The Tyler Woodward Project

1. 37
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   Shrinkflation is a lie: how companies used inflation as cover

   Aug 11, 2026 ·17 min

   Ever notice your chip bag feels lighter but somehow still costs the same? Tyler's had it with companies calling that inflation when it's really just shrinking the product, keeping the price, and quietly banking record profits. This episode walks through real examples from Doritos to Gatorade to General Mills, breaks down corporate profit margins and the growing gap between CEO pay and everyone else's paycheck, and looks at the bills in Congress that could have addressed it and died without so much as a hearing. It's less a tidy explainer and more an argument for calling shrinkflation and greedflation what they actually are, and a reminder that your gut feeling about that lighter bag isn't you being petty. It's a straight shot to the heart of consumer rights and who actually gets a say in what you pay for.

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2. 36

   What actually killed Blockbuster (it wasn't Netflix)

   Aug 4, 2026 ·26 min

   Tyler takes a trip down memory lane through video rental stores, sparked by a random Nova Scotia reunion and his kid watching a video store simulator game on YouTube. He walks through the whole Friday night rental ritual, the smell, the ps2 sleepovers, the late fee arguments, and then breaks down what actually killed Blockbuster, and it's not what most people think. Turns out the most hated part of the business, those late fees, was quietly propping up a huge chunk of the company's revenue, and pulling that thread unravels a story about corporate infighting, a failed mail order gamble, and a rival chain most people forget existed. If you care about how companies handle customer relationships and what happens when short term decisions wreck something people actually loved, this one's for you.

   Shout out to Friends Who Pretend, the actual play podcast from Nick and James: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-who-pretend/id1743693947

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3. 35

   Why internet radio got too expensive for regular people

   Jul 28, 2026 ·18 min

   Tyler breaks down why running a small internet radio station went from a fun hobbyist project in 2009 to a legal and financial minefield today. He walks through what changed after the small webcaster provisions expired, why licensing now means dealing with multiple performance rights groups plus SoundExchange, and how the math stopped working for anyone who isn't a billion dollar streaming company. It's a plain look at how a rule meant to make sure artists get paid ended up locking out the little guy while giants like Pandora barely feel it, tying right back into the bigger fight over digital ownership and who actually gets to participate in tech.

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4. 34

   The MySpace bug that taught a generation web design

   Jul 21, 2026 ·19 min

   Tyler digs into the one MySpace bug that accidentally taught a whole generation how to code: that infamous About Me box that let you paste raw HTML and CSS to completely override your profile. He walks through how millions of teenagers turned copy-pasted glitter code and stolen snippets into a real (if chaotic) education in web design, and how that kind of hands-on customization quietly disappeared as platforms shifted toward clean, algorithm-friendly templates. It's part nostalgia trip, part case study in how convenience and control replaced ownership, and it ties right back into the bigger question of who actually gets to shape the platforms we use every day.

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5. 33

   My hobby became my job, so I'm blowing up the format

   Jul 14, 2026 ·14 min

   Tyler hits pause on the usual format to explain why he's blowing up the show again. He walks through the moment he realized his supposedly personal podcast had quietly turned into a second shift of his day job, and what that means for where the Tyler Woodward Project goes from here.

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What I'm Working On

Why Your Bag Is Getting Smaller

Next Episode

You're not imagining it: the bag really is smaller. In this episode, I break down shrinkflation, greedflation, and why you aren't just "bad with money." From downsized Doritos to corporate "price pack architecture," record corporate profits drove over half of recent inflation while real wages dropped. Meanwhile, the bills meant to stop it died in committee without a single vote. Cool.

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By the Numbers

Episodes

40

Of Audio

10.9h

Weekly Since

Jan 2026

Most Downloaded The MySpace bug that taught a generation web design

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