👠 “Dude of Wall Street” — Steve Madden’s podcast pop. Costco’s gas biz. Ukraine’s Spider Web attack.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet Episode: 👠 “Dude of Wall Street” — Steve Madden’s Podcast Pop. Costco’s Gas Biz. Ukraine’s Spider Web Attack Released: June 3, 2025 Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell, Nick & Jack Studios

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Introduction

In this standout episode of The Best One Yet, hosts Jack Crivici-Kramer and Nick Martell delve into three compelling business stories that promise to enlighten and entertain. From Costco’s unexpected triumph in the gasoline market to Ukraine’s groundbreaking military tactics, and the remarkable impact of a single podcast interview on Steve Madden’s stock, this episode is packed with insights and engaging discussions.

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1. Costco’s Gasoline Empire: “Gas is like Diapers for Adults”

Overview: Costco has achieved an unprecedented milestone by recording the highest weekly sales of gasoline in the company’s history. This surprising focus on gasoline sales has significantly contributed to Costco's overall revenue, positioning the retailer as a formidable player in the fuel market.

Key Highlights:

• Record Gasoline Sales: Costco's gasoline sales now account for 12% of their total sales, amounting to a staggering $30 billion annually. (05:18)
• Strategic Expansion: Since opening their first gas station in 1995, Costco has consistently expanded, adding 24 new stations each year. (07:04)
• Competitive Edge: Despite ExxonMobil’s larger network, Costco’s commitment to offering the best prices has earned them 70 million SUV drives from loyal members. (07:59)

Notable Quotes:

• Nick: “Gas is like diapers but for adults. If you hook them with gas, you can book them with everything else.” (09:10)
• Jack: “Show your physical card before you touch that fuel.” (06:39)

Insights: Costco’s gasoline strategy mirrors the grocery giant’s approach to essential products like diapers, acting as a gateway to broader in-store purchases. This model not only boosts member loyalty but also drives significant foot traffic, translating into higher overall sales.

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2. Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb: Redefining Modern Warfare

Overview: Ukraine has executed a historic military operation, aptly named Operation Spiderweb, which has significantly altered the landscape of modern warfare. This attack, reminiscent of the Pearl Harbor surprise but without casualties, showcases the future of conflict driven by autonomous technology.

Key Highlights:

• Sophisticated Planning: The operation took 18 months to plan, involving the smuggling of AI-guided drones into Russia. (10:52)
• High Efficiency: Utilizing simple quadcopter drones equipped with AI and LiDAR, Ukraine successfully destroyed 40 Russian bomber planes worth an estimated $7 billion, all without any casualties. (12:28)
• Technological Superiority: The attack underscores the shift from traditional military metrics to technological prowess, emphasizing the importance of compute power and artificial intelligence in warfare. (13:22)

Notable Quotes:

• Jack: “The Economist magazine says that this attack rewrites the rules of war.” (10:26)
• Nick: “Ukraine's attack on Russia shows that today the top military metric is technology.” (13:49)

Insights: Operation Spiderweb not only delivered a strategic military victory but also served as a powerful propaganda tool, enhancing Ukraine’s international standing. The operation highlights a paradigm shift where advanced technology and autonomous systems take precedence over sheer numbers of personnel and equipment.

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3. Steve Madden’s Podcast Pop: From Interview to Stock Surge

Overview: Steve Madden, the iconic high-heeled shoe brand, experienced a 25% jump in stock value following a viral podcast interview. This phenomenon illustrates the profound influence of podcasts over traditional media channels like television.

Key Highlights:

• Viral Podcast Impact: Clips from Steve Madden’s interview on The Cutting Room Floor amassed 25 million views on TikTok and generated 600 news articles, driving a 60% increase in Google searches for the brand. (16:07)
• Authenticity and Personality: Unlike scripted TV interviews, podcasts allow for genuine, personality-driven conversations, fostering a deeper connection with the audience. (20:27)
• Business Transformation: The podcast’s success translated directly into a $400 million increase in stock market value, showcasing the tangible business benefits of embracing podcast media. (21:40)

Notable Quotes:

• Nick: “Steve Madden showed the personality of Steve. Which is both the risk and the reward of a podcast interview.” (20:18)
• Jack: “You have to show your personality, which is both the risk you could screw up and the reward. You could say something delightful.” (20:33)

Insights: Steve Madden’s experience underscores the power of authentic storytelling in podcasts. By revealing his true self and business philosophies, Steve Madden was able to engage a vast audience, translating personal authenticity into significant financial gains for the company.

