🌲 “How To Rule the World” — Stanford’s secret. Zuck’s 8k AI replacements. MrBeast’s viral aisle. +Matcha Sneeze

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet – “How To Rule the World”

Podcast: The Best One Yet
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell
Date: May 20, 2026
Episode Theme:
A lively rundown of three unique business stories shaping pop culture and the economy: MrBeast’s surprising deal with Lowe’s, Meta's massive AI-powered layoffs, and the unveiling of Stanford University as the world’s premier startup incubator. The hosts’ signature blend of humor, insider references, and fresh analysis sets the tone for an episode "to pair with your morning oatmeal ritual."

---

MAIN THEME

Pop-biz news with personality:
The episode dives into three major stories that showcase how business, tech, and culture are evolving—and sometimes colliding. The tone is witty, energetic, and packed with memorable one-liners, with each story offering a unique angle to the week’s biggest conversations.

---

Key Stories and Insights

1. MrBeast’s Viral Aisle Disrupts Home Improvement Retail

[05:12–09:06]

• Backdrop: Housing market remains “frozen” by soaring interest rates and high home prices, crushing the business of home improvement retailers. Home Depot's stock is down 35% from its all-time high.

• Lowe’s Response: The retailer is trying to offset stagnant home renovations by partnering with YouTube megastar MrBeast and his 480 million followers.

  • Not a typical brand tie-in:
    “Lowe’s is adding a MrBeast aisle. And Home Depot wishes they had one because we’re not buying homes right now.”
    — Jack [05:27]
  • The “viral aisle”: A dedicated department in Lowe’s stores will sell buildable toys for kids under MrBeast’s Swarms brand, along with workshops for kids (with parental supervision).
    “It’s a full-on aisle and experience around a zeitgeisty viral influencer.”
    — Jack [09:01]

• Strategic Insight:

  • The move mixes retail innovation with influencer marketing, creating new reasons for families to visit Lowe’s even if they’re not tackling big projects.
  • The “lipstick effect,” where people splurge on small luxuries in tough times—in this case, a $15 toy and a Lowe’s experience, not a $1,000 appliance.
  • Quote:
    “Parents will come for the wrench, but stay for the childcare.”
    — Nick [07:15]

• Takeaway:

  • "Get ready to see a new thing: the viral aisle... a blueprint disruption in retail that hasn’t changed in decades.”
    — Nick [08:13]
  • Expect an explosion of creator/influencer branded sections in all kinds of stores.

---

2. Meta’s Mass Layoffs: Employees Train Their AI Replacements

[09:06–13:12]

• What happened: Meta (formerly Facebook) laid off 8,000 employees (10% of its workforce) in one day. Even harsher, those employees had just finished training the AI models that rendered them redundant.

  • Cruel irony:
    “Those laid off employees were forced to train their AI replacements.”
    — Jack [10:55]

  • Process: Over the last month, employees’ mouse movements and keystrokes were monitored to train the software agents (“agent transformation accelerator”).

  • Stinging summary:
    “All Meta employees can automate themselves out of a paycheck.”
    — Nick [11:52]

• Context: This is not a result of struggling profits—Meta’s profits have doubled even as headcount shrank 20% since 2022.

  • “Meta is not laying off 8,000 people because times are tough. Times are better than ever over at Meta. It’s laying off 8,000 because of capitalism.”
    — Nick [10:38]

• Broader Implications:

  • Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) heavily lobbied against AI regulation and is reaping the financial rewards.
  • But the PR backlash is fierce: anti-AI sentiment is mounting, data centers are being blocked, and even industry celebs are seeing security threats.
    “Besties, we are facing an AI hate wave right now.”
    — Nick [13:12]

• Takeaway:

  • “Andreessen Horowitz is winning the AI battle, but losing the AI war.”
    — Jack [12:25]

---

3. Stanford: Startup Incubator with Dorm Rooms

[15:38–21:37]

• Core revelation:

  • A new book by graduating Stanford senior Theo Baker, How to Rule the World, claims Stanford is no longer just a college—it’s a start-up incubator.
    “Stanford isn’t a university anymore. Stanford is a tech incubator with dorms.”
    — Nick [22:07]

