POPULARITY
Walking is something most of us do every day without thinking, but the way you move may reveal far more about your health than you realize. In this episode of The MOVEMENT Movement, Steven Sashen speaks with Courtney Conley, DC, Founder and CEO of Gait Happens, who explains how walking speed, sensory input, foot strength, mobility, and the big toe can affect balance, efficiency, pain, and healthy aging. Courtney also shares practical ways to improve walking, including gradually spending more time barefoot, choosing footwear that respects the foot's natural anatomy, strengthening the feet, and using simple cues to walk taller, faster, and softer. Key Takeaways:→ Walking speed is considered an important health indicator and may provide clues about future physical and neurological decline. → Brisk, intentional walking can be more efficient than the slow, guarded gait people often adopt when in pain.→ Walking taller, faster, and more softly can help reduce overstriding and promote a smoother gait. → Healthy walking depends on foot strength, mobility, balance, and the feet's ability to interact naturally with the ground. → Difficulty walking barefoot may reflect a deconditioned foot rather than proof that the foot permanently needs external support. Dr. Courtney Conley is a nationally bestselling author, an international educator, and a leading authority on foot and gait health. She is the founder of Gait Happens, a global education company that helps people restore foot function through science-backed training, professional education, and personalized care. With nearly 25 years of clinical experience, Dr. Conley has worked with professional athletes from organizations such as the Phoenix Suns, New York Yankees, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. She also serves as Head of Patient Care at Total Health Solutions and Total Health Performance in Lakewood, Colorado. Her book, Walk, became a USA Today and Amazon bestseller. Dr. Conley has appeared on The Peter Attia Drive, Diary of a CEO, CBS Mornings, and Fox & Friends, where she shares her belief that strength, mobility, and long-term health begin from the ground up. Connect With Courtney: Website: https://gaithappens.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gaithappens/ https://www.instagram.com/drcourtneyconley/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gaithappens/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcourtneyconley/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/gait-happens/ Connect with Steven: Xero Shoes: https://xeroshoes.com/ Join the MOVEMENT Movement: https://jointhemovementmovement.com/ X: https://x.com/XeroShoes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xeroshoes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xeroshoes
A poem about a map opens North and South, the first collection of the great twentieth century poet Elizabeth Bishop, and since, maps have been associated with her poetic vision—at once telescoping and binocular—and with the polarities and preoccupations of her work. The map's privileged, sweeping, bird's eye view of the earth is also hand-held, man-made, intimate. Depending on its level of minuteness or obsession, it can contain the tiniest details as well as, let's say, the whole enchilada. And though it purports to be scientific and objective, it is representational and therefore subjective, particular, imaginative, and personal. For several episodes, Wes & Erin will be reading a selection of some of Bishop's most anthologized poems, starting with “The Moose” as expressions of, among other things, her map-like imagination. Upcoming Episodes: Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey”; more Elizabeth Bishop poetry: “First Death in Nova Scotia,” “One Art.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website Transcript 0:11 Erin: A poem about a map opens north and south, the first collection of the great 20th century poet Elizabeth Bishop. And since maps have been associated with her poetic vision, at once telescoping and binocular, and with the polarities and preoccupations of her work. The map's privileged, sweeping, bird's eye view of the earth is also handheld, man made intimate. Depending on its level of minuteness or obsession, it can contain the tiniest details as well as, let's say, the whole enchilada. And though it purports to be scientific and objective, it is representational and therefore subjective, particular, imaginative and personal. Over the next few episodes, we'll be reading a selection of some of Bishop's most anthologized poems, starting with the moose as expressions of, among other things, her map, like imagination. This is Erin O'Luanaigh. And this is Wes Alwan, and you're listening to Subtext. Wes, have you ever seen a moose in the wild? 1:12 Wes: I have not, but I have seen Instagram videos of them and people getting too close, and I've heard that they actually are quite dangerous. 1:23 Erin: Oh, perfectly harmless. 1:24 Wes: As cute as they look. So not safe as houses. Which is a very surprising line, unless you think that houses maybe aren't as safe as they seem or ought to be. But that's something we'll talk about later. How about you? 1:38 Erin: I have not. And I actually, it's become a running joke among certain friends of mine that I haven't seen a moose because I long to see a moose in the wild. This is my dearest wish. 1:52 Wes: Is that the first time anyone said that in history? I long to see. 1:56 Erin: I don't know. 1:57 Wes: It's a good first line for a poem, actually. Why do you long. Long to see a moose in the wild? 2:03 Erin: Really? Maybe because of the poem. I don't know. I just really want to, but I. Maybe this will become significant without getting too personal or maybe with getting too personal. With apologies to the listeners. Ten years ago now, when my grandfather passed that summer, my grandmother wanted to go up to Maine and revisit certain places that she had been with him. And we ended up going to Acadia. And I was so excited to see. Am just. I got it into my head that I had to go to Acadia and see a moose. And I even bought a sweatshirt. I'm not wearing it right now. I looked down to see if I was wearing it. It's the same size and shape as this one. This is a Yankees, 1996 World Series sweatshirt. 2:42 Wes: It's not a Rocky and Bullwinkle sweatshirt, is it? 2:45 Erin: No, no, no. It's an acadia and it has a. It has a mousse on it. And so I bought it the first day that I was there and I was like, this is my sweatshirt and it has a moose on it. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna see a moose. And I did not see a moose. And then I. I bought a moose sweatshirt in, I think Grand Teton, and I was like, I'm gonna see a moose. And I did not see a moose. And then I lived obviously many years in Utah, and things would happen. Everybody knew I wanted to see a moose. And I would go to these trails where you could see moose. And I would like be going up a trail and someone would be coming down saying, there are moose up there. We just saw a moose. You just saw baby moose. I'd get all upsided and I would. I would run up and it was gone and people would taunt me. 3:32 Wes: So you don't want to see like a magic white heart or something like that? 3:38 Erin: No, no, I just want to see him. Even the garden variety moose? No, no. Just a humble moose will hide itself from me when. When it knows that I am after it. 3:49 Wes: Because they are a goofy, right? Are they majestic? Are they goofy looking? Are they both? 3:55 Erin: I think they're both. And I think that kind of qual quality is really well captured in the poem. No, I mean that quality of if not being then looking safe as houses or being a gargantuan size, and yet having. I know this is a female moose, which I believe is called a cow, as opposed to a bull. Right. But the bulls, even their horns have that hand like quality to them. You know, it looks kind of like an outstretched hand. 4:22 Wes: Interesting. 4:24 Erin: Yeah. They're not majestic. 4:25 Wes: Yeah, I think that's important to the poem. It's not some obviously majestic creature, although it is large and there is majesty in it in the poem, but it's not the typical majesty that you can just get from, oh, look at this beautiful animal. 4:41 Erin: Yeah. And this is kind of why I brought up my grandfather. There was some connection for me as I think there is something quite personal going on with the moose at the end, other than the shared experience of everybody in the bus, all of that. Like there's something bigger than us, more than us, and yet familiar in a way. And it's magical in a sense, because to see it is kind of a rare thing. Yet it also comes out of the landscape that she's that she's grown up in and that she's part of. I think there's a. Yeah. A lot of interesting dualities going on. 5:17 Wes: Okay. So maybe you can read the whole thing and then you could give a little bit. Or we could give a little bit of the biographical background because this is a bus trip she actually took. Right. 5:26 Erin: Yeah. 5:27 Wes: The significance of Nova Scotia, which is where she's departing from in the poem and all of that stuff. But. Yeah. Do you want to start by reading? 