Podcasts about California State University

Farshad Ghodoosi, assistant professor of business law at California State University, Northridge, and Tal Kastner, associate professor of law at Rutgers University, join the Business Scholarship Podcast to discuss their article Against the Drafter: An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis of the Doctrine of Contra Proferentem. This episode is hosted by Andrew Jennings, associate professor of law at Emory University, and was edited by Alec Johnson, a law student at Emory University.

It is a privilege to welcome actor, model, and producer Jake Jensen to The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.  Jake is a former professional tennis player turned actor, producer, sports psychologist, and mental health performance coach. He brings a rare blend of grit, intellect, and emotional depth to every role he inhabits – on screen and in life. His portrayal of Finn Larsen in Challengers is a profound statement of his ability to channel lived experience into cinematic authenticity. As a trash-talking Scandinavian tennis pro, Jensen's character embodies the psychological warfare and raw ambition that define the sport's most competitive tiers.  Yet Jake's story doesn't begin—or end—on the court. He holds a PhD in Sport & Performance Psychology and serves as a tenured professor at California State University, Northridge. His work with elite athletes, actors, and creatives focuses on optimizing mental performance through mindfulness, emotional regulation, and strategic mindset training. Whether coaching one-on-one or lecturing in the classroom, Jake's approach is grounded, intuitive, and transformative.  As a producer and creative collaborator, Jake is currently leading the romantic fantasy drama Believe, where he stars as a war veteran entangled in a mysterious love story with Eve from the Bible. He's also a gifted pianist and composer, scoring original work while developing new scripts that fuse psychological insight with artistic storytelling.   On this episode of The Jake's Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Jake Jensen spoke about the lessons that he learned from the Challengers and King Richard sets, previewed Believe and Power 98.5's In the Actors and Athletes Studio, where he co-hosts with Steven Cuoco. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jake-s-take-with-jacob-elyachar--4112003/support.

The work of acclaimed photographer Meghann Riepenhoff examines our relationship to nature and time, both in subject-matter and process. In projects like Litoral Drift, a series of cameral-less cyanotypes, Rieopenhoff makes use of natural elements like water and sediment. Her art is intentionally vulnerable to weather conditions like wind, and her interest in environmental degradation as well as the sublime carry across her work, from Waters of the Americas and State Shift. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Riepnhoff was born in Atlanta and received a BFA in Photography from the University of Georgia and an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been exhibited internationally at locations including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Denver Art Museum, the Royal Maritime Museum, Centre d'art contemporain de l'Onde, and The Smithsonian. She has published two monographs: Littoral Drift and Ecotone and Ice.  Nigel Poor is a co-founder of Ear Hustle and Bay Area visual artist whose work explores the various ways people make a mark and leave behind evidence of their existence. Her work can be found in various museum collections including the the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the M.H. deYoung Museum and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. She is also a professor of photography at California State University, Sacramento. 

คอลัมน์ “สดแต่เช้า”ปีที่5 (ตอนที่ 320)รักแรกแรงกว่ายา!“แต่เรามีข้อที่จะต่อว่าเจ้าบ้างคือว่าเจ้าละทิ้งความรักครั้งแรกของเจ้า”‭‭ ~วิวรณ์‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭THSV11‬‬“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”‭‭ ~Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ปกติ คนมักคิดว่ายาเสพติดเป็นสิ่งที่เลิกยากมากที่สุด!แต่ผลจากการวิจัยพบว่า... “รักครั้งแรกนั้นมีฤทธิ์ลึกล้ำเหนือกว่ายาเสพติด!”ถ่านที่ไม่เคยติดไฟ จะติดไฟยาก เทียนที่ไม่เคยถูกจุด จะติดไฟลำบาก!แต่ถ่านและเทียนที่เคยติดไฟแล้ว จะติดไฟได้ง่ายขึ้น!ความรักก็เช่นกันคนไม่เคยมีความรัก จะรักยากแต่หากรักใครเป็นรักแรก ไม่ว่าจะสมหวังหรือไม่สมหวังคุณก็เหมือนถ่านหรือเทียนไขที่เคยถูกจุดมาแล้วหากอยู่ใกล้ไฟ ก็อาจติดไฟรักได้อีกครั้ง ไม่ยากเลย! ใช่ครับ คนติดรักก็เหมือนติดยาติดเมื่อใดจะเลิกยากและแม้จะเลิก(รัก)ได้ แต่หากใกล้ชิดกันอีกครั้งก็อาจเป็นถ่านไฟเก่า ที่ติดขึ้นมาได้อีกครั้งดังนั้น หากคุณมีคนรักหรือคู่สมรสแล้ว ก็จงระวัง! จงหมั่นรักและปรุงรสรักกับคนรักของคุณเป็นประจำอย่าประมาทและอย่าเสี่ยงที่ทำให้ความสัมพันธ์ของคุณกับคนที่คุณรักในปัจจุบันต้องร้าวฉาน หรือ ปริแตกโดยเฉพาะอย่างยื่ง อย่าปล่อยตัวปล่อยใจ ให้เข้าไปเล่นกับไฟ(เก่า)!แนนซี่ คาลิช นักจิตวิทยาจากมหาวิทยาลัยแห่งรัฐคาลิฟอเนีย (California State University) เตือนว่า ... “รักครั้งแรก” จะชวนให้เราเคลิบเคลิ้มหลงใหลยิ่งกว่ายาเสพติดชนิดใดๆและสามารถทำให้ถ่านไฟเก่าคุโชนขึ้นในชั่วพริบตา!“เฮเลน ฟิชเชอร์ ผู้แต่งหนังสือ “Why we love?” และเป็นนักมนุษยวิทยาจากมหาวิทยาลัยรัดเจอร์ส ในสหรัฐอเมริกา ก็อธิบายว่า ฮอร์โมนของหนุ่มสาวเป็นตัวการที่ฝังรักครั้งแรกลงไปในสมอง และเสียงหรือสัมผัสรักจะกระตุ้นความต้องการที่ตอกย้ำลงไปในจุดเดิม ๆ ในสมองเช่นเดียวกับที่ฤทธิ์ของโคเคนกระทำ เพียงแต่ว่าอิทธิพลของรักแรกนั้นจะรุนแรงกว่ายาเสพติดทุกชนิด!เวลานี้ เราอยู่ในยุคที่ทุกอย่างสามารถเชื่อมโยงกันได้อย่างรวดเร็วภายในพริบตา ผ่านทางอินเตอร์เน็ต คุณภาพสูง รวมทั้งสามารถตามหา ติดต่อ และกลับไปพบกับคนรักเก่าได้อีกครั้งอันตรายก็คือ “ถ่านไฟเก่าอาจลุกโชน” ขึ้นอีกครั้งก็เป็นได้!เหมือนดังที่แนนซี่ คาลิช เจ้าของผลงานวิจัยที่มีชื่อว่า “Lost and Found Lovers” กล่าวว่าคนที่เป็นม่ายไม่ว่าจะเกิดจากการหย่าร้างหรือจากการที่คู่ครอง(เดิม) เสียชีวิต เขาหรือเธอมักหวนกลับไปหาคนรักเก่า หากว่าพวกเขามีโอกาสพบกันอีกหน!จากสถิต พบว่า 62 % ของคนรักเก่าเหล่านั้นมักแต่งงานกับคนอื่นไปแล้วดังนั้น การกลับไปหารักครั้งแรกจึงอาจสร้างปัญหาและกลายเป็นโศกนาฎกรรมได้ หากว่า“รักเก่า”เหล่านั้น กำลังมีคู่ครองหรือคนรักอยู่ในเวลานั้น!เช่นเดียวกับ ในฝ่ายจิตวิญญาณ​อย่าให้เรากลับไปหารักเก่าคือรักที่เราเคยมีกับเนื้อหนังและความบาป แต่​ ขอให้เรากลับไปหารักแรก หรือ หรือถ่านไฟเก่าที่เรามี กับ1).พระเยซูคริสต์2).พี่น้องผู้ร่วมเชื่อในพระเยซูคริสต์ หากว่าเราห่างเหินไปจากรักนี้ ในพระคัมภีร์เรียกสิ่งนี้ว่า “รักครั้งแรก” หรือว่า “รักดั้งเดิม”(First Love)พี่น้องที่รักอย่าให้ใครแย่งชิงรักแรกระหว่างคุณกับพระเจ้าไป แต่หากว่าคุณเคยสูญเสียรักนั้นไปแล้ว ก็ขอให้คุณ จงรีบกลับไป นำรักดั้งเดิมนั้นกลับคืนมา ณ บัดนี้เลย …จะดีไหม?……………………………………………ธงชัย ประดับชนานุรัตน์14กุมภาพันธ์ 2026 (ตอนที่320ปีที่5)#YoutubeCJCONNECT#คริสตจักรแห่งความรัก#Churchoflove #ShareTheLoveForward #ChurchOfJoy #คริสตจักรแห่งความสุข #NimitmaiChristianChurch #คริสตจักรนิมิตใหม่ #ฮักกัยประเทศไทย #อัลฟ่า #หนึ่งล้านความดี

This week on Herbal Radio, we are joined again by the educator, gardener, author, and 2022 recipient of the Grants 4 Plants program, Tyrone Ledford. Join host Lucretia Van Dyke and Tyrone as they explore: Navigating life through trauma: adolescence into adulthood Community gardening to grow awareness of wellness How enslaved Africans cultivated American agriculture Bridging the gap between the person and the plant Tyrone's new book, Cultivating Abundance in Harsh Climates: A Guide to Desert Gardening As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism. Learn more about Tyrone and Lucretia below! 