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Additional Highlights

1. Q1 Earnings Season Success:

   • S&P 500 Companies: Reported a 12.7% rise in profits compared to the previous year, indicating strong economic performance despite recent tariff disruptions. (22:29)

2. Gen Z’s Data Monetization:

   • Personal Data Side Hustle: 88% of Gen Z individuals are open to selling their personal information to social media companies, a 20-point increase from older generations. (23:00)

3. Non-Alcoholic Beer Boom:

   • Market Growth: Non-alcoholic beer is projected to become the world's second-largest beer category this year, with startups like Athletic Brewing leading the market with 17% of U.S. non-alcoholic beer sales. (23:07)

4. Fun Fact – President John Tyler’s Grandson:

   • Historical Oddity: The living grandson of President John Tyler, born in 1790, passed away in 2025 at an unprecedented age, highlighting extraordinary longevity. (24:01)

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Conclusion & Takeaways

Costco’s Gas Strategy:

• Core Need Fulfillment: Similar to how diapers are essential for new parents, gasoline serves as a fundamental need for adults, ensuring consistent customer acquisition and retention.

Ukraine’s Modern Warfare:

• Technological Warfare: The success of Operation Spiderweb signifies a shift towards AI-driven, cost-effective military strategies that prioritize technological superiority over traditional militaristic metrics.

Impact of Podcasts on Business:

• Authenticity Drives Success: Steve Madden’s substantial stock increase from a podcast interview emphasizes the value of genuine, personality-driven content in building brand loyalty and financial performance.

Final Thoughts: This episode of The Best One Yet adeptly captures the intersection of business innovation, technological advancements, and the evolving landscape of media influence. Whether it’s Costco redefining retail strategies, Ukraine pioneering future warfare tactics, or Steve Madden leveraging podcasts for unprecedented stock growth, listeners are offered a rich tapestry of insights that highlight the dynamic nature of today’s business world.

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Notable Mentions:

• Tommy Bahama Trivia: A fun segment exploring the fictitious persona behind a billion-dollar beachwear brand.
• Listener Shout-Outs: Celebrating milestones and achievements within the community, enhancing listener engagement.

For those who missed this episode, tune in to The Best One Yet on the Wondery app or your preferred podcast platform to stay updated with the latest in pop-biz news.

Transcript

[Jack]

This is Nick, this is Jack.

[Nick]

It is Tuesday. T Boy. Tuesday, June 3rd. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T boy.

[Jack]

The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

[Nick]

Yeties, let's get a slow clap over there. The stock market just had its best month of May since 1990.

[Jack]

1990.

[Nick]

Sprinkle on some context please, Jack.

[Jack]

That's back when Beanie Babies were born. Yes, VCRs were hot.

[Nick]

True.

[Jack]

The super bowl was basically like a high school intra squad scrimmage.

[Nick]

I think we all played in the super bowl at that age. Nasty stocks had fallen twice 20% from their all time highs. Now they're down just 3.4% from their all time highs. It has been a wild 2025. But Jack, three stories for today's T boy. What do we got on the show?

[Jack]

For our first story, Costco just set a record for most weekly sales of any single product in company history. Gasoline.

[Nick]

So we're looking at Costco's wild gas business which might be their secret to loyalty.

[Jack]

For our second story, Ukraine just staged a Pearl harbor esque attack on Russia, but but not a single person was killed.

[Nick]

Operation Spiderweb. It is the future of warfare and it's driven by self thinking drones.

[Jack]

And our third and final story is Steve Madden. Yeah, the shoe brand just saw its stock jump 20% last month because Steve.

[Nick]

Madden spoke to the girls on one podcast.

[Jack]

But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories.

[Nick]

Whoa, what a mix of stories. No one else is doing that mix of stories.

[Jack]

Jack, Happy T Boy Tuesday. Yesterday we asked you some T boy trivia.

[Nick]

Which of the following fashion icons is not a real person?

