Podcasts about Central Texas

In this episode, we kick things off by examining the latest developments in broker liability law and how they're unexpectedly reshaping the role of technology in freight brokerage. Industry experts now argue that ⁠the Supreme Court's Montgomery decision will actually make human brokers more valuable⁠ rather than less, as firms face tough questions about whether AI-driven carrier selection will hold up under courtroom scrutiny following fatal crashes. This shift could force brokerages to invest heavily in human oversight and robust compliance systems instead of relying purely on automated platforms. Next, we explore a brazen cargo security breach that highlights the vulnerability of standard warehouse pickup procedures. Delaware State Police arrested a California man after ⁠two suspects posing as FedEx drivers stole a $680,000 electronics load⁠ from a New Castle, Delaware, facility using fake driver's licenses and forged shipping documents. Troopers recovered the entire shipment intact at a nearby parking area, underscoring how fraudsters can exploit routine documentation checks to make off with high-value freight. Finally, we head south to Central Texas, where ⁠Tesla is planning a massive 538,000-square-foot distribution center⁠ in Mustang Ridge with an estimated construction cost of $1.44 million. The sprawling facility will add critical distribution capacity near Tesla's Gigafactory Texas manufacturing complex and the extensive cross-border supplier network in Mexico, supporting the automaker's rapidly expanding production operations. ⁠Follow the FreightWaves Today Podcast⁠ ⁠Other FreightWaves Shows⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Building Texas Business, Chris Hanslik sits down with Craig Haley, CEO of Smokey Mo's Texas Barbecue, for a conversation about what it takes to run a growing restaurant brand while keeping the feel of a neighborhood joint.Craig shares how a college job at a College Station sports bar turned a computer science major into a lifelong restaurant operator, and how more than 30 years in the industry led him to a Central Texas barbecue brand founded in 2001. He explains what makes Smokey Mo's different, from its smaller footprint and community roots to hiring general managers from inside the neighborhoods it serves, and why great food paired with genuinely friendly service remains the whole strategy.The conversation covers the operational work behind the scenes, including standardizing kitchen flow across locations, modernizing the look and feel of the restaurants, consolidating four point of sale systems into one, and building loyalty and guest feedback tools that actually move the business. Craig also offers a candid look at rising beef costs, why brisket yield testing matters so much to a barbecue operator's margins, and the deliberate decision to hold prices down for guests even when costs climb.Chris and Craig also talk about leadership lessons, including hiring for traits you cannot teach, having the courage to let go of people who are not a culture fit, communicating strategy so every team member knows where they fit, and getting to the root cause of a problem rather than patching the surface. Craig closes with advice for anyone considering franchising or entrepreneurship, starting with the reminder that passion and hustle matter more than the promise of easy money.If you are a business owner, operator, or leader interested in restaurant operations, culture building, cost management, and scaling a brand without losing what made it work, this episode offers practical insight and a good deal of Texas barbecue along the way.LINKSShow NotesPrevious EpisodesAbout BoyarMillerAbout Smokey Mo's

A born and raised New Yorker, Ruben Santana is the founder and pitmaster behind Bark Barbecue, one of New York City's most talked-about emerging barbecue concepts. Entirely self-taught, Santana developed his craft through years of experimentation, research, and conversations with respected pitmasters across the country, teaching himself the fundamentals of live fire cooking and Central Texas-style barbecue from the ground up. What began in 2020 as a backyard passion project in Ozone Park – smoking brisket from a makeshift rig in his garage and serving food curbside to neighborhood crowds – quickly evolved through grassroots pop-ups across Queens, appearances at Smorgasburg, and a breakout residency at Time Out Market New York. Today, Santana is recognized for bringing a distinctly personal perspective to American barbecue, combining the discipline and technique of Central Texas barbecue with the flavors and culinary traditions of his Dominican heritage. Bark Barbecue has become known for smoked meats infused with Dominican flavors and family recipe-inspired sides, from longaniza and chicharrón to arroz congrí and maduros. His approach expands the conversation around what American barbecue can look and taste like today, while remaining rooted in the craft and traditions that define great barbecue. In July 2026, Santana opened Bark Barbecue's first standalone flagship in Bushwick, Brooklyn – an ambitious 8,000-square-foot restaurant marking the next major evolution of the brand. The new space brings Bark beyond its pop-up and market roots into a fully realized dining destination centered around live fire cooking, hospitality, and the Dominican-American flavors and traditions that have defined Santana's journey from the beginning. Santana's work has earned growing national attention, with Food & Wine and Bon Appetit recognizing Bark Barbecue and Santana among a new generation of restaurants and pitmasters shaping the future of American barbecue. Santana is also featured on the debut season of Food Network's Pitmasters, bringing his approach to barbecue and live fire cooking to a national audience.

Ann sits down with Bailie Rouse (associate executive director of advancement for Mission Waco), Sarah Fox (director of events & communication) and Autumn Outlaw (committee member) to talk about "Fashion with a Passion", the annual Fall Style Show (held at Hotel 1928 in downtown Waco) which benefits Mission Waco. Features archived interview with the late Betty Thrasher, in remembrance of the Central Texas fashion icon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

*More screwworm infested zones are released.   *Texas pecan growers are expecting an above average crop this year.  *The cattle markets have taken a big drop recently.  *Texas poultry growers are keeping their birds cool in the brutal summer heat.  *What's ahead for winter wheat on the Texas High Plains?  *USDA released the latest farm income projections.  *Triple digit temperatures and no rain have forced Central Texas livestock producers to feed hay.  *Horses are feeling the Texas heat.  

Join us on #TexasValuesReport with special Bonnie Wallace, Legislative Liaison for Recover America & host Jonathan Saenz, President & Attorney for Texas Values, as Bonnie shares her fight to protect children in public schools. What's In Your Child's School Library? Bonnie Wallace on Lt. Dan Podcast with Dan Patrick https://youtu.be/ZKmjz2-ErS0?si=lYFIiuzb6GU7zzQV Press Conference: Lt. Governor Dan Patrick with Bonnie Wallace https://youtu.be/LNkClksUYvc?si=tSb0QV2I_l7jJhFN Breaking! Texas State Ed Board Delivers Victory on Completing High School Social Studies Standards https://txvalues.org/breaking-texas-state-ed-board-delivers-victory-on-completing-high-school-social-studies-standards/ Join us for Texas Values' 9th Annual Texas Faith Fest with Keynotes Congressman Brandon Gill and Senator Mayes Middleton on September 25-26 in Central Texas (dinner tickets sold separately) https://events.txvalues.org/events/texas-faith-fest Help us build our channel so we can maintain a culture of Faith, Family, & Freedom in Texas by interacting with us; like, comment, share, subscribe! For more about Texas Values see: Txvalues.org To support our work, go to http://txvalues.org/give/

Ann sits down with Elisha Joyce (executive director) and Erika McBurnett (development director) of Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Texas about "Steadfast", an annual benefit being held at the Waco Convention Center. Ann also speaks to Wendy Ellis (executive director of United Way of Waco) to discuss the 2nd annual Rhythm & Brew Karaoke Showdown, held at Waco's Backyard Bar Stage & Grill. Features musical performance by Theo Carracino.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Three-quarters of Americans say they do not want a data center built near their home. That is the finding of an August 2026 Heatmap News and Embold Research poll of more than 2,000 registered voters, up from roughly 43 percent opposed just a year earlier, in August 2025. Opposition has climbed almost every time it has been measured since.David Senter is watching that shift from the ground. A fourth-generation Texas farmer and president of the American Agriculture Movement (AAM), he has spent close to fifty years advocating for family farmers and ranchers. On this week's For Humanity, he tells John Sherman what has changed: wells running dry, land bought with no public hearing, and a question few of these towns have had to answer before: what happens if one of these buildings catches fire?The 60-second version* AAM says it passed a unanimous resolution in January opposing data centers on farm and ranch land. No public copy of the resolution text was locatable to verify the exact wording, so this is Senter's account, not an independently confirmed document.* A University of Texas at Austin study found data centers could consume between 3 and 9 percent of the state's total water supply by 2040, concentrated in regions that already depend on a declining aquifer.* Two fire codes, NFPA 855 and UL 9540, require lithium-ion battery systems to be separated from other structures with dedicated spacing and enclosures. Senter says he has not seen a data center built that way in the rural areas he tracks.* A named Texas rancher has testified to state lawmakers about a project's expected water draw and his concerns for his herd. Independent scientific evidence linking data centers to livestock health outcomes broadly does not yet exist, according to a recent fact-check.* National opposition to local data centers has climbed from about 43 percent a year ago to 75 percent today.The water math over farm countryWest Texas sits on part of the Ogallala Aquifer, a fossil water source that recharges far slower than it is being drawn down, and farmers there have relied on it for irrigation and livestock for decades. Senter describes wells, streams, and ponds already drying up in areas where data centers have moved in, and says operators are often not required to report how much groundwater they use.A University of Texas at Austin research report found that, depending on growth and cooling technology, data centers could account for 3 to 9 percent of Texas's total water consumption by 2040. Individual hyperscale campuses can draw up to five million gallons a day, comparable to a small city. Five proposed or under-construction projects sit directly on or near the Ogallala, and in April 2026, more than 500 residents protested one of them near San Angelo. Tom Green County commissioners have since passed their own resolution calling for stricter state regulation of high-volume water use. This local, unanimous vote mirrors what Senter describes AAM doing nationally.“That's a critical stage,” Senter says of the aquifer. “A lot of areas used to be irrigated farmland. There's no water there left now.”Sources for this section: UT Austin water use findings, via HighPlainsPundit - Newsweek: data centers proposed over the Ogallala Aquifer - Water Information Program: water and energyA fire nobody has fought yet.The part of the conversation that lingers longest is not about water. It is about what a rural volunteer fire department would actually do if one of these buildings caught fire.Senter says he has a friend who is a fire chief near Matador, Texas, where a large data center is under construction in open ranch country. His account of the chief's plan: “they just have to sit and watch it burn,” because the department has neither the water supply nor the specialized equipment for a large-scale fire involving thousands of lithium-ion battery cells.That gap is not hypothetical. New York City's own struggle with lithium-ion battery fires, mostly from e-bikes, gives a sense of scale: at least 30 deaths and more than 800 fires since 2022, with a full-time, professionally equipped fire department. Two national codes, NFPA 855 and UL 9540, exist to reduce this risk by requiring battery storage to be spaced and separated from other structures, with exact distances set project by project. Senter says that separation is not what he sees built. “I'm not aware of any of the data centers having a segregated fireproof building for the batteries,” he says. “It's cheaper just to do it like they're doing it.”A Central Texas fire department has already gone on record with the same worry about a data center proposed in its district, which suggests Senter's concern is not isolated to the sites he happens to know personally.Sources for this section: NFPA 855 overview, Mayfield Renewables - Lithium-ion battery fires in NYC: 30 deaths, 800 fires, AEE Law, citing NFPA Journal - Data center plans spark concern for Central Texas fire department, KXX.VThe fight that is actually workingNot every claim in this space is settled, and it is worth being precise about which ones are. In Bell County, Texas, rancher Alton Fowler has testified before the Texas House Committee on Natural Resources against a $700 million data center project five miles from his farm, citing an estimated 2.5 million gallons of daily water use and low-frequency noise he says affects his cattle and goats. That testimony is on the public record. Separately, viral claims that data centers have caused cattle stillbirths near other Texas sites remain, per an independent fact-check, anecdotal: real concern from real farmers, without the veterinary data to establish cause and effect. Senter's own account, that livestock near a new site “get as far away from that data center as they can,” sits in the same category: a firsthand observation, not a study.What is measurable is the shift in public opinion, from roughly even a year ago to 75 percent opposed today, and the growing list of counties passing their own resolutions. Senter frames it as one of the only issues left that pulls in voters who agree on almost nothing else. “When you unite people from both sides of the aisle,” he says, “politicians have not seen that in quite a long time.”Sources for this section: Temple rancher testimony, KWTX - Livestock stillbirth claims fact-check - Heatmap News: 75% of Americans now oppose local data center developmentThe takeawayData centers are the physical infrastructure underneath everything else this show covers. The wells, the fire codes, and the county commission meetings are what AI's buildout looks like at ground level, well before a model release makes headlines. Senter is not an AI safety researcher, and says as much. But the pattern he describes, well-funded interests moving fast in places with the least oversight, is the one this show tracks in the labs too. Whether the guardrails show up at the county line or in a training run, the question stays the same: who gets to decide, and who finds out after the fact.Full source listPrimary data and research* Heatmap News / Embold Research poll on data center opposition, August 2026* University of Texas at Austin, Texas data center water use findings, via HighPlainsPundit* NFPA Journal lithium-ion battery fire data, via AEE LawReporting* Newsweek: data centers proposed over the Ogallala Aquifer* KWTX: Temple rancher opposes Bell County data center* KXXV: data center plans spark concern for Central Texas fire department* Water Information Program: water and energy* Mayfield Renewables: NFPA 855 overview* Factually.co: livestock stillbirth claims fact-check This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theairisknetwork.substack.com/subscribe