5:35 Erin: Sure. The moose from narrow provinces of fish and bread and tea, home of the long tides, where the bay leaves the sea twice a day and takes the herrings long rides where if the river enters or retreats in a wall of brown foam depends on if it meets the bay. Coming in the bay, not at home, where silted red sometimes the sun sets facing a red sea and others veins the flats. Lavender rich mud and burning rivulets. On red gravelly roads, down rows of sugar maples, past clapboard farmhouses and neat clapboard churches, bleached ridged as clam shells, past twin silver birches through late afternoon a bus journeys west, the windshield flashing pink, pink glancing off of metal, brushing the dented flank of blue beat up enamel, down hollows, uprises and waits patient, while a lone traveler gives kisses and embraces to seven relatives and the collie supervises goodbye to the elms, to the farm, to the dog. The bus starts. The light grows richer. The fog shifting, salty, thin, comes closing in. Its cold round crystals form and slide and settle in the white hen's feathers in gray glazed cabbages on the cabbage roses and lupins like apostles. The sweet peas cling to their wet white string on the whitewashed fences. Bumblebees creep inside the foxgloves and evening commences. One stop at Bass river, then the economies, lower middle, upper five islands. Five houses where a woman shakes a tablecloth out after supper. A pale flickering gone the Tantramar marshes and the smell of salt hay. An iron bridge trembles and a loose plank rattles but doesn't give way. On the left a red light swims through the dark. A ship's port lantern. Two rubber boots show illuminated, solemn. A dog gives one bark. A woman climbs in with two market bags. Brisk, freckled, elderly. A grand night. Yes, sir. All the way to Boston. She regards us amicably. Moonlight as we enter the New Brunswick woods. Hairy, scratchy, splintery moonlight and mist caught in them like lamb's wool. On bushes in a pasture the passengers lie back, snores some long sighs. A dreamy divagation begins in the night, a gentle auditory slow hallucination in the creakings and noises, an old conversation not concerning us but recognizable somewhere back in the bus, grandparents, voices uninterruptedly talking in eternity, names being mentioned. Things cleared up finally. What he said, what she said, who got pensioned. Deaths, deaths and sicknesses. The year he remarried, the year something happened, she died in childbirth. That was the son lost when the schooner foundered. He took to drink. Yes, she went to the bad when Amos began to pray, even in the store and finally the family had to put him away. Yes, that peculiar affirmative. Yes, a sharp indrawn breath, half grown, half acceptance. That means life's like that, we know it. Also death talking the way they talked in the old featherbed, peacefully on and on, dim lamplight in the hall, down in the kitchen, the dog tucked in her shawl. Now it's all right now, even to fall asleep, just as on all those nights. Suddenly the bus driver stops with a jolt, turns off his lights. A moose has come out of the impenetrable wood and stands there, looms rather in the middle of the road. It approaches, it sniffs at the bus's hot hood, towering antlerless, high as a church, homely as a house or safe as houses, a man's voice assures us, perfectly harmless. Some of the passengers exclaim in whispers, childishly, softly, sure are big creatures. It's awful plain. Look, it's a she. Taking her time. She looks the bus over, grand, otherworldly. Why. Why do we feel. We all feel the sweet sensation of joy? Curious creatures, says our quiet driver, rolling his Rs. Look at that, would you? Then he shifts gears for a moment longer by craning backward. The moose can be seen on the moonlit McAdam. Then there's a dim smell of moose, an acrid smell of gasoline. 11:05 Wes: Thank you. Very nice. It's really great to hear it spoken out loud. Spoken is the wrong word. It's the word read, performed. Do you want to say anything about the form of the poem before I ask you about some of the autobiographical background? 11:22 Erin: Yeah. Short lines, six line stanzas, 20, I believe. 28 stanzas in all. Irregularly rhymed, should we say? Kind of like a lot of bishop, you know, we get A, B, C. Then sometimes not rhymed where you might expect. So the rhymes peek their heads out and then. And then recede. Chatty a little bit in places, lots of repetitions of words. But that. That's something we could talk about More. But, yeah, kind of. Kind of mysterious form. One of the best things I've ever heard or read, I guess, about Bishop was by Michael Hoffman, who wrote quite a bit about her. And he said that it seems as though every time Bishop is writing, whether in form or in a kind of nonce form that she's creating, that she seems to be just inventing every form, like from scratch. You know, there's no blueprint. She doesn't have a familiar style in which she writes or particular kind of verse form that she seems to gravitate to. And when she writes, you know, a sistina or a villanelle or a sonnet or something like that, it seems like she's almost inventing the form as she goes along. And in this instance, there's a real. I keep wanting to say homemade after Crusoe in England. But, yeah, I think that's maybe what he was trying to get at, that homemade quality, that sort of bespoke kind of quality. And in the places where the rhyme goes in and out, I think that's really exemplified. 12:53 Wes: Well, it better be bespoke. She took forever to write it. 12:55 Erin: Yeah, that's right. She started this in, I think, 1946. 13:01 Wes: And then she finished it when this 13:04 Erin: was published in Geography 3. So she finished it in the 70s. 13:07 Wes: Okay. 13:08 Erin: Geography 3 came out in 1977. And this must have been published before then, individually, perhaps in the New Yorker, I think. Oh, geography three is 76. I would say maybe 72 is the date that comes to mind. Don't quote me on that. 13:24 Wes: Do we know why it took her so long? Obviously, she put it down for a couple days here and there. 13:29 Erin: It was the July 15th issue, 1972. So close to the day that we're recording. Why did it take her so long? She just worked on things forever and ever and ever. You see it, if you read. I highly recommend to listeners that they Get Words in Air. A very, very thick book of all the letters between Bishop and her friend Robert Lowell. You see her bringing up things or even mentioning in a description that she's writing to Lowell in a letter, a line that will later show up in a poem. Yeah. Low rate of productivity is great to. 14:08 Wes: You know, I can relate to that. 14:11 Erin: I take it as my model, honestly. Like, you know, live. Live Large and die with a slim Collected is kind of a. 14:19 Wes: Kind of a great Monroe Doctrine. But call it. What's another name? Bishpro. 14:28 Erin: That's right. 14:29 Wes: Is it right that she was forced to complete it because she agreed to read it this is something for deadlines. Right. At Harvard's Phi Beta Kappa ceremony. 14:38 Erin: I didn't know that. I know she read it at that ceremony, but I didn't know that that's what. The impetus for completing it. But that doesn't surprise me. 14:45 Wes: Yeah. So deadlines help every once in a while. 14:47 Erin: Absolutely, absolutely. 14:49 Wes: And then biographically. Right. This is based on a trip that she actually took, and she. She'd been to visit relatives in Nova Scotia and then came back on this bus trip. And the. There really was a moose. There really was a collie. Seven relatives for the rest of it. Yeah, yeah. Seven else. 15:11 Erin: Yeah, yeah. The specificity and all of it's. You know, there is a kind of like a photo realism, not just in the style, but in the. You know, we could sort of be certain that these things happened the way that she is recording them somehow, and yet she's spinning it into something more than just reportage. 15:30 Wes: So she was raised partly by her grandparents in Great Village, Nova Scotia. Right. Her. Her father had died in infancy and her mother was institutionalized. 15:41 Erin: That's right, yeah. 15:41 Wes: She aged at. When she was 5. 15:43 Erin: That's right. 15:44 Wes: So it's important just because. Yeah. The bus is leaving Nova Scotia, but go. Go ahead. 15:48 Erin: Yeah, it is important. She was born in 1911 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and she's buried there. I've seen her grave up there. It has a line or two lines from the bite on her tombstone. All the untidy activity continues. Awful but cheerful. Yeah. So she was born in 1911. Her father died, I think, of Bright's disease when she was 8 months old. And then her mother was institutionalized when she was 5, and she never saw her again. She didn't die until the 30s, I think, while Bishop was at Vassar. 16:23 Wes: Do we know what she was institutionalized for? Mental illness in general? 