Group Chat News is back for America's 250th birthday week and the guys go deep on the gamification of everything, AI gatekeeping, and the great retail shakeup. Steve Pitino of Ales Grey stops by with a massive Walmart 4th of July shoe giveaway before the crew gets into why politics might be the biggest trap of all, the AI lockout dividing the haves from the have-nots, and how Jersey Mike's just dethroned Chick-fil-A.

This week's Group Chat covers:

• America at 250 — is the country falling apart or winning more than ever?
• NYC affordability, the DSA, and the middle-class squeeze in big cities
• Declining birth rates and the forecasted hit to car sales by 2040
• The gamification of everything — sports betting, Polymarket & Kalshi, and $165 billion wagered
• How retail traders and day-trading boomers now move even the biggest stocks
• AI gatekeeping — Anthropic and OpenAI limiting frontier models to 100 companies and the government
• China's open-source AI catching up to the US frontier labs
• Should you put confidential financials into AI? The data privacy debate
• Jersey Mike's dethrones Chick-fil-A and goes public at a $12 billion valuation
• Reformation's IPO and why "retail is dead" is a lie
• Sephora's new "quiet hours" and the future of the in-store experience

⭐ EXCLUSIVE ALES GREY 4TH OF JULY SHOE DEAL ⭐
Steve Pitino is doing the biggest giveaway yet for the 250th. Here's how it works:

1. Head to Walmart.com and buy any Ales Grey shoes (seven colors, including the new Red, White & Blue — made in the USA.
2. For every pair you buy, Ales Grey matches you with a FREE pair of black shoes, unlimited. If you buy 10, get 10 free.
3. The first 25 Catties also get the limited Red, White & Blue pair free — only 250 made in the world, each a one of one, not even available to the public yet.
4. To claim: DM a picture of your receipt to @alesgrey on Instagram and they'll send your free shoes.

Group Chat News is back with the hottest topics of the week. The guys get into Father's Day, youth sports, and the real life lessons hiding in a kid's baseball tournament before diving into LVMH's stunning decline, OnlyFans' $2.6 billion machine, and World Cup mania taking over America.

On this episode of Group Chat, Dee Murthy and Anand Murthy break down:

– LVMH's negative growth and what the decline of Louis Vuitton, Dior, and the luxury giants says about the global economy
– The K-shaped recovery, the vanishing middle class, and why a "violent rebound" in luxury may be coming
– OnlyFans hitting $2.6 billion in US spending. the cash machine, the brand moat, and the AI creators cashing in
– The #1 OnlyFans spending city in America (it's not LA, New York, or Miami)
– World Cup mania: SoFi Stadium vs. MetLife, and why the finals should've been in LA
– The "Freddy" phenomenon America's viral World Cup hero, and whether the whole thing is a marketing plant
– Whether Europeans are really "discovering" America, and why the world sings American songs
– Team USA's run, the magic of a hot team, and the country roads takeover
– Father's Day real life lessons: learning how to lose the lessons sports teach that carries into business and life

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New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Hosted by Dee Murthy, Anand Murthy, and Chris "Drama" Pfaff

The Group Chat crew breaks down the biggest SpaceX IPO on Wall Street, the AI shutdown scare gripping the tech world, and the World Cup mania taking over America. Business news, markets, and culture from one of the longest-running business podcasts.

This week on Group Chat News:

• SpaceX goes public at a $2.1 trillion valuation: We break down the IPO frenzy, the OG Starbase investors, and Elon's path to $1 trillion by 2030
• The El Segundo wealth boom: how space money is about to reshape the South Bay
• World Cup mania hits America, Team USA run, and the electric atmosphere in LA
• A Middle East peace deal looks imminent: what it means for summer gas prices and inflation
• The Stanford walkout: graduates, free speech, and real-world consequences in tech and finance
• The Knicks' historic win, Wembanyama, and how you're supposed to carry a loss
• The Fable 5 AI shutdown scare, government involvement, and Satya Nadella's warning to the industry
• Should the US government invest in AI companies? The guys debate the trillion dollar question

Group Chat News covers business, markets, tech, sports, and culture every week. If you like All-In, My First Million, and business news that actually keeps up with the week, follow and subscribe.

⭐ Enjoying the show? Leave us a rating, it helps more than you'd think.

Hosted by Dee Murthy, Anand Murthy, and Chris "Drama" Pfaff