Stock Market Surges After Midterm Rout & Men Are Becoming "Pilates Princes"

Data journalist Lev Akebos wrote 3,000 real names in seven hours, with NBA players, film and TV stars, NFL athletes, tennis players, schoolmates, colleagues, and all 44 presidents among his categories. Toby doubted he could do it because his high-school class had only 43 people, while Neil and Toby’s earlier attempt to name 1,000 athletes in an hour produced 491 for Toby and fewer than 300 for Neil. Toby said Neil got stuck listing early-2000s baseball relievers; they joked about livestreaming a better attempt.

The Dow rose 3%, or 1,569 points, its best day since April 9, 2025; the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq nearly 1.5%. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple added about $1 trillion in value, with Apple up 6% and Microsoft reaching an all-time high. Neil attributed part of the rally to President Trump accepting the results, reducing fears of a contested outcome. Historically, the S&P gained an average 7.5% in the three months after midterms versus 1.8% before them.

Trump Media plunged 24% to roughly $4.50 after once reaching $175, while Tesla and SpaceX fell 4%–5% amid expected scrutiny of Elon Musk’s Starlink and data centers. CoreWeave, IREN, and Nebius dropped 5%–10%, but solar, clean energy, healthcare, and crypto rallied. The hosts said Democrats may limit the Iran war, roll back selected tariffs, reverse spending cuts, and leave national AI regulation unchanged. Oil fell nearly 9% to a two-month low, supporting stocks by easing inflation and interest-rate fears.

CVS announced that its roughly 9,000 drugstores would become CVS Pharmacy, while CVS Health would contain Aetna, Caremark, and other businesses. The breakup reverses two decades of vertical integration, including CVS’s nearly $70 billion purchase of Aetna in 2018, as lawmakers scrutinize conflicts between pharmacies and pharmacy-benefit managers; Tennessee and Arkansas have already banned some co-ownership. CVS denied regulation drove the decision, but shares fell 12.5%. The hosts noted the drugstore unit was improving under CEO David Joyner, with shares up 70% since his October 2024 arrival.

Hackers raised freezer temperatures above 120 degrees at hundreds of French supermarkets and compromised refrigeration at Sweden’s Coop and stores from Portugal to Estonia. French blood-storage systems were affected, but no blood products were lost. Danfoss controllers were especially vulnerable because their unchanged default password is “12345.” The hosts said attackers appear to be exploiting low-hanging fruit rather than pursuing a known objective, and noted a similar U.S. military commissary incident in which freezers were defrosted during the summer.

About 4.1 million U.S. men did Pilates last year, up from 2 million five years earlier; Equinox reported male participation up more than 50% in 18 months, and ClassPass said it has nearly tripled since 2023. Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Cristiano Ronaldo helped reduce the stigma. Toby described his own reformer experience as an adductor disaster. Neil explained that Joseph Pilates, a German circus performer and boxer, developed “controlology” during World War I, before female dancers later made the workout seem women-coded.

Harley-Davidson posted retail-sales growth in each of the last four quarters and expects its first full-year increase since 2021; its shares were up more than 60% in 2026. A refreshed three-wheel trike appeals to boomers, while the $16,000 Superglide and Deadwood target mid-tier buyers. Yet projected sales of 139,000 bikes remain far below 2006’s 344,000, and analysts want evidence Harley can overcome demographic headwinds and attract younger customers. Neil and Toby said motorcycles seem dangerous but agreed Neil could eventually ride a trike.

My Chemical Romance’s 2006 album The Black Parade became the U.S. No. 1 album after a reissue with 20 physical variants, six bonus tracks, and a stadium tour. It set Billboard’s record for the longest wait between release and reaching No. 1, with 87% of equivalent units coming from album sales rather than streaming. The hosts described its rock-opera structure and its influence on mainstream emo. In 2006, it lost the top spot to the Hannah Montana soundtrack, released the same week.

Kellogg’s replaced rice with rice flour in European Rice Krispies after adverse weather disrupted Southeast Asian rice supplies. Consumers say the cereal no longer delivers the promised “snap, crackle, and pop”; Kellogg’s acknowledged the sound may be quieter and less immediate. Toby recalled being assigned the role of “Snap” in a sixth-grade song competition, while the hosts compared the backlash with recipe changes involving Reese’s and Scotland’s Irn-Bru. They concluded that losing only the pop might still threaten the brand.