain't too proud to use a coupon especially. I'm not pulling out a 50 cent coupon, but I've seen like 4 or 3 $4 off. I'll put that in my. Yeah, you know, here's what will happen. I'm not too proud to use it, but I fucking forget it. Every time I go, dang it, I walk out of the store or get home, like, and I dig in my pocket or whatever. I Did with it. That's how they get you, you know, if not the habit of, like, I don't have the cute man. Remember that woman? They'd be in line in the shopping store, they bring out the wallet, you know, like that.

[Brianna]

Full of coupons.

[Matt Reynolds]

Full of coupons.

[Brianna]

Like a book.

[Matt Reynolds]

And you know, I was probably. I haven't seen that in a long time, but I would probably. I didn't make fun of that. I was more annoyed because like I said, oh, God, we gotta wait on her to use her coupons. That wasn't. I didn't. It was not judging. It was more just like I'm. We all want to get through the line as fast as possible.

[Brianna]

Yeah, it's gonna be me.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah. I think adds up, though. It adds up. And so whatever brings grocery store costs down lower, I will vote for that side of it. We'll just keep it that simple.

[Brianna]

Yep. The American dream feels increasingly more complex in 2024.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah. Hopefully it gets easier in 2025. We'll see if it will. If Independent center has anything to do with it. Go check out our partner, independentcenter.org Again, it's not about the right, it's not about the left. It's not like blue, it's not about red. All that. None of that matters. Here's what matters. All that matters is that policy impacts your pocketbook in a positive way. And they're helping bring studies, surveys, voter data that kind of remove all the party bullshit and bring it to the people, which is what we need. Go to independentcerta.org sign up for that newsletter. You'll be thankful that you did. And let's get the politics out of the way. Let's get the policies at the forefront. What's next?

[Brianna]

Elon Musk, who we talked about, I think last week on weekly business news, that we were talking about him not getting this paycheck and then now we're talking about this week. He has surpassed the $400 billion net worth mark.

[Matt Reynolds]

Wow.

[Brianna]

Yeah. So this is mostly due to SpaceX. You know, it says Wall. This is an article from NBC News. And the value in Tesla has gone up. It's Musk's privately held stake in SpaceX that has catapulted his wealth beyond this threshold of 400 billion. It says that SpaceX is the most valuable private startup in the world.

[Matt Reynolds]

Geez. I mean, in one way I'm like, why is it worth so much? And another way I get it, because space is sort of the next frontier and where a lot of money Spent and a lot of like security with like us.

[Brianna]

I don't get it.

[Matt Reynolds]

I mean, I think it. But I think it's back to the. A lot of the technology, the propulsion, rocket propulsion, all that stuff. I think the, I don't know, patents and everything that goes into whatever it takes and the fact that, I don't know, maybe we are going to colonize somewhere one day and it's hard to know the economics though of why it's so valuable. Like what. Where is their revenue made? That's. That's past my pay grade. I know. I think it's contracts with the government and the fact that the government and NASA are pretty much relying on Space X now in a lot of ways. And you got to also remember being one trip up babies like 10 million. You know, it's. It costs a lot of money to bring all that together. And yes. All the fuel, everything else you. That gets. I mean, you talk about up and smoke, like jokingly, but like, is there anything more up in smoke than a rocket ship taking off? It's just like when it's all the money that's spent making that happen. And. But all. But. But what we don't realize is all the satellites, all the stuff that keeps us secure, there's a lot of stuff that happens in space with that. We're probably a little. Myself certainly included ignorant too.

[Brianna]

Yeah.

[Matt Reynolds]

Keep us protected and control some of our military stuff. So I can't totally get my head around what makes it worth 300 billion or whatever.