[Jack]

Is it A, Ralph Lauren, B, Liz Claiborne, C, Kenneth Cole? Or D, Tommy Bahama?

[Nick]

Well, Jack, Ralph, Liz and Kenneth are all still kicking. They're not just real, they are all still alive right now.

[Jack]

But Tommy Bahama. Yeah, he's a fake dude.

[Nick]

That's right. Tommy Bahama does not exist. Tommy Bahama is not real. Never was. Not an actual true person.

[Jack]

So how did Tommy Bahama become a 2 billion dollar beachwear brand?

[Nick]

Well, Jack, was it the shirts or the sandals? The pants or the polos?

[Jack]

It was actually the beach chairs.

[Nick]

That's right. Tommy Bahama is a fake dude. But he's got a real monopoly on those beach chairs.

[Jack]

Get this. Tommy Bahama controls 75% of the premium beach chair market in the US besties.

[Nick]

If your butt is sitting on a beach chair this summer worth more than 30 bucks, there's a three out of four chance. It's got a built in Tommy Bahama cooler.

[Jack]

And the story of Tommy Bahama is incredibly endearing.

[Nick]

It is lovely. What is it again? Jack?

[Jack]

Two buddies wished that their whole lives could be vacation. I mean, don't we all?

[Nick]

So they invented someone for whom that is true. An imaginary friend named Tommy Bahama.

[Jack]

So we did an entire episode about the Tommy Bahama beach chair on our weekly show the Best Idea Yet.

[Nick]

And we dropped the link in this episode description because the Tommy Bahama beach chair is just simply the best idea yet.

[Jack]

But in the meantime, this episode's a T Boy, let's hit our three stories.

[Nick]

Let's hitch.

[Unknown]

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is annoying. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice.

[Nick]

50%.

[Unknown]

That's a fat tip. T boy city on your at Liz if you know, you know cuz we read to go we can't wait no more so just start the show start the show start the show.

[Jack]

Airbnb. Nick, can you share that wonderful quote about hospitality we heard recently?

[Nick]

Jack, I think I read this in the Danny Meyer book, but he said something like hospitality is anticipating someone's needs beyond expectations.

[Jack]

I love that quote. When I have a guest booked to stay at my place, I try to meet that hospitality standard and I do so by letting them know ahead of time events happening in the area.

[Nick]

Pro tip. Your favorite jam band is playing at your favorite burger place Wednesday night. Probably let your guests know about that one.

[Jack]

A full travel guide within my Airbnb listing, sharing my personal favorite recommendations and secret spots.

[Nick]

What kind of stuff's in that travel guide? Jack?

[Jack]

That swimming hole is so remote. You can definitely swim in the nude and you won't get any issues.

[Nick]

Hey, no George Costanza shrinkage that we know of. Yeti's your actual house, your apartment, your condo is just one part of the Airbnb hosting experience.

[Jack]

I've really enjoyed the soft parts of hospitality, anticipating my guests needs beyond their expectations.

[Nick]

If this sounds your style and you enjoy a naked jump into a stream, you can become an Airbnb host too. As long as you got a place.

[Jack]

I'm proud of my 4.92 rating and my wife is proud of the revenue we're generating with that rating.

[Nick]

Yeah, it is. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] Host introducing Family.

[Unknown]

Freedom from T Mobile. We'll pay off four phones up to $3200 and give you four free phones, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit T Mobile.com FamilyFreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card.

[Jack]

Typically takes 15 days.

[Unknown]

Free phone via 24 monthly bill cred finance agreement. Example Apple iPhone 16128 gigs $829.99 Eligible trade in example iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits and imbalance due if you pay off early or cancel. Contact us.

[Nick]

For our first story. Costco just announced earnings. But the brightest part of the company is actually its darkest product.

[Jack]

Because Costco has quietly become America's favorite gas station.

[Nick]

One second here, Jack. I happened to get the receipt from your latest Costco run. Are you ready for this?

[Jack]

Yeah.

[Nick]

All right. A $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, the chicken bake, the double stuffed chocolate chip cookies, and it looks like three rotisserie chickens.

[Jack]

Seriously man, what is a chicken bake? If you have to ask, you can't digest it.

[Nick]

Well, forget the food court Yetis. Because Costco's most popular product is actually gasoline.