Sendoso has solidified its position as a leader in the direct mail space by acquiring competitors like Alyce and Postal. But acquiring a company is only the first step. The real challenge is retaining those customers and expanding the relationship. Host Mason Cosby sits down with Kris Rudeegraap, Co-CEO of Sendoso, to discuss the specific playbook they used to merge three platforms into one without alienating their user base.ㅤKris Rudeegraap details a strategy built on patience and data. Instead of forcing an immediate migration, Sendoso unified its data sources and focused on education. Kris explains why they waited up to two years to sunset the Alyce platform and how offering "warm welcomes" mattered more than immediate upsells. They also discuss a specific certification program that led to a significant jump in customer spend. This conversation breaks down how to manage consolidation while keeping both customers and employees happy.ㅤGuest BioKris Rudeegraap is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sendoso, a leading Sending Platform designed to help revenue teams engage customers through direct mail and gifting. An alumnus of California State University, Chico, Kris spent over a decade in sales roles at companies like Talkdesk and Yapstone before founding Sendoso in 2016. His philosophy centers on the "pattern interrupt"—using physical items to break through digital noise. Under his leadership, Sendoso has raised significant capital and executed major strategic acquisitions, including Alyce and Postal.io, to consolidate the corporate gifting market.ㅤWhat We CoverThe First Step in Acquisition: Why unifying data sources and establishing a single CRM source of truth must happen before any sales outreach.Relationship First, Sales Second: How Sendoso used office hours, LinkedIn messages, and VIP warehouse tours to welcome new customers before discussing contracts.The Power of Certification: Kris Rudeegraap shares data showing that certified customers increased their spend on the platform by over 70%.Patient Migration Timelines: The strategic decision to keep the Alyce platform running for two years to allow customers to self-select when to switch.Leveraging Job Changes: How the team tracks users across Sendoso, Alyce, and Postal who move to new companies to drive new business.Win-Back Opportunities: Using combined data from closed-lost deals across multiple companies to triangulate why a deal was lost and how to win it back.Measuring Success: Why metrics like EBITDA, margin improvement, and employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) are just as critical as revenue retention.ㅤResources

LA-based spoken word poet edwin bodney joins Jared to explore what it really means to build an authentic writing life rooted in connection and community. edwin shares their journey to finding an artistic home at Da Poetry Lounge and why discovering the right community can shape your craft, confidence, and longevity as a writer. They also tackle the question, “Do you need an MFA to be successful?”, asking whether the MFA path is right for everyone. edwin speaks honestly about what it is like to teach at an MFA program without holding the degree, what they have learned from the experience, and how writers can define success on their own terms.  edwin bodney is a Black, Queer, non-binary artist, award-winning educator, and nationally recognized poet from Los Angeles. As someone living with M.S. and the rest of the world's chaos, they strive to remind all vulnerable communities of their joy and laughter. edwin and their work have been featured in platforms and publications like Button Poetry, Platypus Press, The Exposition Review, The Advocate, Lexus, TvOne, Amazon Prime, UW-Madison, and many others. Their full-length book of poetry, A Study of Hands (2017), is available through Not A Cult Media. edwin is a former co-host of Da Poetry Lounge, one of the country's largest and longest-running, non-profit poetry venues.edwin currently works supporting LGBTQ+ students at California State University, Dominguez Hills.MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack, Hanamori Skoblow, and Brié Goumaz. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.BE PART OF THE SHOW— Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee.— Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.— Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience.— Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application.STAY CONNECTEDTwitter: @MFAwriterspodInstagram: @MFAwriterspodcastFacebook: MFA WritersEmail: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Against a backdrop of threats made by President Trump to attack Iran with “speed and violence,” talks between the two nations are set to resume this Friday. Since late December, Iran has been roiled by massive nationwide protests that have been met by a brutal response from the regime, resulting in the deaths of over 6,800 protestors with another 11,000 deaths under investigation  according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Will the U.S. use this moment to try to force regime change? We talk to a panel of experts. Guests: Jason Rezaian, director of Press Freedoms Initiatives, The Washington Post; author, "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison – Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out" Nate Swanson, director, Iran Strategy Project, Atlantic Council Sahar Razavi, associate professor, Department of Political Science and director of the Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center, California State University, Sacramento Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is a whimsical children's novel about Charlie Bucket, a kind, poor boy who wins a once-in-a-lifetime tour of the mysterious Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Since so many know this story, Matthew and I were able to have a conversation about the book's history and Dahl's legacy, and about how art and our views of it change over time.Matthew Stern is an award-winning public speaker and writer with over 40 years of professional experience. His works include the novels Amiga and The Remainders, as well as the best-selling public speaking book Mastering Table Topics. A lifelong resident of Southern California, he grew up in Reseda, graduated from California State University, Northridge, and now lives in Lake Forest. When he's not rooting for the Dodgers and Rams, he enjoys exercising and spending time with his wife, adult children, and granddaughter. You can find him on social media platforms @MASwriterOur drink this week is a Greek Cheek Beer, a favorite of Matthew's from his home in California, and a reference to the gum-smacking habits of Violet Beauregaard. If you are in California definite check it out. For those of us outside of the Golden State, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock would have be a great pairing for this book.In this EpisodeRoald Dahl Revision ControversyWonka vs Wonka The problem with overly likable characters - Matthew Stern

You've probably been told to be grateful for what you have — but that advice isn't just feel-good wisdom. Research shows that intentionally expressing gratitude can actually change how your brain functions, influencing mood, focus, and emotional resilience. This episode begins with what gratitude really does inside your head — and why it's more powerful than it sounds. https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/how-expressing-gratitude-change-your-brain.html There's a basic human need we rarely talk about, yet it quietly shapes how people behave: the need to matter – to feel significant. When people feel seen and valued they tend to thrive. When they don't, the consequences can be serious — for individuals and for society. Jennifer Breheny Wallace joins me to explain why mattering is so essential and how it affects relationships, motivation, and well-being. She's an award-winning journalist and author of Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose (https://amzn.to/4r0ZX6W). Cats are the second most popular pets in the United States — yet many people don't understand the appeal at all. Cats can seem aloof, independent, and uninterested in pleasing us. So why have humans kept cats as companions for thousands of years? And what do cat lovers get from the relationship that others miss? Jerry Moore explains the long, surprising history of cats and why they continue to captivate us. He's a professor emeritus of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and author of Cat Tales: A History (https://amzn.to/4sUBPEU). And finally, when you're sick with a cold or the flu, some old-fashioned home remedies actually have science on their side. They may not cure you — but they can make being sick a little less miserable. We wrap up with which remedies help and why they work.https://www.consumerreports.org/health/flu/how-to-beat-a-bad-cold-or-the-flu-a9270666041/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Becoming a Therapist as a First-Generation Clinician-in-Training: An Interview with Marvin Vasquez Special Series: Becoming a Therapist In this Becoming a Therapist special series episode, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy welcome back Marvin Vasquez for a second-year check-in as he moves into the clinical phase of his training. Marvin reflects on beginning direct client work as a first-generation clinician-in-training, providing therapy in both English and Spanish, and supporting members of his own community during a time of heightened systemic stress. This conversation explores practicum placement, supervision, self-doubt, and the emotional realities of becoming a therapist while holding personal, cultural, and professional identities at the same time. About the Guest Marvin Vasquez is a first-generation Marriage and Family Therapy graduate student at California State University, Northridge. He is currently completing his clinical training as an intern at Phoenix House, where he works with individuals and families impacted by mental health challenges and systemic barriers, with a focus on Latinx communities. Marvin provides bilingual therapy in English and Spanish and is committed to culturally responsive, strengths-based care and community advocacy. Key Takeaways • What it's like to move from coursework into direct clinical work as a first-generation clinician • The emotional impact of serving your own community while still in training • How supportive supervision helps reduce self-doubt and “flailing” early in practice • Why bilingual and culturally responsive care can deepen trust and engagement • Navigating systemic stressors while developing confidence as a new therapist Find the full show notes and resources for this episode at https://mtsgpodcast.com Join the Modern Therapist Community Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/mtsgpodcast Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/therapyreimagined Modern Therapist's Survival Guide Creative Credits Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

The English text is as follows: 2月前半のゲストは、Camp Kesem at Long Beach State University（CSULB）で活躍する大学生リーダー、Nickolas “Nova” Dominguezさん（Co-Director）と、Christina “Bean” Beltranさんです。 https://www.kesem.org/ Camp Kesemは、親ががんと闘っている、またはがんで亡くした子どもたちに向けて、年間を通じて無償の支援を提供する全米規模の非営利団体です。中心となるプログラムは、6歳から18歳の子どもたちを対象とした1週間の宿泊型サマーキャンプです。 Novaさんは、高校生の頃にお母様が「トリプルネガティブ乳がん」と診断されたことをきっかけにKesemと出会い、キャンパーとして参加。その経験から「今度は自分が恩返しをしたい」とカウンセラーを経て、現在はCo-Directorとして活動されています。 Beanさんは、ご両親にがんの経験はないものの、家族の中でがんが身近な存在だったことからKesemのミッションに強く共感。大学2年生の時に参加し、今では「Kesemのない人生は考えられない」と語ります。 同じCSULBでSTEM分野を学ぶお二人が、Camp Kesemに関わる理由、学生リーダーとしての想い、そして子どもたちに届けたい「安心できる居場所」について、リアルに語ってくれました。ぜひ最後までお聴きください。 In the first half of our February episode, we welcome two student leaders from Camp Kesem at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB): Nickolas “Nova” Dominguez (Co-Director) and Christina “Bean” Beltran. Camp Kesem is a nationwide nonprofit organization that provides free, year-round support for children who have been impacted by a parent's cancer—whether their parent is currently battling cancer or has passed away. One of its core programs is a one-week residential summer camp for children ages 6 to 18. Nova first connected with Kesem in high school after his mother was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer, joining as a camper. Motivated by a desire to “give back,” he later became a counselor and now serves as a Co-Director. Bean was strongly drawn to Kesem's mission because cancer has always been prevalent in her family, even though neither of her parents has had cancer. She joined during her second year of university and says she truly can't imagine life without Kesem. In this episode, Nova and Bean—both CSULB students studying STEM-related majors—share why they got involved with Camp Kesem, what it means to lead as students, and the “safe place to belong” they hope to create for children and families. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Host Dave Schlom is joined by two program managers from California State University's Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve to discuss the concept of "good fire."

