🛩️ “Amalfi, please” — Travel Agents beat AI. Jerome Powell’s last day. Cerebras’ wedding IPO. +Kool-Aid Wellness

Summary

The Best One Yet – Episode Summary

Episode Title: 🛩️ “Amalfi, please” — Travel Agents beat AI. Jerome Powell’s last day. Cerebras’ wedding IPO. +Kool-Aid Wellness
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell
Date: May 15, 2026

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Overview

In this energetic episode of The Best One Yet, Jack and Nick break down three of the top pop-business news stories shaping culture and markets: the surprising resilience of travel agents against AI disruption, the blockbuster IPO of AI chipmaker Cerebras (with a wedding season twist), and Jerome Powell’s controversial last day as Federal Reserve Chair. Sprinkled throughout are witty asides, spot-on analogies, and their trademark “TBOY” playful banter. The episode also touches on how legacy brands are hijacking wellness trends (think “Kool-Aid for Pilates”) and a lightning round of the day’s quirky and notable headlines.

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Kool-Aid Wellness & The “Addition Economy”

Starts at 01:11

• Food giants scramble to ride wellness trends, even if it means completely rebranding.
• Kool-Aid now calls itself a “hydration business,” launching new sugar-free, dye-free electrolyte pouches.
  • “The giant red anthropomorphic punch bowl now does yoga, baby.” (Jack, 01:29)
• Capri Sun’s “Hydrate” and other brands (Kraft Mac & Cheese with protein, Chips Ahoy! with fiber) are all examples of the “addition economy”—legacy products plus a trendy health ingredient.
• Nostalgic throwback to when Tropicana added calcium: “And today, though, potato chips are adding Botox to the bag, and it’s like nobody’s even blinking.” (Nick, 02:24)
• Memorable quote: “Struggling legacy brand, plus hot trending buzzword ingredient... Voila! To quote Paris Hilton: that’s hot.” (Jack, 02:27)

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Story 1: The Travel Agent Paradox – Humans Beat AI with Taste

Main segment starts at 05:21

• Contrary to the AI “job replacement” narrative, spending on travel agents boomed 17% last year (to $134 billion).
• Number of U.S. travel agents soared 63% last year to 310,000; fastest-growing profession per LinkedIn.
  • “Even clowns are worried they'll lose their job to A.I. …but one job is defying the AI job loss: The travel agent.” (Nick, 05:46)
• Internet democratized travel, but it’s leading to crowding and “choice paralysis.”
  • “There are 396 restaurants in Positano… That’s a lot of options. You need a resource to limit those options.” (Nick, 08:09)
• Agents curate trips and perks you actually want—insider upgrades, late checkout, etc.—at no extra cost to the traveler (they’re paid by the hotel).
• Key insight: Humans provide “taste”—curation, discernment, and the subjective, intuitive value that AI cannot replicate.
  • “The travel agent paradox proves what humans will always have over AI: taste.” (Jack, 09:31)
  • Touches on the “Good Will Hunting” speech by Robin Williams to illustrate the difference between knowing and truly experiencing:
    “AI can recite Shakespeare, but it’s never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable… Matt Damon is AI in this scenario.” (Jack & Nick, 10:12-10:22)
• TAKEAWAY: Taste and curation, deeply rooted in subjective human experience, are future-proof talents even as AI evolves.

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Story 2: Cerebras’ Blockbuster IPO & the “Wedding Season” of AI

Main segment starts at 10:48

• Biggest IPO of the year: AI semiconductor company Cerebras. Stock doubled on day one; company is now worth $95 billion—“more than Airbnb, more than Nike.”
• Tie-in: Like the first wedding of the year, everyone goes all out.
  • “The reason Cerebras doubled on day number one of trading—it’s because the year is not 2026, it’s 2020 chips.” (Jack, 12:15)
• Market context:
  • Nvidia hit $5.5T valuation, chip ETFs are skyrocketing, random “chip” firms are tripling.
  • Cerebras “wafer” technology explained: Huge silicon wafers 58x larger than regular chips, dramatically reducing AI's "awkward silence" (slow response lag).
  • “Wafers… look like they were made in a giant tree by a bunch of giant Keebler elves.” (Nick, 13:16)
• OpenAI is both Cerebras’ largest shareholder and customer; “Sam Altman has a craving for wafers.”
• Key question: Is there enough investor money for all these huge AI IPOs (SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI coming soon) without cannibalizing old tech stocks?
  • “Too many IPOs, like too many wedding invitations, requires hard decisions.” (Jack, 14:21)
• TAKEAWAY: Capital is finite; with an unprecedented slate of major IPOs, investors must make tough choices about where to allocate funds.

