Podcasts about Benjamin Franklin

American polymath and a Founding Father of the United States

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Latest podcast episodes about Benjamin Franklin

The James Altucher Show
How You Get Rich Isn't How You Stay Rich: 300 Years of Proof | Joseph Moore

The James Altucher Show

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2026 63:23


A Note from James:In 1790, one of the easiest ways to get rich in America was the old-fashioned way: marry someone rich.George Washington did pretty well that way. Benjamin Franklin, meanwhile, was so deep in debt that he offered to marry a woman if her parents would mortgage their house to pay off his printing press debt. When they said no, he married someone else who had money.And back then, debt was not just annoying. It could land you in debtor's prison. Actual prison. And not just you—your wife and kids could go too.Fast-forward to the 1900s, and most Americans still were not buying stocks. Only a tiny percentage owned shares. Everyday people were gambling, playing the numbers, using dream-interpretation books to decide what lottery number to play, and trying to find some edge that would move them a little closer to security.My guest today, Joseph Moore, literally wrote the book on this: How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn't).The book is full of strange, funny, surprising stories about money in America: Franklin, Washington, debtor's prison, the Great Depression, bucket shops, real estate booms, FIRE, crypto, debt, index funds, and all the scams people keep falling for.But the bigger lesson is that the basic patterns have not changed as much as we think.People want security. People want freedom. People want hope. People want a way out. And whenever there is hope, there is usually someone selling a formula.Joseph has very little patience for the usual personal finance myths. Debt does not make you rich. Opportunity makes you rich. Real estate is not always a magic wealth machine. The stock market was not designed to be everyone's retirement plan. FIRE can work, but it can also become the CrossFit of personal finance. And optimism, marriage, mobility, risk, and solving other people's problems may matter more than almost anything else.If you think the rules for getting rich have changed completely, this conversation may convince you how little human nature has changed.Episode Description:Joseph Moore joins James to talk about the long, strange history of getting rich in America.His book, How to Get Rich in American History, looks at 300 years of financial advice—what worked, what failed, what people kept repeating, and what today's money culture keeps forgetting.The conversation starts in 1790, with George Washington, Martha Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Girard, debt, leverage, and debtor's prison. Joseph explains that many early American fortunes were built through risk, borrowed money, marriage, luck, and then—critically—de-leveraging over time.That becomes one of the core lessons of the episode: debt does not make people rich. Opportunity does. Debt is only a tool that allows someone to grab more of an opportunity than they otherwise could. But if the opportunity is not real, or the person cannot handle the risk, debt destroys them.James and Joseph then move into real estate. Joseph argues that real estate is a good way to build a modest middle-class fortune, but not usually the path to the biggest fortunes. In modern America, he says, real estate often functions as a short on the dollar, an income annuity in a low-dividend world, a tax shelter, and a way for ordinary people to use leverage they could not access anywhere else. But that does not make buying a house automatically smart. Renting versus buying depends on age, mobility, location, family needs, inflation, taxes, maintenance, transaction costs, and opportunity cost.The conversation then turns to the stock market. Joseph challenges the usual historical charts that claim anyone could have invested a fixed sum in 1929 and held forever. Most Americans could not invest that way. There were no index funds, mutual funds had high fees, and buying an index directly required enormous capital. Instead, everyday people went to bucket shops, bet on price moves, played the numbers, and treated gambling as a kind of financial hope.James and Joseph also discuss passive investing, shadow indexing, the rise of ETFs and 401(k)s, and the way the stock market has become a mass retirement promise. Joseph points out that this is historically new. For most of American history, no ordinary person would have expected to retire on the stock market.From there, the episode moves to FIRE: financial independence, retire early. Joseph has lived part of that story himself. He built enough wealth through rental real estate after 2008 to stop working for a period, only to discover that early retirement was not automatically fulfilling. He compares FIRE to CrossFit: extreme, demanding, sometimes powerful, sometimes injurious, and not a lifestyle most people actually want.The final section asks the big question: What has consistently worked?Joseph boils the lessons down to five pillars: solve other people's problems, take risks, move toward opportunity, marry well, and believe you can. James adds that optimism matters because it keeps people in the game long enough to get more shots on goal.The result is a conversation about money, but also about history, risk, luck, marriage, mobility, discipline, scams, and the difference between getting rich and staying rich.What You'll Learn:Why early American wealth often involved marriage, leverage, luck, and risk.How George Washington's marriage to Martha helped fund the Washington we remember.Why Benjamin Franklin's public advice about debt did not match his own early financial behavior.What debtor's prison meant in early America, including the risk to families.Why debt is a tool, not a wealth strategy by itself.Why opportunity—not debt—is what actually makes people rich.Why real estate can build middle-class wealth but rarely creates the biggest fortunes.How buying a home can reduce mobility and opportunity, especially for younger people.Why renting versus buying is situational, not a universal rule.Why most Americans historically could not invest in the stock market the way modern charts imply.What bucket shops and “the numbers” reveal about everyday financial hope.How passive investing changed the purpose of the stock market.Why stock-market concentration is not new, but mass participation is.Why FIRE can work mathematically and still fail psychologically.How older financial-independence stories often hid trust funds, inheritances, or outside support.Why inflation is one of the biggest risks to early retirement.Why getting rich and staying rich require different behavior.Why successful people often take risk early and reduce risk later.Why optimism is financially useful when it keeps people in the game.The five recurring pillars Joseph sees across American wealth-building history.Timestamped Chapters:[05:00] How to Get Rich in 1790James asks Joseph how someone got rich in early America, starting with George Washington, Martha Washington, and marriage as a financial strategy.[07:24] Stephen Girard and Benjamin Franklin's DebtJoseph compares Stephen Girard's leveraged rise with Franklin's messy early business debts.[10:29] Debt Does Not Make You RichJoseph explains that opportunity creates wealth, while debt simply lets someone reach for more of that opportunity.[11:23] Debtor's Prison Was RealJoseph explains why failing in the 1790s could mean prison not only for the debtor, but for the debtor's family.[12:25] The Real Estate MythJoseph argues that real estate can build modest wealth, but rarely creates the biggest fortunes.[13:43] Real Estate as a Short on the DollarJoseph explains modern real estate as an inflation bet, income annuity, tax shelter, and leverage tool.[15:22] You Need an EdgeJames argues that every bet has someone on the other side, which means investors need to know what their advantage actually is.[16:18] Beating the Market, Missing the MomentJoseph tells the story of shorting Jim Cramer stock pops, beating the market net of theory, losing to fees, and missing his daughter's first steps.[19:56] Shadow Passive InvestingJames and Joseph discuss hedge funds, index tracking, fees, and the way much of Wall Street quietly follows the same big benchmarks.[20:31] The Index RevolutionJoseph explains why Vanguard's 1976 index fund changed investing for ordinary Americans—and why passive investing may create new structural risks.[24:24] The Four Percent of Stocks That MatterJames and Joseph discuss stock-market returns, T-bills, concentration, and why a small number of companies drive most gains.[25:16] The Second Bank CrashJoseph compares modern market concentration to the 1830s, when the Second Bank of the United States made up a huge share of the stock market before collapsing.[26:21] The Stock Market as a Retirement PromiseJoseph explains why turning the stock market into a mass retirement strategy is historically new.[29:58] The Problem With “The Chart”Joseph criticizes the classic financial-advisor chart that assumes someone in 1929 invested a large sum, held forever, and never touched it.[31:17] Bucket Shops and Playing the NumbersJoseph explains how everyday people used gambling, bucket shops, and lottery-like games as financial hope when stock ownership was out of reach.[34:04] The Mean Moves Through TimeJoseph explains why history is not physics and why the “average” keeps changing as the economy changes.[35:49] Renting vs. BuyingJames and Joseph debate the homeownership myth, maintenance, taxes, transaction costs, mobility, family stability, and when buying can make sense.[41:02] FIRE and the Question of EnoughJames asks how much is enough in 2026, and Joseph explains why the answer depends on location, expectations, security, and lifestyle.[44:24] FIRE as the CrossFit of Personal FinanceJoseph compares FIRE to an extreme discipline that can work for some people but injure others if they push too hard.[45:38] Geoarbitrage and Selling the DreamJames and Joseph discuss moving somewhere cheaper, Instagram FIRE influencers, and the difference between living the dream and monetizing the dream.[46:00] The Long History of Financial IndependenceJoseph traces earlier versions of FIRE through Sylvester Judd, Thoreau, Emerson, and Helen and Scott Nearing.[49:17] Inflation and the FIRE RiskJoseph explains how Your Money or Your Life and bond-heavy financial independence strategies ran into changing interest-rate realities.[50:23] Five Pillars of Getting RichJoseph lays out the durable lessons: solve problems, take risks, move more, marry well, and believe you can.[53:43] Marriage, Optimism, and Staying in the GameJames and Joseph talk about supportive partnership, optimism, savings discipline, and why staying in the game increases opportunity.[56:11] The Line Between Optimism and RecklessnessJoseph distinguishes productive optimism from gambling and explains why control over outcomes matters.[58:28] Getting Rich vs. Staying RichJoseph explains why many wealthy people take risk early, then de-lever over time to keep what they built.[01:00:00] Leverage, Trading, and the Guy Who Never StopsJames and Joseph discuss extreme leverage, Bitcoin futures, Jesse Livermore, gamblers, and why some people cannot walk away.Additional Resources:Joseph Moore - History HelpsHow to Get Rich in American History - Book PageHow to Get Rich in American History - Google BooksNext Big Idea Club: “The Changing Rules for Getting Rich in America”Fast Company: “How the rules of getting rich in the U.S. change with every era”The Motley Fool Interview with Joseph MooreMeb Faber Show InterviewSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Todd Huff Radio Show
The Left's Lariat of Lunacy (Guest Host Krish Dhanam)

The Todd Huff Radio Show

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2026 40:51


Guest host Krish Dunham examines what he calls the left's "lariat of lunacy"—a set of ideas he argues have lassoed common sense in American politics. Drawing on his experience as a first-generation legal immigrant, educator, and student of American history, Krish discusses the nation's Judeo-Christian heritage, Benjamin Franklin's call for prayer at the Constitutional Convention, defunding police, open borders, race-conscious government policy, compelled speech, and efforts to replace capitalism with socialism. He challenges Americans to defend the rule of law, free speech, economic liberty, and the principles that have made the United States a beacon of hope.

Path to Liberty
The Welfare Trap: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Warning

Path to Liberty

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2026 22:58


Politicians tell us that welfare programs are absolutely necessary - and helpful. But they ignore the fatal trap that Benjamin Franklin uncovered over 250 years ago: The more you subsidize something, the more you get - government welfare programs make things worse. The post The Welfare Trap: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Warning appeared first on Tenth Amendment Center.

Haven Today
An Unlikely Friendship

Haven Today

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2026


George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin became close friends, but their relationship began as two men simply doing business.

Networking Rx
Here's How Small Favors Create Big Relationships (EPS 937)

Networking Rx

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2026 12:51


Benjamin Franklin discovered something powerful: people often like us more after doing us a favor. In this episode, learn how the "Franklin Effect" can turn acquaintances into advocates and relationships into referrals. Networking is not about impressing people. It is about engaging them. For more insight on professional relationships, business networking, and generating referrals, contact Frank Agin at frankagin@amspirit.com. Through AmSpirit Business Connections, entrepreneurs and professionals grow their business through word of mouth and strong relationships—building reputation, strengthening marketing, and increasing sales.