We explore how intelligent gifting breaks through AI-filtered inboxes, using psychology, data, and timing to earn real conversations and long-term loyalty. Kris Rudeegraap of Sendoso shares playbooks for stage-based sends, retention strategies, and staying human in an agentic future.• reciprocity, curiosity and tangible novelty driving attention• AI-assisted personalization for interests, timing and delivery channel• stage-based guardrails that unlock premium sends mid-funnel• timely low-cost sends outperforming expensive but irrelevant gifts• CAC, velocity and opportunity cost framing for ROI• shifting marketing metrics toward revenue and NRR• proving value when users never log into your app• human-in-the-loop creativity to avoid AI cringe• retention and expansion use cases for customer successA box at your door still beats the smartest subject line, sparks genuine conversations, and accelerates pipeline without feeling transactional. Kris blends a decade of logistics, a modern data engine, and a human-first ethos to explain why clever, timely sends often outperform expensive swag—and how to scale that tastefulness with AI.We dig into the psychology behind physical sending—reciprocity, curiosity, and the emotional lift of a tangible, personalized moment—and translate it into practical plays for sales, marketing, and customer success. You'll hear how stage-based guardrails in your CRM can unlock premium sends mid-funnel, why delivery confidence (home versus office) matters post‑COVID, and how small, useful gestures—like a rideshare credit on conference day—drive replies that mass email can't. Kris also shares how Sendoso is evolving from pure logistics to a data-rich recommendation layer that helps teams decide what to send, when to send, and where to deliver.We also explore the agentic future: AI agents summarizing inboxes, go‑to‑market engineers orchestrating workflows, and the reality that a human still signs the contract. Kris offers a candid view on pricing models, proving ROI when users never log into your app, and why NRR and expansion deserve a bigger share of marketing's attention. If you're ready to replace noise with nuance—earning meetings faster and strengthening renewals through meaningful touchpoints—this conversation gives you the framework and the guardrails to do it right.Kris Rudeegraap:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudeegraap/Kris Rudeegraap, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sendoso, the leading Direct Mail and Gifting Platform which has seen over $250M+ spent on the platform globally.  A self-described "Sales CEO" who is redefining how B2B companies cut through the digital noise to build authentic relationships,  Before founding Sendoso, he was a top-performing Account Executive at Talkdesk and a founding team member at Piqora.  Kris is a California native, an alumnus of California State University, Chico and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

Timestamps:6:35 - Buying back their startup after an exit32:42 - Building Octive 37:10 - Entering the US market37:31 - Building in Switzerland vs USEpisode DescriptionMershad Javan is the Head of Europe for GoDigital, formally known as Octiive, a global music distribution and promotion platform that empowers independent artists to publish and monetize their work worldwide. Originally from California, Mershad started his journey as a touring musician, eventually transitioning into the business side of the music industry before founding MondoTunes - the company he would later sell, buy back, rebuild, and sell again. He holds an Executive MBA in International Business from California State University. In this episode, Mershad shares the full story behind growing MondoTunes, navigating industry gatekeepers, exiting to a large media group, and later reclaiming the company when it stagnated under corporate ownership. He reflects on the operational mistakes, investor misalignments, and cap table chaos that eventually led to the company going bust - and how he rebuilt momentum with a second acquisition under Octiive. We also discuss how independent artists are underserved, what it takes to scale in the U.S. vs. Europe, and why Switzerland turned out to be a surprisingly strategic HQ for the next chapter.On a more personal level, Mershad talks about his move from Los Angeles to Switzerland, adjusting to a new culture, and what he loves (and still struggles with) about life here. He also reflects on the emotional shift from being a songwriter to becoming an entrepreneur - and why, after everything, he believes bootstrapping is often smarter than raising capital.The cover portrait was edited by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.smartportrait.io⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.‍Don't forget to give us a follow on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there's no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly giveaways or founders' dinners.

Shiyuan Xu was born in China and is currently an assistant professor teaching at California State University, Chico. Shiyuan received her BA from China Academy of Art and an MFA from Arizona State University. Shiyuan has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the recipient of 2021 NCECA Emerging Artist and 2017 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist. https://ThePottersCast.com/1197

Mexico is at the crossroads of an elite culinary destination and extreme social and economic injustice. The corporate takeover of Mexico's food sector has polarized the nation's diets and food systems. In our latest, we talk with Prof. Enrique Ochoa (@EC8A82) about his latest book, "Mexico Between Feast and Famine," and how food in Mexico encapsulates the contradictions and social inequity happening there. Bio//Enrique C. Ochoa is Professor of History and Latin American Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. A native of Los Angeles, he grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in History from UCLA. He's author of “Feeding Mexico: The Political Uses of Food Since 1910” and most recently “Mexico Between Feast and Famine: Food, Corporate Power, and Inequality." -------------------

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/asian-american-studies

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Fantasies of Hong Kong Disneyland: Attempted Indigenizations of Space, Labor, and Consumption (Rutgers UP, 2025) examines the attempt to transplant Disney's "happiest place on Earth" ethos to Hong Kong—with unhappy results. Focusing on the attempted localization and indigenization of this idea in a globalized transnational park, the book delves into the three-way dynamics of an American culture-corporation's intentions, China's government investment, and Hong Kong. The triple actors introduce an especially complex case as two of the world's most powerful entities, the nominally Communist state of China and corporate behemoth Disney, come together for a project in the third space of Hong Kong. The situation poses special challenges for Disney's efforts to manage space, labor, and consumption to achieve local adaptation and business success. Jenny Banh is a keynote speaker, curriculum developer, and professor of Asian American Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Fresno. Her current research examines the barriers/bridges to Southeast Asian American students, Asian Foodways, and a Hong Kong corporation. In her community work, she has conducted, coded, and transcribed over 40 oral histories of Southeast Asian Americans who live in California's Central Valley. She donated all the oral histories to the school's library to create the Central Valley Southeast Asian American Successful Voices Archive. Recently, she helped to co-create the ASAM-Asian Major, nineteen new Asian American studies courses, and three certificates. She has been awarded two teaching awards and four service awards. Donna Doan Anderson is the Mellon research assistant professor in U.S. Law and Race at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