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Story 3: Jerome Powell’s Last Day—Dual Report Card

Main segment starts at 18:01

• Marking Jerome “Jerry/J-Pow/Jerry Too Late” Powell’s final day as Fed Chair.
• Recap of his 8-year tenure, navigating the “Terrible Twenties”: pandemic, inflation, trade wars, multiple global crises.
• Jerry’s two jobs: steer the economy and protect the institution (Fed independence).
  • “For the economy, Powell gets a B. For the institution, he gets an A Plus, Yetis.” (Jack, 21:28)
• He faced unique challenges: fighting inflation, keeping the U.S. outperforming globally, and resisting direct political interference—including an unprecedented DOJ probe initiated by President Trump.
  • “Any country that’s let politics influence their central bank has resulted in economic disaster.” (Nick, 21:51)
• Despite being replaced as chair (Kevin Warsh now in charge), Powell will stay as a board member to safeguard the bank’s independence for two more years.
• TAKEAWAY: Jerry’s legacy isn’t just economic; it’s his defense of institutional integrity and central bank independence under extraordinary pressure.

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Quick Hits & Notable Moments

Segment starts at 23:43

• President Trump visits China—more style than substance; invites Xi to the U.S. in September.
• Hacky sack is trending among Gen Z in Boston (nostalgia rules!).
• 2026 FIFA World Cup final gets Super Bowl–style halftime show (Shakira, Madonna, BTS); curated by Chris Martin (Coldplay).
• Best Fact Yet:
  • Maryland becomes first state to ban “surveillance pricing”—using your data to individually set prices.
  • “Surveillance pricing, which is spying on you using the Internet and like your Instagram account to set a price based on how much they think you can pay for it.” (Jack, 25:09)
• Yeti Rule #76: “Celebrate the wins.”

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Memorable Quotes

• On Kool-Aid: “The giant red anthropomorphic punch bowl now does yoga, baby.” (Jack, 01:29)
• On Taste & AI: “AI can recite Shakespeare, but it’s never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable… Matt Damon is AI in this scenario.” (Jack & Nick, 10:12-10:22)
• On IPOs & Weddings: “Too many IPOs, like too many wedding invites, require some really [hard] decisions.” (Jack, 14:21)
• On Central Banking: “Any country that’s let politics influence their central bank has resulted in economic disaster.” (Nick, 21:51)
• On Celebrating: “Besties, let us know what you’re celebrating. Drop it in the comments. We can’t wait to see it for Monday’s show.” (Nick, 25:41)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:11 | Kool-Aid Wellness & Addition Economy
• 05:21 | The Travel Agent Paradox (Main Story 1)
• 10:48 | Cerebras’ IPO & AI “Wedding Season” (Main Story 2)
• 18:01 | Jerome Powell’s Final Day & Dual Legacy (Main Story 3)
• 23:43 | Quick Hits: China/Trump, Hacky Sack, World Cup Halftime
• 24:57 | Best Fact Yet: Ban on Surveillance Pricing (Maryland)

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Final Takeaways

• Human taste and curation are irreplaceable—embrace careers that play to them.
• AI and chips dominate markets, but “IPO overload” means investors face hard allocation choices.
• Institutional integrity matters: Powell’s bigger win may be defending the Fed, not just the economy.
• Don’t forget to celebrate small and big wins—TBOY’s Rule #76.

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For anyone who missed it, this episode is a lively blend of business news, cultural trends, and the wit that makes Jack and Nick’s coverage both informative and fun.

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick, this is Jack.

[B]

It's Friday, the real Friday, May 15th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T boy.

[A]

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

[B]

New acronym you gotta make into a tattoo, Jack. Ath all time high, baby.

[A]

Despite back to back hot inflation reports, the tech rally on Wall street cannot be stopped.

[B]

Stocks just hitting ath. And you guessed it, it's cause of the AI stocks.

[A]

Which is actually our second story.

[B]

But we've got three fantastic stories to go into. The cool and capitalism. Jack, what do we got in today's

[A]

T boy for our first story, One job defying AI right now is travel agents.

