Podcast appearances and mentions of Dan Brown

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A SECRETIVE religious group that wields power in Washington, D.C. and other world capitals — sounds like the basis for Dan Brown's next novel, but it's real. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, has been following this group for years, even living at The Family's headquarters for a time. What he found is a group that justifies its pursuit of political power by claiming that it's for the kingdom of God.Read Jeff's original expose of The Family, “Jesus Plus Nothing,” at Harper's Magazine online. Christians are taking heat for The Family from the likes of The Huffington Post and MSNBC. The irony is that The Family isn't promoting a Christian agenda, but a New Age agenda. See Constance Cumbey's five-part series The Family and its Hijacking of Evangelicalism.  As Jeff Sharlet asked, where is the outrage from influential evangelicals?Derek's book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible!Our latest book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback, Kindle, and as an audiobook at Audible! Get our free app! It features all of our weekly content—this podcast, our weekly Bible study, the Gilbert House Fellowship, and our weekly program Unraveling Revelation. It's free and available for iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, and for Roku and Apple TV. Find the link here: www.GilbertHouse.org/app/.Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! We truly appreciate your support. Thank you for making it possible! If you are so led, you can help out by clicking here.Please join Derek and Sharon Gilbert each Sunday for the Gilbert House Fellowship, our weekly Bible study podcast. Log on to www.GilbertHouse.org for more details.Discuss these topics at the VFTB Facebook page and check out the great podcasters at the Fringe Radio Network!

Send us Fan MailSeason 17 of TGTPTU calls a wrap on its third of four directors in its 4x4 this week with Ron Howard's THE DA VINCI CODE (2006).   Starring Tom Hanks, father of musician and male model Chet Hanks but also known for leading roles in such earlier Howard films not covered on this podcast as Splash (1984) and Apollo 13 (1995), with a grotesque haircut as supersleuth symbiologist Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's 2003 best-selling page-turner of the same name, the movie is a bunch of nonsense that got some Catholics upset for suggesting Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the disputed son of a disputed desert deity, had children, likely through consensual intercourse unlike the legend of his siring. Howard's The Da Vinci Code also has great French actors used poorly in this flick mostly set in France and at least one Jellicle cat, one Sony Spiderman villain, and one Avenger (MCU, not BBC) actor of British lineage to help out the American Langdon in his quest for an ultimate truth that could rock the world to its core assuming it's not flat (see Revelation 7:1 and Isaiah 11:12, ya heathens).   Holy host Ryan goes above and beyond in his research for this ep; the son Jack passes the season's assignment; the father Ken is unimpressed by the chase scenes; and Doubting Thomas in real time processes that the female lead is the same actress as the titular Amélie (2001).  If you like anagrams and unstimulating action sequences, this might be the movie for you.    Skcus eivom siht.   P.S. You know that I am Opus Dei.  THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.Email: thegoodthepodandtheugly@gmail.comFacebook: https://m.facebook.com/TGTPTUInstagram: https://instagram.com/thegoodthepodandtheugly?igshid=um92md09kjg0Bluesky: @goodpodugly.bsky.socialYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6mI2plrgJu-TB95bbJCW-gLetterboxd (follow us!):Podcast: goodpoduglyKen: Ken KoralRyan: Ryan Tobias

En este episodio de Voces del Misterio analizamos “El Último Secreto”, la nueva obra de Dan Brown, un viaje lleno de conspiraciones, símbolos ocultos, enigmas históricos y secretos que conectan con las grandes sociedades misteriosas y los códigos imposibles que han convertido al autor en un referente mundial del thriller. Voces del Misterio FUTURO: El Último Secreto, conspiraciones, símbolos y misterios en la última obra de Dan Brown.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has staked his political future on winning the Makerfield by-election - and, potentially, a tilt at becoming Prime Minister.But who is Burnham, and how did he get here?In this special episode of Northern Spin, co-hosts Chris Maguire and Frank McKenna profile the man dubbed the King of the North.They discuss:• How Boys from the Blackstuff changed the direction of his life• His lifelong love affair with music, Everton FC and politics• Why Hillsborough became a personal crusade• Walking away from Westminster after losing two Labour leadership contests• Becoming Greater Manchester Mayor and building the King of the North brand• Standing up to Boris Johnson's government during Covid• His successes and failures as Mayor• Why it's sh*t or bust for Burnham and Labour in MakerfieldNorthern Spin is a joint production from BusinessCloud and Downtown in Business. It is produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.Chapters:00:55 – The Man Behind the Mayor: Who Is Andy Burnham?02:42 – How He Became a Great Communicator (He Wasn't Always)04:23 – Born in Liverpool: Burnham's Origin Story06:07 – The Hillsborough Moment 07:42 – Why Liverpool Was So Angry - and What Burnham Did About It10:37 – Turning His Back on Westminster: Why He Chose Manchester12:20 – First Day as Mayor12:47 – Giving Away 15% of His Salary14:56 – Winning Over a Room of Skeptical Business Leaders18:11 – Stuck on the M6 but Still Shows Up21:33 – Great Communicator or Instinctive Politician? The Key Difference25:47 – Getting it right28:19 – Soft Power & What It Means on a National Stage31:10 – Andy's character32:57 – Why He Hates the Word "Celebrity"33:30 – The Quote on His Office Wall That Explains Everything He Does34:31 – Why He's Going Back to Westminster - and Why Now

In this spoiler‑filled episode of No Limits: The Thriller Podcast, Jack Carr breaks down his explosive new thriller, The Fourth Option. We go deep on plot twists, character secrets, and the real‑life inspiration that fuels the story—no punches pulled. If you've read it (or don't mind spoilers), this is the definitive behind‑the‑scenes interview with Jack Carr on The Fourth Option. —

En este episodio de Voces del Misterio analizamos “Inferno”, la obra de Dan Brown inspirada en el universo de Dante. Un thriller repleto de símbolos ocultos, conspiraciones, enigmas históricos y referencias al arte y la ciencia que conducen hacia una inquietante amenaza global. Voces del Misterio FUTURO: Inferno de Dan Brown: secretos ocultos, arte y el misterio del fin del mundo.

All eyes are on the North as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham fights to win the Makerfield by-election and keep alive his path to No.10.But any ambitions Burnham has of becoming Prime Minister depend on stopping Reform in the most important by-election in a generation.In this episode, co-hosts Chris Maguire and Frank McKenna tackle the big questions:Can Brand Burnham win over Makerfield, Labour and the country?Is it Burnham or bust for Labour?Will Carol Vorderman finish off Reform candidate Rob Kenyon after the sexism row?Would victory in Makerfield make Burnham Labour's next leader in waiting?And why does Burnham need to ditch the King of the North label?Northern Spin is a joint production from BusinessCloud and Downtown in Business. The producer is Dan Brown of Renowned.

Dan Brown is the kind of person who will walk into your organization, look at your product, and immediately see the structural problems nobody else will name — because he's been doing exactly that for enterprise teams for over two decades. After 18 years co-founding 8Shapes, he now runs Curious Squid Design Lab, where he focuses on product information architecture and the deep craft work that most teams are too rushed to do.In this episode of The UX Level-Up Podcast, Sophia and Dan get into a tension that's been building for years — information architects and product designers are working in the same problem space and barely talking to each other, and AI is about to make that very, very expensive. They talk about what actually goes wrong on teams that skip the structural work, why the frenzy to use AI tools is adding pressure instead of removing it, and what Dan said at a recent workshop that made Sophia write it down on the spot.LINKS:Dan's newsletter, Spilling Ink: https://curioussquid.substack.com/The Unchecked Podcast: https://unchecked.buzzsprout.com/Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmbrown/Find out more about Dan: https://www.curious-squid.comContinue the conversation in the OOUX Forum: https://forum.ooux.com/posts/dan-brown-product-ia-with-ai-as-the-ultimate-level-upConnect with Sophia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiav/Follow Sophia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiavux/Check out the OOUX Website: https://ooux.comFollow Sophia on Medium: https://sophiavux.medium.comInterested in training your team on OOUX? Book a call here: https://calendly.com/ooux/opportunityGet on the Cohort 12 waitlist: https://ooux.com/certification

On the latest Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper, we welcomed back on the playwright/director Dan Brown and the actress Tiffan Borelli, to talk about their new show The Needless Burden of Conscience. This incredible new work was so fantastic to learn and chat all about, so be sure that you hit play and get your tickets today!The Needless Burden of ConscienceJune 4th-7th@ Theater for the New CityTickets and more information are available at tnboc.eventbrite.com And be sure to follow our guests to stay up to date on all their upcoming projects and productions: @tiffanborellitnboc.eventbrite.com@dan_brown_rockaway

It's Wayback Wednesday, with another interview drawn from our archive of programs dating back to June, 2009. This week, it's a discussion from 2009 about an ostensibly Christian group that wields an inordinate amount of power behind the scenes in Washington, D. C., The Family. Originally released September 20, 2009 A SECRETIVE religious group that wields power in Washington, D.C. and other world capitals — sounds like the basis for Dan Brown's next novel, but it's real. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, has been following this group for years, even living at The Family's headquarters for a time. What he found is a group that justifies its pursuit of political power by claiming that it's for the kingdom of God. Read Jeff's original expose of The Family, “Jesus Plus Nothing,” at Harper's Magazine online. Christians are taking heat for The Family from the likes of The Huffington Post and MSNBC. The irony is that The Family isn't promoting a Christian agenda, but a New Age agenda. See Constance Cumbey's five-part series The Family and its Hijacking of Evangelicalism. As Jeff Sharlet asked, where is the outrage from influential evangelicals? Follow us! X: @viewfrombunker | @sharonkgilbert | @derekgilbertTelegram: t.me/gilberthouseSubstack: gilberthouse.substack.com | SharonKGilbert.substack.comYouTube: @GilbertHouse | @UnravelingRevelationFacebook.com/viewfromthebunker Thank you for making our Build Barn Better project a reality! The building has HVAC, a new floor, windows, insulation, ceiling fans, and an upgraded electrical system! We truly appreciate your support. If you are so led, you can help out at www.GilbertHouse.org/donate. Download our free app! This brings all of our content directly to your smartphone or tablet. Best of all, we'll never get canceled from our own app! Links to the app stores for iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Amazon Kindle Fire devices are at www.GilbertHouse.org/app. Please join us each Sunday for the Gilbert House Fellowship, our weekly Bible study podcast. Log on to www.GilbertHouse.org for more details. JOIN US IN ISRAEL! We will tour the Holy Land October 11–23, 2026 with an optional three-day extension to Jordan. For more information, log on to GilbertHouse.org/travel. Special offers on our books and DVDs: www.gilberthouse.org/store. Discuss these topics at the VFTB Facebook page (facebook.com/viewfromthebunker) and check out the great podcasters at the Fringe Radio Network (Spreaker.com/show/fringe-radio-network)!

