🚕🏠 “UberBnB?” — Airbnb’s ride surprise. Adidas’ mom pants. Harvard’s A-flation cap. +iPhone Birth Rates

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Best One Yet

Episode: 🚕🏠 “UberBnB?” — Airbnb’s ride surprise. Adidas’ mom pants. Harvard’s A-flation cap. +iPhone Birth Rates
Date: May 21, 2026
Hosts: Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell

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Episode Overview

This TBOY episode delivers signature witty banter and sharp pop-business analysis as Jack and Nick break down the three biggest biz stories of the day:

1. Airbnb's big expansion into services traditionally owned by Uber and DoorDash
2. Adidas' apparel surge, powered by a surprising hero product (mom pants!)
3. Harvard’s radical move to cap the number of A’s, and why it might backfire without industry coordination
   The show kicks off with a bonus discussion: the iPhone’s correlation to global falling birth rates.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The iPhone and Falling Birth Rates

Timestamps: 01:22 – 02:44

• Growing global trend: People are having fewer kids; two-thirds of countries now face falling birth rates.
• Financial Times suggests a surprising culprit: the iPhone.
  • The global drop in birthrates started in 2007, the same year as the first iPhone launch.
  • Higher internet use regions see bigger birthrate dips.
• Not just iPhones: Gender norms, and cost-of-living are also major factors.
• Quote: "The iPhone killed the mood." – Nick (02:01)
• Memorable moment:
  • “More WiFi, less wah-wahs.” – Jack (02:07)
  • “Turns out the population problem has been in our pocket the whole time.” – Jack (01:56)
• Pointed humor: “Honestly, we didn’t realize do not disturb mode went that far.” – Jack (02:36)

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2. Airbnb Takes On Uber (and Vice Versa)

Timestamps: 05:21 – 09:43

• News: Airbnb launching four new services:
  1. Hotels: Officially curating select hotels in 20 cities globally (06:12).
  2. Car Rentals: Add a rental at checkout (06:57).
  3. Airport Dropoff / Rides: Partnering with “Welcome Pickups” for airport rides (07:15).
  4. Grocery Delivery: In-app groceries for your Airbnb stay in partnership with Instacart (07:28).
  5. Luggage Storage: Using Bounce “the Airbnb of storage spots” (07:51).
• The platforms are morphing: Airbnb is adding Uber-like features, and Uber added hotels last month.
• Convergence in gig apps:
  • “All the gig apps are converging on each other.” – Jack (08:45)
  • They compare this to social media (everyone copying features: stories, reels, etc.)
  • “Call it a platform pile-up or Gigageddon … or call it that Spider-Man meme.” – Nick (09:40)
• Takeaway Quote:
  • "Prepare for Gigageddon." – Jack (08:43)

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3. Adidas' Unexpected Apparel Boom, Powered by 'Mom Pants'

Timestamps: 09:59 – 13:27

• Surprising stat: Adidas’ apparel sales surged 20%, beating shoe sales, powered by a hit product: wide-leg satin "mom pants" with the three stripes (10:26).
• Not targeted at athletic performance but at social status in mom communities:
  • “These loungey leopard pants, they are all leisure, no ass.” – Nick (10:43)
  • “Baby, don’t wear these things to Pilates.” – Jack (10:47)
• The product went viral in mom-centered Facebook groups and on TikTok, spawning dozens of dupes.
• Why it worked: The pants became a visible status symbol and word-of-mouth spread from “trendsetter mom” to all the other “follower moms.”
• Business insight: Marketing to the 1 influencer who sways the other 9 is more cost-effective.
  • “Influence the influencer.” – Jack (12:37)
  • “Adidas is being driven by satin fancy mom pants because it influenced the influencer.” – Nick (13:27)

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4. Harvard's Grade Cap and the "Prisoner's Dilemma"