What is really happening in K–12 sex education across the United States right now? In this episode, we unpack the good, the bad, and the truly troubling — and imagine what sex ed could look like if it were inclusive, medically accurate, intersectional, and pleasure-positive. We're joined by Gina Lepore (she/her), an ASSECT-Certified Sexuality Educator with over 30 years of experience spanning healthcare, research, curriculum development, and education. Gina holds a master's degree in Sexuality Education from Widener University and has taught comprehensive sex ed to middle and high school students, trained future sexuality educators and medical students, conducted research, and even spent time educating about (and selling!) pleasure products at her favorite adult store, Pure Pleasure Shop — because real-world learning matters. Together, we explore why sex education often feels inaccessible or incomplete, and what's needed to bridge the gap between academic research and online, community-based sexuality education. Gina shares insights from her work as an adjunct lecturer at Cabrillo College and California State University, Chico, reflecting on what she's learned from teaching hundreds of students — their questions, their gaps, and their hunger for honest, affirming information. We also dive into current research in the field, including buzz around an Emerging Adults Pleasure Survey, and discuss why pleasure belongs in conversations about sexual health. Gina breaks down what sexual empowerment and sexual agency truly mean, how pleasure education can play a role in reducing sexual violence and trauma, and why embodied, holistic approaches to sexuality are essential. In addition to her work in sex education, Gina is a Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach, integrating fitness and embodied wellbeing into her practice through Focus Integrated Fitness and Joyride Sexual Empowerment Coaching. She brings a grounded, compassionate, and deeply human lens to sexuality — shaped not only by her professional work, but also by her lived experience as a proud mama of two young men. ✨ Stick around to the end to learn how to connect with Gina, explore her work, and dive deeper into pleasure-positive, empowering sexuality education. To learn more go to: IG: joyride_empowerment IG: EAPS_2023 For direct access to the survey: https://tinyurl.com/yc36n7pc Come to our October 2026th retreats - one for women and one for couples! Learn more and reserve your spot here: ⁠https://www.shamelesssex.com/retreat⁠ Join us on the Killing Kittens cruise in the Mediterranean in June 2026: h⁠ttps://kkcruise.com⁠ Do you love us? Do you REALLY love us? Then order ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our book⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ now! Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shamelesssex.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to snag your copy Support Shameless Sex by sending us gifts via our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Wish List⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Other links: Get 10% off + free shipping with code SHAMELESS on Uberlube AKA our favorite lubricant at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://uberlube.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get 10% off while learning the art of pleasure at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://OMGyes.com/shameless⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get 15% off all of your sex toys with code SHAMELESSSEX at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://purepleasureshop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I saw the power of storytelling and the responsibility we have to share stories to educate and change lives.Dr. Terésa Dowell-Vest is an Associate Professor of Communication at Prairie View A&M University and President of the University Film and Video Association (UFVA), an organization that supports film, television, and media studies in higher education.In this conversation Terésa and I discuss:* The music of Janet Jackson, Prince, and Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis* Teaching media in a post-truth world* What UFVA is, why it matters, and how professional associations can sharpen teaching and creative practice* What filmmaking trends she sees with her students at Prairie View A&M* The short documentary her students did in collaboration with students from USC (link here)* “The Death of Cliff Huxtable” and the process of separating art from a problematic artistThanks for reading The Creativity, Education, and Leadership Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Here is an AI generated transcript. Don't come for me.BEN: Hi everyone—Ben Guest here. Welcome to The Creativity, Education, and Leadership Podcast. Today my guest is Professor Terésa Dowell-Vest, an associate professor of Communication and Media at Prairie View A&M University and the President of the University Film and Video Association (UFVA).In this conversation we talk Janet Jackson, the media landscape for young people interested in production, what UFVA does, and more. Enjoy.Professor, thanks so much for joining me today.TERÉSA: Thank you. Thank you for having me. It's my pleasure to be here.BEN: I always like to start with a fun question. Senior year of high school—what music were you listening to?TERÉSA: Senior year of high school—1989. 1990 was a great year to be a Janet Jackson fan. *Rhythm Nation* was probably worn out in my car's tape deck. I was a huge fan.BEN: Did you do the choreography?TERÉSA: Oh yes. I can do the hands and all that—the “A‑5‑4.” I would do it, for real.And Janet Jackson was the big one, even though Prince's *Purple Rain* came out a few years earlier. That album was still in regular rotation for me in high school.And then in 1988 New Edition put out *Heart Break*—produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. That was such a good time. So yeah: Janet, Prince, New Edition—Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were the soundtrack.BEN: '88 was when Bobby Brown's *Don't Be Cruel* came out, right?TERÉSA: Listen, lemme tell you, the eighties to be a teenager in the eighties, to be in your twenties in the nineties. What a time to be alive.BEN: Yeah. I love it. Okay, second fun question. What's your pick for best picture this year?TERÉSA: I'd say *Sinners*. There are a few this year, but funny enough I actually focused more on television—I was obsessed with *Stranger Things* and *Severance* (and one other show I'm blanking on), so I didn't get to the movies as much. But I did see *Sinners* and it really stuck with me. I should preface that by saying I'm not as familiar with the entire pool, but I'm almost confident it'll be a strong contender.BEN: So good. I saw that your MFA thesis was titled *The African American Producer Is the American Griot*. Can you talk about that—maybe even in relation to *Sinners*?TERÉSA: I've always been fascinated by the power of storytelling. My bachelor's degree and my MFA are both in theater because I love live engagement. That also shaped me as a professor—I love being in front of students and engaging in a transactional, interactive way, not just a linear one. Theater and education give me that kind of exchange with an audience.For my graduate thesis I came to know Dr. Maulana Karenga—best known for creating Kwanzaa. He was chair of the Black Studies program at California State University, Long Beach. During my years there (1994–1997), I was the only Black student in the program, and in 1997 I became the first Black person to graduate with my particular degree from that program. Even in the '90s I was thinking: why are we still talking about “firsts” and “onlys”?I wanted to bridge storytelling with the legacy of slavery and survival—my own ancestors were from Virginia, where I was born and raised. Dr. Karenga taught me the concept of the *griot*—the storyteller—and the responsibility that comes with that. In the U.S., storytelling often gets treated as frivolous—an extracurricular, “nice to have.” A lot of Black parents, especially, don't want their kids studying film, theater, or the liberal arts because it doesn't seem like a stable livelihood. I started undergrad as an accounting major and didn't tell my dad I'd switched to theater until graduation day—he found out when they called my name under the College of Arts instead of the College of Business. That's the mindset I came from: my family wanted us to succeed, and the arts read as struggle, not a viable career.But there's honor in being a storyteller. That idea changed how I saw theater.And it was the '90s—*Rent* was happening, and I was in Los Angeles, flying back and forth to the East Coast to see Broadway shows that weren't just entertaining; they were educating and changing lives. I remember *The Life*—not a massive hit, but it told the story of Black and Brown women working as call girls in New York City. You'd think, “Is that a Broadway story?” But the music was outstanding.And there were so many others—*Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk* with Savion Glover, looking at African American history through tap and music. During that period I really saw the power of storytelling—and the responsibility we have to tell stories that educate and change lives.BEN: That's so powerful. The responsibility of storytelling to educate and change lives.TERÉSA: Yeah.BEN: It's one of the things I've often thought as a teacher: I'm a storyteller. How do you construct a lesson so students are receptive? It's like you're telling a story over a unit, a curriculum, or even a single lesson.TERÉSA: When you engage with students and give them permission to share their stories, you're not really “teaching” in the traditional sense anymore. It becomes more like peer engagement than “I'm the teacher, I know the things, and I'm telling you the things.”Students receive it differently when they feel you're invested in who they are—not just their grade.BEN: There's a great quote, I think it's Roger Ebert films, but really stories are empathy machines.TERÉSA: Yeah.BEN: It allows us to walk in someone else's shoes for a moment. There was a reconciliation group in Mississippi whose motto was: “Enemies are people whose stories we haven't heard.”TERÉSA: Incredibly profound. When we think about fear, it's often a lack of understanding—no connection to the thing you're afraid of. Hearing stories can build that connection.BEN: Can you talk about the importance of media education? I'm a documentary filmmaker, documentary filmmaking in today's world where so much of where we are in a post-truth society.TERÉSA: There are mechanics to telling the truth, and mechanics to telling a lie. In fiction you see this a lot—shows like *The Mentalist* or *Law & Order* where someone reads body language, eye movement, and so on to figure out whether someone is lying.What matters for media education is helping students understand the “tells” in information—how to challenge and debunk claims instead of assuming, “Someone told me a thing, so it must be true.”I didn't fully appreciate how urgent that was until the pandemic, when early reporting was all over the place and a lot of it conflicted. Being able to sort honest, vetted information from dishonest or speculative claims mattered in a very concrete way—like realizing you probably shouldn't drink bleach.Coming out of that period, teaching media studies has meant teaching reporting with integrity. You can't just assume something is true—not because people are “bad,” but because people absorb information differently based on what they've experienced.I do a lecture with my senior capstone students on the difference between **knowledge** and **information**. Knowledge is shaped by culture, character, race, gender, where you grew up, what language you speak, what faith you practice—so it can carry bias. Information, on the other hand, is verifiable and can be vetted. 2 + 2 = 4 no matter who you are.Good storytelling—and good journalism—knows how to bridge knowledge and information with integrity. When I have journalism students who lean into opinion-driven news—whether it's Fox, MSNBC, whatever—I tell them: that's playing to an audience's sensibilities. It can be entertaining, but it isn't the same as straight reporting. Then there's reporting that aims to be more information-based—“Here's what happened today.” That also needs to be taught. We're in a moment where students need tools to tell the truth, recognize lies, pick them apart, and trust their internal compass about what's important to share.And Ben—my answers get long. You might have to cut me off.BEN: I'm going to cut you off when what you're saying stops being interesting—so I doubt I'm going to cut you off.You're the President of the University Film and Video Association. For listeners: what is UFVA?TERÉSA: UFVA is a nationally recognized organization of university and college educators and institutions focused on film, television, and media studies—both practice and theory. We're a collective of makers and scholars. Our members hold a range of degrees—MAs, MFAs, MS degrees, PhDs, EdDs.As an organization, we examine how film and television are used—and we keep digging into how the field is evolving through innovation and emerging technology. Each year we host a conference (typically in July) where we share classroom best practices and research, and we analyze how film sparks conversation.You asked me earlier about a front-runner for Best Picture. I think about *Sinners* as a kind of textbook in a lot of ways. One of my students gave an informative speech last semester on the history of hoodoo, and she referenced *Sinners* heavily because it's central to the film. In that moment she used a movie as a learning text.That's what UFVA does: we create space to share those opportunities through research and scholarship, and we bring it back to our students and institutions.BEN: You said “best practices,” and I want to come back to that because it's a rabbit hole I love.But first: in an interview you did with the *Journal of Film and Video*, you said you were about to start your UFVA presidency and weren't sure what to expect. Now that you've lived it—how was it?TERÉSA: One of the biggest things I've learned—maybe I've only really realized it in the last couple of months—is that joining an association as an educator keeps the fire hot. It keeps you learning.As UFVA President, I've met so many people who've inspired me. It's not that I want the presidency to end; it's more like, “I need more time to implement everything I'm learning from colleagues.” It also pushed me to partner with other organizations and communities I knew about but hadn't been deeply involved with.I joined UFVA because of the pandemic. Before that I'd never even heard of the University Film and Video Association. I was the kind of person who kept my head down and did my work in my silo, and I was fine with that. But when the pandemic hit, no one knew what to do with film production courses in quarantine.I reached out to colleagues—thinking maybe eight or ten of us would hop on Zoom and talk through hybrid and online teaching. That snowballed. People said, “Can I invite a colleague?” I said yes. I posted on Facebook: if you teach film production or media studies and want to talk about what we're doing this fall, let's meet.Jennifer Proctor replied and asked, “Have you heard of UFVA?” I hadn't. She suggested sharing the call with UFVA, and we kept casting the net. By the time we met, there were 126 professors from around the world—about 100 universities represented, including USC, Ivy League schools, and institutions in Germany and Australia.I ran the meeting as breakout rooms—nine of them—named after Black women in film and television: Shonda Rhimes, Julie Dash, and others. So even in the mechanics of the meeting, people were saying these names and being reminded of who matters in media.Two things came out of that experience. First, UFVA invited me to join the board. I said, “Let me be a member first,” but within a few months I knew: yes, this is where I want to be.Second, I saw the gaps. There was very little representation from HBCUs, and very few Black people involved. Not because UFVA was “bad,” but because people simply didn't know. So I understood my call: help bring people in, build bridges, and create collaboration without turning it into a slogan. I love that we get to do the work without making it a “thing.” That's been the value of the presidency for me.BEN: Love it. Can you talk about with your students at Prairie View, what are some trends you're seeing with what the young people are doing?TERÉSA: Oh, child. They want to be influencers.This is the social media age, and a lot of students see it as the primary industry of their generation—and I get it. If you have enough followers and a couple brands offer deals, it can be real money. I have students with tens of thousands of followers. I'm like, I can barely get my family to like a post. And they're like, “Oh, I do nails,” or “I do lashes,” or “I show my sneaker collection,” and they'll get 10,000 likes every time they post.My reaction is: we need to be teaching this. We need to teach students how to parlay that into careers. Even if I don't personally understand every part of it, that doesn't make it non-viable.It reminds me of when we were in school. The internet wasn't even a thing when I was in college (1990–1994), and then suddenly we were on the edge of being connected to the world. Professors were saying, “This will create cheaters—you'll never look things up in books again.” Sound familiar?Now students are figuring out VR, AR, AI. They're building brands, protecting brands, learning to be CEOs of themselves. That's exciting.BEN: Yeah. I think about that all the time. It's like when people first started writing letters—somebody must have said, “No one's going to talk to each other anymore. They're just going to send letters.”TERÉSA: Exactly. Every generation has a thing—“Who's using this calculator? You need to learn long division.”BEN: I graduated high school in '93, so when you're talking about Janet, my “Janet album” is literally *janet.*—“Again,” “That's the Way Love Goes,” all of that. It's funny how, year by year, the soundtrack shifts just a bit.BEN: Okay—teaching and best practices. What's something you've done in your classroom that really leveled up your teaching?TERÉSA: Oh, wow. Gosh, I think it's less something I've done and more the intention of showing the students that their success is not coming from looking up. It's from looking over. It's the concept that. When you graduate from college, it isn't some executive that's going to give you an opportunity. It's the people you're in the trenches with right now that you're gonna build with right now. So I think the thing that's leveled up my teaching is less a thing that I can show them as much as relationships that I can help them forge and the power of networking. So our program has has a pipeline relationship with the Annenberg School of Communication at the university. The University of Southern California professor Mickey Turner, who's a professor there at USC teaches the senior storytelling for Media course similar to the communication capstone course that I teach here. And so every semester, professor Turner and I collaborate. Those two classes together and we introduced those students to each other through pitches, research topic pitches for their final capstone project. And what they see is. Students at an HBCU or students at this PWI are not different at all. They just, they, live in different states. Perhaps they come from different backgrounds, but by and large, they have similar goals. And we teach them that this is who you need to forge a relationship with because when you are at the stage of making deals or going out and work, this is the person you're gonna want to call. So I think the thing that's leveled up my teaching is my understanding. And my teaching of that understanding of how the industry works and how it can best work for them. Since you no longer have to live in LA or New York to, to make movies people are making movies on their devices. You have to now find your tribe to tell your stories and it can be much more localized. And so I teach them to build their team where they are and not. Go after this aspirational. The only way I can make it if is if I put it in the hands of someone so far away from me. No, put it in the hands of the guy sitting next to you or the young lady that's sitting on this other side and shoot your film, make your short tell the story. Do your podcast. I feel like that's leveled up. The final piece to that USC story is that during the pandemic, five of our students from Prairie View and five students from USC collaborated on a short documentary about the pandemic and how it impacted students at HBCUs, at this HBCU versus how it impacted students at a private, pWI Prairie View is 45 minutes outside of the city of Houston. We're a rural community. We're in the middle of nowhere essentially, whereas USC is in the heart of Los Angeles and those students taught, told an amazing story. I'll send you the link to the film. It's on YouTube. Told an amazing story from two different vantage points. That is a great indication of how education can be collaborative. Just as film is.BEN: Yeah. Before we started recording, we were talking about travel—and it just reminds me: travel is one of the best educations people can get. The more you interact with people from around the country and the world, the more you realize how similar we are and what we want: better lives for our kids and a better world to live in.That feels like a good place to end. For people interested in your work, where can they find you?TERÉSA: A good starting point is **thedeathofcliffhuxtable.com**. That's where you'll find my fan-fiction series—and later scholarly series—about separating the art from the artist when the artist is problematic.Bill Cosby's work touched every stage of my life: as a child I watched *Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids* on Saturday mornings; as a teenager in the '80s I watched the Huxtables and wanted to be part of that world; and in college in the '90s—at James Madison University, a PWI—every Thursday night at 8:30 we gathered to watch *A Different World*, and it made us feel connected in a way.When I think about the more than 60 women who came forward, my first thought is: that many people aren't lying. Even if one person tells the truth, it changes everything.In 2015—around the time the New Yorker reporting was circulating and more women were speaking—I started writing fan fiction centered on the Huxtable family at the moment Cliff Huxtable dies. I “killed” Cliff Huxtable to push back on the idea that Bill Cosby was “America's dad.” That moniker belonged to Cliff Huxtable—a fictional character written by an artist who created something meaningful and also did something horrific.We can't see Cliff the same way because he wears Bill Cosby's face, but they are not the same person—one of them isn't even real. Writing the series helped me illustrate that tension, and it eventually became a scholarly project.During the pandemic we hosted a virtual series with 51 artists, scholars, and actors who read chapters and then joined post-show discussions on the themes. You can find all of that through the website, and it's also the easiest way to contact me.BEN: Wow. Professor, thank you for all the, for your time today, but also for all the good work you're doing in so many different spaces.TERÉSA: Thank you. Thank you. And I look forward to listening to the podcast even more. I'm sorry that I'm just now getting hip to your great work, but I tell you what, I am going to tune in and probably hit you up with some questions and excited remarks shortly thereafter.BEN: I love it.That was my conversation with Professor Dowell-Vest. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend. Have a great day. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit benbo.substack.com

