Podcasts about cafe

Abi Murray invites us to a cup of coffee and a nice conversation care of the Chatty Cafe Scheme. This all began on a typical wet and windy UK day when Abi's sister Alex Hoskyn was in a supermarket café with her four month old son, who wasn't great company, and she herself was feeling a bit tired and a bit fed up. Alex looked around the cafe and saw others who looked just as down as she felt herself and she started to think about the positive impact we can have on one other simply by sitting together and communicating. She knew from her own experience that when you are feeling lonely, a short conversation with another human can really brighten your day. It was in that very moment her ‘Chatter & Natter' table idea began (in her head where all dreams do) and it soon became reality. Now in 900 cafes throughout the UK and an additional 200 in Australia, the Chatty Cafe Scheme allows anyone feeling lonely to take a seat and connect. Abi shares the journey she and Alex have been on and the importance of creating community. We also speak with volunteer John Ford about his experience with this organization and what it's meant to him to connect with others as someone who moved to the UK from another country himself. Grab a cup of coffee and join us, won't you? _________________________ Steve is busy at work on the third book in his cozy mystery series, THE DOG WALKING DETECTIVES. Grab the first two and get caught up: Book 1: DROWN TOWN Amazon: https://amzn.to/478W8mp Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3Mv7cCk & Book 2: MURDER UNMASKED Amazon: https://shorturl.at/fDR47 Barnes & Noble: https://shorturl.at/3ccTy

Can the Trump administration invalidate pardons issued by former President Biden? In an excerpt from this week's Insider episode, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance discuss Attorney General Pam Bondi's announcement that DOJ is reviewing Biden's use of an autopen for pardons. In the full episode, Preet and Joyce break down:  – President Donald Trump's appeal of his criminal conviction in New York, in which he cites the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision; and – The National Guard cases moving toward the Supreme Court. Insiders click HERE to listen to the full analysis.  Not an Insider? Now more than ever, it's critical to stay tuned. To join a community of reasoned voices in unreasonable times, become an Insider today. You'll get access to full episodes of the podcast and other exclusive content. Head to cafe.com/insider or staytuned.substack.com/subscribe.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Subscribe to The Long Game podcast. Watch the trailer. This podcast is brought to you by CAFE and Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, I'm catching up with play café owner Sarah Kobin, who I first interviewed about a year and a half ago when she was still in the early opening phase of her business.Now that she's been open for 18 months, Sarah shares what's changed — from which revenue streams performed best (and which didn't) to how her team, systems, and daily operations have evolved. We talk about what's surprised her most since opening, what she'd do differently if she could start over, and how her role as the owner has shifted as the business has grown.If you're curious what the first full year of running an indoor playground really looks like — the wins, the lessons, and everything in between — you're going to love this follow-up conversation.Simplify and Scale with 50% OFF WellnessLivingSarah's WebsiteSunshine Play Cafe FacebookSunshine Play Cafe InstagramMeet SarahPROFITABLE PLAY RESOURCES:Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers SocietyGetting Started With Your Play Cafe [YouTube Video Playlist]What's Working In The Indoor Play Industry 2025 GuideFund Your Indoor Play Business [Free Training]Indoor Play Courses & 1:1 Consulting WaitlistMichele's InstagramMichele's WebsitePlay Cafe Academy YouTube ChannelETSY Template ShopPrepare Your Indoor Playground For a RecessionPlay Cafe Academy & Play Makers SocietyQuestions and Support: Support@michelecaruana.com Play Cafe Academy & Play Makers Society: http://bit.ly/3HES7fDQuestions and Support: Support@michelecaruana.com Simplify and Scale with 50% OFF WellnessLiving: https://discover.wellnessliving.com/playcafeacademyActive Campaign Free Trial: https://www.activecampaign.com/?_r=D6IYK3HG

Fellow Wisconsinite and sober coach Heather Lowe loved the way alcohol made her feel from a very young age. She kept her fears that she might have a problematic relationship with alcohol under wraps for decades, until a flurry of life changes and tragedies led to her begin to ‘drink her grief' instead of feeling it. Heather wanted to blame everything but alcohol for the ways in which she felt like she was losing her grip, so much so that she began to try ‘sober experiments' to prove to herself that alcohol wasn't the problem. She was surprised to find, though, that she was feeling better and better during her periods of sobriety.Quitting for real felt terrifying. A longtime party girl, Heather couldn't imagine losing friends through such a big life change. The honest truth was that she did lose friends, but she developed a much more important friendship along the way - a deep and meaningful friendship with herself. Now seven years sober, Heather works with women in all stages of sobriety to help them navigate their own sober journeys. She wants you to know: There is so much potential in sobriety. Give yourself the chance! Learn more about Heather: www.ditchedthedrink.comInstagram Are you craving a community in sobriety? Join us in the Sober Mom Life Cafe! You'll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club, happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and more! Get one week free at this link! Or, check out our new community offering - The Sober Mom Collective! With one peer support meeting a week and access to the community social feed, this is a great way to dip your toes in. Get Your Copy of my book The Sober Shift I'm on a book tour! Take a look at my events calendar for a book tour stop near you. https://www.instagram.com/thesobermomlife/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump by Elie Honig https://www.amazon.com/When-You-Come-King-President/dp/0063447363 "[A] deeply researched, keenly analytical, and frequently provocative chronicle of this singular judicial entity. . . . A senior legal analyst for CNN and former assistant U.S. attorney, Honig is well-suited to the task of providing a historical overview of the special counsel's function with the ever-evolving context of politics, partisanship and political skepticism." —Booklist (STARRED review) "A fascinating, fast-paced insider's account....[a] riveting, deeply reported book.” —Anderson Cooper “Every page hums with gripping anecdotes and breaking news journalism." —Douglas Brinkley Imagine you've been put in charge of investigating your own boss—who also happens to be the most powerful person on the planet. You might unearth information that will be politically, professionally, and personally devastating to your subject, and you alone hold the power to indict and potentially imprison him. At the same time, the boss can fire you and end the case—and might even turn the tables and launch an inquiry aimed at you. As the lone-wolf assassin Omar put it in The Wire: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” That's the crucible for any Special Counsel. For decades, the Department of Justice has appointed outside prosecutors to handle our highest-stakes cases. But do these independent investigations lead to just results? In When You Come at the King, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig delivers a fast-paced, insider's account of the most important Justice Department investigations of the past fifty years, based on dozens of on-record interviews with firsthand participants. A Watergate prosecutor reveals she hid copies of key documents at home to guard against potential destruction of evidence by the president's allies. A member of the Iran–Contra prosecution team explains why they made a shocking election-eve revelation. A defense lawyer for Donald Trump details his private meeting with Jack Smith just days before Trump was indicted. From Ken Starr's investigation of Bill Clinton to modern cases involving Patrick Fitzgerald, Robert Mueller, Jack Smith, and more, Honig charts how the Special Counsel system developed and evolved over time. We know the maxim that a nation can be measured by how it treats its weakest members. This book explores an inverse corollary: A nation reveals much about itself by how it holds accountable its most powerful leaders when they've done wrong. Now, with the future of Special Counsels in doubt, When You Come at the King addresses the most important question of all: Can the system evolve to better serve the call for justice?About the author Elie Honig is CNN's Senior Legal Analyst. He previously worked for 14 years as a federal and state prosecutor. Honig provides on-air commentary and analysis for CNN on news relating to the U. S. Department of Justice, major criminal trials, the Supreme Court, Congressional and grand jury investigations, national security, policing, and other legal issues. In 2022, Honig was nominated for an Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the category "Outstanding News Analysis: Editorial & Opinion." Honig is the national bestselling author of two prior books published by HarperCollins: "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department" (2021) and "Untouchable: How Powerful People Get Away With It" (2023). His third book, "When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ's Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump," publishes in September 2025. Honig writes a weekly column on legal news for New York magazine and CAFE. He hosts the popular true-crime podcast, "Up Against the Mob," and a weekly legal podcast, "The Counsel," both productions of Vox Media. Honig graduated from Rutgers College (where he ...

Caffeinators, you know we strive each year to sit down with the sitting President of NAVTA, so buckle up because here we go! Beckie Mossor recently came by to tell us what NAVTA is working on, talk about their recent demographic survey, and also talk a bit about National Vet Tech Week, which has morphed a bit over the last several years. We also talked about another project she's heavily involved in, the Veterinary Industry Giving Tree. As always, it was wonderful to chat with her and see what she, and NAVTA, are up to! Our Links: Check out our sponsor https://betterhelp.com/vettechcafe for 10% off your first month of therapy Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vettechcafe Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vettechcafepodcast Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vet-tech-cafe Like and Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDTKdfOaqSW0Mv3Uoi33qg Our website: https://www.vettechcafe.com/ Vet Tech Cafe Merch: https://www.vettechcafe.com/merch If you would like to help us cover our podcast expenses, we'd appreciate any support you give through Patreon. We do this podcast and our YouTube channel content to support the veterinary technicians out there and do not expect anything in return! We thank you for all you do.

Los millennials somos la generación más educada de la historia… y también la más endeudada. En este episodio, Manuel y Suhailly analizan por qué, a pesar de los títulos universitarios y la preparación académica, muchos siguen viviendo cheque a cheque.

Kelsey talks with Danielle, whose family of four has spent two spring breaks in Whitefish, Montana (and they're booked for a third because they love it so much). Danielle also visited in summer for a girls' trip to the Under the Big Sky Music Festival, so she compares Whitefish in winter vs. summer and shares why it's a repeat favorite for her family!This episode is now available to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kelseygravesIf you'd like to share about your trip on the podcast, email me at: kelsey@triptalespodcast.comBuy Me A Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/kelseygravesFollow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_gravesFollow me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mskelseygravesJoin us in the Trip Tales Podcast Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1323687329158879Mentioned in this episode:- Danielle's Whitefish, MT Ski Trip VRBO - Kelsey's COMFRT Hoodies Discount Link (X out all other offer pop-ups to keep link activated)- Kallispell Montana Airport - Under the Big Sky Music Festival- PA/NY Ski Resorts: Seven Springs, Peak'n Peak, Holiday Valley- Restaurants: Hell Roaring Saloon, Abruzzo, Jalisco Cantina, Loula's Cafe (for breakfast & Huckleberry Pie), Last Chair Restaurant & Bar- Glacier National Park: The Going to the Sun Road- Downtown Whitefish: Vibe Wellness Lounge, Stumptown Art Studio- TuroTrip Tales is a travel podcast sharing real vacation stories and trip itineraries for family travel, couples getaways, cruises, and all-inclusive resorts. Popular episodes feature destinations like Marco Island Florida, Costa Rica with kids, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Aulani in Hawaii, Beaches Turks & Caicos, Park City ski trips, Aruba, Italy, Ireland, Portugal's Azores, New York City, Alaska cruises, and U.S. National Parks. Listeners get real travel tips, itinerary recommendations, hotel reviews, restaurant recommendations, and inspiration for planning their next vacation, especially when traveling with kids.

Send us a textIn this episode, Lady Petra and SafferMaster review the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes at The Whistle Stop Cafe" over a dream of GlenDronach Parliament 21-Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskey.  The Kinky cocktail Hour is brought to you by Motorbunny, the best saddle style vibrator on the market today. Save $40 on your Motorbunny purchase with the code LADYPETRAPLAYGROUND at Motorbunny.com You can order the TechRing, "Where health meets pleasure" at http://myfirmtech.com using the code "KINKY" to save 15%. Put a ring on it!Support the showHard Married: A Guide to Building Lasting Love by Unlocking the Secrets of Deep Intimacy. Get your copy of this new book by Saffer here: https://tinyurl.com/Hard-Married Visit Hardmarried.net Listen on Podurama https://podurama.com

Animando as madrugadas da Metropolitana FM, o programa Cafeína Late Show agora apresenta o podcast diário e garante muito entretenimento e diversão. Apresentação: Anselmo Brandi - @anselmobrandi Flávia Fernandes - @miniruthoficial

Overnight Sleep Stream of STRANGE Stories in Stockton's NIGHT CAFEBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.

Joel, and Stephen compare notes on the live action release of How To Train Your Dragon, and the first season of Severance. Joel is building a new LEGO set, and the new superhero game Dispatch is on the wish list.Show notes for The Citadel Cafe are here:http://www.thecitadelcafe.com/2025/11/01/the-citadel-cafe-499-how-to-train-your-severance-package/Join The Citadel Cafe Discord community!http://Patreon.com/TheCitadelCafeThe Citadel Cafe YouTube:https://youtube.com/thecitadelcafe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we'll catch up with the folks at Purple Maia and learn about the new and improved Purple Prize. We'll find out about the new program called Hulihia Labs where the program cultivates modern tech for people and aina.

Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100 mobsters, including members of La Cosa Nostra, and the Gambino and Genovese crime families. He went on to serve as Director of the Department of Law and Public Safety at New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. He is currently Special Counsel at Lowenstein Sandler and a CNN legal analyst.  For a transcript of Elie's note and the full archive of contributor notes, head to CAFE.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coffee shops come in all shapes, styles, sizes, and focus on many different aspects of social experience and craft. If we look back we can see that certain themes emerge. Whether it is the 90's coffee shop with bold colors, self serve airpots, lots of sugar, and no wifi, the early 2000's sparse coffee temples with no sugar, or the modern coffee shops that seem to be serving anything but coffee as long as it sells. (that last one is me being cynical)  The cafe will always be a bit of a litmus test for the culture. In today's Shift Break we will be talking about what I believe is emerging as a new classic coffee shop model and why it just may be the best version to come out yet owing to some timeless traits that may help us make actual progress. This episode was the response to a question a listener asked me. We exchange a few voice memos on IG and I thought it would make a great subject. If you have a question, please reach out!     CONSULTING + COACHING If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email  chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com          

If you love what we do and want to support more of the work we do at Map It Forward, become a premium YouTube Subscriber or a paid Patreon backer here for perks: • https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward • https://www.youtube.com/mapitforward••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••This is the 5th episode of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with host Lee Safar and series guest, Marianella Baez Jost.Marianella is a coffee farmer (Cafe con Amor) based in Costa Rica and the co-founder of direct coffee trade project, The Farmers Project.This series is focused on coffee market volatility from the perspective of a smallholder coffee farmer in Costa Rica.The 5 episodes in this series are:1. Coffee Farming In Costa Rica in 2025 - https://youtu.be/3tHVKj65yho2. Coffee Farmers Are Adapting to the Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/QGUewElgLeA3. Not a Short-Term Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/arhcrRBWGEU4. Barriers to Direct Trade - https://youtu.be/dM75gWt1y7s5. Mitigating Risk with Direct Trade Coffee - https://youtu.be/DX0tpHrXFw0In this episode of the podcast series, Lee wraps up a captivating series with Marianella as they delve into the challenges of coffee market volatility from the perspective of small holder producers, the impact of middlemen and low-priced future contracts, and the struggles and hopes of co-ops and farmers seeking just relationships through direct trade. The discussion highlights the emergence of new direct trade models, geopolitical shifts in coffee trading, and the vital connections between small farmers and roasters. Marianella also shares the inspiring success of the Coffee Camp and encourages collaboration for a thriving coffee community. Learn more about sustainable, ethical coffee practices and how you can support these efforts.Connect with Marianella Baez Jost and The Farmers Project here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-baez-jost-00a529166/https://www.farmersproject-cr.com/https://www.instagram.com/cafeconamor.cr/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Connect with Map It Forward here: Website | Instagram | Mailing list

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Dick's House Of Sport Grand Opening (Experiential) Vape Shop Coming To Old Fox's Cafe In Belmont Vape Shops V Payday Loans, What's Worst Storefront? Rt 29 Holiday Inn To 191-Unit Apartment Bldg Meet The Company Behind The Holiday Inn Conversion VA Film Festival Draws 23,000 Attendees #15 UVA (-3.5) At California, 3:45 PM, ESPN2 If You Need CVille Office Space, Contact Jerry Miller Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

What can we learn from the rise of NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani? This week, Vox Media's newest addition Astead Herndon joins Preet Bharara to discuss political coverage in a shifting media landscape, what today's kitchen table issues say about American politics, and the surprising similarities between Mamdani and Trump. Then, Preet answers your questions on whether the Speaker of the House has to swear in new members and whether the president's subordinates are immune from prosecution. In the bonus for Insiders, Preet and Astead chat about the role that age plays in elections for both voters and candidates. Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website.  You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE's Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our next guests are Ryan Catolico and Enrique Huizar of Novel Pizza. I've been following their journey since the very beginning. I believe this was the second entry into the Almedaverse. Ryan reflects on how he and Francis tried to replicate some of their favorite pizzas and eventually called for help from Enrique aka Gremski who has grown up in the pizza industry. They've had many iterations throughout the years and have found their footing in PIlsen, Chicago. Please enjoy my conversation with Ryan and Enrique of Novel Pizza Cafe. https://www.novelpizzacafe.com/https://www.instagram.com.com/novel.pizzahttps://www.instagram.com/rythatguy_Https://www.instagram.com/gremski

Looking for B2B advertising on our podcast for the coffee industry: support@mapitforward.org or DM us here https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••This is the 4th episode of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with host Lee Safar and series guest, Marianella Baez Jost.Marianella is a coffee farmer (Cafe con Amor) based in Costa Rica and the co-founder of direct coffee trade project, The Farmers Project.This series is focused on coffee market volatility from the perspective of a smallholder coffee farmer in Costa Rica.The 5 episodes in this series are:1. Coffee Farming In Costa Rica in 2025 - https://youtu.be/3tHVKj65yho2. Coffee Farmers Are Adapting to the Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/QGUewElgLeA3. Not a Short-Term Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/arhcrRBWGEU4. Barriers to Direct Trade - https://youtu.be/dM75gWt1y7s5. Mitigating Risk with Direct Trade Coffee - https://youtu.be/DX0tpHrXFw0In this episode of the podcast series, Lee and Marianella discuss the complex topic of coffee market volatility and dive into what truly defines direct trade, explore the challenges and benefits of developing direct relationships in the coffee industry, and analyze the emerging access issues as we move towards 2026. Join the conversation to better understand the future of the coffee industry and the importance of building strong, responsible business relationships.Connect with Marianella Baez Jost and The Farmers Project here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-baez-jost-00a529166/https://www.farmersproject-cr.com/https://www.instagram.com/cafeconamor.cr/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Connect with Map It Forward here: Website | Instagram | Mailing list

Host: Rhonda Dunlap Guest: Dr. Susan Sayers Air date: Oct 29, 2025

SummaryIn this episode of Coffee & Christ, Robert Bolden shares his transformative journey through daily reflection on the word of God. He emphasizes the importance of community among followers of Jesus and the need for open-mindedness in discussions about faith. The conversation delves into teachings from the book of Romans, focusing on acceptance, judgment, and the call to action for believers to be workers in the harvest. Robert invites listeners to join a supportive community that is for you and doesn't judge you.TakeawaysDaily reflection on the word of God is transformative.Community is essential for spiritual growth.There are few true followers of Jesus in the world.Open-mindedness is crucial in discussions about faith.Judgment should be left to God, not individuals.Acceptance of others is a key teaching of Jesus.Reading the Bible can provide daily wisdom and awareness.Being a worker in the harvest requires action and commitment.Disputable matters should not lead to quarrels among believers.Living according to Jesus' teachings brings peace and joy.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Coffee in Christ02:11 The Call to Follow Jesus05:16 Engaging with the Community07:06 Exploring Romans: Acceptance and Faith08:22 The Importance of Open Dialogue11:31 Judgment and Acceptance in Faith13:03 God as the Ultimate Judge14:40 Conclusion and Invitation to CommunityRegister for the Challenge:https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/A08o-y74QIOyHDd6vsq8NgReady to become part of the community? https://lifetransformed.podia.com/message us and we will give you free access.Merchhttps://www.bonfire.com/store/lifetransformed/Schedule a serve call ⁠https://www.picktime.com/LifeTransformed⁠Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bbolden18?igsh=cnlvdjQ5eGJwZTM%3D&utm_source=qr⁠YouTube⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6sszulCUrjodEyThd-rBw⁠Podcasts Join me live from Odd's Cafe here in Asheville…  message me for the exact time.  ⁠https://www.oddscafe.com/⁠Email: robertbolden@thisworldfreedom.com

On a rainy day in early spring cafe goers are undeterred. As rain patters onto umbrellas above and onto the cobbled sidewalk below, patrons chatter and cups clink.Spotify listener? Lose the intros by becoming a subscriber!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://anchor.fm/tmsoft/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Looking for something specific? Check out our playlists: ⁠Waves⁠, ⁠Rain⁠, ⁠Storms⁠, ⁠Meditation⁠, ⁠Fire⁠, ⁠Wind⁠, ⁠Fans⁠, ⁠Nature⁠, ⁠Trains⁠, ⁠Traffic & Cars⁠, ⁠Household⁠, ⁠City⁠, ⁠Winter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about the White Noise App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download the White Noise app for free!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Our Albums Ad Free on Spotify!⁠⁠⁠⁠

Interested in our business advisory services for your small, medium, or large business across the coffee value chain? Email us here: support@mapitforward.org••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••This is the 3rd episode of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with host Lee Safar and series guest, Marianella Baez Jost.Marianella is a coffee farmer (Cafe con Amor) based in Costa Rica and the co-founder of direct coffee trade project, The Farmers Project.This series is focused on coffee market volatility from the perspective of a smallholder coffee farmer in Costa Rica.The 5 episodes in this series are:1. Coffee Farming In Costa Rica in 2025 - https://youtu.be/3tHVKj65yho2. Coffee Farmers Are Adapting to the Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/QGUewElgLeA3. Not a Short-Term Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/arhcrRBWGEU4. Barriers to Direct Trade - https://youtu.be/dM75gWt1y7s5. Mitigating Risk with Direct Trade Coffee - https://youtu.be/DX0tpHrXFw0In this episode of the podcast series, Lee and Marianella discuss coffee market volatility and delve into the challenges faced by smallholder farmers, the importance of forecasting and long-term planning, the impact of tariffs, and the evolving roles within the coffee supply chain. The conversation highlights the imperative of proactive communication and diversification for sustained success in the coffee industry.Connect with Marianella Baez Jost and The Farmers Project here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-baez-jost-00a529166/https://www.farmersproject-cr.com/https://www.instagram.com/cafeconamor.cr/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Connect with Map It Forward here: Website | Instagram | Mailing list

Today on the show the guys talk about calling A Hitler in the phone book, and the new people moving into the cafe in the courtyard. Should they run a cafe, or try some other kind of business venture?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Night Cafe Volume #9 - Strange Stories for Spooky Season with Steve StocktonBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.

En lo último en salud y fitness edición de septiembre 2025, damos un paseo por las últimas tendencias, investigaciones y noticias en el mundo de la salud y el fitness.En este episodio de octubre 2025, tenemos una mezcla interesante de descubrimientos que podrían cambiar pequeños hábitos de tu día a día con grandes resultados.¿Alguna vez te has preguntado si el orden en que comes tus alimentos realmente importa? O quizás estés buscando una alternativa más efectiva para tu pre-entreno que no te cause ese incómodo nerviosismo. También exploraremos esa cifra mágica de pasos diarios que todos perseguimos y veremos si realmente necesitas llegar a los 10,000 para obtener beneficios.Atajos Del Episodio02:23 - El orden de los carbohidratos SÍ altera el producto (y tu glucosa)105:11 - El chicle que te da la superserie: Cafeína sin el bajón (ni el ardor)2 308:04 - ¿Ayuno o no ayuno? La única respuesta que importa es: ¿qué tipo de ayuno?412:10 - El gran mito de los 10,000 pasos: ¿7,000 son suficientes para vivir más?516:53 - El Gurú Digital: Cuando la IA supera al médico diseñando suplementos6Referencias1.      Ferguson, B. P., Reynolds, L. J. & Haun…, C. T. Effects of ordered eating on blood glucose, substrate utilization, and perceptual responses with a steady-state exercise bout. Journal of Science and … (2025).2.      Ding, L. et al. Effect of Caffeinated Chewing Gum on Maximal Strength, Muscular Power, and Muscle Recruitment During Bench Press and Back Squat Exercises. Nutrients (2025).3.      Ding, L. et al. Caffeinated chewing gum produces comparable strength and power gains to capsules with fewer side effects in resistance-trained men. Journal of the … (2025).4.      Vieira, A. F., Blanco-Rambo, E. & Macedo…, R. C. O. Resistance training performed in the fasted state compared to the fed state on body composition and strength in adults: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Bodywork and … (2025).5. Ding D, Nguyen B, Nau T, Luo M, Del Pozo Cruz B, Dempsey PC, Munn Z, Jefferis BJ, Sherrington C, Calleja EA, Hau Chong K, Davis R, Francois ME, Tiedemann A, Biddle SJH, Okely A, Bauman A, Ekelund U, Clare P, Owen K. Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Aug;10(8):e668-e681. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00164-1. Epub 2025 Jul 23. Erratum in: Lancet Public Health. 2025 Sep;10(9):e731. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00199-9. PMID: 40713949.6.      Pokushalov, E., Garcia, C. & Ponomarenko…, A. Optimizing Weight Loss with Artificial Intelligence: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Dietary-Supplement Prescriptions in Adults with Overweight and Obesity. Clinical Nutrition … (2025).