Timestamps: 15:37 – 21:45

• The Problem: Harvard suffered grade inflation: 60% of grades are now A’s, up from 25% in 2006 (16:22, 16:31).
  • “As long as you paginated and double spaced that term paper, odds are you got an A at Harvard.” – Nick (16:39)
• The Move: Harvard faculty voted (70% approval) to cap A’s at 20% +4 per class—A’s should return from 60% to about 20% (17:49, 18:18).
  • “It means the number of A’s at Harvard will fall by about two-thirds.” – Jack (18:22)
  • Gen Z-flavored meta-joke: “To quote Gen Z, there is now a cap on that. No cap or there’s no cap on that cap?” – Nick (18:31)
• Challenges: This cap won’t work unless top schools coordinate; otherwise, Harvard grads may lose job prospects to those from schools with laxer grading.
• Historical warning: Princeton tried a similar cap 20 years ago. It backfired—recruiters misread the new grades; Princeton reversed policy after 10 years (19:59–20:28).
  • “You were just trying to sabotage the kid next to you because you needed the A and you couldn’t let that kid get the A.” – Jack (20:28)
• Economic framing: “It’s the Prisoner’s Dilemma: If other schools don’t follow, Harvard’s move will fail.” – Jack (19:45)
  • Coordination is key.
  • “Because besties, if other schools don’t follow, Harvard’s grade cap will get an F.” – Nick (21:01)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the iPhone and birth rates:

  • “The iPhone killed the mood.” – Nick (02:01)
  • “More Wi-Fi, less wah-wahs.” – Jack (02:07)
  • “Turns out the population problem has been in our pocket the whole time.” – Jack (01:56)

• On gig app competition:

  • “Prepare for Gigageddon.” – Jack (08:43)
  • “All the gig apps are converging on each other.” – Jack (08:45)
  • “Call it that Spider-Man meme. Because Uber’s becoming Airbnb. Or is Airbnb becoming Uber?” – Nick (09:43)

• On Adidas & influencer moms:

  • “These loungey leopard pants, they are all leisure, no ass.” – Nick (10:43)
  • “Drop off is the new fashion runway.” – Jack (11:48)
  • “Influence the influencer.” – Jack (12:37)

• On Harvard’s grade cap:

  • “The average grade at Harvard is extraordinary, Jack.” – Nick (16:36)
  • “If you give out a C, you’re gonna get demoted to Bunker Hill Community College.” – Jack (17:28)
  • “Because besties, if other schools don’t follow, Harvard’s grade cap will get an F. It'll fail.” – Nick (21:01)

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Segment Timestamps

• iPhone Birth Rates & DINKWADs: 01:22 – 02:44
• Airbnb vs Uber: New Services & Gig App Convergence: 05:21 – 09:43
• Adidas Mom Pants & Influencer Marketing: 09:59 – 13:27
• Harvard Grade Cap & the Prisoner's Dilemma: 15:37 – 21:45
• Quick Hits: SpaceX, OpenAI IPO news, Vox Media sale, TSA pilot in Boston: 21:45 – 23:26
• Best Fact Yet (Phillips head screwdriver): 23:26 – 24:08

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Structure & Flow

• Light, witty banter throughout, but pop-business content delivered clearly and crisply.
• Stories build up with context, then reveal, and finish with a key “takeaway” linked to broader business principles.
• Frequent use of analogies, memes (“Spider-Man meme”), and pop culture references for memorable, relatable analysis.

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Additional Briefs & Highlights

• SpaceX IPO: Big news dropped just before showtime—deep dive promised in next episode (00:12).
• Vox Media sale: Vox’s podcast unit and New York Magazine sold to a Murdoch son—likened to an HBO’s Succession plotline (22:22).
• TSA innovation: Pre-security check outside the airport being piloted near Boston (23:01).

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In Summary:
This episode tracks three converging business stories—platform overlap in gig apps, viral influencer strategies in retail, and systemic academic reforms—always connecting the headlines to bigger economic and business lessons, and carried by Jack and Nick’s trademark punchy, referential humor. If you missed the episode, this summary gives you both the facts and the flavor.

Transcript

[A]

This is Nick, this is Jack.

[B]

It's Thursday, the new Friday, May 21, 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]

Oh, yet he's just. As we were pressing record, SpaceX published their IPO paperwork for all to see.