[B]

Travel agent demand. It is booming because ChatGPT ain't got no taste.

[A]

For our second story, the biggest IPO of the year happened on Thursday. Cerebras jumped 100% on day one of trading.

[B]

They're kicking off hot IPO summer, and it reminds us of wedding season.

[A]

And our third and final story. It's Jerome Powell's last day as the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank.

[B]

Jerry. So we're giving him two grades for two very different jobs. And those grades are very, very different.

[A]

But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, I mean, no better

[B]

mix to go into the weekend with. Love the mixjack.

[A]

Every food company is bending over backwards right now to align with the wellness trends.

[B]

Oh, and case in point, it's Kool Aid. They're now a hydration business.

[A]

We repeat, Kool Aid, which includes sugar, Red 40, and artificial flavoring in their ingredients. That Kool Aid is good for you.

[B]

The giant red anthropomorphic punch bowl now does yoga, baby.

[A]

True story. Kool Aid is launching electroly pouches with no sugar and no artificial colors.

[B]

Jack, did I see Alex taking a Stanley full of Kool Aid to Pilates the other day?

[A]

You did not. But Kool Aid isn't the only brand trying to pivot to wellness.

[B]

Capri sun, anyone?

[A]

Last month, Capri sun also launched with electrolytes. They call it Capri sun hydrate.

[B]

Put me in, coach. I just pounded a Capri sun besties.

[A]

We call this the addition economy.

[B]

As in jumping onto a trend by adding one viral ingredient.

[A]

For instance, Kraft Mac and Cheese. Now with protein.

[B]

Or Chips Ahoy. Now with fiber.

[A]

Or allbirds now with A.I.

[B]

hey, Snickers, why haven't you added peptides yet?

[A]

Because gummy bears already beat them to collagen, Nick.

[B]

You see, besties, when we were growing up, Tropicana added calcium to the Orange juice. And that was a big deal.

[A]

Pretty sure it was a big deal when they added vitamin C to the orange juice.

[B]

And today, though, potato chips are adding

[A]

Botox to the bag, and it's like nobody's even blinking.

[B]

No big deal. Here's the formula. Struggling legacy brand, plus hot trending buzzword ingredient.

[A]

Voila. To quote Paris Hilton, that's hot.

[B]

And Paris Hilton, that is financial advice.

[A]

Jack, let's hit our three stories.

[C]

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused 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 atlas. If you know, you know. Cause we regret to go we can't wait no more so just start the

[B]

show

[C]

Start the show.

[B]

Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor,

[A]

Monarch.

[B]

All right, Yetis, you're never gonna be able to guess how many accounts Jack has linked to monarch.

[A]

31.

[B]

Are there even that many, like, financial products out there?

[C]

Yeti.

[B]

Yetis. He's got credit cards, checking accounts, brokerage

[A]

Accounts, Retirement Accounts, 529 College savings accounts for each kid. And my nieces and nephews. Nick.

[B]

Okay, I'm rounding up. Does that get us to 31? Where are we?

[A]

Don't forget my mortgage, my house, the car I own. They're all linked. And all their values in Monarch.

[B]

You see, Besties. Jack actually linked everything to Monarch one year ago during a little bit of spring cleaning.

[A]

Until I used Monarch, I had a very messy, very chaotic spreadsheet. But now they're clean, synced, and automatic.

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

This isn't another bolt on tool, Nick. It's AI built into the system that runs your business.

[B]

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Especially if that competition is just one dude and an army of AI bots.

[B]

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[A]

the guide is free to you at

[B]

netsuite.com tby netsuite.com tboy for our first story, the industry of travel agents has never been bigger, which presents the travel agent paradox.

[A]

It reveals the human trait that will always be better than AI Look, Yetis,

[B]

we hear ya and we get it. AI angst is just everywhere these days.

[A]

Even clowns are worried they'll lose their job to A.I.

[B]

yeah, real clowns. But hold onto your boarding passes, Yetis, because one job is defying the AI job loss.

[A]

The travel agent.

[B]

The humble travel agent, Jack.

[A]

According to the Wall Street Journal, spending in America on Travel agents rose 17% last year to $134 billion billion with

[B]

the B. Jack, that is honeymoon sweet money right there.

[A]

And it's not just rich people doing it. We'll get to that more in a second.

[B]

Good point, Jack. Keep going for me, my friend.