En este episodio de Voces del Misterio analizamos la obra de Dan Brown “Ángeles y Demonios”, un thriller lleno de conspiraciones, sociedades secretas, símbolos ocultos y enigmas relacionados con el Vaticano y los Illuminati. Un viaje fascinante entre la ciencia, la religión y el misterio. Voces del Misterio FUTURO: Ángeles y Demonios: conspiraciones, Vaticano y secretos ocultos de Dan Brown.

In this spoiler book review, we break down Mark Greaney's The Chaos Agent — the Gray Man thriller with a mind-bending AI plot that's got fans talking. Court Gentry faces his most dangerous enemy yet: AI gone rogue. We discuss twists you won't see coming, the shocking ending, character development, action sequences, and whether this is the best AI thriller out there. Subscribe for more thriller book reviews! —

I loved my conversation with Nicholas Teeguarden about his Masa Chronicles, and I loved the story. Listen in and see why. note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. For those of you looking for action over romance, you get it in this book! There IS a light romance, yes, but it's strongly secondary to the main plot. Note: I read the book and LOVED this story. I really loved the story, actually. I listened to the audio, though, and since I was so excited about the audiobook, I thought I should mention that I didn't enjoy the audio experience. My biggest complaint is the pronunciation of so many things.  Story great. Others might not have trouble, but I needed to be honest about that since I was so excited to see it. The Copper Scroll  by Nicholas Teeguarden Book of the Year Finalist A lost scroll. A deadly secret. A race across the Middle East—where every clue could be fatal. When grad student and Army veteran Joshua Bennett uncovers a cryptic Dead Sea artifact, he's thrust into a world of coded messages, ruthless rivals, and ancient conspiracies. Every answer leads to new danger—and every ally could be an enemy. Perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and Indiana Jones—this is a clean, high-octane archaeological thriller you won't want to put down. Learn more on Nicholas's WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads and BookBub. Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at: Apple Castbox Google Play Libsyn RSS Spotify Amazon and more!

This Book Reviews podcast episode will be a little different. I know it's been a while since my last Book Review post and I apologize. I haven't stopped reading; I just took a break from posting reviews. So, in this review I'm covering a few books, 6 books by T Y Falk: KEEPERS OF SECRETS: THE APOCALYPSE SEQUENCE I: THE APOCALYPSE SEQUENCE II: THE APOCALYPSE SEQUENCE III: THE ASHRA ENIGMA: THE PANACEA CONSPIRACY: and lastly Dan Browns, THE SECRET OF SECRETS. I promise to be brief. The backing track in this post is the title track from my 2025 CD Stop Wait and Think. Find this CD and others on all music streaming services and on my website at refort.co. Without Music Life Has No Soul

Chance Litchfield sits in for Clive this week for a health-focused episode of Clive's Little Bit Extra!

In this spoiler-filled review of Mark Greaney's Gunmetal Gray, we break down the biggest twists, brutal action, and the wild moment that made us say, “The Gray Man did WHAT!?” If you're into spy thrillers, Mark Greaney, or The Gray Man books, this episode is for you. —

In this episode, Robin Clevett explores whether demand is slowing across the carpentry and joinery sector after hearing concerns from tradespeople working in the bespoke outdoor build market. Carpenter Josh Richard shares how he currently wins work and generate leads, how demand has been this year, and how far ahead he's booked. Later, Dan Brown is asked about demand for bespoke carpentry work, what tradespeople are saying about any slowdown, and whether customer attitudes to pricing are changing. We also hear from Richard Wagner, who catches up with Robin about training courses, adapting to different types of work when things are quiet, and what they've got planned next.

Hold the HECK on... are we enjoying the PGA Champs? This isn't traditionally everyone's favourite major but we think this packed field is making for some SPICY viewing. On today's podcast we cross off all the bossmen, discuss Bryson not making the cut, Dan Brown just about holding on, Maverick Mcnealy being a billionaire and so much more. We also have the JOY of handing over to Ben from Today's Golfer on the ground at Aronimink. - New episodes EVERY Monday & Thursday, with guest lead Talk Birdie To Me's every other Friday ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - thetoms@golfisruiningmylife.co.uk ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tik Tok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tour⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IGOLF Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nghe trọn nội dung sách nói Điểm Dối Lừa trên ứng dụng Voiz FM: https://voiz.vn/play/204/Khi vệ tinh phát hiện ra một vật thể lạ bị chôn vùi dưới lòng sông băng ở Bắc Cực, NASA lập tức tận dụng cơ hội này để đưa ra tuyên bố về một kì tích chắc chắn sẽ ảnh hưởng mạnh mẽ đến kì bầu cử Tổng thống đang đến gần.Tổng thống Zachary Herney đã đích thân mời chuyên gia phân tích tình báo, đồng thời cũng là con gái của ứng cử viên Đảng đối thủ - Rachel Sexton đến tận nơi để xác minh phát kiến đó. Cùng một nhóm những nhà khoa học nổi tiếng, trong đó có nhà hải dương học Michael Tolland, Rachel đặt chân đến Bắc Cực.Nhưng ở đây, cô lại phát hiện ra một âm mưu dối trá, có thể ảnh hưởng đến cả thế giới. Chưa kịp báo cho Tổng thống Herney biết thì cô cùng các nhà khoa học đã bị một đội sát thủ chuyên nghiệp tấn công.Trên đại dương tăm tối, chết chóc, Rachel cùng nhóm của mình đã phải tìm mọi cách để vạch mặt kẻ chủ mưu, đồng thời cố gắng để bảo toàn mạng sống.Một cuộc đấu trí khốc liệt diễn ra ngay trên biển cả bao la. Thời gian chỉ còn được tính bằng phút. Kẻ đứng sau tất cả những âm mưu đen tối này là ai? Liệu sự thật cuối cùng có được tiết lộ hay sẽ bị chôn vùi mãi mãi?Tại ứng dụng sách nói Voiz FM, sách nói Điểm Dối Lừa được đầu tư chất lượng âm thanh và thu âm chuyên nghiệp, tốt nhất để mang lại trải nghiệm nghe tuyệt vời cho bạn.---Về Voiz FM:Voiz FM là ứng dụng sách nói podcast ra mắt thị trường công nghệ từ năm 2019. Với gần 2000 tựa sách độc quyền, Voiz FM hiện đang là nền tảng sách nói podcast bản quyền hàng đầu Việt Nam. Bạn có thể trải nghiệm miễn phí đa dạng nội dung tại Voiz FM từ sách nói, podcast đến truyện nói, sách tóm tắt và nội dung dành cho thiếu nhi.---Voiz FM website: https://voiz.vn/Theo dõi Facebook Voiz FM: https://www.facebook.com/VoizFMTham khảo thêm các bài viết review, tổng hợp, gợi ý sách để lựa chọn sách nói dễ dàng hơn tại trang Blog Voiz FM: http://blog.voiz.vn/---Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ Voiz FM. Nếu bạn yêu thích sách nói Điểm Dối Lừa và các nội dung sách nói podcast khác, hãy đăng ký kênh để nhận thông báo về những nội dung mới nhất của Voiz FM channel nhé. Ngoài ra, bạn có thể nghe BẢN FULL ĐỘC QUYỀN hàng chục ngàn nội dung Chất lượng cao khác tại ứng dụng Voiz FM.Tải ứng dụng Voiz FM: voiz.vn/download#voizfm #podcast #diemdoilua #danbrown

Robert Langdon is back in action and this time he has to solve... wait. what does he do in this book exactly? This week we read The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown with return guest Johnathan Fernandez!Mean Book Club is four ladies (UCB, BuzzFeed, College Humor, Impractical Jokers) who read, discuss and whine about NYT bestselling books that have questionable literary merit. It's fun. It's cathartic. It's perfect for your commute. New podcast (almost) every Tuesday! Here's the Season 21 reading list:Rose in Chains by Julie SotoHeated Rivalry by Rachel ReidNinth House by Leigh BardugoPowerless by Lauren RobertsThe Secret of Secrets by Dan BwonRemarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltSometimes I Lie by Alice FeeneyQuicksilver by Callie HartSend any future book suggestions to meanbookclub@gmail.com! Follow us on the socials @meanbookclub!Rate, like, subscribe, and check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/meanbookclub to become a true patron of the mean arts.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mean-book-club--3199521/support.

Is James Reece being replaced? We sit down with #1 NYT Bestselling author Jack Carr for an exclusive, no-spoiler look at his new book, The Fourth Option. We discuss the transition from James Reece and The Terminal List to new protagonist Chris Walker and what fans can expect when the book releases on May 12th. —

We once again travel back to the dark heart of the Bush era by discussing one of the biggest cultural events of the 2000s. Ron Howard's THE DA VINCI CODE (2006) adapted Dan Brown's turgid bestseller into an even more turgid blockbuster. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus

During a 1990 visit to Mexico, Pope John Paul II confirmed the long-standing liturgical cult in honor of Juan Diego, officially beatifying him. This act set in motion the process of canonizing Juan Diego as the first saint Indigenous to the Americas. The Juan Diego Faithful were, of course, elated at the prospect. They only had to deal with one tiny problem: Juan Diego never existed.In this episode we delve into the myth of Juan Diego, and examine efforts made by the church to prove that this fictional character actually existed. Plus, we end the episode with some Dan Brown-inspired fiction by Kurly!listener comments? Feedback? Shoot us a text!Support the showOrder "NEVER WILL IT BE LOST" and get $5 off!Support Lignum: A Cultural Haven in MéridaYour Hosts:Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Harvard University, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He most recently released his documentary short film "Guardians of the Purple Kingdom," and is a cultural consultant for Nickelodeon Animation Studios.@kurlytlapoyawaRuben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus. Find us: Bluesky...