Impact Without Limits
S5 E25: The Revolutionary Goats

Impact Without Limits

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2026 39:50 Transcription Available


Send us Fan MailDale and Brian Karmie take a closer look at some of the Revolutionary War's most infamous “goats”—men who had the potential to be heroes but ultimately found themselves on the wrong side of history. From Charles Lee and Horatio Gates to Benjamin Franklin's loyalist son William and the infamous Benedict Arnold, they explore how ambition, selfishness, disloyalty, and poor decisions turned promising figures into cautionary tales.The conversation also examines John André, the British officer whose role in the plot with Benedict Arnold placed him on the “goat” list despite the honor and respect he demonstrated in the end. Throughout the episode, Dale and Brian reflect on a larger lesson from these stories: the difference between ambition that serves others and selfish ambition that puts self above country, relationships, and the greater good.Episode Highlights: Charles Lee's fall from favor.Horatio Gates and Saratoga.Benjamin Franklin's loyalist son.Benedict Arnold turns traitor.John André and honor in defeat.Links Mentioned in Episode/Find More on ForeverLawn:www.foreverlawn.comImpact Without Limits Instagram: @impact_withoutlimitsForeverLawn's Instagram: @foreverlawnincGet Grass Without Limits HereVisit our show notes page HERESubscribe to Our Newsletter HEREDale's Instagram: @dalekarmieBrian's Instagram: @bkarmieFind Our Shorts on the ForeverLawn YouTube ChannelThis show has been produced by Adkins Media Co.

Crossroads Church - North Campus
The Death Of Death

Crossroads Church - North Campus

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2026 54:46


It was Benjamin Franklin who said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” But what happens when death dies? Paul reminds us that we can be certain of more than death, because the resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

高效磨耳朵 | 最好的英语听力资源
考试英语听力材料(高考真题模拟)21-2022年3月云南贵州卷

高效磨耳朵 | 最好的英语听力资源

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2026 16:28


2022年3月云南贵州卷英语听力第一节(共5小题;每小题1.5分,满分7.5分)听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题,从题中所给的[A]、[B]、[C]三个选项中选出最佳选项,并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后,你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。1. What will the speakers probably do next?A. Tour Boston.B. Visit Caroline.C. Watch the news.2. What is Jim's suggestion about?A. Raising money.B. Hiring a lawyer.C. Calling a meeting.3. What is the woman going to do this weekend?A. Finish a report.B. Look after Bob.C. Climb a mountain.4. What does the man suggest the woman do?A. Find a full-time job.B. Study another subject.C. Go to evening classes.5.What is the man now?A. An online shop owner.B. A construction worker.C. A computer engineer.第二节(共15小题,每小题1.5分,满分22.5分)听下面5段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有2至4个小题,从题中所给的[A]、[B]、[C]三个选项中选出最佳选项,并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话或独白前,你将有5秒钟的时间阅读各个小题;听完后,各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间,每段对话或独白读两遍。听下面一段对话,回答第6和第7题。6. What does Miyako want to do?A. Make a call. B. Send a card. C. Hold a party.7.What is the man doing?A. Making an apology.B. Giving an explanation.C. Sharing an experience.听下面一段对话,回答第8至第10题。8. Where will Maria go the day after tomorrow?A. The London Zoo.B. The British Museum.C. The Tower of London.9. How many days will Maria stay in Oxford?A. One. B. Two. C. Three.10. Why will Maria go to Edinburgh?A. To do a study.B. To meet a friend.C. To see her sister.听下面一段对话,回答第11至第13题。11. What does the woman dislike?A. Fish. B. Vegetables. C. Fried chicken.12. What does the man find it hard to do?A. Make cakes and pies.B. Stop drinking coffee.C. Eat a lot of tomatoes.13. What are the speakers talking about?A. Doctor's advice to the man.B. What to eat for a good meal.C. The man's favorite dishes.听下面一段对话,回答第14至第17题。14. What is the relationship between the speakers?A. Old classmates. B. Neighbors. C. Fellow workers.15. Where are the speakers?A. At a hotel.B. At Betty's home.C. At the railway station.16. What is Jack doing?A. Working at a restaurant.B. Cooking in the kitchen.C. Buying food for dinner.17. What will Marc probably do?A. See a film. B. Go shopping. C. Visit an old town.听下面一段独白,回答第18至第20题。18. What does the speaker say about Castle Howard?A. It took its name from a film.B. It has been home to a family.C. It was once used for defence.19. What is special about the Walled Gardens?A. It's open every day of the year.B. It's the largest garden in England.C. It's planted with many kinds of roses.20. Who is probably the speaker?A. A tour guide.B. A gardener.C. A news reporter.参考答案1-5 BBCCA 6-10 ABCBC11-15 ABAAB 16-20 CCBCA录音原文Text 1M:You look happy, Alice. Any good news?W:Caroline has come back from Boston.M:Really? Shall we go and see her right now?W:That's what I'm here for.Text 2 W:What did Jim suggest at the meeting?M: He thought the company should have a full-time lawyer.W: I doubt we have the money for that.Text 3 M: If you are going mountain climbing this weekend, be prepared for some difficult conditions. The weather report says it will be windy.W: I know, Dad. Bob and I will be very careful. We won't do anything dangerous.Text 4W: I would like to study fashion design, but I can't afford it right now.M: I suppose you are talking about a full-time course. But you can take evening classes after work.W:Good idea.Text 5W: I heard that you used to be in the construction business.M:Yes. I spent 33 years on the job. I've been running an online clothes shop since last year.W:Wow, sounds like you never stop working.Text 6W: Oh no. I don't have Amanda's phone number.M:What's wrong, Miyako?W:Amanda said we should get together again and that I should call her. But I don't have her phone number.M: I see... Well, don't worry about it. For Americans, that's usually a friendly way to say goodbye. It's like when Americans say “Hello, how are you?”, but they don't want you to tell them how you are. It's just a friendly greeting.W: So saying “Let's get together sometime” is similar to that?M:Yeah, that's right.Text 7M:Maria, what do you want to see in London tomorrow?W:I'd like to go to the zoo tomorrow morning. And then, I'll go to the British Museum in the afternoon.M:Well, you know, there's a lot to see in the museum.W:Oh, yes, indeed. After that, I'd like to go to the Tower of London.M:But I don't think you have enough time. Probably you can go there the day after tomorrow.W:Okay, then. I just wanted to make the most of my stay in Britain. I'll stay in London for three days. And I'll go to Oxford to see a friend. That'll take me two days. I'll also go to Manchester and stay there for one day. That's what I planned.M:Your sister is studying in Edinburgh, right?W:Yes. That's why I'll stay there most of my days.Text 8M:The doctor just told me I have to be careful about things I eat.W: Like what?M:Well, for example, he told me to eat fish. No more hamburgers or fried chicken.W:Yuck, I hardly eat fish. I don't like it at all.M: I don't, either. He wants me to eat a lot of vegetables, too, especially green ones. But that's okay. I like them.W:Oh, vegetables. I often have carrots and tomatoes. They are my favorite.M: He also told me not to drink any coffee. That's difficult. I love my coffee in the morning.W: I know what you mean. I do, too. But I drink too much. Six or eight cups a day.Coffee with cake or pie after a good meal is...M:Cake or pie! The doctor said no to them, too.W: I almost always have them in my house. You know, I don't think I'd like your doctor very much.Text 9W:Marc, come on in.M:Hi, Betty. Haven't seen you for ages. How are you?W:Fine. It has been 10 years since we graduated, and you haven't changed much.Did you have any trouble getting here?M: No trouble at all. After checking in at the hotel by the train station, I followed the directions you texted me over the mobile phone.W:I'm glad you came over to see me and Jack.M: I miss both of you very much. How is Jack? Where is he?W:He's out shopping for our dinner tonight and will be back in a minute.M:Thank you for having me here at your home.W:What do you feel like doing while you're here?M:Well, I'd like to look at the historic buildings.W: No problem. We can show you around the old town. You know, Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty Bell, and some very good museums.M:That's great.W: By the way, the International House is running a really fine film program. Would you like to see it?M:Well, I'm just here for two days. I'm afraid I don't have time for films.Text 10 W:Hi, everyone. As we're waiting here, let me introduce Castle Howard to you.Castle Howard has become a popular tourist attraction in recent years. Though its name contains the word “castle”, it is not a true castle because it was never used for defense. Castle Howard is actually an English country house, it has been home to the Howard family for more than 300 years. Over the years, a number of films have been shot there. When you visit it tomorrow, you'll see many things. Perhaps there's too much to see, but make sure you don't miss these two things. First, the Walled Gardens. It is a group of three gardens.You can find 2,000 different types of roses there, almost all types of roses in England. The Walled Gardens is open every day of the year except Christmas.Second, the Woodland Garden. It is known for flowering plants, fruit trees and pathways through a wooded setting. In a word, Castle Howard is really beautiful. You could spend a whole day enjoying its beauty tomorrow.

Highlights from The Pat Kenny Show
Ask The Expert: John Costello, Wills and Inheritance Expert

Highlights from The Pat Kenny Show

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2026 12:19


In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” Joining Pat on this week's ‘Ask The Expert' is former president of the Law Society, John Costello, of Noble Law Solicitors in Dundrum. John is a wills, inheritance and probate expert, here to answer your questions.

The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast
The Hidden History of Success: Where Personal Development Really Began (RE212)

The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2026 26:43


Where did the personal-development movement begin—and why have ideas about thought, character, purpose and achievement remained influential for centuries?In this episode, Case traces the movement from ancient philosophy and Benjamin Franklin's system of self-improvement through Samuel Smiles, New Thought, James Allen, Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, Stephen Covey and the modern personal-growth industry.Discover how industrialization, social mobility and entrepreneurship helped transform self-improvement into a worldwide movement; which messages have survived; and where personal-development teaching can go too far.As the economy transforms to AI driven processes, entrepreneurship is going to become more prominent and important. And those who are driven to be entrepreneurs will need to understand more about success, habits and how to transform yourself, before you can transform your life. This episode also previews Secret Knowledge Revealed, a new Ready Entrepreneur series examining the original ideas behind some of history's most influential success teachings—and translating them into practical principles for aspiring entrepreneurs today.To have an enjoyable life  in our global, advanced tech society, create value.  To have the business, career, finances and lifestyle you desire, follow a proven path that has delivered in good times and bad.  The path of entrepreneurship. And online entrepreneurship is the fast track for aspiring entrepreneurs.Learn the skills, access the resources and be inspired to live the life of your dreams right here on the Ready Entrepreneur podcastTo find more resources, strategies and ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs visit the Ready Entrepreneur website: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/To download a free guide for Preparing to Become an Online Entrepreneur, click here:  https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/start/You can get an exclusive discount on the ebook and audiobook version of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur's Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business click here: https://www.caselane.net/recastConnect with CaseFacebook: @readyentrepreneurHQ Instagram: @readyentrepreneur Twitter X: @caselaneworld Pinterest @caselane 

Project Weight Loss
Temperance: Homer Figured Out Self-Control 3,000 Years Before We Did

