Podcasts about companies

William Green is the author of “Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World's Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life.” Green also hosts a podcast with the same title. In this replay of an interview from February of this year, Robert Brokamp caught up with William for a conversation about: - What successful investing comes down to.- The personality traits of market beaters.- Investing lessons from Charlie Munger, Howard Marks, John Templeton, and Arnold Van Den Berg (an investor you may not know about, but should) Companies mentioned: BRK.A, BRK.B, MKL Host: Robert BrokampGuest: William GreenEngineer: Bart Shannon Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Angel Studios https://Angel.com/HermanJoin the Angel Guild today where you can stream Thank You, Dr. Fauci and be part of the conversation demanding truth and accountability.  Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/Todd Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comBe confident in your portfolio with Bulwark! Schedule your free Know Your Risk Portfolio review. Go to KnowYourRiskPodcast.com today. Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/ToddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here! Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeEpisode links:HOLY CRAP! NBC's Kristen Welker just got EMBARRASSED on national television by Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent!Exclusive: Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts, sources sayBREAKING - Three Democrats, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Susie Lee, and Sen. Mark Warner, who sit on committees controlling defense, environmental, and public works spending, have been caught buying stocks tied to those sectors, seeing gains of up to 250 percent.

China is imposing sanctions on 20 U.S. defense companies. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports.

Companies aren't failing at AI because the tech isn't ready—they're failing because they've underinvested in the humans expected to make it work. | Subscribe to "The Recruiting Life" newsletter at JimStroud.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend's episode of Around the House promises to be a delightful romp through the best moments of 2025, showcasing the eclectic tastes of Eric G and John Dudley. Buckle up as we dive into some of our all-time favorite episodes, peppered with the kind of witty banter that makes you feel like you're eavesdropping on a couple of friends having a good time. Nothing says 'quality podcasting' like the absurdity of discussing home maintenance while simultaneously contemplating life choices around radon gas and the structural integrity of bar stools. It's kind of like watching a car crash in slow motion—suddenly you're glued to the chaos, wondering how it could possibly get any more ridiculous. And spoiler alert: it does. We'll also tackle the importance of hiring contractors, because let's be honest, who doesn't want to hear about the wild ride of trusting strangers with your home?Takeaways:This weekend's show is packed with our fave episodes of 2025, so buckle up!We dive into the absurd world of hiring contractors and why it's basically a circus.Radon in your home? Yeah, it's like an uninvited guest that just won't leave.Ever wondered how soil gases sneak into your cozy abode? Spoiler: it's all about that pressure!In the second hour, we chat with some Weekend Warriors about their DIY disasters and triumphs.Join us as we explore home maintenance mayhem and project starting swagger - it's a wild ride!Companies mentioned in this episode:Weekend Warriors PodcastSecure It TacticalThanks for listening to Around the house if you want to hear more please subscribe so you get notified of the latest episode as it posts at https://around-the-house-with-e.captivate.fm/listenIf you want to join the Around the House Insider for access to the back catalog, Exclusive Content and a direct email to Eric G and access to the show early https://around-the-house-with-e.captivate.fm/support We love comments and we would love reviews on how this information has helped you on your house! Thanks for listening! For more information about the show head to https://aroundthehouseonline.com/Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.Mentioned in this episode:Suscribe to our YouTube Channel Want even more home improvement tips, tricks, and insider advice? Subscribe to my YouTube channel @AroundTheHouseEricG for project guides, product reviews, and behind-the-scenes content you won't hear on the podcast. Don't miss out—hit that subscribe button today! Around the House YouTube

Good morning from Pharma Daily: the podcast that brings you the most important developments in the pharmaceutical and biotech world. Today, we are diving into a series of significant breakthroughs and updates that are shaping the industry landscape.Starting with a remarkable scientific advancement, researchers have made headway in the development of a new class of antibiotics that shows promise against drug-resistant bacteria. This comes as a beacon of hope in the ongoing battle against superbugs, a problem that has been escalating over the past few decades. The new antibiotics work by targeting bacterial cell walls in a novel way, which may bypass the resistance mechanisms that have rendered many traditional antibiotics ineffective. This innovation could potentially extend the lifespan of existing drugs and provide new treatment options for infections that are currently difficult to manage. It's crucial to monitor how these developments will proceed through clinical trials and regulatory scrutiny, as successful outcomes could revolutionize our approach to bacterial infections.Shifting focus to regulatory news, the FDA has recently approved a groundbreaking gene therapy for a rare genetic disorder affecting children. The therapy is designed to target and correct specific genetic mutations, offering hope for families affected by this debilitating condition. This approval not only marks a milestone for personalized medicine but also sets a precedent for future gene therapies targeting other rare diseases. The implications of such advancements are vast, as they open doors to tailored treatments that address the root causes of genetic disorders rather than just managing symptoms. As we continue to explore the potential of gene editing technologies like CRISPR, it's important to consider both the ethical and logistical challenges that accompany these scientific leaps.In clinical trial news, a late-stage study has shown promising results for a new cancer immunotherapy targeting non-small cell lung cancer. This therapy leverages the body's immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells more effectively than traditional treatments. The trial demonstrated significant improvements in patient survival rates and quality of life, underscoring the potential of immunotherapies to transform oncology care. These findings add to a growing body of evidence supporting immunotherapy as a cornerstone of future cancer treatment regimens. However, it is essential to continue researching how these therapies can be optimally combined with existing treatments to enhance outcomes and minimize side effects.Turning our attention to industry trends, there is an increasing emphasis on digital health solutions in drug development processes. Pharmaceutical companies are integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to streamline clinical trials and accelerate drug discovery. These digital tools enable more efficient data analysis, patient monitoring, and predictive modeling, which can significantly reduce development timelines and costs. As this trend gains momentum, it will be important to assess how these technologies can be best utilized without compromising data integrity or patient safety.Lastly, let's discuss an interesting development in sustainable biomanufacturing practices. Companies are investing in greener production methods that reduce environmental impact while maintaining high-quality standards for pharmaceuticals. This includes optimizing energy use, minimizing waste, and incorporating renewable resources into manufacturing processes. As regulatory bodies increasingly prioritize sustainability, we can expect these practices to become more widespread across the industry.These stories highlight how innovation continues to drive progress within pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, offering new possibilities for treatment and care. As always, it's eSupport the show

In this episode of the Crypto 101 Podcast, CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti joins Bryce to unpack how institutional adoption of crypto is unfolding in real time. He explains why Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum exposure, and digital asset treasury companies are driving growth—but also creating short-term technical pressure through trade unwinds. Mognetti emphasizes that institutions are still in the earliest learning phase, while retail has led adoption, flipping the traditional investment pyramid. He closes by stressing long-term conviction, disciplined portfolio construction, and the importance of not confusing temporary market mechanics with Bitcoin's broader macro trajectory.Check out Gemini Exchange: https://gemini.comCheck out TruDiagnostic and use my code CRYPTO101 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.comCheck out Quince: https://quince.com/CRYPTO101Get immediate access to my entire crypto portfolio for just $1.00 today! Get your FREE copy of "Crypto Revolution" and start making big profits from buying, selling,Get immediate access to my entire crypto portfolio.. just $1.00 today! Go here to get access: https://www.crypto101insider.com/cryptnation-directm6pypcy1?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_content=Podcast&utm_term=20250916Get your FREE copy of "Crypto Revolution: Your Guide To The Future of Money". In this book, I reveal how to make (and keep) a fortune during this crypto bull run! http://www.cryptorevolution.com/free?utm_source=Internal&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_content=Podcast&utm_term=20250916Chapters00:00 — Intro01:10 — CoinShares' origin, early Bitcoin discovery, and hedge-fund roots.04:08 — Public vs. private blockchains and why institutions ultimately embraced open chains like Ethereum.06:44 — CoinShares' product suite: ETFs, listed funds, capital markets, and future tokenization.09:00 — Altcoin ETF explosion creates confusion for advisors and investors.11:50 — Digital asset treasury companies explained and why MicroStrategy is uniquely positioned.17:56 — Bitcoin's weakness framed as a technical unwind, not a broken macro thesis.21:42 — Altcoins, benchmarking against Bitcoin, and where real crypto utility is emerging.MERCH STOREhttps://cryptorevolutionmerch.com/Subscribe to YouTube for Exclusive Content:https://www.youtube.com/@crypto101podcast?sub_confirmation=1Follow us on social media for leading-edge crypto updates and trade alerts:https://twitter.com/Crypto101Podhttps://instagram.com/crypto_101Guess Linkhttps://coinshares.com/*This is NOT financial, tax, or legal advice*Boardwalk Flock LLC. All Rights Reserved  ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Fog by DIZARO https://soundcloud.com/dizarofrCreative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0 Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/Fog-DIZAROMusic promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/lAfbjt_rmE8▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Our Sponsors:* Check out Gemini Exchange: https://gemini.com* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/CRYPTO101* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code CRYPTO101 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's time once again for the Market Cap Game Show Holiday Edition, where intuition meets valuation and everyday life meets market caps. Bill Barker and Matt Argersinger take the stage, vying for the final spot in our 2026 March Market Cap Madness World Championships, as they test their mettle—and yours—across ten public companies. From Bubble Wrap and sidewalk robots to semiconductors, ski resorts, biotech pipelines, and online commerce platforms, the matchups span the familiar and the delightfully unexpected, with plenty of raucous banter along the way. Play along at home, challenge your market-cap intuition, and see whether you can outscore Bill, Matt… or both. Companies mentioned: ANET, DAVA, DFH, INCY, MTN, QCOM, SEE, SERV, SHOP, TSLA Host: David GardnerGuests: Bill Barker, Matt ArgersingerProducer: Bart Shannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FREE RESOURCES & COURSESFree ATS Resume Analyzer: https://www.resumeassassin.com/resume-analyzerWork with me: www.ResumeAssassin.comAI Tools: www.ResumeSidekick.ioResume Pro Academy: https://academy.resumeassassin.comNEWSLETTERJoin my newsletter for weekly LinkedIn growth tips you won't find anywhere else:https://www.resumeassassin.com/newsletter/CONNECT WITH MELinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-southernInstagram: @resumeassassinTikTok: @resume_assassin_maryEPISODE TEASERIf you think layoffs are rare or “bad luck,” this episode will change how you see your career.Bryan Creely and I talk honestly about why job security doesn't exist the way it used to—and why that's not your fault. Companies are moving faster, AI is reshaping roles, and being great at your job is no longer enough to protect you.We break down what actually gives you leverage: building visibility outside your company, thinking like a free agent, creating more than one income stream, and taking control of your career before someone else does it for you.If you want fewer surprises, more options, and a career that doesn't fall apart the moment a layoff email hits, this conversation is for you.VIDEO TIME STAMPS0:00 – Why Layoffs Are the New Normal3:10 – The Power Shift: Employers vs. Employees7:45 – How AI Is Changing Job Security12:30 – Adopting a Free-Agent Career Mindset17:05 – Why Personal Branding Is Career Insurance21:40 – The Case for Multiple Income Streams26:10 – Staying Relevant in a Rapidly Changing Job Market30:20 – How to Reclaim Control Before the Next LayoffSubscribe for weekly videos where we break down career strategy, job market realities, personal branding, and how to build real career security—so you're never caught off guard again.

Merry Christmas!   Producers for MMO #199   Associate Executive Producers Nail Lord of Gaylord   Fiat Fun Coupon Producers Sam S. of Beargrass and Bourblandia Cottongin Plaidpotion Preator Porrecca of Peoria Doiceses: Hempress Emily M. ChuckyChuckles Praetor Wiirdo of the not so flat lands   Booster Producers ericpp          | 3,333 | BAG DADDY BOOSTER! boolysteedfountain.fm   | 1,234 wiirdofountain.fm     | 1,000 Sir Jared of South Burien | 333 fairvoltyfountain.fm   | 198 NostrGang         | 111   Creative Producers: Episode Artwork End of Show Song Song: Artist:   Follow Us: X/Twitter MMO Show John Dan Youtube (while it lasts) MMO Show Livestream Rumble MMO Show Livestream Twitch MMO Show Livestream   Shownotes: Dan's Sources Little Rock mayor responds to neo-Nazi group sighting in city OU removes teaching assistant who gave failing grade on essay Denmark demands US respect its sovereignty after Trump deploys Greenland envoy Albania Protests: Protesters Hurl Petrol Bombs at PM Edi Rama's Office Building | WION News How long can Belgrade balance between Brussels and Moscow? Blockade on Venezuela: US intercepts third oil tanker off Venezuelan coast | DW News Trump Recalls Nearly 30 Career Ambassadors in Major “America First” Shake-Up | WION Moscow car bomb kills Russian general, investigators say Clashes between Syrian army, Kurdish-led SDF break out in Aleppo Little Rock mayor responds to neo-Nazi group sighting in city OU removes teaching assistant who gave failing grade on essay Denmark demands US respect its sovereignty after Trump deploys Greenland envoy   John's Shownotes Shownotes Ep 199   Weather            Coast to Coast NBC            Blood Rain Iran            LA Evacuations   SF Power Out            GMA Outage            Coming Back On CBS            The Base Right Wing Group   Brown, MIT Shooting            Paul Mauro on Shooting   Tanker Wars            3rd Tanker Washington Examiner            Effects on Cuba FOX Business            Big Beautiful Ships            Bill To Allow American Privateers   Syria            US Strikes BBC   Russia            Russian General Bombing DW            Killing Christmas   Taiwan            Weapons Sale PBS            Knife Attack   AI            France Coup F24   Bitcoin            Samourai Wallet Co-Founder Imprisoned            SIGN THE PETITION   Welfare Fraud            Minnesota Charges CBS            MN Fraud Report FOX 9            Maine Whistleblower NN Hellthcare            Aaron Bean Organ Transplant Loophole   Energy            Windmills Axed   Automation            Autoland   Surveillance            Surveillance Pricing PBS            RESOURCE: SimpleLogin.io            RESOURCE: Privacy.com            RESOURCE: Proton Services   2026 Hiring Trend            Companies are Hiring Storytellers – Workfluence   Education            NY School Box NBC            English Only CBS

