Podcasts about Butch

Retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with former criminal and prison minister Bill Corum for one of the most unusual conversations ever featured on Gangland Wire. Bill Corum recounts his journey from car theft and prison escapes in the early 1960s to his deep involvement in Kansas City's criminal underworld in the 1970s and early 1980s. He describes his work around pornography, prostitution, stolen property, cocaine trafficking, and his connections to notorious Kansas City underworld figures. Gary and Bill discuss legendary Kansas City mob fence Sol Landi and his murder by assassins sent by the mob, the River Quay era, Junior Bradley, corrupt influences in local politics and the courts, and the explosive cocaine culture that swept through Kansas City during the 1980s. Bill also shares stories involving Weld Wheels founder Kenny Weld, cocaine trafficking operations, and the dangerous atmosphere surrounding organized crime in Kansas City. The conversation dives into: Bill's prison escape and stolen car career The prostitution business in Independence, Missouri Mob-connected fences and stolen property rings Cocaine trafficking in Kansas City during the early 1980s The murder of Saul Landy River Quay nightlife and mob influence Corrupt officials and criminal networks Kansas City organized crime personalities Prison life and criminal culture Bill Corum's dramatic religious conversion in 1983 His decades-long prison ministry work across America Bill also explains how he transformed his life after addiction, violence, and years in the criminal world, eventually dedicating his life to prison outreach and ministry programs throughout the United States. You can learn more about Bill Corum and his book at either The Ultimate Pardon or Bill Corum Official Website If you're interested in true crime, mafia history, and real law enforcement stories, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Subscribe for more mafia history and true crime stories every week. Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. [00:00:00] hey, all you wiretappers. Gary Jenkins here, retired Kansas City police detective in the intelligence unit. Turned podcaster and author and documentary filmmaker. If you want to see any of my stuff, go to my website and look in the show notes or look in the I think the donate page. Of course, if you’re in the donate page, you might want to hit the donate button. We always use a little, can use a little support. And I have a guy that I’d heard of and I’d seen on YouTube and I have mu- we have mutual friends, but I had never actually met him. And I, so I g- I… Some people he knows asked me to be on their show. And so I was on their show, and Bill was on that show at the same time. So we started talking. We had lunch and we had all these… We were running in the same circles, but separate circles that then overlapped every once in a while. He was on one side of the law and I was on the other. So Bill Corum. Welcome, Bill. Thank you, Gary. Thank you so much. And we were running in opposite… We were running real close- … but I was careful. When [00:01:00] I got out of prison, it- You were. When I got out of prison in 1964, I had two goals. Yeah. Never go back, and never get caught. And I started breaking the law the day I got out of prison, and I broke the law for almost 19 years and didn’t get caught. I got caught a couple times at little things, and I got… I hired a high-powered criminal attorney that came out of Alex Peebles’ office who’s now a judge. I won’t even mention his name. He’s now a judge. I think I told you who it was. But and Alex got me out of a couple deals way back when. But little things. And I was still, doing everything. And I went for almost 19 years and didn’t get caught. Unlike many of my friends, I’ve been in prison ministry for 40 years now, and I run around with a lot of guys that did a lot of time. 25 years, 40 years. Li- they had double life without parole, now they’re out But I never got caught. Yeah. And I was speaking at a women’s prison just recently, and I was talking to the women, and I was telling that story, and I said, “I got out and I [00:02:00] went for 19 years.” She said, “You must have been awful smart.” I said I wa- I wasn’t too smart or I wouldn’t have been doing that stuff.” But I did know ways and one thing was ’cause I didn’t talk to people. I didn’t have a lot of… Kinda like the trench coat robbers. They robbed banks for 15 years- Yeah … and never got caught because they didn’t email, text, phone calls, none of that. Yeah. They would, they would- And they moved away too. Oh, yeah. Kinda moved away from their home territory, so they- Yeah y- they weren’t having their buddies come up to them say, “Hey, what are you doing? Where you been?” “I haven’t seen you for a while.” And then they turn around and tell some cop that they know, “Hey, I can’t remember the guy’s name now. Billy Kirkpatrick. Billy Kirkpatrick. He’s been out of town. He just got back.” And, you know- Yeah … then they put… Suddenly they get this notice about these bank robbers somewhere else. They… He didn’t do that. He stayed- … out of town. So Bill, let’s- No, that was me. Go ahead. Go, let’s go back and start you from the beginning. Introduce to who you are to my guys, ’cause they don’t know you. I didn’t know you, ’cause you were such a low profile in this world. You said you got out of prison. Why don’t we [00:03:00] start with that? Where, what were you in the joint for originally? I was originally in there for Dyer Act, which is, in the feds, that’s interstate transportation- Yeah of stolen motor vehicles. I was in the Marine Corps. I went AWOL. I got caught. I went back. I got back AWOL again. I went back. They put me on restrictions, said I couldn’t leave the base. I was at that point in my life where nobody could tell me what to do. And so I’s “I’m leaving the base,” and I left and I think I stole 10, 12 cars while I was out. And then I got put in the… When I got back the next time, they put me in the brig, and I escaped from the brig. And and I stole a car off the base back in tho- in the ’60s, early ’60s, ’62, 3. People left their keys in their car. Yeah. And I went out. I was in the parachute locker painting. When the guard came in to check on me, I hit him in the back of the head with a full bucket of paint, a full gallon of paint, and I went out the window and I got a car, and I actually had a guy with me. He said, “I’m going with you.” And so we got in the car, and when we got to [00:04:00] the gate, I said, “Now, if that guard steps out at the gate, I’m running over him.” And he’s “No, don’t do…” I said “Just shut up. I’m running over him.” And I got to the gate, and the guard stepped out and saluted me. And I’m like, “What in the world?” I drove into town, run out of gas, Gary. Got out and stole… I don’t know how I remember this. I stole a ’62 maroon Bonneville. And when I was walking away from the car, my buddy looked back and started laughing. I said, “What are you laughing about?” He said, “I see why they saluted us. That car had a colonel sticker on the bumper.” So then I stole that car, that Bonneville, drove into Mississippi. Because I always ask guys in prisons, “How many of you know when you escape from prison you need some different clothes?” Yeah. So I drove into a little town called Leland, Mississippi, and I was breaking in a clothing store to get me some clothes. It was 11:00 at night, and I looked down, I was climbing up on some boxes to get to the roof to go in the skylight, ’cause they had analog alarms, they were easy to beat. [00:05:00] And I looked down and I saw a flashlight coming down the alley. So I dropped down, ran the other way, and I turned the corner and ran into the biggest, fattest Mississippi sheriff you ever seen. And he had a gun, he had a gun about this long. And he stuck it right here, and he goes, “Where are you going, boy?” And I said, “With you, sir.” That’s what I said. And that was the end of the Marine Corps. So now I’ve taken a car across the state line, and the feds step in. And I went to… I got a six-year sentence. I got what they call a zip six. And back then, before ’86, now in ’86 they passed it to 85%. Yeah. But prior to 80- prior to ’86, you could get out of the feds at one-third of your sentence. And so I got this six-year sentence. I got out in two years, and when I got out, I said, “I’m never getting caught again. I’m never going back to prison.” And I went for ni- and I just started right then. And everything from then on was like, I got involved with pornography. I was promoting [00:06:00] pornography and prostitution. There’s a story in my book about me being a… I was a bodyguard and a chauffeur for a lady that had a cat house over in Independence. You know where Inglewood was in Independence? And guys- You know where- … In- Independence is a suburb of Kansas City, but it’s like whole, decently large city for a suburb- Yeah … but it’s connected to it. Yeah. That’s where Harry Truman was from- That’s right … and retired back to. Yeah. So y- you were over there probably on the east side of Independence. Inglewood’s kinda closer to Kansas City, over there- Yes … by Dogpatch, in what we call Dogpatch. That’s- The- … kinda totally lawless area. And so there was a guy there that I was friends with that had a record store. He was the first guy in Kan- his name was Tony Marino. He’s in my book. He’s dead now. He was the first guy ever in Kansas City to sell paraphernalia in a record store. And he was making 25,000 a month- Wow … back in the… Yeah, when it started. That was a lot of money. And he, right next to him was a [00:07:00] store, it’s still there. I go by it all the time, ’cause we eat at the Englewood Cafe all the time. It’s the only one on that little s- first strip there that’s got steps going up. And a lady up there had a cathouse for 12 years, prostitutes. And her main customers were executives from Ford Motor Company- … from General Motors, and from Hallmark Cards. And the reason, Gary, was because she knew if she had executives, they weren’t gonna talk. Yeah. And she had beautiful women. She didn’t have ladies like up on Main and Troost and Prospect. Yeah. The- these women had all their teeth, and they were- … and they were good-looking. Yeah. And so the first guy, a- actually, who got me the job was Sal Rello, that o- that owned he owned that deluxe deli down on 430, where the Erotic City is now. Oh, yeah. He owned that- Yeah … he owned that bar. Heard about him, yeah. And I told him for years, I said, “You need to open an adult bookstore here,” because Gary, he was the only bar in Kansas City, the only bar [00:08:00] in Kansas City that was open on Election Day. You know why? ‘Cause he was in the county. He was in the county. He wasn’t in- Wasn’t in the city, yeah … he wasn’t in the city. And he was open on Election Day. And I told him, I said, “Man, if you’d open an adult bookstore, you could make a lot of money.” He never did, of course. Yeah. And then they put Erotic City in there, and it went good for a few years and stuff, yeah. But so he’s the one that told me about her. I went to interview with her, and she said, “I just have one question. Do you carry a gun?” I said, “No, ma’am, I carry two guns.” And she said, “You’re hired.” And so G- Gary, I picked her up every day on the Plaza. She lived in a $2,000 a month apartment on the Plaza in 1976. Yeah. That was a lot of money. That’s five today. And, yeah, and I took her to get her facial every Tuesday. I took her to the beauty shop every Thursday, and read about her in my book. She was 80 years old. The name of that chapter in my book is 80-Year-Old Hooker. She was 80, 80 years old, and she [00:09:00] ran it like a business. I had, I, she opened at 9:00 in the morning and closed at 5:00 at night, and ran it just five days a week, just like a business. And I wouldn’t be surprised she didn’t pay taxes. She was legit, man. Yeah. And I knew you can’t operate something like that for 12 years in Independence, Missouri, and not have the police know about it. No, they knew about it. Oh, yeah. It’s that upper echelon, they were, they just steered people away from each other. Oh, yeah. Don’t worry about that. Oh, yeah. That’s right. So that was- So Bill, y- you, you moved from that- Into the drug business now, how did you, how’d you even get started in that? Where like 1960s, ’60, by the late ’60s, drugs are starting to, become more popular and there becomes a real market for it that’s among- Yeah a much larger constituency than ever before. So now, how did you- I re- … move into that? I, oh, I really, for years and years, Gary, years, I didn’t have a partner [00:10:00] because I knew if I had to run, I didn’t want somebody… I didn’t know if my partner would tell on me, so I did everything by myself. I did one thing one time and I had to have a partner, and I stole a computer out of a crane at General Motors down in Leeds. And I, and my fence, the chapter in my book, They Killed My Fence, that was Saul Andy. Yeah. And when Saul got killed, like they killed my fence, because anything I took to Saul, he’d buy it. Didn’t matter if it was guns or it didn’t matter what it was. And I didn’t never keep anything except cash. If I had money, I’d keep it, but I’d never keep anything. I didn’t keep diamond rings or… I got rid of all that stuff, ’cause I never wanted anything to be able to identify me and tie me to a crime. And Saul, when he got killed, of course, then I started dealing with another guy. But Saul was taking all that and selling it to Junior Bradley, most of it, the stuff that Junior- And, and- … would be interested in. And guys- But, J- Junior Bradley, I gotta explain who Junior Bradley was. Junior Bradley was the mob fence in Kansas City. He was probably the biggest fence in Kansas City I got a [00:11:00] feeling. He, and what he started doing was trading Dilaudid especially for stolen property, and he had a little deli right across from police headquarters and City Hall, and everybody knew Junior. Everybody loved Junior. Everybody liked Junior. He’s always doing favors for people. If you went in the penitentiary, you’d go talk to Junior and say, “Okay, what, what’s gonna happen when I get here? Can you help me out?” And he’ll say, “I’ll make some calls.” Or I, we had, we overheard him on a wiretap once saying- a, a father called him and said, my son’s got to report up here to Leavenworth to the camp.” He said, “Okay, I’ll take care of it. I’ll be somebody there to meet him there.” And I’ve had many other reports but Junior was the main mob fence. So go ahead- Yeah … and we’ll talk what you were dealing with- Yeah Junior Bradley. Yeah be- let’s back up. So you asked me about how I got into drugs. So all those years when I was married, I didn’t drink and I didn’t do drugs. I thought if you did dope, you were a d- I thought that’s why they call it dope, ’cause you were a dope if you did it. Yeah. So I didn’t do it, and I didn’t drink because I knew I had to always be able to think and make [00:12:00] decisions and… ‘Cause I cheated on my wife every day for 10 years, and I did crime every day for 10 years, and she never knew it till I wrote this book. And I gave her the first book actually. And so- When I got divorced and started smoking pot and doing stuff, hanging out with those people, and I started smoking weed, then the first time I bought an ounce of weed it was 40 bucks. And I’m like, “Okay, how much is how much is more if you buy more? You can buy a half pound for this or you can buy…” So I said then I’ll… Give me a half a pound and I’m gonna sell,” yeah. So I started buying pounds and selling ounces, and man, all of a sudden I’m, now I’m smoking free and I’m making some money. Yeah. And then I started sell- And by the time I ended, even when I was selling cocaine, I was selling 100 pounds of pot a week. I had one guy that would buy 100 pounds of pot from me every week. Yeah. And I’d just take him 100 pounds and he’d just bring my… Every day he’d stop by my house [00:13:00] with sacks of money, and that was, the way I got started in the drug world then. And everything. It was from pot, it was, meth. We called it crank back then, not meth. And then I never did get real addicted to crank, but I got real addicted to cocaine. And of course, I was doing a drug class the other day. I teach a drug class, my wife and I, addictions class at our church. And I said, when I started, I was only gonna sell it and not do it.” And because one guy said I was only gonna do it and never sell it.” And I said, “No, not me. I was gonna sell it and never do it.” But that didn’t last very long. And once you start doing it you’re in there, and, Yeah, really … and then, when I got arrested September 5th of ’82 the guy that I beat up I put 100 stitches in the back of his head with a ball bat, and it was in an active enforcement really. But he turned states. He’s the one, when Kenny… You remember Kenny Weld? I remember the name. Was you still on the force when Kenny got busted in ’83? [00:14:00] Yeah. ’80- Yeah, I would’ve been. Okay. So- I have some vague memory, I don’t remember the, all the details. At the time it was the biggest drug bust, it was the biggest just drug bust in, I know in Kansas City, maybe. They caught him out there in Blue Springs with 29 pounds of cocaine, and we were selling- Yeah … cocaine to the people that were selling cocaine to Kenny. And so the guy that I beat up gave a 20-page, which is like reading a book, 20 typewritten pages. Yeah. 20 typewritten pages, and he named every name involved in the circle that he knew, and that implicated us as being some of the leading cocaine dealers in Kansas City. Yeah. Now, when I go speak in churches and a pastor gets up and says, “Folks, today we’ve got the biggest cocaine dealer that ever lived.” I get up and say, “You know what? I don’t mean to correct your pastor.” But I was implicated as being one of the leading cocaine- I was not the leading cocaine dealer. There was a lot of people bigger than me. But that’s that’s how it all started and [00:15:00] of course my case, I never did… the drugs never came in. The lawyers that I had, because when I got busted it was on a Sunday, and that’s part of my story. I always ask inmates, “How many of you have been arrested on a weekend?” And every hand goes up. Yeah. And I say, and then I say, “What happens when you get arrested on a weekend?” They all yell, “Nothing.” ‘Cause you’re not going anywhere till Monday morning, at the very least. I got arrested 2:00 Sunday afternoon. By that time, Gary, I had three goals. When I was about 30, I got nicknamed by one of the key mafia figures Crazy Bill, ’cause I did some crazy things. Like I ran through a bar. You know where the old Club Royal was on Main? Oh yeah. There was a bar right ac- I’ve drunk there many times. Okay. There was a bar across the street that I had a girlfriend working in, and we got in a fight, and I was gonna cut the bar in half with a chainsaw. And I had my buddy drop me at the back parking lot. I fired the chainsaw up, I opened the door, and when the door… When I stepped inside, the door [00:16:00] closed with the closer, and the dar- the bar was totally dark. It was not a bar where you could even buy a bag of potato chips. It was strictly alcohol. And when you get- Yeah … in a bar like that, they’re dark. And that door shut, and I thought, “I’m gonna bend over and start cutting this bar, and somebody just shoot me in the back.” So I just wa- I just walked through the bar with the chainsaw running and went out the front door, and Kenny picked me up in the front, and off we went. And so because of that, I got nicknamed Crazy Bill. Yeah. By 30 years old, I had three goals: money, power, and influence. Now, I told you as we were selling a lot of cocaine. So I stayed in $500 a night hotels. I ride in limousines. I bought $20,000 worth of cocaine for a one-night party. So I had money, and I had enough power to make a phone call and have somebody killed, so I had power. And I had enough influence that when I got arrested Sunday afternoon, now I love telling this to a police officer. I was on a show in Texas with a cop, and we called it the Con and the Cop. [00:17:00] But I love telling this story. I got arrested September 5th. 2:00, 2:00 PM is when they booked us into the jail, and I made a phone call back to Kansas City to somebody who was in politics, and I said, “You know who to call.” And that person called the judge we were selling cocaine to. And I ask this question in prisons, “How many of you know when you’re selling cocaine to a judge, he don’t want you in jail?” And I walked out of that jail, Gary, at 1:30 Monday morning. Wow. I got arrest- less than 12 hours after I got arrested on a weekend. And when I walked out of that jail, I said, “Bill Corum, you’ve arrived. You got money.” “You got power, and you got influence.” But the one thing I didn’t have was peace. Yeah. I didn’t have any peace, man. No peace. Yeah. If I was in a restaurant eating and a cop walked in, I’d put money on the table and go out the door. If I saw a UPS driver, I got nervous ’cause he had a uniform on. I didn’t have any peace. And then after I became a Christian, I was reading in the Bible [00:18:00] one day, and it said, “A wicked man runs when no one’s chasing him.” And I went, “Oh my gosh, I left a lot of steak dinners sitting on the table.” And wasn’t anybody chasing you. Nobody. That cop didn’t even know I was in there. He probably didn’t even know who I was. Really? He just come in… He just came in there to eat, and I thought he was after me. So Bill, I always like to go into the, the nuts and bolts of some of these things. And we kinda left one thing hanging, is the Saul Landy story. Now guys, Saul Landy was a big sports bettor. And Saul Landy had a, wasn’t it a metal- Square Deal Junk- Square Deal Junkyard. Square… He had a junkyard. Square Deal. He bought a lot of scrap metal and dealt in scrap metal, but he also would buy most anything from, from- Yeah … thieves, from boosters- Yeah … and burglars and people like that. That’s where Bill met him. But he’s a huge sports gambler, and they thought he might testify against our boss, Nick Civella, because he had been allowed to bet down at The Trap, down with Frankie Tusa, who was the underling [00:19:00] that handled all the sports gambling for Nick Civella. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that the way that went down? Oh, yeah, and Bobby Maroon was running The Trap at the time. And- yeah … so do you remember the guy that, that paid for his murder? Remember that guy, Johnny Franks, Johnny Frank Avella? That’s what they said, yep. Yeah. Yep. He had, he had- That’s what they said. He had some connections. But he got… But Johnny Franks got the order from somebody else. Yeah. Yeah … the bug, the buck stopped with Johnny Franks now, didn’t it? Yes. ‘Cause he hired another guy, who then he hired a Black guy, which was- That’s right … truly unusual. Who then- That’s right … hired a couple of young Black street kids and that was even more unusual, and they killed this Saul Landy and his wife. So they keep a f- And then they sang and then they sang like The Temptations. Exactly, yeah. That, and that’s that w- some claim that Johnny Franks did that just on his own, trying to impress Nick Civella. Some people say that somebody else told him to do it. I don’t… It never, he never talked, so it never came about. Yeah. [00:20:00] Did you ever hear anything about that? I never heard anything except what you just said, that he- Okay … he never talked, and Nick, Nick never got convicted. He never- Yeah … but here’s the thing that, what you said. The guys that they hired to do it, because back in those days as y- you’d go to… i’d go to the electric chair before somebody, before I’d tell on somebody. Yeah. I’m not gonna tell on anybody. Go ahead and put me in the gas chamber, I’m not telling on nobody. But those guys would, they’d sing like The Temptations. They weren’t gonna, they- Yeah … they wouldn’t- Those street kids If they offered them a day in jail, they wouldn’t take it. If you’ll tell us, we won’t, we’re only gonna put you in jail for a week if you’ll tell. Yeah. They wouldn’t tell. So how did that work with you and Saul Landy? You weren’t a sports bettor you didn’t have anything to do with that. You were a thief. Yeah, and I don’t know- And- I honestly, you know what? Gary, I don’t remember who even told me to go to Saul with stolen merchandise, ’cause I was hitting a lot of construction jobs back then. [00:21:00] Ah. I worked construction, and I was in the union, and I was stealing off these jobs all the time. Big- Ah, yeah … big amounts of stuff. Like they’d start a brand-new job, and they’d have all brand-new tools, and I’d go over there and take everything they had. And then I’d take it all to Saul. And matter of fact, one time I did a job over in, it was a eight-story high-rise over in Kansas City, Kansas, down around Argentine, in the Argentine area. And I was on the job, I was working on the job, and we just started. And we had all this trailer, a whole trailer load of tools. And I went over and got all the tools, and the last thing I took out was the cutting torch. I cut the lock off the door, ’cause I had a key to get in. And so when I got to work the next morning, I had everything in my truck. I had a tonneau cover over my truck and had all these tools in the back of my truck, and parked in the parking lot. I got there and I called Johnny Myers, who was running the job, and Johnny’s been dead for years. I said, “Hey, Johnny, somebody hit our job last night.” He’s “What?” I said, “Yeah, they cut the lock off. They got everything.” [00:22:00] And he said call the police and I’ll be out there in just a few minutes.” And so the cops come, couple detectives and he was telling what they, what was going on. I’m standing there listening to the whole thing. And there was a generator, a big generator, and I was real strong back then, Gary. I was 6’3″ and weighed 275 and I carried this generator down the steps and this… and Johnny said, or the cop said that, how much that generator weigh?” And he told him, and he said it had to be at least two guys, if not three. But no, no one guy could carry that down them steps.” And Johnny turned around and he said, “Except Superman,” ’cause that’s what they called me on the job. And they laughed, and he laughed, and I laughed. Yeah. And then that night after I got off work, I took it all down to Square Deal and sold it all to Saul. Yeah. Interesting. So- All right. Thanks so much … and I did that stuff all, yeah, I did that stuff all the time. But I honestly do not remember who introduced me to Saul Landy. Yeah. But I know that for years and years we were buddies. And when I first met him, I used a, I had an alias that I always went by. I had two a- two aliases. One of them was a guy I [00:23:00] was in prison with that was from East St. Louis, and I knew everything about him, ’cause we were real good friends. I knew his middle name, I knew his mom and dad’s name. I knew everything about him, so I’d use his name. So if anybody ever asked me a question, I knew. The other guy was a cousin of mine that I hadn’t seen for y- I used his name, ’cause I knew everything about him. So what, the, when I first met my wife, we went to a dance one night. We weren’t married yet, and we were walking up the steps, and this guy walking down said, “Hey, Jim. How you doing, Jim?” And I said, “Good.” We got in, sat down. My wife looked at me and she said, “I thought your name was Bill.” I s- said, “It is. It is Bill.” I said, “He probably just had me mixed up with somebody else.” ‘Cause there was a lot of people in the inner circles, yeah. So when I met Saul Andy, something inside of me told me to… Because I met Saul, and I told him my name was Jim Gardner. Yeah. And he’s we did a couple deals, and then something inside of me told me to b- be honest with Saul. And so I sat him down one day, I said, “I wanna tell you something. I use that name as an alias. My [00:24:00] real name is Bill Corum,” and da. And I was so glad I did, because later I would be in the River Key in a restaurant or a bar with Saul, and some of the guys were in there, and I thought if I’d have used the… If he’d introduced me as Jim Gardner- Yeah … and then later they find out who I am, I might not be here. Yeah. You know what I mean? You might- So I- They might think you’re undercover cop or a- Exactly. Exactly. So I just- Informant or something, yeah … it, a- and that, I think that’s in my book. I told that story because I just, I felt like being upfront with him, and I, because I trusted him, yeah. I actually, in, in the book I think I said if Nick Civella trusted him, I thought I could trust him. Yeah. But a- apparently, apparently- Bet he didn’t trust him all that much … no. Yeah. Because right there, out there on Pennsylvania, or let’s see, where’d they… They lived right off 75th, right behind the what was that restaurant on 75th? The Italian place? Yeah … I starts with a G, I think. Yeah, I know. Just north of Ward Parkway Shopping Center. Yeah. Yeah. I know the neighborhood, yeah. Oh, Cat- was it Cat? [00:25:00] No. C- it doesn’t matter. But he lived right down that str- he lived on Washington. Yeah. Right there. Yeah. About 77th or 8th and Washington, in Washington, yeah. I remember that. Yeah. But that’s how I met Saul. And what, and guys, what those guys did that night, they tried to make it look like a home invasion robbery, but ended up killing him and his w- and I think they raped his wife too. But, They didn’t kill her. They left her alive they, they left her alive. But- Yeah … they really m- tried to make it look like a home invasion robbery, not a hit, which