🎷 “Justin TimberFAKE” — Spotify’s AI boy-band. Michelob’s Gatorade beer. Soham Parekh’s 19 tech jobs.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet | Episode: 🎷 “Justin TimberFAKE” — Spotify’s AI Boy-Band, Michelob’s Gatorade Beer, Soham Parekh’s 19 Tech Jobs

Release Date: July 8, 2025
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell
Description: Feel brighter every day with our 20-minute pop-biz news podcast. The 3 business stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Formerly known as “Snacks Daily”, Nick and Jack continue their podcast independent from Robinhood.

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Introduction

In this episode of The Best One Yet, hosts Nick Martell and Jack Crivici-Kramer delve into three captivating business stories: Spotify's emergence of an AI-generated boy band, Michelob Ultra's strategic pivot mirroring Gatorade's marketing, and the extraordinary multitasking of Soham Parekh juggling multiple tech jobs. The hosts blend insightful analysis with humor, peppering the discussion with notable quotes and witty banter.

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1. Spotify’s AI Boy-Band: The Velvet Sundown

Overview:
The first story centers on Spotify's innovative project, The Velvet Sundown—a synthetic music group created entirely by artificial intelligence. This AI-driven boy band has swiftly amassed over a million listeners on Spotify, raising questions about the future of music and artistry.

Key Points:

• Viral Success: The Velvet Sundown released their debut album in June and quickly went viral, attracting a substantial following despite being entirely AI-generated.
• Musical Style: The band's sound is reminiscent of classic rock groups like Mumford and Sons and The Beatles, yet infused with a modern twist that appeals to today's listeners.
• Industry Impact: The rise of The Velvet Sundown signifies a potential shift in the music industry towards AI-generated content, challenging traditional notions of artistry and authenticity.

Notable Quotes:

• Nick Martell [05:32]: "It's not art, it's near art. But there's a market for near art."
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [07:35]: "But we should point out the music community, they seem to hate this fake new band, the Velvet Sundown, because the top 20 comments that we read on their latest Instagram video are all negative."

Insights & Conclusions: Nick and Jack discuss the implications of AI in creative industries, pondering whether audiences value the authenticity of human-created art or if the functionality and background appeal of AI-generated content meet contemporary demands. They foresee a surge in "near art," where AI creations serve practical purposes without the depth typically associated with human artistry.

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2. Michelob Ultra’s Gatorade-Inspired Marketing Strategy

Overview:
Michelob Ultra stands out in the declining beer market by reinventing itself as a sports-oriented beverage, effectively mimicking Gatorade's successful marketing strategies. This strategic pivot has allowed Michelob Ultra to buck industry trends and grow despite overall beer sales dropping.

Key Points:

• Market Decline: Major beer brands like Modelo, Coors Light, and Bud Light have experienced declining sales (2%, 6%, and 9% respectively), attributed to changing consumer preferences and competition from cannabis products.
• Michelob’s Strategy: By lowering carbs, alcohol, and calories, Michelob Ultra repositioned itself as a "sports drink," targeting health-conscious consumers and aligning with athletic sponsorships.
• Mimic Marketing: The brand has consciously adopted Gatorade's advertising language, using similar slogans and marketing messages to appeal to the same demographic.

Notable Quotes:

• Nick Martell [11:28]: "Michelob Ultra is marketing as a sports drink, it's literally copying Gatorade's marketing. And Jack and I got the receipts."
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [13:03]: "Michelob Ultra repositioned itself from a beer to a sports drink by mimicking the market leader, Gatorade and their messaging."

Insights & Conclusions: The hosts highlight Michelob Ultra's ability to adapt in a saturated market by adopting a successful competitor's strategies. This "mimic marketing" not only differentiates Michelob Ultra from traditional beer brands but also opens avenues for other industries to follow suit. The success of this strategy underscores the importance of adaptability and strategic marketing in overcoming market challenges.

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3. Soham Parekh’s 19 Tech Jobs: A Case Study in Remote Work

Overview:
Soham Parekh, an engineer based in Mumbai, India, has garnered attention for holding four full-time tech jobs simultaneously. This unprecedented multitasking has sparked discussions about the viability and ethics of remote work in the modern economy.