Saskia Falken, in for Pippa Hudson, speaks to David Parry-Davies, Founder of the Eco-Logic Awards about celebrating South Africa’s most ecologically intelligent individuals, organisations and innovations. This 2-hour respite from hard news encourages the audience to take the time to explore, taste, read, and reflect. The show - presented by former journalist, baker and water sports enthusiast Pippa Hudson - is unashamedly lifestyle driven. Popular features include a daily profile interview #OnTheCouch at 1:10 pm. Consumer issues are in the spotlight every Wednesday while the team also unpacks all things related to health, wealth & the environment. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Lunch with Pippa Hudson Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays between 13:00 and 15:00 (SA Time) to Lunch with Pippa Hudson broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/MdSlWEs or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/fDJWe69 Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media: CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Thematic and Equity Strategist Michelle Weaver and Power, Utilities, and Clean Tech Analyst David Arcaro discuss how investments in AI data centers are affecting electricity bills for U.S. consumers.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Michelle Weaver: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Michelle Weaver, Morgan Stanley's U.S. Thematic and Equity Strategist.David Arcaro: And I'm Dave Arcaro, U.S. Power, Utilities, and Clean Tech Analyst.Michelle Weaver: Today, a hot topic. Are data centers' raising your electricity bills?It's Tuesday, December 23rd at 10am in New York.Most of us have probably noticed our electricity bills have been creeping up. And it's putting pressure on U.S. consumers, especially with higher prices and paychecks not keeping pace. More and more people are pointing to data centers as the reason behind these rising costs, but the story isn't that simple.Regional differences, shifting policies and local utility responses are all at play here. Dave, there's no doubt that data centers are becoming a much bigger part of the story when it comes to U.S. electricity demand. For listeners who might not follow these numbers every day, could you break down how data centers' share of overall electricity use is expected to grow over the next 10 years? And what does that mean for the grid and for the average consumer?David Arcaro: Definitely they're becoming much bigger, much more important and more impactful across the industry in a big way. Data centers were 6 percent of total electricity consumption in the U.S. last year. We're actually forecasting that to triple to 18 percent by 2030, and then hit 20 percent in the early 2030s. So very strong growth, and increasing proportion of the overall utility, electricity use.In aggregate, this is reflecting about 150 gigawatts of new data centers by 2030. Just a very large amount. And this is going to cause a major strain on the electric grid and is going to require substantial build out and upgrading of the transmission system along with construction of new power generation – like gas plants and large-scale renewables, wind, solar, and battery storage across the entire U.S.And generally, when we see utilities investing in additional infrastructure, they need to get that cost recovered. We would typically expect that to lead to higher electric rates for consumers. That's the overall pressure that we're facing right now on the system, from all these data centers coming in.We've got these substantial infrastructure needs. That means utilities will need to charge higher prices to consumers to cover the cost of those investments.Michelle Weaver: What are the main challenges utilities companies face in meeting this rising demand from data centers?David Arcaro: There are a number of challenges. If I were to pick a few of the biggest ones that I see, I think managing affordability is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces right now, because this overall data center growth is absolutely a shock to their business, and it needs to be managed carefully given the political and regulatory challenges that can arise when customer bills are getting are escalating faster than expected. The utility industry faces scrutiny and constant attention from a political and regulatory standpoint, so it's a balance that has to be very carefully managed. There are also reliability challenges that are important.Utilities have to keep the lights on, you know, that's priority number one. The demand for electricity is growing much faster than the supply of new generation that we're seeing; new power plants just aren't being built fast enough. New transmission assets are not being built, as quickly as the data centers are coming on. So, in many areas we're seeing that leads to essentially less of a buffer, and more risk of outages during periods of extreme weather.Michelle Weaver: And you mentioned, companies are thinking about how can they insulate consumers. Can you take us through some of the specifics of what these utility companies are doing? And what regulators are doing to respond, to protect existing customers from rate increases driven by data centers?David Arcaro: Definitely. The industry is getting creative and trying to be proactive in addressing this issue. Many utilities, we're seeing them isolate data centers and charge them higher electric rates, specifically for those data center customers to try to cover all of the grid costs that are attributable to the data center's needs.A couple examples. In Indiana, we're seeing that there's a utility there who's building new power plants, specifically for a very large data center that's coming into the state and they're ring fencing it. They're only charging the data center itself for those costs of the power plants. In Georgia, a utility there is charging a higher rate for the data centers that are coming in to the Atlanta area – such that it actually more than covers the costs and compensates other consumers in the form of bill credits or even bill reductions as those data centers come on.Similarly, then, in Pennsylvania, there's a utility that has excess transmission infrastructure than the state's [infrastructure]. They're better able to absorb data center activity. They're able to lower customer bills as the data centers come on, as they spread their costs over a larger customer base in that case. So, this isn't universal though. There are some areas around the country where there are costs related to data center growth that get socialized across all consumers.One approach I also wanted to mention that we're seeing data centers pursue more and more actively is to power themselves. Essentially bring their own power, and they're using gas turbines, engines, and fuel cells that they're deploying right on site. This is actually in many cases faster than connecting to the grid, but it also avoids any consumer impact. Companies like Solaris Energy and Bloom Energy are two providers of that type of solution. And we're also seeing at a broader industry level. Another approach is the idea of data centers being flexible or turning off and not consuming power from the grid at certain times when the grid is facing stress, in an extreme weather scenario in the winter or summer. And that idea is gaining traction as well. So, we think the industry is looking for approaches that could ease the pressure on the system and on reliability, manage the affordability issues while continuing to enable and build data centers.Michelle Weaver: You mentioned what a few different states are doing on this front. But data centers are not evenly distributed through states or evenly distributed across regions. Are there regional differences in how data center growth is impacting electricity prices?David Arcaro: There are a couple of key differences that we're seeing around the country. Some areas just aren't getting that many data centers, you know, so I'd point out the northeast – in New England, in New York, we're just not seeing that much data center growth. So, it's less of an issue, the impact of data center power demand impacting customer bills in those areas. And then in some regions around the country, the utility structure is important to be aware of. There are some regions where the price of electricity fluctuates based on the supply and demand of power, rather than being directly set and controlled by a regulator. In those markets, data centers can actually more directly impact the price of electricity and there just isn't an easy way in that case to ring fence them and protect consumers from the impact of price increases.So that's where we think unique challenges can arise. And over time, we would expect to see the most meaningful rate impacts to consumers in those areas specifically. And examples would be New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio. Those are a couple of the states where we're seeing those more volatile and directly impacted prices.So, as we look at utilities, we think the state exposure is going to be more and more important. And so, a few companies like NextEra, Sempra and AEP are a few utilities that are in states that have less affordability concerns and less direct exposure to rate impacts from data centers. And then several power companies like Vistra and Talen have more of their power plants that are in states that have excess infrastructure; and as a result, potentially less affordability concerns.So, clearly the energy sector is facing real challenges and changes. So, Michelle, how are rising electricity bills actually affecting U.S. households?Michelle Weaver: It's putting even more pressure on a consumer that's already being stretched thin by multiple years of inflation and elevated price levels, and electricity is a really different type of good. It's very different from gasoline or other consumer goods or staples – in that it's an essential good. You need to have it. And it's a network service that households are structurally locked into. Unlike gas where you could adjust your trip frequency or take a different type of transport, there really aren't good substitutes for electricity.And so this dynamic weighs on consumers. They have to continue paying these bills, and it weighs particularly heavily on lower income consumers where utility bills make up a much larger portion of their household budget.So, it crowds out some of that other potential spending.David Arcaro: That makes a lot of sense. It's an important expense to consider in terms of the impact on consumers. And, you know, as a result, are consumers blaming data center electricity demand for this rise that we're seeing in bills or are they pushing back?Michelle Weaver: Yeah. Data center development is quickly becoming a NIMBY or “not in my backyard” issue with communities pushing back and even getting projects canceled. Companies really need to find ways to address local concerns about environmental and water related externalities. And message that they're able to insulate consumers, or do something to mitigate these potentially higher electricity bills.A recent poll of around 2200 voters found that just over half of respondents attribute overall electricity price increases to AI data centers, at least somewhat. While around another third, consider them very responsible. And these responses are consistent across all regions and across political affiliations. And I think this consistency across regions is really interesting. As we're talking about before, data centers are not impacting bills in every region. But consumers are still blaming them and still attributing bill increases there.It's clear that both the energy sector and U.S. consumers are navigating a complex landscape with data center growth at the center of the conversation. As policy responses evolve and the U.S. midterm elections approach, this issue is only going to gain more attention. And we'll be sure to bring you the latest. Dave, thanks for taking the time to talk.David Arcaro: Great speaking with you, Michelle.Michelle Weaver: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

