Podcasts about consumers

Person or group of people that are the final users or consumers of products and or services; one who pays something to consume goods and services produced

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    Problem Solvers
    Why This CEO's Billion Dollar Idea Almost Didn't Survive Its Own Pilot

    Problem Solvers

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 29:01


    Tom Szaky built TerraCycle into a recycling giant, then decided recycling wasn't good enough. His new venture, Loop, aimed to replace disposable packaging with reusable containers for brands like Tide and Häagen-Dazs. Consumers loved it. Retailers loved it. So why did it nearly die in four out of five test markets? Szaky breaks down the hidden flaw that almost killed Loop, and the simple insight that finally made it scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    UKMFA
    Government Stonewalls Campaigners Opposing Mandatory Fortification of Flour

    UKMFA

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2026 35:13


    More from UKMFA and HART on the Folic Acid ScandalIs the UK government's recent mandate to fortify non-wholemeal wheat flour with synthetic folic acid a sound public health initiative or a danger to public health and violation of medical ethics and informed consent?In this episode of the UK Medical Freedom Alliance (UKMFA) Medical Ethics Report, host Ian Humphreys is joined by Dr Liz Evans (CEO of UKMFA) and Dr Ros Jones (retired paediatrician and co-chair of HART).The panel discuss the UKMFA and HART Open Letter sent on 26th June to James Murray, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which highlighted serious risks faced by the public from a recent change to UK law requiring the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal flour with synthetic folic acid, and urged him to repeal the amendment.Dr Evans and Dr Jones go on to analyse the woeful response they received on 24th July from the Department of Health & Social Care's (DHSC) “Correspondence Officer”. A response that failed to meaningfully address a single point made in the UKMFA/HART letter or any of our concerns, but that just reiterated their argument that the policy will reduce Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) and improve folate status in the population. And claiming that evidence reviews and modelling studies have established appropriate levels and safety and that people can avoid ingestion of folic acid if they choose wholemeal flour products.This wide-ranging and informative discussion covers the historical context of food regulation and the many ramifications of the new law including:Health risks to specific vulnerable groupsThe lack of informed consent when adding a synthetic drug to a staple foodPotential dangers of mass-medicating the population, who have different susceptibilities to the side-effects of synthetic folic acid, some even warned by the NHS not to take folic acidThe inadequate and flawed safety studiesThe inability to control the individual dose of folic acid depending on individual diet, which will lead to dramatic differences in intake across the population.Dr Jones and Dr Evans highlight the need to raise public awareness of this policy, urging listeners to educate themselves and others and to take action.New UKMFA Campaign - Protect Our Daily BreadUKMFA have launched a new campaign called Protect Our Daily Bread - No Fortification of Flour.Please visit our campaign page on which you will find a lot of information including; links to the joint open letter and Government response, an excellent and informative series of HART articles covering every aspect of the folic acid issue, podcast interviews, and the link to a Government Petition authored by Dr Clare Craig “End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately” which we are urging everyone to sign and share widely.The petition currently has over 43,000 signatures so has forced a Government written response, which you can read on the petition page. We need to get this to 100,000 signatures to force a Parliamentary debate.information including; links to the joint open letter and Government response, an excellent and informative series of HART articles covering every aspect of the folic acid issue, podcast interviews, and the link to a Government Petition authored by Dr Clare Craig “End the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately” which we are urging everyone to sign and share widely.The petition currently has over 43,000 signatures so has forced a Government written response, which you can read on the petition page. We need to get this to 100,000 signatures to force a Parliamentary debate.Video Chapters00:00 - Preview: Risk vs. Benefit of Folic Acid00:36 - Welcome & Introduction to UKMFA01:04 - Guest Introductions: Dr Liz Evans & Dr Ros Jones01:28 - UKMFA/HART Open Letter to James Murray, DHSC Secretary of State02:53 - The UK Mandate on Flour Fortification Explained04:12 - Difference Between Natural Folate and Synthetic Folic Acid05:39 - Legal & Historical Context of Bread & Flour Regulations07:00 - Clinical Trial Evidence & Risk Breakdown11:00 - NHS Guidelines: Who Should Avoid Folic Acid?12:42 - Practical Challenges for Consumers & Eating Out14:20 - Unmetabolized Folic Acid & MTHFR Genetic Variants17:42 - Reviewing the DHSC Government Response Letter24:00 - Potential Health Risks, Cancer Data & Global Trends28:50 - Campaign Actions: Parliamentary Petition & Writing to MPs34:40 - Summary & Final RemarksUK Medical Freedom Alliance freely offers this video and article. However, a donation will help us continue to expose the truth and uphold our medical rights and freedoms.To make a donation, please visit https://donorbox.org/ukmfa_podcast

    The Chad Benson Show
    U.S. Economy Slowed in Second Quarter, but Consumers Continue to Spend

    The Chad Benson Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 109:58 Transcription Available


    U.S. economy slowed in second quarter, but consumers continue to spend. Rich Logis, Founder of Leaving MAGA, talks about his disillusionment with the MAGA movement. Rustout versus burnout. Netanyahu backs pressure-first strategy on Iran after Trump talks. Gas prices continue to rise. 

    Marketplace
    Why price-squeezed consumers still shell out for organic

    Marketplace

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 26:31


    Since 2020, the cost of groceries has risen 26%. But contrary to what you might think, cash-strapped consumers aren't necessarily staying away from pricier options. In this episode, why Americans are doubling down on organic — even as the cost of their overall grocery haul rises. Plus: Why more customers are choosing chargebacks, what economists predict about inflation two years from now, and how a Maine nonprofit is bringing lobstering to the next generation.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Read the stories in today's episode:The Fed doesn't have an inflation crystal ball, but it does have "sticky-price CPI"In spite of price hike fatigue, consumers are still snapping up organic foodsCredit card chargebacks are on the rise — part of the reason is fraudMultiple wars drive up the price of diesel"Never would have expected to be here": Young Mainers consider the lobster

    Marketplace All-in-One
    Why price-squeezed consumers still shell out for organic

    Marketplace All-in-One

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 26:31


    Since 2020, the cost of groceries has risen 26%. But contrary to what you might think, cash-strapped consumers aren't necessarily staying away from pricier options. In this episode, why Americans are doubling down on organic — even as the cost of their overall grocery haul rises. Plus: Why more customers are choosing chargebacks, what economists predict about inflation two years from now, and how a Maine nonprofit is bringing lobstering to the next generation.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Read the stories in today's episode:The Fed doesn't have an inflation crystal ball, but it does have "sticky-price CPI"In spite of price hike fatigue, consumers are still snapping up organic foodsCredit card chargebacks are on the rise — part of the reason is fraudMultiple wars drive up the price of diesel"Never would have expected to be here": Young Mainers consider the lobster

    Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown
    Private Listings: Are Consumers Getting the Full Story?

    Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 33:52


    This week's headlines all point to one important question. Private listings are expanding. Buyers are wondering how to find every available home. Sellers are hearing more about selling without an agent. Brokerages are debating listing policies, and ethics complaints are making national news. So here's the question. Are consumers getting the full story?   Resources for this episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ExaK3ixAvI   Join the Conversation Live Thanks for spending part of your day with me. Every Thursday at 9:00 AM ET, I go live on YouTube to talk through the week's biggest housing and real estate headlines. The best part is hearing your questions and perspectives while we're live. I'd love for you to join the conversation. Subscribe and turn on notifications here:

    TechFirst with John Koetsier
    Do we really need 400 humanoid robot companies?

    TechFirst with John Koetsier

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 35:47


    Why aren't hundreds of millions of intelligent robots already operating in the physical world?In this episode of NEXT with John Koetsier, John speaks with Seth Winterroth, partner at Eclipse, about the rapidly changing robotics investment landscape, the rise of physical AI, and the race to build the next generation of autonomous machines.They explore whether the world really needs hundreds of humanoid robotics companies, why timing matters as much as technology, and why some robotics startups may need to build the entire stack ... from hardware and embedded software to AI models, evaluation systems, and deployment infrastructure.The conversation also covers Genesis AI, Wayve, Project Prometheus, Apptronik, Figure, 1X, autonomous vehicles, delivery drones, industrial automation, surgical robotics, and the future of robots in the home.Topics include:• Why robots still aren't widely deployed • The five forces driving robotics investment • Whether 400 humanoid robotics companies are too many • Full-stack versus platform-based robotics strategies • The challenge of achieving reliability and safety • When useful home robots may finally arrive • Why autonomous vehicles are already robots • The industries likely to adopt robotics first • The future of manufacturing, logistics, transportation, and surgery • What the next major robotics inflection point could be Seth Winterroth is a partner at Eclipse, an investment firm focused on companies transforming physical industries. Eclipse has backed robotics and automation companies including Genesis AI, Wayve, MiND Robotics, Foxglove, and Third Wave Automation.Subscribe to NEXT for more conversations about AI, robotics, emerging technology, and the companies shaping the future.00:00 Why aren't robots everywhere yet?00:37 Introducing Seth Winterroth01:03 The robotics investment landscape02:00 Seth's background in applied robotics03:01 The five forces accelerating robotics04:04 Are there too many humanoid robot companies?05:00 Creative destruction in robotics06:02 How investors pick the winners06:38 Why robotics companies need velocity07:00 The danger of being too early or too late07:51 How Wayve benefited from entering later08:36 Project Prometheus and the $10 billion seed round09:05 Why Genesis AI is building full stack10:01 Full-stack robotics versus foundation-model platforms11:03 The dirty secret: Where are all the robots?12:03 Reliability, safety, and deployment friction12:39 The challenge of vertical integration14:02 What robotics companies should build themselves15:03 Capital requirements and the robotics J-curve16:01 How robotics companies can scale rapidly16:39 When humanoid robots may reach the market17:04 Figure, 1X NEO, Unitree, and AgiBot18:24 A broader definition of robotics19:04 Are cameras and dishwashers robots?19:39 Autonomous vehicles as embodied AI20:23 Why transportation autonomy could be transformational21:05 Why humanoids still have a long way to go21:44 One general-purpose robot or many specialized machines?22:35 What will make home robots successful?23:39 Finding the minimum viable home robot24:20 Physical and digital products25:04 Why the App Store model matters for robotics26:05 How robots will gain new capabilities over time26:35 The brutal economics of consumer robotics27:12 Consumers buy outcomes, not robots27:48 Robotics beyond humanoids28:18 Kiva Systems and the modern robotics era29:05 Why constrained environments win first30:02 Robotics in automotive manufacturing and logistics31:02 Eclipse's robotics portfolio31:31 When robots will begin walking among us32:03 The next major robotics inflection point32:42 Escaping the trough of disillusionment33:29 Why autonomous transportation is nearly solved34:04 How self-driving changes cities and society34:36 The future of robotic surgery35:01 Delivery drones and regulatory barriers35:39 Closing thoughts

    The Business Growth Show
    S1Ep290 Operational Leadership Through Experience with Jeff Hetsel

