Podcast Summary: TBPN – “Diet TBPN: October 23rd, 2025”

Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Date: October 24, 2025
Main Theme: A rapid-fire rundown on the latest in tech, branding, data center energy, AI bubble speculation, pop culture crossovers, and the evolving world of autonomous vehicles. The hosts satirically dissect news, offer opinions on trends, and riff about tech culture—all with characteristic humor and insight.

1. The Evolution and Impact of Company Naming Conventions

Timestamps: 00:17 – 03:11

• Context: The Browser Company of New York’s acquisition by Atlassian prompts a discussion on naming trends.
  • John reflects on traditional naming conventions, emphasizing clarity and originality:
    • “Roughly 150 years ago, Standard practice to name a company like they did... The Prudential Insurance Company of America.” (00:17)
    • “The Browser Company of New York was a perfect name... juxtaposing 150-year-old naming with a modern tool like the web browser.” (00:49)
  • Copycat Branding: They highlight how copycats dilute original branding.
    • “The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th...company to use this convention basically does the exact opposite.” (01:30)
    • Jordi references Instagram’s influence on other brands like Instacart (01:37).
  • On Inspiration vs. Copying:
    • John: “Copying great design signals that you don’t value design in my view.” (02:33)
    • Hosts admit borrowing inspiration, e.g., TVPN is inspired by ESPN/SportsCenter but applied to tech:
      • “But the key is that we took that inspiration and applied it to an area tack [tech] that none of those groups had ever played in.” (02:53)

2. Data Centers, Energy, and the AGI Race

Timestamps: 03:21 – 04:58

• Nvidia Comparison:
  • “A single year of Nvidia’s revenue almost matched the past 25 years of R&D and Capex from the five largest semiconductor equipment companies combined. This is honestly a compelling ode to capitalism.” (03:26)
• US vs. China in AGI:
  • “If AGI is coming soon, America’s good because we have a head start… China has a slow start, but they’re running faster... if AGI comes in 2035, China has a higher probability.” (04:01)
  • Discussion of energy constraints sparks speculation on discovering new sources:
    • “Willing to bet that we will discover new sources of energy.” (04:18)
• Data Center Environmental Concerns:
  • “Let’s not give each other cancer.” (04:41)
  • Hosts joke about protesting data centers and propose a “wood-fired data center” as satire:
    • “A wood fired data center generating tokens old fashioned way.” (05:11)

3. The Future of Human Content Creation & AI Platforms

Timestamps: 05:19 – 06:35

• Human vs. AI-Generated Content:
  • “People refuse to believe that there is... probability in 50 years people are still watching humans create content.” (05:19)
  • Meta Vibes app as moral panic versus actual product realities. Short form video isn’t the existential threat some claim.
• Sora and API Strategies:
  • “If you really wanted to give Sora the chance to become a consumption platform, you wouldn’t have made Sora available via API...” (06:04)
• AI in Business:
  • They have trouble outlining compelling enterprise use-cases for video AI like Sora, focusing rather on marketing and social ads.

4. Thoughts on Age, Marriage, and Children (Personal Asides)

Timestamps: 06:35 – 07:16

• Discussion transitions to societal norms:
  • “It says something... the most controversial thing I have said in recent history is that I wish I would have married my wife sooner.” (06:48)
  • On parenting in your 30s: “Having children in your 30s at any point is exhausting. Basically, the younger you are, potentially in some ways it will be easier.” (06:59)

5. Are We in an AI Bubble? Market Reflections

Timestamps: 07:16 – 08:30

• Analysis in Four Charts:
  • “Multiples are nowhere near dot com level. We got room to run. Capex is growing, but funded by cash flow. Largest tech company valuations lower than 1999. Concentration in the market isn’t necessarily negative.” (07:21)
  • Macro headwinds (trade wars, weak labor market, global conflicts, high interest rates) are said to be dampening even greater tech exuberance.
    • “If we didn’t have those factors, I think it could be a lot crazier.” (08:09)

