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Shelli-Ann McKenzie. Purpose of the Interview The interview focuses on advocating for healthcare professionals, addressing the challenges they face, and introducing Shelli-Ann McKenzie’s nonprofit organization, Help for Healthcare Professionals (HCPP). The goal is to highlight burnout, financial struggles, and systemic issues in healthcare while promoting programs that support mental wellness, financial literacy, and career development. Key Takeaways Healthcare Workforce Challenges Nurses and healthcare professionals face high stress, burnout, and long hours, leading to workforce shortages. Many professionals struggle financially—24% live in poverty. Lack of professors in nursing schools limits the number of students entering the profession. Understanding Nursing Roles Nursing includes multiple levels: Registered Nurse (RN): Associate or bachelor’s degree. Advanced Practice Nurses: Master’s level (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator). Doctorate Level: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or PhD. Nurse practitioners often function as an extension of physicians, providing quality care. Respect and Recognition Nurses provide more direct care than any other health profession but often lack recognition. Advocacy is key to ensuring nurses can practice at the highest level and improve access to care. Why HCPP Was Founded Born out of COVID-19 crisis and Shelli-Ann’s personal experience with burnout. Mission: Provide mental health referrals, financial assistance (gift cards, gas), and professional development. Programs include: Financial literacy workshops Entrepreneurship training for healthcare professionals Scholarships and internships for aspiring professionals Youth Med Program Targets ages 13–20 to build a healthcare workforce pipeline. Offers hands-on training, CPR certification, exposure to neurosurgeons, and mentorship. Tuition-free and designed to scale nationally. Funding and Community Support HCPP is a nurse-owned nonprofit, funded by federal grants and donations. Annual event: Night of Grand and Gratitude—a charity awards dinner to raise funds for programs. Notable Quotes “No one else was coming to save us—so I created HCPP.” “24% of healthcare professionals live in poverty.” “If we don’t have enough professors, we cap nursing students—it’s cyclical.” “The most rewarding part of nursing is showing up for people in their most vulnerable moments.” “Every dollar we raise fuels education programs like Youth Med—strategic investment in the future of healthcare.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSupport the show: https://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Shelli-Ann McKenzie. Purpose of the Interview The interview focuses on advocating for healthcare professionals, addressing the challenges they face, and introducing Shelli-Ann McKenzie’s nonprofit organization, Help for Healthcare Professionals (HCPP). The goal is to highlight burnout, financial struggles, and systemic issues in healthcare while promoting programs that support mental wellness, financial literacy, and career development. Key Takeaways Healthcare Workforce Challenges Nurses and healthcare professionals face high stress, burnout, and long hours, leading to workforce shortages. Many professionals struggle financially—24% live in poverty. Lack of professors in nursing schools limits the number of students entering the profession. Understanding Nursing Roles Nursing includes multiple levels: Registered Nurse (RN): Associate or bachelor’s degree. Advanced Practice Nurses: Master’s level (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator). Doctorate Level: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or PhD. Nurse practitioners often function as an extension of physicians, providing quality care. Respect and Recognition Nurses provide more direct care than any other health profession but often lack recognition. Advocacy is key to ensuring nurses can practice at the highest level and improve access to care. Why HCPP Was Founded Born out of COVID-19 crisis and Shelli-Ann’s personal experience with burnout. Mission: Provide mental health referrals, financial assistance (gift cards, gas), and professional development. Programs include: Financial literacy workshops Entrepreneurship training for healthcare professionals Scholarships and internships for aspiring professionals Youth Med Program Targets ages 13–20 to build a healthcare workforce pipeline. Offers hands-on training, CPR certification, exposure to neurosurgeons, and mentorship. Tuition-free and designed to scale nationally. Funding and Community Support HCPP is a nurse-owned nonprofit, funded by federal grants and donations. Annual event: Night of Grand and Gratitude—a charity awards dinner to raise funds for programs. Notable Quotes “No one else was coming to save us—so I created HCPP.” “24% of healthcare professionals live in poverty.” “If we don’t have enough professors, we cap nursing students—it’s cyclical.” “The most rewarding part of nursing is showing up for people in their most vulnerable moments.” “Every dollar we raise fuels education programs like Youth Med—strategic investment in the future of healthcare.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode Summary This week on Live Like the World is Dying, we have a re-air of the first episode of Live Like the World is Dying, an interview with Kitty Stryker about Anarchist Prepping. Kitty Stryker can be found on twitter at @kittystryker and at http://kittystryker.com/ Margaret Killjoy can be found on twitter at @magpiekilljoy and at http://www.birdsbeforethestorm.net/ Publisher Info This show is published by Strangers in A Tangled Wilderness. We can be found at www.tangledwilderness.org, or on Twitter @TangledWild and Instagram @Tangled_Wilderness and Blue Sky @tangledwilderness.bsky.social You can support the show on Patreon at www.patreon.com/strangersinatangledwilderness Transcript The following transcript was provided by a comrade who wants to help us make this show more accessible: S01E01 Kitty Stryker on Anarchist Prepping Live Like The World Is Dying #0:00:00.0# (Introductory music) #0:00:15.1# Margaret Killjoy: Hello and welcome to Live Like The World Is Dying; a podcast that explores life when it feels like the end times. I say "when it feels like the end times", and I'm gonna get into this more throughout various episodes of the podcast, because of course, the world is always ending. It's always changing the status quo. Always shakes and changes, collapses, rebuilds, all of these things. So sometimes people roll their eyes when you talk about the world ending. And sometimes that makes sense, the world has ended in a lot of different ways. But... It sure feels like the world is ending right now to me and to... Maybe to you and maybe it will, maybe it won't. Obviously what it means for the world to end is a subjective thing. But it's a... It's a stress factor to say the least, on a lot of people's lives right now. Thinking about climate change and thinking about the... The rise of global fascism. So this is a podcast that's gonna explore... Well, how we can live while we feel like the world is dying. For myself and for this podcast I've found that I focus on four different priorities. I focus on living like the world is going to end and that I might not survive, living like the world is going to end and I can try to survive, living like we can prevent the end of the world, and of course, living like maybe the world isn't ending after all. So basically hedonism, prepping, revolution, and not burning all your bridges because... Who knows, the status quo might linger on after all. With this podcast I'm probably going to focus on the middle two of these priorities. I'm gonna focus on prepping and revolution. And I'm going to do that because... Well, I've always sort of wanted there to be more information and more... More going on about anarchist and leftist prepping. Because most of the prepping world is of course steeped in... Not just like right-wing politics, but also right-wing values and individualistic values and of course as an anarchist I believe in the balance between the individual and the community and because of that I don't believe in individualistic survival. I don't believe that the bunker mentality, which we're going to talk a lot of shit on in this podcast over the next couple episodes, is appropriate to most... To most threat models. So I'll be your host, but for the most part I'm going to interview people who know a lot more about a lot of this stuff than me. As for me, I am a prepper I suppose on some level. I keep a small stockpile food. Dried food in 5 gallon buckets in case there's an interruption in... Well, food supplies. I make sure I know where water filtration is. I also keep a to-go bag and... At my house. And I keep another one in my car that's much smaller. Neither of these are a particularly elaborate. They're... They're fairly simple things I put together. And that's... That's more for my own mental welfare than it is like any immediate expectation of crisis. And I also... I live off grid. Which is not something that I'm gonna specifically advocate that anyone else do. I actually live off grid because it just sort of meets my needs here and now in terms of how I like to live. I live about half an hour away from a small city in a cabin I built myself in the woods because I like doing that. I like living that way. I'm an anarchist and that's going to certainly bleed over into the content of this show. I believe in a world without course of hierarchies like the state or capitalism or white supremacy or heteronormativity or... Or any of the intersecting oppressions and hierarchies that rule the world that shouldn't. And so of course, a lot of my... I tell you this because I want you to know my biases because I want you to come to your own conclusions. I have a bias against state and federal aid. I tend to find it to be wildly inefficient. I'm far more interested in creating a society based on mutual aid. And so... And I find agency to be wildly important. I find it very important for us to encourage each other to have agency and so I'm interested in disaster relief or crisis preparation or whatever, that maximizes individual agency, that maximize community agency and... Yeah, that's what's interesting to me so that's what I'm going to be focusing on more. This first episode, our guest is Kitty Stryker who I can let introduce herself. Thanks so much for listening. #0:05:01.9# (Musical transition) #0:05:06.5# Margaret: So today our guest is Kitty Stryker. Well actually, do you want to introduce yourself with your name and pronouns and kind of any political or organizational affiliation you feel like shouting out. #0:05:21.4# Kitty Stryker: Sure. I'm Kitty Stryker, I use she/her pronouns. I'm a... I identify myself as a leftist doomsday prepper. But I'm more of a like... Emergency prepper, street medic. I work with Struggle Of Circus, which is a of bunches of leftists and other sort of radical political groups and a bunch of juggalos coming together to help out at protests and usually do medic related stuff but also be kind of a meat wall around marginalized communities. I identify as an anarchist and... Yeah, I guess I just found it really interesting that when I was looking for communities of leftist to talk to about prepping, there wasn't anything there. #0:06:15.5# Margaret: Yeah that was... I think we ended up kind of finding each other through a similar... I don't actually remember how we first ended up talking about it. Maybe you do. But we've been, for anyone who's listening, Kitty and I have been talking vaguely about how we needed to do something about this... This lack of... #0:06:34.2# Kitty: Lack of information, yeah. #0:06:35.9# Margaret: Yeah. Because so much of the information that's out there about prepping is not really applicable, well, to anyone realistically. But certainly not necessarily applicable to people whose ideology isn't "fuck you, I've got mine", you know? So... #0:06:53.5# Kitty: Right and I think... And it could be actively hostile in forums and stuff. Like places that you wanna go to ask for information and ask for advice become really hostile when people are talking about how much they want to kill antifa or of like... "I can't wait til the race war". It's not really a very comfortable place to ask questions about fortifications. #0:07:19.5# Margaret: Yeah. That makes sense. So why don't we start by kind of talking about the general conception of preparedness and kind of what is leftist or anarchist prepping or preparedness. As... At least as you can conceive it. #0:07:37.7# Kitty: Sure, well, so for me I grew up with parents who are sort of like... Suburban homesteader types, with a mixture of prepping. But are also hoarders so while they have everything you would need in an apocalypse you also wouldn't necessarily be able to find it. So I kinda grew up with the hoarding tendency that they think comes with a lot of prepping. You wanna have lots of things that seemed very important. But also this desire to try to make it organized and make it easily accessible. I realized fairly quickly that while I'm more of a stay-in-place kind of prepper and sort of emergency preparedness person, I also will potentially need to be able to put what I need a backpack and carry it with me. At least for a mile or two depending on the emergency and if I have so much stuff that I can't practically do that without a car, it's not really going to be that useful. I live in earthquake country so I just have to anticipate the roads are going to be kind of a mess. So that was sort of where I came from, was this not very political, camping and also very pagan, getting in touch with earth kind of thing. Like my parents beehives that drives all of their neighbors off the wall. They hate it. #0:09:12.7# Margaret: That's interesting. I've only a couple times been around this, yeah, suburban homesteading idea where you have access to a little bit of land. Not necessarily so much privacy, not so much... Place where you can keep your bees. #0:09:24.5# Kitty: Nope, no privacy. Everyone in my neighborhood is like, "That's the witch house. You can tell because there's thirteen sacred trees in the front lawn. And her dad goes outside and scythes the lawn." #0:09:38.1# Margaret: Wow. #0:09:39.7# Kitty: I don't think he's actually even done that in years so I think it's just an overgrown tangle at this point. #0:09:45.9# Margaret: Well that's even more fun. #0:09:46.7# Kitty: But we have like... We have a pond in there. There's a little herb garden, a veggie garden. We have a crow feeder. It's... It's elaborate. #0:09:56.8# Margaret: I'm imagining this on like a quarter acre, half acre. Is that..? #0:10:00.5# Kitty: Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. With manicured lawns right next to us on either side. #0:10:08.5# Margaret: Well, that's a... #0:10:09.1# Kitty: Really... That's where I was raised. I think that explains a lot. #0:10:13.7# Margaret: Okay. It's an interesting metaphor for being the one person who's... You know, either prepping or being a hoarder. #0:10:22.4# Kitty: I've been the one person for a while. Yeah. But I think that that's in such staunch contrast to doomsday preppers which is what most people think of when they think of prepping. They think of like, "Oh, that's those rednecks in the middle of the really rural areas with their bunker and their nine million guns and their giant water containers." And they're, you know, being completely convinced that there's going to a nuclear war or there's going to be... I don't know. What are some of the other disasters that they're always prepared for? Well, I mean like, definitely race wars. Definitely one of the things. #0:11:09.1# Margaret: Yeah, I mean and that's kind of the... I feel like that's the tell between whether you're talking to a racist prepper or a... Well, obviously if someone's talking about a race war they're clearly racist. But... You know, there's a tell of whether or not they're obsessed with like the... The boogaloo or if they're obsessed with... You know, the possibility of invasion or... System collapse in general. #0:11:32.3# Kitty: Right, right. And like what system collapse looks like. Like what are they actually afraid of, I think is very telling. A lot of times you'll see people say, "Oh, I'm afraid that people are going to come and murder my family for my resources because my resources are so awesome that everyone for miles around is going want to come and murder me." Which, first of all, if that was true I would not be saying it on the internet. That just seems like a bad idea. That's... My boyfriend and I watch doomsday preppers and talk about how we would raid their bunkers because they show us everything. And that just seems very shortsighted, if that is indeed what you are worried about. #0:12:22.2# Margaret: Right, as compared to just kind of showing off and being excited about... Like kind of nerding out about gear... #0:12:27.6# Kitty: I think it's like... Yeah, it's like nerding out and they think it's more of a threat than it is. I don't know. I think... I think it speaks to a desire for conflict that I don't personally have. I don't want to have to use my apartment complex to snipe people. I just don't want to do that. I just wanna be able to grow a garden using a discarded... Shoe organizer from the broken down Ross down the street. That's my type of prepping, rather than preparing for endless violence. #0:13:10.4# Margaret: Yeah, there's kind of a... I feel like one of the main myths or concepts that I'm trying to get across with this podcast... Not a myth I'm trying to get across this, prove that something is a myth, is the bunker mentality is the "I've got mine, fuck you" mentality, that is so common in prepping circles and it's... It's really off-putting because... I mean, even... Even from a pure self-interest point of view it just seems so dumb. So you hole up with your five closest friends in the middle of the woods during the apocalypse, and that's like all fine and good until your appendix bursts and you forget that you're not a surgeon and that your brother isn't a surgeon, you know? And... #0:13:56.0# Kitty: Well you just need more useful friends. #0:13:57.9# Margaret: Well, sure but... #0:13:58.7# Kitty: That's what I did. #0:13:59.2# Margaret: But what if you are the surgeon, right? And then your appendix bursts. #0:14:02.4# Kitty: Well, yeah. Then... Yeah. Then... Then... Well, then you just die. I mean, that's the thing. I think that they... They're so afraid of violence coming from other people that they don't... A, think of the violence that could happen amongst themselves which is kind of inevitable if you're locked in a bunker together. And there's... Especially if there's power dynamics in place and stress, then I feel like there's gonna be some abusive dynamics that come out of that. So if you're not prepared for that, it doesn't really matter how good your resources are. And there's... So that's just even within your unit, and then never mind if you're then expanding out to like... Do you know how to do literally everything in the world? Because you're probably going to help. It's the same as the idea about currency. Everyone's so keen on like... Oh yeah, make sure that you have currency. Make sure you silver buried in your yard. Like... What are you going to do with that, really? Like... I mean... It's cool, I guess. But unless you're going to use that as a brick... I don't understand. #0:15:12.3# Margaret: Well I guess it gets into... In some ways, I think the apocalypse... People who think too much about the apocalypse, whether on they're on the left or on the right, or just bored centrists or moderates or whatever, I think that people are thinking about and imagining clean slates and imagining about how they would like to act and what kind of societies they would like to create, what kind of dynamics they'd like to create. So it's really easy for someone who, say of a libertarian mindset, to be like "Well, of course gold is what matters because we're all going to trade resources. There's definitely going to be market economics after the apocalypse because we're going to institute market... Economics. And then maybe like... Those of us that are like, "Wow, the market's a dumb thing and isn't really particularly interesting to me at all." Like, yeah I have a really hard time imagining that I'm going to be doing much... Even bartering after the apocalypse. Like, I'm... I'm either like rolling with people and sharing shit or I'm keeping shit to myself but like... I'm not gonna be like, "Well, these three bullets are worth that tourniquet," or whatever, you know? At least that's my conception of it. That's when... When I like to imagine the end of the world, which is not actually something I like imagining anymore, but I'm imagining something that is closer to the ideological interest that I have. Which is maybe a fault of mine, maybe that's a blind spot of mine. #0:16:39.5# Kitty: Well, I don't think that's... I don't think it's necessarily a fault. I mean, like one thing that I think when... You know, I have a group friends that we talk about this stuff a lot amongst ourselves. Especially because we're within bicycling distance from each other, so we're sort of like, "Okay, if there is an emergency, we're pretty sure that we could get to each other." But we all have... Slightly different ideas of what we would like to see happen which means we also have a different... Like different ideals and different areas of expertise. And I think that that is actually super helpful. I don't know that I would want to be in a group that everybody thinks the same way, as long as you think cooperatively versus competitively. And for me that's what's important. I don't really care how we get to cooperative instead of competitive, but that's what I want. #0:17:33.5# Margaret: Yeah, that makes sense. So, look, I want to talk more about... Okay, one of the things I really like about prepping in general is that it can be very practical. It's not, it's... Obviously a lot of it is not practical at all. But like... But to take this conversation practically for a minute... Like, what you do... Not necessarily... Both in terms of things that you keep around, but also what are your plans? You talked about bicycling to meet up with your friends. What is... What kind of preparedness do you personally practice? #0:18:05.4# Kitty: So my boyfriend and I talk a lot about what our plans are. Pretty much every three months or so. And we're mostly... And ust to give some context, we're mostly prepping for an earthquake, for a big earthquake, because that's the most likely thing to happen here. I guess there's some possibilities that will end up having a bunch of neo-nazis coming and terrorizing us but I think they've gotten tired of Berkeley and have moved to Portland instead so... We're probably fine for now. So we talk a little bit about what are the risks that are current, what are the resources that are currently around? Maybe... We've been talking about creating a map, like actually getting a map and write, marking down important things that we might want to know where they are when you don't have Google Maps for example. So stuff like that is really important. Like the sort of... Preparing... For immediate needs and also for where you are going to be able to get resources. What area is around that could conceivably be turned into a garden if need be. Which we're actually lucky, we have a park really close by. And we also make a point to know our neighbors. Both our housed and houseless neighbors. So having good relationships with them is really helpful and like giving them ideas of how to be prepared so that we're not overwhelming ourselves trying to take care of them as well as ourselves. So you're trying to match up add the younger folks with older folks or able-bodied folks with people with disabilities so that way there's... It's easier for people to mobilize and so that we know who in our area is going to need help. So that's some of the community planning stuff that's not even focused on my group of hyper-focused friends but just making my environment less chaotic. And so that's sort of like... And again, like a garden, it takes some pruning and some cultivating and a little bit of upkeep but I feel reasonably confident that my neighbors are going to be able to handle themselves. Which is my first big concern because then I can start worrying about things like, what do I personally actually need? One thing that is kind of difficult, I live in an apartment and we don't have a huge amount of space. So I can't have buckets and buckets of freeze-dried food. We do tend to have a lot of canned food, we do tend to have a lot of nuts and dried fruit and stuff like that around so that helps a little bit. It makes it easier for us to find stuff in rubble that we can eat. We also have a... A dresser that we put our prepper stuff in and it's sorted with medic supplies in the first two drawers because that's sort of my specialty... That's my area focus. And then we have sort of more general supplies, so that's where we have LifeStraws and we have bandanas and we have masks for filtering out smoke or disease. We have lots and lots of gloves, we have... Water filtering tablets, we have a bunch different kinds of fire starters. So we sort of put together a compendium of things that we felt would be useful. And then what's probably the least practical thing is my... In the main living room I have a hatchet, I have a walking stick, I have my camping stuff. So it's not all condensed in one place but I have... I do have a spare tent at my partner's house and I have a medic bag. A fully packed medic go-bag that I take to protests in the trunk of my car. So that way I can... I have one medic bag in the house, I have one in the car, and I usually have one at my partner's house. Sometimes I have one at my local bar too but that's the one that usually get used if I go to a protest 'cause that's near downtown. But just having pockets stuff... And then I have a storage unit downtown as well. So I figured it might be more difficult to get into my storage unit but at least it's underground and that would be not a bad place to have some stuff that I don't need immediately but might want down the line, yeah. So... But it's sort of a pack rat... Pack ratty, squirrel type prepping. Of burying little caches... #0:23:27.8# Margaret: I'm impressed because you're... Yeah, you're managing to successfully do in an urban environment what... Well... Something I associate more with the rural environments of... You know, one of the things that I was realizing... #0:23:41.1# Kitty: It's harder. It's harder, but it's only harder if you care about being the only person who can get to it. And I don't really care so much about that. I just wanna have access to it. I'm... Because, for me, I'm someone who... I saw a guy on a scooter get hit by car. I was so glad I had that medic kit on me so that I could actually help him out. And immediately help him out. I'm so glad I had that expertise. So... And actually that's one thing that I also have is a first aid book because, again, I don't know how to do everything. But if I have a book, I can probably figure out how to do most things safely. So... #0:24:26.7# Margaret: What's the book? #0:24:29.4# Kitty: It's an old field manual medic guide, I forget what era. But I prefer to try to go for stuff that's military because... Or serious environmental wilderness strategy guides because then they're not focused on you having access to a full hospital. It's not ideal conditions. Sometimes first aid advice is like, "Oh well just call an ambulance" and it's like well that's not really practical in the sort of situations I'm preparing for so I prefer to look at older stuff. And then take newer knowledge and pack that on top. But knowing how to do some of these things when you don't have electricity, a lot of modern medicine depends on electricity, depends on you having access to different kinds of medications and solutions that might not have. So I think it's kind of... I don't... Until I have to do it in practice I don't know how useful it actually will be. But I'm interested in learning how have people prevented disease... In wartime, in... A forest in the middle of nowhere versus what you you would get trained necessarily if you're getting CPR training for your work. #0:26:08.8# Margaret: Have you taken the wilderness first responder course or anything like that? #0:26:12.4# Kitty: I want to so badly. I'm hoping that I can save up for it or have somebody gift it to me. But that is on my list of, oh my god I would... That be so dreamy. But... I really... I just also am just also am obsessed with medical stuff. I guess that's... That's one thing I would really recommend for people curious about prepping. I would say while it is nice to be able to have information about a bunch of different areas, find the thing that you're really interested and nerd out on that. One of my friends is really, really into finding plants and urban foraging. So that's her area of expertise. It's like, oh, she can tell you every plant you can eat within two miles of your house. And that would be really useful, it's not necessarily something that my brain can hold onto... As easily as medicine stuff. My partner is really good with weapons and... Building shelters. It's not really my area so it's nice to have somebody who can teach me just enough but also has a lot more expertise. #0:27:29.4# Margaret: Yeah, that's something that I... I think about a lot in terms of even just the world I wanna live in. I'm really excited about the idea where we... Instead of having a generalism versus specialization kind of argument, it's another bullshit false dichotomy, probably we should all as much as we can generalize as broadly as we can and then pick the things that stand out to us to specialize in. Like, I don't need to know how to do surgery but I should probably know first... Literal first aid. Like first response... Like there have been a number times in my life where I've... I'm incredibly squeamish, I hate medical things, I hate thinking about it the way that like... Like someone showed me how to use a tourniquet and... You know, I disassociated in order to learn. Because the concept of thinking about like... Arterial bleeding doesn't work for me. But I know that I need to know how to do that so I learn pretty much by disassociating and then kind of when things happen I like disassociate again and then deal with it. #0:28:34.6# Kitty: Yeah, I mean there's some practicality to that. When I was doing medical work at protests I really underestimated how traumatized I was until months later... When I was like, "Wow, I just didn't have feelings for a while." It's a lot and I'm... I love... See, I'm not squeamish at all about that stuff but I'm impatient so like building structures is not my thing. It's like, I could learn how to do it but I don't even put up the tent when I go camping if I can avoid it. So... Knowing that I have a good solid group of people around me who are really excited to do that stuff allows us to do the thing we're excited about but also in case something happens to that person, we know how to do it we just don't like it. #0:29:26.1# Margaret: Yeah. Or at least have a... Can do a rougher version of it, you know? Can do a... I had a... I was just talking to a friend about all of this. I actually don't remember if it's... I'm recordings these interviews out of order from how they're going to play. So I was talking to a friend of mine who's a... A medical professional and he was talking about how in a crisis situation if you have two people, maybe what you want is a nurse and a world class generalist, you know? As like the two people that you need. #0:29:58.8# Kitty: Pretty much. I think having a medic... Like I think everyone should have basic medical training, just basic shit, because that way anybody can do an emergency... Like, okay, "I can put gauze on this and stop the bleeding." That's what I need from people. And every time I go to a protest, people are asking what they could do to help and I'm like, "Just do that. Just do that, only." And help people with sprained ankles and keep them hydrated. 