Project Weight Loss

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2026 25:24


Send us Fan MailThe One Virtue That Makes All the Others WorkDid you catch The Odyssey in theaters? I went with my daughter and my honey a couple weeks ago, and Christopher Nolan's version got me thinking about one scene in particular — Odysseus, tied to the mast of his own ship, choosing to hear the Sirens' song without letting it destroy him. That single choice is one of the oldest stories we have about self-control, and it's where I want to take you this week: temperance. Not the Prohibition-era, no-fun version — the real one, one of the four cardinal virtues, sitting right alongside courage, justice, and wisdom.This episode is the Siren Song of Your Cravings (And How to Outsmart It)In this episode I speak to where temperance actually comes from (hint: it's Latin for "the right amount, not too much, not too little"), why discretion and discipline live inside it, and how building my own "mast" — the pantry I don't stock, the friend I text before the hard moment, the lunch I pack before I even leave the house — beats white-knuckle willpower every time. I bring the Maesters, in Homer, the Stoics, Ryan Holiday, and Jud Brewer to make my case. In this episode of Sirens, Cravings, and the Art of Saying No Quote of the Week"Temperance puts wood on the fire, meal in the barrel, flour in the tub, money in the purse, credit in the country, contentment in the house, clothes on the back, and vigor in the body." — Benjamin FranklinCitations·       Homer, The Odyssey (epic poem, source for the Sirens/mast story I talk about)·       The Odyssey (2026 film), directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland·       Cicero, on translating the Greek sōphrosynē into Latin temperantia·       C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book III, Ch. 2, "The Cardinal Virtues")·       Marcus Aurelius, Meditations·       Ryan Holiday, Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control·       Dr. Judson Brewer, research on craving loops (trigger–behavior–reward)·       Dwight D. Eisenhower, on freedom and self-discipline·       Benjamin Franklin, writings on the 13 virtuesLet's go, let's get it done.Get more information at: http://projectweightloss.org

History of North America
Codex 1.21 Ben Franklin's Autobiography

History of North America

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 11:01


The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) written in the form of an extended letter to his son, William Franklin (1730-1813). Ben kept good records of his life and travels, and although he was never President, he still played a crucial part in American history. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin at https://amzn.to/43cp6CV Benjamin Franklin Books available at https://amzn.to/41fUkGD ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Librivox, read by T. Hersant). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ortamlarda Satılacak Bilgi
Benjamin Franklin: 100 Doların Üzerindeki İsmin Hikayesi

Ortamlarda Satılacak Bilgi

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 38:44


100 dolarlık banknotun üzerindeki Benjamin Franklin, para ve kaynakları nasıl değerlendiriyordu? Bu bölümde Franklin'in çalışma disiplini, tasarruf, planlama ve finansal bilinç yaklaşımını konuşuyoruz. Yatırım dünyasını anlamanın yolu doğru soruları sormaktan ve güvenilir bilgiye ulaşmaktan geçtiğine inanan Garanti BBVA'nın Yatırım Konuşuyoruz serisinde İrem Sak soruyor, uzman isimler yatırım dünyasını sade ve anlaşılır bir dille anlatıyor. Yatırım fonlarından hisse senetlerine, halka arzlardan küresel piyasalara uzanan tüm bölümleri Garanti BBVA YouTube kanalında izleyebilirsiniz.İncelemek için tıklayın.*Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ortamlardasatilacakbilgi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@OrtamlardaB⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ * Reklam ve İş birlikleri için: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ortamlardasatilacakbilgi@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠*“Kendimi Nasıl İyileştiririm?” kitabımı almak için: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.eu/d/0wFlqHl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠*Yeni kitabım "Hikayeni Yeniden Yaz!"ı almak için: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.eu/d/ipC0Vma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠*Bu bölüm "Garanti BBVA" hakkında reklam içerir.

Founders
#428 How Claude Shannon Worked

Founders

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2026 51:18


Claude Shannon changed your life and you probably don't even know it. Claude is the father of information theory. He transformed information into bits and created the intellectual foundation for computers, the Internet, digital media, high-speed communication, and Artificial Intelligence. The way Claude Shannon worked is what interested me the most. He combined extraordinary abstract reasoning with an engineer's instinct to build. He reduced complex problems to their essential structure. He connected ideas across mathematics, engineering, cryptography, artificial intelligence, investing, chess, juggling, and robotics. He treated every experience as material that he might later combine into a new insight. He was also relentlessly independent, guided more by curiosity and freedom than recognition, money, or usefulness. This episode is what I learned from rereading A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman. Made possible by: Ramp: ⁠⁠https://ramp.com⁠⁠ Applovin: ⁠⁠https://www.applovin.com Vanta: ⁠⁠https://vanta.com/founders 0:00 — "The great insights don't spring from curiosity alone, but from dissatisfaction... A genius is simply someone who is usefully irritated." 1:36 — "It seems to be much easier to make two small jumps than one big jump in any kind of mental thinking." — Shannon 4:41 — "He was a man almost entirely written out of a history that's defined by self-promoters. His was a life spent in the pursuit of curious, serious play." 5:20 — "He worked with levity and played with gravity. He never acknowledged a distinction between the two." 6:00 — "Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they do is the same as what they most want to do." 6:59 — "I do what comes naturally, and usefulness is not my main goal. I keep asking myself, 'How would you do this? Is it possible to make a machine to do this? Can I prove this theorem?'" — Shannon 11:50 — "Chemistry always seemed dull to me. There's too many isolated facts and too few general principles for my taste." — Shannon 19:09 — "Specialization is the death of genius." — Vannevar Bush 19:18 — "The possibilities of being at once both broad and deep did not pass with Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin." — Vannevar Bush 25:13 — "I had the freedom to do anything I wanted from almost the day I started. They never told me what to work on." — Shannon on Bell Labs 26:41 — "I've been working on three different ideas simultaneously, and strangely enough, it seems a more productive method than sticking to one problem." — Shannon 32:55 — "My fondest dream is to someday build a machine that thinks, learns, communicates, and manipulates its environment in a fairly sophisticated way." — Shannon 35:05 — "Before Shannon, information was a telegram, a photograph, a paragraph, a song. After Shannon, information was entirely abstracted into bits." 38:04 — "After the effort of discovery, the effort of communication was secondary by far. He had solved a problem to his own satisfaction, and that, as far as he was concerned, was enough." 40:55 — "I've spent lots of time on totally useless things... He made no distinction between his interest in information and his interest in unicycles. They were all moves in the same game." 46:54 — "Shannon seemed to think with ideas more than with words or formulas. A new problem was like a sculptor's block of stone, and Shannon's ideas chiseled away the obstacles until an approximate solution emerged." — Ed Thorp 47:19 — "I simply removed everything that was not David." — Michelangelo 47:25 — "I don't think I was ever motivated by the notions of winning prizes. I was more motivated by curiosity, never by the desire for financial gain. I just wondered how things were put together." — Shannon 47:49 — "I think the history of science has shown that valuable consequences often proliferate from simple curiosity." — Shannon 48:37 — "The important people and events of history are the thinkers and innovators, the Darwins, the Newtons, the Beethovens, whose work continues to grow influence in a positive fashion." — Shannon

REELTalk with Audrey Russo
REELTalk: John Guandolo, Diana West, MG Paul Vallely and Christopher Horner

REELTalk with Audrey Russo

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2026 153:44


Joining Audrey for this week's REELTalk - Terror Threat Analyst and former FBI Agent, JOHN GUANDOLO will be here! PLUS, Bestselling author of American Betrayal, DIANA WEST will be here! AND, Bestselling and Founder of Stand Up America, Major General PAUL VALLELY, will be here! PLUS, Legal Analyst CHRISTOPHER HORNER will be back with us!  In the words of Benjamin Franklin, "If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately." Come hang with us...   

Everyday VOpreneur
How to Build a Voice Acting Brand Without Showing Your Face with Rosanna Pilcher

Everyday VOpreneur

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2026 21:10


Rosanna Pilcher is a narrator and voice actor who records under a pseudonym - and she has a problem. So much of social media marketing requires showing your face, being on camera, being "real." But what do you do when you can't reveal who you are? In this Summer Series episode, Marc breaks down creative options available to voice actors who need to build a brand and a following without ever showing their face. Inside this episode: Why you don't need to show your face to build a loyal following - and the faceless YouTube channels with tens of millions of subscribers that prove it POV content - how to take your audience into the booth with you without ever appearing on screen Recording in silhouette - and why the mystery can become your most powerful marketing asset How to build a visual brand around something other than your face - a signature hat, a color palette, an animated avatar, a mascot Making the voice the celebrity - signature lines, consistent music, distinctive performances Using book content to drive engagement - the three lines that gave you chills, character showcases, accent challenges, repeatable content pillars Why authors understand pseudonyms better than most - and how to turn famous pen names into a content series The back catalog strategy - why you don't have to wait for the next book to start building content Whether you're working under a pseudonym or just prefer to keep your face off camera, this episode will give you more content ideas than you can use.

The P.A.S. Report Podcast
John Hart: The Declaration Signer Who Defined American Grit

The P.A.S. Report Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 15:38


John Hart signed the Declaration of Independence knowing it would make him one of Britain's most wanted men. His extraordinary story reveals the true meaning of American grit and the sacrifices that built the United States. Most Americans have never heard of Declaration signer John Hart, yet his life captures the courage, resilience, and unwavering conviction that made American independence possible. As British troops and Hessian mercenaries swept across New Jersey during the Revolutionary War, Hart fled his home, lost his wife, watched his thirteen children scatter, and saw his livelihood destroyed. Rather than surrender, he rebuilt his farm, returned to public service, and even hosted George Washington and 12,000 Continental soldiers before the Battle of Monmouth. As America celebrates its 250th birthday, this episode of the America's Founding Series on The P.A.S. Report Podcast uncovers the remarkable story of one of America's most overlooked Founding Fathers while exploring why his example of character, resilience, self-reliance, and civic responsibility remains just as relevant today. Discover how John Hart's story reveals the qualities that built the American Republic and why preserving freedom still depends on ordinary citizens willing to stand by their convictions. Our independence did not rest solely on famous figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. What You'll Learn In This Episode: Why John Hart risked everything by signing the Declaration of Independence How the Revolutionary War transformed a respected New Jersey farmer into a hunted fugitive The heartbreaking personal sacrifices Hart endured, including the loss of his wife while living in hiding What American grit truly means and why conviction only matters when it faces real tests How ordinary citizens, not just famous Founding Fathers, built the foundation of American self-government Why John Hart's life offers timeless lessons about resilience, self-reliance, civic responsibility, and preserving freedom ⭐ Enjoying America's Founding Series? Please subscribe to The P.A.S. Report Podcast, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and share this episode with friends and family who love American history. Every share helps preserve these remarkable stories and introduces more people to the Founding Fathers who built the United States. Episode Chapters 00:00 John Hart: The Declaration Signer Who Risked Everything 02:30  From Farmer to Founding Father: John Hart's Journey 05:07  Signing the Declaration of Independence and Becoming a Target 07:24  Hunted by the British: John Hart's Greatest Sacrifice 09:44  Rebuilding a Nation: John Hart, George Washington, and the American Revolution 11:29  What John Hart Teaches About American Grit and Conviction 13:24  Why John Hart's Story Still Matters Today  