Are the U.S. airstrikes on alleged drug traffickers aboard vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific legal? Law professor and legal analyst Barb McQuade joins Preet to discuss in this excerpt from the Insider podcast. In the full episode, Preet and Barb break down President Trump's lawsuit against the Justice Department and an appellate court's decision to overturn an order blocking the Trump administration from deploying National Guard in Portland, Oregon. Joyce will be back next week.  CAFE Insiders click HERE to listen to the full analysis.  Not an Insider? Now more than ever, it's critical to stay tuned. To join a community of reasoned voices in unreasonable times, become an Insider today. You'll get access to full episodes of the podcast and other exclusive content. Head to cafe.com/insider or staytuned.substack.com/subscribe.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel. This podcast is brought to you by CAFE and Vox Media Podcast Network.  Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Supervising Producer: Jake Kaplan; Associate Producer: Claudia Hernández; Audio Producer: Matthew Billy; Deputy Editor: Celine Rohr; CAFE Team: David Tatasciore, Nat Weiner, Jennifer Indig, and Liana Greenway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Future-Proofing Your Coffee Business: Planning for 2026 and Beyond" - A Map It Forward Live Workshop for Small to Medium Business Owners Across the Coffee Supply Chain with Lee Safar https://mapitforward.coffee/workshops ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••This is the 2nd episode of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with host Lee Safar and series guest, Marianella Baez Jost.Marianella is a coffee farmer (Cafe con Amor) based in Costa Rica and the co-founder of direct coffee trade project, The Farmers Project.This series is focused on coffee market volatility from the perspective of a smallholder coffee farmer in Costa Rica.The 5 episodes in this series are:1. Coffee Farming In Costa Rica in 2025 - https://youtu.be/3tHVKj65yho2. Coffee Farmers Are Adapting to the Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/QGUewElgLeA3. Not a Short-Term Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/arhcrRBWGEU4. Barriers to Direct Trade - https://youtu.be/dM75gWt1y7s5. Mitigating Risk with Direct Trade Coffee - https://youtu.be/DX0tpHrXFw0In this episode of the podcast series, Lee and Marianella talk about the volatility in the coffee market from the perspective of smallholder farmers. They discuss how market demands influence farming practices, the impact of climate change and labor issues, and the importance of adapting to consumer trends. They also highlight the significance of direct trade relationships and the upcoming challenges and opportunities for the coffee industry as it approaches a defining year in 2026. Connect with Marianella Baez Jost and The Farmers Project here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-baez-jost-00a529166/https://www.farmersproject-cr.com/https://www.instagram.com/cafeconamor.cr/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Connect with Map It Forward here: Website | Instagram | Mailing list