16:28 Erin: Yes. I don't know exactly what. In a short story of Bishop's, she describes as her. A scream coming from her mother. And whatever was wrong was exacerbated by her husband's death. And so then Elizabeth was left to be raised by her grandparents in Nova Scotia who were quite poor. And I guess she was kind of running around barefoot on the farm and stuff like that. And her father's family were very wealthy, and so when they came up to visit Elizabeth, they were, I guess, horrified by the fact that she was just like, you know, running around, hanging out with farm animals. And they took her to. Back with him to Worcester, and she was very unhappy there. Very ill child. She had asthma and eczema. And really, like, I think almost died of both at one time or other, very unhappy. And then eventually she moved to an aunt's house in, I want to say, in Revere, Massachusetts, and she was a little happier there. And then she went to Vassar, and I've been to the Vassar campus to see various buildings associated with Bishop and also to see. They did a really fabulous exhibition of her postcards at the Vassar Library a couple of years ago, which I really loved, seeing her hand and her little. In jokes and asides and really amazing to see. Anyway, at Vassar, the librarian there set up a meeting between Bishop and Marianne Moore, who became a mentor to her. They were very close. And then also over the course of her life, she was very close with and had an important friendship with Lowell. Hence the enormous book of letters. I have it here. It's so heavy I could barely pick it up. But this is a great book. It's kind of like an epistolary novel. Yeah. And she was. I think it's important to say, too, that she was a lesbian who had a very long relationship with a Brazilian architect named Lota de Mecedo Soares, who was her partner in Brazil for 15 years. She lived down there, known for travel. A lot of her collections, whether it's Geography three, which is the most obvious one, or north and south, have. There are a lot of Brazilian pumps. There are a lot of geographical poems. The first poem in her first collection, north and south, was the Map, which is often read as a kind of ars poetica. She's known for these types of, you know, sweeping landscapes that the moose begins with, and an interest in landscape and in this kind of bird's eye view. But then also you get these telescoping details, like a cinematic close up interspersed. Much is made of that in Bishop, of that kind of vision of hers, and specifically of, I don't know, the idea that she creates these. These beautiful miniatures, which is true, but maybe sometimes can be a little. I mean, she's revered, as she should be, and she's one of the most popular poets and she also has a great ear and she has so many other great things going on. So I don't want to exclusively focus on that kind of visual element, though it's there and it's very rich. 19:43 Wes: So from narrow provinces of fish and bread and tea. That's a very good opener. Why are they narrow provinces? And what is the. What are the fish and bread and tea doing? Fish and bread sounds vaguely like it could be a biblical reference, but maybe it's not. But you add tea. Right. There's something mundane here and perhaps restricted, provincial. And that's what she's going to be departing from. I mean, well, begins with the tides, but. 20:12 Erin: Yeah, right. Yeah, that's right. Narrow in a few kinds of ways. Because there's a strange. Because of the Bay of Fundy, there's almost that like U shaped corridor of land around it. So Nova Scotia is kind of narrow. And then up into. Then there's the narrow isthmus. I don't know, I don't know if I'm using that word correctly. Up into New Brunswick. Yeah, so there's something maybe a little, I don't want to say spiritually narrow, maybe somewhat limited or like practical. Practical and, you know, just the necessities and a place we learn that that is. That maybe has to be stalwart in response to the vagaries of the water around it. The Bay of Fundy, I was reading online, the tide, over the course of just one tide, can rise and fall 50ft because the bay is like a giant funnel. When it goes out, it just leaves this vast, open, muddy plain basically behind it. 21:16 Wes: She portrays this very beautifully. We get the image of the tide retreating and then the flats that are being illuminated by the setting sun as burning rivulets. And then there's almost a transition into the bus ride when she says on red gravelly roads, eventually the subject of that is going to be the bus. Although in the beginning, before we get to the bus, it looks like the rivulets have almost become roads. So you almost get the sense like the tides come in and it's going to go further inward, it's going to go all the way to Boston, but it's going to become the inhabitants of the bus who are much like the herrings. Right. In the first stanza. The herrings on the tides take herrings on long rides. So it's almost as if as the tide comes in, she is caught in the tide and brought along with it towards her destination. 22:08 Erin: That's right, yeah. And the bay itself, the water itself is also like a traveler, you know, you might go to visit it and find it's not at home, it's gone out for on a trip or something. So there's also that connection as well. Whereas the roads are part of this more solid and dependable and the water being fickle and not always depended on to be there. 22:31 Wes: Well, I was going to say there's something very poignant about the way she describes the tides and whether they're in or out. And I can't put my finger on it exactly. It's almost. It's this idea of. Right. Where if the river enters or retreats in a wall of brown foam depends on if it meets the bay. Coming in the bay, not at home. If the tide is in or coming in the river clashes with it in a wall of brown foam. Is that the idea now? And what's the image there? Is it always a wall of brown foam? Well, either way, I just. Something about this idea of. It depends on whether the bay is at home or something like that. It's a poignant image. 23:12 Erin: It is. It's that sense of just. Of disappointment or just missing someone, like a missed opportunity. Seems kind of surprisingly emotionally resonant, considering that she's talking about a tide. 23:25 Wes: And we. You know, it introduces the idea of home and. Which I think will be significant. And later on we'll talk about whether the moose is safe as houses and the reflections of the elderly and all that stuff. But. 23:40 Erin: And boundaries, too, right. You have very slippery boundary between the bay and the. And the sea, between the rivers and the bay that feeds them. And I think that boundary very much plays into the idea of home. And you could say that the bus seems to be a part of that too. Right. Like the bus becomes the home. So there's a little bit of the slippery idea of this transposition of home life into the bus, or the people on the bus all becoming the. We like a family within it. The way that it can literally cross national boundaries. It's going to Boston across the border. 24:18 Wes: Yeah. And then they'll be observing provincial life, I guess, from within the bus. And. And, you know, a woman shaking out an apron, for instance, or home life. But, yeah, I had the same thought to you. The bus. The interior of the bus becomes its own kind of mobile home, I guess. I guess the wall brown foam part. There's that push and pull, or it's a matter of who's doing the pushing. Right. In one case, the brown foam. The wall of brown foam is caused as. As the river pushes on the retreating tide. And the other case, it's the tide pushing back against the river as it comes in. But in either case, there's a clash there. 24:58 Erin: Then there are places, though, where there's blurring of boundaries. Like one of my favorite lines in the whole poem, the idea of the churches as ridged as clamshells. She always takes that. This is much remarked upon among scholars of Bishop. Where you get the thing that's. That's really big, suddenly reduced in size to the handheld, but coming out of the same idiom. You know, both the clamshell and this clapboard church are in a way equally native to Nova Scotia. The brilliance of connecting those two things and fishing being an industry in the area, you know, sort of springing out of the fishing industry. 25:42 Wes: Yeah. And shells are what's left as the tide retreats. Right. As it's as if the houses are just the natural residue of a retreating tide. 25:52 Erin: That's great. 25:52 Wes: From the beginning of the poem, there's a sense of momentum, and almost like you, at least in my case, I felt like I'm on a camera moving over the landscape, and it starts with the tide, and then it moves to the burning rivulets. Right. So now we're hovering over. I don't know what you would call it, a. A tidal plane. Anyway, she calls it the flats. Right. So all the silt, and we're moving along there, and then suddenly we're on a gravelly road. So the sun takes over from the sea. The redness of the sun. And then the bus takes over from the sun. But that's the momentum of the poem is from sea to sun to bus. 26:37 Erin: Yeah. The bus flashes pink. We get lots of pairs of the same word, creating a kind of chime with each other. So we get the windshield flashing pink. Pink glancing off of metal. And we wonder, I suppose, because part of the reason why the roads are red is because of the clay content. Right. Of the road itself. So we get that combination of, like, something red in the road or in the composition of the soil and rock of the area. 27:07 Wes: Laterite, I think, which I only know because of Graham Green, who I've been reading. Oh, and what heart of the matter. He's talking about laterite houses, like. So from the red clay, you can make, you know, homes from as well, and common in Sierra Leone. So he used the word like a hundred times before he finally looked it up. All right. There must be something that's going to not know what he's talking about. I'm like, oh, okay, now I get it. Yeah. 27:41 Erin: So that's the mineral, the. 27:44 Wes: It's reddish. Yeah. Reddish clay type of soil, topsoil or something like that. I should know more about this because I used to write about this, too, when I was writing about transportation and engineering. 