Podcast Lepiej Teraz
PLT #429 Benjamin Franklin (Cz. 7) Klub Junto i niespodziewana tragedia

Podcast Lepiej Teraz

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 33:41


Wrócił z Londynu jako nikt. Bez grosza, bez zawodu, który by go utrzymał, bez planu. A przez następne 10 lat zbudował coś, co przetrwało wieki. Ale zanim to się stało, najpierw prawie umarł. A potem stracił kogoś, kogo nie zapomniał do końca życia.To historia dekady, w której z wraku młodości powstaje jeden z najbardziej niezwykłych umysłów w historii. I człowieka, który traktował własne życie jak tekst do poprawienia, aż odkrył, że nie każdy błąd da się skorygować.Jeśli lubisz moje podcasty „Lepiej Teraz” — pomóż mi dzielić się tymi historiami dalej:Wesprzyj moją pracę na Patronite: patronite.pl/podcastlepiejteraz lub postaw kawę na suppi.pl/lepiejterazSubskrybuj mój nowy kanał podcastowy Radek Budnicki na Spotify: znajdziesz tam moje solowe lekcje, refleksje i wywiady.Źródła pierwotne:Benjamin Franklin, „The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” (Project Gutenberg; wydania Standard Ebooks, ushistory.org).„Plan of Conduct, 1726”, Founders Online, National Archives (The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 1).„The Busy-Body, No. 1, 4 February 1729”, Founders Online.„The Nature and Necessity of a Paper-Currency, 3 April 1729”, Founders Online.„Standing Queries for the Junto, 1732”, Founders Online.„Poor Richard, 1733”, Founders Online.„Poor Richard, 1740”, Founders Online.„Hugh Meredith to Benjamin Franklin: Dissolution of Partnership, 14 July 1730”, Founders Online.„On the Death of His Son, 30 December 1736”, Founders Online (Pennsylvania Gazette, 30 grudnia 1736).„From Benjamin Franklin to Jane Mecom, 13 January 1772”, Founders Online.Polskie wydanie: „Żywot własny” Benjamina Franklina (materiał projektowy, do porównania; cytaty w scenariuszu tłumaczone bezpośrednio z angielskiego oryginału public domain).Źródła wtórne:Walter Isaacson, „Benjamin Franklin: An American Life”.H.W. Brands, „The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin”.Carl Van Doren, „Benjamin Franklin”.J.A. Leo Lemay, „The Life of Benjamin Franklin”, t. 1-2.Nick Bunker, prace biograficzne o młodym Franklinie.Library Company of Philadelphia, materiały o założeniu biblioteki (1731).Benjamin Franklin Historical Society; Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia (hasło „Junto”); HistoryNet, „Benjamin Franklin's Greatest Invention”; Pennsylvania Center for the Book (PSU).LISTA ŹRÓDEŁ CYTATÓW (każdy tłumaczony bezpośrednio z angielskiego):„Ci, którzy piszą o sztuce poetyckiej…” oraz cztery zasady: „Plan of Conduct, 1726”, Founders Online.„przestrzegany dość wiernie aż do starości”: Autobiografia (Founders/Gutenberg).Opis Denhama („radził mi jak ojciec…”) i choroby („poddał się w duchu…”): Autobiografia.„dziwna ryba… trochę szelmowski” (opis Keimera): Autobiografia.Zasady Junto („w szczerym duchu poszukiwania prawdy…”) oraz stałe pytania: Autobiografia / „Standing Queries for the Junto, 1732”, Founders Online.„harmonijny ludzki tłum” („a harmonious human multitude”): Carl Van Doren, „Benjamin Franklin” (zakończenie, s. 782).„Aby zapewnić sobie kredyt i reputację… na taczce”: Autobiografia.„Pracowitość tego Franklina przewyższa wszystko…” (dr Baird): Autobiografia.„napisał do niego szczery list… errata została w pewnym stopniu poprawiona” (dług Vernona): Autobiografia.„Jest pewna proporcjonalna ilość pieniądza…”: „A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper-Currency”, 1729, Founders Online.„To była kolejna korzyść wynikająca z tego, że umiałem pisać”: Autobiografia.„dwaj prawdziwi przyjaciele, których dobroci nigdy nie zapomniałem…” oraz „często widywano pijanego na ulicach…”: Autobiografia.„Zaryzykowaliśmy jednak… poprawiłem tę wielką erratę najlepiej, jak umiałem”: Autobiografia.„wkład każdego stworzył kapitał książkowy wszystkich”: historyk Library Company (cyt. za Library Company of Philadelphia / Wikipedia).„poprawiły ogólną rozmowę Amerykanów…”: Autobiografia.Przepowiednia śmierci Titana Leedsa („nieubłagana śmierć…”, 17 X 1733, 15:29, koniunkcja Słońca i Merkurego): „Poor Richard, 1733”, Founders Online (oryg.: „He dies, by my Calculation made at his Request, on Oct. 17. 1733. 3 ho. 29 m. P.M….”).Sprostowanie o śmierci Franky'ego („Ponieważ krąży obecnie pogłoska…”): „On the Death of His Son, 30 December 1736”, Founders Online / Pennsylvania Gazette (oryg.: „…he was not inoculated, but receiv'd the Distemper in the common Way of Infection…”).„którego do dziś nie mogę wspomnieć bez westchnienia”: list do Jane Mecom, 13 stycznia 1772, Founders Online (oryg.: „…whom to this Day I cannot think of without a Sigh”).„W 1736 roku straciłem jednego z synów…”: Autobiografia (oryg.: „In 1736 I lost one of my Sons, a fine Boy of 4 Years old, by the Smallpox taken in the common way…”).

Intelligence Squared
Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US' Ben Rhodes (Part Two)

Intelligence Squared

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2026 32:45


Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama's closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama's foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.; In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin's case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested. --- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History of North America
Codex 1.20 Ben Franklin's Autobiography

History of North America

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2026 10:44


The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) written in the form of an extended letter to his son, William Franklin (1730-1813). Ben kept good records of his life and travels, and although he was never President, he still played a crucial part in American history. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin at https://amzn.to/43cp6CV Benjamin Franklin Books available at https://amzn.to/41fUkGD ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Librivox, read by T. Hersant). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Impact Without Limits
S5 E23: George Whitefield and the Great Awakening

Impact Without Limits

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 33:01 Transcription Available


Send us Fan MailThis week on Impact Without Limits, Brian and Dale continue their America 250 series by exploring the remarkable influence of George Whitefield, the British evangelist whose preaching helped spark the Great Awakening and shape the hearts of the American colonies. Through stories from the recent The Great Awakening film and historical accounts, they discuss Whitefield's powerful message of salvation, liberty, and equality—and how those biblical truths helped lay the spiritual foundation for the American Revolution.The conversation also highlights Whitefield's fascinating relationship with Benjamin Franklin, the role of faith in America's founding, and the lasting impact Christian leaders had on the ideals woven into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It's a thought-provoking episode that encourages listeners to look beyond the familiar names of history and discover the people and principles that helped shape a nation.Episode Highlights: Who was George Whitefield?The Great Awakening.Faith that shaped a nation.Whitefield and Franklin.A legacy that endures.Links Mentioned in Episode/Find More on ForeverLawn:www.foreverlawn.comImpact Without Limits Instagram: @impact_withoutlimitsForeverLawn's Instagram: @foreverlawnincGet Grass Without Limits HereVisit our show notes page HERESubscribe to Our Newsletter HEREDale's Instagram: @dalekarmieBrian's Instagram: @bkarmieFind Our Shorts on the ForeverLawn YouTube ChannelThis show has been produced by Adkins Media Co.

Who Are These Podcasts?
Ep749 - Scatpodcast by Dirty Gary, Opie Radio, Jerry Banfield, Artie Fletcher

Who Are These Podcasts?

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 133:34


For everyone who's been asking us to get back to old school episodes of WATP, careful what you wish for. We meet Dirty Gary, a gay man who is really into scat, aka poopy. Wait until you hear what his guest has been up to. I didn't realize I could be shocked by a podcast in 2026, but here we are. Tab Birt joins us in studio and Nice Doug is also on to share listener questions that will make you blush. Cringe of the Week is the Regz with Luis J Gomez getting Robert Kelly to tickle him. Chad Zumock lied about Nikki Glaser donating $500 and he is handling it the worst way possible. Artie Fletcher sets up premises that never pay off. It's like he's not listening to himself. Jerry Banfield tells us way too much about his personal life and I can't get enough! He sent a 16 minute video to the woman he has a crush on and tells us every embarrassing thing he said in it. Oh, and he changes his business model again. Opie had a riveting FU Friday with Tony and Ron full of hot takes on Jewish food, Benjamin Franklin, and Yoko Ono's butt. The best part was when they talked about burying their pets. What a fun show! We finish up with Internet News and your voicemails.  Doug's show: https://www.youtube.com/@GoodTimesGreatMovies Tickets to see us live in Detroit: http://watplive.com/ WATP candy available now: https://www.leiselandfriendsgourmet.com/ Support us, get bonus episodes, and watch live every Saturday and Wednesday: ⁠⁠http://bit.ly/watp-patreon⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://watp.supercast.tech/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intelligence Squared
Can the US Survive Donald Trump? With Pod Save the US' Ben Rhodes (Part One)

Intelligence Squared

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 39:13


Ben Rhodes served as one of Barack Obama's closest foreign-policy aides, holding the role of Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting from 2009 to 2017. He acted as the lead negotiator in secret talks that normalised U.S.–Cuba relations and was central in building political support for the Iran nuclear deal. Since leaving government, Rhodes has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his efforts to dismantle Obama's foreign policy legacy, moves Rhodes argues have destabilised the world and left America vulnerable.;  In June 2026 Rhodes came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of America in 2026 and chart a path back to its democratic ideals. Drawing on his new book All We Say: A History of the United States in Fifteen Speeches, Rhodes traced the long battle over what it means to be American — from Benjamin Franklin's case for compromise to the culture war speeches that foreshadowed Donald Trump. He revealed the extraordinary power that words and oratory have had in redirecting the nation, and asked what they might still achieve at a time when American identity, and truth itself, is fiercely contested. This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Engines of Our Ingenuity
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1611: Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather

Engines of Our Ingenuity

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 3:46


Episode: 1611 Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather: ideologies diverge and converge.  Today, Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather.

Opie Radio
Tree Cops & Dog Ghosts: FU Friday Goes Full Chaos

Opie Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 68:19 Transcription Available


Ron swears he looks like young Johnny Depp (everyone else sees Benjamin Franklin). Tony puts his dog down and immediately starts calculating the housework savings. A cop dresses as a tree to catch speeders, Neil deGrasse Tyson ruins Top Gun, and Batman somehow doubles subway chivalry. Add turkey-bacon lies, fruit-sticker rage, lasagna-noodle warfare, and the annual “is the Earth flat?” round. Pure, unfiltered FU Friday. They somehow turn Yoko Ono's ass, a 20-year rotting fish-sauce stench, and whether “schmear” is a scam into legitimate conversation topics. Come for the chaos, stay because you can't look away.