[A]

The number of travel agents in America as a profession soared by 63% last year. There are now 310,000American travel agents.

[B]

LinkedIn just listed travel agents as a top 25 fastest growing job for the third year in a row.

[A]

Jack, we know what you're thinking. Ten years ago, the travel agent appeared to be an obsolete profession in the digital age.

[B]

TripAdvisor.com and Yelp, they had killed off the travel agent.

[A]

But travel agents as a profession are alive and well.

[B]

Literally alive. Like human travel agents we're talking about here.

[A]

If you're going to Tulum, you gotta let Tina handle your booking and itinerary. She'll get you all sorts of free upgrades. It won't even cost you. You gotta do it, Tina.

[B]

Are we going with the. Oh, never mind. I will talk to you later, Tina. But in the meantime, Yetis, here's what Jack and I find fascinating. We call this the travel agent par artificial intelligence.

[A]

And the Internet didn't kill the travel agent, they actually made them stronger.

[B]

And we discovered there are three reasons for this phenomenon of effects.

[A]

First is that curation is queen. Second is choice paralysis. And third is that we frickin love perks.

[B]

Jack, how about we sprinkle on some context to kick off more of this story?

[A]

The Internet democratized travel.

[B]

Italy had a record number of visitors last year. They're now charging tourists for what were once free things like the Trevi Fountain.

[A]

Nick and I are actually both going to Italy this year. Me for the first time.

[B]

Different trips, by the way.

[A]

Everyone's like, oh, we're recording from Italy. But I booked my trip with a travel agent.

[B]

Which reveals the first phenomenon of the travel agent paradox.

[A]

With travel at all time highs, you want insider information so you're not mobbed by the crowds.

[B]

Like the Amalfi coast where Jack's going is so popular. Curation is queen. That's what you want.

[A]

I don't want to look at the sunset beside 53 other American tourists.

[B]

That's the curation that only a travel agent could deliver. Which then leads to the second phenomenon of the travel agent paradox.

[A]

There are 396 restaurants in Positano, 77 of which which are in the Michelin guide.

[B]

That's a lot of options. You need a resource to limit those options.

[A]

No, I don't want the 500 restaurants with a 4.6 rating or better on Google. I want the three restaurants that the travel agent recommends.

[B]

You'll pay a premium to avoid the choice paralysis.

[A]

Actually, you won't pay a premium, Nick. We'll get to that in a second, Claude.

[B]

Can't go to Capri, Jack. It reads reviews about Capri, but you can't trust a bot to tell you if renting a boat is worth it if it can't even row the thing.

[A]

Now this is where the business model of travel agents come in. And you'll be shocked by this.

[B]

I.

[A]

You don't have to pay them.

[B]

You see besties. This is not a fee based industry like a financial advisor is.

[A]

The travel agent does get paid, but not by you. They get paid by the hotel, which is grateful that they sent business to them.

[B]

The industry relies on commissions.

[A]

And since the travel agent has a relationship with the hotel, they include perks in your booking for free.

[B]

The free breakfast, the spa credit, everyone's favorite, the late checkout.

[A]

What I'm trying to say, is not only do you as the traveler not pay for a travel agent, you get free stuff by using a travel agent.

[B]

There's a bigger element here in the AMEX inspired credit card perk wars. That is what travelers want, the VIP experience.

[A]

So travel agents bundle in perks, which is also a competitive advantage over bots

[B]

and online booking because ChatGPT can't get you a complimentary Prosecco with check in. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies worried about AI?

[A]

The travel agent paradox proves what humans will always have over AI Taste.

[B]

Ah, taste.

[A]

Yetis.

[B]

It is an ambiguous concept, hard to define, subjective. And that may actually be its savior.

[A]

The dictionary says that taste is the discernment of style considered harmonious or valuable.

[B]

And taste requires fundamentally human perspectives that AI simply does not have.

[A]

AI can't tell you how the palm tree placed on the bar interacts with the light and makes you feel at sunset, or why the flavor of sauce

[B]

makes that meal perfect for your last night of your trip.

[A]

Only a fellow human who's experienced that room or that dish can tell you those things. A bot cannot.

[B]

It actually reminds us of that scene in Goodwill Hunting when Robin Williams rips into Matt Damon. You know what I'm talking about, Jack.

[A]

He says, I might ask you about love and you'll probably recite Shakespeare, maybe even tell me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been truly vulnerable.