For years, gold was the asset nobody wanted to talk about. It sat there quietly while stocks and real estate continued to rip. Gold was for pessimists. For doomsayers and perma-bears.And then suddenly… gold didn't just wake up. It launched. As of mid-December 2025, spot gold is trading around $4,300–$4,400 an ounce, depending on the market, marking a gain of roughly 60% over the past year and pushing decisively into record territory. The obvious question is: why now? The short answer is that gold isn't reacting to one thing. It's responding to a stacking of pressures that have been quietly building for years and are now impossible to ignore.Start with central banks. For the better part of the last decade, central banks were net sellers or indifferent holders of gold. That changed dramatically after 2022. According to the World Gold Council, central banks have been buying gold at more than double the pace of the pre-COVID years, and 2025 continues that trend, with hundreds of tonnes added to reserves year-to-date. These aren't hedge funds chasing momentum. These are monetary authorities making deliberate, strategic decisions about what they trust to hold value. Why would central banks suddenly want more gold? Because geopolitics has re-entered the chat. We now live in a world where reserves can be frozen, payment systems can be weaponized, and “risk-free” assets depend heavily on political alignment. The World Bank has been explicit that rising geopolitical tensions and global uncertainty are key drivers of gold's surge this year. When trust in the global order erodes, gold benefits. At the same time, the U.S. dollar devaluation thesis is no longer fringe thinking. It is reality.Gold is priced in dollars, and when real yields fall and the dollar weakens, gold historically performs well. That dynamic is playing out again. Reuters has repeatedly pointed to a softer dollar and declining Treasury yields as near-term tailwinds for gold's rally . Bank of America's research echoes this relationship, emphasizing gold's inverse correlation to the dollar and the growing desire among nations to diversify away from dollar-centric reserves . In other words, gold isn't just going up because people are scared. It's going up because confidence in fiat discipline is eroding, slowly but persistently. So…Is gold still a buy or did we miss it? The truth is, both answers can be correct. Yes, gold is expensive relative to where it was a year ago. You don't go up 60% without pulling future returns forward. But what makes this cycle different is that many of the buyers driving demand are price-insensitive. Central banks don't care if gold is up 20% or down 10% in a quarter. They care about long-term reserve integrity. That's why major institutions aren't dismissing the move as a blow-off. Goldman Sachs has cited sustained central-bank demand and the potential for further ETF inflows as supportive of higher prices. J.P. Morgan continues to frame gold as a beneficiary of geopolitical instability and monetary uncertainty, and Bank of America is projecting prices as high as $5,000 an ounce into 2026. Of course, nothing goes up in a straight line. A shift toward tighter monetary policy or a sudden easing of global tensions could cool enthusiasm. Understand though, that gold's breakout isn't just about gold. There is a larger message that should be taken away from all of this. Hard money has come back into favor. Gold is the original hard asset. It's scarce, politically neutral, and has thousands of years of monetary credibility. But it's also heavy, difficult to move, and awkward in a digital world. Bitcoin exists on the same philosophical axis. Both gold and Bitcoin are reactions to the same problem: expanding debt, monetary dilution, and declining confidence in centralized control. Gold is the conservative expression of that view. Bitcoin is the aggressive one. Today, Bitcoin trades around $86,000, still volatile, still controversial, still misunderstood. But if gold's surge is signaling a regime shift toward hard assets, then Bitcoin may simply be earlier in that adoption curve. In other words, gold may be leading the parade. And if history is any guide, when institutions start moving into the oldest form of sound money, they eventually begin exploring the newest. That's the signal worth paying attention to. So this week, I interview Dana Samuelson, an old friend of the show and an expert in everything gold and hard money. Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you notice any errors or corrections, please email us at phil@wealthformula.com.  Gold isn’t reacting to one thing, it’s actually responding to a stacking, uh, pressures, uh, that have been quietly building for years and, and really right now are impossible to ignore. Welcome, everybody. This is Buck Joffrey with the Wealth Formula Podcast coming to you. From Montecito, California and today. Uh, before we begin, just a quick reminder. Uh, there is a, uh, website associated with this podcast called wealth formula.com. And, uh, that’s where you go to get deeply more deeply integrated into this community, including our accredited investor club, AKA investor club for you to join. And, uh, once you get onboarded, all you do is you, you have an opportunity to see private deal flow, uh, that, uh, is not available to the general public. If you are an accredited investor, meaning that you have, uh, make $200,000 per year or $300,000 per year, uh, for the last two years with the reasonable expectation of continuing to do so, or you have a million dollars outside of your personal residence, a net worth, then you are an accredited investor and. All you need to do is sign up and join the club. Just go to wealth formula.com and sign up and get onboarded. Now, let’s talk a little bit about something that has been extraordinary this year. It’s gold. You know, for years, gold was the asset that nobody wanted to talk about. I mean, it sat there quietly. Well, stocks and real estate continue to rip. Um. Gold really is really, you know, was for the pessimists. For the doomsayers and the perma bears. I mean, I, I gotta tell you, I kind of am was one of those people, right? And then suddenly gold didn’t just wake up. It, it totally launched, exploded in his mid-December 2025. Spot Gold is trading around, I know, 4300, 4400 an ounce, depending on the market, gaining roughly 60% over the past year. Pushing decisively into record territory. Now the obvious question is why now? Well, the short answer is that gold isn’t reacting to one thing. It’s actually responding to a stacking, uh, pressures, uh, that have been quietly building for years and, and really right now are impossible to ignore. And this is an interesting shift because. The thing is that in the old days, and I’m even talking about 15, 20 years ago, uh, you would look at gold as something that didn’t really go up when the stock market was doing well, right? It was kind of a reaction. It was a fear-based thing. It still is sort of a fear-based thing, but now it’s not just fear of, you know, whether the stock market’s gonna crash. It’s fear of geopolitical concerns. That’s where the central banks come in, right? So for the better part of the last decade, central banks were net sellers. Or really indifferent of holders of, of gold, and that changed dramatically after 2022. So according to World Gold Council, central banks have been buying gold at more than double the pace of the pre COVID years. And 2025 continued that trend with hundreds of tons, uh, added to reserves year to date Now. These are central banks. They’re not hedge funds chasing momentum, right? They’re monetary authorities and they’re making deliberate strategic decisions about what they trust to hold value. And why would central banks suddenly want more gold? Well, because again, geopolitics has reentered that chat. We live in a world now where reserves can be frozen, right? Payment systems can be weaponized. Risk-free assets depend heavily on political alignment. Now of course, I’m talking about the United States when I’m mentioning all those things, right? Uh, how we can kind of just freeze assets of Russia and that kind of thing. I’m not, uh, pro-Russia, I’m just pointing out the fact that. Countries don’t like it when you freeze their assets. Right? The World Bank, uh, has been explicit that rising geopolitical tensions and global uncertainty are the key drivers of gold surges this year. And when trust in the global Ory roads, of course that is now when gold benefits and at the same time, the US dollar devaluation thesis is no longer just kind of fringe thinking. It’s reality. No one, no one even bothers to pretend that that’s not happening. So gold is, uh, of course, priced in dollars and when real yields fall, uh, and the dollar weakens gold historically performs well so that that dynamic is playing out again as well. In fact, Reuters has repeatedly pointed to a softer dollar and declining treasury yields as near term tailwinds for Gold’s Rally Bank of America. Uh, their research shows, uh, this relationship emphasizing gold’s inverse correlation to the dollar and the growing desire among nations to diversify away from the dollar centric reserves. In other words, gold isn’t just going up because people are scared. It’s going up because confidence in the fiat discipline is eroding altogether slowly. Persistently. So the question is, is gold still a buyer? Did we miss it? I mean, I just mentioned that it just went up by like 60%, right? So that’s a tricky question. It really is. I could certainly see some volatility there. But here’s the thing. I mentioned that central banks were big buyer, right? Central banks don’t care if gold is up 20% or down 10% in a quarter. They care about long-term reserve integrity. So they’re a price insensitive buyer. Um, and that’s why major, major institutions aren’t dismissing the move, as you know, just a big blow off. Uh, Goldman Sachs cited sustain central bank demand, and the potential for further ETF inflows is supportive of higher prices. Banks, uh, like JP Morgan and um, and, and Bank of America. I mean, they’re continuously talking about how gold is a beneficiary of this geopolitical instability. Bank of America is projecting prices high as $5,000 a ounce in 2026. So that’s still a big move, right? Of course, nothing goes up in a straight line. So shift toward tighter monetary policy or sudden easing of global tensions. Well, I, I could, they could cool enthusiasm, right? The less fear in the world. Well, that isn’t. That’s not good for gold. I understand though that gold’s breakout isn’t just about gold. There’s a larger message that should be taken away from all of this, and that is that hard money, real assets have come back into favoring, and gold is the original hard asset. It’s scarce, it’s politically neutral, tens of thousands of years of monetary credibility, but it’s also heavy, difficult to move and awkward in a digital world. Now, of course you know where I’m going with that. I don’t wanna make every gold conversation conversation about Bitcoin, but just as a reminder, Bitcoin exists on that same philosophical access, right? Both gold and Bitcoin are reactions to the same problem. Expanding debt, monetary dilution, declining confidence and centralized control. Gold is the conservative, you know, version of that, the expression of that Bitcoin is the crazy youngster, the aggressive one. They’re, they’re following the same rails. And today Bitcoin trades around $86,000. It’s still volatile, still controversial, still misunderstood, and really, listen, the market cap is 2 trillion bucks. Um, you know, no asset that has ever reached $2 trillion. Market cap has ever gotten to zero. But on the other hand, there’s it, it’s pretty small, and you could still move those markets really quickly, and that’s why you’ve got volatility. But if gold surge is signaling a, a, a shift towards hard assets, it’s really hard to not see that. Uh, Bitcoin may simply be, uh, you know, early in that adoption curve. In other words, gold may be leading the parade. And if history is any guide, uh, when institutions start moving into that, you know, oldest form of sound money, they eventually begin exploring the newest. And that’s, that’s a signal. Worth paying attention to. Anyway, this week what we’re gonna really focus on though is gold and hard money. We’ll talk a little bit about Bitcoin as well. My guest is Dana Samuelson, who is. An old friend of the show, and we will have that conversation right after these messages. Wealth Formula banking is an ingenious concept powered by whole life insurance, but instead of acting just as a safety net, the strategy supercharges your investments. First, you create a personal financial reservoir that grows at a compounding interest rate much higher than any bank savings account. As your money accumulates, you borrow from your own. Bank to invest in other cash flowing investments. Here’s the key. Even though you’ve borrowed money at a simple interest rate, your insurance company keeps paying. You compound interest on that money even though you’ve borrowed it at result, you make money in two places at the same time. That’s why your investments get supercharged. This isn’t a new technique, it’s a refined strategy used by some of the wealthiest families in history, and it uses century old rock solid insurance companies as its back. Turbo charge your investments. Visit wealth formula banking.com. Again, that’s wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula podcast ad Samuelson. He is been on the show before. He’s friend of the show. He is a professional. How do we see this numismatist since, uh, 1980. Working with some of the most influential, precious metals trading companies in the country. Before founding his own American Gold Exchange Incorporated in 1998. Uh, for nearly a decade, he was a personal protege of James U. Blanchard ii, one of the true giants of the industry, and the individual most responsible for re legalizing the private ownership of gold in the us. American Gold Exchange Inc. Is a national mail order, precious metals and rare coin dealership that makes competitive buy and sell markets in mainstream, modern, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, bullion coins and bars and classic pre 1933 US Gold and silver coins and World War ii European Gold coins. I don’t know if I left anything out, but welcome Dana. How are you doing? I’m doing great, buck. Thanks for having me back. I really appreciate it. Well, it was funny, we had a little conversation, uh, just before we started and I said, well, gosh, you know, uh, we’ve had you on the show before, maybe once, maybe twice. And, you know, and, and you, um, I think Apley described the gold market as watching paint dry. And I, I think that’s, I think that’s pretty adequate. Um, I mean, for, I mean, the last decade or so before this all happened. So, so let’s start talking about it. So, gold gold’s moved into price territory that, you know, very few people would’ve predicted even a couple years ago. So what, from your perspective, having lived lived through multiple gold cycles, what feels fundamentally different about this move? Uh, this market is a globally driven market and it’s focused on physical. There’s been a move into gold this year, and silver now platinum two. To a degree palladium, uh, in a physical level that we haven’t seen since the late seventies when we had the last really, you know, red hot market driven by fears over debt inflation. Geopolitics. Uh, you’ve got the bricks, nations that are trying to divorce themselves of the dollar, but they really can’t do it easily because there’s not a good viable alternative except for gold. And that’s been one of the leading drivers of this gold price surge that has really, you know, almost doubled in price since, uh, two years ago. A lot of it is, you know, underpinned by Central Bank Gold buying, you know, between 1950 and 2010, after the dollar became the world’s reserve currency backed by gold. And even after we un pegged the dollar to gold in the 1970s, 1971, central bankers had had gold on their, physically in their vaults from pre-World War ii when gold was money, uh, they shed that. From the 1950 all the way to 2010, they became net buyers after the great financial crisis due to the global debt explosion and primarily quantitative easing printing money outta thin air. But they were buy, they were modest buyers, you know, 500 tons a year until Russia invaded the Ukraine in 2022. And we sanctioned Russia and weaponized the dollar. The last four years, they bought, you know, almost a thousand tons of gold year or double. That really became material last year in price as the cumulative effects of their continually buying about a fifth of what the mines make every year started to really impact supplies and price movement. And now we’ve got President Trump this year, you know, throwing a monkey wrench into the World Trade order with his tariffs. And I think that that’s created a lot of uncertainty, some fear. And of course the debt just continues to go higher and higher. And now interest payments on our debt are over a trillion dollars for the first time ever. So debt servicing is starting to become problematic. The cumulative effects of all this have caused the, the people around the world, including central governments to buy gold at record rates. Um, but it’s not the phenomenon that’s happening in the United States. ’cause we don’t have a gold culture in our country, like almost every other country does. It’s interesting. Um, so what, you know, you’ve been talking about really is central banks around the world have it really been accumulating gold at levels we haven’t really seen in modern times. Right. And, and, uh, why do you think the US Central Bank. It doesn’t do the same because is it an admission of the debasement of the dollar? Because really the gold, gold is the anti dollar. I’ve always viewed it as the anti dollar maybe. Maybe that’s not the, you know, you may not agree with that a hundred percent, but I’ve always viewed it that way, and so why wouldn’t the US hedge and accumulate more? Well, we’re the world’s reserve currency. That Right. That’s, that’s created a paper culture in our, in our world. It’s now three generations old, right? Since 1945, when the dollar became the world’s reserve currency and we, the world went to a paper money standard instead of a gold money standard, which was the world’s standard from ancient times all the way till the 1930s. You know, the, our monetary system when the country was founded in 1793 was based on gold and silver coins. A copper penny was the size of a half dollar because that’s what one penny’s worth of copper was worth in 1793. Right. Um, you know, after World War ii, we had a couple things that the rest of the world didn’t have. We had a manufacturing, uh, industries that were, uh, unaffected by the, physically by the war. And we had, you know, the ability for markets to work properly, which should allow the dollar to become the world’s reserve currency. Backed by, you know, 8,200 some odd tons of gold, the biggest pile of gold that any country had. Actually, at that time it was more like 20,000 tons of gold. Uh, but by the time we got to the seventies and we un pegged from gold, we were down to about 8,000 tons. That’s still more than anybody else is supposed to have. I do think China could have more gold than that. Now they’re just not telling us they do. You know, officially they’ve got about 2,400 tons of gold, uh, and the second and third are, you know, 3000 tons of gold. So we, we still have a lot of gold. And there’s talk about auditing Fort Knox and monetizing it, but it only gets us about a trillion dollars. It’s not enough to really, you affect the 38 trillion, maybe pay the debt off for a year, or, you know, for six months. Six months, yeah. Something like that. Our, our debt is starting to matter too. You know, it’s doubled twice in the last 20 years. It gonna double again in the next 10 to 70 trillion, 78 trillion. People hear about the, the whole, uh, the bricks phenomena, right? And part of, part of what you were just discussing in the, uh, accumulation of gold. Explain that, explain what’s going on over there for people who aren’t paying attention, and you know how that is, how that is playing into all of this. Well, when we sanctioned Russia after they invaded the Ukraine. And seized their assets and threw them off of the Swift International Bank Transfer Payment System. We forced countries that were concerned that if they ran politically afoul of us, we could do the same to them. They forced them into thinking, oh, how do we get some independence from that vulnerability? Potential vulnerability? It’s not easy to replace the dollar. What they’ve, what they’ve been doing is replacing the Swift Bank transfer payment system with a payment transfer system of their own right so they can move money amongst themselves outside of the SWIFT system, number one. And since there isn’t a good viable alternative to the dollar, really the only other asset that makes sense is gold. Gold is a neutral asset. It’s not like you need it for oil or grain or steel. Nobody really needs gold, right? But it’s universally trusted. It’s immediately liquid, and it’s got a couple other things going for it that are unique. Number one, it has no counterparty risk. It’s one of the only assets. It isn’t simultaneously someone else’s liability. And number two, uh, gold in a vault can’t be seized or sanctioned. Right, so they’ve been going to gold, like they’ve been going to gold for, for centuries. It’s just, it hasn’t been that way since after World War ii. It’s a, it’s kinda like a back to the past kind of a situation. It’s sort of back to the future. It’s back to the past. That’s the allure for gold and the reason why they’re accumulating. In fact, they just launched their own currency unit called the unit. 40% backed by gold. The bricks nations have now it’s in its infancy and it’ll take a while for it to really, you know, work. But they’ve been building the components and the infrastructure to get to this point, creating the transfer of payment systems and all the components to go along with that so that they could announce something that they could use as a, as a settlement vehicle for trade, which is really what this is all about. And they’re backing at 40% by gold. Which is material and it’ll become bigger as time passes. Let’s, let’s try talk a little bit about that price movement. Huge. Um, is 60% in the last couple years, is that about right? This year alone, gold’s up 67% on a 12 month rolling basis, 67%. I mean, those are like bitcoin num, you know, type movements in the past. Right. They’re kind of crazy. So a lot of people are looking at those prices today and they’re thinking, well, I’m late to the party. Uh, are they late to the party? How do you, uh, what, what do you think’s going on there? I think the party’s about halfway through. We haven’t got to the late innings yet. I, I really do think this, and this is why this is the fourth major bull run in gold we’ve seen since we went off the gold standard in 1971. We had a a 20 to one run for gold in the seventies that was built on two oil shocks. 18% inflation and a crisis of confidence in the US then for the next 30 years. You know, 25 years a good part of my career. You know, watching gold was like watching paint dry. It traded routinely between three and $500 an ounce until we got into war, uh, following the nine 11 attacks, Iraq and I, Afghanistan, and we went into deficit spending. Then we had a second financial crisis when the great financial crisis hit another bull bull market in gold. Then we had COVID economic closures, another bull market in gold. Now we’ve got a fourth, but it’s lacking what the first three had, which was fear in the US over either economics or geopolitical events. So this gold price has essentially doubled since March or April of 2024. With no fear and a lot of complacency in the US markets. So my, my thinking is what happens if the economy slows down and, you know, the Fed’s gonna lower rates anyway. We know that’s coming with a new Fed chairman in the next five months, six months, number one, that’s good for gold. What happens if we go into a real economic slowdown and the Fed really has to drop rates, or God forbid, go to QE again, right? Or inflation rears its ugly head because the fed’s too accommodative in it. Situation where, you know, supplies are kind of tight still because of the monkey wrench, president Trump has thrown into the World Trade Order. You know, if we get fear in the US that’s when gold could go from 4,000 to, you know, 8,000. And I’m not saying that’s gonna happen, but I do think the trends have driven gold higher are not gonna change anytime soon. One of the things that you’re mentioning is those trends and like even. You know, in the last 15 years ago when I’ve been sort of involved in the investor world, the, the things that we talk about with trends with with gold have changed. I mean, usually you don’t see AI stocks going up with gold, right? Like, I mean, not that AI was around, but the point is tech stocks, that kind of thing. How is that thesis fundamentally changed? Um, I’m not quite sure I understand your question. Well, what I mean is like if gold was, gold used to be, I think it’s, you know, something again that people would buy when they were afraid of, of what’s going on in the equity markets. Right. Uh, that’s clearly not the case now. No, no, not at all. Right. Talk about that change. When did that change happen? How did it happen? This is a globally driven market. It’s not a US-centric market. This is fear around the world. You know, central banks started to underpin this market in 2022 when they stepped up their buying and doubled it. But this year, because of the uncertainty, uh, and some of the fear that President Trump’s tariffs and the way they’ve been deployed, kind of knee jerky, um, and inconsistently. Certainly not diplomatically, right? You know, it’s caused a lot of concern around the world. And for example, in April when President Trump announced the reciprocal tariffs on April 2nd, what happened? The bond market went into the complete dislocation, yields spiked from 4% to 4.5% in a week. The bond values tumble because investors started pulling money out of the, and taking it back home. Money that’d come in from Europe and Asia started to go back. So what did President Trump do? He pulled back the reciprocal tariffs on every country, but China and China said, well, we’re not gonna drop tariffs on you. And he said, well, we’ll ramp ’em up on you. So we went toe to toe with him. Until a week later, we were at 145% tariffs on China, and they were 125% on us. Well, if you’re a Chinese investor and you have real estate or stocks to invest in, and both of which have done badly since COVID or gold, what are you gonna do when your best customer suddenly says, Hey, we really don’t want your products, because that’s what 145% tariffs say to the Chinese. We don’t want your products. You can’t sell ’em here. You gotta go sell ’em somewhere else, but we’re their best customer. So they bought gold. They bought gold handover fist, and they drove the gold price up $500 by themselves during that month. That’s what I mean by fear outside of the us. Yeah. We don’t get it inside. Well, and and that’s fear outside of the markets too, right? I think that’s, that’s the fundamental shift I was trying to get at is true. It used to be that gold was, uh, gold would react on fear of the markets, but now there’s another level of fear, which is geopolitical. And it doesn’t seem like there’s any time soon that that’s gonna end. No, no. I, I, I’ve called it like a run on the bank only. It’s not a run on the bank of like George Bailey’s run on the bank and it’s a wonderful life. This is a run on the gold market, the physical gold and silver and platinum markets. That’s really what this is, and it’s a global rush to buy. And it’s not just central banks, it’s the public as well. Due to uncertainty, part of it’s fear of missing out now that we’ve had a big run in prices too. That’s FOMO in there too. That’s what I’m trying to, that’s part of what I was wondering too though, is like, you know, again, there’s people out there now who, um, are, are looking at this and they might even be listening to us going, gosh, yeah, it really makes sense and I happen to have no gold. What do I do? You know, what do I do now? Do I buy now? And, and I’ll, you know, and, and the next thing you know. I find out this was a frothy market and, and I’m down 20% for the next three years. I mean, that kind of thing. So I, I think it’s a, it is a tricky time, but, so that sort of, I guess, brings up when you think of gold, um, in a portfolio. I mean, you say, you’ve said in the past, it’s not about getting rich. Well, some people really did get rich this time. Uh, you said it’s about preserving wealth, right? So how should investors think about Gold’s role alongside stocks, real estate, and other assets right now? Well, even I think JP Morgan Chase has said this year, you know, instead of a 60 40 portfolio, you should have a 60 20 20 portfolio with 20% bonds and 20% precious metals. Gold in particular, because of what’s been happening. And now we don’t have a gold culture in our country, like most every other country does. So most Americans don’t get it. And that’s part of. We’ve ingrained because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency and it insulates us from currency shocks in commodity pricing primarily. Uh, without that insulation, you know, they might think things a little bit differently, but you know, any good financial planner will say you should have a little bit of precious metals as part of your portfolio, uh, as a hedge against financial uncertainty. And it certainly worked perfectly well during the great financial crisis. And when COVID hit because. Gold tends to counter cyclically, perform in price against stocks and bonds, and it’s always liquid. Now, you’re a real estate investor, you understand real estate. What couldn’t you get in 2009 alone? Right? Bankers wouldn’t give anybody money, right? But if you had gold, you could get liquidity, right? And gold, you know, almost doubled between 2008 and 2011 at the same time when most assets were dropping 50%. That’s an insurance policy for the rest of your money. That’s why I said, look, it’s a way to preserve wealth and have a hedge against financial uncertainty. But in the market that we’re in now, you know, having more than just the, the minimum, which is five to 10% of assets as a, you know, potentially an investment instead of just an insurance policy. That makes sense. But you’re right, you could buy and you could, you know, tie up money that won’t produce anything for a couple years, maybe longer. You also have an insurance policy in case the wheels do come off like they did during the great financial crisis or during COVID. Yeah. Yeah. I was listening to, uh, another podcast. I listened to the, these, uh, guys, the All In podcast, and, uh, Tucker Carlson was on there, and apparently he’s a, you know, huge, uh, physical gold guy. And, and he said, and I, I think he was serious. He said he buries it in his backyard and then he spreads a bunch of, um. Uh, a bunch of, you know, silver beads, uh, out there too, like, just in case no one can like, use a medical metal detector and find it is gold. Uh, let’s talk about that nuance of, of physical gold versus, you know, buying ETFs and all that stuff. What’s your take? I mean, what, what do you tell people when they say, well, gosh, you know, uh, it might be hard for me to store that gold and, and why shouldn’t I just get an ETF and, and talk a little bit about that? Well, I trade ETFs in my IRA account. When I think the, when I think I can harness price movement, that’s what I use ETFs for. You know, they’re a paper representation of gold, uh, that you can trade at the click of a button, physical gold. Is valuable. It’s, you have to find a place to store it. It’s pretty inert, so you can, you can bury it in your backyard, keep the elements out of it, but then there’s some risk there because it could be found, it could be stolen, so you do have to store it somewhere. You can put it in a bank safe deposit box, but I don’t really recommend that because what happens if there’s a banking holiday and you can’t get to it? So having a home safe or maybe, you know, maybe bearing it in the backyard. Is an option if that’s what you wanna do. Or there are independent professionally run storage facilities. There’s a few of ’em around the country that are run by precious metals dealers that are, you know, big entities. Uh uh. So I think they’re trustworthy and they certainly have the ability to service and aren’t properly insured. So that if something happens, you know your value is protected. And that’s primarily what you pay for as a storage fee is a percentage of value. Not so much number ounces that you have there, but the value percentage, because it is an insurance, uh, related value, right? The value goes up, they’ve gotta get more insurance so they get a higher storage fee for that same amount of metal if the value increases, which is unlike other assets. So I do have a couple of those I recommend that are run by professional. Companies that have been in business for years that we know would trust and have performed perfectly. If you wanna store, um, physical metal now gold is compact. You know, a hundred ounces is smaller than a paperback novel and it’s $450,000 worth of value today. You could, I could literally have one bar in each one of my coat pockets and be walking around with almost a million bucks in my pockets, and no one would know. Silver. You know, silver creates a bigger problem because it takes 70 ounces of silver to equal an ounce of gold. So there’s a lot more volume involved and a lot more weight, which is why sometimes these facilities make more sense if you wanna store something that’s more bulky like silver. But if you’re gonna store gold somewhere, that’s not easy to find. You wanna make sure somebody you trust behind you knows where it’s just in case something happens to you. Right? Yeah. Um. What, um, how difficult is it, uh, Dana, for someone to, I guess, say they wanna sell, say maybe they need to sell one of those bricks in your pocket there? Uh, and, and, um, is that a, um, a process that, I mean, it’s, you know, it’s not as easy as clicking a button at that point, right? But to make sure that you get the best possible price for your gold and all that, I mean, you’re not gonna go to a pawn shop and. Oh, that, so like, I, I’m just curious on the mechanics of that. ’cause I’ve, you know, I’ve, I’ve never sold, you know, physical gold for anything. So, so our, our company’s a physical dealer. We’re a hybrid between Amazon and a financial institution. And that, uh, we sell something online or over the telephone. The price is always changing on a minute by minute basis, but it’s like you’re buying shoes. It’s just, you know, you don’t quite know what the price is gonna be. So we physically, you know, figure out which product you should purchase, what’s best for you, and then we ship it to you if you want to sell it, it’s just the reverse of the transaction. You have to present it for delivery, which means you have to ship it back to, uh, your dealer, or, you know, physically deliver to them, and you get paid immediately upon delivery. So, um, you know, we, we do business like a financial institution. You can call us up, place a transaction over the phone. Uh, if it’s a smaller transaction, we’ll do that without deposit funds. If it’s a bigger transaction, we don’t know, you will want funds first, but once we lock in, that’s the price. Just like when you buy stock and then you pay the balance or, or we ship you the merchandise, whichever comes first. Um. You get it, inspect it, make sure you, you got what you’re supposed to get. In fact, it, you know, in the last two years with this gold price just climbing higher and higher, we’ve got a lot of clients that are complacent. They like the stock market that’s been hitting record highs, uh, and they’ve been shedding gold. We’ve actually bought more gold as an industry, not just our company, but as an industry in the last year than we’ve bought in a single year in 20 years. So it’s very easy to reverse the transaction. But what I would tell you. For your listeners is, and this is important, you should buy sovereign minted products, gold ounces, silver ounces, one ounce gold coins. They’re really just round bars made by the US Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the British Royal Mint. The Austrian Mint instead of refinery made. One ounce bars or 10 ounce bars or kilo bars of gold because we have a modest but growing problem with Chinese counterfeits. The Chinese can take tungsten and plate it with gold and pass it off as reel, and they can do that much better with refinery made bars that have plain design pictures stamped onto them. They can replicate those very well, but they cannot replicate the intricate pictures. The US Mint or the Canadian Mint, or the Austrian mint, British royal mint stamp onto that one ounce gold coin. We call it a coin. It’s just a round bar made by a mint that struck with dyes like a coin. And all of the mints around the world have introduced minute anti-counterfeiting design elements into the picture that they stamp on their coins to deter Chinese counterfeits. And it’s working. So the most important thing is, you know, do business with a reputable dealer that’s been around a long time, that has a good reputation, not a, not some new entity, right? You wanna find a, a trusted member of the community and develop a relationship that makes buying again or selling very easy. Once you have a relationship with a dealer, and we know the product you’ve purchased, we’ll take it back very easily. Uh, silver is, you know, people talk a lot about it in the context of, you know, the lump it with gold but has very different characteristics. Um, how do you think about silver today? I love silver today. Uh, it’s, it’s a metal at times as hard to love because every time it makes a big gain, it can give it up pretty easily. It’s more volatile than gold, but gold’s about 90% monetary metal in 10%. Commodity metal silver’s about 50 50, but what silver has going for it is, uh, a couple of unique characteristics that virtually no other metal comes, uh, as close to, which is conductivity of heat and electricity. Silver is amazing in that it’s the best at conducting both heat and electricity. I’ve got a one ounce silver coin on my desk here, and if you take this coin and hold it between your fingers and take an ice cube. You can literally cut that ice cube in half in about 6, 7, 8 seconds with a pure silver coin because the heat from your fingers gets transmitted to the coin and goes right through the ice cube. That’s just a simple example of how conductive silver is for temperature, and we have a structural supply deficit in the silver market that we’ve had for about five years now, where the industry. Is consuming more silver than comes out of the ground on an annual basis. So we’re eating into the above ground supply. Uh, so fundamentally that’s the supply and demand equation favor silver. Uh, plus because gold is moved up so much in price, silver is getting a rotation into it because it’s underperformed relative to gold until just recently where it’s played catch pretty sharply in just the last three or four months. If you measure. How many ounces of gold, uh, how many ounces of silver it takes to equal an ounce of gold, the gold to silver ratio back in April. That was a hundred to one, you know, which was an extreme. Today that ratio is a, is a little under 70 to one. It’s 67, 68 to one. So silver has played up in ketchup in price. Where is that historically? Uh, well. Normally it’s between about 40 to one and 80 to one with about 60 to one as the, as the pivot point where it’s in, they’re in equilibrium. But in the last four or five years with gold leading and silver lagging, we’ve routinely been in the 85 to 90 to one range. Uh, and we actually hit a hundred to one in April of this year, uh, which was the highest it’s been, um, except for when we had a kind of a knee jerk in the medals during COVID, which was an anomaly. Uh, didn’t last. So, but anyway. Silver is playing ketchup because it’s been undervalued relative to gold. Um, and we’ve seen, you know, people that wanna be in the metals, but think gold’s a little expensive. They’ve rotated out of gold, and we’ve seen some of that money move into silver and also into platinum. Now, platinum was under a thousand dollars this time of year ago, and it’s almost $1,900 announced today. So it’s almost platinum’s up, uh, almost a hundred percent now. This year where silver’s up 120% this year and a lot of this demand is driven globally. We’ve seen huge demand in silver in India this year because gold is so, has become so expensive, and that’s what I mean by a global run on the, on the bank. It’s not just China, Japan, it’s India too, and Europe as well. Physical buying and et f buying ETFs are available around the world in precious metals now that really haven’t been very impactful until this year. Um, but that’s what the world’s doing, you know? No discussion these days on gold is complete without at least mentioning Bitcoin. Uh, you know, and, and it’s, it’s interesting because, um, you know, even within the, uh, uh, gold world, I mean, there’s, there’s some prominent people who are really bought in to Bitcoin. Like I, Lawrence Lepert has been on the show multiple times now, and Larry’s all in. Um, just curious as a, you know, as a gold person, what do you see where, what do you see the role or do you not believe in this thing? Do you believe it is a, a parallel? Um, I, there’s so many things that you say about gold. That I’m like, yeah, you can say that about Bitcoin too and carry, you know, millions of dollars in your pocket. You can, you know, it’s, uh, there’s a very little amount of it. Um, obviously it’s new, right? Gold has been around for, since the beginning of time and, and now we’ve got 2009 for Bitcoin. What is your view? How are you seeing it? May, how are your colleagues seeing it in the gold space? Well, a couple different points to make here. Um, you know, when, when Bitcoin came out in 20 10, 20 11, you know, one of my friends in the, in the precious metals business told me I should buy it when it was 20 bucks and I didn’t get it. So I didn’t do it, and that was a big mistake on my part. But Bitcoin has one advantage that no other currency or gold has, which you can move serious money over borders easily. You’re right, you can carry it around in your pocket, in your wallet and, um, you know, you carry a lot of value around and transfer it at the, you know, click of a button. And no co counterparty risk, just like you said with gold, right? Yeah. Well, there’s some modest counterparty risk with, with bitcoin that you, you have counterparty risk with gold and theft as well. Um. Bitcoin is volatile. It’s, you know, it’s, it’s very volatile. It’s still the speculative investment. I mean, it was 124,000, you know, four months ago, and now it’s about 85,000, 90,000. So there’s volatility there that gold doesn’t have. But more importantly, what I’ve seen in my career is a generational divide. The older, older people, you know, 45 and older, like gold and silver. Younger people that grew up with phones in their hands like Bitcoin. The volatility in Bitcoin that we’ve seen in these two big selloff cycles in Bitcoin have not the first one, but the second one have helped to bring some of those younger people into the stability of gold, especially in the year when gold is doing pretty well. ’cause it then it kind of has a little bit of that Bitcoin allure, which is, you know, get rich quick. But, um. Bitcoin’s volatile, but it’s here to stay and it is now the most respected cryptocurrency. Like I almost bought Ethereum, you know, 10 years ago when one of my friends was explaining both to me and said that Ethereum basically had better fundamentals. But you know, it’s kind of inventing, it’s kinda like investing in a. What, uh, beta, beta max instead of VHS back in the day. Some of the older people remember that. You bet on the wrong horse, you know? Yeah, exactly. Well, you’ve, uh, you know, you built this, uh, firm on transparency, integrity, uh, in an industry that doesn’t always have the best reputation. Right? So for investors who decide that precious metals belong in their portfolio. Uh, how can they get a hold of you? Well, our website is, uh, A-M-E-R-G-O-L d.com. Uh, we don’t have, you know, 10,000 items on our website. We have a, we have a small listing of what available products are because we stick with mainstream items, products that are primarily easy to sell, uh, competitively priced, widely traded, and easily understood. Um, uh. Uh, email address is info I nfo@amggold.com. Uh, we have a toll, toll free number 806 1 3 9 3 2 3. Uh, we’re consultative in nature. We’ll, we’ll answer any questions. Happily, gladly, uh, no transactions too small or too large. What we really wanna do, uh, is help people because if we do that, we help ourselves. And when you treat people right, it, it comes back. And our industry does have a chair of bad actors. And, um, you, you wanna make sure that you do business with someone reputable that’s been in the industry a long time. And I understand some people may wanna do this locally where they can actually walk into a place of business. Do this instead of over the phone. So look for dealers that have, you know, longstanding, uh, businesses and good reputations. If you see a reputation that, uh, has some complaints, you know, there are other choices for you. But, um, we just try and help people buck. That’s really what we try and do. We certainly have the reputation for it. Dana. So thank you so much for being on Wellfor podcast. Well, thanks for having me. It’s great to see you again, and I wish you a great success in 2026 and a happy holiday season. You too. You make a lot of money, but are still worried about retirement. Maybe you didn’t start earning until your thirties. Now you’re trying to catch up. Meanwhile, you’ve got a mortgage, a private school to pay for, and you feel like you’re getting further and further behind. Now, good news, if you need to catch up on retirement, check out a program put out by some of the oldest and most prestigious life insurance companies in the world. It’s called Wealth Accelerator, and it can help you amplify your returns quickly, protect your money from creditors, and provide financial protection to your family if something happens to you. The concepts here are used by some of the wealthiest families in the world, and there’s no reason why they can’t be used by you. Check it out for yourself by going to wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to Show England. Hope you enjoyed it and, uh, I will. Uh, I should admit though, that if you go back and you listen on my, uh, past shows, this is one that I was wrong on. I, I’ve never been a gold bug. My biggest issue with gold. Um, has always been, you know, from an investment thesis that it doesn’t really do anything, doesn’t yield anything, and what’s the point of owning it rather than owning, uh, real estate. And actually, if you just look at what I said, it’s, it’s still, it’s still, it’s still kind of true, right? I mean, you can argue, well, yeah, the real estate markets really did, uh, did struggle over the last couple years. But listen, at the end of the day. The real estate market struggled because of leverage, right? Gold. There’s no leverage, no one’s borrowing, buying gold on leverage, and so it can go up and down and it doesn’t really hurt anybody. If you take the last couple decades and you know how much people made from, uh, real estate versus Bitcoin, even though there’s this huge, uh, huge uptick in Bitcoin now it’s, it’s probably the case that they come out pretty close. If not, uh, you know, real estate still being the winner. But anyway, uh, I do want to say and admit that I was wrong. That, uh, that the gold wasn’t really worth, uh, owning. I think, uh, you know, I wish I had owned some, just like a lot of people wish they’d own Bitcoin at $6,000, right? Um, in fact, I will say that one of the things in hindsight that I think of is gold in many ways for the last several years was on sale. And I haven’t really been talking about this as much, but I’ve been reflecting on this a great deal about making sure that as an investor you wake yourself up once in a while and ask, okay, well, what’s on sale? Well, gold was on sale for a while. Silver was definitely on sale. Right? Um, doesn’t mean you have to go in, have, you know, 50% of your portfolio in something like that, but when something’s on sale, it’s not a bad idea to look around. And maybe get, you know, get a little bit of exposure. I do think that real estate is there right now. I think real estate, you know, if you’re in the credit investor group, you’re seeing on a routine basis 30%, uh, discounted offerings from just a couple years ago. And I do think that’s on sale right now. But there are other things as well, arguably. I mean, I, I actually think that Bitcoin is, uh, uh, sort of on sale right now. I mean, sitting at 86,000, anybody who thinks it’s not gonna go to a hundred thousand at some point in the next, you know, 12 months is, I mean, I think it’s highly unlikely that it doesn’t go to a hundred thousand, right? So think about that right now. That’s like a 14% gain right then and there. Anyway, sometimes it’s good to just look around and see what’s on sale. Uh, that’s my message for this week. Uh, this is Buck Joffrey with Wealth Formula Podcast signing off. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheel Wright and Ken McElroy. Visit wealthformularoadmap.com.