• Underlying dynamic:

  • “I had more meetings on campus with billionaires than first dates with girls.”
    — Jack (quoting Theo Baker) [17:52]

• Freshman Scouting and Pre-Idea Funding:

  • VCs employ upperclassmen as “talent scouts” to spot entrepreneurial freshmen and label upperclassmen without a startup as “ngmi” (“not gonna make it”).
  • The top kids get pre-idea funding: million-dollar checks before they’ve even come up with a business plan.
  • “That is the lottery ticket of life.”
    — Jack [18:45]

• Secret Classes:

  • There are underground, invite-only classes on “how to run the world,” featuring tech and venture capital titans, not listed in the course catalog.

• Multiplicative Effects of Clustering:

  • “Never underestimate the luster of a cluster.”
    — Jack [20:17]
  • The physical concentration of ambitious people accelerates results, just as Motown, Madison Avenue, and DC did in their respective eras.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Matcha Sneeze Study:

  • “More Matcha, less Gesundheit.” — Nick [01:57]
  • “They gave mice some Matcha, and basically the mice stopped sneezing." — Jack [02:02]
  • “Starbucks is a pharmaceutical company now.” — Nick [02:32]

• Meta Layoffs:

  • “Meta is not laying off 8,000 people because times are tough. Times are better than ever over at Meta. It’s laying off 8,000 because of capitalism.” — Nick [10:38]
  • “All Meta employees can automate themselves out of a paycheck.” — Nick [11:52]

• Stanford as Real-life “Good Will Hunting:

  • “Theo says in the book that he had more meetings on campus with billionaires than first dates with girls.” — Jack [17:52]
  • “Dropping out? It’s a badge of honor.” — Jack [19:19]
  • “Basically, it’s Skull and Bones, but for techies out there.” — Nick [20:01]

---

Important Timestamps

• Matcha Sneeze Segment: [01:32–02:30]
• MrBeast x Lowe’s Deal & Viral Aisle: [05:12–09:06]
• Meta Layoffs & AI Irony: [09:06–13:12]
• Andreessen Horowitz, AI Backlash: [12:25–13:12]
• Stanford Startup in Disguise: [15:38–21:37]
• Book: How to Rule the World, Secret Class: [17:18–20:01]
• Clustering & Takeaways: [20:17–21:37]

---

Recap of Takeaways

[21:39–22:07]

• Viral Aisle Innovation: Lowe’s and MrBeast create a new store section, hinting at a retail revolution.
• AI Layoffs: Meta’s implementation of AI for layoffs, with Andreessen Horowitz enjoying enormous returns, is triggering a public backlash and debate on regulation.
• Stanford's Real Role: Stanford’s tech/investor culture and unique network power are a reminder to recognize the multiplier of physical clusters.

---

Bonus: Quick Hits & Facts [22:12–24:19]

• Warby Parker’s Smart Glasses debut with Google & Samsung [22:15–22:29]
• Polymarket & NASDAQ let you “predict” trends on private company stock [22:40–23:00]
• Swatch x Audemars Piguet watch launch causes crowd chaos worldwide [23:04–23:20]

---

Tone and Style

• Fun, fast-paced, loaded with “besties” banter and pop-culture references
• Analysis meets entertainment, never too serious but always sharp on insight
• Frequent callbacks to in-jokes and audience, e.g., “If you know, you know.”
• Closing the loop on each segment with both a macro insight and a micro, actionable takeaway

---

Useful For:

• Anyone wanting a sharp, approachable catch-up on business news
• Listeners interested in how retail, tech, and education institutions are being disrupted
• Those curious about the cultural shifts around AI, influencers, and entrepreneurial education

---

Endnote:
If you want your daily news with a shot of matcha-level energy and some millennial wit, this is the perfect episode to queue up.

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick, this is Jack. It's Thursday.

[B]

Oh, sorry. Wednesday. Three, two. This is Nick, this is Jack. It's Wednesday. Celvice Wednesday, May 20. Entities 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]

I'm sorry, did we just finish our best interview ever right before today's show? Jack?