Ann sits down with Dr. Laura Shero to talk about MasterMinds Leadership, a management consultancy and leadership development firm based in Central Texas, as well as "Sphere of Influence", the firm's leadership transformation program designed for supervisors, managers and directors. Features musical performances by Beau Taylor.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What do the numbers really tell us about the Texas real estate market heading into fall? Welcome back to the latest edition of the Texas Foreclosure Update!In this episode, real estate investor Scott Carson returns from his trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin to break down the complete September 2026 Texas foreclosure numbers. Total filings held steady across the state with just a slight 12-filing increase from August, bringing the total to 4,227 foreclosure filings across Texas for September's Super Tuesday auction. Behind those high-level numbers lie key regional shifts, county-by-county spikes, and emerging inventory trends that note investors, private lenders, and distressed property buyers need to know. Whether you are looking to source pre-foreclosures, target non-performing mortgage paper, or uncover commercial real estate deals, Scott delivers the exact metrics and insights you need to find high-upside opportunities before the auction block. Key Topics Covered:Statewide Macro Breakdown: Analyzing 4,227 total foreclosure filings across Texas for September 2026, comparing month-over-month performance to August's 4,215 total. Residential vs. Commercial Inventory: Unpacking 3,768 residential foreclosure filings alongside 447 commercial filings across the state. Regional Commercial Trends: Examining commercial shifts—South Texas jumping by 36 filings to 81 total, while Central Texas dropped by 16 to 118, East Texas dipped to 104, North Texas fell by 19, and West Texas fell to 18. County-by-County Deep Dive: Breaking down filing counts in major markets including Harris (672), Bexar (417), Dallas (337), Tarrant (264), Travis (123), Fort Bend (137), Hidalgo (170), El Paso (96), Williamson (74), and Collin (135). Notable Spikes & Drops: Highlighting Hidalgo County's major spike of 57 filings, Harris County's 21-filing increase, and notable drops in Bell (-36) and Williamson (-34) counties. Sourcing Distressed Paper: How to leverage tools like Roddy's Foreclosure Listing Service (foreclosure.info) to track self-directed IRA lenders, locate bank-owned debt, and uncover pre-foreclosure opportunities. Upcoming Virtual Masterclasses: Details on the live Wholesaling Notes 101 Masterclass scheduled for September 26, 2026, and the 2-Day Virtual Note Buying Workshop on September 19–20, 2026. Understanding the numbers is the first step to finding profitable real estate and note deals in Texas! Take these insights, apply them to your deal sourcing, and stay ahead of the curve. Got questions about evaluating Texas real estate or sourcing non-performing paper? Book a call directly with Scott at talkwithscottcarson.com or email him at scott@weclosenotes.com! To get $20 off your monthly foreclosure list, head over to foreclosure.info and use the promo code weclosenotes. For details on upcoming live training, visit wholesalingnotes.com and notebuyingfordummies.com! Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this update! Watch the Original Video of this Episode HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Ann sits down with Bronda Hayes (president of Junior League of Waco) and Kristi Webb (executive director of the Cameron Park Zoological & Botanical Society) to talk about the zoo's newest addition, the Butterfly Garden, a preservation space that serves as a living habitat for butterflies, hummingbirds and native songbirds of Central Texas. Features musical performances by Emma Jean.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join us on Texas Values Report with special guest Kelly Shackelford, President/CEO/Chief Counsel of ⁨First Liberty Institute⁩ and Texas Values Board Member & host Jonathan Saenz, President & Attorney for Texas Values, as they discuss Kelly's recent Fox News editorial on the Texas Ten Commandments law and why the law itself is constitutional. Kelly Shackelford's Editorial on the Ten Commandments and its constitutionality: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/ten-commandments-belong-texas-schools-supreme-court-protect Follow First Liberty Institute on X https://x.com/firstliberty_ Learn more about First Liberty Institute https://firstliberty.org/ Join us for Texas Values' 9th Annual Texas Faith Fest with Keynotes Congressman Brandon Gill and Senator Mayes Middleton on September 25-26 in Central Texas (dinner tickets sold separately) https://events.txvalues.org/events/texas-faith-fest Alert! Last Day to Register!! Come Testify or Send Email in Support of Strong History TEKS for Remaining Courses https://txvalues.org/alert-come-testify-or-send-email-in-support-of-strong-history-teks-for-remaining-courses/ WNBA Player Sophie Cunningham Signs Our Poster with “Keep Being You, We Are Behind You” https://youtube.com/shorts/tyaAOfiN96A Help us build our channel so we can maintain a culture of Faith, Family, & Freedom in Texas by interacting with us; like, comment, share, subscribe! For more about Texas Values see: Txvalues.org To support our work, go to http://txvalues.org/give/

The BreakdownSeratonin is building a metal band the old-school way - from the ground up, with zero compromise, a DIY merch operation, and shows that most bands would never even think to book. If you want to know what it looks like when a new heavy act leans all the way into community, chaos, and raw energy, this one is for you.Ryan sits down with Joe and Randall of Seratonin, the Central Texas band pushing unapologetic, high-octane music that pulls from nu-metal, hardcore, thrash, and the kind of live-wire energy that turns a room into a sweatbox. They break down how the band formed, how the lineup came together with Eric on bass and Jeremiah on drums, and why they're more interested in getting people moving than fitting neatly into a genre box.You'll discover:Why the band name Seratonin is more than just a clever word choice - it's a statement about modern brain rot, short-term dopamine hits, and getting people back into real-life experiencesHow the group is releasing a four-track EP at the end of August instead of chasing endless single dropsWhat working with producer Brett Wassom brings to the record and why they're aiming for a sound that's neither overproduced nor garage-demo rawHow they landed a wild EP release event at Cowboy Harley Davidson in South Austin and why they want to tap into biker, car meet, and drift communitiesWhy playing with legacy act Unloco is a major validation moment for a band still introducing itself to the sceneJoe shares his path from Hawaii to Central Texas and how a long love of heavier music shaped his vocals, while Randall traces a globe-trotting life through Louisiana, New York, LA, Asia, Sri Lanka, and back to the South before landing in the band he always wanted to play in. Together, they open up about the strange power of starting out as a mystery band and proving themselves through energy, not hype.This episode is for anyone who loves underground music, DIY culture, and the thrill of finding a band before everyone else does. Seratonin is betting on live shows, real connections, and word-of-mouth buzz over algorithm games - and they might be exactly the band you'll want to say you discovered first.Episode InfoBand IG: / seratonin.band  Band Website: https://seratonintx.bandcamp.com/merchATXMP Website: atxmp.transistor.fm/Subscribe to ATX Metal Podcast on YouTube: / @atxmetalpodcastSponsors / AffiliatesCome and Take It Productions: www.comeandtakeitproductions.comCome and Take It Live: www.comeandtakeitlive.com/No Control Radio: www.klbjfm.com/show/no-control/

*Feedlots inventories are larger than a year ago, but placements and marketings are taking a big drop.  *It is hot and dry all across the Lone Star State.  *The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour showed corn production and yields may be lower than expected. *It's turning out to be a very bad year for Texas Panhandle crops.  *East Texas cattle are holding up to the heat.*The wage rate paid to H2A employees has changed.  *Corn harvest is wrapping up in Central Texas.  *What's the difference between generic and pioneer drugs?  

*More beef imports are coming.  *Corn harvest in Central Texas looked pretty good this year.  *Screwworm cases are low across Texas.*There are more cattle in feedlots both nationwide and here in Texas.  *The hot dry weather is taking a toll on the Texas Southern Plains.  * EPM can cause serious problems in horses.  

Ann sits down with Mario and Ashley Macias (as well as with Moses Resendez and Chris Smithson) to talk about People of Hope Ministries, a faith-based organization that offers encouragement and hope to folks in the Central Texas community.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some places leave a lasting impression on everyone who experiences them, and the forests surrounding Rainier, Oregon continue to earn that reputation.In this episode of Bigfoot Society, Ellie shares two unforgettable experiences from her childhood near Camp Wilkerson, and the Nehalem River. One night, an unseen presence surrounded a family trampoline, throwing rocks and heavy sticks from the darkness. Another evening, while returning from a chanterelle mushroom hunt, she found herself running through the woods with enormous footsteps keeping pace just behind her.Later in the episode, Monte recounts a remarkable series of encounters spanning the Florida Everglades, Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Central Texas. His stories include a creature lifting his truck, military sightings involving multiple large figures, repeated rock-throwing incidents, and years of encounters around Marble Falls and Kerrville.This episode explores firsthand eyewitness testimony from forests, wetlands, mountains, and remote backroads where unexplained encounters continue to be reported. Whether you're fascinated by Bigfoot research, regional hotspots, or personal witness accounts, this is an episode you won't want to miss.If you've experienced something you can't explain, Bigfoot Society would love to hear your story.

Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, commonly known as eVTOLs or air taxis, are moving from concept toward deployment. Recorded on March 18, 2026, Episode 271 of The BG Podcast features A.J. Bingham's conversation with Austin Assistant City Manager Mike Rogers on a question cities increasingly need to answer: how do you prepare for a new transportation system before it arrives? The conversation followed the March announcement that Texas had been selected for the Federal Aviation Administration's new eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, creating an early opportunity to examine what deployment could mean for local governments. Rogers focuses less on the aircraft themselves and more on what happens when new technology meets the city. The discussion covers vertiports, land use, zoning, charging and electrical infrastructure, airport connections, last-mile mobility, neighborhood impacts, and the potential for eVTOLs to reshape regional growth. Drawing lessons from the rollout of autonomous vehicles, Rogers argues that cities have more influence when they engage early, rather than waiting until technology and policy have already moved around them. That argument has only become more relevant. At an August 18 hearing, the Texas House Select Committee on General Aviation examined many of the same questions, including airport readiness, charging infrastructure, siting, zoning, land use, and community integration. The central takeaway from the episode is simple: the technology may arrive in the air, but many of its most important decisions will be made on the ground. //

Send us Fan MailA Saturday training that changes how you practice on Monday is rare, and that's exactly what FOCUS GI is designed to do. We recorded live from the event with Dr. Anish Patel, the nonprofit founder behind FOCUS GI, plus Dr. Richa Shukla (course director) and Dr. Kevin Pak (hepatologist) to talk about what happens when medical education is built for real clinic decisions, not ego or noise.We get into why the program started in Central Texas, how it grew from a small local idea into a hybrid event serving GI fellows and advanced practice providers across states and even countries, and what “clinically oriented” really means in practice. You'll hear how the team chooses speakers, updates topics, and protects hands-on learning, especially for first-year GI fellows facing a steep learning curve and nonstop consult questions. We also unpack how the APP and fellow track serves different needs while strengthening the same GI care team.Then we go deeper into the human side of IBD care: hope and trust. Dr. Patel explains why “hope” is the point of provider education, while “trust” is the skill that makes treatment partnerships work, especially when patients have normalized symptoms for years. We also tackle misinformation head-on, including the growing role of social media influencers in shaping IBD myths. Along the way, Dr. Pak shares why accurate FibroScan interpretation matters and how misreads can send patients down the wrong clinical pathway, and Dr. Shukla reflects on patient education around medication risks and how to talk about scary side-effect lists with real numbers and context.Subscribe for more live conversations from FOCUS GI, and if this helped you, please share it with a colleague or friend and leave a review so more patients and providers can find it.Links: FOCUS GI websiteDr. Richa ShuklaFOCUS GI's Facebook pageLet's get social!!Follow us on Instagram!Follow us on Facebook!Follow us on Twitter!

Join us on #TexasValuesReport with special guest Kim Slusser, Mother of NCAA Volleyball Player Brooke Slusser & Save Women's Sports Leader, and host Jonathan Saenz, President & Attorney for Texas Values, as they discuss tomorrow's press conference and rally before the Indiana Fever v. Dallas Wings game in support of Sophie Cunningham as she stands for women's sports, and Kim's upcoming appearance as a speaker at this year's #TexasFaithFest! Learn more about the Save Women's Sports law in Texas https://savewomenssportstexas.com/ Breaking! Press Conference and Rally to be Held Before Dallas Wings v Indiana Fever Game in Support of Indiana Fever Player Sophie Cunningham Stance on Women's Sports https://txvalues.org/breaking-press-conference-and-rally-to-be-held-before-dallas-wings-v-indiana-fever-game-in-support-of-indiana-fever-player-sophie-cunningham-stance-on-womens-sports/ Breaking! Texas Ten Commandments Law Will Continue to Prevail Amid Supreme Court Challenge https://txvalues.org/texas-ten-commandments-law-will-continue-to-prevail-amid-supreme-court-challenge/ Learn more about the Texas Ten Commandments law https://savewomenssportstexas.com/ Headed Back to School? Know Your Rights! https://txvalues.org/headed-back-to-school-know-your-rights/ Join us for Texas Values' 9th Annual Texas Faith Fest September 25-26 in Central Texas keynote Congressman Brandon Gill who will keynote the private dinner on Friday night and the forum on Saturday http://texasfaithfest.com Help us build our channel so we can maintain a culture of Faith, Family, & Freedom in Texas by interacting with us; like, comment, share, subscribe! For more about Texas Values see: Txvalues.org To support our work, go to http://txvalues.org/give/

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Ted Oakley to the show. Ted Oakley is Founder and Managing Partner | Oxbow Advisors. The discussion explores investment strategy, focusing on long-term holdings, hard assets, and contrarian opportunities. Oakley emphasizes the importance of a longer investment horizon, typically holding stocks for three to ten years, while acknowledging that most traders focus on short-term moves, often using leverage and options—which he views as risky. He notes that his firm recently bought back gold, silver, and mining stocks after significant corrections, considering them cheap on a cash flow basis, and continues to hold energy positions. Oakley expresses caution regarding certain AI-driven tech companies, citing concerns about debt levels, earnings quality, and the sustainability of current growth. He sees parallels to the late 1990s and the potential for revaluation if commercial viability falters. He advocates maintaining liquidity to seize opportunities during market dislocations, often holding substantial short-term treasuries alongside gold as a currency hedge against dollar depreciation and long-term inflationary pressures from rising government debt and deficits. The conversation turns to gold, with Oakley viewing the recent pullback to around $4,000 as a buying opportunity for those with a multi-year outlook, expecting much higher prices driven by central bank purchases and de-dollarization trends. He sees gold miners and royalty companies as undervalued, noting strong balance sheets and wide profit margins relative to extraction costs. Silver is also considered attractive, though more volatile. On energy, Oakley highlights the sector's profitability even at moderate oil prices and the structural supply constraints from underinvestment. He recommends a diversified approach across producers, pipelines, and service companies, focusing on quality names bought at a discount to intrinsic value. He also discusses critical minerals and iron ore as part of a broader hard asset strategy to protect against currency debasement. Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:01:00 – Current Investment Opportunities 00:02:23 – Long-term Investment Horizon 00:05:05 – Microsoft and AI Concerns 00:09:37 – Liquidity and Market Risks 00:11:29 – Debasement and Hard Assets 00:14:36 – Gold Market Opportunity 00:18:19 – Silver vs Gold Thesis 00:28:34 – Gold Miners Landscape 00:31:30 – Royalty Companies Value 00:34:01 – Energy Sector Fundamentals 00:39:13 – Critical Minerals Exposure 00:46:35 – Wrap Up Guest Links: X: https://x.com/Oxbow_Advisors Website: https://oxbowadvisors.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OxbowAdvisors J. Ted Oakley, CFA, CFP, is Managing Director and Founder of Oxbow Advisors. With more than forty years of experience in advising high net worth clients in the investment industry, Oakley implements the firm's proprietary investment strategies and the “Oxbow Principles” to provide a unique investment perspective. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News, Bloomberg Radio, Thoughtful Money, The David Lin Report, and many more. Mr. Oakley is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He is a member of the Austin Society of Financial Analysts. He is also a Partner of Herndon Plant Oakley Ltd., an investment company. He is a Board Member of Texas State Aquarium, American Bank, and American Bank Holding Company. Mr. Oakley is a United States Army Veteran. Mr. Oakley began his career in Dallas, Texas, over 40 years ago. He is the author of Eleven books: You Sold Your Company, $30 Million and Broke, Rich Kids Broke Kids – The Failure of Traditional Estate Planning, Crazy Time – Surviving the First 12 Months after Selling Your Company, Wall Street Lies, Danger Time, My Story, The Psychology of Staying Rich, Your Money Mentality, Stay Rich with a Balanced Portfolio & his 2025 latest release: Second Generation Wealth. Mr. Oakley's primary philanthropic interest is helping children. He is Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the Foster Angels of South Texas, the largest foster child foundation in South Texas, as well as Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Austin, Texas-based Foster Angels of Central Texas. Also, President and Founder of Advocates for Foster Children Foundation. Mr. Oakley recently arranged for Foster Angels in South Texas to represent The Heart Gallery of Texas to further their adoption efforts.

**EP 312 – The Things That Hide Beyond the Trail with Julia Ronan and Dave Rogers**What happens when a Bigfoot research outing in the Arkansas Ozarks turns into something far stranger than tracks, howls, or wood knocks?This week on Untold Radio AM, hosts **Doug Hajicek** and **Jeff Perrella** welcome **Julia Ronan** and **Dave Rogers**. Julia, a Central Texas researcher and longtime research partner of Dave, has been in the field with Matt Lankford experimenting with the Snellgrove hum and Karl Sup hum. Together, she and Dave bring a story that goes far beyond typical cryptid encounters.In March 2026, near Ozark, Arkansas, Julia and Dave experienced a “time slip” event that defies easy explanation. Julia doubts your audience has heard anything like it — and after you hear their firsthand account, you may never look at a Bigfoot investigation the same way again.Tune in for an episode packed with cryptid fieldwork, cutting-edge audio experiments, and one of the most unusual stories we've featured on the show.**About Untold Radio AM**The Untold Radio Network explores interesting new science, genomic studies, odd wildlife research, strange disappearances, cryptids, mysteries, life after death, interesting celebrities, UFOs, and other unexplained events — plus whatever topic we feel is truly UNTOLD.Hosted by Doug Hajicek and Jeff Perrella.