[B]

That is taste.

[A]

Matt Damon is AI in this scenario.

[B]

Now we know what you're thinking. Yetis. Yes, AI can try to understand love, or try to understand that dish or that restaurant.

[A]

It can regurgitate what it's learned in reviews, like Will Hunting regurgitated sonnets from Shakespeare.

[B]

But taste is not crowdsourced.

[A]

That's why the travel agent and other taste dependent roles can defy artificial intelligence.

[B]

For our second story, the biggest IPO of the year just happened Thursday, and cerebra stock surged 100% on day number one.

[A]

Because the year of the AI IPO is upon us. And it reminds us of 2018, the

[B]

Eddie's last weekend before Memorial Day. You know what that means, Jack?

[A]

The birds are chirping, the flowers are blossoming. Love is in the air.

[B]

To quote an enthusiastic Vince Vaughn, it's wedding season.

[A]

Baby Wall street has begun a different season. And they started it on Thursday. IPO season.

[B]

Oh, and they are dressed up. Baby SpaceX IPOs. Next month will be the biggest in history. Then anthropic, then OpenAI.

[A]

Those could be the three biggest IPOs in Wall street history all in the same year.

[B]

It's crazy, but on Thursday, we got the first IPO of the year. And it's the biggest IPO of the year so far. The company we're talking about is Cerebras.

[A]

It's an AI company whose stock doubled the moment it began trading on Thursday.

[B]

Bestie Cerebras ended the day worth 95 billion bucks. Jack, can you sprinkle on some context, please?

[A]

This chip company you've never heard of is worth more than Airbnb. It's worth more than Nike. It's worth the equivalent of 19 lifts.

[B]

And just like the first wedding of the year, you know what went down, Jack?

[A]

Investors went all out. They smuggled little shooters inside their jacket that they sipped on during the nuptials, and they tossed those $1 bills all over the dance floor.

[B]

Wow. Spoiler. Jack's fun guy to go to a wedding with. But besties, this is what Jack and I find fascinating. The reason Ceris doubled on day number one of trading.

[A]

It's because the year is not 2026, it's 2020 chips.

[B]

The theme of the year, besties, isn't

[A]

AI, it's the computer chips powering AI GPUs like Nvidia. Nvidia last week became the first company to hit $5.5 trillion in value.

[B]

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF. It's up 61% so far this year.

[A]

Poet, a random chip stock you've also never heard of. It's memeing right now. It's tripled in just the last month.

[B]

But here's the funny part. Cerebras actually hates the term chip, even though that's their industry.

[A]

Well, they say they don't make chips. They make wafers.

[B]

Wafers. You see? Besties. Jack and I jumped in T boy style to the IPO paperwork and we noticed they said the word wafer. 120.

[A]

What is a wafer? It's a giant slice of 99.99% pure silicon. That's why they call it Silicon Valley. And it looks like a Cheez it, but way bigger.

[B]

It's like a big, square, cat sized fig newton. That's what I'm looking at, Jack.

[A]

Wafers are the rawest form of compute.

[B]

They're actually 58 times larger than your average AI chip. And they look like they were made in a giant tree by a bunch of giant Keebler elves.

[A]

After all, they're called wafers.

[B]

But again, why is this wafer so critical to this company?

[A]

Jack, bigger wafers are faster at processing than smaller chips. So it solves AI's awkward silence problem.

[B]

The awkward silence. You know, besties, when you ask ChatGPT about that thing on your thigh and

[A]

then it takes like 30 seconds to process your query.

[B]

That's the awkward silence you get with an AI chat.

[A]

Cerebra says that their huge wafers speed up AI's response time.

[B]

Less awkward silence.

[A]

So that you don't need to jump into another tab while you're waiting for your answer to be processed, only to forget that you asked it about the thing on your thigh in the first place.

[B]

So, besties, it's no wonder OpenAI is both the biggest customer and the biggest shareholder of this company, Cerebras.

[A]

And we're not surprised one bit that Sam Altman has set himself aside 89,000 shares of this hot IPO. Cerebras.

[B]

Apparently Sam Altman has a craving for wafers. And now we know why. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies at the biggest IPO of the year? Cerebras.

[A]

Too many IPOs, like too many wedding invitations requires hard decisions.

[B]

Look. Yet if you're 25 to 35 years old, you probably got like a dozen wedding invites this summer. You got a stack of white papers on your counter.