was, at least they were that smart. They just weren’t- Yeah … couldn’t keep their mouth shut, and they couldn’t, weren’t smart enough to not tell their friends, so they got caught. Good, good thing there wasn’t no Facebook back then, Gary. Yeah, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. Crazy world you live in, so- these kids- Bill … yeah. What happened? What happened? You had all this going. You had money, power, influence. Yeah, I- You caught a cocaine case. Now the thing about that cocaine case, that you said, I thought you said Wells. It’s Kenny Weld, isn’t it? The race car driver? W-E-L-D. Kenny Weld. W-E-L-D. Yeah. He was a race [00:26:00] car driver at that time. I, I- Kinda well-known, and he had a whole set of… He had a big company that sold wheels … Weld Wheels … fancy wheels. He was really doing well, and then he got involved with a b- huge, big cocaine thing. I didn’t know, remember you were part of that, but I remember that. A multi-million dollar- Yeah … wheel business. Yeah. I still am a big… I was a dirt track guy. I grew up on dirt. Yeah. I love dirt. I actually took his brother, Greg, who actually owned the company, I took Greg to his first… the first race that Greg ever raced in, I drove him to the races. And then Kenny and I and Greg, and they won the Knoxville Nationals. Greg raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times. Yeah. They were a big name in the country, the Welds. And making millions of dollars, Gary. Even back then, they were making millions of dollars. Yeah. And then Kenny got caught up in the cocaine and started messing with it, and next thing you know… he was making a lot of money in the cocaine too, but- Yeah … he got caught with 29 pounds, which was a large amount. But that statement that guy [00:27:00] made on me, ’cause I always felt guilty because Kenny got busted because the statement that he made, he named Kenny Weld in that statement, and it wasn’t long after that they arrested Kenny. But I’m sure they were already watching him, for sure. But then I, and I don’t know, Kenny got eight year, Kenny got 25 years. He went to Sandstone first up in Minnesota. Yeah. And he only did 52 months, so I’m not sure, because back then a third would’ve been eight, eight and a half years or something, right? Yeah. And he only did 52 months, so I don’t know how that, maybe it was money or whatever. I don’t know. Yeah. But he turned his life around in prison, but then what’s the sad deal, when I turned my life around, I tried to get in touch with Kenny Weld, and he wouldn’t talk to me. He- Yeah … he was avoid- I think he was afraid that I was gonna come after him because the guy I beat up was the guy that was… We were all involved in the cocaine world together. Joker John, I don’t know if you knew who Joker John Agrusa was. I [00:28:00] don’t remember that n- I don’t remember that name now. Was he- They had a bar out on, they had a bar on, out on 23rd Street. No, I don’t, I don’t- Joker John’s. John, his last name was Agrusa. He had a brother- Agrusa, yeah … named Nick Agrus. New- Nick Agrusa’s brother. Yeah, I co- do kinda remember that. He went down- Yeah … with that whole thing. See, I was- That was ’83. I was I was off into something else during those years. Okay. No- That was early in the coke, crack cocaine thing … no, John, w- after I beat up Pink Mike, John Agrusa left town. He moved to Arizona, ’cause he was scared of me. A l- a lot of people- ’cause I was crazy. I did some crazy things, and people were scared. And so when I got arrested on that deal, he left town. He went to Arizona. And then Kenny got busted, Kenny Weld. And the, some of the people in that… My dad read that 20-page statement, and my dad said… And my dad was an old guy. He was born in 1909, but he read that statement, and he said, “This guy’s worth, life ain’t worth a nickel, is it?” And I [00:29:00] said, “No.” ‘Cause the guy that wrote the statement. Then I got arrest- you knew Jim Smart was a judge? Yeah, I remember the name. I didn’t know him. Okay. Jim… back then, Jim was a lawyer, and then later became appellate court judge. Yeah. And he’s retired now, but a real good friend of mine. So when I, that happened, I got… My case ended in May of ’84. Started September 5th of ’82, and ended in May of ’84. And in June of ’85, 13 months later, I got sued by the guy I beat up. Me and the other couple guy. One of the guys that was with me is dead, Charlie Elmer. I don’t know if you ever heard that name, but he was a- No, don’t know that name … cocaine dealer. But anyway I was just gonna forget about it, and I showed that to my dad, that indict- or not indictment, the notice that I need to appear in court. Statement. Yeah. Yeah, and my dad s- no, not the statement, when he sued me. [00:30:00] Oh, the oh, okay. Then they filed charges. Yeah, the counter-suit. And I showed it to my dad one day and I wasn’t even gonna go. I said, “Oh, God will take care of it.” And my dad read it, and he’s “Bill, you gotta get a lawyer.” Yeah. You’re being charged, and so I went and got a lawyer, and I got Jim Smart. And and Jim tried to go and do a deposition on that guy, on Pink Mike. Could never find him. Ah. And I di- I don’t know, I honestly don’t know. I know I didn’t have nothing to do with… But nobody’s ever been able to find him. But I’m suspecting, ’cause my dad said when he read that 20 pa- he said his life isn’t worth a nickel. Because he named judge in there, a judge in there. He named Kenny Weld in there. He named a lot of other big-name guys, and he’s disappeared, so nobody know. I haven’t seen him since the day in court in 1982. So who knows where he’s at. Yeah. If he’s around. I don’t know. But- Interesting. What did you finally cop? Did you have a full trial, or did you go ahead and cop a plea in the end? That’s interesting you’d [00:31:00] ask because when we first, when we got out of jail at 1:30 Monday morning, the 3rd of the 6th of September, he wal- the lawyer came and walked us out with, we… we had left, we were staying in the Embassy Suites downtown. You know where that was at? Oh, yeah. It was 500 bucks a night, and we had left two s- two s- brief- briefcases there with one had cocaine in it uncut, and the other one had about $60,000 in it. And so we went down. We actually called… he’s dead now, so I can tell you who it was. Jerry Schanzer that owned Napoleon Bakery. And Jerry was a big… i’m surprised that you didn’t, you talk about bookmakers. Jerry was a big bookmaker. Yeah. Exactly. And Schanzer- I remember him, yeah … Schanzer owned Mother’s down on 18th and Baltimore. Not Mother’s. Granny’s. Granny’s, yeah. He owned Granny’s at 18th and Baltimore. Yeah, a lot of mob guys used- And then he- … to go down there and eat. Oh, every time I went in there I saw [00:32:00] somebody. Yeah. And then later he opened up one over in Mission shopping center there on Mission Road. And then they then they ended up opening up Napoleon, him and his brother Larry. And then they’re both dead now. But we, this is how much we trusted Jerry. We told Jerry, “Go…” We called Jerry from the jail and said, “Go down to the Embassy and get our, get a briefcase.” And Jerry went down and he drove halfway to Warrensburg and ha- something told him to open it- Oh, wow … and he opened the one, he opened the one that had the cocaine in it. Oh, shit. And he called us and said, “I got the wrong briefcase.” And it… No, he said, “I can’t come and get you with this.” And so he went back to the Embassy and got the right one. Came down, and we made bond that night. Then the next morning was… Okay, that was we got busted on Sunday the 5th. Monday we got out. The lawyer [00:33:00] said, Mike, I don’t know if you ever knew Mike and what was his dad’s name? The Fi- it was Fitzgerald and Fitzgerald was the name of the firm in, down in Warrensburg. Warensburg, yeah. I don’t know them. Yeah. And Mike and Charlie Fitzgerald. So ’cause I called People’s Office and said, “Hey, this happened.” And they said, “Stick with those guys. Those guys are the best in the county. They know the county. They know the prosecutor, the judges and everything. Stick with them.” So we went in. He told us, “Don’t come in tomorrow morning,” ’cause it was 1:30 in the morning Monday morning. He said, “Come and see me Wednesday.” Yeah. And so we went… no, he said, “Come and see me Tuesday,” ’cause that was 1:30 in the morning. And we walked in there that morning and he said, “Come and see me tomorrow morning, Tuesday morning.” And bring me $10,000 apiece. And I wish I had a video of it, because it can be on America’s Funniest Home Videos. I walked into his office with a white bank bag and dumped out $30,000 on his desk in cash, and he opened [00:34:00] his drawer like this and scooped it into the drawer. And I said, “Mike, there’s a lot more where that came from.” He said, “Bill, I can’t. It’s… I gotta do everything legitimately.” Yeah. And I said, “Okay.” So the first meeting, his dad was in there and he was in there, and the three of us, and he said, “Guys, Dad and I have talked, and you guys might wanna think about getting separate attorneys.” And I said, “For what?” He said, “Because if one of you take a plea.” Yeah. I almost jumped over the desk. I said, “There’ll be no plea. There will be no plea. We’re not guilty. We’re not gonna admit we’re guilty. They can send us to the electric chair. We didn’t do it.” Now, Gary, they took us out of the house at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon in broad daylight. First, they s- we sent the guy out the back. He was totally naked when we got there. He was laying in bed. He’d been doing Dilaudids and Quaaludes all night, and he was [00:35:00] blood from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. His whole back was red. We walked him out the door in- totally naked in front of the whole world and told him, “Go out there and tell them there’s nobody else in the house.” We were so jacked up. And here’s the thing, I have to tell you this. All those years that I got away with stuff is because I was smart, and now I’m snow blind. There was a song years ago by Styx called Snow Blind- Yeah … and it’s about cocaine. It’s about… And I’d been up for 86 hours when we went down to Holden. I had not- Okay … closed my eyes for 86 hours, so I was in m- I wasn’t in my right mind. Anyway, that was… So when we we said, “No plea bargain. There’ll be no plea bargains.” And for seven months… No, I’m sorry, for four months. That was October, November, December, January, February, March, April. No, seven months. For seven months. For seven months [00:36:00] we went to court multiple times. The whole police department, I don’t know if we can- I guess we’ll say it, because it’s done. It’s history. But I had a, I had two grocery sacks, the old brown grocery sacks on the couch that I’d inventoried. I had $62,000 in cash. I had… Because it was in envelopes, and I- they were $10,000. I was throwing them in there. 62,000 in cash, about four pounds of pot, three gallon Ziploc bags full of precious jewels. Er emeralds, rubies, and stuff like that. Some hash- a 12-gauge shotgun. I think that was all. Maybe maybe it… Whatever. When they, when… The first time we ever went to court and my partner had, the one that’s dead, Charlie, he had a leather Gucci bag that we always had with us, and it had four or five grams of cocaine in it. He took his diamond rings off, put them in there. His watch, he had a Rolex [00:37:00] watch he put in there, and about 3,000 in cash. That was in the car. That was never mentioned in court. No guns were ever mentioned in court. No guns were ever mentioned in court. I had a brand new, I had a brand new fif- not- model 59 nine millimeter. That was never mentioned in court. That 12-gauge shotgun was never mentioned in court. They said that they found a couple envelopes of cash, and they found a gram. Now, there was about, I think there was about probably a half a, maybe eight, eight grams or no more than that. It was ounces. Four or five ounces of cocaine. Oh, yeah. They said they found one, they said they found one gram of a, approximately one gram of a substance believed to be cocaine. Yeah. And my lawyer said… And they said they’d send it to Jeff City for analysis. And my lawyer said, “And what were the analysis of that?” They said they haven’t come [00:38:00] back yet. This is two months after they arrested us. They did- And they found approximately one gram, and there was ounces of cocaine in there. They found a couple envelopes with approximately $2,000 in cash. There was $62,000. The car I was driving, so when I got arrested, I had the keys in my pocket. So when they booked us into jail, when we walked out at 1:30 Monday morning, they gave us back our property. I had the keys in my pocket. So the car’s… Now, this is a brand new ’80, this was a ’82. This was an ’81 Trans Am. The car’s in Holden. The police chi- And they said they were gonna confiscate the car because it had Kansas tags on it, that they wanted to go through the car da. The police chief changed the ignition and was driving that car for his personal car. It cost my buddy, because it was a friend of mine, T- Ronnie M- Ron McGee, it was his car. It cost him $10,000 and an attorney to get his car back from them. So bottom line, every time we [00:39:00] went to court, several ti- my lawyer would say, “I’d like to call Officer Gary Jenkins up.” Gary Jenkins is not on the force anymore. He moved to Arizona.” “I’d like to call so-and-so up next time we go in.” He’s not here anymore. He moved to wherever.” So all the money and all the guns and all the drugs, they split it up and no, nobody ever… So the thing was so dirty. So what happens is we’d been going to court for that seven months, And then I become a Christian. I walk into his offi- and we’re adamant, we’re not plea bargain. We don’t want separate lawyers. We want you two guys to represent us. We’re gonna beat this thing. And, oh, and I told, because when that guy gave that 20-page statement after he got out of the hospital, this was a month later or something, he called us all in. We went in. He sh- hands each one of us 20-page statement. He said, “Guys, let me tell you something. I’m defending you on an assault with intent to kill charge. I’m gonna get that reduced, but if you get busted [00:40:00] dealing cocaine, you’ve got to stop dealing cocaine, ’cause if you get busted dealing cocaine while I’m on this case, it’s gonna complicate the case.” Yeah. “You gotta stop.” And I said, “Mike, I don’t tell you how to practice law, and you don’t tell me how to make money. You just keep doing what you do, and I’ll keep doing what I do, and I’ll keep bringing you money.” And he never said another word. Three or four months later, I become a Christian. I walk into his office by myself. And when I walked in the door, he said, “What happened to you?” If you look at that book on the picture of my, on the back of my book, that was four months before I became a Christian. And the Bible says the eyes are the windows of the soul. I had a very dark soul. Yeah, I can see. I had a very dark soul. Yeah. And so he goes, “What happened to you?” And I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “You don’t look the same.” And I said, “I’m not the same.” And I told him what happened. And he said… And I said, “We’ve got a problem.” And he goes, “What’s our [00:41:00] problem, Bill?” I said, “I can’t lie anymore.” He said, “You’re right. We’ve got a problem.” ‘Cause we’d been lying for seven months. We told… He knew the story. He said, “I just need to know this. I’ll defend you guys. I’ll beat this case, but I need to know.” So we told… And at this point now, seven months later, he said, “There’s no way out of this thing. You guys are going to prison.” He said, “I can help you figure out a way to get to the good prison, but you’re going to prison.” So when I go in that day and he goes, “What’s wrong? What what happened?” And I told him, and he said, “You don’t look the same.” I said, “I’m not the same.” I said, “We got a problem.” He goes, “What?” I said, “We can’t lie. I can’t lie anymore.” And he said I’ve got an idea.” And I said, “What?” He said if I enter a plea bargain, I think we can do this.” And he said, “You guys won’t go to prison.” And he said, “Talk to Mike and Charlie and see what they say.” So I called them. We went down, met with him. And this time they looked at me and said, “What do you think we should do, Bill?” [00:42:00] I said, “I think we ought to take the plea bargain.” We got five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine. Now, the crazy thing- that was on the assault. Yeah, they- That was on the assault. But you still got a cocaine case out here pending with the feds. No. No. No. That, if, that, that- 20-page statement that implicated me was never, he never got it out of his office. It never went out of Fitzgerald’s office. So it, he didn’t tell it to… He told it to whoever he told it to, but to the police, and the police were all crooks anyway . Yeah. So I don’t know who he told. I just know that our lawyer said if this cocaine thing comes up, it’s gonna complicate our case. It never came up. Oh. And so maybe it was the mercy of God, I don’t know. Because it was a 20-page typewritten statement naming judges, Kenny Weld, all these guys, and all these people started falling after that. And so anyway, we ended up getting a $5,000 fine and five-year probation. Now, the crazy thing, if you read my book, Charlie and Mike both went, they got called and they [00:43:00] went and reported. I never got a call. 13 months later, I had a nephew getting married up in in Wisconsin, and I wanted to go to that wedding, and I knew I couldn’t leave without permission, but I didn’t have anybody to ask permission from. And when that guy sued me, G- Gary, when that guy sued me and I went and got the lawyer that I told you I went and got, I said, “By the way…” He said, “I wanna take this case.” I said, “Great.” I said, “By the way, I got arrested September 5th of ’82. The case ended in May. I was placed on five-year probation, a $5,000 fine. I’ve never heard from anybody. What do you think I sh- should do?” He said, “Bill, you need to write a letter.” And I put the letter in the book. I wrote a letter and said da. I’d like to be supervised. Please contact me.” 13 months, and they, within two days they were knocking on my front door. And that’s when I started reporting. And Kay King was my first pr- [00:44:00] probation officer, and she asked me all the whole story, and I had sat with her for two hours and told her the whole story. She asked me how many drugs I did, what I did. I said, “I’ve done everything there is, from, marijuana to heroin to… I’ve done it all.” And I did massive amounts of everything. And I was drinking two quarts of whiskey at the end every day. And people are like, “You can’t drink two quarts of whiskey.” I said, “You never did cocaine, did you?” ‘Cause when you’re doing, ’cause when you’re doing cocaine, you can’t get drunk. And so anyway that… And I asked her when I left her office, I said, “So does my probation start now, or does it start back then?” She said, “No, Bill, it starts today.” Oh, really? I said- Wow. I said, “For 13 months I’ve been going to churches and schools and telling people how bad drugs are and how bad alcohol is and how bad this is.” And I said, “I’ve not had a traffic ticket. I haven’t had a traffic ticket.” The only ticket I’ve got in the last 43 years, I had a bad car wreck where I got T-boned at 70 miles an [00:45:00] hour. I pulled out in front of a guy. It was my fault. And that’s the only ticket I’ve had in 43 years. I haven’t been stopped by the police. And she said, “I’m sorry, Bill, it starts today.” Guess what? I did the whole five year. I went from then, I got off in ’89 or something, I th- it was almost five years I did. My partners, they only did a year and a half, and they let them off. And they were still dealing cocaine. They were still dealing. They were still dealing. Matter of fact, one of them’s brother his mama died, and the funeral was at Passantino Brothers over there on the avenue. And I went to the funeral, and I was sorry, and we were hugging. And me and him sat down and were talking, and he had a little leather Gucci bag. And he said, “Hey, I’m go- now listen.” He said, “I’m going to the bathroom. You wanna go with me?” I said, “No, brother.” Yeah. And I got up and left. He wanted to go do some cocaine. Damn. And that was years after, he’d been… Anyway. Yeah. But I’m glad I had to do the whole five years because I got to speak [00:46:00] in some… She called me once and said, “I got a friend that teaches a criminal justice class at a college, and they’ve had detectives and they’ve had police officers, they’ve had lawyers, they’ve had parole officers, but they’ve never had a criminal. Would you come and speak?” And I said, “I’d be glad to.” And I f- and then I called the professor and I said, “I’ve been asked to come.” And he said, “Yeah, we’re looking forward.” And I said I have to tell you one thing. I cannot come in there and speak and not tell your class that my life was radically changed April 15th, 1983, when I came into encounter with God through his son, Jesus Christ.” He said, “That’s okay.” And I went and told them, so I was glad I got to stay on parole for five years. So- So Bill what are you doing now? I know you- I’m just- you’ve got a prison ministry. Do you speak- Yeah … at prisons and, and- That’s all I do, Garrett. 40 years just- How does one get into that? Do you have an agent that booked you into different prisons- No … or how does that work? No. No. I started going in 1986 with [00:47:00] a guy named Bill Glass, who was a NFL player. Played for the Cleveland Browns. He was an All-Pro. Actually started… He got, he retired from football in 1968, so that’s how old he was. Started the ministry in ’72, and was the biggest prison ministry in the nation, had 30,000 volunteers. And I started going in as just a volunteer, and then he asked me to be a platform speaker, and I was a platform speaker for him for 30 years. And went to, I’ve been in over 500 different prisons in my life, and I do prisons almost every day, a prison or a jail almost every day. We’re getting ready to do, this will be our 17th car show up at Crossroads in Cameron, and this will be the biggest car show ever in a US prison, in history. Last year was the biggest. We had 80 cars last year, but this year we’re planning on- by car sh- car show, what do you mean? Like guys bring their classic cars up and…? And drive them in on the prison yard. Oh, wow. And the inmates get to come out, walk around and look at them. And last year we had 80 cars and bikes. [00:48:00] This year we’re gonna have 250 motorcycles and cars. Wow. And we’re gonna feed 2,000 people. We’ve got… W- we’re gonna have 2,000 meals that day for the inmates and the staff, all the staff. So that’s what I’ve been doing for all these years, and will keep doing it as long as I can, wow. But as far as… I was gonna ask you about old Joey Rags. I knew Joe Ragusa. Did you ever deal with that guy? Did you? Not directly. I followed him a lot and almo- we almost caught him too, in a hit one time. And then they saw us and they had boogied on out. But I know one story- That would have been a- … about him. He was, He needed to go… I heard this later. He needed to go to a meeting downtown, down to City Market with the other mob guys, ’cause, he was right next to Charlie Martina, and he went on several hits with these guys during the Spiro-Savella war. So he’s out at the plumbing place where he was working, so he… Guy comes in- Where was he at? Was he at St. John Plumbing? I don’t remember the name of it. It was over there by N- Jackson, Ninth and Jackson, or Truman and Jackson, somewhere over there [00:49:00] on the east side. I can’t remember the name of it now. And so he need… said… told this guy, he said, “Hey,” he said, “I need to go down to the market.” He said, “Can you give me a ride down there?” And the guy said you got your car here.” He said no, you give me a ride.” So he gets in, lays down in the back seat. So the guy takes him down there, then he gets out. No, he was a real deal. Boy, that old market was something, wasn’t it? Yeah. That old City Market. Oh, man. Yeah, heard mob guys out there. Yeah they had a pretty big… Hey, what about, I was gonna ask you about a couple guys that were big heroin kingpins, Sam Haley and Aaron Gant. Was you involved when they were really big in Kansas City? Y- I was a young policeman, ’72, ’73, ’74, and Aaron Gant and Sam Haley were like the big ducks. And they had this war going between the two little heroin organizations. And Gant was, he was in with some guys, and Aaron Gant called him Junebug. He was in with the God, there was a whole family, the Denmans. He was in with [00:50:00] these guys. And so they… And Sam Haley was… I never did understand the difference, but they had two different organizations and they hated each other is my understanding. Oh, they did. Yeah. How about Ramseys? Did you know who the Ramseys were? I don’t see. The Ramsey brothers? I remember that na- Huh? I know that name. I think one of those crime families that, that stole- they were- … money in the neighborhood and- They were the- … everyone else … they were killers, all of them. Yeah. I think there was eight boys, and at one time seven or eight of them were in Missouri for murder. And I was seeing… I was in Potosi. And Rambo, R- Roy Rambo Ramsey they called him, and he’s the one that they got a… Remember when the la- what’d they call them that you put on the roof of your car? Oh, Landau top. Landau top, yeah. Yeah. That wasn’t the word I’m looking for, though. Whatever it was, th- you could have them tops put on. Yeah. They got one put on in a poster shop over on Prospect. Oh. And [00:51:00] when they called and said, “Your car’s ready,” they went up there and killed everybody in the shop and took their car and left. And then they went out to Belton or Grandview, and there was an old couple that had a bunch of old coins and stuff, and they knew one of the people. They knew one of the brothers, and I think it was Roy. And they went out there and knocked on the door, and of course, they let them in. They told their girlfriend to stay in the car, and they went in and they shot them They were 65 and 66 years old. The little old lady was 65 and the old man was… They shot each one of them three times, and just for a few dollars worth of coins, man. They were murderers. They were killers. But I was up in Potosi and Roy asked me, he said, “Would you go see my dad?” And I was… I said… He said, “He’s in a nursing home.” And Gary, his father, was a hardworking man, had never committed a crime in his life, and he was in this nursing home. And I went and saw him and prayed for him and stuff. But here are these… He [00:52:00] had these eight sons that were murderers. They were killers. And the old man was in a nursing home dying. And, Roy asked me if I’d go see him, so I went and saw him, prayed for him. But yeah, they were something else, them guys. Interesting. You you mentioned Sam Haley. There w- we had, here just in your area, was a guy named Michael Cantu, who used to be a fire captain. Had… Was a, a big time cocaine dealer. During those years, he got into- Yeah … cocaine. He and his brother Joe and Joe Maggio, and they had a cocaine deal going, and he got back out. He had a body shop over on Independence Avenue, and two Black guys came in and executed him, basically. Left the employee there. There wasn’t anything to steal, and executed him. And the drawings, one of them we… There was a lot of speculation it looked like Sam Haley. So I think he was- Might’ve been … I think he was supplying Black dealers with cocaine I believe. I saw him meeting with some guys once that that- Yeah, they were- … I didn’t know who they were, but they all looked like Black cocaine dealers they were killers, all them guys. Haley and Gant and those guys. Did you, I asked you about, Yeah, heavy idea. [00:53:00] I- here’s a question. I just got an inquiry from one of Gant’s relatives of… They were wanting to know more about Aaron Gant getting killed. See, he got out of the joint. He went to Missouri State Penitentiary, I think it was for drugs. Yep. And he went to a club that night, and somebody walked in, was walked in, shot him, and walked out right away. Another Black dude. So this relative was asking me if I knew any more about it. I didn’t know any more about it. You remember that deal at all? I don’t remember that. Okay. I di- I actually, I was thinking that Aaron Gant and Sam Haley had been dead for years, but, that was- this was years ago. This was quite a while ago. Okay. This was probably- Yeah, I thought he might have died in prison or something, ’cause I knew they both had a lot of time. They did a lot of- Yeah … time in Missouri. Yeah. Yeah, they did. So did you- But they were kingpins. Their names are really well-known, feared names on the East Side in Kansas City. Oh, yeah. Really feared names. Absolutely. Did you ever go around Vic Fontana’s place when he opened up Fanny’s? Oh, yeah. I went in and out of several. He had several different places. He had Fanny’s. [00:54:00] He had one down on the Southwest Trafficway a little bit after your time, I think oh, God, I forgot the name of it. But yeah, the, all the mob guys went into his joints. He was mob friendly. Yeah. I was really s- I met him when he had when he had the one up on Main next to Butch’s, next to Mother’s. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He had that place yeah what was, Walter Midy. Must have been Walter Midy’s. Walter Midy. Yeah, that’s where I met Vic. And then I actually plumbed that Fanny’s when he opened up Fa