At least 2,600 protesters have been killed in Iran's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Those protests now appear to have abated after nearly two weeks, but many outside Iran are still struggling to get information about loved ones because of the Islamic Republic's communication blackout. Meanwhile, as President Trump gives mixed signals on intervention, the U.S. imposed additional sanctions on Thursday. We'll hear from Iranians in California about how they're processing the latest news, and from you: How do you want the U.S. to respond? Guests: Robin Wright, contributing writer, The New Yorker - her most recent piece for the magazine is "Iran's Regime Is Unsustainable"; Wright is also the author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East" among other books Hoda Katebi, labor attorney, Iranian-American writer and community organizer Sahar Razavi, associate professor, Department of Political Science; director, Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center, California State University, Sacramento Shani Moslehi, founder and chief executive officer, Orange County Iranian American Chamber of Commerce (OCIACC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Jason Ozur, Founding Partner, Chief Executive Officer, Lido Advisors Overview As firms pursue scale, advisors face a critical question: how do you grow without compromising the client experience? Jason Ozur joins the show to explore what intentional growth really looks like and what scale can enable when culture and clarity come first. Watch… Listen in… > Download a transcript of this episode… NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. About this episode… Over the last decade, scale has become one of the defining themes in wealth management. Larger firms promise broader resources, deeper infrastructure, and expanded opportunity. But they also raise a fair question: at what point does growth begin to work against the client experience it's meant to enhance? That's the center of today's conversation. Jason Ozur and his partners at Lido Advisors have built one of the largest RIAs in the country, managing more than $40B in assets, while maintaining a family-office mindset and a distinctly client-first culture. What's notable is not just the firm's growth, but how intentionally it has been pursued. Jason talks about Lido's growth story and more with Jason Diamond, including: The real constraints on growth—and the roles of culture, capital, and clients. The role of the wirehouses in the modern landscape and how the RIA model differs. The realities of scale—and what it enables when done thoughtfully. The concept of “bigger is better”—and why Jason sees that as an oversimplification. Integration versus aggregation—and how Lido evaluates acquisitions. The evolving role of private equity in the RIA space—and why access to capital doesn't have to come at the expense of independence or client outcomes. It's a candid look at what sustainable growth actually means—and what advisors and owners should consider as firms across the industry continue to grow. Want to learn more about where, why, and how advisors like you are moving? Click to contact us or call 908-879-1002. Related Resources Is Scale a Necessary Evil in Wealth Management? Scale can provide a competitive advantage. Yet there might be scenarios in which bigger isn't always better. How to Set Up Your Business to Maximize Enterprise Value Jason and Louis Diamond explore strategies for maximizing enterprise value, whether or not an advisor plans to move. Learn actionable insights, key business practices, short-term vs. long-term tactics, and real-world examples. IBD vs. RIA – Which Model Fits Your Future This guide offers a clear, side-by-side view of the two models—including distinctions between the DIY route of building an RIA from scratch and opting for a supportive independence platform to help align your business goals with greater options and opportunities. Jason Ozur Chief Executive Officer Jason Ozur is the Chief Executive Officer of Lido Advisors, where he considers client focus central to his leadership and devotes significant time and attention to the individuals and families he serves. Based in Los Angeles, he also serves as Co-Chair of the investment committee, overseeing Lido's alternative investment platform and leading due diligence on real estate oriented strategies. A Certified Public Accountant, Jason earned his B.S. from California State University at Northridge before beginning his career in public accounting. He worked as a CPA performing audits, preparing tax returns, and providing back-office services for numerous hedge funds. In 1999, he joined a large family investment office, becoming part of the team that managed the family's substantial investments. During this time, he also served as CFO of the family's worldwide water conservation company, which operated in more than 22 countries, and later provided financial oversight as controller for a multi-billion-dollar Los Angeles–based hedge fund. In addition to his executive and investment responsibilities, Jason is deeply committed to shaping Lido's culture. He takes an active mentorship role within the firm, fostering an environment rooted in progression, excellence, and integrity. Also available on your favorite podcast app and other media sites

Dr. Cynthia Rapaido, a highly accomplished educator, holds an Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education and an M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of San Francisco. She earned her B.S. in Applied Arts and Sciences Biology from San Diego State University. With over 30 years of experience in K–12 education, she has served as a high school principal, assistant principal, and teacher, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the educational landscape across various schools and districts in California.Dr. Rapaido's dedication extends to higher education, where she has contributed significantly as a faculty lecturer, dissertation advisor, and university field supervisor at esteemed institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and California State University, East Bay. Her passion for teaching, mentoring, and coaching educators is evident in her continuing role as an educational leadership coach and consultant. She also mentors graduate and doctoral students at her alma maters.Often actively engaged in research, Dr. Rapaido participates in academic peer review panels and presents her work at conferences, covering diverse topics within education and leadership. Her research interests include educational leadership, teacher education, school climate, diversity sensitivity, multicultural competency, social justice, emotional intelligence, and the impact of colonialism and imperialism.Dr. Rapaido was honored by the Filipina Women's Network (FWN) in 2011 as one of "100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States". She was commended by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and received the "2013 California Secondary Co-Administrator of the Year" award. The following year, the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) recognized her as a finalist for the prestigious "Assistant Principal of the Year" award for the State of California, highlighting her outstanding, active, and front-line leadership.In July 2024, Dr. Rapaido published her first book, "Step Up Your School Leadership Game ~ The New Administrators' Guide ~ Lessons to Navigate Big and Small Challenges with Confidence and Purpose".Takeaways:Dr. Cynthia Rapaido possesses over 30 years of experience in K12 education, contributing to various roles.Her extensive career includes positions as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal in California schools.In 2024, Dr. Rapaido authored her first book, which serves as a guide for aspiring school leaders.She emphasizes the importance of mentorship for new educators and administrators entering the field.Dr. Rapaido advocates for building relationships with both students and parents to enhance educational outcomes.The podcast discusses the critical transitions students face from elementary to high school, highlighting the need for support.Chapters:00:02 - Introducing Dr. Cynthia Rapaido06:10 - Transitions in Education16:50 - Transitioning from Education to Writing