[A]

Dude, the president of the Chicago Fed is charismatic.

[B]

That was amazing. The Fed president incred. You were glowing, by the way, in that interview, Jack.

[A]

You'd think a Fed president would be super buttoned up and careful.

[B]

Not the case.

[A]

He was speaking his mind.

[B]

He was amazing. Besties, we're gonna whip up that episode for you over Memorial Day. But in the meantime, Jack, we've got three fantastic stories for the most interesting show in business. What do we got on today's spot?

[A]

For our first story, the housing market is still frozen by interest rates. Not good for home improvement companies.

[B]

But Lowe's has one big idea to save it. Mr. Beast gets a viral aisle.

[A]

For our second story, all Meta employees are working from home today because at 4am local time, Zuck fired 8,000 people.

[B]

And the cruel twist? These former Meta employees trained their AI replacements.

[A]

And our third and final story, a book published yesterday reveals what really happens at Stanford.

[B]

Stanford ain't a college. It's a startup incubator with dorm rooms.

[A]

The goal isn't to graduate. It's to rule the world.

[B]

And Jack and I found out how to do it.

[A]

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

[B]

What a mix of stories. No one else is doing that mix.

[A]

Happy allergy season to all those who celebrate.

[B]

Which is no one celebrating right now.

[A]

But we come bearing good news. The secret to stopping your allergies might be Matcha.

[B]

Get this. A new study suggests drinking Matcha, the trendy green tea, reduces allergy symptoms right now.

[A]

Specifically, it reduces sneezing.

[B]

Yeah, this smells pretty legit. What do we got, Jack?

[A]

It's. According to the nature journal Science of

[B]

Food, Matcha doesn't treat inflammation like an antihistamine medication does.

[A]

No, it calms the nerves that trigger the sneeze reflex.

[B]

What we're saying here is more Matcha, less Gesundheit.

[A]

Claritin, Clear Mo Macha researchers, they gave

[B]

mice some Matcha, and basically the mice stopped sneezing.

[A]

That's the whole study. Although they could have given, like, Matcha to some Brooklyn hipsters instead of the mice.

[B]

Dude, I haven't sniffed since the Passion pit concert in 2013.

[A]

So Yetis if you're feeling the pollen

[B]

right now, order the matcha latte.

[A]

If your schnoz feels stuffy right now,

[B]

make it an iced Matcha.

[A]

If you can't sit down without your trademark double sneeze that you're known for.

[B]

Hey, Darlene. Making a double matcha.

[A]

Doctor's orders Matcha to the new Flonase.

[B]

Yeah. Which makes Starbucks a pharmaceutical company.

[A]

Let's hit our three. Three stars.

[C]

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 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 Liz if you low, you know cause we read to go we can't wait no more so just start the. Start the show, Start the show.

[B]

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[A]

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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?

[A]

Yeti.

[B]

Yetis. He's got credit cards, checking accounts, brokerage Accounts, Retirement Accounts, 529 College savings accounts for each kid.

[A]

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, you see besties.

[B]

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

[A]

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[B]

Basically, Jack went full Marie Kondo on his finances, and he did it with Monarch, which can do your financial spring cleaning for you.

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[B]

That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code T. Boy, for our first story, MrBeast just made his most surprising partnership yet. Lowe's Home Improvement.

[A]

Lowe's is adding a Mr. Beast aisle. And Home Depot wishes they had one because we're not buying homes right now.

[B]

All right, Jack, we got some tough addition right here. High interest rates plus high home prices. What does that mean?

[A]

Monthly payments for a new home have doubled in the last four years.

[B]

The ASTI is the biggest victim of high interest rates. It's the housing market.

[A]

The ZEC messaging between you and your spouse is the closest you're going to get to that gorgeous modern farmhouse.

[B]

Oh, this Oceanside three bedroom. Wow.

[A]

And sadly, there's no end in sight. The 30 year government bond, which influences the 30 year mortgage rate, just hit its highest level since 2007.

[B]

Six months ago, we were hoping for interest rate cuts these days, but now

[A]

there's a 36% chance of an interest rate hike, according to prediction markets.