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, J.P. Rindfleisch, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about Audible, querying writers, and Dan Brown. Then, stick around for a chat with Evelyn Clarke (V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke)! V. E .Schwab was born in California, raised in Tennessee, and currently splits her time between Denver, Colorado and Edinburgh, Scotland. She got her undergraduate degree in book design at Washington University in St. Louis, and her masters in depictions of monstrosity in medieval art at the University of Edinburgh. In addition to writing books and hosting a podcast called No Write Way, she spends her time on tour, or plagued by the knowledge of how short life is, in terms of the number of books she'll be able to read, and obsessively saving tiktok videos for recipes she'll probably never make. She also likes to run, and cycle, and swim—though not all at once.  V.E. is the author of more than 25 books, spanning MG, YA, and Adult, though she's never been keen on labeling stories for a certain audience. Plenty of young readers like Vicious, and plenty of older ones like Cassidy Blake, and she believes the best story is the one that finds you when you need it.  Her greatest goal as an author is to make you doubt your reality. Not by convincing you that magic is real, but by planting a seed of doubt that it's not.  Cat Clarke was born in Zambia and brought up in Edinburgh and Yorkshire, which has given her an accent that tends to confuse people. Cat has written non-fiction books about exciting things like cowboys, sharks and pirates, and now writes YA novels. She lives in Edinburgh with a couple of cats, Jem and Scout, who spend their days plotting to spit up furballs at the most inconvenient times. She likes cheese A LOT, especially baked camembert. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Original Release Date: Monday 13 April 2026    Description:   Dean Haglund is back in Los Angeles and he and Phil went up to the rooftop studio high atop the historic neighborhood of Los Feliz to get their drink on and to record this episode all about travel, commuter trains and movies. Dean sings the praises of Waymo, tells tales of getting “upgraded” during his flights, and says the word “bathhouse” way too many times for Phil's liking or comfort. Phil discusses a potato chip brand he really enjoys and shares the cocktail recipe for a “Manhattan Noir”. In between, the film noir classic Odds Against Tomorrow, the current Japanese movie Exit 8, and the Japanese classics Spirited Away and Shall We Dance? all receive deep-dive discussion. The great Harry Belafonte and the brilliant Koji Yakusho are both celebrated, and Dean explains a bit about Noetic Science as depicted in Dan Brown's The Secret of Secrets.

We gaan het vandaag hebben over iets spannends, iets mysterieus. In de bestseller 'Het Ultieme Geheim' beweert schrijver Dan Brown dat er wetenschappelijke aanwijzingen zijn dat het bewustzijn door kan gaan na de dood, en ook dat er zoiets bestaat als een 'non-lokaal bewustzijn'. Oftewel: een soort collectief bewustzijn dat bestaat buiten je eigen hersenen. Zou het echt? We duiken de oudheid in en de moderne hersenwetenschap, en vertellen je het verhaal van een astronaut met een bijzondere spirituele ervaring. Met: Wilma de Rek. Presentatie: Tonie MuddeMontage: Loïs van den NoortEindredactie: Julia van AlemSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Angels & Demons still the perfect thriller… or does it fall apart due to a major original sin?In this full spoiler review, we break down Angels & Demons by Dan Brown—from the nonstop pacing and shocking twists to the real-world science, Vatican politics, and the Illuminati conspiracy at the heart of the story.We follow Robert Langdon through Rome as the clock ticks down, analyzing what the book gets right, what stretches credibility, and whether it still holds up as one of the most iconic thrillers ever written.Is this Dan Brown's best book? Does it top The Da Vinci Code? And does the ending actually stick the landing?—

This week the Buddies discuss old fashioned ways that are better than modern ones, space travel, the science of consciousness, hockey, wearing clothes from an ex, and where you can wear a cape. Share with a friend! Contact us: Facebook Instagram Email Youtube Recommendations: Project Hail Mary (2026 movie - listen to the audio book too), The Secret of Secrets (book by Dan Brown), Hockey (the sport!)

Today we bring you a story from our sister podcast Outside/In, produced and reported by Marina Henke. In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine's dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down.  Twenty years later, raw milk has surged back into the zeitgeist. Influencers are saying it tastes like ice cream, RFK Jr. is taking shots of it at the White House, and Gwyneth Paltrow is putting it in her coffee. All of which makes for a pretty obvious question… What's the appeal? Is raw milk some kind of superfood? Or something to avoid at all costs?  Featuring Dan Brown, Andy Bisson, Danny Bisson, Nicole Martin, Pamela Ruegg, and Mary McGonigle-Martin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the biggest challenge on Social Media today isn’t creating content - but building trust? In this episode of The Direct Selling Accelerator Podcast, Sam explores how social media is shifting from chasing viral moments to creating meaningful, trust-driven connections with your audience. As AI, misinformation, and online noise continue to grow, the strategies that once worked online are changing fast. Sam and guest Scott Kramer unpack how declining trust is shaping the way people engage with content, why relying on links alone is no longer enough to convert customers, and how understanding the role of keywords, conversation, and authentic engagement can help your content reach the right people. They also discuss the importance of building a relatable personal brand online and why focusing on genuine connection can turn social media into a powerful business-building tool. If you’re ready to move beyond chasing reach and start building credibility, trust, and lasting relationships on social media, this episode will give you a fresh perspective on what actually works today. We’ll be talking about:➡ [00:27] What’s Actually Working in 2026➡ [03:48] The Biggest Shift in Social Media➡ [07:24] Algorithm Chaos Explained➡ [10:30] Viral vs Vital (Why Views Don’t Matter)➡ [13:03] Conversation Loops That Convert➡ [15:12] Trust: The #1 Growth Strategy➡ [20:06] AI vs Authenticity➡ [27:00] Why Perfect Content Fails➡ [31:24] The Character Diamond Framework➡ [36:06] Keywords Over Hashtags➡ [40:00] Content That Actually Connects➡ [46:24] The Future of Social Media➡[49:06] What To Do If You Feel Stuck About the guest: Scott Kramer is a media and entertainment veteran who's credits run the game of television, film, digital, publishing and large-scale live events. Scott currently serves as Chief Brain at Multibrain. Multibrain is an award winning software digital agency whose Social Media software products power over 300,000 entrepreneurs worldwide, with some of the top Direct Selling brands in the World. Kramer is also a popular keynote speaker and expert on the topic of Social Selling Prior to the launch of Multibrain, Kramer was the Senior Vice President of Integrated Media for IMG Worldwide. As Head of Global Brand Partnerships, he directed sales, marketing and development staff in the US and UK, overseeing revenues across entertainment, digital and sports media. Scott has an extensive experience directing cross-functional teams in developing new revenue generating creative and multi-platform content strategies for entertainment, media and consumer brands. Highly skilled in driving creative vision, from concept through execution for agency, television, music, digital, radio, and print companies. Strong ability to effectively provide senior-level management experience to operations, P&L, and business development. Resources: ➡ Free Ebook: multibrain.net/ebook Previous Episode: https://youtu.be/CJdGJ_sg8To Book Link: ➡ The Secret of Secrets – Dan Brown: https://bit.ly/4cY3PBZ Quote: “Hope you find it in everything that you seek.” – Howard Jones Free Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/socialmediafordirectsellerswithgregandsam/ Are you ready to keep growing? Learn more about joining the Auxano Family - https://go.auxano.global/welcome Connect with Scott Kramer ➡ Website: https://multibrain.net ➡ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/multibrain.net ➡ Twitter: twitter.com/scott_kramer ➡ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/smkramer Connect with Direct Selling Accelerator: ➡ Visit our website: https://www.auxano.global/ ➡ Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DirectSellingAccelerator ➡ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auxanomarketing/ ➡ Sam Hind’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/samhinddigitalcoach ➡ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auxanomarketing/ ➡ Email us: community_manager@auxano.global If you have any podcast suggestions or things you’d like to learn about specifically, please send us an email at the address above. And if you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Are you ready to join the Auxano Family to get live weekly training, support and the latest proven posting strategies to get leads and sales right now - find out more here: https://go.auxano.global/welcomeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Holy Grail is the most sought-after object in human history. The legend goes that the grail could bring whoever finds it unbelievable power, influence, youth and even eternal life. Which is why the hunters have included everyone from the knights of King Arthur to full-blown Nazis, hunting for a secret weapon to win them the war.We trace the whole story back to the Last Supper, via the Crusades, Heinrich Himmler, Dan Brown and Indiana Jones.--Patreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesYouTube - Full-length Video EpisodesTikTok / Instagram

Vinny talks about the Dan Brown book he is reading and the brain is discussed.

In recent years, credit union business lending and the number of credit unions that exceed the statutory cap on member business lending have shot up sharply. What risks do these trends pose to safety and soundness and financial stability? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA's Dan Brown and John Vermillion discuss their recent research on the subject. Not only does outsized credit union commercial activity steers these not-for-profit cooperatives away from their statutory mission, it also increases their exposure to an asset class where they — and their regulator — have traditionally lacked experience and expertise.

Are monthly thriller short stories actually a good idea?In this episode of No Limits: The Thriller Podcast, we review Stars & Sledgehammer by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson—and break down their new approach to publishing short stories through their Blackstone imprint.We dive into what works, what doesn't, and whether this faster, serialized release model can compete with traditional full-length thrillers. Is this the future of the genre… or just a side experiment?If you're a fan of modern spy thrillers, publishing trends, and Andrews & Wilson's previous work, this one's for you.—

Sarah doesn't want to talk about the Mormon Wives anymore. A new dating show is making people walk the plank. Shia LaBeouf is still raging through New Orleans. His ex is reportedly fighting her NDA. Savannah Guthrie is terrified that she might be the reason her mother was kidnapped. The HBO Harry Potter remake has its official trailer and a 2026 release date. Sarah and Vinnie are chatting about Dan Brown and the future of AI and humans living together.