It's YOUR time to #EdUp with Chris Klaus, CEO, Fusen. & Co-Founder, Georgia Tech CREATE-X Startup AcceleratorIn this episode, sponsored by the ⁠⁠⁠ELIVE 2026 Conference in Denver, Colorado, April 19-22, & the 2026 InsightsEDU Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, February 17-19,YOUR cohost is Samyr Qureshi, Executive Chairman, KnackYOUR host is ⁠Dr. Joe SallustioHow does a Georgia Tech alum who built a cybersecurity startup in his grandmother's guest bedroom end up creating the Klaus building & launching an accelerator that has supported nearly 1,000 student startups?What happens when you tell college students to stop interning for Google & Amazon & instead intern for themselves, giving them credit, funding & mentorship to build their own companies?How does a venture capitalist who invests in founders before they even have a company & helps them incorporate as US entities from Chile to Beirut change the game for international entrepreneurs & protect America's competitive edge?Listen in to #EdUpThank YOU so much for tuning in. Join us on the next episode for YOUR time to EdUp!Connect with YOUR EdUp Team - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Elvin Freytes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠& ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dr. Joe Sallustio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠● Join YOUR EdUp community at ⁠The EdUp Experience⁠We make education YOUR business!P.S. Want to get early, ad-free access & exclusive leadership content to help support the show? Then ⁠⁠​subscribe today​⁠⁠ to lock in YOUR $5.99/m lifetime supporters rate! This offer ends December 31, 2025!

GovClose Certification Overview: https://www.govclose.com/govclose-certification-programThe "Jab Jab Right Hook" Strategy for Government Contracting SuccessStop chasing contracts with proposals. Start building relationships that WIN contracts. In this coaching call, I break down how relationship-based selling works in government contracting using Gary Vaynerchuk's "Jab, Jab, Right Hook" framework.Most contractors think they need to write better proposals. Wrong. The most successful government contractors I know rarely write competitive proposals—they win through relationships. Here's how to apply the Jab-Jab-Right Hook method to build genuine connections with contracting officers and decision-makers.**Who This Is For:**→ Government contractors tired of losing competitive bids→ Small businesses building their first relationships with agencies→ Consultants helping clients navigate federal sales→ Anyone pursuing DOD, DOE, DHS, or civilian agency contracts→ Companies with existing contracts looking to expand within an agency**CHAPTERS:**00:00 - Introduction: Why Relationships Beat Proposals00:45 - Always Take the Networking Call (Real Story)01:15 - Negotiating Between Big Companies & Egos02:00 - The Lawyer Problem: CYA vs. Making Deals Happen03:15 - Community Support & Learning from Each Other04:30 - Teaming Agreement Templates (Use & Reuse)04:45 - Product vs. Problem: Focus on THEIR Need07:00 - Market Intelligence Tools: Who Needs What14:30 - Using GovWin IQ to Track Pipeline & History18:15 - Subcontracting Strategy: Stay Focused or Diversify?21:00 - Timeline Expectations: 12 Months Is Normal22:00 - On-Site Networking: Fort Bragg Example22:30 - The Jab-Jab-Right Hook Method Explained23:00 - Every 3rd or 4th Time: When to Ask for Business23:15 - Why COs Want to Help Good Companies**Key Timestamps:**• 00:45 - How one networking call turned into a job offer• 02:30 - Why lawyers' CYA mentality kills deals• 05:15 - "Be passionate about your client's problem, not your product"• 06:00 - You're setting yourself up for failure if you don't match requirements• 22:30 - "Every single sale was never writing a proposal again"• 22:45 - "I would go there with engineers and fix it, wouldn't charge them"• 23:00 - "Every fourth or fifth time I'd ask for more business"• 23:15 - "I wanted to help companies that were honestly trying to do good work"**Related Videos You Should Watch:**• How to Use GovWin IQ for Pipeline Building• DOE National Labs Contracting Strategy• When to Give Up on an Agency (And Move On)• Teaming Agreements: How to Negotiate Between Big PlayersNeed a consultant? Connect with Jonathan Haines from this video. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanbhaynes/**Disclaimer:** This content is for educational purposes. While I draw on my experience as a former USAF acquisitions officer, all advice should be adapted to your specific situation and reviewed with your legal/compliance team as appropriate.**Connect with me:**

Companies often treat missed quarters as a talent issue, but this episode reframes underperformance as a system design problem. Brandon breaks down three failures leaders routinely blame on AEs: stale data, ineffective enablement, and slow or broken handoffs.You'll learn how poor inputs destroy belief before skill, why good systems make average reps look great, and how competitors with stronger infrastructure win even with less “talent.” Brandon outlines what sales ops, enablement, and RevOps must fix first, and why replacing people without fixing inputs guarantees repeated failure.If your team is working hard but still missing, this episode shows where the real leverage lives.