What does it take to keep your voice—and your purpose—strong through every season of life? In this episode of Unstoppable Mindset, I sit down with my friend Bill Ratner, one of Hollywood's most recognized voice actors, best known as Flint from GI Joe. Bill's voice has carried him through radio, animation, and narration, but what stands out most is how he's used that same voice to serve others through storytelling, teaching, and grief counseling. Together, we explore the heart behind his work—from bringing animated heroes to life to standing on The Moth stage and helping people find healing through poetry. Bill shares lessons from his own journey, including losing both parents early, finding family in unexpected places, and discovering how creative expression can rebuild what life breaks down. We also reflect on 9/11, preparedness, and the quiet confidence that comes from trusting your training—whether you're a first responder, a performer, or just navigating the unknown. This conversation isn't just about performance; it's about presence. It's about using your story, your craft, and your compassion to keep moving forward—unstoppable, one voice at a time. Highlights: 00:31 – Hear the Flint voice and what it takes to bring animated characters to life. 06:57 – Learn why an uneven college path still led to a lifelong acting career. 11:50 – Understand how GI Joe became a team and a toy phenomenon that shaped culture. 15:58 – See how comics and cartoons boosted classroom literacy when used well. 17:06 – Pick up simple ways parents can spark reading through shared stories. 19:29 – Discover how early, honest conversations about death can model resilience. 24:09 – Learn to critique ads and media like a pro to sharpen your own performance. 36:19 – Follow the pivot from radio to voiceover and why specialization pays. 47:48 – Hear practical editing approaches and accessible tools that keep shows tight. 49:38 – Learn how The Moth builds storytelling chops through timed, judged practice. 55:21 – See how poetry—and poetry therapy—support grief work with students. 59:39 – Take notes on memoir writing, emotional management, and one-person shows. About the Guest: Bill Ratner is one of America's best known voice actors and author of poetry collections Lamenting While Doing Laps in the Lake (Slow Lightning Lit 2024,) Fear of Fish (Alien Buddha Press 2021,) To Decorate a Casket (Finishing Line Press 2021,) and the non-fiction book Parenting For The Digital Age: The Truth Behind Media's Effect On Children and What To Do About It (Familius Books 2014.) He is a 9-time winner of the Moth StorySLAM, 2-time winner of Best of The Hollywood Fringe Extension Award for Solo Performance, Best of the Net Poetry Nominee 2023 (Lascaux Review,) and New Millennium "America One Year From Now" Writing Award Finalist. His writing appears in Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press,) Missouri Review (audio,) Baltimore Review, Chiron Review, Feminine Collective, and other journals. He is the voice of "Flint" in the TV cartoon G.I. Joe, "Donnell Udina" in the computer game Mass Effect, the voice of Air Disasters on Smithsonian Channel, NewsNation, and network TV affiliates across the country. He is a committee chair for his union, SAG-AFTRA, teaches Voiceovers for SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Media Awareness for Los Angeles Unified School District, and is a trained grief counsellor. Member: Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA, National Storytelling Network • https://billratner.com • @billratner Ways to connect with Bill: https://soundcloud.com/bill-ratner https://www.instagram.com/billratner/ https://twitter.com/billratner https://www.threads.net/@billratner https://billratner.tumblr.com https://www.youtube.com/@billratner/videos https://www.facebook.com/billratner.voiceover.author https://bsky.app/profile/bilorat.bsky.social About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well on a gracious hello to you, wherever you may be, I am your host. Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to have a voice actor, person, Bill Ratner, who you want to know who Bill Radnor is, go back and watch the old GI Joe cartoons and listen to the voice of Flint.   Bill Ratner ** 01:42 All right. Lady Jay, you better get your battle gear on, because Cobra is on their way. And I can't bring up the Lacher threat weapon system. We got to get out of here. Yo, Joe,   Michael Hingson ** 01:52 there you go. I rest my case Well, Bill, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Bill Ratner ** 02:00 We can't rest now. Michael, we've just begun. No, we've just begun.   Michael Hingson ** 02:04 We got to keep going here. Well, I'm really glad that you're here. Bill is another person who we inveigled to get on unstoppable mindset with the help of Walden Hughes. And so that means we can talk about Walden all we want today. Bill just saying, oh goodness. And I got a lot to say. Let me tell you perfect, perfect. Bring it on. So we are really grateful to Walden, although I hope he's not listening. We don't want to give him a big head. But no, seriously, we're really grateful. Ah, good point.   Bill Ratner ** 02:38 But his posture, oddly enough, is perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 02:40 Well, there you go. What do you do? He practiced. Well, anyway, we're glad you're here. Tell us about the early bill, growing up and all that stuff. It's always fun to start a good beginning.   Bill Ratner ** 02:54 Well, I was a very lucky little boy. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1947 to two lovely people, professionals, both with master's degree out at University of Chicago. My mother was a social worker. My father had an MBA in business. He was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. So I had the joy of living in a better home and living in a garden.   Michael Hingson ** 03:21 My mother. How long were you in Des Moines?   Bill Ratner ** 03:24 Five and a half years left before my sixth birthday. My dad got a fancy job at an ad agency in Minneapolis, and had a big brother named Pete and big handsome, curly haired boy with green eyes. And moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was was brought up there.   Michael Hingson ** 03:45 Wow. So you went to school there and and chased the girls and all that stuff.   Bill Ratner ** 03:54 I went to school there at Blake School for Boys in Hopkins, Minnesota. Couldn't chase the girls day school, but the girls we are allowed to dance with certainly not chase. Michael was at woodhue dancing school, the Northrop girls from Northrop girls school and the Blake boys were put together in eighth grade and taught the Cha Cha Cha, the waltz, the Charleston, and we danced together, and the girls wore white gloves, and we sniffed their perfume, and we all learned how to be lovers when we were 45   Michael Hingson ** 04:37 There you are. Well, as long as you learned at some point, that's a good start.   Bill Ratner ** 04:44 It's a weird generation. Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 04:46 I've been to Des Moines before. I was born in Chicago, but moved out to California when I was five, but I did some work with the National Federation of the Blind in the mid 19. 1970s 1976 into 1978 so spent time at the Iowa Commission for the Blind in Des Moines, which became a top agency for the Blind in well, the late 50s into the to the 60s and so on. So   Bill Ratner ** 05:15 both my parents are from Chicago. My father from the south side of Chicago, 44th and Kenzie, which was a Irish, Polish, Italian, Jewish, Ukrainian neighborhood. And my mother from Glencoe, which was a middle class suburb above Northwestern University in Evanston.   Michael Hingson ** 05:34 I Where were you born? 57th and union, north, south side, no, South   Bill Ratner ** 05:42 57th union is that? Is that west of Kenzie?   Michael Hingson ** 05:46 You know, I don't remember the geography well enough to know, but I know that it was, I think, Mount Sinai Hospital where I was born. But it was, it's, it's, it's a pretty tough neighborhood today. So I understand,   Bill Ratner ** 06:00 yeah, yeah, my it was tough, then it's tough now,   Michael Hingson ** 06:03 yeah, I think it's tougher, supposedly, than it was. But we lived there for five years, and then we we moved to California, and I remember some things about Chicago. I remember walking down to the local candy store most days, and had no problem doing that. My parents were told they should shut me away at a home somewhere, because no blind child could ever grow up to amount to anything. And my parents said, You guys are you're totally wrong. And they brought me up with that attitude. So, you   Bill Ratner ** 06:32 know who said that the school says school so that   Michael Hingson ** 06:35 doctors doctors when they discovered I was blind with the   Bill Ratner ** 06:38 kid, goodness gracious, horrified.   Michael Hingson ** 06:44 Well, my parents said absolutely not, and they brought me up, and they actually worked with other parents of premature kids who became blind, and when kindergarten started in for us in in the age of four, they actually had a special kindergarten class for blind kids at the Perry School, which is where I went. And so I did that for a year, learn braille and some other things. Then we moved to California, but yeah, and I go back to Chicago every so often. And when I do nowadays, they I one of my favorite places to migrate in Chicago is Garrett Popcorn.   Bill Ratner ** 07:21 Ah, yes, with caramel corn, regular corn, the   Michael Hingson ** 07:25 Chicago blend, which is a mixture, yeah, the Chicago blend is cheese corn, well, as it is with caramel corn, and they put much other mozzarella on it as well. It's really good.   Bill Ratner ** 07:39 Yeah, so we're on the air. Michael, what do you call your what do you call your program? Here I am your new friend, and I can't even announce your program because I don't know   Michael Hingson ** 07:48 the name, unstoppable mindset. This   Bill Ratner ** 07:51 is unstoppable mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 We're back. Well, we're back already. We're fast. So you, you, you moved off elsewhere, out of Des Moines and all that. And where did you go to college?   Bill Ratner ** 08:09 Well, this is like, why did you this is, this is a bit like talking about the Vietnam War. Looking back on my college career is like looking back on the Vietnam War series, a series of delusions and defeats. By the time I the time i for college, by the time I was applying for college, I was an orphan, orphan, having been born to fabulous parents who died too young of natural causes. So my grades in high school were my mediocre. I couldn't get into the Ivy Leagues. I got into the big 10 schools. My stepmother said, you're going to Michigan State in East Lansing because your cousin Eddie became a successful realtor. And Michigan State was known as mu u it was the most successful, largest agriculture college and university in the country. Kids from South Asia, China, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, South America all over the world came to Michigan State to study agricultural sciences, children of rich farmers all over the world and middle class farmers all over the world, and a huge police science department. Part of the campus was fenced off, and the young cadets, 1819, 20 years old, would practice on the rest of the student body, uniformed with hats and all right, excuse me, young man, we're just going to get some pizza at eight o'clock on Friday night. Stand against your car. Hands in your car. I said, Are you guys practicing again? Shut up and spread your legs. So that was that was Michigan State, and even though both my parents had master's degrees, I just found all the diversions available in the 1960s to be too interesting, and was not invited. Return after my sophomore year, and in order to flunk out of a big 10 University, and they're fine universities, all of them, you have to be either really determined or not so smart, not really capable of doing that level of study in undergraduate school. And I'd like to think that I was determined. I used to show up for my exams with a little blue book, and the only thing I would write is due to lack of knowledge, I am unable to complete this exam, sign Bill ranter and get up early and hand it in and go off. And so what was, what was left for a young man like that was the theater I'd seen the great Zero Mostel when I was 14 years old and on stage live, he looked just like my father, and he was funny, and if I Were a rich man, and that's the grade zero must tell. Yeah, and it took about five, no, it took about six, seven years to percolate inside my bread and my brain. In high school, I didn't want to do theater. The cheerleaders and guys who I had didn't happen to be friends with or doing theater. I took my girlfriends to see plays, but when I was 21 I started acting, and I've been an actor ever since. I'm a committee chair on the screen actors guild in Hollywood and Screen Actors Guild AFTRA, and work as a voice actor and collect my pensions and God bless the union.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 Well, hey, as long as it works and you're making progress, you know you're still with it, right?   Bill Ratner ** 11:53 That's the that's the point. There's no accounting for taste in my business. Michael, you work for a few different broadcast entities at my age. And it's, you know, it's younger people. It's 18 to 3418 years to 34 years old is the ideal demographic for advertisers, Ford, Motor Company, Dove soap, Betty, Crocker, cake mixes and cereals, every conceivable product that sold online or sold on television and radio. This is my this is my meat, and I don't work for religion. However, if a religious organization calls, I call and say, I I'm not, not qualified or not have my divinity degree in order to sell your church to the public?   Michael Hingson ** 12:46 Yeah, yeah. Well, I, I can understand that. But you, you obviously do a lot, and as we talked about, you were Flint and GI Joe, which is kind of cool.   Bill Ratner ** 13:01 Flynn GI Joe was very cool. Hasbro Corporation, which was based in Providence, Rhode Island, had a huge success with GI Joe, the figure. The figure was about 11 and a half inches tall, like a Barbie, and was at first, was introduced to the public after the Korean War. There is a comic book that was that was also published about GI Joe. He was an individual figure. He was a figure, a sort of mythic cartoon figure during World War Two, GI Joe, generic American soldier, fighting man and but the Vietnam war dragged on for a long time, and the American buying public or buying kids toys got tired of GI Joe, got tired of a military figure in their household and stopped buying. And when Nixon ended the Vietnam War, or allotted to finish in 1974 Hasbro was in the tank. It's got its stock was cheap, and executives are getting nervous. And then came the Great George Lucas in Star Wars, who shrank all these action figures down from 11 and a half inches to three and a half inches, and went to China and had Chinese game and toy makers make Star Wars toys, and began to earn billions and billions dollars. And so Hasbro said, let's turn GI Joe into into a team. And the team began with flint and Lady J and Scarlett and Duke and Destro and cover commander, and grew to 85 different characters, because Hasbro and the toy maker partners could create 85 different sets of toys and action figures. So I was actor in this show and had a good time, and also a purveyor of a billion dollar industry of American toys. And the good news about these toys is I was at a conference where we signed autographs the voice actors, and we have supper with fans and so on. And I was sitting next to a 30 year old kid and his parents. And this kid was so knowledgeable about pop culture and every conceivable children's show and animated show that had ever been on the screen or on television. I turned to his mother and sort of being a wise acre, said, So ma'am, how do you feel about your 30 year old still playing with GI Joe action figures? And she said, Well, he and I both teach English in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania school system, and last year, the literacy level of my ninth graders was 50% 50% of those kids could not read in ninth grade. So I asked the principal if I could borrow my son's GI Joe, action figures, comic books and VHS tapes, recordings of the shows from TV. And he said, Sure, whatever you want to try. And so she did, and she played the video tapes, and these kids were thrilled. They'd never seen a GI Joe cartoon in class before. Passed out the comic books, let him read comics. And then she said, Okay, you guys. And passed out notebooks and pens and pencils, and said, I want you guys to make up some some shows, some GI Joe shows. And so they said, Yeah, we're ready. All right, Cobra, you better get into the barber shop, because the barber bill is no longer there and the fire engines are in the way. And wait a minute, there's a dog in the street. And so they're making this up, using their imagination, doing their schoolwork, by coming up with scenarios, imaginary fam fan fiction for GI Joe and she raised the literacy level in her classroom by 50% that year, by the end of that year, so, so that was the only story that I've ever heard about the sort of the efficacy of GI Joe, other than, you know, kids play with them. Do they? Are they shooting each other all the time? I certainly hope not. I hope not. Are they using the action figures? Do they strip their guns off and put them in a little, you know, stub over by the side and and have them do physical battle with each other, or have them hump the woods, or have them climb the stairs, or have them search the trees. Who knows what kids do? Same with same with girls and and Barbies. Barbie has been a source of fun and creativity for lots of girls, and the source of of worry and bother to a lot of parents as   Michael Hingson ** 17:54 well. Well, at the same time, though, when kids start to react and relate to some of these things. It's, it's pretty cool. I mean, look what's happened with the whole Harry Potter movement and craze. Harry Potter has probably done more in the last 20 or 25 years to promote reading for kids than most anything else, and   Bill Ratner ** 18:17 that's because it's such a good series of books. I read them to my daughters, yeah. And the quality of writing. She was a brilliant writer, not only just the stories and the storytelling, which is fun to watch in the movies, and you know, it's great for a parent to read. If there are any parents listening, I don't care how old your kids are. I don't care if they're 15. Offer to read to them. The 15 year old might, of course, say mom, but anybody younger than that might say either, all right, fine, which is, which means you better do it or read, read a book. To me, sure, it's fun for the parent, fun for the kid, and it makes the child a completely different kind of thinker and worker and earner.   Michael Hingson ** 19:05 Well, also the people who they got to read the books for the recordings Stephen Fry and in the US here, Jim Dale did such an incredible job as well. I've, I've read the whole Harry Potter series more than once, because I just enjoy them, and I enjoy listening to the the voices. They do such a good job. Yeah. And of course, for me, one of the interesting stories that I know about Jim Dale reading Harry Potter was since it was published by Scholastic he was actually scheduled to do a reading from one of the Harry from the new Harry Potter book that was coming out in 2001 on September 11, he was going to be at Scholastic reading. And of course, that didn't happen because of of everything that did occur. So I don't know whether I'm. I'm assuming at some point a little bit later, he did, but still he was scheduled to be there and read. But it they are there. They've done so much to help promote reading, and a lot of those kinds of cartoons and so on. Have done some of that, which is, which is pretty good. So it's good to, you know, to see that continue to happen. Well, so you've written several books on poetry and so on, and I know that you you've mentioned more than once grief and loss. How come those words keep coming up?   Bill Ratner ** 20:40 Well, I had an unusual childhood. Again. I mentioned earlier how, what a lucky kid I was. My parents were happy, educated, good people, not abusers. You know, I don't have a I don't have horror stories to tell about my mother or my father, until my mother grew sick with breast cancer and and it took about a year and a half or two years to die when I was seven years old. The good news is, because she was a sensitive, educated social worker, as she was actually dying, she arranged a death counseling session with me and my older brother and the Unitarian minister who was also a death counselor, and whom she was seeing to talk about, you know, what it was like to be dying of breast cancer with two young kids. And at this session, which was sort of surprised me, I was second grade, came home from school. In the living room was my mother and my brother looking a little nervous, and Dr Carl storm from the Unitarian Church, and she said, you know, Dr storm from church, but he's also my therapist. And we talk about my illness and how I feel, and we talk about how much I love you boys, and talk about how I worry about Daddy. And this is what one does when one is in crisis. That was a moment that was not traumatic for me. It's a moment I recalled hundreds of times, and one that has been a guiding light through my life. My mother's death was very difficult for my older brother, who was 13 who grew up in World War Two without without my father, it was just him and my mother when he was off in the Pacific fighting in World War Two. And then I was born after the war. And the loss of a mother in a family is like the bottom dropping out of a family. But luckily, my dad met a woman he worked with a highly placed advertising executive, which was unusual for a female in the 1950s and she became our stepmother a year later, and we had some very lovely, warm family years with her extended family and our extended family and all of us together until my brother got sick, came down with kidney disease a couple of years before kidney dialysis was invented, and a couple of years before kidney transplants were done, died at 19. Had been the captain of the swimming team at our high school, but did a year in college out in California and died on Halloween of 1960 my father was 51 years old. His eldest son had died. He had lost his wife six years earlier. He was working too hard in the advertising industry, successful man and dropped out of a heart attack 14th birthday. Gosh, I found him unconscious on the floor of our master bathroom in our house. So my life changed. I My life has taught me many, many things. It's taught me how the defense system works in trauma. It's taught me the resilience of a child. It's taught me the kindness of strangers. It's taught me the sadness of loss.   Michael Hingson ** 24:09 Well, you, you seem to come through all of it pretty well. Well, thank you. A question behind that, just an observation, but, but you do seem to, you know, obviously, cope with all of it and do pretty well. So you, you've always liked to be involved in acting and so on. How did you actually end up deciding to be a voice actor?   Bill Ratner ** 24:39 Well, my dad, after he was managing editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in Des Moines for Meredith publishing, got offered a fancy job as executive vice president of the flower and mix division for Campbell within advertising and later at General Mills Corporation. From Betty Crocker brand, and would bring me to work all the time, and would sit with me, and we'd watch the wonderful old westerns that were on prime time television, rawhide and Gunsmoke and the Virginian and sure   Michael Hingson ** 25:15 and all those. Yeah, during   Bill Ratner ** 25:17 the commercials, my father would make fun of the commercials. Oh, look at that guy. And number one, son, that's lousy acting. Number two, listen to that copy. It's the dumbest ad copy I've ever seen. The jingles and and then he would say, No, that's a good commercial, right there. And he wasn't always negative. He would he was just a good critic of advertising. So at a very young age, starting, you know, when we watch television, I think the first television ever, he bought us when I was five years old, I was around one of the most educated, active, funny, animated television critics I could hope to have in my life as a 56789, 1011, 12 year old. And so when I was 12, I became one of the founding members of the Brotherhood of radio stations with my friends John Waterhouse and John Barstow and Steve gray and Bill Connors in South Minneapolis. I named my five watt night kit am transmitter after my sixth grade teacher, Bob close this is wclo stereo radio. And when I was in sixth grade, I built myself a switch box, and I had a turntable and I had an intercom, and I wired my house for sound, as did all the other boys in the in the B, O, R, S, and that's brotherhood of radio stations. And we were guests on each other's shows, and we were obsessed, and we would go to the shopping malls whenever a local DJ was making an appearance and torture him and ask him dumb questions and listen obsessively to American am radio. And at the time for am radio, not FM like today, or internet on your little radio tuner, all the big old grandma and grandpa radios, the wooden ones, were AM, for amplitude modulated. You could get stations at night, once the sun went down and the later it got, the ionosphere would lift and the am radio signals would bounce higher and farther. And in Minneapolis, at age six and seven, I was able to to listen to stations out of Mexico and Texas and Chicago, and was absolutely fascinated with with what was being put out. And I would, I would switch my brother when I was about eight years old, gave me a transistor radio, which I hid under my bed covers. And at night, would turn on and listen for, who knows, hours at a time, and just tuning the dial and tuning the dial from country to rock and roll to hit parade to news to commercials to to agric agriculture reports to cow crossings in Kansas and grain harvesting and cheese making in Wisconsin, and on and on and on that made up the great medium of radio that was handing its power and its business over to television, just as I was growing As a child. Fast, fascinating transition   Michael Hingson ** 28:18 and well, but as it was transitioning, how did that affect you?   Bill Ratner ** 28:26 It made television the romantic, exciting, dynamic medium. It made radio seem a little limited and antiquated, and although I listened for environment and wasn't able to drag a television set under my covers. Yeah, and television became memorable with with everything from actual world war two battle footage being shown because there wasn't enough programming to 1930s Warner Brothers gangster movies with James Cagney, Edward G   Michael Hingson ** 29:01 Robinson and yeah   Bill Ratner ** 29:02 to all the sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver and television cartoons and on and on and on. And the most memorable elements to me were the personalities, and some of whom were invisible. Five years old, I was watching a Kids program after school, after kindergarten. We'll be back with more funny puppets, marionettes after this message and the first words that came on from an invisible voice of this D baritone voice, this commercial message will be 60 seconds long, Chrysler Dodge for 1954 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I watched hypnotized, hypnotized as a 1953 dodge drove across the screen with a happy family of four waving out the window. And at the end of the commercial, I ran into the kitchen said, Mom, mom, I know what a minute. Is, and it was said, it had suddenly come into my brain in one of those very rare and memorable moments in a person's life where your brain actually speaks to you in its own private language and says, Here is something very new and very true, that 60 seconds is in fact a minute. When someone says, See you in five minutes, they mean five times that, five times as long as that. Chrysler commercial, five times 60. That's 300 seconds. And she said, Did you learn it that that on T in kindergarten? And I said, No, I learned it from kangaroo Bob on TV, his announcer, oh, kangaroo Bob, no, but this guy was invisible. And so at five years of age, I was aware of the existence of the practice of the sound, of the magic of the seemingly unlimited access to facts, figures, products, brand names that these voices had and would say on the air in This sort of majestic, patriarchal way,   Michael Hingson ** 31:21 and just think 20 years later, then you had James Earl Jones,   Bill Ratner ** 31:26 the great dame. James Earl Jones, father was a star on stage at that time the 1950s James Earl Jones came of age in the 60s and became Broadway and off Broadway star.   Michael Hingson ** 31:38 I got to see him in Othello. He was playing Othello. What a powerful performance. It was   Bill Ratner ** 31:43 wonderful performer. Yeah, yeah. I got to see him as Big Daddy in Canada, Hot Tin Roof, ah, live and in person, he got front row seats for me and my family.   