[A]

Classic Elon publishing huge breaking news at a very inconvenient time, editorially speaking.

[B]

Jack and I checked quickly. The poop emoji is not included anywhere in the document, unlike we expected.

[A]

And this will be the first story in tomorrow, so you'll have all Memorial Day weekend to listen to it.

[B]

In the meantime, Jack and I are taking all of tonight to read in T boy style to the SpaceX IPO paperwork. But Jack, we got three fantastic stories for today's show. What do we got on the T Boy?

[A]

For our first story, Airbnb just got into the car industry.

[B]

Just after Uber got into the hotel industry.

[A]

Airbnb's becoming Uber, Uber's becoming Airbnb.

[B]

Worlds collide.

[A]

For our second story, Adidas apparel business is beating their shoe business. And we see it in their satin

[B]

leopard pants because Facebook mom groups made it happen.

[A]

And our third and final story. Harvard professors finally voted to end gradeflation and capped the number of A's they hand out to 20%.

[B]

But Harvard's grade cap will fail if it doesn't learn a lesson from Princeton. But yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, the Harvard crowd not happy about that takeaway.

[A]

Jack the Dink Wad. Double income, no kids with a dog.

[B]

Gen X and millennial is the first generation in U.S. history to embrace the dink wad lifestyle.

[A]

The reason? It's because Americans aren't having kids like they used to.

[B]

And it ain't just us. Two thirds of the world's countries are facing the same problemo.

[A]

Financial Times is blaming one thing for this global baby bust.

[B]

Get this. They're blaming the iPhone.

[A]

Wild story from the FT. They noticed the 20 year fall in birth rates correlates with the 20 year rise in phones.

[B]

Jack, the decline in birth rate, it started in 2007.

[A]

The iPhone also started in 2007.

[B]

That's right. We brought the receipts. Turns out the population problem has been in our pocket the whole time.

[A]

The iPhone killed the mood.

[B]

And get this. Areas with the most Internet use have the biggest decline in childbirth.

[A]

More Wi fi, less wah wahs.

[B]

The smartphone. It simply changed how we hang out.

[A]

Fewer happy hours, more doordashes.

[B]

How I met your mother.

[A]

I didn't I was scrolling instead. Nick.

[B]

Now. Besties. The iPhone isn't the only reason for the declining birth rate, we should point out.

[A]

No, it's not. Gender norms have changed. The cost of living crisis, those are huge factors as well.

[B]

But Jack, add it all up and it all correlates to the birthday of the iPhone.

[A]

Hey, Steve Jobs, you accident created a global turn off.

[B]

Honestly, we didn't realize do not disturb mode went that far.

[A]

Not even Tinder can offset that.

[B]

Megatrend iPhone.

[A]

What a form of birth control.

[B]

Jack, let's hit our three storm.

[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 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 so just start the show, start the show, start the show.

[B]

First, a quick word from our sponsor, Monarch. All right, Yetis, you're never going to be able to guess how many accounts Jack has linked to Monarch. 31. Are there even that many, like financial products out there? Yetis, he's got credit cards, checking accounts, brokerage Accounts, Retirement Accounts, 529 College savings

[A]

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.

[B]

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[B]

use at netsuite.com tboy netsuite.com tby for our first story, Airbnb is adding hotels and car rentals and grocery deliveries and rides. Rides to and from the airport.

[A]

But guess who offers literally all of those features? Already Uber.

[B]

Now Basties. When Jack and I worked at Robinhood, the co founders liked to say that the goal was to become the Amazon for banking.

[A]

That's a common goal. Actually become Amazon's everything store. But instead of for retail, do it for another industry.

[B]

And Jack, the latest to use the classic Amazon analogy of business, who is it?

[A]

Airbnb's Brian Chesky. He told CNBC yesterday that Airbnb can become Amazon for services, at least for traveling and living.

[B]

Here's the news. Airbnb is launching four travel related services beyond that bed you sleep in.

[A]

The first one is hotels. And we actually covered this in our New York City live show in April. We did.