Is going solo really the best way to scale a short-term rental business—or can the right partnership take you further, faster?In this episode, we sit down with Evan Davison and Evan Montgomery to unpack what actually happens when two ambitious operators decide to merge their short-term rental businesses. We talk openly about dividing roles using the visionary and integrator model, building trust, and navigating the real challenges of scaling while maintaining a boutique guest experience. The conversation also explores team leadership, growing pains, and how personal life and fatherhood intersect with running a fast-growing STR operation. This episode offers honest insights, real lessons, and practical perspective for anyone considering partnership or scaling in the short-term rental space.Things we discussed in this episode:The process and mindset behind merging two short-term rental businesses into one partnership.Distinct roles of visionary and integrator, inspired by "Rocket Fuel" and "Traction."Challenges and operational hurdles in integrating company back-ends, systems, and teams.Strategies for team building—hiring, training, and retaining VAs, cleaners, and contractors.Communication methods for maintaining alignment and problem resolution in a partnership.Vetting and educating owner leads, with a focus on budgets and design expectations.Maintaining boutique-level service and personal touch as the business scales.Market differences between Columbus, OH, and other markets like Provincetown, MA.Balancing business demands with family and fatherhood, planning for parental leave.The importance of specialized service providers—designers, photographers, real estate agents—and their impact on rental success.Get in touch with Evan Davison and Evan Montgomery:Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aesthetic_p.g/Facebook - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/AestheticPropertyGroupWebsite - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.stupendousstays.com/ https://www.aestheticpg.com/#SmartStayShow #realestate #realestateinvestor #realestateagent #RealEstateInvesting #ShortTermRentals #BusinessPartnership #VacationRental #Entrepreneurship#PropertyManagement #TeamBuilding #STRBusiness#RealEstateInvesting #WorkLifeBalance #RentalSuccessFollow Us!Join Jason Muth of Prideaway Stays and Straightforward Short-Term Rentals and Real Estate Attorney / Broker Rory Gill for the first episode of SmartStay Show!Following and subscribing to SmartStay Show not only ensures that you'll get instant updates whenever we release a new episode, but it also helps us reach more people who could benefit from the valuable content that we provide.SmartStay Show ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prideaway Stays ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Straightforward Short-Term Rentals ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Attorney Rory Gill ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jason Muth on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Will AI kill your job?What happens to your job as AI gets smarter and companies keep laying people off even while profits rise? Will you still have a job? Will the job you have change beyond recognition?Scary questions, no?In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier sits down with Nikki Barua, co-founder of Footwork and longtime founder, executive, and resiliency expert, to unpack what work really looks like in the age of AI.Layoffs are no longer just about economic downturns. Companies are growing, innovating, and still cutting staff, often because AI is enabling more output with less capacity. So what does that mean for you?Nikki argues the future doesn't belong to those who simply “learn AI tools,” but to agentic humans: people who lead with uniquely human strengths and use AI to amplify their impact. This conversation explores:• Why today's layoffs are different from past cycles• How AI is compressing jobs before creating new ones• What it means to move from doing work to directing outcomes• Why identity, curiosity, and agency matter more than certifications• How to rethink workflows instead of chasing shiny AI tools• The FLIP framework: Focus, Leverage, Influence, and PowerThis episode isn't about fear. It's about reinvention. If you're wondering how to stay relevant, valuable, and resilient as AI reshapes work, this is the place to start.GuestNikki BaruaCo-founder, Footwork(Reinventing organizations with agentic AI)

The principal focus of this podcast episode centers on the invaluable contributions made by veterans in support of their fellow servicemen and women. We delve into the various initiatives undertaken by veterans to provide assistance and resources, thereby fostering a sense of community and camaraderie. Our discussion highlights the significance of sharing personal narratives and experiences, as these stories not only educate the public but also serve as a source of inspiration for other veterans facing similar challenges. Takeaways:The podcast emphasizes the importance of veterans helping each other through shared experiences and mutual support.Listeners are encouraged to engage with various veteran organizations that provide essential resources for transitioning veterans.The hosts discuss the significance of mental health awareness, particularly regarding PTSD among veterans and the need for open conversations.Chef JB shares inspiring stories of at-risk youth benefiting from culinary training, highlighting the impact of mentorship on their lives.The podcast highlights upcoming events aimed at fostering community among veterans, particularly during the holiday season.Both hosts reflect on their personal journeys and the necessity of self-care in order to effectively support fellow veterans.Companies mentioned in this episode:Veterans Transition Resource CenterVTRCWar Built foundationPTSD foundation of AmericaRecon Chief FoundationSemper Fi FundBig Fish foundationHonor FlightContact & More Information: https://linktr.ee/aqseibert

Send us a textProfitable on paper but stressed about cash? You're not alone. In Episode 102 of The Frustrated CEO Podcast, fractional CFO Brian Keyser joins Patrick and Patsy to break down the real reason profitable businesses still face cash crunches. Learn the critical difference between profit vs. cash, how timing issues and bad data create dangerous blind spots, and why simple forecasting beats guesswork every time.This episode delivers practical, immediately actionable steps—from freeing up trapped cash and tightening receivables to building simple cash flow models that actually work. Discover how strong cash flow fuels leadership confidence, strengthens culture, and builds trust across your organization.

In the complex tapestry of 2025, a subtle yet profound shift is reshaping how we speak about fundamental societal structures. We are witnessing the emergence of a "new language of denial," a sophisticated rebranding of the very concept of privilege. This isn't just about changing words; it's about navigating intense legal pressures, political backlash, and a palpable cultural fatigue that has worn down the edges of candid discussion.Across corporate corridors, the familiar acronyms of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—DEI—are quietly giving way. Companies, facing scrutiny and a polarized environment, are opting for more "palatable" termsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/racism-white-privilege-in-america--4473713/support.

In this episode, host Alex Rawlings speaks with Eric Wiklendt, Managing Director at SpeySide Equity, a private equity firm focused on lower middle-market manufacturing businesses.Eric shares his “fix and build” value creation strategy, the key elements of successful human capital alignment, and why cost accounting is the hidden killer in many portfolio companies. With deep operational experience, Eric offers a grounded perspective on how to avoid overcomplicating PE value creation.

Tech stocks lift Wall Street, but AI is creating both breakout winners and deep value traps. Investors grapple with whether laggards like Adobe, Salesforce and GoDaddy are bargains or warnings. Gold and silver surge to record highs as rate cuts, deficits and policy risk drive demand. A high-stakes bidding war pits Netflix against Paramount for Warner Bros Discovery, with shareholders watching closely. Asia offers mixed signals, from China Vanke’s debt reprieve to HTC’s AI smart-glasses push and Johor industrial buys. All this and more, hosted by Michelle Martin with Ryan Huang. Companies mentioned today: Nvidia, Adobe, Salesforce, GoDaddy, Gartner, Micron Technology, Netflix, Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery, China Vanke, HTC, CapitaLand Malaysia Trust, Ever Glory United, Seatrium, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Thai Beverage.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Chief Cross-Asset Strategist Serena Tang discusses how current market conditions are challenging traditional investment strategies and what that means for asset allocation.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Serena Tang, Morgan Stanley's Chief Cross-Asset Strategist.Today – does the 60/40 portfolio still make sense, and what can investors expect from long-term market returns?It's Monday, December 22nd at 10am in New York.Global equities have rallied by more than 35 percent from lows made in April. And U.S. high grade fixed income has seen the last 12 months' returns reach 5 percent, above the averages over the last 10 years. This raises important questions about future returns and how investors might want to adapt their portfolios.Now, our work shows that long-run expected returns for equities are lower than in previous decades, while fixed income – think government bonds and corporate bonds – still offers relatively elevated returns, thanks to higher yields.Let's put some numbers to it. Over the next decade, we project global equities to deliver an annualized return of nearly 7 percent, with the S&P 500 just behind at 6.8 percent. European and Japanese equities stand out, potentially returning about 8 percent. Emerging markets, however, lag at just about 4 percent. On the bond side, we think U.S. Treasuries with a 10-year maturity will return nearly 5 percent per year, German Bunds nearly 4 [percent], and Japanese government bonds nearly 2 [percent]. They may sound low, but it's all above their long-run averages.But here's where it gets interesting. The extra return you get for taking on risk – what we call the risk premium – has compressed across the board. In the U.S., the equity risk premium is just 2 percent. And for emerging markets, it's actually negative at around -1 percent. In very plain terms, investors aren't being paid as much for taking on risk as they used to be.Now, why is this the case? It's because valuations are rich, especially in the U.S. But we also need to put these valuations in context. Yes, the S&P 500's cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio is near the highest level since the dotcom bubble. But the quality of the S&P 500 has improved dramatically over the past few decades. Companies are more profitable, and free cash flow -- money left after expenses -- is almost three times higher than it was in 2000. So, while valuations are rich, there's some justification for it.The lower risk premiums for stocks and credits, regardless of whether we think they are justified or not, has very interesting read across for investors' multi-asset portfolios. The efficient frontier – meaning the best possible return for any given level of portfolio risk – has shifted. It's now flatter and lower than in previous years. So, it means taking on more risk in a portfolio right now won't necessarily boost returns as much as before.Now, let's turn our attention to the classic 60/40 portfolio – the mix of 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds that's been a staple strategy for generations. After a tough 2022, this strategy has bounced back, delivering above-average returns for three years in a row. Looking ahead, though, we expect only around 6 percent annual returns for a 60/40 portfolio over the next decade versus around 9 percent average return historically. Importantly though, advances in AI could keep stocks and bonds moving more in sync than they used to be. If that happens, investors might benefit from increasing their equity allocation beyond the traditional 60/40 split.Either way, it's important to realize that the optimal mix of stocks and bonds is not static and should be revisited as market dynamics evolve.In a world where risk assets feel expensive and the old rules don't quite fit, it's essential to understand how risk, return, and correlation work together. This will help you navigate the next decade. The 60/40 portfolio isn't dead – and optimal multi-asset allocation weights are evolving. And so should you.Thanks for listening. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share Thoughts on the Market with a friend or colleague today.

December became ICE's deadliest month on record when four immigrants died, four days in a row, in four separate for profit ICE detention facilities managed either by CoreCivic or GEO Group-- two of the largest contributors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 1909: Christine Comaford reveals the top reasons sales professionals, especially millennials, are quitting faster than ever: lack of mentorship, outdated tools, missing data insights, and no clear sales playbook. Backed by research and expert insight, she offers actionable strategies to help sales leaders reduce burnout, boost retention, and build a more resilient, tech-savvy team. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://smarttribesinstitute.com/salespeople-burning-faster-ever-heres/ Quotes to ponder: "88% of sales professionals are unable to find or bring up critical sales material up on their smartphones." "Salespeople need to ramp up rapidly, and have a clear playbook to navigate prospects and the selling process." "Companies that want to set their sales team up for success should move away from general purpose tools and invest in more modern sales-specific tools and platforms." Episode references: ClearSlide: https://www.clearslide.com The Bridge Group: https://www.bridgegroupinc.com Deloitte Millennial Survey: https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com

This episode is about something almost everyone in direct selling feels but very few talk about directly.The profession stalled because we stopped developing leaders.For decades, leadership development was the heartbeat of this business. Companies didn't just build volume. They built people. They grew workhorses. They created depth. They had systems that turned a brand-new rep into a builder, and eventually into a leader.The systems were simple. They were clear. They were culture driven.And then everything shifted.Social media exploded. Branding took over. Attraction marketing became the obsession.And almost overnight, the focus moved from developing leaders to promoting personalities.Today most companies teach posting, selling, attracting. Few teach how to lead. Few teach how to coach. Almost none teach how to duplicate beyond personality.And that's the real problem.When companies stop developing leaders, they start buying them. They start chasing racehorses instead of building workhorses.It feels faster in the moment. It never lasts.You cannot import depth. You cannot shortcut culture. You cannot purchase loyalty.When development disappears, duplication dies. Teams become dependent on the loudest voices instead of shared principles. Culture turns reactive. Burnout becomes normal.Personal development builds the person. Leadership development multiplies the leader. You need both, or neither one works.The companies that win the next decade will return to this foundation. They will rebuild systems that grow people from the inside out. They will invest in mentorship, not just marketing. They will pair skill training with mindset training. They will stop waiting for influencers to save them and start developing their own depth again.Duplication doesn't come from followers. It comes from frameworks.That's why the real test for every leader and every company is simple:Are we developing leaders, or just buying them?And if you're a six-figure or multiple-six-figure leader who's serious about building depth, not just volume, I built a place specifically for you.It's called ICON Mastermind. This is where top earners come to level up leadership, rebuild systems, create duplication, and grow in a room where everyone is playing at the same level.It's application only, and it's only for six-figure earners and above.You can apply at: www.iconmastermind.comIf you want to become the kind of leader this profession desperately needs again, that's the room.

Here is a FAQ Video on the Courses: https://youtu.be/0F7imrzjXWs Here is a deep dive into which course is best for you: https://youtu.be/JM_jgS8M-iU https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Get Your Free E-Book on How Companies make Decisions. FAQ: 1 YEAR ACCESS, PAY MONTHLY OR ANNUALLY NOT A SUBSCRIPTION OFFICE HOURS EVERY  OTHER WEEK VIA ZOOM. 1 HOUR GROUP Q&A. UNLIMITED 1-ON-1'S  ARE FREE AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE SHARED IN THE COURSE. 1-ON-1 ARE FULL ACCESS ON DAY ONE - NOTHING IS GATED OR TIME RELEASED. ALL CONTENT IS VIDEO BASED AND SELF PACED I RECOMMEND TAKE COURSE ONCE WITHOUT NOTES OR APPLYING IT SO YOU UNDERSTAND THE BIG PICTURE FIRST. THEN TAKE AND APPLY IT STEP BY STEP. YOU START WHEN YOU WANT AND GO AS FAST OR SLOW AS NEEDED.   Email me additional questions: briangburns@me.com     — SAMPLE EMAIL TO EXPENSE THE COURSE MGR,   I have been listening to the brutal truth about sales podcast for X months and it speaks to the issues we face.   They currently offer a course that includes video instruction, group Q&A and One-on-One coaching. I'm committed to my own personal development and would like your help in expensing the course.   It would pay for itself if I closed only one new deal of $X value.   Please let me know by Friday if I can move forward with this 1 year course.   Thanks, ME Here are some student interviews from the courses:      ———————————————————————————————————— Audible 30 day Free Trial: http://www.audibletrial.com/BrutalTruth             Listen to The Sales Questions PodCast: https://itun.es/i67d3Ry     Listen to The B2B Revenue Leadership Show: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/b2b-revenue-leadership-show/id1174976428?mt=2     Twitter: @briangburns LinkedIn: Brian G. Burns Facebook: Brian Burns YouTube: Brian Burns SALES PODCAST  

Dan Layfield, founder of the Subscription Index, joins Mark Stiving to unpack the less-visible pricing and monetization levers that drive real growth in subscription businesses. With experience scaling Codecademy from $10M to $50M in revenue and leading product teams at Uber and Diligent, Dan brings a product-led, ROI-first perspective on pricing. This episode culminates in one of the most actionable subscription pricing tactics you'll hear: how to price annual plans based on actual monthly retention, not industry norms.  If you work in SaaS, consumer subscriptions, or any recurring-revenue business, this episode offers practical insights you can test immediately.   Why You Have to Check Out Today's Podcast: Learn the annual pricing tactic that dramatically increases LTV and cash flow by aligning plan discounts to real retention behavior. Understand why subscription growth is constrained more by monetization systems than acquisition and where hidden revenue leaks live. Discover how product, pricing, and payment mechanics quietly shape retention long after customers click "Subscribe".   "If you know your average retention rate within monthly plans, and most of your users are in monthly plans, you price your annual plan to be like one or two months more than your monthly retention rate." – Dan Layfield   Topics Covered: 00:45 - How Dan Got Into Pricing. Dan shares how pricing became a key growth lever while scaling Codecademy and why monetization matters more as products mature. 01:10 - Scaling Subscription-Based Businesses. Dan shares lessons from scaling Codecademy's subscription business and why pricing becomes critical as companies grow. 05:12 - Subscription Pricing and Retention Strategies. How pricing decisions influence retention length and why subscription pricing must reflect real user behavior. 09:11 - Retention Challenges in Subscription Businesses. The difference between short-term and long-term retention products and why under-12-month subscriptions require different strategies. 11:32 - Subscription Product Strategies. Time to value versus time to success, and how product design affects lifecycle length and churn. 17:02 - Monetization Strategies in Subscription Businesses. What monetization really includes beyond price, from paywalls to upsells, renewals, and payment recovery systems. 19:45 - Checkout Flow Optimization Strategies. Why small checkout improvements deliver outsized ROI and how minor friction quietly suppresses revenue. 23:22] AI's Impact on Consumer Products. Why AI adoption is slower in consumer subscriptions than B2B SaaS and where future disruption may emerge. 26:30 - Annual Plan Pricing Strategy. Dan explains the monthly-to-annual pricing approach that boosts LTV, improves cash flow, and increases commitment. 29:31 - Key Subscription Product Insights. Final reflections on retention, monetization levers, and where subscription companies should focus first for growth.   Key Takeaways: "This is one of the few tides that lifts all boats in subscription products. It makes payment processing easier. You collect cash up front. Those users psychologically commit to the product more." – Dan Layfield "If you're retaining users for four months on average, change your annual plan discount rate to be 50%. So they're paying for six months up front." – Dan Layfield "...if you look at any of the big consumer products that discount more than 10 to 20% annual plans, you can kind of guess their monthly retention rate." – Dan Layfield   People & Resources Mentioned: Codecademy – Subscription growth case study Uber Eats – Marketplace product experience Subscription Index – Dan's subscription monetization resource Stripe / App Store Billing – Payment and dunning challenges in subscriptions   Connect with Dan Layfield: Website: https://subscriptionindex.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/layfield/    Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving Email: mark@impactpricing.com  