Hour 1: Everything about Opening Day was great! Except the actual game. Shaq DMed Sabrina Carpenter… yeah right. If you liked yesterday you're gonna love today. Is Barbie a drug mule? Are bacon bits a luxury on the moon? Stop and smell the flowers - I MEAN IT! Hour 2: Sarah doesn't want to talk about the Mormon Wives anymore. A new dating show is making people walk the plank. Shia LaBeouf is still raging through New Orleans. His ex is reportedly fighting her NDA. Savannah Guthrie is terrified that she might be the reason her mother was kidnapped. The HBO Harry Potter remake has its official trailer and a 2026 release date. Sarah and Vinnie are chatting about Dan Brown and the future of AI and humans living together. Hour 3: A famous Hollywood house is on Airbnb! Speaking of Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus teased a new song at the Hannah Montana anniversary, and it drops this Friday! Stephen Colbert is writing a Lord of the Rings movie! There's a documentary about what Artificial Intelligence will bring us in the future. Sarah is jazzed and horrified. Let's eat the headlines: Britney Spears went to Starbucks, Taylor Frankie Paul is under investigation for a 3rd domestic violence incident, but she received her full Bachelorette salary, the new Spider-Man trailer is now the most watched trailer of all time, and Celine Dion is back on stage! Let's talk about pancakes. You can now use an old payphone in Boston to call a boomer in Reno. There's a similar phone in San Francisco with a less wholesome take. Are young adults skipping engagement rings? Hour 4: Sublime has a new single featuring Bradley Nowell's son. The security guard involved in the Chappell Roan incident speaks out. Sarah isn't buying his statement. If you're coming into the city this weekend, be aware of the No Kings protests. Take care of your butt, and your butt will take care of you. Bob suggests yoga (no surprise). Pepsi might be cancelling your favorite salty snack. Happy birthday, Fred! How Old Is That Guy?

In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine's dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down.  Twenty years later, raw milk has surged back into the zeitgeist. Influencers are saying it tastes like ice cream, RFK Jr. is taking shots of it at the White House, and Gwyneth Paltrow is putting it in her coffee. All of which makes for a pretty obvious question… What's the appeal? Is raw milk some kind of superfood? Or something to avoid at all costs?  Featuring Dan Brown, Andy Bisson, Danny Bisson, Nicole Martin, Pamela Ruegg, and Mary McGonigle-Martin. SUPPORT To share your questions and feedback with Outside/In, call the show's hotline and leave us a voicemail. The number is 1-844-GO-OTTER. No question is too serious or too silly. Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.  Follow Outside/In on Instagram and BlueSky, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS For a comprehensive history of dairy check out Milk! A 10,000 Year History by Mark Kurlansky. During the height of Dan Brown's case he gave a speech to a rousing crowd in Blue Hill. You can watch that here.  The debate over raw vs. pasteurized milk has been happening for a long time. The Milk Question by Milton Joseph Rosenau is a fascinating (we daresay, poetic) read.  The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance is a nearly 500-page document that outlines the intricacies of milk regulation in the U.S. Here's its most current version.  The FDA fact-checks many different raw milk claims ⁠on this page⁠, including pasteurization's affect on vitamin content and potential probiotic benefit. CREDITS  Produced by Marina Henke. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if not having it all figured out isn't a problem — it's actually the point? In this Sunday Solo, Sarah sits inside one of life's most disorienting truths: that loss, magic, grief, and wonder don't cancel each other out — they live at the same table. Inspired by two beautiful books (The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown and An Immense World by Ed Yong), a season of unexpected loss, and the synchronicities that showed up anyway, Sarah explores what it really means to be a spirit in a body — and why the mystery isn't a gap where answers should be. It is the thing itself. Takeaways The mystery isn't "out there" — it's us. We aren't separate from the unknown; we are the unknown, experiencing itself through human form. Your brain is a receiver, not the source. Dan Brown's noetic science-inspired novel points to research suggesting consciousness circulates outside the body — and mediums, meditators, and intuitives may simply have learned to receive more of what's already here. Every being lives in its own reality. Ed Yong's An Immense World shows us that a bird, a dog, and a rattlesnake in the same dark room each experience a completely different world — and our human experience, as vivid as it is, isn't the whole picture. Grief and magic live at the same table. Sarah shares the real losses that surrounded the making of this episode — and how synchronicities kept arriving anyway, right in the middle of it. The best mediumship connections come through surrender. Letting go of controlling the outcome — and releasing the need to please the sitter — is what actually opens the channel. Curiosity over control, every time. Not getting a connection is not a failure. Spirit has its own agenda. Sarah shares openly that it doesn't always work — and why that's part of the mystery, not a mark against the medium. Reframe "uncertainty" as "spaciousness." The mystery doesn't have to feel terrifying. What if it's actually full of potential? Direct Quotes & Soundbites "Grief and loss sit at the same table with magic and joy. And somewhere in the middle of it is where the mystery lives. That's where we live." "The best connections come when I surrender — when I stop trying to control the outcome and just allow spirit to lead." "It requires curiosity, and it requires being willing to sit inside the mystery without demanding from it." "We don't have to solve the cosmos to belong to it. We don't have to understand the divine to have a divine experience. We are the divine. We are the mystery." "All of creation experiences itself through you." — channeled phrase from Sarah's February meditation Books Mentioned The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown — a #1 NYT Bestseller thriller weaving noetic science, consciousness research, and the question of what survives physical death. Dan Brown spent 8 years researching and went in a skeptic; he came out convinced. An Immense World by Ed Yong — a Pulitzer Prize-winning exploration of how every species perceives its own version of reality. One of Barack Obama's favorite books of the year. Perfect woo-friendly science read. Website: https://www.mediumcurious.com Explore the Intuition & Mediumship Course: https://www.mediumcurious.com Book a reading with Sarah Rathke https://www.sarahrathke.com/ Book a reading with Jane Morgan https://www.janemorganmedium.com/ Jane's Substack: https://janemorgan.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediumcuriouspod/

Did the Project Hail Mary movie live up to the book? Hot takes incoming.In this full SPOILER review, we break down the adaptation of Andy Weir's sci-fi hit—what the movie nailed, what it changed, and whether it captured the heart of the story. From Ryland Grace to Rocky, we dive into everything that worked… and what didn't.

Master and Pupil discuss $0.29 refills, insane vintage scores, cooking al fresco and how Dan Brown is the Tone Loc of paperback.

Send a textAn Eco Bite is a "mini” episode of Eco Speaks CLE. In this shorter format, we reconnect with a past guest or showcase someone new, all in under 15 minutes. In this quick episode, we catch up with Rust Belt Riders and founder Michael Robinson to find out what's new with our favorite worker-owned food waste composting company in Cleveland, Ohio.We first interviewed Rust Belt Riders back in 2022. It was our 4th episode, and we had Dan Brown and Zoe Apisdorf on the show. Since then, Rust Belt Riders has developed new city-supported drop-offs, new commercial infrastructure, and expanded its production of soil and Tilth Soil brand. This cooperative model could scale community composting nationwide through alliances with members of the Community Composting  Coalition. We hope you will enjoy this episode and be part of the story by purchasing Tilth Soil at local retailers and signing up for one of Rust Belt Riders' residential or commercial composting services. Support the showBecome a Subscriber Follow Eco Speaks CLE on LinkedIn, Facebook and InstagramContact - hello@ecospeakscle.com

In this episode, Chris and Mike deliver a full spoiler review of Cold Zero by Brad Thor and Ward Larsen. They break down the plot, characters, action, and pacing of this high-stakes political thriller—and debate whether Cold Zero could be the best thriller novel of 2026.⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This episode contains full spoilers, including major twists and the ending.—

Hey, Friends. Jeannie is back from two weeks in Central America so we catch up on her travels, and talk a little about the new Dan Brown novel, The Secret of Secrets.

Want to solve a puzzle? Like, why did we watch this movie? Season 9 continues with Will's pick for the week - Ron Howard's blockbuster adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller. Listen up as the hosts examine the film's sluggish pace, its expansive run-time, and all the various controversies of this junk-food thriller. Oh, and Tom Hanks' majestic haircut.

EPISODE 157 | Bohemian Books: Gigas, Voynich & Soyga Some very old books have an air of mystery and intrigue about them. Partly, that's because they are literally hundreds of years old, and partly because of the weird things they contain.  Today, we'll take a look at three, all of which have a connection to the Czech Republic and Prague: the biggest book in the world, the Codex Gigas (also known as the Devil's Bible and which features heavily [no pun intended] in Dan Brown's latest schlock fest), the utterly baffling Voynich Manuscript, which is not written in any recognizable language; and the mysterious Book of Soyga, which disappeared for nearly 400 years, and some say that if you can decipher the final puzzles in the book, you will die. Like what we do? Then buy us a beer or three via our page on Buy Me a Coffee.  Review us here or on IMDb. And seriously, subscribe, will ya? Like, just do it.  SECTIONS 02:11 - The Codex Gigas - That's a big book, contents, legend of origin, Sweden gets it, defenestrations, the Sedlec Bone Church, The Secret of Secrets 11:00 - The Voynich Manuscript - WTF is this thing?, ownership relay, who maybe wrote it, what maybe it says, aspects of Voynichese, obscure languages, steganography, glossolalia, outsider art, a hoax, radiocarbon dating, those who have claimed decipherment, ciphers, people see what they want to, goropism, the Sun Language Theory, recent videos about Alphafold and protein folding, maybe a work of proto-fiction 43:32 - The Book of Soyga - John Dee, Edward Kelley, cryptic puzzles, 400 years lost, found in 1994 Music by Fanette Ronjat More Info The Codex Gigas – Devil's Bible on the National Library of Sweden website The Devil's Bible: My Deep Dive into the Weirdest Book I've Ever Seen Devil's Bible: Codex Gigas in Klementinum on Prague.net from 2007 loan Inside the ‘Devil's Bible,' the Largest Medieval Manuscript Ever Made on ArtNet EPISODE 109 | What's in a Name? The Shakespeare Authorship Debate with Scott Jackson EPISODE 135 | On Shakey Ground: More Shakespeare Authorship with Scott Jackson What Shakespeare Can Teach Us About Communicating with Jennifer King on the Digital Signage Done Right podcast Yale Library webpage on the Voynich Manuscript, with images The riddle of the Voynich Manuscript on the BBC Unsolved Mystery: The Voynich Manuscript An entire website about the Voynich Manuscript The Voynich Manuscript revealed: five things you probably didn't know about the Medieval masterpiece on The Art Newspaper THE VOYNICH MANUSCRIPT - "The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World" - NSA report (PDF) Another NSA report on titled The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma written in 1978 (PDF) A PDF of the actual Voynich Manuscript Headcanon: The Voynich Manuscript actually doesn't contain any cohesive text and is just a prank done by someone in the past on r/medieval A Scholar Has Cracked the Mystery of the Voynich Manuscript, the Encrypted Medieval Artwork That Defeated Codebreakers for Years on ArtNet Article on the Voynich manuscript on Brazilian website Revista Pesquisa Fapesp The Voynich Wiki How an Emperor Trapped a Con Man - blog on Edward kelley Magic and Mystery: Decoding the Secrets of the Book of Soyga on Discovery The Book of Soyga translated by Jane Kupin (PDF) Decoding the Book of Soyga: A Living Project of Esoteric Discovery The Book of Soyga | Literary History on House of Cadmus Soyga: the book that kills on Blog of Wonders Holy Conversations: The Impact of the Mysterious Book of Soyga on Ancient Origins Book of Soyga on the Voynich Wiki Follow us on social: Facebook X (Twitter) Other Podcasts by Derek DeWitt DIGITAL SIGNAGE DONE RIGHT - Winner of a Gold Quill Award, Gold MarCom Award, AVA Digital Award Gold, Silver Davey Award, and Communicator Award of Excellence, and on numerous top 10 podcast lists.  PRAGUE TIMES - A city is more than just a location - it's a kaleidoscope of history, places, people and trends. This podcast looks at Prague, in the center of Europe, from a number of perspectives, including what it is now, what is has been and where it's going. It's Prague THEN, Prague NOW, Prague LATER 