27:56 Erin: Right. 27:57 Wes: It's important what kind of soil you're building on. But anyway, I remember nothing about that. But, yeah. So it could be the right word. Who knows? But. But, yeah. So you're getting at the. Yeah. The way the redness of the sun is interacting with the. 28:12 Erin: Yes, it's coming. 28:13 Wes: The redness of the soil. 28:14 Erin: Yeah. And that kind of redness coming from below and above to glint off of the bus. The windshield is flashing pink from the sun and the metal is flashing pink from the road. They're both brushing the dented flank of the blue beat up enamel from one direction or the other, it seems. Yeah. Sort of tunnel of red in which the. In which the bus is traveling. 28:41 Wes: Such a vivid image that she gives us. It made me think, you know, sometimes it's almost better than film. It's more vibrant or more. Don't know how to say it, but I was thinking about this because in some of the philosophy podcasts we do, there are philosophers who deny that we have imagery in our head. Exactly. Or we can never. Which seems true. Right. We can't imagine anything with the vividness that we would have if we actually saw it. But it makes me think when I read a poem like this, but also. And also reading some of the novels I've been reading. Well, there's a special kind of vividness to figurative language that perception can't capture. In some ways it's more. More vivid, definitely. 29:26 Erin: I think the sonic quality of the word, the repeated. Right. It's on the one hand a repeated image, but then it also creates that kind of just the soundscape, makes them feel somehow more synesthetic to say, but somehow more picturable or more tangible or more. I don't know, the pink glancing off metal, the dented flank beat up enamel. You know, there's just. It's like. I think that's contributing to it, to the vividness of the image. And yeah, you talked about momentum, too. I mean, this entire. This whole first sentence is six stanzas long. It ends with. And Akali supervises. So there's also that kind of. Yeah. Locomotive propulsion of the camera work, so to speak, Zooming in and then following the road into the bus. And then the bus arrives to sort of catch again, quite cinematically the scene that's actually happening or the place where the eye, if there is an eye in the poem, actually is the lone traveler embracing these relatives with the collie watching on. So there's a sense in which the I eye of the poem doesn't actually catch up with the speaker until stanza six and the end of this first sentence until we get goodbye to the elms, to the farm, to the dogs. So there's kind of lamination at that moment of the I eye and the capital I. 30:49 Wes: We seem to be gradually getting more of a point of view. Right. It's very omniscient in the beginning, hovering over the landscape. And I think gradually we're going to be getting a her point of view in the bus and then a we. But also just to note, this is one. I think this is the first of three pauses. Right. There's gonna. It's gonna pause here, the bus. The momentum is gonna stop as the bus lets on the lone traveler, which I presume is her. Right. Her saying goodbye. And then there'll be a pause when the amicable freckled woman gets on. She's there because we need everything to be in threes. And then we. Then we're gonna pause for the moose in the very end. I didn't miss anything. Right. There's not other places where we stop? 31:32 Erin: No. I mean, there are, of course, stanzas that end some more definitively than others and stopped with a period. There's a stop at Bass River. Right. So there is a little bit of that kind of start. Stop syntactically. But I think you're right that those are the stops where there's content. 31:49 Wes: Content goes. 31:50 Erin: Yes. And where there's a very particular. Yeah, the content of the bus, except for the moose obviously doesn't get on the bus. But there's a stop that's motivated, let's say, rather than just being described as various stops along the way where we don't know who got on and who got off or whatever. Certainly there's also a movement toward that more personal experience of the speaker. But then there are also things that the speaker couldn't possibly know or you know, because once she's said goodbye to everyone and gets on the bus, then we also get the sort of nature show close ups. The crystals of fog, the lupins like apostles, the sweet peasants clinging. One of my favorite parts, clinging to their wet white string on the whitewashed fences. Again, we get two uses of white right next to each other. Bumblebees creeping in the foxgloves. All things you really can't see from certainly from a moving bus. 32:43 Wes: Yeah, the point of view gets focused very, very gradually, maybe through the whole palm. Maybe it's not fully focused until the very end, but. Yeah. So you're pointing out something important which is at the sort of omniscient point of view is still here in these very. What do you call it when you take a close up with your phone? Macro, ironically. Yeah. These very close up pictures of flora and fauna and very Beautiful. 33:12 Erin: Yeah. They compound and then they get more and more loaded and mysterious. And just when we're about to maybe go over the edge, we get recalled back a little bit. That's at least how I'm reading, for instance, stanza 12, about the ship's port lantern and the boot and the bark of the dog. And then suddenly a woman climbs on the bus. And so we're sort of stopped from going off into some sort of train of thought that you could follow there down a rabbit hole. But I love that stanza on red light swimming through the dark. It reminds me of the last stanza of disillusionment, of 10 o'. Clock. Do you know the old sailor, drunk and asleep in his boots, catches tigers in red weather? I think that's how it goes, the Stevens bomb, because we get the boots and the red light in the ship, so they're probably. No. No real connection there. 34:07 Wes: So all of these little intricate descriptions that she's giving, right. It begins with the light growing richer, which I take it mean, means we're approaching dusk and evening, or we're in dusk and it's evening is approaching and a kind of mini winter, Right. Something. It's a diurnal cycle, but there's a bit of a parallel to something seasonal. Right. So we get crystals forming and the images like sweet peas clinging and the bumblebees inside foxgloves. As evening commences, it's almost like. I don't know if this is true, but it's almost as if we're getting the response of the animals and flora and fauna to the commencement of evening. That's our first indication of it. So I was surprised to see, okay, it's still light out enough for us to see a woman shaking a tablecloth out after supper. And that is beautifully described as a pale flickering. Right. Almost as if that's something like the light reflecting off the enamel bus, or not pink anymore, but just a flickering of pale light and then gone, I suppose. Does that mean that we're now without light? Is that sort of the way nighttime is ushered in by the end of the next stanza? And it's in the next stanza that we see a red light in the dark. Now we have a ship in the dark. So it's almost as if. Yeah, the shaking of the tablecloth is like a magician. Abracadabra. Now it's nighttime, Right? 35:39 Erin: Yeah. I love that. Yeah. You're making me realize how many connections there are to Keats in this poem. Right. There's something Keatsian about it, very. To Autumn, you get the sweet peas clinging on the fence. You get that image of fecundity things on top of other things. You know, the mossed cottage trees and the late flowers for the bees. And then the shaking out of the tablecloth is like the hair lifted by the winnowing wind. Right. Because there's. There's wind, there are flowers and bees. And then there's also, of course, redness and that image of, you know, like the evening. Autumn. Evening redness. And maybe this is. Yeah. Rows of sugar maples. Those could be red as well. If we're in an autumnal landscape, can't be too late because everything is, you know, it's got to be like August, maybe because we have this. Or. No, I guess maybe not. Gray glazed cabbages. I don't know enough about cabbages to know at what point in their development. 36:40 Wes: Yeah. Whatever season it is. I just think that the evening is almost like a mini winter. It gets colder and we see the. 36:46 Erin: Definitely. 36:47 Wes: We see the effects of it. But, yeah, maybe autumn is probably the logical season for. 36:53 Erin: Right. Yeah. And that point. Or that point in the transition from summer to autumn where, I mean, even on a summer night in Nova Scotia, the evening temperature is quite autumnal regardless. And so when the woman climbs on with the market bags, we get. 37:09 Wes: Shall we take a. Shall we? 37:12 Erin: Oh, yes. 37:13 Wes: Let's let the freckled amicable woman on in part two. 37:17 Erin: She'll have to wait. 37:18 Wes: Let's not let her on the bus yet. 37:20 Erin: You have to wait for everyone else to get off before you can get on. It's one of the cardinal rules of public transportation. Okay, we will continue in part two. Thank you. 37:29 Wes: Thank you.