Five-time CFO Rick Smith has led finance at companies including inVentiv Health Communications, Exos, Parchment, Solera Health before founding Bonfire advisory. He is also the author o fDemystifying the Role of the CFO in Venture and Growth Stage Companies, a no-nonsense approach to the topic. Reviews for the book include: “This book is a must-read if you want to understand how to scale a company as a CFO” and “Should be required reading for CEOs and PE people along with CFOs.” In this episode Smith provides his take on being a CFO and his long background in FP&A, providing insights on: The path from FP&A to CFO (without a CPA) Why I like being CFO at SMBs (sub $50m) Being a dreamer, artist and buildingFP&A  Audits vs QOEs  The unspoken challenges working with PE firms FP&A and M&A – what you need to know  Link to the book: Demystifying the Role of the CFO in Venture and Growth Stage Companies

"Public markets are behaving more like private markets. Private markets want to behave more like public markets. So actually, they're just one market.What's not the same is the level of research, information, data disclosure. Correct. That's the only difference. It's this information gap that, to us, is the single biggest opportunity now.We think over the course of the next five to 10 years, there'll be more trading venues, more liquidity providers, more market makers, more investor types—all of that. And I think what Smartkarma has always done is be the information flow for part of capital markets.In fact, that sort of 74 billion number, I think, is quite conservative. I've seen other estimates that are close to 120 billion. So it depends on what you see as sort of growth and what you see beyond. But regardless, I think it's very large numbers, and the ratio of exit to invested capital is extremely low. A 50 billion hole is a pretty big hole." - Raghav Kapoor, CEO of SmartkarmaRaghav Kapoor, CEO & co-founder of Smartkarma, joined us for a conversation on the launch of PvtIQ and the structural transformation of Asia's private markets. Drawing from his experience building Smartkarma's independent research platform, Raghav explained how client demand for pre-IPO coverage led to creating PvtIQ, an intelligence platform designed to bridge the critical information gap in Southeast Asia's private markets. We discussed the striking imbalance where $74 billion has been invested into the region's tech ecosystem but only $23 billion has been returned through exits, highlighting the urgent need for better data infrastructure and price discovery. Raghav shared unique insights on how families dominate the region's investment landscape, why private and public markets are converging into one, and his vision for PvtIQ to become the intelligence backbone supporting companies, investors, and regulators in bringing more transparency and efficiency to Asia's rapidly evolving private market ecosystem.Episode Highlights:[00:00] Quote of the Day by Raghav Kapoor[00:57]] Smartkarma launches PvtIQ for Asia's private markets[03:11]] Investors requesting coverage three years before IPO[04:08]] Supporting MAS equity market development program[05:24]] Singapore's public markets languished despite private growth[06:13]] Path from fundraising to public listing explained[08:37]] $74 billion invested, only $23 billion exits[09:45]] Companies need support to achieve IPO readiness[11:00]] Capital chasing deals shifted to improving disclosure[11:57]] Southeast Asia's extreme market fragmentation challenges[13:23]] Families dominate and influence Southeast Asian markets[14:38]] Lack of data creates serious structural challenges[19:01]] Private market investors transitioning from momentum investing[20:18]] Digital banks provide disclosure model for research[21:24]] Late stage private rounds resemble public IPOs[23:26]] Liquidity without information is just volatility[24:06]] Private and public markets converging into one[25:30]] Information gap is the single biggest opportunity[27:00]] Private market research TAM already $8 billion[28:57]] What great looks like: intelligence backbone for Asia's private markets[30:57]] ClosingProfile: Raghav Kapoor, CEO and co-founder, SmartkarmaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ragkap/Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Recorded in Poddster Singapore

This podcast episode delves into the pivotal trends, challenges, and opportunities that will shape the furniture industry as we transition into 2026. Among the myriad topics discussed, the economic outlook emerges as a central theme, characterized by an anticipated weak start to the year followed by a promising rebound later on. The discussion highlights the complexities faced by retailers, including the potential impact of new tariffs and a shifting labor market, all while consumer spending is projected to experience modest growth. Furthermore, we explore the transformative influence of artificial intelligence, which is fundamentally altering retail dynamics and enhancing consumer engagement through sophisticated technologies. As we navigate these multifaceted landscapes, the episode underscores the necessity for businesses to adopt strategic innovations and embrace sustainability, ultimately revealing that the key to success in 2026 will lie in understanding and responding to a more discerning and intentional consumer base. A comprehensive examination of the furniture industry reveals a complex landscape as we approach the year 2026. The discussion commences with an analysis of the economic forecast, highlighting a dichotomy within the anticipated market conditions. Early projections suggest a sluggish start to the year, primarily due to external pressures such as potential tariffs, a softening labor market, and the persistent ambiguity surrounding interest rates. Nevertheless, a glimmer of optimism emerges; consumer expenditure on furniture and bedding is expected to rise, albeit modestly, by approximately 1.9%. The anticipated recovery in the housing market, characterized by a significant uptick in existing home sales, is poised to serve as a pivotal catalyst for growth within the industry. This backdrop sets the stage for further exploration of technological advancements, particularly the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence, which is now fundamentally transforming retail practices. The advent of generative engine optimization signifies a shift in consumer engagement, as customers increasingly seek tailored interactions over traditional keyword searches, thus necessitating a more sophisticated approach from retailers.Takeaways:The economic forecast for 2026 indicates a bifurcated narrative, with a weak initial phase followed by a robust conclusion, shaped by various unpredictable factors.Consumer spending on furniture is anticipated to grow, albeit modestly, reflecting a cautious yet persistent desire to enhance living environments amid inflationary pressures.The emergence of artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the furniture retail landscape, enabling smaller retailers to leverage sophisticated tools previously reserved for larger corporations.In the luxury market, consumer expectations are shifting towards sustainability and craftsmanship, necessitating brands to tell compelling stories about their products.The growing importance of sustainability is evident as consumers increasingly prioritize brands' ethical practices and environmental impact in their purchasing decisions.Retailers must adapt to the evolving expectations of consumers, particularly through experiential retail approaches that blend digital convenience with personalized service.Companies mentioned in this episode:Purple Innovation

Today we're flying into Copenhagen and chatting with Camilla Calberg, an experienced transformational coach. Camilla has worked as an experienced corporate advisor for BP, Shell and IBM, leading large scale transformation projects, helping these companies to build market platforms and their employees to embrace new working processes. Since 2016, Camilla has been an independent advisor to the pharmaceutical industry through Calberg Consulting, taking on communication and interim leadership positions and advising on leadership best practice. In all these roles, she has delivered and achieved major change. Having discovered that divorce is the second highest stressor a human being can experience, Camilla has devoted her life to being a full-time coach. Visit the C4C website to gain full access to the transcript, show notes, and guest links.  Coaching 4 Companies

Sander Schulhoff is an AI researcher specializing in AI security, prompt injection, and red teaming. He wrote the first comprehensive guide on prompt engineering and ran the first-ever prompt injection competition, working with top AI labs and companies. His dataset is now used by Fortune 500 companies to benchmark their AI systems security, he's spent more time than anyone alive studying how attackers break AI systems, and what he's found isn't reassuring: the guardrails companies are buying don't actually work, and we've been lucky we haven't seen more harm so far, only because AI agents aren't capable enough yet to do real damage.We discuss:1. The difference between jailbreaking and prompt injection attacks on AI systems2. Why AI guardrails don't work3. Why we haven't seen major AI security incidents yet (but soon will)4. Why AI browser agents are vulnerable to hidden attacks embedded in webpages5. The practical steps organizations should take instead of buying ineffective security tools6. Why solving this requires merging classical cybersecurity expertise with AI knowledge—Brought to you by:Datadog—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform: https://www.datadoghq.com/lennyMetronome—Monetization infrastructure for modern software companies: https://metronome.com/GoFundMe Giving Funds—Make year-end giving easy: http://gofundme.com/lenny—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-coming-ai-security-crisis—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/181089452/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Sander Schulhoff:• X: https://x.com/sanderschulhoff• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sander-schulhoff• Website: https://sanderschulhoff.com• AI Red Teaming and AI Security Masterclass on Maven: https://bit.ly/44lLSbC—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Sander Schulhoff and AI security(05:14) Understanding AI vulnerabilities(11:42) Real-world examples of AI security breaches(17:55) The impact of intelligent agents(19:44) The rise of AI security solutions(21:09) Red teaming and guardrails(23:44) Adversarial robustness(27:52) Why guardrails fail(38:22) The lack of resources addressing this problem(44:44) Practical advice for addressing AI security(55:49) Why you shouldn't spend your time on guardrails(59:06) Prompt injection and agentic systems(01:09:15) Education and awareness in AI security(01:11:47) Challenges and future directions in AI security(01:17:52) Companies that are doing this well(01:21:57) Final thoughts and recommendations—Referenced:• AI prompt engineering in 2025: What works and what doesn't | Sander Schulhoff (Learn Prompting, HackAPrompt): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-prompt-engineering-in-2025-sander-schulhoff• The AI Security Industry is Bullshit: https://sanderschulhoff.substack.com/p/the-ai-security-industry-is-bullshit• The Prompt Report: Insights from the Most Comprehensive Study of Prompting Ever Done: https://learnprompting.org/blog/the_prompt_report?srsltid=AfmBOoo7CRNNCtavzhyLbCMxc0LDmkSUakJ4P8XBaITbE6GXL1i2SvA0• OpenAI: https://openai.com• Scale: https://scale.com• Hugging Face: https://huggingface.co• Ignore This Title and HackAPrompt: Exposing Systemic Vulnerabilities of LLMs through a Global Scale Prompt Hacking Competition: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Ignore-This-Title-and-HackAPrompt%3A-Exposing-of-LLMs-Schulhoff-Pinto/f3de6ea08e2464190673c0ec8f78e5ec1cd08642• Simon Willison's Weblog: https://simonwillison.net• ServiceNow: https://www.servicenow.com• ServiceNow AI Agents Can Be Tricked Into Acting Against Each Other via Second-Order Prompts: https://thehackernews.com/2025/11/servicenow-ai-agents-can-be-tricked.html• Alex Komoroske on X: https://x.com/komorama• Twitter pranksters derail GPT-3 bot with newly discovered “prompt injection” hack: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/twitter-pranksters-derail-gpt-3-bot-with-newly-discovered-prompt-injection-hack• MathGPT: https://math-gpt.org• 2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Las_Vegas_Cybertruck_explosion• Disrupting the first reported AI-orchestrated cyber espionage campaign: https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage• Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske• Prompt Optimization and Evaluation for LLM Automated Red Teaming: https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.22133• MATS Research: https://substack.com/@matsresearch• CBRN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBRN_defense• CaMeL offers a promising new direction for mitigating prompt injection attacks: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Apr/11/camel• Trustible: https://trustible.ai• Repello: https://repello.ai• Do not write that jailbreak paper: https://javirando.com/blog/2024/jailbreaks—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Introduction Is artificial intelligence the next investment gold rush—or are we watching another government-subsidized bubble inflate before our eyes? With Ford Motor Company writing down $19.5 billion on electric vehicles and tech giants pouring hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure, investors over 50 face a critical question: how do you separate genuine opportunity from dangerous speculation? In this episode of The Tom Dupree Show, Tom Dupree, Mike Johnson, and James Dupree examine the dramatic collapse of EV investments and the explosive growth in AI and data center buildouts. Drawing on research from Dupree Financial Group’s six-person investment committee—including direct calls with data center developers—they reveal how to evaluate hot investment trends without getting burned. With 47 years of investment experience, Tom brings hard-earned skepticism to separate sustainable opportunities from the kind of government-backed disasters that just shut down Kentucky’s Blue Oval battery plant. Ford’s $19.5 Billion EV Disaster: A Cautionary Tale Kentucky’s Battery Plant Shuts Down Ford Motor Company shocked investors with a $19.5 billion write-down on its electric vehicle business, abandoning ambitious plans for full-size EVs like the Ford Lightning pickup truck. The casualty? Kentucky’s Glendale Blue Oval Plant near Elizabethtown—once promised to employ 5,000 workers—has laid off all 1,500 current employees indefinitely. “Ford takes a 19 and a half billion dollars write down on their EV business,” Mike Johnson reported. “Essentially they are getting away from full-size electric vehicles.” Tom Dupree had predicted this outcome over a year ago: “I think it might be that guy named Tom Dupree who said a year and a half ago that that thing would never happen.” Government Mandates vs. Market Demand The Blue Oval failure illustrates a critical investment principle: government subsidies create artificial markets that collapse when support ends. “All of this was coming from government mandates. This was not driven by market demand for electric vehicles,” Mike explained. “The demand was not there because the infrastructure is not there yet. It was this heavy hand of government forcing the market to accept this product that they didn’t want.” What went wrong: Political mandates drove investment, not consumer demand EV infrastructure remains inadequate for mass adoption Manufacturing costs exceeded profitable pricing When subsidies decreased, the business model collapsed Why Toyota Won and Ford Lost While Ford chased government EV subsidies, Toyota focused on hybrid technology—matching actual consumer readiness and avoiding financial catastrophe. “You know who didn’t do that? Toyota,” Mike noted. “Toyota was focusing on hybrid. That was their core focus. And so they’re not taking a 19 and a half billion dollars write down.” Investment lesson for retirees: Companies building products consumers actually want—rather than products governments mandate—create sustainable returns. From Battery Hype to AI Hype: History Repeating? The 18-Month Investment Shift “A year and a half ago it was all about batteries,” Tom observed. “Look up some of these battery stocks, James. I bet a lot of ’em are just in the doldrums.” The investment landscape shifted with stunning speed from battery plant euphoria to AI infrastructure mania. The question: is AI different, or are investors making the same mistake twice? Inside Dupree Financial Group’s Data Center Research James Dupree coordinates research for the firm’s six-person investment committee, scheduling calls with company management and conducting initial analysis. The entire committee recently participated in a research call with Applied Digital, a data center developer leasing facilities to tech giants. “We talked about Applied Digital on the last show,” James explained. “They’re the data center landlord. They build and rent out the data centers.” The Hyperscaler Spending Analysis James’s research revealed critical distinctions between sustainable AI investment and dangerous speculation. “The first thing that the guy showed us was he pulled up a list of the hyperscalers—Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, OpenAI, all these guys,” James reported. “And he was showing their sales and then he told us how much they’re gonna spend.” James’s assessment: “Amazon good, Microsoft good, Meta okay—they’re kind of getting on that bubble where they’re spending a little bit too much. Meta does 160 billion in sales and they’re supposed to spend 70 billion,” James detailed. “And then where it really gets dicey is Oracle. They do 50 billion in sales and they’re supposed to spend 500 billion. So that’s a red alert there.” This granular analysis—comparing capital spending to revenue—separates professional investment management from amateur speculation chasing headlines. Data Centers: Real Demand or Another Subsidy Bubble? The Power Shortage Reality Unlike EVs, data centers address a genuine infrastructure shortage: 40-90 gigawatts of power capacity needed in the United States. What makes data centers potentially valuable: Legitimate power shortage driving demand Long-term triple-net leases (Applied Digital secured 15-year, $11 billion lease) Potential conversion to REITs for steady income The critical risk—chip obsolescence: “Inside that data center, you’ll literally have $3 billion in chips in that building,” Mike explained. “And right now we don’t know exactly what the useful life of those chips are. Who’s gonna take the liability if these things only have a use life of three years instead of five years?” Government Involvement: Red Flag or Validation? James reported recent news about Core Weave, Applied Digital’s anchor tenant: “Core Weave had some big news today. That stock’s up 23% on the news. The government came out and said that they would be a part of a program related to energy, so the government’s backing that company.” But Tom immediately questioned the parallel to Ford’s disaster: “I kind of have a problem with governments picking winners and losers. That’s something that the Democrats were known as doing, and now the Republicans are doing it.” Examples of government market intervention failing: MP Materials: Government backing, stock dropped from $50+ to $15 Intel: Massive subsidies, uncertain outcomes Kentucky’s Blue Oval Plant: Complete shutdown after enormous investment Tom Dupree’s Investment Skepticism: The Voice of Experience Learning from 47 Years of Market Cycles Tom’s experience provides essential counterbalance to research enthusiasm about hot new sectors. “People are suckers for deals. If they think something’s hot, they jump on it, buy into it. They don’t spend much time thinking about whether it’s feasible or not,” Tom cautioned. “Two and a half years ago people were all over the battery plant thing. It was never gonna work. It was all just hype.” Historic bubbles Tom has witnessed: Dot-com crash (2000-2002) Housing bubble (2008) Battery/EV hype (2022-2024) Potentially: AI overinvestment (2024-?) The “Bigger Money, Bigger Dummies” Principle Tom’s most provocative observation challenges assumptions about tech giant spending: “If the seven largest companies are putting all this money in it, do you think they’re gonna go to zero? No, but the bigger the money, the bigger the dummies sometimes,” Tom warned. “They follow each other. If so-and-so’s doing it, we gotta do it. That’s FOMO. They don’t wanna get left behind.” The Picks and Shovels Strategy Rather than betting on which AI platform wins, Tom advocates investing in essential infrastructure. “I think you invest in not the project itself, but in the people that surround the project—selling picks and shovels to the gold miners,” Tom explained. “Levi’s sold workwear to the gold miners and they became a much bigger company than the gold miners ever did.” Modern picks and shovels: Cooling system manufacturers (like Vertiv) Power infrastructure companies Industrial automation suppliers Data center construction firms The Investment Committee Advantage How Six Perspectives Beat One This episode revealed Dupree Financial Group’s collaborative research process—a six-person investment committee evaluating every opportunity. “What I think is really interesting about this entire conversation is the listeners have gotten a snapshot of why, how we research companies. What information comes out of research, questions asked, and then you get the snapshot of Tom shooting holes through it.” The committee process: Research coordination (James schedules calls, conducts initial analysis) Committee participation (All six members join company calls) Analytical framework (Mike examines spending ratios, cash flow) Devil’s advocate (Tom stress-tests with historical perspective) Risk-based sizing (Committee determines appropriate positions) “With any investment, you identify what the risks are,” Mike explained. “And when you identify the risks, then you can make a better decision as to, okay, does the potential reward justify those risks? That’s why these are small positions in the portfolio, but they serve a purpose in the overall grand scheme.” Market Discipline: Encouraging Signs Investors Punishing Excessive Spending Unlike past bubbles where markets rewarded unlimited capital deployment, current market behavior shows healthy skepticism. Recent examples: Meta’s stock rewarded for reducing metaverse spending Oracle’s stock punished for excessive debt-fueled AI investments Market demands cash-flow funding, not leverage “What was scary is when the market just didn’t care,” Mike noted. “That’s when you get major issues with bubbles and speculation. And now you’re starting to see some discernment there.” Warning Signs to Watch