Lindsay Clancy's murder trial enters its 13th day as jurors hear digital evidence from the weeks and hours before she killed her three young children and weigh her insanity defense - MK True Crime Show co-host Dave Aronberg weighs in. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announces she will leave the administration at the end of August to spend more time with her young family. New reporting raises questions about the Israeli intelligence behind the Iranian threat that led President Trump's security team to secretly switch him off Air Force One. Two soldiers are killed when an Army Apache helicopter crashes in Central Texas, sparking a 155-acre grass fire and forcing nearby evacuations.     Subscribe now to Emily's "After Party": Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/after-party-with-emily-jashinsky/id1821493726 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0szVa30NjGYsyIzzBoBCtJ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AfterPartyEmily?sub_confirmation=1     Lean: Discover why LEAN is becoming the choice for real weight‑loss results—shop now at https://TAKELEAN.com use code MK.   Birch Gold: Text MK to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join the Millionaire University AI Mastermind at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/AI⁠ #1036 Want a business that turns fresh asphalt into a “blank canvas” — and pays well for satisfying, repeatable work? In this episode, host Kirsten Tyrrel talks with Cinco Winston, founder of Trueline Striping in Central Texas, about how he left a stable construction career, skipped the franchise route, and bootstrapped his own parking lot striping company to cash flow within two months. He shares how he trained with an out-of-state pro, bought only the essentials to get started, and strategically targeted customers who actually value curb appeal and recurring maintenance. Cinco breaks down startup costs, pricing, profit margins, seasonality, and why he's still running lean while planning for future growth. If you've ever wondered how “unsexy” service businesses quietly generate great income and freedom, this conversation will open your eyes! (Original Air Date - 12/8/25) What we discuss with Cinco: + Leaving construction to start striping + Choosing independent over franchise + Training with an out-of-state striping company + Bootstrapping equipment and startup costs + Hitting cash flow within two months + Discounting early jobs to gain clients + Targeting customers who value curb appeal + Door knocking and in-person sales + Managing seasonality and recurring clients + Profit margins, salary, and plans to scale Thank you, Cinco! Check out Trueline Striping at ⁠TruelineStripingTX.com⁠. Follow Cinco on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! Get your FREE 5 Minute Business Plan at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/Plan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/Sponsors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a conversation about the gap between checking the box and being genuinely competent and confident when it counts. Bryan Williams, Chancey Pogue, Matt Pranka, and Dustin Mowery walk through the real roadmap: why the stigma against competition shooting is rooted in ego and not evidence, why the qualification score is one of the most useless metrics in law enforcement, and what training in isolation actually means when you strip away the buzzwords and get honest about the work.Dry fire is the thread running through the whole episode, and not in the vague, post-it-on-Instagram way. You'll hear what to focus on, how long to go, when to stop, how to marry it to live fire when you only have 50 rounds to your name, and why grip and vision are the only two things that matter until you have truly mastered them. The principles are simple. The work isn't. But if you understand why you are doing it, the framework and roadmap becomes clear.If you've ever said, "I can't do that at my agency" or "I'm not trying to be a GM," this episode is specifically for you. The guys lay out exactly what it looks like to start wherever you are, eliminate the excuses, and build the kind of skill that holds up when everything is moving fast and the stakes are real.In this episode:• Law enforcement qualifications are a box to check, not a measure of skill: shooting at seven yards on a line with no time pressure is not a test of your ability to run a gun under stress, and anchoring your identity to that score is actively holding you back• The stigma against competition shooting comes from ego, not evidence: the best shooters in the world are practical shooting competitors, and the 'targets don't shoot back' argument falls apart the moment you realize no targets on any LE range shoot back either• Peer pressure inside a ranked department is a more powerful culture driver than any mandate: when officers can see exactly where they rank in ability, the bottom of the stack starts climbing, and culturally the whole group shifts upward over time• Grip and vision are the foundation that everything else is built on: if those two things are not dialed in, every rep of dry fire and every round of live fire is reinforcing a flawed pattern, not building a better one• Dry fire sessions should be short, focused, and honest: when your grip pressure, visual discipline, or mechanical consistency starts to degrade, that session is over for that task, point of diminishing returns is real and ignoring it means taking steps backward• A 10 to 1 dry fire to live fire ratio maximizes limited ammo: settle grip and vision in dry fire first, then test it live, do not use your 50 rounds to figure out things that cost you nothing to figure out in your living room• Chancey's recruit class averaged 98.6 out of 100 on their qualification after eight weeks of structured dry fire with zero live rounds fired beforehand, two 30 minute sessions per week, no fancy facility required• Visual discipline and visual control are the two principles that govern the vision side: use the right aiming scheme for the distance and difficulty at hand, connect to the exact spot on the target you need to hit, and do not over confirm or under confirm, no more and no lessChapters:0:56 Welcome to TTPOA 2026 in Round Rock2:17 Guest introductions around the table3:57 Setting the stage: what is wrong with LE firearms training11:05 Breaking the stigma against practical/competition shooting14:22 Why the qualification score is a broken measuring stick20:55 How practical shooting culture spreads inside departments28:36 The ego reset: your first match is supposed to hurt40:19 Training in isolation: what it actually means47:57 Building the dry fire habit: capturing time wherever you can1:05:40 Chancey's recruit dry fire protocol and the 98.6 average1:28:46 Making the most of limited ammo: the 10 to 1 rule1:37:34 Wrapping up: grip, vision, and the two principles that never changeMentioned:Bryan Williams — Nearly 39-year law enforcement veteran, former police chief in Central Texas, one of the first five USPSA Grand Masters in the nation and the first in Texas, joins the roundtable at TTPOA 2026.Chancey Pogue — Lieutenant over the weapons range and all reality-based training at a large North Texas agency with approximately 2,000 officers, credited with implementing practical shooting and a structured recruit dry fire program.Matt Pranka — Owner of X-Ray Alpha, retired Army Special Operations background, USPSA competitor for about 13 years and GM, has spent six years working to bring practical shooting and competition-style training to law enforcement and military.Dustin Mowery — Retired Ohio police officer with 27 years of service, helped introduce practical shooting to his department's firearms unit around 2019 after connecting with Matt Pranka, now teaches classes independently and with Matt.Kim Pastore — Described as a runaway train working tirelessly through the Jorge Pastore Foundation to get the right coaches in front of law enforcement and raise money to send officers to training for free.Ben Stoeger — Referenced as having done more for the practical shooting training world than anyone, praised for his ability to reverse-engineer classifiers, self-teach to a GM level, and present foundational concepts in the simplest and most effective way.Jerry Barnhart — Legendary practical shooter Bryan Williams saw run stages at the nationals in Reno in the nineties, described as a beast whose performance was a formative, eye-opening demonstration of what is possible with a handgun.Sean Griffith — Described as a world-class shooter who teaches more cops on a day-to-day basis than almost anyone through the entity he works with, called out as a heavy lifter at the TTPOA match.Gabe Rivera — High-level shooter whose dramatic skill improvement since 2019 is highlighted as an example of the hockey-stick trajectory possible with focused training; was about to appear in the booth after the roundtable.Adrian Yun — High-level shooter praised alongside Gabe Rivera and Clay for the rapid skill development they achieved, also noted during the match for his grip awareness and in-stage self-correction.Clay B — High-level shooter nicknamed 'speed demon,' noted for shooting with the wrong hand and called out as one of the heavy lifters whose improvement since 2019 is remarkable.Jay — Person Chancey met who was highly skilled at shooting without ever having competed, described as someone whose natural drive and desire to improve explained everything about how he got that good.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION - Ready to publishAustin still has a pulse, and this episode proves it. From a roadside peach seller with a full drum kit to a listener who became a record-breaker at 48, Sandy, JB, and Trisha turn everyday Texas into can't-miss radio.The show kicks off with the most delightfully Austin sight imaginable on 360 - a man selling peaches while playing live drums in the heat. That sparks a bigger conversation about what makes Central Texas weird in the best possible way, from grocery-store bands to the roadside juice stands and truck-stop culture that only Texans can debate with this much passion.You'll hear the crew break down:Why Buc-ee's in San Marcos opening with 128 gas pumps and more than 75,000 square feet is a major travel-game changerThe ongoing etiquette war over whether people should move their cars after pumping gasThe legendary roadside stops between Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, including kolache runs, Carl's Corner, and old-school pit stopsA listener call that turns into a jaw-dropping “Book of Records” moment when Cynthia shares she had her last baby at 48Then Cynthia raises the bar again - still teaching 13 fitness classes a week, earning a personal training license, and somehow making the hosts question their own life choices. It's the kind of call-in moment that is funny, surprising, and weirdly inspiring all at once.If you love Austin culture, Texas road-trip lore, listener call-ins, and stories that remind you the weirdest things are often the most charming, this one is worth your time. Come for the peaches and drums, stay for the Buc-ee's debate and the record-book worthy fitness queen.

Concert season is almost here at Baylor and across Waco, with nationally known artists and rising stars taking the stage at venues like Foster Pavilion. Go inside the concert scene with Jason Cook, Baylor Vice President for Marketing and Communications, in a conversation at the historic Texas Music Cafe. Cook examines how the community has become a destination for artists and fans alike, the partnerships helping grow Waco's music ecosystem, and the work that goes into creating memorable experiences both on stage and behind the scenes. From family-friendly concerts and football weekend performances to major touring acts and emerging artists, discover how live music is helping shape the cultural life on campus and in Central Texas.

In this episode, we sit down with Travis Taylor from Caldwell County BBQ to talk about the craft, tradition, and growth behind one of Arizona's standout barbecue brands. Travis shares what goes into cooking Central Texas-style barbecue over nothing but wood fire, why brisket is still king, and how the team stays focused on quality as they continue to expand. We also get into the story behind the original Gilbert location, house-made sausage, mesquite smoke, and the creative ways Caldwell County uses everything from brisket trimmings to beef tallow. Whether you're a barbecue fanatic or just curious about what separates good barbecue from great barbecue, this episode is a behind-the-scenes look at the patience, detail, and passion that go into doing it right.

A Central Texas cattle producer says it's been one of the best summers ever.A group of House Republicans is urging EPA to reconsider its limit on chlorpyrifos use.Corn in parts of the Panhandle is feeling the heat.Drought and heat have made things challenging for Texas High Plains ranchers.The deadline to approve additional base acres is Aug. 31.A new report from USDA looks at land values and cash rents.There's still a lack of quality control, safety and efficacy data for the majority of equine supplements.