Book corner is back on It Happened One Year! The best selling adult book from the year 2000 (discounting that fourth Harry Potter) has proved to be Angels & Demons, the precursor to the cultural phenomenon that was The Da Vinci Code in the early years of the century. But...why? How did these novels catch on? And just how popular were they really? And you're telling me Dan Brown has kept writing books, but fewer and fewer people seem aware they exist? Sarah and Joe attempt to dig into 21st century popular literature and the confounding tastes of modern readers, while also taking time to discuss the movie series, the TV adaptations, an odd amount of Harry Potter, and the first American Pope!

How can trauma become a catalyst for creative transformation? What lessons can indie authors learn from the music industry's turbulent journey through technological disruption? With Jack Williamson. In the intro, Why recipes for publishing success don't work and what to do instead [Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast]; Why your book isn't selling: metadata [Novel Marketing Podcast]; Creating a successful author business [Fantasy Writers Toolshed Podcast]; Bones of the Deep – J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Jack Williamson is a psychotherapist, coach, and bestselling author who spent nearly two decades as a music industry executive. He's the founder of Music & You, his latest nonfiction book is Maybe You're The Problem, and he also writes romance under A.B. Jackson. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Finding post-traumatic growth and meaning after bereavement, and using tragedy as a catalyst for creative transformation Why your superpower can also be your Achilles heel, and how indie authors can overcome shiny object syndrome Three key lessons from the music industry: embracing change, thinking creatively about marketing, and managing pressure for better creativity The A, B, C technique for PR interviews and why marketing is storytelling through different mediums How to deal with judgment and shame around AI in the author community by understanding where people sit on the opinion-belief-conviction continuum Three AI developments coming from music to publishing: training clauses in contracts, one-click genre adaptation, and licensed AI-generated video adaptations You can find Jack at JackWilliamson.co.uk and his fiction work at ABJackson.com. Transcript of the interview with Jack Williamson Jo: Jack Williamson is a psychotherapist, coach, and bestselling author who spent nearly two decades as a music industry executive. He's the founder of Music & You, his latest nonfiction book is Maybe You're The Problem, and he also writes romance under A.B. Jackson. Welcome to the show. Jack: Thank you so much for having me, Jo. It's a real honour to be on your podcast after listening all of these years. Jo: I'm excited to talk to you. We have a lot to get into, but first up— Tell us a bit more about you and why get into writing books after years of working in music. Jack: I began my career at the turn of the millennium, basically, and I worked for George Michael and Mariah Carey's publicist, which I'm sure you can imagine was quite the introduction to the corporate world. From there I went on to do domestic and international marketing for a load of massive artists at Universal, so the equivalent of the top five publishers in the publishing world that we all work in. Then from there I had a bit of a challenge. In December 2015, I lost my brother, unfortunately to suicide. For any listener or any person that's gone through a traumatic event, it can really make you reassess everything, make you question life, make you question your purpose. When I went through that, I was thinking, well, what do I want to do? What do I want out of life? So I went on this journey for practically the next ten years. I retrained to be a psychotherapist. I created a bucket list—a list of all the things that I thought maybe my brother would've wanted to do but didn't do. One of the things was scatter his ashes at the Seven Wonders of the world. Then one of the items on my bucket list was to write a book. The pandemic hit. It was a challenge for all of us, as you've spoken about so much on this wonderful podcast. I thought, well, why not? Why not write this book that I've wanted to write? I didn't know when I was going to do it because I was always so busy, and then the pandemic happened and so I wrote a book. From there, listening to your wonderful podcast, I've learned so much and been to so many conferences and learned along the way. So now I've written five books and released three. Jo: That's fantastic. I mean, regular listeners to the show know that I talk about death and grief and all of this kind of thing, and it's interesting that you took your brother's ashes to the Seven Wonders of the world. Death can obviously be a very bad, negative thing for those left behind, but it seems like you were able to reframe your brother's experience and turn that into something more positive for your life rather than spiralling into something bad. So if people listening are feeling like something happens, whether it's that or other things— How can we reframe these seemingly life-ending situations in a more positive way? Jack: It is very hard and there's no one way to do it. I think as you always say, I never want to tell people what to do or what to think. I want to show them how to think and how they can approach things differently or from a different perspective. I can only speak from my journey, but we call it in therapeutic language, post-traumatic growth. It is, how do you define it so it doesn't define you? Because often when you have a bereavement of a loved one, a family member, it can be very traumatic, but how can you take meaning and find meaning in it? There's a beautiful book called Man's Search for Meaning, and the name of the author escapes me right now, but he says— Jo: Viktor Frankl. Jack: Yes. Everyone quotes it as one of their favourite books, and one of my favourite lines is, “Man can take everything away from you, apart from the ability to choose one thought over the other.” I think it's so true because we can make that choice to choose what to think. So in those moments when we are feeling bad, when we're feeling down, we want to honour our feelings, but we don't necessarily want to become them. We want to process that, work through, get the support system that we need. But again, try to find meaning, try to find purpose, try to understand what is going on, and then pay it forward. Irrespective of your belief system, we all yearn for purpose. We all yearn for being connected to something bigger than ourselves. If we can find that through bereavement maybe, or through a traumatic incident, then hopefully we can come through the other side and have that post-traumatic growth. Jo: I love that phrase, post-traumatic growth. That's so good. Obviously people think about post-traumatic anything as like PTSD—people immediately think a sort of stress disorder, like it's something that makes things even worse. I like that you reframed it in that way. Obviously I think the other thing is you took specific action. You didn't just think about it. You travelled, you retrained, you wrote books. So I think also it's not just thinking. In fact, thinking about things can sometimes make it worse if you think for too long, whereas taking an action I think can be very strong as well. Jack: Ultimately we are human beings as opposed to human doings, but actually being a human doing from time to time can be really helpful. Actually taking steps forward, doing things differently, using it as a platform to move forward and to do things that maybe you didn't before. When you are confronted with death, it can actually make you question your own mortality and actually question, am I just coasting along? Am I stuck in a rut? Could I be doing something differently? One of the things that bereavement, does is it holds a mirror up to ourselves and it makes us question, well, what do we want from our life? Are we here to procreate? Are we here to make a difference? Some of us can't procreate, or some of us choose not to procreate, but we can all make a difference. And it's, how do we do that? Where do we do that? When do we do that? Jo: That's interesting. I was thinking today about service and gratitude. I'm doing this Master's and I was reading some theology stuff today, and service and gratitude, I think if you are within a religious tradition, are a normal part of that kind of religious life. Whether it's service to God and gratitude to God, or service and gratitude to others. I was thinking that these two things, service and gratitude, can actually really help reframe things as well. Who can we serve? As authors, we're serving our readers and our community. What can we be grateful about? That's often our readers and our community as well. So I don't know, that helped me today—thinking about how we can reframe things, especially in the world we're in now where there's a lot of anger and grief and all kinds of things. Jack: That's what we've got to look at. We are here to serve. Again, that can take different shapes, different forms. Some of us work in the service industry. I provide a service as a psychotherapist, you serve your listeners with knowledge and information that you gather and dispense through the research you do or the guests you have on. We serve readers of the different genres that we write in. It's what ways can we serve, how can we serve? Again, I think we all, if we can and when we can, should pay it forward. Someone said this to me once in the music industry: be careful who you meet on the way up and how you treat them on the way up, because invariably you'll meet them on the way down. So if you can pay forward that kindness, if you can be kind, considerate, and treat people how you want to be treated, that is going to pay dividends in the long run. It may not come off straight away, but invariably it will come back to you in some way, shape, or form in a different way. Jo: I've often talked about social karma and karma in the Hindu sense—the things that you do come back to you in some other form. Possibly in another life, which I don't believe. In terms of, I guess, you didn't know what was going to happen to your brother, and so you make the most of the life that we have at the moment because things change and you just don't know how things are going to change. You talk about this in your book, Maybe You're The Problem, which is quite a confronting title. So just talk about your book, Maybe You're The Problem, and why you wrote that. Put it into context with the author community and why that might be useful. Jack: Thank you for flagging my book. I intentionally crossed out “maybe” on the merchandise I did as well, because in essence, we are our own problem. We can get in the way, and it's what happened to us when we grew up wasn't our fault, but what we do with it is our responsibility. We may have grown up in a certain period or a climate. We didn't necessarily choose to do that, but what we do with that as a result is up to us. So we can stay in our victimhood and we can blame our parents, or we can blame the generation we are in, or we can blame the city, the location—however, that is relinquishing your power. That is staying in a victim mindset rather than a survivor or a thriver mindset. So it's about how can we look at the different areas in our life. Whether that is conflict, whether that is imposter syndrome, whether that is the generation we're born into. We try to understand how that has shaped us and how we may be getting in our own way to stop us from growing, to stop us from expanding, and to see where our blind spots are, our limitations are, and how that may impact us. There's so much going on in the moment in the world, whether that is in the digital realm, whether that is in the geo-climate that we're in at the moment. Again, that's going to bring up a lot for us. How can we find solutions to those problems for us so that we continue to move forward rather than be restricted and hindered by them? Jo: Alright. Well let's get into some more specifics. You have been in the author community now for a while. You go to conferences and you are in the podcast community and all this kind of thing. What specific issues have you seen in the author community? Maybe around some of the things you've mentioned, or other things? How might we be able to deal with those? Jack: With authors, I think it is such a wonderful and unique industry that I have an honour and privilege of being a part of now. One of the main things I've learned is just how creative people are. Coming from a creative industry like the music industry, there is a lot of neurodivergence in the creative industries and in the author community. Whether that is autism, whether that is ADHD—that is a real asset to have as a superpower, but it can be an Achilles heel. So it's understanding—and I know that there is an overexposure of people labelling themselves as ADHD—but on the flip side to that, it's how can we look at what's going on for us? For ADHD, for example, there's a thing called shiny object syndrome. You've talked about this in the past, Joanna, where it's like a new thing comes along, be it TikTok, be it Substack, be it bespoke books, be it Shopify, et cetera. We can rush and quickly be like, “oh, let me do this, let me do that,” before we actually take the time to realise, is this right for me? Does this fit my author business? Does this fit where I'm at in my author journey? I think sometimes as authors, we need to not cave in to that shiny object syndrome and take a step back and think to ourselves, how does this serve me? How does this serve my career? How does this work for me if I'm looking at this as a career? If you're looking at it as a hobby, obviously it's a different lens to look through, but that's something that I would often make sure that we look at. One of the other things that really comes up is that in order for any of us to address our fears and anxieties, we need to make sure that we feel psychologically safe and to put ourselves in spaces and places where we feel seen, heard, and understood, which can help address some of the issues that I've just mentioned. Being in that emotionally regulated state when we are with someone we know and trust—so taking someone to a conference, taking someone to a space or a place where you feel that you can be seen, heard, and understood—can help us and allow us to embrace things that we perceive to be scary. That may be finding an author group, finding an online space where you can actually air and share your thoughts, your feelings, where you don't feel that you are being judged. Often it can be quite a judgmental space and place in the online world. So it's just finding your tribe and finding places where you can actually lean into that. So there'd be two things. Jo: I like the idea of the superpower and the Achilles heel because I also feel this when we are writing fiction. Our characters have strengths, but your fatal flaw is often related to your strength. Jack: Yes. Jo: For example, I know I am independent. One of the reasons I'm an independent author is because I'm super independent. But one of my greatest fears is being dependent. So I do lots of things to avoid being dependent on other people, which can lead me to almost damage myself by not asking for help or by trying to make sure that I control everything so I never have to ask anyone else to do something. I'm coming to terms with this as I get older. I feel like this is something we start to hit—I mean, as a woman after menopause—is this feeling of I might have to be dependent on people when I'm older. It's so interesting thinking about this and thinking— My independence is my strength. How can it also be my weakness? So what do you think about that? You're going to psychotherapist me now. Jack: I definitely won't, but it's interesting. Just talking about that, we all have wounds and we all have the shadow, as you've even written about in one of your books. And it's how that can come from a childhood wound where it's like we seek help and it's not given to us. So we create a belief system where I have to do everything myself because no one will help me. Or we may have rejection sensitivity, so we reject ourselves before others can reject us. So it's actually about trying, where we can, to honour our truths, honour that we may want to be independent, for example, but