Michael Hingson ** 31:53 Yeah, we weren't in the front row, but we saw it. We saw it on on Broadway,   Bill Ratner ** 31:58 the closest I ever got to James Earl Jones. He and I had the same voice over agent, woman named Rita vinari of southern Barth and benare company. And I came into the agency to audition for Doritos, and I hear this magnificent voice coming from behind a closed voiceover booth, saying, with a with a Spanish accent, Doritos. I thought that's James Earl Jones. Why is he saying burritos? And he came out, and he bowed to me, nodded and smiled, and I said, hello and and the agent probably in the booth and shut the door. And she said, I said, that was James Earl Jones. What a voice. What she said, Oh, he's such a nice man. And she said, but I couldn't. I was too embarrassed. I was too afraid to stop him from saying, Doritos. And it turns out he didn't get the gig. So it is some other voice actor got it because he didn't say, had he said Doritos with the agent froze it froze up. That was as close as I ever got to did you get the gig? Oh goodness no,   Michael Hingson ** 33:01 no, you didn't, huh? Oh, well, well, yeah. I mean, it was a very, it was, it was wonderful. It was James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer played Iago. Oh, goodness, oh, I know. What a what a combination. Well, so you, you did a lot of voiceover stuff. What did you do regarding radio moving forward? Or did you just go completely out of that and you were in TV? Or did you have any opportunity   Bill Ratner ** 33:33 for me to go back at age 15, my brother and father, who were big supporters of my radio. My dad would read my W, C, l, o, newsletter and need an initial, an excellent journalism son and my brother would bring his teenage friends up. He'd play the elderly brothers, man, you got an Elvis record, and I did. And you know, they were, they were big supporters for me as a 13 year old, but when I turned 14, and had lost my brother and my father, I lost my enthusiasm and put all of my radio equipment in a box intended to play with it later. Never, ever, ever did again. And when I was about 30 years old and I'd done years of acting in the theater, having a great time doing fun plays and small theaters in Minneapolis and South Dakota and and Oakland, California and San Francisco. I needed money, so I looked in the want ads and saw a job for telephone sales, and I thought, Well, I used to love the telephone. I used to make phony phone calls to people all the time. Used to call funeral homes. Hi Carson, funeral I help you. Yes, I'm calling to tell you that you have a you have a dark green slate tile. Roof, isn't that correct? Yes. Well, there's, there's a corpse on your roof. Lady for goodness sake, bring it down and we laugh and we record it and and so I thought, Well, gee, I used to have a lot of fun with the phone. And so I called the number of telephone sales and got hired to sell magazine subscriptions and dinner tickets to Union dinners and all kinds of things. And then I saw a new job at a radio station, suburban radio station out in Walnut Creek, California, a lovely Metro BART train ride. And so I got on the BART train, rode out there and walked in for the interview, and was told I was going to be selling small advertising packages on radio for the station on the phone. And so I called barber shops and beauty shops and gas stations in the area, and one guy picked up the phone and said, Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Are you on the radio right now? And I said, No, I'm just I'm in the sales room. Well, maybe you should be. And he slams the phone on me. He didn't want to talk to me anymore. It wasn't interested in buying advertising. I thought, gee. And I told somebody at the station, and they said, Well, you want to be in the radio? And he went, Yeah, I was on the radio when I was 13. And it just so happened that an older fellow was retiring from the 10am to 2pm slot. K I S King, kiss 99 and KD FM, Pittsburgh, California. And it was a beautiful music station. It was a music station. Remember, old enough will remember music that used to play in elevators that was like violin music, the Percy faith orchestra playing a Rolling Stone song here in the elevator. Yes, well, that's exactly what we played. And it would have been harder to get a job at the local rock stations because, you know, they were popular places. And so I applied for the job, and   Michael Hingson ** 37:06 could have lost your voice a lot sooner, and it would have been a lot harder if you had had to do Wolfman Jack. But that's another story.   Bill Ratner ** 37:13 Yeah, I used to listen to Wolf Man Jack. I worked in a studio in Hollywood. He became a studio. Yeah, big time.   Michael Hingson ** 37:22 Anyway, so you you got to work at the muzack station, got   Bill Ratner ** 37:27 to work at the muzack station, and I was moving to Los Angeles to go to a bigger market, to attempt to penetrate a bigger broadcast market. And one of the sales guys, a very nice guy named Ralph pizzella said, Well, when you get to La you should study with a friend of mine down to pie Troy, he teaches voiceovers. I said, What are voice overs? He said, You know that CVS Pharmacy commercial just carted up and did 75 tags, available in San Fernando, available in San Clemente, available in Los Angeles, available in Pasadena. And I said, Yeah. He said, Well, you didn't get paid any extra. You got paid your $165 a week. The guy who did that commercial for the ad agency got paid probably 300 bucks, plus extra for the tags, that's voiceovers. And I thought, why? There's an idea, what a concept. So he gave me the name and number of old friend acquaintance of his who he'd known in radio, named Don DiPietro, alias Johnny rabbit, who worked for the Dick Clark organization, had a big rock and roll station there. He'd come to LA was doing voiceovers and teaching voiceover classes in a little second story storefront out of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. So I signed up for his class, and he was an experienced guy, and he liked me, and we all had fun, and I realized I was beginning to study like an actor at 1818, who goes to New York or goes to Los Angeles or Chicago or Atlanta or St Louis to act in the big theaters, and starts acting classes and realizes, oh my goodness, these people are truly professionals. I don't know how to do what they do. And so for six years, I took voice over classes, probably 4050, nights a year, and from disc jockeys, from ex show hosts, from actors, from animated cartoon voices, and put enough time in to get a degree in neurology in medical school. And worked my way up in radio in Los Angeles and had a morning show, a lovely show with a wonderful news man named Phil Reed, and we talked about things and reviewed movies and and played a lot of music. And then I realized, wait a minute, I'm earning three times the money in voiceovers as I am on the radio, and I have to get up at 430 in the morning to be on the radio. Uh, and a wonderful guy who was Johnny Carson's staff announcer named Jack angel said, You're not still on radio, are you? And I said, Well, yeah, I'm working in the morning. And Ka big, get out of there. Man, quit. Quit. And I thought, well, how can I quit? I've always wanted to be a radio announcer. And then there was another wonderful guy on the old am station, kmpc, sweet Dick Whittington. Whittington, right? And he said at a seminar that I went to at a union voice over training class, when you wake up at four in the morning and you swing your legs over the bed and your shoes hit the floor, and you put your head in your hands, and you say to yourself, I don't want to do this anymore. That's when you quit radio. Well, that hadn't happened to me. I was just getting up early to write some comedy segments and on and on and on, and then I was driving around town all day doing auditions and rented an ex girlfriend's second bedroom so that I could nap by myself during the day, when I had an hour in and I would as I would fall asleep, I'd picture myself every single day I'm in a dark voiceover studio, a microphone Is before me, a music stand is before the microphone, and on it is a piece of paper with advertising copy on it. On the other side of the large piece of glass of the recording booth are three individuals, my employers, I begin to read, and somehow the text leaps off the page, streams into my eyes, letter for letter, word for word, into a part of my back brain that I don't understand and can't describe. It is processed in my semi conscious mind with the help of voice over training and hope and faith, and comes out my mouth, goes into the microphone, is recorded in the digital recorder, and those three men, like little monkeys, lean forward and say, Wow, how do you do that? That was my daily creative visualization. Michael, that was my daily fantasy. And I had learned that from from Dale Carnegie, and I had learned that from Olympic athletes on NBC TV in the 60s and 70s, when the announcer would say, this young man you're seeing practicing his high jump is actually standing there. He's standing stationary, and the bouncing of the head is he's actually rehearsing in his mind running and running and leaping over the seven feet two inch bar and falling into the sawdust. And now he's doing it again, and you could just barely see the man nodding his head on camera at the exact rhythm that he would be running the 25 yards toward the high bar and leaping, and he raised his head up during the imaginary lead that he was visualizing, and then he actually jumped the seven foot two inches. That's how I learned about creative visualization from NBC sports on TV.   Michael Hingson ** 43:23 Channel Four in Los Angeles. There you go. Well, so you you broke into voice over, and that's what you did.   Bill Ratner ** 43:38 That's what I did, darn it, I ain't stopping now, there's a wonderful old actor named Bill Irwin. There two Bill Irwin's one is a younger actor in his 50s or 60s, a brilliant actor from Broadway to film and TV. There's an older William Irwin. They also named Bill Irwin, who's probably in his 90s now. And I went to a premiere of a film, and he was always showing up in these films as The senile stock broker who answers the phone upside down, or the senile board member who always asks inappropriate questions. And I went up to him and I said, you know, I see you in everything, man. I'm 85 years old. Some friends and associates of mine tell me I should slow down. I only got cast in movies and TV when I was 65 I ain't slowing down. If I tried to slow down at 85 I'd have to stop That's my philosophy. My hero is the great Don Pardo, the late great   Michael Hingson ** 44:42 for Saturday Night Live and Jeopardy   Bill Ratner ** 44:45 lives starring Bill Murray, Gilder Radner, and   Michael Hingson ** 44:49 he died for Jeopardy before that,   Bill Ratner ** 44:52 yeah, died at 92 with I picture him, whether it probably not, with a microphone and. His hand in his in his soundproof booth, in his in his garage, and I believe he lived in Arizona, although the show was aired and taped in New York, New York, right where he worked for for decades as a successful announcer. So that's the story.   Michael Hingson ** 45:16 Michael. Well, you know, I miss, very frankly, some of the the the days of radio back in the 60s and 70s and so on. We had, in LA what you mentioned, Dick Whittington, Dick whittinghill on kmpc, Gary Owens, you know, so many people who were such wonderful announcers and doing some wonderful things, and radio just isn't the same anymore. It's gone. It's   Bill Ratner ** 45:47 gone to Tiktok and YouTube. And the truth is, I'm not gonna whine about Tiktok or YouTube, because some of the most creative moments on camera are being done on Tiktok and YouTube by young quote influencers who hire themselves out to advertisers, everything from lipstick. You know,   Speaker 1 ** 46:09 when I went to a party last night was just wild and but this makeup look, watch me apply this lip remover and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, no, I have no lip.   Bill Ratner ** 46:20 You know, these are the people with the voices. These are the new voices. And then, of course, the faces. And so I would really advise before, before people who, in fact, use the internet. If you use the internet, you can't complain if you use the internet, if you go to Facebook or Instagram, or you get collect your email or Google, this or that, which most of us do, it's handy. You can't complain about tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. You can't complain about tick tock or YouTube, because it's what the younger generation is using, and it's what the younger generation advertisers and advertising executives and creators and musicians and actors are using to parade before us, as Gary Owens did, as Marlon Brando did, as Sarah Bernhardt did in the 19 so as all as you do, Michael, you're a parader. You're the head of the parade. You've been in on your own float for years. I read your your bio. I don't even know why you want to waste a minute talking to me for goodness sakes.   Michael Hingson ** 47:26 You know, the one thing about podcasts that I like over radio, and I did radio at kuci for seven years when I was in school, what I really like about podcasts is they're not and this is also would be true for Tiktok and YouTube. Primarily Tiktok, I would would say it isn't as structured. So if we don't finish in 60 minutes, and we finish in 61 minutes, no one's gonna shoot us.   Bill Ratner ** 47:53 Well, I beg to differ with you. Now. I'm gonna start a fight with you. Michael, yeah, we need conflict in this script. Is that it The Tick Tock is very structured. Six. No,   Michael Hingson ** 48:03 no, I understand that. I'm talking about podcasts,   Bill Ratner ** 48:07 though, but there's a problem. We gotta Tone It Up. We gotta pick it up. We gotta there's a lot of and I listen to what are otherwise really bright, wonderful personalities on screen, celebrities who have podcasts and the car sucks, and then I had meatballs for dinner, haha. And you know what my wife said? Why? You know? And there's just too much of that. And,   Michael Hingson ** 48:32 oh, I understand, yeah. I mean, it's like, like anything, but I'm just saying that's one of the reasons I love podcasting. So it's my way of continuing what I used to do in radio and having a lot of fun doing it   Bill Ratner ** 48:43 all right, let me ask you. Let me ask you a technical and editorial question. Let me ask you an artistic question. An artist, can you edit this podcast? Yeah. Are you? Do you plan to Nope.   Michael Hingson ** 48:56 I think conversations are conversations, but there is a but, I mean,   Bill Ratner ** 49:01 there have been starts and stops and I answer a question, and there's a long pause, and then, yeah, we can do you edit that stuff   Michael Hingson ** 49:08 out. We do, we do, edit some of that out. And I have somebody that that that does a lot of it, because I'm doing more podcasts, and also I travel and speak, but I can edit. There's a program called Reaper, which is really a very sophisticated   Bill Ratner ** 49:26 close up spaces. You   Michael Hingson ** 49:28 can close up spaces with it, yes, but the neat thing about Reaper is that somebody has written scripts to make it incredibly accessible for blind people using screen readers.   Bill Ratner ** 49:40 What does it do? What does it do? Give me the elevator pitch.   Michael Hingson ** 49:46 You've seen some of the the programs that people use, like computer vision and other things to do editing of videos and so on. Yeah.   Bill Ratner ** 49:55 Yeah. Even Apple. Apple edit. What is it called? Apple? Garage Band. No, that's audio. What's that   Michael Hingson ** 50:03 audio? Oh,   Bill Ratner ** 50:06 quick time is quick   Michael Hingson ** 50:07 time. But whether it's video or audio, the point is that Reaper allows me to do all of that. I can edit audio. I can insert, I can remove pauses. I can do anything with Reaper that anyone else can do editing audio, because it's been made completely accessible.   Bill Ratner ** 50:27 That's great. That's good. That's nice. Oh, it is. It's cool.   Michael Hingson ** 50:31 So so if I want, I can edit this and just have my questions and then silence when you're talking.   Bill Ratner ** 50:38 That might be best. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Bill Ratner,   Michael Hingson ** 50:46 yep, exactly, exactly. Now you have won the moth stories. Slam, what? Tell me about my story. Slam, you've won it nine times.   Bill Ratner ** 51:00 The Moth was started by a writer, a novelist who had lived in the South and moved to New York City, successful novelist named George Dawes green. And the inception of the moth, which many people listening are familiar with from the Moth Radio Hour. It was, I believe, either late 90s or early 2000s when he'd been in New York for a while and was was publishing as a fiction writer, and threw a party, and decided, instead of going to one of these dumb, boring parties or the same drinks being served and same cigarettes being smoked out in the veranda and the same orders. I'm going to ask people to bring a five minute story, a personal story, nature, a true story. You don't have to have one to get into the party, but I encourage you to. And so you know, the 3040, 50 people showed up, many of whom had stories, and they had a few drinks, and they had hors d'oeuvres. And then he said, Okay, ladies and gentlemen, take your seats. It's time for and then I picked names out of a hat, and person after person after person stood up in a very unusual setting, which was almost never done at parties. You How often do you see that happen? Suddenly, the room falls silent, and someone with permission being having been asked by the host to tell a personal story, some funny, some tragic, some complex, some embarrassing, some racy, some wild, some action filled. And afterward, the feedback he got from his friends was, this is the most amazing experience I've ever had in my life. And someone said, you need to do this. And he said, Well, you people left a lot of cigarette butts and beer cans around my apartment. And they said, well, let's do it at a coffee shop. Let's do it at a church basement. So slowly but surely, the moth storytelling, story slams, which were designed after the old poetry slams in the 50s and 60s, where they were judged contests like, like a dance contest. Everybody's familiar with dance contests? Well, there were, then came poetry contests with people singing and, you know, and singing and really energetically, really reading. There then came storytelling contests with people standing on a stage before a silent audience, telling a hopefully interesting, riveting story, beginning middle, end in five minutes. And so a coffee house was found. A monthly calendar was set up. Then came the internet. Then it was so popular standing room only that they had to open yet another and another, and today, some 20 years later, 20 some years later, from Austin, Texas to San Francisco, California to Minneapolis, Minnesota to New York City to Los Angeles. There are moth story slams available on online for you to schedule yourself to go live and in person at the moth.org as in the moth with wings. Friend of mine, I was in New York. He said, You can't believe it. This writer guy, a writer friend of mine who I had read, kind of an avant garde, strange, funny writer was was hosting something called the moth in New York, and we were texting each other. He said, Well, I want to go. The theme was show business. I was going to talk to my Uncle Bobby, who was the bell boy. And I Love Lucy. I'll tell a story. And I texted him that day. He said, Oh man, I'm so sorry. I had the day wrong. It's next week. Next week, I'm going to be back home. And so he said, Well, I think there's a moth in Los Angeles. So about 15 years ago, I searched it down and what? Went to a small Korean barbecue that had a tiny little stage that originally was for Korean musicians, and it was now being used for everything from stand up comedy to evenings of rock and roll to now moth storytelling once a month. And I think the theme was first time. And so I got up and told a silly story and didn't win first prize. They have judges that volunteer judges a table of three judges scoring, you like, at a swim meet or a track beat or, you know, and our gymnastics meet. So this is all sort of familiar territory for everybody, except it's storytelling and not high jumping or pull ups. And I kept going back. I was addicted to it. I would write a story and I'd memorize it, and I'd show up and try to make it four minutes and 50 seconds and try to make it sound like I was really telling a story and not reading from a script. And wish I wasn't, because I would throw the script away, and I knew the stories well enough. And then they created a radio show. And then I began to win slams and compete in the grand slams. And then I started submitting these 750 word, you know, two and a half page stories. Literary magazines got a few published and found a whole new way to spend my time and not make much   Michael Hingson ** 56:25 money. Then you went into poetry.   Bill Ratner ** 56:29 Then I got so bored with my prose writing that I took a poetry course from a wonderful guy in LA called Jack grapes, who had been an actor and a football player and come to Hollywood and did some TV, episodics and and some some episodic TV, and taught poetry. It was a poet in the schools, and I took his class of adults and got a poem published. And thought, wait a minute, these aren't even 750 words. They're like 75 words. I mean, you could write a 10,000 word poem if you want, but some people have, yeah, and it was complex, and there was so much to read and so much to learn and so much that was interesting and odd. And a daughter of a friend of mine is a poet, said, Mommy, are you going to read me one of those little word movies before I go to sleep?   Michael Hingson ** 57:23 A little word movie, word movie out of the   Bill Ratner ** 57:27 mouths of babes. Yeah, and so, so and I perform. You know, last night, I was in Orange County at a organization called ugly mug Cafe, and a bunch of us poets read from an anthology that was published, and we sold our books, and heard other young poets who were absolutely marvelous and and it's, you know, it's not for everybody, but it's one of the things I do.   Michael Hingson ** 57:54 Well, you sent me pictures of book covers, so they're going to be in the show notes. And I hope people will will go out and get them   Bill Ratner ** 58:01 cool. One of the one of the things that I did with poetry, in addition to wanting to get published and wanting to read before people, is wanting to see if there is a way. Because poetry was, was very satisfying, emotionally to me, intellectually very challenging and satisfying at times. And emotionally challenging and very satisfying at times, writing about things personal, writing about nature, writing about friends, writing about stories that I received some training from the National Association for poetry therapy. Poetry therapy is being used like art therapy, right? And have conducted some sessions and and participated in many and ended up working with eighth graders of kids who had lost someone to death in the past year of their lives. This is before covid in the public schools in Los Angeles. And so there's a lot of that kind of work that is being done by constable people, by writers, by poets, by playwrights,   Michael Hingson ** 59:09 and you became a grief counselor,   Bill Ratner ** 59:13 yes, and don't do that full time, because I do voiceovers full time, right? Write poetry and a grand. Am an active grandparent, but I do the occasional poetry session around around grief poetry.   Michael Hingson ** 59:31 So you're a grandparent, so you've had kids and all that. Yes, sir, well, that's is your wife still with us? Yes?   Bill Ratner ** 59:40 Oh, great, yeah, she's an artist and an art educator. Well, that   Michael Hingson ** 59:46 so the two of you can criticize each other's works, then, just   Bill Ratner ** 59:52 saying, we're actually pretty kind to each other. I Yeah, we have a lot of we have a lot of outside criticism. Them. So, yeah, you don't need to do it internally. We don't rely on it. What do you think of this although, although, more than occasionally, each of us will say, What do you think of this poem, honey? Or what do you think of this painting, honey? And my the favorite, favorite thing that my wife says that always thrills me and makes me very happy to be with her is, I'll come down and she's beginning a new work of a new piece of art for an exhibition somewhere. I'll say, what? Tell me about what's, what's going on with that, and she'll go, you know, I have no idea, but it'll tell me what to do.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:33 Yeah, it's, it's like a lot of authors talk about the fact that their characters write the stories right, which, which makes a lot of sense. So with all that you've done, are you writing a memoir? By any chance, I   Bill Ratner ** 1:00:46 am writing a memoir, and writing has been interesting. I've been doing it for many years. I got it was my graduate thesis from University of California Riverside Palm Desert.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:57 My wife was a UC Riverside graduate. Oh, hi. Well, they   Bill Ratner ** 1:01:01 have a low residency program where you go for 10 days in January, 10 days in June. The rest of it's online, which a lot of universities are doing, low residency programs for people who work and I got an MFA in creative writing nonfiction, had a book called parenting for the digital age, the truth about media's effect on children. And was halfway through it, the publisher liked it, but they said you got to double the length. So I went back to school to try to figure out how to double the length. And was was able to do it, and decided to move on to personal memoir and personal storytelling, such as goes on at the moth but a little more personal than that. Some of the material that I was reading in the memoir section of a bookstore was very, very personal and was very helpful to read about people who've gone through particular issues in their childhood. Mine not being physical abuse or sexual abuse, mine being death and loss, which is different. And so that became a focus of my graduate thesis, and many people were urging me to write a memoir. Someone said, you need to do a one man show. So I entered the Hollywood fringe and did a one man show and got good reviews and had a good time and did another one man show the next year and and so on. So But writing memoir as anybody knows, and they're probably listeners who are either taking memoir courses online or who may be actively writing memoirs or short memoir pieces, as everybody knows it, can put you through moods from absolutely ecstatic, oh my gosh, I got this done. I got this story told, and someone liked it, to oh my gosh, I'm so depressed I don't understand why. Oh, wait a minute, I was writing about such and such today. Yeah. So that's the challenge for the memoir is for the personal storyteller, it's also, you know, and it's more of a challenge than it is for the reader, unless it's bad writing and the reader can't stand that. For me as a reader, I'm fascinated by people's difficult stories, if they're well   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:24 told well, I know that when in 2002 I was advised to write a book about the World Trade Center experiences and all, and it took eight years to kind of pull it all together. And then I met a woman who actually I collaborated with, Susie Florey, and we wrote thunder dog. And her agent became my agent, who loved the proposal that we sent and actually got a contract within a week. So thunder dog came out in 2011 was a New York Times bestseller, and very blessed by that, and we're working toward the day that it will become a movie still, but it'll happen. And then I wrote a children's version of it, well, not a children's version of the book, but a children's book about me growing up in Roselle, growing up the guide dog who was with me in the World Trade Center, and that's been on Amazon. We self published it. Then last year, we published a new book called Live like a guide dog, which is all about controlling fear and teaching people lessons that I learned prior to September 11. That helped me focus and remain calm.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:23 What happened to you on September 11,   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:27 I was in the World Trade Center. I worked on the 78th floor of Tower One.   Bill Ratner ** 1:04:32 And what happened? I mean, what happened to you?   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:36 Um, nothing that day. I mean, well, I got out. How did you get out? Down the stairs? That was the only way to go. So, so the real story is not doing it, but why it worked. And the real issue is that I spent a lot of time when I first went into the World Trade Center, learning all I could about what to do in an emergency, talking to police, port authorities. Security people, emergency preparedness people, and also just walking around the world trade center and learning the whole place, because I ran an office for a company, and I wasn't going to rely on someone else to, like, lead me around if we're going to go to lunch somewhere and take people out before we negotiated contracts. So I needed to know all of that, and I learned all I could, also realizing that if there ever was an emergency, I might be the only one in the office, or we might be in an area where people couldn't read the signs to know what to do anyway. And so I had to take the responsibility of learning all that, which I did. And then when the planes hit 18 floors above us on the other side of the building, we get we had some guests in the office. Got them out, and then another colleague, who was in from our corporate office, and I and my guide dog, Roselle, went to the stairs, and we started down. And   Bill Ratner ** 1:05:54 so, so what floor did the plane strike?   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:58 It struck and the NOR and the North Tower, between floors 93 and 99 so I just say 96 okay, and you were 20 floors down, 78 floors 78 so we were 18 floors below, and   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:09 at the moment of impact, what did you think?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:13 Had no idea we heard a muffled kind of explosion, because the plane hit on the other side of the building, 18 floors above us. There was no way to know what was going on. Did you feel? Did you feel? Oh, the building literally tipped, probably about 20 feet. It kept tipping. And then we actually said goodbye to each other, and then the building came back upright. And then we went,   Bill Ratner ** 1:06:34 really you so you thought you were going to die?   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:38 David, my colleague who was with me, as I said, he was from our California office, and he was there to help with some seminars we were going to be doing. We actually were saying goodbye to each other because we thought we were about to take a 78 floor plunge to the street, when the building stopped tipping and it came back. Designed to do that by the architect. It was designed to do that, which is the point, the point.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:02 Goodness, gracious. And then did you know how to get to the stairway?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:04 Oh, absolutely. And did you do it with your friend? Yeah, the first thing we did, the first thing we did is I got him to get we had some guests, and I said, get him to the stairs. Don't let him take the elevators, because I knew he had seen fire above us, but that's all we knew. And but I said, don't take the elevators. Don't let them take elevators. Get them to the stairs and then come back and we'll leave. So he did all that, and then he came back, and we went to the stairs and started down.   Bill Ratner ** 1:07:33 Wow. Could you smell anything?   Michael Hingson ** 1:07:36 We smelled burning jet fuel fumes on the way down. And that's how we figured out an airplane must have hit the building, but we had no idea what happened. We didn't know what happened until the until both towers had collapsed, and I actually talked to my wife, and she's the one who told us how to aircraft have been crashed into the towers, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth, at that time, was still missing over Pennsylvania. Wow. So you'll have to go pick up a copy of thunder dog. Goodness. Good. Thunder dog. The name of the book is Thunder dog, and the book I wrote last year is called Live like a guide dog. It's le