'Cause if you can do all of that then I can focus on stitching someone's head together. That's what I need to be able to be focused on because I'm not the squeamish one. So... Yeah, I think that helps a lot. Also coming up with things for you to do, that gets ignored a lot on prepper forums. At least the ones I've been on. They talk a lot about like, you know, "Okay, you've gotta have all of this foraging skills and you gotta have shelter building and you gotta have all these supplies in order to make all of this stuff," but there are no downtime options. And you're gonna have downtime sometimes. Like you're gonna get sick eventually, if nothing else. So make sure you have stuff to keep your mind busy during those times. 'Cause watching "Alone" for example, I don't know if you've ever seen that one but they put these people by themselves in the middle of the... Was it Canadian wilderness I think for at least the first couple of seasons? And they have to do everything from scratch. They have some supplies on them and a good supply list. But they have to pick like... 1 of 10 items, or 10 different items out of a list of like... pre-approved 50 different things they can have. So have to do a lot of stuff by themselves. And almost every single time the thing that gets to them is just a lack of food and boredom. And if they can keep themselves busy, somehow, like making music or making art or building... Like adding decorations to their shelter, then the fact that they're hungry doesn't bother them so much. But if they don't have anything like that, they're not creative in any way, then the fact that they're hungry literally gnaws away at their brain. So I just think that's a really interesting aspect... Like thinking a lot about mental health in an emergency scenario because I think that gets ignored with a lot of right-wing prepping forums and stuff like that. #0:32:53.6# Margaret: Yeah. Yeah I wonder what... I feel like there's just the deck of card, is what's written about in all the things. #0:33:03.3# Kitty: Yeah, it's always recommended. Always have a deck of cards. #0:33:05.8# Margaret: Which is like... You can tell that they wrote that in the 50's or whatever, you know? #0:33:10.1# Kitty: Right, in that... Part of it's gonna be like, "Oh, like for gambling in order to entertain yourself if... Gambling with the no money that you have. I don't know. It's just... I would much prefer to have... I don't know, Codenames or something. Endless replayability. #0:33:31.2# Margaret: Yeah, I feel like there's a... #0:33:32.1# Kitty: I mean, but... #0:33:32.8# Margaret: Go ahead. #0:33:32.8# Kitty: Let's be honest, I'd be playing Dungeons & Dragons. In my tracker tent as an actual ranger. Playing Dungeons & Dragons. #0:33:45.2# Margaret: You wouldn't play... What's the opposite of it? The dragons play, they play... Humans and Houses? #0:33:51.3# Kitty: Oh, yeah, maybe that too. I don't know, mix them up. Mix them together. #0:33:56.3# Margaret: You'd have roleplaying about what would you do if apartments still existed or whatever? #0:34:00.4# Kitty: Yeah. #0:34:02.7# Margaret: I think that... #0:34:03.3# Kitty: I mean, I guess I don't... I'm not that scared of that. It would be uncomfortable and I'd probably hate it a lot. I'm a house cat. But, you know, I'm not that worried about it either. And I think part of it is because I just made being prepared, knowing where my go-bag is at all times just part of my day-to-day existence. So it's just muscle memory at this point. #0:34:32.8# Margaret: Yeah. Earlier in our pre-conversation, when we talked about what we might talk about, one of the things you brought up is the ableism that exists in a lot of prepping conversations and I was wondering if you wanted to talk more about that. #0:34:46.0# Kitty: Yeah, so I noticed that a lot of discussions on what your go-plan is involves being able to walk long distances. Presumably because they figure walking a long enough distance would get you to area of wilderness, that they feel would be more suitable. I... That is really impractical for a large number of people. People with small children are going to struggle with that. Elderly people are going to struggle with that. People with disabilities are going to struggle with that. Some people with disabilities aren't going to be able to do that. It won't even be just a struggle, it's just impossible. So I think the... We need more diverse resources and we need to talk seriously about how to make this accessible for people who aren't in their... Super hyper fit, in their 30's, ready to charge over a mountain. And in the bay area you could you could walk for eight hours and I don't know that you would find a bit of wilderness... So I don't think that's necessarily the most practical option for all people. #0:36:08.7# Margaret: it's funny to me that all this stuff about going to the wilderness because I live in... Not the wilderness but I very rurally. I live in a house that I built at the end of a... Beyond the end of a gravel road like every stupid stick of my fucking cabin I had to carry up a hill on my back. I actually started building it with a chronic injury and then managed to... Physical therapy my way... This isn't a... Statement about ableism, just the weird stupid shit of building this fucking cabin I live in. #0:36:40.6# Kitty: But looks really cool. #0:36:43.0# Margaret: But there's... Thanks, yeah, no I'm really proud of it and it's funny because actually it's a brilliant place to live during civilization. But if there were some kind of crisis, I would probably get my to-go bag or my car presumably but let's pretend like that's not an option for whatever reason, and I would walk to the city. Because the city is where people are and that is where we can keep each other safe. I think people have this conception of... That people are a danger and that's true, people are dangerous, right? But the wilderness is really fucking dangerous too. And... #0:37:23.7# Kitty: People really underestimate how dangerous the wilderness is. They underestimate how cold it is. The cold will kill you, the wet will kill you. #0:37:34.4# Margaret: Yeah and so getting to... I don't know for certain, it would really depend on the threat, but I would presumably go to a place of higher population so that we collectively can figure out what the fuck to do. And maybe the fact that I have access to certain resources by living on land can become useful to people. And that would be my hope. I could easily imagine a situation where you have, as part of your prepping, you would have... The rural... With rural living access to space. You don't necessarily have access to anything else but you often have access to space and... So you can store tractors and you can store strange devices... Like devices that have very odd and specialized purposes for building or something like that. But then again, the thing I'm slowly learning is that cities have all of those things too. It's just that not necessarily each individual is going to own them. Because not everyone lives on a farm. #0:38:36.4# Kitty: Right. The city owns it or the government owns it. But yeah, there's plenty of parking lots. #0:38:42.5# Margaret: Yeah, that's true. #0:38:45.8# Kitty: So... Yeah. I mean, like... Oh, god. I'm trying to remember what the name of the show was. So I... I watch a lot of prepping and wilderness survival based shows. Somewhat to remind myself that nature is dangerous and also because I find them very amusing. And there was one that was... It wasn't entirely clear if it was a reality show or if it was scripted or both. Pretty sure it was both, but they were in LA. And I forget what they had decided ... The LA one I don't think it was a disease. They had a different calamity happen each season. And in the first season they had a good variety of people. They had several mechanics, they had a couple of nurses and doctors. They had martial arts teachers. So they had a good cross-section of people. And they did decently well surviving in a big warehouse in LA and came up with some incredibly inventive weapons and things. I remember they created a flame thrower out of bits of an old car which was stunning to watch. But then the second season they were in New Orleans, in some of the areas that have been devastated by Katrina. And they had underestimated how swampy it was and how hard it was going to be to get food and how there were tons of snakes and alligators that we're going to kill you. And also that one had a disease element so every once in a while someone would get claimed by a contagious disease and they would just start disappearing. But the thing that really got to them I think is that they didn't have a very diverse group of people. They had a lot of schoolteachers and artists and that's great, that's important stuff, but if they don't have any trade skills as well, they're gonna drop like flies. So it's really important to take your creative energies and learn how to do something that can embrace that but also has a living purpose. #0:41:12.1# Margaret: Yeah. Yeah, as a generalist I think about that where most of my skills are graphic design and audio which is great when you want to start a podcast, if you have been doing electronic music for twenty years or whatever, you know? But I think I've really consciously been working on developing my skills that are not only on a computer, you know? For kind of this purpose. #0:41:39.1# Kitty: Well, hey. Electronic music and audio says to me, making ham radios. Practical and useful. There's always something there, it's just like finding what those things are. Though I will say this, the first season in the warehouse in LA they had a big issue with masculinity. #0:42:04.7# Margaret: I only watched the second season. #0:42:05.4# Kitty: Everybody was... #0:42:06.9# Margaret: I watched the one where they all... #0:42:07.5# Kitty: The first one is great. It's like all these male mechanics shouting at each other about how to fix something better and then this female mechanic just goes and does it. #0:42:16.8# Margaret: Yeah, that sounds like a perfect metaphor. #0:42:19.1# Kitty: And then they when they all brag about how proud that they came up with this idea and she just rolls her eyes and you're just like, "Yup, that's how it would be pretty much." And that said to me a lot about mediation. Knowing how to mediate, knowing your own triggers. Like knowing your own mental health stuff so that you can then navigate other people's mental health stuff. That's also super important. And easy for anybody to do. #0:42:44.9# Margaret: Yeah, yeah I think knowing different organization models. Like I think knowledge and facilitation is a really important skill. I think people basically pick whichever organizational model seems to be practical when the existing larger structure goes away. And I've been in spaces where we haven't been sure how we're going to organize ourselves and I'm surrounded by a bunch of non-anarchists and then I'm like, "Well here's this model where we're all equals but we still actually figure things out." And it just works as compared to I'm pretty sure if someone had been like, "Here's the model, I'm pretty much in charge." And maybe it'll be like some veneer of democracy where he'll be like, and I'm just going to use 'he' for this imaginary patriarch... #0:43:28.5# Kitty: I wonder why. #0:43:29.7# Margaret: He'll be like, "I'm in charge and the we can have a little vote about that if we wanna prove that I'm in charge," you know? And everyone will be like, "Well, he's the one who is offering to get shit done." And what... Of course what people fail to realize is that's like... We get shit done, collectively. Whether it's collectively we do it and someone is taking the credit by being up top, you know? Or whether we do it... So that's one of the things that I think about with prepping. How to... And I think that's maybe one of the things that right-wing preppers are afraid of is they're like... They don't have... The only people skills that they know is this hierarchical system. Well, I guess there's plenty of leftists who also only seem to know hierarchical systems. But... #0:44:13.2# Kitty: I mean it's a pretty... It's a pretty common system. That's why... That's why I kind of enjoy the, everybody gets to be an expert in their own thing so that nobody is super... Nobody can be too pleased with themselves. Keeps everybody humble, I think. #0:44:34.3# Margaret: Yeah. So the one other main question that I... Or thing that I kinda wanna hash out with you for this which is probably gonna be the first episode, everyone who's listening will know whether or not it's the first episode. It will be very embarrassing if this is the seventeenth episode, but... Maybe talk about different threat models. That's... How we we determine what we need, of course, is dependent on what we think is likely to happen and as there's no one-size-fits all. And so you say the primary threat model that you're working with is a natural disaster. Do you want to talk about that or do you want to talk about other threat models or... #0:45:12.8# Kitty: Sure. Well, I think... Okay, a great example is the things that I want for a earthquake is not necessarily what I would want in a tsunami, right? Those are very different natural disasters. As somebody who grew up in hurricane country-ish, you know, it was just really really wet. And having a dust mask would not have helped me in any way. But I would be at much more risk of getting trench foot so that would be like, waterpreoof boots would be way more important. So some of it's knowing your environment and being aware of what your environmental concerns ar. Like living in a city, asbestos is a big fundamental concern. So having dust masks is really important. I feel like I read once that most deaths aren't... In an earthquake, come from inhaling the debris. And that... That causes some of the worst injuries because there's just all of this dust everywhere and... I know that was definitely true with the fires. A lot of people have... Still have some... Some still have breathing problems now from the various fires that were going on in Northern California. So knowing what you need to be concerned about. Like with earthquakes, knowing that the roads might not be super useful to drive on. So having alternative plans for that knowing where your bike paths are. Knowing... If you have a wheelchair for example, maybe thinking of a way to add some tread on your wheelchair might be a practical option. I have a beach cruiser. It's not a racing bike by any means but it's heavy and it's easy to find the parts. And it's really easy to fix myself, that's why I chose that. So thinking about what you can actually do, I think is helpful in figuring out your... Your strategy. I know that I don't know enough about my car to be able to completely dismantle it. However, I do know somebody who does know enough about my car to do that. So I can bike to him and then have him do that. So coming up with those kind of like, "Okay, if this then this, if this then this" strategies helps me at least, I have a very ADHD brain. It helps me have a... A process to go through. Now in California, earthquakes are a big concern especially in this area but fire is also a big concern. And the way I would prepare for a fire versus an earthquake, I would be more concerned about my paperwork disappearing in a fire than an earthquake. Though to be completely honest I'm not that fussed about my paperwork in general. I don't think getting rid of paperwork is the worst plan. But that's not what the government wants to hear from me. So I have... I have some paperwork in a folder that's easy to access if I need to grab something go because my apartment is burning but I wouldn't be as... I wouldn't care much about that if it was an earthquake because in my consideration there would will be enough of a drastic interruption in services for an earthquake that I don't think that that would be an immediate need. #0:49:16.3# Margaret: Yeah and you wouldn't certainly be the only one who has lost their paperwork. #0:49:20.4# Kitty: Right, exactly. Exactly. And again, I think that we use paperwork as a penalty for so many people that... Maybe mucking up that system a little bit is a convenient little thing I can do on the side. So I... Yeah, I guess... And all of that is completely separate from thinking of having invaders come and try to take my apartment away from me or something. That... I usually strategise for that by thinking about what my plan are if the cops get even more out of control. #0:50:02.9# Margaret: Right. Like fascist takeovers is on my... On my threat model list, you know? #0:50:08.9# Kitty: Yeah, yeah, totally. And you know... The cops have been pretty shitty around here for quite a while, so... You know, it's been a slowly increasing... Plan. But I mean... For me, I'm not interested in trying to shoot my way through the cops. I have no problem with people who that is their plan, I think it's great that there are people who are inclined that way, but I'm gonna go full rogue. I'm sneaky. I'm going to go to the sewers. I'm not as... I'm not as interested in that kind of direct conflict. So my model for that... Or like my managements for that would be really, really different from natural disasters. And I kind of feel like that are all the things that might actually happen. I mean, I guess a meteor could hit but... Eh. The prepping I do for every other disaster would be fine for that probably. Or I'd be dead. And wouldn't care. So... How about you? What are your... What's your threat model? #0:51:23.0# Margaret: So I live on a floodplain. It's not supposed to be a floodplain but global warming has made it a floodplain. And the mountains... When I first moved to the mountains, I grew up in the foothills, and when I moved into the mountains it... It kind of blew my mind that flooding is a problem because in my mind I'm like, "Well, everything is high up" and actually flooding is at least as much of a problem in... Well, the flooding is a problem in a lot different places, you know hurricanes cause floods, but flash floods in the mountains are very real especially in an era of mountaintop removal mining. which is not immediate thing immediately around me but it certainly affects places within a couple hours of where I live in Appalachia. But, you know, storms... Like the weather patterns are just changing dramatically and by living in rurally I'm not as defended against that in some ways because there's not a large crew of people working to try and figure out how to make sure that the little place that I live is... Is safe. And so we have to do it to whatever... Because you're not supposed to mess with of waterways, we have to do it through the state and all that, but in the meantime our land floods. And so... It flooded a couple days ago and I had to go out and try and prevent it from getting worse through whatever means. And... And I actually had this moment, you're talking about paperwork, I started walking into this flood with my wallet in my pocket. And then eventually realized that that was a bad idea. My wallet does not need to be in my pocket. I'm not going to get asked for my papers or need to purchase anything while I'm walking into this flood and... And so it's a... So natural disaster is like the top... Climate change affecting everything is my top threat model where I live. But fascist takeover is on there and fascist takeover... Is a really different set of problems. #0:53:42.9# Kitty: Yeah. And it's different kind of... #0:53:43.8# Margaret: And a lot of it still comes down to knowing your neighbors. #0:53:46.1# Kitty: It's a different set of prepping as well. It's a totally different set skills. #0:53:50.8# Margaret: Yeah. And I mean there's... And one of the things I was thinking about is... The thing I was really... That I realized, a lot of my... I've spent a lot of my life living outdoors. I was a traveling anarchist living out of a backpack, and I was a forest defender and was a squatter and I lived in a van, and now I live in a cabin. Almost half my life I've lived out... Off grid, essentially. And I was thinking how when in February I'm waist and sometimes chest deep in water, I was thinking how glad I am that just kind of by default prefer certain types of practical clothes. It's funny 'cause I... Most of the time... I built my house wearing a dress. But when I'm like, "Okay it's rainy," and I put my puffy vest and my waders, my muck boots, and wool socks. And I wasn't nearly as concerned about hypothermia, which is a major problem in floods especially in February, just because I wasn't wearing much cotton. And it's funny like because I never think about my outdoors skills. Like how to start a fire with tinder and flint and steel and all that. That's not... I don't really see a version of the world where I'm living in the woods alone and hunting squirrels and whatever the fuck, you know? But there are gonna be moments where I might be like... Needing to not get hypothermia while I'm trying to clear up a dam that's forming or whatever. #0:55:26.9# Kitty: Yeah, yeah. Two pairs of wool socks should be on everyone's list in their go bag for sure. #0:55:34.3# Margaret: Yeah, I keep a second vest... #0:55:35.7# Kitty: And the more wool clothing you have the better. #0:55:39.4# Margaret: But what's funny is than I was thinking that through when you're talking about fires, I was thinking about California, I was like... Well, actually the same clothes that are really good in flood and maybe a tsunami are not good in fire. You don't want to wear synthetic in a fire situation. So... But over all... #0:56:00.1# Kitty: But you actually do wanna wear cotton. #0:56:02.6# Margaret: Yeah. Yeah... #0:56:05.0# Kitty: I remember I used to... I used to blacksmith with my dad and he would be like, "What are you wearing? That's really impractical for this." I'm like, "It's fine. It's cotton, it'll just roll right off. You can't catch fire in cotton." He was like, "That's not really true... But it's more true, I guess." #0:56:22.2# Margaret: It's better than polyester. #0:56:24.0# Kitty: Yes, certainly, yes. #0:56:25.3# Margaret: It's not going to melt into your skin. #0:56:27.9# Kitty: I have melted through so many skirts with some prep butts for sure. And I'm sort of learning at this point that that's... That's a concern. But yeah, I mean that's definitely an area of my prepping that I need to be better about. Is just having practical clothes. I don't have that much in the way of practical clothes that can fold up really small and actually keep me warm or keep me cool. #0:56:59.3# Margaret: Yeah. But sometimes people over... Overestimate the importance of this. I've definitely gone hiking in maxi skirts all time. And every time I go hiking with someone new in a maxi skirt they're like, "Margaret, do you wanna wear that?" And I'm like, "Are you fucking kidding me, I've been hiking in these skirts for the past fifteen years I know what the fuck I'm doing." Yeah, they might get caught and rip on things but whatever, you know? So there's a... There's a... I'm suddenly defensive about like, "Oh no, you don't need practical clothes." I don't know, maybe... Maybe we all need practical clothes. But maybe sometimes... #0:57:31.7# Kitty: You definitely need socks and I would recommend more than one pair of underwear. Probably cotton just for... #0:57:38.9# Margaret: But that's, yeah... #0:57:39.2# Kitty: Keeping your genitals fresh. But other then that... You can figure it out. I mean... But also clothes are not exactly in short supply either. There's a lot of trash fashion that we can pad up to make something acceptable. #0:58:01.8# Margaret: Well, in a lot of disaster areas people gather clothes to bring there and all the people there are like, "Why did you bring us fucking clothes. Bring us fucking clean water. What you doing?" #0:58:12.6# Kitty: Well they're bringing clothes because you can't burn them in India or China anymore, right? So it's like, "Oh, we'll give it to poor people." #0:58:22.1# Margaret: That way we get to feel better and clean out our closet, yeah #0:58:25.7# Kitty: Yup. I mean it's just... I guess that's another... That another threat, is just being buried under stuff. Just trash. Just being slowly buried alive under trash. #0:58:39.4# Margaret: Well that's the... That's the status quo problem, right? There's... If the world doesn't end and it keeps going the way it goes that's also kind of horrible. #0:58:49.7# Kitty: Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess actually another threat model that I think a lot about is disease. Disease is definitely a big concern. We... I live in a city where everyone is on top each other. So... A disease can spread incredibly quickly. I remembered there was a person who went to Berkeley Bowl who had the measles or something and they just quarantined Berkeley bowl. And I was like, "I'm not leaving the house for two weeks, just in case, who knows?" And that's even with having a vaccine. It's just... Knowing that when the electricity fails a lot of things like vaccines are going to become a lot more difficult, if not impossible... #0:59:43.0# Margaret: To acquire or whatever? #0:59:45.1# Kitty: And then... And then it's... Yeah, to acquire, keep them cold. To refrigerate medications, that's not going to be possible. So figuring out that is also something I try to be somewhat aware of. Having alternatives to medication, having alternatives to street drugs also. So knowing about... Knowing how to use Narcan. Knowing a little about... I don't even know how to pronounce that, I've only seen it read... Kratom? #1:00:23.5# Margaret: Kratom I think. #1:00:25.6# Kitty: Yeah, so that has been used by a bunch of my friends when they've been withdrawing from opiates. So having stuff that could work as an alternate... I've always packed some pot in my medic bag even though I don't smoke pot. Because it's so useful for so many different things... That it's worth just having it in there. And that's something that could be a real problem. A bunch of people withdrawing at once... Is a huge problem. A bunch of people getting sick at once is a huge problem. So having alternatives for that stuff is something that I'm looking a lot more into. #1:01:13.4# Margaret: Yeah, that's interesting that... I haven't thought about that. #1:01:16.3# Kitty: And that's what... #1:01:16.3# Margaret: The... Specifically withdrawing. #1:01:18.6# Kitty: That's just really something right-wing people don't think about that. I've noticed this. They're afraid of... Sorry, I forget the actual terminology, again ADHD brain, and I tend to call things... Like I called bars alcohol restaurants, that's just... How my brain works. But there's some doomsday thing that a lot of people are hype on... #1:01:39.4# Margaret: Coronavirus? #1:01:41.8# Kitty: About... No, no, no. I wish it was that, that would make much sense but no. They're just being racist and frantic about that while not thinking about the flu which kills a lot more people. But anyway... No. It's the... It's like a solar flare is going to knock out all of our electricity? #1:02:02.9# Margaret: Oh, 'cause then it'll EMP us or whatever? #1:02:05.4# Kitty: That's the one, yes. There's so many of them who are so focused on that but then they don't think about disease at all. And that just blows my mind because disease is way more likely. #1:02:19.9# Margaret: Yeah, people are bad at threat modeling. #1:02:21.0# Kitty: Within our lifetime we've seen multiple plagues. #1:02:25.0# Margaret: Yeah. I mean it's... #1:02:27.7# Kitty: It's just really surprising. #1:02:29.7# Margaret: I think some of it is about... I mean most of it's that people are bad at threat modeling. But I think some of it is like people... Enjoy certain types of threats. Like preparing for certain types of threats more than others. And also probably enjoy preparing like... For something that makes them feel like they have more agency instead of less agency, you know? If you're someone who... All of your skills are about non-electric things you can be really excited about the power grid going down. But I don't know. #1:03:02.8# Kitty: But I mean... That is... That is another area to think about when it comes to ableism, for example. A lot of diabetics aren't going to be able to get access to their medication. So figuring out how do you deal with that. And I don't think there... I don't know that I have answer to that, I don't know that anybody does. While that's for certain something that I would want to... Know more about. #1:03:28.0# Margaret: I think that's why we have to not... It's why the end of the world is bad. Like disaster is actually a really bad thing. Like people clearly get kind of hooked on it, right, because they suddenly have agency in their lives and they... You know, and... Everything I've ever read or talk to people about, like suicide goes down, like psychotic breaks go down, things like that during crisis. And it's... But it's still, at the end of the day, something that if we can avert it we should. And that's actually why... As much as climate change is going to affect things, there are going to be disasters, there's going to be interruptions in our society, if there's ways we can find to make sure that that doesn't kill so many people or ruin so many lives... Even if it ruins economic systems, maybe, you know... And of course as an anarchist I say this, maybe the solution is to ruin the existing economic system. Although ideally by transferring it over to a system that... You know... So that we still have access to the... The things we need in the meantime. Which is actually, it gets... I'm almost done with this rant. The whole... There's a threat that the whole like... There's a Durruti quote where during the Spanish Civil War... Someone asks him, "Well, what about all the destruction of this revolution?" And he's like, "Well, we're workers, we're not afraid of ruins. Why would we be afraid of ruins, we're the ones who built this city, we can build again." And I think about... Often people are like, well, and this is a tangent 'cause now I'm talking about anarchist society, people are like, "In an anarchist society, how would you have antibiotics?" I'd be like "Well, I don't know, how do we fucking have them now? We'll do that. Or maybe a different way, I don't know." And there's still people in the apocalypse, right? There's still a ton of people in disaster and we all know how to do stuff. And so even if like the electrical grid dies, that doesn't mean there's no power. It doesn't mean there's no hospital, even, you know? There's... Like even... We can... Fix these things and do these things and some of those are already prepared for that. #1:05:43.8# Kitty: Yeah. And I mean... And I think... I guess I would say that while it's good to be prepared, I also think it's important not to psyche yourself out. I think it's important to... Not get too excited about it. Because the fact is a lot of people, a lot of black and brown people especially, disabled people especially, will die. In any kind of disaster that you would want to prep for. That's just... That's how we structured our society and that is going to happen. So I think that that is something to be aware of before getting too thrilled about... The end of the world, right? So that you're kinda saying some really fucked up stuff at the same time. And frankly I don't know that I would survive a disaster like that. But I do know that I don't think I could do it by myself. I do think I could do it with community. And I think that that's why I'm so focus on community and mutual aid. I read A Paradise Built In Hell and it's this really interesting book that looks at different disasters and kind of has that... Isn't it interesting how a disaster happens and people come together and help each other even when everything has gone shit. And how... I think this was kinda the intention of the author of this book but she does seem to point out a lot... Isn't it also interesting how often the government steps in and tells them to stop doing that? So no, that is not okay. And will actually murder people to prevent them from helping each other. And I think that... That's something I'd consider as sort of a secondary threat model is... The government trying to prevent people from actually doing okay without them. It's like an ultimate abusive relationship. And figuring out how to deal with that... When you're being funneled into resources that are not ready to handle them. Yeah, so I mean, you know, it's a lot. #1:08:25.9# Margaret: Well this is a... This is a really good... This is going to be the first episode and... So I think we've covered a lot of... Thanks for helping me kind of... Almost like set up what this show will hopefully drill down more about and yeah, thanks so much for... Talking to me about all this stuff today. #1:08:46.8# Kitty: Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm glad we could kind of work out... Sort of, here's all of the issues for... Here's a selection of all of the issues. But wait, there's more. #1:08:58.8# Margaret: Yeah, no, exactly. #1:08:59.1# Kitty: I'm looking forward to seeing the series. It should be pretty cool. #1:09:03.7# Margaret: Cool. Alright, well... Thank you so much. #1:09:06.5# Kitty: Thank you. #1:09:08.0# (Musical transition) #1:09:11.7# Margaret: Thanks for listening to the first ever episode of Live Like The World Is Dying. If you enjoyed the podcast, please tell your friends. Tell iTunes, tell Apple podcasts, tell whatever platform you get your podcasts on that you liked the podcast by subscribing, by reviewing it, by rating it and all of those things. It actually makes a huge difference and I think it'll especially a huge difference for the first couple episodes of a podcast. If you'd like to see this podcast continue, you can support me on Patreon. I... I make most of my living through my Patreon which allows me to spend my time creating content and I'm wildly, wildly grateful that that's something that I get to do with my life. In particular, I would like to thank Chris and Nora and Hoss the dog, Willow, Kirk, Natalie, and Sam. Y'all really make this possible and I can't thank you enough. Alright, thanks so much. And join us next time. #1:10:10.0# (Outroductory music) This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-69f62d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Live Like the World is Dying.
Shelli-Ann McKenzie. Purpose of the Interview The interview focuses on advocating for healthcare professionals, addressing the challenges they face, and introducing Shelli-Ann McKenzie’s nonprofit organization, Help for Healthcare Professionals (HCPP). The goal is to highlight burnout, financial struggles, and systemic issues in healthcare while promoting programs that support mental wellness, financial literacy, and career development. Key Takeaways Healthcare Workforce Challenges Nurses and healthcare professionals face high stress, burnout, and long hours, leading to workforce shortages. Many professionals struggle financially—24% live in poverty. Lack of professors in nursing schools limits the number of students entering the profession. Understanding Nursing Roles Nursing includes multiple levels: Registered Nurse (RN): Associate or bachelor’s degree. Advanced Practice Nurses: Master’s level (e.g., Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Educator). Doctorate Level: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or PhD. Nurse practitioners often function as an extension of physicians, providing quality care. Respect and Recognition Nurses provide more direct care than any other health profession but often lack recognition. Advocacy is key to ensuring nurses can practice at the highest level and improve access to care. Why HCPP Was Founded Born out of COVID-19 crisis and Shelli-Ann’s personal experience with burnout. Mission: Provide mental health referrals, financial assistance (gift cards, gas), and professional development. Programs include: Financial literacy workshops Entrepreneurship training for healthcare professionals Scholarships and internships for aspiring professionals Youth Med Program Targets ages 13–20 to build a healthcare workforce pipeline. Offers hands-on training, CPR certification, exposure to neurosurgeons, and mentorship. Tuition-free and designed to scale nationally. Funding and Community Support HCPP is a nurse-owned nonprofit, funded by federal grants and donations. Annual event: Night of Grand and Gratitude—a charity awards dinner to raise funds for programs. Notable Quotes “No one else was coming to save us—so I created HCPP.” “24% of healthcare professionals live in poverty.” “If we don’t have enough professors, we cap nursing students—it’s cyclical.” “The most rewarding part of nursing is showing up for people in their most vulnerable moments.” “Every dollar we raise fuels education programs like Youth Med—strategic investment in the future of healthcare.” #SHMS #STRAW #BESTSteve Harvey Morning Show Online: http://www.steveharveyfm.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
From another big budget shortfall to unsettled business over artificial intelligence to other pressing policy issues, like housing, the environment and surveillance, the 2026 legislative session kicks off in less than a week and Colorado lawmakers already have a lot on their to-do lists. Plus, while Democrats continue to hold a wide majority in both legislative chambers, tensions between the more progressive and more moderate factions of the party threaten to bubble over. On top of all of that, a big election year that will deliver new leaders for the state. CPR's Bente Birkeland, KUNC's Lucas Brady Woods and The Colorado Sun's Jesse Paul dig into the politics, the policy and the pressures expected to shape a new session. Catch up on our latest coverage: Purplish: Budget balanced (for now), AI decisions punted, relationships ruptured: What went down during special session Purplish: Crude Signal chats, social media attacks, mistreated aides: lawmaker conduct is back in the headlines CPR: Trump cites Colorado in new executive order banning states from creating ‘cumbersome' AI laws The Colorado Sun: How Medicaid became such a drag on Colorado's state budget KUNC: Democrats, local governments are gearing up for another round of battles over housing in Colorado The Colorado Sun: Colorado Ethics Commission advances complaints against Democrats who attended dark money-funded retreat The Colorado Sun: Colorado state Sen. Faith Winter was legally drunk when she caused car crash that killed her, authorities say Purplish: Drinking at the Colorado Capitol CPR: Democratic Sen. Faith Winter changed State Capitol culture in the #MeToo era Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.Purplish's producer is Stephanie Wolf. Megan Verlee is CPR News' executive producer of podcasting. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. Purplish's theme music is by Brad Turner. Additional reporting for this episode from Taylor Dolven of The Colorado Sun and CPR's John Daley.
This week: Elizabeth wants to ban a new word that has shown up in the house, Andy indulges in a misty morning adventure, Technology is on the mind and more! It's all covered on this week's Nobody's Listening, Right? Check out our new True Crime podcast: BETH'S DEAD Learn more at: https://www.patreon.com/cw/BethsDead Support NLR Join Patreon for bonus episodes! Buy the Merch! Find us on Instagram Find us on TikTok Watch us on YouTube Shop our Amazon recommendations Here ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 03:10 Lubes And Cubes 09:23 Vintage Camera Lens 18:10 The Mahjong Bug 22:12 Levator veli palatini 29:03 Farts. 32:32 CPR and Heimlich Maneuver 37:51 Are We Technology 54:04 Menopause and Attraction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
President Donald Trump ordered an attack on Venezuela last Friday and U.S. armed forces have captured the country's president, Nicolás Maduro. So, what does Denver have to do with it? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are dissecting all the local connections, from Trump citing Aurora in his justification of the attack and Governor Jared Polis' controversial response to the possibility that local oil and gas companies might be involved in the next phase of the president's plan. Plus, tons of great listener comments and questions. Paul quoted CPR's fact-checking of Trump's Saturday press conference and 9News' coverage of Lauren Boebert's recent tension with Trump. What do you think? We always want to hear from you! Text or leave us a voicemail with your question or hot take, as well as your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Learn more about the sponsors of this January 6th episode: Multipass University of Denver Cozy Earth - Use code COZYDENVER for up to 20% off Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise
Listen as Pastor Ken Wojnarowski preaches a sermon from his CPR series called The Architect from Psalm 147.
https://bbvproductions.co.uk/products/Faction-Paradox-The-Confession-of-Brother-Signet-AUDIO-DOWNLOAD-p389922366 The first season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things premiered worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on July 15, 2016. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. This season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, and Shannon Purser in recurring roles. The first season of Stranger Things received critical acclaim, in particular for its originality, homages to the 1980s, characterization, tone, visuals, and performances (particularly those of Ryder, Harbour, Wolfhard, Brown, Heaton and Modine). Premise The first season begins on November 6, 1983, in a small town called Hawkins. Researchers at Hawkins National Laboratory open a rift to the "Upside Down," an alternate dimension that reflects the real world. A monstrous humanoid creature escapes and abducts a boy named Will Byers and a teenage girl. Will's mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the same time, a young psychokinetic girl who goes by the name "Eleven" escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's friends, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair, in their efforts to find Will.[1] Cast and characters See also: List of Stranger Things characters Main cast Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers[2] David Harbour as Jim Hopper[2] Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler[3] Millie Bobby Brown[3] as Eleven ("El") Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson[3] Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair[3] Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler[3] Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers[3][4][5] Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler[6] Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner[7] Recurring Noah Schnapp as Will Byers Joe Keery as Steve Harrington Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland[8] Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers[9] Rob Morgan as Officer Powell John Paul Reynolds as Officer Callahan Randy Havens as Scott Clarke Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives[10] Amy Seimetz as Becky Ives Peyton Wich as Troy[11] Tony Vaughn as Principal Coleman Charles Lawlor as Mr. Melvald Tinsley and Anniston Price as Holly Wheeler Cade Jones as James Chester Rushing as Tommy H. Chelsea Talmadge as Carol Glennellen Anderson as Nicole Cynthia Barrett as Marsha Holland Jerri Tubbs as Diane Hopper Elle Graham as Sara Hopper Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond Tobias Jelinek as lead agent Robert Walker-Branchaud as repairman agent Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence ("Flo") Episodes See also: List of Stranger Things episodes No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original release date 1 1 "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 On November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana, a scientist is attacked by an unseen creature at a U.S. government laboratory. 12-year-old Will Byers encounters the creature and mysteriously vanishes while cycling home from a Dungeons & Dragons session with his friends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair. The following day, Will's single mother Joyce Byers reports his disappearance to the police chief Jim Hopper, who starts a search but assures Joyce that almost all missing children are quickly found. The lab's director, Dr. Martin Brenner, investigates an organic substance oozing from the lab's basement, claiming that "the girl" cannot have gone far. A nervous young girl wearing a hospital gown wanders into a local diner. The owner, Benny, finds a tattoo of "011" on her arm and learns that her name is Eleven. Brenner, monitoring the phone lines, sends agents to the diner after Benny calls social services. The agents kill Benny, but Eleven manages to escape using telekinetic abilities. Joyce's phone short circuits after receiving a mysterious phone call that she believes is from Will. While searching for Will in the woods, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas come across Eleven. 2 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 The boys bring Eleven to Mike's house, where they disagree on what to do. Mike formulates a plan for Eleven to pretend to be a runaway and seek help from his mother, Karen. Eleven refuses, however, revealing that "bad men" are after her. Will's brother Jonathan visits his estranged father Lonnie in Indianapolis to search for Will, but Lonnie rebuffs him. Hopper's search party discovers a scrap of hospital gown near the lab. After recognizing Will in a photograph and demonstrating her telekinesis, Eleven convinces the boys to trust her, as they believe she can find Will. Using the Dungeons & Dragons board, Eleven indicates that Will is on the "Upside Down" side of the board and is being hunted by the "Demogorgon" (the creature). Mike's sister Nancy and her friend Barbara 'Barb' Holland go to a party with Nancy's boyfriend Steve Harrington. Searching for Will near Steve's house, Jonathan secretly photographs the party. Joyce receives another call from Will, hears music playing from his stereo, and sees a creature coming through the wall. Left alone by the swimming pool, Barb is attacked by the Demogorgon and vanishes. 3 3 "Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly" Shawn Levy Jessica Mecklenburg July 15, 2016 Barb awakens in the Upside Down: a decaying, overgrown alternate dimension. She attempts to escape but is attacked by the Demogorgon. Joyce believes Will is communicating through pulses in light bulbs. Hopper visits Hawkins Lab, and the staff permits him to view doctored security footage from the night Will vanished, leading Hopper to investigate Brenner and discover his involvement with Project MKUltra and that a woman named Terry Ives alleged years earlier that Brenner took her daughter. Eleven recalls Brenner, whom she calls "Papa," punishing her for refusing to hurt a cat telekinetically. Steve destroys Jonathan's camera after discovering the photos from the party. Nancy later recovers a photo of Barb, simultaneously realizing that Barb is missing. Returning to Steve's house to investigate, Nancy finds Barb's untouched Volkswagen and encounters the Demogorgon but manages to escape. Joyce paints an alphabetic board on her wall with Christmas lights, allowing Will to sign to her that he is "RIGHT HERE" and that she needs to "RUN" as the Demogorgon comes through the wall. Believing Eleven knows where Will is, the boys ask her to lead them to him. Eleven leads them, to their frustration, to Will's house. From there they follow emergency vehicles to a nearby quarry just as Will's body is recovered from the water. 4 4 "Chapter Four: The Body" Shawn Levy Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Joyce refuses to believe that the body found at the quarry is Will's. Mike feels betrayed by Eleven until she proves that Will is still alive, channeling his voice through Mike's walkie-talkie. The boys theorize that Eleven could use a ham radio at their school to communicate with Will. Nancy notices a figure behind Barb in Jonathan's photo, which Jonathan realizes matches his mother's description of the Demogorgon. Nancy tells the police about Barb's disappearance. She later fights with Steve, who only cares about not getting in trouble with his father. Hopper has suspicions regarding the authenticity of the body found in the quarry when he learns that the usual coroner was sent home. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found it and beats him until he admits he was ordered to lie. The boys sneak Eleven into their school to use the radio, while Joyce hears Will's voice through her living room wall. Tearing away the wallpaper, she sees him. Eleven uses the radio to channel Will talking to his mother. Hopper goes to the morgue and finds that the body is a fake, and, suspecting that Brenner is responsible, breaks into the lab. 5 5 "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" The Duffer Brothers Alison Tatlock July 15, 2016 Hopper searches the lab before being knocked out by the lab's guards. The boys ask their science teacher, Mr. Clarke, if it would be possible to travel between alternate dimensions, to which he answers that there could be a theoretical "gate" between dimensions. Hopper awakens at his house and finds a hidden microphone, realizing that Joyce was right the whole time. The boys follow their compasses, searching for a gate that could disrupt the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven recalls memories of being placed in a sensory-deprivation tank to telepathically eavesdrop on a man speaking Russian; while listening, she came across the Demogorgon. Fearing another encounter with the Demogorgon, Eleven redirects the compasses. Lucas misinterprets this as an act of betrayal, leading Mike and Lucas to fight and Eleven to telekinetically fling Lucas away from Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven runs off. Nancy and Jonathan formulate a plan to kill the Demogorgon. While searching in the woods, they come across a small gate to the Upside Down. Nancy crawls through it but inadvertently draws the Demogorgon's attention. Jonathan unsuccessfully tries to look for Nancy, as the gate to the Upside Down begins to close. 6 6 "Chapter Six: The Monster" The Duffer Brothers Jessie Nickson-Lopez July 15, 2016 Jonathan pulls Nancy back through the gate. That night, Nancy is afraid to be alone and asks Jonathan to stay in her bedroom. Steve, attempting to reconcile with Nancy, sees them together through her bedroom window and assumes they are dating. Joyce and Hopper track down Terry Ives, who is catatonic and tended by her sister Becky. Becky explains that Terry was a Project MKUltra participant while unknowingly pregnant and that Terry believes Brenner kidnapped her daughter Jane at birth due to her supposed telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Nancy and Jonathan stockpile weapons to kill the Demogorgon, theorizing that it is attracted by blood. Steve is brutally beaten up in a fistfight with Jonathan after he insults Will and calls Nancy a slut. Jonathan is arrested and held at the police station for beating up Steve and inadvertently punching one of the responding officers in the face. Eleven walks into a grocery store and shoplifts several boxes of Eggo waffles. Searching for Eleven, Mike and Dustin are ambushed by two bullies but are rescued by her, as she uses her powers to break one bully's arm after he attempts to kill Mike. Eleven collapses and recalls being asked by Brenner to contact the Demogorgon and, in her terror, inadvertently opening the gate. She tearfully admits to Mike that she is responsible for allowing the Demogorgon to enter this dimension. Lucas sees agents, who have tracked down Eleven, preparing to ambush Mike's house. 