    The Business Growth Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 28:01


    Operational leadership isn't built in the boardroom. It's built through years of solving problems, understanding people, refining processes, and making decisions that strengthen every part of an organization. The most effective leaders rarely begin at the top. They build their perspective one role at a time, gaining firsthand knowledge of how operations, customer experience, technology, supply chains, and leadership intersect. That breadth of experience often becomes their greatest competitive advantage, especially during periods of uncertainty. Today's business environment demands exactly that kind of leadership. Organizations are navigating economic shifts, changing consumer expectations, workforce challenges, emerging technologies, and increasing competition. Navigating those complexities requires more than expertise in a single discipline. It requires leaders who understand how every function of the business contributes to long-term success. Operational leadership begins with that understanding. One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that executives eventually outgrow operations. In reality, the strongest leaders remain closely connected to the daily realities of their organizations. They understand the challenges facing employees, the needs of customers, and the pressures experienced by business owners and operators because they've often lived those experiences themselves. That perspective creates better decisions. Rather than making assumptions from behind a desk, operational leaders recognize how changes in one area affect every other part of the business. Marketing influences operations. Operations shape customer experience. Customer experience drives loyalty. Technology impacts efficiency. Every decision creates a ripple effect throughout the organization. As Jeff Hetsel puts it, "Great leaders don't just understand one department. They understand how every part of the business works together." That philosophy has become increasingly important as organizations continue adapting to rapid change. Few industries illustrate this better than the restaurant business. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged nearly every assumption about how restaurants operated. Dining rooms closed, customer expectations changed overnight, supply chains became unpredictable, and operators were forced to rethink nearly every aspect of their businesses. While every organization faced difficult decisions, the companies that emerged strongest shared several common characteristics. They communicated frequently, adapted quickly, stayed close to their customers, and maintained strong relationships with the people responsible for executing the business every day. Communication proved especially valuable. When uncertainty increases, information becomes leadership. Organizations that communicated consistently with franchisees, employees, suppliers, and customers were often able to make better decisions because everyone understood the challenges, priorities, and direction of the business. Transparency created trust, and trust created alignment. That principle extends far beyond franchising. Whether leading a small business or a global organization, communication remains one of the most effective operational tools available. People perform better when they understand not only what is changing, but why those changes matter. Operational leadership also requires the discipline to continually evaluate how technology supports the customer experience. Artificial intelligence, automation, digital ordering, customer relationship management systems, and advanced analytics are reshaping nearly every industry. Businesses that ignore these innovations risk falling behind. At the same time, technology should never become a substitute for genuine human connection. Instead, the most successful organizations use technology to remove friction. Automating repetitive tasks allows employees to focus on serving customers, solving problems, and building relationships. Rather than replacing people, technology should create more opportunities for meaningful interactions. This balance will likely define the next generation of business leadership. Consumers increasingly expect convenience, speed, and personalization. They also continue to value authenticity, trust, and personal service. Organizations capable of delivering both will create stronger customer loyalty and long-term competitive advantages. Continuous learning is another defining characteristic of operational leadership. Business landscapes evolve too quickly for leaders to rely solely on past experience. Markets shift. Competitors innovate. Customer preferences change. The leaders who continue growing are those who remain curious enough to keep learning. Books remain one of the simplest ways to develop that perspective. While digital content provides quick answers, books offer something different: depth, context, and thoughtful analysis. Many accomplished executives continue to make reading a priority because it exposes them to new ideas, leadership philosophies, and strategies that can be applied long before competitors recognize the opportunity. That mindset reflects another simple but powerful philosophy. "You have to earn your job every day." Leadership is never permanent. Every day presents new opportunities to improve processes, strengthen teams, create value, and serve customers more effectively. The strongest leaders understand that success yesterday guarantees nothing tomorrow. They remain students of their industry, constantly asking better questions and looking for smarter ways to operate. Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of operational leadership is service. Leadership is often associated with authority, decision-making, and accountability. Those responsibilities certainly matter. Yet the organizations that consistently outperform their competitors often embrace a different philosophy. They view leadership as service. Serving employees. Serving franchisees. Serving customers. Serving communities. That perspective influences every decision throughout the organization. As Hetsel explains, "Being great is anything you do in the service of others." It's a simple statement, yet it captures an essential truth about sustainable business growth. Organizations succeed when the people inside them succeed first. Strong leaders remove obstacles instead of creating them. They build systems that support consistency. They communicate with transparency. They embrace innovation without abandoning the human experience that customers value most. Operational leadership is not about knowing every answer. It's about understanding the business well enough to ask better questions. It's about remaining curious after decades of experience. It's about recognizing that growth depends on people just as much as processes. Most importantly, it's about never becoming disconnected from the customers, employees, and partners who make long-term success possible. Business will continue to evolve. Technology will continue advancing. Customer expectations will continue changing. The organizations best positioned for the future will be led by individuals who understand operations from the ground up, lead through service, embrace continuous learning, and never lose sight of the people behind every business decision. About Jeff Hetsel Jeff Hetsel is President of Cicis Pizza and JMC Restaurant Distribution, bringing nearly 40 years of restaurant and franchise leadership experience. A Certified Franchise Executive, Jeff began his career with Cicis in 1992 as a restaurant manager and has since served in leadership roles spanning operations, franchise development, real estate, construction, distribution, and executive management. His hands-on experience across virtually every aspect of the business has helped guide the brand through significant industry change while supporting franchisees, strengthening operations, and positioning Cicis for continued growth. About Ford Saeks Ford Saeks is a Business Growth Accelerator who has generated more than a billion dollars in sales worldwide by helping businesses attract loyal customers, increase visibility, and accelerate growth. As President and CEO of Prime Concepts Group, Inc., Ford has founded more than ten companies, authored eleven books, earned three U.S. patents, and advised organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. A recognized expert in business growth, customer acquisition, leadership, franchising, marketing, and AI-driven business strategies, Ford helps business owners and leaders identify opportunities, improve performance, and achieve sustainable results. Learn more at ProfitRichResults.com and watch Fordify LIVE at Fordify.tv

    Creating in Color
    Malia Dawkins Jennings: Storyteller for Kids and Consumers

    Creating in Color

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 61:39


    Send us Fan MailIn today's episode we speak with Malia Dawkins Jennings, a storyteller for kids and consumers. We discuss utilizing her marketing skills for creative success, staying true to one's self, and her inspiration and drive for her original title, "Charlotte and Buckingham Park".Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/maliadawkinsFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/maliadawkinsjenningsLinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maliadawkinsjenningsCreating in Color is a podcast show casing the creative endeavors of Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Anyone from production, illustration, interior design and technology!Creating in Color's SocialsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@creatingincolorInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/creating.in.color/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Create_inColorKo-fi: https://www.ko-fi.com/creatingincolorIntro/Outro song by NamikazeSound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/namikazeYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NamiKazeCapKaybe's SocialsYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@MaybeitsKaybeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maybeitskaybe/Twitter: https://twitter.com/maybeitskaybeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/maybeitskaybeGuest opinions are their own and are not necessarily a reflection of Creating in Color/Kaybe Woods. 

    20twenty
    AI and Technological Change affecting Consumers and Workplaces - Sophie Renton (McCrindles) - 30 Jul 2026

    20twenty

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 15:19


    Checking on what the latest research says about Artificial Intelligence and Technology in how it is affecting our consumer habits and our workplaces. Life, Culture and Current Events from a Biblical Perspective with Neil Johnson.Your support sends the gospel to every corner of Australia through broadcast, online and print media: https://vision.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Early Breakfast with Abongile Nzelenzele
    Finance: Study finds 87% of South Africans lack a three-month financial safety net

    Early Breakfast with Abongile Nzelenzele

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2026 8:58 Transcription Available


    Many South Africans know they should be saving, but soaring living costs are making it increasingly difficult. Africa Melane speaks to Nita Morgan, Director of Prime Loans, about balancing savings with responsible credit, avoiding illegal lenders, and building financial resilience during tough economic times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Nateland Podcast
    26: #26 | Grounding, Skyline Chili & The 7 Wonders of the World ft. Lee Kimbrell & Greg Warren

    The Nateland Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 120:00


    This week, Aaron is MIA so the guys are joined by Lee Kimbrell from the Life Of Dad podcast and Greg Warren from The Consumers podcast. Brian updates the guys on how his special is doing, Greg reveals (to Dusty's pleasure) that he's getting into grounding and Lee gives his take on Skyline Chili. Plus the guys learn a little bit about the Seven Wonders Of The World.IIElevenLabs: elevenlabs.io/NATELAND-If you run a business with any kind of customer operation, support, sales, or onboarding, you can start with a demo at elevenlabs.io/NATELANDSuperpower: Superpower.com Head to Superpower.com and use code NATE at checkout for $20 off your membership. Get 100+ biomarkers tested every year, plus a personalized health plan and on-demand care team. Detect early signs of 1,000+ conditions. #superpowerpod #adEthos: https://ethos.com/natelandProtect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/nateland. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Trustpilot rating as of 6/1/2025.Ultra Pouches: takeultra.comDon't sleep on @ultrapouches. New customers get 15% Off with code NATELAND at takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad

    Be Wealthy & Smart
    Is the Economy Weakening?

    Be Wealthy & Smart

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 5:35


    Discover if the economy is weakening. Consumer confidence declined modestly in July as Americans expressed greater concern about business conditions, the labor market, and the cost of living. Despite weaker sentiment, consumer spending has remained resilient, suggesting feelings and economic behavior are not perfectly aligned. Key Takeaways Consumer confidence fell to 90.8, below expectations. Views of current business conditions and the labor market weakened. Grocery prices remain a major source of inflation concern. Consumers are still planning travel, dining out, and major purchases. Soft sentiment data doesn't always predict hard economic outcomes. AI-driven productivity gains could continue supporting lower inflation and stronger long-term growth. Are you on track for financial freedom...or not? Financial freedom is a combination of money, compounding and time (my McT Formula). How well you invest can make the biggest difference to your financial freedom and lifestyle. If you invested well for the long-term, what a difference it would make because the difference between investing $100k and earning 5 percent or 10 percent on your money over 30 years, is the difference between it growing to $432,194 or $1,744,940, an increase of over $1.3 million dollars. Your compounding rate, and how well you invest, matters!  INVESTING IS WHAT THE BE WEALTHY & SMART VIP EXPERIENCE IS ALL ABOUT - Invest in digital assets and stock ETFs for potential high compounding rates - Receive an Asset Allocation model with ticker symbols and what % to invest -Monthly LIVE investment webinars with Linda 10 months per year, with Q & A -Private VIP Facebook group with daily community interaction -Weekly investment commentary -Extra educational wealth classes available -Pay once, have lifetime access! NO recurring membership fees. -US and foreign investors are welcome -No minimum $ amount to invest -Tech Team available for digital assets (for hire per hour) For a limited time, enjoy a 50% savings on my private investing group, the Be Wealthy & Smart VIP Experience. Pay once and enjoy lifetime access without any additional recurring fees. Pay once and you're done! Invest with our successful community for years to come. Enter "SAVE50" to save 50% here: http://tinyurl.com/InvestingVIP Or set up a complimentary conversation to answer your questions about the Be Wealthy & Smart VIP Experience. Request an appointment to talk with Linda here: https://tinyurl.com/TalkWithLinda (yes, you talk to Linda!). SUBSCRIBE TO BE WEALTHY & SMART Click Here to Subscribe Via iTunes Click Here to Subscribe Via Stitcher on an Android Device Click Here to Subscribe Via RSS Feed LINDA'S WEALTH BOOKS 1. Get my book, "3 Steps to Quantum Wealth: The Wealth Heiress' Guide to Financial Freedom by Investing in Cryptocurrencies". 2. Get my book, "You're Already a Wealth Heiress, Now Think and Act Like One: 6 Practical Steps to Make It a Reality Now!" Men love it too! After all, you are Wealth Heirs. :) International buyers (if you live outside of the US) get my book here. WANT MORE FROM LINDA? Check out her programs. Join her on Instagram. WEALTH LIBRARY OF PODCASTS Listen to the full wealth library of podcasts from the beginning.  SPECIAL DEALS #Ad Apply for a Gemini credit card and get FREE XRP back (or any crypto you choose) when you use the card. Charge $3000 in first 90 days and earn $200 in crypto rewards when you use this link to apply and are approved: https://tinyurl.com/geminixrp This is a credit card, NOT a debit card. There are great rewards. Set your choice to EARN FREE XRP! #Ad Protect yourself online with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Get 3 MONTHS FREE when you sign up for a NORD VPN plan here.  #Ad To safely and securely store crypto, I recommend using a Tangem wallet. Get a 10% discount when you purchase here. #Ad If you are looking to simplify your crypto tax reporting, use Koinly. It is highly recommended and so easy for tax reporting. You can save $20, click here. Be Wealthy & Smart,™ is a personal finance show with self-made millionaire Linda P. Jones, America's Wealth Mentor.™ Learn simple steps that make a big difference to your financial freedom.  (This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission. There is no additional cost to you.)  

    TD Ameritrade Network
    More Than a Rate Decision: Consumers "Distrust" Fed as Inflation Rises

    TD Ameritrade Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 7:30


    Tsvetta Kaleynska says consumers have been stressed for the last year and a half despite what economic data suggests. She outlines her firm's data that points to the Fed and current political set-up as what consumer blame for inflation. It's not just inflation — Tsvetta also says the jobs front is also top of mind for Americans. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

    The Blac Moment
    The World Doesn't Need More Consumers. It Needs More Builders.