then realising that success leaves clues. I always say that if you are independent—and I definitely align a hundred percent with you, Joanna—I've had to work really hard myself in personal therapy and in business and life to realise that no human is an island and we can't all do this on our own. Yes, it's amazing with the AI agents now that can help us in a business capacity, but having those relationships that we can tap into—like you mentioned all of the people that you tap into—it's so important to have those. I always say that it's important to have three mentors: one person that's ahead of you (for me, that would be Katie Cross because she's someone that I find is an amazing author and we speak at least once a month); people that are at the same level as you that you can go on the journey together with (and I have an author group for that); and then someone that is perceived to be behind you or in a younger generation than you, because you can learn as much from them as they can learn from you. If you can actually tap into those people whilst honouring your independence, then it feels like you can still go on your own journey, but you can tap in and tap out as and when needed. Sacha Black will give you amazing insights, other people like Honor will give you amazing insights, but you can also provide that for them. So there's that safety of being able to do it on your own. But on the flip side, you still have those people that you can tap into as and when necessary as a sounding board, as information on how they were successful, and go from there. Jo: No, I like that. If you're new to the show, Sacha Black and Honor Raconteur have been on the show and they are indeed some of my best friends. So I appreciate that. I really like the idea of the three mentor idea. I just want to add to that because I do think people misunderstand the word mentor sometimes. You mentioned you speak to Katie Cross, but I've found that a lot of the mentors that I've had who are ahead of me have often been books. We mentioned the Viktor Frankl book, and if people don't know, he was Jewish and in the concentration camps and survived that. So it's a real survivor story. But to me, books have been mostly my mentors in terms of people who are ahead of me. We don't always need to speak to or be friends with our mentors. I think that's important too, right? Because I just get emails a lot that say, “Will you be my mentor?” And I don't think that's the point. Jack: Oh, I a hundred percent agree with you. If you don't have access to those mentors—like Oprah Winfrey is one of the people that I perceive as a mentor—I listen to podcasts, I read her books, I watch interviews. There is a way to absorb and acquire that information, and it doesn't have to be a direct relationship with them. It is someone that you can gain the knowledge and wisdom that they've imparted in whatever form you may consume it. Which is why I think it is important to have those three levels: that one that is above you that may be out of reach in terms of a human connection, but you can still access; then the people at the same level as you that you can have those relationships and grow with; and again, that one behind that you can help pave the way for them, but also learn from them as well. So a hundred percent agree that that mentor that you are looking for that may be ahead of you doesn't necessarily need to be someone that is in a real-world relationship. Jo: So let's just circle back to your music industry experience. You mentioned being on the sort of marketing team for some really big names in music, and I mean, it's kind of a sexy job really. It just sounds pretty cool, but of course the music industry has just as many challenges as publishing. What did you learn from working in the music industry that you think might be particularly useful for authors? Jack: The perception of reality was definitely a lot different. It does look sexy and glamorous, but the reality is similar to going to conferences. It's pretty much flight, hotel, and dark rooms with terrible air conditioning that you spend a lot of time in. So sorry to burst the illusion. But I mean, it does have its moments as well. There is so much I've learned over the years and there's probably three things that stand out the most. The first one was I entered the industry right at the height of the music industry. In 2000, 2001. That was when Napster really exploded and it decimated the music industry. It wiped half the value in the space of four years. Then the music industry was trying to shut it down, throwing legal, throwing everything at it, but it was like whack-a-mole. As soon as one went down such as Napster, ten others popped up like Kazaa. So you saw that the old guard wasn't willing to embrace change. They weren't willing to adapt. They assumed that people wanted the formats of CDs, vinyls, cassettes, and they were wrong. Yes, people wanted music, but they actually wanted the music. They didn't care about the format, they just wanted the access. So that was one of the really interesting things that I learned, because I was like, you have to embrace change. You can't ignore it. You can't push it away, push it aside, because it's coming whether you like it or not. I think thankfully the music industry has learned as AI's coming, because now you have to embrace it. There's a lot of legal issues that have been going on at the moment with rights, which you've covered about the Anthropic case and so on. It's such a challenge, and I just think that's the first one. The second one I learned was back in 2018. There was an artist I worked on called Freya Ridings. At that time I was working at an independent record label rather than one of the big three major record labels. She had great songs and we were up against one of the biggest periods of the year and trying to make noise. At the time, Love Island was the biggest TV show on, and everyone wanted to be on it in terms of getting their music synced in the scenes. We were just like, we are never going to compete. So we thought, we need to be clever here. We need to think differently. What we did is we found out what island the show was being recorded on, and we geo-targeted our ads just to that island because we knew the sync team were going to be on there. So we just went hard as nails, advertised relentlessly, and we knew that the sync people would then see the adverts. As a result of that, Freya got the sync. It became the biggest song that season on Love Island, back when it was popular. As a result of that, we built from there. We were like, right, we can't compete with the majors. We have to think differently. We need to do things differently. We need to be creative. It wasn't an easy pathway. That year there were only two other songs that were independent that reached the top 10. So we ended up becoming a third and the biggest song that year. The reason I'm saying that is we can't compete with the major publishers. But the beauty of the independent author community is because we have smaller budgets—most of us, not all of us, but most of us—we have to think differently. We have to make our bang for our buck go a lot further. So it's actually— How can we stay creative? How can we think differently? What can we do differently? So that would be the second thing. Then the third main lesson that I learned, and this is more on the creative side, is that pressure can often work against you, both in a business sense, but especially creativity. I've seen so many artists over the years have imposed deadlines on them to hand in their albums, and it's impacted the quality of their output. Once it's handed in, the stress and the pressure is off, and then you realise that actually those artists end up creating the best material that they have, and then they rush to put it on. Whether that's Mariah Carey's “We Belong Together,” Adele with her song “Hello,” Taylor Swift did the same with “Shake It Off”—they're just three examples. The reason is that pressure keeps us in our beta brainwave state, which is our rational, logical mind. For those of us that are authors that are writing fiction, or even if we are creating stories in our nonfiction work to deliver a point, we need to be in that creative mindset. So we need to be in the alpha and the gamma brain state. Because our body works on 90-minute cycles known as our ultradian rhythm, we need to make sure that we honour our cycle and work with that. If we go past that, our creativity and our productivity is going to go down between 60% and 40% respectively. So as authors, it's important—one, to apply the right amount of pressure; two, to work in breaks; and three, to know what kind of perspective we're looking at. Do we need to be rational and logical, or do we need to be creative? And then adjust the sails accordingly. Jo: That's all fantastic. I want to come back on the marketing thing first—around what you did with the strategic marketing there and the targeted ads to that island. That's just genius. I feel like a lot of us, myself included, we struggle to think creatively about marketing because it's not our natural state. Of course, you've done a lot of marketing, so maybe it comes more naturally to you. I think half the time we don't even use the word creative around marketing, when you're not a marketeer. What are some ways that we can break through our blocks around marketing and try to be more creative around that? Jack: I would challenge a lot of authors on that presumption, because as authors we're in essence storytellers, and to tell a story is creative. There's a great quote: “One death is a tragedy. A thousand deaths is a statistic.” If you can create a story, a compelling narrative about a death in the news, it's going to pull at the heartstrings of people. It's going to really resonate and get with them. Whereas if you are just quoting statistics, most people switch off because they become desensitised to it. So I think because we can tell stories, and that's the essence of what we do, it's how can we tell our story through the medium of social media? How can we tell a story through our creative ads that we then put out onto Facebook or TikTok or whatever platform that we're putting them out—BookBub, et cetera? How can we create a narrative that garners the attention? If we are looking at local media or traditional media, how can we do that? How can we get people to buy in to what we're selling? So it's about having different angles. For me with my new romance book, Stolen Moments, one of the stories I had that really has helped me get some coverage and PR is we recorded the songs next door to the Rolling Stones. Now that was very fortunate timing, very fortunate. But everyone's like, “Oh my God, you recorded next door to the Rolling Stones?” So it's like, well, how can you bring in these creative nuggets that help you to find a story? Again, marketing is in essence telling a story, albeit through different mediums and forms. So it's just how can you package that into a marketable product depending on the platform in which you're putting it out on. Jo: I think that's actually hilarious, by the way, because what you hit on there, as someone with a background in marketing, your story about “we recorded an album for the book next door to the Rolling Stones”—it's got nothing to do with the romance. Jack: Oh, the romance is that the pop star in the book writes and records songs. Jo: Yes, I realised that. But the fact is— For doing things like PR, it's the story behind the story. They don't care that you've written a romance. Jack: Yes. Jo: They're far more interested in you, the author, and other things. So I think what you just described there was a kind of PR hook that most of us don't even think about. Jack: I'm sure a lot of authors already know this, so it's a good reminder, and if you don't, it's great. It's called the A, B, C technique. When you get asked a question, you Answer the question. So that's A. You Build a bridge, and then you go to C, which is Covering one of your points. So whenever you get asked a question, have a list of things you want to get across in an interview. Then just make sure that you find that bridge between whatever the question is to cover off one of your points, and that's how you can do it. Because yes, you may be selling a story, like I said, about writing the songs, but then you can bridge it into actually covering and promoting whatever it is you're promoting. So I think that's always quite helpful to remember. Jo: Well, that's a good tip for things like coming on podcasts as well. I've had people on who don't do what you just mentioned and will just try and shoehorn things in in a more deliberate fashion, whereas other people, as you have just done with your romance there, bring it in while answering a question that actually helps other people. So I think that's the kind of thing we need to think about in marketing. Okay, so then let's come back to the embracing change, and as you mentioned, the AI stuff that's going on. I feel like there's so many “stories” around AI right now. There's a lot of stories being told on both sides—on the positive side, on the negative side—that people believe and buy into and may or may not be true. There's obviously a lot of anger. There's, I think, grief—a big thing that people might not even realise that they have. Can you talk about how authors might deal with what's coming up around the technological change around AI, and any of your personal thoughts as well? Jack: I was thinking about this a lot recently. I mean, I guess everyone is in their own ways and forms. One of the things that came up for me is we have genre expectations and we have generation expectations. When we look at genres, you will have different expectations from different genres. For romance, they want a happily ever after or a happy for now. For cosy mysteries, they expect the crime to be solved. So we as authors make sure we endeavour to meet those expectations. The challenge is that if we are looking at AI, we are all in our own generations. We might be in slightly different generations, but there are going to be different generation expectations from the Alpha generation that's coming up and the Beta generation that's just about to start this year or next year because they're going to come into the world where they don't know any different to AI. So they will have a different expectation than us. It will just be normal that there will be AI agents. It will just be normal that there are AI narrators. It will be normalised that AI will assist authors or assist everyone in doing their jobs. So again, it is a grieving period because we can long for what was, we can yearn for things that worked for us that no longer work for us—whether it's Facebook groups, whether it's the Kindle Rush. We can mourn the loss of that, but that's not coming back. I mean, sometimes there may be a resurgence, but essentially, we've got to embrace the change. We've got to understand that it's coming and it's going to bring up a lot of different emotions because you may have been beholden to one thing and you may be like, yes, I've now got my TikTok lives, and then all of a sudden TikTok goes away. I know Adam, when he was talking about it, he'll just find another platform. But there'll be a lot of people that are beholden to it and then they're like, what do I do now? So again, it's never survival of the fittest—it's survival of the most adaptable. I always use this metaphor where there are three people on three different boats. A storm comes. And the first, the optimist, is like, “Oh, it'll pass,” and does nothing. The pessimist complains about the storm and does nothing. But the realist will adjust the sails and use the storm to find its way to the other side, to get through. It's not going to be easy, but they're actually taking change and making change to get to where they need to go, rather than just expecting or complaining. I get it. We are not, and I hate the expression, “we're all in the same boat.” I call bleep on that. I'm not going to swear. We're not all in the same boat. We're all in the same storm, but different people are going through different things. For some, they can adjust and adapt really quickly like a speedboat. For others, they may be like Jack and Rose in the Titanic on that terrible prop where they're clinging to dear life and trying to get through the storm. So it's about how do I navigate this upcoming storm? What can I do within my control to get through the storm? For some it may be easier because they