[B]

We told you that Airbnb was testing it. We said you gotta look out when they make it official.

[A]

We told you that in four cities where Airbnb had been banned or restricted, Airbnb showed you hotels instead.

[B]

But now Airbnb is expanding that to the whole world. It's live right now in 20 cities. Airbnb hotels.

[A]

Why only 20 cities? Well, Airbnb has to hand select the hotels. Only the ones that feel like Airbnb.

[B]

Like we said, it's curation. Airbnb's gotta act like a music dj, only curate the best stuff.

[A]

Okay, hotels. But Nick, hotels are similar to Airbnbs. It's the place that you sleep. The other three big new announcements were majorly new news.

[B]

New news. Basically Airbnb is trying to Become like a digital bellboy when you think of it. Jack, why don't you dive into E Boy style? Please.

[A]

Airbnb launched car rentals yesterday.

[B]

Like, if you're booking an Airbnb to ski and stow, well, you can add a Chevy Suburban now at checkout within Airbnb.

[A]

We're curious who Airbnb is partnering with. They didn't say. But you can now put junk in Airbnb's trunk.

[B]

Which leads to the second surprise Airbnb airport drop off.

[A]

Let's say you don't need a rental car. You definitely need a ride from your airport to your Airbnb.

[B]

So Airbnb is partnering with a private car service called welcome Pickups. It's Airbnb on wheels.

[A]

But that's not all. They announced grocery delivery through Airbnb.

[B]

So you get an Airbnb instead of a hotel because you want a kitchen to cook in, right, Jack? Like, I know when we're together, you like making the pancakes every morning.

[A]

So now you can get all those taco ingredients for your trip to Tahoe delivered to the door at your check in time through the Airbnb app in partnership with Instacart.

[B]

But to quote Stevie Jobs, one more thing.

[A]

This is our favorite one, actually. Luggage storage.

[B]

You can now store your suitcase somewhere after your 10am checkout, so you don't lug that luggage all the way through the subway system because you're not going

[A]

to the airport till like 6 o'.

[B]

Clock.

[A]

So what are you gonna do with your suitcase?

[B]

So they partnered with Bounce, which is the Airbnb of storage spots.

[A]

My mom recently took Amtrak from Vermont all the way to Florida. Not a great decision by her, but she had like a three hour layover in New York City and she used Bounce to store her luggage.

[B]

I wonder if you could hire a TaskRabbit to just, like, wheel the luggage around.

[A]

Look, we think these are great additions to Airbnb, but as we were reading this news update, Nick and I couldn't

[B]

help thinking to ourselves, did Airbnb just declare war against Uber, or did Uber

[A]

already declare war against Airbnb and Doordash and Postmates? Again, the Spider man meme.

[B]

Everyone's firing at each other and things are about to get awkward. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over in the app world?

[A]

Prepare for Gigageddon.

[B]

Ah, Gigageddon. Yetis, Jack and I can't help but notice here that all the gig apps are converging on each other.

[A]

Airbnb just launched cars like Uber. But last month, Uber launched hotels like Airbnb.

[B]

And Jack Doordash launched restaurant reservations in case you want to go out instead of ordering in.

[A]

But Uber now does restaurant reservations too. And guess what? Airbnb does restaurant reservations through resi.

[B]

I'm sorry, what's next? Instacart, letting you rent out your fridge on Airbnb through a grubhub API.

[A]

All the gig apps, they have great brands, but the platforms and their business model, it's become one big commodity.

[B]

And we saw the same thing happen with social media apps, didn't we, Jack?

[A]

Every social media app now has all the same features. Stories, reels, direct messages, lives, static posts.

[B]

From TikTok to Instagram to Pinterest to LinkedIn, they all have that same feature.

[A]

So we're heading down the road of an inevitable convergence of all all these gig apps offering the same features.

[B]

Call it a platform pile up or

[A]

Gigageddon Dusties, or call it that Spiderman meme.

[B]

Because Uber's becoming Airbnb. Or is Airbnb becoming Uber? For our second story, Adidas new hero product is a total surprise. Get this. It's satin mom pants with their trademark three stripes down the side.