    The Blac Moment

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 48:33


    What if the greatest environmental crisis isn't the waste we throw away, but the way we've learned to see the world?In this episode of The BLAC Moment, award-winning Ghanaian fashion artivist, eco-feminist, and curator Beatrice "Bee" Arthur invites us to rethink everything we believe about waste, beauty, identity, and the responsibility of building a better future.From growing up in Ukraine under the guidance of a grandmother who survived World War II, to becoming one of Africa's leading voices in sustainable fashion, Bee's journey is one of constant unlearning and courageous becoming. She shares how history shaped her worldview, how environmental destruction is deeply connected to the stories we tell ourselves, and why creativity is one of the most powerful forms of activism.Winner of the KORA All Africa Fashion Award and recipient of the Maven Heroes Award, Bee has exhibited her work across Africa and Europe, proving that discarded materials can become masterpieces and that ordinary people can become extraordinary builders of change.This isn't just a conversation about fashion or climate change. It's about the kind of people we must become if we hope to leave the world better than we found it.In This ConversationWhy environmental pollution is ultimately a human problem before it's an environmental one.Growing up in Ukraine and the lessons passed down from a grandmother who survived World War II.The beliefs Bee had to unlearn to become the woman she is today.How art, fashion, and culture can become powerful tools for justice and transformation.Why sustainability begins with changing our mindset, not simply changing our products.The hope that continues to drive Bee's work despite the world's biggest challenges.About Beatrice "Bee" ArthurBeatrice "Bee" Arthur is a Ghanaian fashion artivist, eco-feminist, curator, and creative visionary whose work transforms waste into art, fashion, and cultural critique. A winner of the KORA All Africa Fashion Award and recipient of the Maven Heroes Award, she has showcased her work across Africa and Europe while leading global conversations on decoloniality, identity, sustainability, and environmental justice.Memorable Quote"The future won't be built by people who consume more. It will be built by people who learn to see differently."BLAC ReflectionEvery leader has a BLAC Moment. Take a moment to reflect:What belief about success, consumption, or identity do you need to unlearn?What are you throwing away that still has value?How are you building a world that future generations will thank you for?Stay Connected

    No Vacancy with Glenn Haussman
    Why the Hotel Market Keeps Defying Expectations

    No Vacancy with Glenn Haussman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 14:26


    The hotel business apparently didn't get the memo that everything is supposed to be terrible. Consumers feel squeezed. Credit-card debt keeps climbing. Business travel remains soft. Hotel construction faces the same cost and financing challenges we've discussed for years. Yet hotels keep performing, people keep traveling and owners keep making deals. So what's actually holding this market together? I asked Bruce Ford, SVP at Lodging Econometrics, to help me make sense of it. We talked about why event travel continues to deliver, how hotels can offer deals without destroying their rates and why the biggest opportunity ahead may have less to do with building new hotels. One number caught my attention: Bruce expects the industry to renovate or convert between 325,000 and 375,000 rooms during each of the next couple of years. That could create a very different hotel investment market than many people expect, with major implications for owners, brands, management companies and industry suppliers. Watch my latest #NoVacancyNews conversation with Bruce to hear where he sees the hotel market heading next. Actabl gives you the power to profit. Visit Actabl.com. Want the weekly roundup of news, videos, and what you might've missed from #NoVacancyNews? Text HOTEL to 66866.

    The Exchange
    Another Cup | Friends and Family at WOC San Diego Ep. 24

    The Exchange

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2026 23:05


    Key Topics Sustainable coffee initiatives and programs Regional challenges faced by coffee farmers Innovations in coffee sourcing and quality The role of education and mentorship in coffee industry Impact of market dynamics on coffee prices Takeaways The Pickers Project supports coffee pickers with fair wages and benefits. Transparency in the supply chain can help address asymmetries in information. Mentorship and apprenticeship are vital for healthy industry growth. Community and face-to-face interactions foster stronger industry relationships. Consumers and industry players can push for more equitable value distribution.       Part of The Covoya Coffee Podcasting Network TAKE OUR LISTENER SURVEY Visit and Explore Covoya!

    Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered
    Agent Series 48: Why Private Listings Are Bad for Consumers

    Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 44:03


    Are private listings protecting sellers or protecting profits? James Dwiggins sits down with Chicago's top-producing agent, Matt Laricy, for an unfiltered conversation about private listings, consumer transparency, and the future of the MLS. They tackle one of real estate's most controversial topics, explain why hiding listing information hurts buyers and sellers alike, and discuss what the industry should be doing instead. Connect with Matt on LinkedIn - Instagram - YouTube and online at mattlaricy.com. The industry is evolving. The question is: will your business evolve with it? Join us at Zillow Unlock 2026 and be part of the conversation shaping what comes next. Register today at unlockconference.com and use code REIU20 for 20% off your ticket*.   *Code can be used on all full priced passes leading up to the event and cannot be combined with any other discounts.   Subscribe to Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered?sub_confirmation=1   To learn more about becoming a sponsor of the show, send us an email: jessica@inman.com   You asked for it. We delivered. Check out our new merch! https://merch.realestateinsidersunfiltered.com/   Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube, Facebook - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com.   Link to Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/realestateinsiderspod/ Link to YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to TikTok Page: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateinsiderspod Link to website: https://realestateinsidersunfiltered.com This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative. https://twobrotherscreative.com/contact/   The views and opinions expressed on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered are those of the hosts and guests in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of AGNT, Inc., eXp Realty, LLC, NextHome, Inc., or any of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, or directors.  

    Banking Transformed with Jim Marous
    YouTube: Banking's New Front Door

    Banking Transformed with Jim Marous

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 9:18


    We can have all the trust in the world, but still lose the moment. Consumers aren't asking many of their first financial questions in a bank branch anymore. They're asking them on YouTube, social media, Reddit, podcasts, and increasingly through AI. New eMarketer research shows nearly 40% of adults under 45 now research banking products on social platforms, compared with about 10% of adults over 45. Financial institutions remain among the most trusted sources of financial guidance, yet many are missing from the platforms where consumers begin researching mortgages, savings accounts, investing, debt, budgeting, and everyday financial decisions. In this Banking Insights episode, Jim Marous explains why YouTube has become banking's new front door, why attention now precedes trust, and how banks and credit unions can combine credibility with engaging financial education to reach consumers before someone else shapes the conversation. Drawing on new consumer research and his own experience transforming his YouTube strategy, Jim explains why YouTube rewards watch time, why Google and AI increasingly surface clear, credible content, and how financial institutions can build discoverable expertise without becoming social media influencers. An audit of 150 financial videos with more than 100,000 views each found three quarters of the people giving advice never stated a credential. If banks and credit unions want to become the primary financial relationship, they need to be present where the first financial question is asked. Hosted by Jim Marous, internationally recognized banking strategist, co-publisher of The Financial Brand, owner of the Digital Banking Report, and host of the Banking Transformed podcast.

    Fitness Business Asia Podcast
    327. Asia's Fitness Trends: What 10,000 Fitness Consumers Told Les Mills, with CEO of APAC Ryan Hogan

    Fitness Business Asia Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 48:31


    The fitness industry has changed dramatically in Asia Pacific over the past five years, and few people have had a better view of that transformation than Ryan Hogan. Host Jack Thomas sat down with the CEO of APAC at Les Mills to discuss the company's new partnership with Hyrox, the biggest findings from Les Mills' latest global fitness report, why "vibe" has become one of the industry's most important competitive advantages, and where the biggest growth opportunities lie across Asia. From AI and human coaching to Indonesia's booming fitness scene and the future of group training, this episode is packed with insights for gym operators looking to stay ahead.   SHOW SPONSORS Our sponsors are helping us to raise the standards of Asia's fitness industry. Show these great companies some support! Hapana, our preferred gym management software Ezypay, our preferred subscription and payment solution   NEWSLETTER For fitness business tips, insights and news - subscribe to The Fit Guide Newsletter   THE FIT GUIDE The Fit Guide helps you find and experience the world's best fitness clubs and studios; and helps clubs create incredible, five star client experiences every time. Visit The Fit Guide The Fit Guide on LinkedIn The Fit Guide on Instagram   GUEST RESOURCES Ryan Hogan on LinkedIn Les Mills   SHOW RESOURCES Jack Thomas on LinkedIn Fitness Business Asia Website Fitness Business Asia Instagram

    Food Processing's Food For Thought Podcast
    Eggs: Opportunities Abound for the Culinary ‘Swiss Army Knife'

    Food Processing's Food For Thought Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 20:57


    This episode is brought to you by the American Egg Board. Eggs remain a well-rounded, multi-functional staple of every kitchen, whether for industrial product formulators or at-home chefs. Consumers understand that seeing eggs on the ingredient list often translates to a product featuring simplicity with numerous attributes and health benefits. Nelson Serrano-Bahri, director of Innovation for the American Egg Board, discusses the various ways eggs are being used in products and offers additional opportunities for companies to put this “Swiss Army knife” of the ingredient world to good use. This episode is sponsored by the American Egg Board (AEB). Learn more about AEB.

    Equity Mates Investing Podcast
    Emerging Middle Class: 300,000 New Consumers Every Day | The Decade Ahead

    Equity Mates Investing Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2026 41:16


    The global middle class has surpassed 4.4 billion people and now accounts for more than two-thirds of global consumer spending. Over the next decade, the centre of gravity of economic growth is expected to shift towards India, Southeast Asia and Latin America as hundreds of millions more people emerge into the middle class. In this episode, Bryce and Ren unpack the structural forces behind this shift, the industries set to benefit, the risks investors should watch, and the companies and ETFs offering exposure to one of the decade's biggest investment themes.In this episode:00:00 Why the emerging middle class matters now01:38 How the global middle class is defined03:34 India: The next engine of middle class growth06:28 Southeast Asia's economic transformation10:30 Latin America's opportunity and challenges12:18 Where the money will be spent18:54 The biggest risks to the theme23:55 Companies to watch across emerging markets35:43 ETFs and final investment takeawaysStocks & ETFs Mentioned: Mastercard (NYSE: MA), Visa (NYSE: V), Reliance Industries (NSE: RELIANCE), HDFC Bank (NYSE: HDB), Grab Holdings (NASDAQ: GRAB), Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), Mercado Libre (NASDAQ: MELI), Nu Holdings (NYSE: NU), Unilever (LSE: ULVR), Nestlé (SWX: NESN), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), Diageo (LSE: DGE), Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN), Tencent (HKEX: 0700), Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930), SK Hynix (KRX: 000660), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM), Vale (NYSE: VALE), Petrobras (NYSE: PBR), Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA), Betashares Emerging Markets ETF (ASX: BEMG), Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Shares ETF (ASX: VGE), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (ASX: IEM), iShares Latin America 40 ETF (NYSEARCA: ILF)This episode of Equity Mates - The Decade Ahead is brought to you by ANZ Business Start Right https://www.anz.com.au/business/business-hub/starting-business/start-right/———Basis Points: Investing in India's Future – with Mugunthan Siva of India Avenue | https://equitymates.com/episode/basis-points-investing-in-indias-future-with-mugunthan-siva-of-india-avenue/———Want to get involved in the podcast? Record a voice note or send us a messageAnd come and join the conversation in the Equity Mates Facebook Discussion Group.———Want more Equity Mates? Across books, podcasts, video and email, however you want to learn about investing – we've got you covered.Keep up with the news moving markets with our daily newsletter and podcast (Apple | Spotify)We're particularly excited to share our latest show: Basis PointsListen to the podcast (Apple | Spotify)Watch on YouTubeRead the monthly email———Looking for some of our favourite research tools?Download our free Basics of ETF handbookOr our free 4-step stock checklistFind company information on TIKRResearch reports from Good ResearchTrack your portfolio with Sharesight———This podcast is intended for education and entertainment purposes only. Any advice is general advice and has not taken into account your personal financial circumstances. Before acting on general advice, you should consider if it is relevant to your needs. If unsure, speak to a financial professional. The host of this podcast and their guests may have positions in the companies mentioned. Equity Mates Media is part of the Betashares Group but maintains editorial independence and operates under Australian Financial Services licence 540697. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    KERA's Think
    Consumer protection is on the decline… you've probably noticed

    KERA's Think

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 46:35


    Consumers are mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Heather Timmons writes about consumer rights for The Guardian. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why American shoppers are fed up with higher prices, inflation, private equity and A.I. customer service (among other things) and just navigating daily life is costing us billions of dollars a year in time and fees. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

    Retail Retold
    What Is Retail Traffic Really Telling Us?