7 7 "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub" The Duffer Brothers Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Lucas warns Mike that agents are searching for Eleven. Mike, Dustin, and Eleven flee the house. Eleven telekinetically flips one of the vans that block their path as the kids escape. Lucas reconciles with Mike and Eleven, and the kids hide in the junkyard. Nancy and Jonathan reveal their knowledge of the Demogorgon to Joyce and Hopper. Hopper also learns that Eleven is with the kids. The group contacts the kids, and everyone meets at the Byers' house. Joyce and Hopper realize that Eleven is Jane Ives. The group asks Eleven to search for Will and Barb telepathically, but her earlier feats have weakened her. They break into the middle school and build a makeshift sensory deprivation tank to amplify Eleven's powers. After telepathically entering the Upside Down again, Eleven finds Barb dead and Will alive, hiding in the Upside Down version of his backyard fort. Realizing that the gate is in the basement of the lab, Hopper and Joyce break into the lab and are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan sneak into the police station to retrieve the weapons they purchased previously, planning to lure and kill the Demogorgon. In the Upside Down, the Demogorgon breaks into Will's fort. 8 8 "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" The Duffer Brothers Story by : Paul Dichter Teleplay by : The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 Hopper, haunted by the death of his daughter Sara from cancer years earlier, gives up Eleven's location to Brenner, who in exchange allows Hopper and Joyce to enter the Upside Down to rescue Will. Nancy and Jonathan cut their hands to attract the Demogorgon at the Byers' house. Steve, intending to apologize to Jonathan about their fight, arrives just as the Demogorgon appears. Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan fight the Demogorgon and light it on fire, forcing it to retreat to the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Eleven and the boys hide in the middle school when Brenner and his agents arrive to kidnap Eleven; she kills most of them before collapsing from exhaustion. As Brenner and his remaining agents pin Eleven and the boys down, the Demogorgon appears, attracted by the dead agents' blood, and attacks Brenner and the remaining agents as the boys escape with Eleven. Hopper and Joyce enter the Upside Down's version of the Hawkins library, where they encounter several corpses of the Demogorgon's victims, including Barb, and find Will unconscious with a tendril down his throat. Hopper revives him using CPR after removing the tendril. The Demogorgon corners the kids, but Eleven recovers from her exhaustion and disintegrates it, causing them both to disappear. Will recovers in the hospital, reuniting with his family and friends. One month later, it is Christmas and Nancy is back together with Steve, and both are friends with Jonathan. Will coughs up a slug-like creature and has a vision of the Upside Down, but hides this from his family. Production Development Ross (left) and Matt Duffer, the creators of the series Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers.[12] The two had completed writing and producing their 2015 film Hidden, which they had tried to emulate the style of M. Night Shyamalan, however, due to changes at Warner Bros., its distributor, the film did not see a wide release and the Duffers were unsure of their future.[13] To their surprise, television producer Donald De Line approached them, impressed with Hidden's script, and offered them the opportunity to work on episodes of Wayward Pines alongside Shyamalan. The brothers were mentored by Shyamalan during the episode's production so that when they finished, they felt they were ready to produce their own television series.[14] The Duffer Brothers prepared a script that would essentially be similar to the series' actual pilot episode, along with a 20-page pitch book to help shop the series around for a network.[15] They pitched the story to a number of cable networks, all of which rejected the script on the basis that they felt a plot centered around children as leading characters would not work, asking them to make it a children's show or to drop the children and focus on Hopper's investigation in the paranormal.[14] In early 2015, Dan Cohen, the VP of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to his colleague Shawn Levy. They subsequently invited The Duffer Brothers to their office and purchased the rights for the series, giving full authorship of it to the brothers. After reading the pilot, the streaming service Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed amount;[16] the show was subsequently announced for a planned 2016 release by Netflix in early April 2015.[17] The Duffer Brothers stated that at the time they had pitched to Netflix, the service had already been recognized for its original programming, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, with well-recognized producers behind them, and were ready to start giving upcoming producers like them a chance.[15] The brothers started to write out the series and brought Levy and Cohen in as executive producers to start casting and filming.[18] The series was originally known as Montauk, as the setting of the script was in Montauk, New York and nearby Long Beach locations.[17][19] The brothers had chosen Montauk as it had further Spielberg ties with the film Jaws, where Montauk was used for the fictional setting of Amity Island.[20] After deciding to change the narrative of the series to take place in the fictional town of Hawkins instead, the brothers felt they could now do things to the town, such as placing it under quarantine, that they really could not envision with a real location.[20] With the change in location, they had to come up with a new title for the series under the direction from Netflix's Ted Sarandos so that they could start marketing it to the public. The brothers started by using a copy of Stephen King's Firestarter novel to consider the title's font and appearance and came up with a long list of potential alternatives. Stranger Things came about as it sounded similar to another King novel, Needful Things, though Matt noted they still had a "lot of heated arguments" over this final title.[21] Writing The idea of Stranger Things started with how the brothers felt they could take the concept of the 2013 film Prisoners, detailing the moral struggles a father goes through when his daughter is kidnapped, and expand it out over eight or so hours in a serialized television approach. As they focused on the missing child aspect of the story, they wanted to introduce the idea of "childlike sensibilities" they could offer and toyed around with the idea of a monster that could consume humans. The brothers thought the combination of these things "was the best thing ever". To introduce this monster into the narrative, they considered "bizarre experiments we had read about taking place in the Cold War" such as Project MKUltra, which gave a way to ground the monster's existence in science rather than something spiritual. This also helped them to decide on using 1983 as the time period, as it was a year before the film Red Dawn came out, which focused on Cold War paranoia.[14] Subsequently, they were able to use all their own personal inspirations from the 1980s, the decade they were born, as elements of the series,[14][22] crafting it in the realm of science fiction and horror.[23] The Duffer Brothers have cited as influence for the show (among others): Stephen King novels; films produced by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas and Guillermo del Toro; films such as Alien and Stand by Me; Japanese anime such as Akira and Elfen Lied; and video games such as Silent Hill and The Last of Us.[21][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] With Netflix as the platform, The Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22-episode format, opting for the eight-episode approach. They had been concerned that a 22-episode season on broadcast television would be difficult to "tell a cinematic story" with that many episodes. Eight episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization.[15] Within the eight episodes, the brothers aimed to make the first season "feel like a big movie" with all the major plot lines completed so that "the audience feels satisfied", but left enough unresolved to indicate "there's a bigger mythology, and there's a lot of dangling threads at the end", something that could be explored in further seasons if Netflix opted to create more.[32] While explaining their intentions for the show, the Duffers adamantly stated their intentions to not explain the mythology in the show so they could leave a mystery and lot for the audience to speculate over their lack of understanding by the season finale, which they accepted but asked to be explained about at the very least, which they found like a really good exercise as they spent quite a bit of time with their writers' room figuring out exactly what the Upside Down would actually consist for, writing a 20-page mythology document whose details wouldn't be clarified for the audience until the show's fifth and final season.[33] Regarding writing for the children characters of the series, The Duffer Brothers considered themselves as outcasts from other students while in high school and thus found it easy to write for Mike Wheeler and his friends, and particularly for Barbara "Barb" Holland.[21] Joyce Byers was fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss's character Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as she appears "absolutely bonkers" to everyone else as she tries to find her son Will Byers.[34] Other characters, such as Billy in the second season, have more villainous attributes that are not necessarily obvious from the onset; Matt explained that they took further inspiration from Stephen King for these characters, as King "always has really great human villains" that may be more malicious than the supernatural evil.[35] Casting The Duffers cast David Harbour as Sheriff Hopper believing this was his opportunity to play a lead character in a work. In June 2015, it was announced that Winona Ryder and David Harbour had joined the series as Joyce and as the unnamed chief of police, respectively.[2] The brothers' casting director Carmen Cuba had suggested Ryder for the role of Joyce, which the two were immediately drawn to because of her prominence in 1980s films.[14] Levy believed Ryder could "wretch up the emotional urgency and yet find layers and nuance and different sides of [Joyce]". Ryder praised that the show's multiple storylines required her to act for Joyce as "she's out of her mind, but she's actually kind of onto something", and that the producers had faith she could pull off the difficult role.[36] Upon being offered the role, Ryder felt intrigued at being given the pilot's script due to know knowing what streaming was and finding it "terrifying", with her sole condition to the Duffers for accepting the role being that, if a Beetlejuice sequel ever materialized as she and Tim Burton had been discussing since 2000, they had to let her take a break to shoot it, a condition the Duffers agreed and ultimately proved to work out when Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was greenlighted years later.[37] The Duffer Brothers had been interested in Harbour before, who until Stranger Things primarily had smaller roles as villainous characters, and they felt that he had been "waiting too long for this opportunity" to play a lead, while Harbour himself was thrilled by the script and the chance to play "a broken, flawed, anti-hero character".[21][38] Additional casting followed two months later with Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Millie Bobby Brown in an undisclosed role, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers]].[3] In September 2015, Cara Buono joined the cast as Karen Wheeler,[6] followed by Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner a month later.[7] Additional cast who recur for the first season include Noah Schnapp as Will,[3][5] Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland,[8] Joe Keery as Steve Harrington,[39][5] and Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers,[9] among others. Actors auditioning for the children's roles read lines from Stand By Me.[14] The Duffer Brothers estimated they went through about a thousand different child actors for the roles. They noted that Wolfhard was already "a movie buff" of the films from the 1980s period and easily filled the role, while they found Matarazzo's audition to be much more authentic than most of the other audition tapes, and selected him after a single viewing of his audition tape.[15] As casting was started immediately after Netflix greenlit the show, and prior to the scripts being fully completed, this allowed some of the actors' takes on the roles to reflect into the script. The casting of the young actors for Will and his friends had been done just after the first script was completed, and subsequent scripts incorporated aspects from these actors.[32] The brothers said Modine provided significant input on the character of Dr. Brenner, whom they had not really fleshed out before as they considered him the hardest character to write for given his limited appearances within the narrative.[34] Filming The brothers had desired to film the series around the Long Island area to match the initial Montauk concept. However, with filming scheduled to take place in November 2015, it was difficult to shoot in Long Island in the cold weather, and the production started scouting locations in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area. The brothers, who grew up in North Carolina, found many places that reminded them of their own childhoods in that area, and felt the area would work well with the narrative shift to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[20] The filming of the first season began on September 25, 2015, and was extensively done in Atlanta, Georgia, with The Duffer Brothers and Levy handling the direction of individual episodes.[40] Jackson served as the basis of the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[41][42] Other shooting locations included the Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site, Bellwood Quarry, Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge, Georgia, for the middle and high school scenes,[43] Emory University's Continuing Education Department, the former city hall in Douglasville, Georgia, Georgia International Horse Park, the probate court in Butts County, Georgia, Old East Point Library and East Point First Baptist Church in East Point, Georgia, Fayetteville, Georgia, Stone Mountain Park, Palmetto, Georgia, and Winston, Georgia.[44] Set work was done at Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta.[44] The series was filmed with a Red Dragon digital camera.[34] Filming for the first season concluded in early 2016.[41] While filming, the brothers tried to capture shots that could be seen as homages to many of the 1980s references they recalled. Their goal was not necessarily to fill the work with these references, but instead to make the series seem to the viewer like a 1980s film.[21] They spent little time reviewing those works and instead went by memory. Matt further recognized that some of their filming homages were not purposely done but were found to be very comparable, as highlighted by a fan-made video comparing the show to several 1980s works side by side.[14][45] Matt commented on the video that "Some were deliberate and some were subconscious."[14] The brothers recognized that many of the iconic scenes from these 1980s films, such as with Poltergeist, was about "taking a very ordinary object that people deal with every day, their television set, and imbuing it with something otherworldly", leading to the idea of using the Christmas light strings for Will to communicate with Joyce.[21] The brothers attributed much of the 1980s feel to set and costume designers and the soundtrack composers that helped to recreate the era for them.[14] Lynda Reiss, the head of props, had about a $220,000 budget, similar to most films, to acquire artifacts of the 1980s, using eBay and searching through flea markets and estate sales around the Atlanta area. The bulk of the props were original items from the 1980s with only a few pieces, such as the Dungeons & Dragons books made as replicas.[46] Visual effects To create the aged effect for the series, a film grain was added over the footage, which was captured by scanning in film stock from the 1980s.[34] The Duffers wanted to scare the audience, but not to necessarily make the show violent or gory, following in line with how the 1980s Amblin Entertainment films drove the creation of the PG-13 movie rating. It was "much more about mood and atmosphere and suspense and dread than they are about gore", though they were not afraid to push into more scary elements, particularly towards the end of the first season.[34] The brothers had wanted to avoid any computer-generated effects for the monster and other parts of the series and stay with practical effects. However, the six-month filming time left them little time to plan out and test practical effects rigs for some of the shots. They went with a middle ground of using constructed props including one for the monster whenever they could, but for other shots, such as when the monster bursts through a wall, they opted to use digital effects. Post-production on the first season was completed the week before it was released on Netflix.[14] The title sequence uses closeups of the letters in the Stranger Things title with a red tint against a black background as they slide into place within the title. The sequence was created by the studio Imaginary Forces, formerly part of R/GA, led by creative director Michelle Doughtey.[47] Levy introduced the studio to The Duffer Brothers, who explained their vision of the 1980s-inspired show, which helped the studio to fix the concept the producers wanted. Later, but prior to filming, the producers sent Imaginary Forces the pilot script, the synth-heavy background music for the titles, as well as the various book covers from King and other authors that they had used to establish the title and imagery, and were looking for a similar approach for the show's titles, primarily using a typographical sequence. They took inspiration from several title sequences of works from the 1980s that were previously designed by Richard Greenberg under R/GA, such as Altered States and The Dead Zone. They also got input from Dan Perri, who worked on the title credits of several 1980s films. Various iterations included having letters vanish, to reflect the "missing" theme of the show, and having letters cast shadows on others, alluding to the mysteries, before settling into the sliding letters. The studio began working on the title sequence before filming and took about a month off during the filming process to let the producers get immersed in the show and come back with more input. Initially, they had been working with various fonts for the title and used close-ups of the best features of these fonts, but near the end the producers wanted to work with ITC Benguiat, requiring them to rework those shots. The final sequence is fully computer-generated, but they took inspiration from testing some practical effects, such as using Kodalith masks as would have been done in the 1980s, to develop the appropriate filters for the rendering software. The individual episode title cards used a "fly-through" approach, similar to the film Bullitt, which the producers had suggested to the studio.[48] Music Main articles: Music of Stranger Things and Stranger Things (soundtrack) The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the electronic band Survive.[49] It makes extensive use of synthesizers in homage to 1980s artists and film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi.[50] According to Stein and Dixon, The Duffer Brothers had been fans of Survive's music, and used their song "Dirge" for the mock trailer that was used to sell the show to Netflix.[49][51] Once the show was green-lit, the Duffers contacted Survive around July 2015 to ask if they were still doing music; the two provided the production team with dozens of songs from their band's past to gain their interest, helping to land them the role.[49] Once aboard, the two worked with producers to select some of their older music to rework for the show, while developing new music, principally with character motifs.[51] The two had been hired before the casting process, so their motif demos were used and played over the actors' audition tapes, aiding in the casting selection.[51][52] The show's theme is based on an unused work Stein composed much earlier that ended up in the library of work they shared with the production staff, who thought that with some reworking would be good for the opening credits.[49] The first season's original soundtrack, consisting of 75 songs from Dixon and Stein split across two volumes, was released by Lakeshore Records. Digital release and streaming options were released on August 10 and 19, 2016 for the two volumes, respectively, while retail versions were available on September 16 and 23, 2016.[53][54] In addition to original music, Stranger Things features period music from artists including The Clash, Toto, New Order, The Bangles, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Peter Gabriel and Corey Hart, as well as excerpts from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter and Vangelis.[54][55] In particular, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was specifically picked to play at pivotal moments of the story, such as when Will is trying to communicate with Joyce from the Upside Down.[54] Music supervisor Nora Felder felt the song "furthered the story" and called it an additional, unseen, main character of the season.[56]
Episode 271- New Year – New Challenges Also Available OnSearchable Podcast Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode Transcript Gun Lawyer — Episode 271 Transcript SUMMARY KEYWORDS Second Amendment, New Jersey, gun oppression, Bruen decision, carry permits, violent crime, John Petrolino, high capacity magazines, gun training, NRA classes, self-defense, gun laws, gun rights, gun ownership, legal battles, gun journalist. SPEAKERS Teddy Nappen, Speaker 2, Evan Nappen Evan Nappen 00:15 I’m Evan Nappen. Teddy Nappen 00:16 And I’m Teddy Nappen. Evan Nappen 00:18 And welcome to Gun Lawyer. Well, I want to thank all of my listeners and supporters, because on The Gundies Award for Podcast of the Year, I’m proud to tell you that Gun Lawyer has made the top five. And so, as one of the top five nominees, we are now in the running to see whether or not we win the Podcast of the Year. But I’m very honored to have made the top five, and I appreciate all of you that took the time to vote for Gun Lawyer. It’s a great way of getting a statement out there about what we believe in and what we fight for here. You know, our show does have a lot to do with what’s going on with New Jersey, because New Jersey is, as you know, the worst state in the country when it comes to oppression of our Second Amendment rights. And by bringing more and more attention to it, we shine that disinfectant of truth out there. So, this is important, and we want to keep up the keep the pressure. Teddy Nappen 01:44 Do you know what we should do for when we for the awards, we don’t go to accept it. We instead send a couple people who are recently released from the Gun Owner Gulag to accept the award. Yeah, like Marlon Brando sent Evan Nappen 02:00 Yeah, right. We’ll send someone from the Gulag to accept the award. I spent three months just to get out, even though I was innocent of all charges. You know, it’s just insane what New Jersey is doing. We’ll be reporting on the new laws that the Governor has yet to sign, but it appears that he will sign further oppression of our Second Amendment rights in New Jersey. And what you have to be aware of so you can protect yourself, because it is really just the extreme government action focused on attacking the Constitution. I mean, that’s what New Jersey is doing. It’s a fact. They try to contrive every conceivable angle to further deteriorate a Constitutional right. Instead of doing everything they can to Page – 1 – of 10 try to protect it, they do everything they can to try to diminish it. That’s the evil of what the New Jersey government is all about, and that’s really what it is. Evan Nappen 03:18 It is anti-rights, anti-Constitution. They are oppressors, and good people suffer. Good, law-abiding citizens suffer. This isn’t an academic exercise. Real people go to jail. Real people have their lives destroyed. Real people have their careers destroyed, their freedom taken and their families destroyed, over this garbage that New Jersey does in turning law-abiding citizens into criminals. I see it every day in the practice of New Jersey gun law. And the purpose of gun law, Gun Lawyer, of this radio show, is to bring attention to this. To help you, the listener, protect yourself from the evil oppression that is New Jersey. And they will, without any care, destroy you if they can, to promote their agenda, their agenda of destroying guns and gun owners. And this is what I see. Okay? This isn’t just hyperbole. It isn’t some made up fantasy. It is literally what I see happening to individuals as I practice in the, in this very area of New Jersey gun law. And it shows you when you have states that are following this agenda, how they destroy good people. So, you’ve got to be careful, especially in New Jersey. But do not give up. Maintain the fight. Stay vigilant. It’s critical. In the big picture, we are winning. New Jersey is going to get its head handed to it. I’m confident in the court decisions that we’ll be seeing. We will succeed. But in the meantime, it’s a battle. I want to see the least amount of casualties on our side in this battle, but it’s a battle nonetheless. Evan Nappen 05:24 And on that point recently, there was an article by one of my favorite writers, Dean Weingarten, who posted this in AmmoLand. He makes a very interesting point about what happened to the homicide rate after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. (https://www.ammoland.com/2025/12/what-happened-to-the- homicide-rate-after-the-supreme-courts-bruen-decision/) So, you know, we have this great Second Amendment decision in Bruen that establishes our right to self-defense outside the home and that actually finally enables the carry permits to have to be issued by the anti-gun oppression states like New Jersey that were using the trick of “justifiable need” to stop law-abiding citizens from being able to have a gun to defend themselves, and the legal barrier that the courts created knowingly to oppress rights was working. Evan Nappen 06:25 You know, we had less than 600 carry licenses. And the Bruen decision handily eliminated that, so that licenses had to be issued. Now we’re in the, you know, 60, 70, 80,000 licenses. The number is hard to pinpoint, but it’s constantly growing. And this is great that so many citizens now can be defenders instead of victims. But New Jersey, of course, embarked on trying to limit where you can use your carry. Hence, the “sensitive places”. This crazy matrix of where you can and can’t carry which is also the subject of a court challenge, and we should be seeing some great outcome there, as the, as the Appellate Court has taken on that issue again. Seeing New Jersey’s gun laws go up in flames and go to the garbage can, the garbage heap of history where they belong. Evan Nappen 07:29 But this article from Dean Weingarten about what happened to the homicide rate after the Bruen decision is really very interesting, because it’s a very interesting question. I mean, what this goes to is, Page – 2 – of 10 every time there is anything that is pro-gun rights, pro-enforcing our Constitutional rights, anything that expands our ability to exercise our rights, the anti-rights crowd, the oppressors, will shout what I call BITS, bits. Which is Blood In The Streets. There’ll be blood in the streets. You know, this is going to be