[A]

But here's the problem. You just can't go to every wedding you get invited to. You don't have enough time or enough money to travel like 2k just to

[B]

fly to Martha's Vineyard in July. So to keep our wedding analogy going, there's a similar issue facing this epic AI IPOs of the 2026 summer. Think about it.

[A]

The markets are at crazy high all time highs. Everybody already has all their cash in stocks because they bought every dip that there's been.

[B]

I mean, Jack, SpaceX is looking to sell 75 billion bucks of stock next month. That's more than most entire year's worth of IPOs.

[A]

Where is the money going to come from? That's the question.

[B]

Yeah, investors want to buy SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Cerebras. But they'll need to sell something to come up with the cash.

[A]

So will investors have to sell older tech stocks like Microsoft, Google and Apple in order to buy the newly listed tech stocks coming later this summer?

[B]

Besties. The year of the AI IPOs could come at the expense of other tech stocks.

[A]

In 2018, I got invited to too many weddings. In 2026, we have too many IPOs. You gotta make some hard decisions, Let

[B]

us know what you're doing. Drop it in the comments. We'll see you after the break. Now a quick word from our sponsor. Top hats. Baseball hats. Von Dutch hats. We wear so many hats on this podcast. Honestly, we're not great at all of them.

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No, we've been avoiding hiring someone to wear those hats instead of us, especially the Von Dutch one, because hiring and training can take forever.

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Well, proud to say that we are hiring right now AT T Boy. And this is a job for Indeed sponsored Jobs.

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That's indeed.com podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored jobs.

[A]

Lisa Sleep alright, Yetis.

[B]

You may not notice this from Jack's voice, but he's become a nocturnal foam roller, haven't you, Jack?

[A]

Definitely don't notice that from my voice, but I will tell you that every morning I wake up with an uncomfortable back of my neck situation. So I preemptively foam roll to try to fix my bad neck. I know I'm gonna have.

[B]

Yeah, we record this podcast standing up. It's a standing pod. We can't afford like a nasty neck situation, Jack, but there's definitely a better

[A]

solution to my preemptive foam rolling. How about a Leesa mattress?

[B]

Yeti Spring is the time to upgrade. And how about that thing that you spend a third of your life on?

[A]

So with my new Leesa mattress, I sleep on my back and my neck crankiness is gone.

[B]

Yeah, we both got these things. But first we picked it out after completing a short survey on Leesa.com because

[A]

each Leesa mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind,

[B]

you take the sleep quiz from Leesa and you get recommended a mattress in two minutes. It's like talking to your therapist.

[A]

But Nick, can we talk about how fun the unboxing experience is?

[B]

Oh, it's a joy. It's a joy, Jack.

[A]

The mattress expands like a Michelin man.

[B]

So go to Leesa. Do 30% off your select mattresses plus get an extra 50 bucks off with promo code T Boy. Exclusive to our listeners.

[A]

That's L EE E S a.com promo code T BOY for 30% off select mattresses, plus an extra 50 bucks off.

[B]

Support the T Boy show and let them know that we sent you after checkout.

[A]

Lisa.com, promo code tboy

[B]

for our third and final story before the weekend. Grab the cupcakes and office pizza party. Cause today is Jerry Powell's last day as head of our central bank. But he's not going anywhere.

[A]

We're grading him on two things. The economy he managed and the institution he protected. And those two grades are very different.

[B]

Yeti's Jerry Powell. J. Powell. Jerry Too Late Powell.

[A]

Each is a nickname and each is revealing.

[B]

Sounds like we're doing slam poetry. But it's all the same person, just different names. Jerome Powell, though that reflects his bipartisan institutionalist personality.

[A]

He's an experienced finance guy who was appointed by Donald Trump to lead our central bank back in 2018.

[B]

And he got respect from both parties. Confirmed overwhelmingly in 2018 by the Senate, reappointed by President Biden.

[A]

But then he also came to be known as J. Powell. That's the WallStreetBets nickname. He got on Reddit.

[B]

You see, during the pandemic, he was printing money through our central bank, which created a whole generation of stock traders.

[A]

But he was also known as Jerry Too Late Powell.

[B]

Jerry Too Late Powell, as in the man who fought a President and won.

[A]

Most Fed chairs fight two things, unemployment and inflation.