[A]

Because Adidas didn't target the nine follower moms, it targeted the one trendsetter mom.

[B]

Big headline for Adidas last quarter, it was actually Adidas sneakers.

[A]

Adidas sneakers, not Nike ran the first ever sub two hour marathon.

[B]

Now besties, that's what you saw. But what you didn't see that fascinates Jack and I was Adidas satin pants.

[A]

Unless, of course, you're a trendy mom. Then you saw him for sure.

[B]

More on that in a second. But pants, it turns out, are actually beating sneakers when it comes to Adidas

[A]

earnings reports, footwear sales rose 5% for Adidas last quarter, while apparel sales rose 20%.

[B]

Jack and I got curious about that. We jumped to T boy style. Turns out one apparel in particular is popping off right now.

[A]

Wide leg satin pants. These are shiny, these are silky. These are party pants with a leopard print polka dot pattern.

[B]

But still, these loungey leopard pants, they are all leisure, no ass.

[A]

Baby, don't wear these things to Pilates.

[B]

You'll get laughed at. At Pilates posture. I've been there.

[A]

So these pants are Adidas surprise star player. They've got rave reviews, they've got traction on social media. They just got a whole puff piece written about them on Business Insider, but

[B]

they are totally sold out.

[A]

Already. So popular that Amazon and Shein are dropping 24 DOL dupe versions just without the trademark three stripes.

[B]

Well played by the lawyers. So besties, Adidas is winning on clothes. Not sneakers. That's interesting. And not athletic clothes, but social clothes. Extra interesting.

[A]

Why is Adidas being driven by silky party pants? It's because of moms. That's right.

[B]

These wide leg satin pants became the visible status symbol of mom Facebook groups.

[A]

The Business Insider reporter noticed that they were the most commonly dropped clothing in her chat.

[B]

And Jack and I did our own review of public Facebook groups. And we saw dozens of outfit of the day videos featuring these pants.

[A]

And the top model in those videos were women in their 30s and 40s. TikTok in the look on the way to work.

[B]

That's right. Adidas hero product is powered by chatter at school pickup.

[A]

Drop off is the new fashion Runway.

[B]

We should point out, oh, millennial parents, you gotta dress up for it these days. It's a thing. It is a thing.

[A]

And then after drop off, these working moms are coming to the office with me in my cheetah dotted satin Adidas pants.

[B]

You wanna know why Jack's wearing a nice crewneck sweater today? Well, it's because he was doing drop off earlier.

[A]

Tap the link in bio for my affiliate link.

[B]

Now besties, Adidas hasn't said whether they specifically targeted American moms who are making this take off, but it's been a

[A]

bullseye and investors are loving every minute of it.

[B]

And Jack, pause the pod. What's the reason Adidas profits popped 54% last quarter?

[A]

These apparel sales have better profit margins than sneaker sales.

[B]

See Eddie's Nike does have twice the market share of Adidas when it comes to the apparel category.

[A]

But these polka dotted fancy mom pants may be closing the gap.

[B]

Not a regular mom and Lululemon. I'm a cool mom. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our

[A]

buddies over at Adidas Influence the influencers.

[B]

This one Shark Tank host who we've been in touch with and we plan to get him on the show. He's Rohan Oza. You've seen him on tv.

[A]

He invested in poppy vitamin water, Sir Kensington's mustard. Huge food and beverage guy, big exit.

[B]

Now he noticed that one in ten Americans influence the other nine Americans they hang out with. Basically, there's always a tastemaker in your crew.

[A]

Think of your group chat. One buddy ordered bubble tea that one time. Now everyone's ordering bubble tea.

[B]

Our buddy Timmy's onto something here, guys.

[A]

Therein reveals Rohan's financial trick shot. Instead of spending to market to 10 people, which is expensive market to the

[B]

one person who influences the other nine

[A]

for free and accidentally or on purpose. That's what Adidas has pulled off by getting these trendy moms to wear these satin pants Basties.