The Brian Lehrer Show
Summer Friday: Ben Rhodes; DSA & Climate; Phishing; Oligarchy; Belief in God

The Brian Lehrer Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 109:01


On this Summer Friday, we've put together some of our favorite recent interviews, including: Ben Rhodes, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, co-host of "Pod Save the World," an advisor to former president Barack Obama and the author of All We Say: The Battle for American Identity: A History in 15 Speeches (Random House, 2026), talks about his new book that tells the history of the United States and its central conflicts  through public speeches, from Benjamin Franklin to Donald Trump. Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap, talks about the DSA's evolving relationship to the Green New Deal and climate policy in general, as its members keep winning elections in big cities. WNYC has been targeted by scammers who posed as hosts, and offered authors interviews -- for a fee (which WNYC would never do). Rachel Tobac, co-founder and CEO of Social Proof Security, and Kenneth Atkins, assistant director of IT and data security at WNYC, talk about how to spot sneaky online phishing scams, and how to deal if you fall for it. Jeffrey Winters, professor of political science at Northwestern University and the director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies Program at Northwestern's Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and the author of The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies (Scribner, 2026), talks about the history of oligarchy, how to fight it, and why it maintains power in a democracy. Meghan Sullivan, professor of philosophy at Notre Dame and founder of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, offers her take on the contemporary context for belief, or doubt, in God as religious affiliation largely declines in the U.S.   These interviews were lightly polished up and edited for time, the original versions are available here: Speeches as a Key to American Identity (June 8, 2026) What the DSA's Popularity Means for Climate Policy (July 7, 2026) How to Avoid Sneaky Phishing Scams (May 5, 2026) When Voters Support Oligarchs (May 26, 2026) How Belief in God Has Changed (May 20, 2026)   Photo: Whimbrel on the beach at Fort Tilden beach, Queens. Rare shorebird for this location, 24 September 2021 (Remydee1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Engines of Our Ingenuity
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1609: Franklin’s Heat Experiment

Engines of Our Ingenuity

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 3:41


Episode: 1609 Benjamin Franklin's experiments in thermal radiation.  Today, Benjamin Franklin thinks about theoretical and applied science.

History Unplugged Podcast
The Wunderkind George Forster: Voyaging with Captain Cook at 10 and Dining with Benjamin Franklin in Paris in his 20s

History Unplugged Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 43:09


A ten-year-old boy gallops across the Russian steppe on a Kalmyk horse, collecting plants for his father while German settlers starve in earth dugouts along the Volga. Seven years later, that same boy is standing on the deck of Captain Cook's Resolution as it crosses the Antarctic Circle for the first time in history, sketching birds and icebergs in a cabin so small he can barely turn around. By twenty-two he has circumnavigated the globe, published a book that Christoph Martin Wieland called a masterpiece and Samuel Johnson praised for its prose, dined with Benjamin Franklin in Paris, and been elected to the Royal Society. By thirty he has become the intellectual mentor to a young Prussian named Alexander von Humboldt, who would spend the rest of his life crediting Forster as the man who taught him how to see the natural world. By thirty-five he has helped found the first democratic republic on German soil during the French Revolution. By thirty-nine he is dead in Paris, abandoned by his wife, cut off from his country, and buried in a mass grave during the Terror. Today's guest is Andrea Wulf, author of The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity. We discuss how Forster's father dragged him from a parish near Gdansk to Russia at ten and onto Cook's ship at seventeen, why his account of the voyage was considered the finest travel writing of the eighteenth century, and how his travels through the South Pacific convinced him that human diversity was not a hierarchy but a harmony, with all peoples entitled to the same dignity and rights. We look at how he challenged Kant, Rousseau, and Buffon before he was twenty-five, why he threw himself into the French Revolution and helped build the Mainz Republic only to watch the Terror destroy everything he believed in, and why a man who influenced Humboldt, shaped the Romantic movement, and anticipated the concept of universal human rights has been almost completely forgotten.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Hoffmeister & A Course In Miracles
New Revelations Festival 2026 – “The Call to Awaken” Movie Session with David Hoffmeister

David Hoffmeister & A Course In Miracles

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 93:40


Recorded live during the third session of the New Revelations Festival, David Hoffmeister guides listeners through a profound cinematic exploration of early American history and spiritual revolution. Set against the backdrop of the struggling 13 colonies and the drafting of the Constitution, this session explores the contrast between earthly intellect and divine devotion.Through the story of a young man named George who abandons his theatrical aspirations to become an unwavering mouthpiece for the Holy Spirit, and his interactions with the highly intellectual Benjamin Franklin, David unpacks the limitations of human ingenuity. He explains how the world we perceive is ultimately a projected illusion born from a belief in separation, and that true freedom cannot be found through the body's achievements or by battling the ego.Instead, this episode invites listeners to look beyond the distraction of worldly goals and ask one simple, transformative question: "Who is my Source?". Tune in to discover why the ultimate prison is only in the mind, and how a genuine change of heart opens the door to lasting peace and perfect love.Stay connected with our Awakening Mind Community & events:https://www.instagram.com/awakeningmind1/https://awakening-mind.org/ If you want to learn more about David Hoffmeister and Living Miracles events, visit https://circle.livingmiraclescenter.org/eventsRecorded live at the Awakening Mind Retreat Center in Utah on the evening of July 25, 2026. Follow us on:YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/DavidHoffmeister https://www.youtube.com/@LivingMiraclesFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/ACIM.ACourseInMiracles Learn more about David & Living Miracles:https://circle.livingmiraclescenter.org/eventsLearn more about A Course in Miracles:https://ACIM.bizDavid's Spanish YouTube Channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP9Gw00CldPUmiu43y7fdWwDavid's Portuguese YouTube Channel is:https://www.youtube.com/@davidhoffmeisterucem

History of North America
Codex 1.19 Ben Franklin's Autobiography

History of North America

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 11:13


The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) written in the form of an extended letter to his son, William Franklin (1730-1813). Ben kept good records of his life and travels, and although he was never President, he still played a crucial part in American history. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin at https://amzn.to/43cp6CV Benjamin Franklin Books available at https://amzn.to/41fUkGD ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Mark's TIMELINE video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM Audio credits: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Librivox, read by T. Hersant). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Philosophy for our times
In the name of reason | Steve Fuller, Miriam Schoenfield, Dan Sperber

Philosophy for our times

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 40:19


Is the future one where we accept tribalism and conflict as inherent in the human condition, where moral and scientific beliefs based on reason are badges, shaped by class, nation, ethnicity and culture? Or is reason more important than ever, not as a route to truth, but as a means to test the effectiveness and consequences of a given outlook? And can we reclaim reason as a method for resisting the crowd rather than following it?Reason was supposedly the great liberator – an Enlightenment gift that freed us from blind adherence to tradition and the authority of church and state. But today, many now contend this is a comforting myth. For as Benjamin Franklin put it, reason merely helps us “make a reason for everything one already has a mind to do.” Furthermore, studies confirm people with more developed reasoning skills are more susceptible to groupthink and polarization, not less. For the more rational we are, the better we are at justifying what we already believe – especially when it aligns with our social circle. Dan Sperber is a distinguished anthropologist and philosopher who is the author of several critically-acclaimed books, including The Enigma of Reason. Steve Fuller is a professor of sociology at the University of Warwick. He is the author of dozens of books, including Post-truth: Knowledge as a Power Game. Miriam Schoenfield is a leading epistemologist, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, and award-winning essayist. Jack Symes is a public philosopher and writer. He is the producer of The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast and editor of the Bloomsbury series Talking about Philosophy. He is currently Teacher and Researcher at Durham University, UK.Don't hesitate to email us at podcast@iai.tv with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such talks live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Determined People Podcast

When asked what kind of government was formed, Benjamin Franklin replied, "it's a republic, if you can keep it." Franklin's words were a harbinger of threats to the United States that still exist today. 

A Pen And A Napkin
Win The Season Sponsored by Fastbreak Playbook-Episode #19 Absence Policy

A Pen And A Napkin

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 30:17


For most high school programs, the players that you have in your program are going to be pulled in multiple directions, whether that be by other sports, school activities or family activities. You have to show your human side and have some understanding, but you also have to hold players and families accountable for their non-emergency absences. In this pod, we discuss how to create a positive absence policy and how to clearly define repercussions, In addition, we have a quote from one of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, and a discussion of the predecessor to Dean Smith at North Carolina . . .

Stanford Legal
The Declaration In the Age of General Purpose AI

Stanford Legal

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 67:13


"The Declaration meets the machine age" In this episode of The Declaration at 250, Michael McConnell frames a question the Founders never confronted: if the Declaration grounds rights in human nature, what happens when machines can generate persuasive, human-like language at scale? Constitutional scholar Alexander Tsesis argues that the Declaration's conception of rights is inherently human-centered—rooted in consciousness, moral agency, intentionality, and the capacity to participate in a constitutional republic—so AI systems are not and should not become First Amendment rights-holders. He warns that treating large language models as protected “speakers” would be a major break from the Declaration's principles and could make ordinary democratic regulation—transparency requirements, labeling of synthetic content, safety rules, data practices, and restrictions on deceptive election deepfakes—far harder by forcing courts into strict scrutiny review. Stanford historian Anne Twitty broadens the lens by situating abolitionists' use of the Declaration within wider 19th-century conflicts over speech and constitutional meaning, reminding listeners that rival traditions—including censorship and suppression—also shaped American practice. She also presses a key tension in Tsesis's framework: abolitionists championed not only the right to speak, but the public's right to hear, circulate, and access contested ideas (as seen in the abolitionist postal campaign and opposition to the congressional gag rule). That listener-centered strand, she suggests, could potentially be invoked by scholars arguing for some constitutional shelter for AI-generated communications—an argument Tsesis acknowledges but ultimately resists by emphasizing that the First Amendment's core purpose is protecting human expression and self-government, not machine output. Connect: Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast Website Stanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn Page Stanford Constitutional Law Center >> Website Stanford Law School >>> Twitter/X Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X Chapters:[00:00:26] Chapter 1- Framing Question: Do constitutional rights grounded in “human nature” apply to AI? Host Michael McConnell introduces the episode's core dilemma: the Declaration's natural-rights logic underwrites later constitutional protections like free speech—so where does that leave generative AI? [00:01:18] Chapter 2 - Thesis: Why Tsesis says AI can't be a First Amendment rights-holder Alexander Tsesis argues the Declaration and Constitution are human-centered: AI lacks consciousness, moral agency, and political personhood, so extending rights to LLMs would depart from founding principles and hinder regulation. [00:10:08] Chapter 3 - Regulatory Stakes: What happens if courts treat LLM outputs as protected “speech”? Tsesis warns that First Amendment coverage for AI could trigger strict scrutiny and undermine laws on transparency, labeling, safety, data practices, and election deepfakes—citing recent doctrine and cases like Reed v. Town of Gilbert. [00:52:35] Chapter 4 - Historical Challenge: Do abolitionists' “right to hear” arguments support listener-centric AI rights? Historian Anne Twitty complicates the record: abolitionists elevated the Declaration, but censorship traditions were strong; she highlights abolitionist campaigns (postal campaign, gag rule) to argue listener rights might bolster pro-AI speech theories. [01:04:17] Chapter 5 - Tsesis Response: Listener rights matter—but is the First Amendment still speaker-centered? Tsesis agrees the right to receive information is important, yet maintains free speech is fundamentally about protecting human intention and self-expression, not conferring constitutional status on machine outputs. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Tom Woods Show
Ep. 2781 Four Forgotten (or Suppressed) Right-Wing Books

