• Do New Year's resolutions need a makeover?
    Jan 13 2026

    Every January, we promise ourselves change. Eat better. Move more. Finally become the person we swore we’d be last year. And then… most resolutions quietly die by February. In this episode, Simon brings a question he’s been circling with Romain and Jesse: how do we actually help people stick to their New Year’s resolutions?

    The group digs into the role resolutions are supposed to play, why they so consistently fail, and whether the entire concept needs a rethink. Are we asking too much? Framing it all wrong? Or setting people up to fail from the start? It’s a wide-ranging conversation about motivation, identity, pressure, and whether the traditional New Year’s resolution still makes sense in modern life. Did they crack it? Give it a listen and find out.

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Are value customers your most valuable QSR customers?
    Jan 6 2026

    “Value” has always been one of QSR’s biggest weapons. Cheap, fast, dependable. But what happens when rising food costs start chipping away at the very thing that made QSR… well, QSR?

    In this episode, Jesse, Romain, and Simon dig into the future of quick service restaurants and ask a deceptively simple question: are value customers actually your most valuable customers anymore? From redefining what “value” really means today, to exploring the emotional, experiential, and brand factors that matter beyond price, the group goes wide on how QSRs can stay relevant in a world where affordability is no longer guaranteed. It’s a big conversation about changing expectations, shifting loyalties, and what customers really want when everything costs more. Did they crack it? Give it a listen.

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Holiday Special: Old episodes, new takes
    Dec 23 2025

    It’s the Holiday Special, which means normal rules do not apply. In this episode Jesse, Simon, and Romain crack open five past topics — Aging, Sleep, Dating, Tennis, and College — to see what they got right, what they got wrong, and what new takes have emerged after letting these ideas sit for a while. Some opinions have evolved, some have hardened, and a few get completely re-litigated. It’s reflective, messy, funny, and exactly what happens when you put three strong opinions in a room at the end of the year. Consider this a festive remix of some Crack It greatest hits.

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Will the great mall revival ever happen?
    Dec 16 2025

    The American mall didn’t die overnight—it slowly lost its reason to exist. In this episode, Jesse, Simon, and Romain unpack how overbuilding, e-commerce, cultural shifts, and the loss of hangout spaces like record stores hollowed malls out. Then they flip the question forward: what should a mall be in a world where online shopping is permanent? From experiential brands to fandom-driven spaces and destination food, the crew takes a crack at whether malls still have a future worth saving. Did they crack the great mall revival?

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • How do you make bold choices? — ft. Alix Petit
    Dec 9 2025

    Why do some people leap while others freeze? In this episode, Romain, Jesse and Simon team up with French entrepreneur Alix Petit, founder of Heimstone, Creative Director of The Refreshment Club and the mind behind the Substack WHAT COMES AFTER. Together they unpack the psychology of making big choices, what failure really means, how physical well-being fuels mental courage, and the reasons people avoid change even when they desperately want it. Did they crack what it takes to choose boldly? Listen and find out!

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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • America has a drinking problem.
    Dec 2 2025

    Drinking isn’t down because indulgence is down — it’s down because the entire culture around it is cracking. In this episode, Jesse, Simon and Romain tackle the decline of drinking as a social experience and ask what it would take to revive it. Are bars worse now? Is the rise of remote work, wellness trends, and “protecting your peace” killing the collective joy of being a little buzzed together? And what happens to human connection when everyone is terrified of being filmed after three margaritas? From London pub culture to the idea of phone-free bars, to the possibility that drinking might actually be a form of modern self-care (don’t @ us), the gang breaks down what drinking used to mean, and what it could mean again. Did we crack it? Check it out.

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Can social be good again?
    Nov 25 2025

    Social used to be… social. Remember that? Before everything became an ad, a performance, or a perfectly-filtered version of life? In this episode, Biz sits down with Jesse, Romain and Simon to figure out what it would actually take to make social media feel personal again. From whether Instagram introduced “the aesthetic era,” to the rise of finstas and close friends, the gang digs into how we went from genuine connection to algorithm-optimized broadcasting, and how we might reverse it. Can we get people to share like real people again? Check it out!

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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • What writing does that texting can't.
    Nov 18 2025

    The written word is pretty powerful. Some people may complain about the time it takes or the process of, but maybe that's entirely the point. In this episode the gang discusses the idea of writing letters and the secret power of them, trying to figure out how we get people to see the value and participate in writing more of them. Did we crack it? Check it out.

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    1 hr and 4 mins