What's Up Fool? Ep 579You know what time it is. This week we have Butch Escobar hanging out in the studio.Connect with us on instagramFelipe - @ felipeesparzacomedianRizo - @ comicMartinRizoButch - @ butchescobarHear about Felipe's tour dates, new merch drops & more by signing up @ http://felipesworld.comFelipe Esparza is a comedian and actor, known for his stand-up specials, “They're Not Gonna Laugh at You”, “Translate This”, and his latest dual-release on Netflix, “Bad Decisions/Malas Decisiones” (2 different performances in two languages), his recurring appearances on Netflix's “Gentefied”, NBC's “Superstore” and Adultswim's “The Eric Andre Show”, as well as winning “Last Comic Standing” (2010), and his popular podcast called “What's Up Fool?”. Felipe continues to sell out live stand-up shows in comedy clubs and theaters around the country.

In this episode, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest directive ordering the IDF to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip—an expansion from the 60% already stolen—directly violating the fragile ceasefire and effectively admitting to war crimes and ethnic cleansing as Netanyahu seeks to appear more genocidal to win his upcoming election. Plus, Green Party candidate Butch Ware joins to discuss his campaign for governor of California. All that and more! My livestreams are on Mon and Fri at 3pm ET/Noon PT and Wednesday at 8pm ET/5pm PT. I am one of the most censored comedians in America. Thanks for the support!

On this episode, Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay reminisce about the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. Bob tells the story of Wilt's fallout with Lakers head coach Butch van Breda Kolff in 1969, which could have cost the Lakers a championship. He then recalls the famous series vs the Knicks in the 1970 Finals, where Willis Reed famously returned from injury for Game 7 and fired up the Madison Square Garden faithful who saw their team win the championship for the first time, thanks to an incredible performance from Walt Frazier. Finally, Bob and Gary remember Wilt as a person, including his relationship with Bill Russell. The Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast on CLNS is Powered by: 

Most people would panic . . . but Butch Wilmore did a backflip. NASA astronaut and retired Navy captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore spent 286 unplanned days aboard the International Space Station after the Boeing Starliner lost thruster control on approach.   Tune in as Capt. Wilmore opens up about the moment he knew he wasn't coming home, missing family milestones 250 miles up, and the Scripture that carried him through it all with contentment. From a small town in Tennessee to the left seat of only the sixth first flight of a crewed spacecraft in NASA history, this is a story about determination, faith, and what it looks like to trust God at 17,500 miles per hour.  Guest bio:  Barry “Butch” Wilmore, US Navy Captain (Ret.), NASA astronaut, and author  Show Notes:  "Stuck in Space: An Astronaut's Hope Through the Unexpected" NASA Biography  Stay up to date with Museum of the Bible on social media:  Instagram: @museumofBible  X: @museumofBible  Facebook: museumofBible  LinkedIn: museumofBible  YouTube: @museumoftheBible 

Most people will never face a situation as extreme as being stranded in space, yet it reveals something profound about faith, trust, and God's sovereignty. Ray, E.Z., Mark, and Oscar sit down with Captain Barry Butch Wilmore to explore how faith in God anchors the soul even in the most extreme circumstances. The guys unpack how Butch's time in space became a living testimony to trusting God's providence. Even amid isolation, uncertainty, and physical challenges, Butch maintained confidence that the Lord was working all things according to His purpose. His experience becomes a powerful reminder that when people feel stuck in life, God is never absent and His plans are always unfolding.The conversation explores the intersection of faith, science, and truth through Butch's perspective as an astronaut. The guys discuss how scientific discovery does not contradict Scripture but instead reveals the order and design God established. Butch emphasizes that truth matters and that, just as physical laws govern space travel, God's Word governs reality. In a culture that often separates science from faith, his testimony reinforces that the two are aligned under the authority of the Creator. This perspective grounds believers in confidence that Scripture is reliable and that God's truth stands firm in every area. The discussion then turns to the personal realities of being in space and the spiritual lessons that come with it. While space offers wonder and awe, it also highlights the deep human need for relationship, fellowship, and worship. Butch shares that even with access to teaching and music, the absence of Christian community was deeply felt. The guys emphasize that God created people for connection, both with Him and with one another, and that spiritual growth cannot be sustained in isolation. His experience serves as a reminder that the local church is not optional but essential to the believer's life and faith.Finally, the guys reflect on God's sovereignty, purpose, and the hope found in the gospel. Butch recounts moments of uncertainty during the mission, trusting that every detail was under God's control. His perspective on trials is rooted in a high view of God, recognizing that suffering is never wasted and always serves a greater purpose. The guys highlight that true peace comes not from circumstances but from knowing Christ and resting in His finished work. In the end, Butch's story points beyond space exploration to something far greater, a life anchored in God's sovereignty, sustained by His Word, and lived for His glory.Send us Fan MailThanks for listening! If you've been helped by this podcast, we'd be grateful if you'd consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro

A sad episode today as we officially say goodbye to Yas ahead of his departure from Wisden Towers on Friday. He's joined in the studio one last time by Ben and Butch to tackle the future of Tests, an England Lions squad and a busy week of County Championship action, before signing off with a couple of listener questions. What a ride it's been! ❤️ 0:00 Intro / 1:21 KIA UK / 1:50 Test cricket / 15:53 English summers / 19:21 Win T20 Blast tickets / 19:47 England Lions squad / 26:14 County Championship / 40:46 T20 Blast / 42:36 Dimension Sport / 48:51 Listener questions / 1:00:29 Outro KIA UK

Top headlines for Monday, May 18, 2026Ron DeSantis blasts the U.K.'s proposed Digital ID, a new docudrama urges Christian unity beyond politics, pastor Alonzo Fuller returns to custody in a sexual assault case, and astronaut Butch Wilmore reflects on faith after an eight-day mission stretched to nearly a year in space.00:11 Ron DeSantis blasts UK digital ID plan after King Charles' speech01:02 Francis Chan, James Ward featured in new film on Church unity01:53 Journey Fort Worth Pastor Alonzo Fuller back in custody02:40 Butch Wilmore on what God taught him while ‘Stuck in Space'03:23  Catholic diocese fighting Trump admin. plan to seize border land04:10 Christians fend off Fulanis as attacks increase in Nigeria05:00 Justin Peters announces he's leading new church plantSubscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercastFollow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeGet the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for AndroidSubscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!Links to the NewsRon DeSantis blasts UK digital ID plan after King Charles' speech | WorldFrancis Chan, James Ward featured in new film on Church unity | EntertainmentJourney Fort Worth Pastor Alonzo Fuller back in custody | U.S.Butch Wilmore on what God taught him while ‘Stuck in Space' | PodcastCatholic diocese fighting Trump admin. plan to seize border land | PoliticsChristians fend off Fulanis as attacks increase in Nigeria | WorldJustin Peters announces he's leading new church plant | Church & Ministries

5-17-26 Sun AM// (Bro. Butch Lockard) by Central Baptist Church

What's Up Fool? Ep 576This week, Felipe, Butch and Rizo are back at the studio! Come kick it and enjoy the laughs.Connect with us on instagramFelipe - @ felipeesparzacomedianRizo - @ comicMartinRizoButch - @ butchescobarHear about Felipe's tour dates, new merch drops & more by signing up @ http://felipesworld.comFelipe Esparza is a comedian and actor, known for his stand-up specials, “They're Not Gonna Laugh at You”, “Translate This”, and his latest dual-release on Netflix, “Bad Decisions/Malas Decisiones” (2 different performances in two languages), his recurring appearances on Netflix's “Gentefied”, NBC's “Superstore” and Adultswim's “The Eric Andre Show”, as well as winning “Last Comic Standing” (2010), and his popular podcast called “What's Up Fool?”. Felipe continues to sell out live stand-up shows in comedy clubs and theaters around the country.

This week, we’re talking with astronaut Butch Wilmore who has spent 465 days off-planet, giving him a literally out-of-this-world perspective on God’s creation. From fighter jet pilot to Space Shuttle commander, Wilmore’s career was a testament to preparation and discipline. However, his faith was truly tested when a spacecraft Wilmore was manning began losing thrusters—and he was just a prayer away from spiraling toward potential disaster. Next up, we speak with Brooke Envick, a veteran dean in higher education, who recounts how achieving every professional milestone left her feeling empty. She discusses combining lessons from neuroscience with practices like gratitude and prayer, revealing how a sudden, debilitating health crisis forced her into a necessary stillness that ultimately paved the way for profound, lasting internal change. Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Nikki DeLoach Upcoming interview: Caroline Beidler Jesus Calling for Moms Butch Wilmore Boeing Starliner Stuck in Space: An Astronaut's Hope Through the Unexpected - Book by Butch Wilmore Brooke Envick True Ascension: Unlocking Greatness Through Faith, Fortitude, and Foresight - Book by Brooke Envick Interview Quotes: “You can see the vibrancy, you can see life in the colors. Understanding and knowing that the atmosphere protects the planet and enables us to have the air to breathe that we need, and all of that, and it’s all supplied by our Lord and Savior, our God, the Creator of all things, that is a special thing to view from that vantage point.” - Butch Wilmore “In all types of strenuous situations that we come through in life—to where realizing the Lord’s in control, He is sovereign, working providentially for His Glory and our ultimate good, if we believe. And that is the mainstay of who I am, what I understand, what I know God’s Word to say. And again, even in those moments, it brings intense comfort and intense hope. There’s always, always, eternal hope, regardless of what takes place.” - Butch Wilmore “You’ve got to be completely committed, all in, and that commitment breeds the preparation that is required for whatever the tasks are that you’re undertaking, because the responsibility is great, sometimes greater in certain areas than others.” - Butch Wilmore “I have to come at whatever the task is with a complete mindset of being prepared, disciplined in that preparation, because that’s what it takes—and in those extremist situations, maintaining the focus that’s required to do the task, whatever that might be.” - Butch Wilmore “Anything that we have, everything that we are capable of doing, everything that we are tasked with doing, He’s given us the ability, and to Him be the glory.” - Butch Wilmore “Life is tough, and in every situation, everything in life, you have to want whatever it is that’s going forward. You have to want it, you’ve got to be committed, you’ve got to prepare, because the responsibility is great that God requires of us, in all aspects of our lives.” - Butch Wilmore “God was still shaping me in that moment and it taught me that real change doesn’t always come from moving faster or starting over. Sometimes it actually happens from stopping and listening and allowing God to align your inner life before sending you forward again.” - Brooke Envick “I found that scripture gave me a lot of insight into broader wisdom and lessons from the Bible, prayer gave me a connection and ongoing conversation with God, and meditation brought alignment to my life. It helped me slow down and focus my thoughts and become more intentional about how I was responding to life, instead of simply reacting to it.” - Brooke Envick “What we return to consistently is what begins to shape our thought patterns, emotional responses, and also our sense of peace. So when we connect with God daily, we reinforce those neural pathways associated with calm, trust, and meaning. Devotionals like Jesus Calling help us create space for that daily attunement and moments when we need to pause and listen and realign our thoughts with truth and with trust. What I’ve seen in my own life is that daily connection doesn’t remove challenges, but it changes how we move through them.” - Brooke Envick “Faith isn’t meant to be passive. God gives us direction, purpose, and trust, but He expects us to use the tools He gives us to make progress.” - Brooke Envick “Faith shapes the why, which is our meaning, our purpose, and our trust in God, and neuroscience reveals the how.” - Brooke Envick ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7 Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY ________________________ Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast Yas is joined by Phil Walker & Lawrence Booth to discuss England's Test squad announced earlier today, before rounding up another week of County Championship cricket and Bangladesh's extraordinary Test victory over Pakistan. 0:15 Intro//0:47 KIA UK//2:00 Initial squad thoughts//5:48 Ollie Robinson//14:42 Sonny Baker & Emilio Gay//23:02 Shoaib Bashir & Rehan Ahmed//31:35 Win T20 Blast tickets thanks to KIA//32:07 Butch on squad announcement//50:35 Bangladesh vs Pakistan//55:05 Future Test schedule//1:01:35 County Championship round up//1:08:50 Wisden Cricket Monthly//1:12:53 Enter KIA's Grassroots competition KIA UK Find out more about KIA's range of EVs: https://www.kia.com/uk/electric-hybrid-cars/electric-cars/ Win T20 Blast tickets: https://www.kia.com/uk/about/sport-sponsorship/kia-oval-t20/