[Jack]

Yeah, the one thing I didn't buy. Cause I pulled up in an ev.

[Nick]

Jack, can you please sprinkle. I'm sorry, could you please pour on some more context for ExxonMobil is number.

[Jack]

One in America with, get this, 12,000 gas stations.

[Nick]

Yeah, there's a mobile 0.4 miles away from every interstate exit in the United States.

[Jack]

Every single one. But the trend among big box stores is to start selling good old fashioned petrol.

[Nick]

That's right. Dollar General, they got 40 gas stations.

[Jack]

Walmart has 400 gas stations.

[Nick]

Kroger has 1,000 gas stations next to their Kroger grocery stores.

[Jack]

But they all stole the playbook from Costco.

[Nick]

Yes, they did.

[Jack]

Which has 719 beloved gas stations.

[Nick]

Although we should point out, Jack, Costco is the only gas station with a bouncer.

[Jack]

That's true. It's members only. Show your physical card before you touch that fuel.

[Nick]

One sec. I'm Jack's plus one. I'm cool. Trust me, I'm on the list. Dude. I'm on the list.

[Jack]

Do you want to be my plus one? I'm allowed to give a plus one.

[Nick]

I would love to be.

[Jack]

Dude, if you're my plus one, we can expense it to the company.

[Nick]

Okay, it's right off. But yetis, this is what Jack and I found fascinating. We actually have a term for this business model and we call it the gas guzzle side hustle.

[Jack]

And it turns out Costco was the pioneer.

[Nick]

That's right. Costco opened their first gas station back in 1995. And they've consistently added 24 new stations every year since then.

[Jack]

For the last 30 years, Costco has added two gas stations per month. They are as consistent as a clock with that pace.

[Nick]

And Jack, what is the wild stat we just discovered in Costco's Earnings report today?

[Jack]

12% of their sales are Kirkland regular unleaded gasoline.

[Nick]

That's right. The biggest product by far sold at Costco is there. Gasoline.

[Jack]

$30 billion a year of gasoline sales.

[Nick]

Okay, let's sprinkle on even more context because that is a wild number. 30 billion bucks.

[Jack]

It's bigger than all of MasterCard, all of Southwest Airlines, and all of Adidas.

[Nick]

Sit down, stand up and keep on pumping, baby.

[Jack]

The latest news is that they're expanding the open hours of their 719 gas stations by an hour a day.

[Nick]

Now, even though ExxonMobil has 16 times more gas stations than Costco does, we bet Costco is right up there in actual gas sales. Right, man.

[Jack]

Because people trust that Costco is offering the best possible price. They don't feel that way about their local ExxonMobil station.

[Nick]

Something, in some way, I feel like I'm paying high price.

[Jack]

I'm looking over at the Sunoco and the Texaco and finding whoever's offering the cheapest.

[Nick]

The result, Costco's 70 million SUV drive in members only fuel up at their weekly Costco trip.

[Jack]

Now all the attention in this economy is on electric car, this autonomous vehicle that. But Costco is just doubling down on gas.

[Nick]

That's right. The way things are going too, Petro kind of looks pretty permanent, doesn't it?

[Jack]

Unfortunately, it does.

[Nick]

One sec, honey, just grab a liter of gas. It's next to the tube socks in aisle six. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Costco?

[Jack]

Gas is like diapers but for adults.

[Nick]

We'll explain.

[Jack]

We'll explain.

[Nick]

Yetis. A few years ago, Jack and I did a story on this show about Target. The chain realized that the number one purchase by new parents. What is it, Jack?

[Jack]

Diapers. If they came in for diapers, they'd also leave with a bunch of other stuff too.

[Nick]

So instead of pitching parents on a variety of baby products, Target just advertise their diapers.

[Jack]

And in this economy, we think a similar strategy will work for Costco when it comes to gasoline.

[Nick]

Yeah, like diapers are the most core need of a new parent. While gas is the most core need of a adult.

[Jack]

And in a world where everyone's pushing loyalty programs like Walmart, plus Starbucks Club, Amazon Prime Gas, low priced gas is Costco's differentiator.

[Nick]

And if Costco draws you in for gas, you're doing your whole Costco grocery run on that trip. Plus a hoagie, plus a $5 rotisserie chicken, plus a second $5 rotisserie chicken for Jack.