6. Media & M&A Drama: Skydance, Warner Brothers, and Conglomerates

Timestamps: 08:23 – 08:33

• Inside Scoop:
  • “People inside Paramount Skydance say David Ellison, advised by his father Larry Ellison, are reluctant to pay more than $25 a share for Warner Brothers...” (08:23)
  • Hosts frame Ellison’s moves as an experiment in building a “new conglomerate.” (08:30)

7. Tech Product Reactions & Pop Culture Crossovers

iPhone Air Launch Flops

Timestamps: 08:33 – 09:10
- “There’s virtually no demand for the iPhone Air... He just said it was not. The thinness of the phone was not worth the battery trade offs.” (08:33)

Palmer Luckey and Nicotine

Timestamps: 09:10 – 09:38
- “Nicotine increases focus, also is very habit forming. Duh. I know that it’s habit forming. I’ve quit nicotine five or six times.” (09:10) - “Is not carcinogenic unless smoked, vaped, dipped, or snuffed. And...simultaneously focuses and relaxes you. Also raises blood pressure. Again, do your own research.” (09:14-09:32)

Travis Kelce buys into Six Flags

Timestamps: 09:38 – 10:08
- “Travis Kelce...invest in and revive Six Flags...$200 million deal. He bought 9% of the theme park operator.” (09:38) - Satirical aside: “Did Travis Kelce get three wishes when he was 11?” (09:38)

8. Robotics, Safety Jokes, and AI Sentience Fears

Timestamps: 10:08 – 11:07

• Robot Security Satire:
  • “If we get one of these we also have to get a couple Desert Eagles, because if it starts acting up, we have to be able to take it out.” (10:17)
  • “Strapping a suicide vest onto the robot is the last thing I would do.” (11:01)
• Fire extinguisher gags and “be ready to take this thing out” refrains.

9. ChatGPT Retention & Tech in Everyday Life

Timestamps: 11:07 – 11:32

• Adoption:
  • “People try ChatGPT, they love it. They stick around. It becomes a part of their life... let’s ask chat type of thing.” (11:18)

10. Viral Photo Analysis: Fact-Checking and Visual Oddities

Timestamps: 11:33 – 12:30

• French Detective Meme:
  • Joke about “the detective with a fedora” in a viral photo, but community notes clarify he’s a bystander.
    • “This is a photo is real... But the man in the fedora is a passerby, not a detective on the case.” (12:04)
  • “Her face is, like, perfectly lit—this is a remarkable photograph.” (12:21)

11. Investment Vehicles: Tertiary and Quaternary Funds

Timestamps: 12:31 – 12:58

• Satirical breaking news segment on increasingly esoteric fund structures:
  • “We’ve now got tertiary funds.” (12:31)
  • “Quaternary funds.” (12:57)

12. Autonomous Ridesharing: Waymo’s Explosive Growth, The Uber Question

Timestamps: 12:58 – 14:25

• Waymo’s Volume:
  • “Waymo is now doing 876,000 rides per month in California. 6x increase over the past year and a 69x increase since August of 2023.” (12:58)
• Market Structure Debate:
  • “Ben Thompson was talking about... needs more data. Because even at Uber and Waymo… they don’t necessarily know what the consumer behavior will be like.” (13:14)
  • “Waymo is quite a bit more expensive per trip basis than Uber, so it’s possible... Waymo ends up becoming like more of a luxury good.” (14:01)

Notable Quotes

• On originality: “Copying great design signals that you don’t value design in my view.” – John, 02:33
• On AGI race: “If AGI comes in 2035, China has a higher probability of it emerging.” – Jordi, 04:01
• On ChatGPT: “People try ChatGPT, they love it. They stick around. It becomes a part of their life.” – John, 11:18
• Market perspective: “Multiples are nowhere near dot com level. We got room to run.” – John, 07:21

Conclusion

This episode blends insightful tech news with the hosts’ signature mix of hot takes, humor, and skepticism. From branding trends and the AGI energy race to quirky product releases, AI content paranoia, and robot-safety comedy—all angles of tech culture get a witty but substantive once-over. The episode closes with data on Waymo’s growth and musings on the future shape of the rideshare market, keeping listeners both informed and entertained.

For more lively tech commentary, catch the next episode of TBPN, streaming weekdays on X and YouTube.