Key Points:

• Public Revelation: Soham's story gained traction after a tweet highlighting his multiple employments went viral, amassing 20 million views and igniting conversations across social media platforms.
• Employment Practices: Soham strategically targets companies with minimal HR oversight, allowing him to maintain multiple roles without immediate detection.
• Economic Necessity: He cites the need to pay off student debt as his primary motivation, positioning his actions as a response to economic pressures rather than personal greed.
• Impact on Trust: This case has intensified skepticism towards remote work, leading to increased calls for in-person verification and stricter employment policies.

Notable Quotes:

• Nick Martell [19:21]: "And we should point out, Jack, he was not a complete fraud. Equity was there."
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [21:00]: "We've lost trust in politicians, the media, institutions. Now we've even lost some trust in remote work."

Insights & Conclusions: Nick and Jack explore the broader implications of Soham's actions, suggesting a societal shift towards prioritizing in-person interactions ("IRL era") to rebuild trust in professional and personal relationships. This case serves as a cautionary tale about the potential downsides of remote work flexibility and the necessity for robust verification processes in the digital age.

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Additional Highlights

Trivia Segment:
The hosts engaged listeners with a trivia question about the origin of the Frisbee, revealing its beginnings as a pie tin from the Frisbee Pie Company on a New England college campus. This segment provided a fun interlude and showcased the hosts' knowledge of quirky historical facts.

Market Briefs:
Towards the episode's conclusion, Nick and Jack touched on recent market movements, including:

• Stock Market Drops: The S&P 500 fell by 1% on Monday amidst new tariff announcements by President Trump affecting five countries.
• Tesla’s Political Stance: Tesla's stock declined by 7% following CEO Elon Musk's active promotion of a new political party, reversing his earlier stance of stepping back from politics.
• Box Office Success: Despite poor reviews, "Jurassic World Rebirth" achieved the best opening weekend of 2025, highlighting a trend where negative reviews don't deter blockbuster success.

Notable Quotes:

• Nick Martell [22:00]: "Michelob Ultra is literally copying the same ad language as Gatorade. Let's call it mimic marketing."
• Jack Crivici-Kramer [21:27]: "This isn't art, but there's a huge market for near art."

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Takeaways

1. AI in Creative Industries: The success of Spotify's AI boy band, The Velvet Sundown, emphasizes a growing market for AI-generated content, challenging traditional artistic values and opening new avenues for innovation.

2. Strategic Marketing Adaptation: Michelob Ultra's pivot to a sports-oriented beverage through Gatorade-inspired marketing demonstrates the effectiveness of adaptive strategies in reversing declining market trends within saturated industries.

3. Remote Work Ethics and Trust: Soham Parekh's multitasking across multiple tech jobs highlights the complexities and potential ethical dilemmas of remote work, underscoring the need for enhanced trust and verification mechanisms in the evolving workplace landscape.

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Closing Remarks

Nick and Jack conclude the episode by celebrating listener milestones and personal achievements within their community, reinforcing a sense of engagement and camaraderie with their audience. They also promote their additional content, encouraging listeners to explore the untold history of the Frisbee and other related shows.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• [05:32] Nick Martell: "It's not art, it's near art. But there's a market for near art."
• [13:03] Jack Crivici-Kramer: "Michelob Ultra repositioned itself from a beer to a sports drink by mimicking the market leader, Gatorade and their messaging."
• [19:21] Nick Martell: "And we should point out, Jack, he was not a complete fraud. Equity was there."

---

Conclusion:
This episode of The Best One Yet offers a thought-provoking exploration of the intersections between technology, marketing, and workplace ethics. Through engaging storytelling and insightful analysis, Nick and Jack shed light on emerging trends that are shaping the business landscape, providing listeners with valuable perspectives to stay informed and ahead of the curve.

Transcript

[Nick]

This is Nick.

[Jack]

This is Jack.

[Nick]

It's Tuesday, t boy. Tuesday, July 8th. 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]

Whoa. Besties stocks dropped to start the week. The s and P500 fell 1% on Monday.

[Jack]

Yeah, my eczema had a flare up this week. So has the trade war, apparently.

[Nick]

Yeah, the stock market is actually highly correlated to Jack's skin condition right now.

[Jack]

More on that story later in the show.

[Nick]

But in the meant. Jack, we got three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got on the T boy?