This week, we tackle a listener question about how important brand identity is before opening your first shop. The conversation breaks down what “brand” really means and how it's not just logos or design, but the promise you make to your guests and how you deliver on it. We emphasize that while visuals can evolve, the essentials of flow, hospitality, and guest connection matter far more than the color of your walls or the font on your cups. Ultimately, your brand starts with your values and how they show up in the day-to-day. Great design might get people in the door, but consistency, care, and clarity in the guest experience are what keep them coming back. It's not about chasing trends or perfect aesthetics, but rather it's about building a space that feels intentional, functional, and true to who you are.

Powerhouse psychotherapist, boundary expert, and author Terri Cole joins me today for an incredibly enlightening talk about boundary setting, codependency, and how it all plays out in sobriety. Terri will share how she came to dedicate her life to helping people navigate boundary setting and what she has coined ‘high functioning codependency'. She'll share what boundaries and codependency truly are, how alcohol plays into disordered boundaries, the first steps you can take if you're ready to create stronger boundaries in your relationships, and why codependency is weakening your relationships with others. Terri has offered a free high functioning co-dependent toolkit at www.terricole.com/hfc Check out Terri's website www.terricole.com for her incredible books, podcast, and Youtube channel I was on Terri's podcast recently! That episode can be heard here. Are you craving a community in sobriety? Join us in the Sober Mom Life Cafe! You'll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club, happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and more! Get one week free at this link! Or, check out our new community offering - The Sober Mom Collective! With one peer support meeting a week and access to the community social feed, this is a great way to dip your toes in. Get Your Copy of my book The Sober Shift I'm on a book tour! Take a look at my events calendar for a book tour stop near you. https://www.instagram.com/thesobermomlife/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I sit down with bestselling author John Strelecky for one of the most captivating conversations we've ever had on the podcast. We explore his book, The Cafe on the Edge of the World, which he channeled in a powerful 21-day download. John opens up about his profound personal journey, the "cosmic algorithm" that guides our lives, and the three simple yet life-altering questions that can help you author a more meaningful existence. This dialogue will make you question the very nature of reality and inspire you to live with more intention.00:00 Podcast Welcome & Gratitude 02:56 Teaser: A Glimpse into the Conversation 03:41 Official Show Intro & Guest Welcome 05:25 John's Story: Lost Dream to Life Reset 10:37 The 21-Day Download of "The Cafe" 11:36 Understanding the "Cosmic Algorithm" 20:36 The Three Life-Changing Questions 25:22 Practical Steps: "Sampling" a New Life 31:47 The Channeling Experience Revealed 37:03 Discovering Your "Purpose For Existing" (PFE) 39:10 The "Museum Day" Concept for Life 50:52 Overcoming the Fear of Change 54:22 The "Cafe" as a Spiritual Portal 01:03:19 Final Takeaways and Thank You https://johnstrelecky.com/JOIN MY COMMUNITY In The Space Between membership, you'll get access to LIVE quarterly Ask Amy Anything meetings (not offered anywhere else!), discounts on courses, special giveaways, and a place to connect with Amy and other like-minded people. You'll also get exclusive access to other behind-the-scenes goodness when you join! Click here to find out more --> https://shorturl.at/vVrwR Stay Connected: - Instagram - https://tinyurl.com/ysvafdwc- Facebook - https://tinyurl.com/yc3z48v9- YouTube - https://tinyurl.com/ywdsc9vt- Website - https://tinyurl.com/ydj949kt Life, Death & the Space Between Dr. Amy RobbinsExploring life, death, consciousness and what it all means. Put your preconceived notions aside as we explore life, death, consciousness and what it all means on Life, Death & the Space Between.**Brought to you by:Dr. Amy Robbins | Host, Executive ProducerPodcastize.net | Audio & Video Production | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are in the middle of a battery boom, for EVs and even more for BESS. What's really happening in the electric vehicle (EV) market? Is China dominating the field, or are serious alternatives emerging? What roles are Europe, the U.S., and other global regions playing? Which chemistries are winning out, and how are prices trending?  These are the questions we ask ourselves every day — and today, Gerard and Laurent are thrilled to have someone who can help us answer them. Laurent and Gerard are joined by the brilliant Iola Hughes, Head of Research at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, following its acquisition of Rho Motion.  Iola leads research across the battery demand spectrum — from EVs to stationary storage — managing forecasts, tracking battery chemistries, and analyzing the impact of everything from regulation to OEM strategies and technology roadmaps.   According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Rho Motion, as of 2025:The Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) sector is growing at 40% year-over-yearThe EV market is expanding by 25% year-over-year But perhaps the most surprising trend is that forecasts made just 18 months ago are being exceeded — in nearly every region except the United States. There, the current administration appears to be kneecapped the industry by rolling back both incentives (like tax credits) and regulations (such as CAFE and emissions standards). Nissan in the US is moving back from EVs to hybrids while GM passes billions of impairments.  On the industrial side, it's increasingly a case of China versus the world. China now has the capacity to manufacture a staggering 50 million vehicles per year, far outpacing domestic demand and sparking concerns about overcapacity.  In summary: we are witnessing a growing divide in the global battery and EV space. China is clearly in the lead. Europe and others are racing to catch up. And the U.S.? It's at risk of falling further behind — not for lack of potential, but because of political and policy choices.https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/iolahughes/  https://x.com/RhoMoIola  Stunning visuals from FT on the development of batteries (most of the sources came from Benchmark)  https://ig.ft.com/mega-batteries