Burned out at work? Get clarity on your next step with the Get Clear Career Assessment.   In this episode, Ken sits down with NASA astronaut Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore. Learn how to stay focused under pressure, build trust through clear communication, and handle failure with honesty.   Next Steps: ·     

Arrow UK's Neil Snowdon walks hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante through five movies he's proud to have released via Arrow, and five he wishes he could release. Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode The Warriors (1979) Innerspace (1987) Excalibur (1981) The Emerald Forest (1985) Deliverance (1972) Hope and Glory (1987) Where the Heart Is (1990) Zardoz (1974) The Devils (1971) First Knight (1995) The Exorcist (1973) Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) Boorman and the Devil (2026) The Shootist (1976) The Cowboys (1972) Dirty Harry (1971) Taxi Driver (1976) True Grit (1976) Targets (1968) Sleep (2020) Suspiria (2018) Suspiria (1977) Ms. 45 (1981) Irreversible (2002) The Boy Friend (1971) Women in Love (1969) Altered States (1981) The Music Lovers (1970) Lisztomania (1975) Tommy (1975) Trapped Ashes (2008) Gothic (1986) The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Crimes of Passion (1984) Whore (1991) Salome's Last Dance (1988) Robin and Marian (1976) Unforgiven (1992) Nuits Rogues (1974) Judex (1963) Eyes Without a Face (1960) Petulia (1968) Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) Cuba (1979) Citizen Kane (1941) The Three Musketeers (1973) The Four Musketeers (1974) Fantomas (1913-14) Les Vampires (1915) The Hunger (1983) Unstoppable (2010) True Romance (1994) Domino (2005) Deja Vu (2006) The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Loving Memory (1970) Performance (1970) Little Big Man (1970) Top Gun (1986) The Last Boy Scout (1991) Mademoiselle Fifi (1944) Isle of the Dead (1945) Cat People (1943) The Body Snatcher (1945) Bedlam (1946) I Walked with a Zombie (1943) The Seventh Victim (1943) Marlowe (1969) The Long Goodbye (1973) Other Notable Items Our Patreon!  The Hollywood Food Coalition Arrow Video UK Harlan Ellison  John Boorman Powers Boothe Dabney Coleman Neil Jordan Walt Disney Pictures 20th Century Studios Warner Bros. Paramount Pictures Warner Bros. Clockwork The Cannes Film Festival Ken Russell The Parade's Gone By… book by Kevin Brownlow (1976) Mike Hodges Anthony Pratt Boris Karloff King Arthur Robin Hood The Once and Future King novel by T.H. White (1958) Arthur Rex novel by Anthony Burgess (1978) David Kittredge Our William Friedkin podcast episode William A. Fraker BJ and Harmony Colangelo Lee Gambin Jim Hemphill Glenn Kenny Don Siegel John Wayne Robert Mitchum John Carradine Letterboxd TFH Guru Jonathan Kaplan Dino De Laurentiis Sam Peckinpah Pauline Kael Howard Hawks John Ford Ron Howard Howard S. Berger Sandra Hüller  Michael Venus Walter Hill Ms. 45 (Cultographies) by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2017) Abel Ferrara Richard Howorth Zoë Lund Gaspar Noé The Warner Archive Collection Richard Lester Robert Shaw Nicol Williamson Richard Harris Sean Connery Audrey Hepburn Georges Franju  BFI The Criterion Collection Jacques Champreux Louis Feuillade Tony Scott Denzel Washington Christopher Walken Dennis Hopper Nicholas Roeg “Bela Lugosi's Dead” song by Bauhaus (1979) Dick Smith Carl Fullerton Griffith Park in Los Angeles Val Lewton Henry Daniell Bela Lugosi Columbia Pictures The Body Snatcher short story by Robert Louis Stevenson (1884) James Garner Bruce Lee The Rockford Files TV series (1974-80) Mike Mignola Tony Stella SpectreVision Radio is a bespoke podcast network at the intersection between the arts and the uncanny, featuring a tapestry of shows exploring creativity, the esoteric, and the unknown. We're a community for creators and fans vibrating around common curiosities, shared interests and persistent passions. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠spectrevisionradio.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/spectrevisionsocial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when years of military training, astronaut preparation, and deep Christian conviction collide in a life-or-death moment in space? In this episode of inContext, Michael Easley sits down with astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore to talk about faith, perseverance, suffering, and the sovereignty of God. From flying combat missions during Desert Storm to commanding spacecraft and spending 464 days in space, Butch reflects on how Scripture shaped the way he handled pressure, disappointment, fear, and responsibility. Michael and Butch discuss what it was like to be “stuck in space,” manually flying a failing spacecraft toward the International Space Station, and why preparation, humility, accountability, and trust in God matter in every area of life. This conversation is filled with practical wisdom about leadership, spiritual growth, purpose, and living boldly for Christ in a culture that often pressures believers to stay quiet. Whether you're facing uncertainty, discouragement, or simply trying to stay faithful where God has placed you, this episode will encourage and challenge you. Chapters 00:00 – Returning from space and adjusting to gravity 02:00 – Butch Wilmore's journey to NASA and military service 04:26 – “Life is tough” and perseverance through trials 08:18 – Faith, hope, and trusting God's sovereignty 14:48 – Combat missions, space travel, and astronaut training 25:31 – The terrifying Starliner docking crisis 34:01 – Why the Christian life is lived in community 35:06 – Boldly living out faith in public life 46:31 – Purpose, contentment, and serving God faithfully 49:48 – Final encouragement and closing thoughts Key Topics Covered Barry “Butch” Wilmore's NASA and Navy career Faith during high-pressure and life-threatening situations The Boeing Starliner docking failure Perseverance, discipline, and preparation God's sovereignty in suffering and success Biblical leadership and humility Christian community and accountability Spiritual growth and sanctification Living boldly for Christ in public life Purpose and faithfulness in every season of life Links Mentioned: Stuck in Space by Barry ‘Butch' Wilmore Watch the highlights and full version of this interview on our Youtube channel. For more inContext interviews, click here.

“Boy, I got vision… and the rest of the world wears bifocals.” Join Ian, Liam & Kev for our 330th episode as we saddle up, head for Bolivia (Megs has headed back to America early), and ride into one of the most charming, melancholy, and effortlessly watchable westerns ever made with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). It's outlaws, bicycles, and impossible charisma this week as we ask whether two of cinema's coolest men were ever really built for the world they lived in. This week we discuss: Paul Newman and Robert Redford's legendary chemistry — playful, effortless, and endlessly quotable. Is this one of the greatest screen pairings of all time? The tone — western, comedy, tragedy, anti-western. How does the film balance charm with the creeping inevitability of its ending? Newman's Butch Cassidy — talkative, inventive, and always thinking three steps ahead. Is he a genius… or simply delaying reality? Redford's Sundance Kid — cool, lethal, and increasingly aware the world is changing around him. Ian breaks down the film's structure — episodic storytelling, tonal pivots, and why the pacing feels so modern for 1969 - but does it rob us with the ending Liam questions the mythology of outlaws — are Butch and Sundance rebels, romantics, or simply criminals we've chosen to like? Kev dives into the cinematography and score — sweeping landscapes, freeze frames, and Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head somehow working against all odds. Liam educates us all on the Old West and references about 25 other Westerns in the process The pursuit — who are those guys, and why does the film turn a chase into existential dread? Katharine Ross as Etta Place — underwritten love interest or essential emotional grounding? There's a cameo in this film that you'll never see coming - we didn't The ending — iconic, tragic, and endlessly imitated. Does freezing the moment make it more powerful? The “show vs tell” balance — how much does the film rely on charm and implication rather than explicit emotional beats? And finally, whether Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is the Best Film Ever — or simply one of the coolest films ever made. Become a Patron of this podcast and support the BFE at https://www.patreon.com/BFE We are extremely thankful to our following Patrons for their most generous support: Juleen from It Goes Down In The PM Hermes Auslander James DeGuzman Synthia Shai Bergerfroind Ariannah Who Loves BFE The Most Paul Komoroski Duane Smith (Duane Smith!) Andy Dickson Chris Pedersen Randal Silva Nate The Great Rev Bruce Richard Ryan Kuketz Dirk Diggler Stew from the Stew World Order podcast NorfolkDomus John Humphrey's Right Foot Timmy Tim Tim Aashrey Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank Buy some BFE merch at https://my-store-b4e4d4.creator-spring.com/. Massive thanks to Lex Van Den Berghe for the use of Mistake by Luckydog. Catch more from Lex's new band, The Maids of Honor, at https://soundcloud.com/themaidsofhonor Also, massive thanks to Moonlight Social for our age game theme song. You can catch more from them at https://www.moonlightsocialmusic.com/

"How would you handle the unexpected?" When an eight-day mission to space stretched into nearly 10 months, Captain Barry "Butch" Wilmore found hope and solace through his faith while navigating a historic and unexpectedly extended mission. In his new book, Stuck in Space, the former NASA astronaut shares how his journey serves as a reminder that while events may be unplanned for us, they are never unexpected by God. He details his transition from serving as a Navy test pilot to fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a NASA astronaut.  Bring on the Stupid: A wedding DJ in India blasts music so loud that 140 chickens die from the sound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scripture Lesson - Acts 1:1-11 Rev. Kevin Long

This year the boys are sharing a Mother's Day compilation show from their past when the show was a bit more raucous and randy. You'll hear voices & topics from our show guests and friends, the likes of; racer Richie Zull, cheesy Italian lingo, a human crash test dummy, the meaning of stoop ball, Dina & Drew Parise, Peppi Marchello from the Good Rats, Butch Patrick, Antonio Fargas & the King of Kustomizers himself, George Barris.  

A woman in our community wrote in and asked: "What if my lesbian sex experience doesn't live up to the hype? Does that make me not gay?"That question deserved more than a one-line answer. So Anne-Marie brought in two of her favorite humans to tell the truth — the kind of truth nobody hands you before you get here.Her wife Tonda McKay has been out for forty years and brings the long view: what the community looked like before midlife women started arriving in big numbers, and what she's watched shift since. Co-coach Barb Rowlandson came out later in life and survived midlife lesbian dating to tell the tale. Together with Anne-Marie, they go where most podcasts won't.In this episode, the three of them talk about:

01:12: How to upgrade California's crazy primary elections:https://www.upgradetopotwo.org08:45: Alan interviewed on Silent Republic channelhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZzVF2gFXsA10:53: Update on court case of Green Party's Butch Ware

A woman in our community wrote in and asked: "What if my lesbian sex experience doesn't live up to the hype? Does that make me not gay?"That question deserved more than a one-line answer. So Anne-Marie brought in two of her favorite humans to tell the truth — the kind of truth nobody hands you before you get here.Her wife Tonda McKay has been out for forty years and brings the long view: what the community looked like before midlife women started arriving in big numbers, and what she's watched shift since. Co-coach Barb Rowlandson came out later in life and survived midlife lesbian dating to tell the tale. Together with Anne-Marie, they go where most podcasts won't.In this episode, the three of them talk about:

