Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet

Episode 2️⃣ “Upvote” — Our Reddit Stock Pick. Shirley Temple’s surge. Trump’s Landlord Lockout.

Date: January 8, 2026
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell

Episode Overview

Jack and Nick bring their signature energy to break down the three most buzzworthy business stories you need to know today. The episode covers the surprising renaissance of the Shirley Temple as the official drink of Dry January, President Trump's dramatic policy announcement to ban corporate home buying, and their second 2026 stock pick—Reddit—amid the rising importance of realness in an AI-flooded world. Each story is interspersed with quick wit, cultural context, memorable banter, and actionable takeaways.

Key Segments & Timestamps

• [04:48] Story 1: Shirley Temple’s Surge as 2026’s Top Non-Alc Drink
• [09:17] Story 2: President Trump’s “Landlord Lockout”—Banning Corporate Home Buying
• [14:12] Story 3: Reddit—Jack & Nick’s 2026 Stock Pick & “Island of Realness”
• [19:20] “What Else You Need to Know” Business Briefs
• [21:06] The Best Fact Yet: Oregon Ducks' Unique College Football Distinctions

1️⃣ Shirley Temple’s Surge: Dry January’s Official Drink

[04:48–09:17]

Context:

• Dry January is bigger than ever: 1 in 4 Americans participated last year ([05:21]).
• Shirley Temple, the OG mocktail, is crowned the trendiest non-alcoholic drink for 2026.

Details & Insights:

• “Poppy and Olipop both launched a Shirley Temple in the same week...7UP and Gatorade too.” ([04:52])
• Shirley Temple drink: base is ginger ale, Sprite or 7Up, grenadine, and those “gorgeous cherries that are skinless and, like, shockingly red.” ([05:35])
• 95 years old; invented at Chasen’s in LA so child actors could join the adults post-filming ([06:03]).
• Ironic twist: The real Shirley Temple “hated Shirley Temples...too sweet” and fought commercial use of her name ([06:15]).

Notable Trend:

• Brands rolling out Shirley Temple products all at once: Olipop (7 Instagram posts), Poppy (9), Ben Stiller’s soda startup, Gatorade’s electrolyte version, 16 Handles’ froyo, influencer “Shirley Temple King” ([07:01–07:28]).
• Highlights “kidulting” (adults embracing nostalgic products) in beverages, plus “newstalgia”—remixing old hits in modern, Instagram-friendly ways ([07:32]).

Notable Quote:

• Jack: “Companies used to do research and development. Now they do scrolling and development.” ([08:11])

Takeaway:

• Brands are shifting from traditional R&D to “S&D” (“Scrolling and Development”)—spotting social media trends and capitalizing, which is faster, easier, and less risky since consumer demand is proven online ([08:11–09:10]).
• “The good companies, they do R&D. But the smart ones do S and D.” ([09:10])

2️⃣ Trump’s Landlord Lockout: Corporate Homebuying Ban

[09:17–13:07]

Context:

• President Trump announced plans to ban Wall Street/corporate buying of homes in the U.S. ([09:17]).
• Big issue: 19% of homes sold in Q1 2024 were to investment firms (Redfin data, [09:48]).

Details & Insights:

• Problem: Investment firms turn homes into rental properties or flip for profit, driving up prices via algorithm-determined rents—especially acute in Atlanta, where corporate landlords own 30% of rental homes ([10:26]).
• “If you live in Atlanta, you know that this competition always leads to all cash offers, which raises rents.” ([10:34])
• Announcement hit public companies hard: Opendoor dropped 11%, Blackstone dropped 5% ([11:09–11:32]).
• Context warning: Presidential declarations do not guarantee policy change; lobbyists likely to resist ([11:42–12:08]).

Takeaway:

• Biggest issue isn’t just Wall Street buying homes, but not building enough new homes.
• “We need Operation Warp Speed—but for homes.” ([13:02])
• “Why doesn’t housing get the same attention from Washington as Covid did or as AI is getting right now?” ([12:39])

3️⃣ Reddit: The “Island of Realness” & 2026 Stock Pick

[14:12–19:20]

Context:

• Jack and Nick’s second annual portfolio resolution stock pick: Reddit (RDDT) ([14:12]).
• Motivated by Reddit’s position as a hub of “realness” in an era of AI content.

Details & Insights:

• Reddit went public in 2024, now worth $49B—minuscule compared to Meta but up 6x since IPO ([15:47]).
• Unique vibe: “Reddit was the rogue social media site...basically the comment section fight club." ([15:38])
• Push to “button up” for IPO but maintain core culture; new homepage and upgraded search launching to capitalize on desire for authentic content ([16:04–17:10]).
• CEO Steve Huffman: “Reddit is for real people to talk about stuff.” ([16:31])
• AI platforms (OpenAI, Google) increasingly license Reddit data, making Reddit valuable both for ad revenue & as a data licensing play ([18:09]).

Notable Moments:

• Jim Cramer physically reacts to Jack’s Reddit pick: “He started hitting me, I didn’t know if it was excitement or anger” ([14:41]).
• Banter about anonymous Reddit handles: “You don’t tell anyone your Reddit handle—maybe your best friend from the street, not even your therapist.” ([15:25])
• Lively discussion about the upcoming homepage/search bar, making Reddit the starting point for real Internet browsing ([17:10]).

Takeaway:

• Reddit should change its ticker symbol to REAL.
• AI “wants human results”—Reddit is the prime data source for major AI training; Wall Street expects Reddit’s licensing contracts to quadruple with Google ([18:09–18:24]).
• Dual growth flywheel: growth in platform traffic and AI licensing demand ([18:24–18:35]).
• “Reddit is our stock pick of 2026...You heard it here on The Best One Yet.” ([19:20])

Business Briefs: Lightning Round News

[19:20–21:06]

• McRib Lawsuit: McDonald's sued for deceptive McRib ingredients—allegedly heart, tripe, stomach, not ribs ([19:29]).
  • “McRib is a McFib” ([19:55])
• DoorDash Trolling Scam: DoorDash hit with AI deepfake scam, revealing fake internal leaks ([20:04]).
• Best Performing Stock Market 2025: South Korea’s KOSPI up 75%, led by chipmakers and “K-cool” brands ([20:37]).
  • “Korea is very in...season five White Lotus!” ([20:58])

“Best Fact Yet”—Oregon Ducks Football

[21:06–21:58]

• University of Oregon:
  • Most football uniform combinations.
  • Loudest stadium per capita (despite only 54k seats).
  • Nike founder Phil Knight is biggest donor ([21:31–21:46]).
  • Fun fact: “Loudest stadium per capita. That’s a statistic I didn’t know existed.” ([21:52])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No sport is more dependent on Hollywood for TV ratings than hockey.” ([02:33])
• “The good companies, they do R&D. But the smart ones do S and D.” ([09:10])
• “Open doors, door got shut.” ([11:11])
• “Operation Warp Speed, but for homes.” ([13:04])
• “Reddit is for real people to talk about stuff.” —Steve Huffman, Reddit CEO ([16:31])
• Banter: “You don’t tell anyone your Reddit handle — maybe your best friend from the street, not even your therapist.” ([15:25])

Episode Tone

• Energetic, playful, witty—with timely pop culture and business world asides.
• Knowledgeable but never dry; hosts riff on each other and engage in memorable banter.
• Accessible: breaks down complex business news into bite-size and actionable analysis.

Useful Links

• Nick & Jack Studios: The Best One Yet Podcast
• [Episode Tickets / Tour Info](included in episode description)

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