    Retail Retold

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 27:52


    The consumer behaviors behind today's strongest retail trends and what they mean for retailers, landlords, and shopping centers.Retail traffic is telling a very different story than most headlines suggest.According to Ethan Chernofsky, Chief Marketing Officer at Placer.ai, consumers aren't abandoning stores. They're redefining how they use them.One of the biggest shifts is happening inside everyday shopping trips. Consumers are visiting more retailers within the same category, particularly grocery, while spending less time in each store. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, retailers with a clearly defined value proposition are winning over today's more intentional shopper.Chris Ressa and Ethan explore why physical retail has become more valuable, not less. While ecommerce remains an essential part of the customer journey, stores are becoming even more important as fulfillment hubs, discovery engines, and places where brands can build lasting customer relationships. Stores remain the most profitable channel for many retailers while often delivering the best value for consumers. That alignment creates a powerful long term advantage that extends well beyond convenience.Even mall traffic continues to surprise analysts, especially among younger shoppers. Gen Z is proving that physical retail still serves an important social function, reinforcing the growing importance of placemaking and creating destinations people actually want to visit.Whether it's Starbucks extending pumpkin spice season, Dairy Queen creating a spring traffic surge with Free Cone Day, or retailers capitalizing on major cultural moments, the lesson is clear: great operators don't simply react to consumer behavior, they influence it.For retailers, landlords, and anyone watching the future of physical commerce, the message is simple: stores matter more than ever. The retailers and shopping centers that understand changing consumer behavior, and respond with intentional experiences, convenience, and operational excellence, will be the ones that continue to outperform.What You'll HearWhy the smartest retailers create demand instead of waiting for itThe surprising shift in how consumers are shopping todayWhy physical stores are becoming more valuable, not lessHow Starbucks and Dairy Queen turn ordinary days into traffic driversWhy Gen Z is spending more time at mallsThe comeback stories proving great brands are hard to beatChapters00:00 – Meet Ethan ChernofskyHow Placer.ai uses location data to understand consumer behavior.01:08 – The new rules of retail trafficWhy shoppers are making more trips while spending less time in stores.04:58 – Why physical stores keep winningThe overlooked value physical retail creates for retailers and consumers alike.09:41 – Discovery still happens in storesWhy the in-store experience continues to drive purchases and loyalty.12:13 – Gen Z is bringing malls backWhat younger shoppers reveal about the future of placemaking.13:42 – Convenience vs. placemakingWhen retailers should prioritize speed—and when they should encourage longer visits.17:19 – Retail lessons from around the worldHow culture shapes shopping behavior across global markets.18:45 – Back-to-school traffic winnersThe retailers and brands positioned to benefit this season.20:48 – How great retailers create demandWhat Starbucks, Dairy Queen, and other brands can teach every retailer.23:24 – The traffic stories nobody saw comingUnexpected trends shaping home improvement and retail performance.26:12 – Never count out great brandsWhy Target, Starbucks, and other leaders continue to find their way back.27:23 – Looking aheadWhat today's traffic trends could mean for the holiday shopping season.

    The Glossy Podcast
    The end of the shopping calendar

    The Glossy Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 42:50


    The shopping calendar isn't what it used to be. Prime Day has become Prime Week, Black Friday has become Black Friday Month, back-to-school shopping now starts in June, and holiday shopping is starting in October. As brands and retailers compete for an edge during these lucrative periods, the traditional shopping calendar is getting elongated and spread out. According to Kelly Pedersen, global retail lead at the professional services firm PwC, these shifts are being driven by both businesses and consumers. On the Glossy Podcast this week, Pedersen shared that PwC's research on back-to-school shopping shows that the average family is spending around $920 during the back-to-school period. Those customers are continuing to spend around $630 a month on their kids throughout the school year. "It starts with the brands," he said. "The retailers always want to capture consumers during these moments, and they want to be first. It's not just about revenue during those windows, but [it's also about] customer acquisition, capturing those customers and using that momentum to carry spend on throughout the entire year." Pedersen said today's consumers are being trained to expect holiday sales and back-to-school sales earlier, meaning they're waiting to spend until those periods start. That further incentivizes brands to elongate the period as much as possible. The natural question becomes whether a longer shopping event leads to consumer fatigue and risks robbing those periods of their urgency. But Pedersen said he doesn't think that is the case. "Theoretically, it could actually increase overall spending because people get paid in cycles," he said. "They're going to spend a certain percentage of their paycheck on holiday shopping. But if you elongate that period, you have more opportunities to pick up on that cash flow from the consumer." Ultimately, Pedersen recommends that brands think about these shopping periods — like holiday, back-to-school and Mother's Day — as opportunities to capture a customer in the long term, not just as a one-off revenue driver. He also pointed to PwC data showing that almost 0% of surveyed customers said they planned to use AI to help them shop for holidays last year, but that number jumped to 73% this year. "Consumers are using technology to become smarter about how they shop with a retailer, and retailers really need to think about this new channel," Pedersen said. "And it's not a channel in the traditional sense, meaning they're not transacting via AI, but it's a discovery channel, and it's a price-checking channel."

    Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?
    Why Should We Care if China Won't Restrain its Flood of Exports? | with Wendy Cutler

    Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 49:54


    China posted a record $1.2 trillion global trade surplus in 2025, and its export machine is still accelerating. From electric vehicles and batteries to electronics and household goods, Chinese products are pouring into markets across Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.Consumers may welcome better products at lower prices, but what happens when local manufacturers cannot compete, workers lose their jobs, and countries become dependent on Beijing for essential goods?This week, co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso welcome Wendy Cutler, Senior Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former U.S. trade negotiator who spent nearly three decades at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.Wendy explains how government support allows Chinese companies to keep producing even when markets are saturated. Beijing rejects the idea that it has an overcapacity problem, and Wendy argues that negotiations cannot succeed when the two sides cannot even agree that a problem exists. Her solution is a coordinated response by the major economies receiving these exports.In this episode:How China's industrial policies help its companies outlast foreign competitorsWhy U.S. tariffs redirected Chinese exports toward Europe and Southeast Asia instead of slowing them downHow cheap imports can destroy local businesses, eliminate jobs, and create dangerous dependenciesWhy the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, Australia and Southeast Asia must act together to change Beijing's calculationsHow China weaponizes its control of critical minerals, rare earths, and permanent magnetsWhy Washington's tariffs against allies could undermine the coalition it needsHow developing economies can defend local industries without losing access to the Chinese marketWhether the fragile U.S.-China trade truce can survive as both sides test its limitsWhy today's low prices could become tomorrow's strategic vulnerabilitiesWendy's candid reflections on three decades at the negotiating tableSubscribe for your weekly Indo-Pacific briefing.Follow Wendy Cutler on at the Asia Society Policy Institute, on LinkedIn or on X, @wendyscutlerFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookFollow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay, or LinkedIn, or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLightFollow Jim Carouso on LinkedInSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

    Logistics Matters with DC VELOCITY
    A national robotics strategy; Rising grocery prices; A data health check

    Logistics Matters with DC VELOCITY

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 20:05


    Our guest on this week's episode is Zach Tomkinson, chief commercial officer at Standard Bots. The U.S. government has been wrestling with a developing a national strategy for artificial intelligence – but another area that could use a similar strategy is in the area of robotics. Could such a strategy promote domestic robot manufacturing and help the U.S. win the automation race? To find out, Senior Editor Victoria Kickham welcomes today's guest. The U.S. war with Iran has now been running since February, which is nearly five months. And from a global supply chain point of view, one of the most durable impacts of the violence has been the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic, mostly affecting oil tankers. Of course, oil is crucial for logistics, whatever part of the world you live in. And we're now beginning to see the impact of that change on Americans' pocketbooks at home, specifically in the grocery aisle. Senior News Editor Ben Ames reports on the impacts that geopolitical tensions are having on what Americans place in their shopping carts.New research shows that 25% of businesses have suffered a cyber incident that originated in their supply chain over the past year. This is despite those organizations being highly aware of the risk facing them: nearly half (48%) said they have continued working with suppliers despite known resilience or security concerns. Senior Editor Victoria Kickham share these results that were compiled in a report out of the United Kingdom called Data Health Check 2026. Articles and resources mentioned in this episode:Standard BotsU.S. grocery sales slow down as stretched consumers buy lessHigh grocery prices trigger changes in food shoppingSupply chain resilience remains a critical pain point, UK report showsVisit DC VelocityVisit Supply Chain XchangeSend feedback about this podcast to podcast@agilebme.com

    The Longer Game
    Season 4 Episode 12: Dont Ask Why, Ask Why Not

    The Longer Game

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 33:43


    Brands have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to channels. And the whole thing can be a bit confusing. One of the biggest mistakes you can make, however, is not casting a wide enough net. Raj Shah, VP of Sales at Obvi, chops it up with us on this episode of The Longer Game to talk about how to approach channel expansion. The number one thing every brand needs is more eyeballs. And you can't get more eyeballs if you aren't in the locations at which your customers shop. Consumers today have access to more information than ever before and a myriad of options to choose from when it comes to purchasing. Not being where they're at means losing a net new customer. Grab a scoop of collagen and shaker bottle, shake that thing up, and press play for another amazing episode.What they cover1. Don't settle for on narrow retailers. Think bigger and keep your net wide because visibility is important for the success of any brand.2. Instead of asking yourself why, ask yourself why not? It changes the way you view things. Instead of liming you, it opens up your mind to a world of possibilities.3. In today's day and age, you have to meet customers where they are, because you can't capture new customers if you aren't where they're shopping.4. Listen to your customers and your buyers. Take the feedback you're receiving and be willing to make tweaks to your product. That level of openness can be the exact thing that opens doors for you.5. Consumers have more information now than ever before. This gives them a lot of power. They decide where they purchase and when. That should be something that influences your channel strategy.6. Trade spend shouldn't be viewed in isolation per channel. So many brands make the mistake of only looking at return per channel, forgetting consumers don't make purchasing decisions in a linear fashion. Always look at spend beyond each channel with a more holistic view._______________________The Longer Game explores the future of retail across Amazon, ecommerce, and brick-and-mortar.The goal is simple: help brands grow by understanding how all channels work together.Retail is evolving. The brands that win are the ones willing to adapt.Subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Learn more: https://thelongergame.com_______________________About the Guest:Raj Shah is the VP of Sales at Obvi, a collagen and supplements brand. Based in New Jersey, Raj leads retail and channel expansion end to end, from earning buyer interest to executing on shelf, across accounts including Walmart and a fast-growing grocery footprint now spanning 22,000+ locations.Connect with Raj:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-shah-114664247/Website: https://myobvi.com/_______________________About the Host:Michael Maher is Chief Idea Officer of Cartology, an Amazon-focused agency helping brands grow revenue and profitability.Connect with Michael:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/immichaelmaherEmail: michael@thinkcartology.com_______________________Sponsored by Cartologyhttps://thinkcartology.com

    The John Batchelor Show
    S8 Ep1156: Michael Bernstam reports that Ukrainian drones recently destroyed major distribution hubs for Wildberries, the Russian equivalent of Amazon, causing $2 billion in damage. These strikes have devastated small businesses and middle-class consumers

    The John Batchelor Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 6:03


    Michael Bernstam reports that Ukrainian drones recently destroyed major distribution hubs for Wildberries, the Russian equivalent of Amazon, causing $2 billion in damage. These strikes have devastated small businesses and middle-class consumers, fueling internal resentment against the Kremlin. Simultaneously, 18 local Russian officials signed a petition calling for Putin's resignation as economic conditions worsen. The loss of consumer infrastructure and rising fuel costs are creating a constituency for ending the war to prevent a total economic collapse. (10)1862 INDIA

    Catalyst with Shayle Kann
    The multi-billion dollar promise of vehicle-to-grid integration