“Giving up is not failure; it’s a strategic move.” In this episode, Nick speaks with Cleous Young about his journey of self-discovery, the importance of interests in life, and how giving up redundant pursuits can lead to greater fulfillment. They explore mindset shifts, the power of curiosity, and the role of legacy in personal growth. What to listen for: The role of interests in personal growth The concept of giving up and making space for new opportunities The importance of self-awareness and curiosity Legacy and the impact of life stories “Your life can be a legacy that inspires others.” Our lives are our own, yet we can serve as an example to others Legacy isn't just what we leave behind, but HOW we leave things behind The way you lead your life may just be the reason why someone makes a change in their own life “I’ve been giving up things because in the back of my mind it’s like, hey, if you let it go, if it comes back, then it’s meant for you.” Most people think “giving up” is failure, but that's not always the case When we let things go from our lives, they make way for new beginnings Changing our perspective on giving up can change the way we maneuver our lives About Cleous “GloWry” Young CleousYoung is an author, speaker, and advocate for personal growth, resilience, and ethical living. Through his unique philosophy and storytelling, he helps both adults and children navigate adversity, discover purpose, and cultivate values such as kindness, integrity, and nobility. Cleous shares practical life lessons and inspiring perspectives to empower people to live intentionally and make a positive impact in their communities. https://cleousyoung.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleous-glowry-young-a1856218b/ https://www.instagram.com/cleousyoung/ Resources: Interested in starting your own podcast or need help with one you already have? Learn how I can help! Learn more about our host, Nick McGowan. Thank you for listening! Please subscribe on iTunes and give us a 5-Star review! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mindset-and-self-mastery-show/id1604262089 Listen to other episodes here: Click Here To View The Episode Transcript Watch Clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk1tCM7KTe3hrq_-UAa6GHA Guest Inquiries right here: podcasts@themindsetandselfmasteryshow.com Your Friends at “The Mindset & Self-Mastery Show” Click Here To View The Episode Transcript Nick McGowan (00:02.126)Hello and welcome to the Mindset Self Mastery Show. I’m your host, Nick McGowan. Today on the show we have Cleus Young. Cleus, how are you doing today? Cleous GloWry Young (00:12.487)Hey, I’m doing good, good, good. Very good today. Yeah. And you? Nick McGowan (00:17.198)Awesome. My man, I’m excited that you’re here. I’m good. I’m really good. You know, I maybe I can add a few more goods like you did. I appreciate when somebody gives a real answer or when they like, actually when they’re like, I’m good. I’m good. Yeah, I’m good. I’m good. Instead of somebody be like, how are you? I’m shit. This is awful. Fuck. Why did I wake up this morning? That’s a totally different feeling. So Cleous GloWry Young (00:21.957)Okay. Cleous GloWry Young (00:38.447)Yeah. No, I had an event yesterday and it’s a little unique event and it went tremendously well. So it’s like the residual from yesterday is still hanging on today. So it’s like, yeah, woke up feeling good. But then I thought about the event and the outcome and it was like, hey, add some more goods to that. Yeah. Nick McGowan (00:52.632)Yeah. Nick McGowan (01:02.924)Yeah, cool. I love that riding on a high in a sense. That’s also part of what this show is about. We talk about mindset, self mastery and transformation and being able to understand that some days are gonna be great because you’re riding a high. Some days you might be grieving because of the thing that happened the day before. And there’s stuff to get into all of that. So why don’t you kick us off? Why don’t you tell us what you do for a living and what’s one thing most people don’t know about you that’s maybe a little odd or bizarre. Cleous GloWry Young (01:06.194)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (01:19.379)yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (01:29.371)So I work in the community. I have a nonprofit and one of the things that we actually particularly specialize in is helping people figuring out things. For me, that’s what I had to do for my own life. So even now I have this context, it’s called transfiguration, where it’s like saying trans, right? Moving from one place to another. And then figuration is that comp. concept of what you would say figure things out, right? So for me for the last say past eight years, I’ve been figuring out things for my own self, not what I’ve been taught, what I’ve been given. And for me, it’s like, hey, this is what I now find applicable that whatever I did for myself, I can also do for somebody else. Perfect example, I hosted an event around trauma and this Three generations of women came to that event, grandma, mom, and daughter, and it’s like they were treating themselves a certain way growing up, right? And it was until they came to the event and they started to figure out that, you know what? This has been a trauma pattern in our life, generation after generation. And it just allowed them to now systematically put different things in place and started to actually move forward. So for me, this is what I do on a day-to-day basis. The one weird thing about me that most people would never understand, like yesterday at the event, people will see me out here doing all these things, but they would never understand that there’s a saying that says never give up, right? I’m somebody who have given up so many times. And it’s interesting, and I didn’t give up because it’s hard. I gave up because it’s redundant. Like I get up every day, I’m seeing the same old thing over and over again. And it’s like, even when you look at self-master, right? So I used to teach. And when I was teaching, it’s like, hey, the students are doing well. And it’s like, when I look at my life, I’m like, whoa, I’m not doing well. They’re doing well. And what I end up doing, I just give up teaching. Like. Cleous GloWry Young (03:52.923)It wasn’t hard. The students are doing well. Like even one of those set of students that I taught, they got the highest score in the entire school in the math. The entire score on what is called the PSSA. Right? That means they’re doing well. Was teaching hard? No. But it just became redundant that I went to school every day doing the same thing over and over again. And I just got up and I just gave up. So continually, I keep giving up. Nick McGowan (04:18.99)Hmph. Cleous GloWry Young (04:23.141)I know the saying that says, don’t give up on your dreams. But for me, I just give things up. And know, you know what’s so funny? I’ve given up so many times and then something else just comes in my way to start a whole new journey. And it’s like, I guess you’re not supposed to finish right here because I’m thinking that, hey, I’m done. Nick McGowan (04:41.44)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (04:44.123)And I’m telling you, it’s not because it’s hard. None of the things that I’ve ever done has been hard. It’s just becomes redundant. It’s like you get up every day, you’re doing the same thing. And it’s like you’re looking at the results of the community and it’s like it’s not getting better. And people are putting on this facade that, things are better. No, look at the numbers, look at the killing, look at the violence. It’s like, so at one point I just gave up. And I remember the last time I gave up. Nick McGowan (04:58.318)Mm. Cleous GloWry Young (05:13.105)July 28, 2016. Like this time I just called my mom, Like I just finished school. Two months ago I graduated. Magna cum laude, right? And then two months after I was like, I called my mom and said to my mom, mom, I can’t do this anymore, man. And it was because of the stuff that I learned in school. Like when I tell you it was so redundant, we’re sitting out here trying to do these things, right? Nick McGowan (05:30.894)you Cleous GloWry Young (05:39.092)And it’s like somebody sitting in the background making it hard for us. So when I started to learn certain things about psychology, I was like, wow, I’m just out here wasting my time. So July 28, 2016, I called my mom and I said to my mom, hey, I’m done with this community work. And then I went into behavioral therapist. Funny enough, right? Nick McGowan (05:49.262)You Cleous GloWry Young (06:03.431)So I’m working with students now in the classroom, right? Helping them with their behavior problem. I’m like, hey, I’m done with the community. Let me just find a population that I know that I’m gonna work with on a day-to-day basis. So I’m in the school now and day by day I’m working with the students, right? And then I look around, I’m like, why is everything academic here? Like, don’t they have anything social context around here? And I kid you not, I sat down and I designed this. Look how funny it is. This is what I actually designed. You see that? It says, be the ant. And I was like, something like this need to be in a classroom where they come and they can see that life is more than just academic. Again, I was coming from a teacher, right? And when you told me as a student, you got an A, I’m not impressed. Because I know the ins and outs of getting an A. It’s nothing difficult. You come to school, pay attention, do your work, participate, you get the A. Nick McGowan (06:35.192)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (06:46.669)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (07:02.129)So when I looked at it, I was like, wow, I’m in here as behavioral therapist helping someone with their behavior. I’m now looking at it from an academic standpoint. Now, like not from teaching, but from a behavior standpoint. And I’m like, why everything in the classroom is so academic? And I sat down and this was the poster that I actually designed. And that literally led me to start looking to go back into community where I just gave up. Nick McGowan (07:24.558)Thanks. Cleous GloWry Young (07:30.011)So that is something that most people don’t know about me. It’s like, Clay C Oatley, you’re doing all these great things. But they would never realize that I’ve given up so many times, not because it’s actually saying hard, because of the redundancy that I keep seeing in the… Nick McGowan (07:46.99)Even just the fact that you consider it giving up and the things are redundant and really the story that you’re telling and how that all worked. You’re making these little shifts and pivots, et cetera. One of the things that I love to nerd out about in my life and obviously here on the show is to take those moments. Like this is sort of a safe space in a sense. We can talk about the craziness and the stuff that’s happened, but this is like a lab where we get to go, well, what actually happened there? Like, what did you do? How does that work? How do we implement it? What changes did we make? Or just watch the damn movie in a sense and go, wow, that was really cool. So I think that’s some of the fun part of living because that’s where we actually get to do the work. Like when you’re in those moments, when that thing comes up and you go, wait a minute, everything’s redundant. This is not what I want to do anymore. You’re kind of still reacting or responding to the situation. And then from there, you really have to rely on the fucking work you’ve done in the past. Cleous GloWry Young (08:20.435)Mmm. Nick McGowan (08:44.846)like these little moments to go, all right, what do we do now? I think of it almost like you’ll have an issue or something that happens and you go, all right, well, that didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. What do I do? Some people will kind of watch their game tape in a sense. Other people will go, I don’t want to go anywhere near it. Like that wasn’t a thing I wanted to do or whatever. And then they run past. So when you talk about giving up, I want us to dive into that a bit because really there are people that have their own businesses. Cleous GloWry Young (09:08.605)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (09:14.646)or there are people that are working for a company or they’ve been in a marriage or a relationship or a system for so long, be it a family system, the whole fucking systems that we’re part of, capitalism and everything else. And they’re starting to look at that and go, and well, shit, I wanna give up, but it’s not really giving up like from the interpretation that you could have right off the bat. I can almost guarantee somebody listened to you say, I give up a bunch. Cleous GloWry Young (09:20.211)don’t wanna. Cleous GloWry Young (09:33.139)I need to give up. Nick McGowan (09:43.266)And then what you say where they’re like, well, that’s not really giving up. That’s like giving into where you should be going. And when I think of giving up, could mean this or that or whatever. When people give things up from a negative perspective, because it was like, it was a hard thing to do or didn’t work for them. I think there are some times where we can look at that and go, fuck man, I gave up. Or yeah, you’re damn right. I gave up on this thing. Instead of saying, I moved that out of the way so I can go do these other things. So breaking down that moment, even 2016 or something that happened as of late of like, all right, well, if you give something up, that’s a big choice that you’re making to say, I’m actually removing this because of all the work that happened underneath. So let’s break that apart a little bit. When you give something up, what’s sort of the, I don’t know. Cleous GloWry Young (10:31.61)much. Nick McGowan (10:40.502)not like the framework or like what the fuck process do you do? But if you really think about it, what are you doing in those moments? Because you feel something, you see something, and then you’re making an actual decision to go, moving you because I’m expecting something else to come along. Or am I off from that? Cleous GloWry Young (10:58.895)So a part of it is going to my interest, which is something that I started to pay attention to. Like, what is it that I’m really interested in? And I think you also hit a nail on the head. It’s like, hey, it has come to a point where it’s it stopped. So I remember going into teaching, it’s like, hey, I was promised all these things. And when I looked at it, it was like, hey, these things are not being fulfilled of what I was promised. So it’s like, hey, you know what? I’m going away. So a part of it was looking at it and saying, hey, these are the things that I’m interested in, but those interests are not being met. So it’s like, hey, I’m going to give this up. Why? Because it’s like, I don’t know, for me, my mindset is set on this. So I grew up in a culture where they say if you love somebody, right, let them go. If they come back, then they were meant for you. So that’s my mindset that, when I give up things, it’s like I have this program in me that says, hey, if it comes back, then it was meant for me. If it doesn’t, then let me look for the next thing. Funny enough, even with my, I’m an author. The first book that I wrote, this was 26 years ago. Even that, I let that go and moved on and actually wrote on different books. I’m up to my 10th book now, right? But what came back actually now was my first book, which I just republished and launched last week. So 26 years later, it came back to me and it’s like, lately I’ve been sitting down and I’ve been paying attention and it’s like, okay, this must have been meant for me because it’s no way that I let it go 26 years ago. And then now it’s now back in my life, like showing me the reality of what I needed to do. to the point now I started to concentrate just on this concept for the last couple of months where I’m like, hey, I got this published now, right? So a part of me is like having your mindset where it’s like, hey, yeah, I’m giving this up, but it’s not giving it up because it’s hard. It’s like, where’s the interest in it for me? Yes, I’m doing these things. I’m doing a great job as a teacher. But again, even when you look at the poster that I created, right? I was in the classroom. Nick McGowan (12:54.062)Hmm. Nick McGowan (13:03.246)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (13:23.183)I’m doing a behavioral therapist work, but then I looked at it as like, where’s my interest? So my interest is not being fulfilled here. And it’s almost like when I started to understand these things now, it’s like, hey, you got a bigger calling on your life. And it’s based on the things that you’re interested in. And then here’s a key component that I never understood until now, right? The reason, so I’m Jamaican. Nick McGowan (13:29.016)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (13:40.896)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (13:52.678)I came here to live in America, say 31 years ago, right? When I came here, my interest was playing soccer, which is called football. Very, very good at playing soccer, right? In high school, very, very good. I wanted to be the next Pelley. At one point, I sat down and I looked at it and I said to myself, what would life be like? to become the next Pele. And when I looked at that, I was like, wow, that’s not something that I’m interested in. And what I did that moment, I gave it up. So when you ask that question, now what I’ve been doing over the years is paying attention to the things that I’m giving up and realizing that it’s not that, it’s not hard. It’s just that my interest is no longer in these things. And it’s like I’m searching for something greater Nick McGowan (14:32.878)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (14:50.683)And the greater can’t come until I give those little things up. And as a soccer player in high school, where it’s like, I even started to sign autograph because people thought that I was going to be this big time player. So there’s this big future waiting for me. And I looked at it and I’m like, hey, I’m not interested in that. Like the lifestyle of being a celebrity, kicking a ball in a goal. And it’s like, at that moment, I was like, no, I don’t want that. I want something more meaningful. I never knew what meaningful meant to me at that particular moment, but I know that being a soccer player, a celebrity, that wasn’t meaningful for me. So I gave it up and I started to look for something more meaningful that has interest in it for me. And the more I kept on going. when I look at my path, I became a teacher, was very good. But it’s like, hey, this is not meaningful. This is not interesting to me. I gave it up. I became a behavioral therapist. Same thing. Nick McGowan (15:31.822)you Nick McGowan (15:50.104)Thank Cleous GloWry Young (15:51.676)So all these years what I’ve been doing, I’ve been giving up things because in the back of my mind it’s like, hey, if you let it go, if it comes back, then it’s meant for you. If it’s not coming back, then the next step now is to search for something greater. And that’s what I’ve been doing, just searching, searching for something greater, right? And it was eight years ago. that I found what I’ve been looking for for the last 26 years. And it has piqued my interest in such a way that it it drives me on a day-to-day basis to say that, hey, this is what I was looking for. I never knew it 26 years ago when I said, hey, I don’t want soccer, right? But I knew that I was looking for something that was meaningful, that intrigues my interest. And it’s like, hey, this is what actually led to now. Nick McGowan (16:23.053)Hmm. Nick McGowan (16:37.934)Sure. Cleous GloWry Young (16:49.267)Eight years ago, I had this breakdown, which they would call depression. And something just came in my spirit and said, hey, look at what is called the black box of an airplane. And while it came in my spirit to look at that, it gave me the instructions of what to do. When I did that, I moved from what is called mental depression to mental aviation. And that alone piqued my interest to say that, wow, I was depressed a few weeks ago, right? And then now I followed this methodology around this blockbusters thing that just virtually came to me, right? As a revelation. And then here’s it that I’m on a whole nother level of thinking now. And that piqued my interest. from eight years ago, I’ve been into this concept of understanding what is called the aviation industry. And I’ve never. Nick McGowan (17:22.509)Mm-hmm. Cleous GloWry Young (17:45.936)never had an interest in saying, hey, let me give up. Because there’s always something that’s making me look at it and say, wow, I need to learn this. This is gonna make me greater. And the more I learned it now, now, going back to the first question that you asked, it’s like looking at it and saying that, hey, this is how I now make a difference in someone else’s life. I use the aviation platform to help them to understand and figure things out now. Nick McGowan (17:56.536)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (18:14.491)so they can get to their destination. Nick McGowan (18:17.998)I think the fact that you talk about interests and asking yourself the like, what’s actually interesting to me and being able to see the self awareness of, well, this is redundant or I don’t want to do these things anymore. The thing that I like to be able to take from whatever we talk about on the show myself or with other people is for somebody to be able to go, right, well, what’s actually going on in my life? What do I get from this? Like, what do I do in my business or my relationships or what have you? And I think the interest is a big thing that a lot of us are really pushed away from because of the systems that we have to deal with. Society here in the States tells us you need to go to school, you need to get a job, you need to have a family, you need to do these things and blah, blah. That’s changing. That actually changed back in like the 90s, but it’s taken now our generation to be able to understand like time out, we need to do things differently. And the context of where things are with technology and just Cleous GloWry Young (19:00.403)Butch. Cleous GloWry Young (19:06.323)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (19:16.448)life in general and all of that. But the interest, it’s a through line for all of our lives that if we look back at what are the things that are interesting to us or what are the things that drive me, I think sometimes we get lost when people ask like, what gives you passion to wake up in the morning and people are like, well, I hate my job, but I really like the money it pays me. So fucking I guess that thing. And I think the big thing that we’re looking at here is like going deeper to that to go, wait a minute, if I pause for a second. and I understand what actually moves me a bit, we can then actually take steps from there. You pointed out with being a soccer player, I had a similar, not similar in a sense, or I wasn’t signing autographs and stuff like that, but I wanted to be a rock star when I was in high school. And I remember thinking like, I’m not gonna do anything else, fuck you guys, fuck your school, I’m gonna go be a rock star, blah, blah, blah. And I remember being probably 18 and registering, I don’t know if I wanna be on tour constantly. Cleous GloWry Young (20:02.099)Hmm Nick McGowan (20:16.334)but I didn’t talk to anybody about it. And I was into all types of drugs. And honestly, if I went on tour, I probably would have been dead within six months. But I remember thinking, I don’t know if I really want to do that. And a couple of years later, actually really diving into that and going, I like traveling, but I don’t want to sleep on a fucking amp. I don’t want to sleep on a bus. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do that. And I think the point that I’m making with that is no matter what situation we’re in right now, Cleous GloWry Young (20:23.235)Thank Cleous GloWry Young (20:34.717)playing. Nick McGowan (20:44.866)business, relationship, whatever it is. To take sort of a pros and cons list as one thing, but to understand what actually fuels you, then actually helps us to understand what’s pulling us from the situation. Like you still wanted to teach, but you were being called to do something else, where it wasn’t a major detriment to what you were doing, but it just wasn’t the right vehicle. Like get out of that and jump into something else. And I don’t want people to take from this to go, yeah, all right, well, fuck it, I’m telling that woman tonight, we’re getting a divorce, or I’m telling my boss, he can eat shit right now. Like, that’s not it at all, but being able to understand why do we feel movement inside of us? So when you feel that movement, when you start to feel like there’s something else there, what sort of advice do you give somebody that’s like, I feel there’s something in there, at least like starting to percolate a bit? what advice would you give them to be able to actually move that onto the next path in a healthy way and not just like, I’m gonna burn the whole place down. Cleous GloWry Young (21:44.924)So it starts paying attention to your, and it’s funny that you mentioned these things earlier, that society says, hey, go to school, go get this job. So it’s like, what you look at is like, hey, these are not the things that I’m really interested in. It’s what society has given to me. So what society has given to us, it’s like, hey, my goodness, this is what I’m gonna formulate into. And I’m gonna formulate into somebody that I’m not interested in. So when you look at it now and it’s like, hey, these little things begin to peek inside of you, it’s like, stop and pay attention. Like, pay attention to these little feelings that you’re having inside because this is where everything starts. Yes, you have the money, but if you feel like, wow, I don’t feel like myself, then pay attention to that because it’s like, how do you have all this money but you don’t feel like yourself? Nick McGowan (22:16.526)Mm-hmm. Cleous GloWry Young (22:44.175)Again, going back to what society has given to us, society has given, and I learned this from psychology, that they have given us what they wanted us to formulate into. So society, if you go to the library, what’s the norm that you have to do? You have to be quiet. Why? Because that’s the norm. If you go to the bar, then you start to rile up. What happened is that society has given us all these norms that they want us to participate in, right? And at that moment, it may not be the things that we’re interested in. People are interested in, no matter who you are, you’re interested in getting love. No matter who you are, you’re interested in getting support. No matter who you are, you need some type of interest in someone attending to what is it that you want to do in life. So when we look at it, it’s like society just says, hey, go do this and get this, right? And you get it. And when you look at it, it’s like you’re not fulfilled. Why? Because your interest is never there. They just told you, go do this and you did it. Just like me, I never understood this, but I grew up in Jamaica and soccer was the predominant thing for our culture. So it’s not like I had any other choice to be interested in something else. It’s like, hey, soccer was always around me. So that’s what I became interested in. When I came to America now, when I sat down, it’s like, yeah, I’m playing soccer. I’m doing well, right? But it’s like something inside of me is like, hey, this is it. So when it started to come now, I started to sit down and I’m like, all right. Nick McGowan (24:21.816)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (24:24.883)what’s going on? Then I’m like, all right, what is it gonna be for me to be like the famous soccer player like Pelley? And when I envisioned that and I saw it and I’m like, hey, you have this wealth, you’re popular, you’re famous, all of this. It’s like, hey, that’s not me, that’s not what I want, that’s not what I’m interested in. And I sat down and I was like, hey, I want to do something more meaningful out of life. And that little thing that just came about, I just started to pay attention to it now. What is more meaningful? What is more meaningful? That’s when you started now writing more. Because I started to look at that’s more meaningful than just playing football. It’s like a master now writing. And he’s like, but that’s not it. Let me go into teaching. And I now went into that and it’s like, hey. Nick McGowan (24:51.566)Hmm. Nick McGowan (25:06.402)Yeah. Nick McGowan (25:14.872)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (25:17.883)It’s not it. So it’s like when you have these little things and it took me 26 years to find my interest, but it’s like, hey, when you have this little thing inside of you, it’s like start to pay attention to it. And that’s what I could give anyone as good advice. Pay attention to those little things because it will lead to something greater later on. Nick McGowan (25:39.554)Yeah, I mean, the fact that we all notice things. Obviously I only know my own reality and you only know your own reality and whatever we spew to each other. But all the conversations I have with people, the mentoring or the coaching I get or coaching I give or any of that stuff, or even people here on the show, it’s like, we hear different things and we feel different things. And there are times where Cleous GloWry Young (25:49.779)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (26:07.598)If we had to put an action to it, we basically go, fuck you, I see you, and just turn the other way and run, like, because we don’t want to deal with it. And I always like to ask again, and like the times when I do think of it, I’m aware of it, I’ll grab it like it’s an intruder in my house. Like you’re not going anywhere. I’m not going to let you leave. Let’s figure out why you’re here and what do we do with it. And I don’t think people need to be that intense with it. And I’ve actually calmed down a little bit because the first… Little while I did that, it was too much where I’d be fucked up for like a day or so, because I’m like working on this thing. But if we are aware of those things and it keeps coming back, do something with it. If you have to have a conversation with somebody and it’s tough, sometimes it’s just a matter of saying, I don’t know how to talk about this, but I feel I need to because it keeps coming back. I think that’s a big thing that you’re pointing out of like, I saw that I was interested in these things. I did these things and then I realized like that’s a step onto the next path and not in like a cheesy leadershipy sort of way like this is a step to success but like you do a thing and go, cool, this is in the end all be all. I feel like this is a part to what happens next but because of that, you’ve made those other decisions that have led to that sort of stuff and I think sometimes like the mindset portion of this is that people will get stuck and like today sucks, sure. Cleous GloWry Young (27:09.01)Mm-hmm. Nick McGowan (27:33.282)Today may suck and like this week or this season or whatever. But for those people that are saying, look, I’m struggling. I can understand that I need to be aware of these things and work through it specifically for the people that are trying to figure out their own version of self mastery. What advice do you give to them? Cleous GloWry Young (27:51.316)So, you know, as I said, 26 years ago, I had this inclination inside of me, right? That I want to do something more meaningful out of life. And I look at that now and I can see it, that has been my, what you would say, compass. So even though I gave up teaching, even though I gave up being a behavioral therapist, even though I gave up soccer and stuff like that, The context was that hey, I had something in the background that was my compass. So no matter what I gave up, it’s like something was still guiding me on that path until I found it now 26 years later. So when you’re on this self-mastery, now I look back, right? And everything that I’ve done, I’ve said thank you because I needed to do it. I needed to give up that teaching otherwise I wouldn’t have been here and I don’t look at it and say that was a bad experience. No. Even when I went through the depression I was blaming some friends. When I sat back and started to look now and it’s like hey this is beyond my friends right? This goes back to my childhood. And when I started to look at that now before I was blaming my friends and like hey they did these things behind my back and Now that I found out I was so old, like I went into a state of now I was high. And then now I went into a low state because I found out that like one of my business partners did this thing behind my back, right? And that’s what led me to this depressional state. But when I looked at it now and started to peel back certain things and go back, it was like, wow, you know what? Thank you. Because if you never did that, then what happened, this black box revelation wouldn’t even come in my journey. Now I’m having this interest in this black box theory, right? So when I look back at it now, I just go back and I’m like, wow, you know, it was bad. Yeah, the depression was bad. But guess what? It was needed. You know, I gave up teaching, but guess what? It was needed. You know, I gave up being a behavioral. All of these steps that I’ve done in the last 26 years, they were needed. Nick McGowan (29:42.478)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (30:00.948)Even though at that time they were painful and whatever. But going back to 26 years ago, I had this one little thing inside of me that says, hey, this is the compass. You need something more meaningful out of life. And that became a mindset and it just guided me to where I’m at right now. So anyone that’s looking for like a self mastery stuff like even for me now, yeah. I found my interest but it’s like now I’m working on how do I master it. But I set a vision from 26 years ago that says, this is what I want. I want something more meaningful. And all these things for me was just a trial and error. that’s why I said it wasn’t hard for me to give it up because it was like, hey, this is not what I want. Why am I saying that? Because I know that Nick McGowan (30:30.702)Yeah Cleous GloWry Young (30:51.635)A couple years ago, I said I wanted something more meaningful and when I look at the equation of what I was getting, I was like, this is not meaningful. All right, let me let that go and get to somewhere else. And all of that now I started to know what is called, so I learned about this and going back to this, you remember I said about interest. Now talking to someone from a financial standpoint, right? We talk about what is called compounding interest. And compounding interest is when you make an investment and that starts to compound. The interest starts to compound and it gives you more. So for me, it’s like I started to look at it. I’m like, wow, 26 years ago, everything that I did, it was like a compounding result to get me to this what is called a compound interest. It’s like I made an investment 26 years ago and now I’m seeing the results of all the things. And yes, I didn’t get the results when I was a teacher. Nick McGowan (31:40.172)Hmm. Cleous GloWry Young (31:49.01)I didn’t get the results when I was a soccer All these things I didn’t get the results, right? But it was what is called a compounding effect So the things that I did here, the things that I did there Everything was needed to the point of where am I today? And I know people don’t say this like, my life is perfect And that’s to them For me I could say my life is perfect Why? Because even with the downs, the ups, the left, the right Nick McGowan (31:49.07)you Nick McGowan (31:58.038)Yeah. Nick McGowan (32:08.782)the Cleous GloWry Young (32:17.957)I set out 26 years ago to accumulate something in my life and that’s where I’m at now. Like, perfectly. I’m not one mile off or one decision off. I’m perfect to where I said, hey, this is what I wanted 26 years ago. So it’s like life is perfect. Do I have everything that I need? No. Do I always get everything that I need? No. But guess what? 26 years ago when I said I wanted my life to be meaningful, Nick McGowan (32:33.741)Hmm. Cleous GloWry Young (32:46.771)My life is meaningful today and not only can I figure things out for myself, I help others to figure things out for themselves. And to me, that is what my meaningfulness is all about. How could I make my life better for somebody else? When I look back at soccer, I was like, hey, when I become a celebrity, that’s me. When I make all this money, that’s me. That’s not meaningful to me. I want my life to be relevant to somebody else. Nick McGowan (33:03.49)Yeah. Nick McGowan (33:08.332)Hmm. Cleous GloWry Young (33:15.793)and that’s what I’ve done in the last 26 years. So anyone that’s out there that’s looking for self-mastery, it’s a journey of up, it’s a journey of down, it’s a journey of left. You’re going to cry, you’re going to feel like giving up all of that, but it’s all a part of the process. And I wish I had someone there that could actually give me these advice. Akhiles, when you’re going through that hard times, right? Nick McGowan (33:29.508)Thank Cleous GloWry Young (33:42.844)is not to think about, this is the end of your story. But that’s what’s needed for you to go to the next chapter. And chapter by chapter, your life is like a book in this world. Chapter one, you start out with this. Chapter two, and by the time you finish your life in this, you’re supposed to complete a book. Why? Because that book is gonna be given to somebody else now. So your life is gone. Nick McGowan (33:50.929)Yeah. Cleous GloWry Young (34:09.341)but that book can now be given to somebody else and said, hey, this is what Cleos did. And it made a significant difference for him. You can read this book now about his life. And then now you have some type of path that you can actually go on to discover your path and begin to figure things out. And for me, that’s what I could tell anyone. Nick McGowan (34:32.617)Yeah, what a great way to put that too, especially to think of the legacy component of that. Even if it’s not an actual physical book or digital book or what have you, there’s still lessons and things that I think people that are within our circles see and take from us, even if we’re not freely giving it out, we’re just being who we are. And for us to be able to be aware of that to go, this thing feels off to me, or it feels right to me, or I’ve noticed this, like, I hope that somebody listens to this and goes, damn, I keep hearing these things and now I’m hearing a podcast episode about it. Like there’s something to it, you know, like great, go do something with it. Like here’s your chance, you know? So Cletus, man, I really appreciate you being here today. Before I let you go, where can people find you and where can they connect with you? Cleous GloWry Young (35:04.733)So, Cleous GloWry Young (35:18.353)So I’m on the different social medias. They can go on either say LinkedIn or what is called Facebook or Instagram or TikTok. And you can find me there under my name, Cleus Young or the Airport Adventure or the Mountain of Miracles. Those are things that are used to actually identify me. I’m currently in Philadelphia, but I travel with different. go to different places and stuff like that. So if people are interested in me coming out, I could come to the different locations as well. But Philadelphia is my base and it’s been a journey here. Even that, it’s like learning about who I am in this city called Philadelphia. Like learning how to master yourself in Philadelphia. So anyone that’s interested, if they’re in the Philadelphia area, I do monthly events here. They can reach out to me. through any one of the social medias. You want to contact information as well, like phone number. Cleous GloWry Young (36:26.383)Okay. Yeah. So, and then just to what you just said about the book, right? You know, the Bible is a book. The Bhagavad Gita is a book. The Quran is a book. These are all stories that are put together to show that, this is what others have done. You can learn from it. And it’s like for me, that’s all my life is. It’s like… Yeah, I write books, but I also want my life to be that book that somebody can open up afterwards when I’m gone. And it’s like, hey, this is what I could learn from this person who was here once ago. So that’s life. And to me, that’s what meaning is. Not only when you’re on here on Earth, but when you leave and you go, you can still have meaning here to somebody who is gonna take a new path to life. Nick McGowan (37:20.28)Yeah. Awesome, man. I appreciate you being on today. Thank you so much for your time today. Cleous GloWry Young (37:24.973)And thank you for having me.