This week on The Whiskey Trip, Big Chief sits down with Heather and Derek Latzel of Porchlight Distillery in Mason, Texas, one of the newest members of the Texas Whiskey Trail.   This episode isn't about finding a finished product. It's about remembering that everyone starts somewhere.   As the group shares pours of Porchlight's 95-proof Wheated Bourbon, they talk honestly about the challenges of building a craft distillery from the ground up. The whiskey is still young, but it already shows promising qualities and offers a glimpse of what's to come as the distillery continues to mature its craft.   For Big Chief, the visit comes full circle. As a teenager growing up in Central Texas, he made regular trips to Mason to sell Angora goat mohair before stopping at the old feed store to buy livestock feed for the ranch. Decades later, that same historic building has been transformed into Porchlight Distillery—a reminder that while buildings can change, the stories they hold never fade.   Heather and Derek share their journey of restoring a piece of Mason's history while pursuing their dream of creating Texas whiskey. It's a story of faith, hard work, and investing in a community they now proudly call home.   Every legendary distillery was once the new kid on the block. This conversation is about supporting those willing to take that first step and celebrating the beginning of what could become another great Texas whiskey story.   On this week's ride you'll hear:       ●    Heather and Derek's journey to opening Porchlight Distillery.     ●    Why they chose Mason, Texas, to chase their dream.     ●    The story behind the historic feed store that now houses the distillery.     ●    Big Chief's memories of hauling Angora goat mohair to Mason and buying feed in that very building.     ●    A discussion of Porchlight's young 95-proof Wheated Bourbon and the promise it holds for the future.     ●    What it means to be one of the newest members of the Texas Whiskey Trail.     ●    Why supporting new craft distilleries helps strengthen the entire Texas whiskey community.   Every great whiskey story has a beginning. This week, you'll hear one that's just getting started.   Take the Ride. Cheers!  

Join Alisa as she sits down with Eric and Levi to talk about the upcoming Cabaret at the Lyric, a special evening celebrating the legacy of Nancy Jo Humpfeld. They discuss what inspired the event, what audiences can expect from the night's performances, and how this fundraiser will help support the Lyric while honoring someone who made a lasting impact on the theater. Whether you're coming for the music, the memories, or simply a great night out, this episode gives you a preview of an evening filled with entertainment, community, and purpose.   watch on youtube - https://youtu.be/6HsP3_IWTHQ    Audition Workshop: Little Shop of Horrors Tuesday, August 4, 2026 - 6:30 PM CDT In this audition workshop, participants will gain insight into the creative vision behind the upcoming production and what the director looks for in auditions. Through guided exercises, practical instruction, and performance-focused coaching, students will strengthen their audition technique, storytelling skills, and confidence in the audition room. Each workshop is tailored to the style and demands of the specific show, offering actors valuable tools they can carry into future auditions—both at the Lyric and beyond. https://lyricperformingartscompany.thundertix.com/events/258273    AccelHealth Celebration of Rural Health Care & MOVIE: Awakenings Saturday, August 8, 2026 - 6:00 PM CDT Experience AccelHealth's America's 250th Celebration – A Tribute to Rural Healthcare with an exclusive VIP evening option. VIP reception begins at 5:00 PM with a Center Stage, at the Lyric's Off Center venue, reception featuring gourmet hors d'oeuvres and adult beverages by The Turtle Restaurant and Enoteca, along with a special presentation on the history of healthcare in Central Texas. Continue at the Lyric Theatre for the inspiring film Awakenings, based on the remarkable true story of patients awakened through groundbreaking treatment. Enjoy complimentary intermission concessions, special recognition of healthcare heroes and community partners, entertainment by the Lyric Players, and the exciting "Drive for Health Golf Cart Raffle" drawing. The evening's presenting sponsor is Hendrick Health Brownwood. https://lyricperformingartscompany.thundertix.com/events/268118 

It's that time of the month again, note investors! Scott Carson is back with the official Texas Foreclosure Update for August 2026. Following July's massive 12% to 16% surge across Texas counties, are we seeing a continued wave of distressed properties—or is the market taking a breather? In this episode, Scott pulls back the curtain on the raw numbers, tracking over 4,200 scheduled residential and commercial foreclosure filings across North, South, East, West, and Central Texas. Whether you're targeting single-family homes in Harris County, commercial assets in DFW, or looking at rising trends in Williamson and Bell counties, this episode gives you the local intelligence you need to find true distressed real estate deals before everyone else! Detailed Episode HighlightsOverall Market Breakdown: Statewide foreclosure filings decreased from 4,754 in July to 4,215 total filings in August 2026—a temporary dip following a major quarterly spike. Residential vs. Commercial Totals: Out of the 4,215 filings, 3,765 are residential, while 450 are commercial assets across the state. Commercial Foreclosure Trends: Commercial filings fell 10% statewide (down 46 deals). Central Texas: Down to 134 filings (down 25). East Texas (Greater Houston): Up to 105 filings (up 14). North Texas (DFW): Down to 145 filings (down 11). South Texas: Down to 45 filings (down 25). West Texas: Steady at 21 filings (up 1). Top Texas Residential Counties Breakdown:Harris County (Houston): Leads the state with 651 filings (down ~25% from last month). Bexar County (San Antonio): 439 filings. Dallas County: 334 filings (down 63). Tarrant County (Fort Worth): 278 filings (down 34). Travis County (Austin): 135 filings (down 24). Bucking the Trend: Williamson County (up 13 to 108) and Bell County (up 12 to 99) both showed increases north of Austin. Data Tools & Discount: How to use the Roddy Foreclosure Listing Service (4closure.info) to track residential and commercial filings. Use promo code WECLOSENOTES to save $20 on your residential subscription. Next StepsTracking market trends is the key to finding off-market distressed debt, bank-owned properties, and high-profit wholesale deals! Want to learn how to capitalize on these Texas foreclosure filings without putting up big capital or dealing with tenants?

Episode 270 of The BG Podcast features A.J. Bingham's conversation with A.J. Rodriguez, CEO of the newly formed Central Texas Alliance, about turning the vision of an Austin–San Antonio megaregion into coordinated regional action. Following Episode 269's conversation with former San Antonio Mayor and HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, this episode examines why the moment calls for greater collaboration across the 13-county region and its more than 120 municipalities. Bingham and Rodriguez discuss how the Alliance plans to convene business, government, civic, academic and community leaders; work alongside local governments, chambers and economic development organizations; and develop a unified regional voice at the state and federal levels. They also explore the Alliance's seven priority areas: transportation, water resources, housing, workforce development, energy resilience, health care, and land stewardship and planning. Listen to Episode 269: https://soundcloud.com/the-bingham-group-llc/bg-podcast-ep-269 Learn more about the Central Texas Alliance here: https://centraltexasalliance.com/ // The BG Podcast is produced by BG Media Group, LLC for The Bingham Group, LLC, a leading municipal lobbying and government affairs firm serving corporate, real estate and nonprofit clients across Central Texas. Learn more here: https://www.binghamgp.com/services

The Question Everyone Asks, a 9/11 Hero's Powerful Story, and the Tallest Listener Challenge You Won't Believe!What's the first question people always ask when they find out what you do for a living? That simple question sparked one of the most fascinating conversations yet on The JB and Sandy Show. Listeners called in to share the assumptions, curiosities, and downright funny questions they hear every day, leading to stories from heavy equipment operators, firefighters, and more. One of the most unforgettable moments came when retired firefighter Don shared his personal experience responding to the World Trade Center attacks. His emotional recollection and honest discussion about how those events continue to affect his health created a powerful and heartfelt moment that stopped everyone in their tracks.The laughs kept coming as JB uncovered a surprising secret about Sandy and Tricia's streaming habits, sparking a hilarious conversation about shared passwords, subscription overload, and the lengths families go to save a few bucks. As JB joked, “Are times that tough at the McIlree house?”The crew also launched a new Book of Records challenge, searching for the tallest and shortest listeners in Central Texas. The calls delivered plenty of laughs, unexpected contenders, and one listener who proudly claimed a spot thanks to her 4'11" frame. Plus:A winner is crowned in JB & Sandy's Minute to Win ItListener shoutouts from near and farWhy one caller ditched Wi-Fi, streaming services, and social media altogetherAustin barbecue talk, including a surprising annual shutdown at Franklin BarbecueA heartfelt listener call about the joy of hearing JB and Sandy back on the radioMemorable Moment:"I'm just so happy to have you back." A listener's emotional call reminded the team how deeply radio connections can last across generations.Whether you're here for the laughs, the stories, or the unexpected moments of real life, this episode delivers all three. Enjoyed the show?Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who always gets asked the same question about their job!

Ann speaks with Olive Talley (an award-winning producer & reporter for various media outlets -- including Dateline NBC, ABC Primetime Live, The Dallas Morning News & the Houston Chronicle -- during her decades-long career) about directing "The Stones Are Speaking", a new documentary which explores the remarkable discoveries at the Gault Archaeological Site in Central Texas.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A veteran nonprofit CEO and minister walks away from the top job to take a year‑long “power pause” for her health, her daughters, and her sanity. In this first conversation, Emilee Whitehurst traces her path from human biology and divinity school into community organizing, parish ministry, and leadership at Interfaith Action of Central Texas, the Rothko Chapel, Planned Parenthood, and the Houston Area Women’s Center. She describes guiding shelters through COVID, running three facilities at once, and realizing that every minute of her life was organized around work. Emilee explains how a single thought — “I do not have to keep doing this” — triggered a powerful physical release, pushed her to live off retirement savings, and forced her to relearn what rest feels like, rethink her worth, and imagine a different way to lead and live. Support The Rose HERE. Subscribe to Let’s Talk About Your Breasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever you get your podcasts. Key Questions Answered 1. How did Emilee Whitehurst move from studying human biology into faith, ministry, and social justice work? 2. Why did Emilee decide to go to Harvard Divinity School and pursue ordination as a Presbyterian minister? 3. How did community organizing around youth incarceration and police violence shape Emilee's sense of calling? 4. What did Emilee learn directing Interfaith Action of Central Texas and then leading the Rothko Chapel? 5. Why did Emilee shift into reproductive health advocacy and later into the CEO role at the Houston Area Women’s Center? 6. How did the COVID pandemic, and the spike in domestic and sexual violence, change Emilee’s work and her staff’s role? 7. What did it look like for Emilee’s team to operate three shelters at once and be treated as first responders? 8. What finally made Emilee consider an “intentional pause” or “power pause,” even though she was at the peak of her career? 9. How did Emilee’s responsibilities as a single mother of two teenage daughters influence her decision to step away? 10. What did Emilee feel in her body when she realized she did not have to keep doing this work in the same way? Timestamped Overview 00:00 Dorothy welcomes Emilee Whitehurst, introduces their long friendship, and invites her to share her background in human biology, divinity school, and early community organizing.02:22 Emilee explains how working around youth incarceration and police violence led her to Harvard Divinity School, parish ministry in Kansas, and leadership roles at Interfaith Action of Central Texas, the Rothko Chapel, Planned Parenthood, and the Houston Area Women’s Center.04:55 Emilee describes leading the Women’s Center through COVID, operating three shelters during a spike in violence, and having her staff recognized as first responders.05:50 Dorothy asks about Emilee’s “power pause”; Emilee explains that as a single mom of two teenage daughters, she feared regretting lost time and began to question her nonstop pace.08:08 Emilee recalls the turning point thought, “I do not have to keep doing this,” and how it brought immediate physical relief, even as she recognized the privilege of living off retirement savings.09:40 Emilee admits she had to relearn how to rest, choosing naps over laundry and confronting fears that she would become lazy if she stopped producing.11:10 She shares how this rest raised profound questions about worth, revealing the “spell” of believing every minute must be productive and acknowledging how nonprofit culture can justify self‑sacrifice.13:20 Emilee says she does not regret her work but is grateful to have woken up in time to enjoy priceless car‑ride conversations with her daughters and to start reconnecting with herself.15:29 She describes becoming present to long‑dormant feelings like rage, sorrow, and grief, and how practices like yoga, Tai Chi, and Qigong helped her trust her body’s wisdom.18:18 Emilee notes that while she once lived passionately “from the heart,” the grind of being both full‑time CEO and full‑time mom was no longer sustainable for her health.20:02 She characterizes her current season as a liminal state where headaches and chronic stress have eased, and her daughters see her treating “laundry as just laundry” instead of a crisis.22:21 Emilee explains her search for a new baseline of well‑being, saying she now better recognizes when she slips below it and will use that awareness to judge future roles.24:06 She shares a vision for a retreat center focused on love, healing, and liberation and says she cannot return to her old way of functioning now that she has proved herself.25:31 Emilee acknowledges that her “break” quickly became another full‑time, unpaid job at home, and that most working women never feel they truly rest.27:19 She recognizes women’s fear of stepping out of the workforce in midlife but hopes there is a way to live that does not require working against our own best interests.28:59 Emilee offers simple practices—stop, breathe, line up your body, relax your muscles, tune your mind into your body—as accessible starting points for rest and mindset change.30:16 She roots her perspective in spirituality, affirming that we are inherently worthy without needing to prove it and emphasizing the importance of communities that reflect that worth back.31:21 Dorothy closes by thanking Emilee for sharing a story many women need to hear; Emilee responds with gratitude and humor about how different she looks and feels now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