[Jack]

For our first story, the trendiest song over the fourth of July weekend, it's by the Velvet Sunset. Which is a fake band.

[Nick]

That's right. Spotify's AI Boy band has officially gone viral.

[Jack]

For our second story, the only major beer brand growing in this country right now, Michelob Ultra.

[Nick]

Michelob is winning because it's pretending to be Gatorade. And Jack and I got the receipts.

[Jack]

And our third and final story. Last week, one tech company discovered that their employee was also working for another.

[Nick]

Company and another company and another company. One man was working four full time jobs at once. And his story will change. Remote work.

[Jack]

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

[Nick]

Oh, what a mix of stories for a T boy. Tuesday. Love the mix.

[Jack]

Yesterday we asked you a trivia question.

[Nick]

We did.

[Jack]

What product was originally not a product at all? The with just the packaging of another product.

[Nick]

Yeah. This product you didn't have to buy because one pie company gave it away for free.

[Jack]

The answer is the Frisbee.

[Nick]

That's right, the Frisbee. The flying Frisbee. Like that same one from disc golf.

[Jack]

The Frisbee was born on a college campus in New England when kids took pie tins and started tossing them around on the quad.

[Nick]

And Jack, what was the name of that there pie company?

[Jack]

The pie company was called Frisbee.

[Nick]

The Frisbee Pie Company.

[Jack]

That's right. The OG Frisbees weren't Frisbees at all. They were tins of the Frisbee Pie Company.

[Nick]

But today, over 300 million Frisbees have been sold.

[Jack]

And Yetis, even though 80% of you.

[Nick]

Have definitely tossed a Frisbee and 90% of you are bad at throwing a.

[Jack]

Frisbee, 100% of you have no idea how this Frisbee came to be.

[Nick]

Yeah, like the company behind the Frisbee, Wham O. They also invented the hula hoop.

[Jack]

The story of The Frisbee involves colleges.

[Nick]

Communism and UFOs and some major competition from that hula hoop.

[Jack]

And Nick and I went deep into the textbooks to find out where the Frisbee really began.

[Nick]

And it's all part of our weekly show, the best idea yet.

[Jack]

We dropped the link in the episode description to that latest episode on the Frisbee.

[Nick]

But in the meantime, Jack, like we said, we got three fantastic stories right here. You say we hit the pot.

[Jack]

Yeah. My eczema has calmed down and hopefully the stock market has to.

[Nick]

That's a buy signal, baby. That's a buy signal. Let's hit our three stories.

[Jack]

Hope the stock market is a steroidal, topical creature, like my eye does.

[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 the norm. Jack, Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice. 50%. That's a fat tip. T boy city on your at list. If you know, you know. Cause we read to go. We can't wait no more.

[Nick]

So just start the show.

[Unknown]

Start the show.

[Jack]

Start the show.

[Nick]

First, a quick word from our sponsor.

[Jack]

Airbnb.

[Nick]

Yetis, there is nothing more powerful in life or in business than the double dip.

[Jack]

Dip that chip twice and don't end.

[Nick]

It with the ultimate money. Double dip. Hosting on Airbnb. Jack's talked so much about being a host, his friends are asking about it. I'm getting asked about it all the time.

[Jack]

One buddy is about to get married. He has no kids yet. He wants to travel the country dink style with his new wife. How is he going to pay for it? He's going to list his house on Airbnb.

[Nick]

So, Basties, if you're going on vacation this summer, join the millions who host on Airbnb.

[Jack]

Host your whole space. Host your extra space. Host any space.

[Nick]

The income from putting your home on Airbnb could pay for your whole vacay.

[Jack]

I've been doing it for three different properties now.

[Nick]

Yeah, and it's easy to set booking availability. And then when the booking comes in, Jack, you always say it just shows up in your Google calendar.

[Jack]

And if you're not sure what to price your place at, check Airbnb and look at similar listings. It's very easy.

[Nick]

You can double dip that chip.

[Jack]

Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host now a quick break. Switching topics to one of our favorite sponsors, Vital Proteins.

[Nick]

All right, Eddie, so Jack has become an extreme collagen user. This guy's adding vital proteins collagen to each morning coffee. And Jack drinks a lot of morning coffee, I should point out.