    Catalyst with Shayle Kann

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 34:53


    Most electric vehicles spend nearly all of their lives parked, doing nothing. But under the hood of those idle cars, a massive store of energy sits untapped. The Kia EV9, for instance, holds a 100-kilowatt-hour battery—which is equivalent to about seven home backup batteries—just waiting to be utilized. Yet despite this enormous potential, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology has remained mostly limited to small-scale pilot programs for decades. But with advanced tech hitting the market, that could soon change. In this episode, Shayle sits down with Steve Letendre, senior advisor at the Vehicle-Grid Integration Council and editor of V2G News, to explore why the V2G revolution is finally moving from concept to reality. They break down the technical battle between AC and DC architectures, tackle the looming questions around battery degradation and warranties, and debate the business models that will finally convince everyday drivers to plug their cars back into the grid. Shayle and Steve discuss topics like: - The unused energy capacity hidden in parked EVs - The technical debate, cost trade-offs, and hardware differences between off-board power conversion (DC architecture) and on-board power conversion (AC architecture). - Current compatible EV options, including the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, and Kia EV9 - The high upfront cost of V2G systems - Consumers' fears regarding whether discharging power to the grid will ruin their EV batteries or void manufacturer warranties. - Streamlining the V2G enrollment process via VPP programs or at point-of-sale - How financing can unlock mass V2G adoption Resources Catalyst: Repurposing EV batteries for grid storage Catalyst: How China is reshaping the global auto market Catalyst: Enter the electric supercycle Latitude Media: Electric Era is turning its EV-charging tech into a data center power play Latitude Media: The future of optimized EV charging Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. This episode of Catalyst is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at ⁠engieresources.com⁠. Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. Peak season puts every grid to the test — and the utilities that pass are the ones that built flexible capacity before they needed it. EnergyHub works with more than 170 utilities to coordinate 2.5 million devices and 3.4 gigawatts of dispatchable flexibility through a single platform designed to perform when it counts most. See what that looks like at ⁠EnergyHub.com⁠.  Catalyst is brought to you by Bloom Energy. Bloom Energy fuel cells deliver affordable, ultra-reliable onsite power for hospitals, utilities, and data centers – at speed and at scale. Learn more by visiting⁠ ⁠⁠BloomEnergy.com⁠.

    MKT Call
    Alphabet & Tesla Declines Highlight Red Day For Equities

    MKT Call

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 5:04


    MRKT Matrix - Thursday, July 23rd Dow drops 500 points as Brent crude surges above $100; Alphabet and Tesla tank (CNBC) Magnificent 7 Loses $767 Billion as AI Skeptics Dump Tech Stocks (Bloomberg) The Metric Spooking Investors in Tesla's and Google's Earnings (WSJ) US Mortgage Rates Rise, Extending Gains for Third Straight Week (Bloomberg) US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since 1969 (Bloomberg) What Surging Bond Yields Mean for Consumers and Markets (WSJ) Higher oil prices could complicate Fed's inflation fight, says Wells Fargo's Samana (CNBC) --- Subscribe to our newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://riskreversal.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ MRKT Matrix by RiskReversal Media is a daily AI powered podcast bringing you the top stories moving financial markets Story curation by RiskReversal, scripts by Perplexity Pro, voice by ElevenLabs

    The Business Growth Show
    S1Ep289 Customer Experience and Brand Evolution with Brian Tietz

    The Business Growth Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 23:58


    Customer experience has become one of the most powerful drivers of business growth. While many organizations focus heavily on operations, technology, and efficiency, the brands that continue to thrive understand a fundamental truth: people make decisions based on how they feel. That reality has become increasingly important as consumer expectations continue to evolve. Across nearly every industry, customers have more choices than ever before. Products can often be replicated. Pricing advantages can disappear overnight. Technology continues to level the playing field. What remains difficult to duplicate is a brand experience that creates genuine emotional connection and long-term loyalty. For businesses seeking sustainable growth, customer experience is no longer a supporting strategy. It is a primary growth strategy. The fitness industry provides a compelling example of this shift. For many years, fitness brands focused heavily on physical transformation. Marketing often centered on appearance, performance, and measurable outcomes. While those goals remain important for many consumers, the events of recent years have significantly expanded how people think about health and wellness. Today, consumers increasingly view fitness through a broader lens that includes physical health, mental well-being, stress management, recovery, and overall quality of life. This evolution has created both challenges and opportunities for brands operating within the wellness space. Organizations that recognize these changing expectations have been forced to rethink not only what they offer but how they position themselves in the marketplace. This is where brand evolution becomes critical. Brand evolution is not simply about updating logos, changing colors, or refreshing marketing materials. Effective brand evolution requires a deeper understanding of customer needs, behaviors, and motivations. It involves identifying what matters most to consumers and ensuring every aspect of the organization aligns with those priorities. The strongest brands understand that evolution should be driven by customer insights rather than internal assumptions. Many organizations make the mistake of implementing changes based on what leadership believes customers want. Successful companies take a different approach. They listen carefully, gather data, test ideas, and validate decisions before introducing large-scale changes. This process reduces risk while increasing the likelihood of meaningful results. One of the most important lessons in franchise growth is that successful innovation requires evidence. Franchisees naturally evaluate decisions through the lens of return on investment. Whether changes involve facility upgrades, technology investments, operational processes, or brand enhancements, operators want to understand how those changes will impact performance. The most effective franchise systems recognize this reality. Rather than asking franchisees to simply trust a new initiative, they create proof. They test concepts, measure results, identify challenges, refine execution, and build case studies that demonstrate potential outcomes. This approach not only increases adoption but also strengthens trust between franchisors and franchisees. The concept itself extends well beyond franchising. Businesses of all sizes benefit from a disciplined approach to innovation. Testing, tracking, refining, and repeating allows organizations to make smarter decisions while minimizing unnecessary risk. It transforms change from a gamble into a process. Customer experience also plays a critical role in retention. Many organizations invest significant resources into customer acquisition while dedicating far less attention to keeping existing customers engaged. Yet retaining a customer is often significantly more cost-effective than acquiring a new one. The challenge is that customer loyalty is rarely created through transactions alone. People remain loyal when they feel connected to a brand. They stay engaged when they believe an organization understands their needs and consistently delivers value. They become advocates when the experience exceeds expectations. This emotional connection often becomes the deciding factor. Businesses that create meaningful relationships with customers are better positioned to withstand competitive pressures, economic uncertainty, and changing market conditions. Customers who feel connected are less likely to leave solely because of price or convenience. Technology is increasingly supporting this effort. Digital tools, mobile applications, personalized communication, and data-driven insights are helping businesses create more seamless customer experiences. When implemented strategically, technology can improve convenience, increase engagement, and strengthen customer relationships. However, technology alone is not the solution. One of the biggest misconceptions in modern business is the belief that technology can replace human connection. While automation creates efficiencies, the most successful organizations use technology to enhance relationships rather than eliminate them. Artificial intelligence offers a perfect example. AI has quickly become one of the most discussed business tools in recent years. Companies across industries are exploring ways to improve operations, streamline communication, analyze data, and automate routine tasks. These capabilities offer tremendous potential when used thoughtfully. The key word is thoughtfully. Organizations that achieve the greatest results with AI typically begin with strategy rather than technology. They identify business objectives first and then determine how AI can support those objectives. Businesses that adopt technology simply because it is available often struggle to realize meaningful returns. The future likely belongs to organizations that successfully balance efficiency with humanity. Customers appreciate convenience. They value speed. They enjoy personalization. But they also want authenticity, trust, and meaningful interactions. Businesses that use technology to free up time for deeper customer engagement may ultimately gain the greatest advantage. Another important component of customer experience is community. Consumers increasingly seek experiences that make them feel connected to something larger than themselves. Whether through shared interests, common goals, local involvement, or personal relationships, community creates belonging. Brands that foster these connections often generate stronger loyalty and higher levels of engagement. This principle applies equally to local businesses, national brands, and franchise organizations. Companies that remain closely connected to the communities they serve frequently build stronger reputations and more resilient customer relationships. For growing franchise systems, this can be particularly valuable. Local ownership often creates stronger community ties because operators understand the needs, preferences, and priorities of the people they serve. These relationships can become significant competitive advantages that large corporate organizations often struggle to replicate. Customer experience ultimately extends far beyond customer service. It includes every interaction a person has with a brand—from initial awareness and digital research to purchasing decisions, ongoing engagement, and long-term loyalty. Every touchpoint contributes to the overall perception customers develop. Organizations that consistently evaluate and improve those touchpoints position themselves for sustainable growth. Brand evolution follows a similar path. The strongest companies remain committed to their core purpose while adapting to changing customer expectations. They evolve thoughtfully rather than reactively. They innovate without losing their identity. Most importantly, they recognize that growth is rarely driven by products alone. Growth is driven by people. When businesses create experiences that resonate emotionally, build trust, foster connection, and deliver meaningful value, they create something far more powerful than a transaction. They create relationships. And in today's competitive marketplace, relationships remain one of the most valuable assets a business can build. Watch the full episode on YouTube. Join Fordify LIVE every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Central across your favorite social media platforms and catch the replay on The Business Growth Show Podcast for more conversations with today's leading entrepreneurs, executives, and business growth experts. About Brian Tietz Brian Tietz is President of Snap Fitness Americas, one of the world's leading fitness franchise brands with more than 1,000 locations across 17 countries. With more than 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, Brian has held leadership roles across both corporate and franchise organizations, helping brands grow through operational excellence, customer experience, and strategic innovation. Under his leadership, Snap Fitness has expanded its member-focused "For the Feeling" brand platform, accelerated franchise growth, enhanced its technology offerings, and earned recognition as a global franchise leader. Brian is passionate about helping franchisees succeed, strengthening community connections, and creating fitness experiences that support both physical and mental well-being. About Ford Saeks Ford Saeks is a Business Growth Accelerator who has generated more than a billion dollars in sales worldwide by helping businesses attract loyal customers, increase visibility, and accelerate growth. As President and CEO of Prime Concepts Group, Inc., Ford has founded more than ten companies, authored eleven books, earned three U.S. patents, and advised organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. A recognized expert in business growth, customer acquisition, leadership, franchising, marketing, and AI-driven business strategies, Ford helps business owners and leaders identify opportunities, improve performance, and achieve sustainable results. Learn more at ProfitRichResults.com and watch Fordify LIVE at Fordify.tv.

    TD Ameritrade Network
    Bread Financial CFO on AI, Consumers, and Growth

    TD Ameritrade Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 4:38


    Perry Beberman, CFO of Bread Financial (BFH), discusses the company's earnings beat and strong stock performance, highlighting AI-powered underwriting and disciplined lending practices. He also explains why a resilient U.S. consumer and improving credit trends continue to support growth.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

    The Bob Harden Show
    Laws Protecting Businesses from Consumers

    The Bob Harden Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 58:27


    Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 15 years broadcasting on the internet. On Thursday's show, we visit with the Co-Founder and CEO of the Florida Citizens Alliance Keith Flaugh about the growing political resistance to AI data centers in Florida, and we discuss the availability of voter guides for Floridians. Cato Institute Director of Health Policy Studies Michael Cannon and I discuss the skewed reporting on the quality of hospitals in Florida. CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young and I discuss Trump's use of tariffs. We also visit with Substack columnist Patrick Carroll about laws that protect businesses from consumers as opposed to protecting consumers from bad business practices. We have a terrific guest for Friday's show – author and Professor Andrew Joppa. Access this and past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