[B]

But this Fed chair, Jerome Powell, also had to fight the President of the United States. More on that in a minute.

[A]

But to grade Jerome Powell's eight year tenure as Fed chair, it's helpful to define what we call the terrible twenties.

[B]

The terrible twenties, best. These last six years have been a perpetual crisis in America and the world. You've seen it, you felt it.

[A]

In the last six years, we had a pandemic. We had Russia invade Ukraine. We had brutal inflation. We had a trade war that was extremely chaotic. We had the war in IRAN still ongoing. Plus AI.

[B]

And you had that Jet2 holiday meme and Will Smith slap at the Oscars. Who could forget any of it? Jack.

[A]

And with Congress mostly at a constant stalemate, it's been our central bank in America that's been the primary firefighter of all those crises.

[B]

And who put out all those fires? It was Jerry Powell. He kept the US economy and the stock market as the best in the world.

[A]

Now, we did have a 5 alarm inflation fire and he had to pull out the interest rate water bazooka. To put that thing out.

[B]

We actually went from near zero interest rates in 2020 to 5.5% interest rates in 2023 to stop that inflation.

[A]

It was the biggest rate hike in 40 years. And rates are still high, which is brutal if you're trying to buy a house.

[B]

Basically, Jay Powell was rate maxing before maxing was even a meme, baby.

[A]

But we have to sprinkle on this context that no major economy emerged from the pandemic or the global inflation crisis stronger than the US Did.

[B]

True, Jack, but at the same time, Jerry contributed to that global inflation crisis with his easy money policies.

[A]

And he should have acted sooner to put out inflation quicker, maybe whipped out

[B]

that fire hose on inflation a few months earlier than he first did.

[A]

He kept money a little too loose and easy, a little too long.

[B]

But still, America's gdp, America's stock markets at ath, all time highs, unemployment, it is very low, Jack.

[A]

The American economy is looking pretty good.

[B]

And the picture during Jerry's eight years at the Fed is even better when you compare it to the other developed economies out there.

[A]

So for the US economy, we're giving Jerome Powell a solid B, solid B.

[B]

We're not great inflators. Like a B is solid. That's good, that's good.

[A]

It's not great as an A, but it's better than a C. He had six crises he had to deal with

[B]

because inflation's been brutal. But given the perpetual crises, he's done a good job. But Jack, this report card ain't over yet. What's the takeaway for all our buddies wondering about Jay Powell's last day?

[A]

For the economy, Powell gets a B. For the institution, he gets an A. Plus Yetis.

[B]

The President has relentlessly insulted and harassed Jay Powell, demanding that he lower interest

[A]

rates even though that demand is economically backwards. Lowering interest rates would have made inflation worse.

[B]

Regardless, though, of whether President Trump's thoughts are right or wrong, no president should meddle with a central bank.

[A]

We know that, and Jerome Powell knows this better than anybody. Any country that's let politics influence their central bank has resulted in economic disaster.

[B]

So interestingly, when President Trump's Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Powell

[A]

stepped up, he took the narrative with a famous and unprecedented press conference, calling out the President's moves as political interference.

[B]

And a federal judge agreed, said that President Trump was weaponizing prosecution to interfere with monetary policy.

[A]

And Trump's harassment has ended up backfiring on him because Jerome Powell, the guy he hates, he's staying at the Fed for two more years, even though he's no longer the Fed chair, to protect

[B]

our central bank's independence, which is a bedrock of our democracy and our economy.

[A]

So now we have a new boss of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, starting today. But the old boss is gonna be in the room for all the key decisions for the next two years.

[B]

Jerry's sticking around, but in a different role. It's like that meme on TikTok. You know what I'm thinking about, Jack?

[A]

Push and play. Who are you? I'm Pam. Who are you?

[B]

I'm the owner of this house.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

So J. Powell's tenure will be remembered not by his defense of the economy, but by his defense of the central

[A]

bank and its independence.

[B]

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us?

[A]

For the real Friday, the travel agent paradox. It's the hottest profession in hospitality. Travel agents. There are now 310,000 of them in

[B]

the USA because AI will try to learn taste like Will Hunting did. But only humans can truly command it.

[A]

For our second story, the 2026 IPO season kicked off Thursday with Cerebras, an AI company whose stock doubled on day one.

[B]

But too many IPOs, like too many wedding invites, require some really decisions.

[A]

And our third and final story is Jerome Powell. His eight year tenure as the head of the Federal Reserve ends today.