[B]

The warning runs completely change the inflation and interest rate situation here in America.

[A]

So high interest rates. That's why Home Depot Stock is down 35% from its all time high.

[B]

With the housing market frozen. You're not moving, you're not renovating, are you?

[A]

Man, you're putting that new patio plan on pause.

[B]

Yeah, the Weber Grill, maybe Facebook Marketplace.

[A]

But Lowe's has a new plan to grow revenues even though you're not renovating the plan.

[B]

Mr. Beast. Ever heard of him?

[A]

The home improvement chain Lowe's just partnered with the world's biggest YouTube star and his 480 million followers.

[B]

So he's like, Jack, is Mr. Beast gonna have like a competition? I put $12 billion in the floor and someone's gonna find it.

[A]

Somebody's gonna grab a chainsaw and try to dig that money out of the floor.

[B]

Yeah, that's not what's happening. We should point out Mr. Beast is going to have an entire department over at Lowe's stores. And we call this the viral aisle.

[A]

And the main product in this MrBeast section is going to be buildable toys for kids under his Swarms brand.

[B]

We're talking $15 toys plus workshops to help the kids build the toys with some adult supervision.

[A]

So parents will come for the ranch, but stay for the childcare.

[B]

Mr. Beast collects a royalty check on each toy sold and wins future YouTube subscriber

[A]

because 10 year old Tina gets a MrBeast badge in her Lowe's app if she has downloaded it.

[B]

Parental permission because she built that mutation

[A]

Panther brought to you by MrBeast@ Lowe's.

[B]

And Jack, in the meantime, mom and dad will toss some extra mulch in the shopping cart while they're waiting for Tina's class to end Lowe's strategy here.

[A]

It's a version of the lipstick effect, but applied to home goods.

[B]

Nah, the lipstick effect. Estee Lauder first noticed it during tough times that you splurge on little luxuries like lipstick.

[A]

So during this home improvement downturn, you're not splurging on a new refrigerator for $1,000.

[B]

Your lipstick in this case is a nice little Saturday at Lowe's. A toy for the kid, a toolkit for mom and dad, and maybe figuring out why it's called a Phillips head.

[A]

Guessing it's named after a man named Philip.

[B]

Nobody knows. Jack. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddy Mr. Beast and the housing market?

[A]

Get ready to see a new thing. The viral aisle.

[B]

The viral aisle. Yeah. It is the retail blueprint. It hasn't been disrupted in decades. We noticed you got a soda aisle,

[A]

a chips aisle, a frozen food aisle, and a seasonal aisle which of course swaps out Halloween for Valentine's, for Christmas for fourth of July stuff.

[B]

Put some new things at the end cap. And the impulse buys like chocolate by the cashier.

[A]

That's every retail establishment for the last give or take 100 years.

[B]

Doesn't even matter the industry. But change is coming. We think there's going to be an aisle for virality in the products that fast follow it.

[A]

We think there's enough creator, influencer and celebrity brands these days to demand their own aisle in the store.

[B]

And that's the real insight we took from Lois, that they didn't just give MrBeast one spot in the store, did they, Jack?

[A]

They dedicated a whole section of the store for his toys, his tools, And a teacher taught workshop to build them.

[B]

Mr. Beast the Plier set.

[A]

It's a full on aisle and experience around a zeitgeisty viral influencer.

[B]

This is the first ever viral aisle disruption to the retail store. Expect to see more of it Besties for our second story. Today is reckoning day at Meta. It is Z Day. 8,000 people will learn that they've lost their jobs.

[A]

And the cruel irony of this sad news. These workers spent the last month training the AI that is now replacing them.

[B]

Yet he's a little behind the scenes. Jack and I like to go to this website called layoffs, FYI. And why is that, Jack?

[A]

It was built by a guy during the pandemic and tracks publicly announced layoffs of tech workers in the US So painfully.

[B]

March of this year was the worst month in three years for tech layoffs.

[A]

46,000American tech workers lost their jobs in March.

[B]

We've called this the Kale Collard recession. Well, Zuckerberg wants May 2026 to set a new layoff record.