[B]

Adidas is being driven by sad and fancy mom pants because it influenced the influencer. 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 ha instead of us. Especially the Von Dutch one because hiring and training can take forever.

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Well Brad, to say that we are hiring right now at T boy and this is a job for Indeed Sponsored

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So just go to Indeed.com podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.

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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 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 as 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.

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So true.

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But Batman was probably an Upwork power user.

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

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That is Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Right now.

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That's upwork.com upwork.com. for our third and final story. Pencils down. Harvard is capping and reducing the number of as professors can hand out by 2/3.

[A]

The era of grade inflation at Harvard is over Half finished. But, Nick, it will fail unless it learns a lesson from Princeton.

[B]

Now, yetis, you're with us every day. So yesterday we covered a wild story about Stanford, and today we're gonna head to the east coast instead.

[A]

It's like we're 17 and we're going on college tours.

[B]

Yeah, it does feel like that way. Everyone, walk over here. You'll see the dining cafeteria. It's lovely.

[A]

An A grade according to Harvard's official guidelines for professors is a mark of extraordinary distinction.

[B]

Well, here's our hero stat. Back in 2006, 25% of grades at Harvard were A's.

[A]

25% were marks of extraordinary distinction.

[B]

But 20 years later, 60% of Harvard grades are A's.

[A]

I'm sorry. The average grade at Harvard is extraordinary, Jack.

[B]

As long as you paginated and double spaced that term paper, odds are you got an A at Harvard.

[A]

Don't know what the word paginated means, but I still probably got an A.

[B]

And for that reason, you're getting a B. Actually, Jack.

[A]

Yeah. This is known as gradeflation. And it has hurt. Hurt the value of a Harvard transcript and made a Harvard GPA basically meaningless.

[B]

Harvard's trying to create leaders of tomorrow, and yet the university can't even solve a basic issue of today.

[A]

The dean did ask faculty last year to reduce the number of A's on a voluntary basis.

[B]

How did that go, Jack?

[A]

Not well. It only fell by 7 percentage points. Still, a comically high 53% of Harvard students received A's.

[B]

Now, of course, we could tell you voluntary caps didn't work. Professors are under pressure to award A's. You can just follow the money on this thing.

[A]

Student evaluations help determine if a professor gets tenure.

[B]

And that one professor who limits the number of A's will get a terrible student evaluation.

[A]

Ipso facto, if you give out a C, you're gonna get demoted to Bunker Hill Community College.

[B]

Now, besties, inflation, greedflation, shrinkflation. We've covered every type of inflation and we haven't been able to stop any of them.

[A]

But the dean of Harvard University took a courageous move to try to end grade inflation.

[B]

That's right. Amanda Clabaugh took the move to set up a vote.

[A]

Here was the question all Harvard professors had to answer yes or no for should we limit the number of as professors can award to 20%? Of students plus four.

[B]

So like for a class of 100 students, the maximum number of A's would be 24.

[A]

Sorry, Timmy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That note from your mom who's also a donor.

[B]

Uh huh.

[A]

Isn't gonna get you an A because I've already maxed that number out.

[B]

Besties. The vote was two weeks ago, but the results just came in yesterday.

[A]

The faculty passed the measure with overwhelming 70% approval.

[B]

We repeat, Harvard is adopting the 20% plus four rule about grades.

[A]

And this is a huge deal. It means the number of A's at Harvard will fall by about 2/3 from 60% to just over 20%.

[B]

To quote Gen Z, there is now a cap on that. No cap or there's no cap on that cap?

[A]

Now this is an earthquake for recruiters. We should point out, like you gotta ask yourself, is this Harvard GPA from the great inflation era or from the post great inflation era?

[B]

Jack. It's like baseball fans looking back on the record books from a couple decades ago. You know what I mean?

[A]

Did he hit 60 home runs with steroids or did he do it clean

[B]

back when everyone was juicing? What's going on here?

[A]

But the even bigger question here is will other universities follow Harvard's lead?

[B]

Because Yale's dean has indicated that they would follow Harvard's lead if they voted right on this.