You've probably been told to be grateful for what you have — but that advice isn't just feel-good wisdom. Research shows that intentionally expressing gratitude can actually change how your brain functions, influencing mood, focus, and emotional resilience. This episode begins with what gratitude really does inside your head — and why it's more powerful than it sounds. https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/how-expressing-gratitude-change-your-brain.html There's a basic human need we rarely talk about, yet it quietly shapes how people behave: the need to matter – to feel significant. When people feel seen and valued they tend to thrive. When they don't, the consequences can be serious — for individuals and for society. Jennifer Breheny Wallace joins me to explain why mattering is so essential and how it affects relationships, motivation, and well-being. She's an award-winning journalist and author of Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose. (https://amzn.to/4r0ZX6W). Cats are the second most popular pets in the United States — yet many people don't understand the appeal at all. Cats can seem aloof, independent, and uninterested in pleasing us. So why have humans kept cats as companions for thousands of years? And what do cat lovers get from the relationship that others miss? Jerry Moore explains the long, surprising history of cats and why they continue to captivate us. He's a professor emeritus of anthropology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and author of Cat Tales: A History (https://amzn.to/4sUBPEU) And finally, when you're sick with a cold or the flu, some old-fashioned home remedies actually have science on their side. They may not cure you — but they can make being sick a little less miserable. We wrap up with which remedies help and why they work. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/truth-about-home-remedies-for-colds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CrowdScience listener Limbikani in Zambia is always being told he has his Dad's laugh, so he set us the challenge of trying to find out whether a laugh can be passed down in our genes or if it's something we learn from our environment. Presenter Caroline Steel steps into the world of one of the world's greatest laughter experts, Professor Sophie Scott, neuroscientist at University College London. In her office stuffed with memorabilia of a life filled with fun, they discuss how the shape of our bodies could play a role in how we laugh. Also joining the fun is Dr Gil Greengross, evolutionary psychologist at Aberystwyth University in Wales, UK. Gil tells us how Charles Darwin was the first person to question how laughter evolved. Caroline also speaks to Dr Nancy Segal, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Twin Studies Center at California State University, Fullerton. Nancy is an expert in studies that demonstrate the role of nature vs nurture in how who we are and how we behave. She tells the story of the ‘Giggle Twins', who were separated at birth but found they laughed identically when they met three decades later. So does that mean that we really do inherit our laughs from our parents? Presenter: Caroline Steel Producer: Tom Bonnett Editor: Ben Motley Credit: The sound of rats laughing (slowed down so that our ears can detect the ultrasound) is courtesy of Dr. Jaak Panksepp(Photo: Father and son on yellow background- stock photo Credit: Georgijevic via Getty Images)

How can we bring joy into education? Johanna Smith, professor of theater education and entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino, finds a way to incorporate it. Johanna Smith is a Professor of Theatre Education and Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino. She has served as an artist and educator for professional theatres, museums, […]

Notes and Links to Cole Cuchna's Work     Cole Cuchna graduated from California State University with a degree in music composition. Cuchna graduated in 2015, pursued a short solo career, then worked as a barista. But his desire to bridge the classical and pop worlds persisted. He remembered his love of writing essays and conducting deep research about music. That coincided with the growing popularity of podcasting, which had been around for a decade. It was the perfect medium, he felt, for long-form analysis of an audio art.    Cole is the host and creator of Dissect Podcast, a music podcast which debuted in 2016. The podcast is renowned for its in-depth analysis of contemporary music. Dissect was named "Best podcast of 2017" by Quartz, and the following year was named "Best podcast of 2018" by The New York Times. Additionally, both Time magazine and The Guardian listed Dissect as one of the top 50 podcasts of 2018. 2025 marks the 13th season of Dissect.  Listen to Dissect Podcast   Watch Dissect Podcast on Netflix   Dissect Podcast Homepage   Dissect Podcast Wikipedia   Review of Dissect Podcast   At about 2:55, Cole explains plans for Dissect Podcast on Netflix, coming soon! At about 4:40, Cole responds to Pete's question about his own love of hip hop and transformative and formative music for him  At about 6:50, Cole underscores the “shared community” of skating growing up that welcomed “rappers” and “rockers” At about 8:30, Robin Branson, who put Pete on to Dissect (thanks, Robin), asks Cole about his view of himself as an “educator” At about 12:35, the two discuss Cole's research process and ideas of knowing the artist and his/her art At about 15:45, Pete shares a profound quote from Cole about the essence of music and music fandom At about 16:15, Cole responds to Pete's question about how he listens to music differently (or not) since he has become  At about 17:20, Cole expands upon the genesis for the podcast, dealing with Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and his daughter's birth At about 19:00, a discussion of possible future hip hop heads alludes to a classic video At about 20:00, Cole outlines his average research time and his early research in the early days of the podcast At about 20:45, Cole explains what skills he had already developed in college music composition, and what skills he has learned/used in doing the podcast At about 22:20, Cole responds to Pete's question about how he picks an album At about 25:00, Pete details some of the great “subtlety and nuance” on the podcast At about 26:45, Cole expands on one of the show's “inside jokes” At about 27:45, Pete brings up “syncopation” in Radiohead's work in asking Cole about he balances sonic and lyrical jargon with digestible information for people who are not necessarily students of music theory  At about 32:15, Cole responds to Pete's question about what it's like to work with experts on individual artists in crafting his seasons  At about 34:25, Cole and Pete discuss the “side projects” that Cole has done involving standout artists and songs At about 36:20, Cole reflects on contemporary artists and his willingness to stay open to new sounds and talents At about 40:20, Cole talks about cool and beneficial feedback from the artists profiled on the podcast At about 41:40, Cole responds to Pete asking about “surreal” moments he's experienced in doing the podcast and offshoot projects  At about 42:40, Manifesting for a future Cole interview with Kendrick! At about 43:20, Cole shouts out the rapper who has “sealed the deal” for him as the G.O.A.T. At about 44:25, When's Frank Ocean gonna drop?      You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Jeff Pearlman, a recent guest, will be up at Chicago Review in the next week or so.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, DIY podcast and extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    This month's Patreon bonus episode features an exploration of children's literature on standout writers from the show, including Robert Jones, Jr. and Javier Zamora, as well as Pete's cherished relationship with Levar Burton, Reading Rainbow, and libraries.    Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.     This is a passion project, a DIY operation, and Pete would love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 316 with Kiese Laymon, a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of Long Division, which won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for fiction, and the essay collection, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, named a notable book of 2021 by the New York Times critics. Laymon's bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times.    The episode airs on January 6.    Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.

This episode discusses the benefits of drone as first responder (DFR) programs for police departments and public safety offices. Guest Biographies Officer J. "Matt" Rowland is a 20-year veteran of the Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) located in Fort Wayne, IN. He was a founding member of the FWPD Air Support Unit (ASU) in 2017. He spent 15 years in the Operations division and served 6 years during that time as a hostage negotiator. He is a certified instructor both in the classroom and emergency vehicle driving. Todd Withers is a 34-year veteran of law enforcement with the last 28 years at the Beverly Hills Police Department. He is currently a Lieutenant in charge of the Real Time Watch Center and UAS/ Drone program. He holds a Master of Science Degree from California State University, Long Beach in Emergency Services Administration and is a certified FAA Part 107 UAS Pilot. Don Redmond is a retired Chula Vista Police Captain with over 25 years in law enforcement and now serves as Vice President of Drone as First Responder (DFR) at BRINC Drones. He works with public safety agencies to advance drone technology, improve response times, and save lives. During his career, he was instrumental in developing Chula Vista PD's pioneering Drone as First Responder program, which has become a national model. Dr. Tom Christoff is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA where he is responsible for leading projects involving local assessments, research, and developing technical assistance for agencies nationwide.  Dr. Christoff recently served as a Project Director on a COPS Office project where he oversaw the development of a technology implementation guide and six case studies highlighting agencies using technology in innovative ways.

This episode closes out an incredible year on The Mark Haney Show with a special year-in-review compilation — highlighting the conversations, ideas, and people that made it such a meaningful season. As part of our ongoing 10-year anniversary celebration, we look back on a year defined by growth, collaboration, innovation, and winning — while setting the tone for what's next. From entrepreneurship and AI to leadership, life balance, and community, these moments capture what it really takes to keep moving forward. This episode is about more than reflection. It's about momentum. You'll hear insights from founders, investors, educators, and operators who are actively building the future — including voices from Growth Factory Ventures, California State University, Sacramento, and leaders across the Backyard ecosystem. As we head into the new year, this compilation is a reminder that growth is intentional, winning is earned, and nobody builds a truly great company alone. Here's to a great year behind us — and an even better one ahead.

In this episode of What Are You Made Of, Mike "C-Roc" sits down with Dr. Patrick Cohn, founder of Peak Performance Sports and a leading expert in sports psychology. With a Master's degree from California State University, Fullerton under Dr. Ken Ravizza and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia with Dr. Bob Rotella, Patrick has spent decades mentoring athletes, day traders, and entrepreneurs to reach peak mental performance.Patrick opens up about his personal journey as a survivor of melanoma and lung cancer, sharing how facing life-threatening adversity shaped his perspective and approach to mental performance. He dives deep into the mindset of elite athletes, discussing the importance of focusing on process over outcome, managing identity beyond performance, and thriving through slumps both on the field and in business.From lessons in resilience and goal-setting to the nuances of entrepreneurship and performance coaching, Patrick shares actionable strategies for anyone looking to excel under pressure while staying grounded in their true identity. This episode is a masterclass in mental toughness, perspective, and the art of being “made of” more than just results.Website-https://www.peaksports.com/ Social Media Links/Handles-https://www.instagram.com/sportspsychcoach/https://www.tiktok.com/@peakperformancesports