The Tom Woods Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2026 38:11


I took four important old books and produced fresh new editions of them, with more readable typesetting, and I'm giving them away as part of my Unapproved Library. No professor will ever assign you these books. I discuss them in this episode. The books discussed are: - Reconstruction: Political and Economic, 1865–1877, by William A. Dunning, including a new foreword by historian Brian McClanahan. - The Founders of the Republic on Immigration, Naturalization, and Aliens, a collection of writings from figures including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. - A Short History of Paper Money and Banking in the United States, by William Gouge, a detailed examination of paper money, banking, inflation, and boom-and-bust cycles. - A Brief Enquiry into the True Nature and Character of Our Federal Government, by Abel Upshur, a defense of the compact theory of the Constitution and the states' rights tradition. Download all four free books at: UnapprovedLibrary.com  Sponsors: Persist Marketing Policygenius code: WOODS Show notes for Ep. 2781 The Tom Woods Show is produced by Podsworth Media. Check out the Podsworth App: Use code WOODS50 for 50% off your first order at Podsworth.com to clean up your voice recordings, sound like a pro, and also support the Tom Woods Show! My full Podsworth ad read BEFORE & AFTER processing: https://youtu.be/tIlZWkm8Syk

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep1162: Richard Epstein critiques the Smithsonian's "Many Voices, One Nation" exhibit for its "woke" portrayal of American history. He argues the exhibit unfairly reduces Benjamin Franklin to an "alleged racist" while ign

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2026 14:47


Richard Epstein critiques the Smithsonian's "Many Voices, One Nation" exhibit for its "woke" portrayal of American history. He argues the exhibit unfairly reduces Benjamin Franklin to an "alleged racist" while ignoring his foundational contributions. Epstein highlights the complexity of figures like Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of Independence yet held restrictive views on immigration. The discussion underscores a perceived ideological mono-culture within the history profession that prioritizes narrative over factual nuance. (3)

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep1163: SCHEDULE FOR THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 7-24-2026 1940 BERLIN Jeff Bliss reports from Los Angeles, where Mayor Karen Bass's "Inside Safe" program faces scrutiny as figures show 41% of participants returned to homelessness. Encampment

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2026 7:33


SCHEDULE FOR THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 7-24-20261940 BERLINJeff Bliss reports from Los Angeles, where Mayor Karen Bass's "Inside Safe" program faces scrutiny as figures show 41% of participants returned to homelessness. Encampments have expanded significantly, with Skid Row growing from five blocks to over 50. Bliss notes that organized crime cartels reportedly rent dilapidated RVs to the homeless, profiting from government stipends. Despite rising homelessness rates and disappointing results, local politicians are criticized for a lack of accountability and for fostering a "homelessness industry." (1)Jeff Bliss notes the Oakland Athletics are preparing for a move to Las Vegas, with high-profile investor Mark Cubanjoining as a minority owner to boost the franchise's profile. Development plans include a unique heart-shaped hotel on a previously failed ferris wheel site near the future stadium. Meanwhile, Hollywood faces "creative destruction" as Pixarinitiates layoffs despite box office success. Additionally, location shoot bookings in Los Angeles have dropped 13%, signaling a shift in the film industry. (2)Richard Epstein critiques the Smithsonian's "Many Voices, One Nation" exhibit for its "woke" portrayal of American history. He argues the exhibit unfairly reduces Benjamin Franklin to an "alleged racist" while ignoring his foundational contributions. Epstein highlights the complexity of figures like Thomas Jefferson, who authored the Declaration of Independence yet held restrictive views on immigration. The discussion underscores a perceived ideological mono-culture within the history profession that prioritizes narrative over factual nuance. (3)Richard Epstein analyzes the Trump administration's reintroduction of tariffs, now targeting allies like Australia and the EU under the guise of combating "forced labor." Epstein characterizes these moves as "lawfare" and "mindless isolationism," noting that these allies often have superior working conditions compared to the U.S. He warns that such policies alienate essential partners needed to counter global threats from Russia, Iran, and China, effectively driving allies to organize independently. (4)Jim McTague reports from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where Costco gas prices have reached $4.09, causing "mind-numbing" costs for residents. While some business slowdowns are noted, local diners remain full, supported by a robust retiree demographic with "deep pockets." The real estate market is exceptionally tight, with only 200 homes available as New Yorkers continue to bid up prices for high-quality housing. McTague concludes with observations on local tourism and his upcoming road trip to Kentucky. (5)Lorenzo Fiato reports Italy is battling severe wildfires in Sicily and Sardinia amid a prolonged heatwave. Fiato reports that Italians face exorbitant fuel costs, reaching $9.50 per gallon on motorways due to heavy taxation. To avoid over-tourism in cities like Florence, he recommends visiting Ascoli Piceno, the "town of the 100 towers," known for its travertine architecture. He concludes with culinary recommendations, including the traditional Spaghetti Ascolana paired with local Pecorino or Rosso Piceno wines. (6)Bob Zimmerman reports Rocket Lab has secured major Pentagon contracts for hypersonic test launches, potentially utilizing a remote new facility in Alaska. SpaceX is rumored to be planning a massive spaceport in Louisiana, while Northrop Grumman is successfully deploying robotic satellite-servicing pods. Conversely, Zimmerman criticizes "leftist governments" in the UK and Australia for stifling their domestic space industries with excessive red tape and "meaningless bureaucratic jargon," which forces young aerospace talent to seek opportunities abroad. (7)Bob Zimmerman highlights the "bankruptcy" of modern academia, citing a study where half of social science papers failed replication tests. He discusses an upcoming Falcon 9 rocket impact on the moon scheduled for August 5th and new data from the Juno mission revealing Io's subsurface temperatures. Additionally, scientists are investigating whether a suspected asteroid is actually a failed 1980s Soviet Mars probe, although Zimmerman remains skeptical of speculative theories involving alien technology. (8)Henry Sokolski examines a proposed deal to provide Saudi Arabia with nuclear power that has sparked intense proliferation concerns. While the Department of Energy initially signaled a "green light," the Trump administration later conditioned the agreement on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords. Sokolski warns that without "Additional Protocol" inspections, the kingdom could use the technology to develop a "bomb option." This follows the Crown Prince's 2018 assertion that Saudi Arabia would seek nuclear weapons if Iran acquired them. (9)Henry Sokolski continues: the Saudi nuclear deal remains "contradictory," with the White House and Department of Energy appearing out of sync. Media criticism reportedly prompted the president to demand a "quid pro quo"—Saudi recognition of Israel—to justify the proliferation risks. Israel remains in a difficult position; while desiring normalization, it privately opposes a Saudi nuclear program that could trigger a regional arms race. The deal's progress depends on whether it is submitted to Congress by late September. (10)Peter Huessy explains "extended deterrence," the U.S. nuclear umbrella protecting allies from aggression. Huessy critiques a proposal to delegate nuclear authority to a "three-key" system involving France and the UK, arguing it would create dangerous indecision during a crisis. He notes that allies increasingly doubt U.S. resolve. Strategy has shifted toward "counterforce" targets, aiming to disable an enemy's leadership and military capability rather than destroying cities, to provide "flexible response" options. (11)Peter Huessy notes Russia holds a 20-to-1 advantage over the U.S. in "theater" or tactical nuclear weapons, which Putinuses for "nuclear blackmail" to keep NATO out of the Ukraine conflict. Huessy argues the U.S. must deploy survivable, sea-based theater weapons to restore a credible deterrent. Reflecting on the realistic horror of the 1984 film Threads, he warns that even a single tactical exchange could rapidly escalate into a global catastrophe that ends civilization. (12)Captain James Fanell reports China is escalating physical violence against Philippine Navy personnel at Second Thomas Shoal, including "poking, prodding, and beating" sailors. Fanell explains this "petulant" behavior coincides with the 10th anniversary of a Hague ruling that invalidated China's maritime claims. Simultaneously, China and Russiaconducted joint live-fire drills in Japan's exclusive economic zone. These coordinated actions signal Beijing's intent to ignore international law and forcibly challenge the sovereignty of its neighbors. (13)Captain James Fanell reports China recently conducted its first submarine-launched ballistic missile test in the South Pacific in 40 years. Fanell reports that China has shifted to a "first use" nuclear policy and is completing its triad with the H-20 stealth bomber. He uses the "boiling frog" analogy to describe China's incremental aggression, warning that the U.S.must recognize these self-evident intentions before a "shot" is taken against regional forces or allies like Taiwan. (14)Conrad Black disputes Prime Minister Mark Carney's characterization of Canada as a "middle power," arguing the term is obsolete for a G7 nation with a larger economy than Russia. He critiques Carney's attempt to foster ties with China, noting China's "tatters" economy and history of disregarding trade agreements. Black maintains that Canada should prioritize its vital relationship with the U.S. while embracing a more ambitious and patriotic view of its global influence. (15)Veronique de Rugy argues autonomous vehicles like Waymo could reduce road fatalities by 94%, yet their adoption is stalled by opposition from trial lawyers and unions. Unions fear job losses for taxi, truck, and delivery drivers, though de Rugy argues automation historically transitions workers into higher-paying, less tedious roles. She emphasizes that driverless cars would provide life-changing accessibility for rural and elderly populations who currently lack reliable transportation options. (16)

LearnDoBecome Radio
Are You Paying Too Much for "the Whistle"? A Ben Franklin Lesson on Clutter and Costly Choices [Episode 331]

LearnDoBecome Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 30:45


Building on an engaging essay by Benjamin Franklin, we're talking today about the items and decisions in our lives that end up costing way too much. Sometimes it's a monetary cost, sometimes it's our time or energy, and sometimes it's our relationships and things that matter most. This simple question (Am I paying too much for this whistle?) has helped to guide our personal decision making, and we hope you'll enjoy this conversation--and then share your own thoughts in the Comments section of our Show Notes page or inside our LearnDoBecome Community Facebook group! For Show Notes, please visit https://LearnDoBecome.com/Episode331 Ready for More with LearnDoBecome? Join us for our Free training, "How to Finally Stop Drowning in Piles": https://learndobecome.com/aff/?p=Ldbyt&w=organize Get Your Free LearnDoBecome Welcome Kit Here: https://LearnDoBecome.com/Welcome Subscribe to the LearnDoBecome Radio Podcast: https://LearnDoBecome.com/Radio Subscribe to the LearnDoBecome YouTube Channel: https://YouTube.com/LearnDoBecome Join the LearnDoBecome Free Community Facebook Group: https://LearnDoBecome.com/FBfamily Follow @LearnDoBecome on Instagram: https://Instagram.com/LearnDoBecome Follow our LearnDoBecome Facebook Page: https://Facebook.com/LearnDoBecome Discover our "Steps to Everyday Productivity" (STEP) Program: https://LearnDoBecome.com/STEPprogram Start Your Free Trial of the ARISE Membership with April and Eric: https://LearnDoBecome.com/ARISE For those looking for more support from Team LearnDoBecome as you set up your STEP Command Central, you can learn more about STEP Coaching at:  https://LearnDoBecome.com/Coach