Butch Wilmore's WebsiteThe recent success of the NASA space mission that took the Artemis II spacecraft on its first crewed flight beyond low Earth's orbit since 1972, has seemingly re-invigorated interest in exploring the outer limits of our galaxy. With plans to have man walk the surface of the moon once again in 2028, the thought of eventually reaching Mars and beyond seems likely to become fact rather than science fiction in the not-too-distant future.Butch Wilmore is a former NASA astronaut, who spent his career pushing the limits of human spaceflight, logging hundreds of days in orbit and commanding missions aboard the International Space Station. Known for his steady leadership and deep faith, Wilmore has faced the extraordinary challenges of life beyond Earth with resilience and clarity.In his new book, “Stuck in Space”, Wilmore offers a gripping first-hand account of an unexpected and prolonged stay aboard the International Space Station – an experience that tested not only his technical skill, but also his endurance, perspective, and sense of purpose. But most importantly, he recounts how his Christian faith provided stability when circumstances became uncertain.Through vivid storytelling, this Tennessee native brings readers inside the isolation, wonder, and intensity of being truly cut off from Earth, revealing what it means to adapt when there doesn't seem to be a way home.Wilmore joins us to talk about exactly what happened at the International Space Station that required him and his fellow astronauts to extend their planned stay from eight days to nearly a year. Listen as he shares whether he had doubts that he would ever return to Earth and the reminder that what feels unexpected is never unexpected to God.

This week on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast Yas & Butch break down the various spin options England could go for this Test summer. Then, Lawrence Booth and Surrey's recently retired Cameron Steel join Yas in the studio at Lord's to discuss the county grind as England's potential new selector Marcus North & today's New Zealand Test squad announcement. 0:15 Intro//1:33 Butch on England's spin options//21:57 Cam Steel on retirement//24:31 Mason Crane & England's spin bowling options//33:00 Cam's experience at the top and the yips//36:45 County Championship round-up//47:53 Marcus North: England's new selector?//49:51 Cam's time at Durham//52:05 New Zealand Test squad// KIA https://www.kia.com/uk/electric-hybrid-cars/electric-cars/ SPORTS TRAVEL EVENTS https://gulliverstravel.co.uk/event/england-cricket-tour-south-africa-0?utm_source=Wisden&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_campaign=SouthAfrica2026

-Our newest sponsor is Dominion Wealth Strategists! -Get the NAD treatment Jeff is on, go to Ion Layer and put “IONAPOLOGIA” into the coupon code and get $100 off your first three months! -Check out Amtac Blades and use code APOLOGIA in the check out for 5% off!  -You can get in touch with Heritage Defense and use coupon code “APOLOGIA” to get your first month free!  -For some Presip Blend Coffee Check out our Store.  -Check out the Ezra Institute

On this episode we are joined by Stanley cup winning coach Bruce Cassidy. “Butch” talks being fired with just weeks left in the season, acquiring Mitch Marner, signing Carter Hart and more.Download the app today and use promo code STRICK to score SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS in Fantasy Bonus Entries when you play your first FIVE dollar. Must be 18+ (19+ in AL, NE; 19+) in CO for some games; 21+ in AZ, MA, and VA) and present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-MY-RESET or 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www.npcgamling.org; AZ: 1-800-NEXT-STEP (1-800-639-8783) or text NEXT-STEP to 53342; NY: Call the 24/7 HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY or Text HOPENY (467369)Head to policygenius.com/CAM to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.Right now, Betterwild is offering our listeners up to 40% off your order at betterwild.com/CAMControl Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando (https://shopmando.com/) and get 20% off + free shipping with promo code STRICK at shopmando.com (https://shopmando.com/) #mandopodCheck out our Sponsors!

For our second DWSC drop of the week, we stick around in Chelmsford, and welcome the second guest from our live show, the hilarious and impossibly glam Kate Butch!Kate did not disappoint both sartorially, or comically, as she recounted the times, she was the unlucky recipient of phone snatchings and how the song in her ear pods turned out to be more than a little prophetical. We then hear about a local case involving some very timely (and thirsty) robbers, before finally inviting an audience member onto the stage to tell us about a crime against both pancakes and the concept of what constitutes a ‘treat'. We're back in the studio next week, with the fantastic Danni Diston, see you there! Hannah and Taylor are on tour during the spring and summer of 2026...Each show is a double record, so that's TWO crimes to solve, TWO fantastic guests and TWO chances to win a set of DWSC coasters!For all info, dates and tickets have a look here Drunk Women Solving Crime - The UK's hit true crime comedy podcastDWSC eps now drop every Wednesday and every other Friday, so that's at least SIX drops every, single month!Don't forget you can get ad free and early access to episodes, video recordings, invitations to live zoom recordings, shout outs and a whole lot more, head to www.patreon.com/drunkwomensolvingcrime Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whilst the race for England's Test opener continues this weekend, Butch & Yas turn to who may comprise England's bowling attack in June. Name-checks for Sonny Baker, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook & Matt Potts. 0:15 Who is winning the race for bowling spot?//5:15 Could England turn to Ollie Robinson?

Butch Ware, Green Party candidate for California governor and UC Santa Barbara professor, joins Tavis in studio with an update about his fight to get on the ballots and how progressives can show up for the election of California's next governor.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.

No matter how far you go, you're never out of God's reach. Retired NASA Astronaut and United States Navy test pilot Butch Wilmore reveals the moment he realized he was stranded in orbit and how his faith kept him grounded. The veteran commander discusses his unexpected months-long stay on the International Space Station, an experience he details in his new book, Stuck in Space. Butch shares technical insights into the Artemis II mission, the reality of "operational excellence," and how his trust in God provided peace when he wasn't sure he would return to Earth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing" Episode 131 of Absolute Cuts sees hosts Mark Nelson and Ryan Cullen discuss the 1994 Jack Rabbit Slimming, bring out the Gimping, Ezekiel 25-17ing classic Pulp Fiction. Ryan and Mark talk about robots running marathons, the Michael Jackson biopic and why Butch girlfriend is the worst character in all of films.  Please get in touch and let us know if you enjoy the podcast, what guests you'd like to see on in future episodes and to suggest a film. Email : absolutecutspodcast@hotmail.com You can follow the podcast on social media here - Twitter : @AbsoluteCuts Instagram : @AbsoluteCutsPod   Please leave a 5 star rating and review if you have enjoyed and recommend us to anyone you think might enjoy the pod.   The Absolute Cuts soundtrack can be found here :  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7y4PQxrbJk7PJLz3IJKIot?si=1d999a719b17409b You can also find both Nelson and Cullen at the various places below -    Mark Links LIQUID GOLD Tour 2025/26 Tickets https://linktr.ee/marknelsoncomic BBC SPECIAL https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026gr4/mark-nelson-live-from-dumfries Twitter : @marknelsoncomic Instagram : @marknelsoncomic Facebook : MarkNelsonComic Youtube : Mark Nelson - YouTube LINKTREE : marknelsoncomic | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree   Ryan Links NEW SPECIAL https://youtu.be/_EIdRCFlCqk?si=jyznUrONsrcgfztP Twitter : @RyanCullen90 Instagram : @ryancullen90 Tik Tok : @ryancullencomedy Tour Tickets  : https://linktr.ee/ryancullen90 Bookings : ryancullen90 | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Linktree

Dr. Butch Ware, the Green Party candidate for governor in California, has lost his appeal in his case against the CA Secretary of State for removing him from the ballot for manufactured reasons. He vows to fight this at higher levels. 

There's been a lot of role reversals going on lately. Jordan has been taking after dinner walks to admire the beauty of mother nature, while William is swapping his chintz era for a barbecue flavoured one. The boys are also on hand to help with dilemmas involving working with younger colleagues, eating in supermarkets, and the dos and don'ts of using fish knives.If you want to get involved you can email us, and for more Sexted fun sign up to our free VIG&Diva newsletter. You can follow us and DM on Instagram and TikTok, and watch the latest episode every Tuesday and Friday on YouTube.Help I Sexted My Boss is presented by William Hanson and Jordan North. It is an Audio Always production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. “‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.'” Episode sponsors The Star-Blessed by Angie Dickinson Realm Makers 2026 Conference & Expo Land of Giants by Laurie Christine Wisdom and Wonder Conference & Expo Mission update New at Lorehaven: new reviews, upcoming super search Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild Plus the Lorehaven Authorship to help terraform Christian fantasy Stephen heads to Houston to hype space missions April 25 at Houston Christian University's Wisdom & Wonder Conference The crew of Apollo 8 in 1968 (NASA) 1. Past astronauts paid tribute to Christianity Dec. 24, 1968: Apollo 8's crew was the very first to orbit the Moon. These astronauts were Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman. And they read from Gen. 1:1-10 (in the King James Version). But the Judeo-Christian roots of NASA go even deeper. General ideas: this is a generation still shaped by World War II. Some call this “positive world,” when churches/faith were in vogue. So was the actual gospel, co-mingled with “cultural Christianity.” Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun was one confessing Christian. These men did not just affirm Jesus as Savior but God as Creator. “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the Heavens be gathered together into one place. And let the dry land appear.' And it was so. And God called the dry land Earth. And the gathering together of the waters called he seas. And God saw that it was good.” And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you—all of you on the good Earth. Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, Dec. 24, 1968 Many early astronauts publicly acknowledged Christ or religion. Among these were Captain Jim Lovell and Col. Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin, a Presbyterian, took a secret Communion on the Moon. During a pre-splashdown broadcast, he also read Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the Son of Man, that thou visitest him?” According to a 2019 Catholic Sun article: It turns out Aldrin's religious faith is not an anomaly. In fact, the 29 astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo program were a generally religious cohort. According to NASA, 23 were Protestant and six Catholic, with a high proportion of them serving as church leaders in their congregations. The astronauts didn't talk publicly about their faith very much, but that's largely because NASA started clamping down on public expressions of faith after the famous Christmas Eve Bible reading of Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon. So we can't ignore these 1960s-era acts of culture war. People didn't just get bored or naturally tired of public faith. They got intimidated and silenced by angry atheistic activism. Not the same as “classic humanism” mixed into scienctific pursuits. That often has Christian-based virtue, just without God or Christ. Ultimately this deconstruction kills the “science” it claims to love. Which leads to present-day selection bias among astronaut heroes. Captain Victor Glover, pilot of Artemis II in 2026 (NASA) 2. Present astronauts praise God, even Jesus “Good Earth.” Reading the Apollo 8 transcript, Stephen teared up. We've also heard that phrase recently repeated around Artemis II. Key point: you can't get far off Earth without loving this good Earth. You need to love God's creation, natural law, math, and science. And you must value knowledge, wisdom, adventure over comfort. Regardless of personal faith, you must acknowledge higher Good. This is what we saw most recently among Artemis II Among these, Captain Victor Glover is the most recently famous. You've likely seen his quotes circulating around social memes. In the Orion capsule named Integrity, Glover said this for Easter: I don’t have anything prepared. I think these observances are important. And as we are so far from Earth and looking back at the beauty of creation, I think for me, one of the really important personal perspectives that I have up here is I can really see Earth as one thing. When I read the Bible and I look at all of the amazing things that were done for us, who were created [to be]—you have this amazing place, this spaceship. You guys are talking to us because we're in a spaceship really far from Earth. But you're on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe, in the cosmos. Maybe the distance we are from you makes you think what we’re doing is special. But we’re the same distance from you. And I’m trying to tell you—just trust me—you are special. In all of this emptiness—this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe—you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we’ve gotta get through this together. After returning, Glover shared similar thoughts to his neighborhood: Some of us have never met before and you know whose fault that is? Ours. So, let's choose to do this. Let's be this more. Let's be neighbors. I don't know if you heard me say it, but God told us to love Him with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves. I love you. This too went viral. And many people said, “He's sharing gospel!” Back to our previous question: is this the gospel? Yes and no. It's part of the gospel. But not the whole thing. And that's okay. It's okay to “preach” part of gospel if it's part of the whole thing. And assuredly, Victor Glover knows and confesses the gospel. Source: this Focus on the Family Daily Citizen article (April 26, 2023): Glover is bold and candid about the importance of his Christian faith in his life – and how we all need to see ourselves as sinners in search of hope and help. “No matter how long we've been in this, whether you're a preacher, an elder, or a deacon, brand new in your faith walk, we all need to be growing he told a Texas church audience last year. “We have a sin nature, and we need Jesus. Jesus is that bridge that spans sin.” Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore retired from NASA in 2025. (NASA) Several other astronauts publicly confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. These include Col. Jeffrey Williams and General Charlie Duke. In 2025, Captain Barry “Butch” Wilmore was stuck aboard the ISS. He's since retired and now enters the Christian conference circuit! Captain Wilmore retired from NASA on August 6, 2025, after an illustrious career spanning 25 years. He feels called to use his experiences as an astronaut and his passion for astronomy to share the good news of God's Word. He joined fellow astronauts Colonel Jeffrey Williams and General Charlie Duke in speaking at the Astronaut Encounter, where the three shared their personal testimonies and incredible stories. Captain Barry Wilmore, Answers in Genesis bio, undated We can't imagine the responsibility of practicing faith in this space. And yet we know just soaring about Earth declares God's glory. Commander Reid Wiseman shared a similar story on April 16: When I got back on the on the ship—I’m not really a religious person—but there was just no other avenue for me to explain anything or to experience anything. So I asked for the chaplain on the Navy ship to just come visit us for a minute, and when that man walked in, I’d never met him before in my life. But I saw the cross on his collar, and I just broke down in tears. It’s very hard to fully grasp what we just went through. Not all astronauts are Christians. Not even if they speak of God. But they're doing amazing work in God's world for His good Earth. Jesus might say, “You are not far from the Kingdom” (Mark 12:34). 3. Future astronauts need space for Jesus Already we see “moon joy” that atheism cannot logically justify. Moreover, Space Race 2.0 isn't just trying to beat the enemy. This version truly seems to be built on more sustainable energy. At the very least it's built on Christianity-derived humanism. And it's based on hard work leading to merit and real achievement. If it's infected by false humanism and Sexualityism, it will collapse. Navelgazeitis will blind us, unable to gaze upon God's heavens. Astronauts can't live on that stuff. They'd never get off ground. For their jobs, they can certainly subsist on Christian principles. Those will get them to the heavens, to moonbases, and to Mars. But to gain New Heaven and New Earth, we need Jesus personally! Com station Top question for listeners Have you met faithful Christians working with a space program? Next on Fantastical Truth You've likely met some Christians who emphasize safety for children rather than preparing them for spiritual conflict. That's why some more genteel-churchy responses to pop culture have said “it's useless” or else “stay away” from stories like Harry Potter, Doom, or Dungeons and Dragons. So is it any wonder that a top-selling subgenre among young male readers is LitRPG, often with totally epic and jacked soldier good guys (maybe with mech suits) who slay evil aliens and demons?

Legendary, award-winning animator and producer Butch Hartman, best known for creating Nickelodeon's iconic series "The Fairly OddParents" and "Danny Phantom," celebrates another season of "The Garden Cartoon!" Butch joins us to share about his personal faith journey, his animation studios, his art academy, the importance of storytelling through art, and how it all impacts his role as a pastor! Butch Hartman Studios (https://butchhartmanstudios.com/)

A bumper episode of the Widen Cricket Weekly podcast this week, as Yas & Vithushan Ehantharajah sit down with Durham's Emilio Gay to discuss his winter tour with the England Lions and aspirations going into this season. Yas, Ben & The Telegraph's Will Macpherson then pick apart England's options as the County Championship season rolls on, and give their takes, along with Butch's, on the recent spate of injury substitutions. Yas then speaks with Elliot & Reuben from TruGuard. 0:15 Intro//2:33 Emilio Gay on England hopes//37:10 Who could open the batting for England this summer?//54:27 Injury subs//1:01:37 Butch on injury subs and the PSL//1:14:13 County championship round up//1:23:35 TruGuard chat//1:32:52 Outro AERO TRUGUARD https://www.aerotruguard.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGn9begvFhOUoIdJHTBnlrlM3r_A348XnIyhd7MjpHGf_ZNHJQwX0YkLfssakA_aem_zVhARajXZ7Jf0X7lF00uhATHE DUCHY SUITE AT THE KIA OVALhttps://hospitality.kiaoval.com/list/partnerAdvantage?code=DUCHY5&utm_source=wisden&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=duchy_5 https://www.instagram.com/truguard.nz/ GULLIVERS SPORTS TRAVEL https://gulliverstravel.co.uk/event/england-cricket-tour-south-africa-0?utm_source=Wisden&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_campaign=SouthAfrica2026