About our guest:Danielle Palmer, CNMT was born and raised in Northern California and diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of two. After leaving home to attend California State University, Fullerton, Danielle competed as an NCAA Division I Fencer and was highly involved in the Theatre and Dance Department. Her lifelong passion for helping others initially led her to consider Physical Therapy. However, years of injuries and unresolved pain from JRA left her disillusioned with conventional Western Medicine—until she discovered SCENAR and Frequency Medicine.Determined to master her craft, Danielle pursued advanced training with SCENAR Health USA and later traveled multiple times to London to study with the Revenko SCENAR Academy of Russia, the English school of the “Father of SCENAR,” Professor of Neurology Dr. Alexander Revenko. She has achieved Master Class certifications in Advanced Spinal Disorders, Immune Support, Joint Flexibility, and the New Advancements of SCENAR Therapy, making her one of the most highly trained SCENAR practitioners in the United States. The Revenko Academy of Russia recognizes her as one of its top international practitioners and mentors.Her mission remains clear: to empower others to harness the body's innate healing potential through bioelectric and frequency-based therapies.Danielle's Links:Website: https://www.frequencytherapistofficial.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefrequencytherapist/Programs: https://www.frequencytherapistofficial.com/programs Stephanie's links:Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drstephpeacockInstgram: https://www.instagram.com/drstephpeacock/Website: https://stephaniepeacock.com/ Subscribe to my newsletter: https://stephanies-newsletter-c410d1.beehiiv.com/subscribe

As the year wraps up, we are replaying some of our favorite conversations from 2025, including this one!Customer lifetime value is a critical KPI, but with customer acquisition costs rapidly rising, what can brands do to successfully build long-term value for the business?Agility requires seeing past vanity metrics to the durable value hidden in customer relationships. When customer acquisition costs climb and privacy affects easy targeting, only nimble brands—those that align teams, data, and KPIs around lifetime value—stay ahead.All of this (and a few more things) are discussed in the recently-released Klaviyo B2C Report. To discuss it, I'd like to welcome Jamie Domenici, CMO at Klaviyo. About Jamie Domenici Jamie is Chief Marketing Officer at Klaviyo, the only CRM built for consumer brands. She has served as the Chief Marketing Officer since August 2023. With more than 20 years of experience in SaaS Marketing, Jamie has become a pioneer in SMB Marketing and a champion for small businesses. Prior to Klaviyo, Jamie served as the CMO of GoTo, a provider of SaaS and cloud- based remote work tools for collaboration and IT management, and before that, she held various marketing leadership positions at Salesforce for over ten years. Jamie holds a B.A. in International Relations from California State University, Chico. Jamie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters. Jamie Domenici on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdomenici/ Resources Klaviyo: https://www.klaviyo.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Enjoyed the show? Tell us more at and give us a rating so others can find the show at: https://ratethispodcast.com/agileConnect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

A new year means new laws set to take effect in California. One measure will grant certain high school seniors automatic admission to many California State University campuses. Another will make it easier to build mid-rise apartments near public transportation.

In this episode, cohosts Adreonna Bennett and Conor Casey speak with Julie Thomas, the instruction and electronic records archivist at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS), about her new book, Teaching Primary Source Research Skills to 21st-Century Learners. Drawing on her extensive experience, Thomas discusses theories and pedagogies for teaching primary source research skills in the … Continue reading Season 9, Episode 4: Julie Thomas

Brian Ebbert, Chris Micheli and Alex Vassar may not be household names to the average Californian, but in the Capitol Community, they are approaching celebrity status for their deep knowledge of legislative history and state government procedure. Putting that knowledge to good use, the trio has just published The California Capitol Cocktail Trivia Book, a lively and engaging collection of little-known facts, anecdotes, and curiosities drawn from the rich history of California's state government. They joined us to talk about the project and shared stories from the book.We're also joined by Luke Wood, President of California State University, Sacramento. Wood has seen notable successes during his tenure - notably increased enrollment and the school's highest-ever graduation rate. His leadership is not without controversy - he has received significant criticism for his plan to implement a rule that Starting in 2026, Sac State freshmen must live two years on campus.Plus, who had the Worst Week in California politics?:50 Capitol ink3:47 Planned Parenthood cuts4:45 Santa's take on California politics7:48 Capitol trivia10:41 POLITICO trivia night12:28 Detour to a topless bar13:55 The capitol's speakeasy16:18 Scandals18:11 How to buy the book19:51 Luke Wood20:58 What is the feeling of the student body right now?24:38 Live on campus rule28:42 Impact of Nancy Skinner's NIL bill35:29 Downtown Capitol Center39:09 #WWCAWant to support the Capitol Weekly Podcast? Make your tax deductible donationhere: capitolweekly.net/donations/Capitol Weekly Podcast theme is "Pickin' My Way" by Eddie Lang "#WorstWeekCA" Beat provided by freebeats.io Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In honor of the Winter Solstice happening this coming weekend on December 21st at 10:03 AM Pacific, we celebrate land and place-based cultivation from a foundation of cultural and spiritual care leading the way. We're joined in this by Dr. Don Hankins, Professor of Geography and Planning at California State University, Chico. Of Miwok ancestry, Don, for decades now, has focused on applied research of indigenous stewardship practices as a “keystone process to aid in conservation and management of resources”, particularly around the cultural use of fire and and conservation of water. Don has been involved in land management and conservation local organizations and agencies as well as federal and tribal governments. Listen in! Cultivating Place now has a donate button! We thank you for listening over the years, and we hope you'll continue to support Cultivating Place. We can't thank you enough for making it possible for this young program to grow and engage in even more conversations like these. The show is available as a podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. To read more and for many more photos, please visit www.cultivatingplace.com.

How does militarization threaten contemporary democracies? Why is Brazil's case significant for understanding the causes and consequences of militarizing politics? How does it compare to other current cases of the same phenomenon in terms of similarities and differences? Join Deborah Monte in this episode of the People, Power, Politics podcast to explore these questions and the state of civil-military relations in Brazil. This episode is based on Octávio Amorim and Igor Acácio's book “Presidentialism and Civil-Military Relations – Brazil in Comparative Perspective”, published in 2025 by Palgrave Macmillan. Dr. Octavio Amorim Neto is a professor of political science at the Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration in Rio de Janeiro. He specializes in comparative political institutions, civil-military relations, and Brazilian politics and foreign policy. Dr. Igor Acácio is an assistant professor in the Division of Politics, Administration, and Justice at California State University, Fullerton. He specializes in democracy, civil–military relations, and defense and security issues in Latin America. Déborah Monte is an adjunct professor of international studies at Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados (UFGD – Brazil) and a visiting researcher at CEDAR during the 2024-25 academic year. The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) based at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the factors that promote and undermine democratic government around the world and follow us on Twitter at @CEDAR_Bham! Read the transcript here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Dr. Donovan German is Associate Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. Donovan aims to better understand how materials move through the gut, which enzymes are secreted during digestion, what microbes are present, and what role these microbes play. In particular, Donovan focuses his research on animals with unusual diets, such as fish that eat wood or algae, to understand how these foods are digested and how animals can survive on these lower quality foods. Beyond his interests in science, Donovan loves sports and music. He played football through college, and he now enjoys coaching his kids' baseball and soccer teams. Donovan played bass in a band during college, and he also plays the guitar and drums. Donovan received his B.A. in Marine Science from the University of San Diego, his M.S. In Biology from California State University in Fullerton, and his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida. Afterwards, he conducted postdoctoral research at UC, Irvine before joining the faculty there in 2011. Donovan's awards and honors include receipt of the UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship, the UCI School of Biological Sciences Dean's Award for Postdoctoral Excellence, and the UCI School of Biological Sciences Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research. In our interview Donovan shares more about his life and science.