have the resources, or for some of us that love learning, it's easy to embrace change. For others that have a fear mindset and it's like, “Oh, something new, it's scary, I don't want to embrace it”—you are going to take longer. So you may not be the speedboat, but at some point we are going to have to embrace that change. Otherwise we're going to get left behind. So you need to look at that. Jo: The storm metaphor is interesting, and being in different boats. I feel I do struggle. I struggle with people who suddenly seem to be discovering the storm. I've been talking about AI now since 2016. That's a decade. Jack: Yes. Jo: Even ChatGPT has been around more than three years, and people come to me now and they're talking about stories that they've seen in the media that are just old now. Things have moved on so much. I feel like maybe I was on my boat and I looked through my telescope and I saw the storm. I've been talking about the storm and I've had my own moments of being in the middle of the storm. Now I definitely do struggle with people who just seem to have arrived without any knowledge of it before. I oscillate between being an optimist and a realist. I think I'm somewhere between the two, probably. But I think what is driving me a little crazy in the author community right now is judgment and shame. There are people who are judging other people, and there's shame felt by AI-curious or AI-positive people. So I want to help the people who feel shame in some way for trying new technology, but they still feel attacked. Then those people judge other authors for their choices to use technology. So how do you think we can deal with judgment and shame in the community? Which is a form of conflict, I guess. Jack: Of course. I think with that, there's another great PR quote: “If it bleeds, it leads.” Especially in this digital age, there's a lot of clickbait. So the more polarising, the more emotion-evoking the headline, the more likely you are to engage with that content—whether that is reading it or whether that's posting or retweeting, or whatever format you are consuming it on. So unfortunately, media has now become so much more polarising. It's dividing us rather than uniting us. So people are going to have stronger positions. There's so much even within this to look at. One is, you have to work out where people are on the continuum. Do they have an opinion on AI? Do they have a belief? Or do they have a conviction? Now you're not going to move someone that has a conviction about something, so it's not worth even engaging with them because they're immovable. Like they say, you shouldn't talk about sports, politics, and religion. There are certain subjects that may not be worth talking about, especially if they have a conviction. Because they may not even be able to agree to disagree. They may not be willing or able to hear you. So first and foremost, it's about understanding, well, where are those people sitting on the continuum of AI? Are they curious? Do they have an opinion, but they're open to hearing other opinions? Do they have a belief that could be changed or evolved if they find more information? That's where I think it is. It's not necessarily our jobs—even though you do an amazing job of it, Joanna—but a lot of people are undereducated on these issues or these new technologies. So in some cases it's just a case of a lack of education or them being undereducated. Hopefully in time they will become more and more educated. But again, it's how long is a piece of string? Will people catch up? Will they stay behind? Are they fearful? I guess because of social media, because of the media, as they say, if you can evoke fear in people, you can control them. You can control their perspectives. You can control their minds. So that's where we see it—a lot of people are operating from a fear mindset. So then that's when they project their vitriol in certain cases. If people want to believe a certain thing, that's their choice. I'm not here to tell people what to think. Like I said earlier, it's more about how to think. But I would just encourage people to find people that align with you. Do a sense test, like a litmus test, to find where they sit on the continuum and engage with those people that are open and have opinions or beliefs. But shy away or just avoid people that have convictions that maybe are the polar opposite of yours. Jo: It's funny, isn't it? We seem to be in a phase of history when I feel like you should be able to disagree with people and still be friends. Although, as you mentioned, there's certain members of my family where we just stay on topics of TV shows and movies or music, or what books are you reading? Like, we don't go anywhere near politics. So I do think that might be a rule also with the AI stuff. As you said, find a community, and there are plenty of AI-positive spaces now for people who do want to talk about this kind of stuff. I also think that, I don't know whether this is a tipping point this year, but certainly— I know people who are in bigger corporates where the message is now, “You need to embrace this stuff. It is now part of your job to learn how to use these AI tools.” So if that starts coming into people's day jobs, and also people who have, I don't know, kids at school or people at university who are embracing this more—I mean, maybe it is a generational thing. Jack: Yes. Look, there were so many people that were resistant to working from home, or corporations that were, and then the pandemic forced it. Now everyone's embraced it in some way, shape, or form. I mean, there are people that don't, but the majority of people—when something's forced on you, you have to adapt. So again, if those things are implemented in corporations, then you're going to see it. I'm seeing so many amazing new things in AI that have been implemented in the music industry that we'll see in the publishing industry coming down the road. That will scare a lot of people, but again, we have to embrace those things because they're coming and there's going to be an expectation—especially from the younger generations—that these things are available. So again, it's not first past the post, but if you can be ahead of the wave or at least on the wave, then you are going to reap the rewards. If you are behind the wave, you're going to get left behind. So that's my opinion. I'm not trying to encourage anyone to see from my lens, but at the same time, I do think that we need to be thinking differently. We need to always embrace change where we can, as we can, at the pace that we can. Jo: You mentioned there AI things coming down the road in the music industry. And now everyone's going, wait, what is coming? So tell us— What do you see ahead that you think might also shift into the author world? Jack: There are three things that I've seen. Two that have been implemented and one that's been talked about and worked on at the moment. The first, and this will be quite scary for people, is that major record labels—so think the major publishers on our side—they're all now putting clauses in their contracts that require the artists that sign with them to allow their works to be trained by their own AI models. So that is something that is now actually happening in record labels. I wouldn't be surprised, although I don't have insight into it, if Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, et cetera, are potentially doing the same with authors that sign to them. So that's going to become more standardised. So that is on the major side. But then on the creative side, there are two things that really excite me. The music AI platforms that we're hearing about, the stories that we've seen in the press, and it's the fact that with a click of a button, you can recreate a song into a different genre. I find it so fascinating because if you think about that—turning a pop song into a country song or a rap song into a dance song—the possibilities that we have as authors with our books, if we wish to do so, are amazing. I just think, for example, with your ARKANE series, Joanna, imagine clicking a button and just with one click you can take Morgan Sierra and turn her into a romantic lead in a romance book. Jo: See, it's so funny because I personally just can't imagine that because it's not something I would write. But I guess one example in the romance genre itself is I know plenty of romance authors who write a clean and a spicy version of the same story, right? It is already happening in that way. It's just not a one-click. Jack: Well, I think you can also look at it another way. I think one of the most famous examples is Twilight. With Twilight and Stephenie Meyer, if she had the foresight—and I'm not saying she didn't, just to clarify—but fan fiction is such a massive sub-genre of works. And obviously from Twilight came 50 Shades of Gray. Imagine if she had the licensing rights like the NFTs, where she could have made money off of every sale. So that you could then, through works that you create and give licence, earn a percentage of every release, every sale, every consumption unit of your works. There are just so many possibilities where you can create, adapt, have spinoffs that can then build out your world. Obviously, there may need to be an approval process in there for continuity and quality control because you want to make sure you're doing that, but I think that has such massive potential in publishing if we wish to do so. Or like I said, change characters. Like Robert Langdon's character in Dan Brown's books—no longer being the kind of thriller, but maybe being a killer instead. There's so many possibilities. It's just, again, how to think, not what to think—how to think differently and how we can use that. So that's the second of three. Jo: Oh, before you move on, you did mention NFTs and I've actually been reading about this again. So I'm usually five years early. That's the general rule. I started talking about NFTs in mid-2021, and obviously there was a crypto crash, it goes up and down, blah, blah, blah. But forget the crypto side—on the blockchain side, digital originality, and exactly what you said about saying like, where did this originate? This is now coming back in the AI world. It could be that I really was five years early. So amusingly—and I'm going to link to it in the notes because I did a “Why NFTs Are Exciting for Authors” solo episode, I think in 2022—it may be that the resurgence will happen in the next year, and all those people who said I was completely wrong, that this may be coming back. Digital originality I think is what we're talking about there. But so, okay, so what was the other thing? Jack: So the third one is the one that I'm most excited about, but I think will be the most scary for people. Obviously consumption changes and formats change. Like I said, in music I've seen it all the time—whether it's vinyl to cassettes, to CDs, to downloads, to streaming. Again, there's different consumption of the same format, and we see that with books as well, obviously—hardbacks, paperbacks, eBooks, audiobooks. Now with the rise of AI, AI narration has made audiobooks so much more accessible for people. I know that there are issues with certain people not wanting to do it, or certain platforms not allowing AI narration to be uploaded unless it's their own. The next step is what I'm most excited about. What I'm seeing now in the music industry is people licensing their image to then recreate that as music videos because music videos are so expensive. One of my friends just shot a music video for two million pounds. I don't think many authors would ever wish to spend that. If you can license your image and use AI to create a three-minute music video that looks epic and just as real as humanly possible, imagine if those artists—or if we go a step further, those actors—license their image to then be used to adapt our books into a TV series or a film. So that then we are in a position where that is another format of consumption alongside an audiobook, a paperback, an eBook, hardcover, special edition, and so on and so forth. It potentially has the opportunity to open us up to a whole new world. Because yes, there are adaptations of books that we're seeing at the moment, but for those of us that are trying to get our content into different formats, this can be a new pathway. I'm going to make a prediction here myself, Joanna. Jo: Mm-hmm. Jack: I would say in the next five to ten years, there will be a platform akin to a Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Apple Plus, where you can license the rights to an image of an actor or an actress. Then with the technology—and you may need people to help you adapt your book into a TV series or a film—that can then be consumed. I just think the possibilities are endless. I mean, again, I think of your character and I'm like, oh, what would it be if Angelina Jolie licensed her image and you could have her play the lead character in your ARKANE series? I mean, again, the possibilities potentially are endless here. Jo: Well, and on that, if people think this won't happen—1776, I don't know if you've seen this, it's just being teased at the moment. Darren Aronofsky has made an American revolutionary story all with AI. So this is being talked about at the moment. It's on YouTube at the moment. The AI video is just extraordinary already, so I totally agree with you. I think things are going to be quite weird for a while, and it will take a while to get used to. You mentioned coming into the music industry in 2000, 2001—I started my work before the internet, and then the internet came along and lots of things changed. I mean, anyone who's older than 40, 45-ish can remember what work was like without the internet. Now we are moving into a time where it'll be like, what was it like before AI? And I think we'll look back and go like, why the hell did we do that kind of thing? So it is a changing world, but yes, exciting times, right? I think the other thing that's happening right now, even to me, is that things are moving so fast. You can almost feel like a kind of whiplash with how much is changing. How do we deal with the fast pace of change while still trying to anchor ourselves in our writing practice and not going crazy? Jack: Again, it's that everything everywhere all at once—you can get lost and discombobulated. I always say be the tortoise, not the hare—because you don't want to fly and die. You want pace and grace. Everyone will have a different pace. For some marathon runners, they can run a five-minute mile, some can run an eight-minute mile, some can run a twelve-minute mile. It's about finding the pace that works for you. Every one of us have different commitments. Every one of us have different ways we view the industry—some as a hobby, some as a business. So it's about honouring your needs, your commitment. Some of us, as you've had people on the podcast, some people are carers. They have to care. Some people are parents. Some people don't have those commitments and so can devote more time and then actually learn more, change more as a result. So again, it's about finding your groove, finding your rhythm, honouring that, and again, showing up consistently. Because motivation may get you started, but it's habit and discipline that sees you through. Keep that discipline, keep that pace and grace. Be consistent in what you can do. And know where you're at. Don't compare and despair, because again, if you look at someone else, they may be ahead of you, but the race is only with yourself in the end. So you've got to just focus on where you are at and am I in a better place than I was yesterday? Am I working on my business as well as in my business? How am I doing that? When am I doing that? And what am I doing that for? If you can be asking yourself those questions and making sure you're staying true to yourself and not burning out, making sure that you are honouring your other commitments, then I think you are going at the pace that feels right for you. Jo: Brilliant. Jo: Where can people find you and your books and everything you do online? Jack: Thank you so much for having me on, Joanna, today. You can find me on JackWilliamson.co.uk for all my nonfiction books and therapy work. Then for my fiction work, it is ABJackson.com, or ABJacksonAuthor on Instagram and TikTok. Jo: Well, thanks so much for your time, Jack. That was great. Jack: Thank you so much. The post Post-Traumatic Growth, Creative Marketing, And Dealing With Change with Jack Williamson first appeared on The Creative Penn.