the Wild West. This is going to be, you know, just the sky is falling, right? Every time, every time. And so, of course, the prediction was, if we have carry, we’re going to have blood in the streets. And it’s going to be terrible and all this mayhem. And guess what? The opposite, of course, the opposite. The opposite happened. Evan Nappen 08:31 Because as Dean points out in his article, it says. “As of the latest numbers of October 2025, the 12- month running average of violent crime has dropped 14% since June of 2022. The drop in murders is even more pronounced at 39%. The numbers are from the tools provided by the Real Time Crime Index.” How about that, folks? Murder down 39%. Violent crime down 14%. This is tracking, as you and I always knew it would, when law-abiding citizens can defend themselves. Now, of course, it’s not the only reason that violent crime and murders have gone down, but it is absolutely a contributing factor. And the antis are always quick to say. Well, if it just saves one life, we need to. Well, guess what? How many lives have now been saved by the expansion of our rights to carry and defend ourselves since the Bruen decision? Way more than one life, that’s for sure. Lots of lives, lots of lives are being saved because of Constitutional freedom being expanded and protected and preserved. So, this is important to recognize and to force our adversaries to face the fact that guns save lives. That trained law-abiding citizens are lifesavers, and that firearms are protection that is effective. Not just to that individual defending themselves or their families, but in the big picture, the statistics themselves speak to the benefit of it. Evan Nappen 10:54 Hey, I would also like to mention our good friend, John Petrolino, who does amazing journalistic work. And it’s not just me saying that. I’m happy to mention that John recently was given an award, and actually more than one from the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists. (https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2025/12/30/petrolinos-coverage-of-new-jersey-2a-issues-earns- accolades-from-surprising-source-n1231070) They announced winners of the 2025 Excellence in Journalism Awards. And we’re talking about winners that include the New York Times, the Asbury Park Press and Politico. Evan Nappen 11:39 Well, lo and behold, there’s John Petrolino, one of the contributors for Bearing Arms and a great writer. He really has done tremendous work in New Jersey, and he won first place for “Best Coverage of State Government” for his series of articles highlighting abuses of the “shall issue” carry permit system. These very abuses of which demonstrate institutionalized racism. He documented excessive wait times and how the number of black applicants are discriminated against. And this research was, in fact, corroborated by the group Rise Against Hate, which, you know, they’re normally not a 2A group. And he won first place also for “Best Coverage of Municipal Government for his Bearing Arms story “Permit to Carry Denial Over a Driving Record?” And he’s really gotten praise here from his fellow journalists, and I think it’s great. Because not only does he deserve it, but imagine, you know, we’re talking about real journalism here, not the propaganda that the lamestream media throws at us. I mean, we’re talking Page – 3 – of 10 about real journalism that puts out a product that is otherwise not being seen, and in doing so, aids our Second Amendment rights and helps fight the oppression with the disinfectant of truth. John, congratulations on your awards. That is just really great, because when you win, we win, and it gets the message out. So, that’s a great job, and we’re proud of you. Evan Nappen 13:56 Hey, let me mention our good friends at WeShoot. WeShoot is a range in Lakewood, and they have got some great specials focused on training, including some great price drops. They are putting forward new prices to save money to get folks training. They’re doing it to make training easier and less expensive. So, they’re offering the USCCA and NRA CCW classes now at $225 down from $299. So, it’s even more affordable. This includes the New Jersey concealed carry class as well. You can get your CCARE and get your carry permit. They are great. That’s where Teddy and I got our certification from. And right there at WeShoot. They’re offering dates for both the NRA and doing your renewals for your carry permits, and they even have carry certification for seniors. They do a special seniors class. Evan Nappen 15:14 They are magnificent in their training programs that they offer. They offer also their HSI Adult CPR / AED certification course. You’ll earn a two-year certification on that. You’re learning how to perform CPR and AED, you know, defibrillator use, and handle basic first aid, respond to choking and cardiac arrest and such. So, if you want to get your training in all these areas and many others, and also just learning to shoot better, they are the place to go. WeShoot is conveniently located in Lakewood, right off the Parkway. You can go to wehootusa.com, weshootusa.com, and check out their website. Beautiful photography. They also have a great pro shop. They have lots of great guns and great deals. They will take care of you. You’ll be able to have a great place to shoot and enjoy relaxation at the range. And you’ll know that you are able to defend yourself and your loved ones should the need arise. But also go there and have some fun. Evan Nappen 16:41 Let me also tell you about our good friends at the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs. They are fighting very, very hard in a very challenging environment, and they are the key gun rights group in New Jersey. They are the NRA State Affiliate. They’re the umbrella organization of gun clubs through the state, but they also have individual members. Everybody needs to be a member of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs. You’ll get their fantastic email alerts, and you’ll get a great newsletter. You’ll also know that you’re part of the solution fighting. They’re going to send you out things you can do real quick to make your voice heard as we continue the fight. And we’ve made a difference. The Association has made a difference. We’re still in a major battle, but the Association is there in the courts, as we speak, fighting on those key issues in the Appellate Courts. Evan Nappen 17:40 As we are talking right now, they’re there in the courts. We’re seeing some incredible results, and we’re going to see even more incredible results. I am extremely optimistic that the courts are going to really deliver for us. The truth is on our side. The law is on our side. The Supreme Court has laid out the groundwork that is all on our side. And the Association is truly on our side, working for the elimination of Page – 4 – of 10 Second Amendment oppression, especially on those key issues that affect so many of us. So, join the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs at anjrpc.org. Evan Nappen 18:33 And don’t forget to get a copy of my book, New Jersey Gun Law. It’s the bible of New Jersey gun law. Get your book today. Go to EvanNappen.com. It’s the big orange book that is the Bible of New Jersey gun law. It’s a book used by everybody, and you need to have a copy so that you can protect yourself. It is the only book out there that describes New Jersey gun law in a question and answer format so that it is actually almost understandable. How’s that? You can almost understand it from that book. Now, I tried to make it as user- friendly as I can, but New Jersey, of course, itself, is just contradictory in many of its own laws. I try to point it out in the book, when they are saying one thing and then saying another. The contradictions seem to just fly out because they just can’t pass new gun laws fast enough, and they don’t bother to make sure that they actually make sense, right? So, that’s where the book comes in. You’ll be able to know these distinctions and protect yourself. When you get the book, scan the QR code on the front cover and join, for free, my private subscriber base. You’ll get updates, and you’ll be able to access the archives for any previous updates that are there. This way the book will stay current because of that. So, go to EvanNappen.com and order your copy today. Hey, Teddy, what do you have for us today? Teddy Nappen 20:11 Well, as you know, Press Checks are always free, and I always want to see what is the Left, what is the argument they are making now? What is the push that they are trying to go for? Well, it seems they’ve gone and changed their tactics. They are now focusing in on high capacity magazines, or as what you know and everyone else knows them to be, standard capacity magazines. Because it’s just another made up term that they use. But going to The Trace to see their newest argument, I love this, by the way. “How Gun Manufacturers Swamped the Market With Large-Capacity Magazines” (https://www.thetrace.org/2025/12/large-capacity-magazine-nssf-gun-study/) Yes, that’s who is to blame for why there is such a high demand of a quote, unquote high capacity magazines. It’s the gun manufacturers. That’s who’s to blame. So, this article is by Mike Spies in The Trace. They start off with “At least 717 million devices like the one used in the Brown University mass shooting . . . ” Oh, well, there you go. Immediately. The first line. Evan Nappen 21:23 All they do is sell emotion. They’re just selling it as emotion. What about, you know. Do you know what a small, virtually, statistically irrelevant, it’s so small, the number of magazines, of a magazine that holds whatever they’re calling high capacity of that day, whatever that may be, was the reason, was the effect for that crime. Because the magazine held a certain amount of rounds. That is somehow the reason for the crime. It is a statistical irrelevancy. It is pure emotion. Teddy Nappen 22:07 I wonder how they, I wonder how they feel about in Australia, where it took, you know, two guys with a couple of bolt actions. And, you know, I think the body count was what? Double from Brown. But no, sorry, don’t talk about that. Page – 5 – of 10 Evan Nappen 22:20 Right. Teddy Nappen 22:21 Mind you they try to highlight this. Oh, man, Dad, did you know that between 1990 to 2021, the gun industry flooded the market with 717 detachable firearm magazines that held 11 rounds or more. You see, Dad, prior to 1990, there were no magazines that held over 11 rounds. Evan Nappen 22:46 That’s what it was? None. There was suddenly a flood. Teddy Nappen 22:52 A flooding, as a flooding. Then describe what the term a magazine, you know, for anyone doesn’t understand. And then tried to make the argument that not all manufacturers of gun magazines provided data to the study to stipulate the figures representing conservative estimates that military and law enforcement sales were not counted, and roughly 46% of magazines were accounted for from some 443 million, including rifle magazines that held 30 rounds or more. Evan Nappen 23:26 Okay. So, if we have millions and millions and millions of magazines that hold over 10 rounds, do you know how few isolated events, just think of how many few events? They get a ton of media coverage, but how few those events are. And even in those events, what statistical difference did it make that they had a magazine that held more than 10 rounds in commission of that crime? It is so rare and to have to this be of anything, of any real impact, of any true impact, yet it’s pure emotion there. So, oh my God, all these magazines are out there. Yeah, well, so what? So, what? They don’t make a difference. The only time it makes a difference is to the individual who needs to defend themselves. Then the issue of firepower is important in one’s own self-defense. So, when magazines are limited, the question you have to ask is, well, how many bullets is your life worth? In other words, how many bullets can you have to defend your life? Your Government has arbitrarily determined that your life is only worth 10 bullets. No more than 10, just 10. That’s all it’s worth. You’re not worth 11 bullets or 12 or anything more. That’s really what they are saying. Teddy Nappen 25:00 They also seem to stress this whole idea that magazines were only at 10 rounds until 1990, and they’re trying to make that argument. Well, thanks to again, always, when the left make their argument, use context and history, and that is how it is debunked. Right here from, I believe, you said this was a very well known writer, Dave Kopel. Evan Nappen 25:29 Absolutely. David Kopel. Page – 6 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 25:30 He wrote a brilliant article, which I highly recommend people read, “The History of Firearm Magazines and Magazine Prohibition”. (https://davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/2015/History-of-firearms-magazines-and- magazine-prohibition.pdf) Evan Nappen 25:33 Well, it must be a short history, since it only began in 1990. Teddy Nappen 25:44 No, no, let’s start with. Evan Nappen 25:46 Oh, really. Teddy Nappen 25:47 Yeah, you know, let’s go all the way back to 1580. Evan Nappen 25:51 Oh, 1580. Wow, how did they miss that? Teddy Nappen 25:55 I know. With the multi-shot guns. And then cut to the patent pending, 1718, of the Puckle Gun, shooting, you know, 23. Evan Nappen 26:05 I love the Puckle gun. Teddy Nappen 26:06 You know, it used 11 pre-loaded cylinders. And then cut over to everyone’s favorite, the Lewis and Clark air rifle, the Girandoni, that had a detachable magazine. Evan Nappen 26:20 And air guns are firearms in New Jersey. So, it would still considered a firearm. Yeah. Teddy Nappen 26:27 Yeah. So, and cut over to the Alexander Hall and Colonel Parry Porter rifles that were 15-shot rotating cylinder. But they may say, oh, it’s not detachable, though. Even though it’s well beyond the capacity, and you know this is only 1850. Cut over now to the 1866 chain pistol fed , 20 round, belt fed chain pistol. Imagine carrying that? Evan Nappen 27:00 I like that. Page – 7 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 27:01 Yeah. And then cut now to 1899 with the, or 1900 when they were commercially available, the Luger semi- automatic pistols that, you know, could use a seven or eight round magazine or a, you know, their version of a high capacity 32 drum mag. Evan Nappen 27:21 Oooh, the old snail drum mag for the Luger. Teddy Nappen 27:25 And then cut to 1927 where you could go to Auto Ordinance for a 30 round mag. Evan Nappen 27:32 Or a 50 or 100. That’s right. Teddy Nappen 27:35 In 1927, you know? Well, we’re getting, we’re getting closer. You’re getting around that time. But now to 1963, with the AR-15 rifle, with the 20 rounds, a little higher than that, to 30 round magazine capacity. Which to the point, where there was a famous (Supreme Court) case, Staples versus United States, where they were trying, where it differentiated from the AR-15 to the M 16. They tried to blend machine gun to semi auto. Evan Nappen 28:06 Well, they did that on purpose — to fool the public. It was even admitted in Josh Sugarmann’s book. He said that was the intention — to fool the public, who won’t be able to tell the difference between full auto and semi- auto. Machine guns and semi autos. It’ll fool them, because that’s what they’re about. They just want to fool the public to get their agenda through. Teddy Nappen 28:27 Because they, because the Left have this whole ideology, which is the people are stupid and we can manipulate them. Unfortunately, yeah, there’s a lot of people that aren’t read up on it and get easily tricked. They play off of emotions and that’s how they play their game. Luckily, now, thanks to the internet and people being able to do their own research. Even though they’ve, you know, censored, but we’ve fought back hard on that, people can actually see and look up and find out. Oh, yeah, wait. They just lied to me. Here’s the proof. It’s very easy now to debunk their lies, and it’s quite hilarious. Teddy Nappen 29:08 And then I love the ending to it all. I love his ending to the whole article, which is we end this story now in 1979. Jimmy Carter is president, and Gaston Glock is making curtain rods in his garage. Now, look right now. Evan Nappen 29:28 Oh, no, the Glock pistol is coming. Page – 8 – of 10 Teddy Nappen 29:30 Yeah, the Glock pistol is coming. And then all magazine which, and then all polymers. It just comes down to this. The magazines, high capacity magazines, have existed throughout history, and they will continue to exist. Because when they try to sell their argument about high capacity magazines, you know, they will forever be out there. Evan Nappen 29:59 What’s going to happen when it is just laser, and it can be endless? Just how much power. There won’t even be a capacity limit. It’ll just be limitless, essentially. Evan Nappen 30:13 I’m so. Sorry, my wife is always about the teleporter, where you won’t even need to load the mag. You’ll just point the gun and it’ll teleport the bullet into you, like. Evan Nappen 30:24 Oh, that sounds like a real accuracy improvement. Teddy Nappen 30:27 I know. So, again, technology will always progress more and more, and they will never be able to keep it. I can’t wait for the National Ray Gun Association. I think it was a Futurama joke. Evan Nappen 30:39 A National Ray Gun Association. That’s good. Evan Nappen 30:46 So, you know, one of the key things we like to do is have our listeners stay protected and not end up a GOFU. And unfortunately, GOFUs are Gun Owner Fuck Ups. They’re expensive lessons that you get to learn on the cheap. You get to learn for free, so you don’t commit the same error, the same fuck up. And so this week’s GOFU, something that, you know these come from actual cases, actual experience, actual folks that I’m representing. And it’s really a principle here today, and that is, don’t escalate the situation. Don’t be the person that initiates a problem that can be avoided. If you can avoid a conflict, you need to avoid the conflict. You cannot engage in a manner the way you used to, let’s say, before you were armed. Evan Nappen 31:56 Because you are armed, you’re essentially having to walk away. If something is just verbal, whatever, don’t escalate it. Don’t engage further. Because then what happens is you, as a gun owner, become the target of the law enforcement action, even though you weren’t the one who may have even initiated it. But if you escalated and went along with whatever this problem was that even got created or started by another person, you end up having to pay the price. I see this often where a law-abiding gun owner has an argument with somebody, and the law-abiding gun owner is in the right. The law-abiding gun owner doesn’t do anything wrong, but the other party somehow sees, notices, believes, thinks, that the gun owner has a gun, and then claims to the police that they saw the gun. You threatened them with the gun. They felt intimidated by the gun, whatever. Page – 9 – of 10 Evan Nappen 33:19 And it’s now escalated to where the gun owner gets charged with threatening, brandishing, whatever, and you just see it take off as an escalation. You need to learn to ignore all the jackasses that are out there that cause trouble, that act stupid. You have to take a different kind of attitude to ignore these people. Ignore them. Unless you are being threatened with serious bodily injury or death, where you have no other option, then ignore these people. Get away from these folks that are just trouble. Because if it comes around that you’re a gun owner, and there’s an issue, I see it. The tables turn on the gun owner all the time. Stay low key. Stay discreet. Don’t escalate. Stay away from these people that get law-abiding citizens into trouble because of the built in bias in the system against gun owners. Evan Nappen 33:42 This is Evan Nappen and Teddy Nappen reminding you that gun laws don’t protect honest citizens from criminals. They protect criminals from honest citizens. Speaker 2 34:25 Gun Lawyer is a CounterThink Media production. The music used in this broadcast was managed by Cosmo Music, New York, New York. Reach us by emailing Evan@gun.lawyer. The information and opinions in this broadcast do not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Page – 10 – of 10 Downloadable PDF TranscriptGun Lawyer S3 E271_Transcript About The HostEvan Nappen, Esq.Known as “America's Gun Lawyer,” Evan Nappen is above all a tireless defender of justice. Author of eight bestselling books and countless articles on firearms, knives, and weapons history and the law, a certified Firearms Instructor, and avid weapons collector and historian with a vast collection that spans almost five decades — it's no wonder he's become the trusted, go-to expert for local, industry and national media outlets. Regularly called on by radio, television and online news media for his commentary and expertise on breaking news Evan has appeared countless shows including Fox News – Judge Jeanine, CNN – Lou Dobbs, Court TV, Real Talk on WOR, It's Your Call with Lyn Doyle, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk, and Cam & Company/NRA News. As a creative arts consultant, he also lends his weapons law and historical expertise to an elite, discerning cadre of movie and television producers and directors, and novelists. He also provides expert testimony and consultations for defense attorneys across America. Email Evan Your Comments and Questions talkback@gun.lawyer Join Evan's InnerCircleHere's your chance to join an elite group of the Savviest gun and knife owners in America. Membership is totally FREE and Strictly CONFIDENTIAL. Just enter your email to start receiving insider news, tips, and other valuable membership benefits. Email (required) *First Name *Select list(s) to subscribe toInnerCircle Membership Yes, I would like to receive emails from Gun Lawyer Podcast. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use. Please leave this field blank.var ajaxurl = "https://gun.lawyer/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php";
The JournalFeed podcast for the week of Dec 29, 2025 to Jan 2, 2026Monday's Spoon Feed:Implementing Spanish-language discharge instruction videos, interpreter-needed EMR icons, and standardized communication processes in a pediatric ED eliminated a 10% communication equity gap between Spanish- and English-speaking families without increasing length of stay or ED return visits.Tuesday's Spoon Feed:Similar to prior research on the topic, prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) is more successful with both sedative and paralytic than with no medications or sedative alone.Wednesday's Spoon Feed:The updated AHA and AAP guidelines on neonatal life support provide the most current, evidence-based recommendations for recognizing and managing newborns who require resuscitation, a time-critical responsibility that has a major impact on survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes.Thursday's Spoon Feed:Here are the top ten most viewed JournalFeed posts in 2025 (from our Google Analytics data). I've dropped a comment on how each article has impacted me this year. Enjoy!Friday's Spoon Feed:Bag valve mask (BVM) ventilations provided by Basic Life Support (BLS) teams during 30:2 cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) frequently fell well short of the guideline goals for expiratory tidal volume (Vte).
股價迭創新高,台股站在關鍵成長賽道 投資若能回歸經典,反而會更有效率
In this episode of The TMA Connection, Tim sits down with Patrice Bullock for a heartfelt and powerful conversation about turning unimaginable loss into meaningful purpose. Patrice shares her personal journey following the loss of her son, Bailey, and how that experience led to the creation of Bailey's Heart & Soul Foundation. What began as grief became a mission — to educate communities, raise heart health awareness, and equip people with life-saving tools like CPR and AED training. Patrice opens up about motherhood, healing, and how purpose can be found even in life's darkest moments. She also discusses the importance of community, awareness, and taking action to help prevent future tragedies. This episode is a moving reminder that while loss can change everything, it can also spark impact, hope, and lasting change. Subscribe to The TMA Connection on your favorite podcast platform or watch the full episode on YouTube by searching "The TMA Connection." Don't forget to like, comment, and share — your support helps spread stories that matter.
Mon, Dec 29 9:32 PM → 10:47 PM Dispatched for Unconcsious Person turned into CPR. Radio Systems: - Stafford Fredericksburg
In this meaningful episode, Zach Dawson and Bob Springer sit down with Becky Savage, a nurse, mother, and the founder of the 525 Foundation. Becky shares the heart-wrenching story of a single night in 2015 that changed her family forever: the loss of her two eldest sons, Nick and Jack, to accidental drug overdoses during graduation party season.Becky describes the harrowing morning she discovered her sons and the "out of body experience" of performing CPR on her own child while paramedics responded to a second 911 call from the same house. We discuss the hidden dangers of prescription drug misuse, the "gap in knowledge" that still exists today, and how Becky and her husband moved forward by focusing on their two younger sons while turning their grief into a mission of advocacy.We also dive deep into the origins of the 525 Foundation - named after Nick and Jack's hockey numbers - and how a simple idea from her then 11-year-old son grew into a nationally recognized nonprofit. Becky explains the foundation's "Wise Up" program, which provides parents and educators with the facts and conversation starters needed to bridge the communication gap with youth. Join us for an essential conversation on prevention, education, and the life-saving power of simply starting a dialogue.
In this end-of-year special, Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson wrap 2025 with their trademark mix of humor, insight and zero sugarcoating. From venomous bites to venomous behavior, the Inside EMS duo continue counting down the top EMS stories that had the industry buzzing this year — and occasionally cringing. As always, the guys don't shy away from the tough stuff, but they make sure to end on a note of gratitude for the everyday EMS pros out there doing the job with compassion, competence and quiet heroism. Quotable takeaways “Every day, EMS providers go out there, do their jobs and bring some kindness and some comfort to a really bad day for their patients. And I think we need to look forward to more of that in 2026.” “Sometimes we've done things that maybe we shouldn't have, because it isn't in our scope of protocols, but I think we make a difference. Where's the line?” “Most of the advantages of mechanical CPR are not advantages at all.” The top EMS1 stories of 2025 Representatives Glenn Thompson and John Mannion introduced the EMS Counts Act Social Security Fairness Act signed into law, boosting retirement benefits for first responders Kentucky EMTs face KBEMS hearing for administering antivenom after mamba bite Elkhart firefighter appeals loss of paramedic duties after nurse's harassment complaint American Heart Association's 2025 CPR guidelines: Choking, opioids & survival chain Ill. city council makes $500 lift assist fee permanent Warren-Wentworth Ambulance shuts down after entire staff quits 'Shut the f**k up!': North Babylon Fire Chief Peter Alt on leave after video shows him cursing at patient Orange County fire chiefs demand removal of EMS director for halting blood transfusions, ketamine use Colo. paramedic charged with manslaughter after sedating, restraining man National EMS Advisory Council board members terminated Enjoying Inside EMS? Email theshow@ems1.com to share feedback or suggest guests for an upcoming episode.
A CPR tradition turns 10 this year. The Colorado Matters Holiday Extravaganza returns with bluegrass, mariachi, comedy and storytime. And as always, we pay homage to Judy Garland. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply value togetherness, this audio gift is for you!