[Jack]

Yeah, I have three cups a day. I have a tub of mocha and a tub of chocolate. Both make my coffee taste chocolatey. And there's a bunch of protein in each scoop, too. So.

[Nick]

Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides is a supplement that has four benefits all in 1. Helping support healthy hair, skin, nails, bones and joints.

[Jack]

That is how my face got dewier than a donut.

[Nick]

Mix it into your coffee, to your smoothie, or just go straight to your face.

[Jack]

By taking collagen peptides daily, you can support your hair, skin, nail, bone, and joint health.

[Nick]

Get 20% off by going to vitalproteins.com and entering promo code T Boy at checkout.

[Jack]

That's vitalproteins.com promo code T Boy for 20% off.

[Nick]

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. For our first story this weekend, a breakout new artist admitted they're not real. That's right. This was the first ever AI Rockstar.

[Jack]

The Velvet Sundown is not a real band.

[Nick]

No, they're not.

[Jack]

But they are making $20,000 a month because you don't care.

[Nick]

Yetis. Last week, Sabrina Carpenter and her man eater took a backseat. For the first time, everybody at the.

[Jack]

Water cooler was talking about the Velvet Sundown.

[Nick]

The Velvet Sundown, the band that published their debut album back in June. They already have a million listeners on Spotify.

[Jack]

This band, the Velvet Sundown, is comprised of four groovy looking guys.

[Nick]

And they kind of look like Mumford and Sons, but raised by the Beatles.

[Jack]

And I listened to the album. It's kind of like the Eagles, the classic rock and roll band, but with a more modern sounding vibe.

[Nick]

Yeah, we jumped in. T boy style. The name, it kind of sounds like Velvet Underground, which happens to be my mom's favorite band from the 1960s.

[Jack]

But the look, the sound, the style of the Velvet Sundown.

[Nick]

Preach. Bobby Dylan. What do you think, Jack?

[Jack]

It's all kind of AI ish, isn't it?

[Nick]

So this past weekend, the band stopped being coy and instead the Velvet Sundown.

[Jack]

Confessed that they're fake.

[Nick]

They're faked. Or as they put it online, they are now a synthetic music project guided human creative direction.

[Jack]

Even that description sounds AI generated.

[Nick]

Yeah, it really does.

[Jack]

But 1 million listeners on Spotify, that.

[Nick]

Is a huge number, which leads to this wild headline from the Atlantic magazine.

[Jack]

Nobody cares if music is real anymore.

[Nick]

Now, besties Jack and I listen to the whole musical oeuvre of the Velvet Sundown, and we can tell you it definitely passes for real music, especially if you're not listening closely.

[Jack]

It'd be solid background music, and for most people, just music to play in the background. That is enough.

[Nick]

That's all you need when you're jamming away that term paper boom. You toss on some of the Velvet Sundown over there.

[Jack]

But we should point out the music community, they seem to hate this fake new band, the Velvet Sundown, because the top 20 comments that we read on their latest Instagram video are all negative. And some of the comments are very negative.

[Nick]

But Jack, like we like to say, the devil is in the download. So what kind of numbers are we talking about here?

[Jack]

Last week, there were 300,000 monthly listeners of the Velvet Sundown on Spotify. But today that number is up well beyond 1 million listeners.

[Nick]

Jack, can we sprinkle on some music industry math to this thing?

[Jack]

By our math, this fake band is collecting $20,000 a month in Spotify royalties alone.

[Nick]

Oh, we repeat, 20 grand from four dudes who don't have a pulse.

[Jack]

Our prediction, soon Spotify will begin creating their own AI generated music to start inserting into your playlists.

[Nick]

I mean, they already have the AI DJs. Why not have the AI artists too?

[Jack]

With AI generated music, Spotify doesn't need to send royalties to a human artist.

[Nick]

And as long as we all tolerate it, Spotify is going to start pushing those AI beats on us.

[Jack]

Because of our takeaway.

[Nick]

Because of our takeaway. So, Jack, could you please. This is human. Jack, just want to confirm. Yeah, unless.

[Jack]

Unless my AI is taken over me and against my will and is now pretending to be me pretending to be taken over against their will.

[Nick]

I'm not sold. But Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at a Spotify?

[Jack]

This isn't art, but there's a huge market for near art.

[Nick]

Now, Yetis, we wish we could play the music of the Velvet Sundown for you here, this AI band. But then this episode would get taken down because of legal.