[Brianna]

But it's crazy. It's hard for me to even like imagine what like people way smarter than me have figured out, like how to put satellites up there and like control all sorts of things.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah. They might be the one sending all these crazy drones everywhere. That's. That stuff's crazy. Like I understanding how what the most developed country in the world has things flying around that we don't know who and what it is. I. Yeah, come on now. Like, we got all this technology. You can't. And we can't shoot those. I mean, I know it's illegal. Like shoot a drone down. I think obviously. No, I think it is airspace. You can't. You're not like, for me or you to shoot a drone down, I think is illegal, but the government can shoot one of those things. Like get out there and shoot it down and take it apart and figure out where it came from.

[Brianna]

So the drones. So numerous sightings of drones have been reported hovering all over New Jersey. Is that what you're referencing?

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Brianna]

Okay. So local and federal law enforcement have worked together to find some answers, but it's still, like, kind of a mystery. I hadn't heard of this.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, it's crazy. And they're all over it, but it's. They and I read an article, like, right before we came in. I debated bringing it up, but we kind of were talking about spaceships and satellites and all that stuff. So it read. They assume now that it's adversarial. I'm like, great.

[Brianna]

This is the same thing that happened with that balloon, remember?

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah. Around. It's like we never got all the answers on that balloon either, other than it was China and shot down and somehow it was drifting over here. A weather balloon.

[Brianna]

Shooting. Shooting down a drone is illegal.

[Matt Reynolds]

See, I told you. Yeah, because you know why? You know why I know? I got my shotgun out to shoot one out. That was over our house a couple weeks. Like, a couple weeks ago. It was because we had a huge parade here in Greenville, and there was one that was just hovering over our house because we're right downtown. And it was bothering me, being right in my sort of airspace over my house. And I went out there, I was going to shoot it, and my wife quickly corrected me and said, you know, it's illegal to shoot a drone now. I'm like, you're. You're kidding, right?

[Brianna]

It's kind of crazy that that's illegal, especially on your own property, because they can. They have cameras on them.

[Matt Reynolds]

So they. But I guess, I mean, I don't. In the air, so that would be. Has to be the argument. But I'm like, well, what keeps some weirdos from just flying your drones right up in your shit, you know, like.

[Brianna]

Or what if you have, like, a property out somewhere?

[Matt Reynolds]

And if I had a property out somewhere, let's just say my wife wouldn't stop me if I didn't live in downtown Greenville. Let's just say that drone would have seen about a thousand pieces. I would have been like, kids, you got a gift for Christmas. It's called a jigsaw puzzle. It's 1500 pieces. Oh, look, it's a DJI drone. He's got to put it back together. Yeah, that's like flying at the top of my house, like, sitting like 30ft up. And I'm like, I don't. I knew he wasn't, like, could care less about anything we were doing. And we were doing nothing but sitting inside watching tv. But I heard it. And then.

[Brianna]

But still, what if you were, like, walking around your house naked I might.

[Matt Reynolds]

Have been, but, you know, I gave him a little show. I was not going out.

[Brianna]

Oh, God.

[Matt Reynolds]

Okay. Sort of, but no.

[Brianna]

No one needs that visual.

[Matt Reynolds]

I know. Shotgun Shouldn't. Hey, this down like 25 pounds around here. I got a one pack. Come on now.

[Brianna]

Oh, gosh.

[Matt Reynolds]

The. But. Yeah, that drone stuff in New Jersey, they just blow your mind that. That we don't know what that is or who's causing it.

[Brianna]

A little weird. Yeah. And that the FBI is saying like, hey, if you have any information, please report it to us.

[Matt Reynolds]

You're the FBI. You're supposed to know, like, come on, man, let's get flying around. Oh, me. But luckily, Elon, back to the whole article was worth 400 billion. Congratulations. I was worrying about where his next billion was going to come from, and good for him, man. It's a lot of fucking money.

[Brianna]

I mean, what do you can do with 400? I was telling Sawyer before we launched I would take one of those.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, one bill. One bill. You'd be all right. Yeah, right. 100 million, was it. Nobody. A thousand million is what it wouldn't even notice. Yeah, he wouldn't even notice. You know, a million here, a million there. A lot of money.

