Tech Money Podcast: The State of the Tech Worker with Alex Kantrowitz

Polymarket's Fake Bets. Wendy’s Becomes a Meme Stock.

Polymarket reportedly paid creators to post videos of themselves "winning" bets that didn't exist. The Wall Street Journal found 118 videos showing nearly $900,000 in winnings — bets that, in reality, would have lost more than $166,000, placed on a creatively misspelled lookalike site. Meanwhile, Wendy's is drawing more Wall Street Bets chatter than SpaceX, 80% of its borrowable shares are already sold short, and the internet has decided a $7 burger stock might be the next GameStop. Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss.: - The summer box office recovery, and what movie audiences want. - The Polymarket "poiymarket" fake-bet scheme. - Whether Wendy's is the next GameStop. - Netflix as a "durable good" and why it's trading at a discount to the market. - The clipping economy, why one operator estimates 90% of what you see online is advertising in disguise. Want to contact us? thistimepod@gmail.com We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Is The Market Too Hot To Trust?

Elon Musk says SpaceX could hit $1 trillion in revenue by 2030, a fifteen-fold jump from 2027 estimates. Parts of the market feel like they're on fire. So where does a long-term bull actually put money when they don't want to chase 40%-in-a-week moves?  Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss: * The REITs they're using as cover in an overheated market — cold storage, data centers, and class-A office — and Malcolm's "what's the yield" test for every one of them. * Why "fiduciary" might not mean what you think, and how to tell a real one from a salesperson. * State Farm's plan to cut agent pay and lean on AI, and what it signals about white-collar work. * Why Gen Z is trading like the system is rigged, and whether they're wrong. Want to contact us? thistimepod@gmail.com We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge  Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Is the American Dream Dead? w/ Freddie Smith

Is the American Dream Dead? w/ Freddie Smith Over the past 50 years, Americans created roughly $140 trillion in new wealth. Roughly two SpaceX’s worth of wealth reached the bottom half. Actor-turned-economic-commentator Freddie Smith argues the American dream isn't dead, but the timeline to reach it has become unreasonable for the typical worker. Is he right, and what would it actually take to fix it? Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge are joined by Freddie Smith, author of the upcoming book Generation F****d, to discuss: * Freddie's radical tax plan: scrap every federal tax and replace it with a 10% levy on gross revenue. * The case for banning stock buybacks, and Malcolm's pitch to just raise the dividend instead. * How a capital gains tax holiday for mom-and-pop landlords could unlock frozen housing supply. * Whether regular 401(k) investors are locked out of the real growth happening in OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. Want to contact us? thistimepod@gmail.com We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge Guest: Freddie Smith Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

The Real Reason for Big Tech Layoffs

Google is raising $80 billion, and nearly 40% of it is going to the IRS, not data centers. Is Big Tech cutting employees to pay a tax bill? Ricky Mulvey and Malcolm Ethridge discuss: * Why index funds are forced to buy SpaceX at a bad time * The Nasdaq rule change that helps big IPOs, and possible reasons why the exchange declined to answer Ricky's questions * Why Malcolm is making a list of stocks to buy when the hype dies * Whether RocketLab is still a good investment. Want to contact us? thistimepod@gmail.com We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge  Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Why Did SpaceX Buy $131 Million of Cybertrucks?

SpaceX is mostly an AI company now. Or, that’s where it sees most of its total addressable market in one of the largest economic opportunities “in human history.” Well, that's according to the company. Malcolm is more skeptical. Is this the last big bang in the AI bull market? * What's buried in the SpaceX S-1 that nobody's talking about. * Whether OpenAI's IPO will land with a thud in SpaceX's shadow * Gen Z trading bars for $300-a-month gyms — status symbol or genuine shift? * Why ChatGPT gave Ricky very bad advice in a Tokyo pharmacy * How American entertainment companies could build “venture capital arms” for content. Want to contact us? thistimepod@gmail.com We are proud to be in the Airwave Media network! Please contact advertising@airwavemedia.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Hosts: Ricky Mulvey, Malcolm Ethridge  Engineer: Tim Sparks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]