[A]

And it starts at 4am today because on Monday Zuck's HR head sent a company wide memo detailing a three part plan.

[B]

Here it is. Wednesday morning, Meta will inform 8,000 people that they've been laid off. That's 10% of Meta's employees.

[A]

On the same day, they will move 7,000 employees to new initiatives that are related to AI.

[B]

And then they will close an additional 6,000 open roles on their job website.

[A]

It all starts with an email at 4am this morning. And it affects. What is that, Nick? 21,000 positions.

[B]

A lot of positions, Jack. Can you sprinkle on more Context please?

[A]

Since 2022, Meta's headcount has shrank by 20% while its profits have doubled.

[B]

That's what's wild. Meta is not laying off 8,000 people because times are tough. Times are better than ever over at Meta.

[A]

It's laying off 8,000 people because of capitalism.

[B]

Zuck thinks this will improve profits and his profit puppy. And Wall street agrees.

[A]

But we haven't even gotten to the ironic cruelty of this announcement.

[B]

This is insane.

[A]

Those laid off employees were forced to train their AI replacements.

[B]

Let's go back one month ago. Besties. You may remember we mentioned something at the end of the show in our what else you need to know Today section.

[A]

On April 22, a separate memo was sent to all Meta employees.

[B]

That memo, it said, introducing the agent transformation accelerator. Jack, that sounds pretty exciting, I gotta say.

[A]

It was being installed on all employees company computers.

[B]

Okay, that sounds less exciting. What's going on here.

[A]

Meta is capturing employee mouse movements and keystrokes in order to train their AI.

[B]

That's right, like an intern shadowing you for the day. But that intern is a digital robot that will one day replace you.

[A]

It's memorizing your job so that one day it can do your job well for 8,000.

[B]

That day is today.

[A]

In just one month, Meta's AI became smart enough to replace 8,000 workers.

[B]

Or, as they put it, all, Meta employees can help our models get better simply by doing their daily work.

[A]

That's true, Nick. Another way Meta's HR team could have said it was this.

[B]

All Meta employees can automate themselves out of a paycheck.

[A]

So Zuckerberg is making his employees train AI that will replace him as soon as next month or next quarter.

[B]

Oh, and that AI, by the way, if you took a little coffee break for some retail therapy, ordered a cashmere sweater online, you probably noticed that too.

[A]

Zuckerberg has created a caricature of the AI Doomer narrative.

[B]

We didn't need AI to generate this. You just needed to let Zuck be Zuck.

[A]

Gosh, sometimes I really wish that girl had just accepted his friend request.

[B]

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Big Tech?

[A]

Andreessen Horowitz is winning the AI battle but losing the AI war.

[B]

Ah, Andreessen Horowitz. Yeti's top venture capital firm, decided in 2024 to donate to politicians who promised to not regulate artificial intelligence.

[A]

Well, they got the president, the Senate, and the House that they wanted. And their goal of no AI regulation, they got that too.

[B]

And it's been tremendous for their fortunes. Andreessen will make a killing when OpenAI and SpaceX IPO later this year.

[A]

So Andreessen Horowitz is doubling down this year. They're the number one campaign donor for the 2026 midterm cycle.

[B]

Yeah, this venture capital firm actually donated 116 million bucks so far, more than any other person or organization to the midterms.

[A]

But their strategy of no AI regulation, no AI laws, no AI policy. It made AI the worst brand in America.

[B]

Besties. We are facing an AI hate wave right now. Data centers getting blocked, grad speakers getting booed. Sam Altman's house attacked twice in one week.

[A]

If AI Was on the ballot this fall, it would lose. And politicians trying to get elected. And who set future policy, they know that now.

[B]

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That's indeed.com podc. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Upwork Yeti Scaling a business fast requires the right people at the right time. Including at Superhero Inc. Can we talk

[A]

about how good Batman was at delegating? Nick?

[B]

I mean Jack, Robin was basically his chief of staff, Lucius was handling the R and D, and Alfred, he made

[A]

sure the pasta was cooked al dente when they got home from fighting the bad guys.