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. Today we're joined by Jimmy Scroggins, Lead Pastor of Family Church in South Florida. Under Jimmy's leadership, Family Church has grown into a network of over 20 congregations across multiple languages, all unified under one structure while maintaining local leadership and live teaching at every location. Are you finding your church's energy drifting in too many directions? Wondering how to keep your ministry focused while still doing all the “good things” churches are called to do? Tune in as Jimmy offers a clear perspective on why maintaining a relentless focus on the weekend experience is critical for sustained church growth. A network of neighborhood churches. // Family Church operates as one unified organization—one name, one budget, one leadership structure—but functions like a family of neighborhood churches. Each location has live preaching, local leadership, and contextualized ministry for its community. Like siblings in a family, each campus shares core DNA while expressing it differently based on context, language, and culture. This approach allows the church to scale while remaining personal and locally effective. Why Sunday still matters most. // One of Jimmy's strongest convictions is that healthy churches must prioritize the weekend gathering. When growth slows, churches can be tempted to drift away from focusing on Sunday. Leaders may unintentionally elevate secondary ministries, such as midweek programs or community initiatives, because they feel like wins. However, if Sunday gatherings are not vibrant, engaging, and growing, the effectiveness of every other ministry will eventually decline as well. A healthy weekend service creates the momentum that fuels everything else, and secondary ministries all need to drive back to the Sunday experience. Creating alignment across multiple locations. // One way Family Church keeps the focus on Sunday, and maintains unity across a large multisite network, is through shared sermon planning, common teaching outlines, and collaborative preparation. While each pastor delivers messages in their own voice, the theological direction and structure remain consistent. At the same time, local campuses retain flexibility to adapt to their specific communities, ensuring both consistency and contextual relevance. Developing future leaders intentionally. // A key driver of Family Church's growth is its leadership pipeline. The church utilizes internships, residencies, and student ministry roles to identify and develop future campus pastors. Notably, Jimmy views student pastors as potential senior leaders because their roles require a broad range of skills, from teaching and leadership to administration and pastoral care. By consistently investing in emerging leaders, the church creates a steady pipeline of capable pastors ready to lead new locations. Coaching for continuous improvement. // Teaching quality is a high priority, and every communicator receives regular coaching. Sermons are recorded, reviewed, and evaluated by trusted leaders who provide feedback and track growth over time. Jimmy himself participates in this process, modeling a culture of humility and continuous improvement. Refocusing requires difficult decisions. // For churches that have drifted away from prioritizing the weekend, Jimmy offers a caution: refocusing will require letting go of some good things. Leaders must carefully evaluate where time, money, and energy are being spent, and whether those investments are truly supporting the weekend experience and the church's primary mission to make disciples. To learn more about Family Church, visit gofamilychurch.org and explore their resources and annual leadership conference. Thank You for Tuning In! There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I'm grateful for that. If you enjoyed today's show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they're extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Risepointe Do you feel like your church’s or school's facility could be preventing growth? Are you frustrated or possibly overwhelmed at the thought of a complicated or costly building project? Are the limitations of your building becoming obstacles in the path of expanding your ministry? Have you ever felt that you could reach more people if only the facility was better suited to the community’s needs? Well, the team over at Risepointe can help! As former ministry staff and church leaders, they understand how to prioritize and help lead you to a place where the building is a ministry multiplier. Your mission should not be held back by your building. Their team of architects, interior designers and project managers have the professional experience to incorporate creative design solutions to help move YOUR mission forward. Check them out at risepointe.com/unseminary and while you’re there, schedule a FREE call to explore possibilities for your needs, vision and future…Risepointe believes that God still uses spaces…and they're here to help. Episode Transcript Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary podcast. So glad that you have decided to tune in. We’ve got a returning guest today, which, what does that mean? That means it’s somebody I want you to hear from again. Excited to have Jimmy Scroggins with us. He is the lead pastor at Family Church. They’re one of the fastest growing churches in the country with, if I’m counting correctly, 14 campuses in Florida, plus five locations in Spanish and a Portuguese location. That’s a lot of moving parts. Family Church is dedicated to building families in South Florida through a network of neighborhood churches. Jimmy became the lead pastor there in 2008. Super excited to have you on the show again today.Jimmy Scroggins — Hey, man, always glad to be with you and appreciate what you do.Rich Birch — Yeah, encouraging to see you as well again. So why don’t you bring people just up to speed for folks who haven’t been following along with Family Church. Give us a picture where things are at today, your 14 campuses, multiple locations. What’s a network look like today? Tell us all about that.Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah, so actually, depending on how you can, you know, we use the word campus and church interchangeably. So although we are one church organization, one budget, one name, one leadership structure, one constitution and bylaws, we still function a lot from the perspective of an attender like likes independent churches because we have live teaching and live local leadership at every family church location.Rich Birch — Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — And so we have 20 locations. Rich Birch — Okay. Jimmy Scroggins — Then we have some additional, so because some of those are Spanish speaking… Rich Birch — Yep. Jimmy Scroggins — …yeah like Portuguese our Portuguese church has their own campus. A couple of our Spanish speaking churches have their own campus.Rich Birch — Love it.Jimmy Scroggins — Then a couple of them congregations meet on the same campus with an English speaking congregation.Rich Birch — Okay. Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — And so so that’s that’s where we’re at. We have all those different physical locations and several more coming online in the next 12 months or so. Rich Birch — That’s fantastic.Jimmy Scroggins — And we’re really excited about the opportunity that we have to reach people in South Florida. We are not a megachurch. We have but a budget and the total attendance of a megachurch, but that’s in the aggregate. Our largest attended campus on a strong Sunday that’s not Easter might have 1,800 people. Our next one might have 1,500. We have another one that runs about 900. And then the rest of them are like usually with t between 400 and 600. Yeah.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. That’s really this neighborhood church vision that you’ve been talking about, right? Which is the idea, if I remember correctly, it’s a one hundred locations that you’re hoping for, you’re wondering, you’re asking the Lord. Tell us talk to us a little bit about that.Jimmy Scroggins — We’re talking about a hundred congregations, so they don’t all have to be Family Church. So we felt that we also helped to plant a truly autonomous, independent churches that are not Family Church. And so between that and where we are now with our own locations, we think we’ve started out on 40 something… Rich Birch — That’s amazing. Jimmy Scroggins — …of these over the last 15 years or so. Rich Birch — That’s great.Jimmy Scroggins — And, You know, the number 100 is kind of aspirational. I don’t know if we’ll ever actually get 100. Rich Birch — Right. Jimmy Scroggins — But it’s it’s it’s close enough that we can measure progress, but far enough out there that it feels like, man, we’ve got a lot of work to do.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. What what do you, this is like a sidebar question. How do you kind of define the difference between a Family Church, somebody that’s in the network or is a part of the Family Church versus a church plant?Jimmy Scroggins — Sure.Rich Birch — How do you think about the difference between those two?Jimmy Scroggins — Well, I mean, again, our our main markers, the one thing that, well, we say what makes us one church or one church organization is we’d have one name. So like all of our Family churches, if if we do a strategic partnership or a merger with another church, they’re all going to become Family Church. Jimmy Scroggins — We have one constitution and bylaws that we all share. We have one um leadership structure, so they’ll all come into the leadership rubric and structure of Family Church, and we have one budget. So we all pool our resources and then we dispense them to together to fund the work of the different locations that we have.Rich Birch — Yeah, I love that. So…Jimmy Scroggins — And because we have live teaching, too, you know, we we try not to use language. We usually will correct someone around here if they use language like the mothership… Rich Birch — Right. Jimmy Scroggins — …or the main campus because we don’t we don’t have that.Rich Birch — No, no.Jimmy Scroggins — You know, wherever you attend church, that’s your main campus. Whoever’s your pastor, your preacher, that’s who you want to hear.Rich Birch — That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — That’s that’s your that’s your lead pastor.Jimmy Scroggins — So we really try to think of it like that.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s cool. Yeah, there’s a lot there. And maybe we’ll have you on another time to talk about, you know, how you’re keeping those together and keeping them aligned and focused. Because there’s, you know, I think there’s a lot of people that would aspirationally say, hey, that would be great. But man, I’m just not sure the inner are workings of that. But that’s it for another day. So I’m already setting you up for the next conversation.Jimmy Scroggins — All right. All right. Great. Look forward to it.Rich Birch — But one of the things I’ve heard you talk about is, hey, you know, we got to stay focused on the weekends. We got to stay focused on Sunday mornings. That sounds simple, and the kind of thing, of course, that’s what we do. But what what were you seeing when you think, hey, we got to be focused on Sundays. We got to be focused on that experience as church leaders.Jimmy Scroggins — One of the things that I’ve discovered over my, you know, I’ve been, I’ve been a ministry a long time. I’m 54 years old. This is the only kind of work I’ve ever really been in vocationally. So as I’ve watched, I’ve just watched churches always have this tendency to drift away from a focus and a value on what happens on Sunday morning and towards other things.Jimmy Scroggins — Now, before anybody starts emailing you or emailing me or whatever, I understand. I want to say all, just please assume the best in terms of the caveats, right? Rich Birch — Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — I know that discipleship is the goal, not church attendance. This is not about nickels and noses and all that. That that is really not what I’m talking about.Jimmy Scroggins — What I’m talking about is for a church to have an organizational drive, for a church to have an organizational forward momentum, they have to be succeeding and rallying people at their weekend services. That’s just the way that it is. If you don’t do that well, you are blunting the impact of everything else that you might be doing, whether it’s small groups or home groups or whatever else. Jimmy Scroggins — And again, look, this is not the Bible. This is my opinion. If you, my opinions are all free. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to take it. But I do think that, I do think that in my experience just watching, and and what I watch is when churches begin to get into severe decline, what they do is they usually latch on to some other ministry that’s not Sunday morning… Rich Birch — Right. That’s true. Jimmy Scroggins — …so they can feel like they’re getting a win. And so they’ll start, you know, our, what’s really important around here is our Thursday night ministry to special needs kids.Rich Birch — Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — It’s our orphanage that we own in Haiti. It’s our soup kitchen where we feed the homeless every Monday. And all of those things are awesome things.Rich Birch — Yeah, VBS in the summertime or yeah, whatever those kind of things.Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah, there are things that the church should do, maybe where you are, and those are all godly things, good things, biblical things, faithful things. But the thing of it is, what I watch is churches latch on to those things because they stop believing they can succeed on Sunday morning, and those things take on greater and greater importance.Jimmy Scroggins — But but what what churches find is that eventually, if you don’t make Sunday morning healthy and vibrant and growing, all of the other things that are the auxiliary ministries that are attached to that are going to go away also.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s, I love that. In fact, just recently I was with a church where we were talking about similar issues and they were talking about these other things they do. And I was challenging them very similarly. I was said like, listen, that all sounds great. But like, how can we take the energy you’re putting into that and focus it in on the weekend, focus it in on Sunday? What can we do to rather than because it feels diffused? It’s like, you know, you got all these other areas you’re you’re spending your time on. Rich Birch — What does focus really look like for you as you’re coaching, even your team at Family? You say, okay what do what does it look like to kind of have a great weekend that feels like a win? What are some of those kind of telltale signs of, yeah, that that’s a that’s a congregation that’s focused on making that work?Jimmy Scroggins — Well, I think I think there’s organizations such as 9Marks and others who have laid this out pretty clearly. What should be happening when a church is gathering regularly? And so I think I think others have done a really eloquent job of laying these kinds of things out. And I want to go ahead and say I’m for all of 9Marks and all that kind of stuff.Rich Birch — Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — And I really am from the heart. But I also would just say, in terms of some more pragmatic ways that you approach that, obviously being faithful to what the Bible calls a neighborhood church to do. But I think one of the ways i encourage pastors is agreeing that we’re going to be faithful theologically in every way. I want to try to create the kind of church that I want my family to grow up in.Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — So I’ve got kids, I’ve got teenagers, when I had little ones, when I had preschoolers, what kind of preschool experience do I want my kids to have in a context of a faithful church? Rich Birch — That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — What kind of children’s ministry experience? What kind of student ministry experience? What kind of music do I think that our family ought to be singing together when we gather on the Lord’s Day? What kind of sermon do I want my wife and my children, what kind of sermon do I need to be hearing when we gather on the Lord’s Day?Jimmy Scroggins — And so that’s what I’m trying to think about. And what you’ll find is, you know, now I’m in a little bit of a different phase because now I have my kids and grandkids go to my church. So what kind of an experience am I hoping that my grandchildren are going to have in the context of a biblically faithful neighborhood church?Jimmy Scroggins — And so I’ve just found that when you think of it like that, it clarifies a lot of things.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — And and it also lets you be authentically who you are. And what I found is that if I will help to create the kind of programming in the context of a biblically faithful church that I want my kids to experience, there’s a lot of people who actually have the same desires. And they might not even be able to articulate it because maybe they don’t have the training or they haven’t thought about it as hard as I have. But when they but become part of it they go, that’s what I’ve always been looking for right there.Rich Birch — Right, right. Well, that’s part…Jimmy Scroggins — And so that’s what that’s what I think.Rich Birch — Yeah, I love that. It’s a part of being a leader, right, is to identify here are the things that are important to our organization and and how do we keep those front and center and keep them in front of people? And I love that just personal kind of reflection, even, hey, what what am I looking for and how does you know, what do I think God can use? Rich Birch — Well, pivoting a slightly different direction, thinking about what you’re doing at Family Church, you know, when you’re running multiple locations in multiple languages. How do you keep this kind of focus consistent with across all your campus pastors who are leading in very different contexts? You know, I know you’re all in South Florida, but like it’s very different communities you’re in. Jimmy Scroggins — That’s true.Rich Birch — Talk us through how are you, how are you driving unity and continuing to make sure Family Church is Family Church.Jimmy Scroggins — Well, a couple of things, Rich, you know, we’re multisite, but we, so, you know, our, our goal is always family resemblance, not cookie cutter and identical. So the way I think I’ve shared this with on your podcast before, but the Scroggins family, we have eight biological children. None of them are twins. They do have a look because genetics are real. Rich Birch — Yes. Jimmy Scroggins — But they don’t look alike and they don’t want to be alike.Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — They like being brothers and sisters. They like being part of the Scroggins family. If someone else picks on them, they tend to tribe up pretty quick. But there’s a healthy sibling rivalry among all of them. And that’s kind of my idea for how our family of neighborhood churches can work.Jimmy Scroggins — is There’s a family resemblance. We’re all proud to be part of the family. We love each other a lot. We pull for each other really hard. There’s a healthy amount of sibling rivalry. We don’t like other people coming at our coming at our brothers and sisters. And so that’s kind of how I like to posture our churches as much as I can.Jimmy Scroggins — And the way that we keep consistency and camaraderie and chemistry and hold each other accountable is we just have a lot…we call it meals, meetings, and retreats. So we have a lot of meals together. We schedule it. We budget for it. We have a lot of retreats together. We schedule it. We budget for it. We have a lot of face-to-face meetings, more than most churches or leaders would tolerate. But that’s part of how we create culture and how we cultivate culture together.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s very good. I love that. Actually, very similar Mark Jobe in Chicago. They have 20 some odd locations as well, all preaching locally. Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah. Rich Birch —And he gave a very similar answer. I said, how do you keep everybody together? And he would kind of look to like well, we all get together for lunch on Monday. That was that was his answer. You know, it’s very similar.Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah. Yeah.Rich Birch — Like, hey, we got to keep FaceTime with each other. We got to keep relationally connected. Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah. Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s that’s fantastic. What would you say some of the, when you say your campuses have a strong resemblance, sticking with the genetic. Jimmy Scroggins — Sure. Rich Birch — What are some of those markers of the strong resemblance that that are telltale for you?Jimmy Scroggins — I mean, aside from the more superficial things like branding, right? Signage and branding. But also, I would say like our preaching. So we cultivate our sermon series together. Every preacher preaches in their own voice. umThey make every sermon their own, but we do collaborate. We create like a three or four or five point fill in the blank outline together that we all use. Then you have a lot of freedom beyond that, but that does keep a family resemblance. Jimmy Scroggins — Um, even our music, we don’t all have to use the same songs. We don’t, it’s not always in the same style, but we do have a set of songs that we’re using each quarter. And, um, we tend to try to, people have freedom to, to add songs or do something, but we, we, we kind of agree on a catalog of songs that we’re going to focus on for the quarter.Jimmy Scroggins — Our liturgy is similar. So we have certain, like an announcement video that we all play all every church, every campus does. So we all do the same call to worship, reading out loud together congregationally. And we all do the same benediction, you know, that we read out loud congregationally. We all take the Lord’s supper every week.Jimmy Scroggins — We share our baptism. So like,whenever we baptize, we video all of them. And then the following week, those baptisms are shown at every location. Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — So we all rejoice in each other’s baptism. So those are just some things that we’re doing to communicate, hey, we’re all we’re all one.Jimmy Scroggins — At the same time, again, if you go to some of our congregations that majority black, well, it feels like it. I mean, the music’s different. The the preaching style is different. The the the way people react in the room is different. Obviously, if you’re Brazilian and you’re speaking Portuguese, obviously, if you’re, and even our Hispanic churches… One the things I discovered—I didn’t know this because I’m such a redneck—but when I come down here to South Florida, I did not realize that Hispanic is not actually all one thing. There’s actually a lot of different countries that speak Spanish… Rich Birch — Right. Sure. Jimmy Scroggins — …and they speak Spanish differently. And they actually like, they’re different. Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — And so I did not know that. And I never thought about it. And so even those congregations may have some differences.Rich Birch — Some differences. Yeah.Jimmy Scroggins — So that’s how we that’s how we do it.Jimmy Scroggins — Try to maintain family resemblance. Try to maintain Sunday morning excellence. At the same time, giving the preachers and the congregations freedom to reach their own neighborhoods for Christ.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s fantastic. I’d love to double click on the Sunday morning excellence piece, particularly around teaching. So I get that you’re doing, you know, the kind of team teaching in a sense, here’s the three or four points, we’re kind of all heading in the same direction. What are you doing to ensure that that part of what you do, we know that’s critically important for all our churches, that that part is as high quality as it can be, you know, it’s it’s kind of as engaging as it can be.Rich Birch — What are you doing um from a feedback, coaching, you know, maybe even selection of those campus pastors or the people that are speaking? you wouldn’t call them campus pastors, lead pastors. What are you doing on that front to ensure that that is as high quality as it can be?Jimmy Scroggins — Well, we have a system for that. So we have a couple of guys. We have three or four guys in our church or pastors here that are very gifted and not only in teaching and preaching, but they’re gifted coaches. And so we have a system and I, and a regular rhythm where everyone videos their sermons and then they they email their manuscript and their video to these coaches and then they get feedback. But then they sit down and actually watch the video and get personal feedback from these coaches. And they do this several times a year.Jimmy Scroggins — And we keep a running log on here’s some things that we’ve asked them to work on and improve. And so then when we come back the next time, did they work on these things and are they improving? And so those are the kinds of it’s not perfect, but it is a it is a serious mechanism that we have where…Rich Birch — Yeah.Jimmy Scroggins — And I do it, too. I submit to it as well. We all get coached and we all get better.Rich Birch — I love that. Actually, this is now the second church. I literally was talking to a church earlier this week that is pursuing a secondary communicator to do exactly this. So it’s actually not the lead pastor who they’re who they’re kind of charging with this coaching role on communicators. Talk to me about that. That’s an interesting decision because I think a lot of people would assume, oh, that must be Jimmy’s job. He’s going to be coaching all these people. But talk to me about about your decision to have them do that.Jimmy Scroggins — So one of the things that I do in a church like ours is I delegate a lot of things, but I do not delegate the teaching ministry of the church. So every week, if you go to our, you know, every week I meet for about two hours with everyone who’s preaching this weekend.Rich Birch — Okay.Jimmy Scroggins — So they’re all in that meeting. We’re talking through the sermon. We’re developing this outline. I do that myself. I personally lead the preaching retreats. We have two a year where we’re laying out our calendar. So we’re always 18 months out on our preaching calendar.Rich Birch — Yeah.Jimmy Scroggins — And so those are, that’s just something I, I don’t want to delegate. Um, the teaching ministry of the church belongs to me in terms of responsibility, for the ah oversight of it.Jimmy Scroggins — And so that’s how we do that.But in terms of the coaching, these are all men that I’ve known for a long time that I trust a lot.Rich Birch — Right. Right.Jimmy Scroggins — We’re theologically aligned.Rich Birch — Yep.Jimmy Scroggins — I know the kind of feedback that they are likely to give. I trust it a lot. I know how they do it because I submit to it myself. And part of the reason that I do it is I want to get better. And part of the reason I do it is I want to interact with the coaches.Rich Birch — Right. Yeah, that’s good. That’s great.Jimmy Scroggins — So I, yeah. And so it is my responsibility. But the other thing is, you know, Rich, on coaching, whether it’s student ministry, kids ministry, you know, I’m I’m an ex-athlete. And one thing that athletes do, they get coached all the time, and they get coached by people who usually can’t do what they’re being coached to do.Rich Birch — That’s true.Jimmy Scroggins — So like, you know, when Tom Brady was at his height winning Super Bowls, not one of his coaches could have played quarterback as well as him, but he got coached every week.Jimmy Scroggins — When Tiger Woods was at his peak of golf, he flew Butch Harmon, his swing coach, around his jet. And if Butch could play golf as good as Tiger Woods, he’d have won the Masters. Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — But he was his coach. And so somebody doesn’t have to be better than you to coach you.Rich Birch — That’s good. That’s great insight for sure. And, and yeah, that the analogy of, yeah, somebody that’s professional at what they’re doing is getting coaching right in there. And it’s a different skillset than the, the same is true the other way. There’s a lot of people that are pro-athletes who can’t make the jump to coach. They just can’t do that. They… Jimmy Scroggins — That’s correct. Rich Birch — …you know, that’s like a different, it’s a totally different skillset than, than doing the thing that we’re talking about. What about the these key staff, campus pastors in these locations? How are you where are you finding them before they join the team? Are they coming up within? Are you you know what what’s that look like? How are you how are you finding these individuals to lead?Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah.Rich Birch — I know this real pressure point a lot of multisite churches.Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah, well it’s a pressure point for us, too. And we never have enough.Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — But I will say we work at it. So we have an internship program that’s year round. So we’re trying to cultivate college age kids, not because we’re going to hire them necessarily. We hire some, but so that we have a pool of people that we know that are in their 20s that may have an interest in vocational ministry.Jimmy Scroggins — We bring in, in the summers, a cohort of outside college students who are from all over the country. Again, it’s kind of like an eight week where we invest in them, but it’s an eight week job interview also. And so at the conclusion of that, we’re sitting down with our team and going, okay, is there anybody that was here this summer that we would want to hire? Stuff like that.Jimmy Scroggins — We do have a residency program here in English and Spanish. So we’re cultivating, these are for people who are beyond college age and these is our residency is primarily aimed at people who already live here and who are engaged in a career that’s not vocational ministry. And people who are, it’s usually, we’re we’re looking for people who are at a point in their career or their business where they have a lot of control over their own schedule.Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — And then we give them some training. It’s a two year residency program. And then some of them become pastors or lay ministers. Some of them become just highly trained volunteers. That’s another avenue.Jimmy Scroggins — And then we’re networking all the time. So we’re working hard. We try to enter our team and cohorts. We try to travel and be there for college fairs and other things. Because we have to work hard so we have a Rolodex of people that we can call on when when we when we need someone to come fill fill a role.Rich Birch — And out of those, well, first of all, super commendable that you have lots of different avenues. And lots of times when I ask your church that question, they’re like, well, we do this one thing and it’s not working. It’s like, okay…Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah.Rich Birch — …well, it takes more than one thing. You got to do a bunch of different things. Which of those has been the most effective or most fruitful for, or is it kind of a scattershot? It’s all of it for… Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah. Rich Birch — …you know, identifying particularly key leaders.Jimmy Scroggins — They’re all fruitful in different ways. One of the things that we do is we use our student ministry. So when we have full-time student ministers, which we have a bunch of them, we really don’t hire somebody to be full-time as a student pastor unless we think they could be a campus pastor or lead pastor.Rich Birch — That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — So it doesn’t mean that they will be, but every single person we hire, we think this person’s got the gift mix, they’ve got the teaching gift, they’ve got the want to, they’ve got some administrative ability, they’re a good convener, people tend to come around them. And so we’re trying to identify those people who may not be ready yet in terms of experience or age or family development or whatever, to be a lead pastor, but we want to identify people who we think are on that trajectory, put them in those slots.Jimmy Scroggins — And we do that because student ministry, you know, I was a student pastor for a long time. Student ministers do basically everything that a lead pastor does. They have to prepare messages. They have to rally volunteers. They have to arrange music. They have to oversee events. They have to do funerals and weddings. They have to do counseling. They have to deal with discipline problems. So student pastors, and they have to do it all on shoestring. They tend to be really good at senior pastor stuff after they’ve been doing it for a while. So that’s why we do it that way.Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s great. I love that. I love the, just even the clarity of identifying, Hey, we know that the people in this, you know, in this role, those are all people who eventually we could see, you know, if they keep developing, they could be in these roles. That’s a, that’s, that’s fantastic.Rich Birch — Well, this been a fantastic conversation. Getting back to the kind of Sunday focus question. if, if I’m a church leader and I think, man, I think we’re maybe a bit off focus on some stuff. We’re not, we’re not putting enough energy into the weekend. What would your recommendation be to them for pulling back on other things? How do you actually do that in a way that you know doesn’t kind of kibosh? How do we make that transition in a way that that actually propels the church forward rather than you know hindering us? Any thoughts on that?Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah, that’s probably a whole nother podcast, Rich.Rich Birch — Yes.Jimmy Scroggins — But just in brief, I would just say you need to do that very wisely because what you’re going find out is in order to refocus, you’re going to have to either de-emphasize or stop doing something else. And that something else is probably a really good thing that some Christian somewhere ought to be doing. And your church has a constituency of people in it who are super passionate about that thing. Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — And so you gotta be really wise because you just go ripping and slashing, um you’re gonna undercut your own leadership credibility. And in some situations you might undercut your leadership opportunity.Jimmy Scroggins — And so you gotta be really wise about that. But I think minimally, if you could just assess it. So years ago I heard a guy that was really good at organizational leadership. He said, he said if you brought in a consultant from outside and he didn’t know anything about your church, and he didn’t care about anything about it. And he just assessed it and said, you should stop doing this, you should start doing that, you should fix this, you should fire them, you should hire them. He goes, why don’t you just think about what that guy would say and then do it. Rich Birch — Right. Yes.Jimmy Scroggins — So I think there’s a part of that where even if you can’t wisely do everything all at once, I think there is a sense in which you should at least be able to identify what those things would be if you could. And then you begin to chip away at it.Jimmy Scroggins — So the way, I mean, just real clarity is just like, hey man, where’s the money? How who how many how many staff dollars or budget dollars are flowing towards helping Sunday morning succeed and how much of it is flowing elsewhere?Rich Birch — Yeah, that’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — How many staff members and how many staff hours are directed at other programming versus Sunday morning programming? How much of your brain space as a senior leader is being occupied by other ministries versus Sunday morning? Rich Birch — That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — And I would just say it doesn’t mean that it should be zero. It just means the clear priority in my mind should be your weekend gatherings. And then a very simple, like a very practical example of how this might work out is let’s take student ministry. So I did that for a long time.Jimmy Scroggins — A lot of churches on like their midweek program on Wednesday nights, whatever night it is, they have a huge group, two or three or four times bigger than the student ministry group that meets on Sunday mornings. Okay, and why is that? Well, we’re reaching the community. Okay, maybe. Maybe you got a bunch of kids that aren’t Christian or whatever, and they come to your thing because it’s fun. and Maybe you’re also collecting some kids from other churches whose youth group isn’t as good as yours, or maybe they don’t have one, or, you know, whatever. There’s there’s a lot of reasons why the youth group on the midweek is is big, and there’s nothing with that.Jimmy Scroggins — But I would just say, my so what I tell my youth pastors is, look, get the biggest group you can on Wednesday nights. I love it. Blow it out. I’m just not evaluating you on that. I’m evaluating you by how many students are here on Sunday mornings. Rich Birch — Right.Jimmy Scroggins — Because because Sunday morning kids come with their families and families are what build churches.Rich Birch — Right. Right. That’s good.Jimmy Scroggins — Now they’re going push back and say, so you don’t care about reaching all these lost kids at our public school. No, I actually really do, which is why if that’s something that we’re really passionate about, why don’t you get a job with FCA or Youth for Christ or First Priority? Let’s fund you and, man, knock yourself out as a missionary to the public schools.Jimmy Scroggins — But what we’re trying to do at Family Church is make disciples. And the way we do that is building families. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have kids whose parents don’t go to church. We will and we do. But what I’ve learned over many years is all that activity around people who never whose parents never come bears very minimal fruit compared to the energy we put into parents whose kids do come or likely to come. Those that fruit tends to remain.Jimmy Scroggins — I know we’ve all got anecdotal stories. I do too. Rich Birch — Yes. Jimmy Scroggins — And I know you know I am 100% in favor of student ministry as a missions enterprise, and we want to reach kids and baptize kids. I’m for all of that. We baptize a lot around here. At the same time, everyone at our church knows I’m being evaluated by what happens on Sunday morning. So what I’m doing on Wednesday really needs to be a funnel where I’m catching kids and bringing them into our true discipleship matrix, which is um Lord’s Day worship. So whether they have they’re with their parents or not.Jimmy Scroggins — A Christian who says, I’m a Christian, I’ve been baptized, but I don’t participate in Lord’s Day worship with a neighborhood church. That’s not a, that’s not, they’re not following a biblical pattern and that’s what we’re trying to get kids. So that that’s just an example of how an emphasis on the weekend might flesh out in a local church.Rich Birch — I love the clarity there. And I love the like, hey, you can do that thing, but we got to make sure that there’s a connection between that and this. And if we can’t show that we’re that this thing is going to drive to that thing, to the weekend, we you know, you you probably don’t want to be doing that. I think the clarity that you’re giving your people, I think, is a huge gift there. That’s that’s fantastic.Rich Birch — Well, Jimmy,Jimmy Scroggins — Well, you know, it’s one of the things about what I do is I always sound like I’m 100% positive and like I know what I’m doing. Just to be clear, hey, man, other people do it different. God blesses it.Rich Birch — Sure. Yeah, yeah.Jimmy Scroggins — Praise God for it.Jimmy Scroggins — This is how we do it at Family Church. I don’t think it’s the only way to do it.Rich Birch — Right. No, that’s great. And in fact, actually, that’s a telltale sign I’ve seen in lots of churches would say, would have that same humility to say, hey, we know there’s lots of different ways to do it. This is the way that we’re doing it. Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah.Rich Birch — This is what we believe God’s called us to. But we’re that means we’re called to this thing. We’re going to do it this way. Jimmy Scroggins — Right.Rich Birch — And that clarity, rather than like, hey, we’re always every six months, we’re trying something different. I think that just drives in too many weird directions and the church doesn’t end up being focused enough. Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah.Rich Birch — So yeah. Yeah, I really appreciate your clarity, Jimmy. Well this has been a fantastic conversation today. Any kind of last words as we wrap up today’s conversation?Jimmy Scroggins — Yeah, I would just say again, if you’re a church leader, my my humble encouragement to you is make Sunday morning the best thing that you do. Put your primary and energy into that. And if your Sunday morning is vibrant and healthy and growing and people are being encouraged and taught and trained and they’re serving, then what you’re going to find is all of the other things that you want to do and should do outside of that are likely to be healthier.Rich Birch — That’s great. Thanks so much. If people want to track with you or with the church, where do we want to send them online?Jimmy Scroggins — You can go to our website, gofamilychurch.org. We have some podcasts as well. Church for the Rest of Us is one. We’ve got another one for ladies called Mom Village. Check all that out. And and we love to connect. Jimmy Scroggins — We also have a we have a we have a conference every March. It’s a one-day conference, very affordable, small, no green rooms, no VIP treatment. But we want people to come with us, make friends with us, and talk church. Rich Birch — That’s great. Jimmy Scroggins — And you can check all that out online or on our website.Rich Birch — Love it. We’ll link to all that in the show notes. I appreciate you, Jimmy. Thanks for being here today.Jimmy Scroggins — Always. Thanks so much, Rich. Appreciate it.