[Jack]

But we'll tell you right now, it's bland. There's no meaning whatsoever to the lyrics of their music and there's no thoughtfulness to the track order in the album.

[Nick]

But besties, think about this. Most music you listen to probably is background music to begin with. It's there for the vibes and if.

[Jack]

Vibes are all that matters to you as a listener, then art is taking a backseat.

[Nick]

Just look at the box office right now, right? Like Jurassic Park 7. They sold $300 million of tickets this weekend.

[Jack]

I think it's Jurassic World 7, but, yeah, it's pretty much dumb fun up on the big screen.

[Nick]

No offense to the T. Rexes, because we love and respect those guys. But CGI generated dinosaurs eating each other. That is not exactly art.

[Jack]

Tech platforms know that content engages users, but content created by humans is costly.

[Nick]

And that is why we expect a boom in near art. AI generated art. That's more function than fashion. For our second story. Every major beer brand is seeing sales fall right now. Except for one.

[Jack]

Michelob Ultra. Michelob Ultra didn't just turn itself into a sports drink. It literally copied Gatorade's marketing.

[Nick]

And we got the receipts. All right, Jack, I'm checking the calendars here. Looks like 2025. Like 2024. Like 2023. Yeah. Yeah. This has been another bad year for beer man.

[Jack]

Sales this bring from Modelo, Coors Light, and Bud Light fell 2%, 6%, and 9% compared to the year before.

[Nick]

It's across the age spectrum. You got young people who are drinking less than ever these days, and you.

[Jack]

Got old people who are drinking less because they're on Ozempic.

[Nick]

Plus, Jack, you're getting competition from cannabis. People just ain't popping a cold one like they used to.

[Jack]

And yet, there's one outlier. Michelob Ultra. At Yetis, we covered last year when McUltra passed Bud Light to become America's number two beer.

[Nick]

But here's what we found fascinating today. While other beers are shrinking year by year by year by year, Michelob Ultra, it keeps on growing.

[Jack]

Sales rose 3% this spring, defying the rest of the industry.

[Nick]

Okay, but we should point out something ironic here. Michelob Ultra, by the way, it is actually owned by Budweiser.

[Jack]

Yeah, Budweiser. I think there's, like, a slogan here about a friend handing you a Bud. That's basically Mick Altra in this analogy.

[Nick]

Budweiser's Stock, it's up 40% this year, mostly thanks to this Michelob Ultra rebound, Jack. Michelob Ultra. They're looking like the 2007 New York Giants. I like that analogy. I thought you'd be impressed the first.

[Jack]

Time we beat the Patriots.

[Nick]

Now, Yetis, here's what Jack and I got curious about. How is Michelob Ultra winning while the whole beer industry is down?

[Jack]

It's simple, Nick. Michelob Ultra isn't A beer.

[Nick]

Actually, we should point out Michelob Ultra is a beer, although barely.

[Jack]

It's like 3% alcohol by volume.

[Nick]

But as Jack and I studied this beer, we noticed that Michelob repositioned itself to be a sports drink.

[Jack]

Now, for decades, Michelob Ultra has targeted golfers. They had a sponsorship with the PGA Tour. But now Michelob Ultra is targeting anyone sweating or even wearing, like, sneakers.

[Nick]

Consumers, they're focused on carbs, alcohol, and calories these days. So Michelob Ultra lowered all three, put it on the label.

[Jack]

It's Red Bull style skinny cans.

[Nick]

It's like a silhouette, like Athleisure leggings. Jack, I think that can fits perfectly in your peloton cup holder or your leggings.

[Jack]

And the sponsors for Michelob Ultra are the same as Nike these days. Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, the soccer player, Alex Morgan.

[Nick]

Interestingly, we noticed that Michelob Ultra is targeting soccer fans by sponsoring Lionel Messi. And what did we discover, Jack?

[Jack]

Well, the top beer being served at 11am These days when European soccer is on TV in America is Michelob Ultra.

[Nick]

Besties added all up in the entire beer industry competes with one singular message.

[Jack]

Popularity. Which is relatable.

[Nick]

But Michelob is channeling Nike instead.

[Jack]

It's talking about performance, which is aspirational.

[Nick]

Yeah, the rest of the beer industry, they're selling in six packs. Michelob is selling your six pack.