[A]

Yeah, the Eli's. They don't want their A's being perceived as less earned than Harvard's. A's are.

[B]

Otherwise the tailgate of the Harvard Yale game. It could get ugly next year.

[A]

We hope it's not just Harvard and it's not just Yale. We hope this trickles down to all universities and colleges.

[B]

Yeah. Cause right now everyone seems to be dishing out A's like Oprah. Right? You get an A. Look under your seat, you got an A. Yeah.

[A]

But you and I. I earned my 3.56 GPA. No ChatGPT. Just long hours at that fricking library.

[B]

Besties. Higher education isn't supposed to feel like a participation trophy. And once the snow melts up at Dartmouth, maybe they'll consider a vote on this too. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies wondering about how this connects to business?

[A]

It's the prisoner's dilemma. If other schools don't follow, Harvard's move will fail.

[B]

Besties. The wild irony of this story. I love how you found this, Jack. It's that Princeton did this 20 years ago and then had to end it

[A]

after 10 years when Princeton capped the number of A pluses. A's and a minuses to 35%. It ended up backfiring royally.

[B]

The main reason Harvard was doing the opposite at the time, they were handing out more A's while Princeton was handing out fewer A's.

[A]

Recruiters didn't realize there was a difference in the grading policy. So recruiters just figured Harvard students were smarter than the Princeton students who were applying to the jobs.

[B]

So students at Princeton competed intensely for those few coveted A's, and it created this whole toxic environment for a few years.

[A]

Yeah, on group projects, you were just trying to sabotage the kid next to you because you needed the A and you couldn't let that kid get the A.

[B]

It wasn't pretty in the eating club. So 10 years later, Princeton abandoned the policy. But economists could have predicted that because

[A]

without coordination, each pursues what is in their own best interest and that outcome becomes bad for everyone.

[B]

Actually, what Jack just described is known in economics as the Prisoner's dilemma.

[A]

Coordination is how everyone gets the best outcome. And in this case, coordination would be all schools agreeing to restore sanity when it comes to grading.

[B]

Because besties of other schools don't follow. Harvard's grade cap will get an F. It'll fail. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us?

[A]

For the new Friday, Airbnb launched car rentals, airport drop offs, grocery deliveries, and more. All things that Uber does as well.

[B]

Giga, Geddon, the gig apps are all competing in and converging on the same features.

[A]

For our second story, Adidas struck gold with leopard print satin pants. First the trendy moms, then the follower

[B]

moms because they influenced the influencers.

[A]

And finally, Harvard is capping the number of as from 60% today to just over 20% starting in the fall of 2027.

[B]

But without coordination from other universities, this will fail. That is the prisoner's dilemma.

[A]

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

[B]

First, just as we were hitting the mic, SpaceX indeed published their IPO paperwork yesterday. As expected, Jack and I will jump in T boy style cover tomorrow.

[A]

But earlier in the day, OpenAI leaked that they're gonna file for their IPO possibly as soon as tomorrow.

[B]

Oh, and they did all of this at the same moment that Nvidia announced ear.

[A]

And Nvidia sold so many GPUs for such a high price last quarter, the

[B]

most valuable company on earth grew revenues by 85% compared to last year. But the stock's flat cause expectations were so high.

[A]

Second, Vox Media is selling their Podcast division and New York magazine to a Murdoch Son for $300 million.

[B]

I'm sorry, Jack. Pause the pot. Isn't this the same plot as season

[A]

two of HBO's Succession season three, I think. But it's not the Murdoch son that would be the father's chosen heir who's continuing to run Fox News Today.

[B]

I guess it's the other Murdoch son, the Roman Roy of the story, who's buying the company.

[A]

This is actually shiv of the family because it's the liberal kid.

[B]

Well put, Jack. Well put. Life imitates art, which imitates life, which imitates hbo.

[A]

And finally, new airport thing. You could go through TSA way outside the airport in order to save time.

[B]

Get this. TSA has been testing it in Boston, and they may expand it nationwide soon. It's wild.

[A]

Logan Airport has set up a TSA security check for in Framingham, 25 miles outside of Boston.