    Energy News Beat Podcast
    Brent over $100 and a Crisis Brewing at Refineries

    Energy News Beat Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2026 29:03


    Rey Trevino, Crude Truth Podcast Host, and President at Pecos Operating stops by.We have a wild stand-up with 8 huge stories. It is fun having guests on the stand-up, and Rey brought the receipts today. The picture above was created by Grok, and it is Clark Savage standing by the tanker “Stan Turley” - I think Grok was having a moment.With Brent crude surging past $100 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate jumping dramatically, the conversation reveals how Houthi attacks on shipping lanes, Chinese strategic positioning, and disruptions at key maritime chokepoints are reshaping energy markets worldwide. Through an in-depth discussion with energy expert RT Trevino, the podcast challenges prevailing narratives about the energy transition, presenting compelling data that shows fossil fuels still account for 86% of global energy consumption. From Europe's LNG crisis and America's emergence as a natural gas superpower to the manufacturing exodus from Canada to the U.S., this episode provides essential context for investors, policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the complex forces driving energy prices and global economic security in 2026.1. Oil Price Surge & Global Geopolitical TensionsBrent crude has surged above $100/barrel, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumping from $81 to $91. This spike is driven by geopolitical instability, particularly Houthi attacks on tankers in the Bab El-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, which are disrupting global oil supply routes and forcing tankers to take longer routes around the world.2. Strategic Chokepoints & Supply Chain DisruptionsThe podcast discusses critical maritime chokepoints—the Bab El-Mandab Strait, Suez Canal, and Panama Canal—all facing disruptions. VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers, carrying ~2 million barrels each) cannot fully load through the Suez Canal, and the Panama Canal is experiencing drought conditions. These disruptions add months to shipping times and significantly impact global energy markets.3. China's Strategic Positioning & U.S. Energy PolicyThe hosts explore China's role in global energy dynamics, including its partnership with Iran and the Houthis, and how President Trump's sanctions on Venezuelan and Iranian oil are affecting global supply. There's discussion of a Chinese military base in Yemen and how U.S. strategic bombing targets infrastructure supplying Iran.4. LNG Supply Crisis & Europe's Energy DependencyEurope faces an LNG supply crisis, forcing buyers toward coal and natural gas. The podcast highlights the hypocrisy of European nations sanctioning Russia while importing 90% of Russia's LNG. Germany's decision to blow up coal plants and Japan's mothballing of nuclear facilities are criticized as short-sighted energy policy.5. U.S. Natural Gas as the FutureThe U.S. is positioned as the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” and is exporting record amounts to Europe. The podcast emphasizes natural gas as a critical energy source and advocates for expanded infrastructure and production.6. Grid Reliability & Energy Mix RealityUsing Texas ERCOT as an example, the discussion shows that despite renewable energy investments, fossil fuels remain essential. Natural gas provided 62% of grid power, wind 25%, and solar dropped to zero at night. The grid required battery storage to prevent blackouts, demonstrating the unreliability of intermittent renewables.7. Global Energy StatisticsKey data points: 86% of the world's energy still comes from fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel, transportation), and 57% of global electricity is generated from fossil fuels. This underscores that the energy transition is actually an “energy addition,” not a replacement.8. Manufacturing Shift from Canada to the U.S.A KPMG survey shows 42% of Canadian manufacturers have moved or are moving production to the United States, driven by pro-business U.S. policies and concerns about supply chain dependency on China.9. Corporate Earnings & Energy Sector PerformanceGE Vernova reported strong Q2 2026 earnings ($11 billion, up 22%), with natural gas turbines sold out for five years. Tesla's Q2 earnings showed record deliveries but profit concerns due to AI investments.10. Oil & Gas Investment OpportunitiesWe conclude with a discussion of oil and gas as solid investment portfolio additions, offering monthly revenue, tax deductions, and long-term returns compared to renewables, which have years before generating returns.●1.Brent at $100 and U.S. Refinery Utilization at 96%: What This Means for Consumers and Investors2.LNG Supply Crisis Pushes Buyers Toward Coal, Natural Gas, and Oil: Energy Security Takes Center Stage3.Greece Exposes the Hypocrisy and Limits of Europe's Russia Energy Sanctions4.Mark P. Mills Covers the Myth of an Energy Transition5.Fossil Fuels Still Generate 57% of the World's Electricity — But We Remain Deeply Dependent on Them for Transportation, Manufacturing, and Building the “Renewables” Themselves6.GE Vernova Raises 2026 Outlook on Surging AI-Driven Power Demand While Advancing Venezuela7.Nearly Half of Canadian Manufacturers Are Moving to the US — A Self-Inflicted Wound from Tariffs, Uncertainty, and Costly Green Policies8.Tesla's Q2 2026 Earnings: Record Deliveries and Energy Growth Overshadowed by Profit Miss Amid Massive AI InvestmentsCheck the articles on https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/A shout-out to Steve Reese and the Reese Energy Consulting group for sponsoring the Podcast https://reeseenergyconsulting.com/.Data2 if you have any business systems, can you trust A? Well, they have the patent on validation. . https://data2.zoholandingpage.com/energyAnd we have WellDatabase rolling in as a new sponsor. https://welldatabase.com/

    NutritionFacts.org Video Podcast
    Are Consumers of GMO Crops Exposed to Enough Glyphosate to Increase Cancer Risk?

    NutritionFacts.org Video Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 4:41


    If most glyphosate exposure comes from food, how much do we actually absorb?

    Experience Strategy Podcast
    Healthcare Is Coming Back — And It's Getting More Human

    Experience Strategy Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 21:29


    The Experience Strategy Podcast | theexperiencestrategist.substack.com A nurse whose only job was to hold a patient's hand during a procedure. A debrief with the doctor scheduled before the procedure was even booked. A title accidentally revealed mid-conversation. This episode covers a lot of ground — starting with where healthcare experience strategy stands right now, and ending somewhere that a certain author probably wasn't expecting. What's in This Episode Healthcare is recovering — and the investment is back. After a brutal five-year stretch that left providers burned out and hospital systems in survival mode, Dave sees real momentum returning. Capital is flowing back into healthcare, and what's different this time is a more mature understanding of where technology fits and where it doesn't. AI handling clinical note-taking is the clearest near-term win — freeing physicians from the documentation burden that was eating their limited time with patients. Longer term, the new generation of LLMs built for scientific discovery is accelerating treatment development in ways that weren't possible even three years ago. The problem with scaling human experience. Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic were early adopters of design thinking — writing case studies on patient experience in the 2000s that the whole industry studied. But the business model kept pulling in the other direction: enormous capital expenses, opaque insurance structures, and the relentless pressure to grow. And as Dave puts it, when you scale up a healthcare system, individualized experience gets harder, not easier. That's always true in any category — but the stakes are higher in healthcare. Then a pandemic arrived and survival became the only goal. The better the patient experience, the better the outcomes. Joe has been saying this for years, and the research backs it. The insight is simple but organizationally difficult: healthcare is not a service business. It uses experiences, but it's fundamentally in the transformation business. Every patient walking through the door has an aspiration — some version of going from sick to well. That aspiration, and the experience designed around it, drives outcomes. Geisinger Health System has operationalized this through outcome-based pricing: knee replacement doesn't work, you don't pay. More systems are moving in that direction. Human needs versus patient needs — there's a difference. Aransas's experience at Memorial Sloan Kettering is the episode's anchor story. A procedure booked with a debrief appointment scheduled at the same time — eliminating the anxiety window between test and result. And a nurse whose sole role during the procedure was comfort: one hand on Aransas's hand, one hand on her shoulder. Joe's reframe lands hard: "They didn't just meet your patient needs — they met your human needs." The distinction matters. Patients are still too often seen as collections of symptoms. The shift toward the whole person is coming, but it's uneven. AI's real job in healthcare: offload the routine so humans can be human. The most useful frame for AI in any service category — and healthcare in particular — isn't automation for its own sake. It's freeing the human in the room to be fully present. Checklists, documentation, protocol verification: these are exactly the kinds of cognitive load that drain providers and crowd out the relationship. Aransas makes the point that the "which leg are we operating on?" verification ritual exists because it was a real risk. The goal is to use operations and AI to cover the routine, so providers can put their energy into the part that only humans can do. Trained empathy has a shelf life. Dave traces the arc from "Welcome to Wachovia!" — a scripted greeting that felt like cutting-edge hospitality in its day — to the present moment, where scripted warmth reads as inauthentic almost immediately. Rote empathy, whether from a human or an AI trained to flatter, produces the same result: it rings hollow. Consumers have been through enough now that they can tell the difference. Joe's COVID-era conclusion still stands: "Be human." That's not a soft directive. In an environment where AI handles more and more of the transaction, genuine human presence becomes the differentiator. The tools that made experiences more human are showing their age. Persona building. Journey mapping. Design thinking. These were genuinely useful frameworks, and the industry built real capability around them. But Dave argues they're no longer sufficient. The question isn't how to design a better map — it's how to build what he's calling intelligent experiences: a new framework for the human interface that fits the current environment. He's writing about it now.   Referenced Memorial Sloan Kettering — patient experience design as a model for the category Geisinger Health System — outcome-based pricing for knee replacement procedures Wachovia Bank — early scripted greeting protocols as a case study in what hospitality looked like before it became a liability Have a question for Joe, Dave, or Aransas? Reply to any episode email on Substack — it goes straight to them. The Experience Strategy Podcast is hosted by Dave Norton and Aransas Savas. Subscribe at theexperiencestrategist.substack.com.

    Money Life with Chuck Jaffe
    Card issuers are cutting credit limits; here's what to do if they cut yours

    Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 61:29


    Credit expert Gerri Detweiler discusses a trend where card issuers have been re-assessing risk and reducing the credit limits for consumers — even those with good credit scores — and why those moves are a symptom of the economy and the appetite for risk, rather than a reflection of you and your financial habits. Detweiler — who recently wrote about this issue for CardRates.com — says that limit cuts don't just reduce financing options, but it can impact credit scores and drop them, even if the consumer is not considered high-risk. Consumers get notices about limit cuts, but Detweiler says they are often missed; she discusses the moves consumers can make to avoid, forestall or minimize the issue, and how best to handle the situation. Carrie Joy Grimes, founder of WorkMoney, discusses her new book, "The Joy of Money: How to Do More With and Feel Better About Your Money - No Matter How Much You Have," and how people confuse the math of money and the number they need to reach, rather than recognizing that it's how they feel about the money, choices and financial security that determine if they feel truly wealthy. She notes that most people struggle to get out of their own way when it comes to finances, blocking their own path to happiness because they are judging it on the scale of neighbors or riches, rather than on the quality of life and the control they have over their choices. Plus, Chuck talks about his long-time habit of writing down the reasons why he is buying an investment before making a purchase, and what he was thinking when he reviewed some of that paperwork during a recent clean-out of some files. It's a reminder that investments can do their job but that doesn't always make them right when your needs and time horizons change, and then how you decide whether to stay the course or change things up.