[Brianna]

That's why.

[Matt Reynolds]

That's how much money there is to be made. You know, like, that's why this cracking app is going to do it. You know, we're going to a billion, baby.

[Brianna]

It's that or I mean, for all of our listeners out there, there's so many different ways to make a million dollars and to launch, you know, businesses or drive your business forward or forex your business. 20, 25.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yes.

[Brianna]

And we know a marketing agency that can help with that.

[Matt Reynolds]

Oh, yes, we do. Radical company. But you know what? Do you know how we're able to do it? Because we stay energized. You know how we stay energized? Exponents. The spot. Yes, exponent. Hey, this isn't energy. This is fusion energy. You notice we're talking rocket ships, we're talking nuclear power, and we're talking fusion energy. Zero sugar plant, powered adaptogens, nootropics, electrolytes. All the stuff you want, none of the stuff you don't. X marks the spot. Exponent. This is the sector C. They got all the coolest names. Sector C. Here we got Eclipse. Everyone's favorites. The blue ones at the office, like blue raspberry or something. This is lemon, lime and orange. We tried those new flavors on air. I'm ready for the Sargon. I were talking the Other day for those new flavors to come out, strawberry, lemon stuff, whatever, all kinds of new stuff, they can't be giving away trade secrets. But all kinds of flavors coming out. And again, the best part is, and I've been bad about this, so you know, I drink a lot of energy drinks. I just don't like coffee really. And so gotta get that pep. But you need it to be healthy. Don't need all the bad stuff. Gotta stop. I gotta wake up and read the labels. My good friend Jet Smiley tells me that, you know, you gotta do that. So you read the labels and you go toExplonent Drink exponent.com as well as on Instagram, go give them some love. And look, I only promote the products that I like and that I actually use. And there's no bigger user of energy drinks than this guy. So where do you think all this energy comes from?

[Brianna]

Oh, I want one of those right now. I had a ice cold orange one yesterday afternoon and it just really helped me get.

[Matt Reynolds]

Is there some vodka in it? I'm just kidding.

[Brianna]

No, I was at work.

[Matt Reynolds]

Was there some vodka in it? What's your point? Yes, well, what's the final article?

[Brianna]

Today, a growing number of US adults are lacking literacy skills. Kind of a scary one coming to us from NBC News says according to a study of adults by the national center For education statistics, 28% of U.S. adults now perform at the lowest measured literacy levels, up 19% in 2017. Let's see. Means we're using the. Our phones too much.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, I, I think that's what it is. Right. Or it's the YouTube Nation. Right. You're watching everything. You're not reading anything.

[Brianna]

And so, you know, if you're watching YouTube, that's fine. Just make sure you're watching The RadCast Network YouTube channel.

[Matt Reynolds]

That's right. You got to look that up. You got to see all the shows on our network and. But I will say my wife would probably. Her school like ranks like one of the top 10 or 20 in the whole state. So she would call that out while also going. This doesn't surprise her. I'm sure with just it. It's sad though. Yeah. Like what? Why is it. It makes you want to know the one, the underlying reasons for this. Is it because of some variable.

[Brianna]

You know what I, you know what I would consider and I don't have all of the research on this, but how much of this is because of immigration? So maybe they are not illiterate. Maybe they just. English is their second language. And so maybe that could be part of it. Scoring low on these tests because it says that those at the lowest levels struggle with tasks like reading instructions, filling out forms, or managing simple calculations. So I'd be curious to see if there's any data on that.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah. Let's add whether. When asked about potential causes for the decline, Carr stated that it's difficult to say. So further, pun intended, he didn't have the answer. He couldn't read it out loud. Oh, sorry.

[Brianna]

That's the worst quote.

