This is Nick. This is Jack. And we have some trash talk to unload. Be warned, dirty words ahead…Italy just hosted the World Plogging Championship. It’s a 6-hour race where runners pick up garbage—literally AMTAP (as much trash as possible). And with good reason: Italy has a rubbish ‘ish. So to help clean up (and get more points), ploggers go for heavier and harder stuff—car tires, TVs, you name it. May the best junk win.

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1) Toys R Us: From Bankruptcy to the Big Blue Sea

Toys R Us announced plans to open dozens of new flagship stores by “land, air, and sea.” Geoffrey the Giraffe is so back.

Yes, that Toys R Us. It filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and closed all its stores in 2018. A brand management firm called WHP Global swooped in a couple years back, and now, toys really are us heading into Q4/Santa’s busy season.

Cool parent WHP rolled out the playmat for Toys R Us’s big comeback in an aggressive (and unique) “air, land, and sea” campaign. Sounds like GI Joe:

• ✈️ Air(ports): New stores in busy terminals, like DFW (the world’s second-busiest airport). That’s one way to entertain the kids during a layover.

• 🛣️ Land: Up to 24 new theme-parky flagship stores across the US.

• 🛳️ Sea: Details TBD, but expect Toys R Us on cruise ships. Ahoys R Us?

The Takeaway →

Location isn’t just a place, it’s a mindset. You know the classic retail saying: location, location, location. But the psychological location matters just as much as the physical one, and Toys R Us’s new owner understands just that. The idea: Find customers where they’re the happiest. There’s no better way to maintain the vacay vibes than buying a Furby for the little guy.

2) Millennials Are Ahead of Boomers…in Retirement

We might not have mortgages or marriages, but we’ve got this: Millennials are actually outpacing older generations when it comes to retirement saving, according to the WSJ. Although mom will keep asking when you’re getting married.

What the data shows: 

• 👵 By the time older Millennials earning a median salary retire, they’ll have enough in savings, Social Security, and retirement plans to cover almost 60% of their pre-retirement income (and sub for oat milk as they please).

• 👴 Younger Boomers and Gen X only have enough to replace about 50% of their income. And they’ll still ask…you take cash?

The Takeaway →

The reason Millennials are ahead? It’s not prudence, it’s policy. Specifically, auto-enroll 401Ks (retirement accounts that invest part of your salary in stocks). When Millennials got their first corporate gigs, they were auto-enrolled into employer-supported 401K plans. This wasn’t always the case. In 2006, Congress passed a bill which encouraged automatic enrollment in employer 401Ks—now some 60% of companies have auto opt-in. It’s more policy than planning, but we Millennials will take the W.

3) How UPenn Made Almost $1B With the Covid Vaccine

The 2 professors who invented the tech behind the Covid-19 vaccine won the Nobel Prize for Medicine this week. But their story is worthy of a Pulitzer.

The meet cute: Rewind to the ’90s—Katalin Karikó (a biochemist) and Drew Weissman (an immunologist) bumped elbows at the University of Pennsylvania photocopying machine (true story).

• 🧪 The idea: Karikó wanted to modify messenger RNA (mRNA) to fight disease. Weissman double-tapped to use the newfangled mRNA research in making vaccines.

• 🧪 In 2005, they published a paper to tell the world. But it got little attention. Until 15 years later, when…

• 🧪 Covid-19 happened. Pfizer and Moderna used the professors’ mRNA findings as the basis for their Covid-19 vaccines.

The Takeaway →

The surprise vaccine winner was…the University of Pennsylvania. UPenn owned the patents—so with 13B shots administered, UPenn brought in almost $1B in royalties for the professors’ work on the world-changer vaccines.

The fairy tale ending: Karikó became a senior VP at the company that made the vax with Pfizer (we smell stock options 🤑). And both professors got about $1M for the Nobel win. Nbd.

Here’s what else you need to know today:

🥾 House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his leadership position by fellow Republicans. He’s the first Speaker of the House to lose the job in US history.

📸 You can now slide into the Fed’s DMs on Instagram. Jay Powell, have you tried cross-posting to Reels to tame inflation?

🥂 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon predicts the next generation will have a 3.5-day workweek thanks to AI. #HotBotFuture

🌯 Chipotle has started testing automation for building burrito bowls and salads. But can the bots master the burrito tuck?

😶‍🌫️ Rivian lost $33K per car sold in Q2. On a mission to become the “Tesla of Trucks,” they are burning through piles of $$$.

🤾 The Rugby World Cup (the 3rd biggest sporting event in the world) is on…everywhere but America. The tournament has a plan to grow in popularity in the US by 2031, when the ‘ship comes stateside.

🍕 Netflix is selling pizza and wedding gowns to deepen ties to shows. Who knew Stranger Things ice cream was a thing.

On the pod today:

💁🏼‍♀️ Paramount Pictures just put Mean Girls…on TikTok…for free…in 23 different clips.

🫢 The trial of crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried just began and we’ve got 6 juicy details.

QUESTION →

How long does it take you to prep for a single podcast?
Submitted by Maria Soles in San Luis Obispo, CA

ANSWER →

Nick: Like chefs, we spend all day prepping the meal that is our daily pod. And it all begins early each morning with our “Headline Hammer.” Jack’s on the East Coast, I’m on the West, so we’re both researching potential stories around 6am from a few dozen news sources, earnings reports, and press releases.

Then we get together, catch up (how’s life, mon?), and choose the perfect mix of stories together as a TBOY team. For the next 3 hours, we’re jumping in TBOY-style to research each story. Jack leads research on one story, me on the other, then we edit and fact-check the other person’s work.

Finally, we craft the intro, prep the shoutouts, find The Best Fact Yet, and then get on the mics together at 5pm ET. Then it’s 3-2-1…“This is Nick. This is Jack…” Our producer, Adam, edits beautifully and schedules the episode to go live the next morning. 👌

QUESTION →

‌Who is the artist who does the intro song?
Submitted by Alieu In New York City, NY

ANSWER →

Jack: Blackillac. A rapper duo based in Austin who are fans of the pod. We commissioned them to turn our pod into a 30-second rap—and they delivered.

Do you have The Best Question Yet? Submit yours here.

And one more thing. Ever chatted with your boss or team about a 401K or other retirement plan? It’s actually a pretty satisfying convo.

—Nick & Jack