To start this week's episode, Cody enthusiastically shares with Joe the details of his most recent book haul, an exciting collection that has him buzzing with anticipation for his reading adventures ahead. Among the treasures he has acquired is Matt Dinniman's newest novel, Operation Bounce House, which promises to deliver an exhilarating blend of action and humor. Cody elaborates on Dinniman's unique storytelling style, which often combines elements of fantasy and adventure, making this latest installment an intriguing addition to his growing library. He also mentions the first book in the series Dungeon Crawler Carl, a title that has garnered much attention and praise for its inventive approach to the dungeon-crawling genre, filled with quirky characters and unexpected plot twists. In addition to these, Cody reveals that he has picked up Dan Brown's latest Robert Langdon novel, The Secret of Secrets. He discusses how Brown's works are renowned for their intricate plots that weave together history, art, and thrilling mysteries, and he expresses his eagerness to dive into this new narrative that promises to challenge Langdon's intellect and adventurous spirit once more. The last book in Cody's haul is Joe Abercrombie's The Devils, a title that has been highly anticipated by fans of Abercrombie's gritty and darkly humorous fantasy novels. Cody reflects on Abercrombie's ability to create morally complex characters and immersive worlds, making this book a must-read for any fantasy aficionado. After sharing his literary finds, the conversation shifts as the guys dive into some juicy entertainment news. The first story they discuss revolves around a potential live-action Marvin the Martian movie, a project that seemed to have great promise but ultimately went nowhere. They speculate on what could have been and the challenges that often accompany adaptations of beloved animated characters into live-action formats. Following this, Joe brings up the exciting news that Mathew Vaughn is rebooting Kick-Ass, along with plans for spin-offs that will exist within a shared universe. They delve into the implications of this move, considering how it could expand the Kick-Ass franchise and attract both new fans and long-time supporters of the original films. Cody then shifts the conversation to Paramount's recent announcements regarding new additions to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. He highlights the company's ambitious plans to create new YouTube shows, develop fresh merchandise, and even launch themed restaurants, all aimed at revitalizing the beloved franchise for a new generation. The guys discuss the cultural impact of the Turtles and how these new initiatives could potentially reignite interest in the characters and their adventures. As the episode progresses, Cody shares that AppleTV has made a significant move by acquiring the intellectual property for their hit TV series Severance. He expresses curiosity about how this acquisition might influence the future of the series and its storytelling possibilities. The conversation flows into a broader discussion about the evolving landscape of television and streaming services, particularly how companies are vying for unique content to attract subscribers. To wrap up the episode, the guys tackle some exciting news about a few new electric vehicles (EVs) that are set to hit the market soon. Among them is Rivian's R2, which promises to bring innovative features and sustainability to the forefront of the automotive industry. They also discuss the rebirth of an American icon—the fully electric Scout—reflecting on the significance of this vehicle in American automotive history and its potential impact on the EV market. The episode concludes with a lively exchange of thoughts on the future of transportation and the growing importance of environmentally friendly options in the automotive landscape.Official Website: https://www.comesnaturallypodcast.comOfficial Merchandise: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/comes-naturally-podcast/iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/kqkgackFacebook: http://tinyurl.com/myovgm8Tumblr: http://tinyurl.com/m7a6mg9Twitter: @ComesNaturalPodYouTube: http://tiny.cc/5snxpy