*The corn crop in the High Plains of Texas is suffering from the summer heat.  *A budget package that includes additional economic assistance for farmers is moving forward.  *Texas livestock producers who experienced losses in the recent flooding may get help from USDA disaster programs.  *Corn harvest is underway in Central Texas.  *It's been another dry year for cotton farmers in the Texas High Plains.  *Negotiations continue on the U.S. Mexico Canada trade agreement.  *Beef prices and consumer demand were topics discussed at the recent Cattle Industry Summer conference in Denver.*Bulls with increased back fat may have lower fertility.  

Joining me on episode 317 is Central Texas native and New Mexico based artist Mariffa Da Rasta. Mariffa was sent to me by former guest @larussoworld a couple of months prior so it was great to finally have a true discussion with him. He described his sound and what it means to him to be able to inspire listeners through his lyrics while also using music as a platform to help provide for his family. Having established a good home base in New Mexico he also has been busy utilizing studio time to help craft new music. This includes his most recent EP “Chronicles Of Mariffa” as well as his forthcoming project “Depression Is Expensive” that's set to release in the coming months. When speaking about the projects theme, he revealed that it will be a much deeper dive into his personal life and overcoming hardships along with many of the lessons he's learned along the way. As someone who loves the art of story telling and honesty in music I am looking forward to the first listen. I also want to thank Mariffa for joining me and once again to Leo for getting us connected!Consider donating to the show via our Ko-Fi profile here

What Was in Tricia's Mystery Box? The Hilarious Reveal, Internet Legends, and Football Fever Is Officially Here What would you do if fighter jets suddenly appeared in front of your tiny airplane—and your only response was, “Too close for missiles, switching to guns”? On this laugh-out-loud episode of The JB and Sandy Show, the team dives into some of the funniest internet moments ever shared, from a legendary viral news interview to an unforgettable post-surgery confession that had everyone cracking up. JB, Sandy, and Tricia swap their all-time favorite clips and prove once again that sometimes the internet really does deliver comedy gold. Then comes the mystery that takes over the studio: What exactly did Tricia bring to work in a box that she desperately didn't want to discuss? What starts as a simple question quickly turns into a hilarious and brutally honest conversation that has the entire show in stitches. Football fans will love the countdown as the crew celebrates being just 40 days away from Longhorn football, talks SEC Media Days, and shares fascinating insights from Coach Sark and Arch Manning. One message stands out above all: when you stop overthinking and start having fun, everything changes. The gang also explores exciting new ways fans can experience Formula One in Austin, shares stories from around Central Texas, previews an upcoming conversation with the unforgettable Dixie, and recaps a nail-biting Minute to Win It contest that came down to the final question. Memorable Moments: “Too close for missiles, switching to guns.” The mystery box reveal that nobody saw coming. Why Arch Manning says learning to have fun changed everything. Sandy and JB remembering the only time they've ever hugged in decades of friendship. A contestant comes agonizingly close to winning it all. If you love authentic friendships, hilarious storytelling, sports talk, and the unpredictable moments that make live radio great, this episode is a must-listen. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who could use a good laugh. Don't miss out—football season is almost here, and the stories are only getting better. 

This week on Waxing Lyrically, Drex and Alisa sit down with Jill Evans and Michael Cloy to talk about an upcoming movie event at the Lyric that's doing more than entertaining—it's helping make a difference. As a fundraiser for ACCEL Health, the conversation explores how the organization serves the underinsured, the importance of accessible mental health care, and the impact these services have on the community. Along the way, they also share what audiences can expect from the special movie screening and why it's an event worth supporting. Whether you're coming for the film, the cause, or both, this episode shines a spotlight on how a night at the movies can help change lives.   Watch on youtube - https://youtu.be/L8pXtMotZRs    Finding Nemo Jul 31, 2026 - Aug 2, 2026   Dive into an underwater world of color, laughter, and love in Finding Nemo Jr.! This family-friendly musical brings Disney and Pixar's beloved characters to life as Marlin and Dory journey across the ocean to find young Nemo. With unforgettable songs and stunning visuals, it's a story of family, friendship, and adventure that will make a splash with audiences of all ages! https://lyricperformingartscompany.thundertix.com/events/255978    AccelHealth Celebration of Rural Health Care & MOVIE: Awakenings Saturday, August 8, 2026 - 6:00 PM CDT     Experience AccelHealth's America's 250th Celebration – A Tribute to Rural Healthcare with an exclusive VIP evening option. VIP reception begins at 5:00 PM with a Center Stage, at the Lyric's Off Center venue, reception featuring gourmet hors d'oeuvres and adult beverages by The Turtle Restaurant and Enoteca, along with a special presentation on the history of healthcare in Central Texas. Continue at the Lyric Theatre for the inspiring film Awakenings, based on the remarkable true story of patients awakened through groundbreaking treatment. Enjoy complimentary intermission concessions, special recognition of healthcare heroes and community partners, entertainment by the Lyric Players, and the exciting "Drive for Health Golf Cart Raffle" drawing. The evening's presenting sponsor is Hendrick Health Brownwood. https://lyricperformingartscompany.thundertix.com/events/268118   

A little more than a year after catastrophic floods devastated Central Texas, another deluge hit the area. How are residents and the state responding to this new tragedy?

The Austin–San Antonio corridor is becoming one of the nation's most consequential growth regions. The question is whether Central Texas will prepare for that growth—or allow it to overwhelm the systems that support the region's economy and quality of life. A.J. Bingham speaks with former San Antonio Mayor and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros (www.linkedin.com/in/henrycisneros) about the region's projected growth from 5.3 million residents today to roughly 8.3 million by 2050. Cisneros discusses the need for coordinated regional leadership on transportation, passenger rail, water, electric power, data centers, workforce development and open-space preservation. He also explains why Austin, San Antonio and the communities between them must begin operating as an interconnected region rather than a collection of separate jurisdictions. The conversation comes as the new Central Texas Alliance (tinyurl.com/jtdy5cvd) seeks to build consensus across the 13-county megaregion. Cisneros is the co-author of The Austin–San Antonio Megaregion: Opportunity and Challenge in the Lone Star State (tinyurl.com/2ffe25b5). // The BG Podcast is produced by BG Media Group, LLC, for The Bingham Group, LLC—a leading municipal lobbying and government affairs firm serving corporate, real estate and nonprofit clients across Central Texas.

She Was 500 Years Off! The Hilarious Minute-to-Win-It Moment You Have to Hear How far off can one answer be and still have everyone laughing? On this entertaining episode of The JB and Sandy Show, the crew tackles the realities of getting older with a hilarious conversation about unexpected hair growth, eyebrow battles, and Tricia's ongoing “whisker war.” What starts as a relatable discussion about aging quickly turns into one of the funniest exchanges of the morning. The show also dives into the aftermath of Central Texas flooding, with updates on lake restrictions, dam operations, and the remarkable power of moving water. Sandy shares stories about people gathering to watch water rush through Mansfield Dam, while the team reflects on the lasting impact these weather events can have across the region. Plus, in Care Don't Care, the gang uncovers some of the delightfully eccentric requests reportedly associated with William Shatner. From unusual transportation preferences to dressing room demands, the conversation proves that some personalities only get more interesting with age. You'll also hear a fascinating story about Austin firefighters using real-world flood conditions to sharpen their swift-water rescue skills, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the training and dedication that keeps communities safe. And then comes the unforgettable edition of JB and Sandy's Minute to Win It. Contestant Gracie is cruising through the questions until one history question creates an instant classic radio moment. When she confidently misses the year Columbus sailed by about five centuries, the laughter that follows is pure JB and Sandy gold. Memorable Moments: “We're fighting the ear, nose, and eyebrow hair.” Tricia's declaration: “I'm winning the whisker war.” The contestant who was “about 500 years off” on a history question. A hilarious deep dive into William Shatner's larger-than-life personality. Enjoyed the show? Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with your friends so they can join the fun and catch every unforgettable moment from The JB and Sandy Show. 