[Jack]

That's why Costco gasoline is like diapers. They draw you in with the regular unleaded.

[Nick]

For our second story, Russia just suffered what's being described as their Pearl harbor, except nobody was killed.

[Jack]

Ukraine's operation is an attack that tells us so much about the future.

[Nick]

Now, yetis. For most of the past three plus years of war in Ukraine, the Ukrainians have been defending themselves against Russia's full scale invasion.

[Jack]

But on Sunday, Ukraine went on the offense like we've never seen before.

[Nick]

Operation Spiderweb.

[Jack]

Their attack was wildly successful, but it didn't injure a single Russian person.

[Nick]

Honestly, Jack and I were looking at the numbers here. This was the most efficient, highest ROI attack we've ever seen.

[Jack]

The Economist magazine says that this attack rewrites the rules of war.

[Nick]

The BBC says it was at the very least a spectacular propaganda coup.

[Jack]

The attack very much changes the idea, by the way, of who is winning and losing between Ukraine and Russia.

[Nick]

But here's what was fascinating to Jack and I. It also changes the leading industries in the United States right now.

[Jack]

Operation Spiderweb.

[Nick]

Okay, this thing took a year and a half to plan.

[Jack]

And the details sound like the plot from a Tom Cruise movie mixed with.

[Nick]

A Fast and the Furious movie. Jack. Like it begins with Ukraine smuggling rockets across the border into Russia.

[Jack]

We don't know how exactly. Maybe Ukraine had agents on the ground in Russia.

[Nick]

Yeah, like crossed with a Fast and the Furious movie. Because here's what Ukraine did. This is wild. They smuggled drones across the border into Russia.

[Jack]

We don't know how exactly.

[Nick]

No, we don't.

[Jack]

Maybe Ukraine had agents on the ground.

[Nick]

In Russia, but those drones were actually inside specially built trucks that had roofs that could just pop open at a moment's notice.

[Jack]

The trucks were driven to four different Russian military bases. And one of those bases was 3,000 miles away from another one of those bases.

[Nick]

And what's important about these Russian bases, Jack?

[Jack]

They are where 120 strategic bombers were parked. Bombers that were capable of long range missile attacks on Ukraine.

[Nick]

And then here's what happened on June 1st, all at once in perfect synchrony, Ukraine pushed go on an attack that destroyed 40 of those Russian bomber planes.

[Jack]

In five minutes, one third of Russia's most strategic military aircraft had been destroyed.

[Nick]

By the way, the drones we're talking about here are like simple quadcopter drones. Like basically GoPros.

[Jack]

Right Jack, they were basically GoPros that popped out of these trucks, flew over the airplanes and dropped heavy payloads that could destroy them.

[Nick]

And because those drones were guided by AI and LiDAR, they knew their target and were able to avoid human collateral damage along the way.

[Jack]

AI and LiDAR, the same technology as your self driving Waymo Robo taxi, guided these drones to the targets in Russia.

[Nick]

So Jack, let's look at the numbers again. The estimated value of the Russian planes.

[Jack]

Destroyed in this attack, $7 billion.

[Nick]

But the estimated cost of each of those drones that did the attacking, just 300 bucks. And again, pause the pod. The AI targeting was so good, it destroyed just the 40 intended military targets. No people were killed or injured.

[Jack]

These autonomous drones found the targets and they even recorded it all on video, which the Ukraine government posted publicly yesterday.

[Nick]

So not only was it a military win, it was a publicity win for the Ukrainian government.

[Jack]

This attack may change the assumptions in America that Ukraine has already lost the war.

[Nick]

Turns out Ukraine does have some cards after all. They're already calling Volodymyr Zelenskyy the King of the Drones.

[Jack]

Innovation is the mother of necessity. And with diminishing resources, Ukraine innovated warfare.

[Nick]

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies in defense?

[Jack]

With the rules of war rewritten, industries of war are changing too.

[Nick]

Yeti's first centuries, the biggest indicator of military strength was the number of soldiers.

[Jack]

Then it became about materials. How many tanks, ships or aircraft do you have? And eventually it became about nukes.

[Nick]

It was the number of all those things. But Ukraine's attack on Russia shows that today the top military metric is technology. The top number is your compute.