What if losing half your business in a betrayal led you to make $120,000 in 60 days on a platform everyone ignores? In this episode, Anthony Simonie shares how being adopted by his grandparents literally saved his life and how that experience shaped everything from his approach to entrepreneurship to his decision to adopt both of his children, Miles and Daisy. After his nine-month-old son Miles stopped breathing and Anthony performed CPR not knowing if his son would survive, his business partner exploited that crisis by drawing up a fraudulent amendment that gave away half of Anthony's half of their seven-figure business. That betrayal could have crushed him. Instead, it led Anthony to discover LinkedIn's hidden goldmine. Within 30 days, he generated $60,000 in new business plus $60,000 in recurring revenue, for $120,000 total. He did it again the next 30 days with the exact same numbers, proving it wasn't luck but a duplicatable system. Now, having helped over 1,000 clients leverage LinkedIn to build databases of affluent prospects, land strategic partnerships, and get booked on podcasts, Anthony has turned relationship-building into a science. Anthony reveals why his five-foot-tall Italian grandmother's persistence shaped his entrepreneurial DNA, how his daughter Daisy (his niece whose parents both committed suicide within five months) is now thriving, and why Tim Tebow's words hit him like a lightning bolt: "You can be successful without having any significance." [00:05:40] Raised by Grandparents, Saved by Adoption Adopted and raised by grandparents, literally saved Anthony's life Grandparents stepped up when they should've been enjoying retirement Both of Anthony's kids (Miles and Daisy) are adopted because adoption was a blessing for him Five-foot-tall Italian grandmother wouldn't let anyone leave without a meal, haircut, and promise to go to church [00:07:00] Learning Entrepreneurship at Craft Shows Grandmother was an artist making ceramic and wooden crafts Anthony helped her set up and break down at craft shows Watched her overcome challenges as they came She taught persistence and perseverance that stuck with him forever [00:08:00] The Pharmaceutical Sales Path Finished high school, walked onto college baseball team (paid for school for couple years) Became pharmaceutical sales rep like his stepdad, seemed like helping people Got job at Schering-Plough, did well but wasn't happy Started learning pharmaceutical goods may not be so good for us [00:10:00] The Foreclosure Cleaning Business Buddy said "We've got this little side business cleaning out foreclosed properties" At first thought "I don't think I wanna clean houses" Had moment of "I'm just done" with corporate job Started business, expanded from Missouri to Los Angeles (brother in charge), then Phoenix [00:11:00] The Dan Kennedy Event That Changed Everything Same friend took him to Dan Kennedy marketing event in St. Louis Eyes opened watching people make money helping others understand their business Friend said "Why don't we do it together, you be the face" Anthony had already turned cleaning business into real business with systems [00:11:40] First Year: Over $1 Million Partnered up, grew business in first year to over $1 million Had to learn everything: copywriting, email, webinars, buying traffic At first loved the money, but then started receiving messages from people he was helping "You saved my marriage. You helped save me from losing my home." Hundreds of them. [00:12:40] When It Became More Than Money First time felt complete: "This is so much more than just the money" People appreciate you, like you for what you're doing to help them Attorneys, physicians, everyone was losing businesses during that time Learning how to make income by doing something in large demand that people didn't know existed [00:15:40] Losing Everything Was the beginning of everything falling apart Used to a certain quality of life, now worried about son and business blows up Lost interest in the business, couldn't do it anymore, business died Partner had franchised business to double dip, his franchise failed too [00:17:20] LinkedIn Saves the Day Anthony: "LinkedIn? Are you trying to help me get a job? I'm not looking for a job" Took skills he'd learned and applied them to LinkedIn platform Created an offer, first 30 days sold $60,000 plus $60,000 recurring = $120,000 Thought maybe he got lucky, then did exact same thing next 30 days with same numbers [00:18:20] Helping Over 1,000 Clients Realized he had something duplicatable Close circle started asking what he was doing, started sharing it Years later, helped over 1,000 clients leverage LinkedIn Building databases of affluent prospects, referral partnerships, getting on podcasts, strategic partnerships [00:19:00] Every Successful Entrepreneur Has Been Crushed You're gonna have ups and downs in business If you have fortitude to stick it out and learn from challenges, you grow When you talk to people at measurable level of success, all have been through steep challenges Sometimes way worse than Anthony's experiences [00:23:40] Not An Agency, Highly Customized Not a one-size-fits-all agency approach Very highly customized and specific strategy depending on who you are, what you offer, who you serve Usually at capacity, takes on one or two new clients per month Recently launched "done with you" program to teach people how to run the play themselves [00:28:40] The God Thing Anthony and Jill were thinking about adopting again Friend sent invitation to dinner for adoption agency Right during that timeframe, all the tragedy happened with Daisy "It was a God thing... put on our hearts for specific reason: to step up and take care of Daisy" [00:30:40] Tim Tebow's Words: Success Without Significance At mastermind, got to watch Tim Tebow speak One thing stuck: "You can be successful without having any significance" Never heard it phrased that way before If all entrepreneurs adopt that mindset, we can change the world better than any politician [00:32:20] Starting the Real Estate Fund Works with lots of real estate syndicators and operators Asked: How else can I serve these people outside of helping them make more money? Started real estate fund to protect capital and provide hedge against inflation Helps people grow their capital while protecting it [00:35:00] Nobody Is Self-Made Doesn't believe anybody's self-made When people say "I'm a self-made millionaire" they're not being honest Even just your mother deciding to go through with birth, that person helped you There's abundance of opportunity, money, success out there for everybody [00:40:20] Remember Why You Do What You Do We live in world that's so distracted, separated, at odds Take time every day and remember why you do what you do, who you do it for What's the purpose, what's the passion, how does it impact world around us Entrepreneurs can change the world, but it starts under our own roof [00:42:40] Turn Off The News for 30 Days Challenge: Turn off news for next 30 days Watch how your mind clears up and you start focusing on things that matter You'll become more productive, have more pep in your step If you're business owner, you need that clarity to continue with what you're compelled to do KEY QUOTES "You can be successful without having any significance." - Tim Tebow (as shared by Anthony) "I don't believe anybody's self-made. Even just your mother deciding to go through with the birth, that person helped you." - Anthony Simonie "We as entrepreneurs can change the world in my humble opinion, but that starts with us. It starts under our own roof." - Anthony Simonie CONNECT WITH ANTHONY SIMONIE
The world of prehospital medicine is constantly evolving, driven by new research, technological advancements, and a shared commitment to improving patient care and provider well-being. As EMS professionals, staying informed about these developments goes beyond a professional obligation; it is an opportunity to improve our practice, champion our profession, and ultimately make a greater impact on saving lives. In this article, we will explore some of the latest research findings that are reshaping our field, from workplace culture to cutting-edge technology. The Culture of Care: Supporting EMS Providers Our work is demanding, both physically and emotionally, and the culture within our agencies plays a critical role in our well-being. A recent systematic review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health revealed that many EMS providers avoid using organizational mental health services due to stigma and a perception that these programs lack genuine care. The study emphasizes the need for person-centered support and a cultural shift that normalizes seeking help as a sign of strength (Johnston et al., 2025). This cultural component also impacts retention. Another study in the same journal found that agencies with collaborative, team-oriented "clan" cultures had significantly lower turnover rates compared to those with rigid or chaotic structures. For leaders in EMS, fostering a supportive environment is not just about morale. It is a strategic imperative for retaining skilled clinicians (Kamholz et al., 2025). Professional Recognition: Breaking Barriers Across the globe, paramedics are striving for recognition as integrated healthcare professionals. A qualitative study in BMC Health Services Research identified common barriers, including outdated legislation, inconsistent regulation, and insufficient funding. While the pandemic temporarily highlighted our capabilities, the momentum has waned. The study calls for targeted policy reforms and investments in education and leadership to solidify our role in the broader healthcare system (Feerick et al., 2025). Physical Demands and Injury Prevention The physical toll of our work is undeniable. A scoping review in Applied Ergonomics confirmed that musculoskeletal injuries, particularly to the back, are rampant in EMS. Tasks like handling stretchers and patient extractions are among the most strenuous. The review also highlighted fitness disparities, with male paramedics generally showing more strength but less flexibility than their female counterparts. These findings underscore the need for targeted injury prevention programs and realistic physical standards to keep us safe throughout our careers (Marsh et al., 2025). Advancements in Cardiac Arrest Care When it comes to cardiac arrest, every second counts. A study in Resuscitation reinforced the value of bystander CPR, showing that dispatcher-assisted CPR significantly improves outcomes for untrained bystanders. For those with prior CPR training, acting independently yielded even better results. This highlights the importance of public CPR education alongside dispatcher support (Tagami et al., 2025). On the scene, our interventions matter immensely. Research in The Journal of Emergency Medicine found that for traumatic cardiac arrest patients, aggressive interventions like prehospital thoracostomy can be lifesaving (McWilliam et al., 2025). Meanwhile, a study in Critical Care Medicine revealed that extracorporeal CPR (ECPR) significantly improves outcomes for patients with refractory ventricular fibrillation, emphasizing the need for early transport to specialized centers. The Role of Technology in EMS Technology is poised to revolutionize EMS, from dispatch to diagnosis. A study in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine demonstrated that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT could prioritize ambulance requests with remarkable accuracy, aligning with expert paramedic decisions over 76 percent of the time. This proof of concept suggests that AI could one day enhance resource allocation in dispatch centers (Shekhar et al., 2025). On the diagnostic front, machine learning is opening new possibilities. For example, a study in Bioengineering showed that analyzing photoplethysmography waveforms could estimate blood loss in trauma patients, offering a non-invasive way to guide resuscitation (Gonzalez et al., 2025). Similarly, research in Medical Engineering & Physics explored using multidimensional data to differentiate ischemic from hemorrhagic strokes in the field, potentially enabling more targeted prehospital care (Alshehri et al., 2025). Addressing Disparities in Care Equity in EMS is a cornerstone of our profession, yet recent studies highlight troubling disparities. Research in JAMA Network Open found that ambulance offload times were significantly longer in communities with higher proportions of Black residents (Zhou et al., 2025). Another study in JAMA Surgery revealed that Black and Asian trauma patients were less likely to receive helicopter transport compared to White patients. These findings are a call to action for all of us to examine our systems and biases to ensure equitable care for every patient (Mpody et al., 2025). Looking Ahead The research discussed here represents just a fraction of the advancements shaping EMS today. From improving workplace culture and injury prevention to leveraging AI and addressing systemic inequities, these findings have real-world implications for our protocols, training, and advocacy efforts. As EMS professionals, we have a responsibility to stay informed and apply these insights to our practice. For a deeper dive into these topics and more, I invite you to listen to the podcast, EMS Research with Professor Bram latest episode, https://youtu.be/rt_1AFzSLIk "Research Highlights and Innovations Shaping Our Field.” References Alshehri, A., Panerai, R. B., Lam, M. Y., Llwyd, O., Robinson, T. G., & Minhas, J. S. (2025). Can we identify stroke sub-type without imaging? A multidimensional analysis. Medical Engineering & Physics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2025.104364 Feerick, F., Coughlan, E., Knox, S., Murphy, A., Grady, I. O., & Deasy, C. (2025). Barriers to paramedic professionalisation: A qualitative enquiry across the UK, Canada, Australia, USA and the Republic of Ireland. BMC Health Services Research, 25(1), 993. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-10993-7 Gonzalez, J. M., Holland, L., Hernandez Torres, S. I., Arrington, J. G., Rodgers, T. M., & Snider, E. J. (2025). Enhancing trauma care: Machine learning-based photoplethysmography analysis for estimating blood volume during hemorrhage and resuscitation. Bioengineering, 12(8), 833. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12080833 Johnston, S., Waite, P., Laing, J., Rashid, L., Wilkins, A., Hooper, C., Hindhaugh, E., & Wild, J. (2025). Why do emergency medical service employees (not) seek organizational help for mental health support?: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(4), 629. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22040629 Kamholz, J. C., Gage, C. B., van den Bergh, S. L., Logan, L. T., Powell, J. R., & Panchal, A. R. (2025). Association between organizational culture and emergency medical service clinician turnover. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(5), 756. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22050756 Marsh, E., Orr, R., Canetti, E. F., & Schram, B. (2025). Profiling paramedic job tasks, injuries, and physical fitness: A scoping review. Applied Ergonomics, 125, 104459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2025.104459 McWilliam, S. E., Bach, J. P., Wilson, K. M., Bradford, J. M., Kempema, J., DuBose, J. J., ... & Brown, C. V. (2025). Should anything else be done besides prehospital CPR? The role of CPR and prehospital interventions after traumatic cardiac arrest. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2025.02.010 Mpody, C., Rudolph, M. I., Bastien, A., Karaye, I. M., Straker, T., Borngaesser, F., ... & Nafiu, O. O. (2025). Racial and ethnic disparities in use of helicopter transport after severe trauma in the US. JAMA Surgery, 160(3), 313–321. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2024.5678 Shekhar, A. C., Kimbrell, J., Saharan, A., Stebel, J., Ashley, E., & Abbott, E. E. (2025). Use of a large language model (LLM) for ambulance dispatch and triage. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 89, 27–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2025.05.004 Tagami, T., Takahashi, H., Suzuki, K., Kohri, M., Tabata, R., Hagiwara, S., ... & Ogawa, S. (2025). The impact of dispatcher-assisted CPR and prior bystander CPR training on neurologic outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A multicenter study. Resuscitation, 110617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2025.110617 Zhou, T., Wang, Y., Zhang, B., & Li, J. (2025). Racial and socioeconomic disparities in California ambulance patient offload times. JAMA Network Open, 8(5), e2510325. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.10325
The recipients of this year’s Fexco Kerry Heroes awards have been announced. Over the last month listeners to Radio Kerry were invited to nominate the individuals or groups they considered made them proudest to be from the county over the past year. The eight recipients received awards which are sponsored by Fexco and created by dsigns of Tralee. Forbairt na Dromoda Teo, a community social enterprise in the Iveragh Gaeltacht, saved the local shop and pub, when the group bought The Inny Tavern and foodstore, thereby providing a vital social space for the community. Dingle Coast Guard volunteers were honoured for their dedication, bravery and commitment to safety. Lisselton’s Padraic Kissane, a financial advisor, confronted the banks and made them face up to their role in the tracker mortgage scandal, which led to over €1 billion in refunds and compensation to home owners. Jerh O’Donoghue founded the Social Action Group in Rathmore in 1975 to give young people an opportunity to become involved and help their community. The group’s achievements include developing a day care centre, meals on wheels, and raising over a quarter-of-a-million euro to help those in developing nations. The Kerry senior football team and management were also chosen for winning the All-Ireland and bringing Sam Maguire back to the Kingdom. Killarney’s Seán O’Sullivan saved his son, Seán Óg’s life when the 24-year-old collapsed and had a cardiac arrest last April. Sean Senior is now an advocate for widespread CPR training. Anthony O’Carroll from Ballyduff is honoured for his courage and hard work after a life-changing motor bike injury, which had left him with multiple and complex fractures as well as a brain injury. His mother Mary describes him as a warrior. Marian Barnes is recognised for her work in founding Recovery Haven, to support people diagnosed with and recovering from cancer.
Hawaii Matters, Hana Hou is a listen back with excerpts featuring past guests and this episode includes:Molly Schmidt, CEO of the American Red Cross, Pacific Islands Region, recognizes the works of volunteerism on a grassroots level and how it can inform an individual to do more for their community. She shares the need for everyday people to brush up on their CPR certification, take a babysitting course, and visit the Hawaii Red Cross website to discover what you excel at to be of service in your neighborhood, starting at home. Molly Schmidt speaks on the history and a few significant public figures of Hawaii Red Cross, and shares her personal experiences when working with other agencies during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2023 Maui Wildland Fires. Kathy With a K is your host. (original air date: September 28, 2025) "Hawaii Matters", a public service community program that airs on Sundays at 6:30 a.m. Hawaii across Pacific Media Group Oahu radio stations: KDDB 102.7 Da Bomb | KQMQ HI93 | KUMU 94.7 KUMU | KPOI 105.9 The WaveTo be featured or for inquiries on "Hawaii Matters", please email: kathywithak@1059thewavefm.com
A CPR tradition turns 10 this year. The Colorado Matters Holiday Extravaganza returns with bluegrass, mariachi, comedy and storytime. And as always, we pay homage to Judy Garland. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply value togetherness, this audio gift is for you!
The last full week of work in 2025 comes to an end today! We'll be around next Monday through Wednesday, but we'll both be off on Christmas & the day after. Same thing the following week for New Year's. In the news this morning, an absolute tragedy involving NASCAR Champion Greg Biffle & his family as they all died in a plane crash yesterday along with three others. Also in the news, the Brown University shooter has been found dead in NH, Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of obstruction. And in more positive news…the $1.5 Billion Powerball drawing is tomorrow! To talk a bit more about the Greg Biffle disaster, we got Doc on the phone just after 8am, thanks to County Materials in Holmen. Elsewhere in sports, Week 16 in the NFL kicked off last night with a thrilling win in overtime for the Seahawks, the Bucks lost to the Raptors last night, the Badger volleyball team's run to a championship came to an end at the hands of Kentucky last night, and the Badger men's basketball team takes on Villanova tonight in Milwaukee. We also talked about the Bowl Game schedule and the entertainment at February's NBA All-Star weekend. Plus, more details about the firing of Ohio University's coach, and the details on next year's "Patriot Games". We let you know what's on TV and in theaters this weekend, and if you're planning on traveling for the holidays…here's some solid advice from the TSA. Discussed some of the worst gifts to get during the holidays. Had a story about a grandmother in Virginia who's trying to track down a woman who performed life-saving CPR on her back in November after she suffered a heart attack while in a park. And God bless strippers! They do the Lord's work! And in today's edition of "Bad News with Happy Music", we had stories about a guy on the run from the cops who hid in a nativity scene, a trucker who found a bunch of cocaine in his truck, a grocery store in Montreal that was robbed by a bunch of people dressed as Santas & elves, a baby Jesus statue from a town's nativity scene was stolen & then returned, and a former trooper in Missouri admitted trying to find nude pics on the phones of women he'd pull over.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In October, 2025 the American Heart Association issued updated CPR guidelines, first full revision of lifesaving resuscitation guidance since 2020. In this podcast Henry Mayo cardiology nurse practitioner Tamar Avakian discusses the new CPR guidelines.
In this week's episode, Christianity will put the PR in CPR, Kirk Cameron gets eschatological and makes quite a mess, and president of American Atheists Nick Fish will be here to talk about serious stuff. --- To make a per episode donation at Patreon.com, click here: http://www.patreon.com/ScathingAtheist To buy our book, click here: https://www.amazon.com/Outbreak-Crisis-Religion-Ruined-Pandemic/dp/B08L2HSVS8/ If you see a news story you think we might be interested in, you can send it here: scathingnews@gmail.com To check out our sister show, The Skepticrat, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/the-skepticrat To check out our sister show's hot friend, God Awful Movies, click here: https://audioboom.com/channel/god-awful-movies To check out our half-sister show, Citation Needed, click here: http://citationpod.com/ To check out our sister show's sister show, D and D minus, click here: https://danddminus.libsyn.com/ Report instances of harassment or abuse connected to this show to the Creator Accountability Network here: https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org/ --- Guest Links: Learn more about the work Nick Fish is doing with American Atheists here: https://www.atheists.org/about/our-vision/ Learn more about the fundraiser Noah is doing for the Creator Accountability Network here: Canlivestream.org --- Headlines: Despite desperate religious claims, the US is NOT in the midst of a youth revival: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/12/08/religion-holds-steady-in-america/ Lauren Witzke claims God sent Noah's flood because angels gave humanity pharmaceuticals: https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/lauren-witzke-claims-god-sent-noahs-flood-because-angels-gave-humanity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Witzke Several major US retailers placed on 'Naughty List' for failure to embrace Christmas this year: https://www.christianpost.com/news/several-major-us-retailers-placed-on-naughty-list.html Kirk Cameron changes stance on doctrine of Hell: https://www.christianpost.com/news/kirk-cameron-changes-stance-on-doctrine-of-hell.html
Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about The Grinch Who Stole Bitches, Power Ball, emailer sexted co-worker by mistake, woman was putting razor blades in bread at Walmart, rats found crawling in produce section at grocery store, woman lost job after video of altercation with staff at restaurant goes viral, rub and tug bust, update on Sherrone Moore, Nick Reiner’s court appearance, Jane’s Addiction officially broken up, Charlie Puth mad about loud SpaceX launches, James Cameron gave CPR to rat, turds found on jetway, box of free weed outside of school, restaurant employees stage fake robbery with ChatGPT, raccoon fell through ceiling at fancy Wisconsin restaurant, man set up hidden camera in Tennessee Dollar Store, man planted hidden camera in woman’s vents, private investigator’s list of 5 jobs people most likely to cheat, doctor gave guy vasectomy when in for gallbladder surgery, camel at church Christmas performance kicks woman, strippers raise money for Christmas, man set record singing Christmas carols for 42 straight hours, $5M house for free but you have to move it, and more!
Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about The Grinch Who Stole Bitches, Power Ball, emailer sexted co-worker by mistake, woman was putting razor blades in bread at Walmart, rats found crawling in produce section at grocery store, woman lost job after video of altercation with staff at restaurant goes viral, rub and tug bust, update on Sherrone Moore, Nick Reiner's court appearance, Jane's Addiction officially broken up, Charlie Puth mad about loud SpaceX launches, James Cameron gave CPR to rat, turds found on jetway, box of free weed outside of school, restaurant employees stage fake robbery with ChatGPT, raccoon fell through ceiling at fancy Wisconsin restaurant, man set up hidden camera in Tennessee Dollar Store, man planted hidden camera in woman's vents, private investigator's list of 5 jobs people most likely to cheat, doctor gave guy vasectomy when in for gallbladder surgery, camel at church Christmas performance kicks woman, strippers raise money for Christmas, man set record singing Christmas carols for 42 straight hours, $5M house for free but you have to move it, and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Don't have time to listen to the entire Dave & Chuck the Freak podcast? Check out some of the tastiest bits of the day, including The Grinch That Stole Bitches, emailer sexted co-worker on accident, James Cameron gave a rat CPR, and more!
Don't have time to listen to the entire Dave & Chuck the Freak podcast? Check out some of the tastiest bits of the day, including The Grinch That Stole Bitches, emailer sexted co-worker on accident, James Cameron gave a rat CPR, and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Instagram is coming to your TV, James Cameron saved a rat's life with CPR and going to bed before midnight on New Year's Eve is more common than ever.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Today, Colorado musicians pay homage to Judy Garland, who inspired our annual Colorado Matters Holiday Extravaganza. The CPR tradition began after Sr. Host Ryan Warner watched Garland's 1963 Christmas special. Enjoy covers by Isaac Slade, Neyla Pekarek, Beth Malone, and Ryan himself (cringe).