[B]

Yeah, that is the art of delegating. And Batman must have been using upwork

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No one talks about this at the Superhero Sales conference.

[B]

So true.

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But Batman was probably an Upwork power user.

[B]

So besties visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for that is Upwork.com

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to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow Right now that's up.

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W o r k.com upwork.com

[A]

for our

[B]

third and final story. It's how to rule the world. That is the title of a new book by a Stanford senior that exposes what really goes on inside Stanford.

[A]

Because Stanford isn't actually a university anymore.

[B]

Dear Class of 2026, you are special. You really are, Jack.

[A]

And I think so because you're the first graduating class to have all four years with AI.

[B]

That's right. ChatGPT. It launched on November 30, 2022, just a few months after today's graduates stepped right on their campuses.

[A]

So this graduating class never once wrote a paper without the temptation of just asking ChatGPT to do it.

[B]

Just a little prompt. Now, besties, context. The United States is the most powerful country in the world. Silicon Valley is the most powerful place in the country. And Stanford University is the most powerful institute there.

[A]

Stanford, the only school to graduate two super bowl winning quarterbacks and a US President.

[B]

I love that stat. You want to share who, Jack?

[A]

John Elway, Jim Plunkett, and Herbert Hoover?

[B]

If you know, you know. And now you know. 3.6% acceptance rate. And Jack, how about the Stanford University alums on the unicorn list?

[A]

They've built 200 unicorns, which is 40 more than second placed Harvard.

[B]

And get this back. In 2011, the revenue of active companies founded by Stanford grads was 2.7 trillion bucks. Let's sprinkle on more context.

[A]

That made Stanford grad founded companies the 10th biggest country in terms of GDP.

[B]

That is bigger than France.

[A]

Possible because Google, HP, Nike, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Robinhood, all founded by Stanford grads.

[B]

So besties, what really happens inside the world's billionaire factory? Well, one book just revealed the truth.

[A]

And no, it's not an ebook, even though it's written in Silicon Valley.

[B]

Yet he's how to Rule the World by Theo Baker. He's actually graduating this year. He's part of that first AI class that we just mentioned.

[A]

Theo Baker is born in New York City to two prestigious journalists. So he spent all four years of his college writing for the newspaper and doing investigations.

[B]

And impressively, as a freshman, he actually discovered that Stanford's president had misrepresented his

[A]

own research and got the man to resign.

[B]

But for this new book, Theo exposed that the most selective elective college is no longer really a college.

[A]

Theo says in the book that he had more meetings on campus with billionaires than first dates with girls.

[B]

Or as one of his professors put it, Stanford isn't a school anymore. It's now a startup incubator with dorms.

[A]

This book reads like a National Geographic episode tracking the wild animals of the Serengeti.

[B]

Look over there. Jack, for example. Jack, what exactly is a talent scout? According to the book, it's the predator.

[A]

In our analogy, venture capitalists employ older Stanford upperclassmen, juniors and seniors, to identify freshmen who have founder potential.

[B]

But Jack, what if you're an upperclassman who has a startup idea and think you have potential.

[A]

The assumption by the venture capitalist is that you're not a star. If you were a star, you would have been spotted already when you were a freshman.

[B]

And these talent scouts would then label you as ngmi, which stands for not gonna make it. But for the freshmen who get scouted, the venture capital firm will offer them pre idea funding. What is that, Jack?

[A]

That is the lottery ticket of life.

[B]

It is what it sounds like investing millions of dollars in an 18 year old's idea to finance their company.

[A]

They don't even have the idea. You give a kid a million dollar check so that they have like the money and wherewithal to brainstorm creatively about some billion dollar business.

[B]

You basically need a pulse and a school ID for that one.

[A]

I think this happened to Will Hunting and Good Will Hunting, or at least he was offered this kind of money.

[B]

I think that's for the sequel, Jack. But besties, if you are chosen by a venture capitalist as an innovation wunderkind, then the university encourages you to leave. They don't stop you. They want you to go.

[A]

Dropping out. It's a badge of honor.