https://youtu.be/RI_6ZvdjVuE Matt Andersen, CEO of Westlake Securities, LLC, is driven by a mission to create value that changes lives by helping business owners follow the 4 Steps to Creating Equity Value, intentionally grow their companies, maximize enterprise value, and achieve successful liquidity events. Through strategic planning, disciplined execution, and a purpose-driven approach, Matt has helped companies achieve significant growth while empowering entrepreneurs to build businesses that create lasting financial and personal impact. We explore Matt Andersen’s Reverse Engineer Your Outcomes Framework — Define Your Financial Goal and Timeframe, Design a First 100-Day Plan, Build an Annual Plan, and Adjust and Reset Quarterly. Matt explains why business owners should reverse-engineer their desired financial outcome before creating a growth strategy, how a focused 100-day plan builds early momentum and accountability, and why quarterly adjustments keep organizations on track toward long-term goals. He also discusses how thought leadership, educational content, internship programs, and AI-powered client experiences have fueled Westlake Securities’ growth while helping entrepreneurs achieve private equity-like results without giving up ownership of their businesses. — 4 Steps to Creating Equity Value with Matt Andersen  Good day. Steve Preda here with the Management Blueprint Podcast, and my guest today is Matt Andersen, the CEO of Westlake Securities, LLC, the number one lower middle-market investment bank in Central Texas, focused on advising companies seeking to intentionally grow or obtain liquidity. He’s also the author of Intentional Growth, as you can see behind him on the screen. Matt, welcome to the show.  Hey, Steve. Thanks so much for having me. I’m super excited to be joining you on today’s show.  Yeah. I love the title of the book and the cover. This is exactly what you want to do with companies, right? You intentionally want to grow them, and then you want to grow their value and create great exits, which I’m sure you have a lot to tell us about. Yeah, that’s exactly right. Our business model… Taking a quick step back, I’m CEO of Westlake Securities, as you mentioned, a lower middle-market investment bank. A lot of the companies we work with, we’re really helping them grow. That’s about half our business. The other half of our business is folks who, once they’ve grown and achieved a certain position or value in the organization and have gotten to a certain point in their career, might want to start thinking about liquidity, or maybe an ultimate exit plan for liquidity—not just for their financial tie-up in the business, but also for their time. So that’s the other half of what we do. We help people think through that next step.  Yeah, because you need both, right? If you have a lot of money but no time to enjoy it, that’s not really good. If you have a lot of time but no money, that’s not good either. So you need both.  That’s right. So yeah, the business fits really, really well. For a lot of our folks, we’re with them on very long-term journeys. In some instances, it’s been six, seven, eight, nine, even 10 years for them to grow the organization to a value that’s truly exciting for them, and then help them think about how best to monetize that once the organization has hit a goal based on size and time. Okay. That’s fascinating. So let me take a step back and ask you: what is your personal why, and how are you manifesting it in this business?  Yeah, that’s a great question. I think about it this way. A lot of companies have mission and vision statements. We actually do something a little different. We have a purpose statement. That purpose statement is: We create value that changes lives.Share on X At this point in my career, if you define careers as you would maybe a sporting event, I’m probably in the third quarter of my career.  One of the things that gets me excited every day is a transaction, for instance, that we had about two weeks ago. There were about eight people who had a truly life-changing experience in a positive way. That’s really neat. In addition to those eight people, there was a group of four people who became shareholders for the first time in this organization. It was really neat. Those sorts of conversations are really fun to have. So creating value that changes lives is really important. We tend to think about that holistically too. For our team, we've been fairly blessed with growth.Share on X  Then, if you think about the full cycle back to the community, we typically pick one charitable organization each year, and we try to make an impactful donation to that one charitable organization. So I think, from client to team to community, that holistic vision is what gets me skipping into work every day.  Yeah. I mean, if you can change your clients’ lives and you change your team members’ lives for the better, that’s very powerful. That’s very empowering. Yeah. And then to see that roll through the community is even… Yeah, it’s pretty neat. It’s pretty neat to see.  So that’s the third leg of the stool: the clients, the team, and your community.  That’s right. You’re really embedded in there. My question is, how do you do that? Do you have a framework for changing these lives? Obviously, you wrote a book, so maybe it’s the spine of the book that you might share with us, or maybe another framework. This podcast is all about frameworks.  So what is a three- to five-step process, or maybe three or four ways to look at something, that informs you or your clients? Or it can be anything that helps you streamline things in your business and make things simpler, which our listeners might benefit from and interpret in their own way.  Yeah. I’m a big framework fan, which is part of the reason I was excited to join the podcast, because I think about things that way. Especially if you figure out what works over time, the goal is to replicate that. Just like a manufacturing facility figures out how to make everything from a microchip to a pair of shoes, and they keep doing the same thing repetitively, I think frameworks in business, if they’re given enough flexibility, can be hugely powerful.  I’ve written two books. Completing the Deal is my first book. “Intentional Growth” is my second book. Intentional Growth is really about organizational growth, and the book is full of great frameworks.Share on X But if I were to share the one I believe is the most impactful—and it’s also fairly simple—it would be this: Reverse-engineer your desired outcome upfront.  So often, businesses we come into contact with know they want to grow. They know they want to achieve certain things. But oftentimes, they haven’t done a great job of defining two things: The timeframe they want to do it in, and the level of achievement they want to get to. One of the things we tend to see in business is that people will make a budget, for instance. They’re going to pull in a sales backlog and a CRM report. A customer did X last year, so we’ll just add 4%, and they’ll do Y this year.  We’ll hire a couple of people. That can be a way to budget. But I think the better way to approach budgeting is, once you’ve reverse-engineered the course, to say, “Over the next five years, we’re going to get from here to here.” Then really think about that as a stair-step process, almost like the path behind me. If we need to go from here to here, year over year, how do we actually grab that growth out of the marketplace? How do we make sure that we’re on the right path?  One of the things we spend a lot of time on with companies we're helping grow is this reverse engineering.Share on X It’s a great framework. There’s a lot about it in the book. A couple of really important takeaways, probably the most important one I can share is the timeframe. What we’ve found is that three to seven years is the best timeframe. Anything less than three years starts to feel like there’s not enough time to actually see the seeds you’ve planted bear fruit. Anything longer than seven years…  Well, Steve, seven years is just a long time. It’s hard to predict cycles and things of that nature. By default, absent another driving force, we tend to think in five-year increments. Kind of split the difference. Five years. The other framework we really focus on is picking a financial destination that’s truly impactful. A lot of times, when people think about the stress of business growth, part of the reason it’s stressful instead of exciting is because they’re worried about growing 8% to 10%, or maybe 12%. That’s good growth. It’s nice.  But it’s not exciting. To me, that feels more like a burden than excitement. If you went into your business planning thinking, “Over the next five years, we’re really going to 3X the size of the business, 4X the size of the business, maybe even 5X the size of the business…” Then, in order to achieve that, we need to hit Y growth over the next 12 months.  That really reshapes what might otherwise be a stressful scenario based on anecdotes into something much more exciting and engaging. Those are the two main frameworks: Time and a financial outcome that would truly be exciting. That’s the premise the book starts with, and it’s something we use all the time, every day.  So that’s interesting. If I were to translate it into a three- to five-step framework or process, what’s step number one? Is it defining the financial destination, or is it the timeframe?  So, number one, those two things are probably going to go together. Timeframe and financial outcome. From a framework perspective, first we’re going to set that destination. Then we’re going to move into the other pieces. Step two is likely going to be creating a 100-day plan. Why do we want a 100-day plan?  Because we want to make sure tomorrow is going to be different from today. Again, it’s one of those things where a 30-day plan is too short, and a six-month plan is too long. A 100-day plan is a way to jump-start a growth plan, and we really want to see a few things from it. One is some early wins, because we’re all wired that way. The more we win, the more we want to play the game, right? Yeah. So you do want to have some early wins.  You want to have some visibility. Organizationally, we plan to communicate the goals and objectives of our destination and outcome, what our 100-day plan is, and then accountability. Accountability to outcomes. Those are the three main things we want to see from that 100-day plan, even though there are a lot of details. Step three would be a one-year plan because we really want to say, “Okay, we’ve got this timeframe. We’ve got this destination we want to get to. We’ve got a 100-day plan to jump-start it.  Now we have a one-year check-in.” From that one-year point, in addition to things like KPIs or Rocks—or whatever an organization uses to manage accountability to outcomes—we want to reset the sails every quarter to six months going forward. But the 100-day and one-year plans are really important to making sure we’re off to a good start on our journey to get where we want to be in five years.  Love it. So that’s interesting. It’s more of a bottom-up approach. Some people preach a top-down approach. You do have a top as well because you have a financial destination three to seven years out. That’s fascinating. You also follow the private equity idea of a 100-day plan, so it aligns with that approach too. One of the things I like to talk about with clients is, how can we create private equity without private equity? How can we get private equity results without having to give up a chunk of the pie? So that is fascinating.  Yeah. And that’s a big part of it. Anyone who’s looking for that message is really going to gravitate to this book. What I do tell people is, you don’t have to sell to grow, but you do have to plan. This is a great framework for doing that, based on 27 years of personal experience and 23 years of firm experience. I’ve personally helped 40 companies achieve seven-, eight-, and nine-figure growth in enterprise value, and we’ve closed $5.7 billion in transactions. All of that feeds into this book, which I think people can use to find a better path—and a proven guide—toward growth without having to give up control.  Yeah. I love it. So tell me, Matt, what drives growth in your business at Westlake Securities?  I think there’s a few things that have been helpful to our growth. Number one, we’ve been fortunate to be in markets that are robust. So we do have a bit of a perfect storm going on right now. There’s a lot of capital available. There are a lot of tools available. And we’ve got an aging demographic of business owners. All of those things are creating this perfect storm of either growth or liquidity.  These conversations are happening more now than they ever have in the last 27 years of my career. It’s unbelievable. These conversations went from things people talked about maybe once a year to, for some organizations, getting outreach every week from somebody who wants to talk to them about a growth investment or buying their business. These topics are coming up more and more, and I think in a much more impactful way.  So number one, there are a lot of favorable market dynamics. Number two, we have the history and track record that’s helpful when a business owner is asking, “Can this company really help me grow?” or “Can this company really help me sell?” We’ve got a great track record for that. That track record is built on, number three, our team.  A lot of our people have spent time with Fortune 1000 companies. They’ve worked for major banking organizations, run brands for Fortune 1000 companies, worked in private equity, or worked for other investment banks. So they bring tremendous experience. And then, last, is our process. Part of the reason for creating the two books is to be very transparent about what our processes are and to lead our advisory work by example.Share on X  We want to be transparent in how we think about helping companies either grow or obtain liquidity. I think those four legs of the stool are the reason we’ve been able to grow so much over the last few years.  You say the market is good because of the Silver Tsunami, as some people call it. Yeah. It’s kind of a cliché. And also the abundance of capital. Private equity has a lot of money to spend, as do strategic buyers. So I get that part. I also understand that you have great assets inside the company—your track record, your team, your processes, all of that. Then what happens? Do those people just find you, or do you actually have to intentionally do something to drive the growth?  Well, that’s well said. Just like we preach, we have to practice. Some of the ways we’ve been able to attract companies to our organization are through our digital presence. If you check us out on LinkedIn, we post a lot of great content there. We provide a lot of data. We do a quarterly deep dive by industry on where transactions have been. We share growth tips very openly. We provide downloadable resources.  The books have been helpful. The books have led to speaking opportunities. I speak internationally on the topics of capital raising, growth, and M&A. Lastly, joining awesome podcasts like yours has become one of our 2026 initiatives, and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s been amazing to see the response. Inevitably, somebody emails and says, “Hey, I saw your conversation with Steve. I thought it was pretty cool. Here’s something about my business.  How can you help, or what do you think?” For everyone, we’ve got something. For our ideal client, we obviously have our core services. For folks who are a little smaller, we’ve got a whole suite of workshops that range in cost and time commitment. Then, all the way down to a $17 or $25 book, which we feel is within everyone’s reach.  Part of this—and I’m sure you’re wired the same way—is just a pure passion for helping others find their own form of success. Whether it’s a $17 book, a multimillion-dollar capital raise, or a $300 million sale of a business, everywhere in between, we can provide someone with some element of value if they’re interested in engaging with us in a conversation. So that’s been helpful too.  Yeah, I love it. It’s very smart. You basically have a long-term view and a long funnel. You can connect with people at any stage of where they are and then support them through increasingly intensive ways.  Can I share with you the funniest one that I ever saw coming? Of course. We’ve always been big believers in giving back through university talks and internship programs. That’s been going on for some time, and it really took the next step in 2020 when all the internships were shut down. We were one of the early firms to launch a virtual internship program.  Now we’ve had over 1,000 interns go through our various internship programs, completing them from five different continents. Now those people have graduated. Several of them have been out of school for many years and are building their own careers. It’s been amazing to see that an experience they had when they were 19, 20, or 21 is now paying dividends five to ten years later. That’s one I never saw coming. We always did it as a way to give back. But it's been interesting to see it become a long-term brand-building exercise and a positive way of giving back to the community that has honestly created more opportunities than I ever would have thought.Share on X That’s amazing. So you created all these ambassadors, then, that I think will bring you clients.  You know, that wasn’t probably the intention when we started. But we’ve had people come back and tell us, “Hey, that internship changed the course of my career.” We’ve had parents whose kids got their first job out of school after doing an internship with us say, “Hey, I can’t guarantee you’re going to get the project, but I at least want to offer you the opportunity to participate because I appreciate what you did for my son or daughter during that internship.” So that’s been really cool. Again, it’s this kind of karma, give-back mindset.  Yeah, I love it. That is very valuable. These days, internships are really challenging to come by, so they can be a really valuable building block for young people. So let me switch gears here and ask you another question. What’s one thing that you’re trying to figure out in your business right now?  That’s a great question. We’re laser-focused on a couple of things. I would say one that a lot of businesses are going to share in common is AI and implementing what I’m calling the light side of AI. I feel like there are really three views of AI in the marketplace. One is a group of people who are still asking, “What does AI stand for?” We’ll put them off to the side for a second. Then there’s the light side and the dark side conversation going on.  The dark side is more about automation leading to job elimination. The light side is really about how we elevate the customer experience or the client experience. How do we elevate what our people are doing and delivering every day? That’s really the area we’re focused on. We have a strategy inside our company as it relates to AI, but the simplest way I can describe it is that we're going to be customer-centric—client-centric—in what we do with AI.Share on X  We want to create the best experience for those who engage with us by using better technology to do it. That’s really a major focus for us in 2026. The other focus is making sure that Intentional Growth gets off to a great start. It’s available for pre-order right now. It’s debut week for pre-orders. It hit number one in four categories. It officially launches in October. The book, speaking, workshops—the whole growth initiative—is really important for our firm, but also for the people we come into contact with.  Who wouldn’t want to grow their business and increase its value by $5 million, $10 million, or $50 million over a reasonable period of time? I think most people who decided to go down the entrepreneurial path did so with the hope of creating abundance. The only way to create that abundance for themselves, their customers, their employees, their vendors, and all their key stakeholders is to grow the organization. So AI and Intentional Growth are our two main business challenges and opportunities for the year.  Yeah. That’s great. And hitting number one in four Amazon categories on pre-order, that is actually very rare. So you must be doing something right there. Either you have an amazing PR machine, or the book is just very, very good. Well, I’m hoping it’s the latter—that the book is going to be that good. I do think the first book created a nice foundation. There are thousands of copies in print. It got a lot of great feedback on Amazon. It’s been used by universities, industry groups, and others. So I think there’s a nice nucleus of potential readers for book number two.  I’m really excited because Intentional Growth is going to be much more interactive than the first book. It’s going to include downloadable forms and AI-powered interactive tools at the end of each chapter, so readers can take what they’ve learned in that chapter and immediately translate it into practical tools for their business.  My hope is that it gets into the hands of any business owner or organizational leader—from someone at an early-stage company to someone running part of a large publicly traded company. If they have a real desire to grow and are looking for a better path to do it, my hope is this book ultimately finds its way into their hands. Yeah, definitely. So if people would like to connect with you, obviously they can go to Amazon and buy Intentional Growth by Matt Andersen.  Yeah.  Definitely do that. And where else can they find you?  There are a few places. Book-wise, Amazon first, then all the major retailers—Barnes & Noble, Porchlight, and others. Both books are available now, and Intentional Growth will ship in October. I would encourage people to find us first and foremost on LinkedIn. I do a lot of personal posts there. We also host events. Westlake Securities has a strong presence on LinkedIn as well. Again, we share a lot of events, free content, and free data.  We spend six figures a year purchasing proprietary data and organizing it in a way that’s useful for business owners to understand trends, valuations, what’s happening in the capital markets, the cost of debt, how much equity was invested in private companies last quarter and last year. There’s a lot of great free information available through those two resources. I also do quite a bit of speaking. If you’d like to attend a talk, I speak internationally on capital raising, growth, and M&A.  That’s amazing. So definitely check it out. Check out Matt’s LinkedIn, especially the quarterly market reports. Those are going to be very interesting. I’m sure you’re using your six-figure database to produce some great charts. So check that out. Buy Intentional Growth, and see how it can help your business. I love your framework—the reverse-engineering idea. You really have to know where you want to get to, how much time you have, and then figure out what it takes to get there.  What’s going to be that above-10% exciting growth rate that’s going to 3X or 5X your business? So thank you, Matt, for coming and sharing your wisdom. And if you’re listening out there, make sure you follow us on LinkedIn, subscribe on YouTube and Apple Podcasts, and leave us a review, because every week I bring you an exciting entrepreneur who’s growing their business. So thanks for coming, Matt, and thanks for listening. Thank you, Steve. I appreciate you having me. To everyone listening out there, best of luck until we interact next. Let’s grow. Important Links: Matt's LinkedIn Matt's  website