Welcome to Episode 51 of “The 2 View,” the podcast for EM and urgent care nurse practitioners and physician assistants! Segment 1 Rodríguez, M. Á., Quintana-Cepedal, M., Cheval, B., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., Crespo, I., & Olmedillas, H. (2025, October 7). Effect of exercise snacks on fitness and cardiometabolic health in physically inactive individuals: Systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2025-110027 Rodgers, L. (2025, October 17). As pickleball continues to gain players, injuries are increasing. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.18833 Segment 2 Baos, S., Lui, M., Walker-Smith, T., Pufulete, M., Messenger, D., Abbadi, R., Batchelor, T., Casali, G., Edwards, M., Goddard, N., Abu Hilal, M., Alzetani, A., Vaida, M., Martinovsky, P., Saravanan, P., Cook, T., Malhotra, R., Simpson, A., Little, R., Wordsworth, S., Stokes, E., Jiang, J., Reeves, B., Culliford, L., Collett, L., Maishman, R., Chauhan, N., McCullagh, L., McKeon, H., Abbs, S., Lamb, J., Gilbert, A., Hughes, C., Wynick, D., Angelini, G., Grocott, M., Gibbison, B., & Rogers, C. A. (2025). Gabapentin for pain management after major surgery: A placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized clinical trial (the GAP Study). Anesthesiology, 143(4), 851-861. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005655 NEJM Journal Watch. (2024, December 30). Growing evidence of harms associated with gabapentinoid drugs. JWatch. https://www.jwatch.org/na58203/2024/12/30/growing-evidence-harms-associated-with-gabapentinoid-drugs Moeindarbari, S., Beheshtian, N., & Hashemi, S. (2022). Cerebral vein thrombosis in a woman using oral contraceptive pills for a short period of time: A case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports, 16, Article 260. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-022-03473-w Peckham, A. M., Evoy, K. E., Ochs, L., & Covvey, J. R. (2018). Gabapentin for off-label use: Evidence-based or cause for concern? Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 12, 1178221818801311. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178221818801311 The 2 View: Emergency Medicine PAs & NPs. (2025, January 22). 41 – RCVS and CVT, CPR care science, prehospital tourniquets, blood pressure [Audio podcast episode]. Fireside. https://2view.fireside.fm/41 Strahan, A. E., Rikard, S. M., Schmit, K. M., Zhang, K., Guy, G. P., Jr., & [Additional Authors]. (2025). Trends in dispensed gabapentin prescriptions in the United States, 2010 to 2024. Annals of Internal Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-25-01750 Segment 3 Brown, R. F., Lopez, K., Smith, C. B., & Charles, A. (2025). Diverticulitis: A review. JAMA, 334(13), 1180-1191. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.10234 Carr, S., & Velasco, A. L. (2024, July 25). Colon diverticulitis. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541110/ Bob Tubbs on Emergency Radiology: https://youtu.be/Jg1JG67eoJQ Our social media: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ccmecourses Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccmecourses Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CenterForMedicalEducation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickbukata Our podcasts: The 2 View Podcast (Free): Subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3rhVNZw Subscribe on Google Podcasts: http://bit.ly/2MrAHcD Subscribe On Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3tDM4im Risk Management Monthly Podcast (Paid CME): https://www.ccme.org/riskmgmt ** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional. emergencymedicine #cme
What if one unexpected medical emergency at the airport accidentally handed you the most liberating night of your life?In this true cabin crew story, Andy - a long-haul flight attendant - starts his day expecting nothing more than a routine winter trip to Delhi. But when an elderly passenger collapses on the jet bridge, Andy jumps in to help, performs CPR, and is promptly taken off the flight and sent home.Most people would be annoyed. Andy? He walks through his front door and discovers a surprise that changes everything… in the best possible way.What follows is a wonderfully chaotic, funny, and freeing chain of events that could only happen to someone who works in aviation. From relationship revelations to a very unexpected Christmas twist, Andy's day goes from stressful to side-splittingly memorable, all because of a moment he never saw coming. His sliding doors moment!This episode explores: Real-life cabin crew medical moments (the kind we all have) Sliding-door days that flip life on its head LGBTQ+ themes handled with warmth and humour The messy, relatable reality of crew life How one “ruined” shift can sometimes set you freeA Flight to Freedom is proof that sometimes the universe hands you exactly what you need… even if it looks like a day from hell at first.Music Credits for Flight to FreedomHome for the Holidays - Chris HaugenMelancholia – GodmodeChristmas Village - Aaron KennyThis is Not a Christmas Song - NEFFEXSound Effects by Send us a text! If you'd like a reply, please leave an email or numberWe would really appreciate it if you take 1 minute to leave a quick review. It really helps our podcast become more visible on all the platforms so we can reach more people! Thank you. Kaylie has written 6 other fictional novels about the lives of cabin crew! Amazon UKAmazon USABarnes and NobleSupport the showThe Red Eye Podcast is written by Kaylie Kay, and produced and narrated by Ally Murphy.To subscribe to the monthly newsletter and keep up to date with news, visit www.theredeyepod.com. Or find us on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok & Instagram @theredeyepod, for behind the scenes stories and those funny short stories that only take a minute or less!If you'd like to support the podcast you can "buy us a beer" and subscribe at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2310053/support, we'd be happy to give you a shout out on our newsletter!Ally Murphy is a former flight attendant, and a British voice over artist based in the USA, visit www.allymurphy.co.ukKaylie Kay is a flight attendant and author based in the UK. You can find more of her work at www.kayliekaywrites.comTo buy The Red Eye's first book click on the following links:Amazon UK Amazon USABarnes and Noble Other E Book Platforms
Over 5 million people worldwide have been trained in the American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed program. The program aims to make these life-saving skills as common as CPR. Following the Brown University shooting claiming the lives of two students and leaving nine others injured, we talk about the importance of trauma response skills from hospitals to the everyday bystander. We spoke with Dr. Shea Gregg, Chair of Surgery at SVMC and Chair of CT State Trauma Committee.
Master cardiovascular disease prevention! Learn how to apply the new PREVENT risk calculator, use the CPR framework for risk reclassification, and interpret ApoB and Lp(a) in modern lipid management. We're joined by Dr. Laurence Sperling to break down what's new in ASCVD risk assessment and prevention. Claim CME for this episode at curbsiders.vcuhealth.org! Patreon | Episodes | Subscribe | Spotify | YouTube | Newsletter | Contact | Swag! | CME Show Segments Intro Case 1 from Kashlak Risk assessment framework ApoB and Non-HDL cholesterol Lipoprotein(a) and its importance The PREVENT risk score and its implications Statins and other lipid lowering therapies The role of diet and lifestyle in lipid management Case 2 from Kashlak Familial Hypercholesterolemia diagnosis and management Key takeaways Outro Credits Producer, Writer, Shownotes, Infographic, and Cover art: Ben Furman, MPH Hosts: Matthew Watto MD, FACP; Paul Williams MD, FACP Reviewer: Leah Witt, MD Showrunners: Matthew Watto MD, FACP; Paul Williams MD, FACP Technical Production: PodPaste Guest: Laurence Sperling, MD Disclosures Dr. Sperling reports no relevant financial disclosures. The Curbsiders report no relevant financial disclosures. Sponsor: Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute If you want to learn more about what the Bucksbaum-Siegler Institute is doing and to nominate someone for the Clinical Excellence Award—you can check them out today. Visit bucksbauminstitute.uchicago.edu. Sponsor: Grammarly Sign up for FREE and experience how Grammarly can elevate your professional writing from start to finish. Visit Grammarly.com/podcast. Sponsor: Continuing Education Company Use promo code Curb30 to get 30% off all online courses and webcast. Visit CMEmeeting.org/curbsiders to learn more. Sponsor: Freed Use code: CURB50 to get $50 off your first month when you subscribe!
In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we dig into the latest evidence on prognostic indicators during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in dogs and cats. Using data from the RECOVER registry, this 2025 JVECC study sheds light on which factors can help predict return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to discharge, giving us practical tools to guide our decision-making in the heat of resuscitation. Tune in to hear how this data can help set realistic expectations for veterinary staff and for pet owners, and shape how we approach veterinary CPR!
Mara Gergolet parla dei passi avanti nel vertice di Berlino sulla pace. Alberto Giulini spiega perché la Corte d'Appello del capoluogo piemontese ha deciso il rilascio del religioso egiziano trattenuto nel Cpr di Caltanissetta dal 24 novembre. Paolo Mereghetti ricorda il regista di «Stand by Me», «Harry, ti presento Sally» e «Misery non deve morire», ucciso a coltellate insieme alla moglie nella loro villa di Los Angeles.I link di corriere.it:I colloqui di Berlino sull'Ucraina: che cosa è successoLa Corte di Appello ordina il rilascio dell'imam Mohamed Shahin: «Non è un pericolo». Il Viminale valuta il ricorsoIl regista Rob Reiner e la moglie morti accoltellati nella loro villa a Los Angeles: arrestato il figlio Nick. «Acceso litigio fra padre e figlio»
Colorado, like the rest of the country, is experiencing more, and worse, climate disasters, wrecking havoc on people's homes — and their homeowner's insurance rates. In the wake of devastating hail storms and massive wildfires, Coloradans face rising premiums, less choice and availability, and in some cases, getting dropped by insurers altogether. The state is now one of the top ten most expensive in the country for homeowners insurance. And escalating the issue is climate change. CPR's Bente Birkeland and Rocky Mountain PBS' Andrea Kramar look at what's happening with the home insurance market in Colorado, and what state lawmakers are trying to do to make sure that, when the flames approach or the hail falls, Coloradans don't lose everything.Plus stay tuned for a full-length documentary on this reporting. “Undercovered” airs on Rocky Mountain PBS Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. MST, and will be available to stream on the free RMPBS+ app and Youtube.Purplish is produced by listener-supported CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.Purplish's producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound designed and engineered by Shane Rumsey. Theme music is by Brad Turner. CPR's executive producer of podcasts is Megan Verlee.
Kurt Bramer from Advanced CPR Solutions comes back for a final look at Head-Up CPR as we pull all the pieces from the earlier four episodes together. Dr. Joe Holley is back to bring in the latest research into the process as well. We will tie all this back to the global health disaster that is sudden cardiac arrest. Recent research from across the emergency medical community has pointed to impressive improvements in both return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) as well as survival to discharge and neurologically intact survival when compared to conventional supine CPR performance. We’ll have links below to some of those studies and papers. Research Bibliography for Head-Up CPR Studies The episode is co-hosted again by our regular hosts, Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis. Elevated CPR Series Episode One Elevated CPR Series Episode Two Elevated CPR Series Episode Three Elevated CPR Series Episode Four CARES Registry for Cardiac Arrest Stats Follow up on more of these segments as we continue to look at the current research trends in future episodes and what is on the horizon for the future. The episode was co-hosted by Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis. Scroll down for Podcast Discussion Summary Thank you as always to Paragon Medical Education Group for their long-term support of the Disaster Podcast. Dr. Joe Holley and the team at Paragon continue to provide excellent and customized disaster response training to jurisdictions around the U.S. and internationally as well. Podcast Discussion Summary Head-Up CPR Research Update Jamie and Sam discussed the upcoming podcast episode, which will focus on wrapping up the last four episodes about head-up CPR and recent research. They mentioned the challenges of implementing new approaches in rural systems with volunteer staff. Sam noted that Dr. Joe and Kurt Bramer have been working on presenting the information in a way that can be applied responsibly. Joe briefly mentioned that SENA teams were activated to assist with floods in Seattle. The main focus of the episode will be on the latest data on head-up CPR, including improved physiology, survival rates, and neurological function, particularly for non-shockable rhythms like asystole. Advantages of Head-Up CPR Studies Sam, Kurt, and Joe discussed the significance of two seminal studies on head-up CPR. The 2016 preclinical animal study showed significant improvement in perfusion when compared to standard CPR, with a synergistic effect when using additional devices like the ITD and suction cup. The 2022 independent registry analysis demonstrated that head-up CPR resulted in a five times greater likelihood of neurologically intact survival compared to conventional CPR, even up to 20 minutes post-cardiac arrest. Joe explained that the bundled care approach for cardiac arrest patients involves multiple components, including appropriate ventilation, high-quality CPR, and post-resuscitation care, all of which contribute to improved outcomes. Bystander CPR System Implementation The discussion focused on the importance of proper implementation of bystander CPR, AEDs, and advanced techniques like impedance threshold devices and suction cup CPR to improve patient outcomes, particularly neurologic ones. Kurt emphasized the need for a system-wide approach, from first responders to hospital care, highlighting successful partnerships like Louisville’s, where continuity of care is prioritized. Jamie inquired about best practices for implementing this system-wide approach, to which Kurt responded with examples from different regions, noting that while ideal partnerships exist, proactive agencies can still achieve good outcomes even with less supportive hospitals. Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation Bundle Implementation The team discussed the importance of addressing multiple aspects of cardiac arrest resuscitation simultaneously, as highlighted by Joe, who emphasized that successful outcomes require implementing all elements of the care bundle equally. Jamie inquired about training approaches, to which Joe responded that effective training involves both initial instruction and ongoing feedback through quality improvement processes, stressing that successful resuscitations require adherence to the entire bundle rather than just some components. Prioritizing Tasks in Resuscitation Joe and Kurt discussed the importance of prioritizing tasks during resuscitation, emphasizing the need to focus on the overall process rather than individual steps. They highlighted the benefits of the Head-Up CPR model, which organizes priorities and reduces chaos during medical emergencies. Kurt explained that this method allows for more efficient and coordinated delivery of therapies, leading to better patient outcomes. Head-Up CPR Survival Benefits The group discussed two significant studies on CPR techniques. Kurt presented findings from a 2023 preclinical study showing that early administration of head-up CPR resulted in a 40% 24-hour survival rate compared to 9% for delayed conventional CPR. Joe highlighted an observational study from 2024 showing that head-up CPR improved survival rates for non-shockable rhythms from 2.8% to 7.6%, representing a nearly 3-fold improvement. Both studies suggested that head-up CPR could significantly enhance survival chances, particularly when administered early. Non-Perfusible Rhythm Blood Flow Method The group discussed a new methodology for perfusing patients with non-perfusible rhythms, which allows for continued blood flow and preserves neurological status. Joe explained that this could open up windows for interventions like ECMO or cardiac catheterization while CPR is underway. Kurt shared anecdotal evidence from agencies that have gained confidence in staying longer during arrests, leading to increased rates of ROSC in non-shockable rhythms. The group also touched on the importance of proper ventilation during CPR, with Joe highlighting the lack of focus on this aspect in many clinical trials. Head-Up CPR Survival Benefits Joe explained the concept of pressure-volume loops in CPR, demonstrating that head-up CPR generates greater blood flow and pressures compared to standard CPR. Kurt presented data from two studies comparing outcomes between CARES and head-up CPR data, showing improved survival rates for head-up CPR patients over one and five-year periods. The research suggests that head-up CPR may lead to better patient outcomes, though these findings were not included in the 2025 American Heart Association guidelines. Cardiac Arrest Economic Impact Discussion The group discussed the economic impact of cardiac arrests, with Kurt noting that the total cost per person in the US is approximately $4,000 annually, highlighting the need for improved resuscitation techniques. Jamie emphasized the importance of community contributions from survivors, while Joe provided recommendations for enhancing CPR quality, including the use of the Lucas 3.1 device with its enhanced lift feature and avoiding overly tight cervical collars during CPR to maintain blood flow. Improving Sudden Cardiac Arrest Response The meeting focused on sudden cardiac arrest, emphasizing its global impact as a leading cause of death. Kurt and Joe discussed the need for first response agencies and emergency managers to explore research and improve care delivery to enhance patient survivability. Joe highlighted the importance of understanding the physiology of cardiac arrest and considering new approaches, as current CPR methods have not changed in 50 years. Jamie suggested applying disaster management strategies to sudden cardiac arrest to improve outcomes. Joe mentioned upcoming procedural cadaver labs and ongoing work on superglottic studies and new airway management tools. Kurt provided contact information for further discussions and was invited to return for future updates on research. Podcast Series Conclusion and Future Plans The group discussed the conclusion of a podcast series on medical topics, with Kurt expressing gratitude for the opportunity to share his message and Jamie inviting him back for future episodes. They agreed to continue the conversation on social media and the Disaster Podcast website, with Kurt planning to draft questions for potential CEU credits. The group the role of specialized training, with Jamie highlighting the sponsorship of the Disaster Podcast by Paragon Medical Education Group. Catch the full episode using the player above or on your favorite podcast platform, and don't forget to subscribe to the Disaster Podcast for weekly insights from leaders in disaster response and research!
Neurologists are privileged to act as guides for patients as they navigate the complex course of serious neurologic illnesses. Because of the impact on quality of life, personhood, and prognosis, neurologists must be able to conduct serious-illness conversations to improve rapport, reduce patient anxiety and depression, and increase the likelihood that treatment choices agree with patient goals and values. In this episode, Teshamae Monteith, MD, FAAN speaks with Jessica M. Besbris, MD, author of the article "The Approach to Serious-Illness Conversations" in the Continuum® December 2025 Neuropalliative Care issue. Dr. Monteith is the associate editor of Continuum® Audio and an associate professor of clinical neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. Dr. Besbris is an assistant professor of neurology and internal medicine, and the director of the neuropalliative care, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. Additional Resources Read the article: The Approach to Serious-Illness Conversations Subscribe to Continuum®: shop.lww.com/Continuum Earn CME (available only to AAN members): continpub.com/AudioCME Continuum® Aloud (verbatim audio-book style recordings of articles available only to Continuum® subscribers): continpub.com/Aloud More about the American Academy of Neurology: aan.com Social Media facebook.com/continuumcme @ContinuumAAN Host: @headacheMD Guest: @JessBesbris Full episode transcript available here Dr Jones: This is Dr Lyell Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Continuum. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio. Be sure to visit the links in the episode notes for information about earning CME, subscribing to the journal, and exclusive access to interviews not featured on the podcast. Dr Monteith: Hi, this is Dr Teshamae Monteith. Today I'm interviewing Dr Jessica Besbris about her article on the approach to serious illness conversation, which is found in the December 2025 Continuum issue on neuropalliative care. How are you? Dr Besbris: I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me here today. Dr Monteith: Well, thank you for being on our podcast. Dr Besbris: My pleasure. Dr Monteith: Why don't we start off with you introducing yourself? Dr Besbris: Sure. So, my name is Jessica Besbris. I am a neurologist with fellowship training in palliative care, and I am currently at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where I am the director of our neuropalliative care program. Dr Monteith: Excellent. So, how did you get involved in that? Dr Besbris: Like, I think, many neurologists, I always knew I wanted to be a neurologist---or, I should say, from the moment I decided to be a doctor I knew that that was the type of doctor I wanted to be, a neurologist. So, I went into medical school with the aim of becoming a neurologist. And very quickly, when I started my clinical years, I was exposed to patients who were living with very serious illnesses. And I found myself really drawn to opportunities to help, opportunities to make people feel better, opportunities to improve quality of life in situations that on the face of it seemed really challenging, where maybe it seemed like our usual treatments were not necessarily the answer or were not the only answer. And so, I pretty quickly recognized that taking care of patients with serious illness was going to be a big part of my life as a neurologist and that palliative care was the way I wanted to help these patients and families. Dr Monteith: And you mentioned you're leading the group. So, how many colleagues do you have in the program? Dr Besbris: We have a very large palliative care group, but within neuropalliative care, it's myself and one other physician, a nurse practitioner, and a social worker. Dr Monteith: Okay, well, I know you guys are busy. Dr Besbris: Yes, we are very happy to be busy. Dr Monteith: Yes. So, let's talk about the objectives of your article. Dr Besbris: Sure. So, the goal of this article is to impress upon neurologists that it really is all of our jobs as neurologists to be having these conversations with our patients who are affected with serious illness. And then, in most areas of neurology, these conversations will come up. Whether it's giving a life changing diagnosis, or talking about treatment choices, or treatment not going the way that we had hoped, or even sometimes progression of disease or end-of-life care. These topics will come up for most of us in neurology, and really, we're hoping that this article not only makes the case that neurologists can and should be having these conversations, but that there are skills that we can teach in this article and with other resources to improve the skill level and sense of confidence that neurologists have when they enter into these conversations. Dr Monteith: Great. I read that there are some developments in the field, on organizational levels, about really making these skills part of standard of care in terms of education. So, can you speak to that? Dr Besbris: Yes. So, there have been a couple of really landmark papers and changes in the educational landscape that I think have really brought neuropalliative care in general, and serious illness conversation in particular, to the forefront. So, there were the position statements released by the American Academy of Neurology in 1996 and 2022, both of which really said, hey, all neurologists should be doing this and receive training on how to have these conversations and provide this care. And the ACGME, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, also requires neurology residency programs to learn how to communicate with patients and families, assess goals, and talk about end-of-life care. So, there's a real structural imperative now for neurologists to learn early on how to have serious illness conversations with their patients. Dr Monteith: Great. If there's anything for our listeners to get out of this conversation, what are the essential points? Dr Besbris: If you only take away one or two things from this conversation, I hope that they're that this is an awesome responsibility to be in a moment with a patient going through something challenging, to meet them in that moment with thoughtful, honest, empathic conversations about who they are and what's important to them. And that, just like any other procedure, these are skills that can be taught so that you can feel really confident and comfortable being in these moments. Dr Monteith: Excellent. Wow. Okay, I feel your energy and your empathy already. And so, why don't we just talk about skills? What is the best way to deliver tough news? I read this wonderful chart on SPIKES protocol. Dr Besbris: Yeah, the SPIKES protocol is one really well-known way to deliver serious news. And what's nice about SPIKES is it gives a mnemonic. And as neurology learners, we all love a good mnemonic to help you really center yourself when you're entering into these conversations so that you have a structured format to follow, just like with any procedure. So, the SPIKES protocol stands for Setting: so, making sure you have the right environment; Perception, or assessing what your patient or surrogate decision maker knows already so that you know where to begin; receiving an Invitation to deliver serious news. And then K stands for Knowledge, delivering in a clear and concise way the information that you want to make sure the family or patient walk away with. E for exploring Emotion; and S for really Summarizing what's been discussed and Strategizing on next steps. I think that having these kinds of conversations, it's just like being expert in anything. When you first start learning, it's helpful to have a set of very concrete steps you can follow. And you might even think through the mnemonic as you get ready to walk into that room. And as you become more expert, the flow becomes more natural. And maybe what you do before walking in to prepare is just honing what is that headline? What is that concise statement that I'm really going to give? And the rest may start to feel more natural and less protocolized. Dr Monteith: And there are a few other mnemonics. There's the NURSE mnemonic, which I like. You know, there's a balance between saying things and sounding kind of… you know, sometimes they're like, well, how could you understand what I'm going through? Have you been through something like this? And people shy away, and they're afraid to kind of be a part of these conversations. So how do we approach that with this, a NURSE mnemonic in a way that's kind of sincere? Dr Besbris: Absolutely. So, the NURSE mnemonic, unlike SPIKES, is not a step-by-step protocol. So, NURSE is a mnemonic, but you don't go through each letter and sort of give a naming statement and then an understanding statement and then a respecting statement and so on. Nurse is really a toolkit of different types of statements that we can give in response to emotions so that when you find yourself in a situation where a patient or family member is tearful, is scared, is angry, is expressing feelings, you have some phrases ready that feel authentic to you and that you feel are going to meet the moment and allow you to empathically respond to those emotions. Because until we do that, we really can't move further in this conversation with our patients and families feeling heard and respected. So, that NURSE mnemonic, those Naming, Understanding, Respecting, Supporting and Exploring statements, are really examples of statements that we can use to meet that moment with empathy and understanding and without implying that we have walked in their shoes. We want to avoid being presumptuous and really focus on just being present and empathic. Dr Monteith: So, let's just kind of run through, I think it's really important. Let's run through some of these examples. Maybe