[B]

And Theo saw this kind of thing firsthand. He describes an invite to a dinner at the Rosewood Hotel in Palo Alto, which is literally on Sand Hill Road.

[A]

The hotel is $1,000 a night and the venture capitalist brought his baby and fed that eight month year old kid spoonful of caviar and then asked Theo

[B]

to hear his startup pitch. He was that eager to get the freshman's pre idea idea.

[A]

That's the kind of experience that Stanford freshmen are going through.

[B]

But Jack, pause the pod because that's not even the wildest story of all, is it?

[A]

Man, There's a secret class on the Stanford campus on how to run the world.

[B]

Yeah, this thing ain't on the course catalog, ain't on the school tour, and you're not getting credits if you take it.

[A]

But it is taught once a week in a Stanford classroom with lecturers and guests who are tech and VC titans.

[B]

Basically, it's Skull and Bones, but for the techies out there.

[A]

Side note, in case. In case you're curious, the book is out this week and they already sold the film rights for a movie deal. Good Will Hunting too.

[B]

There you go, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies curious about Stanford?

[A]

Never underestimate the luster of a cluster.

[B]

Ah, cluster. Luster's Besties. Venture capital is poaching Stanford freshmen and teaching the rest of the student body how to rule the world. That is insane. And it is Unique.

[A]

Stanford's culture has produced a lot of good that we want to point out.

[B]

You got great businesses, employ a lot of people, create a lot of wealth and solving plenty of customer problems.

[A]

But they've also produced a lot of bad, haven't they, Nick?

[B]

You got Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos fraud. You got Sam Bankman Fried, raised by Stanford professor parent addictive apps. Yeah, many of them Stanford designed.

[A]

And right now, the culture on the Stanford campus is to max out in the AI gold rush.

[B]

So to us, the one takeaway for everyone at Stanford or not at Stanford is what they've really created at Stanford.

[A]

They've created not just a network, but a physical network that's all in one place. We call this a cluster.

[B]

We've seen them before. Like in the 1950s, Midtown Manhattan was a cluster for advertising. In the 80s, D.C. became a cluster for policy.

[A]

In the 50s, there was also a cluster of Motown in Detroit.

[B]

Totally jacked physical co location of people pursuing similar ambitions. That can multiply results.

[A]

And it can work for you too. The people you sit near at work, the people you spend time with outside work, you can get a similar multiplier effect.

[B]

So Stanford University's incubation of tech titans, what does it tell us? Jack?

[A]

The lesson is to never underestimate the luster of a physical cluster.

[B]

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us?

[A]

For ceviche Wednesday, Lowe's is partnering with Mr. Beast for a new kids toy building workshop section.

[B]

It's the first ever viral aisle disruption to the retail store blueprint. It's happening for our second story.

[A]

Meta is terminating 8,000 jobs after making those 8,000 people train the AI that's now replacing them.

[B]

And Dreeson is winning the AI battle but loses in the AI war.

[A]

And our third and final story. Want to experience the Stanford student experience in the age of AI? Oh, Theo Baker's book does that.

[B]

Because Stanford isn't a university anymore. Stanford is a tech incubator with dorms but besties.

[A]

This pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

[B]

First, Warby Parker unveiled new smart glasses at Google's annual product event.

[A]

Warby Parker Intelligent Eyewear. That's what it's called. And it's built with Samsung and Google.

[B]

All we got is a picture. So far. They'll have two cameras on the corners, just like Zucks. Meta, Ray Bans.

[A]

Also, Gentle Monster, a startup glasses company. They're launching Google Smart Glasses too.

[B]

And the launch date for these Google Glasses 2.0 by Warby and Gentle Monster. They're coming this fall.

[A]

Second, Polymarket is partnering with NASDAQ to launch private market trading startup Predicting.

[B]

Basically, you know, because we can't buy OpenAI and Anthropic stock yet, we're sumo straight up missing out, but we can now predict whether the stock will rise or fall.

[A]

It gives everyday investors another opportunity to invest kind of in the stocks that only venture capitalists can get access to.

[B]

There is an asterisk on that thing. Wild story. Drop a comment if you want us to share more. Tomorrow's pod.