The Box of Oddities
The Strange Birth of the Jesus Machine

The Box of Oddities

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 27:52


When Benjamin Franklin's Ghost Designed a Machine and the strange story of The Underwater Orchestra. What happens when people become convinced they can build a messiah out of magnets, copper, and electricity? In this episode of *The Box of Oddities, Kat and JG dive into one of the strangest forgotten chapters in American history: the bizarre true story of John Murray Spear's "New Motive Power," an electrical machine that followers believed would be born* rather than switched on. Guided by séances, messages from the spirits of Benjamin Franklin and other historical figures, and a ceremony that mimicked childbirth, Spear attempted to create a living mechanical redeemer decades before robots, computers, or artificial intelligence existed. It's an astonishing tale of Spiritualism, Victorian science, religious belief, and humanity's enduring obsession with creating life. Then the conversation heads beneath the waves to one of the world's most unusual festivals. Every year, divers descend on *Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys for the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival*, where ocean-themed music is broadcast underwater while mermaids, pirates, and "fish musicians" celebrate one of North America's most important coral reefs. Beneath the quirky spectacle lies an inspiring story about coral conservation, marine biology, and the creative ways people are fighting to protect one of Earth's most fragile ecosystems. From electrical messiahs and nineteenth-century spiritualists to underwater concerts and living coral cities, this episode explores two extraordinary stories that prove reality is often stranger than fiction. If you love weird history, forgotten mysteries, unusual science, bizarre true stories, eccentric inventors, and curious facts from around the world, subscribe to *The Box of Oddities* and keep flying your freak flag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Franklin's World
447 The Other Committee Members: Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman, and the Declaration of Independence

Ben Franklin's World

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 63:45


Five men served on the Continental Congress's Declaration Committee. We know three of them well: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. But who were the other two? In this episode, we explore the lives and contributions of Robert R. Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut. Historians Geoff Benton and Michael Morand join us as we uncover the stories of the other Committee members. Clermont State Historic Site WebsiteShow Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/447 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00  Introduction00:04:46 The Lee Resolution and the Committee of Five00:05:26 Robert R. Livingston's Early Life00:06:56 Colonial New York Politics 00:11:02 Livingston's Appointment to the Second Continental Congress00:15:20 Why Livingston Chosen for Declaration Committee00:18:44 Livingston's feud with John Adams00:19:18  Livingston Misses the Vote for Independence00:20:50 Livingston Becomes Chancellor of New York State00:24:06 Livingston's Role in Steam Navigation00:26:15 Clermont State Historic Site00:32:35 Roger Sherman's Early Life 00:36:47 Sherman's Family and Life in New Haven00:37:43 Sherman's Involvement in the Imperial Crisis00:40:38 Sherman's Role in the Second Continental Congress00:42:28 Why Sherman Chosen For Declaration Committee00:43:42 Sherman's Role in Drafting the Declaration00:46:16 The Connecticut Compromise, 178700:50:28 What Made Sherman Effective in Legislatures00:53:47 1776 in Context 00:58:10 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES

Ben Franklin's World
447 The Other Committee Members: Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman, and the Declaration of Independence

Ben Franklin's World

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 61:15


Five men served on the Continental Congress's Declaration Committee. We know three of them well: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. But who were the other two?In this episode, we explore the lives and contributions of Robert R. Livingston of New York and Roger Sherman of Connecticut.Historians Geoff Benton and Michael Morand join us as we uncover the stories of the other Committee members.Clermont State Historic Site: WebsiteShow Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/447EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:04:46 The Lee Resolution and the Committee of Five00:05:26 Robert R. Livingston's Early Life00:06:56 Colonial New York Politics00:11:02 Livingston's Appointment to the Second Continental Congress00:15:20 Why Livingston Chosen for Declaration Committee00:18:44 Livingston's feud with John Adams00:19:18 Livingston Misses the Vote for Independence00:20:50 Livingston Becomes Chancellor of New York State00:24:06 Livingston's Role in Steam Navigation00:26:15 Clermont State Historic Site00:32:35 Roger Sherman's Early Life00:36:47 Sherman's Family and Life in New Haven00:37:43 Sherman's Involvement in the Imperial Crisis00:40:38 Sherman's Role in the Second Continental Congress00:42:28 Why Sherman Chosen For Declaration Committee00:43:42 Sherman's Role in Drafting the Declaration00:46:16 The Connecticut Compromise, 178700:50:28 What Made Sherman Effective in Legislatures00:53:47 1776 in Context00:58:10 ConclusionRECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg
The Development Paradox | Interview: Ronald Bailey

The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2026 67:22


Jonah Goldberg has been chewing over how to reduce the number of gray hairs in Congress for some time now. Unfortunately, the best that he and The Remnant team have come up with is shaving the heads of all the senior senators, which, seeming somewhat impractical, led Jonah to call in an expert. Science correspondent and longtime friend of the show Ronald Bailey joins the merry band today to set us all straight on RFK Jr., vaccines, MAHA, DOGE, libertarianism, bad analogies for government, transhumanism, gerontocracy, term limits, libertarian Shangri-La, Francis Fukuyama, institutions, economic growth, Thomas Jefferson, invention, and Benjamin Franklin.  Show Notes: —Bailey's book - The End of Doom: Environmental Renewal in the Twenty-first Century —Bailey's book - Liberation Biology: The Scientific And Moral Case For The Biotech Revolution —Bailey in Reason - “Can America Get Out of the Gerontocracy Trap?” —Jonah's book - Suicide of the West —Terrible Rest Is History podcast on Jefferson  —Michael Auslin Remnant The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch's offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant, audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah's twice-weekly G-File—⁠click here⁠. Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here, and if you'd like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Day in Esoteric Political History
Franklin's French Fantasies w/ Mike Duncan (Revolutionary Rerun)

This Day in Esoteric Political History

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2026 32:26


As we take a mid-summer-post-4th-of-July break, we are bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives about the Revolutionary era. We'll be back with new "50 Weeks That Shaped America" episodes soon!It's October 4th. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is headed to France as the Continental Congress's first diplomat, looking to secure support for the American independence movement.Jody and Kellie are joined by Mike Duncan, history podcaster behind series such as “Revolutions” and “The Fall of Rome.” They discuss Franklin's diplomatic goal, his taste for the Parisian nightlife — and why the values of the Founding Fathers continue to be contested and politicized.Check out Mike's book “Hero of Two Worlds.”Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The P.A.S. Report Podcast
Oliver Wolcott: The Forgotten Founder & Declaration of Independence Signer

The P.A.S. Report Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 17:59


Oliver Wolcott, a Forgotten Founder and Declaration of Independence signer, picked up a musket to defend the nation he helped create. Discover the remarkable patriot who signed America's founding document, fought for independence, and devoted his life to serving the American republic. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin remain household names, yet few Americans know Oliver Wolcott, one of the forgotten Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence and fought in the American Revolution. A physician, farmer, judge, soldier, and Governor of Connecticut, Wolcott never sought fame or recognition. He simply answered the call whenever his country needed him. This episode of America's Founding Series, part of The P.A.S. Report Podcast, follows Oliver Wolcott from the halls of Independence to the Battle of Ridgefield and beyond. Discover how one of America's most overlooked Founding Fathers helped secure American independence and why his life of duty, sacrifice, personal responsibility, and public service offers timeless lessons for preserving liberty 250 years later. What You'll Learn In This Episode: Why Oliver Wolcott risked everything by signing the Declaration of Independence How a Declaration signer left Congress to fight on the front lines of the Revolutionary War The important role Oliver Wolcott played during the Battle of Ridgefield and the fight for American independence Why duty, sacrifice, and personal responsibility defined the Founding Fathers and America's first generation What Oliver Wolcott's extraordinary life teaches about preserving freedom, civic responsibility, and the American republic today Subscribe to The P.A.S. Report Podcast for America's Founding Series, where forgotten patriots, the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and the principles of liberty come to life. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a five-star review and share it with family and friends to help keep the stories of America's forgotten Founders alive. Topics Covered: Oliver Wolcott, Forgotten Founder, Declaration of Independence, Declaration Signer, Founding Fathers, American Revolution, Battle of Ridgefield, Revolutionary War, Connecticut History, America 250

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep1124: The Legends of the Wild Turkey and the Imperial Eagle Guest: Stephen Moss Book Title: Ten Birds That Changed the World Stephen Moss discusses the wild turkey, a bird rediscovered by Europeans in the Americas that was vital to the survival of th

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 11:17


The Legends of the Wild Turkey and the Imperial Eagle Guest: Stephen Moss Book Title: Ten Birds That Changed the World Stephen Moss discusses the wild turkey, a bird rediscovered by Europeans in the Americas that was vital to the survival of the pilgrims. Moss argues that the turkey's plumpness and taste led to its domestication from a single line in southern Mexico, where it was originally worshipped by Central American civilizations. Interestingly, its name stems from 16th-century confusion where exotic items were often attributed to Turkish merchants. Beyond the turkey, the conversation explores the symbolic power of the eagle. While the turkey is a "smart" bird favored by Benjamin Franklin, the eagle became a definitive symbol of predatory power for the Romans and later the Nazis, who famously altered its depiction to look toward Russia. Despite the eagle's associations with conquest, it remains a pervasive symbol of American authority on the Great Seal and currency. (1)1838 CORMORANTS

BardsFM
Digging Into the Word: Franklin, Paine, the Founding Covenant & Sonship with Brad Cummings │ BardsFM

BardsFM

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2026 74:23


Episode 4179 │ July 12, 2026 The founders didn't cite chapter and verse on the Declaration because everyone already knew it. Their signatures were the closing prayer. Their amen. WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS  Scott Kesterson and Brad Cummings open with what two secular historians — men who spent fifty years becoming subject matter experts in the Revolutionary period — identified the two most understated truths of the founding: the transformed character of the leaders who inspired everyone around them to follow, and the people themselves who, having once tasted the dignity of self-governance, were never going to give it back. The conversation moves through Benjamin Franklin as the most misrepresented figure of the era — not a secular deist but a man who believed more deeply in the God-given potential of humanity than almost anyone of his generation — and Thomas Paine as the street-level genius Franklin saw a diamond in, whose Quaker roots and Adams' Calvinist convictions produced a theological clash that was never about party but about getting it right for the people. The episode closes on Revelation 21, the unnamed boy's lunch in John 6, and the question Brad presses on every listener: do you know who you are, what God has placed in you, and why He has allowed you to be on the earth at this exact moment in history — because the baton handed by the founders is now in your hands, and you have a leg of this race to run. KEY QUESTIONS ADDRESSED  What did secular historians — non-believers who spent decades as subject matter experts in the Revolutionary period — identify as the two most understated truths of the American founding, and why does their answer from outside the faith tradition carry particular weight? Why does Brad argue that Benjamin Franklin was not a secular deist but perhaps the man in his generation who most believed in what God had invested in human beings — and what does Franklin's decision to write Thomas Paine a letter of introduction reveal about how God uses one person's belief in another to change the course of history? What does Revelation 21's declaration — behold, the tabernacle of God is among men — have to do with the boy's lunch in John 6, the founders' signatures as their closing prayer, and the question of whether you know who you are well enough to offer what you have to the One who can make it sufficient? ABOUT BARDSFM BardsFM is a daily independent podcast covering faith, liberty, history, and information warfare. Hosted by Scott Kesterson — combat veteran, documentary filmmaker, and rancher. Over 4,100 episodes and 50 million lifetime downloads. New episodes every weekday. bards.fm This episode was researched and produced under the Spatial Terra Intelligence Methodology (STIM v5) — the analytical framework built by Scott Kesterson — with AI-assisted research synthesis at a 70/30 human/AI authorship ratio, fully disclosed. All analysis, conclusions, and editorial judgments are those of Scott Kesterson. BardsFM's archive includes hundreds of episodes on prayer, scripture, and walking the Way of Christ — available free in the full episode catalog. AFFILIATE LINKS Bards Nation Health Store: www.bardsnationhealth.com MYPillow promo code: BARDS >> Go to https://www.mypillow.com/bards and use the promo code BARDS or... Call 1-800-975-2939.  EMPShield protect your vehicles and home. Promo code BARDS: Click here Treadlite Broadforks...best garden tool EVER. Promo code BARDS26: TreadliteBroadforks.com EnviroKlenz Air Purification, promo code BARDS to save 10%: www.enviroklenz.com Morning Intro Music Provided by Brian Kahanek: www.briankahanek.com Founders Bible 20% discount code: BARDS >>> TheFoundersBible.com Windblown Media 20% Discount with promo code BARDS: windblownmedia.com White Oak Pastures Grassfed Meats, Get $20 off any order $150 or more. Promo Code BARDS: www.whiteoakpastures.com/BARDS Mission Darkness Faraday Bags and RF Shielding. Promo code BARDS: Click here DONATIONS: If you wish to support this podcast directly you can donate here... DONATE: Click here MAILING ADDRESS: Xpedition Cafe, LLC Attn. Scott Kesterson 591 E Central Ave, #740 Sutherlin, OR  97479