if someone's crying hysterically, how would we respond to that? Dr Besbris: So, this is an opportunity for Naming. And I made this one, I think, in the chart, a little bit obvious, meaning that we recognize when someone is crying that they are feeling probably very sad. This is an opportunity for us to name and thus normalize that emotion. I just think something as simple as, I think anyone would be really sad hearing this. These responses are not intended to fix this emotion. I'm not trying to get someone to stop crying or to, you know, necessarily not feel sad. It's really just to say, yeah, it's normal that you're feeling sad. It's okay. I'm here with you while you're feeling sad. And I'm going to be with you no matter what you're bringing to the table. Dr Monteith: Yeah. Let's go through just a couple of others. I mean, these are really good. Dr Besbris: Sure. Maybe Respecting. Dr Monteith: Yeah. So, my Dad is a fighter. Only God, not doctors, can know the future. Dr Besbris: Yeah. So, I love giving these examples with our learners because these statements, things like my Dad is a fighter or God will bring me a miracle or you don't know the answer. Only God knows what's going to happen, I think that they give a lot of doctors a feeling of confrontation, a feeling of anxiety. And I think there are a few reasons for that. And I think one of the main ones is that they're statements that imply that we as doctors are not all-powerful and it's our patients or families sort of looking for a different locus of control, whether it's internal fortitude or a higher power. They're looking to something other than us, and maybe that makes us feel a little bit uncomfortable. And I think that sometimes physicians think that these statements imply that someone doesn't even understand what's going on. But maybe they're coming to this from a place of denial. And I would argue that when someone comes to you with a statement like my dad is a fighter or, you know, I'm looking to God to bring me a miracle or to show me the future. I think that what they're really saying is, wow, I'm really hearing that things are serious, so much so that I'm reaching for these other resources to give me strength and hope. I don't think anyone asks for a miracle if they think that a miracle is not needed, if the problem is easy to fix. And so, rather than come to these types of statements from a confrontational place of I'm the doctor and I know best, I think this is a great opportunity to show some respect and give some respecting statements. Your dad is a fighter. I don't think he could have come this far without being a fighter. Or, you know, I am so grateful that you have your faith to lean on during times like these to give you strength. These are also nice opportunities for exploring statements. For example, I'm so grateful to learn more about your dad. Can you tell me what it is that he has been fighting for all of this time? Dr Monteith: I love that. It's like a follow-up, and also validating. Dr Besbris: Yeah, it's validating. And it allows us to learn a little bit more about this person and to learn, well, is he fighting for a life that we can still achieve with our interventions to lead into the next part of a conversation? Or, is God is going to bring me a miracle? Well, tell me what a miracle looks like for you. I can't tell you how many times I thought someone was going to tell me that a miracle would be cure. And sometimes that is what comes up. But other times I hear, a miracle would be, you know, my loved one surviving long enough for the rest of the family to gather. And, you know, that is certainly something we can work towards together. Dr Monteith: So, why don't we talk a little bit about approach to goals of care discussions? They are tough, and let's just put it into perspective to the critical care team. It's time, the person's been in the ICU, the family wants everything thrown at medically. And it's to the point that the assessment is that would be medical futility. Dr Besbris: Lots to unpack there. Dr Monteith: I wanted to make it hard for you. Dr Besbris: No, no, this is good! I mean, this is something- I work in a, you know, almost one thousand-bed hospital with a massive critical care building. And so, these are not unusual circumstances at all. First of all, I would just say that goals of care conversations are not only about end-of-life care. And I make that point a few different times in the article because I think when people imagine goals of care, and one of the reasons that I think clinicians may sometimes shy away from goals of care discussions, is that they think they have to be sad, they have to be scary, they have to be about death and dying. And I would argue that, really, goals of care discussions are about understanding who a person is, how they live their life, what's most important to them. Most of these conversations should be about living. How are we going to together achieve a quality of life that is meaningful for you and treatments that are going to fit your needs and your preferences? But there is a little slice of that pie in the pie chart of goals of care discussions that is in the arena of end-of-life care. For example, ICU care with, really, the highest levels of intensity of care, and having to talk about whether that still is meeting the moment from the perspective of goals as well as the perspective of efficacy. So, from the goals standpoint, I approach these conversations just like any other goals of care conversation. Usually at this point, we're speaking to family members and not our patients because in a neurocritical care unit, if someone is that sick, they probably are incapacitated. And so, it's a moment to really sit down with family and say, please tell me about the human being lying in that bed. They can't introduce themselves. What would they tell me about themselves if they could speak right now? What kinds of things were important to them in the course of their treatment? What kind of a life did they want to live or do they want to live? So that then we can reflect on, well, can our treatment achieve that? And this process is called shared decision making. This is really where we take in data from the family, who are experts in the patient, and then our own expertise in the illness and what our treatments can achieve, and then bring all of that information together to make a recommendation that aligns with what we believe is right for a particular patient. So, in the example that you gave, the extreme circumstance where someone is receiving maximal intensive care and we're starting to reach the point of futility, I think that we need to first really understand, well, what does futility mean for this particular patient? Is it that we as healthcare providers would not value living in the state this person is in? Or is it that the treatments truly cannot physiologically keep them alive or meet their stated goals? If it's the first one, that I wouldn't want to be on machines unconscious, you know, at the end of my life, well, I have to set that aside. It's really about what this patient wants. and if the family is telling you they valued every breath, every moment, and if we have care that can achieve that, we should continue to offer and recommend that care. And as healthcare providers, it is so important that we do explain when treatments are not going to be able to physiologically meet a patient's needs or achieve their goals. And that's where we can say, I'm going to continue to do everything I can, for example, to, you know, keep your loved one here for these meaningful moments. And we are at a point where performing CPR would no longer be able to restart his heart. And I just wanted to let you know that that's not something that we're going to do because I have an obligation not to provide painful medical treatments that will not work. So, my approach to futility is really different than my approach to shared decision-making because in the context of objective futility, it's not about necessarily- it's not about decision-making, it's not about shared decision-making as much as it is explaining why something is simply not going to work. Does that make sense? Dr Monteith: Absolutely. And what I love in your article is that, you know, you go beyond the skills, but also potential communication challenges---for example, patients' neurologic status, their ability to understand complex communication, or even cultural differences. So, can you speak about that briefly? Dr Besbris: Absolutely. In the world of neurological serious illness, it is incredibly common for our patients to face challenges in communication. That might be because they are aphasic, because they have a motor speech deficit, it might be because they're intubated, it might be because their capacity is diminished or absent. And so, there are a lot of challenges to keeping patients in these conversations. And in the article, I summarize what those challenges can look like and some strategies that we can use to continue to engage our patients in these conversations to the greatest extent possible and also turn to their surrogate decision makers where the patients themselves are no longer able to participate or participate fully. In terms of cultural considerations, I mean, there could be an entire article or an entire Continuum just on cultural considerations in neurology and in serious illness communication. And so, the key points that I really tried to focus on were exploring from a place of cultural humility what the beliefs and practices of a particular patient and family are in their cultural context, to ask questions to help you understand how those cultural differences may impact the way you approach these conversations. And being sensitive to folks with limited English proficiency, to ensure that we are using medical interpreters whenever possible. Dr Monteith: Excellent. Well, there's so much in the article. There's already so much that we just discussed, but our listeners are going to have to go to the article to get the rest of this. I do want to ask you to just kind of reflect on, you know, all the different cases and experiences that you have, and just, if you can give us a final remark? Dr Besbris: I can think of a number of cases that I've seen in my work as both an inpatient and outpatient neuropalliative provider where I've seen patients after strokes in the hospital with uncertain prognosis, whose families were struggling with a decision around feeding tubes. And where we have made a determination based on goals; for example, to pursue what's called a time-limited trial, to say let's place a feeding tube, let's meet again in the clinic in a few months after some rehab and let's just see, is this meeting this patient 's goals and expectations? I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of patients who have walked into my office after a period of rehabilitation who have regained the ability to eat, who are living an acceptable quality of life, and who have expressed gratitude for the work that I did in eliciting their goals, helping support their families. And some of whom have even come in and said, now that I'm doing better, I'd really like to do an advance directive to better guide my family in the future. People asking for more goals of care discussions, having seen how successful and helpful these conversations have been. Dr Monteith: Great. That's really life-altering for that patient, the family, so many people. Thank you so much for the work you do and for writing this great article and sharing all of this that we really need to learn more about. Dr Besbris: It's been a privilege. Thank you so much for talking with me today. Dr Monteith: Today I've been interviewing Dr Jessica Besbris about her article on the approach to serious illness conversation, which is found in the December 2025 Continuum issue on neuropalliative care. Be sure to check out Continuum Audio episodes from this and other issues. And thank you to our listeners for joining today. Dr Monteith: This is Dr Teshamae Monteith, Associate Editor of Continuum Audio. If you've enjoyed this episode, you'll love the journal, which is full of in-depth and clinically relevant information important for neurology practitioners. Use the link in the episode notes to learn more and subscribe. AAN members, you can get CME for listening to this interview by completing the evaluation at continpub.com/audioCME. Thank you for listening to Continuum Audio.
Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech Training and Pico TechnologyWatch Full Video EpisodeIn this episode, Matt shares a personal Thanksgiving story that turned into a real medical emergency. A long-time family friend suddenly becomes unresponsive at the dinner table, and Matt walks through the moment he had to decide whether to act, despite not being “formally” current on CPR.He talks candidly about what it felt like to drag her to the floor, check for breathing, make the call to start chest compressions, hear ribs crack—and then watch her come back. From there, he connects the experience to life in an automotive shop: CPR and first-aid readiness, AEDs, fire extinguishers, panic, freezing, and why “somebody will know what to do” is not a plan.It's a conversation about preparedness, stress, and how our greatest weapon really is the thought we choose when everything suddenly goes sideways.Episode HighlightsOpening with the quote: “Our greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”Matt fighting a cold and joking about his “Nat King Cole” voice.Thanksgiving at his parents' house: Family and close friends gathered, including a 75-year-old family friend (“Jane”) who's been part of the family's holidays for years.Jane says she's really dizzy; Matt gets up to escort her to the living room.Her chin suddenly drops to her chest, she becomes unresponsive, cold, and clammy.The decision point:Matt checks for airway, tries to feel for a pulse, listens for breathing—only hears gurgling.Admits he doesn't fully trust his own ability to feel a pulse with his heart pounding.The mental calculus: If you can't be sure, what else is there to do but chest compressions?Starting chest compressions:Dragging her to the floor and focusing completely on her while the rest of the room “disappears.”Locking his elbows, using the beat of “Stayin' Alive” as a guide.First compression: feeling and hearing the sternum/ribs crack—and taking that as feedback that he's at the right depth.Before the second compression, her eyes fly open and she lets out a sound.The immediate emotional whiplash:First feeling isn't relief, but anger and self-doubt: “Did I just overreact?” “Did I crack her ribs for nothing?” “Was this some dramatic hero move I didn't need to make?”Reorienting to the reality that she was unresponsive and now is awake, talking, and oriented.EMS arrives:Very low blood pressure at the house (around 70/40).Hooked up to a 4-lead, showing atrial fibrillation with PVCs.Matt nerds out on the waveforms and explains AFib and PVCs in plain terms.EMTs jokingly ask if he's a doctor because of how well he reads the traces.Later imaging reveals:A cracked or stress-fractured sternum from compressions.Multiple blood clots in her lungs.The doctor tells her that sternum fractures are common with CPR and adds:Don't be mad at him — he saved your life.For Matt, the key relief is not the “hero” label, but confirmation that he did the right thing by acting.Connecting it back to shops and real life:Afterward, Matt starts calling around trying to set up CPR and first-aid training.Hard question: if he drops at the shop, who's going to act?Extending the concern beyond employees: what about customers?Preparedness checklist for shops:Is there an AED on-site, and does anyone actually know how to use it?Has anyone at the shop had recent CPR and first-aid training?Do...
It's a consequential week in the Supreme Court as justices hear a case that could reorient the bounds of executive authority and overturn a ninety year precedent that insulates independent government agencies from political interference from the president.President Trump has tested those bounds of his executive power on everything from tariffs and trade to immigration to government spending. It's now up to the Supreme Court to determine just how far that authority can stretch, and that's why Amy wanted to talk to our guest today, Josh Gerstein, a reporter at Politico, who covers the intersection of law and politics -- which these days feels like just about everything under the sun.Amy and Josh talked about the dynamics in this Supreme Court, how they may rule on these upcoming cases, including ones like the Voting Rights Act. We recorded this conversation on Thursday, December 4th, right before the court announced they were taking up the birthright citizenship case and before they issued their stay on Texas' redistricting map. You can watch part of the conversation our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thecookpoliticalreportSign up for our free weekly newsletter, In Brief: https://www.cookpolitical.com/in-brief-sign-upInterested in subscribing to CPR? Go to: www.cookpolitical.com/subscribeListeners can use the discount code"ODD10" to save 10% on any subscription. This offer is available only to new subscribers.
A Utah father's “family hike” up the steep and strenuous Broads Fork Trail in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest turned into a horrific, life-threatening ordeal for his three young children when he refused to turn back as a storm rolled in, ultimately leaving them exposed, injured, and stranded overnight at high elevation. Search-and-rescue crews later found the children hypothermic and unresponsive, and investigators uncovered disturbing details, including the father ignoring repeated warnings, pushing the kids toward a nearly 9-mile summit, and even leaving his 8-year-old to perform CPR on her brother in the dark. This episode breaks down the timeline, the rescue, and the shocking decisions that turned a mountain trail into a nightmare.Support the show!For bonus content join our Patreon!patreon.com/CrimeOfftheGridFor a one time donation:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/cotgFor more information about the podcast, check outhttps://crimeoffthegrid.com/Check out our Merch!! https://in-wild-places.square.site/s/shopFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crimeoffthegridpodcast/ and (1) Facebook Sources:https://www.ksl.com/article/51411042/extremely-selfish-dad-charged-with-taking-young-kids-on-dangerous-hike-that-ended-in-a-rescue https://gephardtdaily.com/local/father-who-took-children-on-mountain-hike-in-snowstorm-arrested-for-alleged-child-torture-intentional-abuse/ https://www.abc4.com/news/crimes-against-children/father-big-cottonwood-hiker-missing-toture/amp/https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/northern-utah/utah-father-who-went-missing-with-3-children-on-hike-charged-with-child-torture-abuseources:
A Utah father, Micah Smith, took his three young children on what prosecutors now call a “not well planned,” “ill-prepared,” and “extremely dangerous” hike into Big Cottonwood Canyon. Hours later, two children are unconscious from hypothermia, one appears dead when rescuers arrive, and the story Micah Smith tells doesn't match what investigators later uncover. According to the indictment, Micah Smith pushed toward the top of Broads Fork despite rain, fog, wind, and kids who repeatedly begged to go home, and he taught his 8-year-old daughter CPR because he knew help was too far away. Let's examine the route, the behavior, the marital strains, the mental-health indicators, the previous suicide-related police encounter, and the troubling allegations prosecutors are laying out against Micah Smith.#MicahSmith #BigCottonwoodCanyon #BroadsForkTrail #SaltLakeCounty #UtahCrime #ChildTorture #ChildAbuse #TrueCrime #ProfilingEvil #MappingEvil #GIS #Esri #CourtTV #WasatchMountains #SearchAndRescue #Parenting #MentalHealth #DomesticStrain The Hike That Terrorized Micah Smith's Children | Profiling Evil=======================================Email your questions to: ProfilingEvil@gmail.com========================================LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SUPPORT PROFILING EVIL?
Roger Roach saved his father's life after he suffered a heart attack while they were hunting. Roger has saved hundreds of lives, giving CPR more than 300 times during his 30-year Air Force & Law Enforcement career. On this episode, Roger and Travis discuss the value of CPR & First Responder Emergency Training for hunters. They share real-life hunting horror stories and explain how you can prepare yourself right now to save a life in the field. Presented by: Walton's (waltons.com/) OnX Maps (onxmaps.com/) Aluma Trailers (alumaklm.com) GAIM Hunting & Shooting Simulator (https://alnk.to/74wKReb) Hunt Huron (HuntHuronsd.com), Federal Premium Ammunition (federalpremium.com/) Hunt North Dakota (helloND.com/) Lucky Duck Premium Decoys (luckyduck.com/) & Samaritan Tire (samaritantire.com/)
Denver's public transit agency RTD has had a rough couple of years. Almost a full year of track maintenance and slowdowns led to a nearly 20% decline in light rail ridership, but ridership across the network overall is down, too. With even more light rail maintenance expected in the next few years, RTD's budget is projected to hit multi-billion deficits in the early 2030s. So what's the plan to get back on track? And if the answer is more money, who will pay? RTD CEO and General Manager joins producer Paul Karolyi to discuss what she thinks the biggest problems are, her plan for the budget deficit, and what she does when her train is late. Paul referenced Nate Minor's reporting for CPR about the senior leaders who left RTD in recent years and quoted the emailed statement Johnson shared with the Denver Post for this recent story. Johnson quoted some recent data on ridership numbers and talked about RTD's new tap-to-pay technology. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think should be done to improve RTD? We want to hear from you! Would you pay higher sales taxes? Or would you prefer to pay more at parking meters? Or do you think RTD is going well enough as it is? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Learn more about the sponsors of this December 3rd episode: Warren Village The People Park Colfax Ave BID Multipass Ballpark Denver Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise
As part of our Hidden Killers 2025 Year in Review series, we revisit one of the most surreal and unsettling trials in modern American true crime — the Arizona murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell, the so-called Doomsday Mom who's decided to defend herself in court while accused of orchestrating the murder of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. This episode pulls listeners straight into the Chandler, Arizona home where it all happened: two bullets, one body, and forty-seven silent minutes before anyone called for help. Tony Brueski and Defense Attorney Bob Motta (Defense Diaries) dissect the prosecution's opening narrative — one of delusion, greed, and cold calculation — and the defense's bizarre self-representation strategy that's turning the courtroom into a psychological sideshow. Prosecutors allege Lori conspired with her brother, Alex Cox, to kill Charles for a $1 million life insurance payout and to clear the way to marry her apocalyptic “soulmate,” Chad Daybell. The evidence? Texts invoking scripture to justify murder (“I will be like Nephi”), phone records revealing coordination, and chilling forensic details showing Charles was shot twice — the second bullet fired downward after he collapsed. Firefighters testified the scene looked staged: no CPR, no struggle, and an eerily spotless floor. Lori, meanwhile, was running errands — Burger King, Walgreens, dropping off her son — as her husband's body cooled on the tile. But this isn't just about evidence; it's about ego and delusion on trial. Motta breaks down Lori's decision to act as her own lawyer — fumbling through legal jargon, cross-examining witnesses who seem to know more law than she does, and repeatedly trying to exclude “inconvenient” evidence from the record. As he puts it, Lori's courtroom presence is “less Harvard Law, more hostage to her own hubris.” The prosecution, for its part, is playing this round differently — keeping the talk of “zombies” and dark spirits to a minimum while focusing on motive, money, and manipulation. The goal: strip away the spiritual theatrics and reveal the human greed underneath.
Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about guy in public with vaginas all over his shirt, lady with hairy back, emailer had guy message her about her pale skin, Uncle mocks TSA while trying to do their jobs, continued Foot Report, woman's leg disappeared during surgery, man thanks doctor who saved his life, family saved from capsized boat, Facebook Marketplace meetup robbery, retired police horse, kid saved stepdad with CPR, UofM and OSU rivalry trash pick-up, Kate Beckinsale's daughter had eggs in his butt, Guy Fieri's quad exploded, fan pulled hair out of Lenny Kravitz's head, scammer posing as Jason Momoa, Scarlett Johansson will be in next Exorcist movie, AMC popcorn pass, leader of lotto group ran off with winners, Hot or Not?: woman gropes guy in sauna, pair of old men approached and exposed themselves to undercover cops, Chili's greeter attacked, guy tried to rob same bank he robbed in 2016, wife admitted to sending all of family's money to streamer, man served own foot as taco, guy shot after while shooting rats with buddy, Ask Dave & Chuck The Freak, every time BF goes down he has sneezing episode, panties found in car, employee followed her to parking lot, she wants him to sell his Mustang, Porch Pirate ring, and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about guy in public with vaginas all over his shirt, lady with hairy back, emailer had guy message her about her pale skin, Uncle mocks TSA while trying to do their jobs, continued Foot Report, woman’s leg disappeared during surgery, man thanks doctor who saved his life, family saved from capsized boat, Facebook Marketplace meetup robbery, retired police horse, kid saved stepdad with CPR, UofM and OSU rivalry trash pick-up, Kate Beckinsale’s daughter had eggs in his butt, Guy Fieri’s quad exploded, fan pulled hair out of Lenny Kravitz’s head, scammer posing as Jason Momoa, Scarlett Johansson will be in next Exorcist movie, AMC popcorn pass, leader of lotto group ran off with winners, Hot or Not?: woman gropes guy in sauna, pair of old men approached and exposed themselves to undercover cops, Chili’s greeter attacked, guy tried to rob same bank he robbed in 2016, wife admitted to sending all of family’s money to streamer, man served own foot as taco, guy shot after while shooting rats with buddy, Ask Dave & Chuck The Freak, every time BF goes down he has sneezing episode, panties found in car, employee followed her to parking lot, she wants him to sell his Mustang, Porch Pirate ring, and more!
Lern shines in today's daily show as she shares the family traditions, characters, and chaotic holiday stories that shaped her — including the jaw-dropping reveal that she still has relatives who show up to Thanksgiving literally dressed as pilgrims (and even a “Native American” costume cameo). The room erupts as the crew breaks down this Southern Illinois cultural moment, turning it into one of the most unforgettable conversations of the episode.It also happens to be Lern's Week, with her announcement of being inducted into the Illinois State University WZND Radio Hall of Fame — the first Rizz Show cast member to enter any Hall of Fame.Between Fell Hall memories, her early DJ shifts, and the emotional weight of returning home, the crew celebrates her with the full Rizz Show energy.Add in Thanksgiving debates, casserole controversies, etiquette fights, parade lip-sync conspiracies, awkward family announcements, and the classic Rizzuto Show pile-on, and you've got a perfect mix of sarcastic humor, weird news vibes, and all the daily-podcast fun you've come to expect from the Rizz crew's daily show.Follow The Rizzuto Show → https://linktr.ee/rizzshowConnect at → https://1057thepoint.com/RizzShowWatch the daily show live on YouTube from 6a-10a → https://www.youtube.com/@therizzutoshowHear The Rizz Show daily from 6a-10a on 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio | St. Louis, MODaily Show Notes: A New Survey Says 40% Of Americans Want To Skip This Traditional Thanksgiving SideDebate rages about best time for Christmas tree trimming as Americans sound off | Fox NewsShould You Eat Before Your Thanksgiving Meal? What Dieititians SayTurkey population down to lowest in 40 years, wholesale prices soar 40 percent: reports | New York PostThanksgiving Foods You Might Want to Skip on OzempicEvolution Festival will not host a 2026 event | St. Louis MagazineMan accused of lighting woman on fire in western NCPolice arrest alleged frisky thieves who broke into Scottsdale restaurantExperts On Why Volcano Hayli Gubbi Erupted After 12,000 YearsTexas bank robber arrested after trying to rob same branch nearly a decade later | New York PostWhen Rebecca the Raccoon Ruled the White House | TimelessWatch: Texas bus driver named the world's oldest at 95 - UPI.com15-year-old helps save stepdad with CPR he learned in school: 'He was heroic' - ABC NewsMinnesota couple Zach Zarembinski Isabelle Richard engaged in same hospital they were treated for comas as teens | New York PostCould owning a cat bring health risks? Study suggests it may double the chances of a ‘serious mental health condition'Billikens Overpower Purdue Fort Wayne, 91-60 - Saint Louis UniversitySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.