[A]

And finally, tear gas and firefighting. That's what's happening at Watch stores across the world right now.

[B]

Remember that Audemars Piguet and Swatch Watch collab we told you about last week? It was insane.

[A]

A $50 brand was partnering with a $50,000 brand to create a $500 pocket watch.

[B]

Well, the world went crazy. The lines got so long, they called in the police, the army, and the firefighters to Milan and Paris. Now time for the best fact yet. This one, whipped up by Jack and I because we caught this headline just before recording the show.

[A]

Nashville, Tennessee, will host the Super Bowl. Crowning achievement for the city of Nashville.

[B]

So when Nashville does host the super bowl, the Music City will be the 17th city to host the Super Bowl.

[A]

Here's the kind of trivia part of the question. Four cities north of Nashville have ever hosted the super bowl, but only one of those four cities north of Nashville had an outdoor stadium.

[B]

Now, the new Nissan Stadium down in Nashville, it opens next year. It's going to host and it does have a retractable roof.

[A]

So it's kind of a trivia question, I guess. What is the roofless football stadium north of Nashville that has hosted a Super Bowl?

[B]

Jack, I'm going MetLife Stadium for this one. Correct. Is it really?

[A]

Do you remember we were all hoping for, like, a snowy game. I was living in the city at the time. Did not snow, but the next day it did snow like a foot. I think the football teams got snowed into New York that weekend because, Jack,

[B]

if you had a roof, then the pigeons couldn't enjoy the game either. Yetis, you look fantastic today, Jack. You're looking okay. If you're gonna sneeze, you got a matcha. You got two matchas.

[A]

Dude, you have a trademark double sneeze, don't you?

[B]

I know. I can't help it.

[A]

I have a classic dad sneeze. It registers on the Richter scale at this point.

[B]

Yeah, you actually. People try to take cover when Jack sneezes, we have to issue a warning locally. So besties, if you got a buddy who enjoys matcha or who's gonna sneeze today, send him today's pod. That's how we grow the show.

[A]

Take a screenshot of the your phone right now and post it to your Instagram Stories.

[B]

If you know, you know. And Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a congratulations to our legendary YETI editor listening right now live. Trey Booty just got engaged.

[A]

Trey, Congratulations, you mofo. We're really happy for you, man.

[B]

Besties, the reason the show sounds so polished, it's because Trey lives happily ever after. Betsy, Great girl. Great girl, great guy.

[A]

And congratulations to Steven Kleinman, the Knicks fan celebrating a birthday and a playoff run on the Upper east side of New York.

[B]

And Mason Stokes down in Atoka, Tennessee. This is the fourth birthday shout out in a row. Thanks for being a yeti. Celebrate the wins.

[A]

Happy birthday to Rim Jim Garg in Greenville, South Carolina, belated birthday.

[B]

And George Dwyer down in Charlottesville, Virginia had the best birthday yet. Enjoy lacrosse this weekend.

[A]

Happy birthday to Kimberly Dan in Saratoga

[B]

Springs and mood it middle. Enjoy the birthday. Down the street in San Francisco, congratulations

[A]

to Elena Kartanova one year anniversary of that new job in San Francisco.

[B]

And Cole Pannell and Kelly have got a one year anniversary of their wedding down in Charleston with the best oysters yet.

[A]

And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T, boy.

[B]

Celebrate the wins.

[A]

This is Jack. I own stock of Warby Parker, Netflix Nickel and stock and Egg, and we both own stock of Robinhood.

[B]

Hannah, I just Venmoed you for dinner.

[D]

Obsessed. I'm literally spending right now on the lip gloss that's been sitting in my cart.

[B]

What do you mean spending it right now?

[D]

You instantly spend your balance with the Venmo debit card.

[B]

Stop. Say more.

[D]

More. Exactly. The more you do with Venmo, the more you get, like earning up to 5% cash. Back with Venmo stash.

[B]

Get the Venmo debit card or check out online.

[D]

Venmo Stash Bundle terms and exclusions apply. Max $100 per month. See terms at Venmo Venmo Checkout. Not available at all merchants. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank NA.