Before we start today's show, I'd like to welcome our newest FreshEd Members, Amy Stambach and Tian Renxiang. Thank you for your support. If you think FreshEd is a valuable educational resource and want to join our growing community, sign up at FreshEdpodcast.com. -- Today we unpack education alternatives to reimagine education for just futures. My guests are Frank Adamson and Carol Anne Spreen. Frank Adamson is associate professor of education leadership and policy studies at California State University, Sacramento. Carol Anne Spreen is a professor of international education at New York University. They were on the co-editorial team of the NORRAG Special Issue entitled “Education for Societal Transformation: Alternatives for a Just Future” and members of The Alternative Project, which I should mention I was a part of at its inception. -- freshedpodcast.com/adamson-spreen/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Feminism's Empire (Cornell UP, 2022) investigates the complex relationships between imperialisms and feminisms in the late nineteenth century and demonstrates the challenge of conceptualizing "pro-imperialist" and "anti-imperialist" as binary positions. By intellectually and spatially tracing the era's first French feminists' engagement with empire, Carolyn J. Eichner explores how feminists opposed—yet employed—approaches to empire in writing, speaking, and publishing. In differing ways, they ultimately tied forms of imperialism to gender liberation. Among the era's first anti-imperialists, French feminists were enmeshed in the hierarchies and epistemologies of empire. They likened their gender-based marginalization to imperialist oppressions. Imperialism and colonialism's gendered and sexualized racial hierarchies established categories of inclusion and exclusion that rested in both universalism and ideas of "nature" that presented colonized people with theoretical, yet impossible, paths to integration. Feminists faced similar barriers to full incorporation due to the gendered contradictions inherent in universalism. The system presumed citizenship to be male and thus positioned women as outsiders. Feminism's Empire connects this critical struggle to hierarchical power shifts in racial and national status that created uneasy linkages between French feminists and imperial authorities. Dr. Carolyn J. Eichner about is a Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Feminism's Empire is her third book. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune came out in 2004 and The Paris Commune: A Brief History came out in 2022. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune was published in French as Franchir les barricades: les femmes dans la Commune de Paris (Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2020). Translated by Bastien Craipain, it was a finalist for the Prix Augustin Thierry in 2021, an award from the city of Paris for a historical study concerning the period between Antiquity and the late 19th century. In 2022-2023 she will be a Fulbright Research scholar in France and will be in residence at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis. Michael G. Vann is a professor of world history at California State University, Sacramento. A specialist in imperialism and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, he is the author of The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empires, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam (Oxford University Press, 2018). When he's not reading or talking about new books with smart people, Mike can be found surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Feminism's Empire (Cornell UP, 2022) investigates the complex relationships between imperialisms and feminisms in the late nineteenth century and demonstrates the challenge of conceptualizing "pro-imperialist" and "anti-imperialist" as binary positions. By intellectually and spatially tracing the era's first French feminists' engagement with empire, Carolyn J. Eichner explores how feminists opposed—yet employed—approaches to empire in writing, speaking, and publishing. In differing ways, they ultimately tied forms of imperialism to gender liberation. Among the era's first anti-imperialists, French feminists were enmeshed in the hierarchies and epistemologies of empire. They likened their gender-based marginalization to imperialist oppressions. Imperialism and colonialism's gendered and sexualized racial hierarchies established categories of inclusion and exclusion that rested in both universalism and ideas of "nature" that presented colonized people with theoretical, yet impossible, paths to integration. Feminists faced similar barriers to full incorporation due to the gendered contradictions inherent in universalism. The system presumed citizenship to be male and thus positioned women as outsiders. Feminism's Empire connects this critical struggle to hierarchical power shifts in racial and national status that created uneasy linkages between French feminists and imperial authorities. Dr. Carolyn J. Eichner about is a Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Feminism's Empire is her third book. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune came out in 2004 and The Paris Commune: A Brief History came out in 2022. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune was published in French as Franchir les barricades: les femmes dans la Commune de Paris (Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2020). Translated by Bastien Craipain, it was a finalist for the Prix Augustin Thierry in 2021, an award from the city of Paris for a historical study concerning the period between Antiquity and the late 19th century. In 2022-2023 she will be a Fulbright Research scholar in France and will be in residence at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis. Michael G. Vann is a professor of world history at California State University, Sacramento. A specialist in imperialism and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, he is the author of The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empires, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam (Oxford University Press, 2018). When he's not reading or talking about new books with smart people, Mike can be found surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Feminism's Empire (Cornell UP, 2022) investigates the complex relationships between imperialisms and feminisms in the late nineteenth century and demonstrates the challenge of conceptualizing "pro-imperialist" and "anti-imperialist" as binary positions. By intellectually and spatially tracing the era's first French feminists' engagement with empire, Carolyn J. Eichner explores how feminists opposed—yet employed—approaches to empire in writing, speaking, and publishing. In differing ways, they ultimately tied forms of imperialism to gender liberation. Among the era's first anti-imperialists, French feminists were enmeshed in the hierarchies and epistemologies of empire. They likened their gender-based marginalization to imperialist oppressions. Imperialism and colonialism's gendered and sexualized racial hierarchies established categories of inclusion and exclusion that rested in both universalism and ideas of "nature" that presented colonized people with theoretical, yet impossible, paths to integration. Feminists faced similar barriers to full incorporation due to the gendered contradictions inherent in universalism. The system presumed citizenship to be male and thus positioned women as outsiders. Feminism's Empire connects this critical struggle to hierarchical power shifts in racial and national status that created uneasy linkages between French feminists and imperial authorities. Dr. Carolyn J. Eichner about is a Professor of History and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Feminism's Empire is her third book. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune came out in 2004 and The Paris Commune: A Brief History came out in 2022. Surmounting the Barricades: Women in the Paris Commune was published in French as Franchir les barricades: les femmes dans la Commune de Paris (Éditions de la Sorbonne, 2020). Translated by Bastien Craipain, it was a finalist for the Prix Augustin Thierry in 2021, an award from the city of Paris for a historical study concerning the period between Antiquity and the late 19th century. In 2022-2023 she will be a Fulbright Research scholar in France and will be in residence at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis. Michael G. Vann is a professor of world history at California State University, Sacramento. A specialist in imperialism and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, he is the author of The Great Hanoi Rat Hunt: Empires, Disease, and Modernity in French Colonial Vietnam (Oxford University Press, 2018). When he's not reading or talking about new books with smart people, Mike can be found surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Subscribe to Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/?utm_source=shownotes&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=insideGift a subscription of Inside Call me Back: inside.arkmedia.org/giftsCity Journal's college ranking: https://collegerankings.city-journal.org/The Wall St. Journal on rethinking higher ed: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/college-rankings-manhattan-institute-universities-free-speech-d9df60e2?mod=opinion_lead_pos1City Journal's announcement: https://www.city-journal.org/article/2025-college-rankingsSubscribe to Amit Segal's newsletter ‘It's Noon in Israel':arkmedia.org/amitsegal/Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastCheck out Ark Media's other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: https://lnk.to/rfGlrA‘What's Your Number?': https://lnk.to/rfGlrAFor sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.orgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorTo order Dan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdnToday's episode: Over the past few years, we've witnessed a deterioration within elite, higher education. From the explosion in antisemitism, to the entrenchment of wrongheaded DEI policies, many Americans have begun to doubt the real value of an elite college degree.Last month, the Manhattan Institute – a public policy thinktank in New York City – launched its inaugural college rankings list that takes into account various factors that other popular rankings lists often don't, such as the rigor of a school's curriculum as well as the ideological balance of the school's student body and professors. To discuss this new rankings system, Dan was joined by Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute, and Kevin Wallstein, Professor of Political Science at California State University and an Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorADAAM JAMES LEVIN-AREDDY - Executive ProducerMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorMARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional EditingMAYA RACKOFF - Operations DirectorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

If you've gone through divorce, are contemplating it, or you're smack in the messy middle, you already know: one of the hardest parts isn't the paperwork. It's learning how the hell to communicate with your ex. This is someone you likely have a lot of emotional heat with: toxic, irritating, disappointing, or all of the above and communication might even be one of the reasons you're not together anymore. And if you share kids? The communication doesn't end just because the relationship does. You still have to find a way to talk calmly, clearly, and with as much emotional self-protection as possible. That's why I brought on today's guests:Tessa Noel and Heather Ruiz from Talking Parents, a platform designed to reduce the chaos, conflict, and emotional landmines that come with co-parenting. Tessa is a certified divorce transition coach and a co-parent who's lived through a brutally high-conflict divorce. Heather brings 20+ years of communications and leadership experience, and her own co-parenting journey, to the work she does shaping Talking Parents' mission. At the end of the day, healthy communication isn't about fixing your ex, it's about reclaiming your power and creating the calm your kids need. ✨ If you'd like to watch the video version of this episode, you can find it here. What you'll hear about in this episode: The biggest mistakes people make when they first start co-parenting with a difficult or high-conflict ex (11:45) Real-life communication patterns that support healthier outcomes for kids (16:00) How boundaries changed everything for Tessa and why Heather says they're essential to set early, even when things feel amicable (23:45) Tessa's children's book Stella's Two Homes and how it helps kids navigate two-household families (28:45) Learn more about Tessa Noel and Heather Ruiz: Tessa Noel is a certified divorce transition and recovery coach with extensive knowledge in multiple life coaching frameworks. She holds a degree from California State University of San Marcos and has firsthand experience in the family courts of California. Tessa is also a co-parent with two children. In her free time, she loves to take them on adventures around their home state of California. With over 20 years in marketing and communication, Heather Ruiz is at the forefront of software services as TalkingParents Marketing Director, shaping the narrative around a pivotal time when digital platforms are redefining how co-parents coordinate, collaborate, and care for their children. Resources & Links: Focused Strategy Sessions with Kate The Divorce Survival Guide Resource BundlePhoenix Rising: A Divorce Empowerment CollectiveKate on InstagramKate on FacebookKate's Substack Newsletter: Divorce Coaching Dispatch The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast Episodes are also available YouTube! Talking Parents Talking Parents on Facebook Talking Parents on Instagram Talking Parents on LinkedIn Talking Parents on TikTok Talking  Parents on YouTube Tessa on Instagram Stella's Two Homes =================== DISCLAIMER:  THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVICE.  YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, COACH, OR THERAPIST IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR ISSUE OR PROBLEM. Episode link: https://kateanthony.com/podcast/episode-345-how-to-communicate-with-your-ex-without-losing-your-mind-with-the-pros-at-talking-parents/  

Stefan Diethelm is a Swiss and German artist, originally from Uzwil, Switzerland. He fell in love with performing at a young age, was trained in classical voice throughout his teens, and studied musical theatre in Hamburg, Germany. He moved to New York City to further his craft, and studied at the HB Studio under instructors like Lonny Price, Peter Francis James and Theresa McElwee. HB Studio is also where he met Eduardo Machado and started writing plays while in his class. Since graduating from the studio, he has been a working playwright, actor, producer, and director here in the city.He has acted on various stages, from Off- and Off-Off-Broadway to Switzerland and Germany, and his plays have been performed in a variety of theaters and festivals in New York and beyond, garnering positive national and international reviews.His biggest influences as a playwright include Sarah Kane, Samuel Beckett, Adrienne Kennedy and the European classics. He aims to create original, human art for our commercialized times.Bradly Valenzuela is a New York City based director, playwright and producer. He is originally from Rocklin, California and attended university in Southern California at California State University, Fullerton. He graduated with a BA in Theatre with an Emphasis in Directing. Bradly is a recipient of the Honorable Mention Directing Award for Region 8 of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. For the past 5 years, he has worked within many theater companies such as Bated Breath Theatre Company, Mabou Mines and Theatre for the New City. He also has worked in multiple festivals, including the Rogue Theater Festival and the New York Theater Festival.Along with collaborating in these given spaces, Bradly shows continued commitment to workshopping and developing new works, both as a director, playwright and as a producer, being responsible for 6 debuts in the last 2 years.This is Something Rather Than Nothing

Douglas Murray- The Rise of Anti-Semitism in Conservative Thought. Mark Dice- Why Are We Putting Up With Legal Immigration?   Douglas Murray on the Rise of Anti-Westernism and How to Defeat It Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/wgldY_2LK_4?si=0-Pcelg9TSv0zOEk PragerU 3.44M subscribers 30,778 views Premiered 13 hours ago Douglas Murray speaks on gratitude, action, and the defense of Western civilization at the PragerU West Coast Gala. He warns of the growing rise of “anti-Westernism,” fueled by envy, resentment, and moral confusion on both the left and right. Emphasizing the power of Christian–Jewish partnership and the timeless virtues of aspiration and gratitude, Murray reminds us of our duty to act with courage in the time we're given. Watch our content ad-free on our app: https://prageru.onelink.me/3bas/vgyxvm79 Donate to PragerU: https://l.prageru.com/4jiAT85 Follow PragerU: Instagram ➡️ (  / prageru  ) X ➡️ (  / prageru  ) Facebook ➡️ (  / prageru  ) TikTok ➡️ (  / prageru  )   Why Are We Putting Up With This? Watch this video at- https://youtu.be/Et7Lb8BCjp8?si=Emjnmsz7zMIxDWSM Mark Dice 1.92M subscribers Nov 12, 2025 .