[B]

For the economy, Jerry gets a B. For the institution, Jerry gets an A plus.

[A]

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

[B]

First, President Trump visited China for the first time since 2017. Visit ends today. What are they having for dinner?

[A]

So far, in terms of new announcements or new policies, the trip's been a bit of a nothing sandwich.

[B]

Yeah, we were going to cover it as a story, but there was enough there. A lot of pomp, a lot of ceremony, no new policy on trade AI Iran. It's kind of typical of these trips.

[A]

The big news is that President Trump invited President Xi to visit the United States in September.

[B]

So now we're hosting. And second, the new thing you are going to see today is a little yarn ball hitting your head because Gen

[A]

Z just discovered for the first time the hacky sack.

[B]

The New York Times says the renewal started over in Boston. Hacky sack's blowing up right now.

[A]

It's a top trending topic for people under 20 in Massachusetts. The hacky sack.

[B]

It's all part of the 20 year rule of nostalgia, in our opinion. Y2K core making a comeback, baby.

[A]

And finally the 2026 FIFA World cup final will feature a Super bowl halftime show.

[B]

Shakira, Madonna, bts, they are all starring in a show at halftime at the World cup.

[A]

And this show was curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay. They really got all the names and all the nationalities in there.

[B]

It's usually like a 15 minute thing in soccer, but now we're extending it to 30 for the show. Now time for the best fact yet. This one noticed by Jack and I, so we had to tell you about it.

[A]

The state of Maryland just did something no other state has done. Maryland's governor just signed the Protection from Predatory Pricing act into law.

[B]

The first state to ban surveillance pricing.

[A]

Surveillance pricing, which is spying on you using the Internet and like your Instagram account to set a price based on how much they think you can pay for it.

[B]

Well, Jack, you looked fantastic all week. Besties, you were glowing all week. Rule number 76 of the podcast, Jack, celebrate the wins. Am I right? Will that make you love me, dad? Besties, let us know what you're celebrating. Drop it in the comments. We can't wait to see it from Monday's show. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Eddie Shreyas Rao in Karnataka, Bangalore, India.

[A]

Happy birthday to Evelyn and Clark Turan turning 2 years old in Palo Alto, California.

[B]

And Emma Oeda is one of two Seattle girls on TikTok turning 28 on the big day.

[A]

Happy birthday to Greg Jacobs who's living the dream in Oahu right now over in Hawaii.

[B]

And then Dov Levenger is a surgical retinal fellow turning 39 up in Toronto.

[A]

Happy birthday to Josh Swerdloff, the hardest working business owner of Climate Impact Ventures. It's his birthday just inside Boston.

[B]

And Puneet Brar, Happy 30th Birthday down the street in San Francisco.

[A]

Happy birthday to Lillian Schneider, the corporate cupcake queen of Washington, Michigan.

[B]

And Brian Burke and Aubrey Ahna are celebrating Back to back 23rd birthdays. Enjoy the weekend guys.

[A]

And happy birthday to Sabrina Monye turning 8 years old in San Jose. This girl has been a yeti since she was 4 years old.

[B]

And congrats to Nubia G. Wanney in New York City. This hyrox racer is graduating from NYU Stern this weekend.

[A]

Congratulations to Epiphany, the Long Islander graduating from Cornell Law School. If you know, you know.

[B]

And Ethan and Elise Herzog have got their one year anniversary up in Minnesota. Congratulations, guys.

[A]

Congratulations to Carrie Mannion and Ryan Worthy getting married in Foster City.

[B]

Can't wait to see the pics. And Anthony Law and Christy Tom have got a one year wedding anniversary in T Boy Merch in Arcadia, California.

[A]

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a Tea Boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Lyft and Reddit, Nick owns stock of Nike and Airbnb and we both own stock of Apple.

[D]

Today we're talking about how you don't have to earn more when you can save more more. Okay, so you brought me this stat. T Mobile customers had the lowest wireless bills versus Verizon and AT&T over the past five years. That seems surprising.

[B]

Surprising but true. Which honestly is what people need right now. Affordable wireless service isn't a perk, it's a difference.

[A]

Based on Harris X billing snapshots from Q3 21 and Q4 25 compared to average at and T and prize and bills. Comparison excludes discounts, credits and optional charges. For more details, see harrisx.comT mobile bills.