[Jack]

Specifically artificial intelligence. Right, because remember with one push of a button in Ukraine, Ukraine launched 117 drones that steered themselves to hit Russian bombers with perfect accuracy.

[Nick]

We're talking non human weapons, low cost, that were basically both the front lines and the generals in this attack.

[Jack]

And guess who is the leader of equipping the US military with artificial intelligence?

[Nick]

Well Jack, that would be Palantir.

[Jack]

At the start of 2023, stock in Palantir was $6 per share.

[Nick]

You want to know where it is today?

[Jack]

$131.

[Nick]

In fact, last week Meta also announced that they're pivoting the metaverse to military. They're gonna be building headsets for American soldiers.

[Jack]

Big tech and artificial intelligence is the next grad at West Point.

[Nick]

Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

[Jack]

The best one yet is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[Nick]

All right, Jack, let me set the scene for you. My birthday dinner. We did a pizza party. I rented out a whole spot called the Dough Room in San Francisco. You mess with the pizza dough while you make it.

[Jack]

I know. And then what comes next is the most San Francisco thing ever. Basically, group therap over dinner.

[Nick]

So all three people on my side of the table were in therapy, and all of us were talking about each other's therapy. You know, like, one person was saying how their therapist helped them through a coworker battle. Another was talking about, like, the future of fatherhood with their therapist. They were stressed about becoming a dad.

[Jack]

It's not just San Francisco. Society's views on therapy have changed across the world.

[Nick]

True.

[Jack]

It's evolved to the point where you had a birthday dinner. Learning from each other's therapy sessions.

[Nick]

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[Jack]

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[Nick]

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[Jack]

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[Nick]

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[Jack]

H E L p.com tboy every big.

[Misha Brown]

Moment starts with a big dream. But what happens when that big dream turns out to be a big flop? From Wondery and Illmedia, I'm Misha Brown, and this is the Big Flop. Every week, comedians join me to chronicle the biggest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time. Like Quibi, it's kind of like when.

[Nick]

You give yourself your own nickname and you try to, like, get other people to do it.

[Misha Brown]

And the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats.

[Nick]

Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie.

[Misha Brown]

Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy the Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts, you can listen to the Big flop early and ad free on Wondery. Plus, get started with your free [e-mail].

[Nick]

Plus for our third and final story, Steve Madden, the high heeled shoe entrepreneur, just saw his company stock jump 25% because of a podcast interview.

[Jack]

This story shows the difference between podcasts and tv.

[Nick]

But in order to explain podcasts and tv, Jack, let's talk about a movie, the Wolf of Wall Street.

[Jack]

The Wolf of Wall street is the tale of Leonardo DiCaprio. I mean, Jordan Belfort, who defrauded investors out of $100 million with, like, a pump and dump. The worst of Wall Street.

[Nick]

Oh, well, one particular crime of the Wolf of Wall street was manipulating the stock of a shoe brand that went public back in 1990.

[Jack]

You saw it in the movie. That shoe brand was Steve Madden.

[Nick]

Jonah Hill's character was actually the childhood friend of Steve's.

[Jack]

And in real life, Steve Madden the man went to prison for three years because of the IPO fraud we saw in the movie the Wolf of Wall Street.

[Nick]

Well, 30 years later, Steve Madden is still a publicly traded shoe company with maybe the best ticker symbol we've ever seen.

[Jack]

Shaq, S, H, O, O, which obviously spells shoe.

[Nick]

And as a consumer, you probably know Steve Madden as the shoe that has launched a thousand mall D. They offer.

[Jack]

Stuff that's on trend, but affordable.

[Nick]

Well, today, Steve Madden is no longer the CEO of Steve Madden.

[Jack]

Yeah, the law forbids him from ever.

[Nick]

Being a CEO again because he's a convicted felon.

[Jack]

But he is the chief creative officer at the company who he's named after.

[Nick]

And Steve Madden the man, Steve Madden the brand, and Steve Madden the stock all just had their biggest week since the ballet flat.

[Jack]

Here's the Steve Madden the man was a guest on the fashion podcast the Cutting Room Floor.

[Nick]

And like many podcast interviews do, it was the short clips of this podcast that went viral on social media to a degree Steve never imagined.

