Episode 429

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Published on:

25th Oct 2025

Lightning Round: Apple Upgrades, Classic Cars, AI Concerns & Stargazing | Fast Five Shorts

In this week's Lightning Round, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Quorso, hosts Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga are joined by Alvarez & Marsal's Lisa Collier and Manola Soler to tackle Apple's iPhone 17 surge (Lisa's learned to wait out the upgrades!), debate Mr. Bean's comedy versus his impeccable taste in classic Jaguars, worry about OpenAI's Sora creating AI models instead of cat videos, and reveal Manola's meteor shower stargazing plans. Plus birthday shoutouts to the fly himself, Jeff Goldblum! Quick hits, hot takes, and laughs to close out the show!

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#LightningRound #iPhone17 #Apple #MrBean #RowanAtkinson #JaguarEType #OpenAI #Sora #MeteorShower #RetailPodcast #JeffGoldblum #TechTrends #ClassicCars #AIVideo



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Transcript
Speaker A:

Let's move on to the lightning round and close this up.

Speaker A:

Lisa, you get the first question here.

Speaker A:

Apple stock soared to an all time high this week, which is being attributed to the success of the iPhone 17.

Speaker A:

I have to know, do you need an immediate upgrade every time the October Apple announcement comes out, or are you still happily carrying around an aged out version?

Speaker B:

I'm used to need to be the first one in, did you say?

Speaker B:

Over the last couple of years, I've sat back and waited to see what's new in the tech, how's it working, work out the kinks and the upgrades that need to happen in the beginning.

Speaker B:

You know, I think they're talking about one of the reasons it actually is being super successful is people aren't upgrading as much as before.

Speaker B:

And, you know, quite frankly, I'm very happy to say that I did upgrade last year and they, like, the 16 and 17 are not that different, but I used to be.

Speaker B:

Everything new that came out, I had to have it in the beginning, but I have definitely changed my ways.

Speaker C:

All right, Lisa, back to you.

Speaker C:

Rowan Atkinson's:

Speaker C:

Are you thumbs up or thumbs down on Mr. Bean's brand of comedy?

Speaker B:

I have to say I'm thumbs down.

Speaker C:

No, no, say isn't true.

Speaker C:

Oh, no, no, no.

Speaker B:

I do love his taste in cars.

Speaker B:

I love his taste in cars.

Speaker C:

Yes.

Speaker C:

Okay.

Speaker C:

All right.

Speaker C:

Thank God.

Speaker C:

Thank God.

Speaker A:

All right, Manoha, the next one is for you.

Speaker A:

Sora OpenAI's video social app launched and reached over 1 million users in just 5 days.

Speaker A:

Unbelievable.

Speaker A:

What would the subject of the first video you'd want to see created?

Speaker A:

What would that subject be?

Speaker D:

You know, I. I hope they use this to make a lot of fun cat videos on that line of content.

Speaker D:

Right, yeah, we can hope.

Speaker D:

Yeah.

Speaker C:

It's a really good idea.

Speaker D:

I don't want to see it go to, like, you know, the AI models.

Speaker D:

We already have a generation traumatized by excess Photoshop.

Speaker D:

I don't want to see what, you know, AI human content does.

Speaker A:

I know.

Speaker D:

So hopefully it goes the cat route.

Speaker D:

That's fine.

Speaker A:

Yes, yes.

Speaker A:

More bunnies jumping on trampolines.

Speaker A:

As far as.

Speaker D:

Yeah, just.

Speaker D:

That's what I'm here for.

Speaker D:

That's what I get on the Internet for.

Speaker C:

All right, last one.

Speaker C:

The Orionid.

Speaker C:

I think I'm saying that right.

Speaker C:

The Orionid meteor shower is set to peak between October 21 and October 23.

Speaker C:

So tomorrow, will you be staying up late to catch a glimpse of this astronomical event?

Speaker D:

You know, I I'm gonna try.

Speaker D:

I. I don't have high hopes.

Speaker D:

I don't have high hopes because light pollution and it's supposed to be cloudy.

Speaker D:

But I've made a plan.

Speaker D:

I'll go out to the roof and we'll see if there's anything, you know, up there, flickering.

Speaker D:

I. Yeah, I. I like those kind of things.

Speaker D:

It's.

Speaker D:

It's fun.

Speaker C:

Ah, good for you.

Speaker C:

That's why I asked the question as a shot in the dark, to see, like, what kind of things are you into?

Speaker C:

What are our guests.

Speaker C:

That's awesome.

Speaker A:

A literal.

Speaker A:

A literal shot in the dark.

Speaker D:

Yeah.

Speaker C:

Literal shot in the dark.

Speaker C:

Yes, that's right.

Speaker C:

That's right.

Speaker C:

Well.

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About the Podcast

Omni Talk Retail
Omni Talk Retail provides news, analysis, and commentary on the latest trends and issues in the retail industry
Omni Talk Retail provides news, analysis, and commentary on the latest trends and issues in the retail industry. It covers a wide range of topics related to retail, including e-commerce, technology, marketing, and consumer behavior. The podcast regularly features industry experts, Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga, as well as retail thought leaders who all share their insights and perspectives on the latest developments in retail.

About your hosts

Anne Mezzenga

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Anne Mezzenga is an entrepreneurial Marketing Executive with nearly 20 years in the retail, experience design, and technology industries.

Currently, she is one of the founders and Co-CEOs of Omni Talk.

Prior to her latest ventures, Anne was most recently the Head of Marketing and Partnerships for Target’s Store of the Future project. Early in her career, Anne worked as a producer for advertising agencies, Martin Williams and Fallon, and as a producer and reporter for news affiliates NBC New York and KMSP Minneapolis.

Anne holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

When Anne is not busy blogging, podcasting, or sharing her expertise with clients, she loves spending time with her husband and two boys and partaking in all the Minneapolis food scene has to offer.

Chris Walton

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