➢ Apply for coaching www.colossusfitness.comGrim but motivating stat: Without intervention, we lose ~3–8% muscle per decade after 30, and VO₂ max drops ~10% per decade. This accelerates frailty, falls, and loss of independence.Most people never sprint again after 308 Tips To Supercharge Your Body For Longevity:1- Maximize Your VO₂ Max (The #1 Predictor)Why it matters: One of the strongest independent predictors of all-cause mortality — often stronger than smoking, diabetes, or high blood pressure.How to train it: 80/20 rule — majority Zone 2 (conversational pace, you can speak in full sentences but it's effortful) + 1 hard session/week (intervals: e.g., 4×4 min hard or Norwegian 4×4 protocol).Practical: 3–5 sessions/week total. Brisk walking/rucking counts. Even older adults can improve 15–30% in months.First step: Test it (lab, or good wearable estimate) and add one Zone 2 session this week.2- Lift Weights — Hit the 90–120 Minute Sweet Spot2026 BJSM study (147k+ people, 30-year follow-up): 90–119 min/week of strength training linked to 13% lower all-cause mortality, 19% lower CVD mortality, 27% lower neurological disease mortality. More than ~120 min didn't add extra mortality benefit in the data. Additive to aerobic work.Protocol: 3–4 sessions/week, focus on compound movements + progressive overload. Full body or upper/lower split. Include carries and grip work.First step: Block 90–120 min total this week across 2–3 sessions.3- Build Stability & Balance (The Hidden Foundation)Attia's #1 pillar. Prevents injuries and falls (huge longevity lever).Practical: 10–15 min most days — single-leg work, bird dogs, dead bugs, balance board or single-leg Romanian deadlifts. Progress difficulty.First step: Add a 10-min stability finisher after 2–3 workouts this week.4- Diversify Your Movement (The 19% Mortality Hack)2026 Harvard study (BMJ Medicine): Highest exercise variety group had 19% lower all-cause mortality vs lowest variety — independent of total volume. Walking, weights, jogging, tennis/squash, cycling, stairs, etc. all counted.Practical: Don't just lift + run. Add rucking, swimming, pickleball/tennis, hiking, dance, or even gardening as “exercise.”First step: Add one completely different modality this week.5- Train for the centurion decathalonAttia concept: Identify 10–12 real-world activities you want to do at 80–100 (get off floor without hands, carry two bags of groceries up stairs, hike with pack, play with grandkids on the floor, etc.) and reverse-engineer training now.Practical: Farmer carries, floor get-ups (Turkish get-up variations), stair climbs with load, grip work, single-leg strength.First step: Write your personal “Centenarian Decathlon” list this week.6- Eat Enough Protein to Preserve MuscleAttia recommendation: 1.6–2.2 g/kg body weight per day (roughly 0.8–1 g per lb) — much higher than the old RDA. Critical because of anabolic resistance as we age. Pairs perfectly with resistance training.Practical: ~30–50 g high-quality protein per meal (leucine threshold ~2.5–3 g). Spread across 3–4 meals. Meat, eggs, dairy, whey, or high-quality plant combinations.First step: Audit one day of eating and add protein where you're low.7- Treat Sleep as Your Most Important Training SessionSleep is when you actually adapt and recover. Poor sleep destroys muscle gains, VO₂ max improvements, and accelerates biological aging.Practical: 7–9 hours consistent schedule. Dark, cool room. Wind-down routine. Track it.First step: Pick a non-negotiable bedtime and protect the hour before it.8- Track, Test & Iterate (Data Over Feelings)DexaThanks for listening! We genuinely appreciate every single one of you listening.➢Follow us on instagram @colossusfit➢Apply to get your Polished Physique: https://colossusfitness.com/
Send Zorba a message!A new study shows that fast walkers in their 80s cut their risk of cognitive decline by half.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl ChristensonSend your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!):Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime)Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.comWeb: www.doctorzorba.orgStay well!
Send Zorba a message!A new study shows that fast walkers in their 80s cut their risk of cognitive decline by half.Support the showProduction, edit, and music by Karl ChristensonSend your question to Dr. Zorba (he loves to help!):Phone: 608-492-9292 (call anytime)Email: askdoctorzorba@gmail.comWeb: www.doctorzorba.orgStay well!
Send us Fan MailJoin hosts Ben Kornell and Alex Sarlin as they cover major edtech acquisitions, the biggest AI announcements from ISTE, the future of assessment, and how AI is reshaping teaching and learning.✨ Episode Highlights:[00:04:15] ETS acquires ACT, reshaping the future of assessment and college admissions[00:08:02] Handshake acquires Uplimit to expand AI upskilling and workforce learning[00:11:55] The debate over screen-free learning and the rise of Yoto[00:17:41] ISTE rebrands and launches a new Edtech Index[00:19:07] Google unveils Gemini Notebooks and new AI tools for classrooms[00:21:10] MagicSchool and Brisk expand their AI platforms for schools[00:27:15] Microsoft survey finds AI adoption reaches 92% of students and 88% of educatorsPlus, special guests:[00:32:10] Karlo Young, CEO of Teachstone, on why human relationships remain the foundation of great teaching in the age of AI[00:53:46] Tom Sayer, Co-founder and CEO of Ello, on building AI tutors that teach like great educators
Excitement builds for Knicks-Spurs Game 2, with Boomer expecting desperation since San Antonio can't overcome a 2-0 deficit. Gio jokes a championship would make Landry Shamet the next Sean Landeta, then joins Guy Adami to mock the idiocy of "brisk walking." Jerry's update covers Josh Hart's intensity, OG Anunoby's first name, Jalen Brunson's fan confrontation, and KAT jokingly praying for the NYPD. Plus, the Yankees beat the Guardians behind Ryan McMahon, Ben Johnson gets pissed at a reporter's phone, and Micah Parsons talks foot fetishes with Jay Mohr. We close with callers discussing Gio's shirt-tugging and back-to-back titles, and Boomer's take on why a close loss tonight is fine.