President Donald Trump's is expected to discuss the security of US elections tonight, but critics worry it will sow mistrust in the 2020 elections. We'll take you to Central Texas at least one person has died in the catastrophic floods. Prosecutors are pushing back on new FBI claims about the fatal ICE shooting in Houston. The woman at the center of an International Criminal Court sexual misconduct case spoke with CNN. Plus, Trump media is coming up with an early access plan for traders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When building a custom home, it is easy to spend money on upgrades that look impressive during the design process but provide very little value once you move in.In Episode 38 of Building With Breven, Steven and Mike break down 10 custom home upgrades that are worth every penny—and 10 that may waste your budget.They discuss practical upgrades such as wider garages, functional pantries, layered lighting, better windows, improved insulation, outdoor living infrastructure, accessible storage, and future-ready electrical planning.They also explain why homeowners should think carefully before spending heavily on oversized bedrooms, enormous kitchen islands, complicated smart-home systems, trendy permanent finishes, expensive decorative fixtures, and premium cosmetic selections that come at the expense of the home's core construction systems.The biggest takeaway: Spend first on the parts of your home that are difficult, expensive, or disruptive to change later. Cosmetic upgrades can often be replaced or added after you move in.IN THIS EPISODEUpgrades worth considering:• A wider and deeper garage• A functional pantry with outlets and counter space• Thoughtful electrical planning and future-ready wiring• Layered lighting and dimmers• Better windows and intentional natural light• Improved insulation, air sealing, and HVAC design• Accessible storage in practical locations• Outdoor living infrastructure and rough-ins• A well-designed laundry room• Whole-house surge protection and backup-power preparationUpgrades that may waste your budget:• An oversized primary bedroom• A massive bathtub that rarely gets used• Too many complicated smart-home systems• An enormous kitchen island• Too many highly specialized rooms• Excessive built-in cabinetry• Trendy finishes in permanent locations• Expensive decorative fixtures throughout the home• Too much glass without considering orientation• Premium finishes purchased at the expense of windows, HVAC, insulation, drainage, or waterproofingABOUT BUILDING WITH BREVENBuilding With Breven provides an inside look at custom homebuilding, design, construction, budgeting, and the decisions homeowners face when creating a one-of-a-kind home.Breven Homes builds thoughtfully designed custom homes for busy professionals throughout the Central Texas Hill Country.Planning a custom home in Central Texas?Contact Breven Homes to discuss your property, plans, budget, and goals. www.brevenhomes.com

How's it going Bonsai Buds! We have a yet another North American native species episode for y'all. On this episode of Little Things, Evan chats with Michael Alford about Ashe's juniper, juniperus ashei. This species of juniper has a lot to offer to the bonsai community of the southeastern United States. It thrives in hot humid climes and doesn't mind short winters. Listen as Michael talks with Evan about collection techniques and the little surprises found with working with the species. Yamadori in Central Texas and more on this super sweet episode!Check out Michael's trees and yamadori at https://www.i-digit-bonsai.com/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTEhtVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhTGZncUdnWUNKdXJSaGNuc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvB8Dw4kc-V54xh5Bx-psujrLOVK8uiyU6izPyo4F6jj_vJvn9E2EvGe51c6_aem_6Dk7dsWmIhPqClFMpLhTYgThat's I-Dig-It-Bonsai ^Again thanks to our sponsors: Joshua Roth Tools, Underhill Bonsai, and Bonsai BarAlso, a massive thanks to our editor Matt O'Donnell. Thanks for editing every episode and meeting deadlines!Buy Joshua Roth tools on Underhill's online store:underhillbonsaistore.comBook classes at your favorite brewery:bonsaibar.com

From Apple News In Conversation: On July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding tore through Central Texas, killing more than 130 people and destroying communities along the Guadalupe River. Aaron Parsley, a senior editor at Texas Monthly, was there — and though he survived, his family suffered a devastating loss. His harrowing account of what happened when floodwaters overwhelmed their house and ripped them apart won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. Now he’s out with a new essay and a podcast about what their recovery has looked like. Parsley joined Apple News In Conversation guest host David Greene to talk about grief, the evolution of his faith, and what survival really means.