Episode tasting notes: hints of apple and cactus, bitter at points but with a smooth finish. This week: two very uninformed people talk about wine, the moral leadership of Coach Pop, and Amazon’s quartet of new Echos. Also, Ryan is apparently quite pupset about his Series 3 something-or-other. ⌚️.

Links:

• IKEA 365+ VÄRDEFULL Corkscrew - IKEA

If you accidentally create a branded podcast for a local restaurant group, how would one go about parlaying that into some type of ‘free food for life’ situation? Asking for a friend.

This week, we talk Blue Barn, emergency pods, early Apple Watch reviews, and searching for purpose in The Notch®. Plus: Ryan’s laptop gives up the ghost and he gives fancy cameras one more try. 📷 .

Links:

• Menus - Blue Barn Gourmet

Christmas in Cupertino is here and we hope you took your change jar to the CoinStar at the Safeway because Tim Cook ain’t f***ing around with these new price points. This week, we cut through all the queso and fake news and review Apple’s September media event, the iPhone 8 and X, and look ahead to 2020.

Links:

• Start-up Bodega learns an important branding lesson; apologizes after Internet outrage - LA Times

Garlic fries and chicken tenders, Jeff Bezos as Seattle’s true 12th man, and a crash course in the time honored tradition of cheating in New England sports. Plus: two very different opinions on Apple’s upcoming iPhone pricing strategy and a preview of next week’s fall press event. 🥊 .

Links:

• Boston Red Sox Used Apple Watches to Steal Signs Against Yankees - The New York Times

Disconnecting and staying connected, entertainment economics, and fair-trade Echo Dots. Plus: Amazon does Apple a solid and slashes the price of avocados so millenials can afford the upcoming iPhone. Don’t worry Gen Y, homeownership is just a couple of skipped brunches away. 🍳 .

Programming note: short episode this week because, um, NAFTA.

Links:

• Apple fights Hollywood to price 4K movies on iTunes at $20 - The Verge

Americans have always been innovators, pioneers and visionaries. We invented the light bulb, the television, the iPhone and most notably — the Domino's DXP. This week: bad ice cream, pizza chain reinvention, subscription fatigue and we catch utopian Olympic fever.

It's okay. You can like LA while also knowing the universal truth that the Dodgers suck. ⚾️ .

Links:

• What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe’s Snacks? - Eater

Sleepless nights, 4K vindication, and extremely expensive iPhones. This week, intrepid firmware sleuths spoil Apple Christmas and Ryan posits that Apple’s doubling down on secrecy may be a fool’s errand at scale. Plus: Bob Iger cancels his corporate Netflix account. 🐭 .

Links:

• Amazon.com: Sleepphones SB5BM Wireless Headphones, Midnight Black: Cell Phones & Accessories

Planes, trains and automobiles. This week: timely travel recommendations, Apple’s forthcoming “big beautiful plants”, Netflix as a relentless original content machine and scenes from the continuing decline of our democracy.

Priority boarding of this episode available for all Pocket Cast Platinum Medallion Members and above. ✈️ .

Links:

• Amazon.com: Glad Press'n Seal, 140 SQ. Foot, (Pack of 3): Home & Kitchen

Amazon moved markets but all anyone can talk about is Swole Bezos: Mr. 206.

This week: meal kits, self-drowning robots, a Star War, and our quarterly productivity intervention. We also mark the 1/8th milestone for the Trump presidency. Pardons, MAGAnomics and well done steaks for everybody. ⛳️ .

Links:

• Trump Election Commission, Already Under Fire, Holds First Meeting - The New York Times

The date was July 12th, 1998. A young Sammy Sosa was nipping at the heels of one Mark McGwire in the most talked about race in all of professional sports: which major league slugger could collect the most free AOL dialup hours. This week: Prime Day, single payer shipping, Nice! store brands, and continued debate over the looming iPhone Pro pricing mistake. 💰 .

Links:

• Boxing Day - Wikipedia