[Jack]

Clips of this interview got 25 million views on TikTok. People loved it.

[Nick]

There were 600 news articles written about those clips about the podcast.

[Jack]

And did it translate to better business for Steve Madden?

[Nick]

Oh, yes, it did, Jack. Google searches for Steve Madden the brand were up 60% in the last week, and the stock jumped 20%.

[Jack]

Now, Nick, why did this one podcast interview drive more positive attention to Steve Madden than his super bowl commercial could?

[Nick]

Well, Jack, I guess if you look at it in, like, a shoe form, it was like the heels, the sole and the laces. There were kind of three parts to this thing, if you think about it, right? Yeah, yeah. The first was the charm. Right.

[Jack]

Steve Madden didn't call his buyers customers in this interview. He referred to them as his girls, which we found endearing, not creepy.

[Nick]

My girls buy this, my girls buy that. It was kind of a cool way to talk about your customers.

[Jack]

Second was humor. Steve talked about parenting with regards to, like, an entrepreneur. Yeah.

[Nick]

He actually said, you know, you can't fire your kids, and that's unfortunate.

[Jack]

He lamented that you can't fire your kids.

[Nick]

Yeah, yeah, we gotta chuckle out of that. But the third key that laced up this wild story about Steve Madden was the authenticity.

[Jack]

She asked him about his white collar crime and he admitted to it. He said, I was too greedy.

[Nick]

In fact, Steve Madden went so far as to admit that his entire business model is based on dupes.

[Jack]

He's not hiding the fact that he copies pricier shoe brands and simply lowers the price.

[Nick]

In fact, Jack, Steve Madden went so far as to defend that dupe practice of his.

[Jack]

He asked on the podcast, are the Beatles cheats because they're influenced by Elvis Motown?

[Nick]

In fact, on the same day as that podcast dropped, Steve Madden sued Adidas for not letting him use their stripes on his shoes. I mean, copy their stripes on his shoes.

[Jack]

People loved everything about Steve Madden.

[Nick]

You kind of wanted to hug him by the end of it. Now, the reason people like this convicted white collar criminal shoe executive is that.

[Jack]

He was authentic, which actually kind of.

[Nick]

Familiar and reminds us of a takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Steve over at Steve Madden?

[Jack]

Showing your personality is both the risk and the reward of a podcast interview.

[Nick]

Yetis forever companies have communicated to the public by putting their CEOs on TV.

[Jack]

But the problem with the TV interview is that you've only got three minutes, so you stick to the talking points.

[Nick]

Jack and I have done a bunch of live TV interviews and you're kind of. You just say what you gotta say. That's it.

[Jack]

You can tell the things a CEO says on TV are the things the PR team told them to say.

[Nick]

But a podcast interview, Jack, a podcast interview, that's not three minutes, that's an hour.

[Jack]

It's not even possible to stick to talking points because the interview is so long.

[Nick]

Maybe five minutes of the one hour interview is PR talking points, but the rest is a human being being a human.

[Jack]

So you have to show your personality, which is both the risk you could screw up and the reward. You could say something delightful.

[Nick]

And that risk reward Jack's talked about, that's where the good stuff is. That's the stuff that's off script, and that's what's most relatable.

[Jack]

That's what goes viral and reaches people in the way a Super bowl commercial Could.

[Nick]

Unlike the Coach talking points that rarely go viral.

[Jack]

Nobody cares about the Coach talking points.

[Nick]

So besties, add it all up and Steve Madden's shoe business gained 400 million bucks in stock market value because of this podcast episode.

[Jack]

We saw podcasts blow up last year in Politics. Now they're hitting the corporate C suite.

[Nick]

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T boy?

[Jack]

Tuesday, Costco's 719 gas stations sell the their biggest single product. 12% of their sales are gas.

[Nick]

It's like diapers, but for adults. If you hook them with gas, you can book them with everything else.

[Jack]

For our second story, Ukraine's low cost drone attack on Russia changes the rules of war.

[Nick]

Big guns and big budgets are being replaced by big technology.

[Jack]

And our third and final story, Steve Madden's stock jumped 25% because of a viral podcast with Steve Madden.

[Nick]

Because Steve showed the personality of Steve. Which is both the risk and the reward of a podcast interview.