Guy Adami checks in to talk about Rami saying he was going ‘brisk walking'. Gio said you can't speed walk without looking like an idiot.
You're using collagen wrong. This common collagen mistake could be limiting your results. Discover the benefits of collagen and the best ways to improve collagen absorption for better skin, joints, bones, and more.
In today's episode, the adventurers attempt to close three Void rifts that are opening across the city.Connect:Sounds Like Adventure on Twitch Sounds Like Adventure on YouTubeSounds Like Adventure on InstagramSounds Like Adventure on Discord
DJ EZC Podcast | HappyHardcore | Breakbeat | Hard House | Liquid Drum & Bass | Hardcore | Rave
Flakee - Smiling Faces Eufeion & Dazzler B - Tell Me The Way Technikore & Steve Hill - Letting Go Hannah Laing - Good Love (Krim Remix) Fracus - Dang! RECORD OF THE WEEK Jack In Box & NP Source - One Family THREE IN A ROW Hardbeat Rebelz - Phonky Beatz Hardbeat Rebelz - KillaCore Hardbeat Rebelz - The Message POWER MIX 2021 Darwin & Jack in box - Fading Love Daniel Seven - B The 1 CLSM - Timbomb (Al Storm remix) Brisk and Darwin - You Can Dance Kane Scott - Lift off GUEST MIX : Break Doctor
Daily Halacha Podcast - Daily Halacha By Rabbi Eli J. Mansour
Yir'at Shamayim – the awareness that Hashem is watching us at all times, and sees everything we do – does not come naturally. Since we do not directly perceive Hashem with our senses, it is difficult to live with this awareness. This is something that requires work and a conscious effort. One of the important things we can do to help ourselves develop Yir'at Shamayim is to pray for it. The Gemara (Shabbat 156b) relates that Rav Nahman Bar Yishak's mother was informed by astrologers that her child would grow to become a criminal. She immediately ensured that he would never go about bareheaded, and she instructed him to regularly pray to be saved from the Yeser Ha'ra (evil inclination). Sure enough, the Gemara in Masechet Sota (49b) cites Rav Nahman Bar Yishak as testifying about himself that he possessed Yir'at Shamayim. This was, undoubtedly, due at least in part to his impassioned prayers for Yir'at Shamayim. The Maharsha (1555-1631) explains that although the Talmud (Berachot 33b) teaches, "Everything is in G-d's hands, except for the fear of G-d," implying that G-d does not help us fear Him, nevertheless, one who sincerely strives for Yir'at Shamayim can certainly pray for Hashem's assistance. If Hashem sees that a person has made the decision to try to live with Yir'at Shamayim, and beseeches Him for help, then He will assist that person. Indeed, we pray in Birkat Ha'mazon, "Ha'Rahaman Hu Yita Torato Ve'ahabato Be'libenu Ve'tiheyeh Yir'ato Al Panenu Le'bilti Neheta" – "The Merciful One shall plant in our hearts the love of His Torah and the love of Him, and the fear of Him shall be upon our faces so that we do not sin." At several points during the prayer service, too, we ask Hashem to help us in our quest for Yir'at Shamayim so we conduct ourselves properly at all times. It is also critically important to pray for one's children to have Yir'at Shamayim. Rav Haim Soloveitchik of Brisk (1853-1918) said that a boy's level of Torah learning depends on how often his father studies Torah with him, and his level of Yir'at Shamayim depends on how many tears his mother sheds while praying for his Yir'at Shamayim during candle lighting on Friday evening. Additionally, many great Rabbis gave us "tips" and strategies for developing our fear of G-d. The Yafeh La'leb (Rav Rahamim Nissim Yishak Palachi, Turkey, 1813-1907) writes that we can help engender Yir'at Shamayim within ourselves by regularly saying "Be'ezrat Hashem" – "with G-d's help" – before we proceed to do something. The more we remind ourselves that nothing we try to do can succeed without Hashem's assistance, that He is with us at all times helping us to do all that we need to do, even simple tasks, the more aware we will be of His continuous presence. Rav Yisrael Bitan cites from a wide range of sources fifteen "Segulot" that help one attain Yir'at Shamayim: 1) Looking up to the sky, to heighten our awareness of Hashem. 2) Looking at one's Sisit. 3) Reciting the verses in the Book of Debarim about Yir'at Shamayim (10:12-13) while wearing Tefillin Rabbenu Tam. 4) Learning Torah while wearing Tefillin Rabbenu Tam. 5) Spending a good deal of time in the synagogue. 6) Exercising care to avoid all kinds of forbidden speech. 7) Always seeking peace and promoting peace, while avoiding conflict and fights. 8) Ensuring to fulfill the Misva of standing in honor of the elderly and of Torah scholars. The Arizal noted that right after the Torah commands us to stand to honor the elderly and the scholars, it adds, "Ve'yareta Me'Elokecha" – "You shall fear your G-d" (Vayikra 19:32), indicating that fulfilling this Misva helps one develop Yir'at Shamayim. The Gemara (Berachot 28a) tells that when Rabbi Zera grew tired, and was unable to learn Torah, he would stand by the entrance to the study hall, explaining that when the Rabbis would pass by, he would stand in their honor and thereby receive reward. The Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azulai, 1724-1806) explained that Rabbi Zera certainly did not fulfill Misvot for the sake of earning reward. However, he was saying that by fulfilling the Misva to honor the Torah scholars, he would be rewarded with Yir'at Shamayim, and this is how he could continue developing himself spiritually when he lacked the strength to learn Torah. 9) Picturing in one's mind the Name of "Havaya" punctuated with the vowels of the word "Yir'a." 10) Regularly studying Torah. 11) Conducting oneself with humility at all times. 12) Having the works of the Rambam in one's home. 13) Regularly studying the Tur, the Bet Yosef, and the Shulhan Aruch. 14) Eating Shabbat meals with the specific intention of giving honor to the Shabbat. 15) Speaking sparingly, and spending periods of time in silence. When we are with great people, we feel somewhat uncomfortable and therefore speak little, afraid that we might say something inappropriate or foolish. Therefore, we should accustom ourselves to avoid excessive speech, sensing that we are in the presence of the Almighty. I would humbly add another piece of advice – to study the works of the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909). His works are written in a very unique style, in a way that engenders a great deal of excitement for every topic he writes about. Regularly studying these precious books can help inspire us and inject us with Yir'at Shamayim. It is told that Rav Nahman of Breslav (Ukraine, 1772-1810) would spend some time each day outdoors, alone, speaking to Hashem, thanking Him for all his blessings, expressing all his needs, concerns and wishes, and asking for His assistance. This, too, is a very effective way to develop Yir'at Shamayim – taking some time each day to speak to Hashem in our own words, without a fixed text, as though He is right in front of us, expressing our feelings of gratitude as well as our fears, our needs and our wishes. These regular "meetings" help us remain conscious of His ongoing presence in our lives. One of the most important strategies for developing and maintaining Yir'at Shamayim is ensuring to be in good company, with likeminded individuals who share our religious values and our religious commitment. We are profoundly influenced by our surroundings, and so the more time we spend with G-d-fearing people, the more likely we are to be G-d-fearing ourselves. Furthermore, Rav Chaim Soloveitchik would advise people to have a close peer, a confidant, with whom to discuss matters related to Yir'at Shamayim and work together to think of practical measures to help them live with genuine fear of Hashem.
