Dear Listener,
Episode 188 opens with Stan's brief return to office life and the strange mental math of salaried lunch breaks, then quickly moves outside for a spring bike ride through Indianapolis, post-ride tacos, and a debate over whether sleep is actually better without an Apple Watch strapped on overnight.
From there the show takes a hard turn into full-blown 90s nostalgia after a wave of Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" reels takes over everyone's algorithm. Stan and Jon bounce through City of Angels, crowded mall-era movie theaters, peak Will Smith, the Chicago Bulls, Tupac, Hilary Duff, Spice World, and the general realization that late-90s culture still has an absurd amount of hold on both of them.
They close on 90s fashion and retail psychology: Lee Pipes, Tommy Hilfiger, and the unforgettable chaos of JCPenney pricing. That leads into a surprisingly good discussion about Apple's resistance to discount logic, why honest pricing failed at Penney's, and what that says about how people actually want to shop.
Thanks for listening,
Stan Lemon & Jon Kohlmeier