[Jack]

And they're reminding you that you have Pilates Tomorrow morning at 7am yeah, better not get too buzzed tonight.

[Nick]

But here's. Here's the funny thing, Yetis. Jack and I discovered that Michelob Ultra's sports drink strategy, it actually goes even further than this. Like, way further.

[Jack]

Borderline plagiarism.

[Nick]

Further. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Michelo Vulture?

[Jack]

Michelob is literally copying the same advertising slogans as Gatorade word for word.

[Nick]

All right, get this. Here's the plan. Yetis, I'm gonna read off some advertising copy. And Jack hasn't heard this. But Jack, I want you to tell me is from a Michelob ad or a Gatorade ad. You ready? Okay, here's the first of the three. Sweat it to get it.

[Jack]

I think that's Michelob Ultra. Like sweat on the golf course, you can get a Michelob Ultra.

[Nick]

Okay, here's the second. For those who go the extra mile.

[Jack]

It'S gotta be Gatorade.

[Nick]

All right, here's the final one. Zero excuses.

[Jack]

I think that's more like anti hangover messaging from Michelob Ultra.

[Nick]

All right, Jack, you got only one out of three, the first one sweated and forget it, that's actually Gatorade. The second, for those who go the extra mile, that's Michelob. And the final One is Michelob 2. Zero excuses.

[Jack]

Okay, I was one for three.

[Nick]

Yeah, that's it.

[Jack]

How are the advertising slogans between a beer and a sports drink indistinguishable to me?

[Nick]

I mean, Jack, it's the same enhancement messaging. One is for electrolytes, but one is for alcohol. And yet it's the same thing.

[Jack]

Michelob Ultra repositioned itself from a beer to a sports drink by mimicking the market leader, Gatorade and their messaging.

[Nick]

And you know what? It worked. So besties expect to see more of this in other industries too.

[Jack]

Let's call it mimic marketing.

[Nick]

Let's call it mimic marketing. I see what you did here. I like it a lot. Now, a quick word from our sponsor.

[Jack]

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[Nick]

Ah, speed and quality. Not typically a combo you get together.

[Jack]

I mean, Nick, you can get a fast food hamburger, but we hope you like it well done.

[Nick]

Or Jack, you can get a 10 second haircut, but we hope you like bangs.

[Jack]

Well, there is an exception to this unwritten rule. If you're hiring, you can find candidates fast who are also extremely qualified for your job.

[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]

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[Nick]

That's ziprecruiter.com tboy ziprecruiter the smartest way to hire. Yes, it is.

[Jack]

Audible.

[Nick]

T boy Trivia. Here we go. Yetis, what is the biggest thing you can pack for vacation but not have to check your luggage?

[Jack]

I think it's a leading question based on my Audible I just said a second ago.

[Nick]

Yeah, yeah. The answer's the Audible app. It's the Audible app.

[Jack]

Audible has the deepest selection of audio podcasts and Audible originals all in one app.

[Nick]

You gotta stick all your clothes in a suitcase, but you get thousands of audio titles in your pocket.

[Jack]

Right now I'm on a World War II kick. I'm listening to Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt.

[Nick]

How we created the arsenal of democracy. It is Jack's Roman Empire right now.

[Jack]

Now, when we're packing for our summer vacation, we don't forget our toothbrush and we don't forget our Audible.

[Nick]

There's more to imagine when you listen.

[Jack]

Sign up for a free 30 day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free.

[Nick]

Visit audible.comtboy that's audible.comtboy for our third and final story. This one's wild. Soam Parekh is an engineer who is working for four companies at the same time.

[Jack]

He just spoke publicly about his side, side, side, side, side hustle situation. And what he's doing is gonna affect all of us.

[Nick]

Yetis, it all began with a tweet.

[Jack]

There's a guy named Soham Parakh in India who works for three to four startups. Beware.

[Nick]

And that tweet got 20 million views, which led to this comment.

[Jack]

Holy crap. We hired this guy a week ago.

[Nick]

Which led to these comments.

[Jack]

He was our first engineer. We just interviewed him. We're about to hire this guy.

[Nick]

Get this. One startup just offered this man a $250,000 role in San Francisco. And did he accept it, Jack?

[Jack]

No, because he refuses to relocate. He only does remote work.