[Jack]

But yetis, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[Nick]

First, a happy Q1 earnings season. To all those who celebrated. It's all but wrapped up and the earnings were stellar.

[Jack]

Now, we should remind you that Q1 was January through March, so it did not include the tariff craziness that began on April 2.

[Nick]

But profits of the S&P 500 companies rose 12.7% in the first quarter from the year before.

[Jack]

That is stellar and it's proof that the economy is doing way better than the vibes.

[Nick]

And second, Gen Z's new side hustle, it's selling your personal data.

[Jack]

88% of Gen Z is open to sharing their personal info with social media companies, which is 20 points higher than older generations.

[Nick]

I mean, if Zuck's gonna track you, you may as well charge him for it, Jack.

[Jack]

Basically, Gen Z's been on the Internet since they're babies. Yeah, they don't worry about privacy because it's a lost cause. Might as well make some money off it.

[Nick]

And finally, non alcoholic be projected to pass ale as the world's number two beer this year.

[Jack]

Now what's number one? You're all asking Lager.

[Nick]

Lager. Classic.

[Jack]

Non alcoholic is a category of its own and that's going to be number two this year.

[Nick]

Now interestingly, Guinness, Budweiser, Heineken, all the big guys, they've all rolled out their own non alcoholic beers in the last couple years.

[Jack]

But the biggest non alcoholic brand is still the startup Athletic Brewing, which has 17% of the non alk market in.

[Nick]

The U.S. that's right. 17%. Tell me share.

[Jack]

And we interviewed the founder a couple years ago on this pod.

[Nick]

Yes, we did. He showed his personality, Jack. He took a risk and he got a reward. Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Austin Johnson. Jack, what do we got?

[Jack]

President John Tyler left the White House in 1845, but he had a living grandson until last week.

[Nick]

How is that possible? Well, we got the receipts. Here's the deal. Yetis President John Tyler, born 1790, had his final son in 1853 when he was 63 years old.

[Jack]

That son had his last son when he was in his 70s. Yeah, so that son was born in 1928.

[Nick]

Basically a case of old dude still kicking.

[Jack]

And Nick, that man, the grandson of a president born in 1790, just passed away in 2025.

[Nick]

What we're saying is, imagine if your grandparent was alive in 1790.

[Jack]

My grandparent was alive in 1927, 150 years after this guy.

[Nick]

1790, the same year that George Washington gave his first state of the UN Yetis, you look fantastic today. And if you got your booty in a Tommy Bahama beach chair, first of all, that's a fake dude. Second of all, that's a good beach chair.

[Jack]

The best beach chair, dude. During the pandemic, I couldn't find them. I had to like steal one from my neighbor. I paid my neighbor.

[Nick]

We could not believe this yetis. 3 out of 4 top beach chairs sold is a Tommy Bahama beach chair. So we did an entire episode explaining how Tommy Bahama came to be, how.

[Jack]

This fake man put a real built in cooler to all of his beach chairs.

[Nick]

So before the government breaks up the Tommy Bahama beach chair monopoly, check out our episode of the best idea yet. We dropped a link in this episode.

[Jack]

Description and Nick and I will see you tomorrow.

[Nick]

Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Nivan Gupta, turning 10 years old, celebrating in Milpitas, California.

[Jack]

Happy five years of working at the Home Depot. To Nick Alves down in Atlanta, the stock's up 50% since he joined the company.

[Nick]

We're just saying correlation and causation. And Charlie over in Chicago is doing logistics T boy style and jumping up because he is gonna see us at the live show. We'll see you there, Charlie.

[Jack]

And a shout out to Brian Robert, who heard our story about Haribo accidentally putting cannabis in their gummies, went to the store, bought some. I think he's shipping us a pack.

[Nick]

And a shout out to Alex Malker, who was wearing a T Boy shirt proudly on a trip to Prague. Hope you had fun, Alex.

[Jack]

And finally, also travel related, Kelly and NYC suggested a coffee shop for Nick and France.

[Nick]

It was right near the one you suggested, Jack, and they were both closed on Sundays.

[Jack]

This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Disney. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and ETFs of the S&P 500. If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcast Prime.

[Nick]

Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music.

[Jack]

And before you go, tell us a little bit about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey we want to.

[Nick]

Get to know you.