My bi-weekly shmooze to the yungeleit in the Orlando Kollel
In today's episode, Jacob shares a story about the history of BriskConnect:Sounds Like Adventure on Twitch Sounds Like Adventure on YouTubeSounds Like Adventure on InstagramSounds Like Adventure on Discord
Send a textJoin hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they unpack a fast-moving week in education. From AI-native curriculum battles and literacy leadership shifts to voucher surges and national AI pilots reshaping special education. ✨ Episode Highlights:[00:01:48] ASU+GSV preview and the expanding global EdTech ecosystem[00:06:25] The 2026 EdTech AI Map launches with 240+ companies[00:07:14] Brisk introduces AI-powered curriculum integration[00:09:04] The race to own the AI layer in schools[00:13:10] Data ownership becomes the key AI battleground[00:16:59] Kira 2.0 expands into a full AI-native LMS[00:21:16] Texas ESA applications surge past 61,000[00:30:20] UK launches $23M AI pilot for special needs[00:33:40] Microsoft invests in AI teacher training[00:34:59] Google expands Gemini in education[00:35:57] UX emerges as EdTech's new advantage[00:36:43] The AI grad profile prioritizes human skills Plus, special guests:[00:38:33] Karl Rectanus, CEO of Really Great Reading, on literacy outcomes, science of reading implementation, and scaling impact [01:02:22] Dan Meyer, VP of User Growth of Amplify on AI skepticism, social AI in math classrooms, and keeping learning human-centered
Hello Beautiful, I'm so grateful you're here with me.
In today's episode, the recruits head into the catacombs, deep beneath Brisk.Connect:Sounds Like Adventure on Twitch Sounds Like Adventure on YouTubeSounds Like Adventure on InstagramSounds Like Adventure on Discord
A few months ago, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny guest hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” where he appeared in a skit as a Spanish nobleman from the Middle Ages wearing an inky blue robe with gold threading on the collar and sleeves. The costume he wore didn’t come from the show’s wardrobe department. Instead, it was shipped overnight by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Costume Rentals department in Talent. As profiled in a recent article in Oregon ArtsWatch, for more than 20 years, OSF Costume Rentals has been making costumes and accessories that were created for its productions available to rent by local theater companies, academic institutions, film and photo shoots and TV shows like “SNL.” The vast digital inventory is searchable online and spans more than 30,000 costumes and accessories, from elaborate Elizabethan gowns and silky Regency dresses to velour smoking jackets and butterfly-collared shirts. OSF Costume Rentals supervisor Celina Gigliello-Pretto and OSF Director of Productions Malia Argüello share how OSF is preserving its costumes and helping other productions reimagine their possibilities.
Send us a text2025 was a defining year for AI in education. From rapid adoption to rising educator confidence and growing questions about what comes next.In Part 1 of our year-end reflections and predictions, Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell revisit their 2025 reflections and look ahead to what 2026 may bring for EdTech, AI, and the future of learning.
Send us a textThis special EdTech Insiders episode, recorded live at the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi, spotlights the Global EdTech Prize winners and finalists sharing how they're scaling impact across K–12 learning, teacher AI workflows, and digital skills worldwide.
When Yaakob heard that his brother, Esav, was approaching with a militia of 400 men, he offered an impassioned prayer to G-d, begging for help. He cried, "Hasileni Na Mi'yad Ahi Mi'yad Esav" – "Save me, please, from my brother, from Esav" (32:12). A famous insight into this verse was offered by the Bet Ha'levi (Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk, 1820-1892), one which is worth our while to review and ponder. The Bet Ha'levi noted that Yaakob asked G-d to protect him from both "Esav" and from "my brother." Of course, these seem to be one and the same. But the Bet Ha'levi explains that this refers to two different threats that Yaakob feared. The first and more obvious threat was that posed by "Esav" – the violent, evil man who hated Yaakob for having taken his blessing, and sought to kill him. Esav's hostility and violent character posed a clear and present danger. But Yaakob also feared the opposite prospect – that Esav would come as "my brother," with love and affection. This, too, presented a danger, albeit a much different form of danger – a spiritual danger. When the gentile nations treat us as "brothers," inviting us to closely interact with them, we risk becoming like them, of exchanging our traditional beliefs, values and practices for their culture. Whereas "Esav" threatens our physical existence, "my brother" threatens our spiritual existence. The Gemara tells that King Ahashverosh despised the Jews no less than Haman. When Haman presented to the king his idea to annihilate the Jews, and offered to pay for it, Ahashverosh responded that to the contrary, he would pay Haman to do this, because he wanted the Jews killed. The Gemara draws an analogy to a person with a large mound of dirt on his property which he wanted to get rid of, and he is approached by another person who has a large hole on his property which he wished to fill. The person with the hole in the ground offers to pay the other person for his mound of dirt – but the one with the mound of dirt is prepared to pay him to remove it. Likewise, Haman was willing to pay Ahashverosh to annihilate the Jews, but Ahashverosh was prepared to pay Haman to get rid of them. But when we read the Megilla, we do not get the impression that Ahashverosh disliked the Jews. To the contrary, he invited them to his feast, and they happily participated. In truth, however, this was no less sinister a plot than Haman's plan to murder the Jews. Haman approached the Jewish People as "Esav," whereas Ahashverosh approached them as "my brother," inviting them to assimilate and embrace the Persian culture, values and lifestyle. Returning to the story of Yaakob and Esav, the Torah tells that when they finally reunited, Esav embraced Yaakob and kissed him. However, one view in the Midrash, as Rashi (33:4) cites, explains that Esav first tried to bite Yaakob's neck. Hashem performed a miracle, making Yaakob's neck hard as marble, such that Esav's teeth could not penetrate it. Esav then kissed him. He at first tried to hurt Yaakov with hostility and violence, and when this failed, he resorted to the tactic of "my brother," by showing love and affection, hoping to lure Yaakob away from his beliefs and values. We must stand guard against both dangers. In a time of growing antisemitism, we must of course remain vigilant and take appropriate measures to protect ourselves. No less importantly, however, we must protect ourselves from the lure of assimilation. The United States offers us freedom and equality, treating us no differently than any other group in this country. This is, undoubtedly, a wonderful blessing for which we must be grateful, as it has allowed us to build communities such as ours and practice our religion without fear. At the same time, however, the freedoms have wrought a spiritual catastrophe, pulling a frighteningly high percentage of Jews away from their heritage. The American Jew's freedom to fully participate in American culture and society entices him to abandon his traditions in favor of the values and lifestyle of the people around us, and too many have fallen prey to this temptation. We need to ensure that our enjoyment of the wonderful freedoms granted us by this country does not result in our rejection of our traditions. And we do this through our community institutions, through our schools, synagogues, yeshivot and programs, which help solidify our identity as Torah Jews, an identity that we continue to wear with pride and conviction even as we participate in and interact with the general society.