[B]

Just outside Boston. That's pretty far outside Boston, Jack.

[A]

And then they'll let you jump on a bus and go directly to your gate. I guess the idea is you could park way outside of Boston to save money and avoid the lines to save time. Makes sense if you're passing through Framingham.

[B]

I think the point is that everything in Massachusetts is just outside Boston. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one, which we were hoping we would get, was sent in by Logan Miller from St. Petersburg, Florida.

[A]

Phillips head screwdriver. It was developed by Henry F. Phillips, an American businessman from Portland, Oregon.

[B]

Yesterday's show, Jack and I were wondering who did the Phillips head because no one really knows what a Phillips head is.

[A]

Well, yeah, everyone knew, Nick, you were

[B]

the only one who didn't. That's a good point. It was just me. But what Mr. Phillips did was buy the concept from the real inventor of the Phillips head, whose name was John P. Thompson. In the early 1930s, Mr. Phillip put his own name on it, and then

[A]

he licensed the design, a little plus in the symbol to a whole bunch of screw manufacturers.

[B]

Oh. His first big buyer was General Motors because it was faster to use a Phillips head than whatever that other one is. Yetis, you're looking fantastic out there. Whether you're a cool mom or an almost cool mom. Jack, you were glowing in that sweater,

[A]

by the way, something we forgot to ask the Yetis for. Make sure to auto download the episodes. It's great for the business, it's great for the show, and it'll make us do this for the rest of our lives.

[B]

Oh, totally. Tap the following US Auto Download the pod, give us 5 stars rating and review. We love reading them, we love being auto downloaded. Because you're not like other podcast listeners. You're a cool podcast listener. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Eddie. US Marine Captain John Demo Demitrazek over in Salisbury, North Carolina, but stationed in Japan. Thank you, Captain.

[A]

And happy birthday to Marcus, celebrating out in the Hamptons this weekend.

[B]

And CARTER Scott's turning 10 years old down in Las Vegas. Happy birthday, Carter.

[A]

Happy birthday to David Platt, a seven year yeti in Orlando, Florida. Thank you.

[B]

Dave and Oliver Suggs have a fantastic birthday in Sin city, Cincinnati.

[A]

Happy 38th birthday to Sadesh Jodhav in

[B]

Green Bay, Wisconsin and Russell Yidy in Temecula. Is it Temecula or Temecula? We got this wrong last time. I know. We'll make a correction tomorrow. Happy birthday celebration.

[A]

Just don't say Willamette. It's Willamette, dammit.

[B]

And Darshan. Sony's got a 40th birthday in St. Pete's Florida. Getting married next month. Congratulations. Congratulations, Darshan.

[A]

And happy birthday to Nabia Jiwani, turning 30 years old and graduating from NYU Stern with an MBA.

[B]

And congrats to the legendary Eddie, Maddie Deary, who just graduated from Georgetown with the best parents yet.

[A]

And a big shout out to Cheryl Lau, who gave the best idea yet. Our other show, a huge and awesome shout out on LinkedIn.

[B]

Love the way she analyzed the pod on LinkedIn. Oh, and finally a special shout out to the pod son, Mr. Wilder himself, who just went through his first surgery as a kid. He was so tough, he was so brave. And we are so proud of you, Wilder.

[A]

This was a lot for me as this parent to witness it. It was a dental thing. So here's the advice to parents who are thinking about their kids teeth. The two Fs, floss and frequency. You really gotta floss your kid's teeth. My son's five. But we really gotta floss them to kill those cavities. And be mindful of frequency. They could snack, but frequency matters. Don't make it all day.

[B]

Doctor's orders. Podson, you did fantastic.

[A]

This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon. Nick owns stock of Airbnb. And we both own stock of Apple and Robinhood.

[D]

Still waiting in line again. That's time you'll never get back. Save time and money with stamps dot com. Over 4 million businesses have skipped the line with stamps dot com. Join them to save up to 90% off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail registered mail and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office. For a limited time, go to stamps.com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift. Taxes and fees apply.