Send us a textIn this episode of The Wireless Way, host Chris Whitaker engages in an insightful conversation with Dennis Osha, founder and chairman of Mobile Mentor. The discussion delves into Dennis's journey from working with Nokia in the 1980s to establishing Mobile Mentor in 2004. Dennis shares how his company has become a global leader in modern endpoint management and security, earning multiple Microsoft Partner of the Year recognitions. The episode covers various stages of the company's evolution, including its pivot during the global financial crisis, partnership with Microsoft, and focus on Intune. Dennis also offers an in-depth analysis of current challenges and future trends in endpoint management, cloud security, and AI integration, underscoring the importance of unlocking the full potential of Microsoft 365 for optimal business outcomes.00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction01:33 Dennis Osha's Background and Mobile Mentor's Origins03:05 Transition from Engineering to Business Focus05:21 Challenges and Pivotal Moments12:14 Evolution of Mobile Mentor and Partnership with Microsoft16:57 Current Trends and Future Directions20:54 Challenges in AI Implementation21:08 Data Security and Initial Findings21:33 Skillset and Training for AI Tools21:45 Board's Inquiry and ROI Model22:31 Types of Companies and AI Adoption23:35 Future of Device Management and Security Tools26:33 Proliferation of AI Tools27:31 Ideal Customer Profile33:20 Sales Cycle and Marketing Strategies36:36 Final Thoughts and ReflectionsMore on DenisMore on Mobile Mentor Support the showCheck out my website https://thewirelessway.net/ use the contact button to send request and feedback.

In this 2025 wrap-up episode of the Evolve Lactation Podcast, hosts Christine Staricka and Olena Dobczansky reflect on the significant events and themes of 2025, emphasizing personal growth, the importance of foundational knowledge in lactation, and the ethical responsibilities of lactation consultants. We discuss the impact of commercialism on breastfeeding narratives, the need to influence other clinicians, and the power of personal experiences in shaping the conversation around lactation. As we prepare for 2026, we encourage you to let go of outdated practices and embrace new opportunities for growth and community support.Evolve Lactation Pros is building a space where practitioners can admit uncertainty, examine their assumptions, make mistakes, and grow - together.You're invited. You belong here.What we build together is going to change the field.What you will gain and how you will grow is going to change your practice and your career trajectory.You are so welcome to join us at https://ibclcinca.substack.com/.Follow, Rate, and Review the Evolve Lactation Podcast right here!Thanks for listening and sharing!You can get the book Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours now at this link! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ibclcinca.substack.com/subscribe

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ken Taunton. Founder and president of The Royster Group, a nationally recognized, certified Black-owned professional staffing firm. Here's a breakdown of the key themes and takeaways:

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ken Taunton. Founder and president of The Royster Group, a nationally recognized, certified Black-owned professional staffing firm. Here's a breakdown of the key themes and takeaways:

Zapier used to be the software that connected all your other software. But it's AI has become so powerful that people are using it to build software companies. Founder Wade Foster joined me to talk about and show how they're building on it. Wade Foster is the co-founder and CEO of Zapier, the automation platform used by over 350,000 customers to connect more than 8,000 apps. He started Zapier in 2011 with just $1.2M in seed funding and grew it into a profitable company generating hundreds of millions in revenue. Today, Wade is leading Zapier's evolution into AI-powered automation and agent-based workflows that help businesses move faster with fewer people. More interviews -> https://mixergy.com/moreint Rate this interview -> https://mixergy.com/rateint

A first readout of the AI ROI Benchmarking Study shows that real business value from AI is no longer theoretical: 82 percent of organizations report positive ROI today, 37 percent report significant or transformational impact, and nearly all expect gains to accelerate over the next year. Drawing on more than 1,200 respondents and 5,000 use cases, this episode breaks down where ROI is actually coming from, why smaller organizations are often seeing outsized gains, how time savings compare to strategic benefits like new capabilities and decision quality, and what the data says about agents versus assisted AI at this stage of adoption. Learn more: https://aidbintel.com/Brought to you by:KPMG – Discover how AI is transforming possibility into reality. Tune into the new KPMG 'You Can with AI' podcast and unlock insights that will inform smarter decisions inside your enterprise. Listen now and start shaping your future with every episode. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.kpmg.us/AIpodcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rovo - Unleash the potential of your team with AI-powered Search, Chat and Agents - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rovo.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Zenflow by Zencoder - Turn raw speed into reliable, production-grade output at ⁠⁠https://zenflow.free/⁠⁠LandfallIP - AI to Navigate the Patent Process - ⁠⁠https://landfallip.com/⁠⁠Blitzy.com - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://blitzy.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to build enterprise software in days, not months Robots & Pencils - Cloud-native AI solutions that power results ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://robotsandpencils.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Agent Readiness Audit from Superintelligent - Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://besuper.ai/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to request your company's agent readiness score.The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI. Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614Interested in sponsoring the show? sponsors@aidailybrief.ai

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ken Taunton. Founder and president of The Royster Group, a nationally recognized, certified Black-owned professional staffing firm. Here's a breakdown of the key themes and takeaways:

In episode THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX, Wade flies solo. A new calendar year is approaching. Many will be looking to make important changes. Companies will promise a new you if you buy or do the right things. How should we approach change and a "new you." Wade discusses that in this short episode. We hope you enjoy the episode! For more about the show and the hosts, visit the Let the Bird Fly! website. Thanks for listening! Attributions for Music and Image used in this Episode: “The Last One” by Jahzzar is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. “Gib laut” by Dirk Becker is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. “Whistling Down the Road” by Silent Partner.E

A Year-End Look at the JMO Transition Market As the year winds down, a lot of Junior Military Officers are asking the same thing: What does the market actually look like right now? And what should I be doing about it? In the latest Cameron-Brooks podcast, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez, and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker, break down where things stand at the end of 2025. The short answer: the market isn't easy, but there are still great opportunities out there. Uncertain Economy There's no question the economy feels uncertain. Global conflict, political gridlock, and nonstop headlines about AI have made companies more cautious. Hiring has slowed in many corporate roles, and expectations are higher across the board. But here's the part that often gets missed: companies are still investing heavily in leaders who can run teams, solve problems, and deliver results. That's where mindset matters. What does 2026 look like? Looking ahead to 2026, that gap is only going to widen. AI isn't replacing leaders, but it is raising the bar. Companies expect new hires to show up ready to learn, ready to adapt, and ready to drive outcomes. Officers who prepare early, by learning the basics of business, understanding how data and finance work, and translating their military leadership into real business impact—will stand out. Officers who wait until separation to start thinking about all of this will feel the market's friction much more sharply. Launching Pad vs. Landing Pad Additionally, Joel and Chuck talk about the difference between a landing pad and a launching pad. A landing pad feels safe. It prioritizes location, familiarity, and getting comfortable quickly. For many officers, that leads to internships or roles that don't fully use their leadership experience—and frustration sets in fast. A launching pad is different. It treats the transition as the start of a long leadership journey, not the finish line. Launching pad roles are harder. They come with more responsibility, steeper learning curves, and sometimes less geographic control. But they also create momentum: early wins, faster growth, and compounding "opportunity" interest over time. Prepare to Gain Control The year-end message is simple: you may not be able to control the economy, but you can control how prepared you are for it. If you want 2026 to be a year of growth rather than regret, build a launching pad now. Listen to the full Cameron-Brooks podcast for a candid conversation on the market, mindset, and what it really takes to transition well. Thinking about your next steps? We're more than happy to talk.