A state lawmaker is pushing for laws to protect students from inappropriate relationships in K-12 schools. Two Minnesota women pleaded guilty Tuesday in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by overbilling Medicaid for substance abuse treatment.Minneapolis police have arrested a person suspected of throwing two Molotov cocktails into an ice cream shop. It happened at Fletcher's Ice Cream and Cafe on East Hennepin Avenue. No one was hurt.Advocates pressuring the state Board of Investment to cut financial ties to Israel staged a sit-in Tuesday at the Retirement Systems Building in St. Paul. The protest was planned for the same day as the board's quarterly meeting. The protesters refused to leave the building when it closed for the day, and several were arrested.An asphalt and aggregate products business with many locations across Minnesota says it will be closing some of those facilities by the end of the year with nearly 300 employees losing their jobs. Minnesota Paving and Materials sent a notice to the state announcing the permanent closure of 14 of its operations in the state, including quarries in Owatonna and New Ulm and an asphalt plant in Kasota. The company's notice did not offer any details on why it's closing those locations.

Enjoy highlights from Brian & Kenzie's live broadcast at Alexander's in St. Charles from October 24 including Klash With Kenzie, Case's review of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre', Kenzie's HOA issue, and more! Chicago’s best morning radio show now has a podcast! Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and remember that the conversation always lives on the Q101 Facebook page. Brian & Kenzie are live every morning from 6a-10a on Q101. Subscribe to our channel HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@Q101 Like Q101 on Facebook HERE: https://www.facebook.com/q101chicago Follow Q101 on Twitter HERE: https://twitter.com/Q101Chicago Follow Q101 on Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/q101chicago/?hl=en Follow Q101 on TikTok HERE: https://www.tiktok.com/@q101chicago?lang=enSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is brought to you by Arkena Coffee Marketplace - Connecting you to the next coffee harvest in Ethiopia through direct trade. https://arkenacoffee.com/‍ ‍https://www.instagram.com/arkenacoffee/‍ ‍Email: hello@arkenacoffee.com••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••This is the first episode of a 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward with host Lee Safar and series guest, Marianella Baez Jost.Marianella is a coffee farmer (Cafe con Amor) based in Costa Rica and the co-founder of direct coffee trade project, The Farmers Project.This series is focused on coffee market volatility from the perspective of a smallholder coffee farmer in Costa Rica.The 5 episodes in this series are:1. Coffee Farming In Costa Rica in 2025 - https://youtu.be/3tHVKj65yho2. Coffee Farmers Are Adapting to the Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/QGUewElgLeA3. Not a Short-Term Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/arhcrRBWGEU4. Barriers to Direct Trade - https://youtu.be/dM75gWt1y7s5. Mitigating Risk with Direct Trade Coffee - https://youtu.be/DX0tpHrXFw0In this episode of the podcast series, Lee and Marianella discuss the unique challenges and opportunities in the coffee market in 2025, including the shift to a seller's market, price volatility, and the impact of tariffs on direct trade.Marianella shares her journey into coffee farming, the disparities in income between different roles in the coffee supply chain, and her optimistic yet realist view on the future. Tune in to gain invaluable insights and learn how you can support sustainable coffee farming.Connect with Marianella Baez Jost and The Farmers Project here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianella-baez-jost-00a529166/https://www.farmersproject-cr.com/https://www.instagram.com/cafeconamor.cr/••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••Connect with Map It Forward here: Website | Instagram | Mailing list

Step into a warm, inviting bakery on a rainy day — the gentle sound of rain outside blends with the soft clinks and quiet bustle inside. A cozy soundscape for reading, focus, or relaxation.Want access to an ad-free, 8-hour version of this episode? Try Deep Sleep Sounds Premium free for 7 days: https://sleepsounds.supercast.com/.Create a mix of your favorite sounds by downloading the Deep Sleep Sounds App at: https://deepsleepsounds.onelink.me/U0RY/app.Having an issue with Deep Sleep Sounds or want to ask us a question? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions. Our AppsRedeem exclusive, unlimited access to premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Slumber Studios team:Slumber App: slumber.fm/deepsleepsounds Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Elie Honig is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and co-chief of the organized crime unit at the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted more than 100 mobsters, including members of La Cosa Nostra, and the Gambino and Genovese crime families. He went on to serve as Director of the Department of Law and Public Safety at New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. He is currently Special Counsel at Lowenstein Sandler and a CNN legal analyst. For a transcript of Elie's note and the full archive of contributor notes, head to CAFE.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A state lawmaker is pushing for laws to protect students from inappropriate relationships in K-12 schools. Two Minnesota women pleaded guilty Tuesday in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by overbilling Medicaid for substance abuse treatment.Minneapolis police have arrested a person suspected of throwing two Molotov cocktails into an ice cream shop. It happened at Fletcher's Ice Cream and Cafe on East Hennepin Avenue. No one was hurt.Advocates pressuring the state Board of Investment to cut financial ties to Israel staged a sit-in Tuesday at the Retirement Systems Building in St. Paul. The protest was planned for the same day as the board's quarterly meeting. The protesters refused to leave the building when it closed for the day, and several were arrested.An asphalt and aggregate products business with many locations across Minnesota says it will be closing some of those facilities by the end of the year with nearly 300 employees losing their jobs. Minnesota Paving and Materials sent a notice to the state announcing the permanent closure of 14 of its operations in the state, including quarries in Owatonna and New Ulm and an asphalt plant in Kasota. The company's notice did not offer any details on why it's closing those locations.

How can we protect our democracy from President Trump's overreach? Joyce Vance is a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, a law professor at the University of Alabama, author of the popular Substack newsletter Civil Discourse, co-host of the #SistersInLaw podcast, and Preet Bharara's co-host on the CAFE Insider podcast. Now, she's a published author. She joined Preet for a live conversation organized by the 92nd Street Y to discuss her new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy.  Then, Preet answers your questions about George Santos's pardon and the U.S. military attacks on ships in the Caribbean. In the bonus for Insiders, Joyce answers questions from the live audience. Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website.  You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE's Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A state lawmaker is pushing for laws to protect students from inappropriate relationships in K-12 schools. Two Minnesota women pleaded guilty Tuesday in a scheme to defraud taxpayers by overbilling Medicaid for substance abuse treatment.Minneapolis police have arrested a person suspected of throwing two Molotov cocktails into an ice cream shop. It happened at Fletcher's Ice Cream and Cafe on East Hennepin Avenue. No one was hurt.Advocates pressuring the state Board of Investment to cut financial ties to Israel staged a sit-in Tuesday at the Retirement Systems Building in St. Paul. The protest was planned for the same day as the board's quarterly meeting. The protesters refused to leave the building when it closed for the day, and several were arrested.An asphalt and aggregate products business with many locations across Minnesota says it will be closing some of those facilities by the end of the year with nearly 300 employees losing their jobs. Minnesota Paving and Materials sent a notice to the state announcing the permanent closure of 14 of its operations in the state, including quarries in Owatonna and New Ulm and an asphalt plant in Kasota. The company's notice did not offer any details on why it's closing those locations.

