Crack It In An Hour

Have we completely lost the art of good manners? In this week’s episode of Crack It in an Hour, Simon, Jesse, and Romain are joined by special guest Alex Gardner, to tackle a growing modern issue: the decline of basic etiquette and respect.

From ghosting meetings and chronic lateness to the internet's rage-bait culture and social media's impact on human interactions, the team breaks down why people seem to be losing their sense of social etiquette—and how we might fix it.

The group explores whether etiquette can be rebranded as a competitive advantage for personal and professional success, how the widespread "embarrassment epidemic" keeps people from engaging politely, and whether we can use Chat GPT's surprisingly polite communication style to shame humans into being more respectful.

From gamifying good habits using wearable technology to tapping into the modern cultural shift where "caring is cool again," they leave no stone unturned. Did they Crack It? Listen to find out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Romain brings the team a delicious challenge: can they create a candy brand from scratch in one hour?

In a candy market flooded with products targeting kids, the team asks a different question: what if there's an untapped opportunity hiding in plain sight—adults who love candy but have never been marketed to? With over $55 billion in global candy sales and consumption driven increasingly by grown-ups, the team dives into why no one has seriously gone after this audience.

From texture innovation to social media discovery, from the rise of sour to the power of attitude, they unpack the five major trends reshaping the candy world. They debate whether lollipops are dead, whether spicy candy can go mainstream, and who the real target consumer should be. Is it adult women looking for irreverence? Runners seeking guilt-free fuel? Or something entirely different?

Then things get serious: they land on Sour Mouth—a brand concept built on attitude, not just product. They explore what a sour candy with multiple intensity levels could look like, how texture could revolutionize the sour category, and why comedy (think Giggly Squad) might be the perfect launch partner. Activation ideas range from reinventing the Valentine's Day candy box to opening an adult candy bar complete with martinis and french fries.

So… can you build a candy brand for adults that breaks through in a crowded market? Did they crack it in an hour? Find out.

This week on Crack It in an Hour, founder of Local Style Chips and longtime friend of the pod Laura Gardner brings Romain, Jesse, and the team a question that hits different: what if hometown pride could be the antidote to modern malaise?

In a culture plagued by loneliness, depression, technology addiction, and division, what would it actually look like to find belonging in your community? The team explores how deep love for a place—and the people in it—could reverse the trend line on everything from mental health to social isolation.

From passionate pizza debates to small-town lore, from sports fandom to shared food traditions, they unpack what actually creates collective pride. What are the pillars that make people feel connected to their hometowns? Is it positive divisiveness? An underdog mentality? The power of mythology? And why is food always at the center?

They also dig into whether hometown pride could actually change public policy—making cities healthier and happier by design.

So… can we solve loneliness and depression by leaning into what makes our communities unique? Did they crack it in an hour? Check it out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Jesse brings a problem that sounds simple but gets weird fast: how do we sell Harley Davidson to the next generation?

Harley has legendary brand equity and iconic semiotics of freedom and rebellion. But their average customer is over 50, sales have dropped 32% globally since 2021, and younger riders are choosing Triumph and adventure bikes instead.

So what went wrong? Is it the product, the price, or have we been thinking about Harley's identity all wrong?

The team wrestles with what freedom, rebellion, and adventure actually mean today. They debate modern "soft rebellion," aspiration, and whether Harley should just go back to being a motorcycle company. Somewhere around the 50-minute mark, they land on something interesting: what if Harley stopped trying to reframe everything and just owned the codes that made motorcycles matter in the first place?

You'll have to listen to find out where they land.

The Crack It team is back, welcoming the newest member of the Significant team, Loie Greenwood!

His challenge to the group: how do we bring back sleepovers for adults?

What follows is a mix of nostalgia, cultural analysis, and pure strategy. Jesse immediately claims the crown as the ultimate champion of adult sleepovers, while Loui reflects on a recent post-wedding Airbnb trip with friends that sparked the whole conversation.

Simon questions if adult sleepovers ever truly existed or if we just grew out of them, Roman digs into why social barriers and the need for autonomy make hosting overnight stays tricky as we get older, and the group ponders whether the lack of good social skills is creating a "bad hang" epidemic.

Plus: Mario Kart drinking games (aka "Berio Kart"), the 40x40 Alaskan King bed, "tiny adventures" as a counter to expensive vacations, and how a fantasy football draft turned into an accidental boy-hang. Did they crack it? It's a solid first hour toward a 100% crackable problem — check it out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour: Simon brings the team a problem that's near and dear to his heart—how do we fix modern day messaging?

The average Microsoft worker receives 117 emails and 153 Teams messages daily—not including personal texts. We're drowning in communication, yet we're still missing context, misunderstanding tone, and dealing with unspoken rules nobody agreed to.

In this episode, Simon, Jesse, and Romain explore:

- Why email, Slack, and text are all fundamentally broken
- The psychology behind "telepressure" and the addiction to checking messages
- Why digital detox and "brick phones" aren't realistic solutions
- How work-from-home exacerbated the communication crisis
- AI and intelligent assistants as potential fixes
- Building a code of good messaging etiquette
- Why emojis are surprisingly complicated 🙌🙏😬
- And whether we can actually "crack" nonverbal messaging

Spoiler alert: The answer might just be "be a grown-up about it."

Can Taste Be Taught? Crack It in an Hour

What makes someone have "good taste"? Is it something you're born with, or can it actually be learned?

In this episode, Simon, Jesse, and Roman are joined by special guest Owen Williams to tackle one of the most elusive questions in creative culture: Can Taste Be Taught?

They explore what "taste" even means—is it personal preference, aesthetic judgment, or something deeper? They debate whether taste comes from exposure, environment, confidence, or lived experience. And they wrestle with some genuinely complicated ideas:

• The difference between taste, expertise, and craft
• Why the story behind a creative decision matters more than the output itself
• How AI is redefining why human discernment will be our greatest differentiator
• Whether teaching taste is actually teaching a process rather than a result • Why exposure to diverse experiences—not just "high art"—builds better taste

Did they Crack It? Listen to find out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Jesse brings Roman and Simon a challenge that hits close to home: how do we make the US a cool place to visit again?

International tourism to the US is down, global perception has taken a hit, and traditional travel campaigns feel disconnected from what travelers actually want to experience. But when international visitors do come, they leave loving the local quirks, hidden regional cultures, and unapologetic American scale that don't make it into traditional travel ads.

So how do you separate politics from the actual tourist experience? Can you market regional pockets, roadside quirks, and "the mostest most" without sounding defensive or tone-deaf? And what happens when you let expats reframe the myth of America on their own terms?

It’s a massive problem, but did we crack it? Check it out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Simon brings us a problem: how do we add more danger back into our lives?

Here's the paradox: we're safer than ever—traffic deaths down 63%, workplace injuries plummeting, violent crime down 72%. Yet anxiety is up 84%, teen distress is soaring, and people are more anxious than ever. So what's missing?

The team explores whether small, chosen doses of danger actually build the resilience we need to live better lives. They debate what danger really means, why it's been monopolized by extreme sports, and how to make accessible danger desirable again.

Did we crack it? Check it out!

Make sure to buckle up for this weeks episode where special guest Ben Majoy brings a very unconventional problem to Jesse, Simon, and Romain.

Majoy argues cigarettes deserve a more nuanced conversation—one that accounts for social connection, spontaneity, and joy alongside physical health.

Did they Crack it? Find out on this weeks episode!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, special guest, and friend of the pod Biff Butler brings Simon, Maria, and Jesse a hefty question: how do we get people to aspire to less?

In a culture built around bigger, better, faster, and more, what would it actually look like to find enough? The team explores how social comparison, consumerism, convenience, and even the way we spend money have shaped what we think we need—and whether a little more friction could help us appreciate what we already have.

From vinyl and movie theaters to digital payments, hustle culture, and the dopamine of constant consumption, they unpack the difference between aspiration that brings fulfillment and aspiration that simply keeps us wanting more.

So… can we learn to want less without giving up the things that make life exciting?

Did they crack it in an hour? Check it out.

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Romain brings a deceptively simple question: how do we get more people to go thrifting? With Gen Z embracing secondhand while adoption drops among older generations, what’s holding people back?

From fear of judgment and hygiene concerns to confusing shopping experiences, the team explores what’s keeping people from the thrill of the hunt—and how we could make thrifting feel more accessible, social, and exciting.

Did they crack it? Check it out!

When did saying “hi” to the person next door get so weird?Maria brings Jesse and Simon a deceptively simple problem: people are talking to their neighbors less. Has technology disrupted the little interactions that used to build relationships? Are we too distracted—or just afraid of being vulnerable?What’s really stopping us from saying hello? And can we fix it? Did they crack it in an hour? Check it out.

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Brooke Lonegan, Head of Creative Strategy at Audible, brings Simon and Jesse a challenge hiding in plain sight: how do we make people care about libraries again? Libraries have evolved far beyond books, offering maker spaces, digital media labs, creative classes, and resources for entrepreneurs and creators. So why do so many people still think of them as outdated?