Send us a textJoin hosts Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they break down OpenAI's unexpected launch of ChatGPT for K–12, Google's accelerating AI momentum, and what these shifts mean for schools, teachers, and the edtech ecosystem.✨ Episode Highlights: [00:02:03] OpenAI unveils ChatGPT for K–12 educators—secure, curriculum-aware, and free through 2027 [00:03:02] The emerging AI Classroom Wars between OpenAI and Google across major U.S. districts [00:07:36] Google's big week: DeepMind tutoring gains and Gemini 3's multimodal upgrades [00:10:25] How district leaders will navigate growing community divides over AI adoption [00:14:04] What OpenAI's move means for MagicSchool, SchoolAI, Brisk, and other edtech playersPlus, special guests:[00:19:26] Janos Perczel, CEO of Polygence on scaling project-based learning with AI and why TeachLM trains models on authentic student–teacher interactions[00:41:36] Dr. Stephen Hodges, CEO of Efekta Education on AI-powered language learning for 4M students and early evidence of major test score gains
In this episode of TechMagic, hosts Cathy Hackl and Lee Kebler break down the biggest shifts shaping tech, entertainment, and personal branding. They explore emerging trends, from real-world experiences like Beastland, to the growing influence of spatial computing, and why authentic human content is becoming a premium as AI saturation rises. In the second half, Cathy sits down with David Cash, Founder and CSO of Cash Labs, Founder and Executive Producer of Catalyst Content Haus and Head of Marketing and acting CMO of DeLorean Labs, to discuss building a future-proof personal brand, repurposing content at scale, and why founders must take ownership of their digital presence now. Together, they reveal practical strategies for standing out and earning trust in an AI-driven media landscape.Come for the tech and stay for the magic!David Cash Bio:David Cash is the Founder of Cash Labs and Catalyst, recognized as a leading force in bringing Web3 and emerging technologies to market. After a 12-year acting career and seven years running a production company, working on campaigns for brands like Brisk, Gaviscon, and Netflix, David became an early leader in Web3, authoring the first Master's thesis on NFTs and producing Metaverse Fashion Week. Through Cash Labs, his work has driven billions of impressions and major revenue for global brands. His newest venture, Catalyst, helps executives create high-impact, future-ready content.David Cash on LinkedInKey Discussion Topics: 00:00 Intro: Tech Magic Returns from the Middle East00:03 Beastland: MrBeast's Pop-Up Amusement Park Phenomenon in Riyadh00:08 Apple Vision Pro & Real Madrid: The Future of Immersive Sports Content00:12 Tim Cook's Potential Departure and Apple's Need for Disruption00:16 Meta Quest 3S at Costco for $200: The VR Hardware Game Heats Up00:20 Meet David Cash: From Child Actor to Web3 Pioneer and Content Strategist00:24 Why Business Leaders Must Own Their Content Strategy Now00:27 Catalyst: Productizing Executive Content Creation Into a Luxury Service00:30 How to Build a Personal Brand Session in One Day00:33 The Dead Internet Theory: Why Authentic Voices Are Your Competitive Moat00:36 Syndication Strategy: Turn One Piece of Content Into 1,000 Assets00:37 Legacy Media Still Matters: Why Adweek and Vogue Amplify Personal Brands00:40 The Evolution of Entertainment: From Broadway to Authentic Vlogging00:43 Human-Crafted Content as Luxury: The OnlyFans to OnlyWalks Future00:44 The Metaverse Isn't Web3: Redefining Virtual Spaces and Digital Identity00:48 How Your Content Choices Today Shape Your XR Future Tomorrow00:52 AI as a Tool: When to Use Generative Tech and When to Create Authentically00:53 The "Human Authored" Label: Why AI Slop Is Making Credibility Scarce00:57 Silicon Valley's Billion-Dollar Paradox: Oracle, SoftBank, and Unsustainable Bets01:00 Hardware Matters: Why Lam Research Is the Invisible Infrastructure Winner01:03 Key Takeaways: Personal Branding, Content Strategy, and the Human Edge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How can AI truly transform teaching without adding another fragmented tool to an educator's already overflowing plate? In this thought-provoking episode of The Good Life EDU Podcast, we welcome Arman Jaffer, CEO and Founder of Brisk Teaching, to share his journey with working to solve the problem of ever-increasing teacher workload and EdTech fragmentation. Arman explains how Brisk is fundamentally different from other AI tools. Instead of a separate dashboard, it functions as a Chrome extension/Edge add-on, delivering AI capabilities directly where the teacher is working, whether it's drafting feedback in Google comments or instantly changing a text's reading level. Key Takeaways You'll Explore: The Three Phases of AI in Education: The shift from initial fears over academic integrity to a focus on educator productivity, and finally to the emerging era of student-facing AI. The Power of AI for Formative Data: Why student-facing AI tutors provide richer, more targeted instructional data than traditional exit tickets, helping teachers identify and address student misconceptions. Defining "Teacher In The Loop": Arman clarifies this buzzword, emphasizing the importance of the teacher initiating and setting up AI activities intentionally to ensure equitable use and hold students accountable for the learning objective. The Spectrum of AI Exposure: A discussion on what intentional AI integration looks like across grade levels, from K-5 (focusing on voice and prescriptive tasks) to high school (preparing students for ubiquitous AI use in college and career). Action-Oriented Design: How Brisk simplifies the teacher's process into just five core buttons, ensuring the technology supports high-quality instructional actions without becoming overwhelming. Whether you're a classroom teacher looking for genuine time savings, an administrator seeking a strategic approach to AI, or a leader focused on driving student outcomes, this conversation offers an essential roadmap for leveraging the next generation of EdTech. Learn more about Brisk Teaching at https://www.briskteaching.com/
Patrick answers bold listener questions on the Garden of Eden, the destiny of Adam and Eve, and extraordinary biblical lifespans, blending these with heartfelt stories of marriage struggles and spiritual recovery. Surprises pop up as he discusses Catholic teachings on guardian angels, responds to debates about the Latin Mass and Martin Scorsese's saint documentaries, and even shares thoughts on mustache care. Brisk exchanges and raw honesty keep the conversation lively and unscripted. Lupe - Was the Garden of Eve real and did Adam and Eve go to Hell? Vinnie - I have a problem believing that people could live to 900 years old. How was that possible in the Bible? (06:47) Tom - My wife and I were separated 15 years ago, and we totally recovered from this. Surrendering and giving up really helped me. Your show really helped. (13:06) Sal (email) – Fr. Simon said it was okay to name your guardian angel. (20:14) Brother John - That earlier caller is turning the Church into a psychological issue. This is why we need the Confessional and need to acknowledge mortal and venial sin. (25:47) Joyce – Padre Pio named his guardian angel. (26:52) Shawn - Do you have any thoughts on the Martin Scorsese film, The Saints? (29:51) Brian - My dad took 4 years of Latin and ancient Greece. The New Mass doesn't give me any feeling. Ritual gives us tradition. Without the Latin Mass, we lose out on tradition and ritual. (39:30) Josiah - How are you able to keep a perfect mustache? (44:57) Tony - I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Is praying to more than one saint, ok? (48:39)
On this episode of Home Gadget Geeks, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Brian Friedlander to talk about how AI is changing the landscape of assistive technology. We covered everything from tools like AOA, Brisk, and Magic School AI that support students in the classroom, to innovations in note-taking, E Ink devices, and even brain-computer interfaces. It was a fascinating conversation about where accessibility meets technology, and how sometimes the simplest solutions end up being the most powerful. Thanks for listening! In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Brian Friedlander, an expert in assistive technology and