Will Jim Comey succeed in seeking dismissal of his criminal charges? In an excerpt from this week's Insider episode, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance discuss the former FBI Director's motion to dismiss his indictment citing the unlawful appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the Eastern District of Virginia's interim U.S. Attorney.  In the full episode, Preet and Joyce analyze Comey's other motion to dismiss on the basis of selective and vindictive prosecution. They also share their reactions to the indictment of former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton.  CAFE Insiders click HERE to listen to the full analysis.  Not an Insider? Now more than ever, it's critical to stay tuned. To join a community of reasoned voices in unreasonable times, become an Insider today. You'll get access to full episodes of the podcast and other exclusive content. Head to cafe.com/insider or staytuned.substack.com/subscribe.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel. This podcast is brought to you by CAFE and Vox Media Podcast Network.  Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Supervising Producer: Jake Kaplan; Associate Producer: Claudia Hernández; Audio Producer: Matthew Billy; Deputy Editor: Celine Rohr; CAFE Team: David Tatasciore, Nat Weiner, Jennifer Indig, and Liana Greenway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He's one of the hottest new stars in horror, so you had to know Sydneypalooza Presents: Clowntober TwosWeeks would end with another little visit from Art. As we continue to celebrate our gal's birthday, we're heading back into the belly of the beast with Terrifier 2 (2022), the sequel that introduced those immediately iconic sunglasses. On our latest episode, we're getting our hands dirty (and bloody and gory and covered in goop) as we explore the new additions to the lore, debate how much plot is too much plot, and give David Howard Thornton and Lauren LaVera their flowers. References: https://x.com/damienleone/status/1886453068125864114https://collider.com/damien-leone-statements-horror-movies/https://www.horrorincolor.com/politicalterrifierhttps://www.themarysue.com/be-on-the-right-side-of-history-coward-terrifier-creator-just-admitted-the-gory-horror-franchise-has-no-political-meaning-and-fans-arent-happy/

Jessica Stewart from The Sober As F*ck Podcast joins me today to share her sobriety journey, one that is deeply entangled with the addictions of her mom, brother, and husband. Jessica vulnerably shares how the addictions of her loved ones played out in her own life, and how it affected her choices with everything including alcohol, partying, parenthood, her marriage and more. Jessica has been sober since June! And she is so grateful for the sobriety of her brother and her husband. If you are someone who has struggled with the addictions of those that you love, we hope this episode will give you hope and peace. Listen to The Sober as F*ck PodcastCheck out Suzanne's episode on Jessica's podcastAre you craving a community in sobriety? Join us in the Sober Mom Life Cafe! You'll get access to 12 weekly peer support meetings, the exclusive Cafe social feed, our monthly book club, happy hour, the chance to share your story on The Real Sober Moms, and more! Get one week free at this link! Or, check out our new community offering - The Sober Mom Collective! With one peer support meeting a week and access to the community social feed, this is a great way to dip your toes in. Get Your Copy of my book The Sober Shift I'm on a book tour! Take a look at my events calendar for a book tour stop near you. https://www.instagram.com/thesobermomlife/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SHOW SCHEDULE 10-17-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT COAL-FIRED ELECTRICITY FOR THE AI DATA CENTER BUILD OUT OF 26 GIGAWATTS BY 2035... 1912 COAL BREAKER BOYS FIRST HOUR 9-915 High-Tech Coal Mining and Its Role in the Future of AI Energy. Salena Zito discusses her visit to a high-tech coal mine 1,200 feet below Pennsylvania, highlighting modern, filtered, and pristine working conditions. The industry offers high-paying, generational jobs, even for those with advanced degrees. Coal, alongside natural gas and nuclear power, is vital for providing the reliable, strong base load energy required by new AI data centers and the defense industry. 915-930 High-Tech Coal Mining and Its Role in the Future of AI Energy. Salena Zito discusses her visit to a high-tech coal mine 1,200 feet below Pennsylvania, highlighting modern, filtered, and pristine working conditions. The industry offers high-paying, generational jobs, even for those with advanced degrees. Coal, alongside natural gas and nuclear power, is vital for providing the reliable, strong base load energy required by new AI data centers and the defense industry 930-945 Supreme Court Poised to Limit Racial Gerrymandering; War Powers Debate on Venezuela. Richard Epstein discusses how the Supreme Court appears ready to limit the use of race in drawing voting districts (racial gerrymandering), reflecting a shift towards colorblind jurisprudence. However, the Court is likely to avoid restricting political gerrymandering. Separately, Professor Epstein argued the president's use of "narcoterrorism" to justify military action in Venezuela is inappropriate, noting that the War Powers Act is often circumvented. 945-1000 Supreme Court Poised to Limit Racial Gerrymandering; War Powers Debate on Venezuela. Richard Epstein discusses how the Supreme Court appears ready to limit the use of race in drawing voting districts (racial gerrymandering), reflecting a shift towards colorblind jurisprudence. However, the Court is likely to avoid restricting political gerrymandering. Separately, Professor Epstein argued the president's use of "narcoterrorism" to justify military action in Venezuela is inappropriate, noting that the War Powers Act is often circumvented. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 LA/Portland Homeless Crisis and Wildfire Preparedness Debate. Jeff Bliss discusses how California hosts at least 50% of the nation's homeless, with numbers increasing, extending from downtown LA to Malibu. Homeless encampments pose a constant wildfire threat due to warming or arson fires. Developer Rick Caruso successfully protected his Palisades property by proactively investing in brush clearance, equipment, and private fire crews, offering a model for prevention. Portland also faces a severe homeless crisis and high office vacancy. 1015-1030 Saudi Nuclear Ambitions, US Defense Pact, and the SMR Investment Bubble. Henry Sokolski discusses how Saudi Arabia is negotiating a US defense pact while pursuing uranium enrichment capability for nuclear power. The US is reportedly urging South Korea to switch a planned Saudi reactor sale to an American Westinghouse model. Separately, the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) industry is seeing enormous private valuation with zero revenue, signaling a potential financial bubble. 1030-1045 SpaceX Launch Approval, Rocket Lab, and Global Space Industry Updates. Bob Zimmerman discusses how Space Force approved SpaceX's request to double launches to 100 per year and open a second launch site at Vandenberg, despite Coastal Commission opposition. Wall Street views Rocket Lab favorably due to many recent launch contracts, even though it's still developing the Neutron rocket and not yet profitable. Impulse Space shifted focus to a lunar cargo lander, using its Helios tug as a service module, seeking to meet NASA's need for efficient lunar cargo delivery. 1045-1100 SpaceX Launch Approval, Rocket Lab, and Global Space Industry Updates. Bob Zimmerman discusses how Space Force approved SpaceX's request to double launches to 100 per year and open a second launch site at Vandenberg, despite Coastal Commission opposition. Wall Street views Rocket Lab favorably due to many recent launch contracts, even though it's still developing the Neutron rocket and not yet profitable. Impulse Space shifted focus to a lunar cargo lander, using its Helios tug as a service module, seeking to meet NASA's need for efficient lunar cargo delivery.THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 Replaceable You: Skin Grafts, Bioprinting Organs, and the Science of Replacement Anatomy. Mary Roach discusses how third-degree burns destroy regenerative cells, causing severe disfigurement unless patched with allografts (temporary substitutes like cadaver or cod skin). Researchers are attempting to 3D print organs, currently in the "Wright Brothers stage," using specialized bio-ink and support gel. Xenotransplantation involves genetically editing pigs to grow human organs (chimerism) that the body would accept without rejection. 1115-1130 Replaceable You: Skin Grafts, Bioprinting Organs, and the Science of Replacement Anatomy. Mary Roach discusses how third-degree burns destroy regenerative cells, causing severe disfigurement unless patched with allografts (temporary substitutes like cadaver or cod skin). Researchers are attempting to 3D print organs, currently in the "Wright Brothers stage," using specialized bio-ink and support gel. Xenotransplantation involves genetically editing pigs to grow human organs (chimerism) that the body would accept without rejection. 1130-1145 Replaceable You: Skin Grafts, Bioprinting Organs, and the Science of Replacement Anatomy. Mary Roach discusses how third-degree burns destroy regenerative cells, causing severe disfigurement unless patched with allografts (temporary substitutes like cadaver or cod skin). Researchers are attempting to 3D print organs, currently in the "Wright Brothers stage," using specialized bio-ink and support gel. Xenotransplantation involves genetically editing pigs to grow human organs (chimerism) that the body would accept without rejection. 1145-1200 Replaceable You: Skin Grafts, Bioprinting Organs, and the Science of Replacement Anatomy. Mary Roach discusses how third-degree burns destroy regenerative cells, causing severe disfigurement unless patched with allografts (temporary substitutes like cadaver or cod skin). Researchers are attempting to 3D print organs, currently in the "Wright Brothers stage," using specialized bio-ink and support gel. Xenotransplantation involves genetically editing pigs to grow human organs (chimerism) that the body would accept without rejection. FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Lancaster County Economy, Consumer Spending Rebound, and Data Center Expansion. Jim McTague discusses how local businesses in Lancaster County, like the Pancake House and Ephrata Precision Parts, show no recession weakness and report booming business. Consumer spending appears to be rebounding, with full shopping carts and aggressive buying observed at Costco and Walmart. Construction on data centers is underway in the county, contributing to economic expansion. Wall Street bubble talk is present, but markets are not yet characterized by widespread froth. 1215-1230 Italian Politics, Journalist Attack, and the History of St. Augustine in Pavia. Lorenzo Fiori discusses how Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was rudely defined as a "courtesan" by a prominent union leader following her diplomatic presence at the Gaza ceasefire signing. Journalist Ranucci, known for investigating politics and mafia-related business, survived a car bomb attack; he has been under guard since 2021. St. Augustine's remains are located in Pavia (south of Milan), moved there due to the LoMBARDY'S king's connection to Milan's Saint Ambrose. 1230-1245 Corporatism vs. Capitalism: Analyzing Rent-Seeking and Regulatory Capture. Julia Cartwright discusses how younger generations often confuse corporatism (entangled government and business) with true capitalism. Rent-seeking involves businesses investing in politics for favors, like healthcare industry lobbying for subsidies. Rent extraction is when politicians threaten costly action to force business compliance (e.g., CAFE standards or tariffs). Solutions include sunsetting subsidies and banning sole-source government procurement. 1245-100 AM Corporatism vs. Capitalism: Analyzing Rent-Seeking and Regulatory Capture. Julia Cartwright discusses how younger generations often confuse corporatism (entangled government and business) with true capitalism. Rent-seeking involves businesses investing in politics for favors, like healthcare industry lobbying for subsidies. Rent extraction is when politicians threaten costly action to force business compliance (e.g., CAFE standards or tariffs). Solutions include sunsetting subsidies and banning sole-source government procurement.

Corporatism vs. Capitalism: Analyzing Rent-Seeking and Regulatory Capture. Julia Cartwright discusses how younger generations often confuse corporatism (entangled government and business) with true capitalism. Rent-seeking involves businesses investing in politics for favors, like healthcare industry lobbying for subsidies. Rent extraction is when politicians threaten costly action to force business compliance (e.g., CAFE standards or tariffs). Solutions include sunsetting subsidies and banning sole-source government procurement. 1883 NYC

Corporatism vs. Capitalism: Analyzing Rent-Seeking and Regulatory Capture. Julia Cartwright discusses how younger generations often confuse corporatism (entangled government and business) with true capitalism. Rent-seeking involves businesses investing in politics for favors, like healthcare industry lobbying for subsidies. Rent extraction is when politicians threaten costly action to force business compliance (e.g., CAFE standards or tariffs). Solutions include sunsetting subsidies and banning sole-source government procurement. 1870

A fragile but momentous ceasefire has taken effect in Israel's two year war against Hamas, following the terror group's brutal attack on October 7th. With hostages and prisoners exchanged and hostilities paused, the hard work of forging a lasting peace begins. Dan Senor, host of the Israeli news and politics podcast, “Call Me Back,” joins Preet to discuss the diplomatic negotiations and military strategy that got us here and what's next for the region. He previously served in the Defense Department based in the Middle East in the early 2000s, and later as a senior advisor to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, and Paul Ryan's vice presidential campaign.  Then, Preet answers listener questions about the latest developments in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case and the unusual political message showing up at airport security checkpoints. In the bonus for Insiders, Senor addresses the prospect of military tribunals for Hamas leaders and systematic deradicalization efforts.  Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website.  You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE's Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at staytuned@cafe.com, or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices