From dragons to $10 ice cream in 63 minutes.
In this episode of The Economy of Nothing, hosts Mike Allen and Mike Bedont veer from $10 ice cream cones to streaming ads (or as they call them, “subtracts”), with plenty of detours in between. They debate whether dragons might have been real, celebrate Twisted Metal for getting TV right, and roast the decline of modern writing. Along the way, they dig into corporate collusion, the economics of novelty pricing, and Big Pharma’s slow-motion disclaimers, all while keeping the conversation funny, fast, and just a little unhinged.
From nostalgic TV rants to full-on ice cream conspiracies, it’s another unpredictable, entertaining ride through capitalism, pop culture, and the weird logic of the algorithm.
Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:28 Meet the Hosts 01:16 Unemployment 03:30 The $10 Ice Cream Rant 08:53 Streaming Services & Ads 13:04 Pharma Ads & Medicine 24:04 Economic Rants & Conspiracies 40:44 Pivot / Closing Thoughts 41:11 Twisted Metal (the show!) 45:10 The Decline of TV Writing 52:36 Dragons: Myth or Reality? 59:27 “Subtracts”: What We’re Calling Ads Now 01:03:58 Political Rants & Social Commentary 01:11:55 Future Plans