Newt's World
Episode 1008: Trump's Superpower The Founders Return

Newt's World

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2026 31:59 Transcription Available


What would the Founding Fathers think of America today? That question sparked historian and novelist Johanna Neuman's new book, Trump's Superpower, in which George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and other founders — plus revolutionary-era writer Mercy Otis Warren — are summoned back to earth for America's 250th birthday and dropped into today's culture wars. Neuman joins Newt Gingrich to discuss the novel's premise, her argument that reclaiming the founders is President Trump's greatest political strength, and why she believes the Founding Fathers are trending again in American culture. The conversation also covers Neuman's remarkable journalism career — from covering the Reagan White House and Jim Baker's State Department to writing Gilded Suffragists, her award-winning history of the fashionable New York socialites who helped push women's suffrage over the finish line.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

QAnon Anonymous
John Murray Spear's Excellent Adventure Part II (Premium E344) Sample

QAnon Anonymous

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2026 9:31


John Murray Spear and his followers have built their “mechanical messiah.” There's just one problem: it won't move. In the conclusion to Spear's excellent adventure, the spirit of Benjamin Franklin guides the “Motorists” through increasingly elaborate attempts to bring the “Electrical Infant” to life. These include a copper-and-zinc wizard suit, a proposed worldwide network of telepathic transmission towers, powdered metals, personal magnetism, soul blending, and the spiritual labor of medium Sarah Newton., newspapers erupt, and P.T. Barnum raises the obvious question: who is the father? The machine finally twitches, but many, including P.T. Barnum, are less than impressed. Jack follows the New Motor's journey through “wombific” processes, free-love theology, public scandal, exile, and its alleged destruction by a gang of young Baptists. Spear moves on to spirit-designed sewing machines, an electrically powered ship modeled after a duck, and a new doctrine of “True Marriage.” Jack also digs into the 2019 claim that the long-lost Mechanical Messiah had been discovered in a Colorado attic and the professional hoax engineer behind the story. Subscribe for $5 a month to unlock access this episode and over 300 premium episodes, plus get one premium episode for every free episode we release in the future: https://patreon.com/qanonanonymous Check out our new podcast series network Cursed Media! All episodes of Spectral Voyager Season 2 are out now! Binge the entirety of Truly Tradly Deeply by Annie Kelly and Megan Kelly as well as Science in Transition by Liv Agar and Spencer Barrows: https://cursedmedia.net Produced by Corey Klotz. Theme by Nick Sena. Additional music by Pontus Berghe and Jake Rockatansky. Theme Vocals by THEY/LIVE (https://instagram.com/theyylivve / https://sptfy.com/QrDm). Cover Art by Pedro Correa: (https://pedrocorrea.com) https://qaapodcast.com QAA was known as the QAnon Anonymous podcast.

The Bible Binge
Sacred Cinema: A Great Awakening

The Bible Binge

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2026 50:41


This week, Erin and Evan discuss A Great Awakening, the Sight & Sound Films drama about George Whitefield and the First Great Awakening. They unpack the film's theology, Benjamin Franklin's surprising role in the story, and George Whitefield's complicated legacy, while offering a few gentle rebukes and, of course, creating youth group sermon illustrations based on the film.MENTIONSWant to watch A Great Awakening? Rent on Amazon PrimeDeep Dive: Rotten Tomatoes | IMDbSight and Sound: Rent films hereGreat Awakening: Learn more here The Faith Adjacent Seminary: Support us on Patreon. Erin Moon: I've Got Questions | Substack | Instagram | WebsiteEvan Dodson: Instagram | TikTok | SubstackSubscribe to our Newsletter: The Dish from Faith AdjacentFaith Adjacent Merch: Shop HereShop our Amazon Link: amazon.com/shop/faithadjacentFollow Faith Adjacent on Socials: Instagram See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved
The Black Monk of Pontefract: England's Most Violent Poltergeist

Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, Supernatural, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2026 46:43


When the Pritchard family moved into 30 East Drive, they thought a broken pipe was flooding the kitchen. But the hooded thing they came to call the Black Monk would flood their home with water, drag their daughter up the stairs, and become one of the most violent hauntings England has ever recorded.EPISODE BLOG PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/blackmonkREAD or DOWNLOAD the full transcript of this episode: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/2p88xknwFEATURED STORIES IN THIS EPISODE: A family moves into a home and almost immediately begins to experience escalating supernatural activity – which then introduces a sinister, dark menacing entity. (The Black Monk) *** Urban legends are typically dark, strange stories which for the most part are only that – legend. Harmless tales meant to frighten the listener with no more repercussions than some goose bumps and perhaps a restless night of trying to sleep. But some legends are based on truth – and those are the ones that truly make our skin crawl and our faces turn white. (Urban Legends Which Are Actually True) *** Why would a U.S. state vote to have an official state demon? It really happened – and stories about the Jersey Devil continue to this day. We'll look at the history and horrors of this bizarre cryptid and see if it's more than urban legend. (Legend of the Jersey Devil) *** Delano, California is a small, uninteresting town that many may think twice before visiting. East of this town is an equally dreary road known as Browning Road. If you're a paranormal enthusiast, you know that this is one road you shouldn't dare travel alone. (Hitchhiking Ghost of Delano) *** A woman shares her horrifying true story of an evil entity she encountered on Browning Road in Delano, California. (Evil Walks Browning Road) *** In the summer of 2014 a series of UFOs were being reported by Navy pilots – the most elite of our airborne military. Not only were the sightings becoming more frequent – they would last up to 12-hours at a time. (Navy Pilots Report UFOs)CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…00:00:00.000 = The Foreboding00:00:55.732 = Show Open00:03:16.616 = The Black Monk00:19:05.635 = Navy Pilot Reports UFOs ***00:24:26.222 = Urban Legends Which Are Actually True00:31:27.802 = Legend of the Jersey Devil ***00:40:09.038 = Hitchhiking Ghost in Delano / Evil Walks Browning Road00:45:37.698 = Show Close*** = Begins immediately after inserted ad breakLISTEN ON PODCAST APPS: Look for this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, and other podcast apps. Get a list of free listening apps here: https://weirddarkness.com/wdapps*No AI Voices Are Used In The Narration Of This Podcast*SOURCES and RESOURCES:The Black Monk” by Brent Swancer”: http://bit.ly/2Fg0QUV“Navy Pilots Report UFOs” by Helene Cooper: http://bit.ly/2ImqbhP“Urban Legends Which Are Actually True” by DeAnna Janes: http://bit.ly/2WIlbId“The Legend of the Jersey Devil” by Carolyn Cox: http://bit.ly/2Im39rq“Hitchhiking Ghost in Delano” posted at Backpackerverse.com: http://bit.ly/2IkU6XM“Evil Walks Browning Road” by Amy S.: http://bit.ly/2N7inoL(Over time links may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.Originally aired: January, 2022This episode of Weird Darkness moves from a violent English poltergeist to Navy encounters with unexplained aircraft, a run of urban legends with real-world roots, the New Jersey cryptid born of a colonial grudge, and a haunted California roadway. It opens at 30 East Drive in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, where in 1966 Jean and Joe Pritchard and their children Phillip and Diane began living alongside an entity the family first nicknamed "Fred" and later called the Black Monk. Cold gusts, pooling water, rattling crockery, slashed portraits, and inverted crosses scrawled in red and black ink escalated over years, with Diane singled out for choking, scratches, and being dragged up the stairs in front of witnesses. Investigator Tom Cuniff tied the site to a former gallows and to a Cluniac monk hanged for raping and killing a girl, and decades later Nick Groff and Katrina Weidman of Paranormal Lockdown spent 100 hours locked inside, recording a Latin EVP, a rolling ball, a knife left on the stairs, and Katrina being scratched.From there the episode turns to the skies off the East Coast, where from the summer of 2014 into March 2015 Navy pilots including Lieutenant Ryan Graves of the VFA-11 "Red Rippers" reported objects with no visible engines that reached 30,000 feet and hypersonic speeds and stayed aloft for up to twelve hours. A Super Hornet nearly collided with one in late 2014, footage captured an object skimming the ocean off the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and the sightings reached the Pentagon's Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, whose former head Luis Elizondo called them a striking series of incidents while Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist Leon Golub pointed toward mundane explanations.Next comes a set of urban legends that turned out to have true counterparts, from the 1997 organ-theft chain email set against a 2008 ABC News account of Indian men drugged and cut open near Delhi, to the body-in-the-bed frame tale debunked by folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand yet echoed by killer Richard Kuklinski, to Halloween hanging-stunt deaths of teenagers Brian Jewell, William Anthony Odom, and Caleb Rebh, to intruders like 1941 Denver attic-dweller Theodore Coneys, to explorer John Hanning Speke and British traveler Rochelle Harris and the creatures found inside human ears.The show then digs into the Jersey Devil, the winged Pine Barrens beast the 1939 WPA guide dubbed New Jersey's official state demon, and traces its origin to almanac maker Daniel Leeds, his son Titan's feud with Benjamin Franklin, and the family crest's wyverns, alongside a claimed sighting by Joseph Bonaparte and the January 1909 panic that closed schools and mills across the Delaware Valley.The episode closes on Browning Road in Delano, California, where locals say a young woman struck and killed decades ago haunts the lonely stretch marked by a roadside memorial, appearing in backseats and on the yellow divider lines, followed by the first-person account of a driver named Amy who saw pale gray eyes in her rearview mirror before the figure screamed, vanished, and reappeared standing in the middle of the road.