The team explores whether libraries have a branding problem, how they can compete in the age of YouTube and creator culture, and whether they should reposition themselves as spaces for creativity, independence, and community. If libraries are one of our most valuable public resources, what would it take to make people see them that way? Did we crack it? Check it out!

This week on Crack It in an Hour, Simon brings Maria and Jesse a problem that sounds quaint on the surface but gets weird fast: how do we make hot air balloons cool? Somewhere along the way, hot air balloons got misbranded by the people on the ground. To spectators, they’re pretty, peaceful, colorful things floating across the sky. But the reality of actually going up in one is CRAZY…open flame, wind, altitude, uncertain landings, and the very real feeling that you’ve handed control over to the weather So… have we been thinking about them all wrong? Are hot air balloons closer to an extreme sport than a scenic ride? Are they the ultimate adventure vehicle hiding in plain sight? And if we stopped selling them as gentle tourist moments and started treating them like fire-powered expeditions, what kind of new market could open up? You’ll have to listen to find out where they land.

Romain brings us a problem that should already be solved: how do you get people to wear sunscreen? The danger is obvious. The solution is cheap, available and easy to understand. Yet more than a third of people never wear sunscreen, and plenty of the people who do use nowhere near enough. So what’s going wrong? Is sunscreen too greasy, too annoying and too easy to forget? Is skin damage simply too distant to feel urgent? Or has the category spent too much time selling protection and not enough time making sunscreen desirable? It's an obvious solution to an obvious problem, but did we crack it? Check it out!

In this first-ever two-problem episode, Romain and Jesse tackle two surprisingly complicated questions. First: how do you end a friendship that’s become toxic? Unlike romantic relationships, there are no social rules, no scripts, and often no closure. They explore why friendships quietly fade, when a difficult conversation is necessary, and whether ghosting, honesty, or simply letting paths diverge is the better approach.

Then they turn to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and ask a question sparked by the tournament itself: are penalty shootouts the best way to decide football’s biggest matches? They debate why penalties create some of sport’s most unforgettable moments, whether they’re a fair test of a team’s quality, and imagine alternative ways to settle knockout games without losing the drama.

Live from Cannes at the PayPal Ads Studio, Sylvain Tron from Cylndr Studios drops a deceptively juicy question on the table: does Timothée Chalamet have a branding problem?

Romain immediately flips the question, Jesse challenges whether there's even a problem to solve, and Simon reaches for a Taylor Swift comparison when the Leo/Gosling reference points start breaking down. Things get real when the conversation cracks open into ambition — why France (and Canada's "tallest poppy") clip anyone who voices it, why Chalamet and Mbappé get called arrogant for simply saying they want to be the best, and how this guy isn't playing the Hollywood game by the rules — he's playing the generational game on a 4D level.

The verdict? They cracked it — by realizing there was nothing to crack. Chalamet's a wizard, and if you don't get it, it's not for you. Check it out!

Maria Galleriu from 72andSunny joins the crew live from Cannes (at the PayPal Ad Studio) and drops a heavy one on the table: the male loneliness epidemic. She comes armed with stats — men with zero close friends have shot up over the decades — and a thesis she's very happy to needle Romain with: women are just better at this.

From there it gets real. The gang digs into why male friendships fall apart (they're shoulder-to-shoulder and activity-based, so when the activity ends, so does the friendship), whether you can actually teach boys to say "I love you," and Simon's golden rule of just being a good hang. Ideas fly: hikes as the ultimate vulnerability hack, reframing "friendship-maxing" as a longevity flex, and bringing back the PSA to remind people friendship matters. Maria closes with a genuinely moving story about her Romanian immigrant dad that gives everyone goosebumps.

Did they crack it? Not even close — and everyone agreed it needs a full hour. Check it out!

Crack It on the Croisette continues at Cannes Lions, live from the PayPal Ads Studio — and this time the challenge comes from guest Gareth Kay of Coinbase. His question: how do you make financial literacy not suck? Three quarters of Americans fail basic financial literacy tests, yet most financial education is dull enough to guarantee nobody pays attention.

The crew quickly agrees the real problem isn't the tools — it's everything around them. Jesse argues that culture talks "money" while brands keep talking "finance," and money is the version that's actually cool, cultural, and fun. Romain digs into the trust gap (everyone teaching this is trying to sell you something) and the money taboo that runs even deeper outside the US. Simon zeroes in on the cultural stigma you have to clear before the conversation can even start. Plus: why your dad is a terrible financial advisor, the competitive instinct that keeps us all quiet, a gloriously fucked-up Meta glasses idea, and the case for handing this whole job to comedians.

Did they crack it? Call it progress — which, for a systemic issue in 20 minutes, might be the honest win. Check it out!