    The Empire Builders Podcast
    #266: Yoohoo – Means I Love You

    The Empire Builders Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 18:10


    Natale Olivieri wanted to sell bottled drinks so people could take them home. Noticed no premade chocolate milk, so… YooHoo! Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not so secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [Central Heating & Air Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here alongside Stephen Semple. And we’re talking about empires, big businesses, big enterprises that have gone global, have gone ballistic and become huge, huge names. And Stephen whispered in my ear that we’re going to be talking about Yoo-hoo. Stephen Semple: Yoo-hoo. Dave Young: Not yahoo. Stephen Semple: Yoo-hoo. Dave Young: I thought he was just trying to get my attention when he said it. But no, Yoo-hoo. It’s a soft drink, right? Is it like the predecessor of Mountain Dew? Is it related? Stephen Semple: Somewhat. Somewhat but it’s a- Dave Young: I kind of remember drinking a bottle of Yoo-hoo when I was a kid. Stephen Semple: It’s a chocolate drink though. Dave Young: Oh, it’s the chocolate thing. Yeah, yeah. No, I don’t think I’ve ever drank a bottle of that. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Well, and the reason why it’s kind of a predecessor to a bunch of things is that it really was the first in the made to drink category. It actually invented that category of made to drink type. Dave Young: Made to drink as opposed to a soda fountain where you’re mixing the syrup and the soda at the point of consumption. Stephen Semple: Correct. Or an orange juice where you mix the concentrate. It was sort of, again, one of the very first made. Today it’s part of Keurig. And as we- Dave Young: Is it really? Stephen Semple: Yeah. It’s part of Keurig today. Yeah. Dave Young: I don’t know why that doesn’t seem to fit what I think of- Stephen Semple: Well, Keurig owns a bunch of things now, like their Dr. Pepper and there’s a number of things in the Keurig world today. Dave Young: I’m not keeping up with the… Pretty soon they’re all going to be owned by one company. Stephen Semple: Well, you’re not keeping up with the mergers and acquisitions? Dave Young: No, not at all. Try to hide from it. What are you going to do? Stephen Semple: Because Keurig doesn’t break out the sales, the estimates are somewhere between 100 million and 300 million in sales through Yoo-hoo. But what we do know is it’s a pretty big deal to be part of that group now. Now it was started by Natale Olivieri in 1928 and he sold it to Max Geller, who was an advertising executive in the early 1960s for a million bucks. But a million bucks in the 1960s was good money, right? Dave Young: Probably good retirement for the guy in the ’60s. Stephen Semple: And that’s basically what he did. He retired, moved to Florida, and didn’t work again. Natale’s an Italian immigrant and he’s a soda shop owner in New Jersey. Dave Young: That makes sense. That tracks. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And he’s making his own bottle of fruit sodas, but he’s struggling to differentiate from Orange Crush and Nehi. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: And his drinks are called True Fruit and he uses these high quality ingredients and they’re sold in these take-home bottles, which was unusual at the time. But what he noticed is a lot of people, he was losing a lot of business to the chocolate drinks sold at the soda fountain across the street. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Because remember, soda fountains is where we used to go and get all sorts of things like milkshakes. Right? Dave Young: Yeah. But he was doing bottled drinks and take them home. Stephen Semple: Bottled fruit drinks. Dave Young: Fruit drinks. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Bottled fruit drink. Dave Young: Okay. Not sodas. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Not sodas. But he also looked around, he saw there was no pre-bottled chocolate milk on the market. Dave Young: Okay. Yeah. Stephen Semple: So he had this idea, what if I could make a shelf-stable chocolate drink that customers could have anywhere, anytime? All that sort of stuff, unprecedented idea, right? Dave Young: Sounds like a million-dollar idea. Stephen Semple: Yeah. It turned out to be, but there were some challenges along the way. The first challenge is people don’t have refrigeration. It’s not widespread. Milk spoils. Dave Young: Put some milk in a bottle and yeah, that seems problematic. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So how do you create a milk-like experience and taste without milk? That’s kind of challenge number one. So he experiments with a bunch of different things, and he comes across this whole idea of a milk protein and this dairy byproduct that he put together that suddenly created this milky flavor with lower fat and better freshness, had more shelf life. But despite that this was now whey-based, it was still not really and truly a shelf stable product. It was better than milk, but it was not yet what was needed. Dave Young: Got you. Stephen Semple: And in fact, he was working so hard on this that he started to kind of almost ignore his soda business and that actually began to falter. And he reached the point where frankly he almost gave up. Dave Young: Wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: So he’s at the end of his rope, he’s almost given up, and he got actually inspired one day when he was home and he watched his wife canning fruit using the hot fill method. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Now what the hot fill method is, you heat the bottle interior and the liquid to just over 200 degrees Fahrenheit. I think it’s like 214 or something like that. And then seal it while it’s hot, which basically prevents bacterial contamination. Dave Young: The end result is when it cools, there’s a vacuum that’s formed and- Stephen Semple: There’s a vacuum that formed and also all the bacteria was killed. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Or a good chunk of it, enough of it that now the product is quite shelf stable. So he applied this to his drink and now he’s able to produce a shelf stable drink that’s smooth, cocoa flavored, dessert-like, sweet, all the things that he’s looking for. But he also realizes he has another problem. He can’t call it True Fruit. Dave Young: It’s chocolate fruit. Stephen Semple: Because that would be kind of confusing. Dave Young: My favorite chocolate fruit. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Kind of a confusing name for chocolate drink. So he decides to call it Yoo-hoo. And Yoo-hoo was inspired by a line in the song called the Indian Love Call. And literally the Indian Love Call, Yoo-hoo. Right? Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: You can actually go back and listen to this old song. He heard the song and he said, “That’s what I’m going to call the drink.” MUSIC: Back in our days of happy childhood, Yoohoo means please come out and play I was so bashful in the wild-wood Now I am bolder, I wrote and told her You’ll hear me calling Yoohoo, ‘Neath your window some sweet day You’ll hear me calling Yoohoo, Yoohoo, Then you’ll know I’m home to stay When I hear your cheery answer, It will make my dreams come true Because I know that Yoohoo Means I love you Stephen Semple: Now here’s the part that I know, Dave, you would love about this. People were skeptic because it gave no clues to the product. Yoo-hoo doesn’t say chocolate. Dave Young: Yoo-hoo, try it. Stephen Semple: It doesn’t say drink. It doesn’t say any of those things. All it is different and memorable. Dave Young: Yeah. I think that’s great. And honestly, stealing a line from a song, not the worst idea. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yeah. Dave Young: Especially if it’s in the popular vernacular. Stephen Semple: It was at the time. It was at the time. And the thing I loved about it is, Dave, how often do we talk about where people are trying to name things right on the money and it’s uninspiring and uninteresting and not memorable? Here’s a guy who I guess in a former life you were him because you called it Yoo-hoo. Dave Young: Yoo-hoo. I would’ve called something else Yoo-hoo, but he already did it. So no, I like that. And I think it just never became huge enough brand. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen it in a store. Stephen Semple: Well- Dave Young: But I could just not be looking for it either. Stephen Semple: There was a time it did get big versus everybody else, so we’ll talk a little bit about that next. So it’s 1928 Olivieri starts basically selling the world first shelf stable bottled chocolate drink. Now, why do we call it chocolate drink? Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off and trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: Now, why do we call it chocolate drink? Because the FDA required it to be called chocolate drink because it contained no milk. Dave Young: Got you. So was that whey or milk proteins, the stuff in it? Stephen Semple: So that’s why they couldn’t call it chocolate milk. Yeah, it’s milk proteins and whey. So basically the FDA said, “You can’t call it chocolate milk because it’s not milk.” So it’s called a chocolate drink. Dave Young: So he invented… What he did is he invented the protein shake. Stephen Semple: Basically. Yeah. I guess I hadn’t thought about it that way, but yeah, basically. Yeah. Dave Young: CrossFit didn’t exist back then. Stephen Semple: It did. Dave Young: So there was no real market for crookie shakes. Stephen Semple: Yeah. That was called… They had a different name for it back then. It was called work. Dave Young: How do those people get away with calling that other one muscle milk? Stephen Semple: I don’t. Dave Young: I don’t know. I’m chasing a rabbit into the woods. Let’s get back to Yoo-hoo. Stephen Semple: Okay. So Yoo-hoo becomes a local hit. It’s pretty popular in New Jersey, then moves into Pennsylvania. Consumers like it. Restaurants start carrying it, starts getting onto grocery store shelves because people love the durability of it. And really again, this whole idea is the product created this new category. Ready to drink chocolate that’s shelf stable. Now through the Great Depression and into the 1950s, he scaled production. He got to the stage where they were pretty big. He got to the stage where they were manufacturing 250 bottles a minute. Dave Young: Wow, okay. Yeah. Stephen Semple: In the facility in New Jersey and in South Carolina, the facility in South Carolina, they were doing 300,000 cases a year. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So pretty big. Dave Young: It’s a lot of Yoo-hoo. Stephen Semple: Pretty big. And basically one of the things that he did to make it popular, because what he knew was he was competing against Nestle and Hershey’s because they very quickly came out with things like that. So in 1955, comes up with this marketing idea because he’s now facing this competition. He’s no longer the only game in town. So he has this chance meeting with Yogi Berra. As we know, Yogi Berra was the winner of two American League MVPs. He was a five-time consecutive World Series champion, right? Pretty popular guy. Dave Young: Mm-hmm. And famous for his weird slip-ups with language. It was just these Yogi Berra-isms. Stephen Semple: Yeah, Yogi Berra-isms. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: One of my favorite ones is no one goes to the mall any longer because it’s too busy. Dave Young: Yeah. Oh, that restaurant used to be really popular till everybody started going there. Stephen Semple: Exactly, exactly. Or my favorite one of his is deja vu all over again. Dave Young: Uh-huh. Yeah. So Yogi Berra becomes their spokesman? Stephen Semple: Yeah. And he actually created an endorsement deal that was innovative for the time, but has now been done a lot because he didn’t have a lot of money to give Yogi Berra. So what he gave Yogi Berra was stock options. Dave Young: All right. Stephen Semple: And that led to endorsements also from Mickey Mantle and Whitney Ford. So he’s got Whitney Ford, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. And basically they start branding it the drink of champions. Dave Young: Okay. That’s cute. Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Predated the breakfast of champions, right? Dave Young: Yeah. That’s right. Stephen Semple: The drink of champions. But could do it because he had these people who were champions endorsing- Dave Young: They were champions. Yeah. Stephen Semple: … endorsing the product. So it’s the early 1960s and Olivieri has this opportunity to sell to Max Geller for a million bucks, which would be roughly like 10 million today, retires at Florida. Soon afterwards, now Max was a smart guy because soon afterwards they do a distribution deal with Pepsi. Dave Young: There you go. Yep. Stephen Semple: And then later Yoo-hoo would be acquired by Keurig. And at the time that the acquisition with Keurig happened, they were doing a hundred million bottles a year of Yoo-hoo. So still 100 million bottles a year is nothing to sneeze out. Dave Young: With my mouth, you’d think I’d stumble across one now and then. Stephen Semple: Yeah. And I’ve always just sort of thought maybe it’s not in Canada. I’ve not stumbled across it but- Dave Young: I think when I look at it and I think about the name and I don’t know the Indian song, so it just feels like a child’s drink. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Maybe. Maybe. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: But I thought it was pretty cool from the standpoint of here he is and he’s seeing this thing happen and decides to invent this thing that no one has done before, which is this shelf stable chocolate drink and then decided to do this really fun name and then had this opportunity for the endorsement deal and didn’t go, “Oh, I can’t endorse Yogi Berra. I have no money.” Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Instead looked at it and went, “Well, wait a minute. If he endorses it and we do well, the stock price will go up, so why don’t I give him stock options?” Dave Young: So Yogi and Mickey and Whitey Ford, they did okay too. Stephen Semple: Yeah. I’m sure they did just fine. And that became a standard for endorsements going forward where celebrities much more, instead of taking the cash, would have royalties or shares in companies or things along that lines, which not only made endorsements more lucrative, but also opened the door for smaller businesses to be able to do it. Dave Young: Yeah. You see it all the time. Even movie stars are like, “Don’t pay me as much, but give me a percentage of profits.” Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And from what I was able to gather, the Yogi Berra was literally, if not the first endorsement done that way, one of the very first endorsements done that way, which really showed innovative thinking because it would be easy to get caught in the, “I can’t afford it” rather than, “Huh, what’s an alternative solution to this problem?” Dave Young: So next time you’re on the Wizard Academy Campus, I think you should bring a couple of bottles of Yoo-hoo and we’ll sip some Yoo-hoo. I don’t know, is it a breakfast drink or is that an afternoon… Because I would for sure make a cocktail out of it. Stephen Semple: Well, then it’s afternoon. Dave Young: I bet it tastes really good with Kahlúa or creme de cocoa. Stephen Semple: I’m sure. You know what? With Kahlúa, it’d be great, I think. Dave Young: Yeah. I think so. I think this is worth exploring is what I’m saying. Stephen Semple: You know what? I think we owe it to the world- Dave Young: We owe it to our audience to- Stephen Semple: … to do a little bit of experimentation on this to determine what is the best way to drink Yoo-hoo. Dave Young: Uh-huh. It can’t just be straight off the shelf because that’s just not how science works. Stephen Semple: It’s not. Well, and if we’re going to do science, we got to do a couple of different iterations. Dave Young: Sure. I mean, is it a whiskey drink? If so, is it an Irish whiskey drink? I feel like that might be good. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yeah. We’ll give them Baileys, this Irish whiskey. I’m going to say it’s probably more of the Irish whiskey side. Dave Young: That’s probably where it’s headed. All right. Well, I’m looking forward to it now, my first taste of Yoo-hoo. Stephen Semple: We’re taking it from a shelf stable drink to a making us instable drink. Dave Young: When I say my first drink of Yoo-hoo, it makes me sound like that’s a word that you would use to bleep something else out. Right? I hit him right in the yoo-hoo. Oh, what a fun story. I hope he had a wonderful retirement in Florida and I’m looking forward to- Stephen Semple: I’m sure he did. I’m sure he did. Dave Young: … looking forward to raising a glass of Yoo-hoo next time we’re in the same room, Stephen. Stephen Semple: All right. Awesome. Thanks. Okay. Thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big fat juicy five star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute Empire Building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