[Nick]

And this man, Yetis is Soham Parekh, based in Mumbai, India. He's been doing four tech at once.

[Jack]

He has four full time jobs in tech at the same time.

[Nick]

This story got so wild this weekend, a new website sprouted up called the Soham Tracker.

[Jack]

It turns out he's worked 19 jobs in the last four years, most of the time with many jobs at the same time.

[Nick]

I mean, Jack, the only question left is if you're working four jobs, which one do you put in your LinkedIn title?

[Jack]

All right, we actually saw this guy's resume. Cause people are trying to out him and like make sure nobody else hires him. His resume is tailor made for like engineering tech job right now.

[Nick]

I mean, Jack, I think what you put in the LinkedIn title is builder, visionary, stealth mode.

[Jack]

Right?

[Nick]

Like you do that with a period after each one. Yeah. And now besties. What Jack and I found fascinating is that ironically over the weekend, while you were not at work, everyone was talking about this guy's work.

[Jack]

And here's the news. Soham has gone public. He is sharing his side of the story in a podcast interview and he confirmed it's all true.

[Nick]

It's actually a bold strategy here. Cotton, let's see if it works out for him. What does he do exactly, Jack?

[Jack]

He targets big companies that don't have much HR oversight and he also targets small startups that are too distracted to notice that he's very, very part time.

[Nick]

The latter is where he found the most success. And he claims he did this out of necessity, not greed.

[Jack]

He's got a sympathetic story. He says he needs to pay off his student debts.

[Nick]

And we should point out, Jack, he was not a complete fraud. Equity was there.

[Jack]

He did a lot of work at these companies. He worked 12 to 14 hours a day, which is like three or four hours at each of his four jobs.

[Nick]

And Elon Musk, he's like the CEO of five different companies right now. Right?

[Jack]

Although Elon is upfront about his part time at this. This kid wasn't well, Yetis.

[Nick]

In this economy, more Americans than ever are working double duty with two jobs at once.

[Jack]

Not side hustle jobs like eight Hour Hustle. Eight Hour Hustle.

[Nick]

But the way we see it, this is actually a bigger story than all of that. Literally.

[Jack]

Scams related to remote work applications have tripled in the last three years. But this is the biggest single example yet.

[Nick]

So if your boss was skeptical of remote work before, she's now completely opposed to it after hearing the resume of Soam Parikh.

[Jack]

It's a shame if one rule breaking apple could spoil a whole bunch. But people are gonna remember this example.

[Nick]

Although, Jack, as we're telling the story, I'm now realizing this man is the exact opposite of the plot of Office Space. Right, because Office Space is about a guy being honest that he works zero jobs, and this is a guy being dishonest about working for jobs.

[Jack]

Yeah, I guess we could say that there might be a Hulu documentary in this guy's face.

[Nick]

I think they're already on the screenplay, Jack. So what's the takeaway for our buddies over in hr?

[Jack]

Paradoxically, we are entering the IRL era. The IRL era.

[Nick]

Yeti is the biggest victim of the rise of the Internet. It's been trust.

[Jack]

We've lost trust in politicians, the media, institutions. Now we've even lost some trust in remote work.

[Nick]

Oh, and by the way, like every other Internet trend, loss of trust will only get amplified with artificial intelligence.

[Jack]

So we think there will be a pendulum swing of real world verification.

[Nick]

Basically, don't trust it if you can't touch it. So Jack, how would we see this play out in the real world?

[Jack]

For interviews in the future, they will be face to face, not on video or Jack.

[Nick]

Investments. You gotta meet the team at the headquarters before the deal. You gotta kick the tires a little.

[Jack]

Bit in dating face to face or assume their profile is fake.

[Nick]

We see it now in education. Term papers are out, but oral in person presentations are in.

[Jack]

We're going back to those little blue books again. And the proctors watching you actually write.

[Nick]

Into the exam trigger Warning besties for all the remote digital solutions we have gained. Welcome to the IRL era. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T Boy Tuesday the.

[Jack]

Velvet Sundown has over a million listeners on and Spotify and their human owners confess the whole band is fake.

[Nick]

It's not art, it's near art. But there's a market for near art.

[Jack]

For our second story, Michelob Ultra is the 1 big beer brand that's actually growing because it's now being marketed as a sports drink.