The crew is joined by comedian Ryan Beck, who's back in town performing at the Funny Bone… including an all-ages comedy show where kids can not only attend—but apparently grab the mic and try stand-up themselves. Yes, we're just letting children experience bombing on stage now. Growth.That kicks off a surprisingly real conversation about parenting, finding stuff to do with kids that doesn't involve the same three places on repeat, and why more comedians don't attempt “clean-ish” shows (spoiler: kids are chaos agents and will laugh at literally anything).From there, things spiral into a full-on existential crisis about high school reunions. Who's going? Who's avoiding it? And why does everything from the early 2000s suddenly feel like ancient history? The gang debates whether revisiting your past is healing… or just a fast track to emotional damage.But the real mystery of this daily comedy show hits when Riz discovers—again—that someone keeps removing him from his high school's Wikipedia page. Not once. Not twice. Repeatedly. Within minutes. Whoever “Zimzalabim” is, they are committed to erasing this man's legacy, and now the show is fully invested in tracking them down like it's a low-budget Netflix docuseries.And because no episode would be complete without questionable decision-making, the crew plays “Press Your Luck”—a game where listeners must answer simple questions under pressure. Get it right? You win tickets. Get it wrong? You give out your phone number on-air. Yes, really. And yes, someone absolutely did it.This daily comedy show is a perfect mix of ridiculous games, real-life panic, and the kind of conversations that start normal and end in total nonsense.If you've ever questioned your past, feared public embarrassment, or wondered if a stranger is secretly ruining your online legacy… welcome home.Follow The Rizzuto Show → https://linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → https://1057thepoint.com/RizzShowHear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.Husband's arrest in disappearance of American woman in the Bahamas puts his account under scrutinyMunicipal races around Missouri saw small margins, tiesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

John talks to the candidate for governor who the secretary of state is playing games with to keep him off the ballotSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is this the most consequential day in history? Glenn goes through all the world-changing news of the day, including the Artemis II launch, Trump's address to the nation on Iran, and the possible end of America's involvement in NATO. Glenn also explains why he believes the Artemis II moon mission is something worth celebrating. Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, who was stranded in space for over nine months, joins to discuss how his faith carried him through the terrifying situation. What could President Trump reveal during his address to the nation regarding Iran? Glenn lays out the qualities of a wartime president while discussing President Trump. Astrophysicist Hugh Ross joins to discuss the importance of space travel. Glenn and Hugh also discuss the story of Noah's ark. Is Noah's ark a story of God's wrath or God's mercy? Glenn speaks about the often-forgotten day of Holy Week, Wednesday, two days before Passover, when the events of Jesus' final days were set in motion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, who was stranded in space for over nine months, joins to discuss how his faith carried him through the terrifying situation. Glenn lays out the qualities of a wartime president while discussing President Trump. Astrophysicist Hugh Ross joins to discuss the importance of space travel. Glenn and Hugh also discuss the story of Noah's ark. Is Noah's ark a story of God's wrath or God's mercy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Van and Rachel react to Chilli's rejection of the MAGA label, the politics of Nick Cannon and Amber Rose, and the latest music from Kanye West. Then, California gubernatorial candidate Dr. Butch Ware joins to discuss the two-party system and his plan for the communities of the state. (0:00) Intro (6:16) Black Republicans (13:02) Chilli denies being "MAGA" (35:52) The politics of Amber Rose and Nick Cannon (1:15:12) Ye's ‘Bully' album review (1:26:12) Dr. Butch Ware joins the show Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Guest: Dr. Butch Ware Producers: Donnie Beacham Jr. and Jade Whaley Social Producer: Bernard Moore Video Supervision: Chris Thomas and Jacob Cornett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Volunteer: https://www.butchware4gov.org/volunteer Donate: https://www.butchware4gov.org/donate-today Instagram: @butchware Twitter: @ButchWare Facebook: ButchWare4Gov2026   With Newsom not returning as governor, will California elect a billionaire or will Butch Ware of the Green Party emerge as the true progressive candidate to rescue the state?   We'll discuss.   Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop   READ THE WEEKLY TIR NEWSLETTER HERE: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1853497   Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined,   BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!   Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents?   Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!)   THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3egFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/Twitter: @TIRShowOaklandInstagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland Substack: https://jmylesoftir.substack.com/.../the-money-will-roll... 

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast UC-Santa Barbara professor & 2024 Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Dr. Butch Ware returns to Bad Faith to expose the lengths the Democratic Party is going to to throw him off the ballot in this year's California governor's race. Recent polling shows he's within striking distance of the top three Democratic candidates, who are all in a dead heat with 10 percent of the vote each. In California's "jungle primary" system, the top two go on to battle it out in final round, so Democrats are panicking about the prospect of two Republicans in the top two or -- even scarier -- a Green Party candidate making it to the final ballot. Professor Ware details the rough injustice of the closed court proceeding in which he was kicked off the ballot, the plan to appeal the decision, and why every leftist and resistance lib in the country should be focused on wresting the world's third biggest economy away from the corporate duopoly. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Today we have Butch. He is 49 years old and is from Indianapolis, IN and took his last drink on November 1st, 2025.   This episode is brought to you by:   Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help   [02:33] Thoughts from Paul:   Paul shares and excerpt from an interview with Steve-O, who has 17 years of sobriety.   Steve-O said the worst thing would be to kinda have alcoholism. To kinda have a drinking problem. Because kinda is where people live for 20 years. Kinda is how you blow your 40s. Kinda is how you show up halfway to everything that matters. For your kids, your marriage, your job, your actual life. And then wonder why nothing ever feels real.   And while you're busy deciding whether it's really that bad, the years are passing by. The other side of what Steve-O is saying – he isn't just describing a trap, he's describing a clear escape plan. By being here, you have already made the call. Maybe it's still messy and maybe it's still early and maybe some days you're not sure what you're doing. But you are here fully.   We are done with "kinda". You've made a decision, now don't question that decision. The years that are left are yours, listeners. Now you can show up for them.   [07:31] Paul introduces Butch:   Butch is 49 and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and their cat named Ezra. For fun he is learning to play the bass guitar and recently started blogging.   Butch says he had his first drink in high school and found it helped him cut loose, relax, be funny and he really enjoyed it. His drinking was mostly off and on until he and his girlfriend were out on their own in his early 20s and nobody other than his wife knew he was drinking so much. He had responsibilities but struggled to hold down a job. After about a year and a half, Butch was able to reel it in to just binge drinking on weekends.   Over time Butch was spending more and more time drinking by himself in his basement and not having the energy to do much the next day. He would then try and tell himself it would only be one or two drinks, but that never happened. It wasn't until his early 40s that he started to question if he had a problem. His wife at the time wasn't very supportive of him when he asked for support with his attempt to take a break from alcohol, so he continued to drink.   Soon after this marriage ended, Butch got remarried in 2022. A few weeks later he quit drinking for seven months and says he felt great physically and mentally. It was a trip to Vegas on his birthday that he found himself drinking again. Butch says he moderated while on the trip, but after coming back he found himself slowly drinking more and more even though his wife wouldn't allow him to isolate like before. Eventually Butch started feeling the anxiety coming back and just wasn't feeling good about his drinking. He is approaching 50 years old, has anxiety and physical pain and was just ready to stop.   Around his recent sobriety date, Butch burned the ships with his family and friends. They have all been very supportive of him. He woke up the morning of November 1st and was ready to give it another try. Within the first few weeks he started exercising and eating better, he and his wife would go for walks and go to bed early. He was feeling great again.   Butch never spend much time at church before being married to his current wife so they have been going regularly. Prayer and AA has been helpful to Butch. He has no plans of drinking again but knows it's "one day at a time". Some of the resource and recovery tools that Butch uses are podcasts, books and has recently started blogging in the health and wellness space but there is a lot of crossovers with his recovery. Butch is off of anti-anxiety medications, looks forward to travelling more, learning to play his bass guitar and hopes to get a car to work on soon to keep himself busy.   Recovery Elevator You took the elevator down; you've got to take the stairs back up. We can do this.     Café RE RE Instagram Sobriety Tracker iTunes  RE YouTube      

Washington Wednesday on politics and the Iran war, World Tour on Haiti's next election, and a conversation with Barry “Butch” Wilmore. Plus, Janie B. Cheaney on meaningful work, a louder coping strategy, and the Wednesday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from Truth For Life. The popular video by Alistair Begg titled "The Man on the Middle Cross" inspired the release of a small booklet with the same title that introduces Jesus to those who have yet to meet him. This Easter, give this little booklet away to everyone you meet! It's available to purchase for only $1 at truthforlife.org/world. Share the Gospel with those who can't answer the question "Are you going to heaven?”From Barnabas Aid--providing help for our brothers and sisters where they are suffering the most. The projects aim to strengthen Christian individuals, churches and their communities by providing material and spiritual support in response to needs identified by local Christian leaders on the ground. We also partner with gleaning organizations across North America, sending dehydrated food to the neediest countries, including recently to Haiti and Cuba. More at https://www.barnabasaid.org/And from The Master's University, equipping students for lives of faithfulness to The Master, Jesus Christ. masters.edu

Barry E. “Butch” Wilmore was raised in Tennessee, where an early fascination with aviation, engineering, and disciplined teamwork set the course for his career. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University, along with a master's degree in aviation systems from the University of Tennessee. Before NASA, Wilmore served as a U.S. Navy aviator, test pilot, and squadron officer, accumulating more than 8,000 flight hours and 663 carrier landings in tactical jet aircraft. Wilmore flew A-7E and F/A-18 aircraft during four operational deployments aboard the USS Forrestal, Kennedy, Enterprise, and Eisenhower. He completed 21 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm and also flew in support of Desert Shield, Southern Watch, and NATO operations over Bosnia. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he contributed to the early development and carrier certification of the T-45 jet trainer, experience that proved critical to his later astronaut duties. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000, Wilmore flew three space missions totaling 464 days in space. He piloted STS-129 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009, delivering critical hardware to the ISS. In 2014–2015, he launched aboard a Russian Soyuz as part of Expedition 41, later assuming command of Expedition 42, spending 167 days in orbit and conducting four spacewalks. Most recently, he commanded Boeing Starliner's first crewed flight in 2024; following an uncrewed return decision, he completed a long-duration ISS mission and returned to Earth in March 2025 aboard SpaceX Crew-9. Wilmore retired from NASA in July 2025 after 25 years with the agency, one of the few astronauts to fly aboard the Space Shuttle, Soyuz, Starliner, and Crew Dragon. He is married to Deanna, with whom he has two daughters, and is known for steady leadership, deep technical skill, faith, and continued commitment to mentorship and STEM outreach. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Live better longer with BUBS Naturals. Get 20% OFF on collagen, MCT creamers, and more with code SHAWN at https://bubsnaturals.com/srs Ready to upgrade your eyewear? Check them out at https://roka.com and use code SRS for 20% off sitewide. If you're serious about selling to the Department of War, go to https://SBIRAdvisors.com and mention Shawn Ryan for your first month free. Get 30% off your first subscription order at https://armra.com/srs with code SRS. Butch Wilmore Links: Website - www.butchwilmore.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of John Solomon Reports, we uncover the compelling story of former FBI whistleblower Bassem Youssef, a decorated agent with a remarkable history. John Solomon dives into Youssef's journey, including his wrongful accusations post-9/11 and his pivotal role in solving the Khobar Towers case, linking Iran to a deadly attack on American soldiers.Bassem shares explosive insights from his tenure at the FBI, particularly during James Comey's leadership, where he observed a concerning shift in the agency's political alignment. He highlights the misuse of phone record searches and the detrimental changes implemented during the Obama administration that could lead to abuses of power. You won't want to miss his perspective on the four counterintelligence operations targeting Donald Trump and his associates, including Operation Crossfire Hurricane and others.In the second segment, we welcome Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who is fiercely advocating against the release of violent felons in his state. Coleman addresses the alarming trend of leniency in the justice system and the potential dangers it poses to public safety, especially in light of recent violent incidents linked to repeat offenders.Finally, we have a special guest, astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore, making his first appearance on the show. John and Butch explore the exciting developments in space exploration and the unique moment we find ourselves in regarding humanity's ventures beyond Earth.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.