[Matt Reynolds]

I know. It's like, I read that double take. Like, even I said it out loud, I was like, is this a joke? Did he say pun intended after it? Like, what's the reason for the decline? You'll read about it later. I couldn't really. I couldn't read the report. Oh, geez, who knows? So the I do think unrelated, related reform in exactly how and what we learn that better match the world we live in today is something I could get behind. I have had this discussion with my wife and it's not because I feel like what she does and what teachers and administrators are doing every day is not highly important. I just think there could be a better alignment to what are the skills and learning that you need in the classroom. Yeah, I think it's somewhat related to this. I mean, literally. Literacy and understanding the language, though, is a little different than what I'm suggesting, but it might go hand in hand in some ways because we evolve and maybe we need to teach it differently. I don't know. That's past my pay grade on how to teach it. I just think what we learn, though, needs to evolve with where AI and all the other things that are happening are taking us so that we are productive.

[Brianna]

Oh, I totally agree. And I think that there's. We have so much data and we have so much information and there's no excuse for us not to be reforming the way that we're teaching things and giving students the best, you know, access to information and access to help and, you know, mental health resources and, you know, all of these different, like, resources that we have full access to with, you know, ChatGPT and AI and everything that exists now and just making sure that, you know, young people also have that access and know where to find help and know, you know, how to, how to learn maybe for their own personality or their learning style. I think that there is so many ways that we can adapt to better serve our children. So I have big opinions on this.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yes, agreed. Oh, lastly, I want to say today, you know, it's the biggest news story in the US has been the shooting and killing of the United Healthcare CEO. And that story is so, you know, we do one time a week. When we move to more, you know, multiple day news story, we'll probably cover more of that. There's definitely an impact business wide, culturally. You know, everything becomes political today, including stuff like that. But the reality is that story is kind of unfolding so moment by moment. I don't want to come on here when we record this and it's not live and news already be out because it seems to be a very developing story. And so. But my own thoughts are just some of the language and the reactions from certain news people and certain people about like in some way, like thinking this is okay because they, you know, the health care system's broken and like all these things that taking another person's life and not honoring that in some way is just despicable behavior and unacceptable. And I think this guy's complete. If this guy, that's Luigi, whoever that got apprehended ends up being the one, he's clearly lost a screw somewhere and. Because nothing has made sense from what I've seen coming out on his background. But yeah, but, but as a society to in any way not acknowledge the crime when someone gets gunned down on the street and the severe, like just the human lack of humanity in that act is just unforgivable.

[Brianna]

Well, I totally agree. And you know, Brian Thompson is a man who, who passed away, who was killed, you know, and condolences to his wife and his family. I know he was married with young children, I think, or youngish children. And I totally agree. And you know, I saw articles on it and you know, I would go through the comments section of those articles and the comments were very inappropriate on people saying like, okay, what companies like CEO is next? Or you know, just making comments on health care companies that they were saying that this should happen to them as well.

[Matt Reynolds]

Yeah, I mean, reprehensible and so yes, thoughts with his family and you know, with the authorities that are trying to get this handled in the right way and to learn what we need to learn. But again, some things, there'll be things unfolded by the time this episode even goes live. So I don't want to pretend, you know, that we have the latest, the greatest, other than it's unacceptable and a true bad moment for us when people are getting, I mean CEOs of companies getting gunned down in the street. I mean, what is the. We're a civilized nation and I know crimes happen every day. But this is unacceptable. It needs to be handled swiftly in the right way. So we'll see where it goes. But that's all I got today. Anything else today for Brianna?

[Brianna]

Nothing for me.

[Matt Reynolds]

Great. Well, happy holidays. Keep saying it. Just, hey, you're halfway through December almost already. You got 12 days. If you're watching this or listening on the 13th. And so, hey, better get that shopping done. Just tell me.

[Brianna]

I'm not ready when you say it like that. 12 days.

[Matt Reynolds]

12 days of Christmas. Yes, left. I know. Ryan is right dot com. Find the highlight clips, all the articles, everything that we do on this show at the website. We appreciate you for making us number one. 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 ryan is right.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.