Post-Gazette Penguins insider Jason Mackey and King Jemison talk about the reported sale of the team from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann Family of Companies, plus the team's seven-game losing streak and some potential lineup changes to fix it. What do we know, and what don't we know? Did anything change from a few months ago when rumors of a sale slowed down? Why did FSG want to sell? What went into the sale price? What needs to happen for the deal to get across the finish line? And what do we know about the Hoffmann family and how they might choose to run the Penguins? Should Kris Letang get less minutes or less responsibility on the blue line? Is it time to break up the top line of Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell? Should Ben Kindel go back on the top power play unit in place of Anthony Mantha? Are the goalie issues fixable? How much should Stuart Skinner play? Should Sergei Murashov be his backup for a while? And how busy will Kyle Dubas be for more potential trades as the season goes on? Our duo tackles those topics and more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While many people are checking off items on their holiday shopping lists, we're making a list (and checking it twice) of stocks we would be happy to buy as 2025 comes to a close. Our list includes 3 giants in their respective fields, but are still Hidden Gems for investors who know what to look for. Companies discussed: LULU, GOOGL, GOOG, ABNB Host: Jason Hall, Jon Quast, Dan Caplinger Producer: Anand Chokkavelu Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Kriegel, a culture strategist, speaker, and former Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at Culture Partners. Jessica has spent years studying what actually drives performance inside organizations, and she brings research backed clarity to a topic most leaders still struggle to operationalize. Together, we break down why culture is not a soft concept, but the single most powerful lever leaders have to drive results, including up to four times revenue growth when purpose, strategy, and culture are fully aligned. Jessica shares a practical framework for turning culture into a business system, not a poster on the wall. We unpack why most culture efforts fail, how beliefs shape behavior more than processes ever will, and what leaders must stop doing if they want real accountability. This conversation is grounded, actionable, and designed for leaders who want measurable outcomes, not motivational fluff. Key takeaways: Culture is how people think and act to get results, not a list of values or perks Companies with full alignment between purpose, strategy, and culture grow four times faster than those without it Clarity beats complexity when defining purpose and direction Beliefs drive behavior more than policies, processes, or procedures True accountability is a personal choice, not a blame mechanism Most organizations spend the majority of their time below the line in blame and excuses Recognition, storytelling, and feedback are the fastest ways to shape beliefs Surrendering control creates stronger commitment and better long term results Leaders cannot force alignment, but they can design experiences that invite it This episode is for CEOs, founders, executives, people leaders, and anyone responsible for driving performance through other people. If you are frustrated that your culture initiatives are not translating into results, or if you feel like you are managing compliance instead of commitment, this conversation will change how you lead. You will walk away with simple language, a clear framework, and specific actions you can apply immediately to build a culture that actually drives growth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger Picture Trump and his administration are now dismantling the entire green agenda. The [CB] has made everything unaffordable, Trump is now in the process of reversing this. The [CB] tried to trap Trump in a failing economy, Trump turn the tables and trapped the [CB]. The [DS] is fighting back, corruption still exists, criminals are still running many parts of gov across the country. Trump is dismantling their system and they are trying to stop him. Trump has countered the fake news, they have been trying to divide the people and pushing doubt in regards to the Trump administration. His admin are now showing the world that they are united and they stand behind Trump. This was needed for the next part of the plan that we are entering. Soon the storm is coming, buckle up. Economy  (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/2001275434898784270?s=20 https://twitter.com/PlanetOfMemes/status/2000978294993236140?s=20 https://twitter.com/USTradeRep/status/2000990028835508258?s=20   enterprise services to EU companies, and they support millions of jobs and more than $100 billion in direct investment in Europe. The United States has raised concerns with the EU for years on these matters without meaningful engagement or basic acknowledgement of U.S. concerns. In stark contrast, EU service providers have been able to operate freely in the United States for decades, benefitting from access to our market and consumers on a level playing field. Some of the largest EU service providers that have hitherto enjoyed this expansive market access include, among others: — Accenture — Amadeus — Capgemini — DHL — Mistral — Publicis — SAP — Siemens — Spotify If the EU and EU Member States insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of U.S. service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures. Should responsive measures be necessary, U.S. law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions. The United States will take a similar approach to other countries that pursue an EU-style strategy in this area.  Political/Rights https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2000982942907039813?s=20   Russiagate. In 2017, he founded the Committee to Investigate Russia, a political NGO that promoted the Russiagate hoax. Former CIA Director John Brennan and DNI James Clapper served on its advisory board, giving intelligence world credibility to a partisan effort. The group's mission was clear: cripple President Trump and question the legitimacy of the 2016 election. https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2000993976330191330?s=20   efforts to have Trump imprisoned on wholly fabricated charges. Proof below. 3. In all likelihood, Reiner was in cahoots with the CIA in attempting to destroy our Constitutional form of government. Given the above, if anything Trump’s commentary on Reiner was too kind. So knock it off, bedwetters. https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/2001297973209416013?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2000987037638496554?s=20  https://twitter.com/RedWave_Press/status/2001066545716326714?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheLastRefuge2/status/2001196416056619102?s=20 Brown University Received a Letter from 34 Human Rights Groups in August Requesting They Disable Their CCTV System  The question is: Did Brown University acquiesce under pressure from far-left human rights groups to disable their CCTV systems, in advance of the mass shooting on campus? [SOURCE – AUGUST 19, 2025] As originally reported in August 2025 {SOURCE}, a group of far-left human rights advocate sent a letter to 150 U.S. colleges and universities asking them to disable the CCTV systems to protect “free expression and academic freedom across the country,” because “the Trump administration has launched an aggressive campaign against US academic institutions.” The motive for the request to disable CCTV systems as stated: “Right now these tools are facilitating the identification and punishment of student protesters, undermining activists' right to anonymity––a right the Supreme Court has affirmed as vital to free expression and political participation.” {SOURCE} The letter from ‘Fight For The Future‘ (August, 2025) came after an earlier campaign by the same group seeking to stop the use of facial recognition cameras on college campuses. {SOURCE} Source: theconservativetreehouse.com https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/2001107948312133776?s=20   network. Students from there have been arrested for participating in terrorist plots. The evidence is so overwhelming, that House Republicans successfully convinced Harvard to cut research ties to Birzeit University — briefly. Let’s put it this way: If I were in Vegas and forced to bet on whether Professor Doumani had ever been part of any extremist plots, I wouldn’t bet on “no.” We need to stop accepting “Ivy League” as any meaningful measure of merit. https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/2001052796037017940?s=20   in the area with no noticeable gun, then started jogging towards the building where he shot one of the few conservative leaders on a radical campus. That seems like an assassination of Ella Cook, possibly with an innocent bystander taken down with her. https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2001062786084880887?s=20  today, December 16, 2025, amid widespread speculation and emerging reports identifying him as the prime suspect in the December 13 mass shooting on campus that killed two students and injured nine others. The university has not released an official statement explaining the deletion, but online discussions and news coverage point to it as an effort to scrub digital traces of Kharbouch during the ongoing FBI manhunt and investigation. His X (formerly Twitter) account has also been taken down, fueling theories of a cover-up by the university, media, or authorities to control the narrative around his pro-Palestine activism and alleged radical views. As of now, federal authorities have released images and a timeline of the suspect’s movements but have not publicly confirmed Kharbouch’s involvement, though some outlets report he has fled and remains at large with a $50,000 reward offered for information leading to his arrest. This is a summary of his (now deleted) manifesto: In Mustapha Kharbouch’s 2024 manifesto, “I Hear The Voice of My Ancestors Calling: From The Camps to The Campus,” published by the Institute for Palestine Studies, the author reflects on his role in the Brown University Gaza Solidarity Encampment amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. As a third-generation stateless Palestinian refugee raised in Lebanon, Kharbouch draws from his family’s history of displacement during the 1948 Nakba to frame his activism. The piece begins with lyrics from an adapted “Ancestor Song,” symbolizing a call to action and intergenerational resilience. He describes participating in non-violent protests, including an eight-day hunger strike by 19 students, arrests of 61 comrades for demanding university divestment from apartheid and illegal occupation, and organizing encampments with hundreds of participants engaging in rallies, teach-ins, art, film screenings, and chants. Kharbouch explores themes of “radical love” for land and people in Gaza, collective grief over the genocide, and solidarity as a revolutionary practice rooted in Palestinian revolutionary traditions that reject colonialism, carcerality, and imperialism. He critiques passive hope, instead advocating for active, decolonial hope through community-building and bearing witness to atrocities, like the invasion of Rafah. Influenced by queer feminist approaches (citing scholars like Sarah Ihmoud and Robin Kelley), he emphasizes transforming anger and despair into sustainable world-making, while questioning intergenerational betrayal and the cynicism inherited from survival under oppression. Ultimately, the manifesto affirms the encampment’s role in a broader student rebellion, linking campus actions to global Palestinian liberation and calling for continued, unyielding commitment despite challenges. https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2001028141851013528?s=20 https://twitter.com/JamesHartline/status/2001090533746467327?s=20 https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2001089445194235926?s=20 https://twitter.com/ProvidenceRIPD/status/2001345847133643062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2001345847133643062%7Ctwgr%5E8764cf1453bd57445310069de900ad0f6828d697%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fbreaking-providence-police-release-photos-person-proximity-brown%2F https://twitter.com/nypost/status/2001047137308590081?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheSCIF/status/2000985628029403418?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2001347329585012818?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2001000454042607728?s=20 DOGE Trump Suspends ‘Tech Prosperity Deal' With UK Over Censorship and Regulations by ‘Online Safety Bill' Hurting US Tech Companies  Trump has suspended the ‘Tech Prosperity Deal' with the UK over its censorship push. The Telegraph reported: “The White House paused the tech prosperity deal amid concerns the Online Safety Act, which regulates online speech, will stifle American artificial intelligence companies, the Telegraph understands. The law allows the British government to levy large fines on tech giants it deems have facilitated hate speech.” After the rise of artificial intelligence, companies like OpenAI or xAI can face huge fines – harming their growth and giving China an edge in the AI race. “'The perception is that Britain is way out there on attempting to police what is said online, and it's caused real concern', a source with knowledge of the decision to suspend the deal said. ‘Americans went into this deal thinking Britain were going to back off regulating American tech firms but realized it was going to restrict the speech of American chatbots'.” Source: thegatewaypundit.com Geopolitical https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2001217017001685167?s=20    of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA In 1970, as National Security Advisor, Kissinger was briefed on and helped shape US oil import policies toward Venezuela following a visit by Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera. These policies, announced in June 1970, focused on long-term petroleum development and were positively received by Venezuela, but they represented unilateral US adjustments rather than a negotiated deal.  In 1972, Venezuela terminated a longstanding reciprocal trade agreement with the US that included concessional tariff rates on Venezuelan oil imports. Kissinger was informed of this as National Security Advisor, and the US considered maintaining low tariffs to avoid cost increases, but this was a termination process, not a new deal.   Venezuela effectively took control of oil fields and assets from US companies on two major occasions, though the processes involved nationalization and expropriation rather than outright theft without legal frameworks or compensation. These actions shifted operations from private foreign (including US) entities to state control under the Venezuelan government.In the 1970s, Venezuela nationalized its entire oil industry, which had been largely developed and operated by foreign companies since the early 20th century. On January 1, 1976, the government officially took over, creating the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). This affected major US firms like Exxon (formerly Standard Oil), Gulf Oil, and others, which had held concessions. The companies were provided compensation as part of the process, and it was generally seen as an expected transition in global oil politics at the time, without major disruptions to US supply. In 2007, under President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela escalated state control by mandating that foreign oil projects in the Orinoco Belt (a massive heavy oil reserve) convert to joint ventures where PDVSA held at least a 60% stake. Companies like Chevron complied, but ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips refused, leading to the government expropriating their assets. International arbitration tribunals later ruled these actions unlawful, awarding ExxonMobil about $1.6 billion and ConocoPhillips over $8 billion in compensation (though Venezuela has contested and delayed payments). This has been a point of ongoing tension, with US firms pursuing Venezuelan assets globally to enforce the awards. These events did not involve taking oil fields directly from the US government but from American corporations with investments in Venezuela, reflecting broader shifts toward resource nationalism. https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2001087786879795546?s=20 War/Peace Zelensky: If Putin rejects peace plan, US must give us weapons The Ukrainian leader issued the warning as Russia said it would not drop its claims to land it believes to be its own  So Zelensky, NATO EU DS rewrote the plan knowing Russia wouldn’t accept it.  Source: thetimes.com Zelensky is stealing the election before it begins The overstaying Ukrainian leader has made a show of agreeing to hold a vote – but his preconditions make a mockery of it   The often-heard claim that Ukraine cannot hold presidential elections in wartime, by the way, is badly misleading, and a thoroughly politically motivated misrepresentation of the facts: In reality, the Ukrainian constitution only prohibits parliamentary elections in time of war. Elections for the presidency are impeded by ordinary laws which can, of course, easily and legally be changed by the majority which Zelensky controls in parliament. That is merely a question of political will, not legality.  Zelensky and his fixers are planning to shift the whole presidential election online. If they do, falsification in Zelensky's favor is de facto guaranteed or mail in ballots Source: rt.com Hegseth Orders Christmas Bonuses For War Department Top Performers  The War Department is rewarding its highest performers with monetary awards worth 15 to 25% of base pay, The Daily Wire can first report, rewards intended to reflect the “historic successes” of the past 10 months. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth directed all War Department department heads and principal staff assistants to “take immediate action to recognize and reward [the] very best” of the department's civilian workforce with “meaningful monetary awards consistent with the relevant existing civilian awards authorities for each pay system,” according to a memorandum for senior Pentagon leadership first obtained by The Daily Wire. The distribution of bonuses — which could reach up to $25,000 — is also in line with the Trump administration's broader efforts to make the federal government function more like a private-sector business. Source: dailywire.com FBI Agents Thought Clinton’s Uranium One Deal Might Be Criminal – But McCabe, Yates Stonewalled Investigation: Report Remember Uranium One? The massive 2010 sale of US uranium deposits to Russia approved by Hillary Clinton and rubber-stamped by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) – after figures linked to the deal donated to the Clinton Foundation? Turns out rank-and-file FBI investigators thought there was enough smoke to launch a criminal investigation, but internal delays and disagreements within the DOJ and FBI ultimately caused the inquiry to lapse, newly released records reveal.   The Uranium One transaction – involving the sale of a Canadian mining company with substantial U.S. uranium assets to Russia's state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom – became a flashpoint during Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Critics argued that then-Secretary of State Clinton, a member of CFIUS, helped approve the deal while donors connected to Uranium One made large contributions to the Clinton Foundation.  The newly released documents suggest that the circumstances surrounding Uranium One were never fully investigated, leaving unresolved questions about how a strategic U.S. asset came under Russian control – and whether potential criminal conduct went unexamined due to internal delays and legal disputes. Source: zerohedge.com Health https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2001327868979368264?s=20 [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/Badhombre/status/2001052105155481995?s=20   million stolen through Medicaid fraud by Chavis Willis. – $12.5 million in federal education grants stolen by 1,834 “ghost students.” All of this happened in Minnesota under Tim Walz. Somali fraudsters were involved in almost every case. Ex-Marine planned attack in New Orleans that would ‘recreate’ Waco, officials say Plans to “carry out an attack” in New Orleans were thwarted after an ex-Marine was arrested while on the way to the Louisiana city with guns and body armor in the car, according to court documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Micah James Legnon, 28, was charged with threats in interstate commerce. Federal authorities said they had been surveilling Legnon due to ties to an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group. Four members of the group were arrested Friday in the Mojave Desert, east of Los Angeles, as they were rehearsing a foiled plot to set off bombs in Southern California on New Year's Eve, authorities said.  Legnon believed it was time to “recreate” Waco with an attack in New Orleans, authorities said in court documents. They pointed to a Dec. 4 chat message by Legnon written under the alias “Kateri The Witch” the day after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived in New Orleans. Legnon's alias had “she/her” written beside it, but jail records referred to Legnon as male. Source: nbcnews.com https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/2001118961073639492?s=20 President Trump's Plan  https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2001336422150869037?s=20 https://twitter.com/RAZ0RFIST/status/2001111187245736061?s=20 https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/2001117437274509736?s=20 RINO Congressman Who Voted to Impeach President Donald Trump Will Not Seek Re-election  In 2021, RINO Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. Newhouse announced that he will not seek re-election in 2026, leaving Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) as the only one of the group remaining in Congress. https://twitter.com/RepNewhouse/status/2001291310146158666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2001291310146158666%7Ctwgr%5Ee6d32e37b15338ded9a698a990480010a5616470%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Frino-congressman-who-voted-impeach-president-donald-trump%2F The fates of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach: 1. Liz Cheney (WY) — Defeated in 2022 primary 2. John Katko (NY) — Retired in 2022 3. Adam Kinzinger (IL) — Retired in 2022 4. Fred Upton (MI) — Retired in 2022 5. Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA) — Defeated in 2022 primary 6. Peter Meijer (MI) — Defeated in 2022 primary 7. Anthony Gonzalez (OH) — Retired in 2022 8. Tom Rice (SC) — Defeated in 2022 primary 9. Dan Newhouse (WA) — Will not seek reelection 10. David Valadao (CA) — Reelected in 2024, currently serving in the 119th Congress Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2000999942303998185?s=20 https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/2001046169279955130?s=20   January 2017 briefing of Trump followed the same playbook, as did Strzok's conversation with General Flynn. The FBI's so-called briefings of Senators Grassley and Johnson also fit the same mold. Each time, they present it as a routine check-in or just a quick conversation. And each time, the real purpose is to box you in, lay traps and put you in prison. https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/2001087239938564475?s=20  https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/2000996943741501841?s=20 There is no specific time limit mandated by law or congressional rules for the Senate to vote on a bill passed by the House, including one that codifies executive orders (such as the FY2026 NDAA, which reportedly incorporates 15 of President Trump’s executive orders). The Senate can schedule consideration and a vote at any point during the remainder of the current Congress (the 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027). If the Senate does not act before then, the bill dies and would need to be reintroduced in the next Congress.In practice, for time-sensitive legislation like the NDAA, the Senate typically votes shortly after the House (often within days or weeks) due to bipartisan urgency around defense authorizations, but this is not a requirement. https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2001031213516304877?s=20 https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2000991371952357796?s=20   achievements will fail. We are family. We are united. https://twitter.com/EagleEdMartin/status/2001011049106161975?s=20 President Trump Issues Response to Vanity Fair Hit Piece Which Claims Susie Wiles Made a Pointed Remark About Him During an interview with the New York Post, Trump did not take the alleged remark Wiles made about him as an insult. In fact, he admitted to having a “very possessive” personality. “No, she meant that I'm — you see, I don't drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I've often said that if I did, I'd have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have said that many times about myself, I do. It's a very possessive personality,” Trump told the Post. “I've said that many times about myself. I'm fortunate I'm not a drinker. If I did, I could very well, because I've said that — what's the word? Not possessive — possessive and addictive type personality. Oh, I've said it many times, many times before,” he added. Trump went on to tell the Post that he agrees the Vanity Fair article was a total hit job and Wiles's remarks were taken out of context.  . Source: thegatewaypundit.com  Based on recent reports, the entire Trump administration appears to be standing by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following the Vanity Fair article, with no notable dissent.   Specific individuals who have expressed support include: Name Position Donald Trump President JD Vance Vice President Doug Burgum Secretary of the Interior Scott Bessent Secretary of the Treasury Chris Wright Secretary of Energy Lori Chavez-DeRemer Secretary of Labor Linda McMahon Secretary of Education Scott Turner Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Brooke Rollins Secretary of Agriculture Sean Duffy Secretary of Transportation Kelly Loeffler SBA Administrator Lee Zeldin EPA Administrator Russ Vought OMB Director Pam Bondi Attorney General Kash Patel FBI Director Karoline Leavitt White House Press Secretary The [DS] has been trying to divide Trump adminitration from the beginning, they want people questioning everything, they are trying to have people doubt the administration.  how do you show the people that you are not divided.   Trump and team just changed the narrative, they took control, Susie and team most likely set this up, this way the team can tell the world they are united not divided. Information warfare. We are now moving into the next phase of the plan and the DS is panicking, the attacks against MAGA, his administration will continue, physical attacks will continue. The [DS] is fighting for their lives while Trump is dismantling their system and producing evidence on the  treasonous crimes they have committed. I think is letting us know we are moving into the storm, look how he stared this truth post.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

t's the 50th week of the year, which means it's time once again for the Besties—a celebration of the episodes that educated, amused, and enriched us most in 2025. David highlights ten standout episodes from this year, revisiting the ideas, stories, and lessons that lingered long after the microphones were off. And all of the voices behind those moments return for brief cameos, reflecting on the year that was and looking ahead to what comes next. From Authors in August and a Market Cap Game Show world championship, to character, community, games, and the many ways listeners took concrete steps toward financial freedom, this episode captures the breadth of what Rule Breaker Investing aims to be: thoughtful, optimistic, playful, and practical. A year in review — not ranked, just remembered. Companies mentioned: VKTX Sign up for The Motley Fool's Breakfast News here: ⁠www.fool.com/breakfastnews⁠ Order David's Rule Breaker Investing book here: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1804091219/ Host: David GardnerGuests: Andy Cross, Chris Hill, Emily Flippen, Morgan Housel, Randi Zuckerberg, Rick Engdahl, Sam Horn, Sem Verbeek, Shirzad ChamineProducer: Bart Shannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All of this week's episodes of It Could Happen Here put together in one large file. - Arab Israeli Peace and New Visions for Gaza feat. Dana El Kurd - Oops All Gambling, Political Betting Joins the News - Natalism feat. Andrew - The Insurrectionist Running to Replace Nancy Mace - Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #45 You can now listen to all Cool Zone Media shows, 100% ad-free through the Cooler Zone Media subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So, open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “Cooler Zone Media” and subscribe today! http://apple.co/coolerzone Sources/Links: Arab Israeli Peace and New Visions for Gaza feat. Dana El Kurd Bad Cousins - https://badcousins.show/ GREAT Trust Plan - https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f86dd56a-de7f-4943-af4a-84819111b727.pdf A Plan to Rebuild Gaza Lists Nearly 30 Companies. Many Say They’re Not Involved - https://www.wired.com/story/a-plan-to-rebuild-gaza-lists-nearly-30-companies-many-say-theyre-not-involved/ Paradox of Peace - https://academic.oup.com/isagsq/article/3/3/ksad042/7280243 Oops All Gambling, Political Betting Joins the News https://news.kalshi.com/p/kalshi-cnn-prediction-market-partnership https://www.businessinsider.com/kalshi-cnbc-deal-cnn-data-integration-partnership-2025-12 https://x.com/Kalshi/status/1996233186251075862?s=20 https://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/ilr-content/articles/2008/3/Cherry.pdf https://www.axios.com/2025/11/20/time-galactic-prediction-market https://dune.com/datadashboards/prediction-markets https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/behnamstatement051024 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/02/business/appeals-court-allows-kalshi-election-betting/index.html https://www.datawallet.com/crypto/polymarket-restricted-countries https://www.gameshub.com/news/news/are-the-walls-closing-in-on-polymarket-after-latest-european-ban-2837953/ https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/polymarket-banned-romania-for-operating-without-a-licence/ https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2025/08/18/114882-polymarket-banned-in-australian-amid-crackdown-on-illegal-betting-election-wagering-concerns https://dune.com/rchen8/polymarket https://blog.uma.xyz/articles/unpacking-polymarkets-meteoric-rise-in-numbers https://www.marketwatch.com/story/polymarket-authorized-for-u-s-return-days-after-donald-trump-jr-joins-as-advisor-c3c8b348 https://truthpredict.net/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/boazsobrado/2025/12/04/alleged-insider-nets-1-million-on-polymarket-in-24-hours/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcPwUiMPj6w https://news.kalshi.com/p/zohran-mamdani-cites-kalshi-election-odds https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/tennessee-us-house-7-special-election-polls-2025.html https://www.natesilver.net/p/sbsq-26-do-prediction-markets-make https://www.axios.com/2024/07/16/nate-silver-polymarket https://www.legalsportsreport.com/sports-betting-states/ https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/23501236/supreme-court-strikes-federal-law-prohibiting-sports-gambling https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1996978855538823522?s=20 Natalism feat. Andrew https://iep.utm.edu/anti-natalism/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/what-is-pronatalism-right-wing-republican https://www.npr.org/2025/04/30/nx-s1-5382208/whats-behind-the-pronatalist-movement-to-boost-the-birth-rate https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40660745/ The Insurrectionist Running to Replace Nancy Mace https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/south-carolina-man-sentenced-assaulting-law-enforcement-during-jan-6-capitol-breach-0https://www.postandcourier.com/beaufort-county/politics/tyler-dykes-campaign-sc1-congress/article_c255115c-45cf-430e-b4a4-160a322631e1.htmlhttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67681795/united-states-v-dykes/ https://atlantaantifa.org/2023/04/19/inside-southern-sons-active-club-part-i/https://atlantaantifa.org/2023/04/19/inside-southern-sons-active-club-part-ii/ Executive Disorder: White House Weekly #45 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/10/2025-22461/agency-information-collection-activities-revision-arrival-and-departure-record-form-i-94-and#page-57209 https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/09/politics/georgia-democrat-eric-gisler https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5641420-democrats-gain-momentum-miami/?utm_social_handle_id=1917731&utm_social_post_id=619113438 https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-redistricting-map-challenged-as-racially-discriminatory/ https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/man-charged-planting-explosive-devices-outside-rnc-and-dnc-january-5-2021 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/pipe-bomb-suspect-told-fbi-believed-2020-election-conspiracy-theories-rcna247544 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7869373/1/Return-to-Sunny-TownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.