[Nick]

Michelob literally copied the same ad language as Gatorade. Let's call it mimic marketing.

[Jack]

Let's call it mimic marketing. Finally, Soham Parekh collects four salaries working four full time jobs all at once.

[Nick]

His story is the perfect example of why, paradoxically, we're entering the IRL era.

[Jack]

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

[Nick]

First, the President signed the big beautiful bill on Friday, but despite huge tax cuts included, stocks actually fell on Monday.

[Jack]

But stocks fell for a different reason. They fell because of tariffs.

[Nick]

That's right. On Monday, President Trump announced that starting August 1, 25% tariffs would tax trade with five different countries.

[Jack]

Those five countries getting new tariffs are Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar. I don't think that's five actually, but that's okay.

[Nick]

We're going to round up on it. Of course it is a threat though. The countries could announce a deal before the August 1 deadline. No tariffs then.

[Jack]

Not sure if that qualifies as taco, but we'll see.

[Nick]

And second, Tesla stock fell 7% on Monday because the CEO just can't stay away from divisive politics right now.

[Jack]

Remember a month or two ago when Elon said he was stepping back from politics and Tesla shares rose as a result?

[Nick]

Well, elon pulled a 180 faster than a self driving Prius. He is now bankrolling and promoting a new political party, the America Party.

[Jack]

Classic Elon. He's doing it because he asked his Twitter followers if he should and 65% said yes.

[Nick]

And second, Jurassic Park 7 is now the best performing opening weekend of 2025. It ate Brad Pitt.

[Jack]

It's technically Jurassic world Rebirth. There's no 7 in the title, but it did bring in 318 million in its opening weekend.

[Nick]

Better opening weekend than Minecraft, Lilo and Stitch or Formula 1. F1.

[Jack]

The reviews were bad, but the CGI is good.

[Nick]

It's a funny correlation here. We've noticed the worse the reviews, the.

[Jack]

Bigger the box office, at least when it comes to dinosaur movies.

[Nick]

Now time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by the Abbas family from lovely Chicago where they do logistics.

[Jack]

We are now officially closer to the year 2050 than to the year 2000.

[Nick]

That's right. The full span from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2050 is 50 years.

[Jack]

And the exact midpoint of those 50 years was on July 2, 2025.

[Nick]

So that means. Yetis, congratulations. You are officially closer to 2050 than you are to the song Hulu.

[Jack]

We let the dogs out.

[Nick]

Yetis, you look fantastic today. Jack. Real Jack, AI Jack, you both look fantastic today as well.

[Jack]

My AI is so good. It has eczema flare up too, which.

[Nick]

Is exactly what an AI would say. Now, Yetis, now that you've done this show, we have the perfect place for you to go. Go check out the untold origin story of Frisbee.

[Jack]

We got a link in the episode description. It's for our other show, the best idea yet.

[Nick]

You're gonna love the best idea yet. Go check it out now. And Jack and I will see you as always tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to yeti David Naughton over in Oxnard, California. Congratulations.

[Jack]

Congratulations to Alai and Karen in Boston, Massachusetts for their honeymoon and for getting accepted to MIT's master's program.

[Nick]

And Kedar Shaker is turning 23 years old in Duval, Washington, who also participated in the World Rubik's Cube championship. Do we have a winner here potentially? I hope so.

[Jack]

I've never gotten like anything close to one side the correct colors.

[Nick]

I got two reds. Once I got two reds, Jack. And a shout out to Allison Hebden and Parker Alfred who are getting married in Louisville, Kentucky. Congratulations, guys. Guys, can't wait to see the picks.

[Jack]

And a big shout out to Soham Parak from Mumbai, India. It's our newest employee on the T boy team. We expect a full time effort for this full time role.

[Nick]

Did you wire the signing bonus yet? Jack?

[Jack]

This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock in Spotify and Peloton. We both own ETFs in the S&P 500 and Nick owns stock at Nike.

[Nick]

You're like, no, I'm not AI. I'm me. It's like, that's when AI would say.

[Jack]

If you like the best one yet, you can listen ad free right now by joining Wondery and the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

[Nick]

Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us a.

[Jack]

Little bit about yourself by filling out a short [e-mail] survey we want to.

[Nick]

Get to know you.

[Unknown]

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