    TD Ameritrade Network
    Gen Restaurant CEO: Why Consumers Are Choosing Groceries Over Dining Out

    TD Ameritrade Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 7:27


    GEN Restaurant Group (GENK) CEO David Kim explains how inflation is driving consumers toward grocery stores and away from traditional dining experiences. He discusses why restaurant brands are expanding into retail channels and how growing demand for convenient, pre-cooked grocery products is helping offset declining restaurant traffic.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

    Farm City Newsday by AgNet West
    Land O'Lakes Expands Tulare Facility to Meet Growing Demand for Dairy Protein

    Farm City Newsday by AgNet West

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 48:05


    Land O'Lakes is making a significant investment in California's dairy industry with plans to expand its Tulare processing facility, a move designed to support dairy farmers while capitalizing on growing consumer demand for high-protein dairy products. The announcement was the focus of today's episode of the AgNet News Hour, featuring Heather Anfang, Executive Vice President and President of Dairy Foods at Land O'Lakes. Anfang said the cooperative is investing in new processing capabilities that will allow the Tulare plant to begin producing ultra-filtered milk ingredients, marking the first phase of a broader expansion into dairy proteins. "We're making an investment in our Tulare facility that will move us into the dairy proteins space," Anfang said. "This first phase is going to get us into ultra-filtered milk as an ingredient, creating a terrific growth opportunity for our farmers." The Tulare facility is already the largest manufacturing plant in the Land O'Lakes network. Because existing infrastructure is already in place, the company expects construction to move quickly, with the first phase targeted to be operational during the first quarter of next year. Anfang said the investment comes as consumer demand for dairy products continues to strengthen. She pointed to renewed interest in protein-rich foods, favorable dietary guidance, and increasing demand for butter, cheese and dairy ingredients as key drivers behind the expansion. "Dairy is in the spotlight," Anfang said. "Consumers are really interested in dairy, they're understanding how terrific dairy is as part of their diet, and we're seeing tremendous demand." While much of Land O'Lakes' retail butter and cheese business serves the domestic market, the company's ingredients division has a significant international presence. Anfang noted that roughly half of the cooperative's milk powder production is exported, creating additional opportunities for member dairy farmers. The cooperative currently represents approximately 1,100 dairy farmer members across the United States. Anfang said the new processing capacity will help support future growth from those producers, including California dairy operations that continue investing in expansion. The conversation also touched on California's regulatory environment. Anfang acknowledged the challenges manufacturers and dairy producers face operating in the state but reaffirmed Land O'Lakes' commitment to California and its farmer-members. "We are very committed to California," she said. "We want to continue to grow our processing capacity out there and support our farmers." Looking ahead, Anfang said automation, new dairy ingredients and continued investment in processing facilities will help position both Land O'Lakes and its member farmers for long-term success as consumer demand for dairy products continues to evolve. Listen to the full interview below or on your favorite podcast app.

    Growing Harvest Ag Network
    Mid-morning Ag News, July 22, 2026: High food costs impact the way consumers shop

    Growing Harvest Ag Network

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 2:35


    Higher food prices continue to change the way Americans shop, according to a new report from CoBank's Knowledge Exchange. NAFB News ServiceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Stinchfield with Grant Stinchfield
    The FDA Has A Serious Credibility Problem

    Stinchfield with Grant Stinchfield

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 30:09


    First, the agency publicly claimed it found a dangerous parasite in Taylor Farms lettuce. The headlines spread like wildfire. Consumers panicked. Businesses took another hit. Then came the admission. The test was wrong. A false positive. But don't expect an apology. Instead, the FDA insists it's still focused on Taylor Farms while offering little accountability for a mistake that damaged reputations and fueled fear across the country. When federal agencies make accusations before they're certain, the consequences are real. Companies lose business. Consumers lose confidence. And once another government mistake makes the news, Americans are left wondering what they're supposed to believe. We're going to examine exactly what happened, why the FDA got it wrong, why accountability seems to be missing, and whether this is yet another example of a government bureaucracy that refuses to admit when it fails. If trust has to be earned, the FDA has a lot of work to do. Sponsors The Maverick Systemhttps://TheMaverickSystem.com Patriot Mobilehttps://PatriotMobile.com/Grant The Wellness Companyhttps://TWC.Health/GrantPromo Code: GRANT for 10% off Lost Soldier Oil & Gashttps://LostSoldier.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Queer Money
    Why Wages Haven't Kept Up With Inflation | Queer Money Ep. 651

    Queer Money

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 25:47


    You're Not Bad With Money. Your Paycheck Is Broken.Why does the economy look strong on paper while so many Americans feel financially exhausted?In this episode of Queer Money®, we're talking about the real reason people feel broke, why wages haven't kept up with inflation, and why this matters so much for gay men over 40 who are trying to save, invest, retire early, retire abroad, or simply stop feeling like money is always one emergency away from falling apart.Yes, some parts of the economy are doing well. Consumers are spending. Corporations are profitable. The stock market has had major runs. But for everyday workers, especially those relying mostly on a paycheck, life feels harder because wages are not keeping up with rising costs.Inflation, groceries, gas, healthcare, rent, insurance, debt, and everyday expenses are eating up more of our income. Even when wages rise, those dollars are buying less. That gap is one of the biggest reasons people are using credit cards to cover necessities and why so many Americans feel broke even when they're working hard.But this is not just a 2026 inflation problem. It is a decades-long wage problem.Since the 1970s, productivity has grown dramatically, corporate profits have climbed, CEO pay has exploded, stock buybacks and dividends have rewarded shareholders, and workers have received a much smaller share of the value they helped create. The economy increasingly rewards people who own assets, not people who rely only on labor.For LGBTQ+ people, this matters because many of us are already playing catch-up with retirement savings, homeownership, family support, healthcare costs, and financial security. If your paycheck is your only wealth-building tool, and that paycheck keeps falling behind, retirement planning becomes harder.In this episode, you'll learn:Why people feel broke even when the economy looks strongWhy wages haven't kept up with inflation and rising costsHow corporate profits, CEO pay, and shareholder rewards changed the economyWhy relying only on a paycheck can limit retirement securityWhy gay men over 40 need to think beyond budgeting harderHow owning assets can create more options and financial powerWhat to do when the system rewards ownership more than workThe problem is not that you bought too many lattes. The problem is an economy that has rewarded capital over labor for decades.Your next move? Learn the game, protect yourself, acquire assets where you can, and build enough options that the economy has less control over you.Until next time, retire by design, not by default.How We Help Folks in the Queer Money CommunityFree guides:Queer Money KickstarterQueer Money 10 Vital Retirement NumbersQueer Money Retire Abroad ChecklistCalculators and Planners:Queer Money Beginner's GuideQueer Money Retirement CalculatorQueer Money Retire Abroad Planner & CalculatorMentioned in this episode:Portugal is calling. Will you answer?Don't just dream of moving to Portugal, make it happen with the investments in your IRA. Investing in Portugal gets you residency, the ability to work in Portugal and returns that just may outpace the U.S. like the Optimize Portugal Golden Opportunities fund did in 2025. Get Your Portugal Golden Visa Here!

    Generous Business Owner
    Stephen Ezell: Where Faith, Freedom, and Entrepreneurship Collide

    Generous Business Owner

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 37:39


    What can you do to answer the calling that is tugging on your heart?  In this episode, Jeff and Stephen discuss:  Restarting from zero with faith and motivation.  Nerding out on the word of God and honoring Him in all things. The founding and growth of Truly Free and Truly Free Home.  Anti-slavery mission work and broader vision for conscious, freedom-centered business.  The evolution of social commerce and attention capital.     Key Takeaways:  A painful upbringing and chaotic family life can become fuel for protecting others and building something great. It does not have to hinder you, but can rather spark your fire.  Life will have crises. Those personal crises can spark mission-driven businesses or operations to solve real, everyday problems.  Faith does not need to be a distant tradition. Make it the center of your life - it can shape leadership and guide business decisions and long-term vision.  There are more women and children enslaved today than at any other point in history. Who is standing in the gap to find these women and children in bondage?  Consumers are changing their buying behaviors - startups and entrepreneurs are answering the call that big companies are not.    "The world needs more conscious entrepreneurs now than any other time in human history, and if you have a calling on your life to do good through commerce, the time is now, and don't let the grass grow under your feet." —  Stephen Ezell   About Stephen Ezell: Stephen Ezell is the founder and CEO of Truly Free Home and Truly Free. Renowned for its plant-based, non-toxic cleaning and laundry solutions, Ezell created Truly Free Home in 2015 to make family-safe, refillable cleaning and laundry products more accessible to consumers. Ezell's refillable cleaning revolution has freed more than 1,000,000 homes from harmful chemicals and toxins to date, eliminating 25 million single-use plastics from the environment. Named a 2023 Henry Crown Fellow, a 2025 EY Entrepreneur of the Year, a 2025 Endeavor Entrepreneur, and Inc.'s Best in Business List in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Known as a disruptive thought leader in the conscious capital movement, Ezell architects brands and online marketplaces that drive revenue and positively impact the world. He has strategically positioned multiple companies to achieve industry leadership throughout his career, creating sustainable jobs in three countries. Most recently, Ezell expanded Truly Free Home's business portfolio with the launch of Truly Free, the world's first revenue-sharing, decentralized social commerce platform, to connect brands, creators, and consumers. In recognition of his business success and philanthropic work in combating human trafficking, Ezell has been featured in leading publications like Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Crain's Detroit Business Journal, and countless more.    Connect with Stephen Ezell: Website: https://trulyfreehome.com/  Website: https://trulyfree.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenjezell    Connect with Jeff Thomas:  Website: https://www.arkosglobal.com/ Podcast: https://www.generousbusinessowner.com/ Book: https://www.arkosglobal.com/trading-up Email: jeff.thomas@arkosglobal.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArkosGlobalAdv  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arkosglobal/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkosglobaladvisors Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkosglobaladvisors/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLUYpPwkHH7JrP6PrbHeBxw

    Letters from an American
    A Different Set of Priorities

    Letters from an American

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 13:17


    July 15, 2026The American Rescue Plan, passed in March 2021 without a single Republican vote, expanded the Child Tax Credit for one year. This temporary expansion lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty before it expired, Five years later, the results of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed without a single Democratic vote, reveals a very different set of priorities, OBBA expanded tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, cutting more than $1 trillion from social welfare programs, The difference between the two bills reveals how the parties see the purpose of government - for the good of the people or to concentrate wealth and power among a few, Consumers are being screwed by the push to do away with reviews designed to protect people from monopoly power, Trump has called together a select group of Republicans to try to get their funding package which includes billions for military funding, for bailing out farmers hurt by tariffs, and for enacting aspects of the SAVE America Act,  past Congress through budget reconciliation, The administration is also trying to fund immigration enforcement, which has led to two deaths at the hands of ICE agents, Funding the war in Iran, funding voter suppression, and funding the crackdown on immigrants are not popular with Americans, but Trump has pushed continued traffic stops, and continued strikes in Iran, nonetheless.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribeYou can also find me:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe

    Marketplace All-in-One
    A little retail therapy, anyone?

    Marketplace All-in-One

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 6:38


    Later today, we'll get retail sales figures from the Census Bureau. Consumers are pretty stressed right now and don't like the prices they're paying at the grocery store and gas station. However, they are still splurging on things that bring them joy. Plus, Spain and Argentina will face off for the World Cup final on Sunday. This morning, we'll dissect the political and financial costs for some national soccer clubs that didn't make it that far.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace Morning Report is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Stories featured in this episode:Stressed consumers are still finding ways to splurgeThe economic cost that comes with crashing out of a World Cup

    Marketplace Morning Report
    A little retail therapy, anyone?

    Marketplace Morning Report

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 6:38


    Later today, we'll get retail sales figures from the Census Bureau. Consumers are pretty stressed right now and don't like the prices they're paying at the grocery store and gas station. However, they are still splurging on things that bring them joy. Plus, Spain and Argentina will face off for the World Cup final on Sunday. This morning, we'll dissect the political and financial costs for some national soccer clubs that didn't make it that far.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace Morning Report is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.Stories featured in this episode:Stressed consumers are still finding ways to splurgeThe economic cost that comes with crashing out of a World Cup